Not to mention how angry and anxious Cheng Lu was, and how heartbroken Mrs. Dong was, which made it so that no one in the Cheng family of Cunrenfang had the heart to celebrate the New Year. Zhou Shaojin also stopped copying scriptures because of the New Year and just painted Guanyin at home.
Zhou Chujin laughed at her sister: "Why can't you stop for a moment?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled at his sister.
Zhou Chujin asked the maid to bring a lot of daffodils tied with red strings and placed them in her room, saying that these were sent by Madam Yu, who worked in the flower room of the Zhou family, to Ma Fushan's family for the sisters to celebrate the New Year. Zhou Chujin gave a few pots to Old Lady Guan and a few pots to Madam Mian, and moved the rest to Wanxiangju.
Seeing that the daffodils had grown into seedlings in various shapes and varieties, Zhou Shaojin liked them very much. He lit an extra brazier in the tea room and placed all the daffodils there.
Zhou Chujin smiled and warned her: "It's so hot in this room, be careful not to kill the narcissus."
"It doesn't matter." Zhou Shaojin smiled, "I want them to bloom before New Year's Eve."
Zhou Chujin asked doubtfully, "Is this okay?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and pushed his sister out of the tea room, saying, "Just wait."
Zhou Chujin went to Hanqiu Pavilion with a smile and arranged the New Year's Eve reunion dinner with Mrs. Mian.
Cheng Yi's servant Sanbao came over timidly and said, "Madam, the second master said that his butt hurts, so he's eating in his room, eating New Year's Eve dinner!"
Mrs. Miao was so angry that she shouted, "Then tell him not to come over. I have two sons. If you don't have this one, I still have another one."
Sanbao was so frightened that he trembled, replied "yes" respectfully, and retreated hastily.
Mrs. Miao stroked her forehead and burst into tears in front of Zhou Chujin: "Why did I give birth to such a thing! He won't stop until he piss me off to death!"
After Zhou Shaojin persuaded Cheng Yi, although Cheng Yi stopped asking Cheng Chi for fireflies, he was still stubborn and refused to admit his mistake. According to the opinions of Mrs. Guan and Mrs. Mian, the child was thin-skinned, so this was enough. But Cheng Mian refused to agree, saying, "You are so young now, it is time to distinguish right from wrong. If you don't admit your mistakes when you do something wrong, you will be able to walk away silently when you grow up." He insisted that Cheng Yi write a letter of apology. Cheng Yi was unhappy, so Cheng Mian asked the servant to tie him up and beat him with 20 boards in front of the hall of Jiashu Hall.
Cheng Yi was crying and wailing outside, while Old Lady Guan and Mrs. Mian were crying like tearful people in the house, but they gritted their teeth and did not go out to say a good word for Cheng Yi.
Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin went to visit Cheng Yi after knowing this. Cheng Yi talked and laughed with Zhou Chujin, Cheng Gao and even Cheng Jia who came to visit him, but ignored Zhou Shaojin. Zhou Shaojin felt a little sad, so Cheng Gao slapped Cheng Yi and said, "If you can't even tell who is good to you and who is bad to you, you should stay at home and don't go anywhere in the future. You'd better eat and drink for nothing and wait for death. I will also take care of the household affairs, so that you won't squander all the little property that your father has accumulated with great difficulty."
Cheng Yi cried out in pain and said with a stiff neck, "A man should keep his word. I said I will never have anything to do with her again!"
"Say it again!" Cheng Gao slapped Cheng Yi again.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly stopped Cheng Gao and said angrily, "Cousin Gao, don't hurt your hand. He doesn't want to associate with me, so I can have some free time. Whose brother would stare blankly when he sees his sister's friends? It's better not to have such a brother." Then he called Cheng Ji, "Are you going to stay here or come to my place? I want to go back."
Cheng Ji came to visit Cheng Yi only out of the relationship between brother and sister. She and Cheng Yi could never get along at all. Upon hearing this, she immediately took Zhou Shaojin's arm and said, "Of course I'll go to your place. I don't think cousin Yi will be able to get out of bed for half a month or a hundred days, so let's not annoy him here." She pulled Zhou Shaojin out of the room.
"Hey, hey, hey, please explain to me clearly, do I have to lie in bed for so long?" Cheng Yi felt panicked after hearing this and kept shouting at the backs of Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji.
Ever since the fire in Room 5, it has become more difficult for Cheng Nuo and others to enter Room 4 to play with him. If Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji don't come again, won't he have to lie alone in bed for a hundred days
He felt scared just thinking about it.
Seeing him like this, Cheng Gao and Zhou Chujin shook their heads helplessly.
Zhou Shaojin said: "Will it take so long to heal cousin Yi's injuries? I heard from my sister that cousin Yi's injuries are just flesh wounds, and they will heal in ten days or half a month..."
"You are so honest." Cheng Ji chuckled and said, "I just said it casually! Who made him so arrogant?"
Zhou Shaojin was embarrassed.
Cheng Ji asked her to go see the lanterns during the Lantern Festival.
After having the New Year's reunion dinner at Cheng's house, Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin will go back to Zhou's house and will not come back until the second day of the New Year to pay New Year's greetings to their uncle.
"I don't know if I can get out by then!" Zhou Shaojin said, "If I can get out, I will definitely go to see the lights with you."
Cheng Ji left with satisfaction.
Zhou Shaojin returned to Wanxiangju and Jiying was waiting for her.
"I heard you went to see Cheng Yi?" she asked, "How is he?"
The news that Cheng Yi had taken a fancy to Ji Ying had already spread quietly in the mansion, and naturally someone told Ji Ying about the beating he had received.
"Not bad!" Zhou Shaojin told Jiying what happened just now, and said, "I think he is in good spirits, and doesn't look like anything is wrong."
Ji Ying was just asking casually, and after hearing this she smiled and said, "Your family is known for strict discipline. Last time Cheng Jiashan was beaten, Madam Yuan actually asked her personal maid to hint to the old woman who was good at family law to beat him gently. No wonder Madam Guo disapproved of Madam Yuan and wanted to bring the second master's child home to let Cheng Zichuan help take care of him for a few days, but Cheng Zichuan didn't seem to agree."
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised and asked, "How did you know?"
Ji Ying opened her eyes wide and said, "I live in Hanbi Mountain House now. Of course I heard these things from the maids and servants!"
Zhou Shaojin's eyes suddenly widened larger than Jiying's, and he said, "I have been copying scriptures in Hanbi Mountain House for more than half a year and I have never heard of it. You have only lived here for a few days, how come you know everything!"
Ji Ying glanced at Zhou Shaojin with disdain and said, "Can you compete with me?"
Zhou Shaojin chuckled and said, "Why doesn't Uncle Chi want to bring Master Rang with him?"
In her impression, Cheng Rang is a timid but honest person, and such people are usually very obedient.
It would be great if Cheng Rang could be educated, and the Cheng family would at least have one more juren.
"Maybe it's too much trouble!" Ji Ying said nonchalantly, smiling and changing the subject, "I heard that you're going home tomorrow and won't be back until the second day of the first lunar month. Is that true?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded and said with a smile: "Our Zhou family also wants to worship our ancestors!"
"Okay, I got it." She said and was about to leave.
Zhou Shaojin was puzzled and asked, "Is that why you ask this?"
"Yes!" Jiying said, "I'll go play with you then!"
"Oh!" Zhou Shaojin sent Jiying out, thinking that he would go to Jiashu Hall for the New Year's Eve dinner later, he combed his hair into double buns, changed into a bright red flowered jacket, wore a gold bead headband, and went to Zhou Chujin's room.
Zhou Chujin had just returned. Seeing Zhou Shaojin smiling, she felt relieved. However, she still asked her carefully, "Are you not angry anymore?"
"I'm not angry anymore." Zhou Shaojin snorted, "He ignored me, so I won't let cousin Jia go to see him. Who will be more uncomfortable when we see each other?"
"Little girl." Zhou Chujin couldn't help but pinch her sister's face and said with emotion, "That's right! It's his loss if he ignores you. We are so happy that we can piss him off to death."
"Yes!" Zhou Shaojin chuckled, and the unhappiness in his heart disappeared. He urged his sister, "Go change your clothes quickly, we will go there early."
Zhou Chujin asked someone to bring a box of candies to Zhou Shaojin, and then went to change clothes.
As there were not many people in the fourth room and Zhou Shaojin and others were young, there were no separate tables for the New Year's Eve dinner at Jiashu Hall.
When Zhou Shaojin and his sister went over, the dishes and chopsticks had already been set out. Madam Miao was talking to Madam Guan with a smile on her face, but she could not hide her sadness. When she saw the Zhou sisters, she smiled and greeted them, and told the maid to bring a fruit plate: "… Eat some fruit to fill your stomach first. Your cousin Gao went to invite your uncle, and I don't know what's wrong with your uncle, he started to test your cousin Gao's homework. I don't know when he will finish talking?"
There was no mention of Cheng Yi.
No one mentioned it.
Zhou Shaojin laughed secretly in his heart.
Uncle Mian is worried that when cousin Gao goes to the He family and is asked about his homework by the old man of the He family, he won't be able to answer
She pretended not to know, and she and her sister sat on the right and left of Old Lady Guan, eating fruit and talking to the old lady about their parents.
About two incense sticks later, Cheng Mian and Cheng Gao walked in one after another.
Cheng Mian looked warm and it was obvious that he was very satisfied with Cheng Gao's work.
The people in the room hurriedly saluted Cheng Mian.
Cheng Mian glanced at them, was slightly stunned, and his face sank. He asked, "Where's Erlang?"
Mrs. Miao said cautiously: "He is still injured, so I decided to let him rest in the house..."
"Nonsense!" Before she finished her words, Cheng Mian shouted, veins popping out of his temples, "Call him over here right now. If he dares to quibble, tell him not to come again. He will no longer be involved in the Cheng family's ancestor worship and New Year celebrations..."
Mrs. Miao turned pale with fright and looked at Mrs. Guan.
Old Mrs. Guan lowered her eyelids and twirled the Buddhist beads in her hand.
Zhou Shaojin was terrified and could not help but snuggle up to his sister.
Zhou Chujin held Zhou Shaojin's hand and smiled at her comfortingly.
A voice that sounded both surprised and happy came from outside the house: "Master, Mrs. An, Madam, the Second Master is coming!"
Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, and Mrs. Miao's eyes were filled with tears. She said, "Quick, help the Second Master in."
It seems that she has already lifted the curtain without waiting for Madam Mian's order.
Sanbao supported Cheng Yi and walked in.
Cheng Mian's expression lightened up.
Cheng Yi bowed to Cheng Mian obediently.
"No need." Cheng Mian glanced at Cheng Yi coldly and told Madam Mian, "Serve the food!"
The atmosphere in the room warmed up.
Zhou Shaojin felt that the air was much more free-flowing.
※
Sisters, today’s extra update!
O(∩_∩)o
The evening update was postponed to around eleven o'clock.
PS: I would like to recommend Zou Zou’s new work "A Good Husband in the Song Dynasty". You can go and take a look.
※(To be continued)