Spring in Nanjing

Chapter 16: Sorting

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Zhou Chujin covered her face and started crying: "When the Cheng family got into trouble, your brother-in-law proposed to give up the position of the eldest son, hoping to save me and your nephew. In the end, it was the old ancestor who said that the Liao family was not a shameless family, so they gave up... I can't repay your brother-in-law's kindness even if I work like a cow or a horse..."

At least my sister is okay.

She felt much better, but she kept thinking of the Cheng family and her days there. Especially Cheng Gao, who was steady, reserved, generous and kind. When she got into trouble, the people of the second and third houses were silent, and only the people of the fourth house stood up for her. Cheng Gao even went and beat Cheng Xu up. In the 27th year of Zhide, Cheng Gao passed the imperial examination and was admitted to the Shujishi Academy. He observed government affairs in the Ministry of Justice and brought his wife and children to see her.

Such a good person with a bright future, how could he just be gone

There is also Cheng Yi, who is always smiling and looks unserious on weekdays, but because of him he contradicted Cheng Ju's mother Jiang and even had a falling out with Cheng Ju.

What did they do wrong

It’s just because his surname is Cheng.

Just like that, it's all gone.

Thinking of this, her tears flowed like a river and she couldn't stop them.

Later, Cheng Lu came to see her.

She couldn't bear it any longer.

How come all the good people died, while people like Cheng Lu, who was kicked out of the Cheng family and removed from the clan, turned a disaster into a blessing and got better and better...

God is so unfair!

This led to the subsequent assassination.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shaojin's tears began to fall uncontrollably again, but she quickly wiped them away.

Since you have said that you will not cry anymore, you should not shed tears when something happens in the future.

It was a pity that she was too confused in her previous life and didn't care about anything except her own affairs. Now she wanted to use what she knew in her previous life to help the Cheng family but she had no idea how to do it.

Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but imagine: What would her sister do if she encountered such a thing

Tell grandma

Probably not.

She was like someone possessed by a demon. Her sister tried her best to keep the truth a secret for the sake of her reputation, not to mention a major incident like the Cheng family's where all property was confiscated and the entire family was exterminated without any evidence!

Try to solve it yourself

The downfall of the Cheng family was obviously related to the political situation in the imperial court. Not to mention the women like them who never left the house, even a fourth-rank official like their father, who was known as a "capable official", was not qualified to participate in it, let alone change the situation.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shaojin had an idea.

She had no way to change the Cheng family's misfortune, but she could tell this to someone who could influence the Cheng family's future and let that person stop it!

However, “tell” doesn’t seem right either.

The experiences of these days made her deeply understand one thing - if the status, ability and knowledge of the two parties are too different, what they say will have no weight in the eyes of the other party and will not attract enough attention.

This is what people often say: a person of little influence has little weight.

And in the Cheng family, she is such a person!

Born in the inner house, raised in the inner chamber, in the eyes of the elders, she was a person who could not even recognize all the words, let alone any knowledge and cultivation. How could she be qualified to talk about the rise and fall of the family? Maybe as soon as she said something, she would be regarded as "crazy" and handed over to her father for punishment, or like her sister, she would be thought to be possessed by evil spirits and find Taoist priests and monks to perform rituals. Then no one would believe what she said, let alone save the Cheng family!

But if she could gain the trust of an elder who has a say in the Cheng family, and give a warning at the right time, wouldn't she be able to help the Cheng family avoid bad luck without getting herself involved

Zhou Shaojin suddenly became excited, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this idea was feasible!

If the Cheng family is safe and sound, my sister will not be without support, my father will not be implicated, my grandmother, uncle and aunt will be fine, and cousin Gao and cousin Yi will be able to realize their ambitions and revive the family business... maybe they can even surpass the eldest branch of the family!

By then, people from the Cheng family’s first, second, third, and fifth branches will all have to look to the fourth branch for approval!

Thinking that Room Four might suppress the other rooms, Zhou Shaojin couldn't help laughing and leaned against the head of the bed, thinking about who to warn.

The most suitable person would be the ancestor of the second branch, Cheng Xu. Not only does he have prestige, but his experience, vision and knowledge are beyond the reach of ordinary scholars. No one in the Cheng family would dare to disobey what he says.

But he died of natural causes at the age of 88, and the Cheng family encountered trouble in the second year of Tianshun, four years after his death... The ancestor of the second branch of the Cheng family... No way!

There is only the eldest master of the main house, Cheng Jing.

He is not only the eldest son of the Cheng family's eldest branch, but also the highest-ranking official in the Cheng family. He now has the momentum to replace Cheng Xu. When Cheng Xu passes away, he will naturally become the decision-maker of the Cheng family, and even enter the cabinet and become a second assistant.

But he was far away in Kyoto and had not been back for nearly ten years. I had only seen him once from afar when I was a child and I couldn't even remember what he looked like, let alone talk to him and gain his trust.

The second master of the eldest house, Cheng Wei

He was also in Kyoto, serving as a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. Although he was later promoted to the position of Guangsi Qing, under the spotlight of his brother Cheng Jing, she had no impression of this man at all. She knew neither his character nor his personality. Moreover, the Cheng family got into trouble because they found something wrong with him... Instead of looking for him, she might as well look for his brother Cheng Jing!

The second wife’s eldest master Cheng Yi

He passed the imperial examination at the age of 18, but failed many times since then. His own son passed the imperial examination, but he was still standing still. It is said that he was very sensitive about the fact that "the father was a juren and the son was a jinshi", so he decided not to take the imperial examination again and took over the position of the head of the Cheng family school.

As far as she could remember, he never left Jinling again.

The reputation of the Cheng family depends on the government. How can he influence the future of the Cheng family if he doesn't hold an official position

He is not suitable either.

The third house's eldest master, Cheng Lu

Everyone said that he had become stupid from studying so much that he couldn't even tell the difference between leeks and daffodils. His son Cheng Zheng was already a juren, but he was still a scholar. The old man from the third room never asked his son about anything, but directly consulted with Cheng Zheng... He could be completely ignored in the Cheng family.

This kind of person... naturally can't do it!

Uncle Mian

Let’s just forget it!

Even my sister didn't believe what she said, so Uncle Mian would not believe it either. If she wasn't careful, she would alarm her sister and grandmother, and then it would be a waste of time!

As for the fifth master Cheng Wen, he has never done any serious work except serving as a judge in the Zhangtai. It is better to rely on Cheng Gao than on him.

Thinking of Cheng Gao, Zhou Shaojin's eyes lit up.

Cheng Gao might believe her!

Let him go and tell Master Jing when the time comes... But after all, he and Master Jing live in different houses, and since he is a junior, it seems difficult for him to meet Master Jing...

Well, then it’s better to go find Cheng Xu!

When Zhou Shaojin thought of that person, his mood became complicated.

Yuan had given birth to two daughters in a row, and she was over thirty before she had this son. She treated him like a treasure and wanted to bring all the good things to him. In addition, Cheng Xu was also very hardworking. He passed the imperial examination at a young age and was the first in the case. Yuan treated him like her own sweetheart. Not to mention speaking, even a hum, Yuan would obey it as if it were an imperial decree. If he could come forward, Yuan would definitely stand on Cheng Xu's side regardless of right or wrong. Master Jing respected his wife and loved his children. If Yuan spoke, even if Master Jing thought it was ridiculous, he would definitely not turn a deaf ear. This matter was half successful...

As the thought flashed through his mind, the joy on Zhou Shaojin's face faded away little by little.

She... didn't want to find that person.

In her previous life, she and he had only met twice and had not exchanged more than ten sentences, but Cheng Xu kept saying that he liked her, and Yuan kept slandering her for seducing Cheng Xu... If she had been able to talk to him, things would have been even worse than in her previous life.

The Min family of Fujian has produced two prime ministers, one top scholar, one second place in the imperial examination, more than a dozen Jinshi, and countless Juren and Xiucai. It is a wealthy and official family that is not inferior to the Yuan family's natal family, the Tongxiang Yuan family.

The Yuan family is wholeheartedly trying to form an alliance with the Min family!

Is this also the reason why Yuan was so angry after the incident

She doesn't want to have anything to do with Cheng Xu anymore in her life

Zhou Shaojin forcibly put the name behind him. Thinking of the cold and arrogant look of the second cousin, and the sharp eyes of the third cousin... None of them were easy to deal with.

Who else is suitable

Zhou Shaojin's mind was full of thoughts, but he just couldn't find the right person.

She frowned.

Does she have to deal with Cheng Xu

What's the difference between that and sending herself to him to be humiliated? It also fulfilled the accusation made by Yuan in her previous life...

Zhou Shaojin was very unwilling.

Shi Xiang came in and reported, "Second Miss, Master Lu heard that you were ill again and was very worried. He sent Song Qing to bring you some newly published travel notes to cheer you up."

Zhou Shaojin felt even more annoyed after hearing this.

"Let him take it back!" She frowned and said, "Girls and boys should not sit together at the same table after the age of seven. If this happens again, you don't need to report to me, just send him away directly."

"Yes!" Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Shi Xiang lowered her head and replied "yes" and walked out.

Zhou Shaojin walked around the room a few times and called Chunwan in: "Go find me some bright paper. I want to draw some patterns."

Since you are feeling upset, you might as well find something to do.

Just like in the previous life, if you concentrate on sewing, your thoughts will gradually calm down and those worries will slowly disappear.

However, it’s not entirely true.

At the beginning, it was Mother Fan who took care of her daily life, and Mother Min sent by her sister was the housekeeper. Later, when Mother Min was old, she returned home to retire, and her sister acquiesced to Mother Zheng sent by Lin Shisheng to be the housekeeper. Whenever she had something bothering her, Mother Zheng would report to Lin Shisheng, and then everything would be resolved smoothly.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shaojin was distracted.

Lin Shisheng... to be honest, he was pretty nice to her!

I wonder what he is doing now

Without her, I don’t know if he can find someone who can make him and Aunt Mu happy!

In her previous life, there were people like Cheng Lu and Cheng Xu, and also people like Lin Shisheng. Only after she met them did she believe that there are good people in this world.

Zhou Shaojin wanted to find an opportunity to remind Lin Shisheng.

If nothing went wrong in Aunt Mu's family, she would be able to marry Lin Shisheng smoothly. She would have done a good thing and repaid Lin Shisheng for his ten years of protection in her previous life.

Zhou Shaojin decided to make a few summer shirts for herself and her sister. When the summer comes for her grandmother's birthday, the two sisters will wear them together and it will look great.

Zhou Chujin was shocked when he came back.

She pointed at the pattern on the table and asked hesitantly, "Did you draw this?"

The styles were bright and colorful, something she had never seen before, and they did not seem to be popular in Jinling.

"Yeah." Zhou Shaojin raised his head and looked at his sister with a smile, "Does it look good?"

The simplified Chinese version of "Blooming Flowers" published by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House has started pre-sale on Dangdang.com. Sisters who are interested can go and have a look.

O(∩_∩)o

※(To be continued)