Zhou Shaojin naturally didn't know that she and Fan Qi had been targeted by Cheng Chi. During the Lantern Festival, she was originally planning to go out with Cheng Jia to enjoy the lanterns, but it turned out that Mrs. Tang from the second room invited several widowed Mrs. An to dinner, and Zhou Chujin needed to take charge of the fourth room's household affairs, so Zhou Shaojin had to accompany Mrs. Guan to the appointment.
Cheng Ji no longer had any interest in visiting the Lantern Festival alone, so he simply accompanied his grandmother Li Laoan to the second house.
The banquet for the second house was arranged in the Changshou Pavilion where Tang Laoan lived. It was Zhou Shaojin's first time there. When he entered the door, he saw two bronze cranes taller than humans. There were pine bonsai of various shapes around them, all of which were taller than humans.
The maid who came to greet her looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a white face and a rice-sized cinnabar mole at the corner of her mouth. Seeing Zhou Shaojin take a few more glances at the bonsai, she couldn't help but proudly said, "Second cousin, is this the first time you've seen so many bonsai as tall as a person placed together? These are all raised by our old An."
On the Buddha's Birthday on the eighth day of April last year, this little maid was serving Mr. Tang Laoan. Her name seemed to be "Yu'er". She looked quite respectable in front of Mr. Tang Laoan.
Zhou Shaojin was unhappy when he saw her squinting at him. He smiled faintly and said, "It is indeed the first time for me to see so many bonsais as tall as a person placed together. Why not put them in the greenhouse? These bonsais are meant to be used as decorations. I thought there was no place to put them all piled together like this. I was thinking that the second room only has my cousin's family, and they also occupy the Chunze Courtyard and Tonghua Tower in the outer courtyard. In addition to my cousin Gao and my cousin Yi, we two sisters also live in the fourth room, and we don't feel crowded..."
What this means is that the second room has no rules and doesn't even know how to place the bonsai.
Yu'er was both ashamed and angry, and her face suddenly turned red.
Originally, there were only a few bonsai pots placed here in an orderly manner, but everyone who came praised the bonsai pots for being well maintained and majestic. Tang Laoan was very happy, so she took the initiative to slowly move the bonsai pots in the greenhouse here. Most of the people who came would take a few more glances at them like Zhou Shaojin did, but Tang Laoan didn't say anything. She had always been very proud of herself, but she didn't expect to be despised by Zhou Shaojin like this.
"Thank you, Miss Second Cousin, for teaching her a lesson." Just as Zhou Shaojin finished speaking, a tall maid came out from behind the curtain, smiling and saying, "I've told her several times, but she always turned a deaf ear to me. Now she's met a master of construction, and now she knows how powerful it is, right?"
The last sentence was said to Yu'er.
Zhou Shaojin had also met this maid several times.
She is Qing'er, the most important maidservant beside Old Lady Tang.
When Yu'er heard Qing'er say this, she glanced at Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin looked at it with shock.
There was a flash of resentment in Yu'er's eyes.
Zhou Shaojin disliked the second wife more and more.
However, the second house and the first house will have a falling out anyway. She is now helping Madam Guo copy scriptures in Hanbi Mountain House. Even if she doesn't want to get involved, she is labeled as a member of the first house in the eyes of others. In this case, even if she bows her head and begs for mercy, I am afraid that the second house will not let her go, and will also make the first house lose face because of her lack of stance.
Anyway, she is just a granddaughter of the fourth room, and her surname is Zhou, not Cheng. The worst that can happen is that she can just leave. Why should she even care about the expressions of these little maids? Her father treats her like a treasure, and he doesn't want these people to abuse her.
"I can't say I'm an expert in construction." Zhou Shaojin smiled gently, but his tone was not polite at all, "I just like to play with some flowers and plants. When I see something that makes me uncomfortable, I can't help but take a few more glances at it. I'm sorry to make you two girls laugh."
Qing'er was a little surprised.
She had long heard that the second cousin of the Zhou family, the fourth room, was timid, but she did not expect that the rumor was wrong and led her to miscalculate.
"Thank you for your advice, second cousin!" She immediately changed her attitude, stepped forward respectfully to bow to Old Lady Guan, and said with a smile, "Our old lady An is waiting for you in the house! I will take Yu'er to apologize to second cousin later."
Old Madam Guan laughed and said, "The maids are ignorant and gossiping. You should go back and discipline them. Make an apology to Shao Jin. If she gets in front of your wife, I'm afraid she will have a hard time. You are sisters, so you should take care of her."
This is the true meaning of old ginger is spicier!
Zhou Shaojin was very impressed.
Qing'er didn't expect that Mrs. Guan would say such a thing. She was shocked and laughed, "Mr. An is really kind to others. Yu'er, why don't you thank Mr. An and the second cousin?"
Yu Er is quite a character. She immediately went forward with tears in her eyes to apologize to Zhou Shaojin and Old Lady Guan.
Old Mrs. Guan smiled kindly and was helped into the house by Zhou Shaojin.
But as soon as she entered the house, Mrs. Guan's smile faded.
Zhou Shaojin's heart skipped a beat, and Qing'er had already announced loudly, "Mr. An from the fourth room is here." Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to keep his thoughts to himself.
Although Tang Laoan's face was full of smiles, her pair of shrewd eyes still made her look a little aggressive.
When she saw Zhou Shaojin supporting Old Lady Guan, she smiled and joked, "You are still the best. You have a granddaughter, so you have someone to accompany you wherever you go. Unlike me, I can't even find anyone to play cards with."
Zhou Shaojin just smiled and said nothing.
After hearing this, Old Lady Guan smiled and patted Zhou Shaojin's hand, saying, "My granddaughter is indeed very well-behaved, but it's also good to know Grandma."
"That's right, that's right." Tang Laoan said with a smile, "Let alone anything else, my heart melts when I see those two great-grandchildren. Not to mention the old ancestor, I wish I could ask the wet nurse to carry him to see him every day." The two walked in while talking, "I heard that your Gao and Yi brothers both stayed in Pukou? Our family's clan school is one of the best in the whole of Jinling."
The implication is that the fourth room is seeking something far away rather than something near.
"Gao'er just followed his mother to visit relatives." Old Lady Guan said, sitting down with the help of the little maid, "You also know that our Yi'er is not as obedient as his brother, so we left him there. Studying is a small matter, but it is mainly to restrain his temper."
Old An Tang nodded: "Children have grown up. They can't be kept at home like little birds. They still need to go out more often. My brother-in-law, I told my ancestors that he should be let out for a walk."
Did he want to go to Beijing? That's why he invited some old An people to dinner during the Lantern Festival
Zhou Shaojin was thinking in his mind when Mrs. Guo came over.
She had an arrogant look on her face, and brought with her two maids, Biyu and Feicui, she gave people a feeling of grandeur as soon as she appeared.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Mrs. Guo is always so dazzling no matter what time it is!
She stepped forward and saluted Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo smiled as she took her in her arms. She looked her up and down and said to Mrs. Guan, "Is it because I haven't seen Shaojin for a few days or is she a year older after the New Year? I feel like she's grown taller!"
Really
In his previous life, Zhou Shaojin always regretted that he was shorter than his sister.
She looked down at her clothes.
It doesn’t seem to be short!
Zhou Shaojin was a little discouraged, and then he heard Old Lady Guan laughing and saying, "She was always in front of my eyes, but I didn't notice her. You haven't seen her for a few days, so you should be able to see her better than me."
Mrs. Guo smiled and nodded.
Mr. Li came over with Cheng Ji.
After everyone exchanged greetings, the old ladies sat there chatting.
Zhou Shaojin was fine, but Cheng Ji couldn't sit still like a monkey. Mrs. Li was afraid that she had been wronged, so she asked her and Zhou Shaojin to go out for a walk: "... so that we can talk peacefully for a few words."
Cheng Ji pulled Zhou Shaojin out of the hall without any hesitation.
Yu'er and a few maids were moving the pine bonsai.
When she saw Zhou Shaojin coming out, she turned her head away, pretending she didn't see him.
Cheng Ji didn't notice anything unusual, and pulled Zhou Shaojin to comment on the bonsai: "... It's top-heavy and ugly. That pot is even uglier. I wonder if putting a small stone where the protruding roots are would give it a more 'leisurely view of the South Mountain' feel. And that pot, since you put Taihu stones in it, why don't you plant some grass?"
Zhou Shaojin felt that he was giving the second room a bargain by giving them advice, and said with a smile, "When did you become interested in these things? It's the beginning of spring, and the flowers over there need to be repotted. Do you want to come over and take a look?"
"Okay!" Cheng Ji and Zhou Shaojin both like flowers and plants. Cheng Ji likes to tell others how to do it, while Zhou Shaojin likes to do it himself.
The two were discussing flowers and plants when Mrs. Hong, the eldest wife of the Yi family, came over.
After speaking a few gentle words to Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji, she went into the house to serve the old An ladies.
Cheng Ji smiled and said, "I wonder if Sister Shi will come? I want to see her two nephews, they are both very handsome."
Zhou Shaojin said nothing, thinking that if she was Tang Laoan's woman and wanted to ask the eldest son's wife to help introduce Cheng Shi to the scholars in the capital, she would not let Shi's grandmother bring her two children here to provoke Old Madam Guo.
Sure enough, until the end of the banquet, Grandma Shi did not come out. Instead, it was Grandma Guan who turned back and smiled disdainfully in the direction of the second room when she went back.
Zhou Shaojin thought for a moment and said, "Does Mrs. Tang want my cousin to study at the Imperial Academy?"
Mrs. Guan was silent for a moment, then asked, "How did you know?"
"I guessed." Zhou Shaojin smiled, "Although you can also go to the Imperial College to study by relying on the name card of the second ancestor. But Uncle Shi went to the Imperial College to study not only to pass the imperial examination, but more to make friends who can help him. The recommendation of Uncle Jing from the first house is very important. When I saw that Mr. Tang mentioned Cousin Yi just now, you didn't say anything, so I guessed that Mr. Tang wanted to take advantage of the Lantern Festival banquet to tell this matter to Old Madam Guo."
Old Madam Guan was surprised, and after a while she said, "Shao Jin, I always thought you were ignorant, but I didn't expect you to be able to think of these things. You are better than your sister! When your sister was your age, she only knew who was good to me and who was not. What should I do to those who were good to me, and what should I do to those who were not...
Zhou Shaojin was ashamed.
That's because she has lived two lives and has more experience than others!
"Well, did Mrs. Guo agree?" she asked hurriedly.
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Sisters, today’s extra update!
O(∩_∩)o haha
The afternoon update is estimated to be around nine o'clock.
※(To be continued)