Zhou Shaojin nodded.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "First time going out?"
Zhou Shaojin said "hmm".
Cheng Chi asked, "Are you not seasick?"
“I don’t get seasick.”
After a few words, Zhou Shaojin finally calmed down.
Cheng Chi didn't say anything, just stood at the bow and looked into the distance.
The wind blows gently on your face, and you can smell the faint elegant fragrance of green grass and "Thus have I heard".
With such a good opportunity, Zhou Shaojin felt that he should say something.
What can I say
Her mind raced, but she couldn't find any meaningful topic for a long time, so she said, "At noon, we had small fish and shrimp caught from the lake. Although they were roughly cooked, they were fresh and tasted pretty good. Did Uncle Chi eat them too? How did he feel about the taste?"
"Not bad." Cheng Chi said calmly, "These are the only things we can eat on the boat!"
Zhou Shaojin took the opportunity to ask, "Uncle Chi, did you also take a boat to Huai'an? Where did you go? Are there any good scenery along the way? Can you often eat freshly caught river food on the boat?"
"I went to Huai'an by land." Cheng Chi said, "Land is faster."
Zhou Shaojin clenched his fist silently and said, "The land route is faster, but not as comfortable as the water route. Why did Uncle Chi choose to go by land?"
Cheng Chi smiled and glanced at her, saying, "This is your first time going out, how do you know that traveling by water is more comfortable than traveling by land?"
Zhou Shaojin paused and said, "Isn't that what everyone says?"
Cheng Chi laughed.
His eyes are bright, his brows are relaxed, he is elegant and graceful.
But for some reason, Zhou Shaojin always felt something was strange in her heart, but if you asked her to specifically say what was strange, she couldn't say it, so she had to suppress the confusion in her heart and said something to make conversation: "I heard from the maids that we will arrive at the He family in another hour. I don't know if the He family will make things difficult for us?"
"No!" Cheng Chi said, "Everything was basically settled when I came to propose marriage that day. Now it's just a formality. After the betrothal gifts are delivered and the wedding date is set in a few days, the wedding preparations will be almost done."
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but smile when he heard that.
It can be seen that Uncle Chi doesn’t understand these things either.
She remembered when her elder sister got married, apart from the visit from the Liao family, she had no special memories of the betrothal and the date. But after the wedding date was set, the two families became busy. Her aunt traveled back and forth from Jinling to Zhenjiang several times, and the Liao family visited frequently... Moreover, at the wedding, the matchmaker had to wear a bright red dress to help the groom to welcome the bride... Did Uncle Chi know
Zhou Shaojin thought it was interesting, and couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but ask, "On the day of cousin Gao's wedding, you and Master Gu will wear formal clothes to welcome the bride. Are you going to ride a horse or walk?"
Cheng Chi was a little surprised.
He was just giving his mother a chance to save face, and he also had the company of the headmaster of the Gu family. He felt that he could only lend his status as a Jinshi to Cheng Gao, so he agreed without thinking too much. Who knew that being a matchmaker would be such a troublesome thing
It seems that I have to ask Huaishan to find out what this matchmaker is going to do.
When Zhou Shaojin saw that Cheng Chi really knew nothing, he felt inexplicably excited.
She said quickly, "Not only do you have to go to the bride's house, but once you get there, she will close the door and seal the bride. The matchmaker has to accompany the groom to say good things to the bride. If the bride wants the groom to write a couplet or a poem, the matchmaker has to help the groom write and ensure that the groom can marry the bride smoothly..."
Cheng Chi looked at her sparkling eyes and couldn't help but smile in his heart.
This little girl probably thought she looked lonely and couldn't stand the hustle and bustle of a wedding, right? She didn't know that he always kept his promises. As long as he promised something, he would do his best to do it even if he didn't want to.
Isn’t it just about marrying the bride back to the He family
What's so difficult about this
He smiled and said, "These are all small matters. It's a pity that I didn't become an official. Otherwise, if I wore official uniform to pick up Gao'er's bride, there would definitely be more people watching." He touched his chin and said, "But there are plaques. I still remember that when I first came back from the capital, your uncle Jing made two plaques for me, one with 'Jinshi Jidi' and the other with 'Twelfth place in the second class of the Renchen exam in the fifteenth year of Zhide'. If I remember correctly, these two plaques should be placed in the ancestral hall. During the Chinese New Year, Qin Da Zongguan told me to take out the two plaques and repaint them, so that I could find a job as soon as possible, and then I could take out these two plaques and use them directly..."
Zhou Shaojin was stunned.
She knew that many people who passed the imperial examinations would hold up such signs when they returned home to show off, but Uncle Chi shouldn't be one of them, right
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but look at Cheng Chi carefully.
He has big eyes with slightly upturned corners and thick, curled eyelashes. At this moment, he is thinking carefully, and his gaze is not only deep but also serious, with a kind of seriousness that makes people have to believe it.
Zhou Shaojin almost jumped up.
How is this possible
This is cousin Gao’s wedding, not Uncle Chi’s return home!
If these two signs were put up, who would know that this was Cousin Gao’s wedding
"No, thanks!" Zhou Shaojin waved his hands repeatedly.
Cheng Chi looked at Zhou Shaojin in confusion, as if saying "Didn't you say that? Why are you saying no now?"
Zhou Shaojin was embarrassed and hurriedly made an excuse: "I mean there's no need for such a fuss. As long as Uncle Chi goes to greet us in a formal dress, it will be fine."
Cheng Chi said, "This is not good! Your grandmother asked me to be a matchmaker for Gao Ge'er because she saw my status as a Jinshi in the imperial examinations twice." He said, and then hesitantly said, "I think you shouldn't jump to conclusions too early. I will ask the chief steward Qin to find the two plaques first, and then you can ask your grandmother first."
Zhou Shaojin really wasn't sure what his grandmother would say.
In his previous life, one of Lin Shisheng's cousins died. In order to give her a decent burial, her cousin's husband's family came to Lin Shisheng and spent five thousand taels of silver to grant her the rank of Zhongxian Xiaowei.
But Uncle Chi had said so much, how could she refuse
Zhou Shaojin answered "yes" uneasily, but he didn't know how much regret he had in his heart - if he had known this would happen, he should not have mentioned the matter of the wedding. When the time came, someone would naturally come to talk to him about it, so why was he meddling in this matter!
Cheng Chi almost laughed out loud as he looked at the face that was trying to be calm but was extremely frustrated.
This little girl really only has a pretty face.
She didn't even think about it. No matter how vain he was, it was impossible for him to steal the limelight at his nephew's wedding!
That's so tasteless!
However, what exactly did she want to do by sending Fan Qi to the capital
Am I really thinking too complicatedly
Or was there something he had overlooked
Cheng Chi was thinking about asking her a few more questions to see if he could get anything out of her, when suddenly footsteps were heard on the deck.
His brows furrowed almost invisibly, and then he and Zhou Shaojin turned around at the same time with a serious expression, and saw Lang Yue walking towards the side of the boat.
"Fourth Master, Second Cousin," he bowed respectfully to the two of them and said, "The eldest master of the Gu family has woken up from his nap and wants to discuss going to Pukou with you."
Cheng Chi said "hmm", nodded slightly towards Zhou Shaojin, and left the bow.
Zhou Shaojin quickly knelt down and bowed, then waited for Cheng Chi to leave. Thinking that they would soon reach Pukou, it would be bad if they were seen by others, so he returned to the cabin.
In the cabin, Zhou Chujin had not returned yet, and Cheng Ji was drinking tea with Cuihuan serving him.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin coming in, she muttered, "Where have you been? I feel so bad! Can we come back by land?"
Zhou Shaojin felt bad for her and said, "Why don't you discuss it with Aunt Lu?"
It only takes one day to get back to Jinling from Pukou.
Cheng Ji nodded listlessly and ordered Cui Huan: "Take off all the hairpins on my head. They are hurting me."
Cui Huan couldn't help but hesitate, and said: "Miss, please be patient! We are going to visit the He family in Pukou. If we are not dressed properly, it will be disrespectful to the He family..."
Zhou Shaojin also persuaded her and asked Cuihuan to open the boat window and fan her.
After a lot of effort, they heard the boatman shouting "We've arrived at Pukou" and everyone in the cabin came back to life.
Cuihuan was busy helping Cheng Ji tidy up her clothes, while Zhou Shaojin urged the maids and servants to count the boxes.
After the He family came to greet the Cheng family and exchanged brief greetings with Cheng Chi and the eldest master of the Gu family, the boatman took the plank and helped the women get off the boat and into the sedan chair.
Zhou Shaojin quietly lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and looked out.
Pukou doesn't look big, but the streets are neat and clean, and the pedestrians on the road look happy. It can be seen that the people here live a good life.
As soon as the sedan turned into an alley, the sound of firecrackers rang out in the alley.
Zhou Shaojin knew that the He family was about to arrive, so he quickly lowered the curtain of the sedan chair and sat down.
The main door of the He family was wide open, but out of respect for the He family, Cheng Chi and others went through the side door on the left, while the sedan chairs of Zhou Shaojin and other female relatives entered through the side door on the right and stopped directly in the sedan chair hall.
Zhou Shaojin got off the sedan and saw two beautifully dressed women and a middle-aged woman who looked like an official matchmaker, smiling and welcoming them in the sedan hall. Some adults and children who looked like maids were gathered outside the sedan hall to watch the fun.
The official media of the two countries introduced the two parties.
Everyone came forward and saluted.
Zhou Shaojin heard some of the maids whispering, "The young ladies of the Cheng family are all so pretty! Look at the one wearing a lake blue jacket. The material cost twelve taels of silver per piece. Madam Nine said it was a new style from Hangzhou and she wanted to keep it for the fifth young lady as a dowry..."
"And the one wearing a pink jacket, the comb on her head is so pretty, it looks like a peony..."
"I think the jewelry looks better on the green floral jacket..."
The eldest wife of the He family looked slightly gloomy when she heard this.
These maids are really getting more and more outrageous! If they say that the daughter of the Cheng family is beautiful, then just say that she is beautiful. Why are they talking about how much silver a piece of material costs? They even said that they would keep it as a dowry. Isn't this just to increase the prestige of the Cheng family and destroy their own prestige
She winked at the nanny beside her.
The maid understood and said to the maids with a smile, "Today is the eldest lady's good day. Why are you standing here instead of serving tea? Go away!"
The maids dispersed with laughter.
Zhou Shaojin and others were welcomed into the main room and served tea.
※
Today's update, sisters.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)