In Jiashu Hall, Madam Miao was talking to Madam Guan: "… When the master came out, he passed by Master Wen from the fifth room. Master Wen was laughing. When asked what he was doing, he looked around but didn't say anything. The master guessed that he might also be going to discuss the shares. But the third room has been quiet. They didn't go to the first room, nor did they contact the second room. It seems that they don't know about this. The master has asked someone to keep an eye on them. We will know as soon as there is any news over there."
Old Madam Guan said, "I'm afraid that the third wife has made up her mind to stand with the second wife."
The fourth and fifth houses have always been in decline. If the third and second houses join forces, it will not be easy for the eldest house to do as it pleases.
For a moment the room was plunged into deep thought.
Mrs. Guan said: "No matter what, honesty is the foundation of life, and we can't be ungrateful."
Mrs. Mian nodded.
A little maid reported through the curtain that Zhou Shaojin had returned.
The two of them stopped talking at the same time. Old Madam Guan winked at Madam Mian and said in a low voice, "The children are still young. It's enough for them to know that the matter is serious. There's no need to explain it in such detail. Be careful not to scare them."
Mrs. Miao nodded repeatedly and welcomed Zhou Shaojin in with a smile.
Zhou Shaojin felt that the atmosphere in the room was a bit strange. He guessed that his grandmother and aunt might have just talked about something important. He was hesitating whether to tell Mrs. Guan about going to Putuo Mountain. Anyway, Mrs. Guo would come to visit Mrs. Guan tomorrow. Even if she didn't tell her, Mrs. Guan would know. Who knew that Mrs. Guan had already laughed and said, "Why are you so anxious? What happened?"
The serious and tense atmosphere was suddenly diluted.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't hold back his excitement, and smiled as he told his grandmother and aunt what had happened.
Old Madam Guan and Madam Mian were both happy for her. Madam Mian even took Zhou Shaojin's hand and looked her up and down, saying, "You need to make some new clothes quickly, and choose the people who will serve you. Not only should you be mature and loyal, but you should also choose someone who knows how to deal with people. To go to Mount Putuo, you have to pass through Hangzhou Prefecture, then from Hangzhou Prefecture to Zhoushan, and then from Zhoushan to the island. It takes more than a month to go there, so you can't be careless."
"Shao Jin went with Old Madam Guo, so the eldest house will naturally take care of what happened on the way," Old Madam Guan interrupted her daughter-in-law and said with a smile, "You just need to prepare some money for her as a reward, select a few maids to serve her, and call someone to make some new clothes for her. Don't keep talking endlessly."
Mrs. Miao and Zhou Shaojin both laughed.
Zhou Shaojin took the opportunity to ask if he could go with his sister.
Old Lady Guan rejected Zhou Shaojin's proposal outright: "You helped Old Lady Guo copy the scriptures, and you won her favor. It's your blessing to follow her to Mount Putuo to burn incense. But we should not be greedy and propose to go to Mount Putuo to burn incense with Old Lady Guo."
Zhou Shaojin was very disappointed, but he had to admit that what his grandmother said made sense.
Old Lady Guan comforted her, saying, "Don't be so depressed. I know you have good intentions. When your cousin Gao and your cousin Yi are married, I can be a noble in peace. When the time comes, I will go to Mount Putuo with your aunt to burn incense, and I will leave you at home to watch the door."
Zhou Shaojin didn't realize the pun was rude at all. He just laughed and said "OK" repeatedly.
Old Lady Guan urged her to finish copying the scriptures quickly: "Now it's up to you. When you finish copying the scriptures, Old Lady Guo will set off. If you don't finish copying, they will have to wait."
This responsibility is too heavy!
Zhou Shaojin suddenly felt like a mountain was pressing down on her back. She didn't dare to say much to Old Lady Guan, so she went back to the Buddhist hall and concentrated on copying the scriptures.
When Mrs. Guo heard this, she looked at Zhou Shaojin and laughed when he went to say goodbye to her. She said, "Silly girl, have you ever seen anyone traveling in the dog days of summer? Just copy slowly. Even if we set off, it will be autumn."
But Zhou Shaojin was still embarrassed.
If she hadn't slowed down, she wouldn't have finished copying it yet.
She hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I will definitely copy it carefully. This is an offering to the Buddha, and it is our sincere gift."
Mrs. Guo was very satisfied and rewarded her with a basket of mulberries.
Zhou Shaojin took it back and gave it to the people in Jiashu Hall to taste.
Old Lady Guan had one plate delivered to Cheng Gao, one plate sent to Hanqiu Pavilion, she kept one plate for herself, and had Zhou Shaojin take the rest back to Wanxiangju.
Zhou Shaojin gave a plate each to Cheng Ji and Ji Ying.
At night, I ate mulberries cooled with well water while enjoying the cool air in the yard with my sister.
She said to her sister apologetically, "I wanted to go with you, but my grandmother said it was not appropriate. We sisters can go to Putuo Mountain to burn incense together in the future."
Zhou Chujin had heard about this matter. She said angrily, "It's not appropriate in the first place. You shouldn't even mention it. But your idea is good. Later, we sisters can go to Putuo Mountain to burn incense together. This time, you can go first and find out the place clearly, so that we won't be confused the next time we go."
Zhou Shaojin smiled shyly and asked his sister: "Do you want me to bring something back?"
She had never been to Putuo and didn't know what was special about it.
Zhou Chujin didn't know either, she smiled and said, "Just remember to bring some things for your grandmother and aunt, forget about mine. It's not easy to go on a long journey, and you're still taking the trouble to bring things for me. We sisters don't need to pay attention to these empty formalities."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Then I'll see what happens!"
Zhou Chujin told Zhou Shaojin about his father Zhou Zhen's reply letter: "... I just received it this afternoon. Daddy said he would pay attention to this matter. As for whether to help and how to help, he would write to Uncle Mian. If we know anything, remember to write to him. He was afraid that Uncle Mian would not say anything because of his feelings, which would delay the matter."
The Fourth House has been very kind to the sisters and is as close as family members. The Zhou family cannot sit idly by.
Zhou Shaojin thought of what Old Lady Guan had said, and said, "Have you told your grandmother about this? From the way she looks, it seems that she really hopes that my father can help the Fourth House!"
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "I'll tell Grandmother when I go to pay my respects tomorrow morning that you were talking excitedly about going to Mount Putuo, and I couldn't interrupt you."
Zhou Shaojin smiled shyly and told his sister about going to Mount Putuo: "I heard that Mount Putuo is the 'Buddhist Kingdom of the Sea and Sky'. All the temples on the island are dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva. On February 19th, June 19th, and September 19th, when Guanyin Bodhisattva's birthday, ordination, and enlightenment are celebrated, the island is crowded with people, and the temples are filled with incense. People are like walking into the Western Paradise. But Madam Guo said that no one would travel in the dog days of summer, and I don't know if I can meet the September 19th incense ceremony..."
She kept chattering, and Zhou Chujin tried to change the subject several times but failed. So he simply stopped interrupting her and just stayed there, saying "um" or "ah" from time to time.
As a result, Zhou Shaojin kept talking until the moon was at its highest point in the sky, and the two sisters both woke up late the next day.
Zhou Shaojin's face flushed red, thinking that the supervision at Jing'an Zhai was lax, and if she was late, the worst that could happen was that she would be punished by writing a few big characters. But her sister had to help her aunt with the household chores, and it would not look good to be late. She did not even bother to wash up and helped her sister prepare breakfast.
The two sisters were busy there when someone from Ma Fushan's family came to ask for a meeting.
Shi Xiang was scheduled to leave the house on the tenth day of September and get married on the fourth day of October. Zhou Shaojin asked Ma Fushan's family to help Shi Xiang order two camphorwood boxes and a tall cabinet for her. He thought that Ma Fushan's family was here to reply, so before Zhou Chujin could speak, he had already told the little maid: "Let her wait, we are busy here!"
The little maid smiled and retreated, but soon came back and said, "Miss, Miss, Ma Fushan said there is something urgent to report..."
Both sisters were stunned.
The letter from Zhou's father yesterday was sent by Ma Fushan's family. At that time, he didn't say anything was wrong, which shows that the matter is really urgent!
Zhou Chujin said: "Then please ask her to come in."
The little maid responded and brought Ma Fushan's family in in a blink of an eye.
"Miss Eldest, Miss Second," Ma Fushan's face looked a little ugly. He shouted and stood there.
Zhou Shaojin understood and sent the servant away.
Ma Fushan went to the door to take a look, then walked quickly to Zhou Shaojin and her sister, and whispered: "There is a letter from the government saying that Lan Ting and Xin Lan died suddenly in prison last night..."
The two sisters' hearts skipped a beat and their faces turned pale.
Zhou Chujin asked hurriedly: "What happened?"
Ma Fushan's voice became even lower: "No one can explain it clearly. The jailer thought we bribed the people in the prison, and the people in the prison thought it was the jailer who did it... This matter is a bit strange. Now the government office dare not investigate it further, and sent a message to our boss, saying that we should bury it quickly to avoid any trouble."
Zhou Chujin thought about it, and asked Zhou Shaojin to get a silver note of 100 taels to give to Ma Fushan's family, and then said to Ma Fushan's family: "Tell Ma Fushan to find a way to let the coroner find out how the two people died, and then follow this clue to find out who did it... The two of them are locked up in the prison, and there must not be many people who can do it. If you are careful, you will definitely find some clues. You can use this money to bribe the jailers. If it is not enough, come back to me."
Ma Fushan's family left Jiuru Lane with the silver bills in their pockets.
Zhou Chujin took a sip of tea uneasily.
For some reason, Zhou Shaojin thought of Cheng Lu.
They did not hide what happened that year from Cunrenfang. But when Cheng Lu came to pay New Year's greetings to the fourth room, he did not mention it at all.
What would he do if he knew about this
Zhou Shaojin sent his sister away and told Chunwan: "Give Ma Fushan a message and ask him to check on Zhao Dahai who is with Master Lu. See what he has been doing these days."
If this matter is related to Cheng Lu, the person who actually did it must be his confidant Zhao Dahai.
A few days later, Ma Fushan came in person to ask to see Zhou Shaojin and her sister.
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In a few hours, this month's pink ticket competition will end. I ask sisters to give more support and cast your precious vote for "Jinling Chun".
Thanks.
※(To be continued)