Zhou Shaojin and others couldn't help but look surprised.
Qin Ziping could not hide his joy, and said in a loud voice with a beaming face: "Madam, Fourth Master, great joy, great joy! The First Master has been promoted to Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace!"
"Really!" Even though Mrs. Guo had been through so much, she was still shocked when she heard the news. She couldn't help but repeatedly asked, "Is it true? Who told you that?"
Qin Ziping raised the letter in his hand and said, "Madam, it was sent from Jinling. Everyone in Jinling knows that the ancestor of the second branch has already opened a temple to worship the ancestors!"
Madam Guo sneered and said, "He is good at acting. My son is still with me in Hangzhou Prefecture. Why should he take the lead?"
Qin Ziping didn't dare to say anything after this.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Why are you getting mad at him? To outsiders, we are a family. My eldest brother is now a prime minister, so it is only natural for him to lead the family to worship the ancestors. No matter what, it is our eldest branch that is taking the lead, so no matter how many small moves he makes, it will be useless. His second branch will have a hard time in the future!"
Only then did Mrs. Guo's expression lighten up.
Cheng Chi glanced at Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin was surprised and happy.
With Cheng Jing entering the cabinet ahead of schedule, the fate of the Cheng family has changed a little, right
Next, she only needs to gain Uncle Chi's trust, or let her talk to Cheng Jing or pass her words to Cheng Jing, then the Cheng family can avoid the fate of being confiscated and exterminated, and she can save the fourth branch from the dire straits, and her rebirth will not be in vain!
Zhou Shaojin clasped his hands together and chanted "Amitabha" towards the west.
Cheng Chi raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.
It can be seen that the little girl is also very happy with this result.
This little girl made a great contribution to my elder brother's successful entry into the cabinet this time.
Although they were worried that Shen Minzhi would speak for Huang Li, the Yuan family and the Cheng family had always stood together, and this opportunity was too rare. Moreover, Cheng Jing's entry into the cabinet would only benefit Yuan Weichang, and they thought that even if the Yuan family did not help the Cheng family, they would remain silent at this critical moment. Unexpectedly, Yuan Weichang was determined to repay Shen Minzhi's favor and would rather let Huang Li take the position.
I just don't know where she heard the news from
If it was Zhou Zhen, the eldest branch of the family would have to repay the favor. If it was someone else... let the little maid repay the favor!
Because she suddenly received such good news, Mrs. Guo was very happy and all the servants around her were rewarded, including Mrs. Wang, who was rewarded with two gold ingots for promotion.
Mrs. Wang was very happy and said to Zhou Shaojin, "I want to keep these two gold ingots. When my grandson passes away, I will put them in the examination basket for good luck."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and took out the two gold ingots he got from Madam Guo, saying, "If you like them, just consider it as a gift from me to your grandson."
Mrs. Wang was overjoyed and thanked him again and again. She took the opportunity to ask Zhou Shaojin something: "… Second cousin's family is also an official, right? Otherwise, how could she be so impressive?"
Maybe because he has lived in the Cheng family for a long time, Zhou Shaojin has never felt that there is anything special about his family.
Chun Wan, who came in with tea and snacks, said proudly: "Of course. Our master is a Jinshi from the two imperial examinations, and a prefect of the fourth rank. I heard from Lao An that our master will go to Beijing to serve as an official sooner or later. Have you heard of the Liao family in Zhenjiang? Our eldest brother-in-law is the eldest grandson of the Liao family in Zhenjiang. They are also an official family with a long history of poetry and literature..."
Zhou Shaojin didn't like Chunwan talking about family matters with someone he didn't know well, so he smiled and called out "Chunwan" and said, "You're the only one who talks too much! Hurry up and bring the tea over. We've been talking for a long time and we're thirsty!"
Chunwan smiled awkwardly and hurriedly served tea to the two of them.
Zhou Shaojin asked Mrs. Wang why she came.
Mrs. Wang just saw Zhou Shaojin and wanted to come over to recognize his face. What was the matter? But when Zhou Shaojin asked, she couldn't answer directly. She thought about it again and again, and then smiled and said, "Does the second cousin have to go back to Jinling City in a few days? Our chief shopkeeper even went to Tianmu Mountain and bought a pot of black chrysanthemum for the second cousin, one large first-grade pot, and one six-cornered red pot. Although they are not as good as the Eighteen Scholars, they are also very rare. However, these pots of flowers have been kept in the greenhouse by Master Miao Wu. The chief shopkeeper was afraid that they would not be able to grow well if they were moved here suddenly, so he specially asked Master Miao Wu to move them out of the greenhouse and prepare to send them back when the flowers and plants are stronger... I don't know if it will be in time?"
Da Yipin is a type of orchid, ranking first among the eight famous orchids; while Liujiao Dahong is a type of camellia, also a rare treasure.
Zhou Shaojin was secretly surprised at the skill of this shopkeeper. However, she also planted flowers when she was in Daxing's farm. Although these pots of flowers were precious, she had seen them before. The first-class orchids were famous ones that people who loved orchids would try to grow. If she started to grow flowers again, she might be able to grow them.
"It's hard to change the date now that it's set." Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "I'd like to ask you to thank the shopkeeper on my behalf. When you have the chance to come to Hangzhou again, please ask him to help me find some nice flowers and plants."
Mrs. Wang just said this.
Since they have already obtained the flower, they just need to present it. As for whether the flower is dead or alive, their intention has already been expressed and it has nothing to do with them.
Mrs. Wang smiled and told Zhou Shaojin about what she had seen and heard in the past few days.
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In the inner room of Mrs. Guo, Cheng Chi was whispering to his mother: "… No matter what the Yuan family thinks, the disappointment of the eldest brother is imaginable. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Back then, Cheng Xu had always suppressed the eldest brother, and the eldest brother had to join forces with the Yuan family when he was desperate. But the poor family has its advantages. At least the population is simple, and it is easy to change its course when something goes wrong; the big family also has its troubles. When making decisions, people with some reputation have to stand up and say a few words. By the time the matter has come to a conclusion, the opportunity is gone. I think the eldest brother should take this opportunity to distance himself from the Yuan family and talk to Song Jingran.
"If we want to arrange a marriage, I think the daughter of the Song family is better than that of the Min family. Song Jingran only has this one daughter, but the Min family is using Jiashan's future as a bargaining chip. It's too snobbish. Even if they are willing to help Jiashan in her career in the future, I'm afraid the price will be very high."
"You and I are thinking the same thing." Old Madam Guo said solemnly, "But you know your sister-in-law. She always thinks that the children of the Min family are very smart. The girls of the Min family are famous for being able to read and write like boys. Your sister-in-law thinks that if she can marry a girl from the Min family, at least she can guarantee that Jiashan's child will not be stupid. After all, I am a grandmother, so it is not easy for me to make this decision for Jiashan without the couple's permission."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Then just don't worry about them. Anyway, at my eldest brother's age, if he doesn't have a son, he can still count on his grandson."
"Nonsense." Old Madam Guo smiled and said, "Your eldest brother is not young anymore, but Jiashan and Rang'er are both troublesome. I think our eldest branch is now prosperous, but the good fortune of the next few generations has been used up."
Cheng Chi didn't respond.
His mother hoped that he could get married soon so that she could have a grandson. If that didn't work out, she would settle for the next best thing, which was that he could take Cheng Rang with him to teach him his lessons so that the eldest son's family would have another seed of learning.
He said, "Who knows what will happen in the future! What if the two ancestors of the second branch planned everything? It's because they have few descendants that they can only watch their descendants decline. Mother, you should worry less in the future! It's a pity that father passed away early, otherwise you could have a husband who is a minister and a son who is a minister!"
Mrs. Guo knew what her son was worried about, so she didn't want to force him, and she didn't want to ruin the happy atmosphere between mother and son these days. She simply followed her son's words and changed the subject, saying, "Do you want to go to the capital? Your eldest brother just became an official in the Ministry of Rites, and I'm afraid he will need money a lot..."
Cheng Chi interrupted his mother and said with a smile: "It's just that we are short of money! As long as the money arrives, it won't matter whether I go or not!"
"You kid!" Madam Guo couldn't stand Cheng Chi's careless tone and asked, "Don't you want to go see your elder brother?"
"I don't want to." Cheng Chi said very neatly, "If I were my eldest brother, I would join forces with Song Jingran. But I know that my eldest brother will definitely flirt with the Yuan family for the sake of my eldest sister-in-law. I feel annoyed when I see it, so I might as well not watch it."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Guo sighed deeply.
Cheng Chi stood up and said, "You should rest early too! We still have to go watch the tide tomorrow!"
"You should go to bed early too." The conflict between the eldest son and the youngest son always bothered Mrs. Guo. She said listlessly, "It's always a good thing that your eldest brother can enter the cabinet. At least it will be more convenient for you to do business."
"That's true." Cheng Chi comforted his mother casually and left the main room.
The lights were still on in the west wing.
Cheng Chi asked Lang Yue: "Has Miss Second Cousin not gone to bed yet?"
Lang Yue smiled and said, "Mrs. Wang has been talking in the second cousin's room and just left."
Cheng Chi thought for a moment and said, "Go and tell Mrs. Shang to see if the second cousin has gone to bed. If she hasn't, I have a few words for her."
Langyue ran to find Mrs. Shang.
Zhou Shaojin had just washed up, and Chunwan and Bitao were twisting her hair with a towel. When she heard that Cheng Chi wanted to see her, she quickly tied her hair into a bun and left the room.
Cheng Chi was standing next to the willow tree in the courtyard corridor.
Seeing that Zhou Shaojin's hair was still wet, he said, "It's cold at night, why did you run out without wringing your hair dry?"
Zhou Shaojin couldn't say that he didn't dare to make him wait, so he could only smile angrily.
Cheng Chi looked around and said, "Then let's go to your room and talk!"
Zhou Shaojin knew that Cheng Chi was afraid that she would catch a cold if she was blown by the wind with wet hair. Thinking that her room was clean and tidy and there was nothing inappropriate, she smiled and agreed, and went to her room with Cheng Chi.
After the Spring Festival Gala, he had tea and tiptoed away, standing guard at the door with Langyue.
The room was quiet and only Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi were left.
Cheng Chi then said, "If the person who gave you the news has any request, you must remember to tell me. No matter what, it is our eldest house that will benefit. Don't be silly and think that this is just a small matter and ask your father for help, making things difficult for him!"
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Today's update, sisters.
The scheduled update for tomorrow will still be around 5pm.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)