Mrs. Song knew that the old lady in front of her was the mother of Cheng Jing, the newly promoted Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace. Naturally, she was in high spirits. Not only was she smiling, but her words and actions were also full of intimacy: "I am thick-skinned, so I won't be polite to the old lady. One day when the old lady is free, she must come to Beijing to take a look, so that I can show my hospitality." Then she took off a pair of red gold twisted bracelets on her hands and gave them to Zhou Shaojin: "I didn't know I would meet my second cousin here. This is a little gift from me. Please don't despise it, second cousin."
This is a social event between two families, so Zhou Shaojin naturally would not refuse, which would make people feel that the Cheng family is short-sighted.
She walked up to him with a smile and thanked him, then took the bracelet and handed it to Chunwan who was standing beside her.
Mrs. Song was also a daughter of a scholarly family, but her generation was not as good as before. Although she later married Song Jingran and went to the capital, she was still doing housework in the inner house most of the time and had limited experience. Zhou Shaojin was very outstanding in appearance, and she had lost her petty airs. In Mrs. Song's opinion, this was the appearance of a real lady from a noble family, and she couldn't help but like him very much. After lunch, when everyone moved to the banquet room to drink tea, she pulled Zhou Shaojin aside and asked him questions non-stop.
Mrs. Guo was a very smart person. Judging from the tone of her youngest son, Yuan Weichang and Song Jingran were not very close. The eldest son Cheng Jing had just entered the cabinet and was ranked last. It was too early to say whether he would continue to be close to Yuan or play both sides. It was not a good thing to be too close to Mrs. Song, who was obviously confused, at least not now. So she was reserved about Mrs. Song's questions.
Mrs. Song heard that the Zhou and Cheng families were in-laws, and Mrs. Yuan saw that Zhou Shaojin had good handwriting, so she asked Zhou Shaojin to help copy a copy of the "Lingyan Sutra" to be enshrined in Mount Putuo. Mrs. Song could not help but marvel at it - Mrs. Song only recognized her own name, so she could not help but tentatively ask about Zhou Shaojin's marriage.
Although Mrs. Guo was also surprised, she also felt that this was reasonable. However, she was not interested in the old friends that Mrs. Song mentioned.
If Mrs. Song is like this, it seems obvious that her old friend is not much better!
So after drinking tea, Old Lady Guo sent Zhou Shaojin back to his room to copy scriptures: "We will stay in Suzhou in a few days. There are many famous temples in Suzhou. We will have to pay a visit there when the time comes."
Zhou Shaojin just didn't think much, she wasn't stupid. As soon as Mrs. Guo said that, she understood what Mrs. Guo meant. Besides, she didn't like blind marriages like Mrs. Song said. She always felt that if she wanted to get married in this life, her father and sister must agree.
In her previous life, every Chinese New Year, she envied the couples who would go back to their parents’ home with their husbands, and then sit together with their brothers from their parents’ home to eat and drink.
She smiled and said "yes", then returned to the east wing with the maids and servants who served her.
Chunwan helped Zhou Shaojin grind the ink in frustration.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "You can go down and have a rest! The old lady was just entertaining Madam Song, how could you take it so seriously!"
"Ah!" Chun Wan opened his eyes wide and said, "Is it true? But I don't think the old lady is joking..."
"If you can see that the old lady is making excuses, then how can she hide it from Madam Song?" Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "You are right if you listen to me. Go and have a rest!"
"How strange!" Chun Wan muttered and retreated, "When did the second young lady even understand the old lady's thoughts..."
Zhou Shaojin was stunned when he heard this.
yes!
When did she even know the hidden meaning behind the old lady's words... Zhou Shaojin, who was shivering and hiding under the quilt and throwing all the difficulties to his sister, suddenly became very strange when she thought about it now...
Zhou Shaojin smiled and picked up a book from the cabinet of Duobao Pavilion and started reading it.
It was an old book praising the late emperor. She flipped through it but couldn't finish reading it.
Mrs. Fan Liu walked in with a smile and said, "Second Miss, Miss Jiying is here!"
Zhou Shaojin was bored, so he hurried out to greet him.
Ji Ying put on a man's short brown and took her to the beach by the Qiantang River to play: "… This place that Fourth Master found is really good. When I go to Suzhou, it won't be so convenient. Didn't you say you wanted to take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the beach? While the old lady has guests and Fourth Master is resting, let's go play for a while and come back."
Zhou Shaojin was used to following the rules. Although he was more relaxed recently than when he was in Jiuru Lane, some things were engraved in his bones. Hearing this, he was moved, but still hesitated, "This is not good! Why don't we tell Uncle Chi."
In her intuition, Cheng Chi was easier to talk to than Mrs. Guo.
Ji Ying, on the contrary, said, "It's better to tell the old lady than the fourth master! I think the old lady is very kind and amiable. How come the fourth master is not like her at all!"
Normally, they should tell the old lady when they go out.
Zhou Shaojin said: "How about you go and tell the old lady?"
No matter how tolerant Madam Guo is, they can't push their luck further!
Ji Ying pushed Zhou Shaojin and said, "If you can convince the Fourth Master, why would you want me to embarrass myself in front of the old lady?"
Zhou Shaojin raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, then went to Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi was reading a chess manual by himself. When he knew her purpose, he not only agreed to let her and Ji Ying go to the beach of Qiantang River to play for a while, but also told Qin Ziping to follow and said, "If the old lady asks, just say I asked you to go."
Zhou Shaojin was so happy that he almost jumped up and thanked Cheng Chi repeatedly. On the way to the beach, he asked Jiying: "Uncle Chi, do you have anyone important to curry favor with? When I go back, I will embroider a picture of Guanyin for him. He can use it when he celebrates someone else's birthday or gets married."
Chun Wan agreed very much and said hurriedly: "Second Miss, I will help you divide the lines!"
Ji Ying was so disappointed that he said with disdain, "Didn't the Fourth Master just agree to let you go out and play for a while? Do you really need to be so grateful to him like your parents? Why do you even embroider a Guanyin statue for him? I think you can just buy him a box of snacks on the street. There's no need to be so flattering, right?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded seriously and said, "I think we should buy two boxes of snacks and embroider a Guanyin statue." After she finished speaking, she turned around and asked Qin Ziping who was following them from a distance, "Do you know what snacks the Fourth Master likes to eat? We can learn to make some!"
Ji Ying grabbed Zhou Shaojin indignantly and said, "Can you be more promising?"
"Is there any conflict between being successful and making snacks for Uncle Chi?" Zhou Shaojin asked puzzledly.
Jiying was speechless.
Qin Ziping tried hard not to burst out laughing.
Ji Ying has always been a little gloomy, but since she met Zhou Shaojin, she has become more and more cheerful, lively, and active, and has gradually become somewhat similar to the "eldest lady of the Ji family" rumored in the martial arts world.
He said gently, "The Fourth Master will eat anything, as long as it's cooked well."
Zhou Shaojin frowned and said, "This is the most difficult one! Everyone has their own preferences for what is delicious. Can't you give an example? For example, you like to eat puff pastry, and you like to smell the fragrance of osmanthus..."
Qin Ziping smiled and said, "I really didn't know what you are talking about. I will pay attention to it in the future."
Zhou Shaojin suddenly felt that there was a reason why Qin Ziping could be a manager at such a young age.
She thanked Qin Ziping with a smile, and went to the beach with Jiying and others.
The river, which was turbulent in the morning, now gently laps against the river bank.
Zhou Shaojin looked around and saw Qin Ziping and a few servants guarding the pond embankment. There was no one else there except them, so she felt relieved, took off her shoes and stepped on the sand.
The river waves surged over, and Zhou Shaojin ran towards the shore but was unable to avoid them, and her skirt was wet.
The cold river water soaked through her socks.
She turned around with a smile and saw Chunwan and her group walking hand in hand on the beach.
Jiying laughed and said, "Aren't you going to take off your socks?"
"Wait a moment." Perhaps because there were no elders present, Zhou Shaojin was a little less anxious and smiled, "It won't be too late for me to walk on the beach for a while before taking off my socks."
Jiying nodded and started taking off his socks.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly said, "Can't you find a secluded place to take off your clothes? Manager Qin is watching on the shore!"
"What can he see from such a distance?" Ji Ying didn't take it seriously. She took off her other sock, stepped into the river, and shouted, "It feels so good! You should take off your shoes and get in the water too!"
Zhou Shaojin looked towards the pond embankment.
Qin Ziping sat leisurely by the pond bank, chatting with the servant who accompanied him.
During the Spring Festival Gala, a few of them were playfully building a city wall with sand.
Zhou Shaojin covered her eyes with the hem of her skirt and quietly took off her socks.
Walking barefoot on the sand feels itchy and unfamiliar, but also very interesting.
Zhou Shaojin dug into the sand with his toes, and a small hole appeared on the sand. Water seeped in, like a small hole made by raindrops.
She was very interested and continued in another place.
A wave came over and she couldn't avoid it. Her skirt was all wet and she looked very embarrassed.
Zhou Shaojin laughed and started to twist her skirt.
The knee-length pants were tightly attached to her legs, which were long and slender, and her feet stepping on the beach looked like they were carved from mutton-fat jade, with graceful lines. When put together with the slightly coarse sand, one could not help but feel pity for her.
Qin Ziping lowered his eyelids and said to Cheng Chi: "Should we go call the second cousin and Jiying..."
"No need!" Cheng Chi looked at Zhou Shaojin's face, which was smiling as brightly as the sun, and said lightly, "It's rare for them to come out, so let them have a good time. Send someone to tell mother that I took my second cousin to the farm next door to ask about the crops."
When Mrs. Song heard that the hem of my mother's skirt was elegant, dignified and bright, she knew it was embroidered by this girl and insisted that she help draw a pattern for it. That's when my mother sent someone to look for her... However, given my mother's personality of not wanting others to tell the people around her what to do, she just looked for her. She might be happier if she couldn't find her.
Qin Ziping sent someone to reply.
Zhou Shaojin, who was originally chasing Langtao and seemed very stupid to Cheng Chi, accidentally turned his head and saw Cheng Chi.
※
Sisters, today's extra update.
The evening update is still around 11 o'clock.
※(To be continued)