Zhou Shaojin poked his head in front of the cabin door where Cheng Chi lived.
Cheng Chizheng and Mr. Song were talking excitedly: "It is impossible for the court to spend so much money to use water wheels to irrigate farmland to reduce flooding. In my opinion, rebuilding the river bank is the feasible solution..."
Zhou Shaojin secretly stuck out his tongue in his heart and was about to shrink his head when Cheng Chi suddenly looked over and asked, "What do you want?"
He seemed to be still immersed in the discussion he had just had with Mr. Song. His eyes were deep, his expression was stern, and he looked extremely serious.
Is this how Uncle Chi usually acts when he talks about serious matters
Zhou Shaojin thought to himself and smiled, "The kitchen has made some new snacks. I was just about to ask if you would like some?"
She actually made the desserts herself.
"We don't want to eat snacks." Cheng Chi said solemnly, "Mr. Song and I have something to do, you can keep them for yourselves!"
The implication was that she should not disturb them.
Mr. Song nodded when he heard this, as if asking her to leave quickly.
It seems that this road is not feasible!
Zhou Shaojin coughed lightly and stepped back.
The next day, Cheng Chi was still talking to Mr. Song with the door closed.
Zhou Shaojin asked them if they wanted tea.
Before Cheng Chi could even open his mouth to speak, Mr. Song pointed to the teacup in front of him and said, "This Longjing tea is good. I know it's from before the Qingming Festival the moment I drink it. No need to change it. I'll just drink this."
Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to retreat again.
On the third day, Cheng Chi and Mr. Song took an abacus and calculated something in the house.
Zhou Shaojin took advantage of their free time to go in and ask them: "… The boatmen caught some fresh small fish and shrimps, and they are going to coat them with flour and fry them for the Spring Festival Gala. Would you like to bring a plate in for you two?"
"No need." Cheng Chi stared at the manuscript in front of him and said to Mr. Song, "I calculated it to be 49. What is your calculation? I always feel that there is something wrong with this number. It doesn't make sense that the water level would decrease after the river surface was dredged."
Mr. Song didn't even look at Zhou Shaojin and said, "I also think there's something wrong with this number. How about we calculate it again?"
Cheng Chi picked up the abacus and shook it up and down, and the beads fell neatly into their proper places.
He ordered Qingfeng: "Go and get us some more paper."
Qingfeng ran to the small room next door, brought out a piece of paper, and started cutting it into one-foot square pieces.
Zhou Shaojin sighed and had to retreat.
Chun Wan, who was waiting outside, came over and asked nervously, "What did the fourth master say?"
"Nothing was said." Zhou Shaojin said sadly, "Uncle Chi is very busy and has no time to talk to us."
"What should we do then?" Chun Wan frowned, "How about you just go and say 'I'm sorry' to the Fourth Master?"
"That's going to take a chance!" Zhou Shaojin said helplessly, "Uncle Chi is starting to calculate the water flow again."
The Spring Festival Gala is quite speechless.
The Fourth Master could be said to be heartless when it came to calculating these numbers - last time, Biyu made a small piece of clothing for the Fourth Master on the orders of Old Madam Guo and called the Fourth Master to try it on. Madam Lu went there five or six times, but not only did she not invite the Fourth Master to go to Old Madam Guo's room to try on the clothes, but she was kicked out by the Fourth Master instead.
Zhou Shaojin said, "Go see if there are any fresh fruits in the kitchen. I'll try to cut a fruit plate and send it in tomorrow. If Uncle Chi still ignores me, I can't do anything about it."
Chunwan nodded and went to the kitchen.
After a cup of tea, she came to Zhou Shaojin and replied, "She said she would go ashore to buy some pears after the boat stops tonight."
"Then let's stew pear and lily soup." Zhou Shaojin murmured, and the next day he made it in the kitchen and brought it over personally.
Cheng Chi was frowning and walking back and forth in the room.
It can be seen that the arithmetic is not going well.
Zhou Shaojin felt that he came in at a wrong time.
Sure enough, before she could say anything, Cheng Chi pointed to the coffee table next to him and said, "What are you carrying? Put it there first!" Then, without asking her any more questions, he walked straight to the table and continued calculating.
Old Mr. Song leaned back on the armchair beside him with a tired look on his face and closed his eyes to rest.
Zhou Shaojin placed the pear and lily soup on the coffee table and tiptoed back.
I was happy watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Zhou Shaojin shook his head at her bitterly.
Chunwan's expression darkened.
Zhou Shaojin felt a little uncomfortable watching this.
She took a deep breath and said to Chun Wan in an encouraging tone: "Forget it. Uncle Chi has always been broad-minded. He will definitely not bother me about these things. Let's not worry too much. Let's just do what we have to do tomorrow!"
That's all we can do.
Chunwan comforted herself and returned to the cabin with Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin no longer went to look for Cheng Chi. She stayed with Old Madam Guo as before. When Old Madam Guo and Madam Song were talking about old times, she was quietly doing needlework beside them.
Gradually, she began to understand something.
Especially the anecdotes of the famous families in Jiangnan. For example, how did the Gu family of Haining start, from which generation did the Liao family of Zhenjiang start to prosper, which families of the previous dynasty that passed down poetry, books and etiquette have now declined, what are the reasons for decline, which families are more prosperous, and who brought prosperity... Listening to Mrs. Guo's talk, a picture of the marriage relationship between the major families in Jiangnan slowly emerged in Zhou Shaojin's mind.
She found that the world was so small that she seemed to meet acquaintances around every corner. Even though she didn't know these people, she knew what relationship they had with her.
It's a wonderful feeling.
Zhou Shaojin listened more carefully.
When Mrs. Guo told Mrs. Song about this, she was still reserved. When Mrs. Song left and Zhou Shaojin was the only one left, Mrs. Guo would usually add two sentences. These two sentences always shocked Zhou Shaojin. Like last night, Mrs. Guo left her a message and quietly told her that Gao Yao's father-in-law, the Minister of Works and Grand Secretary of Jinshen Palace, Qu Yuan, was a concubine's son. His biological mother was very favored. When he was ten years old, his stepmother took advantage of Qu's father's absence to poison his biological mother and sold her to a private nest. Later, he escaped and met the head of the Shen family. He was raised outside by the head of the Shen family and gave birth to a son. This son was taken back to the Shen family by the head of the Shen family as an adopted son through the charity hall. Later, Qu Yuan came to power and found a way to find his biological mother. Although the mother and son did not recognize each other, Qu Yuan took good care of his half-brother. Qu Yuan's half-brother was Shen Qingyun, the co-governor of Jinling... Therefore, all the prefects of Jinling could not touch Shen Qingyun...
Zhou Shaojin remembered that his mouth was so wide open that he could swallow an egg.
Mrs. Guo smiled as if nothing had happened.
Zhou Shaojin didn't sleep for half the night.
Did Mrs. Guo say these words to Yuan
If Yuan knew the secrets that Old Lady Guo knew, the Cheng family would still be doomed to be executed, then...
Zhou Shaojin could almost say with certainty that the Cheng family must have been involved in the affairs of the royal family, and that they were involved in something very disgraceful, which was why the Cheng family was destroyed so quickly. Otherwise, with the Cheng family's connections and background, they would never have fallen so quickly.
In fact, for the Cheng family clan far away in Jinling City, even if the Cheng family members in the capital committed a serious mistake, they would not let go of even the members of their own family. Moreover, it did not matter which branch or house, as long as they lived in Jiuru Lane, they would all be destroyed.
What scandals happened in the royal family back then
The crown prince died of illness, and the crown prince's grandson was named the heir apparent. However, like his father, the crown prince died before the emperor. The emperor was so sad that he soon passed away. The fourth prince then inherited the throne.
Zhou Shaojin tried hard to recall things from his past life.
The Fourth Prince is the beneficiary, so let's start with him.
When the crown prince was in power, the fourth prince's biological mother was not the queen, and he himself was not the eldest son. He gave people an impression of being honest and dutiful, and had no special talents. He was neither the legitimate son nor the eldest, let alone a virtuous person.
Later, the crown prince died. The second, third, fifth and seventh princes all opposed the crown prince being made the heir apparent, but the emperor insisted on making the crown prince the heir apparent. The court argued over this for almost a year, which was known as the "Rites Dispute". It ended with the exile of the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. The second prince, who was the most determined in opposing the decision, was demoted to a commoner, and the third prince was demoted to a prince. Therefore, after the crown prince died, the fourth prince won the dispute with the third prince and finally inherited the throne.
How can I tamper with it
The emperor was a very strong man. Not only did he live a long life, but during his reign he could kill or exile the eunuchs of the twenty-four yamen of the inner palace at will, and no one dared to say a word in front of the emperor. Several prime ministers of the cabinet were defeated when they disagreed with the emperor. Later, some people jokingly called Yuan Weichang, who served as prime minister the longest during the emperor's reign, "Prime Minister Turtle and Crane", meaning that he was as tolerant as a turtle. Yuan Weichang's brother-in-law even laughed at him for this... So the affairs of the second and third princes could not have been done by someone else.
That’s the Crown Prince.
When the Crown Prince was ill, the Emperor went to Mount Tai in person to offer sacrifices for him. He cleaned the streets when he left and entered the capital, and Lin Shisheng even sent someone to tell her not to go out.
The emperor died half a year after the Crown Prince died.
Zhou Shaojin held his chin, unable to think of what was going on in the royal family.
Or is it because I was too far away from these things in the past
If she hadn't been reborn, how would she know so much about the Cheng family
If she didn't know about the Cheng family, how could she want to get close to Uncle Chi.
If she hadn't gotten close to Uncle Chi, how would she have known that there was such a powerful person in the Cheng family!
She should find a way to get Uncle Chi to give Cheng Jing a message as soon as possible.
Cheng Jing is now a cabinet minister and should have more power than before.
Unfortunately, the trick of pretending to be a Taoist priest has already been used!
But even if she had never used it, wanting to deceive Uncle Chi and Madam Guo... Zhou Shaojin felt that with her ability, it was simply impossible.
I have to find a chance to tell Uncle Chi!
But when can I find this opportunity
Zhou Shaojin was extremely distressed and decided to seize this opportunity to listen to Old Madam Guo talk more about old times. She had a vague feeling that Old Madam Guo was telling her these things on purpose.
But she has no intention of becoming a clan wife, so knowing this shouldn't be of much use, right
※
Sisters, today's update!
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: The additional update for Zhimeng will be around 5 pm tomorrow.
※(To be continued)