The Liao family of Zhenjiang was a well-known and prestigious family not only in Zhenjiang but also in Jiangnan. However, with the change of dynasties, the Liao family was inferior to the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane, Jinling City, and the Gu family in Haining County, Hangzhou Prefecture. However, when Mrs. Guo received the invitation from the Liao family, she still met with Mrs. Fang, the eldest wife of the Liao family, very solemnly.
Fang was a girl from the Fang family in Shucheng. She and Yuan were cousins. When they were girls, they had only heard of each other. After they got married, one was in Zhenjiang and the other in Jinling. The husband of one only managed to become a juren, while the husband of the other had a successful career in officialdom. Naturally, the relationship between the two became closer. Fang even asked Cheng Jing to act as a matchmaker for her eldest son Liao Shaotang, which led to the marriage between the Zhou and Liao families.
Accompanying Fang was Nanny Zhong.
She followed Fang respectfully, and when she caught a glimpse of Zhou Shaojin out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't hide her surprise.
Ms. Fang should be around 40 years old this year. She has a slim figure, fair skin, beautiful features, and an elegant demeanor. She looks no more than 30 years old and is well maintained.
Seeing Nanny Zhong's strange expression, she looked at her coldly, glanced at Zhou Shaojin quickly, and walked forward with a smile to salute Old Madam Guo.
Madam Guo asked Nanny Lu to help her up, and then ordered Biyu to bring a seat. After Fang thanked her and sat down, the maids brought tea and snacks. Then she pointed at Zhou Shaojin and said, "This is our second cousin. She is actually a relative of yours - she is the younger sister of your eldest daughter-in-law."
Fang was very surprised. Only then did she understand why the shrewd and capable Nanny Zhong would be so emotional.
She was not satisfied with the marriage that Cheng Jing had arranged for her eldest son.
She originally wanted to marry her eldest son to Cheng Sheng, the daughter of the second master of the eldest house.
Who knew that Cheng Jing didn't even think about it and directly pushed the eldest daughter of the Zhou family in front of her.
She wanted to refuse at that time, but her brother-in-law was promoted to the Left Secretary of the Ministry of Rites at that time, and her husband bought a fake painting at a high price because he trusted his friend. If she hadn't found a way to conceal it in time, her husband would have become a laughing stock of the Liao family and Zhenjiang - a child of a scholarly family who could not read gold and stone and was deceived by others, what kind of child of a scholarly family was he? What kind of scholar was he
She urgently needed something to shock the people of the Liao family.
Cheng Jing's matchmaking for her eldest son became the last straw she could grasp at that time. Although she was very hesitant, her husband agreed readily. She really had no choice but to ask a matchmaker to come to her house to propose marriage.
But as her eldest son performed better and better, her dissatisfaction with her daughter-in-law became stronger and stronger. She even felt relieved when her eldest son's marriage was postponed after her mother-in-law passed away.
This is why she pays special attention to Zhou Chujin.
She needed a reason to convince herself that her choice at that time was not wrong.
When she saw Zhou Shaojin standing next to Mrs. Guo, her heart suddenly calmed down.
I heard that the eldest daughter of the Zhou family is more favored by the Cheng family than the second daughter of the Zhou family. When Mrs. Guo went to Putuo Mountain to burn incense, she actually brought the second daughter of the Zhou family with her. This shows the status of the eldest daughter of the Zhou family in the Cheng family.
When Zhou Shaojin came forward to pay her respects, Fang's smile became genuine, and she took off the golden hairpin from her bun and gave it to Zhou Shaojin as a gift: "I don't know if it's my fault that my second cousin is accompanying the old lady. You can take this first. It's just that my aunt came in a hurry, so it's a little shabby. When you go to my house as a guest, I will give you another gift."
"You are too polite, madam." Zhou Shaojin said gently, "I should have come to pay my respects, but I am still being served by elders and cannot move around freely. I wanted to wait a few days until the old lady is free to visit you, but I didn't expect you to come first. I am really ashamed, how can I dare to accept the gift from madam? I'd better wait until I pay a formal visit to madam and she will give me a reward."
For her sister's sake, she tried her best to be respectful.
Seeing that she behaved generously and docilely, Fang was very satisfied and had higher expectations for Zhou Chujin. She smiled and said, "You cannot refuse a gift from an elder. Just take it. When you have a formal audience, there will naturally be a formal gift."
Zhou Shaojin thanked her with a smile and accepted Fang's gift.
In fact, both of them knew in their hearts that Zhou Shaojin's so-called visit to Fang was just a polite remark. It was unreasonable for a sister who had not yet married into the family to visit her sister and mother-in-law. And the so-called formal visit referred to the time when Zhou Shaojin visited her sister after she married into the Liao family.
After they exchanged a few pleasantries, Fang started chatting with Old Madam Guo.
She was talking about some old stories, just like the wife of Chen Shuming, the magistrate of Zhenjiang, who came to visit them. She probably had something to ask for.
Zhou Shaojin made an excuse to leave the cabin.
But she was also very concerned about the Liao family.
After all, the Liao family is her sister's husband's family. If something happens to the Liao family, her sister will suffer as well.
In her previous life, she didn’t know whether anything had happened in the Liao family. She only knew that her sister had married into the Liao family smoothly, dispelling the rumors that her sister’s marriage to the Liao family would have some twists and turns.
She begged Biyu: "Please keep an eye out for me, don't let it be bad news."
Biyu understood Zhou Shaojin's feelings very well. She blinked at Zhou Shaojin and said, "Don't worry, Zhenzhu and I will be on duty today. We will both pay attention."
After using the prescription taught by Cheng Chi, Zhenzhu not only recovered, but also stopped seasickness. Zhou Shaojin also learned the method from Biyu.
Zhou Shaojin thanked her with a smile.
Nanny Zhong, who was beside Fang, walked out of the cabin with a smile.
Although she was a little surprised to see Zhou Shaojin, she still greeted her warmly: "Second cousin, why are you standing here? The wind on the lake is much colder than the wind in the city. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Zhou Shaojin felt very emotional.
In her previous life, both Mrs. Fang and Nanny Zhong were lukewarm towards her. How could they have been so enthusiastic towards her
She smiled and said, "It's okay, I just have a few words to say to Biyu."
Biyu nodded slightly and said politely to Madam Zhong, "There is hot tea in the tea room next door. Madam, would you like to stop by and have a cup of tea?"
"Thank you Miss Biyu." Nanny Zhong smiled and said, "We only got the news yesterday, and we were afraid that the old lady would leave for Jinling City in the next two days. Our eldest wife put aside all the things at hand and wanted to come to pay her respects to the old lady. She hasn't arranged anything at home yet, so she probably can't stay long. If the old lady agrees to visit our house tomorrow, our eldest wife will have to go back to arrange a banquet, so she will definitely not stay here. I'd better wait here."
Biyu did not force her. She asked a maid to serve her and she took the kettle to the inner room to refill the tea for Madam Guo and Fang.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said a few words to Nanny Zhong, then stood up and prepared to go back to the house.
Langyue ran over holding a small bowl.
"Second cousin, second cousin." He held up the small bowl in his hand and showed it to Zhou Shaojin like he was presenting a treasure, saying, "This is the water from Zhongling Spring. The fourth master and Lord Shen and others just drew it from the river. This is for you."
Zhou Shaojin was overjoyed.
Zhongling Spring is also called Nanling Spring because the spring water is in the rolling river outside Jinshan Temple. The river water is blocked by Shipai Mountain and Gu Mountain, and the water flows in a winding way, which is divided into three parts: South, Middle and North. This spring water is under one of the winding waters, so it is named "Zhongling Spring". Because Zhongling Spring is in the southwest of Jinshan, it is also called "Nanling Spring". It is said that the river water is deep and fast, and it is not easy to draw. If you want to draw spring water, you need to put a copper bottle with a lid into the spring with a rope at noon, and then quickly pull open the lid to draw real spring water.
Zhou Shaojin had read in a book that when Mrs. Gao accompanied them to visit Jinshan Temple, she also made special observations of the river water beside the temple. But how could she say anything unless Mrs. Guo and others suggested fetching spring water from the river
But what she didn't expect was that Cheng Chi actually fetched water from Zhongling Spring.
How precious this water is!
Zhou Shaojin asked Lang Yue in disbelief: "Is this for me?"
Lang Yue nodded repeatedly, with a smug look on his face, and said proudly: "How can such a thing be difficult for our Fourth Master! Fourth Master and Mr. Song sucked a large bucket back, you take this, I still need to help Qingfeng carry water!"
No matter who meant it, Zhou Shaojin was very grateful.
She hurriedly took the small bowl.
Langyue ran away in a flash.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but smile and shake her head as she looked at his back, so she didn't see that Nanny Zhong's eyes flickered slightly and she smiled and said, "Is this... the little boy beside the Fourth Master?"
"Yes!" Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "The fourth master believes in Taoism, so the two little boys around him are wearing Taoist robes."
She defended Cheng Chi.
Since the Liao family intended to marry into the Cheng family, they naturally knew something about the Cheng family's situation. Nanny Zhong had long heard that the fourth master of the Cheng family's eldest branch had a strange temper but was a god of wealth. Not to mention outsiders, even people from the Cheng family could not easily curry favor with him.
She smiled and said, "It seems that the second cousin has a good relationship with the people around the fourth master." There was a hint of tentativeness in her tone.
Zhou Shaojin had long known that the Liao family was somewhat snobbish, but she did not take it as an offense and said with a smile, "How can it be bad for us to live in the same boat?"
"That's true." Nanny Zhong smiled but didn't believe a word of it.
Others may not know what the Zhongling Spring Water is, but she, a native of Zhenjiang, knows it very well.
To get spring water from the river, not to mention hiring a boat and hiring people, even the copper bottle for drawing spring water had to be specially made. There was only one person in Zhenjiang who could make it, and he usually charged ten taels of silver for one copper bottle. When you get to the river, you can only see the rolling river water. Where is the spring water? Without people who know these things, the copper bottle can't draw the real Zhongling Spring water even if it is thrown into the river. There are only three people in Zhenjiang who can draw water, and it costs ten taels of silver to ask them to go once. In this way, the small bowl of spring water that the little Taoist boy gave to Zhou Shaojin cost twenty taels of silver.
The little Taoist boy was clearly respectful when he spoke to Zhou Shaojin.
It can be seen how favored the second lady of the Zhou family is in the Cheng family!
As soon as Fang got off the boat, Nanny Zhong told her about this.
Fang was silent for a while, then said thoughtfully, "You should ask the second young lady of the Zhou family for some Zhongling Spring water, so that we can give it to our ancestors to taste, and let those shallow-minded people in the Liao family know that they should not think that the Zhou sisters are just living in the Cheng family like little wives."
※
Sisters, today is New Year’s Eve, and in another hour and a half it will be New Year. I would like to wish you all happiness to your family and all the best in the new year in advance!
PS: I have been very busy these past two days. Sometimes I don’t have time to proofread when the deadline arrives, so I just post the draft first. Usually, when everyone refreshes it after two or three hours, the typos have basically been corrected.
O(∩_∩)O~
We apologize for any inconvenience caused!
※(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets at Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m. to read.) (To be continued)