Zhou Shaojin took a deep breath.
Now, these hands humbly supported Mrs. Guo in a submissive posture.
Just like in her previous life, the owner of these hands cannot cover the sky with one hand. There are still people who can make her lower her proud head, and there are still people who can make her lower her head, swallow her anger and restrain her temper.
At this moment, Zhou Shaojin suddenly began to like Madam Guo's toughness.
In the previous life, if it weren't for the pressure from Old Madam Guo, there was no telling what Yuan would have done to him.
She took another deep breath and mustered up the courage to raise her head.
I am no longer the weak and incompetent Zhou Shaojin. Why would Yuan humiliate me
What came into view was Yuan's face, which looked like she was in her prime.
Her black hair makes her skin look even fairer, and her sparkling eyes make her look energetic and radiant.
Yuan is always so bright and charming, with outstanding grace and elegance.
Zhou Shaojin, however, felt like standing on a tall building and enjoying the scenery.
When it was time to pay respect to Yuan, she stepped forward and saluted with neither arrogance nor humility, and greeted her softly with a pleasant smile.
There was an unmistakable surprise in Yuan's eyes as she looked at her. She smiled and said, "It's only been a few days since I last saw you. The second young lady has become even prettier."
They spoke as if they hadn't seen each other for years.
In fact, the Cheng family would celebrate the New Year and send lanterns together every year, but with Zhou Shaojin's previous personality, she would either hide behind her sister or shrink in the corner of the hall, with her face blurred, so it was normal that Yuan Shi never noticed her.
She smiled slightly, her smile was gentle and generous.
Yuan's eyes flashed with surprise. She was about to say something, but heavy and messy footsteps came from afar, mixed with the low voice of an elderly woman shouting: "... Hurry up, hurry up... I told you to prepare a sedan chair a long time ago, where are your ears..."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw two strong women carrying a sedan chair and walking towards them at a rapid pace.
The old woman in the sedan chair had a head full of silver hair and wore an autumn-fragrance-colored headband inlaid with two thumb-sized emeralds, and emerald earrings of the same size on her ears. She also wore a kudzu-yellow jacket with a round flower pattern of "Yunqing Pengfu" and three soybean-sized South pearl buttons on the front row of the stand-up collar. Although she was plump and round, the skin on her wrinkled face was as white, delicate and rosy as a girl's, and her eyes were bright and sparkling.
This is the old lady from the second house, Mrs. Tang.
The second house's grandfather Cheng Li died early, and she remained faithful to the Cheng family. She not only raised her son Cheng Yi, helped her mother-in-law manage the household affairs, but also occasionally took care of the second house's affairs. When her mother-in-law passed away, she took charge of everything inside and outside, and managed the second house prosperously. She was highly valued and respected by the second house's ancestor Cheng Xu, and was a person who had a say in both the inner and outer courtyards of the second house. Although she handed over the household affairs to her daughter-in-law Hong in recent years, Hong still had to ask her to make decisions when encountering any important matters.
"I'm sorry, I'm late!" Old Madam Tang laughed as she got off the sedan chair with the help of her maid, saying, "I'll treat everyone to a vegetarian meal when we get to Ganquan Temple."
He did not explain why he was late.
There is a kind of low-key arrogance as if to say "I'm just late, what can you do to me?"
Mrs. Wen from the fifth room immediately looked at Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo said nothing, but simply said, "It's not too late," and told Nanny Shi to notify the carriage guarding the second gate to prepare to set off.
Mrs. Wen's face was full of disappointment.
Zhou Shaojin found it very interesting.
Is she still hoping that Old Madam Guo and Old Madam Tang will get into a fight
In his previous life, Zhou Shaojin only cared about his own little piece of land and never paid attention to matters outside the four branches. He never expected that the relationships between the branches of the Cheng family were so complicated and turbulent.
What made her feel even more emotional was the meeting with Yuan - it was so simple and calm that it made her feel as powerless as punching cotton, yet she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Let the past be the past!
Others don't know at all, so she should try hard to forget it.
Zhou Shaojin followed his sister into the carriage and went to Ganquan Temple in a grand procession.
Ganquan Temple is located in the east of Jinling City. It was once a royal temple in the previous dynasty, but was destroyed in war and rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Taizong. The tiles of the main hall were the unused bright yellow glazed tiles of the Qianqing Hall, which were bestowed by Emperor Taizong. When the sun shines on them, they are magnificent and magnificent. Ganquan Temple soon became the largest Zen temple in Jinling City.
The Cheng family had sent a steward to the temple a few days ago to arrange for the incense burning. The Cheng family's carriage drove directly through the mountain gate and stopped at the gate.
The young monks in the temple had already opened the side door, and the abbot of Ganquan Temple, Master Shi Hui, and several senior monks from the reception hall were waiting at the door to greet them. After they went to the main hall to burn incense and drink tea in the side hall, the master monk Shi Jue from the reception hall personally accompanied them to the main hall where Master Shi Hui was giving lectures.
There were already female relatives waiting in the hall. Both old and young, they were all dressed in gorgeous clothes, with an expression of calmness and leisure, as if they had no worries about food and clothing.
Seeing the women of the Cheng family come in, several women and children looked at them and whispered to each other, but most of the women stood up and greeted the women of the Cheng family. Among them was an old woman dressed in the clothes of a lady of the first rank.
Zhou Shaojin guessed that the old lady was from the Duke of Liang’s Mansion.
Judging from the way the old woman was chatting and laughing with Old Madam Guo, Mrs. Yuan, and Old Madam Tang, they must be very familiar with each other.
No wonder the Liangguo Guild in the previous life warned the Cheng family!
Zhou Shaojin also saw a few familiar faces, but she didn't know whether she had seen them in her previous life or before her rebirth.
She followed her sister quietly, but a gaze swept over at her like a knife.
Zhou Shaojin turned around and saw Cheng Ji's face, which was ashen with anger.
I really don’t know how I offended her
Zhou Shaojin pretended not to see anything.
The cloud board rang.
Everyone quieted down and returned to their seats.
Zhou Shaojin and his sister sat side by side behind Old Madam Guan and Madam Mian.
In her previous life, she often went to the Jokhang Temple to listen to sutras. Although the Jokhang Temple was not a royal Zen temple, it was not lacking in dignitaries and wealthy families. In her opinion, Master Shihui was better at explaining sutras than Master Jingkong, the abbot of the Jokhang Temple. Master Jingkong's sutras were easier to understand, while Master Shihui's sutras were more profound but very interesting and attractive, which was not easy.
She looked around and saw that everyone was listening attentively.
This may be related to the fact that women and children in the north do not read much, while there are more famous families in the south who pass down poetry and books.
Zhou Shaojin thought randomly and soon he was immersed in Master Shi Hui's Buddhist teachings.
Someone pulled her sleeve.
She turned her head away.
Cheng Ji sat next to her without her knowing when.
"What's wrong with you?" She whispered, with indignation in her voice. "I look for you but you always refuse to come out. Even when you come out you don't talk to me. Is it because you have to help Madam Guo copy scriptures? If you continue to be like this, I wonder if I will play with you in the future?"
The threatening words were full of childishness.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't really hate Cheng Ji like this. But she didn't want to say anything more to Cheng Ji, so she whispered, "Don't talk, listen to the master's lecture!"
Cheng Ji snorted and didn't take Zhou Shaojin's words to heart. When she looked up, she saw Old Lady Tang from the second house giving her a stern look.
She had no choice but to swallow what she was about to say.
After the sermon was finished, Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji were called over by Old Lady Yuan and introduced to the old woman.
Zhou Shaojin was not wrong in his guess. The old woman was the biological mother of Duke Liang, Lady Qu.
Since it was their first meeting, the lady of the Duke of Liang's mansion gave each of them a jewel-studded ring before she stood up and said goodbye.
Shi Hui, Madam Yuan and others personally escorted Madam Qu to the temple gate. They watched the carriage and ceremonial guards of the Duke of Liang's Mansion leave before going to the dining hall of Ganquan Temple.
Because there would be opera performances and a temple fair in the temple in the afternoon, most of the women and children stayed in the temple to have vegetarian meals like the Cheng family.
The temple arranged a small courtyard with a garden for the Cheng family. In addition to the dining area, there were also several rooms for rest.
The Cheng family's housekeeper and maid had already cleaned the house, and the maids in each room had also arranged the utensils that the old ladies usually used while they listened to the sermon. After the vegetarian meal, everyone rested for about half an hour, and then someone came to visit.
These people were all wives of influential families in Jinling City. Some of them were first met, and some were met during the Chinese New Year. Zhou Shaojin remembered some of them, and some of them he had no impression of at all. In any case, Zhou Shaojin and others received several gifts, including gold rings, gold hairpins, and silver bracelets, which was considered a small fortune.
After a while, the sound of "clang clang" of gongs was heard outside.
The big show is about to begin.
Not to mention Cheng Jia, even Mrs. Wen couldn't help but prick up her ears to listen. Only a few old ladies remained calm. But Mrs. Li still ordered her personal nanny: "You go out with Jia girl, but don't lose her."
The nanny smiled and replied respectfully "Yes".
Cheng Ji invited Zhou Shaojin: "Let's go together!"
Zhou Shaojin shook his head and said, "I'm here to accompany my grandmother."
Madam Guan smiled and said, "We are a few old ladies talking here, why do we need you to accompany us? Just go and have fun." She also reminded Zhou Chujin, "Keep an eye on your sister. The two sisters must not be separated, or they will be deceived by the flower-shooting gang."
Zhou Chujin responded with a smile, with a hint of yearning in his expression.
It turns out that my sister was like this when she was eighteen.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and had no intention of going to watch the fun.
The more people there are, the more trouble there is.
In her previous life, when she went to the Jokhang Temple, she attracted Deng Duozi to spy on her. In this life, she just wanted to live a quiet and silent life. She really didn't want to cause any trouble and make any noise.
"I don't want to go." She used Mrs. Wen's words as an excuse, "It's so noisy outside. I get a headache just listening to it, let alone being there in person. You guys should go!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chujin naturally wanted to stay and accompany Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin advised her: "If sister wants to stay for this reason, I have no choice but to go too. Can sister bear to see me feel uncomfortable?"
Zhou Chujin laughed and said, "You are getting better and better at talking now. You even know how to talk to me."
Zhou Shaojin wanted to make some noise, so he pushed Zhou Chujin out with a smile and said to Mrs. Miao, "Aunt, please keep an eye on my sister. The two of them must not be separated, or they will be deceived by the flower-shooting gang."
She was pretty and looked innocent, which made the old ladies laugh. The slight embarrassment caused by Zhou Shaojin's refusal disappeared immediately.
Mrs. Guo nodded secretly, and Yuan also looked at her a few more times.
Zhou Shaojin, who was seeing Zhou Chujin off, didn't notice it.
※
Sisters, please recommend "Jinling Chun" through various channels... O(∩_∩)O~...
※(To be continued)