Zhou Shaojin knelt silently on the mat for a while before he stood up and left the ear room.
Mrs. Fan Liu was waiting for her outside. When she saw her come out, she said, "Mrs. Miao is here."
Zhou Shaojin asked curiously, "What is the aunt doing here?"
Mrs. Fan Liu smiled and said, "The eldest lady is about to get married. How many guests should be invited? How many tables should be set for the banquet? Which way should she take when she arrives? Which way should she take when she leaves... All of this needs to be discussed with the Liao family. How can Mrs. Mian not come?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled awkwardly, changed his clothes and went to Li's place.
Mrs. Miao hadn't seen Zhou Shaojin for more than ten days. When she saw Zhou Shaojin, she had to hold her hand and ask her all kinds of questions.
Zhou Shaojin stood beside him gently and answered obediently.
Li looked at her and smiled, saying, "The eldest lady treats the second young lady like her own daughter."
Perhaps she wanted to keep Zhou Shaojin at home. The more she looked at Zhou Shaojin, the more she liked him. She smiled and said, "I don't have a daughter, but I treat these two sisters as my own daughters. Even if I marry a daughter-in-law in the future, I will treat her as my own daughter." As she said that, she glanced at Zhou Shaojin.
Li's heart was slightly moved when she heard this, and she tentatively said, "Then the He family's daughter is so lucky!"
Mrs. Miao smiled slightly, took Zhou Shaojin's hand and patted it.
Zhou Shaojin quickly found an excuse to get up and say goodbye.
She was afraid that Mrs. Mian would behave too obviously and be noticed by Li, who would then tell her father, causing trouble.
Mrs. Miao was quite disappointed and said, "I was hoping you would write down the things we need to pay attention to when the time comes!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "It won't be too late for you to discuss it with your wife first and then I can come over."
Mrs. Miao had no choice but to let Zhou Shaojin go.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, Cheng Chi stood in the dark corridor of the secret room with a gloomy face, looking at Fan Qi who was thrown unconscious on the straw pile in the secret room and asked Qin Zian: "What did you do to him?"
Qin Zian frowned slightly.
He is just a servant.
So what if I die
He has plenty of ways to keep this a secret.
The Fourth Master, however, acted as if he was afraid that he would die.
But he didn't dare to show the slightest bit of strangeness, and said respectfully: "I followed your instructions, so I asked Dong Ting to come and cast the spell on him."
Cheng Chi nodded slightly and asked, "What did he say?"
Qin Zian said: "He knows nothing."
Cheng Chi turned around and looked at Qin Zian.
The bright eyes shone as brightly as stars in the night sky in the dark alley.
Qin Zian whispered, "According to him, he went to the capital city on the orders of his second cousin. The person who escorted him to the capital city was found by his second cousin, and it was his second cousin who told him where to stay. He also followed his second cousin's instructions on how to find the Lin and Mu families. The only change was the marriage between the Lin and Mu families. His second cousin asked him to find a wandering Taoist priest to play tricks on the Mu family, but he lingered in Shangqing Palace for many days and couldn't find a suitable person. In the end, he had to take the risk and find the Taoist priest Yang, who was demoted to the kitchen because of his greed for food and drink and made a mistake. He didn't expect that this matter would be so easy to accomplish.
“It was also my second cousin’s idea to ask him to go to the capital after the New Year to find out about the Lin and Mu families.
"As for why the second cousin asked him to find a way to get the Lin and Mu families married as soon as possible? Whether the second cousin knew anyone from the Lin and Mu families... He didn't know anything."
Cheng Chi's expression became even more gloomy.
He thought about how his brother Cheng Jing became the Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace!
If Zhou Shaojin had not informed him, the eldest brother would have definitely thought that Yuan Weichang would support him and placed his hopes on Yuan Weichang, and finally was defeated by Huang Li without any preparation.
And now, the cheating case in the Autumn Examination of the Jiawu Imperial Examination has been exposed. Lord Mu, the ringleader of the case, has been thrown into prison. However, Lord Mu's eldest daughter happened to marry in advance into the Lin family, to whom she had been engaged since childhood. Not only did she escape the disaster, but this also gave the Lin family a reason to redeem Madam Mu and the second and third daughters of the Mu family with silver.
Is this just a coincidence
That's just too much of a coincidence!
Thinking of this, Cheng Chi could no longer stand.
He ordered Qin Zian: "Send Fan Qi back, and don't let him know that he was kidnapped. Then send someone to keep an eye on him, and tell me if there is any movement."
Qin Zian nodded.
Cheng Chi had already rushed out of the secret room.
Qin Zian frowned and pressed the button leading to the secret room.
Cheng Chi hurried all the way, and when he came to his senses, he was already walking on a busy street.
Huaishan chased after him, sweating profusely, and asked carefully, "Fourth Master, do you want me to call you a sedan chair?"
Cheng Chi never liked riding in a sedan chair outside, but this time he said, "Then go get a sedan chair, and we'll go to Pingqiao Street."
Huaishan didn't dare to say much, and hurried to the street corner to hire a sedan chair, and accompanied the swaying sedan chair to Pingqiao Street.
As Zhou Chujin's wedding was approaching, Zhou Zhen was not at home, and Li didn't know Zhou's old neighbors very well, so Ma Fushan's nephew Ma Ci was replaced on duty at the door.
He knew Cheng Chi.
So when he saw Cheng Chi getting out of the sedan chair that was soliciting customers on Ding Street, he was stunned for a while before he hurried over.
"Fourth Master!" Ma Ci bowed quickly and said respectfully, "Why are you here? Mrs. Mian is discussing the eldest daughter's marriage with Madam. Are you looking for the eldest daughter or the second daughter..."
Cheng Chi glanced at Ma Ci, remembered him, and said in a deep voice: "I'm looking for the second young lady!"
"Then please go to the flower hall and serve tea first!" Ma Ci said, winking at the servant who followed him, and enthusiastically welcomed Cheng Chi to the flower hall for guests, where he personally set out tea and snacks.
When Zhou Shaojin heard that Cheng Chi was looking for her, she washed up and rushed over.
Her face was already filled with a sweet smile before she even set foot into the hall.
"Uncle Chi, what do you want to talk to me about?" She walked briskly into the flower hall.
The flower trees in March are lush and green, with flourishing branches and leaves, filling the room with green.
Zhou Shaojin wore a goose yellow plain Hangzhou silk boa and a white lace skirt. Standing in the spring sunshine, she was as dazzling as a blooming spring flower, rushing towards you with a bit of spring's freshness.
What kind of person can interpret this innocence flawlessly
Cheng Chi's breathing was slightly choked.
Maybe... I made a mistake!
He took a few steps forward.
Zhou Shaojin looked at him with a smile, his eyebrows curved, gentle and soft.
He must have made a mistake.
Cheng Chi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Come with me, I have something to ask you!"
Zhou Shaojin followed him out of the flower hall with a smile and stood in the middle of the yard.
Cheng Chi looked into her eyes and said thoughtfully, "Do you know that Lord Mu has committed a crime?"
How did Uncle Chi know
Zhou Shaojin's heart was beating like a drum and the smile on his face slowly faded.
She really knew...
Cheng Chi's heart gradually sank, his expression became stern, and he said in a harsh voice: "What is going on? Explain it to me clearly!"
Make it clear!
How could she explain it clearly
That she was reborn
That she knew what was going to happen in the next twelve years
It is said that she was once married to Lin Shisheng, and Lin Shisheng took good care of her. Does she want to repay Lin Shisheng in this life
Zhou Shaojin pursed his lips, unable to utter a word, and his body couldn't help but tremble.
Cheng Chi was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.
This damn girl actually dared to hide it from him and not tell him!
His voice became sharper: "How did you know that Huang Li and my elder brother were competing with Huang Li for Zhang Junhua's position? How did you know that Shen Minzhi and Yuan Weichang had made a deal? How did you know that the Jiawu Autumn Examination cheating case would be exposed in February this year? Why did you help the Mu family?"
Zhou Shaojin had no way of answering.
She lowered her head and twisted her fingers together unconsciously.
Cheng Chi looked at her shiny black hair and became even angrier.
Don't you believe in him unconditionally
Don't you trust him without a doubt
Why did he treat him like a stranger when the critical moment came
Not even an explanation!
He laughed angrily and said, "Are you going to tell me or not?"
Zhou Shaojin's tears suddenly fell.
It must be very hard for her to carry all these secrets in her heart, okay
But what did she say
Such an incredible thing!
The Taoist priest surnamed Yang told Lord Mu that if Miss Mu did not marry Lin Shisheng early, the Mu family would suffer a bloody disaster. Lord Mu thought that the Taoist priest surnamed Yang was weird and superstitious, not to mention that Uncle Chi was a person who had read "The Book of Rivers and Luoshu"!
But if she didn't say it... Uncle Chi was already very angry now, and he would definitely be even angrier then.
Maybe I will never talk to her again from now on!
As soon as this thought flashed through Zhou Shaojin's mind, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave and his heart went cold.
If Uncle Chi ignores her, who will she turn to when she has problems in the future
Who else could protect her like Uncle Chi, without making a sound
She, what should she do
Zhou Shaojin felt extremely upset.
Cheng Chi felt like a hurricane was blowing in his heart.
"Okay, okay, okay, you won't tell me, right?" He said with a smile, "I can find it out even if you don't tell me."
He turned around and walked out with anger, and the air seemed to be torn apart.
Zhou Shaojin was very scared and kept shouting "Uncle Chi".
Cheng Chi stopped and turned to look at her.
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what to say.
Ask him to forgive me
Uncle Chi may not forgive her!
Please ask him not to be angry
Why should she ask Uncle Chi not to be angry!
Zhou Shaojin's face was as pale as paper, and he looked so fragile that he seemed like he would collapse at any moment.
After all, she was just a child, and his temper would only scare her instead of making her more confident.
Cheng Chi couldn't help but sigh in his heart, walked back slowly, stood in front of her, and said softly: "Don't be afraid, tell me what's going on, I'll help you deal with it."
Zhou Shaojin didn't dare.
She told her sister, but she didn't believe it.
But my sister loved her and trusted her, so she was fooled by her.
Although Uncle Chi treated her well, he treated her like a little animal. He would tease her when he was happy, but would simply ignore her when he was unhappy.
She was afraid that Uncle Chi would think of her as a monster!
The wind made the flowers and trees in the yard rustle, but Zhou Shaojin stood there like a clay sculpture without moving for a long time.
Cheng Chi couldn't help but sneer and said, "It's up to you whether you want to tell me or not. But you should never go to Hanbi Mountain House again, lest my mother gets upset if she finds out!"
He left Zhou's house quickly.
Zhou Shaojin looked at his agile back as he walked away, folded his arms across his chest, slowly squatted on the ground, buried his head between his knees, and began to cry silently.
※
Sisters and brothers, today’s update.
PS: Thank you 44xixi for the spirit beast egg!
O(∩_∩)O~
Taking into account the issue of proofreading, the update will be posted around 12 noon tomorrow.
Thank you everyone!
※(To be continued)