Chun Wan asked curiously, "Second Miss, what's wrong with you?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Zhou Shaojin said, with cold sweat on his forehead, "Who came here?"
Uncle Chi just said that she was not allowed to go to Hanbi Mountain Villa again.
"It's jadeite." Chun Wan's eyes still flickered with some confusion, and said, "She said that the old lady asked you to come over to discuss the eldest lady's matter."
Then she couldn't even find out why the old lady asked her to go!
Zhou Shaojin was very depressed.
Feicui urged, "The old lady is still waiting for the second cousin!"
Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to change his clothes and asked Chunwan to arrange a sedan chair.
Zhou Chujin, who knew she was going out, sent someone to ask, "Didn't Uncle Chi come over just now? Why did he suddenly ask you to come over again?"
Zhou Shaojin said: "I don't know either. I'll have to wait until I come back to find out."
She was unsure and panicked, luckily Zhou Chujin didn't ask too many questions.
Mrs. Miao, who was in the study, sent someone over and said, "I will be going back home soon, too. Wait for me for a while, and we will go back to Jiuru Lane together."
Her eyes are still swollen, how can she be with Madam Mian
Zhou Shaojin asked Bi Tao to report to Mrs. Mian: "Fei Cui is still waiting in the hallway."
Fortunately, she was usually well-behaved, so Mrs. Miao was not displeased. She just asked her to be careful on the road. There were many people going out of the city for an outing these days, and there was a lot of traffic on the road, so she should not collide with others.
Zhou Shaojin thanked him repeatedly, got in the sedan chair in the sedan hall, and went to Hanbi Mountain House.
But after getting off the sedan chair at Hanbi Mountain House, Feicui took her around the main house and went to Tingli Pavilion.
Zhou Shaojin was so frightened that his face turned pale. He stood there motionless and said, "I will go to greet the old lady first and then go to visit Uncle Chi."
Feicui originally didn't want to say anything, but Nanny Shang's eyes shot towards her like arrows.
She could only smile and say, "The old lady is talking to the Fourth Master in the Oriole Pavilion!"
Over there, Nanny Shang was waiting with a smile on her face.
Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to follow Feicui to Tingli Pavilion.
But as soon as she stepped into Tingli Pavilion, she knew she had been fooled.
It was so quiet in the Tingli Pavilion that not a single person could be seen or heard.
She turned around and was about to leave: "I, I'm going to say hello to the old man and his wife."
Feicui wanted to avoid the side, but Nanny Shang pushed her, and by coincidence, she pushed her in front of Zhou Shaojin, making it look like she had quickly stopped Zhou Shaojin. Nanny Shang also put her hand on her shoulder, and her body suddenly felt numb. She was in so much pain that she couldn't speak for a long time. But Nanny Shang said, "Second cousin, Feicui is also following orders. You should go see the Fourth Master first and then go to greet the old lady, so as not to make things difficult for Feicui. Besides, the Tingli Pavilion where the Fourth Master lives is only separated from the main room where the old lady lives by a flower wall. Any movement here can be heard over there. The Fourth Master is not a person who doesn't know his limits..."
Zhou Shaojin was very suspicious.
I was afraid that she would be restrained by Uncle Chi before she could make any sound.
She didn't know why, but she was so sure that Cheng Chi must have such ability.
Seeing that she was unmoved, Nanny Shang did not dare to force her, so she thought quickly, "Second cousin, the Fourth Master is not an unreasonable person. Why don't you take this opportunity to make things clear to the Fourth Master? Think about it, when has the Fourth Master ever hurt anyone? When has I ever punished anyone..."
Zhou Shaojin, who was standing opposite her, suddenly looked relieved when he heard her say this.
Zhou Shaojin secretly felt bad and when he turned around, he saw Cheng Chi standing at the gate of Tingli Pavilion with his hands behind his back, listening to the dripping eaves.
His posture was straight, as tall as a pine tree, and his face was hidden in the shadow of the eaves, revealing no emotion.
Zhou Shaojin was extremely embarrassed.
Uncle Chi must have thought she was stupid, as she was tricked into coming here by just a few words from others.
But for some reason, she felt as if a huge stone had fallen to the ground in her heart.
But at this moment, she did not have the time or energy to carefully think about her emotions. Her face was burning and she murmured, not knowing what to say.
"Come in with me!" Cheng Chi said coldly, and turned to enter the Tingli Pavilion.
Feicui and Nanny Shang hurriedly stood aside.
Zhou Shaojin's legs seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. It was not until Nanny Shang quietly called her "Second Cousin" twice that she reluctantly walked into the study in Tingli Pavilion.
The study door closed behind her with a bang.
Zhou Shaojin shivered with fear.
For some reason, I recalled what Cheng Chi said when he first went to Pingqiao Street.
She couldn't help but complain in her heart: Didn't you say that if someone eavesdropped on you while standing in the yard, you could tell at a glance? Why aren't you afraid of being overheard? You even closed the door to the study...
When Zhou Shaojin stepped into Tingli Pavilion, Cheng Chi saw her still slightly red and swollen eyes through the glass window. Now seeing her frightened expression like a little rabbit caught in a trap, the anger in his heart suddenly rose up again.
He is helping her, why should she be afraid
Did he eat her
But as soon as this thought came to his mind, he took a deep breath and warned himself: "Governing a country is like cooking a small fish, let alone these unclear family affairs. He must keep calm, be patient, and not lose his temper.
"Shaojin," he said in a gentle voice, took a few steps forward, and sat on the Luohan bed by the window in the study. His handsome and warm face also caught Zhou Shaojin's eyes, "We haven't played chess for a while, will you play a game with me?"
Zhou Shaojin took a small step back with a vigilant look on his face.
She felt that Uncle Chi was like a hunter who had caught a small animal, and she was the small animal that was caught. Uncle Chi's so-called chess game was like a hunter's raising a small animal, just to wait for a better cut later.
Rather than suffering like this knowing the outcome, it would be better to just stab her directly.
"I, I don't know how to play chess!" Zhou Shaojin said, his voice trembling a little, "Uncle Chi, you, you know!"
Fortunately, this little girl has some self-awareness!
Cheng Chi was complaining in his heart, but the smile on his face became more gentle, and he said: "Weren't you very confident before? Why are you so humble now?"
That’s because I never knew I would be found out so quickly!
Zhou Shaojin lowered his eyelids.
The long eyelashes cast a shadow like a small fan.
She wrung her hands together again.
Cheng Chi sighed in his heart.
This habit is sometimes a good thing.
At least let him know that she was nervous and that she was much smarter than he thought.
This time, Cheng Chi's gentle voice was full of sincerity: "Shao Jin, come sit next to me!"
Zhou Shaojin raised his head, his eyes dazed and confused.
Cheng Chi was shocked and suddenly realized that Zhou Shaojin was smarter than he thought.
At least she could analyze when he was sincere and when he was fake.
His voice became more gentle and sincere, and he said again, "Shao Jin, come and sit next to me."
The bewilderment and confusion in Zhou Shaojin's eyes slowly dissipated. She thought about it and sat obediently next to Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi did not ask her immediately, but personally made her a cup of tea.
Zhou Shaojin pinched the teacup with his white fingertips and murmured his thanks.
Cheng Chi thought for a moment, then asked her gently, "Shao Jin, do you know why I asked you to come?"
Zhou Shaojin sat there for a while before nodding gently.
Cheng Chi said: "Then tell me, why should I look for you?"
Zhou Shaojin lowered his head, looked at the teacup in his hand and said nothing.
Cheng Chi said again: "Shao Jin, think about it, if you were me, what would you think? There is a little girl, not yet of marriageable age, who never goes out, let alone gets involved in the major events in the court. But one day she suddenly told you that your brother would miss the chance to become the Minister of Rites and the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace because of the deal between Huang Li's mentor Shen Minzhi and the Prime Minister Yuan Weichang. Would you like to investigate carefully whether this is true or not?"
Zhou Shaojin lowered his head even lower.
Cheng Chi said calmly, "Then I accidentally discovered that you had asked someone from the Jiying family to bring Fan Qi to the capital. I didn't care at the time, thinking that you might have something for him to do. Don't look at or listen to anything inappropriate. I'm not the kind of person who likes to pry into other people's secrets. I thought this matter was over. Who knew that the matter of Lord Mu would come up..."
Zhou Shaojin tightly stroked the big red crabapple flower on the teacup.
Cheng Chi said, "Shao Jin, I think I have some insight. I know what kind of person you are. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found an excuse to call you to Tingli Pavilion. Tell me the truth. Did someone instruct you to do this? Or did someone threaten you to do this? Or were you threatened because of something, but because you wanted to repay my mother for taking care of you, you couldn't help but accidentally tell us about Huang Li? Shao Jin, don't you always trust me? Trust me this time too. No matter what happens, I will find a way to get you out of this quagmire. But you have to tell me the truth, okay?"
No, it can't!
Zhou Shaojin felt a pang in his heart and tears fell down in big drops.
Uncle Chi is so good to her!
Even at this time, he still made excuses for her and cared about her.
But she couldn't speak.
Let’s not talk about whether Uncle Chi believes in rebirth or not. With Uncle Chi’s intelligence, as long as she makes the first move, he will know the ending.
The fact that she had been bullied by Cheng Xu... would be revealed to Uncle Chi.
How would she have the face to stand in front of Uncle Chi, or the old lady in the future
It would be better to let him misunderstand!
At least, she can still keep that cover in Uncle Chi's heart.
But she knew better.
She and Uncle Chi could never go back to the way they were before, let alone gain his trust and save the Cheng family.
Zhou Shaojin thought about it and felt heartbroken.
The trip to Mount Putuo was the happiest time in her two lives.
She will always be grateful to Mrs. Guo and Uncle Chi.
Zhou Shaojin slowly put down the teacup, took out the handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the corners of his blurred eyes, smiled slightly, stood up, and said to Cheng Chi solemnly: "Uncle Chi, I have never lied to you, and it's not that I don't trust you. It's just that my story is too unbelievable. I can only tell you that in the year of Bingwu, the emperor passed away and the fourth prince succeeded to the throne; on the first day of the first month of the year of Dingmo, the reign was changed to Tianshun. In the year of Wushen, which was the first month of the second year of Tianshun, the Cheng family was inexplicably executed..."
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Today's update, sisters!
Thank you for the spirit beast egg from Tianwaixianxian. The update will be updated at 12 o'clock tomorrow.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)