Zhou Shaojin remembered that when she accompanied Mrs. Guo to Putuo Mountain to burn incense, it took three days to reach Zhenjiang.
It only took Li Jing one day from delivering the letter to returning. How did he do it
Zhou Shaojin was very curious and couldn't help but lift up her skirt to take a look.
Li Jing got off the horse, his head full of sweat and his body covered in dust. Sweat mixed with dust left black streaks on his fair face.
He threw the whip to the little horse that was accompanying him, and the horse fell to the ground with a loud thump, foaming at the mouth.
Li Jing didn't even glance at her. He ran inside quickly, shouting, "How's cousin Jia? How's cousin Jia?"
There was such an overwhelming fierceness and domineering attitude that Zhou Shaojin was stunned for a moment.
Cheng Lu heard the noise and came out, his face so gloomy that it looked like rain could fall from it.
He shouted, "Li Jing, I respect you as the grandnephew of Lao An's mother's family, but you are peeping into my inner house. You are so shameless and even dare to shout here. Li Sheng, what are you still standing there for? Why don't you chase them away? Who is on duty at the gate? Take him out and give him twenty lashes of the board."
Li Sheng, the chief steward of the Third House, was originally the chambermaid of Li Laoan and Cheng Lu's foster brother, while Li Jing was the eldest uncle of the Li family. He stood there in a dilemma. After hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward to stop Li Jing and whispered, "Master, Miss Jia is fine. She was just bitten by an insect and is still unconscious. Master Shi Hui has used medicine and she is said to be well soon."
Li Jing didn't dare to force his way in, so he grabbed Li Sheng's arm and said anxiously, "How did cousin Jia get bit by an insect? Is Master Shi Hui's medicine really useful? I know a doctor whose ancestor was a royal physician. Should we ask that doctor to come over and take a look?"
But his eyes were looking at Cheng Lu who was standing under the veranda.
Li Sheng's mouth twitched, not knowing what to say.
Cheng Lu's face was livid, and he didn't even look at Li Jing. He just scolded Li Sheng: "Why don't you drive him away quickly? What kind of place is this? Can outsiders come here?"
Zhou Shaojin looked a little dazed.
She remembered who had told her in her previous life that the Li family was the richest family in Luoyang. Li Jing's father was originally the eldest son, but he died when Li Jing was ten years old. He fought openly and secretly with his seven uncles. When he was twenty years old, his grandfather died. Only then did he finally inherit the family business and become the head of the Li family.
He is a very powerful person.
Not to mention the prefect of Luoyang, even the governor of Henan had to give him some face when they met him. He was very prestigious in the Central Plains.
Would he just walk away when Uncle Lu humiliated him like this
Zhou Shaojin was very worried.
Li Jing's eyes flashed with embarrassment, but there was no resentment at all. Instead, he whispered: "Uncle, I don't mean anything else. I'm just worried about my cousin Jia. Since she's fine, I'll leave now. Don't be angry!"
Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide.
Cheng Lu glared at Li Jing fiercely and said, "Why don't you leave now!"
Li Jing showed a bit of dejection in his expression. He silently bowed to Cheng Lu, then slowly turned around and walked out.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't bear it, and whispered to Chunwan: "Ask Xiaotan to go with you and arrange a place for Uncle Li to stay and rest. I'll tell him as soon as there's any news here."
The Spring Festival Gala went away as expected.
Because of Cheng Jia's incident, Ganquan Temple has not been receiving any outside guests since yesterday afternoon, let alone overnight stays.
When Li Jing went to Zhenjiang, he left a steward to Cheng Ji to command. Cheng Ji was still sick, so how could Li Jing leave with peace of mind
But if he wanted to stay overnight, he had to spend a large sum of money to bribe the temple's receptionist, and even that might not give him a spacious and bright room.
Li Jing had already given a lot to Cheng Ji in her previous life, so she would help him if she could in this life.
Zhou Shaojin went to report to Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo sighed but said nothing.
During breakfast, the third room where the family rested became noisy.
Zhou Shaojin heard Cheng Lu's extremely angry voice: "... If you say another shameless word like this, I will immediately ask the government to send that bastard Li Jing to the government office..." There was also a woman like Jiang's voice, which was low and consoling, mixed with almost inaudible crying.
She couldn't help but walk out.
Cheng Ji's sharp voice came out: "... I just want to marry him! I just want to marry him! If you have the guts, lock me up too? I'm going to elope with him... I'll accept it even if he doesn't want me... I just like him..."
Zhou Shaojin turned pale with fright.
How dare Cheng Ji say such words!
If someone heard this, Cheng Ji's reputation would be ruined.
She looked around hurriedly and saw that the maids and servants who were serving her had chosen to move away. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
But who knew that just as she finished her breath, a man's deep voice came from behind her: "Cousin Zhou, thank you for what you did today!"
Caught off guard, Zhou Shaojin almost screamed.
Fortunately, she was afraid of alarming Mrs. Guo and Mrs. Guan, so she endured it, turned around and took several steps back before she saw clearly that it was Li Jing who was speaking, and then she stood firm.
It's really scary!
She stroked her chest and said unhappily, "Uncle Li, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to break into the women's residence like this?"
She wouldn't say anything more serious.
Moreover, although she has lived two lives as a human being, she has always stayed in the inner house and rarely seen people, and she would not interact with men outside.
Li Jing looked apologetic.
Zhou Shaojin finally calmed down and asked in confusion: "How did you get in?"
It seemed that Li Jing had already washed up. Not only was he tidy, he also changed into a sky-blue Hangzhou silk gown, looking neat, smart and capable.
Li Jing smiled implicitly and said, "I said I was a relative of the Cheng family and donated a sum of money to the temple, so they didn't stop me."
This group of money-hungry monks!
Zhou Shaojin complained in his heart.
Li Jing's expression straightened up and he said, "I have something I would like to ask for help from my cousin Zhou. I hope my cousin Zhou can help me with this!"
As he spoke, he bowed deeply.
Zhou Shaojin took two steps to the side and said with caution: "I wonder what Mr. Li wants to talk to me about? I don't know if I can help..."
Li Jing said hurriedly, "It's nothing else. I just want my cousin Zhou to help me find out how serious my cousin Jia's injury is. Is the medicine given by Monk Shi Hui effective? Is there anything else to pay attention to or any sequelae?"
It's easy.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but glance at the room where Cheng Ji was resting. He asked, "What are your plans?"
Li Jing listened, his eyes also fell on the wing room where Cheng Ji was resting, thought for a moment, and said carefully: "I actually regret it..."
What does this mean
Could it be that he regrets meeting Cheng Ji
Zhou Shaojin looked unhappy.
Li Jing said with guilt, "That day, my cousin asked me to take her away. I always felt that things could be salvaged and it wouldn't have come to this, so I flatly refused her... I also told her to trust me and that I would find a way to get my uncle and aunt to agree... But I never thought that my decision would cause her so much pain... She must have really had no other choice, and seeing that I didn't agree, she secretly came to find me..."
Zhou Shaojin fell silent.
She believed that Li Jing's inference was correct.
Otherwise, when Cheng Ji found them, there wouldn't be only the maid Cui Huan by their side. And they were hiding in a cave, if Cui Huan hadn't heard the noise and called for help, they wouldn't have been found.
Li Jing had heard the name Shao Jin countless times from Cheng Ji's mouth, and knew that the slim and beautiful girl in front of him was Cheng Ji's best friend.
The reason why he refused to take Cheng Ji away was because he understood people's hearts better than Cheng Ji. He didn't want Cheng Ji to fall into the pain of choosing between her parents or her husband.
But in fact, Cheng Ji finally fell into this pain.
At this moment, Zhou Shaojin became very important - without her family, she couldn't be without her relatives. Especially since Zhou Shaojin grew up with Cheng Ji, and Zhou Shaojin always stood on Cheng Ji's side, he should win her over even more.
Li Jing was a decisive person. He quickly calmed down and said solemnly: "Cousin Zhou, I have decided to take cousin Jia away! That's why I asked you to find out about her condition. If her condition is not serious, I will ask Shi Hui for a few more medicines to take with me. If her condition still requires rest, I will wait for a few days... No matter what, I will take her away this time. I can't let her be angry with her uncle alone. I am also responsible for this matter!"
Zhou Shaojin had guessed something from his tone before, but he was still shocked. He pondered for a while before saying, "The one who is engaged becomes the wife, the one who runs away becomes the concubine! Have you ever thought about this?"
Li Jing smiled proudly and said, "It's just a paper marriage certificate! If the prefect of Jinling can't do it, can the prefect of Luoyang do it too? If Jiuru Lane doesn't give it to me, can Xinglin Hutong not give it to me? If all else fails, there's still Shuangyu Hutong!"
Xinglin Hutong is where Cheng Jing lives.
Shuangyu Hutong is where Cheng Shao lived.
It seems that Li Jing had already planned it out.
Zhou Shaojin thought of how good Li Jing was to Cheng Ji in his previous life, and finally a faint smile appeared on his face. He whispered, "I'll go find out for you. Just wait for my news!"
Li Jing bowed to her again.
Zhou Shaojin hurried back to the room.
Mrs. Guo asked her, "What's going on over there?"
Zhou Shaojin didn't want to lie to Madam Guo, so he whispered, "I, I didn't go. I ran into Li Jing in the yard, and he asked me for something... I agreed, but I was afraid you would be angry..."
Madam Guo laughed and pointed to the embroidered cushion opposite her, asking Biyu to serve Zhou Shaojin half a bowl of porridge again. She said, "It's just that you decided to elope with Cheng Jia. Apart from this, what else could it be?"
Zhou Shaojin was shocked.
Madam Guo smiled and said, "I have seen so many things in my life! Just do whatever you want to do, don't bother me! I have always been tired of the Third House, let them do whatever they want. Li Jing has the ability to bribe the people in Ganquan Temple, and he can also bribe the people around Li. Cheng Ji wanted to elope with Li Jing, but he was afraid of getting you into trouble, so he ignored you all the time. I believe that Li Jing will pick you out. You helped them a little, and you don't have to anger the Third House. Cheng Ji also owes you a favor. This is a good thing!"
Zhou Shao opened his eyes wide, and after a while he blurted out, "Madam, you are really amazing! I think nothing in this world can escape your eyes."
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Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
Updated around midnight.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)