Old Mrs. Guan touched the eighteen-bead agarwood Buddhist rosary on her wrist and said nothing.
The little maid brought up tea, snacks and fruits.
Zhou Shaojin took it with a smile, placed it on the coffee table, pointed to the half green and half red dates in the fruit plate and said, "Grandma, you came at a coincidence today! These were sent by Uncle Chi yesterday. They said they are tribute dates from Shandong. They are crisp and sweet. I'm sure you will like them."
He spoke without any fear and entertained her like a half-host.
Old Lady Guan smiled and took a date and said, "Then let me try it."
Zhou Shaojin smiled brightly, picked up a piece of crystal cake with chopsticks and gave it to Mrs. Guo, saying in a tender voice: "This is newly made today. It's not as sweet as yesterday. I also asked someone to add some starch to it. It looks better than yesterday, right?" She was like a child who wanted praise from an adult.
Madam Guo said, "It does look whiter than yesterday's!" Then she took a bite and said, "What's in it? It doesn't taste like frosting sugar. It tastes lighter than frosting sugar, and has a longer aftertaste."
Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, "It's rock sugar. I melted it in water and added it in. You're really good. You can tell it in one bite."
Madam Guo laughed and said, "That's all I have."
Zhou Shaojin wrinkled his nose, which was very cute.
Then he pushed the teacup toward Mrs. Guo and said to Mrs. Guan, "Grandma, have some tea. It's Lu'an Guapian."
The tea of Lu'an Guapian is light and more suitable for the elderly.
Old Mrs. Guan slowly spat the date pits into a small sweet white porcelain dish with gold rims beside her, and thought of the first time Zhou Shaojin formally met Old Mrs. Guo.
She asked Zhou Shaojin to serve Madam Guo well. Zhou Shaojin was used to being served and felt a little aggrieved.
But in just two years, she had begun to serve Old Madam Guo as if she were her own elder.
She knew Zhou Shaojin's personality very well. After all, she had her father to rely on, and she was still a bit arrogant. She was able to show her filial piety in front of Old Madam Guo. The prestige of the eldest house would never make her bow down. Only because Old Madam Guo treated her like her own grandson could she be so gentle and obedient.
Old Mrs. Guan picked up the teacup and took a sip.
When she was in the fourth room, she was covered with thorns; when she moved to the eldest room, she grew into a delicate flower.
Yi'er, can you afford to raise and protect this flower
Old Mrs. Guan felt a little regretful about sending Zhou Shaojin to the eldest house for upbringing.
But if there hadn't been Madam Guo's guidance, would the Fourth House have been interested in the former Zhou Shaojin
For a family to prosper and flourish, it must not only have people, but also be harmonious and united.
Gao Ge'er's wife was a girl from the He family. She came from a noble family and her father was a third-rank official.
If Brother Yi's wife is Zhou Shaojin, such a look will make people look at her in a different light no matter where she is. However, her background as a fourth-rank prefect and a single-family household makes her less eye-catching... But with the support of the eldest son of the family, Zhou Shaojin can firmly suppress the girl from the He family even if she does not intend to.
Even if Miss He is more talented than Zhou Shaojin, people focus more on appearance, so Miss He is still struggling to get by.
When the second daughter-in-law overshadows the eldest daughter-in-law, she is usually the root cause of family chaos.
Shaojin is no longer suitable to be the daughter-in-law of the fourth wife.
Mrs. Guan suddenly looked disappointed.
All those words that I had thought over and over in my mind and pondered over and over in my heart are now meaningless.
Mrs. Guo had been observing Mrs. Guan's expression.
Seeing that Mrs. Guan looked somewhat dejected, I finally felt relieved.
She couldn't leave Shaojin in the Cheng family.
We must not let Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Yi get engaged.
If she felt that Cheng Yi was not worthy of Zhou Shaojin before, now she was afraid that her son would commit a scandal by marrying his niece's wife - who didn't have a passionate time when they were young, sometimes for women, sometimes for the imperial examination, and sometimes for interest. But as they grew older and gained more experience, their passion gradually faded. But this time, her son had clearly discussed with her that Fang Daxian would arrange a marriage for Cheng Yi and secretly remove Zhou Shaojin, but her son suddenly became like a different person and simply and rudely arranged for Cheng Jing to arrange a marriage for Cheng Yi.
She didn't know what her little son was planning!
Mrs. Guo hasn't slept well these past few days.
She believed that her son was steady and prudent, not like those rash young men. But he also liked Zhou Shaojin, otherwise he would not indulge Zhou Shaojin to treat Tingli Pavilion like a vegetable garden, going there whenever he wanted and leaving whenever he wanted.
There is a difference between having someone always in front of you and missing him/her from afar.
If you keep it in front of you, your feelings will only grow deeper.
Time will always make the distant longing fade away.
She didn't want to take the risk.
So she doted on the little girl as before.
The fourth wife, who lived a simple life, gave up.
If she finds a suitable husband for the girl, her son will naturally give up.
Otherwise she would be shooting herself in the foot - she advised the Fourth House not to let outsiders send Zhou Shaojin to the First House to be educated as a child bride, but in the end she became her own daughter-in-law. In the eyes of others, Zhou Shaojin was still a child bride.
This child's fate is so unfortunate!
Thinking that Zhou Shaojin had fallen into her trap and was completely unaware of it, and was treating her with all his heart, Mrs. Guo was a little afraid to look Zhou Shaojin in the eye, and decided to resolve the matter quickly.
She asked Mrs. Guan frankly, "Are you here to see me about what happened a few days ago?"
Although Mrs. Guan did not hide anything, she decided not to ask Mrs. Guo to help Zhou Shaojin and Yi Ge'er get married. She said, "I feel a little uncomfortable and want to talk to you."
Mrs. Guo smiled and said to Zhou Shaojin, who was serving beside her, "I want to have a private talk with your grandmother. You go play with Snowball." Then she half-jokingly said, "Don't eavesdrop on my conversation with your grandmother!"
Zhou Shaojin pouted in dissatisfaction and said, "When did I eavesdrop on you? You can't wrongly accuse me!"
Mrs. Guo laughed, patted her hands, and said, "Go and have fun by yourself!"
Zhou Shaojin responded with a smile, and told the maid to serve tea to Madam Guo and Madam Guan again, and then left the banquet room.
Old lady Guan lowered her eyelids.
Shaojin, you are really no longer suitable for the fourth room.
If someone said this to her in the past, she would just pretend to be fearless and smile and retreat, but now she is truly fearless.
Only those who have confidence in themselves will not be afraid of being laughed at by others.
She sighed softly and asked Mrs. Guo: "Do you know what kind of personality the Seventeenth Aunt of the Gu family has? How many brothers and sisters does she have? What family is her mother from..."
※
Zhou Shaojin actually wanted to eavesdrop.
She learned from Biyu that someone had arranged a marriage for Cheng Yi.
The fourth room frequently visits Old Madam Guo, which must be related to Cheng Yi's marriage.
Uncle Chi promised her that he would not let her marry Cheng Yi.
She had no doubts about it, let alone worries. She just wanted to know what was going on. She wanted to know in advance who her cousin's bride was and whether she was easy to get along with.
The fourth room is like her second home.
She hoped that the fourth branch would prosper, and that someone would help Cheng Yi so that he would not suffer the same fate as in his previous life.
But Mrs. Guo had already spoken, so it was difficult for her to eavesdrop.
She asked Biyu, "Did you hear anything the old lady said after that?"
"No!" Biyu was about to get married, and when she had nothing to do these days, she would do needlework in the house.
Although Madam Guo would help her arrange her dowry, it would be better for her to make the shoes and socks for the recognition ceremony by herself to show her sincerity, and to let others see the virtue, words, craftsmanship and appearance of the maid who came from Hanbi Mountain House.
Zhou Shaojin thought Biyu was doing a good job, so he drew a pattern and tried to ask the sewing room to help Biyu embroider a bright red jacket for her to wear when she went to meet her parents. Unexpectedly, Madam Wang not only agreed, but also enthusiastically offered to help Biyu make an extra piece of clothing for her to wear when she went back home, so that she could marry off with honor.
Hearing Biyu say this, she couldn't help but ask, "I wonder if Uncle Chi has heard about it?"
Biyu smiled and cut the thread with scissors, then re-threaded it in a different color. She said, "You'd better go later! I just heard from the maid that the Tingli Pavilion was very quiet. The atmosphere was so quiet that it could kill people. Even Qingfeng and Langyue, who usually served the Fourth Master, stood far away and didn't dare to approach the study. I'm afraid something has happened and made the Fourth Master feel uncomfortable!"
Zhou Shaojin was puzzled.
Snowball's "Woof woof woof" voice was heard outside.
When Zhou Shaojin and Biyu went out, they saw Jiying playing with Snowball with a hydrangea!
"When did you come back?" Zhou Shaojin was overjoyed.
Biyu hurriedly made tea and served snacks to Jiying.
Ji Ying drank a sip of tea comfortably and said, "Oh, this is how people should live."
"Are you having a hard time outside?" Zhou Shaojin looked at Jiying.
She was thinner and darker than before, but her facial features were more three-dimensional, her eyes were brighter, and she looked like a sword drawn from its sheath, radiating a cold light and yet inexplicably making people feel bright and compelling.
Seeing that no one was around, Ji Ying lowered her voice and said, "Your uncle Chi treats women like men and men like cattle and horses. He is not a human being at all!"
Zhou Shaojin quickly covered her mouth.
Biyu pretended to go pour tea and pretended not to hear.
Jiying chuckled and said, "It's fun to be with you guys!"
Zhou Shaojin glared at Jiying.
Ji Ying tried to comfort Zhou Shaojin insincerely, saying, "Okay, okay. Your uncle Chi won't hear it. He's having a temper right now and doesn't have time to pay attention to us."
"Why is Uncle Chi angry?" Zhou Shaojin asked.
Now even Biyu pricked up her ears to listen.
Ji Ying took a piece of crispy candy and said lazily, "I guess that Madam Yuan did something stupid again, which made him so angry that veins popped out of his temples. She even called Dongting over. She must be planning to plot against someone again." He added, "You should know Dongting, right? Wei Dongting. He said he had seen you. Your Uncle Chi gives him the dirty work. When he shows up, it's always bad news!"
Zhou Shaojin felt that it was because Jiying was prejudiced against Uncle Chi.
She can say that anything good is bad. If something is not to her liking, in her mouth it is like sores on the head and pus on the feet.
"What's going on?" Zhou Shaojin pushed her.
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Sisters and brothers, please give me an extra chapter for Zixiao 1.
If there are typos, they can only be corrected in the afternoon.
PS: The update will be around 12 o'clock at night, and I will try to update it earlier if possible.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)