Cheng Chi smiled and said, "She likes to show off so much. If I were you, I would instigate Wu to send rice cakes to each room, preferably on a day like the Double Ninth Festival in early September. Privately, I would order the kitchen in the outer courtyard to make rice cakes as cakes for the banquet that day. Let Wu's rice cakes be served first, and when everyone has eaten and said they are good, then the rice cakes made in the kitchen will be served. The outer courtyard kitchen cooks dishes based on the taste of our family, and your maid has learned how to make rice cakes from her, so it is too easy to tamper with this. Wu suffered this loss, so naturally she will not dare to show off easily in the future."
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but high-five and said happily, "This is a good idea!" But then he hesitated and said, "Can we plot against Wu Baozhang like this?"
She had never been tricked like this in her life.
Cheng Chi said: "If you teach her a lesson, will she stay away from you from now on?"
Of course not.
In her previous life, she had tolerated him many times, and later he had also put obstacles in her way, but Wu Baozhang not only did not restrain himself and let her go, but also intensified his ridicule and teasing of her. Unfortunately, the elders all thought that Wu Baozhang was gentle and generous, and she could not even complain. Later, she simply cut off contact with Wu Baozhang and threatened Cheng Ji not to allow her to have contact with Wu Baozhang. Seeing that she really did not like Wu Baozhang, Cheng Ji gradually became estranged from Wu Baozhang.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and shook his head.
Cheng Chi said: "This is first praise and then criticism."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly.
But only Uncle Chi can do this, right
Her eyes flickered as she asked, "But how can I get the people in the kitchen to listen to me?"
Cheng Chi sneered and said, "Think of a way yourself?"
The hint of helplessness revealed between his brows made Zhou Shaojin's heart pound.
She giggled, her eyes bright and indescribably pretty, and said, "I'll just say that Uncle Chi told me to tell them."
Cheng Chi didn't expect her to answer him like this and was slightly stunned.
Since he took charge, countless people have been acting under his name. But no one dared to say it to his face like Zhou Shaojin did, and no one made him feel not only disgusted but also very interesting.
"Sure!" he said generously, "As long as you can convince the people in the kitchen that it was my idea."
Zhou Shaojin smiled slyly.
During these days in the eldest house, she fully experienced the famous saying "Rules are dead, people are alive".
Normally, if the people in the inner courtyard wanted to order the kitchen in the outer courtyard to do something, they had to have the right cards. But the chefs in the outer courtyard kitchen all had their own accounts in mind, and as long as it didn't involve the accounts, the chefs were still willing to give work to her, the cousin who "lived" in the main house.
At that time, she only needed to say that she wanted to honor Madam Guo. No, now she changed her words to honor Uncle Chi. She asked Chunwan to take the silver and give some rice cakes to the people in the kitchen. No one in the kitchen was so rigid.
Even if someone asked about it afterwards, since she had Madam Guo as her backer, most of the chefs would keep silent about it.
But if this happens, her reputation among the women and servants might not be so good.
But there is a solution.
Add it when drafting the menu.
This way, others would think that the two rice cakes just bumped into each other accidentally.
Zhou Shaojin thought this was a great idea.
She couldn't wait to tell Cheng Chi about her idea.
The little girl finally learned to use her brain.
Cheng Chi was pleased and said with a smile, "Not bad, not bad! It can be seen that this jade cannot be made into a useful object without being carved!"
Zhou Shaojin blushed, pretending not to hear, and said loudly: "Then do as you say."
For some reason, she now increasingly hopes that Cheng Chi will stop treating her like a child.
Cheng Chi reminded her: "You can just encourage Mrs. Wu in private, but don't let anyone see it. If you feel that you can't do it, discuss it with your wet nurse Mrs. Fan Liu. I think she is quite smart in dealing with people, so it's a good opportunity to test whether she is someone you can rely on.
Of course, Fan Liu is the most reliable person!
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded, then frowned and said in distress: "However, cousin Gao is getting married on the tenth day of September. The old lady said that we won't get together on the Double Ninth Festival today. Each family will celebrate separately. It's definitely not possible on the Double Ninth Festival... I'm still worried about this matter. That day is the old lady's birthday. The old lady can't overshadow cousin Gao. This year, she won't celebrate her birthday. She also asked me to go to Jiashu Hall to help early in the morning. What do you think? Should we eat birthday noodles with the old lady in the morning before going out? Or should we come back in the evening to celebrate with the old lady? The tenth day is the right time, and I think we should be able to come back early on the night of the ninth day!"
Cheng Chi listened to her chattering and felt that the quiet study room came alive.
He couldn't help but smile and said, "Then we will get up in the morning and accompany the old lady to eat birthday noodles before going to Jiashu Hall. When we come back in the evening, we will set up a banquet for the old lady. It will be lively for our family."
By that time, the results of the Autumn Examination had already come out, and the marriage between the Cheng and Min families should have been arranged. He just sent Yuan and Cheng Xu to the capital, and the little maid could sit down and have a meal in peace.
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly with a smile, carefully approached Cheng Chi, and whispered, "Uncle Chi, what gift have you prepared for the old lady?"
Cheng Chi found it interesting and followed her example, lowering his head carefully and whispering, "I can't tell you! If I tell you, and you give the old lady the gift I bought in advance, what should I do?"
Zhou Shaojin blinked and realized that Cheng Chi was joking with her.
Her heart couldn't help but soar, and she smiled softly, "Uncle Chi, are you afraid that I will take away your credit?"
Cheng Chi was about to speak when Qingfeng came in and reported, "Fourth Master, the master is here and said he has something important to see you about."
Zhou Shaojin simply exclaimed “hateful” in his heart.
I can’t continue talking to Uncle Chi now!
Her face darkened, and before Cheng Chi could speak, she stood up suddenly and said, "Then I'll go first!" Then she ran out the back door.
Cheng Chi looked at it and smiled and shook his head.
This little girl didn't hide anything in front of him.
He smiled and told Qingfeng to invite Cheng Xu in.
After a while, Cheng Xu, wearing a lotus green Hangzhou silk gown, walked in with an upright posture and imposing manner.
"Fourth uncle!" He bowed to Cheng Chi and said with confusion, "I, I seemed to have seen the second young lady of the Zhou family just now..."
Cheng Chi's study has a back door, but Tingli Pavilion does not have a back door, so one can only go in and out through the Ruyi Gate in the front.
Zhou Shaojin might have walked too fast. Although he did not meet Cheng Xu face to face, Cheng Xu still saw his whereabouts.
He smiled and said, "She came to me to ask something."
Cheng Xu was waiting.
But there was no further news.
He couldn't help but ask anxiously: "What does the second young lady of the Zhou family want to see you for? Why would she come to see you?"
It seemed as if Zhou Shaojin shouldn't be here.
Cheng Chi felt slightly unhappy and asked coldly, "What do you want from me?"
Cheng Xu didn't take it to heart.
Cheng Chi has always been so cold towards others.
He said hurriedly, "Fourth Uncle, when I was in the capital, I met the elder of the Min family, Min Jianxing, and he highly respected you. He wrote to me a few days ago and asked me to send his regards to you, saying that if you go to the capital, you must visit his home. I have something to ask of you, Lord Min, can you..." He paused, "Can you help me put the matter before Lord Min..."
Cheng Chi said nothing, just looked at people quietly.
The calm eyes are indifferent and without any waves.
Cheng Xu nervously picked up the teacup and took several sips of tea.
Cheng Chi asked him, "How do you know that Old Lady Guan intends to keep the second daughter of the Zhou family in Jiashu Hall?"
Cheng Xu was shocked and stood up at once, saying, "Fourth Uncle, this is not true!"
"Oh!" Cheng Chi raised his eyebrows and said, "It turns out that I misunderstood. When I first heard that your father introduced a marriage to Cheng Yi without discussing it with me, I thought it was your mother's idea. I didn't expect that it was you who wrote a letter to your mother, instigating your father to arrange this matchmaking for Cheng Yi. I'm wondering, who knew that the second daughter of the Zhou family might marry Cheng Yi and then sent you the letter?"
Cheng Xu closed his mouth tightly and said nothing.
Cheng Chi's eyes showed some disdain, and he said, "Did Cheng Lu tell you?"
If it wasn't for the purpose of hiding it from Madam Guo and preventing her from discovering Cheng Xu's love for Zhou Shaojin, how could he have accepted this bad debt!
Cheng Xu lowered his head.
Silently admitted.
Cheng Chi just felt upset when he saw this.
It seems that I overestimated Cheng Xu and underestimated Cheng Lu!
He had long expected that Cheng Lu would be able to find him out with Wu Baozhang's help. However, he did not expect that Cheng Lu, when he was desperate and overwhelmed, would still have the mind to disrupt Cheng Xu's mind and let Cheng Xu know that Mrs. Guan intended to marry Zhou Shaojin to Cheng Yi, so that he would write a letter to question Yuan and ask for help.
What's even more outrageous is that Yuan, in order to appease Cheng Xu, instigated her elder brother Cheng Jing to act as a matchmaker for Cheng Yi without knowing anything, treating a girl's marriage as a joke. Has she ever thought about Zhou Shaojin's feelings
It can be seen that there was a reason why Zhou Shaojin escaped from the Cheng family in his previous life.
This wasn't what made him most angry.
Cheng Lu was his enemy, so naturally he would try to plot against Cheng Xu; Yuan and Cheng Xu were mother and son, so it was only natural for Yuan to help her son.
The person who made him most angry was his elder brother Cheng Jing!
He had told Cheng Jing not to personally act as a matchmaker for Cheng Yi, as he had already made arrangements for this matter. But Cheng Jing, influenced by his wife's pillow talk, threw his advice to the back of his mind and made a bad move!
Now that Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Yi’s marriage has failed, Yuan will definitely propose another marriage to the Min family in the near future.
Cheng Xu would definitely not agree.
He wanted to see what Yuan was going to do.
Cheng Chi felt indescribably disappointed.
Mother once asked my eldest and second brothers to swear in front of my father that they would be good to him for the rest of their lives!
But in front of Yuan, the eldest brother finally did not keep his promise to her.
Cheng Chi suddenly thought of Zhou Shaojin lying on the door with half of his face stretched out, carefully looking at him... He felt a warm current flowing through his heart.
Or maybe in this world, this little guy is the only one who believes in him from beginning to end, the only one who has never doubted himself.
Cheng Chi's gaze towards Cheng Xu became even colder.
He asked Cheng Xu in a calm voice: "Then do you know Cheng Lu's intentions?"
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Sisters and brothers, today's update!
Tomorrow's update will continue to be scheduled for around 8 o'clock in the evening.
※(To be continued)