Mrs. Guo was very surprised.
Only then did Zhou Shaojin feel that Ma Fushan had come at the wrong time.
I'm afraid that Madam Guo and Uncle Chi would mistakenly think that he is here to support them.
Zhou Shaojin said hurriedly: "I asked him to come. I wanted to ask him to deliver something to Baoding Prefecture."
I'm afraid that the people around Shaojin were afraid that she would suffer a loss, so they went to report the news
But Mrs. Guo no longer had the heart to care about these things.
It was originally their fault, so does Shao Jin have to just passively take the beating
Madam Guo said kindly, "Go! See what Ma Fushan wants to see you about."
I knew I couldn’t hide it from the old lady.
Zhou Shaojin was slightly embarrassed. He came out of the upper room of Hanbi Mountain House and went to meet Ma Fushan.
Ma Fu did not come alone, he also brought a few strong men with him, but they all stayed outside the Hanbi Mountain House. In his words, "We are not here to fight with the Cheng family, we just want to protect the second young lady from being forcibly detained."
When he saw her, he looked her up and down without any hesitation, fearing that she might be missing a single hair.
If his father didn't value her, how could Ma Fushan treat her like this.
Zhou Shaojin's nose felt sore and he wanted to go to Baoding more and more - out of sight, out of mind. Here he met Uncle Chi every day and listened to Madam Guo and Yuan discussing how to arrange a marriage for Uncle Chi. Life was like cutting flesh with a blunt knife, and it was painful day by day, but he couldn't even cry out in pain.
She said to Ma Fushan, "With Uncle Chi here, I will be fine. But there are some things I cannot tell my father. Please write a letter to him and tell him that I want to go to Baoding Prefecture to celebrate the New Year. You can pick me up tomorrow morning. No matter what my father says, I cannot stay in Jiuru Lane any longer."
Cheng Xu was recuperating in Madam Guo's green gauze cabinet.
Ma Fushan nodded and said, "I don't need to worry about that. I'll come and pick up the second young lady tomorrow morning."
Zhou Shaojin was just about to see him out when someone rushed in like a spring evening breeze.
"Second Miss, Second Miss!" She panted, but her eyes were as bright as the stars in the sky. "The Fourth Master is so powerful. With just a few words, it turned out that Mr. Xu was drugged and flirted with Miss Jiying in a state of unconsciousness..."
"Ah!" Zhou Shaojin and Ma Fushan were both shocked. Zhou Shaojin even asked, "What happened to Miss Jiying? Was she punished? What did Uncle Chi say? Tell me quickly."
It would be best if the incident was directed to a maid who served as a servant.
Ma Fushan did not leave either. He stood at the door and listened to Chunwan talking about the incident in the flower hall: "… Huanxi and Dasu were both called in. They were each beaten with ten large boards before they were even questioned. Dasu was fine, but Huanxi could not even stand up, so he was held up by a servant when he was questioned." Perhaps thinking of the tragic situation at that time, Chunwan's face turned pale, "Huanxi and Dasu both guaranteed that Master Xu had never eaten anything like Wushisan. Then the fourth master Cheng Mian, who was sent to search Duojiaxuan, also came over and said that there was no such thing in Master Xu's room... Now everyone is discussing who gave Master Xu this thing, and no one cares about the second young lady's affairs. The fourth master let me go back and told me to stay at home for the next few days and not go anywhere. If there is anything, he might call me in for questioning!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
She knew that with Uncle Chi around, she would be safe and sound.
"What about Jiying?" Zhou Shaojin asked, "Did she release her too? Didn't she go with you?"
She must be very angry that Uncle Chi framed her like this!
Chun Wan's smile disappeared immediately, and he said, "The fourth master said that Master Xu was beaten by Miss Jiying. Although Master Xu is a seven-foot-tall man, there is a difference between the superior and the inferior, and Miss Jiying will be locked up for the time being. We will deal with Miss Jiying after we have investigated Master Xu's case!"
Zhou Shaojin became anxious.
It was she who called Jiying over.
If she hadn't called Jiying over, nothing like this would have happened to Jiying.
"Do you know where she is being held?" Zhou Shaojin asked.
Chun Wan's eyes were filled with tears. She said, "I don't know. After she was questioned, she was taken away by Uncle Huaishan. It was Qingfeng who told me that she was locked up. I was in a hurry to tell the second young lady, so I didn't ask in detail. I thought I would go to Qingfeng to ask after the people in the flower hall dispersed."
"You go now!" Zhou Shaojin said in a serious tone, "If nothing unexpected happens, we will go back to Pingqiao Street tomorrow morning. If there is no solution to the firefly collection, how can we leave?"
I don’t want to stay in Jiuru Lane for the Spring Festival Gala anymore.
In the past, it was because the second young lady was still young, ignorant and knew nothing, and needed guidance and care. Now the second young lady acts in an orderly manner. There are only servants in the Zhou family’s ancestral home, and the second young lady used to be the boss and had so much freedom!
She nodded repeatedly and ran away.
Ma Fushan couldn't help but sigh, "This time, it's all thanks to Master Chi Si! If it weren't for him, even if the Second Miss hadn't been in any trouble, she would have been called to the Flower Hall by the elders of the Cheng family for questioning, and there would have been a lot of gossip. This favor must be known to the Master."
"Of course!" No matter what happens in the future, Zhou Shaojin hopes that his father can be friendly with Cheng Chi.
Both of them are very important to her.
After seeing Ma Fushan off, Chunwan had not returned yet, so she told Bitao and others to pack their luggage.
Although what happened in the cave had not yet spread widely in Jiuru Lane, all the maids and old women in the eldest house who had a little respectability knew about it.
Xiao Tan peeked in from the door and asked Zhou Shaojin sadly, "Second cousin, are you leaving?"
Zhou Shaojin was stunned for a moment, then walked over and gently put his arm around Xiaotan's shoulders.
Ever since she started moving into Hanbi Mountain House, Xiao Tan has been serving her. After she moved in, she even moved into her room.
Xiao Tan is not only smart, but also lively and cheerful, and she does things in an organized manner.
Now that she is leaving, she is reluctant to leave those who served her closely.
But all good things must come to an end.
She asked Bi Tao to pack 20 taels of silver and two red gold hairpins for Bi Yu, and 10 taels of silver and two gilded hairpins for Fei Cui: "I may not be in Jinling City when they get married, so this can be considered as me giving them extra boxes in advance."
Bitiao went away with the things.
Zhou Shaojin also gave away some of his old clothes as rewards to people, and to people like Xiao Tan, he gave some gold and silver jewelry.
Fubi Pavilion suddenly became quiet, with a hint of pain of parting.
Cuihuan came with Cheng Ji.
Zhou Shaojin rewarded Cuihuan with ten taels of silver, a pair of red gold shrimp-whisker bracelets and a pair of South pearl flowers.
Cheng Ji blushed with shame, holding Zhou Shaojin's hand and repeatedly promising: "I will definitely find my elder brother and ask him why he suddenly ordered Cuihuan to do the job. I waited for you at Manfang Pavilion for a long time but didn't see you. If Cuihuan hadn't come to find me, I wouldn't have known that such a thing happened... How is Brother Xu? Did you not beat him up? Otherwise, Jiying will be in trouble!"
Zhou Shaojin thought of Cheng Ji who died young in his previous life.
I feel that there are some things that Cheng Ji doesn't need to know.
She just has to bear these unpleasant things alone.
"Uncle Chi is already investigating." Zhou Shaojin comforted her, "Don't make trouble there. It will ruin the relationship between brother and sister. You should just wait for your marriage peacefully."
Cheng Ji held Zhou Shaojin's hand tightly, feeling heavy in his heart.
According to Cuihuan, there must be something wrong with her brother.
But asking her to check on her brother who had protected her and treated her like a treasure since she was a child... She felt very uncomfortable just thinking about it.
Cheng Ji didn't dare to check.
Zhou Shaojin's words made her feel relieved, but the guilt in her heart deepened instead of diminishing.
She said spoiledly, "Shaojin, then you should wait until I get married before going to Baoding Prefecture, otherwise you are blaming me."
It seemed that only then did she feel that the feelings between her and Shao Jin had not changed, and she felt better.
Zhou Shaojin just answered her perfunctorily, nodded with a smile and said nothing.
Although she couldn't be said to be seeking revenge for Cheng Zheng's treatment of her, she also couldn't attend Cheng Ji's wedding as if nothing had happened.
We’ll talk about it when the time comes!
If you are still in Jinling City, go and see Cheng Jia off; if you are not in Jinling City... just assume that they have no such fate!
Zhou Shaojin took a long breath and talked to Cheng Ji for a long time, repeatedly assuring that he did not blame Cheng Ji. Only then did Cheng Ji walk away with Cuihuan's support.
When the lights are turned on, the Spring Festival Gala is back.
She told Zhou Shaojin cheerfully, "Miss Jiying is locked up in her own room, guarded by two maids. It's obvious that the Fourth Master is just pretending."
Zhou Shaojin calmed down and said, "Can we go visit her?"
"No!" Chun Wan said regretfully, "It was said that the Fourth Master ordered Miss Jiying to reflect on herself in the side room."
Zhou Shaojin instructed Chunwan: "Before we leave tomorrow, let's make some snacks for her and say goodbye to her."
Chunwan nodded sadly.
The two of them packed the boxes together.
Mrs. Fan Liu came in and whispered to them, "I heard from Qi'er that Master Zheng from the third room found out that the medicine was put in the tea. And the only people who had been to the tea room during that period were the servants around Master Shi from the second room and the people who served tea in the hall. Master Shi's servant said that he was just following Master Shi's orders to bring hot water to Madam Shi, but the people around Madam Shi didn't remember whether he went to deliver the hot water, because there were too many people that day... Master Chi Si said that since the matter could no longer be explained clearly, let's put it aside for the time being. He also said that this medicine is not cheap, and it is likely that people in Qinlou and Chuyuan use it a lot, so it might as well start from those places. Let's talk about it when we get the results.
"It is said that the second son's face turned pale and blue after hearing this, and he kept explaining to Master Chi Si.
"Master Chi Si not only did not scold him, but also comforted him, saying: Even a man like Master Xu was plotted against, let alone a man like Master Shi who is well-known for his talent! Don't worry, Master Shi, the clear will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid.
"After hearing this, Master Shi was so grateful that he knelt down and kowtowed to the Fourth Master.
"However, Mr. Zheng looked a little unhappy, as if he was too tired, or maybe jealous. But when Mr. Shi stood up, he started to laugh, and his laugh was quite warm, without any awkwardness from before!"
Uncle Chi, this is a good idea!
Check half and keep the other half.
Let the second and third rooms guess.
I still feel nervous from time to time.
This is torture at its best.
Zhou Shaojin trusted Cheng Chi even more.
※
Sisters and brothers, this is the first update for the first pink ticket add in April.
Updated around midnight.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)