Zhou Shaojin shook his head slightly and rejected Cheng Chi's proposal.
Since you are leaving, leave cleanly and never have anything to do with Uncle Chi again.
She was afraid that she would be reminded of Cheng Chi when she saw the object, and would never be able to suppress her love for Cheng Chi in her heart.
Cheng Chi was a little surprised when he saw this, but he said nothing. After thinking for a moment, he nodded in agreement.
Zhou Shaojin resigned from Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi walked her to the door of the study.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "If Uncle Chi passes by Baoding Prefecture, please remember to visit our house!"
"Okay!" Cheng Chi replied with a smile.
Zhou Shaojin walked slowly through the courtyard of Tingli Pavilion.
The early winter sun shone warmly on her body, but her hands and feet were a little cold.
She said that there was no need to send anyone to serve her, so Uncle Chi didn't insist... In his heart, she was just an ordinary relative, right
Zhou Shaojin felt dull in his heart and tears were about to fall.
But in a flash she burst out laughing again.
She was the one who said she didn't want Nanny Shang and Xiao Tan to serve her, and Uncle Chi agreed. But she blamed Uncle Chi for not coaxing her... Where in the world is there such a pretentious person as her!
Zhou Shaojin understood it in his heart, but he couldn't suppress the inexplicable sadness.
She smiled warmly and greeted Mrs. Guo, Mrs. Guan and others who came to see her off, and returned to Pingqiao Street with tears in her eyes.
The ancestral house on Pingqiao Street still stood there quietly as before, but Ma Fushan's family, who had heard the news yesterday, had already cleaned up the room. After she had lunch, her things were placed in the corresponding places according to her habits.
Chun Wan advised Zhou Shaojin: "Second Miss, you almost didn't sleep all night yesterday. Are you going to rest soon? I will wake you up for dinner."
After getting used to Madam Guo’s Buddhist temple, getting used to the secret joy while waiting for Uncle Chi, and getting used to the laughter of Biyu and others, the Zhou family’s ancestral home became empty.
She nodded slightly and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, Old Madam Guo sent Nanny Lu to see if she was getting used to her life. Zhou Shaojin kept her for a chat and rewarded her with two pieces of moon-white Songjiang cloth for making the interior. Before he sent her out, Nanny Wang, who was beside Old Madam Guan, also came over.
She dealt with it for a long time and only calmed down on the third day.
The boxes and cages Zhou Shaojin brought back were not fully opened, and the flowers and plants he planted were moved into the greenhouse and temporarily looked after by Nanny Yu.
Everyone had some rare free time, so they did needlework together.
More than half a month passed, and Zhou Zhen's personal attendant Li Changgui arrived in Jinling City with Zhou Zhen's letter.
Zhou Zhen told Zhou Shaojin to leave as soon as he received the letter, and not to be bound by an auspicious day. He was free to deal with Jiuru Lane.
Zhou Shaojin held the letter, tears welling up in his eyes, and asked Li Changgui: "Did my father have any other instructions?"
Li Changgui said respectfully: "The master asked me to bring some local gifts. After I go to Jiuru Lane to pay my respects and present the gifts tomorrow, we can set off."
Zhou Shaojin asked Ma Fushan to accompany Li Changguiyang City to retreat and put the letter in the box.
Is she just like that, leaving Jiuru Lane where she had lived for fourteen years, and leaving the city of Jinling where she was born and raised
Zhou Shaojin stood under the veranda of the upper house, looking towards the direction of Jiuru Lane. His mind was blank and he didn't want to think about anything.
The next day, he went to Jiuru Lane to say goodbye, taking the local ritual objects his father had brought.
Mrs. Guo met her in the hall.
She neither met Cheng Chi nor Cheng Xu.
But she still went to Tingli Pavilion and met Jiying.
Although Ji Ying was detained, she was in good spirits. Knowing that Zhou Shaojin was going to Baoding Prefecture, she said happily: "I will also go home in a few days. Cangzhou is very close to Baoding Prefecture, I will visit you then."
Seeing that Jiying was fine, Zhou Shaojin felt relieved and went to the fourth room.
Old Mrs. Guan sent her to the door of Jiashu Hall.
Grandmother Gao He Fengping and Cheng Ji accompanied her to Wenchuan Lake outside Jinling City.
Although Zhou Shaojin was on the official ship of Zhou Town, the box contained the business card of Cheng Jing that Mrs. Guo gave her before she left.
Compared to her previous life when she went to the capital, she was calm and composed.
She smiled and said to Grandma Gao and Cheng Ji who came to see her off, "You can go back! I will write to you after I see my sister!"
She first took a boat to Zhenjiang to visit Zhou Chujin, and then went to Baoding Prefecture.
Grandma Gao kept telling her to be careful, but Cheng Ji hugged her and started crying: "Shaojin, you must be well! When I get married, I will take you to Luoyang to play. Then we sisters can do whatever we want, and no one should give us a hard time!"
Zhou Shaojin sneered and said with a smile: "Then you have to be nicer to Li Jing! If I go there and something goes wrong between you two, where will I have a place to stay?"
Cheng Ji was so amused by her that he burst into laughter and said, "Why are you so mean? I haven't even gotten married yet, and you're expecting us to quarrel."
Zhou Shaojin laughed.
The seventeenth aunt of the Gu family and the young ladies of the Guo family also sent their personal mothers to accompany her.
Zhou Shaojin boarded the official ship amid everyone's reluctant gazes, bidding farewell to her relatives and maids who had accompanied her for many years.
The official ship slowly sailed away from Wenchuan Lake.
Zhou Shaojin stood on the side of the boat, watching the city of Jinling getting smaller and smaller in his sight.
She couldn't stop her tears from falling.
"Second Miss, Second Miss," Chun Wan was also very sad. She took a handkerchief to wipe Zhou Shaojin's tears. "It's windy outside. Be careful not to get sick. Let's go back to the cabin and rest, shall we?"
Zhou Shaojin returned to the cabin in a depressed mood, opened the window, and sat down on the embroidered cushion by the window.
A maid came in and said in a coquettish voice: "Second Miss, the weather is too cold. I am afraid that the cold wind will penetrate your bones, so I made some ginger tea for you. Please drink it while it is hot!"
Zhou Shaojin looked up in astonishment: "Xiao Tan?"
Xiao Tan tilted her head and smiled, her face full of pride, and said: "The fourth master said that he thought I was quite tactful and that you were short of a few servants, so he sent us to you. We got up before dawn today and were sent on board..."
"We?" Zhou Shaojin's eyes widened. "Who else?"
Xiao Tan looked towards the cabin entrance.
Zhou Shaojin saw a woman wearing a parrot green Lu silk jacket, standing quietly at the door of the cabin.
The silver hairpin on her head sparkled brightly in the sunlight, and her face with a faint smile looked gentle and kind.
"Madam Shang!" Zhou Shaojin screamed.
"It's me!" Nanny Shang smiled and stepped forward to bow to Zhou Shaojin, saying, "The fourth master said that the second young lady is surrounded by little girls, and only Madam Fan is an experienced woman, so he asked me and Madam Fan to accompany her so that we can take care of the second young lady..."
In other words, Uncle Chi still cares about her!
When Zhou Shaojin thought of Cheng Chi’s indifference and alienation that day, he felt both sweet and sour in his heart.
Uncle Chi finally took care of her business!
She hurriedly asked Nanny Shang to get up and asked, "Have you settled down?"
Nanny Shang nodded with a smile and said, "We have settled them in, right next to the Second Miss. I can hear any movement from your side." Then she said implicitly, "The ship has already set sail, the Second Miss can't chase us off the ship, otherwise we will be homeless in this unfamiliar place and we don't know how to get around Jinling City.
Zhou Shaojin pursed his lips and smiled.
Suddenly I felt that the sky was high and the earth was vast, and I felt indescribably comfortable and at ease.
She told Chun Wan: "Let Ruyi work for Nanny Shang!"
Ruyi was a servant of the Zhou family. This time when she went to Baoding Prefecture, Ma Fushan temporarily selected two young maids for her. One of them was called Jixiang and the other was called Ruyi. Both of them were only eight or nine years old, with clear eyes and were very smart.
Chunwan responded with a smile.
You can see that she is also very happy.
Everybody was smiling.
The atmosphere on the boat immediately became warm and lively, and everyone seemed to be back in Hanbi Mountain Villa.
Zhou Shaojin had lunch and took a nap on the boat peacefully.
Xiao Tan and Chun Wan brought in her favorite lotus seed, white fungus and lily soup, while Nanny Shang sat at the head of her bed and asked her about the situation of the Zhou family.
After walking for two days, they arrived at Zhenjiang Prefecture.
The Liao family had already received the news and sent a steward and a capable nanny to wait at the dock the day before.
Zhou Shaojin, wearing a veiled hat, was helped by Nanny Shang into the Liao family's sedan chair.
On the way, she quietly lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and looked around Zhenjiang City.
The colorful signs, the crowded streets, and the constant hawking of vendors make it even more crowded than Jinling City, but it lacks Jinling City's reserve and grandeur.
She lowered the curtain of the sedan chair with a smile and walked into the Liao Mansion with excitement in her heart.
My elder sister was already pregnant and a little plumper than before she got married. Chixiang led seven or eight maids and servants to wait for her at the second gate. One of the servants even said attentively, "Grandma, you should sit down and wait! You've been standing there for nearly a quarter of an hour!"
Zhou Shaojin, who had just stepped out of the sedan chair, couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.
My sister doesn't have such a grand occasion in Jiuru Lane.
From this, I can tell that my sister is living well in the Liao family.
She got off the sedan with a smile on her face.
Zhou Chujin came over with tears in her eyes: "Shaojin! I've been waiting for you to come!"
Zhou Shaojin threw himself into his sister's arms.
The old woman was so frightened that her face turned pale. She hurriedly said, "My dear, please be careful. Please be careful. Our grandmother is pregnant."
"I know, I know!" Zhou Shaojin stayed in her sister's arms for a while and said with a sweet smile, "I won't hurt you!"
Zhou Chujin also scolded the old woman for being nosy, and said to Zhou Shaojin helplessly: "Don't blame her, it was my mother-in-law who asked her to take care of me, so she can't help but be a little too cautious!"
Zhou Shaojin nodded with a smile and told Shang Ma: "Reward her ten taels of silver!"
The air around them stagnated.
Nanny Shang acted as if she didn't know anything. She smiled and handed a purse to the old woman.
The old woman came to her senses and knelt down to thank him.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Everyone has a reward."
There was a loud noise and they knelt down again.
Zhou Chujin frowned secretly, but couldn't say anything to Zhou Shaojin in front of a group of maids, so she could only say: "I have cleaned up the room for you. Go and wash up and I will take you to pay your respects to the old lady."
The old lady of the Liao family is the great-grandmother of my brother-in-law Liao Shaotang.
His grandmother has passed away.
After something happened to the Zhou family in the previous life, it was this great-grandmother who wanted to divorce my sister Zhou Chujin.
She smiled, took her sister's hand and asked about her health.
"I'm fine." Zhou Chujin's brows brightened as he talked about this. "The child isn't noisy or fussy, I can eat and sleep, nothing different from usual. If Chixiang and the others hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have known I had a child..."
Zhou Shaojin's expression darkened.
In her previous life, my sister had a miscarriage of her first child because of this.
Later, when she was pregnant with Chengfang, she didn't react at all.
She... is also...
※
Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
There are typos, I will have to wait to correct them.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)