Mrs. Li didn't care what Mrs. Huang thought.
In her opinion, as long as she keeps her original heart and is not greedy or angry, she will not cause trouble for Zhou Zhen, and Zhou Zhen will respect her more.
Li smiled as she saw Mrs. Huang off, settled Zhou Shaojin and her flowers and plants, and began to prepare local ceremonies for the guards who had escorted Zhou Shaojin over.
Mrs. Huang couldn't help but gasp and said, "Madam, you are too polite."
Li smiled and said, "They are the Cheng family's guards. We can't let them make a wasted trip."
Mrs. Huang's eyes rolled as she listened.
Li said, "Why did you come here today? What's the matter?"
They made an appointment to go to Daci Pavilion to worship Buddha the day after tomorrow.
Mrs. Huang smiled and raised the food box in her hand, saying, "I made some snacks today and sent them over."
Zhou Shaojin usually doesn't eat food given by strangers.
Li accepted it with a smile, and said tactfully, "Everyone has different tastes. I like your snacks very much, but our second daughter can't get used to it - she grew up in the south and likes sweet things."
Mrs. Huang was not discouraged and smiled, "It's good that Madam likes it! I will make it specially for you when the Second Miss returns. But what are the Second Miss's plans? Are you going to stay here for a long time or go back to Jinling after the New Year?"
Li immediately became alert.
Everyone lived in the same courtyard, and Zhou Zhen was the superior, so it was impossible not to be talked about. Unfortunately, Zhou Zhen was the one who hated being talked about the most. Li was very careful in this regard, and acted as low-key as possible to prevent others from prying into her family's affairs.
"We'll definitely have to wait until after the Chinese New Year." She said vaguely, "Even if the Second Miss wants to go back, our master will never let her go back!"
Isn't it the same as not saying anything
Mrs. Huang wanted to continue asking questions when Mrs. Tan Dianshi from Zhaomosi came over.
She also had a few boxes of snacks in her hands. After greeting Mrs. Li and Mrs. Huang with a smile, she also said that she came to see Zhou Shaojin.
Li asked Zhou Shaojin to come out and greet Mrs. Tan.
Mrs. Tan's eyes suddenly widened.
Zhou Shaojin wore a royal blue plain silk boa, her jet-black hair was tied up in a bun, and yellow beeswax earrings dangled beside her snow-white cheeks. Perhaps because she was in a room with a heated floor, her face was slightly flushed, and she looked energetic and radiant.
"Is this your second young lady?" she asked Li in disbelief, "She is so beautiful! Have you told her in-laws? What time did she arrive yesterday? Did she get off the ship in Tianjin or travel by land..." She asked questions like a machine gun, and even took out a jade bracelet on her hand to give to Zhou Shaojin as a gift.
Zhou Shaojin declined again and again, but it was only after Li persuaded her that she accepted the offer.
Mrs. Huang kept staring at the yellow amber beads on Zhou Shaojin's ears.
Even Li discovered it.
Mrs. Huang smiled and explained, "I see that the earrings worn by the second young lady are not plain?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "You read it right! One of the beads on my ear is carved with Magu offering longevity, and the other is carved with four seasons of peace."
Mrs. Huang was surprised: "Why did they carve these? Such big beads, what a waste!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "These were originally the beads on the rosary of Old Madam Guo from Jiuru Lane. She wore them for many years. Later, I caught a cold, and the doctor from the Cheng family gave me several prescriptions but it didn't work. So Old Madam Guo had someone take down the two beeswax beads from the rosary and make me a pair of earrings. Coincidentally, I recovered after wearing these earrings for a few days. This time when I came to Baoding Prefecture, the old lady reminded me again and again that I must wear this pair of earrings on the road. I like them very much, so I have never taken them off." As she spoke, she was about to take them off to show Mrs. Huang.
Mrs. Huang said hurriedly, "No, no. It's better for the second young lady to wear it."
Since she is no longer curious, Zhou Shaojin will not bother her anymore.
Mrs. Tan became interested and asked hurriedly, "How does Mrs. Guo treat people? I heard that she gave birth to three sons, all of whom were Jinshi, and the eldest son even became a cabinet minister?"
Zhou Shaojin laughed when he thought of Madam Guo's appearance and nodded, "My three uncles are all knowledgeable people."
Mrs. Huang was not to be outdone and asked about Jiuru Lane.
Zhou Shaojin said what he could say, and ignored what he couldn't say.
Nanny Shang came in and said, "Second Miss, the guards will be leaving for Nanjing soon. The leader, Qin Yang, said he wanted to come in and kowtow to you."
Qin Yang was the great-nephew of the great steward Qin, and it was he who led the team to escort her to Baoding this time.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "That's not necessary. He's been very tired on this journey, so let him come in. I have a reward for him."
Nanny Shang left with a smile.
Zhou Shaojin apologized to Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Tan and went to the hall.
Mrs. Tan and Mrs. Huang both felt a chill in their hearts.
Zhou Shaojin was a weak girl, and even if the Cheng family was worried about her and sent someone to escort her to Baoding Prefecture, when she was leaving, they should have said goodbye to Zhou Shaojin's father and brothers. Why did those guards have to kowtow to her, as if she was the master...
Mrs. Huang stretched her neck and looked outside.
Then he saw the guard bowing respectfully to Zhou Shaojin through the screen, then he stood up, accepted the reward from Nanny Shang, whispered goodbye to Zhou Shaojin, and then retreated.
Mrs. Huang clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves.
Within two days, the Baoding government office began to spread the news of how favored Zhou Shaojin was in Jiuru Lane, and how good the relationship between the Zhou family and the Cheng family was...
Zhou Zhen smiled after hearing this.
But what he didn't expect was that since the rumor spread like wildfire throughout the government office, his colleagues had become more respectful to him and he was able to do things more smoothly.
Zhou Zhen couldn't help but laugh out loud, feeling very happy.
When Zhou Shaojin and Li went to the Great Compassion Pavilion to worship Buddha, Zhou Zhen gave Zhou Shaojin twenty taels of silver as pocket money and told her, "Buy whatever you want to eat, don't let yourself down."
Zhou Shaojin took it with a smile, but took Li's arm and said, "Madam will buy me whatever I want."
Li was extremely happy and said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, I will buy it for the second young lady."
Zhou Zhen laughed and said, "Then why did you keep the silver I gave you?"
"If you want to give it to me, it will naturally be mine." Zhou Shaojin smiled.
Zhou Zhen and Li also started laughing.
The atmosphere is warm.
When Li was helping Zhou Zhen change into court clothes, Zhou Zhen whispered to Li: "I want Shaojin to stay at home for a few more years." Li also liked Zhou Shaojin very much, and said with a smile: "I also want the second young lady to stay at home for two more years, but the marriage cannot be delayed. It is better to get her engaged first, and then slowly arrange the date for the engagement."
Zhou Zhen thought this was a good idea and went to the front hall with a slightly raised smile on his face.
Li and Zhou Shaojin waited until Mrs. Huang arrived and then went to Dabei Pavilion.
The Great Compassion Pavilion was built by the previous dynasty. It was magnificent and had a lot of incense, but it was not as good as the Jiming Temple and Ganquan Temple in Nanjing. Zhou Shaojin liked it, but he still thought that Jiming Temple and Ganquan Temple were better.
After burning incense and eating vegetarian food at Dabei Pavilion, Mrs. Huang said, "The pickles at Dabei Pavilion are also very famous. We might as well take some back."
Li readily accepted the suggestion and asked someone to buy it.
As a result, the pickle shop was packed with people, and I had to wait for almost half an hour before I could buy my pickle.
Zhou Shaojin returned to his room and tasted it, and it was indeed delicious.
She couldn't help but sigh: "It would be great if I could send some to Old Madam Guo. This is the flavor she likes."
Nanny Shang smiled and said, "How difficult is that? Just ask the escort agency to take it with you. It's winter now, so there's no need to worry about it getting spoiled."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Madame Shang is really thoughtful."
The next day she sent someone to buy a lot of pickles. In addition to Mrs. Guo, Mrs. Guan, Mrs. Mian and even the newly married Mrs. Gao all received her pickles. She also wrote a letter to Mrs. Guo and Mrs. Guan, telling them about her life in Baoding Prefecture.
When she went to Kuilou, she found that the fire-baked bread next to Kuilou was delicious, so she asked someone to take a bunch of it back.
Fan Liu laughed at her: "Second Miss is going to move Baoding Prefecture to Jinling City!"
Everyone laughed.
The twelfth lunar month soon arrived, and every household began to prepare to eat Laba porridge. Return gifts were sent from Jinling City from Mrs. Guo and Mrs. Guan.
Mrs. Guo wears jewelry, and Mrs. Guan wears silks and satins.
The one who came to give the return gift was Madam Lu. She told Zhou Shaojin that the Fourth House had already started preparing for Cheng Yi's marriage. After Cheng Xu's facial wound healed, he did not return to Duojiaxuan, but stayed in Madam Guo's Bisha cabinet, studying hard every day: "… The marriage between the Min family and the Cheng family has also been decided. It will be completed in September next year. Madam asked Master Xu to return to Duojia Pavilion several times, but Master Xu refused."
However, Xiao Tan learned from the maid who came with Madam Lu that Cheng Xu was in a very bad condition. Although he was young, he looked depressed and gloomy, as if he had experienced a lot of pain. Yuan had quarreled with Madam Guo several times over this matter, wanting Cheng Xu to return to live in Duojiaxuan. But every time she returned empty-handed, she could only complain a few words in private.
Zhou Shaojin remained calm after hearing this.
I'm just a little depressed why there is no news about Cheng Chi.
I wonder if he will get engaged suddenly like Cheng Xu
She was lying on the bed, thinking about something. Chun Wan rushed in and said, "Second Miss, the eldest brother-in-law is here. He is talking to the master in the study!"
Zhou Shaojin was startled and asked, "Isn't he studying at the Imperial College? Why is he looking for my father?"
Chun Wan shook her head and said, "I only heard that the eldest brother-in-law was originally planning to take a boat back to Zhenjiang, but somehow he arrived in Baoding first."
At this time in the previous life, my brother-in-law was working hard in the capital. Why did he suddenly come to Baoding Prefecture in this life
She asked Nanny Shang to eavesdrop.
Soon, Nanny Shang came back and said with a smile, "Second Miss, it's a good thing. The eldest brother-in-law has been studying with the second old master of the eldest house a few days ago. According to Master Liao, it was the Fourth Master Chi who helped. Master Liao came here to tell you so that Master Zhou would not be unaware and would not even say thank you when he met the Fourth Master."
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised and asked, "Why didn't Uncle Chi say anything before?"
Quietly handle the matter that troubled her.
This way, my sister will have completely established her foothold in the Liao family!
She owed Cheng Chi even more.
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Dear sisters and brothers who are reading this book, here is today’s update.
PS: The typos in this morning have been corrected, and the typos in this chapter will be corrected tomorrow at noon.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)