Cheng Xu felt very aggrieved and said, "Grandma, I'm not kidding. I really have something to do with Zhou's second cousin!"
He was tall and handsome, and had a straightforward face. When Lady Liang saw him, she couldn't help but smile and said to Old Lady Guo, "You can't just hit the child without asking any questions. Don't you have to listen to what the child has to say?"
Whoever's child is loved by him/her.
Mrs. Guo believed that Cheng Xu had a reason for doing this. But no matter what the reason was, he was a little reckless. Rather than being criticized by others, it would be better to be reprimanded by his own elders, so that the big things would be turned into small things, and those who had complaints about Cheng Xu would not be able to say anything more.
This is why Mrs. Guo scolded Cheng Xu in public—she was protecting Cheng Xu. And even if she didn't speak up for Cheng Xu, Mrs. Guo would find a way to make Cheng Xu explain what he did.
We can't let Cheng Xu give the guests the impression that he is frivolous, right
Now that the Lady of the Duke of Liang has taken the initiative to speak for Cheng Xu, how could Madam Guo not agree
But she was not the kind of woman who had never seen the world. Although she was happy in her heart, she did not show it on her face. She said solemnly: "Since the wife of the Duke of Liang has pleaded for you, I will not punish you for the sake of the wife. What do you want your second cousin from the Zhou family to help you with?"
Cheng Xu said awkwardly, "We were guessing a riddle, and we ended up leaving the crouching deer seal on our cousin from the Gu family in the Ru kiln vase and couldn't get it out. We looked for a few young maids and servants who were still in their childhood but none of them worked, so we thought of our second cousin from the Zhou family..."
As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin's heart was pounding, and he felt that Cheng Xu was not telling the truth.
The reason why the cousin of the Gu family's lying deer seal ended up in the appreciation vase must be related to Cheng Xu.
But there was no evidence, so she couldn't even refute it.
Everyone's eyes fell on Zhou Shaojin again. Several ladies sitting by the pearl curtain in the veranda laughed. One of them, a young lady wearing a bright red jacket with hundreds of butterflies woven on it, said, "You've thought of that! This little girl is as fair as snow and as slender as a willow. She is indeed a good helper."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Zhou Shaojin's wrist.
Zhou Shaojin blushed and hid behind Zhou Chujin, hiding his hands in his sleeves.
Several older ladies had other concerns. For example, the wife of the Duke of Liang looked slightly serious when she heard this, and asked Cheng Xu: "Is the lying deer seal the one that Emperor Taizong awarded to Mr. Gu in the Golden Palace?"
Cheng Xu lowered his head in shame and responded with a low "yes".
"How dare you, kids!" Lady Liang stamped her feet anxiously. "That's a gift from the emperor, one of the Gu family's heirlooms. How dare you bet on it?"
Those who knew about the lying deer seal nodded, while those who didn't know about the lying deer seal looked a little confused.
Next to the young woman in the bright red jacket with hundreds of butterflies and flowers sat a young woman of the same age wearing a royal blue jacket with landscape patterns. She had fair skin, big almond eyes, and a gentle temperament. Seeing that some people didn't understand, she explained softly, "When the world was first settled, Emperor Taizong recruited talents. The governor of Jiangnan recommended Mr. Gu to the East Palace to teach the prince the Analects. Duke Liang visited him three times but was not accepted. Emperor Taizong had no choice but to invite Mr. Gu to Beijing. Mr. Gu, dressed in white, talked with the emperor in the Golden Palace. He is still the first person to do so since the founding of this dynasty. The Lying Deer Seal, the Hundred Beasts Duan Inkstone, and the Landscape Brush Washer are the three treasures given by Emperor Taizong at that time."
The room immediately seemed to be filled with thousands of bees flying around, and the buzzing sound was endless.
The young woman in the royal blue jacket with landscape patterns turned a blind eye to this and asked Mrs. Guo with a smile, "Could the Ru kiln vase be the 'Beauty Under the Moon'?"
Mrs. Guo looked at Cheng Xu.
Cheng Xu nodded gently and murmured, "If it weren't for that statue of the beauty under the moon, I would have smashed it long ago..."
Someone asked, "Mrs. Gao, what's the story behind this?"
It turned out that this young woman was the wife of Gao Yao, the prefect of Zhenjiang.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but glance at Mrs. Gao.
Mrs. Gao smiled and said, "There is no allusion to this appreciation of the vase. It is just called this name. I liked it very much, so I kept it in mind."
Some people smiled slightly, and some said, "So that's it!"
However, Zhou Shaojin felt that the appreciation vase was definitely not as simple as Mrs. Gao said, otherwise how would Mrs. Gao know the name of this appreciation vase
She had a bad feeling.
The lying deer seal is extremely valuable, and this vase also has an extraordinary origin and cannot be smashed... No matter how she looks at it, she has no choice but to go with Cheng Xu!
But if she gave up so easily, what would be the difference from her previous life
Zhou Shaojin's mind started working rapidly and she soon came up with an idea.
"Madam!" She took a deep breath, smiled and stepped forward to bow to Madam Guo, saying, "Since that's the case, why don't you ask Cousin Xu to bring the appreciation bottle over? I'll try it here."
Madam Guo was slightly stunned, and the expressions of Madam Gao and the others also became somewhat subtle.
Zhou Shaojin's heart skipped a beat, knowing that he had said something wrong. But before he could think about where he had gone wrong, Madam Guo said, "The show is about to start, and it's so noisy here. Why don't you go with your cousin Xu?" She then instructed Feicui beside her, "Go with the second young lady. If we still can't get the lying deer seal, why don't we smash the vase?"
Cheng Xu was stunned and shouted: "Grandma..."
Madam Guo waved her hand at him and said, "If the incident happened in the Cheng family, the Cheng family must be responsible. Don't say anything more, just do as I say."
"Old Madam Gaoyi!" There was another buzzing sound in the room.
However, Zhou Shaojin saw that Mrs. Gao seemed to be hesitant to speak, and had an expression of heartache and pain on her face.
She became even more certain that this vase was not simple.
But no matter how extraordinary this vase was, since Madam Guo had already spoken, if the reclining deer seal really could not be produced, she would never stay any longer and would not care what would happen to the bottle.
Zhou Shaojin made up his mind and agreed with a smile.
Zhou Chujin, who always loved her sister, noticed Zhou Shaojin's uneasiness. She smiled and said, "How about I go with my sister? She is young, so she should not break things carelessly!"
Cheng Ji also jumped out upon hearing this and said, "I'll go too. If Shao Jin can't get it out, I can still help."
Everyone looked at her wrist.
I just felt that the snow was as smooth as fat, as solid as mutton fat, round and flawless.
Someone burst out laughing.
Cheng Ji's face turned red.
Jiang said hurriedly, "Jia'er, don't make trouble! Shaojin is going to help your cousin Xu, not to play, so don't make trouble!" As she spoke, she pulled her away, as if she was afraid that she would continue to make trouble. She also said to Zhou Chujin, "Don't go either. Miss Feicui is with you. What are you worried about?"
Mrs. Guo thought that Zhou Chujin was afraid that if she could not take out the Lying Deer Seal and smashed the vase, Zhou Shaojin would be blamed. Zhou Chujin's behavior clearly showed that he doubted her character. She was a little unhappy, and continued Jiang's words to Zhou Chujin: "Don't worry, I will keep my word."
Zhou Chujin was a shrewd person, so she naturally understood the underlying meaning of Madam Guo's words. She was reluctant to do so, so she had to smile and say, "Then I'll stay and accompany my cousin Jia." But she was still worried, so she whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "Be careful."
If looks could hurt, then Cheng Ji would already have seven or eight scars on his body.
Zhou Shaojin tried hard not to roll his eyes at Cheng Ji.
Why didn't she think that Cheng Ji was a bad guy before
Zhou Shaojin followed Cheng Xu downstairs with anger in his heart.
Cheng Xu led the way in front of her in a very proper manner, even as if he was afraid that she would be scared. As he walked, he said to her, "We didn't expect this to happen. Cousin Gu doesn't know that the seal can't be taken out. So I asked Da Su to hold the appreciation vase and wait for us at Changchun Pavilion."
Zhou Shaojin had no idea where Changchun Pavilion was, but he didn't intend to ask. He just followed Cheng Xu forward.
Cheng Xu had more to say, "Changchun Pavilion is not far from Siyi Tower, but it's not far from the place where you can listen to the pine wind. It's to the east of Sanzhi Pavilion..."
Zhou Shaojin has never had any sense of direction. It would have been fine if he didn't say anything. Once he said it, Zhou Shaojin was even more lost.
She still said nothing.
Cheng Xu, who was walking in front, didn't notice it at all and continued, "Do you know Sanzhixuan? It was once the place where our Cheng family's ancestors practiced meditation. It is full of flowers, flowing streams, lush trees, and beautiful scenery. In particular, there is a blue stone as tall as a person under the Bodhi tree in front of the stream, which actually reflects the figure of a person sitting cross-legged. Everyone says that it is the place where our Cheng family's ancestors practiced Zen and attained enlightenment. Do you want to go and see it?"
He introduced himself enthusiastically but received no response for a long time. Turning back, he saw Zhou Shaojin following him from a distance with an expressionless face and eyes fixed straight ahead. He didn't know if he heard what he said or not.
Cheng Xu felt very depressed.
But as they left Siyi Tower, he regained his spirits, and stood in the corridor with a smile, waiting for Zhou Shaojin to approach.
When Zhou Shaojin saw him stop, he stopped too.
Cheng Xu waited for a long time but Zhou Shaojin didn't come closer, then he understood her intention. He couldn't help but widen his eyes and said, "Why are you so far away from me? Will I eat you?"
Shameless villain!
It's hard to even speak.
Zhou Shaojin complained in his heart, without even looking at Cheng Xu, he turned to Feicui and said, "Although I am young, I know that men and women should be separated. This distance is best."
Feicui is already eighteen years old. If she hadn't figured out Cheng Xu's thoughts before, she was now more than sure of it.
How dare she get involved
She hummed a few times vaguely, and no one could hear what she said.
Cheng Xu was so angry that he couldn't speak and left in anger.
Zhou Shaojin followed him slowly.
Green trees around us block out the sun, providing thick shade, and from time to time we can hear the chirping of birds.
Cheng Xu's mood gradually calmed down.
Why can't he let go of Zhou Shaojin
Besides her beauty, there is also... She is only nice to the people she likes, wholeheartedly!
Like her sister, like Cheng Jia, like Guan Laoan, as well as Cheng Yi and Cheng Gao... She has always been gentle in words, patient and submissive.
They didn't know each other before, and he was the one who forced her out. Any decent person would think that he behaved frivolously, so how could he expect her to be nice to him
Thinking of this, he felt that his behavior just now was too rude and petty.
※
Mondays make people cry, endless meetings, endless things to do...
※(To be continued)