Zhou Shaojin thought about it and found it quite funny.
Mrs. Fan Liu, who was doing needlework with her, grumbled, "We've already eaten Laba porridge, so the fourth master won't go back home to celebrate the New Year?"
Zhou Shaojin was shocked to realize that the Chinese New Year would be just over twenty days away, but Cheng Chi was still wandering around here leisurely!
She went to find Cheng Chi while her father was in class and Cheng Chi was practicing calligraphy alone in the guest room.
Who knew that before she opened her mouth to speak, Cheng Chi smiled and said, "You came at the right time. The Fan family sent a notice to your father and me a few days ago. It just so happens that your father is taking a day off tomorrow. You can come with us to visit the Fan family tomorrow!"
It’s a good opportunity to meet Zhu Zhu.
Zhou Shaojin was naturally overjoyed. She asked Cheng Chi in a chattering voice, "Is Madam going? I heard that Zhu Zhu is marrying the second son. Who are the people in the Fan family? What gifts should I prepare?"
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Your mother will go with you tomorrow. She has already prepared the gifts and other things, so you don't have to worry about it. If you have anything else you want to give to Zhu Zhu, just give it to her separately when the time comes. What your mother is sending over is the gift list." Then he talked about the aunts and uncles of the Fan family.
I heard that although the Fan family only has three branches, Zhu Zhu has 24 brothers. Zhou Shaojin was shocked and said, "If it were me, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to recognize them all."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "You can't use it as a comparison."
It makes her sound like she is very bad.
Zhou Shaojin walked away with a pout.
Cheng Chi couldn't stop laughing.
On Zhou Zhenmu's day off, Zhou Shaojin dressed up nicely and went to the upper room.
Both Zhou Zhen and Li's eyes lit up and they said, "Shao Jin is so beautiful today."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and went to the sedan chair hall together.
Cheng Chi was already waiting there.
He wore a plain cloth gown with a green bamboo background inside and a black sable cloak outside. His jet-black hair was casually tied up with a bamboo hairpin. He had a handsome face, a warm expression, and a straight body like a bamboo. The low-key luxury and arrogance of a young man from an aristocratic family were all present.
As expected, he is a member of the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane!
Zhou Zhen sighed softly in his heart.
Li asked Zhou Shaojin quietly, "Master Chi Si wore a cloth shirt to go to the Fan family. Is that okay?"
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi and whispered to his stepmother: "Just wait and see, unless there is no one in the Fan family who has studied, as long as there is someone who has studied, they will definitely respect Uncle Chi very much."
Li went to Fan's house suspiciously.
The Fan family's residence is located to the east of Baoding Prefecture, occupying a vast area. The land is no less impressive than that of Jiuru Lane, but the houses are scattered all over the place. It is neither like the winding paths in the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River nor like the neat and square houses in the north. It seems as if the houses were built wherever they were, without any rules.
Li told Zhou Shaojin: "The Fan family has many descendants, so they have to keep building houses."
No wonder!
Zhou Shaojin thought of the splendor of the Duke of Liang’s Mansion.
I don’t know if Zhu Zhu is used to living here
The head of the Fan family personally greeted Zhou Zhen at the side door.
Zhou Shaojin and others were led directly to the door of the hanging flower gate by the maid.
She quietly lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and took a look from a distance, only to find that the leader of the Fan family was a short and strong man.
After entering the second gate, the first person to greet them was the eldest wife of the Fan family.
As soon as Zhou Shaojin got off the sedan chair, he saw Zhu Zhu standing behind the crowd.
She wore a very ordinary bean green Hangzhou silk jacket with a vase pattern, a white embroidered skirt, and had her hair in a bun. She only wore two gilded hairpins inlaid with South China pearls. Except for the fact that the South China pearls on the hairpins were the size of lotus seeds, she was dressed like the other women around her. There was nothing special about her appearance. However, her face was bright and radiant, more beautiful than when she was at the Duke of Liang's Mansion. Although she was standing at the back, people could see her at a glance.
When she met Zhou Shaojin's gaze, she blinked at him playfully.
It can be seen that she lives a good life in the Fan family.
I don’t know if it’s because she married a man of her dreams, or because the Fan family treated her so well
Zhou Shaojin pondered in his mind and walked forward to greet the eldest wife of the Fan family.
The eldest wife of the Fan family had deep nasolabial folds, which made her look rather serious. But at this moment, she smiled, and warmly invited Li and Zhou Shaojin to sit down in the flower hall, and greeted them in a friendly manner: "… I heard that the second young lady came from Jinling Mansion. At that time, I thought to myself, what a coincidence, our second young lady came from Jinling Mansion. I asked the second young lady, and she actually said that she knew the second young lady." As she spoke, her eyes fell on Zhu Zhu.
Zhu Zhu smiled and walked forward to greet Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin quickly stood up to return the greeting, called out "Sister", and said, "I heard that you came to the Fan Mansion, and I was so happy that I couldn't sleep most of the night last night. Sister, are you okay?"
The two of them exchanged a few simple words, but everyone could hear that Zhu Zhu and Zhou Shaojin had a very good relationship.
Mrs. Fan smiled and said, "In that case, Ah Zhu, you must do your best to accompany the Second Miss today."
Zhu Zhu smiled and said "yes".
However, Zhou Shaojin felt uncomfortable.
When she was at the Duke of Liang's mansion, Ah Zhu lived a very carefree life, but when she came to the Fan family, she became restrained.
She found an opportunity to talk to Ah Zhu in the bamboo forest next to the Fan family's flower hall.
"How well does the second son of the Fan family treat you?"
"Yeah!" Zhu Zhu nodded shyly, and said, "He is a modest gentleman, and he always asks me for help. It's just that the rules of the Fan family are very strict. I was a little uncomfortable at the beginning. He secretly bought duck oil crispy sesame cakes for me to eat. He was afraid that they would be cold when he got home, so he put them in his arms and his chest was burned red. He didn't know that I don't like sesame cakes, and that duck oil crispy sesame cake is not made with duck oil at all, and it's very unpalatable..." Speaking of this, she seemed to think of the scene of that day again, and laughed out loud, "I caught a cold a few days ago, and he took care of me without taking off his clothes, without asking anyone else to do it... He is a very good person."
Zhou Shaojin also laughed.
Although she obviously didn't like crispy sesame cakes, she knew that the crispy sesame cakes bought by the second son of the Fan family were not made of duck fat and were particularly unpalatable... She no longer doubted whether Zhu Zhu was living well in the Fan family, and started to talk to Zhu Zhu in private.
The two talked happily for the whole morning. After having lunch at Fan's house at noon, they listened to the female teacher's storytelling and did not return home until it was dark.
But as soon as they stepped into the Baoding prefectural government office, they ran into Huang Futang who was seeing off a guest.
The two men hurried forward and saluted Zhou Zhen.
Zhou Zhen smiled and nodded to Huang Futang and his guests.
Huang Futang introduced the man to Zhou Zhen and said, "I wonder if the prefect still remembers this man, this is Scholar Chang from Xingyuan in the east of the city."
Zhou Zhen smiled and said, "I remember, I saw him last time at Lord Miao's house."
But anyone with a discerning eye could tell that he was just being polite.
Chang Xiucai stepped forward to greet Zhou Zhen and Cheng Chi.
The two nodded slightly.
Who knew that Huang Futang pointed to the sedan chair beside him and said with a smile: "You are so lucky today that you can meet the lady. You should go over and say hello."
Chang Xiucai readily followed suit and bowed to Li across the sedan chair.
Li hurriedly said "no need for formalities", left Zhou Zhen and Cheng Chi, and got into the sedan chair with Zhou Shaojin and returned to the inner courtyard.
When Zhou Zhen came back, Li couldn't help but complain: "What's going on with Huang Futang? He actually let a stranger pay his respects to me?"
Zhou Zhen didn't take it to heart. He recalled the surprise in Master Fan's eyes after he saw Cheng Chi's dress and his inexplicable admiration for Cheng Chi. He said absentmindedly, "So you have to be more careful when dealing with these people. They use all kinds of means to curry favor with people, which makes you laugh and cry. I've heard of that scholar Chang. He passed the imperial examination at a young age. He is very wealthy and good at making money. He is a guest of honor in the homes of Master Miao and Master Qian. This time he persuaded Huang Futang to block us at the door. I think he wanted to leave an impression on me. Even if he has nothing to ask for, he wants to establish a relationship with me. Don't worry, I'll take care of it. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Even if he has become a cabinet minister, it is impossible not to deal with these people from all walks of life."
Li has always trusted Zhou Zhen. Since Zhou Zhen said it was okay, she put the matter behind her.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Huang came to apologize to Li the next day: "… I have already severely criticized our master. If he meets you, he can just go up and greet you. Why didn't he ask Scholar Chang to come up and pay his respects to you? What if this alarms the second young lady?" After that, she whispered to Li mysteriously, "But, Madam, Scholar Chang is famous for his romantic and suave manners in our Baoding Prefecture. What do you think?"
Li was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red and she was about to spit at Mrs. Huang.
Mrs. Huang realized that she had misunderstood, and asked anxiously, "Isn't Mr. Chang still unmarried? I see that he is about the same age as the second young lady in the mansion..."
Li sighed, feeling embarrassed for her misunderstanding, and said, "It was too dark last night, so I didn't pay much attention. But he looked quite tall...
Mrs. Huang laughed when she heard this and said, "Not only is he tall, he's also handsome. If you didn't see clearly, Mrs. Miao will invite everyone to go to the opera in a couple of days, and Mr. Chang will definitely be there. I'll take you there to have a look. It'll be a good opportunity to find a marriage for the second young lady in the mansion..."
Li was shocked when she heard this and said hurriedly, "This is unacceptable, this is unacceptable. Our second young lady grew up in Jiuru Lane. Both Mrs. Guo from the first house and Mrs. Guan from the fourth house treat our second young lady like a treasure. Her marriage, let alone me, even our master cannot make the decision lightly. We have to discuss it with the elders of both families."
Mrs. Huang's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she eloquently urged Li to tell Zhou Zhen about it.
Li shook her head like a rattle and refused to agree no matter what she said.
Mrs. Huang had no choice but to report to Mr. Chang.
When Mr. Chang heard this, he was so happy that he didn't know what to do. He took the valuable gifts and rushed to the back office of the prefectural government. He chatted with Mrs. Huang for a long time before saying goodbye.
Mrs. Huang invited Li to the Great Compassion Pavilion to burn incense, and said, "The New Year is coming soon, so go and pray for peace and tranquility for your family."
Li was surprised and asked, "Aren't we going there on the first day of the Lunar New Year?"
Mrs. Huang blushed and said, "The more courtesy you give, the less blame you will get. I guess the Bodhisattva is the same."
Li didn't dare to go.
It had been snowing heavily these past few days, and Zhou Shaojin had just come from Jinling, so she was worried that he had caught a cold.
Mrs. Huang, however, insisted on inviting Li to go with her, and even said, "Mrs. Tan and the others should also go together."
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Brothers and sisters, it should be said that it was yesterday’s update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)