The next day, Cheng Chi came to visit Li.
Li was very surprised. After sending Cheng Chi away, she said to Zhou Shaojin and her sister, "I never thought that I would meet Master Cheng Si here. He is also going to the capital. It's just right for us to go together. He often travels between the capital and Nanjing, so I have someone to take care of him on the way."
Zhou Chujin only had a superficial impression of Uncle Chi, so he was naturally dispensable.
Zhou Shaojin was secretly delighted, and asked Nanny Shang to find out about Xiao Zhenhai at night: "Is he really not against Uncle Chi?"
Nanny Shang was present at yesterday's event. She thought that since the Fourth Master said he would talk to the Second Miss about the Seven Stars Hall when he was free, there was no need to hide some things from the Second Miss.
She smiled and said, "The entire Xiao family surrendered, and only he escaped with several elders of the Xiao family. The temper of the Fourth Master is known to everyone in the martial arts world. If you are tough, you can fight to the end. After you die, the Fourth Master will erect a monument and repair his grave. But if you surrender halfway and then betray him, you will not have a good ending."
Zhou Shaojin asked curiously, "What will be the result of not being able to have a good ending?"
Nanny Shang naturally wouldn't tell her the truth.
To be honest, a girl like her who grew up in a boudoir would be afraid and hide when she sees the Fourth Master from now on.
She laughed and said, "It's just that he needs to be punished, to scare the monkeys."
Zhou Shaojin nodded to show his understanding.
Nanny Shang continued to laugh and said, "So Xiao Zhenhai shouldn't do anything weird. You know, people in the martial arts world care about face the most. If you don't have face, why would you still be in the martial arts world?"
What's more, with the entire Xiao family backing him up, he dared not betray the Fourth Master.
Zhou Shaojin was still a little worried and said hesitantly, "No one will embarrass the Fourth Master anymore, right?"
Nanny Shang smiled and said, "The Fourth Master has been ready to stop, otherwise he would not have let go of his servants over the past few years. Do you remember Ming He? She is also very skilled. She grew up in the Qin family and learned the Qin family's inner sect boxing. She was married to Master Shen Qi early on. Otherwise, how could the Fourth Master not have anyone around him. The Fourth Master started to deal with these northern Jianghu families from these two families. We used to move around in the south." As she spoke, her eyes were filled with confusion, and she said, "I don't know why the Fourth Master suddenly changed his mind. Where did he choose to live in seclusion before?"
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but shrink his shoulders.
If she hadn't said that the Cheng family would be confiscated, Uncle Chi would have lived a leisurely life like in his previous life. But now, because of her words, he has to deal with a fierce man like Xiao Zhenhai... She was both terrified and happy. The terrified Cheng Chi made such a big change and sacrifice because of her words, but she was happy that Cheng Chi believed in her so much.
She no longer asked about Cheng Chi's affairs. She chatted with her sister and played with Zhou Youjin along the way. It felt like they arrived in the capital very quickly.
Because the Liao family's house and the Cheng family's house were both in the west of the city, they entered the city from Xizhimen.
A steward had already gone into the city to report the news.
Liao Shaotang was waiting for them in a teahouse not far from Xizhimen.
Seeing Cheng Chi traveling with them, he hurried forward to greet him and called him "Uncle".
Cheng Chi just nodded to Liao Shaotang and said, "My house is in Yuqian Hutong, not far from you. If you have any troubles, you can come to me!"
Liao Shaotang respectfully said "yes".
Cheng Chi and Zhou Shaojin and others separated in front of Xizhimen and entered the city first.
Zhou Shaojin quietly watched Cheng Chi leave in the carriage, and then his eyes turned to the white marble water-patterned stone sculpture in the city wall.
She really arrived in the capital!
Arrived in the capital city where she had lived for nearly a decade!
She wanted to visit the Jokhang Temple, Daxing, and the courtyard she rented back then...
Zhou Shaojin let down the curtain, his eyes a little moist.
In her previous life, she had such a hard time. But in this life, she met Uncle Chi, and it was so sweet.
Zhou Shaojin ignored Liao Shaotang's objection and squeezed into a horse with Li and Zhou Youjin so that he could have some private conversation with his sister and brother-in-law.
The house that Mrs. Liao bought for Liao Shaotang and Zhou Chujin was located in Yushu Hutong. It was a two-story house with more than a dozen rooms. Zhou Chujin and his wife lived very well there, but now that Li and Zhou Shaojin were living there, it was a little small. Fortunately, there were only five or six proper masters, so the maids could squeeze in, and the small house seemed lively.
Li and Zhou Youjin were placed in the east wing.
Zhou Shaojin was placed in the back room.
The person who took them to the wing room was a plump, medium-sized, neatly dressed woman from the capital. Her husband's surname was Yang. Her son Yang Xiaojiu worked as a servant for Liao Shaotang, and her husband Yang Sanlang worked as a coachman for Liao Shaotang. She was responsible for guarding the second gate and running errands for the people in the inner house.
She spoke fluent Beijing dialect, and within a quarter of an hour of meeting him, she had told Zhou Shaojin everything about her background. She smiled and said, "Second Miss, you're new here. If you don't know anything, you can ask me. I was born and raised in Beijing." She was very hospitable.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded without saying much, and looked around at where he lived.
The floor was made of bluestone tiles and had underfloor heating. In case she wasn't used to the living environment, a small lacquered bed was placed opposite the large kang by the window. It looked exquisite and cute.
My brother-in-law is still as considerate and careful as he was in my previous life, and he thinks of everything carefully.
She asked Fan Liu to give a reward to Mother Yang, and asked Wanchun to clean the room while she lay on the kang for a while.
Who knew that just when she was about to fall asleep, Zhou Chujin came over with a big belly.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly went forward to help her sister sit down on the kang, and said coquettishly: "Sister, if you have anything to do, just call me over. Why do you have to come by yourself?"
Zhou Chujin looked a little serious, and Zhou Shaojin was nervous. Not only that, Zhou Chujin sent the servants away and said to Zhou Shaojin, "Sit down, I have something to tell you!"
Could it be that the incident at the post station was exposed
Zhou Shaojin sat side by side with his sister somewhat uneasily.
Zhou Chujin whispered to her, "Your brother-in-law just told me that Cheng Lu was stripped of his title of scholar by the education commissioner because of his bad behavior and will never be employed again. He also sold all his family property to bribe the education commissioner's brother-in-law. Now he has no place to live. He left his mother in a nunnery and disappeared without a trace. The Cheng family may want to expel him..."
Zhou Shaojin was shocked and could not hide his astonishment. He hurriedly asked, "Sister, what is going on? How could Cheng Lu... abandon his mother to the nunnery and run away? Isn't he the most filial to his mother? And what about the brother-in-law who bribed the academician? If he bribed, how could he still be stripped of his title?"
"Keep your voice down!" Zhou Chujin quickly looked around and confirmed that no one was around before whispering, "It is said that Cheng Lu knew that someone wanted to deprive him of his title of scholar, so he asked Dong to pretend to be sick and ask for leave from Yuelu Academy to return to Jinling. After several attempts to get help failed, he wanted to cut off the source of the problem and found a way to get acquainted with the academician's brother-in-law, and planned to bribe the academician through the academician's brother-in-law. Who knew that the academician's brother-in-law was a bottomless pit, so he had to sell off his family property again and again until he sold out all the family property and could no longer take out money. Only then did the academician's brother-in-law give in and agree to help him. He never thought that he would eventually be deprived of his title.
"Cheng Lu was not convinced and went to the academician to settle the score. Who knew that the academician flew into a rage after hearing this. He said that he did not have a brother-in-law at all, and told Cheng Lu to find a reliable excuse even if he wanted to ruin his reputation. Then he kicked him out and added misconduct as the reason for Cheng Lu's dismissal. The reason was reported to the Ministry of Rites, and Cheng Lu was never to be employed again.
"He was dumbfounded at the time. He stumbled out of the Governor's Office and found out that the Education Commissioner really didn't have a brother-in-law.
"Cheng Lu was not discouraged and finally found out the truth. Where was the brother-in-law of the academician? He was deceived!
“When the Cheng family heard about this, they wanted to remove him from the family.
“After hearing that, he ran away overnight.
“Mrs. Dong looked for him for a few days but couldn’t find him, but the person who wanted to take over the house came.
"It turns out that Cheng Lu had also pawned the house to someone else without telling Mrs. Dong. Others had previously been unable to press him because of Jiuru Lane. Now that Jiuru Lane is going to expel Cheng Lu, those people naturally have no scruples.
“Mrs. Dong had no other options, so she turned to her grandmother for help.
“It’s written in black and white. Unless grandma takes out the money to help her redeem the house, what else can we do
"Ms. Dong cried and made a scene, wanting my grandmother to take her in.
“My grandmother pushed her to room five.
"Aunt Wen has been thinking about it ever since she registered the property under her name to the fourth house. How could she be happy if she didn't step on the Dong family when she got the chance
“Not only did Aunt Wen not take her in, she sent Dong to a nunnery instead.
“You know, the nunnery doesn’t take people in for nothing.
"Ms. Dong now gets up before dawn every day, and then cleans the nunnery with other lay Buddhists, and helps to plant vegetables and water the garden. She is used to being the mistress of the house, and she is not as nimble as those who are used to being the mistress. She always waits for others to finish lunch before she goes to eat. The nunnery also has the habit of not eating after noon, and she often gets up in the middle of the night to drink cold water because of hunger. In just a few days, Mrs. Dong has become haggard... Now people in Jinling City are talking about Cheng Lu's unfilial behavior!"
"Evildoers will be punished by their own evildoers!" Zhou Shaojin clasped his hands together and said excitedly, "This is also the retribution for Cheng Lu!"
Zhou Chujin hesitated for a moment after hearing this, and lowered his voice and said, "Shaojin, do you think this was done by Uncle Chi?"
Zhou Shaojin was stunned.
Zhou Chujin said carefully: "You see, Cheng Lu is not such a careless person. It is said that he had a few words with the academician's brother-in-law before bribing him. The people from the governor's office also nodded and greeted him when they met the academician's brother-in-law. Otherwise, Cheng Lu would not have been deceived! I always feel that this matter is too coincidental and it is not that simple.
Zhou Shaojin asked subconsciously: "What does my brother-in-law say?"
Zhou Chujin glared at her and said, "How can I tell your brother-in-law about this? He just felt sorry for Cheng Lu, who actually did such a thing and couldn't stand the slightest disturbance. He was also a member of the Cheng family, so he told me about it."
Zhou Shaojin smiled awkwardly.
Just like in her previous life, she would look to Liao Shaotang for his opinion whenever she encountered any problem.
But I forget that this life is completely different from the previous life.
She asked Zhou Chujin for his opinion: "Do you want me to ask Uncle Chi?"
※
Sisters and brothers, catching up on yesterday’s update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)