With Song Mu present, the servant wouldn't dare to speak out his ideas even if he had any!
He lowered his head and said, "I don't know how small I am!"
"What an idiot!" Song Sen cursed.
Song Mu became curious.
Ever since his younger brother went to Jingzhou Prefecture to pick up his grandfather, he has been talking about his "Fairy Sister" in Jinling Prefecture all the time - the cousin who is praised by everyone is not as pretty as his "Fairy Sister"; the snacks at home are not as delicious as those made by his "Fairy Sister"; his mother's words are not as gentle and pleasant as his "Fairy Sister"... He also often threatens him that if you treat me like this, he will not marry my "Fairy Sister" to you.
Song Mu's ears were callused from listening so much, but he never took it seriously.
Children know what is good and what is bad. If someone treats them well, they think that person is good in every way; if someone treats them badly, they think that person has no good qualities at all.
But this time, when Song Sen came back from the house of the "Fairy Sister", he did not mention the matter of marrying the "Fairy Sister" to him... He knew his brother well. To put it nicely, he was determined, but to put it bluntly, he was stubborn. It was unlike his brother's character to compromise so easily.
He couldn't help but laugh and said, "What did your 'Fairy Sister' tell you? Why did you suddenly change your mind..."
Song Sen snorted coldly after hearing this, glanced at him arrogantly, and said, "I won't tell you!"
Song Mu laughed and said, "Your 'Fairy Sister' ignored you and you couldn't explain to me, so you said that, right? Don't worry, I won't take your nonsense seriously."
Song Sen always said how well Zhou Shaojin treated him. If he were to act as a matchmaker for Song Mu, Zhou Shaojin would definitely consider it seriously.
Although he knew his brother was trying to provoke him, Song Sen still couldn't help but fall for it and shouted, "Who said that? It was 'Fairy Sister' who asked me why I had to let her be my sister-in-law, and I said, after you become my sister-in-law, you can come to our house. 'Fairy Sister' said..."
He told Song Mu everything Zhou Shaojin had said in a very emotional way. Afraid that Song Mu would think Zhou Shaojin was too straightforward, he exaggerated and said, "… So this matter must be arranged by the parents and the matchmaker. It was wrong for me to tell her this."
Song Mu couldn't help but look at Zhou Shaojin with admiration.
Song Sen never verbally admits that he is wrong.
He suddenly became very interested in Zhou Shaojin.
"You said your 'Fairy Sister' is the cousin of the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane, Jinling," Song Mu laughed. "What's her last name? How old is she this year? Why did she come to the capital?"
Song Sen glanced at Song Mu provocatively and said "hmm" with disdain.
Song Mu said, "If you tell me, next time you go to see your 'Fairy Sister', I will make you kneel as if you were punished."
"Really!" Song Sen's eyes lit up.
Song Mu glanced at Song Sen without saying anything.
Song Sen smiled bitterly and said, "Brother is a gentleman, his words are as good as gold, I shouldn't doubt him."
Song Mu couldn't help but rubbed Song Sen's hair and said, "You're smart, otherwise I'll punish you by making you copy the Three Character Classic twice more."
Hearing this, Song Sen pulled his brother's sleeve and acted coquettishly: "Brother, brother, good brother. Please let me copy it less twice! I will definitely listen to you in the future."
To Song Sen, these words were like drinking water. Song Mu was unmoved and said, "Do you want your father to punish you to write in the ancestral hall when he comes back? Or do you want to write in my study?"
Song Sen stopped talking and lowered his head obediently to write.
Song Mu smiled indulgently and shook his head.
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Madam Yang, who was on duty at Elm Alley, was extremely excited. She whispered to Madam Fan, "I didn't expect that our eldest grandmother and the second young lady would have such a high status that Madam Song could come to visit them in person. But it seems to me that Madam Song came here specially to visit the second young lady."
She was old, and she felt that Chunwan and other maids were too senior to talk to each other. Nanny Li was Li's, and it would be bad if she said something wrong and it got to Li. Nanny Shang was too shrewd, and her eyes seemed to see into your heart. After all, only Madam Fan, who was by the side of the second young lady, was the best. She was kind, cautious, and nice. She would chat with Madam Fan when she had nothing to do.
Mother Fan was not one to gossip about others. She smiled and said, "How could I not see that? Madam Song is friends with Old Madam Guo of Jiuru Lane. When the eldest aunt was still married, she and the second young lady entertained Madam Song together. Madam Song should have come this time just to repay the favor, right?"
Mother Yang was about to say something, but managers from Xinglin Hutong and Shuangyu Hutong came over, saying that they had received the visiting cards left by Zhou Shaojin and her sister, but they had just returned from Xiyuan and were busy with official duties, so they did not invite the two sisters to reminisce about the past. Instead, they asked Liao Shaotang to come over for dinner when he was free, and sent a return gift that was twice as much as theirs.
Zhou Shaojin knew that this was because neither family had a woman in charge of the household chores. Although they were younger generations, they were only in-laws after all. Cheng Xun and Cheng Jing had both accepted the gifts from their sisters, so if there was anything, they could let Liao Shaotang go over and tell them.
Liao Shaotang took a break from his daily routine to visit Cheng Jing and Cheng Xun to greet them.
Cheng Jing asked Liao Shaotang when he was going to take the imperial examination, and Cheng Xun asked him when he could come to help him compile the "Beijing Geography"... Liao Shaotang was very happy to come back, and said to Zhou Chujin: "Both elders are kind and well-educated, and like to help the younger generation."
"That's good!" Zhou Chujin also hoped that her husband could make a name for himself. When the maidservant was helping him wash and dress, she stood by and helped pass him handkerchiefs and other things. She said, "The people who come in and out of Shuangyu Hutong are all Jinshi and Juren, right? You will definitely have to do a lot of trivial things when you go there. But as the saying goes, only those who endure hardships can become successful people. Not everyone has the opportunity to help compile a book at such a young age like you. Just treat those grievances as reparations..."
Compiling the "Beijing Geography" is such a big task that it is impossible for just a few people to complete it. Several old scholars in the Hanlin Academy participated, but the emperor personally appointed Cheng Xun as the chief editor, and several famous Hanlin scholars in the Hanlin Academy helped to compile the book. Liao Shaotang only helped to repair old maps, transcribe the geography, or copy manuscripts, etc. It was not his turn to compile or something like that.
Liao Shaotang laughed and said, "Don't worry. I understand this principle. I won't feel wronged. My knowledge is not as good as those people, so it is normal for me to do those trivial things. As you said, such an opportunity is too rare. Not everyone can have such an opportunity at such a young age like me." At this point, he pondered, "Should we find a way to thank Uncle Chi?"
"Let's talk about it after Uncle Chi comes back!" Zhou Chujin said with a smile, "We have to thank Uncle Chi very much. He looks cold and aloof, but he keeps everything in his heart. For example, when we went to Baoding this time, Uncle Chi gave Nanny Shang to my second sister without a word. He saw that my second sister had lost her parents since she was young and had no one to guide her, so he was afraid that she would lose her manners in front of relatives and be laughed at... We have to remember this kindness in our hearts."
Liao Shaotang responded with a smile.
The next day I went to the Hanlin Academy to help edit a book.
But before he could wash his body, Zhou Chujin had an attack.
After a night of pain, she successfully gave birth to a baby boy weighing 25 kilograms.
Liao Shaotang wrote a letter back to Zhenjiang to announce the good news and asked Master Liao to name the child.
Zhou Chujin leaned against the bed with a tired but happy look on his face, and was served with fermented rice wine and eggs by Li.
Zhou Shaojin held the child and stared at him without blinking.
Li looked at it and joked, "Look at our second young lady. She is dumbfounded by her nephew."
Zhou Shaojin was really dumbfounded.
Although the time and hour of birth were wrong, this child and Liao Chengfang from his previous life looked like they were cut from the same mold.
She couldn't help but ask: "Sister, should we name him 'Chengfang'?"
Zhou Chujin was a little embarrassed.
The child is the eldest grandson of the Liao family. When it comes to naming the child, I'm afraid even Mr. Liao will have to listen to the opinions of the elders in the family.
However, if the elders in the family give the child another name, then this name should be used as a nickname.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "I'll tell your brother-in-law when he comes back."
Zhou Shaojin nodded continuously, his eyes moistening as he looked at Chengfang.
During the third-day bathing ceremony, Li's eldest brother, the eldest master of the Li family, rushed to Kyoto and presented a palm-sized purple-gold Maitreya Buddha for the third-day bathing ceremony.
Everyone was surprised by his arrival and his generosity.
Li couldn't help but blame him for not discussing it with her: "... Who would give such an expensive third-day baptism gift?"
The eldest master of the Li family is a tall and fat man with a fair complexion. His facial features look a bit like Li's.
He was wearing a purple robe with green floral patterns, and he smiled very kindly: "Isn't this just to give you face? Since they have acknowledged you as their mother, I, as their uncle, will not treat them unfairly."
"You can't use gold to hit people, can you?" Li muttered, "Those were all taken by the midwife, so you're giving them away for nothing, aren't you?"
According to the ritual, the midwife who delivers the baby presides over the third-day baptism ceremony, and all the gifts given in the ceremony go to the midwife.
Mr. Li laughed and said, "You don't understand. I heard that this midwife was hired by the Fang family, the mother-in-law of my eldest aunt. She has quite a reputation in the capital. The midwife will definitely not forget such an expensive third-day-bath ceremony. When the news gets out, my eldest aunt will be proud, and so will the Fang family who introduced her."
"That's true!" Li has always trusted this brother who is almost twenty years older than her. She said nothing more and invited her brother to have dinner at home.
If it were in the past, Master Li would definitely not have stayed, but now that his sister had barely gained a foothold in the Zhou family, he stayed without hesitation.
Zhou Chujin asked the steward to order a table at the restaurant to entertain Master Li. After Liao Shaotang came back from the Hanlin Academy, he personally accompanied Master Li and let him stay at his home for a few days.
Master Li came happily and left satisfied.
Li served Zhou Chujin even more attentively.
In the midst of all the busyness, Liao Chengfang's baby is about to be one month old.
A letter came from Zhenjiang, giving the child a nickname "Guan Ge" and his academic name has not yet been decided. Mrs. Fang, the eldest wife of Liao, will also set off in the near future to the capital to hold a hundred-day ceremony for the child.
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Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Please check for the update tomorrow morning!
※(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian () to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m. to read.)(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian () to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m. to read.)(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian () to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m. to read.)(To be continued)