Since Mrs. Liao had to rush to the capital to celebrate Guan Ge'er's 100th day, the full-month ceremony couldn't be too grand. After Liao Shaotang and Zhou Chujin discussed it, they decided to just invite relatives to dinner when Guan Ge was 1 month old, and wait until the 100th day ceremony to send invitations to in-laws and friends.
Li and Zhou Shaojin started preparing for Guan Ge'er's full-month ceremony.
Cheng Gao suddenly arrived in the capital and stayed at the Gaosheng Inn next to Yushu Hutong.
Zhou Shaojin was shocked and quickly ordered the steward to move Cheng Gao's luggage over. She said angrily, "How can Cousin Gao come to the capital and stay in the inn? Why did Cousin Gao become so distant with us as soon as we sisters left Jiuru Lane?"
Seeing that she was still as gentle and quiet as before, Cheng Gao felt relieved.
"I didn't know you could be the head of Elm Alley." He teased Zhou Shaojin, "I came here to celebrate Guan Ge's full moon, but who knew you would decide to celebrate his 100th day. I can't stay until then, and next month you'll go to your cousin's house to get married, and I'll have to rush back to help!"
Cheng Gao is Zhou Chujin's cousin, but Li is not Cheng Gao's aunt. When Cheng Gao comes to visit, Li naturally has to avoid him, and the task of entertaining the guest falls on Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but apologize when he heard this: "Guan'er's full moon and cousin Yi's wedding are too close. I didn't expect anyone from Jinling City to come over, so the letter was not delivered in time. I'm really sorry that cousin Gao had to make this trip! How about I ask the steward to accompany cousin Gao for a walk tomorrow, and cousin Gao can stay in the capital for a few more days before going back?"
Cheng Gao laughed and said, "Who was it that got so angry with me when he heard that I had checked into the inn? And now he is so polite and wants me to stay... How can we be cousins? You should have let me go back as soon as I gave Guan Ge the full moon gift!"
Zhou Shaojin burst into laughter.
Cheng Gao looked at her with a smile in his eyes, his expression was happy, and he whispered: "Shao Jin, why don't you stay in the capital for a few more days? Forget about the past and live your own life well. You don't owe us the Cheng family anything, so don't pay attention to those people in the Cheng family."
Zhou Shaojin almost shed tears.
When Cheng Gao came to the capital, he did not stay in Xinglin Hutong, but instead stayed in an inn. This in itself represents the attitude of the fourth branch towards the cave incident.
What else could she ask for
Zhou Shaojin said sincerely, "Cousin Gao, I'm fine. I grew up in the Cheng family. Although Cheng Xu hurt me, I still remember the kindness of the Cheng family to me. Besides, I don't think I have done anything wrong. Why can't I associate with the people of the Cheng family? Not only should I associate with those members of the Cheng family who are good to me, I should also associate with them with confidence." As she spoke, she felt that her tone was too harsh, and she smiled and teased, "Cousin Gao, don't you want to stop associating with me from now on?"
Seeing that she had no grudges against the past, Cheng Gao laughed and said sincerely, "It seems that I have been judging others by my own standards. My horizons are too narrow. You are right. We have done nothing wrong. If we need to hide, we should hide from those who have done wrong. If we need to feel guilty, we should feel guilty from those who have done wrong."
Zhou Shaojin nodded with a smile.
Cheng Gao then told her: "Xu Congxiong has been engaged to the eldest daughter of the Min family. Madam Yuan and her family may come to the capital in April to prepare for the wedding with Miss Min."
Cousin Gao is worried that she will feel uncomfortable if she meets Cheng Xu in Beijing, right
After all, the Cheng and Zhou families are in-laws, and there is a high possibility that they will meet each other due to the frequent visits.
Zhou Shaojin felt warm in his heart and said, "Is Madam Guo coming too? I thought the Cheng family was marrying a bride in Jinling City."
"Mrs. Guo is not coming." Cheng Gao said, "I heard from my grandmother that the bride's family is in Fujian, which is too far away, so she plans to marry in the capital. Mrs. Yuan is considerate of her in-laws, so she decided to marry the bride in the capital. The wedding date is set for September this year. After the bride returns home, she will take her back to worship the ancestors and pay respects to the elders."
That's fine.
At least the bride and the people who came to send her off wouldn't hear any gossip. It also showed the Cheng family's consideration for the Min family.
It’s just hard for the bride, who has to run back and forth.
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
She used to be very curious about what kind of person the eldest daughter of the Min family was, but now, she had no interest in Cheng Xu's affairs, and she didn't even have the curiosity anymore.
Cheng Gao then told him about Cheng Lu, "... Did you know about this?"
"I know." Zhou Shaojin said, "I heard about it from my brother-in-law."
Cheng Gao smiled bitterly and sighed, saying, "I used to admire Xiangqing very much. I thought that although he lost his father at an early age, he had a peaceful mentality, worked hard, and was a man who could accomplish great things. So when I saw that he treated you very well, I thought that this was not bad... Who knew that I was wrong... I could understand that he sold his property to bribe the government school, but I really couldn't imagine that he abandoned his biological mother..."
Zhou Shaojin comforted him: "Cousin Gao is a filial man, so he naturally cannot understand his behavior of a beast in human clothing!"
Cheng Gao was still a little sad, and told her: "After all, his mother had been a wife for many years. She couldn't stay in the nunnery for a few months. She came home several times to ask the elders of the family for help to support her. The elders of several rooms ignored her and only sent the mother who was in charge to give her a few taels of silver. I heard that she was driven out by her nephews and their wives after staying in her mother's house for a few days. The silver was coaxed by the nephews to take out to support the nephews, and she had to return to the nunnery. The elders of the family have decided to expel Cheng Lu from the clan. Before I came, I had already offered sacrifices to the ancestors, and it should have been reported to the government by now."
Just like in the previous life.
I just don’t know if Cheng Lu will meet the benefactor who married his daughter to him and helped him to set up his own business in this life.
Zhou Shaojin sighed and let it go. She took Cheng Gao to see Guan Ge.
Zhou Chujin was not yet able to see the wind, so the wet nurse brought the child out to show him.
Cheng Gao couldn't let go of the chubby white child, which made Zhou Youjin, who also came to see Guan Ge, anxious: "Uncle Gao, Uncle Gao, I want to see it too, I want to see it too!"
Everyone laughed.
Zhou Shaojin told her: "This is my cousin!"
Zhou Youjin looked at Cheng Gao in confusion but didn't call out.
Cheng Gao laughed so hard that he touched her head and put the child on the kang.
Zhou Youjin squatted aside and looked at Guan Ge without blinking, and told Cheng Gao: "You can't poke his face, it will hurt him."
Cheng Gao couldn't help laughing and said, "Isn't this what your mother said to you yesterday?"
Zhou Youjin didn't understand what he was talking about and looked at him blankly with his big eyes.
Cheng Gao was so fond of her that he held Zhou Youjin in his arms and said to Zhou Shaojin, "Your little sister is really interesting!"
Zhou Shaojin said helplessly: "Madam kept telling her to speak, but she just wouldn't. I didn't expect that she would start talking as soon as she saw Brother Guan, and she spoke one sentence at a time, which scared us all."
"You were like this when you were a child," Cheng Gao recalled. "We thought you were dumb back then. Grandma was so worried that she didn't sleep well for several days and nights."
Zhou Shaojin just laughed.
The wet nurse carried the child back to the inner room, and Zhou Youjin followed her to the inner room.
Zhou Shaojin sent Cheng Gao out of the main room.
He ran into Liao Shaotang who had hurried back after receiving the letter.
Liao Shaotang enthusiastically invited Cheng Gao to have a drink.
Zhou Shaojin prepared meals for them.
In the evening, she heard the news that Cheng Chi had returned to Beijing.
It’s more than a month earlier than Cheng Chi said.
Zhou Chujin guessed with a smile: "Is it to rush back to celebrate the full moon of our brother Guan?"
Zhou Shaojin didn't notice and smiled, "Maybe the things outside have been settled?"
"That's possible." Zhou Chujin smiled, "No matter what, we have to go visit Uncle Chi. But I'm still in confinement, so it's not convenient for me to go out. You should go there for us. After I'm out of confinement, it won't be too late for me to go and thank Uncle Chi."
Zhou Shaojin posted a notice towards Yuqian Hutong.
There was a response soon, inviting her to visit the next day.
The weather was getting warmer. Zhou Shaojin carefully picked out a lilac-colored plain Hangzhou silk jacket, a green-colored horse-faced skirt with a foot-wide embroidered border of precious flowers, a large red agate hanging from her waist, tied her jet-black hair behind her head, wore a gold and jade crown, and took a sedan chair to Yuqian Hutong.
Along the way, she lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and looked at the road to Yuqian Hutong.
Yuqian Hutong is really close to Yushu Hutong.
The two alleys are only separated by a boulevard, and it only takes an incense stick of time to travel by sedan chair.
Like the place where Liao Shaotang and Zhou Shaojin lived in Yushu Hutong, Cheng Chi's house in Yuqian Hutong was also just a small courtyard with a single entrance. At the entrance was a bluestone screen wall with a large upside-down "Fu" character carved on it. The ground was paved with water-ground bricks, and there were two osmanthus trees planted in front of the hanging flower door. There were pink and white walls, bright red floor-to-ceiling pillars, and green sand windows. There was a grape trellis in the middle of the courtyard, with stone benches and chairs underneath, and a large blue and white porcelain fish tank next to it. You could tell there were several goldfish in it without even looking.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but curl his lips.
Uncle Chi is such a particular person, how could he be so careless about where he lives
Could this be just his temporary place of stay
It was Huaishan who came to greet her.
He said uneasily, "Second Miss, the Fourth Master was expecting you to come, but he didn't expect Old Master Song to come over suddenly and was dragging the Fourth Master to look at some hydrological chart in the study. I have to trouble you to wait in the banquet room first."
Zhou Shaojin didn't care.
On the boat to Mount Putuo, she realized how obsessed Cheng Chi and Old Master Song were with these things.
She smiled and went to the banquet room with Huaishan, who personally poured her a cup of tea.
Zhou Shaojin looked around the banquet room.
There is a big kang by the window, black lacquered furniture, and a few treasures placed randomly on the grid of the treasure cabinet. It looks ordinary and unoriginal.
Perhaps sensing Zhou Shaojin's "disdain", Huaishan said, "The Fourth Master originally bought a house near Chaoyang Gate. It has four entrances and five spacious rooms. It was the residence of Mr. Shi, the former salt transport envoy of Zhejiang. The Fourth Master specially had it renovated and spent a lot of effort. Who would have thought that before coming to the capital, the Fourth Master changed his mind and bought a small house here. It is close to the Second Miss, but this house has not been cleaned up in time. Most of the things left by the previous landlord are messy. The Fourth Master did not give the order, and Ziping could not decide to buy more things. I am sorry that the Second Cousin Miss laughed at me."
Zhou Shaojin's face suddenly felt hot.
To be closer to the Second Young Miss... Is this the reason why you temporarily bought a house in Yuqian Hutong
Her heart was pounding and she couldn't calm down for a long time.
※
Sisters and brothers, catching up on yesterday’s update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)