Zhou Shaojin felt happy and sad when listening to his sister and Mrs. Li praising Cheng Chi.
If they knew about her and Cheng Chi, they would definitely scold Cheng Chi and would not praise her at all.
But if she were to go see Cheng Chi... what's the difference between that and a secret meeting... In the past, when everyone was pretending to be confused, she could still cover up the truth, but now that things have been made clear, how could she have the nerve to go see Cheng Chi.
Zhou Shaojin suddenly understood what a useful excuse Cheng Chi's "pretend nothing happened" was.
If she had known this would happen, she should have pretended nothing had happened.
Uncle Chi is a very particular person. Wherever he is, there is always good tea to drink, delicious snacks, the big pillow is just right and soft, and the flowers in the vase are just right. Leaning on the big pillow by the window, chatting with Uncle Chi while playing Go with him where you can regret your moves at any time, there is no better time than this.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but sigh.
It’s too late to regret now!
She recalled the time when Cheng Chi hugged her... and he even grabbed her hand and put it into his collar...
This bastard!
Zhou Shaojin snorted twice and his face suddenly became red.
The flexible yet strong body under the clothes... Uncle Chi looks slender and tall... If he dares to treat her like this again next time, she will... push him or pinch him twice
Zhou Shaojin was a little undecided.
She rolled around on the bed holding the big pillow.
Chun Wan happened to bring in a tray, and couldn't help but smile and said, "What's wrong with the second young lady?"
Zhou Shaojin blushed even more.
He coughed as if to cover up, sat up, straightened his clothes, and asked, "What did you bring in?"
"Mung bean soup." Chunwan placed the small sweet white porcelain bowl on the small table beside the bed and said with a smile, "I asked Jixiang to let it dry. You should drink it quickly. The weather is getting hotter. But it's better than Jinling. Jinling is hot from morning to night, but the nights in Beijing are very cool!"
"Then if I let you stay in Beijing, would you be willing?" Zhou Shaojin drank mung bean soup and chatted with Chunwan.
Chun Wan asked the maid to come in and clean up the trays and bowls, and said with a smile: "I can go anywhere, as long as I follow the second young lady!"
Zhou Shaojin was a little surprised.
In her opinion, many people are reluctant to leave their homeland.
Chun Wan smiled and said, "I was sent to Jiuru Lane when I was five years old. These little sisters came and went. I don't remember my parents and brothers and sisters very clearly. Although I miss them in my heart, if I go back to live with them, I will be surrounded by strangers. I don't know if I can get used to it. But I am with the second young lady, talking and laughing. The days passed in the blink of an eye, and I am more used to it."
Zhou Shaojin could understand.
Just like her in her previous life, as long as she could follow her sister, life would be the same wherever she went.
She just didn't expect that the Spring Festival Gala had such deep feelings for her.
Zhou Shaojin felt that he could not let down the Spring Festival Gala’s trust in him.
But she never had much taste in judging people...
The next day, she called Biyu over and said, "Chunwan will be married in a few years. If there is someone with good looks and good character around you, please keep an eye out for Chunwan."
Biyu was surprised.
Usually such a senior maid would marry her own companion, so that they could stick together, rise and fall together, and be loyal to each other.
She wanted to remind Zhou Shaojin, but then she thought of what Zhenzhu said to her when she came here. She was silent for a moment and smiled, "I have to go back and ask the Fourth Master about this matter. I am in charge of the inner courtyard, and my wife is just a small manager with limited vision. The maids around the Fourth Master, such as Minghe, all married very well. It's better to ask the Fourth Master for help."
Zhou Shaojin was embarrassed and said, "For this kind of thing, there is no need to ask Uncle Chi, right?" After saying that, he thought that if Cheng Chi could help to look at it, he would definitely have a better chance, so he said, "At least wait until there is a clue before telling Uncle Chi?"
She forgot that in her previous life, even when choosing a maid to do chores, she still had to ask her sister for the decision.
In this life, I dare to help the Spring Festival Gala choose my in-laws.
"Okay!" Biyu said with a smile, "This is a big deal, we can't be careless!"
Zhou Shaojin nodded with a smile.
Biyu told her about Cheng Chi's house in Chaoyangmen: "… The east wing is said to be reserved for the old lady to live in. There are many camphor trees planted. The hall, the study room in the outer courtyard, the flower hall for entertaining guests, and the garden are all in the middle wing; the west wing is where the fourth master lives. There are many flowers and trees planted, and there is also a small garden. A craftsman was hired to build a greenhouse. The fourth master said that the second cousin knows these things best, and he will invite the second cousin to come over in a few days to take a look and help instruct the maids who serve the flowers and plants on what flowers and plants to plant!"
Zhou Shaojin said nothing, but there was a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Biyu smiled and asked, "What's wrong with you?" There was a hint of caution in her tone.
Zhou Shaojin was silent for a moment, then whispered: "Biyu, has something happened in Jinling? I feel like you treat me with less intimacy and more respect than before..."
Biyu was embarrassed.
She also heard from Zhenzhu that the reason why the couple were chosen to come to the capital was because she was liked by Zhou Shaojin... If she met Zhou Shaojin again, she didn't know what to do.
She wanted to curry favor with Zhou Shaojin. She had always been sincere to Zhou Shaojin and felt that this had hurt the relationship between them.
The man in her family became a second-class steward after being transferred to Beijing. There are many people who have struggled in Jiuru Lane for their entire lives but ended up being only a second-class manager. She was indeed indebted to Zhou Shaojin, and it would be too hypocritical for her to pretend that she didn't know.
Biyu had no choice but to respect Zhou Shaojin.
But now it seems that the second cousin is still the same second cousin who treats people sincerely and kindly as before, but she has changed.
This is what the lady said: one should not be corrupted by wealth and power, nor should one be bent by might, and one should keep one's original heart!
She kowtowed three times to Zhou Shaojin respectfully and said, "Second cousin, we were able to get such a good job thanks to you..."
Biyu told Zhou Shaojin the whole story.
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised and hurriedly pulled Biyu up.
Biyu smiled and said, "The fourth master doesn't have a woman to take care of the household chores. Miss Second Cousin, why don't you come over to visit us someday? I'll treat you well."
The attitude is the same as before in Hanbi Mountain House.
Zhou Shaojin became happy and said, "Of course, of course."
The two chattered for a long time, and Zhou Shaojin realized that Madam Yuan and the second and third rooms were making a fuss. But Biyu was a married woman after all, and there were some things that the rooms were very secretive about. Why and what the fuss was about, Biyu had no idea.
Zhou Shaojin was only worried about the fourth room.
Biyu whispered, "Zhenzhu and the others asked me to buy some things for them. I will ask the steward in the mansion to send them back to Jinling in a few days. Would you like to take a letter back with you?"
Zhou Shaojin thought about what Cheng Chi had told her about the Qixing Hall, and the bamboo forest in the Hanbi Villa. She felt that the first, second and third houses were hiding some things from the fourth and fifth houses. She would not expose the first house, but she also could not let the fourth house be fooled by the second and third houses or be used by the Yuan family.
"Then please take a letter back to me," she said thoughtfully, "and take it to my aunt Mien."
She would tell Mrs. Mian what she learned from Biyu. As for how the Fourth House would respond, that was the Fourth House's business and she could not say more.
Biyu helped Zhou Shaojin grind ink as she did before and assisted Zhou Shaojin in writing letters.
At night, Zhou Shaojin tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. She wanted to talk to Uncle Chi.
Ask him if it was right for him to do so? Ask if it was really because Biyu and her were close that he transferred Biyu and her husband to the capital
But she didn't find an excuse in the next few days. The mansion over at Chaoyang Gate brought a letter to her, saying that they were going to plant flowers and plants soon, and asked Zhou Shaojin to go over and help. They also invited Li and Zhou Youjin to go with them, saying that the mansion over there had brought water in to build a lake, and the waterside pavilion was just built a few days ago, so they asked Li to take Zhou Youjin over to go boating.
Li was overjoyed and naturally agreed without hesitation.
Zhou Shaojin blushed secretly.
I always felt that Cheng Chi wanted to see her, so he came up with this idea.
She couldn't contain her joy, so she dressed up, and on that day, she, Li and Zhou Chujin went to Cheng Chi's house in Chaoyangmen.
The whitewashed walls and gray tiles over there reveal a new atmosphere everywhere.
Biyu brought four or five respectable maids to greet Zhou Shaojin in front of the hanging flower gate.
She went forward to greet Zhou Shaojin and Li, introduced the maids to Zhou Shaojin, and said, "They are all servants of the Cheng family. They came into the mansion with me a few days ago."
Zhou Shaojin nodded and entered the inner house.
The houses in the north are different from those in the south. People who have just arrived in Beijing will find the houses in the north to be monotonous and simple. No matter how big they are, they are all courtyards within courtyards, which always lacks some interest. But for Zhou Shaojin, this is good. As long as he can distinguish the east, south, west and north, he can know which is the main courtyard and which is the upper house.
Biyu took them directly to the main courtyard on the west side.
The main courtyard was a typical five-square-by-five-corner house, with a hall, a porch, and a retreat. However, just as the person who brought them the letter had said, the house was brightly colored and spacious, but without flowers and trees it looked lifeless.
Biyu invited them to the upper room for tea.
Li politely declined: "It's the Fourth Master's residence, how can we just barge in casually?"
Biyu couldn't help but complain in her heart.
Even Li knew that this was inappropriate, but the Fourth Master ordered her to take the second cousin and the others to the upper room to rest.
She simply listened to Li and went to the back room behind the upper room to drink tea.
The back room faces a small courtyard, with a Taihu rockery on the white wall corner, banana trees as tall as the wall, and old locust trees with crooked necks as thick as buckets, with their canopies enveloping the wide back room, shading it from the sun and creating a thick shade. In addition, the back room has black lacquered doors and smoky red window screens, which are bright and colorful, like a red flower blooming from a green tree, making the whole courtyard lively.
Li couldn't help but praise: "What a beautiful view. The most amazing thing is this tree. How did you think of planting it like this?"
Biyu took the fruits from the little maid's tray and placed them on the table on the kang next to the window. She smiled and said, "This west courtyard was originally the residence of Liu Zijing, the master of the Hanlin Academy. He once served as the supervisor of the Quanzhou Maritime Customs and became an official during his tenure as the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner. In terms of wealth, he is one of the most wealthy people in the capital. Although this main courtyard has been renovated, the flowers, plants and trees were left by the Liu family."
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Dear, today’s update.
The update is very late, please get up early tomorrow morning to read it!
PS: I corrected the typo and would like to say hello here.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)