When Cheng Chi returned to his home in Chaoyang Gate, there was a guest visiting Old Madam Guo. Aunt Lu smiled and explained, "It's the eldest wife of the Fang family. She will be returning to Shucheng the day after tomorrow. She came here specially to say goodbye to the old lady."
Then I can only go and greet my mother later.
Cheng Chi nodded and returned to his residence.
Madam Guo heard the noise and asked, "Who's coming?"
Madam Lu said respectfully, "It's the fourth master who has returned. He heard that you have guests, so he left first!"
Are you coming back from Yuqian Hutong
Mrs. Guo was thinking about it in her heart, but Mrs. Fang smiled when she heard it, "Fourth Uncle Chi? I haven't seen him for a few years. I hope he is doing well now!"
"Good, good, good!" Mrs. Guo's smile deepened when she thought of this old man.
Mrs. Fang laughed and asked, "Whose daughter is Uncle Chi's wife? Why didn't you send us an invitation when he got married?"
Although they are far away, we will at least send someone to give the gift.
When talking about this, Mrs. Guo felt a little embarrassed and said, "He hasn't married yet..."
At such an old age, and with a good reputation, he still hasn't married. There must be some inhumane reason behind this. Mrs. Fang naturally didn't ask too much, and said, "Good things take time, so don't worry too much." Then she changed the subject, "Then I'll go back first! If you have anything to say, just write a letter to Shucheng."
Mrs. Guo thanked them and asked Mrs. Wei to help see the guests off.
Mrs. Fang was polite for a while and was led out of the main courtyard by Mrs. Wei.
She couldn't help but ask, "Why hasn't Fourth Uncle Chi gotten married yet?"
How could the Second Madam of Wei discuss the affairs of her younger brother-in-law? She could only speak vaguely: "Fourth uncle is excellent in character, knowledge, and ability, but he is at odds with the old lady on the matter of marriage. What the old lady thinks is good, Fourth uncle thinks is not good; what Fourth uncle thinks is good, Old lady thinks is not good. As a result, the marriage has been delayed."
Mrs. Fang listened thoughtfully.
A few days later, Mrs. Liao came to visit Mrs. Guo and mentioned Fang Xuan in a meaningful way: "… My parents are afraid that she will be wronged, so they want to find someone who is steady and prudent. If she is a few years older and the elders in the family are sensible, it would be great. They have entrusted me with this several times. You also know that I don’t know anyone in a small place like Zhenjiang. A few days ago, my sister-in-law went back to Shucheng and mentioned this matter to me again, asking me to keep an eye on it. I thought about it, and the old lady lived in the capital for more than ten years, and she knows more people than I have ever eaten, so I took advantage of the good weather today to come and ask you for help. If you have anyone suitable, please help A Xuan keep an eye out for him."
If Madam Guo still doesn't understand such an obvious hint, wouldn't it be a waste of her cleverness and competence
She just didn't expect that Mrs. Fang would take a fancy to Cheng Chi.
Fang Xuan is ten years younger than Cheng Chi.
However, Zhou Shaojin is also ten years younger than Cheng Chi...
Mrs. Guo couldn't help but sigh helplessly in her heart.
After seeing Mrs. Fang off that day, Cheng Chi came to pay her respects and mentioned that he wanted Zhou Shaojin to come and accompany her.
Before she opened her mouth, the silly girl Cheng Sheng clapped her hands and said, "… Shaojin is the most docile. The three of us sisters are married now and can't accompany grandma like before. It's just right to pull Shaojin over to accompany grandma." Then she laughed and said, "It would be even better if you could embroider a picture of playing babies for me."
That girl was so sincere that she actually planned to embroider a picture of playing babies for Cheng Sheng.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Guo asked Zhenzhu, who was serving beside her, "What is the second cousin doing? Hasn't she finished copying the scriptures yet? Madam Liao, come over here and ask her to pay her respects to Madam Liao!"
Mrs. Liao was quite surprised and said, "I didn't expect that the second young lady from my in-laws would be here today!"
She heard Zhou Chujin say that Zhou Shaojin often came to Chaoyang Gate to accompany Old Madam Guo these days. She thought he just wanted to chat and keep her company, but she didn't expect that he actually had to copy scriptures.
Mrs. Guo said, "She used to go to Putuo Mountain with me to worship Buddha. She is well versed in Buddhism. I often asked her to help me copy some Buddhist scriptures."
Mrs. Liao laughed and said, "I didn't expect that the second young lady of our family is also good at copying scriptures."
Madam Guo smiled and said, "Her handwriting is also good. It is dignified and beautiful, and her brushwork is natural. She has a solid foundation."
Mrs. Liao heard that Mrs. Guo seemed to like Zhou Shaojin very much, so she smiled and flattered: "Since the old lady has chosen someone, she must be a wonderful person." She mentioned Fang Xuan again, "… She writes well, so why not let her be Shaojin's companion."
Madam Guo politely declined, "I'm afraid the Second Madam of the Fang family will be heartbroken and will not want her to suffer this."
Fang Xuan's father is the second child in the Fang family.
Mrs. Liao was determined to make this happen.
Others may not know, but the people in the Fang family do know that when the eldest and second branches split up the family line, they took out 1.2 million taels of silver.
All this money was earned by Cheng Chi.
Such a capable man, who is also a Jinshi from the two imperial examinations, can probably be found in the entire court except for Prime Minister Song Jingran.
She laughed and said, "The Fang family is very strict in managing their household. Unmarried girls often have to sleep in the middle of the night and get up in the early morning just to make shoes and socks, not to mention copying scriptures for the elders!"
Madam Guo still politely declined: "… Shaojin has almost finished copying the sutras for the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. It would be inappropriate to copy two different sutras to offer to the Bodhisattva. Let's talk about it later when there is a chance!"
Mrs. Liao had no choice but to stop her activities for the time being and leave the Cheng family to go to the Fang family.
After hearing this, Mrs. Fang said, "If that's the case, let's forget about it. I raised Xuan with my hands, so how can I let her suffer such an injustice? If the first wife hadn't mentioned this matter herself, I wouldn't have agreed. The age difference between the two is too big."
"You are so confused!" Mrs. Liao had been good friends with Mrs. Fang since she was a girl, so her words were not so roundabout. "What girl is not treated like a treasure by her parents, but how many people can be treated like a treasure by their parents-in-law? You are heartbroken now that Xuan looks at other people's eyes. If you spoil her like this, what will you do when she gets married? I'm afraid you will be even more heartbroken! Think about this matter carefully. If you don't even look down on a family like the Cheng family, and you are not satisfied with a relative like Madam Guo, I wonder what kind of family you can find? Don't regret it later!"
Mrs. Fang was hesitant.
Although Mrs. Liao's words were unpleasant to hear, they made sense.
Mrs. Guo has always been kind to her daughters-in-law. Her family is a century-old prestigious family in Jiangnan, with a long tradition of etiquette, poetry and literature. The several families she recommended to Fang Xuan were very different from the Cheng family. Moreover, she could not guarantee that her daughter would not be bullied by her mother-in-law after she got married, or suffer from the competitiveness between the sisters-in-law.
Cheng Chi is the youngest son. At Cheng Jing's age, he has given birth to such a big son. Yuan, the eldest daughter-in-law, naturally would not argue with a girl younger than her daughter... Thinking carefully, apart from the age, if it can be successful, it would be a very good marriage. In addition, Mrs. Liao advised her, "Anyway, it's just a visit to Chaoyangmen. Whether it will succeed or not depends on Axuan's fate." She finally agreed.
The next day, someone was sent to Chaoyangmen to post the message.
Old lady Guo was holding the post and laughing, and Zhou Shaojin happened to come over. She saw that Zhou Shaojin had changed from the nervousness he had shown when he saw her a few days ago, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. She couldn't help but wonder if Cheng Chi had said something to her again.
Before she could ask, Zhou Shaojin took the initiative to say, "My father sent me a letter, asking me to stay in Beijing and spend more time with you."
Mrs. Guo was silent for a moment.
Even after what happened to Cheng Xu, Zhou Zhen was still willing to let his daughter accompany her... It can be seen that Zhou Dacheng has a good character. Regardless of whether being in-laws is a good thing or not, at least he will not cause trouble and bring trouble to the Cheng family.
She asked, "Has Madam decided when to return?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Madam is leaving tomorrow, so she won't be able to make it to my father's birthday. Madam said it would be better if she could go back earlier to celebrate his birthday!"
Madam Guo smiled and nodded, then handed the Fang family invitation to Zhou Shaojin, saying, "Second Madam is not in good health, so she can occasionally help serve tea and chat with us, but she can't entertain guests. I'm old and not in good spirits, so you should help Second Madam with this matter."
Zhou Shaojin subconsciously wanted to refuse, but then he remembered that he had already made up his mind to please Mrs. Guo, so he respectfully accepted it.
Mrs. Guo nodded with satisfaction and called Mrs. Wei in to give her some instructions.
Madam Wei Er had been suffering these days. If Cheng Sheng hadn't felt sorry for her and stayed at Chaoyang Gate for a few days, she would have given up. When she heard that Zhou Shaojin would help her with the household affairs in the mansion these days, she couldn't help but be happy. As soon as she came out of Madam Guo's room, she pulled Zhou Shaojin's hand and said, "It's actually very simple to manage the household affairs. There are rules for everything in the mansion, just follow the rules."
Zhou Shaojin had never been exposed to this kind of thing before, so he was still a little nervous.
When the day came when Mrs. Fang II, Mrs. Liao I and Fang Xuan came over, she mustered up the courage to go to the Chuihua Gate with Mrs. Wei II to welcome the three of them.
The three of them were all stunned when they saw Zhou Shaojin.
The second wife smiled and explained: "I am not in good health, so the old lady asked Shao Jin to help me."
Mrs. Fang and others laughed and came forward to greet Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin returned the greeting neither arrogantly nor humbly, and he and Madam Wei II welcomed the guests to the banquet room.
Mrs. Fang held Zhou Shaojin's hand tightly and said to Mrs. Guo with a smile, "Look at the second young lady. She is so sensible. Unlike our Axuan, who only knows how to play. If our Axuan can get the guidance of the old lady and be as quiet as the second young lady, I will be relieved!"
Comparing myself with Zhou Shaojin...
Fang Xuan hugged Mrs. Fang's arm and said coquettishly, "Mom, why do you belittle me like this?"
Everyone in the room laughed.
Mrs. Fang Er took the opportunity to say, "Last time, our Axuan came back and kept telling me how good the old lady was to her. If she can get your guidance and marry into a good family when she grows up, her father and I will have nothing else to ask for in this life."
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Hey guys, today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Tomorrow’s update will still be around 3pm…
※(To be continued)