Despite such obvious intentions, Madam Guo still smiled and politely declined, "I am old, and I am not as energetic as before. I am not as fast as you young people. How can I compare with you young people? I just give some random instructions at home. The younger generations at home, seeing my advanced age, tolerate everything and just think of it as filial piety. That's why I don't make a fool of myself. I don't dare to give instructions to Xuan."
Mrs. Liao exchanged glances with Mrs. Fang and smiled, "Look at what you said! When I first came here, I was talking to my second sister-in-law about the girls nowadays. They can talk back to their elders and would rather spend time learning the piano than practicing needlework. We were not like us in our time. We got up before dawn to clean the house and made shoes and socks for our elders by lighting the lamp at night. There are not many girls like the old lady who can teach girls like Zheng Jie'er and Xiao Jie'er. No wonder we are jealous and want Xuan to learn something from the old lady."
Fang Xuan had no idea what her mother and aunt were planning.
She thought her mother and aunt were trying to curry favor with the Cheng family, so she joined in the fun and said, "Old lady, please let me come to see you more often. Otherwise, my mother and aunt will talk so much that my ears will get calluses. Please have mercy on me!" As she spoke, she acted pitifully and pulled the old lady's sleeve and acted coquettishly.
The old lady's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and she laughed, hiding the emotion in her eyes, and said with a smile: "If you are bored, just come over. Shao Jin is here, and the Sheng sisters are afraid that I will be lonely, so they come back to visit me from time to time. The house is quite lively."
That’s the promise!
Mrs. Liao and Mrs. Fang were secretly happy.
Fang Xuan glanced at Zhou Shaojin and said with a smile: "I'll need your guidance in the future!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled generously and gently, saying: "No, no! I am here as a guest too. Miss Fang Liu is too polite!"
Fang Xuan disagreed.
A maid came in and asked Zhou Shaojin for instructions: "Second Master asked for a carriage to go to Sanming Academy."
Zhou Shaojin looked towards Old Madam Guo.
Mrs. Guo nodded and said, "I understand."
Zhou Shaojin and the little maid walked out and talked under the veranda: "Does the second wife know?"
Her voice is so gentle and soft, making people feel like they are in the spring breeze.
The little maid's voice softened involuntarily, and she said with a smile, "The Second Madam knows. Let me tell the old lady and you."
Zhou Shaojin said, "Go and tell the steward of the outer courtyard that the Second Master is still young and rarely goes out. He might get off the carriage if he sees something on the road. You need to find an experienced driver to follow him, and a guard who is steady but alert. He can also help make decisions if there is anything."
The little maid repeated Zhou Shaojin's words, and seeing that nothing was missed, she smiled and retreated.
Zhou Shaojin asked Chunwan to go to the kitchen and take a look: "The old lady only left the two ladies and the Sixth Miss Fang for lunch. Go ask the maids and servants who are here to see if the two ladies and the Sixth Miss Fang have any dietary restrictions. The kitchen can also prepare a list for you."
The Spring Festival Gala went away as expected.
Zhou Shaojin then instructed Chenxiang to go to the tea room and check: "These are the new maids. Don't let them forget to make tea while having fun."
Chenxiang smiled and went to the tea room.
Zhou Shaojin then turned around and went back to the banquet room.
The banquet room was quiet. Madam Liao and Madam Fang looked at her with complicated expressions. Only Fang Xuan frowned and looked very unhappy.
Just now, after Zhou Shaojin and the little maid who came to give instructions walked out, Madam Liao and Madam Fang both stopped talking at the same time and pricked up their ears to listen to the noise on the corridor.
After Fang Xuan chattered for a few words with Mrs. Guo, she stopped talking when she saw that Mrs. Liao and Mrs. Fang did not respond.
For a moment, the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The conversation between Zhou Shaojin and the maid fell into their ears word for word.
Madam Liao and Madam Fang were shocked that Zhou Shaojin was actually in charge of the household affairs at Chaoyang Gate. However, Fang Xuan felt that Zhou Shaojin was too arrogant - since he was a guest, this showed that he was not a guest and should not say or do things!
Zhou Shaojin was stunned by their gazes. He lowered his head to look at his clothes. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with them, he asked blankly, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Mrs. Fang was the first to come back to her senses. She hurriedly said with a smile, "It's okay, it's okay! I just didn't expect that the second young lady of the Zhou family can already stand on her own at such a young age. Unlike our A Xuan, who knows nothing." Her tone was quite emotional.
Mrs. Liao thought of her daughter-in-law Zhou Chujin, who always talked about Zhou Shaojin's relationship with the eldest house and how Zhou Shaojin pleased Mrs. Guo... It seemed that her daughter-in-law was not exaggerating.
But why did she feel weird
Even if she treated Zhou Shaojin as her own granddaughter, it would make her surpass Second Madam Wei to be in charge of the household affairs of Chaoyang Gate... It always makes people feel a little strange!
But now was not the time to pursue these issues, so she smiled and tried to smooth things over: "So I said that Axuan should come and learn from the old lady. You see Shaojin, he can already stand on his own. It's all because the old lady taught him well!"
Zhou Shaojin agreed with what Mrs. Liao said.
She smiled and said, "I have benefited a lot from the old lady's teachings!"
Mrs. Liao took the opportunity to teach Fang Xuan: "... You must learn well from Shao Jin."
Fang Xuan agreed with him, but she didn't agree in her heart.
She was just a guest, but she would never meddle in other people's household affairs. She would never do such a shameful thing!
After lunch, the eldest wife of the Liao family and the second wife of Fang took Fang Xuan and said goodbye.
Mrs. Guo kept Zhou Shaojin to talk, handed him the invitation from the eldest wife of the Liao family, and also told him what the eldest wife of the Liao family had said before.
Zhou Shaojin was surprised.
I don't understand what Mrs. Guo means.
Madam Guo waved her round fan and said slowly, "Have you thought of anything?"
Zhou Shaojin was touched when he heard what Mrs. Liao said today. He just thought that the Sixth Miss of the Fang family was regarded as the apple of the eye by the family, but Uncle Chi was ten years older than her. He felt that he was overthinking it... Now that he heard what Mrs. Guo said, that feeling became obvious.
She looked hesitant.
Mrs. Guo nodded secretly.
Although this child is a little timid, he is not stupid after all.
"There's no one else here, just say it." Old Madam Guo encouraged Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin thought about it for a while, and then whispered: "Could it be that Mrs. Liao wants to be a matchmaker for Uncle Chi... and marry the Sixth Miss of the Fang family..."
"That's right." Madam Guo said slowly, "What are your plans?"
"Me?!" Zhou Shaojin looked at Mrs. Guo in astonishment.
Madam Guo said in a deep voice: "Now that we have separated from Jiuru Lane, it would be great if the daughter-in-law has many brothers and sisters from her family. The Sixth Miss of the Fang family is an only child, so she must have a lot of dowry. And as a girl from the Fang family, she should get along well with the Yuan family... At worst, there are still the girls from the Li family and the Huang family..."
Only then did Zhou Shaojin understand what Madam Guo meant.
Is she saying that Uncle Chi won't have trouble marrying a good girl
For some reason, Zhou Shaojin wanted to laugh.
Is Mr. Guo trying to tell her to cherish Uncle Chi
She immediately swept away her previous dejection and said with a smile: "Don't you always say, 'When marrying a daughter-in-law, look for a virtuous woman, not for the dowry; when marrying a daughter, choose a good son-in-law, not for wealth'? Why are you concerned about the dowry of the little girl from the Fang family today? Since you want to marry someone else, the eldest wife is both a girl from the Yuan family and the granddaughter of the Fang family. Both the Yuan and Fang families have influence. Instead of marrying another girl from the Fang family as a daughter-in-law, you might as well look for a girl from the Li family of Lujiang or the Huang family of Saiyang. Most officials from Jiangxi marry into the Huang family of Saiyang, and the Li family of Lujiang is a big family in the north. Why bother with this?" At this point, she suddenly thought of what Madam Guo had threatened her before. With Madam Guo's skills, if she really wanted to threaten her, it would probably be more than just a few words to her. Madam Guo just wanted to warn her and let her know what kind of difficulties she would encounter when she was with Uncle Chi... This time, it should be the same, right? Otherwise, why would she tell her what Mrs. Liao said and did
She suddenly felt full of courage and said half jokingly and half seriously: "Besides, I think I'm not much worse than those Miss Fang and Miss Yuan when I'm serious! Just invite Miss Fang to your home. I will definitely beat Miss Fang."
"Oh!" Madam Guo raised her eyebrows and said, "Continue the competition? How do we compete?"
"I will learn how to be a housekeeper from you, take good care of Uncle Chi, and integrate into this family..." Zhou Shaojin said seriously, "I will definitely do it well!"
Mrs. Guo started laughing.
This was the first real smile she showed after she and Zhou Shaojin talked outside the official residence.
"Come here!" She waved at Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin vaguely felt that he seemed to have won the trust of Mrs. Guo.
Her heart was beating like a drum and she walked over carefully.
Mrs. Guo took her hand, looked at her lovingly, touched her temples lovingly, and said softly: "No matter what happens in the future, you must remember what you just said - others have their own advantages, and you also have your own good points. Don't belittle yourself, and don't be arrogant. Do you understand?"
Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide and tears fell unexpectedly.
"Madam!" She knelt down and put her head on Madam Guo's knees. "I will never forget your words in my life."
If the first time she knelt to Mrs. Guo was out of helplessness, this second time she knelt to the old lady, she was full of gratitude and emotion.
There is no one in this world as respectable as Mrs. Guo.
She not only taught her the principles of being a human being and doing things, but also let her know how to defeat herself and dominate her own destiny and future.
"Madam!" She burst into tears.
Mrs. Guo's eyes also began to moisten.
She patted her shoulder gently and said, "Go! You still have a long way to go. When you reach my age, you will know that you have to walk your own way."
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Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
The update will be around midnight.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)