Zhou Zhen tossed and turned and didn't sleep all night.
Thinking back to when Zhuang was alive, he didn't have to worry about anything except studying, having everything provided for him. Even the relationships with people in Jiuru Lane were handled very well, and everyone praised her.
He couldn't help but think how great it would be if Zhuang was still alive. He wouldn't have to worry about Shaojin's marriage. He could just focus on making money to buy a dowry for his daughter.
Thinking of this, he couldn't lie down anymore, so he got up and went to burn some incense for Zhuang.
The Zhuang in the portrait was actually much plainer than her appearance in life, which was also intentional. He always felt that Zhuang was too beautiful, and they were in perfect harmony, and there was nothing wrong with them, which was exactly in line with the saying "beautiful women are doomed to fail, and deep love does not live long".
He sighed.
Li Changgui was peeking out of the door.
Zhou Zhen frowned and called him in, scolding him, "Can't you stand up straight and talk? How can you sneak around and let others see you?"
Ever since the fourth master of the Cheng family came to visit the master yesterday, the master has been dissatisfied with everything.
Li Changgui laughed and didn't dare to say another word.
Zhou Zhen shouted, "What do you want from me?"
Li Changgui shrank back immediately and whispered, "It was the fourth master of the Cheng family's main house who sent the invitation..."
"No!" Zhou Zhen said without thinking, "I won't accept any messages from them in the future."
Li Changgui said "hmm" but did not retreat immediately.
Zhou Zhen asked impatiently: "What else?"
Li Changgui's voice became even lower, and he said, "The fourth master of the Cheng family's eldest house... is standing outside the government office waiting!"
"Then let him wait!" Zhou Zhen became annoyed when he heard this and waved his hand at Li Changgui like he was waving away a fly.
Li Changgui hurriedly retreated.
The midday sun in early autumn is still scorching hot when it shines on people.
Cheng Chi was a man of great bearing, with a jade cicada hanging from his waist, flawless and full of nobility.
The gatekeeper of the yamen came out and looked several times, but did not dare to step forward to chase Cheng Chi away.
Cheng Chi stood in the glaring sunlight and suddenly remembered that when he was seven or eight years old, he also stood in the sunlight.
At that time, I didn't know what the Seven Stars Hall meant. I was filled with excitement, as if if I could stand firm, I would be invincible and able to save my family from disaster.
After so many years, he stood in the sun again.
This time, he did it for himself.
For the little girl who trusted him with all her heart.
Cheng Chi's mood was as calm as water. He stood there quietly, allowing those who came in and out of the government office to point and criticize him.
Huaishan felt sorry for Cheng Chi.
The fourth master of the Cheng family's eldest branch, a child of destiny, the head of the Seven Stars Hall, a man who could shake the entire martial arts world with just a stomp of his foot, but at this moment, he was standing here being stared at because of the second young lady of the Zhou family.
He held up an umbrella and walked over.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "No need! Lord Zhou probably wants to punish me. You guys should stay out of it."
Huaishan remained unmoved and continued to hold the umbrella for him.
Cheng Chi just let him do what he wanted.
Zhou Zhen sat in the front yamen for the whole morning handling official business, but he felt as if something was wrong and was a little restless.
It took him a while to realize that it was Li Changgui who said that Cheng Chi had been standing outside the government office...
He looked at the bright sunlight outside, called Li Changgui over and asked, "Is the fourth master still standing outside?"
Li Changgui nodded repeatedly and said, "Everyone who comes to the government office to do business is asking what's going on. Master, do you think we should let the fourth master in? If people keep an eye on us, the news might spread in Baoding Prefecture in a few days. If someone recognizes the identity of the fourth master, people might think you have a feud with the eldest branch of the Cheng family."
Zhou Zhen didn't expect Cheng Chi to be so disregarding of his dignity.
But if he asked Cheng Chi to come in and sit down... wouldn't that mean he admitted defeat
His face darkened and he said, "If he wants to stand there and let people watch him, then just let him stand there!" Then he went back to the inner house without looking back, had lunch and took a nap.
Nanny Li called Li Changgui over and asked, "How is it? What did the master say?"
Li Changgui said somewhat frustratedly: "I told the master what my wife said, but the master is still the same as yesterday."
"Thank you for your concern!" Li Ma hurriedly smiled and stuffed a piece of silver into Li Changgui's pocket, saying, "Madam, this is all for the good of the Second Miss and the family. Please bear with me, Li Changsui."
Li Changgui pretended to refuse twice before accepting the money.
Nanny Li ran to Li's place.
Li was eagerly waiting, and when she saw Li Ma Ma, she hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"
Nanny Li sighed and shook her head.
Li's face was full of disappointment.
She twisted her handkerchief anxiously, muttering, "What if the fourth master gets mad and leaves?"
Nanny Li was also very worried and asked, "How about you go and persuade the master?"
"No!" Li said, "I know the master's temper. The more I talk to him, the less he will agree..." She murmured worriedly, "This is a big deal... If Shao Jin can marry the fourth master, it will be such a good thing... No, we can't let this matter fall through..." As she spoke, her expression became serious and she ordered Li Ma, "Hurry up and find a way to send a message to the eldest master, telling him that something big has happened here and ask him to come quickly."
Nanny Li left in a hurry.
Li took the tea and went to Zhou Zhen.
Zhou Zhen had just gotten up, and the servant was helping him wash his face. When he saw Li, he asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"
Li couldn't help but secretly feel lucky that she had never thought of persuading Zhou Zhen again.
She smiled and said, "Isn't the Double Ninth Festival coming soon? I was thinking whether I should send some things to Mrs. Guan. Didn't we receive a letter from Nanjing a few days ago saying that Mrs. Guan was feeling unwell? How about we take Mrs. Guan here to stay for a while? A son-in-law is like a son-in-law. She treats you so well, it would be nice for us to show some respect to her."
When the Jiuru Lane clan was divided, old lady Guan became anxious and angry, and was ill for several days before she recovered.
Zhou Zhen glanced at Li and said, "You've been really worried about this marriage!"
Li's eyes turned red as she listened, "Master, you are wronging me. I obey you in everything. You say one thing and I won't say another. If you want to blame someone, just blame me for not giving birth to a son. Master, you only have my eldest aunt and her three sisters. If you don't get close to the cousins in Jinling, I'm afraid you won't even have someone to carry your sedan chair when you get married..."
Her words immediately touched Zhou Zhen's heart.
The fact that he was so close to Jiuru Lane had a lot to do with the small number of members in the Zhou family.
Zhou Zhen walked out without saying anything.
Sitting in the yamen, he felt as if a grain of sand had settled in his heart and was uncomfortable in every way.
He called Li Changgui again and asked, "Has the fourth master of the Cheng family returned?"
"No!" Li Changgui said timidly, "He has been standing at the gate of the yamen... Mr. Huang went to talk to him, but the fourth master didn't say anything..." He couldn't help but persuade, "Master, if the fourth master really becomes your son-in-law, how will the people in this yamen see you..."
"Shut up!" Zhou Zhen was furious.
Li Changgui ran away with his neck shrunk, and came back in a moment later to report, "Huang Futang is here!"
Zhou Zhen invited Huang Futang in.
Huang Futang asked about Cheng Chi with a twinkling look in his eyes.
Zhou Zhen brushed it off with a few words.
After a while, Tan Dianshi from the Zhaomo Division came over, finished his official business, and tactfully inquired about who Cheng Chi was.
Zhou Zhen was fed up with it, so he sent away Dianshi Tan and returned to the inner hall.
Li was playing with Zhou Youjin in the hall.
Seeing Zhou Zhen, Zhou Youjin immediately rushed over and called out "Daddy" in a vague voice.
Zhou Zhen held Zhou Youjin in his arms and asked Li in a reproachful manner, "She is so old, why can't she speak?"
Li's eyes dimmed and she said, "I don't know either - I ask the servants around her to talk to her every day!"
Zhou Zhen played with Zhou Youjin for a while, had dinner with Li, and then returned to the study.
But as soon as he returned to the study, he looked for Li Changgui and asked, "Has the fourth master of the Cheng family left?"
Li Changgui hurriedly said: "Let's go!"
Zhou Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.
I couldn't tell whether I was happy or relieved.
The next day, Cheng Chi sent in another note.
Zhou Zhen was still missing.
Cheng Chi stood outside the yamen for another day.
On the third day, Cheng Chi came again...
For four or five days, people in the Baoding government office were discussing the matter, but Cheng Chi kept his mouth shut like a river clam and refused to answer anyone's questions.
Zhou Zhen immediately hardened his heart and said loudly to Li Changgui: "Go and tell the fourth master of the Cheng family that I will not agree even if he stands at the gate of the government office like a stone statue."
Li Changgui agreed in a low voice.
Cheng Chi continued to do his own thing, handing over his invitation every day and waiting for Zhou Zhen to see him.
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, Zhou Zhen couldn't stand it anymore, so he called Cheng Chi in and said, "What do you want to do? I've said it before, if you want to marry Shao Jin, it's impossible. I can't let Shao Jin suffer with you..."
Exposed to wind and rain, Cheng Chi felt a little more weathered than before.
He said in a deep voice, "Sir Zhou, I was born on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Xinwei year. I passed the imperial examination in the Renchen year of the Zhide fifteenth year, but I am still unmarried. I am the youngest in the family. I have a widowed mother, two brothers, two sisters-in-law, three nieces, and two nephews. I will soon be appointed as the deputy director of the Ministry of Works and go to the Jining Prefecture River Governor's Office to help Yang Shoushan control the Yellow River flood. Please marry your daughter to me. I will accompany her through thick and thin and never leave her. Please allow me, Sir Zhou!"
Zhou Zhen's expression changed slightly.
When Cheng Chi entered officialdom, he did not go to the Ministry of Personnel or the Censorate, but to the Ministry of Works as a small deputy director of the Water Conservancy Department, and went to the River Governor's Office in Jining to help Yang Shoushan with flood control... He either had great ambitions or great abilities!
Whether the former or the latter, both are worthy of respect.
He couldn't help but ask: "Since you are going to Jining, are you going to let Shaojin suffer with you?"
Cheng Chi felt relieved.
Since Zhou Zhen said this, it was obvious that he had thought about what would happen if Shao Jin married him.
He was not afraid of Zhou Zhen making things difficult for him, he was just afraid that Zhou Zhen would disagree with him wholeheartedly.
"Shaojin is still young. But I want to settle down with her." Cheng Chi said in a deep voice, with a serious and sincere look on his face. It can be seen that these words were not said on impulse, but were made after careful consideration. "I will be in Jining for five years at most and three years at least. That will be good for Shaojin. If she wants to follow me to Jining, she can go. If she wants to stay in the capital, she can stay with my mother. My mother has never looked down on her..."
What she meant was that she would wait a few years before consummating her marriage with Zhou Shaojin.
※
Sisters and brothers, today’s extra update.
The update is tentatively scheduled for around midnight.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: I would also like to say a few words about the Originality Ranking.
Since July, Qidian's several platforms have been connected, and the original Pink Voting List has been cancelled and replaced with the Original Billboard. In this way, whether you subscribe via a computer or an Android phone, you can vote for your favorite works.
And no matter you subscribe to the main site, Girls' Network or other platforms' works, you can vote at will.
For example, if you subscribe to the main site, you can vote for the main site's articles, and you can also vote for the articles on the girls' website. If you subscribe to the articles on the girls' website, you can also vote for the main site.
Of course, this will expand the readership, and everyone's preferences will be more obvious than before. There will also be many unfamiliar books on the list (in fact, it's the same, our books are also unfamiliar to readers of other platforms). There is no need to doubt it, everyone has their own preferences, so just vote for the works you like.
※(To be continued)