Zhou Zhen was very surprised, and the sincerity revealed in Cheng Chi's words made him feel good about him.
His expression softened, and he asked, "Old Madam, do you also know about this?"
Cheng Chi immediately knew that his chance had come.
At this moment, every word he said became very important, and even a word of life and death, depending on how he responded.
"After my mother came to the capital, I told her about it." Cheng Chi said, "But at that time, the family was arguing about the division of the clan, and my mother didn't want the second young lady to become the target of public criticism at this time, so she didn't mention it for the time being. This time when I came to Baoding Prefecture, I also informed my mother in advance, and she knew about it!"
Zhou Zhen inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
Or in his opinion, if their children's marriage was not blessed by their parents, it was equivalent to elopement. And if the Cheng family's affairs were not approved by Mrs. Guo, there would usually be no good results.
Zhou Zhen picked up the teacup and took a sip slowly, then couldn't help but look at Cheng Chi.
The calm and graceful demeanor of a young man from an aristocratic family, the self-confidence and ease of a man well-read... No matter how you look at it, Cheng Chi is a handsome man picked out of a million.
Just as Li said, apart from his age, he is indeed a good son-in-law.
Maybe there is nothing perfect in this world!
Zhou Zhen felt more at ease.
He asked Cheng Chi: "What are your plans for Cheng Jiashan?"
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "My mother has already bought a house for me near Chaoyang Gate. I will live there in the future."
Xinglin Hutong is the ancestral home of the Cheng family, so naturally it was inherited by Cheng Jing, the eldest son.
Cheng Chi said: "So when I come back from Jining, I may still be assigned to a post outside the capital, and then I can take Shao Jin with me to take up the post."
In this way, the couple does not need to separate.
Being the youngest son also has its advantages.
Only then did Zhou Zhen begin to seriously consider the possibility of this marriage.
He nodded slightly and said, "How did you come up with the idea of helping Yang Shoushan manage the Yellow River?"
Cheng Chi told him that he had been good at counting since he was a child, and wanted to read the hydrological and geographical records when he came across them. Then, he told Zhou Zhen how he met Mr. Song, how to calculate the water level, and how to draw water from the middle of the river... He told Zhou Zhen everything.
Zhou Zhen was very interested and asked carefully about the calculation of the water level.
Baoding Prefecture also suffers from frequent droughts and little rain. If river water could be diverted for irrigation, farmers would not have to live such a hard life.
Cheng Chi answered every question.
Gradually, their expressions became serious and they began to discuss the issue of diverting water to irrigate the fields.
Outside the flower hall, Li whispered to Nanny Li who was listening attentively, "How is it? Did you hear what the fourth master and the master said? Did the master and the fourth master quarrel?"
Nanny Li shook her head repeatedly.
Li breathed a sigh of relief.
The two did not come out of the study until lunch time. Even when they came out, after a brief silence at the dinner table, they went back to the study and continued talking about farmland irrigation.
Li was delighted.
Master Li came over exhausted and said hurriedly, "What happened? You called me here in a hurry. I'm waiting to send wine to the capital!"
Since doing the business of the inner court, the Li family has become the richest family in Jiangxi. Master Li is beaming with joy, and even his tiredness cannot hide his ambition.
Mrs. Li complained, "Why did you come at this time? If I had known this would happen, I would not have sent you a letter. By the time you came, the flowers would have been cold!"
Master Li didn't take it seriously.
The two siblings were bickering.
In the capital, Mrs. Guo was sending out invitations.
September 9th is her birthday.
Cheng Jing also wanted to hold a birthday party for the old lady.
This was the first family dinner they had held after the split, and it was a good opportunity for them to get together with their relatives and friends who had helped them during the split.
Madam Guo specially sent invitations to Zhou Shaojin and her sister, and also instructed Aunt Lu: "Take some nourishing herbs to the Liao family. Give all three invitations to the Liao family's eldest wife, and give one set of nourishing herbs to the Liao family's eldest grandmother and the Zhou family's second young lady."
Mrs. Liao secretly put a lot of effort into the Fang family's affairs.
She will definitely come.
Sister Zhou handed the invitation to her. Even if Zhou Chujin wanted to stop Zhou Shaojin, Mrs. Liao would probably not agree.
As for the Fang family, they would surely come even if she didn't invite them.
Madam Lu smiled and replied “yes” and sent the invitation to Yushu Hutong.
Although she was relying on the help of the Zhou sisters and perhaps had the nanny closest to Mrs. Guo deliver the invitation to her, Mrs. Liao was still very happy.
Zhou Chujin secretly cursed Cheng Chi for being cunning.
He must want to meet Shao Jin in this way!
She didn't know yet that Cheng Chi had already gone to Baoding.
Zhou Chujin couldn't refuse to go, otherwise Mrs. Liao would definitely think that there was a rift between her and the Cheng family. If she investigated, it would be bad if her sister was implicated.
As Madam Guo had expected, she found an excuse for Zhou Shaojin: "Shaojin has been feeling a little uncomfortable these days. I will accompany you to the old lady's birthday banquet. When Shaojin feels better, I will go to pay my respects to the old lady."
Although she might not be able to stop it, she would try anyway.
Mrs. Liao was very unhappy and said, "It's the elder's birthday, he is not unable to get up, why can't you go and say hello?" She asked Aunt Zhong to invite Zhou Shaojin over and continued to scold Zhou Chujin, "I heard you say before that your sister had received guidance from the old lady, which means she was grateful to your sister for teaching. This is the first time for the old lady to celebrate her birthday. How can you say such a thing..."
Zhou Shaojin endured it and remained silent.
Even though she was questioned by her mother-in-law, she had no intention of compromising on this matter.
But soon, Zhou Shaojin was invited over.
Mrs. Liao handed the invitation to Zhou Shaojin with a kind smile and said, "On the ninth day of the first lunar month, you should dress up nicely. We will go to pay our respects to the old lady."
Zhou Shaojin knew from her sister's expression that she was unhappy about this matter. She smiled and agreed. After leaving the main room, she immediately took Zhou Chujin's arm and acted like a child in front of her sister, saying, "Sister, I said I would listen to you. It's the old lady's birthday, and I should go to greet her. But I promise to stay with you and not go anywhere, okay?"
Zhou Chujin's face brightened slightly.
On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the two sisters dressed up and went to Chaoyang Gate with Mrs. Liao.
Cheng Zheng, Cheng Xiao and others had arrived earlier and were standing in front of the hanging flower gate helping Madam Guo welcome the guests.
When Zhou Shaojin and his companions entered the house, they happened to meet several ladies coming in together. They greeted Cheng Zheng warmly and teased their sisters: "You are the ladies, the guests of honor, why are you standing here to welcome the guests? The old lady is too good at ordering people around!"
Cheng Zheng smiled and said, "Today is the old lady's birthday. We sisters can help the old lady to welcome guests here. That is also filial piety, and we can also get some of the old lady's blessings."
As she spoke, she took Zhou Shaojin's hand and introduced several ladies to them.
Zhou Shaojin listened attentively.
The one with a round face is Mrs. Zhou, the one with a long face is Mrs. Wang, the one who looks sad even when she smiles is Mrs. Qu, and Mrs. Shen is from the seventeenth old master of the Shen family in Jinling. She is now the chief clerk of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War. She was able to accept the invitation because she is from the same hometown as the Cheng family...
She kept all these people in mind.
Since I have decided to marry Uncle Chi, I will have to deal with them in the future.
Everyone knew that Fang was the eldest wife of the Liao family in Zhenjiang, and they greeted them warmly.
Cheng Xiao invited them to sit in the hall with a smile.
The second wife of the Fang family brought Fang Xuan over.
They had been in Beijing longer than Mrs. Liao and were acquainted with all the other ladies. They chatted and laughed with each other, talking about family matters, and then went together to pay their respects to Mrs. Guo.
Old Madam Guo was in high spirits today. She wore a royal blue jacket embroidered with patterns of cranes and fairy grass, a headband inlaid with green cat's eye stones the size of pigeon eggs, her hair mixed with silver threads was neatly tied into a bun, and for the first time ever, she wore a golden hairpin.
Everyone came forward with a smile and bowed, congratulating Mrs. Guo on her birthday.
Mrs. Guo laughed.
When it was Zhou Shaojin's turn, he took her hand and looked her up and down, saying, "I haven't seen you for a while. I heard that you went to Beijing with your sister. I was wondering if you went back to Baoding Prefecture during my birthday party."
From the way they sounded, it seemed as if they hadn't seen each other for several years.
Zhou Shaojin didn't understand, but she believed in Mrs. Guo, just as she believed in Cheng Chi.
She spoke obediently and meekly to Mrs. Guo.
Madam Guo was very satisfied and specially asked someone to give her a bracelet of 18-bead tourmaline Buddhist beads. She said, "Come over often when you have nothing to do. I have placed the Buddhist scriptures you copied for me in the Fayu Temple on Mount Putuo."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and replied “OK”.
Mrs. Guo told Cheng Sheng, "You two studied together when you were young. Take her with you to meet all the sisters in Beijing."
Cheng Sheng smiled and said "OK", then took Zhou Shaojin's hand and stood by the screen behind the old lady. Looking at the relatives and friends who came in wave after wave to greet the old lady, he whispered: "What happened to grandma? You came to greet her a few days ago. Is it because the old lady is too old to remember things?"
Zhou Shaojin looked at Madam Guo carefully and replied in a low voice: "The old lady's eyesight is clear, it's impossible that she can't remember anything..."
I'm afraid he has other intentions!
It's just that they can't see it.
Cheng Sheng was still guessing.
Zhou Shaojin's eyes fell on Fang Xuan, who came to greet Mrs. Guo.
It is not known whether it was intentional or unintentional, but Mrs. Fang waited until everyone had greeted Old Madam Guo before she brought Fang Xuan forward. When Fang Xuan greeted Old Madam Guo, everyone's eyes fell on Fang and her daughter.
This apparently gave Mrs. Guo some free time to hold Fang Xuan's hand and talk to her.
Only then did everyone realize that Fang Xuan had been learning calligraphy from Old Madam Guo these days.
Madam Guo smiled and said, "When it comes to calligraphy, you and Shaojin are the two most talented girls I have ever seen..." The old lady said, calling Zhou Shaojin, "Come over and meet the Sixth Miss of the Fang family."
Didn’t we just meet last month
Zhou Shaojin and the others were all secretly puzzled. But in such an occasion, no one would be stupid enough to correct Mrs. Guo.
The two men greeted each other.
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Sisters and brothers, today’s update.
Tomorrow's update will still be around five in the evening.
PS: I didn't click the publish button, and I only found out that the new chapter was not updated when I received ** today. Sorry! Sorry!
~~~~(>_