At this time, Zhou Shaojin, who was far away in the capital, was leaning on the pillow on the kang by the window, reading the letter from Cheng Ji.
The new red silk dress embroidered with a phoenix and the rising sun was hanging on the clothes hanger on the east side of her boudoir, shining brightly.
Cheng Ji often wrote letters to Zhou Shaojin.
The first letter she wrote to Zhou Shaojin was when Zhou Shaojin had just arrived in Baoding Prefecture. Cheng Ji wrote to ask her if she had adapted to life in Baoding Prefecture, and also tactfully mentioned the engagement between Cheng Xu and the eldest daughter of the Min family.
Zhou Shaojin wrote back to her, telling her that he was fine and that Cheng Xu was now engaged, so she had nothing to worry about.
Cheng Ji heaved a sigh of relief, and she felt much more relaxed when writing to Cheng Shaojin. Especially after she married and moved to Luoyang, she would write to Zhou Shaojin to share any delicious food she ate or fun things she saw. On the contrary, Zhou Shaojin had Cheng Chi in his heart and only saw this person. Usually, Cheng Ji's next letter had already been sent to her, but she had not yet replied to her previous letter.
Fortunately, this time Zhou Shaojin finally found his conscience, and after the matter with Cheng Chi was settled, he wrote a letter to Cheng Ji.
In her reply, Cheng Ji severely blamed Zhou Shaojin, saying that she told Zhou Shaojin everything, but Zhou Shaojin did not tell her such an important thing.
Even through the envelope, Zhou Shaojin could imagine Cheng Ji's angry expression as he wrote this letter.
She couldn't help but smile.
Cheng Ji told her that Li Jing had a business in Tianjin, and she followed Li Jing to Tianjin after chatting at home. Zhou Shaojin's letter was forwarded from Luoyang, and if it was a few days later, she and Li Jing would have set off back to Luoyang. Now they decided to come to Beijing to attend Zhou Shaojin's wedding, and asked Zhou Shaojin to treat her well, otherwise she would never call Zhou Shaojin "Aunt" and say "I have something good to give you for your wedding night"...
Zhou Shaojin's face flushed red, and he kept scolding Cheng Ju in his heart, "There is no quiet time for a moment, and I don't know how Li Jing can stand her." He put Cheng Ju's letter in the mailbox, and asked Chunwan to invite Zhou Chujin over, saying, "Is there any vacant room in the house? Cousin Ju and her husband will come to attend the wedding."
Her wedding date was approaching, and she should have returned to Baoding Prefecture to get married. But both Zhou Zhen and Cheng Chi felt sorry for her suffering from the hardship of traveling, so they decided to let her get married in Yushu Hutong in the capital. However, Zhou Zhen was still in office, and Li was diagnosed with pregnancy, so he had to entrust Liao Shaotang and his wife to help send Zhou Shaojin off to marry. Zhou Shaojin returned on the 9th, just in time for the imperial seal, so she could stay in Baoding Prefecture for a few more days.
In the previous life, it was Liao Shaotang and his wife who helped Zhou Shaojin get married.
Zhou Shaojin didn't think much about it.
Zhou Chujin felt a little sorry for his sister, so he came early to help. In addition to instructing the maids and old women to clean, he also carefully selected the wine and food for the wedding banquet, often comparing several families before deciding.
And Old Lady Guan from Jinling City also sent a letter saying that she would bring Cheng Mian and others to attend Zhou Shaojin's wedding.
Zhou Chujin was naturally overjoyed.
The Zhou family didn't have many relatives and friends in the capital, and with the presence of the fourth branch, Zhou Shaojin's wedding would be much more lively. It also meant that the fourth branch acknowledged the marriage, which would be of great benefit to Zhou Shaojin's future.
She had already cleaned up the guest room, prepared bedding and food, and was just waiting for people to arrive.
Now with the appearance of Cheng Ji and Li Jing, I’m afraid this room may not be big enough.
Zhou Chujin thought about it and said, "Then we can only let Cheng Ji suffer. Let's clear out a room in the back room where your dowry is stored for Cheng Ji to rest. As for Li Jing, let him share a room with Cheng Yi."
Zhou Zhen followed Zhou Chujin's example and prepared 120 loads of dowry for Zhou Shaojin, which was piled up in the back room.
Zhou Shaojin blushed and said, "Then I'll trouble you, sister."
She is now a girl about to get married and cannot move around casually.
Zhou Chujin laughed and said, "You should be polite to me!"
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what to say.
In her previous life, she wanted to thank her sister, but she didn't have the chance to tell her sister. This hard work in this life also contains the gratitude from her previous life.
She smiled innocently.
Zhou Chujin touched her head and told Chunwan to urge the maid to move the boxes.
Several maids surrounded Mrs. Liao, who looked a little embarrassed, and walked in.
She saw Zhou Chujin coming up to her quickly and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with? Where's Brother Guan? If you're busy, just send him to my room and I'll help look after him."
Zhou Shaojin is Zhou Chujin's Achilles' heel. Ever since Mrs. Liao said those words, Zhou Chujin has become somewhat indifferent to her mother-in-law.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Nothing. The manager of Elm Alley is very capable. I am just helping out and giving some reminders. I am not busy. Guan Ge was just playing in the yard with his nurse for a long time and just went back to sleep. I don't know why he has been very obedient these days and has not cried or made a fuss. If I can't take care of him here, it won't be too late for you to take care of him."
He rejected Mrs. Liao's request neither softly nor harshly.
Mrs. Liao couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
Zhou Chujin's words that day were like thunder to her ears, waking her up.
The reason why she originally acted as a matchmaker for Axuan was to curry favor with the Fang family and secure a good future for her son.
But if her daughter-in-law can help her son in his career, why should she put the cart before the horse and abandon her daughter-in-law to curry favor with the Fang family
Once she figured it out, Mrs. Liao's attitude towards Zhou Chujin changed completely. Not only did she become kind and gentle, she even looked for opportunities to help at Zhou Shaojin's wedding, trying to make up for the rift they had in the past.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Chujin actually felt a little bit sorry for her.
No matter what, Mrs. Liao is her mother-in-law, and she will be living with her for the rest of her life, so shouldn’t she forgive her when she can
She said with a smile, "It's a bit cold today. Why did you come here? What's the matter?"
Mrs. Liao felt flattered and said hurriedly, "It's okay, it's okay. I just came to take a look. You young people have little experience. There are so many things to do at a wedding. I'm afraid you might have overlooked something."
Zhou Chujin took the opportunity to step down and said with a smile: "If you can come over and give me some pointers, I will benefit a lot."
Mrs. Liao said hurriedly, "What do you mean by giving instructions or not? We are one family and should not have different opinions. Isn't your wife pregnant? Has she gone to the temple to burn incense? Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "My father said that no matter whether it is a boy or a girl, it is a gift from the Bodhisattva. At worst, he can just find a son-in-law to take care of him in his old age. Anyway, he has more than one daughter."
Mrs. Liao laughed and said, "My dear father-in-law is a kind-hearted man..."
The two of them talked affectionately and entered the hall. Before they sat down, a little maid ran in and said, "Aunt, Aunt, the fourth aunt of the Cheng family and the old master are here. They said they will be going into the city soon."
How come Cheng Ji arrived so quickly
Zhou Chujin hurriedly said, "Quick, ask Manager Xiang to go to the city gate to welcome them."
Zhou Shaojin from the inner room heard the noise and came out, asking repeatedly, "Is it cousin Jia and her husband who have arrived?"
Zhou Chujin nodded, invited Mrs. Liao to sit inside, and hurried out: "I have to go to the back room to check, I'm afraid it hasn't been cleaned up yet!"
Mrs. Liao said hurriedly: "Why don't you just live with us?"
He also asked who the fourth grandmother of the Cheng family was
Zhou Shaojin said.
Mrs. Liao was stunned.
She didn't expect that the Cheng family's eldest branch and Jiuru Lane had split up, and that people from the fourth and third branches would come to attend the wedding of Cheng Chi and Zhou Shaojin.
It can be seen that the division of the Cheng family's eldest branch and Jiuru Lane may not be caused by the eldest branch.
However, Zhou Shaojin had not met Cheng Ji for a long time and wanted to keep Cheng Ji at home, so he politely rejected Mrs. Liao's proposal.
Mrs. Liao did not force him and asked about the Spring Festival Gala: "Have you prepared a banquet at home? If not, we should send someone to reserve a table at a familiar restaurant as soon as possible." Then she instructed Nanny Zhong, "Send someone to deliver a message to the master, saying that the son-in-law of the third room of the Cheng family is coming, and ask him to come back early to entertain the guests."
Helped the Zhou sisters entertain the guests.
Seeing that she had good intentions, Zhou Chujin agreed to her decision.
After a while, Liao Shaotang came back, and Li Jing and his wife also arrived.
Li Jing was invited to the outer study room for tea, while Cheng Ji was invited into the inner house.
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji haven't seen each other for a long time.
As soon as the two met, Cheng Ji hugged Zhou Shaojin and said happily: "I came quickly! We traveled day and night, and missed the post station several times and slept in the carriage. You have to reward me well, I am exhausted!"
Zhou Shaojin finally managed to break free from her embrace. He saw that she was taller and rounder than before, like a peony bud that finally blossomed, radiant and bright. He knew that she would be fine after marrying Li Jing. He couldn't help but feel happy for her. His eyes became moist. He said, "Look at you. Your makeup is ruined and your pearls are crooked. Why don't you go to the house and wash up."
Cheng Ji laughed and didn't take it seriously, being very casual.
Only a woman who is pampered can be so carefree and fear nothing.
Zhou Shaojin introduced her to Mrs. Liao with a smile, and then accompanied her to her inner room to change clothes and wash up.
Cheng Ji sat by the dressing table while her maid combed her hair. She told Cui Huan to get a red sandalwood box for Zhou Shao Jin and said with a smile, "Open it and take a look. I'll add another box for you."
All the gifts that Li Jing gave to Cheng Ji in the past were extraordinary. So naturally, the gifts that Cheng Ji gave her when she got married would not be simple either.
Zhou Shaojin opened it and saw that it was a flower.
The flower is as big as a bowl, with blue kingfisher feathers as petals and yellow agate as core. There is a butterfly inlaid with various precious stones resting on it. I don’t know what the butterfly’s wings are made of, but they are trembling as if it is about to spread its wings and fly. It is very delicate.
Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, "This flower is so big, when will you let me take it?"
Cheng Ji was angry: "It's good enough to give you something. If you still complain, when can you take it? If you don't want it, then I'll take it back."
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help laughing.
Cheng Ji also laughed and said, "This is a gift from Li Jing. He only gives valuable gifts to others. The one below is a gift from me."
Only then did Zhou Shaojin discover that there was a finger-sized square bottle inlaid with gold and colored glaze placed under the hairpin.
Cheng Ji told her: "This is from the Western Regions. It is used to hold scented water. Wearing it on your body is both delicate and practical. It is much better than incense balls. This is my most beloved thing, and now I give it to you."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and thanked again and again.
Cheng Ji has combed her hair.
She jumped up and said, "There should be orchids still blooming now, right? How about we make some perfumed lotion for your wedding?"
It feels like I have taken a tonic pill and I have endless energy.
※
Dear friends, today’s update.
The update will be around 9 am tomorrow.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Due to time constraints, I have to wait a while to correct the typos, so those who are reading on their mobile phones need to re-watch...
※(To be continued)