Cheng Xu walked aimlessly along the corridor shaded by green trees.
Huanxi couldn't help but ask, "Master, where are we going?"
Cheng Xu thought for a moment and said sadly, "Go back to Duo Jiaxuan! Go back and practice a few pages of calligraphy, and then bring them to Fourth Uncle for guidance."
Cheng Chi's calligraphy is quite famous among the scholars in Jinling City.
Then I will have the chance to visit my fourth uncle again.
Huanxi breathed a sigh of relief.
If the master doesn't study hard, the lady will definitely think that she is the one who instigated the master to play.
He said eagerly, "I heard that cherries and plums are now in season. Can I buy some for you to try?"
Huanxi's words reminded Cheng Xu.
He liked eating cherries, so the people in his family were always thinking about them. The servants would think of ways to buy them for him, and his mother would specifically ask Manager Qin to go to the fruit farmers to get the freshest ones. Even his grandmother would make a special trip to buy them for him when cherries were on the market.
You can only please someone by catering to his or her preferences.
"Huanxi," Cheng Xu pondered, "Tell me, if I help her deal with the person she hates the most, will she stop being angry with me and look at me differently?"
Huanxi thought for a moment before realizing that the "she" Cheng Xu was talking about was Zhou Shaojin.
He smiled and said, "Of course. Doesn't the book say 'It's hard to help someone in need, but it's easy to add icing on the cake'? What you've done is also a timely help!"
Cheng Xu was delighted by these words. He patted Huanxi's shoulder and said, "Didn't you fancy a pair of gold bracelets at Yongfu Sheng last time? Go to Biyu and get twenty taels of silver. Consider it my reward to you."
"Really!" Huan Xi couldn't help but thank him again and again.
On the top of the hill made of Taihu stones in the Hill Conggui Courtyard, a beauty surrounded by red lacquer railings stood beside a mountain shaped like a withered bamboo. Cheng Xu and Huanxi's figures slowly disappeared in the green trees. Then he turned around and walked into the flower hall with a plaque inscribed with "Qingyin Pavilion", and whispered, "Master, Master Xu is gone."
The three-story flower hall has hexagonal plum blossom-shaped windows inlaid with transparent glass, making it spacious and bright. The sunlight shines directly in, falling on the man in an indigo-blue Taoist robe sitting in front of the large desk. His fair skin seems like the finest flawless jade, smooth and lustrous, revealing elegance and dignity, but also coldness and alienation.
"Really?" He put down the brush in his hand, looked at the rice paper spread on the desk, and said lightly, "Didn't they say that Wende Pavilion made a batch of good ink this time? Ask their shopkeeper to send a few ingots over for us to have a look."
Huaishan responded “yes”, but hesitated to speak.
Cheng Chi stood quietly in front of the desk, writing with his wrist raised.
The only sounds in Qingyin Pavilion were the rustling of pens hitting rice paper and the rustling of wind through leaves.
Huaishan stood quietly for a while, then quietly retreated.
In Jiashu Hall, Zhou Chujin was talking to Old Lady Guan about Sanzhixuan: "… Fortunately, I met Uncle Chi from the eldest house, otherwise it would be difficult to end the matter."
"I didn't expect this Dalang to be so reckless." Old Lady Guan frowned in disbelief and said, "However, although the fourth master of the eldest house is cold and indifferent, his actions are very reassuring - he doesn't care whether he cares or not. If he cares, there is nothing he can't do. Especially in the past few years, he has been taking care of the family affairs and has become more and more capable. Since he has intervened, you can rest assured that he will never tell anyone. As for thanking him, if you encounter it, just try it out. If he doesn't mean to say more, don't mention it again. If you don't encounter it, There is no need to go to thank him. To put it nicely, he is pure and has the style of Jin and Wei dynasties. To put it bluntly, he has a strange temper and is unruly. He doesn't care about ordinary people at all. If he talks to you, it means he thinks highly of you. He doesn't care about you. He will ignore you even if you are very friendly. But he is in charge of the family affairs, so he can't ignore you. You can see it from Master Wen of the fifth room. Everyone in the family keeps a distance from him. You have never dealt with him. You will know when you deal with him one day."
It was the first time my grandmother commented on someone like this.
Zhou Chujin was a little surprised, but she always believed in her grandmother's opinion, so she smiled and said "yes", and asked curiously: "Didn't the first house and the second and third houses split up? Even if we have to deal with Uncle Chi, it is the first house's business. What does it have to do with the fifth house?"
Old Madam Guan laughed and said, "You don't know. Master Chi Si is also a god of wealth. After the first, second and third branches separated in the early years, the third branch became independent, but the first and second branches were still together. Previously, it was Old Master Li of the second branch who managed the affairs of the two families. Later, Master Li of the second branch passed away, and your uncle Yi was young, so the affairs of the two branches were taken over by Old Master Xun of the first branch. But Old Master Xun was an official in Kyoto, so how could he take care of the affairs? He pushed it to the second branch. The ancestor of the second branch was in the prime of his career at that time, and he was not willing to take over at all. The affairs of the two branches were pushed back and forth. Later, there was really no other way, so I let Old Madam Guo take care of it for a few years.
"Although Madam Guo is a woman who is as capable as any man, she is a woman after all, and is restricted in some things. However, within three to five years, the third branch became the dominant one, and the first and second branches barely managed to keep the family business. It was not until Master Chi Si took over that the first and second branches finally had a good turn for the better. Not only did they add several hectares of sacrificial land, they also did banknote business with people from Anhui. The so-called 'there is Li Wei in the north and Yu Tai in the south', this Li Wei refers to the 'Wei Zi Hao' bank of the Li family in She County, and 'Yu Tai' refers to the 'Yu Tai' bank of our Cheng family.
"Because the 'Wei Zi Hao' is a partnership between several brothers of the Li family in She County, Master Chi suggested that our families also form a partnership. The Cheng family can ignore material things and focus on learning, the masters can peacefully advance in their official careers, and our families can live a more and more prosperous life, all because of the share of the 'Yu Tai' bank. Even if Master Chi has a weird temper, who dares not tolerating him?" At the end of her words, Old Lady Guan laughed.
Zhou Chujin had never heard of these things before and couldn't help but look surprised.
"These are all family affairs of our Cheng family," Old Lady Guan said with a smile, "You are the younger generation, and you don't have anything to do. Who would tell you these things?"
As a result, the right to speak fell into the hands of the Cheng family.
Zhou Chujin thought about the awkwardness of the third room in the past few years and asked suspiciously, "Has the third room also joined in?"
"Who would have a problem with money?" Old Lady Guan said with a smile, "At first, the eldest and second houses took the majority, and the third house, us and the fifth house took the smaller share. As a result, the third house said that we were relatives and were doing business together, and we were afraid that there would be a rift, so they would not join the partnership." As the old lady spoke, her smile faded and she sighed, "At that time, your uncle Miao was still thinking about his studies, and I was also counting on him to bring honor to the family. Your second uncle Yuan was a young man who knew nothing, and all the family affairs were on me. I thought that your uncle Miao was going to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and your second uncle Yuan was going to learn from a famous teacher. It was a matter of life and death, and this was the only time. So I took out money to recognize the third house's share. Unexpectedly, the fourth house prospered like this... Later, the Third House regretted it and went to ask for help from Old Lady Yuan and Master Jing. Master Wen from the Fifth House made trouble again and wanted to sell the shares of the bank for silver. Only then did the Third House have the opportunity to buy shares. Even so, the First House only let him buy half a share.
Zhou Chujin didn't expect Cheng Chi to be so capable.
No one in the Cheng family is proud of him, maybe because he is a businessman
Zhou Chujin felt a little sorry for him and said, "If Uncle Chi were to become an official, he would definitely be a prime minister!"
There are not many civil servants who are good at math, and if there is one of them, the Ministry of Revenue will regard him as a treasure. I can’t say anything about the others, but it is possible for him to become a vice minister.
Old Madam Guan smiled and said, "Who said it wasn't! But Fourth Master Chi said that there is already a Song Jingran in the Ministry of Revenue, so he won't join in the fun. It's better for him to go home and take care of his own account office."
Song Jingran, alias Song Xu, was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, the Attending Academician of the Hanlin Academy, and a world-famous prime minister.
Zhou Chujin was shocked and said, "He is so arrogant!"
Old Lady Guan laughed twice and said, "Young man, if you have the ability, how can you not be arrogant..."
Before the old lady finished speaking, a maid came to report that Nanny Wang had returned, and the topic shifted from Cheng Chi to Hanbi Shanfang: "… Master Xu knelt for breakfast, and when he came out, his legs were not very agile. Madam Yuan stood by and did not dare to say anything, and even exempted Master Xu from unconsciousness."
Old Madam Guan couldn't help but sighed and said, "After all, she has been out in the world and is decisive. Chu Jin, tell Shao Jin about this quietly and tell her not to worry. Old Madam Guo knows everything clearly, and Master Xu won't dare to do anything rash. And... about Master Xu's matter... she has done a good job... Madam Yuan must have planned Master Xu's marriage a long time ago, otherwise she wouldn't have said anything to Master Xu until now. Master Xu is already seventeen this year... As for her marriage, don't worry, I will help her take a good look!"
Zhou Chujin understood what his grandmother meant and took the opportunity to tell her about Cheng Lu.
Old Madam Guan was so angry that she almost choked. With a sullen face, she asked Nanny Wang to invite Cheng Mian over: "… It turns out that our family has raised an ungrateful wolf. If we don't get rid of him before we find out, we will be retaliated by him!"
Nanny Wang also felt that the matter was serious and hurried to the outer courtyard.
Who knew that Cheng Mian was called by the ancestor of the second house to smell the osmanthus fragrance and entertain the guests.
Old Madam Guan had no choice but to put the matter aside for now and said to Zhou Chujin, "At least I won't let you sisters suffer any loss."
Of course Zhou Chujin knew about it, so he thanked Grandma Guan, waited for Zhou Shaojin to come over and greeted Grandma Guan, then Zhou Chujin sent Zhou Shaojin to school.
On the way, she whispered to Zhou Shaojin what the old lady had told her.
A huge stone in Zhou Shaojin's heart finally fell to the ground.
Now that we have found the bright path, no one will believe any tricks Cheng Lu plays in the future, right
Speaking of this, she also has to thank Cheng Xu.
If Cheng Xu hadn't told her, she would have been kept in the dark.
What goes around comes around.
Those things from the previous life haven't happened yet, so she and Cheng Xu don't owe each other anything!
Zhou Shaojin said goodbye to his sister with a smile at the entrance of Jing'an Zhai.
When she turned around, Cheng Ji grabbed her shoulders and said, "Why did you come so late? What did you say to Pan Qing yesterday? Why did Pan Qing run to grandma so early in the morning, saying that we sisters haven't seen each other for a long time, and she wanted to go to Jing'anzhai with us like when we were kids..."
※
I will ask the older generation about the issues concerning my cousins.
⊙﹏⊙b sweat
You can open a thread to discuss...
※(To be continued)