Cheng Jing couldn't help but frowned when he heard this.
Cheng Chi didn't wait for him to speak, and said with a smile: "Brother, you and sister-in-law are here to pick up mother, right? The court will be sealed soon, and you must be very busy these days. I won't keep you any longer. I just came back yesterday. I wanted to visit you today, but I was afraid that you were busy. I planned to meet you when I sent mother to Xinglin Hutong in a few days. I didn't expect you to come first? I have to go to Song Ge Lao today... I'd better accompany you to see mother first?"
Cheng Jing did not refuse.
The group went to Tingxiangyuan.
On the way, Cheng Jing asked Cheng Chi: "When did Lord Song invite you? It's not good to go too late. Go there first after you meet mother! We can talk in detail at the New Year's Eve dinner."
Cheng Chi nodded.
Cheng Jing asked again: "Do you know why Lord Song wants to see you?"
"It should be about Lord Yang." Cheng Chi guessed, "The reason for the rebellion this time is that the River Governor's Office withheld wages from the workers, causing people to freeze to death. Some people suspect that Lord Yang was corrupt."
Cheng Jing sneered and said, "If it wasn't for corruption, how could he have reached the point of death. Zichuan, although we have to be officials, we must have a conscience when we are officials. At this time, you must not blindly endorse Yang Shoushan just because of his relationship with Song Jingran."
"I know!" Cheng Chi laughed at himself, "I am only a seventh-rank imperial censor now. Even if I want to endorse Yang Shoushan, I don't have the qualifications!"
Cheng Jing also laughed and said, "You have been smart since you were young. You can handle things on your own. Don't blame me for being long-winded. I am doing this for your own good. I am afraid that you have just entered the officialdom and you don't understand the situation clearly, so you are used as a tool by others."
As the two brothers were talking, they arrived at Tingxiangyuan in a blink of an eye.
The servants in Tingxiang Court had received the news, and Aunt Lu was waiting to greet them at the door.
Cheng Jing called out "Mammy" as a greeting to Mammy Lu.
Aunt Lu was so excited that she ran to help Cheng Jing lift the curtain.
Cheng Jing entered the house and was led by Zhenzhu to the banquet room.
Old Madam Guo was sitting on the big kang by the window, waiting for them.
Cheng Jing and Yuan bowed respectfully.
Cheng Chi supported Cheng Jing.
Zhou Shaojin hesitated for a moment and went to help Yuan.
The two of them stood in front of Madam Guo, one in front of the other. Cheng Jing then spoke, saying that the New Year was approaching and Cheng Chi had returned, so he invited Madam Guo to return to Xinglin Hutong to celebrate the New Year, and also invited Cheng Chi and Zhou Shaojin to come over for a reunion dinner at noon on New Year's Eve.
When Cheng Chi came back, Mrs. Guo had already prepared to go to Xinglin Hutong. Since her eldest son invited her, she decided not to be pretentious and decided to have lunch at Chaoyangmen the next day before going there.
It took Cheng Jing a long time of persuasion before Mrs. Guo changed her mind and decided to set off after breakfast the next day.
His expression relaxed, and he spoke more casually: "Mom, we have cleaned up the main house in the backyard, you can live there. My second brother was afraid that you would not be used to it, so he brought back a Pekingese dog, it's snow-white, just like the one you raised when we were little."
Mrs. Guo was a little surprised when she heard this.
When she married into the Cheng family, she was still the granddaughter-in-law. After coming to the capital, she lived in the main house in the backyard. Later, although Cheng Xun changed from the eldest uncle to the old master and the old lady, she was too lazy to move and still lived in the main house in the backyard.
Mrs. Guo's expression softened and she said with a smile, "Now that you have cleaned up the main house in the backyard, where will Erlang's family live?"
Cheng Jing smiled and said, "They have already chosen a house. It's Chinese New Year, they can't move now, right? They can just squeeze into the east wing for a few days, and after the Chinese New Year, they will choose a good day to move to the Si Tiao Hutong over here."
The sect was just divided this year, so there are definitely some things that cannot be taken care of.
Mrs. Guo said nothing more, and seeing that it was getting late, Cheng Chi stood up and said goodbye, leaving Zhou Shaojin to entertain Cheng Jing and his wife.
Cheng Jing took a day off and stayed with Madam Guo, talking about their childhood and the teachings of Madam Guo when he was young. When it was time for lunch, Zhou Shaojin found that Madam Guo was very friendly and intimate with Cheng Jing and his wife.
Maybe it’s because a mother would never really be angry with her son no matter what
Zhou Shaojin smiled and told the maids to place lunch in the banquet room so that Madam Guo and her son could continue talking after the meal.
Yuan came to help.
Zhou Shaojin thanked her with a smile but did not stop her.
Yuan was stunned.
She is more than 20 years older than Zhou Shaojin, and old enough to be Zhou Shaojin's mother. When she said she wanted to help, it was just a polite remark. She didn't expect Zhou Shaojin to be so polite and actually asked her for help.
Zhou Shaojin pretended not to see it.
In her previous life, she hated Yuan for being two-faced, saying one thing and doing another. In this life, she didn't want to suffer this loss again. If Yuan wanted to help, then she should help. Why should she be polite to Yuan
Let her say polite words and be a good person.
She made an excuse to go to the kitchen, leaving Yuan alone in the banquet room.
After she stayed in the kitchen for a while, thinking that Mrs. Guo and Cheng Jing should have already sat down at the table, she went to the main room.
Yuan was talking to Mrs. Guo and Cheng Jing who were sitting at the table: "… Third brother's wife is still young, so it's natural that she has unexpected things."
It was as if she had helped Zhou Shaojin a lot.
Zhou Shaojin did not argue, and placed the cold cucumbers brought from the kitchen on the table with a smile, saying, "Mother, please try them. They are newly released. The kitchen maid waited in the warehouse early in the morning to get them."
In the middle of winter, when you can eat crispy cucumbers, who would carefully think about what Yuan said.
Cheng Jing picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and gave it to Madam Guo, praising Zhou Shaojin and saying, "Thank you, sister-in-law!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said nothing.
Cheng Jing instructed Yuan: "We will also buy some during the Chinese New Year. Besides giving mother something new to try, Ah Zheng and Ah Xiao will also be back on the second day of the Chinese New Year, so we will also add some dishes for the two sons-in-law."
Yuan agreed, but she felt a little unhappy.
This cucumber is probably more expensive than gold.
Cheng Chi has always been good at making money, and Zhou Shaojin is quite generous when spending Cheng Chi's money and is willing to buy things like this.
But she said she had no place to talk about this matter which pleased both Cheng Jing and Old Madam Guo.
After replying "yes" awkwardly, Yuan lowered her head to eat.
Cheng Jing praised Zhou Shaojin's multi-flavored squid, Longjing shrimp, and squirrel fish: "They are authentic Hangzhou dishes."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "If uncle likes it, I will ask them to pack a few yellow croakers in a bucket for sister-in-law to take back."
Xinglin Hutong doesn’t need a few fish.
Yuan said hurriedly: "No need..."
Cheng Jing said: "Thank you very much..."
The couple spoke in unison, but their words were completely different.
Cheng Jing frowned.
Although Xinglin Hutong doesn't need these fish, Fourth Brother's wife is kind-hearted, so why should they keep her away
He glanced at Yuan and said, "We are just afraid of being too troublesome."
Women know women's things.
Yuan probably thought that this was "food given out of pity"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "No trouble, no trouble. My husband doesn't eat fish, and my mother is gone. It would be a waste to keep this fish here. Why not let my eldest brother and sister-in-law take it back and treat it as a dish?"
Cheng Jing smiled and said, "Thank you very much!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and told someone to pack the fish.
Mrs. Guo and Cheng Jing moved to the kang to drink tea and continue talking about family matters.
Yuan listened and served tea.
Soon, an afternoon passed and Cheng Chi did not come back.
Madam Guo said, "I'm afraid he's been delayed by Lord Song. We don't need to wait for him. Let's have dinner first and ask Shao Jin to save some food for him. It's rare for you to take a day off. You have to go to court early tomorrow morning. Eat early and go back to rest early."
Cheng Jing responded respectfully.
Zhou Shaojin was thinking about Cheng Chi and was a little absent-minded.
Even if something happened and there were guests at home today, he should have tried to come back early.
After seeing off Cheng Jing and his wife, Zhou Shaojin began to help Mrs. Guo pack her luggage.
"Don't take that vase with you," Old Madam Guo sat in front of the big kang by the window and watched Zhou Shaojin instructing the maids to pack the boxes and baskets. "When I come back, it will be spring, and it will be best to use it to put winter jasmine flowers. If you took it there, you have to bring it back, so just leave it there."
Zhou Shaojin replied "yes" with a smile, and a little maid came in and reported: "Grandma Nuo came over and said she had prepared some New Year's Eve dishes, and brought them over for the old lady to taste, as a way for them as the younger generation to show their filial piety."
After hearing what Cheng Chi said, Cheng Wen was excited to open a tea shop, and soon moved to a rented courtyard near Xizhimen with Cheng Nuo and Wu Baozhang. Originally, Wu Baozhang was going to help Cheng Wen clean up the house and then go back with Cheng Nuo, but Cheng Wen saw that the wages in the capital were high, so he simply kept Cheng Nuo and Wu Baozhang to help, one as a clerk to help guard the shop, and the other in charge of the household affairs, and brought four or five maids and old women to manage the affairs of the inner house.
Cheng Chi walked away in a hurry and didn't even go over to take a look.
Cheng Wen kept staring at Cheng Chi.
Seeing that there was movement at Chaoyang Gate, he hurriedly sent Wu Baozhang over and told her: "Be sure to invite the old lady and Zichuan and his wife to come over on the fourth day of the New Year. I have something important to discuss with him."
Only then did Wu Baozhang come over to pay his respects to Mrs. Guo.
Madam Guo thanked Cheng Wen for his kindness and said, "We have to wait until your Fourth Uncle Chi comes back to discuss this matter with him. If you don't have any other plans that day, we will bother you."
"What are you talking about, old lady! If you can go, it will be an honor to our humble home!" Wu Baozhang said a few polite words and stood up to say goodbye.
Zhou Shaojin saw her out.
Wu Baozhang saw the pearls hanging in her ears shining brightly in the afterglow of the evening, and couldn't help but smile: "Shao Jin, I didn't expect you to marry Fourth Uncle Chi in the end. Do you still remember Pan Qing? We thought you would marry Cheng Xu?"
Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to marry Cheng Nuo. I thought you would marry Cheng Lu!"
Wu Baozhang's expression changed slightly.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Cheng Lu is quite pitiful! He lost his fame and his family. Now I don't know where he is. If he comes back one day, I'm afraid he will have to rely on us relatives for help!"
Wu Baozhang thought of Cheng Lu's character. At the critical moment of life and death, he could even abandon his own mother. Borrowing a few taels of silver from her might not be a big deal in his mind.
Her smile became forced, and she said, "From what you said, Cheng Lu is a man of integrity. Why does he need help from relatives like us?"
"Don't say anything." Zhou Shaojin continued to disgust her and said, "We'll see what happens!"
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Hey guys, today's update.
Tomorrow's update will still be scheduled at around 12 o'clock.
PS: Ask for monthly ticket...
※(To be continued)