Zhou Shaojin only took one look and knew that the bowl of so-called "soup" was actually talisman water.
She looked at her sister.
Zhou Chujin's face was full of eager anticipation, but when Zhou Shaojin saw that expectation, she suddenly felt a little sad. She pretended to know nothing, picked up the soup bowl, and drank it all.
Zhou Chujin looked at him and smiled.
Zhou Shaojin was slightly surprised.
It was the first time she saw her sister smile so brightly.
If this can make her sister happy, why wouldn't she do it
Zhou Shaojin smiled and handed the bowl to Chixiang.
Zhou Chujin took her sister's hand and said earnestly, "Shall we sleep together today?"
Since Zhou Shaojin "fell ill", she had been with Zhou Shaojin almost every night. Later, Zhou Shaojin became suspicious of his situation and found an excuse, so the two sisters slept separately.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded.
They washed themselves and went to bed.
Zhou Shaojin pulled the quilt to her shoulders properly, while Zhou Chujin leaned on the big pillow at the head of the bed and talked to her: "I heard you slept all day today? That's not good, you have to eat something, or you might get sick from hunger. You are weak to begin with, and you can't stand this kind of torture." He added, "Do you want to ask Ma Fushan's family to buy you some books to cheer you up? I heard that Ma Jieyuan has published a new collection of poems, and people in Jiangnan are rushing to buy it. I think it should be pretty good."
"No need." Zhou Shaojin was originally quiet and taciturn. She preferred to be quiet and not active. Sometimes she would stay in the house for a whole day without going out. She didn't think there was anything wrong with this. "I'll take a nap in the house and talk to Shi Xiang and the others. The day will pass by."
Zhou Chujin didn't think so.
My sister was simple and straightforward. She liked to tell me everything all at once, including the fact that Cheng Lu sent a servant to secretly deliver things to her. After she told me several times, she still told me every time Cheng Lu delivered things to her. Moreover, I had made her "sick", burned yellow paper in her yard, and made her drink talisman water in the past few days. She was not stupid and it was impossible for her not to notice it, and it was even more impossible for her not to have a trace of resentment in her heart. But she didn't say a word from beginning to end. This had never happened before.
Zhou Chujin couldn't help but sit up straight, staring into Zhou Shaojin's eyes and asked, "Are you hiding something from me?"
Zhou Shaojin was raised by her elder sister. She was most afraid of making her sister sad, and secondly, she was afraid of her sister looking stern. Although it is not the same as before, she still feels a little uncomfortable when she thinks of how good her sister was to her and being stared at like this.
"No." She said briefly, "I have nothing to hide from my sister."
But the more she did this, the more suspicious Zhou Chujin became.
Her eyes dimmed, and she whispered, "Shaojin, our mother is gone, and our father is not with us, so we sisters should support each other. You can't hide anything from me." After thinking for a while, she continued, "You see, you accidentally broke Master Wu's zither last time, and you told me as soon as you came back. I thought of a way in advance. Not only did I find a zither similar to Master Wu's to compensate Master Wu, but I also took you to apologize to Master Wu without Master Wu noticing. Master Wu not only did not blame you, but also praised you for being open and generous, and having the demeanor of a gentleman. He looked at you differently and taught you piano skills from time to time. Now you play the piano better than cousin Ju... Have you forgotten?"
How could Zhou Shaojin forget.
Because of this incident, Cheng Ji's mother Jiang once privately complained that Master Wu, who taught them to play the piano, was biased.
After this incident, she not only received praise from Master Wu, but also from her grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins. Her grandmother gave her a flawless mutton-fat jade pendant, her aunt gave her a pair of pearl flowers, and her uncle and cousins gave her writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone.
This was the first time in her life that she received so much praise, and it was also the first time that she defeated Cheng Ji.
But she really couldn't tell her sister what she was going to do!
What should I do
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but get anxious, and called out "Sister," saying, "I really don't have anything to hide from you."
"Really?!" Zhou Chujin didn't believe it. He widened his black and white eyes and stared at Zhou Shaojin quietly.
Zhou Shaojin thought of his sister's seemingly gentle but unyielding character, and suddenly felt his scalp tingling. The corners of his mouth moved for a long time, and he had to cut off the beginning and the end, picking up the unimportant part and saying, "I heard that my grandmother has guests coming over these two days, and I want to know who is visiting my grandmother? I'm sick now, and I don't know if it will cause my sister to be unable to meet the guests as well?"
Zhou Chujin couldn't help but burst out laughing and said, "Is that what you're worried about?" As she spoke, she couldn't help but touch Zhou Shaojin's head, "Nine out of ten people who want to come to see grandma are probably asking for favors from the first and second houses. It's better not to meet them. I just have some free time and stay at home with you."
That's true.
My grandmother was self-respecting and strong. She raised three children as a widow and was very successful in raising them. Her eldest son was a juren (a provincial-level scholar) and her second son was a jinshi (a provincial-level scholar). The ancestor of the second branch of the Cheng family and the eldest master of the first branch all respected her. Some people wanted to ask the first branch for help, but the second branch was not allowed to do anything, so they turned to my grandmother. Fortunately, my grandmother was a sensible person and did not take it lightly.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The atmosphere between the two sisters was like the ice melting, and there was a bit of warmth.
Zhou Chujin continued the previous topic: "Don't worry. No matter who is coming, if grandma wants us to meet them, she will tell us in advance. If she feels it is not suitable, she will naturally not let us meet the guests. We just listen to grandma."
His sister's words were like a wake-up call to Zhou Shaojin, giving him an epiphany.
She had been restless and anxious these past few days, and just as her sister had said, it was because she had lost her normal mind.
Even if she really lived a new life, there were still thirteen years before the Cheng family was confiscated and exterminated, so she didn't need to be so anxious to verify it. If she just had a nightmare, she would be fine after waking up, so there was no need to be so anxious.
She couldn't help but hugged her sister's arms tightly and said, "Thank you, sister! I understand."
That voice was so sincere that it seemed like it was redeeming itself. Zhou Chujin felt uneasy. He wanted to ask more, but Zhou Shaojin said, "I heard that the eldest daughter of the prefect Wu has a cinnabar mole between her eyebrows. I don't know if it's true or not? The old ancestor is celebrating his 80th birthday, so prefect Wu should come to celebrate, right? I wonder if Madam Wu will bring the eldest daughter of the Wu family to celebrate?"
After all, Zhou Chujin was only eighteen years old, raised in a secluded house, and did not have the shrewdness and sharpness of later generations. Hearing this, she thought it was her younger sister who was very lively, and smiled: "I will ask my aunt when the time comes. If Madam Wu brings the eldest daughter of the Wu family to celebrate the birthday, I will definitely show her to you."
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
In her memory, at the main banquet on the birthday, Wu Baozhang was arranged to sit with her sister...
The heavy burden on her heart finally fell. She felt relieved and chatted with her sister for a few more minutes before she became sleepy and could not hold on any longer.
"Go to sleep!" Zhou Chujin smiled, turned around and blew out the candle.
Zhou Shaojin fell asleep quickly.
In the middle of the night, she suddenly woke up and stretched out her hand, but there was no one next to her.
Zhou Shaojin was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.
She saw light coming from under the curtain of the next room, thought for a moment, and walked over in her slippers.
Zhou Chujin knelt in front of Zhuang Liangyu's portrait, mumbling to his stepmother: "... Mother, I'm so scared... Please protect Shaojin... Keep him safe... I'm willing to shorten my life by ten years..."
Zhou Shaojin's tears suddenly flowed out.
She folded back quietly, pulled the covers over her head, and closed her eyes.
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The next day, the sun was shining brightly.
When Zhou Shaojin woke up, Zhou Chujin had already gone to pay his respects to his grandmother.
Shi Xiang said, "The eldest lady left a message saying that she will serve the old lady breakfast and asked you not to wait for her."
Zhou Shaojin exclaimed, "Huh?"
My grandmother was not the kind of person who liked to let the younger generation set rules. Whether it was her sons and daughters-in-law or her grandchildren, they all ate in their own rooms. So each of their courtyards had its own small kitchen, but the family expenses were not more than those of other houses.
Maybe my sister has something to say to my grandmother
Zhou Shaojin dressed in front of the mirror, picked out a dark green passionflower pattern jacket, changed into a white Hangzhou silk embroidery skirt, and ate half a bowl of porridge and two pieces of rice cakes with some newly-available spring bamboo shoots, water celery and other side dishes, before putting down her chopsticks and washing her hands.
Shi Xiang was very happy. While instructing the maids to clean up the table, she said earnestly, "Second Miss, I heard that plums and apricots are already for sale in the market. Do you want to buy some and try them?"
Zhou Shaojin knew that she had this "illness", and the days of those who served her were not easy. She was trying to coax her to eat. Then she smiled and pointed to the small box with a black bottom and eight treasures on the bedside, and said, "Go and get two taels of silver yourself."
Shi Xiang knelt down with a smile, and a maid came in and reported, "Second Miss, Song Qing, who is with Master Lu, came over and said that Master Lu heard that you had caught a cold, so he specially asked him to bring you some Fangfeng Tongsheng Pills."
Cheng Lu
Zhou Shaojin's smile froze on his face.
She no longer remembered how good he was to her, but she would never forget his hideous face.
She was silent for a long time, then said, "Bring the things in."
Shi Xiang's smile disappeared, she said "yes" in a low voice, and took the things in.
In addition to the box for pills, there is also a colorful butterfly kite.
Zhou Shaojin gently stroked the wings of the butterfly kite and said, "Shi Xiang, ask Song Qing to help me pass on a message to Master Lu. Tell him that I am grateful for his gift this time and I will accept it. Please don't send it to me again in the future. After I recover from my illness, in addition to continuing to read "Legends of Women" and "Legends of Women" with Aunt Shen, I will also learn needlework from Madam Lu. I am afraid I will not have time to play."
In other words, the Second Miss is going to draw a clear line between herself and Young Master Lu!
Shi Xiang was surprised, but also relieved.
The master is already a prefect of the fourth rank. Everyone says that he will be promoted in the future. The second young lady is still young and is not in a hurry to get married, so why must she marry Master Lu? For example, the eldest young lady married the eldest son of the Liao family and will be the wife of the Liao family in the future. Although the second young lady does not have a prominent family like the eldest young lady, it does not mean that she cannot choose a better family than Master Lu!
She happily said "yes" and went out to pass on the message.
Zhou Shaojin was stunned when he saw it.
She didn't expect that Shi Xiang and the others didn't think highly of Cheng Lu... She thought everyone would be happy to see her and Cheng Lu together... It turns out that she was the only one who treasured Cheng Lu...
Zhou Shaojin smiled bitterly and his mood suddenly became depressed.
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