Zhou Shaojin was in a good mood afterwards, and she copied the scriptures fluently. In just one hour, she had finished copying all the scriptures she was supposed to copy. She was actually a little reluctant to finish, so she copied a few more pages of scriptures. Seeing that it was getting late, she put down her pen and went to say goodbye to Mrs. Guo.
The upper courtyard was completely silent, without a sound. The servants and old women who were serving all stood respectfully under the eaves with their heads bowed.
Zhou Shaojin saw the little Taoist boy Qingfeng, followed by Biyu and Feicui standing beside the bamboo curtain in the hall.
It seems that Uncle Chi is in Madam Guo’s room.
No wonder he suddenly appeared in the Buddhist temple just now.
He must have passed by the Buddhist temple and saw himself copying scriptures inside, so he went in to take a look out of curiosity.
Zhou Shaojin was thinking and hesitating whether to tell the maids in the upper room to go back to Jiashu Hall first, or wait until Cheng Chi left before going to say goodbye to Madam Guo. Then she saw Biyu smiling at her, turning around, lifting the curtain and entering the upper room.
She should have gone to report to Old Madam Guo.
I wonder what Mrs. Guo would say
Zhou Shaojin felt inexplicably nervous.
Then I saw Biyu walking towards me quickly.
"Second Miss!" She smiled and greeted Zhou Shaojin softly, "Madam, please come in."
Zhou Shaojin hummed, straightened his clothes, and followed Biyu into the upper room.
In the banquet room, on the Luohan bed with a marble backrest and auspicious cloud pattern, Madam Guo and Cheng Chi sat on the left and right. In the center, on a coffee table with black carvings and inlaid screws, there was a rosewood chessboard, with white and black jade chess pieces crisscrossing in all directions. It was time to finish the game.
Mrs. Guo holds the black pieces, and Cheng Chi holds the white pieces.
Zhou Shaojin almost cried out "Huh?"
The venerable or skilled chess player plays with white pieces, while the unskilled play with black pieces.
Cheng Chi is the son of Madam Guo. Could it be that he is a very good chess player? But how can mother and son be so calculative? Even if Cheng Chi is a very good chess player, there is no need for Madam Guo to play the black pieces!
Zhou Shaojin always felt a little uncomfortable.
She looked a little dazed as she walked forward and saluted the two of them.
Cheng Chi smiled and nodded at her.
Mrs. Guo smiled and asked her, "Have you finished copying the scriptures for today? Why don't you go home early? I'll keep you for dinner another day!"
Whether it was polite words or sincere, they gave Zhou Shaojin enough face.
Zhou Shaojin thanked him respectfully and left the banquet room accompanied by Biyu, but he could not help but look back at the silent banquet room.
Through the thin Xiangfei curtain, Cheng Chi leaned lazily on the big pillow behind him, just like he did that day in Sanzhixuan, and the white jade chess pieces were flexibly turned over and over between his white and slender fingers, revealing a carefree and casual attitude. However, Mrs. Guo looked down at the chessboard with a frown on her face, her face full of seriousness.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but ask Biyu in a low voice: "Is Uncle Chi good at chess?"
Biyu smiled and said, "Very good - let the master get ten, the eldest master four, and the lady three."
So awesome!
Zhou Shaojin had no talent for chess or arithmetic. Zhou Chujin spent a lot of effort teaching her how to play chess, but her level remained at Gobang, and she couldn't even beat Shi Xiang at Gobang.
She couldn't help but admire him and asked Biyu, "From what you said, the Madam is also very good at chess!"
"Of course." Biyu showed a rare look of pride. "I heard from Nanny Shi that the old master was no match for the old lady back then..." Before she could finish her words, a loud "bang" suddenly came from the banquet room, followed by the crisp "crackling" sound of jade falling on stone.
Biyu's face changed drastically.
There were faint sounds of crying coming from the banquet room.
Biyu could no longer care about anything else. She hurriedly said, "I won't see the Second Miss off," and ran into the banquet room in two steps.
Zhou Shaojin knew that she should avoid it at this moment, but she was really curious. After thinking about it again and again, she saw that no one came in to find out what was going on, so she couldn't control herself and took a few steps forward.
Biyu was standing beside Mrs. Guo and persuading her in a low voice, while Mrs. Guo was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. Cheng Chi still had an indifferent look on his face, leaning on the big pillow. The chessboard had fallen to the ground, and the chess pieces were scattered all over the floor.
What is going on
It was the first time that Zhou Shaojin saw Mrs. Guo cry!
Even if he lost the game, it was his own son, and it happened in private, so it was impossible for Mrs. Guo to overturn the chessboard and cry because of it!
She was a little dumbfounded.
Then he felt a chill on his head and saw Cheng Chi's eyes looking at him indifferently.
Got caught red-handed...
Zhou Shaojin quickly lowered his head, turned around and left.
Feicui and Qingfeng both looked a little anxious, but they still stood guard at the door of the hall and did not ask Zhou Shaojin anything.
Zhou Shaojin returned to Jiashutang full of suspicion. For a reason she couldn't explain, she didn't say a word to her grandmother, aunt and sister about what she saw in the upper room of Hanbi Mountain House.
The next day, she heard the news.
Cheng Xun, the only grandson of the second old master of the eldest house, who was the same age as Cheng Xu and only five days younger than him, died of illness.
In her previous life, she didn't feel anything when she heard the news, and even after her rebirth, she didn't remember when Cheng Xun died. But now, perhaps because she had also experienced the pain of losing a child, she couldn't stop crying when she heard that Cheng Xun had passed away.
The Cheng family has always had few descendants. Cheng Xun passed away, and the second old master's branch of descendants has been cut off. Will they adopt a child from the Cheng family? Who will they adopt
Mrs. Guo should have thought more about it than she did.
Unfortunately, she didn't know the result and didn't even have a word to comfort Mrs. Guo.
It was Old Madam Guan who saw Zhou Shaojin's red eyes. She held her in her arms and sighed sadly. She said to Madam Miao, "The most difficult thing in this world is the death of the young. The second old master of the eldest house was still taught by Old Madam Guo. Now that the second old master has met with such a thing, I don't know how sad Old Madam Guo is. I think you should discuss with the eldest master and see whether to send a steward to the capital to attend the funeral or let Gao'er or Yi'er go to the capital on behalf of the fourth house?"
Mrs. Miao wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, responded in a low voice, and went to the outer courtyard.
Zhou Shaojin was a little confused.
She remembered that in her previous life, when Cheng Xun passed away, Cheng Gao and Cheng Yi still went to school and practiced calligraphy as usual, just like usual. Why did things change in this life
Zhou Shaojin asked Mrs. Guan: "Should I still go to Hanbi Mountain House to copy scriptures today?"
"Go!" Old Lady Guan sighed, "After something like this, I'm afraid that Old Lady Guo will be even more sincere in copying the scriptures."
Zhou Shaojin nodded and went to Hanbi Mountain House with Old Lady Guan.
Because they were grandchildren and there were elders in Jiuru Lane, it was not convenient to wear mourning clothes. The maids and old women serving in Hanbi Mountain House only removed their gold and silver jewelry and changed their red shirts and green skirts.
For a moment, there was a chill everywhere in Hanbi Mountain Villa.
Mrs. Guo showed some weariness in her expression. She thanked Mrs. Guan for her comfort and said, "The weather is getting hotter day by day. The children are only sixteen or seventeen years old. Don't bother them. Be careful not to cause trouble. I appreciate your kindness. Just send a steward to burn some incense. The children are not yet adults. Don't disturb their reincarnation."
These words made both Mrs. Guan and Zhou Shaojin burst into tears.
Zhou Shaojin took the initiative to say, "I wonder when the stewards will leave? I want to copy a few chapters of the 'Rebirth Mantra' and burn them for my cousin Xun."
"Good boy, you are thoughtful." Old Madam Guo said, her eyes moistened. "Chief Qin has already left, and the second, third, and fifth houses have also said they will send people to Beijing to pay homage. I asked them to leave tomorrow, but time is tight and I'm afraid they won't be able to make it. But I will go to Ganquan Temple to perform a ritual for Xun'er tomorrow. Why don't you come with me? Just burn a stick of incense for him in front of the Bodhisattva, and that will be all we can do."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly, but still copied three chapters of "Nirvana Sutra" overnight and asked the chief steward of the fourth room to take it to the capital.
After knowing this, Madam Guo patted her head and asked Biyu to help Zhou Shaojin catch up on some sleep in the carriage. She said, "We will go to the temple later and have to do some rituals. Don't let your body get worn out."
Zhou Shaojin hadn't spent the night like this for a long time, and he was a little afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold on when he went to the temple, so he didn't hesitate and fell asleep in the carriage.
When they arrived at Ganquan Temple and got off the carriage, she found that Cheng Chi had also accompanied Old Madam Guo to Ganquan Temple.
However, Cheng Xu was not seen.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.
But Cheng Chi still looked lazy, as if he was not too sad about Cheng Xun's death. However, perhaps men and women are different. Women like to show everything on their faces, while men hide it in their hearts. For example, when Uncle Mian heard the news of Cheng Xun's death, he was also very sad, but in a blink of an eye he recovered and solemnly told the housekeeper to prepare to go to the capital to pay tribute to Cheng Xun.
Besides Zhou Shaojin, those who came with Madam Guo today include Cheng Chi, Yuan, and Cheng Xu; from the second wife, Madam Yi and Cheng Shi; from the third wife, Jiang, Cheng Xian, Cheng Zheng, Cheng Jia, Pan Zhuo, and Pan Qing; from the fourth wife, Madam Mian, Cheng Gao, Cheng Yi, and Zhou Chujin; from the fifth wife, Madam Wen, Cheng Nuo, Madam Yu, Cheng Ju, Dong, and Cheng Lu.
Cheng Xu and several cousins were in the front hall, while Mrs. Guo, Zhou Shaojin and other female relatives were in the side hall in the backyard.
Zhou Shaojin knelt on the cushion, reciting the scriptures devoutly and seriously.
Just like many nights in her previous life, she knelt in the small Buddhist temple in Daxing Village and chanted sutras for her destined child.
When Cheng Chi walked in, he saw Cheng Ji, who was kneeling in front of the incense table and leaning a little to one side, Pan Qing, who was kneeling on his calves, and Zhou Shaojin, who was as straight as a birch tree in the barren wilderness.
She slowly moved the dark red sandalwood Buddhist beads in her hand. Her fair skin looked like glowing jade in the dim hall. Her long, curled eyelashes left a faint shadow under her gently closed eyelids, like a lotus in front of a Bodhisattva's throne, with a solemn and majestic appearance.
He was a little dazed.
She's just a twelve-year-old girl, how could she be so quiet, calm and composed
Cheng Chi looked up.
I saw the compassionate face of Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Or, are some people born with Buddha nature
Cheng Chi turned around and said to Biyu who was serving outside the palace: "Go and tell the lady that it's almost time for lunch. Don't let the old lady get too tired."
Biyu responded respectfully and went into the hall to deliver the message.
Cheng Chi quickly left the backyard.
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Sisters, this is the 50th chapter I promised. The public chapters are all over here, and from the next chapter on, it will be a V-level chapter. There may be many friends leaving, but I still hope that more friends will stay and continue to support "Jinlingchun".
Thank you for your continued support! The first month of becoming a V will be the same as before, 0 pink votes plus one update, please give me a chance to update.
O(∩_∩)O~
Thanks!
※(To be continued)