The vermicelli was chewy, the carrots were crisp, and the sour vegetarian meatballs were crispy and delicious. The lily was fragrant, the water celery was sweet and crispy, and a dish of stir-fried water celery and lily was refreshing... Ganquan Temple used all its tricks to make vegetarian dishes, not only made Cheng Ji eat with gusto, even the always fastidious Pan Qing ate half a bowl of rice with satisfaction. Only Zhou Shaojin felt like chewing wax.
Cheng Xun died young, so according to the rules, the elders should not have held memorial services for him. However, as the saying goes, "A poor man in a busy city has no one to care about him, but a rich man in a remote mountain has distant relatives," the eldest branch of the family was prominent, and not only did Jiang and others come to Ganquan Temple with Madam Guo, but also the fifth branch and the branches of Cheng Yu and Cheng Lu, who were closer to Jiuru Lane, came.
If she had known this, she should not have agreed to come to Ganquan Temple with Mrs. Guo.
Perhaps it was because of the words she said to Dong that day, or perhaps it was because Mrs. Guo always kept her by her side, Dong did not talk to her as intimately as usual, which made Zhou Shaojin feel much better.
I hope I don’t run into Cheng Lu… and Cheng Xu…
But things don't always go as we wish.
After lunch, everyone went back to their rooms to rest for a while, and then returned to the side hall to attend Cheng Xun’s training.
Cheng Lu walked in.
This was the first time Zhou Shaojin met Cheng Lu after his rebirth.
At this time, Cheng Lu was only a sixteen-year-old boy, with a tall and straight figure like a bamboo, delicate features, and a bit of shyness, as amiable as a brother next door.
Who would have thought that he would become a handsome but despicable man who was full of lies
He came to see Dong.
The mother and son stood in the corner of the hall, whispering to each other. No one knew what they were talking about. Mrs. Wen, who was standing in front of the incense table, suddenly said to Dong in a sarcastic tone, "I heard that Lu'er will be killed in June. I'm afraid it will be easy to catch a scholar."
"No way!" Dong smiled reluctantly. "There are many scholars in Jiangnan. No one knows what the result will be until the public list is published."
Cheng Lu didn't even look at Mrs. Wen, and talked to Zhou Shaojin: "I heard that the second cousin of the Zhou family was sick a few days ago? Is she feeling better? Is there anything I can do to help? Second cousin of the Zhou family, please don't hesitate to talk to my mother."
He seemed to be disdainful of talking to Mrs. Wen and his greeting was very natural.
Zhou Shaojin was in a trance for a moment.
The Cheng Lu in front of me... is so strange.
It was as if the man she killed had nothing to do with him.
Why does a person change so much
She smiled and nodded to Cheng Lu.
Mrs. Wen changed her expression and said, "Everyone knows that your son Lu is a good scholar and will become a son-in-law of a high-ranking official in the future. Why is Mrs. Bai being so polite to me? Are you afraid that if Lu becomes famous, we poor relatives will come to him? Don't worry, even if our Cheng family has a rotten boat, we have three pounds of iron. We will never beg for food in your house."
Mrs. Dong's face turned red.
The other women in the Cheng family didn't know what had happened to Mrs. Wen.
Cheng Lu, however, had a calm expression on his face. He respectfully said goodbye to Madam Guo and the others, and then said to Zhou Shaojin, "I heard that my second cousin has a few Bao Ruixiang kites. I would like to borrow them to see how they are made. I wonder if my second cousin can help me?"
In the previous life, Cheng Lu was so confident and confident every time he came into contact with her, so Zhou Shaojin never doubted it. In this life, hearing such words again, Zhou Shaojin just found it funny.
Cheng Lu, such a cautious person, was recommended to the clan school by the fourth branch under the name of the fifth branch, and became a figure that everyone in the clan school was vying to make friends with. How could he not know the strict rules for men and women and make such a mistake
If she remembered correctly, those kites seemed to be given to her by Cheng Lu before.
Now that he has asked for it openly, he will probably give it to her openly in a few days.
But whether there will be any difference in this is unknown.
She also had no intention of testing Cheng Lu.
"Then Baoruixiang is in Cunyifang, and cousin Lu seems to live in Cunyifang as well." Zhou Shaojin said calmly, "Instead of borrowing the kite from me, cousin Lu should go to Baoruixiang to have a look. When cousin Yi gave me the kite, he said that the backyard of Baoruixiang is a kite-making workshop, and cousin Lu might be able to learn some tricks of kite-making if he goes there."
She pretended to be ignorant even though she knew the truth, and said that the kite was given to her by Cheng Yi. Even if Cheng Lu wanted to play tricks in the future, he would not dare to point out that the kite was given by him in front of so many elders, so he would not be able to make a fuss about the kite.
After saying that, Zhou Shaojin felt that it was too easy for him to just let the kite fly, so he added: "We cousins are all grown up now, and we can no longer play together like we did when we were little. I'm afraid it's not convenient to lend this kite to cousin Lu. I hope you can forgive me."
A satisfied smile flashed in Mrs. Guo's eyes.
Cheng Lu's face turned red, he bowed and left.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and knelt on the cushion, ready to chant sutras with the monks in the temple, but his heart was boiling like boiling water.
Perhaps it was because she had not only stabbed him, but also set a trap for Cheng Lu to fall into, and all the hatred from her previous life had been avenged. When she saw Cheng Lu again, she no longer had the deep hatred in her bones, but once again confirmed that everything Cheng Lu did was intentional.
Let others misunderstand that the relationship between her and him is different from others.
Why did Cheng Lu do this
Although her grandmother and uncle Mian would definitely stand up for her, Zhou Shaojin decided to investigate the matter secretly because it was better to rely on herself than on others.
Only by knowing Cheng Lu's purpose can we avoid the tragedy of the previous life.
Otherwise, she might avoid this one but not that one.
If only there were a faithful servant!
Zhou Shaojin pondered over it, and when she was halfway through the practice, she left the side hall and asked someone to find Shi Xiang, and told her to find Cheng Yi: "Just tell him I have something urgent to discuss!"
Shi Xiang responded and left.
Zhou Shaojin stood under the corridor of the side hall and waited.
When I looked up, I saw two people sitting in the pavilion halfway up the mountain, drinking tea.
One was wearing monk's robes, the other was wearing Taoist robes. They both behaved in a relaxed manner, but they were a little far away and could not be seen clearly.
Just then a young monk walked by, and Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but pull the young monk aside and ask, "Do you know who is sitting there?"
The young monk glanced at the pavilion and said in a nonchalant manner, "It's the fourth master of your mansion and the master of our Sutra Library discussing the sutras."
Cheng Xun passed away, but Uncle Chi had the leisure to discuss Buddhist scriptures with the monks from Ganquan Temple
Isn’t he worried about the second wife’s offspring
Zhou Shaojin felt more and more that Uncle Chi’s temperament was indeed quite strange.
After a while, Cheng Yi ran over and asked her breathlessly, "What do you want to talk to me about? I'm still waiting to hang up the eternal lantern for my cousin Xun! Can't you talk about it when you get home?"
Zhou Shaojin didn't expect the main hall to be so busy, and he felt guilty, so he hurriedly said, "I just want to ask why cousin Lu suddenly came to look for his mother... The women are all here, and there are guests, so it's strange for him to do this!"
"Is there such a thing?" Cheng Yi frowned and said, "Brother Lu was in the side hall the whole time... He went to the toilet halfway and told us about it. Was he going to look for his mother? But he didn't say anything when he returned to the main hall..."
Zhou Shaojin had a clue in his mind and said with a smile, "If there is something that is difficult to say, don't shout it when you go back, lest you embarrass your cousin Lu."
Cheng Yi was busy lighting the eternal lamp. Hearing this, he didn't ask any questions and ran away.
Zhou Shaojin stood under the corridor for a long time before turning around and entering the side hall.
She remained silent after that.
When the ceremony was over, Mrs. Guo called her over to help her go to the main hall. After burning incense to the Bodhisattva, they would go home.
On the way, Madam Guo gently patted Zhou Shaojin's hand and said, "Take a day off tomorrow and go to the Buddhist temple to copy scriptures the day after tomorrow. Be careful not to overwork yourself."
Zhou Shaojin did feel tired and responded softly. After helping Mrs. Guo get on the carriage, he leaned on his sister's shoulder and slept all the way back home.
Mrs. Fan Liu and her sons Fan Lu and Fan Qi were waiting for her in the tea room.
Seeing the Zhou sisters, the three of them, mother and son, hurried forward to pay their respects.
Zhou Chujin asked someone to help Fan Liushi to stand up and said with a smile: "From your appearance, you have dealt with the family affairs."
"It's been handled, it's been handled." Fan Liu said with a smile on her face, "His uncle returned the land to us and said he would take good care of Lu'er in the future."
Fan Lu looked honest and dull, and just nodded beside him.
Fan Qi snorted and said, "Mother is really something. She even promised to give Uncle 500 coins every year. This is our filial piety to him as he has taken care of us for so many years!"
Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin were stunned.
"Qi'er!" Fan Liu's face darkened and she scolded, "You have been working in the mansion for a few days. The eldest and second young ladies are talking to me, so it is not your turn to talk too much. Why don't you admit your mistake to the eldest and second young ladies!"
Fan Qi pouted and knelt down to kowtow to the Zhou sisters.
Zhou Shaojin asked Fan Liushi: "What is going on?"
"A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor." Fan Liushi smiled and said, "Besides, his great uncle is both a relative and a neighbor. If the two families quarrel and others see it, it will only bully the Fan family. It's better to make a big deal out of a small matter and buy peace."
Zhou Shaojin listened thoughtfully.
Zhou Chujin said, "That's fine. After all, they are relatives. It's never a good thing to harbor resentment."
When Mrs. Fan Liu thought that her own relatives were not as good as the Zhou sisters who had served her, her eyes reddened and she choked up, "Thank you, Miss Eldest and Miss Second. If it weren't for you, we, an orphan and a widow, wouldn't even have a roof over our heads..." After saying that, she took her two children and kowtowed to the Zhou sisters again.
Zhou Shaojin hurried forward and took Fan Liushi with him.
Zhou Chujin also said: "You are her wet nurse, Fan Lu and Fan Qi are her wet brothers, you should be like a family. Don't talk about these empty formalities in the future."
Mrs. Fan Liu nodded repeatedly.
Zhou Chujin knew that Fan Lu had come specially to express his gratitude, so he had someone clean up a room for Fan Lu to stay overnight. When Fan Lu returned the next day, he rewarded him with twenty taels of silver.
Fan Lu kowtowed to Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin until his head was bruised. If it weren't for the Spring Festival Gala, he would have continued to kowtow.
After seeing Fan Lu off, Zhou Shaojin called Fan Qi.
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The extra chapters for V will be updated in the evening, still at the old time around 7 p.m.
O(∩_∩)O~
Asking for pink votes...
※(To be continued)