Although Min Jia adjusted her mood before going in, her expression still looked a little stiff.
Zhou Shaojin looked up and saw her, and couldn't help asking Cheng Sheng: "What's wrong with her? She had a gloomy face just now."
If you don't feel well, don't come. If you come, you shouldn't show them your bad face.
Cheng Sheng whispered, "Maybe it's because of her parents' family... Fang Xuan has returned to her parents' home again. It's been almost a month. I heard that she had a dispute with her sister-in-law."
again?!
Zhou Shaojin said: "Maybe it's because she's an only child?"
"Hmm!" Cheng Sheng laughed softly, "It is said that Mr. Min has never taken anyone seriously except his brother, Mr. Min, the top scholar!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled, stopped talking, and went to look at Abao and Aren.
The two little ones were sitting obediently at the kang table set up for them, and were being taken care of by their wet nurses while they ate.
Seeing her coming, the two little ones called her "Grandaunt" with smiling eyes.
Zhou Shaojin was silent for a moment.
Cheng Sheng, who followed, bent over with laughter.
Zhou Shaojin pinched Cheng Sheng's waist and said, "You're still laughing!"
Cheng Sheng ran out with a grin, leaned on Old Madam Guo's shoulder and said, "Grandma, your daughter-in-law hit me!"
Zhou Shaojin, who came out of the banquet room, blushed as he heard this.
Hearing the noise, Cheng Xu looked up and was slightly stunned.
Min Jia's chopsticks were deeply inserted into the rice in the bowl.
Yuan glanced at Cheng Xu as a warning, but unfortunately Cheng Xu's eyes were on Zhou Shaojin and he didn't see it.
Qiu didn't see it either.
She smiled and scolded Cheng Sheng: "You are already a mother, why do you still act like a child? What will Jinjiang think if he sees you?" As she said this, as if she was afraid that her son-in-law would blame her, she pointed to the silverfish and egg custard on the table and said with a smile, "Try it. It was specially sent by Lord Wu."
Whitebait is a specialty of the south of the Yangtze River and is not found in the north.
Peng Zao and Cheng Sheng were a young couple, well matched, with similar interests and a good relationship. Peng Zao only felt that his wife was lively because of what she did, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
He didn't take it seriously, smiled and said, "Don't bother Fourth Aunt, she's pregnant!"
Mrs. Guo also pretended to be displeased and patted Cheng Sheng's hand, saying, "Your fourth aunt is so gentle, I knew it was you who was causing trouble!"
Cheng Sheng shouted in dissatisfaction: "I knew it. You all defended Fourth Aunt. It was obviously me who suffered the loss, but you still sided with her."
"How old are you?" Qiu couldn't help laughing, "You're still angry with your aunt." Then, she pulled her hand and said, "Eat your meal quickly, or you won't be allowed to come back to your parents' home in the future."
Cheng Sheng shouted at Zhou Shaojin: "Look, my mother is so heartbroken about you. She doesn't even want me anymore."
Zhou Shaojin said: "Let's see if you dare to bully me again in the future!"
Old Madam Guo and the others laughed out loud, and even Cheng Xu couldn't help laughing. Only Yuan and Min Jia looked a little unnatural. Min Jia felt that she couldn't stay here for another quarter of an hour, so she said, "I'll be gone for a while," and hurried out of the hall.
Everyone thought she went to the official residence and didn't pay much attention to it.
Yuan then pulled Cheng Xu aside to talk.
Cheng Xu hummed twice and left Madam Yuan to go to Madam Guo who was teasing Abao and Aren: "Grandma, I have to go to school this afternoon, so I'm leaving now. I'll come to see you when I'm free in two days!"
Peng Zao asked curiously, "Didn't your teacher give you a holiday in such a heavy snow?"
"I'm on vacation." Cheng Xu said with a smile, "But when I left, the teacher told me that he had something to ask me, so he asked me to come back in the afternoon."
Cheng Xu is the son of a cabinet minister. The Master is a scholar, and there is no scholar who does not want to make achievements in his official career.
Peng Zao said nothing more and sent Cheng Xu out together with Cheng Rang.
Min Jia sat for a while and then stood up to say goodbye, saying, "The snow is getting heavier, I'd better go back and take a look. The steps in the backyard of my house haven't been repaired for many years, I'm afraid the snow will collapse the roof."
After hearing this, Yuan had no intention of staying here any longer.
Qiu sent the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law out on behalf of Mrs. Guo.
Min Jia tried to test Yuan: "What did mother say to my husband just now? I think my husband is a little unhappy. Do you want me to persuade him?"
"No need!" Yuan said stiffly, "I just asked about his homework."
Min Jia didn't believe it at all.
Cheng Xu is essentially a rather gentle person.
But she had never heard any news about Cheng Xu and Zhou Shaojin.
It is impossible for Cheng Xu to throw dirty water on himself.
That is what has been blocked.
The person who knew about it no longer worked for the Cheng family, and the people in the Cheng family who knew about it kept their mouths shut and would never tell anyone else.
Logically, she should have stopped there.
But she has always been a stubborn person. If she doesn't figure things out, she won't be able to continue living with Cheng Xu.
Or maybe in her heart, she just wanted to find an excuse for Cheng Xu to accept him.
Thinking of this, Min Jia felt sad.
Chaoyang Gate was not dulled by the departure of the Cheng Xu family. Instead, it was very lively because Peng Zao sincerely asked Madam Guo for advice, Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Sheng played with A Bao and A Ren. Even Cheng Rang changed his previous shyness and excitedly talked about the things in the academy with his mother Qiu, looking very happy.
Mrs. Qiu was very grateful to Mrs. Guo.
If it weren't for Mrs. Guo, she would most likely have sent her son to Shuanglu College where Cheng Xu and Peng Zao were studying. Her son was not a gifted person to begin with, and he would definitely be suppressed by many smart people like Cheng Xu there, and he would become more and more inferior and less and less confident.
Sanming Academy is just right.
It's not like they can't afford it, so Cheng Rang can just study slowly.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Qiu remembered Xie Jue, who was about to become her daughter-in-law.
Since her son is not good enough, she has to be nicer to her daughter-in-law.
She discussed with Zhou Shaojin: "What do you think? Should I give my dowry farm to the Third Miss of the Xie family?"
Zhou Shaojin thought for a moment and said, "You should give it to her slowly! If you give her everything at once, what will you give her when she is in trouble again?"
"That's true." Qiu smiled and nodded, and told her another story, "Second uncle sent me two thousand taels of silver notes a few days ago, saying that it was for Ah Bao and Ah Ren. How could I accept it? But Mr. Wu insisted that I accept it, so I had no choice but to accept it... Now I don't know what to do."
Zhou Shaojin counseled her, "Second uncle must be very grateful to sister-in-law. He thought that the burden of having two children was not light, so he sent someone to send money. I think you should accept it, and second uncle will feel better."
The two chattered about all sorts of family matters, but Zhou Shaojin liked it very much and felt like she was the daughter-in-law of the Cheng family.
※
Wu Baozhang in Xizhimen was having a hard time.
As the New Year was approaching, after Cheng Lu took three hundred taels of silver from her, he asked her for another five hundred taels of silver and told her that this was the last time he would take silver from her and he would never bother her again.
Of course she didn't believe it.
But Cheng Lu came to her again and again, each time more pressing than the last. Once, even though he knew Cheng Nuo was coming back, he still sat there and refused to leave, with an air of desperation. She was really scared of him, and not only gave Cheng Lu the remaining 200 taels of her private silver, she also pawned some of her jewelry and secretly asked Cheng Nuo's followers to borrow 300 taels of silver in Cheng Nuo's name from the silk shop next to the Cheng family's tea shop. Only then did she send Cheng Lu away.
The end of the year is a time when money is needed everywhere.
She doesn't have any money.
If Cheng Lu came to ask her for money again, she would have no choice but to part ways with him.
Wu Baozhang was feeling uneasy and holding his breath, preparing to have a fight with Cheng Lu.
Who knew that even after drinking Laba porridge on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Cheng Lu still hadn't appeared.
It's like two boots. One has already taken off, and the other one will definitely take off, but you don't know when, so you have to wait anxiously.
She couldn't help feeling anxious, and after thinking it over again, she asked her personal maid to go find Cheng Lu.
In the afternoon, the maid came back in the heavy rain and told Wu Baozhang: "Master Cheng moved out a long time ago, and no one knows where he moved to!"
Wu Baozhang thought of what Cheng Lu had said before, that he wanted to find a way to change his identity and take part in the imperial examination again.
It would be great if Cheng Lu could regain his fame.
He would feel embarrassed to bother himself.
She should be able to get through this New Year well, right
Wu Baozhang breathed a sigh of relief.
But the people from the silk shop next door came to collect their debts.
Although the words were said politely, the implication was that she must pay back the money before the New Year, otherwise she would go to Cheng Wen to deal with it.
Wu Baozhang used up all the private savings of his personal maid, twenty taels of silver, to pay back the money. He thought that he could borrow four or five hundred taels from the silk shop in the spring. As long as he could pay it back by then, he would not have to pay interest and could borrow several hundred taels of silver for his expenses.
After the Spring Festival, she borrowed another three hundred taels of silver from the silk shop. She paid it back in February and borrowed again in March.
The others were not stupid either. They immediately figured out what was going on and went straight to Cheng Nuo.
Cheng Nuo was very surprised at first, but after he figured out what was going on, his face immediately turned red and he kept apologizing to the other party.
The other party did not say much, just said that his shop had been doing bad business these days and he was waiting for the money to turn around, and he was afraid that he would not be able to lend him money in the future.
Cheng Nuo was timid and felt that he had lost face in front of Wu Baozhang, so he went back and had a big quarrel with Wu Baozhang.
Wu Baozhang instead blamed Cheng Nuo for not making enough money and asked her to use her own pocket money to pay for the family expenses.
Cheng Nuo knew that Wu Baozhang did not have much dowry, and he was not the kind of person who would use his wife as a dowry. He also thought that the tea shop and teahouse were not doing well, so he had not given Wu Baozhang much household expenses in recent days. After saying a few words, he felt bored and went out to drink alone.
Wu Baozhang sneered and decided to ask someone to look for Cheng Lu in various academies in the capital. She would not feel at ease if she did not find him. Who knows when he will show up and give her something to do
God helps those who work hard, and the person she asked for help finally found Cheng Lu in the Imperial College.
Wu Baozhang was shocked.
The person who came to tell her the news smiled and told her: "Grandma, you are so lucky. Your long-lost cousin is now the son-in-law of Mr. Chen!"
※
Dear friends, today’s update.
The update is still around ten o'clock in the evening.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)