"You're welcome, you're welcome!" Nanny Yu said dully, her eyes fixed on Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin recalled that when he was six years old, his father took his second wife, Li, back to the ancestral home to worship their ancestors and stayed there for a few days. He could understand the old woman's curiosity, and smiled and asked her to sit down and talk.
Yu Mama repeatedly said she didn't dare, Zhou Shaojin said: "You just said 'you're welcome', why are you being polite to me the next moment!"
This sentence made Nanny Yu burst into tears, and she choked up and said, "Second Miss, not only does she look like Madam, but her character is also like Madam, so kind and amiable..."
Zhou Shaojin seldom thinks about his mother.
She was afraid that she would not be able to help feeling wronged and sad.
Nanny Yu's tears were like a flood, which immediately broke down the strong fence and made Zhou Shaojin's tears fall as well.
Shi Xiang, who came in with a tea tray, said to Nanny Yu unhappily, "Nanny, the Second Miss was kind enough to talk to you, but you didn't say a few words to make our Miss happy, but instead made our Miss cry..."
"It's all my fault, it's all my fault!" Yu Ma apologized repeatedly, pulling up her sleeves to wipe her eyes, "Second Miss, please don't blame me."
Shi Xiang also took a handkerchief and wiped Zhou Shaojin's tears.
Zhou Shaojin finally stopped feeling sad and said, "I've made a fool of myself, Madam!"
"How come it's a joke?" Nanny Yu was a little excited when she heard it, and said, "It's natural for children to miss their mother. Second Miss is a kind-hearted person. The Bodhisattva will bless you to find a good husband, have many children and grandchildren, and live a long and happy life."
Find a good husband!
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but laugh at himself in his heart.
She no longer wants to be a good husband, she just hopes that she doesn't have to go through the same old path in her previous life.
Zhou Shaojin took two sips of tea before his mood slowly calmed down.
She sent Shi Xiang away and asked Yu Mama, "Do you know anything about my grandfather's family?"
"You mean the uncle of the Zhuang family?" Yu Ma said indignantly before Zhou Shaojin finished speaking, "He is too proud of Madam. When Madam was alive, he came every few days to ask for this and that. Previously, Master still remembered the relationship between relatives and told Madam not to bother with Uncle Zhuang and to help as much as possible. Uncle Zhuang became more and more greedy and his mouth became bigger and bigger. But he didn't do a proper job. He took Madam's money and went to eat and drink... well, gambling. After a long time, Madam saw that this was not a big deal, so she was unwilling to subsidize him and asked Master to come forward. When Uncle saw that he couldn't get money from here, he was so angry that his nose was not a nose, his eyes were not eyes, and he also shouted that he wanted Madam to look good, without caring about Madam's reputation at all. Madam was so angry about this that she cried several times. If it weren't for Master's consolation, Madam would have wanted to commit suicide..."
The emperor still has three poor relatives who beg for money. Even so, there is no need to seek death!
Zhou Shaojin felt that Nanny Yu's words were a bit exaggerated, but he did not interrupt her. He listened to her quietly for a long time. When she finished speaking, he said, "I heard from others that the Zhuang family also had a small fortune in the past, but later it was all lost by Uncle Zhuang in gambling. Is this true?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Yu Ma became excited again and said, "He lost all the assets of the Zhuang family in gambling. He also stole a painting from somewhere, saying it was passed down from the Zhuang family's ancestors. He sold the painting to two families and was sued for this matter..."
Zhou Shaojin said: "Do you remember where my mother lived before she died? I want to go and see."
Yu Ma, who was very angry just now, suddenly became like an eggplant hit by frost, muttering: "Well, there are not many houses. When it came to Old Master Zhuang, he sold some of them..."
She seemed reluctant to say it, as if she was trying to cover up the situation for the banker.
Zhou Shaojin sighed secretly.
Is she afraid of bringing shame to her mother
"A son will not despise his mother's ugliness, and a dog will not despise his family's poverty." Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to say, "Mother is a girl in the boudoir, how can she interfere in the affairs of the Zhuang family? I just want to see my grandfather's house. Madam, don't worry about it."
"Yes, yes." Nanny Yu was relieved after hearing this and smiled, "Young lady is really understanding and hits the nail on the head. Old Master Zhuang doesn't work, there's no one in the house who cares about him, and he doesn't have a son, so he naturally wouldn't be so cautious when spending money..."
Zhou Shaojin knew about this.
Ever since her biological grandmother passed away, her maternal grandfather never remarried, and all household affairs were taken care of by her great-grandmother.
"I heard from the maidservant who came with the wife," said Yu Mama, "that the wife used to live in the Zhuang family's ancestral house in Xiajie. When the wife was ten years old, the ancestral house in Xiajie was crushed by snow and half of the wing rooms collapsed. The old man Zhuang was visiting friends in Wuxi and did not come back. The old ancestor had no choice but to move with the wife to the house in Guanjie that her old man came with as a dowry..."
Official street!
Zhou Shaojin felt that his breathing slowed down by a few beats.
She interrupted Yu Mama and asked nervously, "Official Street, is it the official street near Cunyifang? The official street where the Mei Mansion lives?"
Yu Ma had no idea what she was saying. She smiled and said, "How many official streets are there in Jinling City? It got this name because several government offices were set up there. Madam lived there with her ancestors until she got married..."
Cun Yi Fang!
Cheng Lu also lived in Cunyifang!
Why had he never mentioned it to me
She still remembered how excited he was when he talked to her about his plans for the future: "I will pass the imperial examination within fifteen years. Then I can take my family to take up my post. If I live in the county government, I will plant a magnolia tree in the yard and drink tea under the tree after dinner every day. If I don't live in the county government, I will buy a small house, lay a bluestone floor, build a grape trellis in the yard, and raise a tank of koi under the trellis..."
She was finally moved by Cheng Lu, and what she longed for was just the magnolia tree and the grape vine he mentioned.
Zhou Shaojin felt his vision was a little blurry.
It turned out that she thought he told her everything, but in fact, he said nothing.
What he gave her was just a pie in the sky.
Uncle Zhuang had caused so many scandals. As a neighbor, even if Cheng Lu was only interested in reading sage books and knew nothing, didn't Dong know? Even if Cheng Lu didn't know at first, they were already engaged. With his cautiousness, didn't he know
Zhou Shaojin twisted his fingers tightly together, and the thought that had always been in his mind jumped out again.
Could it be that there is some old grudge between the Cheng and Zhuang families
Is that why Cheng Lu changed his mind midway
Is that why Cheng Lu just watched himself being bullied
Is that why he would risk ruining his reputation and abandon himself
So even though my looks were gone, he still wanted to trick me into eloping with him
Zhou Shaojin began to have difficulty breathing.
Just like the last moment in the previous life, when Cheng Lu grabbed the neck.
She took a few deep breaths and then asked Yu Ma: "Do you know where my mother's companions went?"
Nanny Yu whispered, "When the Madam married, she only brought a maid and a servant. The maid had served since she was young, but when she was old enough, she was sent out to marry someone else. It seems that she was a cotton merchant. There was news about her two years ago, but there has been no news since then. The servant was bought from a broker before the Madam got married. The master saw that the servant was clumsy, so he quickly sold her. I don't know where she was sold to. Later, the people who served the Madam were all servants of the Zhou family. For example, the head of the farm used to be the maid beside the Madam..."
This doesn't make sense!
Since my father respected my mother so much, why did he marry the only concubine my mother brought from her parents' home to a stranger, a traveling merchant at that, instead of marrying her to a family servant
What exactly happened back then
It's really one crisis after another!
Zhou Shaojin's temple was throbbing.
Fan Qi was too young and did not have the ability to inquire about those old events.
Who does she greet
Zhou Shaojin thought about it and felt that the only person who could solve her confusion was that rogue Uncle Zhuang!
But she was really afraid of being involved with Uncle Zhuang.
She still remembered the scene when she first met Uncle Zhuang when she was a child—he was white and fat, but his hair was disheveled, he wore a patchwork gown that only beggars would wear, and he was holding a broken bowl in his hand. He rolled around in the Cheng family’s gatehouse, crying, “My sister who died early”… Even in a family with strict rules like the Cheng family, there were many people watching the fun… She wished she had a hole in the ground to crawl into…
Zhou Shaojin rubbed his temples and felt his head hurt even more.
Seeing that he had asked almost all the questions, Zhou Shaojin called Shi Xiang in and gave the fifty-liang red envelope that had been sealed earlier to Nanny Yu.
Yu Ma insisted not to accept it, saying, "If it weren't for Madam, I wouldn't even know where my body is."
Shi Xiang said, "This is a reward from the Second Miss because she remembers that you once served the Madam. If you are grateful, remember to burn incense for the Madam during the Qingming Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival in the future, which will be a way to repay the Second Miss's kindness."
"I go to burn incense for Madam every year." Yu Mama said hurriedly, "I will go to burn incense for Madam in the future as well."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded.
Under Shi Xiang's urging, Yu Mama still accepted the reward money, but when Zhou Shaojin left, she brought two pots of camellia over and said, "These were left by the Madam when she was here. Now there are more than a dozen pots. The second young lady can take them back as a souvenir."
Zhou Shaojin saw a pot of Camellia sinensis and a pot of Zhuangyuanhong. Although they were not in bloom yet, they were both plump and lovely. It was obvious that someone was taking good care of them. She smiled and thanked them, asked the accompanying maid to take them, and returned to Jiuru Lane with her sister.
The two sisters first went back to Wanxiangju to wash and change their clothes.
Zhou Shaojin said to his sister, "Put a pot in your room?"
Zhou Chujin didn't hesitate and said with a smile, "Okay! Come to my room to enjoy the flowers when they bloom." She didn't ask what she and Nanny Yu had talked about.
Zhou Shaojin was very grateful for his sister's thoughtfulness and thought that it would be great if he could do something for her.
In the afternoon, she went to Hanbi Mountain House to copy scriptures. Although she tried her best to restrain herself, she couldn't help but get distracted.
Xiao Tan, who had been serving outside the house, tiptoed in and asked Shi Xiang quietly, "Sister, what happened to the second young lady?"
Shi Xiang said vaguely, "I'm afraid it's summer time and I'm feeling sleepy."
Xiao Tan nodded seriously, brewed a pot of strong Longjing tea for Zhou Shaojin, and said, "Second Miss won't feel sleepy after drinking it."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and touched Xiaotan's head, and his gloomy mood became brighter.
※
The additional update will still be posted around 12 o'clock tomorrow.
During this period, I secretly brought my laptop to work so that I could update in time. I will adjust my time as soon as possible and try to fix it.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)