The little girl gave herself a massage... What a good idea!
Cheng Chi looked at Zhou Shaojin and smiled.
For some reason, Zhou Shaojin felt that the gaze from behind her suddenly became somewhat ambiguous, as if Cheng Chi was trying to tempt her to do something every time.
She didn't dare to observe Cheng Chi's expression carefully, but changed the subject with a guilty conscience: "Mrs. Song asked me if I would like to have a drink on the day of the recognition of my relatives?"
This is treating them as relatives.
If Song Jingran was just an ordinary person, Zhou Shaojin would definitely agree immediately. But now the situation in the court is so complicated and changeable that she really doesn't dare to make her own decision.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "I was recommended by Lord Song, so I must stand by Lord Song. Whether we go to have tea on the day when the eldest lady of the Song family recognizes her relatives or not, others will still regard me as Lord Song's person. Instead of that, it is better to interact with the Song family openly, and those who want to use their brains should also think about it."
Zhou Shaojin understood this principle.
She smiled and nodded, and talked about Cheng Rang's marriage: "The meeting gift is a set of silver head ornaments inlaid with hundreds of gems, and I also secretly packed a box of small goldfish to give to Mrs. Xie."
When a newly married bride comes home, the gift must be the same, otherwise the person giving the gift may offend others and make it difficult for the new bride.
Cheng Chi saw that Zhou Shaojin was acting more and more orderly, and said with a smile: "You can make your own decisions on these matters."
But Zhou Shaojin likes to talk about this with Cheng Chi.
She couldn't help but pout and said, "Don't you like listening to me say this?"
"I don't like it!" Cheng Chi said bluntly.
Zhou Shaojin was almost in tears.
Cheng Chi had always been gentle and considerate to her and had never spoken to her in such a tone.
She was devastated.
Cheng Chi bit her ear from behind and whispered, "It's rare for me to come back, but you don't even say you're thinking about me or missing me. Instead, you're telling me these irrelevant things. If you have the free time, you might as well do something else with me..."
Zhou Shaojin's face suddenly turned red, and the bitter mood just now instantly became as sweet as honey.
Cheng Chi laughed softly, kissed her lips which were still as pink as a girl's, and reached his hand into her clothes.
A blushing moaning sound was heard in the room.
When they went to the Song family to recognize their relatives the next day, Zhou Shaojin was still a little afraid to look at Cheng Chi's smiling eyes. But Cheng Chi was much more generous than her, and turned around to help her when getting off the sedan chair.
Song Sen, who came out to greet them, blinked at Zhou Shaojin and called Cheng Chi "brother-in-law" in a lukewarm manner.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Your brothers all call me uncle, but you insist on calling me brother-in-law. Fortunately, there are no girls of the right age in the Zhou family, otherwise people would think you are the son-in-law of the Zhou family!"
Song Sen snorted disapprovingly and said, "How would I know you if I hadn't known my sister? You guys date yours, I date mine, we have nothing to do with each other. Are you afraid that my sister will treat me too well?"
Cheng Chi just smiled and said nothing. He said to Zhou Shaojin in a gentle voice, "If you have anything to say, just call Song Sen. He is idle anyway, so you can turn a blind eye to it. He can still walk around in the inner house for two years. You don't have to be polite to him."
Song Sen still likes to pester Zhou Shaojin like he did when he was a child. Zhou Shaojin has no choice but to come to the Song family every time when Song Sen goes to school. Fortunately, Cheng Chi is broad-minded and is always kind to Song Sen no matter what he says, like a child who is ignorant of the world. This makes Zhou Shaojin feel more distressed about Cheng Chi's grievances.
"I know!" She responded softly, and reminded Cheng Chi, "You still have to go to your second uncle's place later, so drink less."
It is impossible for a man not to drink when he is out socializing, but Cheng Chi has always been sensible and drinks when he can. But today is a special day, Zhang Hui and others are here, so he has to toast a few glasses.
"Don't worry." Cheng Chi smiled and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "I don't want to lose my composure in front of my boss."
Zhou Shaojin believed him and nodded with a gentle smile.
Cheng Chi went to the open hall in the east.
Song Sen scratched his head and asked Zhou Shaojin: "What did Master Cheng say to you?"
How could she tell Song Sen such conversation between husband and wife
"Nothing, just told me to be careful." Zhou Shaojin said absentmindedly. She saw that Zhang Hui's wife had arrived and was sitting on the armchair by the window, waving at her.
She left Song Sen and walked over: "Today is your brother's big day, you have something to do, so go and do your thing?!"
Before Song Sen could say something, Zhou Shaojin had already bent his knees and saluted Zhang Hui's wife with a smile on his face.
He had no choice but to leave in frustration.
Zhang Hui's wife got up and pulled her to sit next to her. She asked Cheng Shao: "How is the old man? I heard a few days ago that he could get out of bed. Is that true?"
Zhou Shaojin replied "yes", and said, "After all, he is old. It was just a common cold, but who knew it would take two or three months to get better. Previously, our master was worried that he would develop tuberculosis. Fortunately, he can get out of bed now, thanks to Aunt Chang's careful care. But now he can't sit and read for a long time, otherwise he will feel dizzy. Doctor Cao said that he needs to be carefully taken care of for a while."
"That's good, that's good." Zhang Hui's wife chanted "Amitabha", but Zhou Shaojin found that the women around him were listening with their ears perked up.
She couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
Although she is no longer afraid of socializing with these people, she still likes to play with Cheng Zheng and the others, and everyone can say whatever they want.
But she still drank the tea offered by Song Mu's bride, Li, with a decent smile, and chatted with Zhang Hui's wife and other female relatives about the newly opened satin shop in Xizhimen. She had lunch and then returned to Chaoyangmen with Cheng Chi.
Yun'er is ten months old. He can turn over and crawl, and he knows how to call for help. He has taken off his heavy cotton jacket and put on a thinner padded jacket. His hands and feet have become more flexible. He is always quiet and will crawl away somewhere if you are not paying attention. He also knows how to hide behind the big pillow or behind the curtain to let people find him. All the maids and servants in the mansion stare at him without blinking. Old Madam Guo complained that water should not be brought into Tingxiangyuan, for fear that Yun'er would fall into the water.
When Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi returned, Yun'er was sitting on the big kang by the window in Mrs. Guo's banquet room, being fed porridge by his wet nurse. Every time the wet nurse handed the spoon to his mouth, he would look carefully at what was in the spoon before he would open his mouth.
This was the result of him catching a cold a few days ago and having a blocked nose, and Mrs. Guo fed him Hu Chai Drink.
Hearing the noise, the little guy turned around quickly, and when he saw Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi, he squinted his eyes and smiled, shouting "Dad" and "Mom" randomly at Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi.
Zhou Shaojin's heart melted when he saw this.
He took two steps at a time and picked up Yun'er.
Yun'er hummed something in her arms, then reached out to Cheng Chi, asking him to hold him.
Cheng Chi hurriedly held his son in his arms, not caring whether he knew it or not, and asked him like a little adult: "What did our Yun'er do today? Did he act naughty with grandma? Did he hide so that the maids and old women couldn't find him?"
It was not known whether Yun Ge'er understood or not, and he kept mumbling along with Cheng Chi's words.
Mrs. Guo's smile never stopped. She asked Cheng Chi to give Yun'er to the nurse: "He hasn't finished his meal yet! He will be distracted and unwilling to eat when you come. Let the nurse take him to the back to eat."
The wet nurse came forward and held Yun'er in her arms.
Yun'er didn't want to leave.
Mrs. Guo said, "Wet nurse will take you to see Snowball and play with him. Your mother won't leave."
Now Snowball has become Yun'er's playmate.
After hearing this, Yun'er stopped moving and obediently let his nurse hold him.
Old Madam Guo ordered Hongzhen, the maidservant beside Yun'er, "Go and find Xueqiu quickly. I promised Yun'er."
Hongzhen agreed with a smile, and retreated with the wet nurse who was holding Yun'er.
Madam Guo asked Cheng Chi, "When are we going to Yuqian Hutong today?"
Zhou Shaojin discovered that apart from Cheng Chi and her, no one else in the Cheng family seemed to know that Cheng Shao was faking illness.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "It will be over if I just chat with you for a while.
Because Cheng Shao was ill, Cheng Chi had to take care of him, so the emperor gave Cheng Chi a long vacation, and he has not returned to the Censorate yet.
Madam Guo didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, and said, "If your second uncle is better, you should go back to the Censorate as soon as possible. Although it is a good thing for the emperor to remember your name, it may not be a good thing if you are filial and let the emperor remember it."
Cheng Chi thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. The relationship between the emperor and my second uncle is much better than we thought. Yesterday afternoon, the emperor went to Yuqian Hutong again and played two games with my second uncle. But my second uncle didn't have enough energy, so I played two games with him. During the conversation, the emperor also asked me about the Yellow River water management. From the tone of his voice, it seemed that the river embankment in Gaoyou would also start to be repaired, but my second uncle changed the subject and talked about the taxes in Jiangnan."
Mrs. Guo was both worried and happy when she heard this. She was worried that the emperor would send Cheng Chi to control the flood again and he would be stuck on the river in the future. She was happy that Cheng Shao was promoting Cheng Chi, which showed that he had high hopes for him.
But she is not an ordinary woman, so she thinks more long-term.
After a moment of silence, she said, "You should also talk to your eldest brother about this matter. As for when he will visit your second uncle, that is his own business!"
The implication is that whether he can meet the emperor depends on his opportunity.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "I have already informed my elder brother. It is because there is a happy event that I have not told you yet!"
"What's the matter?" Mrs. Guo asked with interest.
Cheng Chi said thoughtfully, "Since the death of the fifth prince, the emperor looks a dozen years older than usual, and sometimes his mind wanders while he's playing chess. Yesterday, after playing chess with me, it was already dark, but the emperor flatly denied returning to the palace. Not only did he have dinner in Yuqian Hutong, he also spent a long time talking to my second uncle about our family, and mentioned the deceased third brother Fen and brother Xun... Then the emperor granted Abao the hereditary rank of fourth-rank assistant! This decree will be issued tomorrow at the latest. I specifically sent someone to tell my eldest brother to keep an eye on it and not let the cabinet mess it up."
"What did you say?" Madam Guo and Zhou Shaojin looked at each other in bewilderment. "Hereditary? A-Bao?!"
They are a family of scholars.
"Yes!" Cheng Chi smiled bitterly and said, "The Emperor is probably thinking of the deceased Crown Prince and several other princes..."
He and Cheng Shao felt a sense of sympathy for each other.
※
Hey guys, today's update.
I heard that everyone is watching the military parade today... O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)