Li was grateful for Madam Guo's thoughtfulness and kept whispering to Zhou Shaojin, "The old lady is so nice! You are so lucky to have such a good mother-in-law!"
"Of course." Zhou Shaojin was never modest on this point, and said with a smile, "My mother-in-law is not only kind, but also knowledgeable and well-informed. She is also very good at dealing with people. I have learned a lot from following her around for the past few years."
Li nodded with a smile and asked Zhou Chujin: "When will you return to Zhenjiang? We should also give you a gift."
On June 16, Liao Shaotang's sister got married. As her sister-in-law, Zhou Chujin would wait until Yun'er's first birthday celebration before setting off back to Zhenjiang with Guan Ge and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Liao.
Zhou Chujin thanked him and said with a smile, "The marriage was decided before my mother-in-law came to the capital. Because my brother-in-law is one year younger than my sister-in-law, it was agreed that my sister-in-law would marry him when she turned 18. The dowry was also prepared long ago. But my mother-in-law has been living in the capital for the past few years. She has to visit all relatives, friends, uncles, sisters-in-law, and elders in the family. According to my mother-in-law's wishes, we will set off on April 26th and rush back to Zhenjiang to celebrate the 15th."
Yun'er's birthday is April 24th.
Li was slightly stunned and said, "Then we will set off on the third day of Yun'er's first birthday celebration. I was planning to go with you."
"Youjin and Zongjin rarely come here, so you can stay here for a few more days!" Zhou Chujin said with a smile, "Baoding is not far from here anyway."
Li smiled and said, "Who knew you would leave so early! Even if I wanted to go with you, I couldn't. When I came here, your father told me to take the children to drink the Second Old Master's wedding wine before leaving."
Zhou Chujin smiled and looked around. She saw the maids and wet nurses were playing with Yunge, Guange, Youjin and Zongjin in the yard outside. The three women were the only ones in the quiet room. She asked Aunt Chang in a low voice, "… I heard that you have a good handwriting. Among the aunts in the palace, you are one of the most knowledgeable?"
"I really don't know about that." Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "But he is very friendly, so it shouldn't be difficult to get along with him."
As several people were talking, Zhou Chujin covered his chest with his hands, frowned slightly, and looked very uncomfortable.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly asked: "What's wrong with you?"
Zhou Chujin murmured shyly: "I, I'm pregnant..."
"Ah?!" Zhou Shaojin and Li exclaimed in surprise at the same time and couldn't stop laughing. One asked, "How long has it been? Do you want to ask a doctor to take a look? We should have good news if we calculate the date." The other said, "Why didn't you tell me such a big thing, sister? If we had known this, we should have held the banquet at the waterside pavilion. The air is better there."
Zhou Chujin blushed and said, "Just three months ago, your brother-in-law had to take part in both the spring examination and the selection of scholars, so I didn't say anything. Don't worry, I'm fine." She added, "It's strange, the child seemed to be afraid of disturbing his father. He didn't make any noise before, but when your brother-in-law's affairs were settled, I began to feel uncomfortable. Your brother-in-law said that this child knows how to care for others." After she finished speaking, she pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes and brows filled with the joy of being a mother.
Zhou Shaojin was happy for Zhou Chujin.
In her previous life, my sister had a hard time giving birth to a child, but in this life she has the opportunity to be a mother again.
She couldn't help but hug her sister's arm and said, "Congratulations, sister!"
Zhou Chujin thanked him warmly.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly ordered that a few more vegetables be added to the lunch.
By the time of lunch, Cheng Chi also found out.
The two couples had to drink a few glasses of wine together, while sisters Li and Zhou Shaojin talked about how to raise children, and time passed in the lively atmosphere.
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi saw the guests off, said hello to Mrs. Li, and went to Old Madam Guo.
Old Madam Guo was leaning on a large pillow reading the local chronicles.
When he saw them come in, he smiled and asked Zhou Shaojin if everyone was having fun.
Zhou Shaojin told Madam Guo what Li had said in praise of her.
Mrs. Guo laughed, knowing that Zhou Shaojin was just trying to cheer her up, and didn't take it too seriously. Thinking of the Chang family who lived in Yuqian Hutong, she asked Zhou Shaojin, "Have you sent the invitation for Yun'er's first birthday gift?"
"Yes." Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "I personally delivered the invitation."
Madam Guo said "hmm" in satisfaction, and was about to discuss Yun'er's first birthday gift with her in detail when a little maid reported through the curtain: "People from the Fourth Prince's Mansion are here to deliver gifts, and the maidservant beside the Prince's Consort wants to come in and pay respects to the old lady and the Madam."
Just after the Buddha's Bathing Festival, Zhou Shaojin was granted the title of a fourth-rank lady. Several mothers or wives of officials in the capital were also given the title. Zhou Shaojin went to the palace with those people to express her gratitude. They also got to know each other and got to know the wives of several fourth-rank officials in the capital.
After leaving the palace, her family began to call Zhou Shaojin "Madam".
Madam Guo frowned upon hearing this and said to Zhou Shaojin, "Did you hear what Si Lang said? The Fourth Prince has been very close to us these days!"
Zhou Shaojin didn't want to lie to Madam Guo, and he didn't dare to tell her about Cheng Chi's plan, so he could only say vaguely: "The Fourth Prince's affairs have always been handled by my husband himself. I don't know why the Fourth Prince's Mansion has been so close to us these days. I'll talk to my husband when he comes back later."
Madam Guo ordered the maid to bring in the people from the Fourth Prince's Mansion, and then said to Zhou Shaojin, "When Silang gets off work, ask him to come sit with me for a while."
The implication is that he would personally take care of the matter.
Zhou Shaojin agreed with a smile. When he saw Cheng Chi in the evening, he was a little worried about him: "… How should I tell my mother?"
"What's the problem?" Cheng Chi said with a smile, "Mother is not someone who has never experienced ups and downs. The Fourth Prince has been jumping around in the capital these days, pretending to be polite and courteous. Even if I don't tell mother, Madam Pengcheng will tell mother."
Zhou Shaojin was puzzled: "Could it be that we suspected wrongly before - if he had a crush on Dabao, how could he be so frivolous? Isn't he afraid that the emperor would suspect him?"
"He didn't go to hang around in front of the ministers, so why would the emperor suspect him?" Cheng Chi let Zhou Shaojin change his clothes and talked to her about the outside world. "There's also the third prince above him. If he doesn't hang around in meritorious families or fifth- and fourth-rank officials like me, who would remember him, with the crown prince above him and the third prince below him!"
Zhou Shaojin was moved when he heard this, and asked Cheng Chi with some smugness: "Is it because we pushed too hard that things have changed? The Fourth Prince, who was originally low-key and ignored, is now forced to be high-profile?"
In his previous life, the crown prince died and the emperor was very sad. He wanted to make his eldest grandson the crown prince, but several princes opposed it. The emperor felt that they had no brotherly love and were eyeing the throne, so he became suspicious. The second and third princes, who were ranked before the fourth prince, were successively dismissed. When the crown prince died, he naturally inherited the throne.
But in this life, the crown prince was angry to death, the second and seventh princes were involved, but the third prince was safe. The emperor was also heartbroken because of the successive loss of several adult princes. Neither the remaining princes nor the ministers in the court could bear to oppose the emperor's appointment of the eldest grandson as the crown prince, and the fourth prince's wish was broken.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but muttered, "How strange! If the Second Prince and his friends were framed by the Fourth Prince, why didn't the Fourth Prince just endure it until the Crown Prince died like he did in his previous life? He seems to be doing things in a haphazard manner without any rules... How weird!"
What's wrong with you
Cheng Chi thought in his heart: If the people he arranged around the Crown Prince had not helped the Crown Prince avoid traps several times, would the Fourth Prince have been so eager to take advantage of the relationship between the Second Prince and the palace maid named Dai
However, Cheng Chi was not prepared to tell Zhou Shaojin.
Shao Jin is kind-hearted. She would be very uneasy if she knew about this, so it is better not to tell her.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Things are always changing. Maybe the staff who gave him this idea in his previous life didn't figure it out for some reason?"
That's true.
Zhou Shaojin sighed and said, "I hope it's just these little things that have changed. Otherwise I will harm you."
Cheng Chi smiled slightly, put his arm around Zhou Shaojin's shoulders, and said, "Okay, let's go and greet mother first. The matter of the Fourth Prince needs the intervention of the Crown Prince."
If the Crown Prince's death points to the Fourth Prince, the Crown Prince will naturally investigate, and the Fourth Prince can't stand investigation the most.
Who should be sent to the side of the Crown Prince
Should we use civil servants or military officers
Cheng Chi's mind was racing, and he and Zhou Shaojin went to see Old Madam Guo.
After he told Madam Guo who the Fourth Prince had been in contact with these days, Madam Guo suddenly realized and said, "So that's it! He knows that the ministers will not pay any attention to him, so he has to interact with you fourth and fifth rank officials. He wants to get your support."
Cheng Chi knew his mother would understand, so he said, "I already know the Fourth Prince, and it's normal for him to send gifts to congratulate Yun'er on his third birthday or his first birthday."
Madam Guo still reminded him worriedly: "It's better to have less contact with him! We don't know what kind of personality the Crown Prince has."
Cheng Chi responded respectfully, “Yes.”
After a few days, as Yun'er's first birthday celebration approached, Zhou Shaojin and others became busier and busier.
News came from the Ministry of Personnel that Cheng Xu was appointed as the magistrate of Mianzhu County.
Mianzhu is a medium-sized county under the jurisdiction of Deyang Prefecture, but because it is located in Sichuan and is remote, it is not a very popular job.
Cheng Xu was stunned for a long time when he received the news.
It’s out there!
It’s really out there!
The thing that he had been looking forward to for so long that it almost became an obsession suddenly came true. This feeling made Cheng Xu feel very strange.
Yuan sat on the bunk bed in the inner room with a pale face. The bright paper and hanging curtains made everything she saw gloomy.
In the end, Cheng Xu succeeded.
He just wanted to leave me.
In order to leave me, are you willing to give up your future
If she had married Zhou Shaojin for him, would he have continued to study hard like he did when he took the imperial examination, hoping to get the top spot and strive for the top three places
Yuan couldn't help but think.
But I couldn't help but stop myself from thinking so.
Zhou Shaojin is a motherless daughter who lives under the care of others. Apart from her face, what else can she show off
How can she compare with Min!
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Hey guys, today's update!
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)