However, no matter how well he slept, tomorrow was Yun'er's first birthday, and Zhou Shaojin couldn't stay in bed any longer.
She saw that it was not yet noon, so she washed up again and went to Tingxiangyuan.
Mrs. Guo was playing Nine Rings with Yun'er.
Yun'er couldn't untie the nine-ring chain no matter what he did. He was so angry that he pulled the nine-ring chain and screamed. When he saw his mother coming in, he opened his arms with tears in his eyes and shouted "Mom" to Zhou Shaojin.
Seeing that he was still tightly holding the nine-linked ring in his hand while acting like a spoiled child, Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but smile. After paying his respects to Madam Guo, he held his son in his arms and asked him gently, "What happened to our Yun'er? What made him unhappy again?"
Yun'er started calling people early, but even though he was almost one year old, he could still only say two words.
He stuffed the nine rings in his hand into Zhou Shaojin's arms and said aggrievedly, "He is bad."
Zhou Shaojin and others burst into laughter.
Yun Ge'er felt even more aggrieved.
Zhou Shaojin carefully opened it and showed it to Yun Ge'er.
Yun'er remembered the first few steps but not the last ones. Then he got angry again and threw the Nine Rings to the ground.
Zhou Shaojin picked it up and continued to teach Yun'er how to disassemble the nine-linked rings while talking to Madam Guo about tomorrow's "Zhuazhou" ceremony: "… The older generation will be accompanied by my second uncle in the flower hall of the outer courtyard, and only tea will be made. Several old Ans will lead you to Tingxiang Courtyard to talk to you, and a female teacher will be arranged to tell you stories. The other male guests will be in the study room of the outer courtyard, and the female family members will be in the flower hall of the garden, singing and performing opera. The "Zhuazhou" ceremony will be held in the hall. Those who want to watch the ceremony can come and watch, and those who don't want to watch can continue to talk and listen to the opera."
The older generation is afraid of noise and may not go to watch Yunger’s one-year-old birthday ceremony.
"Your arrangement is very appropriate." Madam Guo nodded with a smile, but her attention was on Yun'er. "There are several great scholars coming to participate in Yun'er's one-year-old ceremony this time. They need to be arranged well. It would be good for Yun'er to have a chance to meet with the incense and relatives. I have invited Lord Wu from the Hanlin Academy to come over to accompany him. You don't have to worry about it. Just pay attention to Yun'er's one-year-old ceremony."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a long time, and Yun'er successfully untied the nine rings.
He happily grabbed the Nine Rings and showed them to Old Madam Guo and Zhou Shaojin.
Mrs. Guo smiled and touched his head, while Zhou Shaojin kissed her son twice on the cheeks, praising him, "Our Yun'er is really awesome."
Yun'er obviously liked his mother's encouragement more. He imitated Zhou Shaojin and came up to Zhou Shaojin and kissed him twice. Then he still felt unsatisfied and ran to Madam Guo to kiss her.
Mrs. Guo had never been kissed like this before. She was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses. After she came to her senses, she couldn't help but hugged Yun'er in her arms and said to Zhou Shaojin, "I don't know who this child takes after. His father and I are not good at coaxing people, but he is so sweet to everyone he sees."
It must be up to her!
Zhou Shaojin thought about it in his heart but didn't dare to say it out loud.
It is not a good thing for boys to like to coax others with sweet words.
But such children are indeed very likable.
Zhou Shaojin wondered whether he should tell Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi did not return until it was time to light the lamps.
"Have you eaten yet?" Zhou Shaojin asked him as he was changing his clothes. "The stove hasn't been sealed yet."
Cheng Chi would occasionally be delayed by things like he was today, and would come back late without sending anyone back to tell him. On two occasions, he only came back after hastily filling his stomach in the yamen.
"I don't have much appetite." Cheng Chi said lightly. Zhou Shaojin then realized that his eyes were very cold and his expression seemed a little stern.
She hadn't seen him like this in a long time.
Zhou Shaojin thought that the weather was getting hotter, and it was too early to use ice. Without ice, he would feel a little stuffy. He thought: "How about I ask the stove to make you a bowl of noodles, put less chili, and cut some cucumbers into it..."
Cucumbers in Beijing are not on the market yet, but someone in Fengtai is growing cucumbers in greenhouses and selling them as fruit. Cheng Chi likes to eat them, so his family never runs out of them.
Cheng Chi thought about it and nodded.
By the time Zhou Shaojin came back after giving his orders, Cheng Chi had already sat down on the big kang by the window and started drinking tea.
Yun'er was left in Tingxiang Courtyard by Old Lady Guo. Zhou Shaojin took out needle and thread from under the table and sewed a few stitches while talking to Cheng Chi: "Why are you back so late today? Yun'er will have his one-year-old birthday celebration tomorrow. Can you be at home?"
Tomorrow is not a holiday.
Zhou Shaojin thought Cheng Chi would take a leave and stay at home, but now it seems he can't guarantee it.
Cheng Chi said: "I have already asked for leave from the government office and will be at home tomorrow!"
Then it’s not because of official business that I’m unhappy!
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi quietly.
Cheng Chi laughed when he saw this, stretched out his arm and touched Zhou Shaojin's head across the table, saying, "What are you thinking about? Just say it if you have something to say! When did I ever teach you to act according to my instructions?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled embarrassedly and said, "Aren't I afraid that you will be unhappy?"
"I wouldn't show my displeasure to you even if I'm not happy." Cheng Chi said, "You want to know why I feel uncomfortable, right?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
Jixiang ordered a few maids to bring in some noodles.
Cheng Chi stopped the topic.
Zhou Shaojin was busy setting the table and sending the waiters away.
Cheng Chi took a bite of noodles.
The noodles were chewy, sour, spicy and refreshing, and the cucumber shreds were crisp and delicious, which made him feel much better.
"Everyone knows that my eldest son will have his first birthday tomorrow, so I left the government office early." He ate a few mouthfuls of noodles, drank a sip of mulberry tea, put down his chopsticks and said to Zhou Shaojin, "I went to Xinglin Hutong after leaving the government office. My eldest brother has a classmate named Han Zongmei, who is shouting outside that the reason he was able to become the general of Xuantong was because of my eldest brother's recommendation."
Shouldn't everyone keep things like this hidden
Zhou Shaojin was surprised.
Cheng Chi saw it, nodded slightly, and said, "Whether Han Zongmei let it slip or did it on purpose, we can no longer associate with this person. I originally just wanted to ask big brother if he knew about this, but it turned out that the Han family heard that Jiashan was sent out, so they specially sent their legal advisors to give gifts. I said that he should accept one or two gifts to suit the occasion, and then gradually stop giving gifts. As a result, big brother got angry and returned all the gifts. It was the time when the government was closed, and many fourth and fifth-rank officials from the capital lived in Xinglin Hutong. Now everyone saw it. Big brother did a good thing, but offended everyone." As he said, he sighed helplessly and said, "Big brother is also a person who is looking forward to the future, why can't he keep his composure? The most feared thing for officials is to offend people... "After saying that, he saw Zhou Shaojin's face full of worry, and hurriedly said, "However, Han Zongmei was promoted at this age while serving as the general of Xuantong. I guess his ability is average, so it's okay to offend him. I have inquired about him. He was reinstated after observing the mourning period. He was impeached for corruption when he was the prefect of Jiaxing. Although it was not resolved in the end, there is no smoke without fire. It can be seen that this person is not a good person. It is good to stay away from him like this."
Zhou Shaojin didn't understand these important events in the court. Cheng Chi said it was okay, so it must be okay. Besides, she had never heard of this person in her previous life, which showed that this person really had nothing to do with her. She smiled and nodded, then stood up and refilled his cup of mulberry tea.
After eating the noodles, Cheng Chi took Zhou Shaojin for a walk to pay his respects to Mrs. Guo.
All the hostas in the yard are in bloom, sparkling and translucent in the cold moonlight, piling up like snow, with a faint fragrance floating in the air.
Cheng Chi held Zhou Shaojin's hand and walked slowly.
The maids and old women followed from a distance.
The couple talked in low voices.
"I didn't expect Silang to worry about his uncle offending someone." Zhou Shaojin felt a little shy when Cheng Chi held her hand like this, but Cheng Chi insisted on holding her hand, so she naturally wouldn't refuse Cheng Chi, and she couldn't deny that she felt it was very sweet. "In my impression, Silang doesn't seem to be afraid of anything."
"I'm not afraid." Cheng Chi said indifferently, "But my eldest brother is a bit soft in his actions. Sometimes he knows something is wrong, but he can't bear to deal with it. He hesitates and gets himself into trouble. He is not like me..."
Zhou Shaojin chuckled and said, "The Fourth Master cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes." His laughter was like silver bells falling among the flowers and trees in the night.
"Am I so harsh?" Cheng Chi looked at her smiling face and his expression became cheerful.
Zhou Shaojin went over, hugged Cheng Chi's arm, and rubbed his shoulder.
Cheng Chi looked at her with a doting look. He walked with her quietly for a while and said, "After the Dragon Boat Festival, let's move to the waterside pavilion in the garden. It's by the lake and cooler. I was planning to move to Tingxiang Courtyard in the summer... Now that mother has moved here, we can live in the waterside pavilion for two months."
As long as Zhou Shaojin follows Cheng Chi, it doesn't matter where she lives. She said, "It's just that I'm a little far away from mother. Will mother be unhappy?"
"Then let's have a few more children." Cheng Chi smiled and whispered in her ear, "Such a big house with only a few of us living in it, it will be so lonely!"
Zhou Shaojin's ears turned red with embarrassment.
There are indeed fewer people at home, and no one lives on the east side of the road.
"So we're moving to the waterside," Cheng Chi said with a smile, "You can also meet the housekeeper there."
Zhou Shaojin's heart was pounding and he nodded meekly.
※
Over in Xinglin Hutong, Cheng Jing and Yuan were on the verge of a fight.
"Didn't I ask you to go back to your parents' home? Why haven't you gone yet?" Cheng Jing pointed at the gift list that the housekeeper handed to him with a panicked look after he saw that he had let Han Zongmei's master take away all the gifts sent by Han Zongmei. He was so angry that his blood boiled.
Yuan's temper was not good either. She said in a low voice with a gloomy face, "One moment you asked me to go to Shuangyu Hutong to help mother with my second uncle's wedding, the next moment you asked me to go see if Yun'er needed any help with his one-year-old celebration, and the next moment you asked me to go back to my mother's house to give gifts. Jiashan is about to leave for Mianzhu, and I can't handle it even if I had three heads and six arms! How can you blame me like this?"
If I hadn't reminded her, would she have gone to Shuangyu Hutong to help, would she have shown up at Chaoyangmen? As for Jiashan's exile, my daughter-in-law didn't know but didn't dare to ask her, and instead asked my sister-in-law Qiu to help...
Cheng Jing thought about it and couldn't help rubbing his forehead.
Yuan, how did you become like this
After a while, he calmed down and said, "Put aside other things for now and go back to your mother's house first..."
Yuan interrupted Cheng Jing coldly: "Tomorrow is Yun'er's one-year-old birthday celebration. Are you sure I should go back to my parents' home first?"
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Hey guys, today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)