Madam Lu didn't dare to reply, and quickly turned the topic to Mrs. Guo's favorite Yun'er: "I heard from the maid that Jiying is very good at swimming. He jumped into the lake like a fish. Master Yun went into the water with a silver-red bib. His little arms and legs are like lotus roots. I wonder how cute he is... Do you want to go and see?"
"Go! Why not go!" Mrs. Guo didn't want to go at first, but after hearing this, she couldn't sit still anymore. She held Chenxiang's hand and went to the water pavilion.
The old women rowed the boat to an old locust tree that grew across the water, where Zhou Shaojin was sitting to avoid the sun.
Jiying and Yun'er were having a great time in the lake; their giggles sounded like silver bells, echoing far away.
Mrs. Guo couldn't help but laugh and scolded, "Is there any mother like you? Be careful not to tan our boy Yun, or you'll have to pay for it!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled and invited Madam Guo to sit on the boat: "… It's not only cool, but also very comfortable."
Mrs. Guo had a cheerful personality and was not pretentious when she heard this. She held the boatwoman's shoulders and got on the boat. She sat down opposite Zhou Shaojin and couldn't help but put her hand into the emerald green lake water and swung it around, saying with emotion, "This water is really cool."
"That's right." Zhou Shaojin said with a smile and took the opportunity to tell Madam Guo that they wanted to move to the waterside pavilion. "A few days ago, Silang said that it was too hot in the upper room and wanted to move to the waterside pavilion. Mother, can you move with us? The waterside pavilion is so big, it will be lively with more people."
"I'm old, and Tingxiang Courtyard is fine." Madam Guo smiled and rejected her proposal, "The wind is too cold here in the waterside pavilion. If you want to move somewhere else, just move somewhere else. Don't drag me along. My old bones can't stand your tossing and turning!"
These words made Zhou Shaojin blush.
Madam Guo clapped her hands and said, "Shaojin, what do you think of our Yun'er?"
Jiying was holding his little belly and letting him paddle.
Yun'er paddled quickly and slowly came towards them.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't swim, so he didn't know he could swim like this. It was extremely strange.
Jiying called out "Old Madam" and "Shao Jin" from afar, and rowed over with Yun Ge'er.
Yun'er grabbed the side of the boat and shouted "Grandma" and "Mom", then turned around and was about to continue paddling, as if he was afraid that Zhou Shaojin or Old Madam Guo would carry him onto the boat.
Everyone laughed.
Mrs. Guo held Yun'er's little hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry, your grandmother and your mother won't stop you, just go and play."
It was not known whether Yun'er heard it or not, as he twisted his body and ran straight to the center of the lake.
Ji Ying had no choice but to smile and take Yun Ge'er to the white tower by the lake. They didn't go ashore until the sun set and the weather turned cooler. Then the two of them went ashore with the help of maids and old women. They changed their clothes and drank hot tea. Then Cheng Chi came back.
Zhou Shaojin hurried forward and saw Qin Ziping who came back with Cheng Chi.
He bowed respectfully to Zhou Shaojin and said shyly, "Ji Ying has a bad temper. If I have done anything inappropriate, please forgive me, Madam."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Are you here to pick up Jiying?"
Qin Ziping nodded shyly.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Ji Ying and I got along well when we were in Jiuru Lane. When she comes to visit me, not only me, but also the old lady and Yun'er like her very much. You can't be like those old-fashioned people who think that she should stay at home embroidering and cooking after getting married!"
"How could it be? How could it be?" Qin Ziping asked hurriedly.
Zhou Shaojin continued his words, "In that case, if she wants to come to my place in the future, you can't just say 'no' - this afternoon, Jiying was teaching Yunge'er how to swim, and even the old lady saw it and praised Jiying for her good swimming skills, saying that women are as good as men!"
Qin Ziping was shocked, but when he saw that both Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi looked calm, he finally felt relieved and said a few humble words on behalf of Ji Ying: "She was just having fun. I don't dare to lecture Master Yun..."
Cheng Chi has always been afraid that Mrs. Guo would dote on Yun'er too much, and Zhou Shaojin would obey the old and the young in everything. Now, when he heard that Jiying was teaching Yun'er to swim, he thought that it might not be a bad thing if Yun'er could get closer to Jiying, climb trees, and go to the river.
"Then it's settled." He concluded, "If Jiying is free in the future, come over more often. In addition to chatting with the Madam, you can also play with Yun'er. You can also do your job with peace of mind."
It is not easy to be a constable in Shuntian Prefecture. If you are not careful, you will offend the nobles. If it were not for Zhou Shaojin's words that "the Cheng family will be confiscated and exterminated", Cheng Chi would not let Qin Ziping be a constable, and Qin Zian went to the Xishan Camp.
Cheng Chi said to Zhou Shaojin, "Ziping and his wife will stay for dinner later." Then he said to Qin Ziping, "Come with me!"
Qin Ziping bowed to Zhou Shaojin and followed Cheng Chi to the study.
Cheng Chi asked Qin Ziping: "Last time, Qin Zian said that the concubine of the Tongzhi of Shanxi Camp was a distant relative of the Fourth Prince's wife. How did you investigate?"
Qin Ziping couldn't help but lower his voice and whispered, "I've checked it out. She's not a distant relative. She was a skinny girl bought from outside. Then she adopted a distant cousin of the Fourth Prince's wife as her adopted daughter and gave her to the Tongzhi as a concubine... Because they are not real relatives, the two families don't usually visit each other. Only the distant cousin of the Fourth Prince's wife would go back for a birthday. But every time the concubine went back, the wet nurse beside the Fourth Prince's wife would also go back... It is said that the Tongzhi treated this concubine very ordinary, but this concubine was very much loved by the mistress, and since the concubine came into the family, the Tongzhi's family has had a much better life. A few days ago, the Tongzhi's daughter got engaged, and the dowry was four or five thousand taels of silver..."
In other words, the Fourth Prince might be bribing the Vice Magistrate.
Cheng Chi didn't say anything for a long time.
To inherit the throne normally, one only needs to please the emperor. In the case of a palace coup, a powerful eunuch must tip off the emperor, and the imperial guards and the garrison troops in the Western Hills must provide support.
If the Fourth Prince had succeeded to the throne normally, why would he have made friends with the people from the Xishan Camp and the eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace
Cheng Chi felt that his previous guess was probably true.
In the previous life, the fourth prince killed the emperor and wanted to forge an imperial edict to ascend the throne. If the second uncle knew about it, he would definitely not agree. So the second uncle died in the palace in the previous life... The body was sent out. With the eyes of the eldest brother, he must have known what happened... But at that time he had not yet entered the cabinet... Was it because he was unable to stand up for the second uncle? Or did he make a deal with the fourth prince using the death of the second uncle
And why did my second uncle enter the palace
If his guess was correct, could the death of the Crown Prince also be a man-made disaster
So, is that why the emperor is so wary of the Cheng family
A bolder idea came to Cheng Chi's mind.
He felt a little irritated.
I think of the Crown Prince’s eyes, which were dark yet shining, like inky obsidian.
You can tell at first glance that he is a very smart child.
He was very interested in the numerology he taught, and quickly figured out the relationship between numbers... It didn't seem like he was destined to die young!
Cheng Chi shook his head gently, suppressed his affection for the Crown Prince, and ordered Qin Ziping: "You and Zi'an continue to find out the ancestors of the people in the West Mountain Camp. Don't worry about the Imperial Guards for now. I will ask my second uncle about the Imperial Guards. He should know the details."
Qin Ziping agreed respectfully.
Cheng Chi said, "When you are free, ask Jiying to come to your house to play. If there is any news that is inconvenient for you, you can also ask Jiying to pass a message to your wife. Also, do you have any news from the person I asked you to find?"
He wanted to find a few twelve or thirteen-year-old children who looked very smart and sneak into the Eastern Palace.
It is impossible to serve the Crown Prince closely, but people can be assigned to do odd jobs such as investigating the outer courtyard and feeding the horses in the stables, so that what happens in the Eastern Palace every day can be reported to him in a timely manner.
He also sent a few people last time, but because of the death of the crown prince, those children were sent out of the palace, so he had to find another group of people to go in.
Qin Ziping said, "There is no suitable candidate..." He suggested, "Can we find one among the eunuchs?"
"Not likely." Cheng Chi pondered, "The eunuchs' requests are different from ours. If they can be moved by gold and silver alone, they may not work hard for us. It's better to have nothing than to have chaos in this matter. Take your time and don't let a good thing turn into a bad thing."
Qin Ziping nodded.
A servant announced through the curtain that dinner was ready: "Madam, please invite the master and Mr. Qin to have dinner."
The two dropped the topic and went to the inner courtyard.
Since none of us were outsiders, we all sat at the same table to eat.
Yun Ge'er liked Jiying very much. During the meal, he picked up his favorite meatballs for her. Unfortunately, his hands were not steady and the meatballs fell on the table. He got anxious and grabbed them with his hands and stuffed them into Jiying's mouth.
Zhou Shaojin was shocked and tried to stop him in a gentle voice.
Jiying swallowed the meatball without any concern, and said to Yunger with a smile, "It's delicious."
Yun'er was so happy that his eyes turned into little crescents.
Zhou Shaojin laughed, helped Yun'er wipe his hands, and gently explained the rules to Yun'er.
Ji Ying said hurriedly: "He is still young, you don't need to be so strict! Besides, he has good intentions. It won't be too late to teach him properly when he is older."
"But Yun'er is already over one year old." Zhou Shaojin felt that Yun'er could walk, jump and talk, so it was time to set rules.
Cheng Chi frowned and glanced at Ji Ying.
I just said she was a good girl, but I didn't expect that she spoiled the child even more than Shaojin.
"Don't talk while eating, and don't talk while sleeping." He said unhappily, "Eat!"
Everyone fell silent.
Ji Ying was extremely angry, but when Zhou Shaojin sent her out, she couldn't help but say to Zhou Shaojin, "Don't invite me to dinner in the future. I feel pain in my chest when I see Cheng Zichuan. If you really want to invite me to dinner, do it when he is not at home, or when men and women need to sit separately. I don't think I'm full today, I need to eat more when I go back."
Ji Ying and Cheng Chi are really natural enemies.
"The kitchen has made some cakes. I'll ask Chunwan to make some for you!" Zhou Shaojin said apologetically, "Come earlier next time and have lunch here."
In this way, Jiying can go back earlier to prepare dinner for Qin Ziping.
Ji Ying didn't bother to be polite with Zhou Shaojin. She packed some snacks and was helped by Qin Ziping into the sedan chair.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but laugh and went back to tell Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi was reading a book, his eyes left the rolled-up manuscript in his hand, and said, "Isn't this normal?"
Zhou Shaojin gossiped, "Think about it, Jiying is so skilled, does she need help getting on the sedan chair? But the two of them were so natural, one helping and the other being helped, it's obvious that they have a good relationship!"
※
Hey guys, today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)