"Don't be angry!" Cheng Yi touched his nose angrily and said, "He said he knew you were sick, so he went to Changchun Cave to ask for cold-relieving pills and asked the servant to bring them in. Who knew he made you angry? He didn't know what happened, so he wanted to apologize to you..." As he spoke, he saw Zhou Shaojin's face darken, and he hurriedly explained, "I also know that this is not appropriate, but he said it sincerely, and in front of Cheng Nuo and the others, I was afraid it would be difficult to refuse, so I had to bite the bullet and go through this journey."
Zhou Shaojin was silent.
There are five branches in the Cheng family. Cheng Lu is a branch of the fifth branch, which is a little far away from the other branches. He lost his father at a young age. Although his family is rich, the corvée and taxes are more ferocious than a tiger. Cheng Lu's mother, Dong, was born in the market. There was no one in her family who could help her. She first relied on the fifth branch, but the fifth branch was busy with its own affairs, so how could it take care of Cheng Lu's family? Dong had no choice but to turn to the fourth branch. Old Lady Guan became a widow at a young age. Seeing Dong, who was also widowed at a young age, she couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for her. She registered the property of Cheng Lu's family under the name of the fourth branch, exempted corvée and taxes, and recommended Cheng Lu to study at the Cheng family school.
Mrs. Dong was grateful for Mrs. Guan's kindness and often visited the fourth room. In addition, Cheng Lu was a good student and passed the county and prefectural examinations at a young age. Mrs. Dong thought that she would ask for more places in the fourth room for her son in the future. Mrs. Guan looked at this orphan and widow and thought of her own difficulties in her early years. She often told her son and daughter-in-law to take good care of Cheng Lu's family. Cheng Gao and Cheng Yi also took good care of Cheng Lu. One was intentional, the other was intentional, and Cheng Lu's family and the fourth room became more closely connected.
So Cheng Yi couldn't refuse Cheng Lu
It turned out that the cause was the words she asked Song Qing to convey to Cheng Lu.
If she hadn't said those words, would all these complications have avoided arising
Zhou Shaojin was touched, but he also knew that this was not a good time to pursue the matter, so he said, "So you didn't come to see me, but to deliver a letter to Cheng Lu? I was so happy for nothing."
"No, no." Cheng Yi shook his hands anxiously, saying, "I did come to visit you. My brother asked about your condition when he went to pay his respects to my grandmother this morning, and asked again when he saw my eldest cousin. Cheng Lu just stopped by for a visit, for a visit."
The two were talking to each other when suddenly a maid knocked on the door: "Second Miss, Cuihuan, who is with Miss Jia, is here."
Cheng Yi was startled and stood up to find a place to hide. However, he looked around but couldn't find any place. He couldn't help but get anxious and complained, "This Cheng Ji, why does she keep doing whatever she wants? She knew you were sick, but she still sent someone to look for you. Why don't you just calm down!"
Zhou Shaojin didn't say anything.
Her feelings towards Cheng Ji were very complicated, and sometimes she even tried to cover up the truth, thinking that if she didn't think about it, she could pretend that those things never happened.
Especially in her memory, Cheng Ji was married far away and was warned never to return to the Cheng family. For someone like her who takes family honor as her pride, this punishment must be more painful than death, right
She pointed at the armchair in the room and said to Cheng Yi, "Just sit still. I'll go out and take a look."
"That's good, that's good." Cheng Yi calmed down.
When Zhou Shaojin came out of the study, he saw Cuihuan, accompanied by Shi Xiang, standing under the grape trellis.
"Second Miss!" Hearing the noise, the two of them hurried forward to salute.
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cuihuan carefully.
She was wearing a plain light green silk boa, a white embroidered skirt, and small silver clove ornaments on her ears. She was dressed neatly and cleanly, like a lily of the valley blooming in the corner.
But in her impression, Cuihuan was about thirty years old, bloated, with a sallow complexion, wrapped in a parrot green Lu silk jacket, kneeling in front of her hanging flower door, with her neck erect, saying: "You have been wronged, that is your own choice. Can our young lady be unscathed? Why don't you go to settle accounts with Wu Baozhang, but hold a grudge against our young lady? If it weren't for the young lady's last wish, I would not have come to your farm, Mrs. Lin, even if I took the wrong path..."
She was an evil slave to herself, but a loyal servant to Cheng Ji!
Zhou Shaojin's expression was a little obscure and difficult to understand, and in the eyes of Cuihuan and Shi Xiang, he looked a little uneasy.
Cuihuan and Shixiang exchanged glances and called out "Second Miss" in unison.
Zhou Shaojin came back to his senses, took a deep breath, and then he felt better.
She asked Cuihuan: "What does your young lady want you to come here for?"
This question was a bit impolite. But Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji grew up together, like real sisters. They quarreled today and made up tomorrow, and quarreled the day after tomorrow. It was not the turn of the maids and old women who served them to interfere.
Cuihuan smiled and said, "My young lady heard that the second young lady was ill and couldn't go out, and she thought you must be bored at home. Didn't Master Zheng go to Mount Wutai with a few friends a few days ago? He arrived home last night. My young lady witnessed that Master Zheng brought back several boxes of white-faced and gold-painted Sichuan fans, so she asked for two boxes. Keep one box for yourself, and have the other box brought to you so that you can paint on the fans when you have nothing to do. It will be just right for you when summer comes in a few days."
The "Uncle Zheng" she referred to was Cheng Ji's brother Cheng Zheng, the heir to the second house.
Zhou Shaojin nodded, let Shi Xiang take the fan, and said, "Go tell your second young lady that I will be well in a few days. When I am well, I will go to play with her."
Cuihuan smiled and knelt down to salute, then was escorted out by Shixiang.
Zhou Shaojin returned to the study.
Cheng Yi scratched his head in the room and said, "My dear sister, please give me a few of those fans! I heard this morning when I went to the academy that my cousin made a good friend from Meizhou in Mount Wutai, and he was given a few boxes of white fans from the Yuecaotang brand, which are as smooth as spring ice and as dense as cocoons. When summer comes, I can give them away as gifts."
Zhou Shaojin turned around and brought in the fan, stuffed it all into his arms, and said, "I'll give it all to you, okay?"
"Don't you want to keep a few?" Cheng Yi was stunned.
"If I don't give it to you, you'll say I'm stingy. If I give it to you, you'll think it's too much." Zhou Shaojin said, and went to get the box. "Do you want it or not?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Cheng Yi turned around and hugged the box tightly. "My dear sister, I was just joking with you. Thank you in advance. If you have anything in the future, just tell me. I will go through fire and water for you and never refuse!"
This brainless guy just talks nonsense.
Zhou Shaojin said unhappily, "I won't refuse even if it means death. Just stop trying to please Cheng Lu and run errands for him."
Cheng Yi smiled awkwardly, trying to save face, and said, "Sis, when did you become so sharp-tongued? I can't beat you in an argument, so why don't you just admit defeat?" As he spoke, he picked up the box and was about to leave.
Zhou Shaojin was stunned.
Yeah, when did she become so sharp-tongued!
The words she said in the past few days since she woke up were not as much as what she said to Cheng Yi today.
Zhou Shaojin saw Cheng Yi out.
As soon as I walked out of the study, I saw Shi Xiang walking towards me from afar with an old woman with gray hair but a strong body.
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Yi were shocked.
That old woman seemed to be Nanny Wang... When they came a few steps closer, they saw that she was wearing a thin Hangzhou silk jacket with an autumn-scented pattern and eight-treasure pattern, a red gold hairpin stained with a bit of oil, a rosewood bracelet, and a face full of wrinkles. Who else could it be but Nanny Wang
Cheng Yi ran away: "I leave this to you!"
He disappeared into the bamboo forest nearby.
How could Zhou Shaojin care about him
He walked quickly forward and knelt down to greet Nanny Wang.
Nanny Wang supported Zhou Shaojin, but glanced at the rustling bamboo forest and said, "Second Miss, you are embarrassing me!"
"Madam, you are too polite!" Zhou Shaojin had cold sweat on his back. He bowed halfway but couldn't squat down anymore and was held up by Madam Wang.
She had no choice but to stand up.
Nanny Wang looked at her with a smile, and the wrinkles on her face deepened: "Second Miss, the old lady asked me to tell you to come over."
Zhou Shaojin couldn't hide his astonishment.
Nanny Wang was my grandmother's wet nurse. She followed my grandmother from Jingzhou Prefecture to Jinling City. After the old man passed away, she helped my grandmother manage the household, raise children, and manage general affairs. She was a person who made great contributions to the fourth branch of the Cheng family. Not to mention the old lady Guan and the two uncles, even the eldest master of the eldest branch would stand up and respectfully call her "Nanny Wang" when he saw her.
She was already over seventy years old, and logically should have been sent out to live in retirement. However, her only son died young, and she could not leave the mansion, so she had been serving her grandmother in the mansion. The couple were rarely together, and they had no children. Her husband had also passed away, and there was no one to take care of her after she left the mansion. Her grandmother asked her to adopt an adopted son, but she said she was afraid of trouble and did not want to. So her grandmother allocated a yard of two or three acres for her in the west wing, appointed a maid and a woman to serve her, and left a message that if she passed away in the future, Cheng Yi would dress her in hemp and carry her coffin to the grave.
From then on, Cheng Yi ran away whenever he saw her.
Nanny Wang usually stays in her own yard and doesn't come out. Why would she come to deliver a message to my grandmother today
Zhou Shaojin suppressed the confusion in his heart, smiled and asked Nanny Wang to sit down in the main room. He let Shi Xiang and Chun Wan help him wash and dress up, and picked out a rose-red boa that the old lady liked, a bean green plain Xiang skirt, a mung bean-sized pearl headband, and rice-grain-sized red gold earrings.
As soon as she left the inner room, she was praised by Nanny Wang: "The second young lady is really pretty. I don't know who will be lucky enough to marry her in the future."
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised.
Although Nanny Wang is old, she has been cautious throughout her life and has never said the wrong thing. But now she suddenly said something like this... Did someone mention her marriage
She thought of Cheng Lu's mother, Mrs. Dong. When she held her hand and said that she was "suitable for a family and a home", Nanny Wang seemed to have said something similar.
Could it be that Mrs. Dong came to visit my grandmother
Zhou Shaojin felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on his heart. He felt suffocated and a little breathless, but he still had to lower his eyelids, put on a shy look, and whispered, "Mammy, you're joking."
Nanny Wang laughed a few times and said nothing more.
The group left Wanxiangju in silence and headed towards Jiashutang where Old Lady Guan lived.
On the way, everyone who met them stepped aside and bowed, but Zhou Shaojin's hand that was twisting the handkerchief never let go.
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O(∩_∩)o…
※(To be continued)