Zhou Shaojin didn't want to meet Cheng Lu at first, but she suddenly remembered the old beggar and changed her mind and decided to go meet Cheng Lu.
The flower hall for receiving guests in the fourth room is inlaid with colorful glazed tiles. When the door is fully opened, the old locust tree outside the house provides shade and the flower hall is full of green, cool and refreshing.
Zhou Shaojin sat at the square table in front of the central hall, looking at Cheng Lu with a smile, and said, "Cousin Lu, what do you want to see me about?" His tone was as gentle and soft as before.
Speaking of which, this was the first time she met Cheng Lu so formally after her rebirth.
Just like in her memory, Cheng Lu always liked to wear royal blue clothes. But this time, he wore a single shirt made of Hang silk with a swastika pattern, dark blue Hang satin shoes, a flawless mutton-fat jade pendant hanging from his waist, and a green bamboo hairpin, which was simple and elegant, yet steady and dignified.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a slightly shy smile, and he glanced at Shi Xiang standing behind Zhou Shaojin, and said hesitantly: "I have something I want to talk to my cousin alone..."
If it were in the past, Zhou Shaojin would definitely consider whether this was in accordance with etiquette, but now, she just smiled faintly and said, "Shi Xiang is my personal maid. Is there anything that cannot be said in front of her? Cousin Lu, don't worry about it. She knows everything about me."
Cheng Lu was slightly stunned and couldn't help but look at Zhou Shaojin carefully.
Her skin is as white as snow, her eyebrows are curved, and she still looks gentle and submissive.
He felt that he was being a little overly suspicious.
From his understanding of Zhou Shaojin, she is not only cowardly, but also sentimental. She grew up reading "Nujie" and "Lienu Zhuan", and follows the rules and abides by the etiquette, and dares not make a mistake easily. Although he asked Cheng Yi to send her something, it was still a bit inappropriate to say it seriously. She has many maids and servants around her, and there is also a shrewd and powerful Zhou Chujin. He is afraid that his sending of things will fall into Zhou Chujin's eyes, which is already full of mistakes. It is reasonable for Zhou Shaojin to ignore him.
Thinking of this, Cheng Lu felt that it was a mistake for him to ask Zhou Shaojin to send away the servants as soon as she met him. It was no wonder that she refused politely. So he smiled and said, "I was overthinking. Since my cousin said so, I think Shi Xiang is also someone who can be trusted." Then, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Cousin, do you know that I have taken back all the properties under the name of the fourth house?"
This is the opening statement.
Since I wanted to know why Cheng Lu came, I naturally had to go along with what he said.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "I heard from someone. Uncle Bai died early, and cousin Lu has achieved fame and success. Naturally, he wants to bring honor to the family and support the family. It is only right for him to take back the property under the name of the fourth branch. I wonder why cousin mentioned this?"
Cheng Lu was quite surprised.
He didn't expect Zhou Shaojin to look at the matter this way.
Or maybe the other branches of the Cheng family think so too...
He was afraid of leaking the news, so he kept his mouth shut, fearing that others would suspect him and the fourth room, saying that he had become frivolous because of his sudden rise to power, and that he would turn against him and draw a clear line between himself and the fourth room...
Cheng Lu suddenly felt that he seemed to have done something wrong again.
He felt a little uneasy in his heart - he thought that after meeting Zhou Shaojin, he could lead Zhou Shaojin by the nose by telling him about this matter unexpectedly. However, after meeting Zhou Shaojin and saying only one sentence, he found that the things he thought he had in mind before were full of loopholes.
Cheng Lu looked at Zhou Shaojin with a cautious look in his eyes, and said half with emotion and half jokingly: "My cousin still knows my feelings."
Zhou Shaojin sneered in his heart.
In his previous life, he had said many such ambiguous words.
In this life, if he wants to fool me again, I’m afraid it won’t be that easy!
If you want to deal with Cheng Lu, you have to be more powerful than Cheng Lu.
Although Zhou Shaojin didn't know what it meant to be more powerful than Cheng Lu, she knew that at least she couldn't let Cheng Lu see through her at a glance and let Cheng Lu know what she was thinking.
Zhou Shaojin tried his best to smile, as he always did. He said nothing, and fought back against Cheng Lu's moves.
Cheng Lu did not suspect anything.
Zhou Shaojin is not good at speaking, and most of the time he is silent... and smiles shyly.
He smiled and said, "You also know about my family affairs... Although my mother is a virtuous woman, I don't have to worry about the affairs of the inner house, but I have to rely on myself for all the affairs outside. Before I passed the imperial examination, I only thought about having a good reputation. At least I can make decisions about family affairs by myself..."
In the past, Zhou Shaojin loved to hear such words the most.
So Zhou Shaojin lowered his eyelids.
She was afraid that Cheng Lu would see the disdain in her heart.
Cheng Lu didn't think much about it and said slowly: "I bought the house in Guanjie that your great-grandmother brought as a dowry from your uncle Zhuang, and I plan to give it to you when the time is right..."
Like a rock breaking the sky.
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Lu in astonishment and didn't react for a long time.
She never dreamed that Cheng Lu would so directly admit that he bought the house on Guan Street, and she never expected that he would actually say that he bought the house and planned to give it to her.
Cheng Lu, what does it mean
In his previous life, he had never mentioned the house on Guan Street.
Does he know that he already knows about the grudge between the Cheng and Zhuang families
If that was the case, why did he only mention the house on Guan Street and not the old beggar
Maybe he was just testing himself
See how you react!
Zhou Shaojin was confused. She couldn't guess Cheng Lu's intention and couldn't help but look at Cheng Lu.
Cheng Lu had a pair of big eyes with distinct black and white. At this moment, he was looking at her with a smile and a lingering gaze.
Zhou Shaojin shuddered, his mind suddenly became much clearer, and his thoughts started racing.
Cheng Lu didn't know that he was reborn, so he didn't know that he had seen through his true face. He still guessed at himself according to his previous personality. As long as she was the same as before, he would continue talking...
She acted as if she was at a loss, and murmured: "Cousin Lu, what are you doing, what are you doing..."
Cheng Wei smiled slightly and said, "I never thought that you also wanted to buy the house. I only found out about this yesterday afternoon when I heard Dahai say that someone from a pawnbroker wanted to buy the house... Since you knew that I bought the house, why didn't you tell me directly? It makes us cousins seem so distant... Are you feeling resentful towards me... Before, I was just a student with nothing, so how could I tell you anything... But it's different now. If you want to buy the house back for yourself, just let Ma Fushan tell Zhao Dahai. Regardless of the money, I will let the government transfer the ownership to your name... The house was originally intended to be given to you, and it's the same whether it's given to you a day earlier or a day later..."
I’m afraid it’s very different!
If he told her when she didn't know about this, she would believe that he just bought the Zhuang family's house on Guan Street by accident.
He told himself at this time that she believed he had done it on purpose.
Zhou Shaojin took a few deep breaths before he calmed down.
Cheng Lu, what a good trick!
He knew about my house on Chaguan Street, so he took the initiative and said that he had bought the house and was going to give it to me.
Does he know about the old beggar
Zhou Shaojin said, "Cousin Lu, thank you very much! I originally just thought that the house was once my mother's home, so I wanted to buy it back as a souvenir. Later, I found out that you bought the house, and I thought it was not in the hands of others, so I gave up the idea. Cousin Lu wants to give me the house, but I don't think it's necessary - it's too small, and I may not be able to use it in the future, but it happens to be next to Cousin Lu's ancestral home. Cousin Lu has passed the imperial examination and will definitely have a lot of social activities in the future. If the house is expanded, it will be more decent. I think it's better for Cousin Lu to keep the house for himself. I appreciate Cousin Lu's kindness."
"But, that is your family's property after all..." Cheng Lu hesitated.
"All things in the world belong to those with virtue." Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "Now that cousin Lu said so, what about the antiques and gold and stone artifacts that the Cheng family has collected?"
Cheng Lu laughed heartily and said, "Second cousin is right. It is me who is vulgar."
Zhou Shaojin also laughed.
Cheng Lu asked her, "I never thought that our two families lived next door to each other in the past. If my cousin hadn't wanted to buy that house this time, I would have never known about it in my life."
Zhou Shaojin practiced Tai Chi with him and said with a smile, "I also discovered it by accident when I returned to my ancestral home during the Dragon Boat Festival. I heard from Ma Fushan that my mother didn't have a good relationship with Uncle Zhuang when she was alive, so my father let me live with my sister in Cheng's house. I thought that my father was an official outside and had seen a lot. Since he didn't want me to associate with Uncle Zhuang, there must be some grudges that he didn't want me to know about, so it's better for me not to know."
Cheng Lu's eyes flickered, and he said, "But after all, this is your in-laws' business. Don't you want to go and take a look at the house on Guan Street?"
"The grace of giving birth is not as good as the grace of raising a child." Zhou Shaojin said tactfully, "When my mother passed away, I was still in my infancy and I don't remember what she looked like at all. My sister told me everything about my mother. Now that I have my grandmother, my aunt, and my sister, I don't think about my mother very often."
Cheng Lu sighed and said, "After all, she is the one who gave birth to you. You have half of her blood in you..."
Zhou Shaojin was silent for a long time, and then whispered, "How can a girl in the boudoir walk around freely? Even if I want to go and see, I have to wait until I get married and can be the head of the family before I go and see. Anyway, my mother has passed away for so many years, and the things she left behind are gone long ago, so there is no need to waste a little time."
This is Zhou Shaojin.
After putting everything on your shoulders, you don't realize that some things are fleeting.
Cheng Lu smiled and nodded, saying: "In that case, I will keep the house in Guan Street for you for now. Maybe... you can do whatever you want with it in the future... Like you said, it won't make a big difference in the short term... There are still two or three years before you come of age..." To the end, his voice gradually lowered, full of longing, as if he was talking to himself, or as if he was motivating himself.
Zhou Shaojin managed to restrain himself from throwing the teacup at him.
She had seen despicable and shameless people, but she had never seen one as despicable and shameless as Cheng Lu!
※
Sisters, tomorrow's update will still be around 3 pm... O(∩_∩)O~... I can use my lunch break to write, which will reduce the pressure.
※(To be continued)