Jiashu Hall is located to the east of the fourth room and is the upper room of the fourth room. Mrs. Guan is a widow. After the old man passed away, according to etiquette, she should move to Jingxing Pavilion to the west, but at that time the children were still young and there were no elders in the family, so she didn't care about this. When Cheng Mian got married, Mrs. Guan wanted to vacate the upper room for the eldest son who was supposed to support the family, but Cheng Mian was unwilling to do so - Jingxing Pavilion was to the west of the fourth room, next to the fifth room. The fifth room was restless all day long. He was afraid of disturbing his mother, and even more afraid that his mother would hear the noise and cause trouble.
After discussing with Cheng Yuan and the Yue family, he moved the new house into Hanqiu Pavilion behind Jiashu Hall.
This was the first time he made a decision. Old Lady Guan couldn't refute her son's words, and she also wanted to avoid the troubles in the fifth room, so she continued to stay.
When Zhou Shaojin walked into Jiashu Hall, the morning mist had dissipated. Green willows were drooping lightly, osmanthus trees were shady, crape myrtles, roses, winter jasmine, and oleander were in full bloom, and the scent of grass and wood was mixed with a faint floral fragrance, which made people feel refreshed.
The one who came to greet them was Si'er, the head maidservant beside Old Lady Guan.
She was wearing a scarlet summer cloth bodice and had a sweet smile on her round face. She knelt down from a distance to greet Zhou Shaojin and the others, saying, "Second Miss, the old lady is waiting for you."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded to her, then walked into the main hall.
Old Lady Guan was sitting on a low couch with a backrest inlaid with red-painted Lingshan stone in the main hall, holding the hand of Zhou Chujin who was standing in front of the couch and talking to her.
She is fifty-six years old, with gray hair. She looks five or six years older than her actual age. She is wearing a royal blue jacket with cloud pattern and floral patterns.
Hearing the noise, she turned her head.
There was a kind smile in his gentle eyes, loving and kind.
Zhou Shaojin's tears suddenly welled up.
She hurriedly lowered her head, knelt down and saluted, calling out "Grandma", but her voice was unconsciously choked with sobs.
Old Madam Guan laughed and said, "You've been locked up for a few days. You must have felt wronged. Come, come to your grandmother."
Zhou Shaojin took a few steps forward.
The maids hurriedly brought in two embroidered cushions and placed them in front of the low couch.
Old Lady Guan grabbed a handful of silk candy from the box on the table and gave it to her. She said, "This is something your cousin Gao specially asked his classmates to bring back from the capital as a gift to me. It's very sweet. You should try some too."
The old lady likes children and always carries some candies with her. When she meets a child, she grabs a few and gives them to them. All the children in the mansion, whether they are masters or ladies or maids and servants, like her.
Being treated like a child like this, Zhou Shaojin's nervousness suddenly disappeared. Instead, he felt like he was being pampered, and tears couldn't help but well up in his eyes again.
"You child, you are fine, why are you crying?" Old Lady Guan handed her a handkerchief and said, "If you have anything to say, you should talk to her nicely! Will crying make you better? Stop crying now!"
The old lady has experienced many separations and deaths, and she hates others crying the most.
Zhou Shaojin wiped his eyes and said with a smile, "I haven't seen grandma for a few days. I miss her delicious food!"
Old Lady Guan saw that although she was smiling, there was still some moisture in the corners of her eyes, just like the rain hitting pear blossoms, which made her look delicate and sad. She couldn't help but feel pity for her and said softly, "You can't cry like this all the time! A girl may shed two tears occasionally, but they are just golden beans. If she keeps crying, they are just water, which is nothing special."
Zhou Shaojin was slightly stunned.
As far as she could remember, this was the first time her grandmother had taught her how to be a good person and do good things.
She had always had a very delicate relationship with her grandmother. She wanted her grandmother to like and value her, but she also felt that she was just her grandmother's granddaughter in name only. No matter how well-behaved, sensible, considerate and gentle she was, she could never compare to her sister who was related to her grandmother by blood.
Her grandmother also treated her and her sister differently.
He has always been kind to her.
But he is very strict with his sister.
When she was young and ignorant, she didn't realize it. But when she grew up, she knew that sometimes strictness is also a kind of love, even a deeper love than leniency. After she knew about her relationship with the Cheng family, she began to feel uncomfortable. She tried not to see her grandmother as much as possible, and stayed in the house as much as possible...
What's wrong with grandma today
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but smile and said, "Thank you for your teaching, grandma. I'll remember it."
Grandma smiled and nodded, looking very pleased, and said to the people in the room: "This child really needs to grow up. Look at Shaojin, this is the first time he has spoken to me so clearly."
Everyone laughed.
Zhou Shaojin was thinking about how he used to be submissive in front of his grandmother, and seemed to be lost in thought.
Old Madam Guan pointed at the embroidered cushion and asked them to sit down, and the maids brought up tea and snacks.
Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin sat down, but Nanny Wang sat halfway.
Old Madam Guan smiled and shook her head. She was too lazy to argue with her and said to Zhou Shaojin, "I heard from your sister that you are much better now. Tomorrow, the wife of Mr. Wu, the prefect of Jinling, will bring her children to pay her respects to me. You can come and meet them with your sister then!"
Zhou Shaojin was surprised and delighted, and asked, "Me, me?"
"Yes!" Zhou Shaojin's appearance pleased Old Lady Guan, who teased her, "Is there another Zhou Shaojin here?"
"Yes, yes, yes." The thing that she had been thinking about for a long time suddenly came true. The joy was beyond words. Zhou Shaojin said hurriedly, "I will help my sister to entertain the guests then." Before she finished speaking, she felt a little strange. She was still sick, so why would her grandmother suddenly let her meet guests? She couldn't help but look at her sister.
Her sister was smiling and winking at her.
Zhou Shaojin understood—her sister must have said something for her in front of her grandmother.
She felt dizzy as if she had been knocked down by great happiness.
"Sister," she couldn't help but say, "thank you so much!"
Zhou Chujin pursed her lips and smiled.
Old Madam Guan looked at them and smiled widely: "That's right! Two sisters should be affectionate and polite to each other." She then said to Zhou Chujin: "Are you satisfied now? You two sisters, come with me to meet the guests tomorrow!"
"Thank you, grandma!" The two sisters stood up at the same time and bowed to Grandma Guan.
"Go! Go!" Old Madam Guan frowned and pretended to be annoyed. "You're making my head hurt. Please stop and let me be quiet!"
Zhou Chujin giggled and pulled Zhou Shaojin back away.
"This child!" Old Lady Guan said to Nanny Wang with a smile still on her face, "She always thinks of her sister no matter what she does." After that, her smile slowly turned into loneliness, and she sighed, "However, this is also the cause planted by Zhuang, and she got this good result. I don't know whether I should be happy with this child or feel sad for her hard work."
When the servants in the room saw that Old Madam Guan and Nanny Wang were talking in private, they all retreated quietly.
Nanny Wang advised, "Every sip and every bite is destined by heaven. You don't have to worry too much. I think the eldest daughter is blessed, otherwise how could she meet Zhuang? If the master had not married Zhuang, the eldest daughter would not have been able to grow up under your wing."
"That's true." Old Madam Guan has always been broad-minded, otherwise she wouldn't have lived to this day in good health. She immediately became happy when she heard that, and said with a smile, "The thirteenth master of the Liao family has come here specially at the request of their eldest master. He wants to set the date for the wedding of Chu Jin and the Liao family's son-in-law. The master has agreed, and the letter to the son-in-law is on the way. I believe that they can get married as soon as the mourning period is over. When I find a good marriage for Shao Jin, my mission will be completed." After she finished speaking, she felt quite relieved.
Nanny Wang smiled slightly as she listened, and said, "Speaking of the Second Miss, I feel that given her personality, she is not suitable to be a clan wife or the eldest daughter-in-law. She would be best suited to be the second son or youngest son of someone's family."
Old Madam Guan agreed and said, "I think so too. She always keeps things to herself when encountering problems. She is also sensitive and worried, and she gets sad easily. It's fine at home. If she gets married, I'm afraid she won't be able to withstand the cold eyes of her mother-in-law. This time, there is an eldest son, who is usually not valued. The strong-willed mother-in-law will naturally torture the eldest daughter-in-law, and it is not her turn to set rules. The youngest son is usually the apple of his mother's eye, and most of them are a little spoiled. Shao Jin has a gentle personality and is tolerant. The couple will definitely respect each other. The mother-in-law will look at the youngest son for the sake of her, They won't deliberately embarrass her, and maybe when the family is divided, they will secretly give them some of their own money. I think we should not only find a second son or a youngest son, but also one with a simpler family. She can't handle too many people and things." As she said this, the old lady laughed to herself and said, "We are worrying about her here, but maybe it's in vain. Look at her appearance, I'm afraid any man would hold her in his hands. How many mothers can beat their sons? When the time comes, we just need to find her a family that values children."
Nanny Wang also laughed and said, "I'm already this old. Apart from Zhuang, the second young lady is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. That's why I always say that the eldest young lady has a kind personality. If it were someone else, even a sister, so what? I'm afraid they wouldn't tolerate it either! Why does the eldest young lady of the third room always want to compete with the second young lady? I'm afraid it's because of this."
Old Mrs. Guan couldn't help laughing.
Nanny Wang asked, "What do you think of the Second Young Master?"
"Yier?!" Old Mrs. Guan was stunned.
"Yes!" Nanny Wang said with a hint of meaning, "When I went to tell the Second Miss about this, she came out of the study. I seemed to see Second Master Yi hiding in the bamboo forest... But my eyes are blurry, so maybe I saw it wrong..."
Old Mrs. Guan’s face darkened.
Zhou Shaojin is twelve years old and Cheng Yi is fifteen years old. Although they are cousins, live in the same house and are very close to each other on weekdays, it is time to avoid suspicion.
"Don't try to fool me!" She said bluntly, "I know you saw it. Have you found out what happened?"
"In my opinion, you'd better let nature take its course." Nanny Wang said implicitly, "We watched the Second Miss grow up. If nothing else, she is very teachable. If we teach her carefully, even if she can't make up her mind like the eldest Miss, she will definitely be obedient and follow the rules. It's better than marrying her blindly and not knowing her background. We can also take this opportunity to find a good marriage for Master Gao!"
Old Madam Guan was so shocked that she sat up all of a sudden. She asked in panic, "You mean, Gao'er?"
Nanny Wang smiled and said, "I noticed that since the second young lady became ill, the master would ask about her condition every day..."
Old Mrs. Guan said nothing, but frowned and carefully stroked the rim of the blue and white tea bowl.
Nanny Wang leisurely drank a sip of tea.
She has said everything she should say. As for what the outcome will be, it depends on what the old lady decides.
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※(To be continued)