After Pan Qing left, Zhou Shaojin went to see Cheng Ji.
The old woman guarding the gate of Ruyixuan was in a very difficult situation.
Zhou Shaojin was not the kind of person who didn't know what was good for her. She discussed with the old woman, "Aunt Lu just told you not to let Cousin Jia come out, and not to let us go to play with her. You have to obey her when you serve her. I don't want you to go against your eldest wife's wishes. I just want you to go in and tell her for me. I will stand at the door and say a few words to Cousin Jia. I promise that if Cousin Jia doesn't step out of this threshold, I won't go in either... This should be okay, right?"
The old woman felt relieved and thanked Zhou Shaojin happily, "My cousin is so kind. I'll go and tell you right away." After that, she called the little maid to bring out a few stools and put them under the big tree at the door, and went to make a pot of tea, "My cousin, please sit here for a while, enjoy the cool air, and drink a glass of water. Don't get too hot."
Zhou Shaojin thanked him with a smile, and without any hesitation, sat down under the big tree.
Shi Xiang and others helped Zhou Shaojin fan herself and served her tea.
Cheng Ji ran out of the yard like a gust of wind.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly said, "You can't step out of this door - I promised that woman, you can't let me go back on my word!"
Cheng Ji chuckled, stood at the door and said, "That's a good idea! Let's talk here like this every day from now on."
"I don't have the time for that." Zhou Shaojin smiled. The maids hurriedly brought a small stool to the door, helped Cheng Jia to sit inside the door, served tea and snacks, and then waited in the yard from a distance.
Cheng Ji said: "I know Pan Qing is gone... Did you see her off? What did she look like? Was she still arrogant? I guess she must be discouraged. Didn't she always think she was pretty good? As if everyone would like her..."
Zhou Shaojin came to tell her about this.
She wanted to make Cheng Ji happy.
But since Cheng Jia already knew it, there was no need for her to say anything.
"I didn't go to see Pan Qing off." Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "I didn't have time..."
She recounted what had happened.
But Cheng Ji didn't believe it at all.
She felt that Zhou Shaojin did it on purpose, so she laughed out loud, feeling very happy, which also made Zhou Shaojin feel much better.
The two chatted for a long time, during which time there was a maid peeking out from a distance. Zhou Shaojin guessed that it might be Jiang's servant, but she pretended not to see it and continued to talk to Zhou Shaojin before getting up to say goodbye.
Cheng Ji was reluctant to leave: "When will you come to see me again?"
"I'm busy making winter clothes for my father these days," Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, "I'll come to see you when I'm free."
Cheng Ji's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said, "Is it like Sister Chu Jin's? Please make one for me too! That dress is so beautiful."
I knew it would be like this!
Zhou Shaojin felt as if sweat was coming out of his forehead.
Whenever Cheng Ji took a fancy to something of hers, he would ask her for it directly.
In her previous life, she had suffered a lot of such losses.
But in this life, she decided to reject her clearly.
The worst that can happen is that the two of them will have another fight!
"No, I'm not free!"
"How could you do this? Aren't we the best of sisters? I just asked you to make a dress for me..."
"Isn't it tiring to make clothes? I'm not an embroiderer, why should I make clothes for you when you need me? Since we are best sisters, shouldn't we be considerate of each other? Look at my sister, she thinks sewing will damage her eyesight, so she won't let me make clothes for her."
Cheng Jia's words were condensed.
Zhou Shaojin gently instructed the gatekeeper to pack up the stools and teacups, and returned to Wanxiangju.
But on the way back to Wanxiangju, when she passed Jiashutang, she met Mrs. Mian.
Mrs. Miao saw that she was wearing a moon-white plain silk jacket with a row of jasmine flowers in her bun. She looked so fresh and elegant that it was hard to take her eyes off her. She said, "Why don't you ask Mrs. Guo for leave tomorrow? I'll take you and your sister to our relatives' house for a drink tomorrow!"
"Ah!" Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide.
This never happened in my previous life.
Her clear eyes were like spring water, reflecting the figure of Mrs. Mian.
Mrs. Miao laughed and said, "The sixteenth young lady of the Gu family in Meihua Lane is getting engaged tomorrow. They have sent an invitation to Yunzhen Hall. Your grandmother meant that when your uncle Yuan graduated from high school last time, the Gu family sent a gift to celebrate. Now that the sixteenth young lady of the Gu family is getting engaged, we should also go and join in the fun."
Go to Gu's house!
The Gu family of Gu Qinghong in Meihua Lane... My grandfather once lived in the Gu family for some time and wanted to marry my mother to the Gu family... I wonder if anyone in the Gu family knows what happened back then... Maybe I can find out something from this... Even if I can't find out anything, the Gu family is the leader of the literati in Jinling City, and it is a very rare thing to be able to visit the Gu family...
Zhou Shaojin felt very excited when he thought about it, and immediately agreed, saying, "What will my sister and I wear tomorrow? Do you want to prepare some small gifts? I have some handkerchiefs, purses, fan bags, etc. with quite novel embroidery. How about I take them to Hanqiu Pavilion later to show you what's suitable?"
Her initiative pleased Mrs. Mian, who smiled and said, "We'll discuss it tonight."
Zhou Shaojin responded with a smile and returned to the courtyard where he lived.
Zhou Chujin was talking to Chixiang, and when he saw Zhou Shaojin, he smiled and said, "You're back just in time, tomorrow is Plum Blossom Lane..."
"I know!" Zhou Shaojin interrupted his sister with a smile, and said, "My aunt said that she would take us to the Gu family for the wedding banquet!"
My aunt had not mentioned taking Zhou Shaojin with her before. I wonder if it was my grandmother's idea or my aunt's sudden idea
Regardless of whether it was the former or the latter, Zhou Chujin had no intention of making her sister sad. She smiled and said, "Since you already know, I won't say any more."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly and told Zhou Chujin that Mrs. Mian asked them sisters to go to Hanqiu Pavilion in the evening.
Maybe he was afraid that his sister would make a mistake
After all, this is the first time my sister has accompanied my aunt to visit relatives.
The Gu family is a family with a long tradition of rituals, poetry and books. It is said that there are many rules. If you lose etiquette and are laughed at by others, it will be troublesome.
Zhou Chujin pondered it in his mind and agreed with a smile.
Zhou Shaojin asked his sister, "I heard from my aunt that the Gu family came to send gifts when my second uncle Yuan was in high school. Has the Gu family not had any weddings or funerals in the past few years?"
Favors are a two-way street.
It is understandable that the fourth branch has few members and no celebrations. But the young lady of the Gu family is the sixteenth in line, so they must be very prosperous and it is impossible that they have not invited guests in the past few years.
In her previous life, in her memory, the Fourth House and the Gu family had no contact.
Zhou Chujin said, "The Gu family is the in-laws of Madam Guo, and they are close to the eldest house. Last time, Second Uncle Yuan passed the imperial examination, and he went through the eldest house, so the Gu family sent a gift and didn't take it seriously. If there was something going on in the Gu family, they didn't send us an invitation. This time, Madam Yuan had something to ask my aunt, and when my aunt saw the invitation from the Gu family, she thought that since they sent a gift to give face to the eldest house, we should also show our support to the eldest house and go to the Gu family with a gift."
No wonder!
Zhou Shaojin suddenly realized.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Come to think of it, this matter is also related to you."
"Me?" Zhou Shaojin was very surprised.
"Yes!" Zhou Chujin said with a smile, "Mrs. Yuan asked my aunt to come over because she wanted you to help draw some patterns." She paused and added, "There are people who can do the embroidery work, as long as you come up with the patterns."
If it wasn’t like this, my sister probably wouldn’t have told her, right
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "I'll listen to my sister."
Zhou Chujin touched her head and said, "It is said that cousin Xiao is about to give birth, and Madam Yuan wants to embroider a swaddling cloth with a baby pattern for Maomao, the little girl of cousin Xiao. The people in the needlework room are just craftsmen after all, and Madam Yuan was not satisfied with any of the designs she made. When she saw the skirt you made for me last time, she wanted you to draw one for me—cousin Xiao is marrying her maternal family, the Yuan family of Tongxiang. I thought this matter would also be good for you, so I agreed to it for you."
This is not a difficult task for Zhou Shaojin.
She smiled and agreed.
When Old Lady Guan knew that Madam Mian was also taking Zhou Shaojin to Plum Blossom Lane, she held her hand and gave her instructions for a long while. When they arrived at Qiuhan Pavilion, Madam Mian picked out two pairs of purses from Zhou Shaojin's embroidery, and then took out her own gold ingots and put them in the purses: "Use this as a gift."
"How can this be possible!" Zhou Chujin refused again and again, "We can just pay for the gold as a gift ourselves."
Mrs. Miao smiled and said, "Since you are going out with me, you must listen to me. If you are filial, when you marry your ideal husband and your aunt is old, remember to write a letter to greet her during the holidays, and she will be satisfied."
If we continue talking, it will become a bit awkward.
Zhou Chujin took Zhou Shaojin to thank Mrs. Mian.
Mrs. Miao smiled and saw the two sisters off.
The next day, Zhou Shaojin wore a lake green plain silk jacket, and Zhou Chujin wore a lotus lilac plain silk jacket, and they got into the sedan chair with Mrs. Mian.
The sedan stopped at the side door.
Zhou Shaojin didn't understand what was going on, so he lifted the curtain and looked outside.
Yuan's sedan chair was getting closer.
It turned out that they were waiting for Yuan.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
How could she be so stupid.
Since the Fourth House went to the Gu family to give gifts because of the First House, it must have gone with the people from the First House.
I wonder if Cheng Xu will follow.
Don’t meet Cheng Xu.
Mrs. Miao had already asked the Zhou sisters to get out of the sedan chair and greet Yuan.
Zhou Shaojin followed his sister to meet Yuan.
Yuan nodded with a smile, and spoke to Zhou Shaojin more cordially than ever before: "… The pearl flower you are wearing today is very beautiful. Which jewelry store did you get it from?"
Is this because she begged me to draw a picture of playing babies for her daughter
Zhou Shaojin complained in his heart and smiled politely: "I don't know - I have kept it in my dressing table since I was a child."
Or, is it Zhuang's relic
Yuan thought about it and decided not to ask any more questions. She exchanged a few words with Mrs. Mian and then they got into their sedan chairs.
Meihua Lane is located in the east of Jinling City, very close to Shitou Lane, where Mrs. Guo’s parents lived, and only a stone’s throw away from the Zhou family’s ancestral home.
When they arrived, Meihua Lane was already filled with sedan chairs.
Someone ran over and asked, then opened the side door and let them go directly into the inner courtyard.
※
Today's update, sisters.
PS: I feel like the pink tickets are like carrots dangling in front of me. When I think I have eaten them all, they pop up again... I will continue to update tomorrow... Hehe...
※(To be continued)