Mrs. Mian in the room laughed and said, "No wonder your aunt Lu is in charge of the third house. No one in the whole house can compare to her in terms of cleverness." As she spoke, she opened the box.
There are eight hairpins in total, all of which are made of gold and jade. Two pairs of mutton-fat jade are inlaid with auspicious cloud hairpin heads; two pairs of Hetian jade are inlaid with peace gourds; two pairs of jadeite are inlaid with treasure vase hairpin heads; two pairs of agate are inlaid with magnolia hairpin heads. The mutton-fat jade is flawless, the Hetian jade is moist and delicate; the jadeite is emerald green; the agate is bright and beautiful, all of them are exquisite.
Mrs. Miao gasped and said, "What a big deal!"
Zhou Shaojin suddenly thought of Li Jing.
She couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'm afraid it's just Aunt Lu doing a favor for her, borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha!"
Mrs. Miao didn't understand for a moment.
Zhou Shaojin pointed to the east of the third house and said, "Didn't the tailor say that? Mr. An's nephew and grandson came to visit Mr. An, and there were several carts of gifts..."
Mrs. Miao laughed and said, "You are so clever. You take what others say to heart."
Zhou Shaojin laughed.
Mrs. Miao closed the box and said, "Put it away! No matter what, it's a good thing. You can use it as a dowry in the future."
The two of them put away the box with red faces.
In the evening, Cuihuan came to deliver a letter to Zhou Shaojin: "Our eldest wife has agreed that the young lady can go to the Duke of Liang's mansion to celebrate the Zhongyuan Festival, and the clothes and jewelry are ready. Our young lady said that she will come to invite you and the eldest lady when the time comes."
Zhou Shaojin nodded, and they got up in the morning on the Ghost Festival to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, and then they waited for Cheng Jia in the house.
But after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of her, so Zhou Chujin asked, "Could it be that she changed her mind and doesn't want me to go?"
Zhou Shaojin asked Wanxiang to go and take a look.
Wanxiang came back and said, "Miss Jia went to say goodbye to Old An. Coincidentally, the cousin of Old An's mother's family also came to say goodbye to Old An. Cuihuan said that Miss Jia thought it had nothing to do with her, so she didn't send anyone to pass on a message to you. Who knew that Old An hadn't seen her mother's family for nearly 20 years, and she held the cousin's hand and talked nonstop. She couldn't just leave like that, so she asked you and the eldest lady to wait for her for a while, and she'll be here soon."
"Cousin?" Zhou Shaojin asked, "Li Jing?"
"I don't know his name." Wanxiang said, "It must be Li. Everyone who follows him calls him 'Uncle'."
Zhou Shaojin fell on the bed with joy, wrinkling her clothes and messing up her jewelry.
She deliberately wanted Cheng Ji and Li Jing to meet each other, and even asked someone to find out where Li Jing lived, but Cheng Ji and Li Jing met unexpectedly.
Even though it was when I said goodbye.
If they are destined to be together, they will meet again.
I have managed to fill in this loophole.
Zhou Shaojin chanted Amitabha in his heart.
Zhou Chujin came over and grabbed her: "Hurry up, we're about to go out. Look at you, what a mess you are in."
The heavy burden on his heart fell off, Zhou Shaojin felt relieved and became lazy.
She stood up with the help of her sister, took off her clothes and ironed them for Wanchun, but the image of Cheng Chi wearing a moon-white gauze Taoist robe flashed in her mind.
Uncle Chi certainly doesn't have to pay attention to whether his clothes are wrinkled every moment like she does, nor does he have to iron his clothes as frequently as she does.
※
That day they released lanterns beside Mochou Lake.
The moon was reflected on the lake, the lanterns on the lake looked like stars, and Mochou Lake turned into the Milky Way.
Cheng Ji and A'zhu only exchanged a few words, and the two became friends who could talk about anything - they went to release river lanterns hand in hand, whispered to each other, joked with Zhou Shaojin with a giggle, threw money to beggars on the roadside, one made faces while the other smiled and amused the child in the arms of a young woman... Zhou Shaojin and his sister Zhou Chujin, the seventeenth young lady of the Gu family, became the foil, but fortunately, the three of them were all quiet and peaceful, and it was quite joyful to see them making noise and laughing.
The people in the Duke of Liang's Mansion didn't think so.
Madam Gong kept wiping the sweat off her forehead and said to Zhou Chujin: "Ms. Cheng is really out of touch..."
Zhou Chujin always defended her family in front of outsiders. She pretended that she didn't understand what she said. She smiled gently and said, "My cousin is lively and cheerful. Not only do my sisters like her very much, but the elders in the family also treat her like a treasure. But she is also carefree. If her brothers and sisters like something good, she will just let them take it. She got the nickname 'Female Mengchang'... Naturally, she has a bit of a quirky personality."
Nanny Gong had no choice but to shut her mouth.
Suddenly there was a "bang" sound, lighting up the night sky in the east.
"Look, look!" Cheng Ji and Ah Zhu shouted at the same time, "Someone is setting off fireworks over there."
Zhou Shaojin, Zhou Chujin and Gu Shiqigu looked in the direction of the sound and saw purple, red, green and blue fireworks blooming in the air. They were colorful and beautiful.
"it's beautiful!"
Several people stopped to watch.
Other people also gradually discovered that someone was setting off fireworks in the east. Everyone told each other the news, and after a while, the crowded Mochou Lake became noisy. Whether they were women from wealthy families like them who were surrounded by a group of guarding maids to set off river lanterns, or ordinary people who were led by their parents and protected by their brothers, they all stopped to watch and uttered exclamations of admiration from time to time.
Zhou Shaojin closed her eyes and prayed to the Buddha for blessings, so that they could live in such a good life forever.
Someone nearby laughed and said, "Cousin, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to meet you here!"
Zhou Shaojin opened her eyes, turned around, and saw Cheng Xu's smiling face. She looked again and saw Cheng Lu, Cheng Nuo, Cheng Ju and several young men she didn't know standing not far behind him.
Cheng Xu is actually involved with Cheng Lu!
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised.
In his previous life, Cheng Lu once mentioned Cheng Xu, saying that Cheng Xu was a child of destiny. Not only was he of noble birth and handsome, but he was also extremely intelligent. He could remember things after just one reading, which others had to read several times before they could remember. He had a photographic memory and was proficient in the six arts of a gentleman. His father, who was one of the Nine Ministers, paved the way for him, so his future was naturally bright.
Cheng Lu also joked that people like Cheng Xu, who are too perfect, are like "gold that is too hard will break easily, and jade that is too hard will break easily", which is not necessarily a good thing...
She could faintly sense that Cheng Lu had some "if there is Yu, why Liang" feelings towards Cheng Xu, and was worried that Cheng Lu might have suffered some injustice in the academy, so she sent someone to inquire about it. The person who came back said that Cheng Lu and Cheng Xu were from two completely different circles. Cheng Xu had already achieved the title of scholar at an early age, and was the first in the case. Although he was young, he only made friends with people of equal status and seldom interacted with people in the clan school. Cheng Lu was the exact opposite of him. He was modest, prudent, tolerant and generous. He was very close to the teachers and students in the clan school, had a good relationship with people, and had some prestige.
At that time, she felt sorry for Cheng Lu, thinking that Cheng Lu was down-to-earth, not arrogant or impatient, much better than Cheng Xu. Cheng Xu just had a better father than Cheng Lu... But now thinking back, Cheng Lu was probably more jealous and envious of Cheng Xu...
But how come she was reborn, and things changed - in the previous life, Cheng Lu and Cheng Xu were like Peng and Phoenix, always separated by distance, but in this life, they actually got together... What happened? Why do things always change? She is overwhelmed!
She could find a way to get Cheng Ji back on track, but she didn't have the ability to take care of Cheng Xu's affairs? Moreover, even if she had the ability, she didn't want to care...
Zhou Shaojin shouted to his sister to come forward as if trying to cover up his mistake, and hid aside himself.
A hint of sadness flashed across Cheng Xu's eyes.
He didn't understand why Zhou Shaojin always avoided him.
Not to mention that he had a crush on Zhou Shaojin, even if he didn't, they were still relatives, so she didn't have to be on guard against him like a thief! Moreover, he was of a clean background, handsome, and willing to be humble in front of her, so how could she be so hard-hearted? Was she really like what Cheng Lu said, that she was too young to understand these things
Cheng Xu frowned.
Cheng Lu walked forward with a smile, bowed respectfully to Zhou Chujin, called her "cousin", and said, "Today is the Ghost Festival, and the clan school is on holiday. A few of my good friends and I made an appointment to go out to the temple fair and release river lanterns. I didn't expect to meet you."
His smile is gentle and his manners are elegant, like a modest gentleman, with a strong scholarly air.
Zhou Chujin smiled and exchanged a few words with him, and then Cheng Lu took Cheng Xu away.
Ah Zhu pulled Zhou Shaojin's sleeve and asked, "Who is that person?"
No matter who she asked, Zhou Shaojin felt terrified.
Cheng Lu has evil intentions, and although no one knows why, it is self-evident. And Cheng Xu is even more impetuous and frivolous, and can easily fall in love with others, so he is not a good match.
She was just thinking about how to answer Ah Zhu, when Cheng Jia curled his lips and said disapprovingly, "They are my two cousins. The tall one is the only son of my great uncle. You may have heard of him. He is Cheng Xu, Cheng Jiashan, the top scorer in the Guisi exam in the 16th year of Zhide. The thin one, the one who later spoke to my eldest cousin, is called Cheng Lu, with the courtesy name Xiangqing. He is this year's top scorer and a member of the side branch of the fifth house."
"Oh!" Ah Zhu's eyes sparkled.
Zhou Shaojin felt as if his heart had skipped a beat.
As if she wasn't scared enough, Ah Zhu asked Cheng Ji, "Are they engaged?"
"No." Cheng Ji said with disdain, "One asks about everyone's background first, and the other doesn't ask about anyone's background. Neither of them is a gentleman."
This time, not only Ah Zhu was puzzled, but Zhou Shaojin and others were also puzzled.
Cheng Ji smiled and said, "This is what my mother said. Xu Congxiong's maternal grandfather was from the Tongxiang Yuan family, so he likes to associate with children from the same family who are also passed down from generation to generation. Lu Congxiong is from the side branch of the fifth house, so he is very kind to others. So my mother said that Xu Congxiong's behavior will inevitably give people a sense of arrogance, making those who come from humble backgrounds jealous; Lu Congxiong's behavior is not good either, because it makes people think that anyone can befriend him, which lowers his status."
Jiang, you really have a keen eye.
There is a reason why the third room became the ultimate winner.
Zhou Shaojin was sighing when Ah Zhu inexplicably pulled Cheng Ji and ran away. While running, she said to Zhou Shaojin, Zhou Chujin and Gu Shiqigu: "Hurry up, I saw my brother!"
※
Today's update, sisters.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)