Zhou Shaojin, however, was still the same as before, visiting her parents every morning and evening, quiet and calm, doing some needlework in the morning and copying scriptures at Hanbi Mountain House in the afternoon.
But Jiuru Lane was, after all, a family of officials for generations, and many people had their own guesses about what Zhou Zhen's transfer meant, so they naturally became more attentive to the Zhou sisters.
At first Zhou Chujin was worried that his sister would show some complacency and cause the sarcastic maids and old women to gossip about her. But when he saw that Zhou Shaojin remained calm, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved.
Ah Zhu from the Duke of Liang's Mansion sent someone to deliver gifts to them.
Cheng Jia is a set of dolls of the Eighteen Arhats. There is a hole on the belly. When you press it, the Arhats will punch. Zhou Shaojin is a flower pattern, which records the new patterns popular in Suzhou and Kyoto in the past two years. It is stamped with a private seal. It is obviously printed and published by a young lady or a lady. It is very rare. The one given to Zhou Chujin is a set of 108-piece tableware made of glazed enamel, fired in the palace, used as a dowry, which is very decent.
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji were fine. Although the items were expensive, they were their hobbies after all, so it was not too much to think of a way to get them. But the tableware given to Zhou Chujin was too rare for Zhou Shaojin, not to mention Mrs. Guan from the fourth room.
The old man specifically called Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin over and asked them about their boating on the lake with Ah Zhu.
Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin did not dare to hide anything and told Grandma Guan everything, including every detail.
When Old Lady Guan heard that the Duke of Liang had given them four jade pendants as a gift, she was silent for a long while. After the sisters finished speaking, she asked, "Did Miss Ah Zhu send a gift to Miss Gu's Seventeen? If so, what was it?"
They really didn't think about it.
Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin exchanged glances and said in unison: "We will send someone to inquire."
Old Mrs. Guan nodded. Although she had a smile on her face, she didn't look happy at all.
In the afternoon, a reply came from the Gu family, saying that Ah Zhu had sent a maid to deliver a pair of homemade silver-inlaid pearl flowers.
Although it was also extraordinary, it was far inferior to the gifts given to Zhou Shaojin's sister and Cheng Ji.
Old Mrs. Guan fiddled with her Buddhist beads and said nothing.
Mrs. Miao's eyes kept wandering between Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin, and her expression did not show any sign of relaxation.
Zhou Shaojin intuitively felt that something had happened.
She asked her sister, and Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Maybe the gift from the Duke of Liang's Mansion is too expensive, and I don't know what other gift to give."
If it was in the previous life, Zhou Shaojin would have believed it. But in this life, she couldn't believe it - no matter how valuable the gift was, the inheritance of four families for a hundred years, or the rotten boat still had three pounds of iron, it wouldn't be so embarrassing!
Zhou Shaojin suddenly remembered the questions that Cheng Chi asked Nanping to ask her... Now that she thinks about it carefully, she feels that there is a hidden meaning behind it.
She thought about it and went to Ruyixuan.
Cheng Ji was just about to play with the gift that Ah Zhu had given her. Eighteen gold-foiled Arhats were lined up in a row, some were standing on a plain, some were standing on one leg, and some were cranes spreading their wings. She was having a great time playing with them. Seeing Zhou Shaojin, she happily waved at him and said, "Come and see my Arhats... Isn't it fun? My mother went to the storehouse to retrieve the gifts. This time I must surprise Ah Zhu too!"
Carefree like a child.
Zhou Shaojin asked her: "What did Aunt Lu say?"
She stared at the Arhats and said absentmindedly, "She didn't say anything... She just called me over to ask about the situation... Then she closed the door and discussed with my grandmother for a long time what gift to give in return... According to me, the red coral bead necklace that my cousin from the Li family gave me a few days ago should be given to Ah Zhu. It has the meaning of red, and the beads are the size of lotus seeds, and are inlaid with tourmalines. It is of good quality and perfect..."
For the first time, Zhou Shaojin disliked Cheng Ji for being heartless.
She swept Arhat into the wooden box beside her and said seriously, "I'm talking to you seriously, can you be serious too?"
Cheng Ji pouted in displeasure, but when she saw Zhou Shaojin's angry eyes, she quickly restrained her temper, sat up straight, and said, "Tell me! What do you want from me?"
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what to say for a moment. After a long while, she calmed down and said, "Did you tell me about the gift that the prince of the Duke of Liang sent us?"
"Yes!" Cheng Ji said, "My mother was very happy to hear that. She also asked us carefully about what kind of jade plaques we each chose. This morning, she also sent someone to the Gu family to inquire about what kind of gift Gu Shiqi had received. Later, when she found out that Gu Shiqi's gift was not as valuable as ours, my mother seemed even happier. Then, for some reason, she became worried again and sent someone to inquire about what your grandmother was going to give to Ah Zhu as a return gift, but it seems that she didn't find out..."
In other words, Jiang also felt that there was something wrong with Ah Zhu's behavior!
Zhou Shaojin felt that his brain was not enough.
She walked back and forth in Cheng Ji's room, twisting her fingers.
Cheng Ji whispered: "Shao Jin, you made me dizzy..."
"Then just close your eyes!" Zhou Shaojin said bluntly, and walked back and forth a few more times, and left as fast as the wind as he came.
Cheng Ji was stunned and hurriedly ordered Cui Huan: "Go and see what Shao Jin is doing?"
Cuihuan chased after him, and came back after about half an incense stick of time. She said, "Miss, the second young lady went to the Little Hill Conggui Courtyard!"
"Ah!" Cheng Ji opened his eyes wide and asked in confusion, "Why did she go to see Fourth Uncle Chi?"
Cuihuan didn't know how to answer.
Zhou Shaojin was also hesitating whether to go find Cheng Chi.
What if Uncle Chi just asked this casually? What should she do
But what if Uncle Chi knew something and intended to ask Nanping to warn her, but she didn't understand
Zhou Shaojin's fingers were almost twisted together.
A little Taoist boy came over, bowed his head and saluted her, saying, "Miss, who are you looking for?"
Zhou Shaojin took a closer look and almost laughed out loud.
A breeze is coming.
He was wearing a green gauze Taoist robe and had a stern face. He looked at her seriously, as if he didn't know her.
She returned his greeting jokingly and asked, "Is your fourth master here?"
Qingfeng said solemnly: "Our fourth master is out visiting friends. If you have anything to say, you can leave a message or come back tomorrow."
Like a little Taoist boy who practices with a hermit master.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help laughing.
Qingfeng raised his eyebrows in displeasure, looking like he wanted to be angry but didn't dare to.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't stop laughing.
A gentle voice sounded in her ear: "Qingfeng, stop being naughty, and invite Miss Second Cousin to come in and sit down."
Zhou Shaojin looked up and saw Nanping walking towards him wearing a moon-white scorched cloth vest.
Her jet-black hair was tied tightly into a bun, which made her features look even softer.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly smiled and called out "Miss Nanping".
Nanping smiled slightly and explained, "The fourth master is not at home, Qingfeng is on duty today, we have few guests here, he is not good at entertaining guests, please don't blame me if I am impolite."
"No way!" Zhou Shaojin saw that she was acting like a head of the family, so he politely said, "I came here uninvited, please don't blame me, Miss Nanping." When the time came, she calmed down instead - since she was already here, she couldn't just go back like this, right? If she was so fickle, wouldn't it be a joke? She simply said, "I don't know where Uncle Chi went? When will he be back? I have something to ask him, can Miss Nanping pass on a message to me?"
"Okay!" Nan Ping said cheerfully, "It's no problem to pass on a message." She said apologetically, "It's just that we really don't know where the fourth master has gone, let alone when he will be back."
No matter how great Nanping is, she is just a maid.
Zhou Shaojin just asked this question, and did not expect them to really know Cheng Chi's whereabouts. He smiled and thanked them, and asked Nanping to provide pen and ink: "... I will leave a few words for Uncle Chi."
Nanping didn't expect it was a message, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly returned to normal. He smiled and took her to a room the size of a warm room beside the path, helped her rub her black hair himself, then closed the door and left.
Zhou Shaojin told Cheng Chi directly what had happened in the past two days, and then asked him what Nanping meant by asking him to pass the letter to her, asking him to speak frankly if there was anything. She guessed for several days but couldn't guess it. She also talked about Jiang's reaction and said, "Uncle Chi, don't be perfunctory with me. Although I am not smart, I can tell from Aunt Lu's expression that this matter is not simple..." Finally, she sealed the envelope and handed it to Nanping.
Nanping smiled as he sent her down the mountain. He watched her walk away before turning around and walking deeper into Guiyuan on the hill.
Passing through the tree-lined corridor and around the rockery pavilion, one will see an old osmanthus tree beside the winding mountain road, which has been cut down to leave only its whiskered roots but has grown new trees.
Nanping walked around the old osmanthus tree, and suddenly a person appeared beside him.
"What are you going to do?" The man, dressed in black, grabbed Nanping's hand holding the letter like lightning and asked with a smile, "What is this? Is it for the fourth master? Or should I deliver it to him?"
Nan Ping's jade-white wrist immediately turned red, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, but she did not loosen her grip on the letter at all, and said calmly: "Ji Ying, although you and I are both the Fourth Master's maids, I have served the Fourth Master earlier than you. In terms of seniority, I am the elder, and you have to listen to me. If you feel wronged, I will report to the Fourth Master and ask him to send you home..."
The person who came was Ji Ying. When she heard the words, a trace of anger flashed across her cold face. She snorted, shook off Nan Ping's hand, and disappeared into the woods like a ghost.
Nanping let out a long sigh, stroked his wrist gently, then carefully used his sleeve to cover the redness and swelling on his wrist, and walked forward calmly.
After a while, a small pavilion appeared in front of us.
The gray eaves were tilted high, and the bowl-sized copper bells stood still.
Huaishan still looked sleepy, standing under the eaves with his hands in his sleeves.
"Uncle Huaishan." Nanping bowed to him respectfully.
Huaishan's gaze fell on Nanping's wrist which had been pinched by Jiying. After a while, he took a step back.
Nanping smiled and pushed open the door inlaid with colored glaze.
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Sisters, do you think that Christmas is coming soon? So you decided to give me a few days off, so there is no need to update tomorrow... o(∩_∩)o Haha... Then can I go shopping...
※(To be continued)