The pavilion was a bit messy, with wood piled everywhere. Cheng Chi, wearing a green lotus-colored gauze Taoist robe, was chiseling the grooves of a piano with a shining chisel.
There was a faint scent of sandalwood floating in the air.
Nanping knelt down and saluted, saying respectfully: "Fourth Master, the second young lady of the Zhou family from the fourth room just came over and left a letter for you."
"Put it there!" Cheng Chi looked indifferent. He carefully looked at the piano body in his hand for a moment and carefully chiseled it a few more times.
"Yes!" Nanping responded respectfully and retreated quietly.
There was a gentle chiseling sound coming from the pavilion, one after another, neither fast nor slow, neither high nor low, and each sound had no variation, as if repeating the previous one. When I first heard it, it was just monotonous, but after a long time, it became like the chirping of cicadas in summer, making people feel irritated. After hearing a few more sounds, I wanted to run up and shout to make the sound stop.
Huaishan frowned, his expression becoming increasingly stern. Just when he was about to be unable to bear it anymore, the pavilion suddenly became quiet.
He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Cheng Chi was holding the body of the zither and looking at it from left to right. After a while, he frowned in annoyance, put down the body of the zither in his hand, muttered "failed again", and then threw the chisel on the long table beside him.
His eyes couldn't help but sweep over the letter on the long table.
The envelope was made of gold-sprinkled paper from Xiaoshan Congguiyuan.
He remembered what Nanping had just said and tore up the envelope.
Shock, astonishment, suspicion... He opened his eyes wide and read the letter again from beginning to end.
Still the same few words, still the same content... Cheng Chi couldn't help but burst out laughing.
She actually told herself so nakedly, she couldn't understand!
How many years has it been since someone spoke to me like this
How many years has it been since someone has been so frank with me
He laughed out loud.
Huaishan leaned over and saw Cheng Chi just holding the letter sent by Nanping and laughing, then he shrank back with an expressionless face.
Cheng Chi put the letter on the long table.
When the wind blew in, the letters rustled, as if they were carried away by the wind.
Cheng Chi picked up a piece of wood and pressed it down. He called Nan Ping in and said, "Go to Wanxiangju again and tell the second young lady of the Zhou family that you can send someone to personally deliver the return gift to Miss Zhu. Then tell her that Zhu Pengju got married five years ago, but in the second year of marriage, his wife had a miscarriage and was injured. Since then, no medicine has worked and she has been bedridden. Because of this, she has not been conferred a title until now. In March of this year, the imperial physician from the capital has already said that she will not survive this winter. The Duke of Liang's Mansion has already prepared a coffin and mourning clothes for her."
Nanping was shocked.
Fourth Master, don’t you usually care about these things in the mansion
how…
She looked up and saw Cheng Chi's clear eyes.
Nanping hurriedly lowered his head, replied "yes" respectfully, and stepped back.
But when he was about to reach the entrance of the pavilion, Cheng Chi called him back.
She waited quietly for Cheng Chi's instructions.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Call Jiying in! I want to make a piano, and I need someone to serve tea and water."
"Fourth Master!" Nanping looked at Cheng Chi, her eyes flashing with watery light.
Cheng Chi's voice suddenly softened, and he whispered, "You should leave now!"
"Yes!" Nanping responded in a deep voice and walked out of the pavilion.
Cheng Chi suddenly felt upset and walked out of the pavilion with his hands behind his back.
Huaishan lowered his head.
Cheng Chi let out a long sigh and said, "Come with me for a walk around here."
Huaishan said nothing, but followed Cheng Chi silently, heading south along a small path beside him.
Jiying appeared next to the pavilion.
She looked around and didn't see Cheng Chi and Huaishan. She smiled with relief and tiptoed into the pavilion.
The letter was like a butterfly nailed to the long table, fluttering its wings.
She quickly looked around the pavilion, made sure there was no one there, and then carefully picked up the letter.
Unable to believe it, she read the letter again...
Ji Ying couldn't help laughing, and said with a sense of pride and gloating: "Cheng Zichuan, ah Cheng Zichuan, you have come to this day! I made you speak in a roundabout way, I made you sneakily plot against others, and someone bluntly said you didn't understand... If it gets out, I don't know where you, the Fourth Master Cheng, will put your face..."
As she spoke, her expression suddenly tensed and she turned around.
Cheng Chi and Huaishan, who had disappeared just now, had stood in front of the pavilion's gate at some point.
"Fourth Master, Fourth Master!" Ji Ying showed some fear in her expression, and said in panic, "I, I..." Her eyes fell on the letter in her hand... She immediately put the letter on the long table as if it was a hot potato, and pressed it with a piece of wood, restoring the scene exactly the same as before, and said, "I saw it fly out, so I helped pick it up..."
She lied without blinking.
"Thank you!" Cheng Chi smiled and nodded, as if he believed her words without a doubt, and said, "I just failed again, and I'm in a bad mood, so I went out for a walk and plan to come back to continue making the violin... I think this is a good idea, since you are here, don't rush to leave, watch me make the violin, maybe you can find out what I did wrong... If you really can't help, you can help me serve tea or pour water... I just realized that making a violin is also a physical job..."
"No!" Ji Ying's face turned pale in an instant, his eyes rolled around, and he looked like he would run away if he found an opportunity.
Cheng Chi laughed and said, "What did you say just now? I didn't hear it clearly!"
Ji Ying's lips twitched, but she didn't even dare to say "no". She looked at Cheng Chi with a hint of pleading in her eyes. She was completely different from when she was facing Nan Ping just now. There was no trace of coldness in her look. If someone saw her for the first time, they would think she was a young wife who had suffered a lot of grievances.
Cheng Chi seemed not to see it. He walked in with a smile, stood in front of the wood, and began to select the wood.
Jiying looked at Huaishan pleadingly.
A trace of sympathy flashed across Huaishan's eyes, but he said nothing and walked away with his head down.
Ji Ying stared at Huai Shan's back with resentment, and after a while she murmured to Cheng Chi, "Fourth Master, I... I'll be waiting outside the house. If you have anything to say, just call me..."
"You just need to stay here." Cheng Chi continued to carry the wood, and said nonchalantly, "It's windy outside. What if you catch a cold..." As he spoke, he inexplicably thought of the little girl from the Zhou family.
His eyes were as clear and bright as a pool of spring water, but his face was full of nervousness but pretending to be calm... "Azhu said that Liu Yong is very powerful now... Uncle Chi, you have to be careful"... His voice was soft and sticky, like the wine-making dumplings eaten during the Chinese New Year... When she wrote to herself saying that she didn't understand what she was saying, I wonder if she was also nervous but pretending to be calm like this... His expression became gentle, and his smile became kind, and he said, "It just so happens that I have a piece of scrapped pine wood here, you can take it and make me a pot of tea here..."
Jiying looked on with fear.
The more gently Cheng Zichuan smiled, the angrier he felt inside... She had only sneaked in to read an unimportant letter from him, so she wouldn't be so unlucky to run into his trap, would she
The sound of chiseling could be heard one after another.
Jiying wishes she could die!
Zhou Shaojin from Wanxiangju stared at Nanping in amazement and did not come back to his senses for a long time.
What does it have to do with me whether Zhu Pengjucheng is married or not
What does Uncle Chi mean by this
Zhu Pengju’s wife was not given a title... In her previous life, when she was in the capital, there were such situations, but it didn’t say that she would not be given a title just because of a minor illness, right
Is Uncle Chi trying to tell her that the title of Duke of Liang is not as glorious as they see it, or is he simply telling her that Zhu Pengju's wife has not been given a title
However, if Zhu Pengju's first wife died, his second wife could immediately ask the Ministry of Rites for an imperial decree...
Thinking of this, Zhou Shaojin jumped up suddenly.
Could it be that Uncle Chi wanted to tell her... that Zhu Pengju had taken a fancy to her
It was as if a huge wave hit her, making her dizzy and unable to tell east from west.
how so
I must have misunderstood!
On the day of the Ghost Festival, she didn’t see Zhu Pengju at all... No, the first time she saw Zhu Pengju was when Uncle Chi and she were drinking tea in Sanzhixuan... If he had taken a fancy to her, why did he give her a gift only today, and her sister was engaged... Could it be Cheng Jia... What should Li Jing do then
She shuddered.
She wanted to ask Nanping in detail what was going on, but looking at Nanping's gentle and smiling face, she felt that Uncle Chi had said so much, and if she still asked... it would be too stupid.
Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to thank Nanping and sent a maid to see her out.
But as soon as Nanping left, she immediately grabbed a pair of purses and sent Fan Liushi to deliver them to Ah Zhu in the Duke of Liang's mansion, repeatedly instructing her: "Don't say anything if someone asks you anything, and give the things to Ah Zhu in person when you see her."
Fan Liu thought it was some secret between the sisters, so she agreed with a smile and went to the Duke of Liang's mansion with her purse.
Zhou Shaojin waited anxiously, and finally made it to the evening when Fan Liu came back.
She said in confusion, "I handed the things to Miss Ah Zhu in person. Miss Ah Zhu was very surprised and asked me why I gave her two purses. I said it was Miss's order, and Miss Ah Zhu happily accepted it. She also asked me to bring back two baskets of newly-released pears, saying that someone presented them to the Duke of Liang's Mansion, and asked me to bring them back for you, the eldest lady, Miss Jia, and the elders and relatives at home to taste."
In other words, the gift was not sent by Ah Zhu.
Zhou Shaojin felt very disappointed.
Without thinking, she ran towards the Osmanthus Courtyard on the hill.
It was still the breeze that stopped her.
Zhou Shaojin said: "Don't say you don't know me... I want to see Miss Nanping."
If she went to look for Cheng Chi like this, they would definitely say he was not there.
Qingfeng was angry and was about to speak when Zhou Shaojin glared at him angrily and said fiercely, "If you don't report it, I will stand here and shout loudly... I don't believe that you can still block my mouth."
In name, she is the guest and Qingfeng is the servant.
Qingfeng was so angry that the corners of his mouth trembled and he left in a huff.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
If Qingfeng really didn't tell her... even if she had the guts, she wouldn't dare to yell or scream at this moment!
That, that's too embarrassing.
Will she still want to see Uncle Chi in the future...
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My Christmas shopping has been ruined... I will continue to update tomorrow...
※(To be continued)