Zhou Shaojin began feeling somewhat dazed again.
The young maid who went to relay the message returned, smiling: “Second Miss Biao, the mung bean soup will arrive shortly.”
Zhou Shaojin smiled: “I almost forgot—the old lady instructed me not to eat iced things in summer. Never mind then.”
She didn’t want to stay long in Cheng Jia’s room.
Presumably, Li Jing would act as soon as he received the news. If she stayed too long, Jiang Shi would inevitably suspect her afterward.
She wasn’t afraid of Jiang Shi suspecting her—she feared implicating the First Branch.
Zhou Shaojin rose to take her leave.
Cheng Jia grasped her hand and pleaded: “Please take care of Cui Huan for me!”
She was still bedridden. Li Jing managing to spirit her away would be impressive enough—he couldn’t possibly take Cui Huan too.
Zhou Shaojin wasn’t a poor relative lodging with the Cheng family. She had the Zhou family’s hereditary servants attending her, making her better able to protect Cui Huan.
Zhou Shaojin nodded and returned to the side room where she and Grandmother Guo were staying.
Grandmother Guo was speaking with Old Lady Guan: “…Regardless of how that girl Jia’s illness is, I’m planning to depart and return home shortly. Their constant quarreling gives me a headache.”
Old Lady Guan also wanted to extricate herself. Grandmother Guo’s words suited her perfectly. She quickly said: “I’ll return with you!”
Grandmother Guo nodded.
Zhou Shaojin stepped forward and paid respects to Old Lady Guan.
Grandmother Guo said: “Your timing is perfect. I’ve already had the maids and servant women go pack. Go once more to the Third Branch and bid them farewell on my behalf.”
This way, the Third Branch would be even more convinced that Zhou Shaojin had come to inquire about Cheng Jia’s condition at Grandmother Guo’s behest.
Zhou Shaojin’s eyes stung slightly. She quietly responded “yes” and went to the Third Branch.
The Third Branch people indeed thought exactly this.
When Zhou Shaojin and the others finished packing, Cheng Lu and Jiang Shi personally came to see off Grandmother Guo’s party.
Grandmother Guo said little and directly boarded the carriage.
Zhou Shaojin, Grandmother Guo, and Old Lady Guan set off to return home.
The next afternoon, Cheng Lu, his face pale and legs trembling, burst into Hanbi Mountain House and knelt before Grandmother Guo: “Great Aunt, please quickly have Zichuan return! Cheng Jia is missing! Li Jing is missing too! That lecher Li Jing must have tricked Cheng Jia away. We can neither make this public nor report it to the authorities. I can only beg Zichuan. He’s managed the household affairs these years and knows people from all walks of life. Our Third Branch will pay—could you have Zichuan help me find Cheng Jia? I only have this one daughter…”
Grandmother Guo glanced at the composed Zhou Shaojin and said: “Rise quickly. I’ll send word to Fourth immediately!”
Cheng Lu nodded but couldn’t stand for a long while. Only when Nanny Lü helped him up did he stumble out of the main room.
Grandmother Guo sighed: “How pitiful are parents’ hearts!” She had Biyu fetch her token and asked the outer courtyard steward to arrange for someone to deliver a message to Cheng Chi.
But what no one expected was that a day later, Li Jing actually sent a matchmaker to formally propose marriage to Cheng Jia.
The matchmaker’s respectful attitude and the richness of the betrothal gifts astonished even the usually wealthy Third Branch.
Jiang Shi flew into a rage and stood up abruptly to throw the matchmaker out.
But Cheng Lu, though keeping a stern face, retained the matchmaker and accepted Li Jing’s horoscope card, saying to the matchmaker: “If he wants to marry our daughter properly, have him find a pair of wild geese for the betrothal gifts.”
Wild geese had become increasingly scarce, so marriage proposals now used domestic geese as substitutes.
The matchmaker was overjoyed.
Young Master Li had said that regardless of whether the marriage succeeded, merely making this trip would earn her a reward of ten taels of silver.
Jiang Shi couldn’t accept this.
As soon as the matchmaker left, she started quarreling with Cheng Lu.
Cheng Lu’s eyes reddened: “Then what do you want? Would you have that girl Jia become his concubine?”
Jiang Shi froze.
Old Madam Li, who usually stayed out of matters, heard the news and hurried over. Seeing Jiang Shi’s state, she smiled coldly with bitter sarcasm: “Do you despise Li Jing himself or despise his background?”
Cheng Lu shot her a cold glance.
Jiang Shi shivered.
She knew the situation was lost.
Her reason for opposition had always been Li Jing’s background. But Li Jing was precisely the mother-in-law’s grandnephew. Saying her mother-in-law’s grandnephew had poor origins—wasn’t that saying her mother-in-law was no good?
She collapsed dejectedly into the grand armchair, feeling she had raised a daughter for nothing.
That very afternoon, Li Jing sent over a pair of wild geese.
Three days later, the two families formalized the betrothal, and Jia was sent back home.