But how could she get close to Fourth Uncle Chi?
Even if she wanted to force her way in, she had to be able to actually squeeze through!
Zhou Shaojin sat at the large painting desk in her study, chin propped on her hand, pondering this problem.
Send shoes and socks?
That didn’t seem feasible.
Fourth Uncle Chi had Nan Ping at his side, whose needlework was probably even better than hers. Very likely, after she painstakingly made something, with Nan Ping as comparison, her work wouldn’t amount to anything at all.
Send food?
She’d already tried that.
And failed!
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but sigh.
Fourth Uncle Chi didn’t seem very interested in snacks.
Cook dishes?
Wouldn’t that be overstepping her bounds… and it would be too obvious. Fourth Uncle Chi might think she’d lost her mind.
Just thinking about it made Zhou Shaojin feel dejected. She had no idea what good approach to take.
She thought and thought, then asked Cheng Jia, “If you wanted to please someone, what would you do?”
Cheng Jia said, “Who do you want to please? Old Madam? I can see she quite likes you already.”
“No.” Zhou Shaojin certainly wouldn’t tell the truth, or else Cheng Jia would question her endlessly and might even tell Jiang Shi, which would make things troublesome. “I’ve just been thinking about this matter these days and wanted to know if you have any experience with it.”
“Oh!” Cheng Jia considered seriously. “I’ve tried to please my mother, my grandmother, and also my brother—does that count? I don’t think I did much, just acted a bit coquettish, and they all indulged me…”
Act coquettish?
No way.
Zhou Shaojin immediately rejected this idea.
Just imagining that scene made her feel it would be very jarring.
“Apart from that, you have no other methods?” Zhou Shaojin asked unwillingly.
“No.” Cheng Jia found Zhou Shaojin very strange. “We’re girls—why would we need to please people? Just get along well with others. Pleasing someone is too degrading.”
Zhou Shaojin fell silent.
She didn’t want to either!
But not degrading herself wouldn’t work.
Fourth Uncle Chi was practically impervious to all approaches.
Most importantly, he could go to the capital at any time.
This meant he could see Cheng Jing whenever he wanted.
That evening when she returned to her room to rest, Shi Xiang crouched by the bathing tub helping her wash her feet.
Zhou Shaojin watched and suddenly had a thought. She asked Shi Xiang, “What do you think it takes to make someone like you?”
Shi Xiang smiled. “Of course, serve them wholeheartedly and diligently.” After thinking for a moment, she added, “And be utterly loyal.”
All right!
Zhou Shaojin had to admit she’d asked the wrong person.
She went to ask her sister.
Zhou Chujin smiled. “Of course, you cater to their preferences!”
“Cater to their preferences!” Zhou Shaojin said thoughtfully.
Zhou Chujin smiled and didn’t engage further.
The next day, Zhou Shaojin went to Hanbi Mountain Villa a quarter hour earlier than usual. After paying her respects to Old Madam Guo, instead of going directly to the Buddhist hall, she went to Liyin Pavilion.
With Cheng Chi away in the capital, only Nan Ping and a few junior maids remained at Liyin Pavilion.
When Zhou Shaojin arrived, Nan Ping was leading those junior maids in making autumn robes for Cheng Chi. Seeing Zhou Shaojin, she set down her work and came forward with a smile. “Second Cousin Miss has come? Though it’s spring, the sun feels warm on one’s body but can easily cause sunburn. Second Cousin Miss, please sit here—it’s shadier on this side.”
It was already mid-summer, and the sun beating down on people carried real warmth.
Zhou Shaojin sat down with a smile.
Nan Ping personally served her tea and snacks.
After exchanging a few polite words, Zhou Shaojin broached her business with Nan Ping. “These coming days are my father’s birthday. I want to make him a few garments. Everyone says that with you in Fourth Uncle Chi’s household, even the Mansion’s sewing room has to hide its inadequacy. So I wanted to come see if there are any special styles or fabrics. I’d like to try making one for my father.”
Many people knew of Nan Ping’s excellent needlework. At first, many people asked her to make things for them. As a maid, she couldn’t afford to offend anyone, so she agreed to almost every request. Finally, Cheng Chi couldn’t stand it anymore and clearly showed his displeasure, and only then did those people stop seeking her out.
Perhaps Zhou Shaojin didn’t know about this?
Nan Ping thought to herself and, smiling, went to fetch several newly cut garments.
Zhou Shaojin could tell at a glance that Nan Ping was a master. The cutting of the sleeves and shoulders was extremely refined—she had only learned about this technique by chance when entering the palace once.