The next day, Jiang Shi called in a tailor to make clothes for Cheng Jia, selected several pieces of jewelry suitable for young girls from her own dowry, admonished her once more, and only then went to attend to Cheng Gao’s engagement matters.
Cheng Jia hurried to tell Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin was quite happy too, but at the moment she had no time to attend to Cheng Jia. “I have to go to Hanbi Mountain Villa to copy sutras. Let’s talk in detail when I get back!”
Cheng Jia looked at the water clock in the room. “It’s just past noon… What are you going there so early for?”
Zhou Shaojin had a flash of inspiration. “If I go early, I can come back early!”
Cheng Jia didn’t suspect anything amiss and quickly said, “Then go quickly and come back quickly.”
Zhou Shaojin had Shi Xiang keep Cheng Jia company while she hurriedly went to Hanbi Mountain Villa—she had just received word that Cheng Chi had returned.
She urgently wanted to know whether Ji Ying had returned to Cangzhou or had come back with Cheng Chi.
At Hanbi Mountain Villa, Huai Shan was directing young servants in unloading trunks and cases. Cheng Chi was in the room talking with Old Madam Guo.
Zhou Shaojin turned into the nearby tea room.
Biyu and Zhenzhu were sitting in the tea room talking.
Zhou Shaojin quickly asked, “Have you seen Ji Ying?”
“Yes!” Biyu smiled. “She went to her room with a dark face. I called to her but she didn’t respond.”
Zhou Shaojin’s heart sank. “Then I’ll go to the Buddhist hall to copy sutras first.”
Biyu saw her out the tea room door.
Zhou Shaojin went around from the back into Liyin Pavilion.
The door to Ji Ying’s side room was tightly shut. Several junior maids stood helplessly under the corridor, looking at each other.
Zhou Shaojin covered the distance in quick strides. She nodded composedly at the junior maids and gently tapped on Ji Ying’s window lattice. “Ji Ying, it’s me. What’s wrong? Open the door quickly!”
She thought she would have to tap on the window several times, but unexpectedly, as soon as her words fell, the window lattice opened with a creak.
Zhou Shaojin barely dodged in time to avoid hitting her face.
But how could she care about that? Ji Ying looked like vegetables that had been dunked in water—her whole person wilted. Her eyes were especially red and swollen. Fortunately, she spoke quite calmly. “You’re here! Come in and sit.” As she spoke, she went to open the door for Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin quickly asked, “What happened?”
Ji Ying closed the door again and sat with her on the arhat bed by the window, saying in a low voice, “When I went back, I saw Jiao Ziyang. He said our two families had already broken off the engagement, but that was his father’s idea. Other than me, he won’t marry anyone. He also told me to elope with him…”
“Absolutely not!” Zhou Shaojin’s face went white. She quickly said, “Those who are formally betrothed become wives; those who elope become concubines! You absolutely cannot do such a foolish thing. If you really want to marry him, you’d rather kneel and beg your parents than leave with him in such an unclear manner.”
Seeing Zhou Shaojin’s anxious expression, Ji Ying’s tense face showed a long-absent smile.
“I know.” Her voice was still low but carried more warmth. “I’m not stupid. Whatever he says is what it is. When I heard him say that, I thought, the reason I agreed to break off the engagement was because I had to serve as your Fourth Uncle Chi’s maid for ten years. Now that I’ve returned, Jiao Ziyang is unmarried and I’m unwed. Rather than elope with him as he suggested, I might as well persuade Jiao Ziyang’s father to agree to restore the engagement between Jiao Ziyang and me…”
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and praised, “You’re really capable! You immediately thought of a solution.”
Ji Ying smiled slightly. “Guess what I discovered when I went to the Jiao family?”
Zhou Shaojin, thinking of how she would rather return to the Cheng household than stay at home, felt her heart grow cold. She murmured, “Could it be, could it be he’s already married?”
Ji Ying smiled. “Marriage is normal—what’s so strange about that?”
That smile only hung at the corners of her mouth, but her gaze was ice cold, like an unsheathed sword, radiating cold light.
Zhou Shaojin shivered. “Then, then what happened?”