Zhou Shaojin had no intention of having much contact with Min Jia, but the relationship between them made it impossible for her to avoid contact. Thinking this way, Zhou Shaojin felt relieved about the addition of one more person to Cheng Rang’s minor betrothal ceremony. She smiled and said, “One more person means more liveliness. It’s wonderful that you can go.”
One was a wedding, the other a minor betrothal—Yuan Shi’s choice wasn’t wrong. But Min Jia still felt Yuan Shi’s approach was inappropriate. After all, Fang Xuan was only Yuan Shi’s cousin’s daughter, while Cheng Rang was her own nephew by blood. Even if she couldn’t go to the Xie family, she should at least show her face on this day to express concern. Not even maintaining this much face—either she didn’t understand or she disdained to—the former could only mean her upbringing was poor, the latter could only mean her cultivation was lacking.
No wonder that day when Cheng Xu went with her to Chaoyangmen to acknowledge relatives, his emotions were written all over his face.
With such an unreliable mother teaching by example, how could he possibly understand these matters of human relations?
It was only because the Cheng family had few members and was fortunate enough to have married a husband with a smooth official career and given birth to a son who studied well. If this were in the Min family, she would have been trampled into dust long ago.
Yet her own mother-in-law remained completely oblivious.
She had tactfully reminded her that before Fang Xuan’s wedding, she could completely make it here to say a few polite words. Her mother-in-law had casually said, “It’s fine—it’s just a minor betrothal. In a few days during the Buddha Bathing Festival, when I see your second aunt, I’ll mention it. She’s not the narrow-minded type.”
Min Jia at the time truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Others aren’t narrow-minded, so you slight them? If others were narrow-minded, wouldn’t you fawn over them then? Isn’t this just stepping low and climbing high? Even if you want to act this way, don’t say it so plainly or do it so obviously!
Min Jia had lost her temper and decided to act separately from her mother-in-law—she would come here while her mother-in-law went to the Fang family’s wedding feast.
Her mother-in-law was utterly baffled, saying, “Aren’t you quite close with Ah Xuan? Won’t you go see her off when she gets married?”
She had smiled at the time and said, “Ah Xuan is also very nice. I’ll have a maid send her a message to explain.”
She returned the words exactly as they were to Yuan Shi.
Who knew Yuan Shi didn’t catch on at all and kept saying it wasn’t good. It was only after she gently persuaded her at length that Yuan Shi reluctantly agreed.
Min Jia could see clearly—it turned out her mother-in-law wasn’t ignorant; she knew too well and constantly used her position as eldest sister-in-law to pressure the family’s other sisters-in-law.
Thinking this way, she also felt her mother-in-law was very naive and easy to deal with. The marriage her family had found for her was actually quite good.
She just didn’t know if she also pressured Zhou Shaojin?
Min Jia smiled warmly and affectionately said to Zhou Shaojin, “Then Auntie must teach me more—I don’t know anything about these matters.”
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, “However the Cheng family inserted the hairpin for you during your minor betrothal, that’s how we’ll insert the hairpin for the third young lady of the Xie family this time. You definitely know.”
These words left Min Jia slightly stunned.
She hadn’t expected that someone as gentle and beautiful as Zhou Shaojin would speak with needles hidden in cotton.
It showed her mother was right—no one was simple.
Min Jia exchanged a few words with Zhou Shaojin before moving closer to Cheng Zheng and Cheng Xiao, chatting with them neither too much nor too little, neither too warmly nor too distantly.
Compared to Zhou Shaojin, she valued these two sisters-in-law more.
No matter what, Zhou Shaojin was just her aunt. Cheng Zheng and Cheng Xiao were different—they shared blood ties with Yuan Shi. One sentence from them was worth ten from others, especially when speaking ill of someone…
After they chatted together for a moment, the matchmakers and the fortunate woman all arrived.
The fortunate woman, Madam Wu the Third, had also been the fortunate woman at Zhou Shaojin’s wedding, so they were familiar. Zhou Shaojin chatted with her in good spirits.
Qiu Shi knew they had all eaten breakfast at her home but still had the maids serve some liquid foods like soy milk and lotus seed soup for them to eat before having the matchmakers lead them to the Xie family.
The Xie family lived some distance from here, though not too far—half an hour by sedan chair.
Since the minor betrothal was mainly attended by women from the inner quarters, the men of the Xie family had all withdrawn to the study in the outer courtyard. As soon as Zhou Shaojin got out of her sedan, she saw the courtyard full of women and children, making the small residence quite crowded. However, most of these women had kind faces and bright smiles. Even the occasional one or two who looked somewhat sharp had traces of smiles on their faces—it was a festive atmosphere.
Zhou Shaojin really liked it.
She felt this marriage alliance with the Xie family was truly excellent!
The fortunate woman invited by the Xie family welcomed them into Xie Jue’s inner chamber. Xie Jue wore a bright red embroidered jacket, her face flushed red, sitting on the large kang accompanied by several women.
As soon as Zhou Shaojin entered, those women began saying auspicious words and made room for Zhou Shaojin to help Xie Jue insert the hairpin.
The hairpin the Cheng family provided for the minor betrothal was a very ordinary pure gold hairpin, though slightly heavier than usual and more finely crafted, but couldn’t be considered extravagant.
When she took out the hairpin, she clearly felt Xie Jue, sitting cross-legged across from her, breathe a huge sigh of relief.
She didn’t know why, but Zhou Shaojin suddenly understood—Xie Jue had probably been worried that the wealthy Cheng family would produce an antique hairpin or some precious hairpin for her minor betrothal. When families of equal standing married off sons or daughters, it was usually matched equally—meaning the woman’s family’s expenses for marrying off their daughter would be half of the man’s family’s expenses.
The Xie family wasn’t a wealthy household!
Having suffered much emotional hardship in both her previous and current life, Zhou Shaojin was particularly sensitive to such things.
She couldn’t help but smile softly and comfort Xie Jue in a low voice: “My second sister-in-law is truly wonderful!”
Xie Jue immediately understood her meaning and smiled gratefully at Zhou Shaojin.
This gave Zhou Shaojin the joy of helping someone.
That evening when she saw Cheng Chi, she told him about it.
Cheng Chi looked at her curved eyes and brows and held her tightly in his arms…
Perhaps because she felt she had done a good deed, or perhaps because Cheng Chi had frolicked with her, inexplicably, the resentment in Zhou Shaojin’s heart suddenly dissipated. She began following Old Madam Guo busily practicing calligraphy and painting again, and in her spare time embroidered that Guanyin image.
In the blink of an eye, they passed the Dragon Boat Festival and entered midsummer.
Qu Yuan was sentenced to execution after autumn.
Cheng Chi’s name was passed around among scholarly circles again.
Qiu Shi had people send over many melons and also invited Zhou Shaojin and Old Madam Guo to come watch opera.
Zhou Shaojin didn’t understand: “In such hot weather, why would second sister-in-law think of having a performance at home?”