After that, Zhou Shaojin remained in good spirits. She copied the scriptures with particular fluency, and in just one hour, she finished all the sutras she had planned to copy. Still feeling unsatisfied, she copied several more pages. Seeing that it was getting late, she finally set down her brush and went to take her leave of Old Madam Guo.
The upper courtyard was utterly silent, without a sound. The serving maids and servants all stood respectfully under the eaves with lowered brows and eyes.
Zhou Shaojin saw the young Daoist acolyte Qingfeng, along with Biyu and Feicui, standing by the bamboo curtain of the hall.
It appeared Uncle Chi was in Old Madam Guo’s room.
No wonder he had suddenly appeared in the Buddhist hall earlier.
He must have been passing by the Buddhist hall, saw her copying scriptures inside, and curiously went in for a look.
Zhou Shaojin pondered this, hesitating whether to inform the upper room’s maids and servants that she would return to Jiashu Hall first, or wait until Cheng Chi left before taking her leave of Old Madam Guo. Then she saw Biyu smile at her, turn around, lift the curtain, and enter the upper room.
She must have gone to inform Old Madam Guo.
What would Old Madam Guo say?
Zhou Shaojin inexplicably felt a wave of nervousness.
Then she saw Biyu walking over quickly.
“Second Miss!” She smiled and greeted Zhou Shaojin softly. “The Grand Madam asks you to come in.”
Zhou Shaojin responded “Mm,” straightened her collar, and followed Biyu into the upper room.
In the rest room, on the arhat couch with cloud-pattern marble backrest, Old Madam Guo and Cheng Chi sat on the left and right respectively. On the central tea table carved with black mother-of-pearl inlay stood a rosewood chess board with white jade and black jade pieces crisscrossing it—the game had reached its endgame.
Old Madam Guo held the black pieces, Cheng Chi held the white pieces.
Zhou Shaojin almost exclaimed in surprise.
The elder or the superior player held white pieces, while the other held black pieces.
Cheng Chi was Old Madam Guo’s son—could his chess skills be extraordinarily superior? But between mother and son, how could such things matter? Even if Cheng Chi’s chess skills were superior, there was no need to have Old Madam Guo hold the black pieces!
Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat uncomfortable about this.
Her expression slightly dazed, she stepped forward to pay respects to both of them.
Cheng Chi smiled and nodded at her.
Old Madam Guo smiled and asked her, “Finished copying today’s sutras? Return early. I’ll invite you to stay for dinner another day!”
Whether polite words or sincere, they gave Zhou Shaojin full face.
Zhou Shaojin respectfully thanked her and, accompanied by Biyu, left the rest room. She couldn’t help but look back at the silent rest room.
Through the fine Xiangfei curtain, Cheng Chi, like that day at Sanzhi Pavilion, leaned lazily against the large welcome pillow behind him. The white jade chess piece moved nimbly and flexibly between his fair, slender fingers with casual indifference. Old Madam Guo, however, frowned as she gazed down at the chess board with a serious expression.
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but quietly ask Biyu, “Is Uncle Chi’s chess skill very good?”
Biyu smiled with pursed lips and said, “Very good—he gives Young Master a ten-piece handicap, First Master a four-piece handicap, and the Grand Madam a three-piece handicap.”
That impressive!
Zhou Shaojin had no talent for chess or mathematics. Though Zhou Chujin had spent considerable effort teaching her chess, her skill level remained stuck at five-in-a-row, and she couldn’t even beat Shi Xiang at that.
She couldn’t help but feel admiration and asked Biyu, “From what you say, the Grand Madam is also very skilled at chess!”
“Of course.” Biyu rarely showed such proud honor. “I heard from Nanny Shi that back then, even the Old Master was no match for the Grand Madam…” Before she could finish speaking, a thunderous crash suddenly came from the rest room, followed by the crisp “clatter clatter” sound of jade falling on stone.
Biyu’s expression changed drastically.
Faint sounds of weeping were already coming from the rest room.
Biyu could no longer worry about anything else. Hastily saying “I won’t see Second Miss out then,” she ran into the rest room in three steps instead of two.
Zhou Shaojin knew that at this moment, both emotionally and rationally, she should avoid the situation. But she was truly curious. After thinking it over and seeing that no one was coming in to investigate, she still couldn’t control herself and walked forward a few steps.
Biyu stood beside Old Madam Guo, softly persuading her. Old Madam Guo held a handkerchief, wiping the corners of her eyes. Cheng Chi remained his usual indifferent self, leaning diagonally against the large welcome pillow. The chess board had fallen to the floor, pieces scattered everywhere.
What was this situation?
This was the first time Zhou Shaojin had seen Old Madam Guo cry!
Even if she lost at chess, with her own son, and in private, Old Madam Guo couldn’t possibly overturn the chess board and weep over it!
She was somewhat dumbfounded.
Then she felt a chill on her head and saw Cheng Chi’s gaze sweep over indifferently.
Caught red-handed…
Zhou Shaojin quickly lowered her head and turned to leave.
Both Feicui and Qingfeng’s expressions showed some anxiety, but they remained at the hall entrance and didn’t ask Zhou Shaojin anything.
Zhou Shaojin returned to Jiashu Hall full of doubts. For a reason she herself couldn’t explain, she didn’t mention a word of what she had seen in Hanbei Mountain Manor’s upper room to Grandmother, eldest aunt, or Sister.
The next day, she heard the news.
The only grandson of the First Branch’s Second Old Master, born in the same year as Cheng Xu and only five days younger, Cheng Xun, had died of illness.
When she heard this news in her previous life, she had felt nothing, and even after rebirth, she didn’t remember when Cheng Xun had died. But now, perhaps because she too had experienced the pain of losing a child, upon hearing of Cheng Xun’s death, her tears fell uncontrollably.
The Cheng family had always had few descendants. With Cheng Xun’s death, Second Old Master’s line had no heir. Would they adopt someone from the main Cheng family? Who would they adopt?
Old Madam Guo must be thinking about this even more than she was.