Chapter 11 Sister, I won’t go with them.

The weather was fine that day, and spring was deepening. There was no longer the biting dampness and coldness of early spring. Chen Lianxiu changed into her new spring clothes, and her mood became more cheerful. It happened that the kitchen had made golden milk pastry, so Chen Lianxiu asked her maid to send a portion to Zhou Linjin, and she took some to send to Yang and Zhou Yishao.

When they arrived at Si Ning Garden, it was quiet inside. The maid who came to greet Chen Lianxiu told her that Yang had taken medicine and was sleeping, while Zhou Yishao was reading in his room.

Chen Lianxiu left some golden milk pastry for Yang, and then went to Zhou Yishao's room with the food box.

Before Zhou Yishao got married, she had her own courtyard, and even lived in her own courtyard some time ago. But now that Yang was ill, she moved directly to live with Yang for convenience, and lived in the east wing.

The door was tightly closed. Shen Lianxiu knocked on the door twice, waiting for someone to open it for her, but there was no movement from inside for a long time.

Chen Lianxiu thought Zhou Yishao had also gone to bed, and just as he was about to leave, the door opened.

Half of Zhou Yishao's pretty face appeared from inside the door, and he smiled when he saw Chen Lianxiu.

"Come in quickly." Zhou Yishao hurriedly led Shen Lianxiu inside.

Chen Lianxiu went in and put the lunch box on the table. Only then did she see some letters on the table, but they had all been put into envelopes. Zhou Yishao smoothed his hair, which had somehow fallen loose, and explained, "These are letters from the Cheng family."

Zhou Yishao's husband's family was surnamed Cheng, and they were a century-old aristocratic family in the Yongzhou area. Back then, Zhou Chang had carefully selected the Cheng family for his daughter because Yongzhou was not far from the capital, and the Cheng family had always had a good reputation. Zhou Yishao's husband, Cheng Lanjiang, was of the same age as her, and was handsome and talented in both literature and martial arts.

As she spoke to Shen Lianxiu, she began to put the letter away. Shen Lianxiu saw that she looked a little depressed, so she asked, "Is it the Cheng family who is urging you to go back?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yishao sighed and pulled Shen Lianxiu to sit down.

"Yes," Zhou Yishao glanced at the seven or eight letters on the desk, "They've been asking me to go home lately."

Zhou Yishao has a husband and a daughter, and the Cheng family is not a small family, so they have a lot of things to do. Chen Lianxiu thought about it and said, "If you really can't leave Sister over there, you'd better go back quickly. I seemed to have mentioned earlier that Zhu'er had a cough before Sister came. Is she better now?"

"She's recovered. It was just a minor illness." Zhou Yishao didn't hesitate, but just shook his head. "My mother is still like this. I can't leave for the time being. Let the Cheng family urge them to do so."

Chen Lianxiu naturally had no reason to persuade her to go back, so she didn't say anything after hearing it.

At this moment, Zhou Yishao seemed to remember something and whispered to Shen Lianxiu, "Don't tell Erlang that the Cheng family has been sending letters urging me to return."

Shen Lianxiu looked at Zhou Yishao doubtfully.

Could it be that Zhou Yishao was afraid that Zhou Linjin would force her to go back?

However, although Zhou Linjin is somewhat stubborn, he is not rigid to this extent.

Shen Lianxiu sensed something was wrong and asked, "Sister, is there something wrong?"

Zhou Yishao had been resolute in refusing to return to the Cheng family just now, but now she seemed to be hesitant to speak. She hesitated and said, "Anyway, don't tell Erlang yet. There are some things... I need to think carefully. Right now, I just want to take care of my mother first. We'll talk after she gets better."

There was something hidden in her words, so Chen Lianxiu didn't ask any more questions and just agreed to her request. Then he changed the subject, took out the golden milk pastry and ate it with Zhou Yishao. After chatting for a few more words, he returned to Zhuoxinzhai.

Today, because Chen Lianxiu was afraid that Zhou Yishao might be preoccupied and disturb her, she did not stay in Si Ning Garden for long. It was not yet dusk when she returned to Zhuoxinzhai.

However, Zhou Linjin was already sitting in the main hall, having returned earlier than usual.

Hearing that Shen Lianxiu had returned, before Shen Lianxiu could say anything, Zhou Linjin asked, "Are you back from my sister's place?"

Chen Lianxiu said, "Yes, I sent some of the golden milk pastry that the kitchen made just now to my wife and elder sister."

Zhou Linjin also knew that Chen Lianxiu had been interacting a lot with Zhou Yishao recently, and that the two of them got along very well. He frowned and said nothing at first. After a while, he asked, "Has Sister said anything to you recently?"

Chen Lianxiu immediately thought of the continuous letters from the Cheng family.

But she had promised Zhou Yishao not to mention this matter to Zhou Linjin first, so naturally she couldn't tell Zhou Linjin about it as soon as he asked.

Chen Lianxiu was about to deny it when Zhou Linjin continued, "The Cheng family sent me a letter, which sounded like a complaint, saying that several letters sent to my sister fell into oblivion and there's been no response."

It’s true what you fear will come true.

Chen Lianxiu still didn't tell Zhou Linjin what had just happened. She thought about it and said tactfully, "Maybe it's not that my sister doesn't want to go back, but she just can't let go of Madam. How can she leave at ease at this time?"

Zhou Linjin said: "The Cheng family said Zhu'er is sick and asked her to go back quickly."

After he finished speaking, both of them fell silent for a while.

At this point, Chen Lianxiu also figured it out. Something must have happened between Zhou Yishao and the Cheng family. Perhaps the Cheng family lied to Zhou Yishao by saying that Zhu'er was sick, but this was not the reaction Zhou Yishao would have when he learned that his daughter was sick.

Zhou Yishao even asked Shen Lianxiu not to tell Zhou Linjin about this matter first.

Why is this?

Chen Lianxiu didn't dare to hide it any longer, so she said, "When I went there just now, I did see a lot of letters from the Cheng family at my sister's place, but my sister meant that I shouldn't go back yet, and...she also asked me not to tell you about this."

Zhou Linjin was stunned.

"What?" Zhou Linjin asked in surprise, "Why don't you tell me?"

Shen Lianxiu thought for a moment and continued: “I suspect that something is wrong with my elder sister, but she hasn’t thought it through yet.”

"It must be related to the Cheng family," Zhou Linjin said as he stood up. "I'll go ask Sister what happened."

As soon as he stood up, Shen Lianxiu quickly grabbed him and said, "My dear, there's no rush!"

Fortunately, Zhou Linjin was not so stubborn. When Chen Lianxiu stopped him, he stopped moving. Although his amber eyes were dull, a hint of confusion could still be seen.

Chen Lianxiu said, "Sister didn't let me tell you, so she must have her reasons. At least she has something to think through first. If you ask her now, it will only disturb her mind. The Cheng family is not so anxious that they want Sister to go back. Why not let Sister stay quietly for a few more days?"

"Of course I won't force her to go back to the Cheng family," Zhou Linjin frowned, his voice cold, "My elder sister has always been gentle and kind. To have pushed her to this point, the Cheng family must have done something excessive to her. They even dared to send me a letter and turn the tables on my elder sister. If they really bullied her, I won't let it go."

"My dear, why don't you write back to the Cheng family first and tell them that my sister is worried about the lady, so she has to stay for a while longer. This will also prevent them from saying that the Duke Cheng's Mansion has detained my sister without telling anyone." Chen Lianxiu said.

Zhou Linjin called his attendants, dictated what he wanted to write, and had them write it down and send it to Yongzhou immediately. He also asked Bi Cha to go with him to Yongzhou to find out what had happened.

Although Yongzhou is not far away, it is still a foreign place, and it is impossible to get the news in a short time.

After that, Chen Lianxiu went to Zhou Yishao more frequently, but Zhou Yishao never mentioned that matter to her again. Since she didn't mention it, Chen Lianxiu would not take the initiative to ask.

For Zhou Linjin, Zhou Yishao is his biological sister. Every day he doesn't know the truth is a hard day for him. He has no idea what happened and can't even think of a solution.

Three or four days passed in this way, and before Bi Cha had finished his inquiries and returned from Yongzhou, someone from the Cheng family came.

On the first day, Cheng Lanjiang and several nephews and nieces of the Cheng family came together. There were not many people, and there were only five of them including Cheng Lanjiang. It was not as if they came to demand someone. The Cheng family was a noble family, and they were humble and polite when they came. They said they were visiting and even brought many generous gifts.

Zhou Linjin remained calm and did not call Zhou Yishao out. He just went out to receive the Cheng family members and held a banquet in his house. After the banquet, he sent someone to send them back to the Cheng family’s mansion in the capital.

The next day, Cheng Lanjiang brought two older cousins ​​from the clan and invited them into the gate of Duke Cheng's mansion. The two cousins ​​then asked to see the elders of the family.

Now Zhou Chang has already left the capital. There are elders in the mansion, but they are only Wu and Zhou Rong. Needless to say, Zhou Linjin will not invite Wu, and Zhou Rong is not someone who can sort things out.

Zhou Linjin had already made up his mind. He didn't know what had happened before, but now that someone was here, it would be fine. He would just ask directly and know what to do. In short, he couldn't let his sister Zhou Yishao suffer any grievances.

He lied to people by saying that he had already gone to invite the elders, and then invited them directly to the reception hall in the front yard of Zhuoxinzhai. Naturally, the three people from the Cheng family waited for a long time but no one came. Just as they were about to ask, they saw Zhou Linjin coming.

"Prince, where are your elders?" asked one of the older cousins ​​of the Cheng family.

They had known for a long time that Zhou Chang had left, and although Zhou Linjin had achieved success at a young age, he was now blind. What use was he to them? Naturally, their tone was filled with contempt.

Because he didn't know what had happened between Zhou Yishao and Cheng Lanjiang, and the people in front of him were his brother-in-law and his elders after all, even Zhou Linjin couldn't bring himself to give them a cold shoulder.

But Zhou Linjin's expression wasn't much better either, and his lifeless eyes looked even colder. "Father has been away from home for a few days, and mother is ill. If there's anything, just tell me, uncle."

Cheng Lanjiang said impatiently: "It would be more appropriate to ask your sister to come out."

"Sister just wants to stay at home for a few more days. Yongzhou and the capital are not far away, only a day's walk away. When sister returns to the Cheng family, I will naturally escort her here personally." Zhou Linjin said angrily.

At this time, the cousin of the Cheng family who had just spoken raised his voice again and said, "Let me tell you, can you make the decision? You can't see, a blind man, what else can you do? After all, your sister is already a member of the Cheng family. We have come to take her back in a friendly manner. What else is there to say?"

These words could be regarded as an unscrupulous mockery of Zhou Linjin, but Zhou Linjin had already thought about today's situation and knew it would be difficult, so he didn't take it to heart. He was just thinking about how to deal with the Cheng family and at least wait until Zhou Yishao figured it out and was willing to tell them what happened.

However, before Zhou Linjin could come up with a suitable response, he heard Zhou Yishao's voice from the courtyard: "I won't go with them."