When Zhou said this, Mu Erpang's cheeks turned slightly red and he scratched the back of his head.
The way he scratched his head was exactly the same as when he was a child. Zhou immediately matched the boy in front of her, who looked somewhat strange, with the child she had watched grow up.
Chen Cui couldn't help but smile, "It's just right now. If he gets fat like before and has a double or triple chin, it would be bad."
As soon as Mu Erpang, the "hot commodity", came over, several people quickly came to the lobby of the inn, which was empty just now.
So it was no longer appropriate to talk in the hall, so Shen Cui asked Zhou to bring her maid and go back to her room upstairs.
Zhou always listened to him, and immediately took Shen Cui's arm and helped her upstairs, saying as they walked: "I see that mother is thinner than before?"
Mu Erpang opened his mouth and was about to say that she had been ill recently, but Shen Cui looked at him and Mu Erpang understood and swallowed his words back.
However, as soon as she entered the room, Zhou smelled the odor of medicine. Chen Cui had gone out in a hurry today, and the bowl of medicine she had drunk was still on the table in the room. She didn't like the waiter coming in and out of her room, so the bowl had not been put away.
So even if Mu Erpang didn't say it, the thoughtful Zhou would have known it immediately.
Seeing that she couldn't hide it anymore, Shen Cui had no choice but to say, "I was sick, but I just got better today, so I didn't think of sending someone to tell you. If I had told you, you would have come to see me directly... I wouldn't have let you know and worry about me."
"I said I could smell a faint smell of medicine on my mother, and I thought I was mistaken."
Although the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law still look like sisters now, Shen Cui is indeed not young in this era.
Zhou asked the doctor carefully, took medicine for several days, and looked at Chen Cui's face for a while before she felt relieved.
They had just sat down in the room when Zhou's two maids came in.
The two maids each carried a huge package on their arms and had just gone to get something.
Shen Cui looked at him and raised her eyebrows and smiled, “Are you going to move in with me?”
Zhou smiled and said, "If you don't mind me being too crowded, I can pack up and move in later. But right now, these are not my luggage, but the things I brought for you and Erpang."
As she spoke, Zhou stood up and helped the maid to put the bundle on the table and open it. The things inside were similar to what Zhou had prepared privately when she left Qingzhou Prefecture, namely clothes and shoes for Shen Cui and Mu Erpang.
Of course, now Zhou is not only an official’s wife, her own small business is also becoming more and more prosperous, and she has more money, so the quality of the clothes she prepares has also improved a lot.
She first took out a green jacket and skirt and tried it on Shen Cui. "In the past, I could only sew clothes, but I couldn't embroider. The clothes I made for mother were too plain. In the past three years, I finally learned a little bit, so I embroidered orchids on mother's dress. It makes her look younger."
Later, she picked up Mu Erpang's robe and said with embarrassment, "Erpang's robe probably won't fit me anymore. Although mother said so in the letter, I really didn't expect you to lose so much weight."
Mu Erpang said it was okay, "It's more comfortable to wear loose clothes."
Zhou said, how can this be possible?
"You are a juren now, how can it be bad to wear ill-fitting clothes? In this capital, many people respect the clothes before the person."
"Then I'll go ask the waiter for needle and thread?"
Zhou smiled and said, "I'll change it for you right now."
The maid offered to do it for her, but Mu Erpang was used to doing things himself, so he said no, he could do it himself.
After he went out, Zhou urged Chen Cui to put on her new jacket and skirt and take off the jacket that smelled of medicine.
Chen Cui went behind the screen. Zhou did not ask the maid to serve her, but followed her and personally helped her take off her coat and tied the laces of her new jacket and skirt.
For some people, the feelings fade after being apart for a long time. Some people, precisely because of the separations they have experienced, cherish the time they spend together all the more and become more affectionate.
Zhou is obviously the latter.
Especially in the past three years, she had been in contact with people of all walks of life and all kinds of people, and she was able to distinguish between good and bad. She also understood more and more the painstaking efforts of Chen Cui in raising her like a daughter.
Moreover, although she and Mu Yunchuan no longer had to be separated during the days since she came to Beijing, Mu Yunchuan still went out early and came back late, and the couple could only be together for a short time in the morning and evening.
Fortunately, she had never forgotten Chen Cui's teachings to find something to do, and Mu Yunchuan did not interfere with her freedom in this regard, so when he was busy, she was also busy.
The two of them had breakfast together in the morning, then went out separately. They came back around the same time before nightfall, had dinner together, and chatted for a while.
Although it still can't be called very sweet, they can be said to respect each other. Zhou didn't ask for much and was very satisfied with this kind of life.
On the other hand, other people, like the runner-up in the same class as Mu Yunchuan, entered the Hanlin Academy as his colleague.
The runner-up is a few years older than Mu Yunchuan and is almost thirty years old.
He also married his wife when he was poor. Her background was much better than Zhou's, and she was a lady from a small wealthy family.
But she was just an ordinary woman who lived in the backyard. When her husband went out early and came back late, she suspected that he had other mistresses outside. She cried all day long while her health deteriorated.
In fact, if she just thought about it, although there is an old saying that "most unfaithful people are scholars", scholars value their reputation the most. Even if they really have other ideas, they would not do such a thing and abandon their wife when they just come to power. Do you still want official reputation?
For people like them who have studied hard for half their lives, these are the things they value most.
When Zhou met that lady by chance, she gave her some advice like this.
Since the lady chose to marry her when she was the runner-up in the imperial examination, she must have some ideas and vision. Zhou's simple words enlightened her.
After being enlightened, she regarded Zhou as her benefactor and pulled her aside, saying, "I lost my mother when I was young, and there is no one to teach me many things. I have to rely on my sister to teach me, which is really shameful."
In response to her numerous thanks, Zhou asked her not to be polite. She was grateful in her heart that if it weren't for Chen Cui's previous teachings, she might really be as worried and anxious as this lady.
While Zhou was reminiscing about the past, she helped Chen Cui to dress neatly.
She accompanied Shen Cui to look in the mirror. Shen Cui looked at their reflections in the mirror and said, "First you said that Er Pang lost weight, and then you said that I lost weight. Why do I think you have lost a lot of weight too?"
Zhou's smile remained unchanged. "I never gain weight, and mother knows that. Besides, I am busy with my own small business even though it's not my daily routine."
Shen Cui thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case, so she didn't ask any more questions.
After a while, Mu Erpang brought the needle and thread. Zhou altered the robe on the spot and then asked Mu Erpang to go back to his room to try it on.
Seeing that both mother and son were dressed in new clothes, Zhou became even happier. She took Chen Cui's arm and said, "It's a pity that it's late today. Mother just came back from outside and needs to have a good rest. Otherwise, I would like to take mother to see my shop today. Although it's only one room and the storefront is not big, I have run it little by little over the past three years."
Chen Cui smiled and said, "That's great. I'll go take a look later and take whatever I like."
"Take it! Take them all. It won't be a problem even if you empty my shop!" Zhou smiled as she quickly took out a small golden hairpin from her sleeve and put it on Chen Cui's bun.
By the time Shen Cui reacted, the golden hairpin had already landed steadily on her head, and she could only roughly feel that it was in the shape of a small flower.
"It's orchids, Cuiwei orchids. I asked someone to pick them specially." Zhou smiled and winked at her, and added: "It's the money I earned myself."
What she meant was that this was the money she had earned over the years, not Mu Yunchuan's money, so Shen Cui should not refuse.
Chen Cui smiled helplessly and said, "People say 'When a man has been away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes'. I have been apart from you for three years, and you just said that you couldn't recognize Er Pang. I almost can't recognize you either."
The cheerful and cheerful Zhou in front of him has changed a lot compared to three years ago, and is even more different from the blurry-faced tool man in the original book.
"I'm so happy today. I'm usually very prudent and well-behaved." Zhou said as she glanced at the maid, who then said, "Old Madam, you know, our Madam is very well-behaved at home. Today, she really came out of her shell when she saw you and the Second Master."
The maid replied in a serious tone, but after hearing the 'old lady' who was about 27 or 28 years old and the 'second master' who was only 15 years old and still had a childish face, they both looked strange.
Zhou couldn't help but pursed her lips, waved her hand to tell the maid not to reply, and whispered to Chen Cui to explain: "This is the maid that my husband bought for me after he entered the Hanlin Academy. I didn't want anyone to serve me at first. After all, there are only two of us at home, and the yard we live in is not big. I can tidy up when I have time. But we haven't recruited servants, but some people have tried to force people into our house. In order to stop these people from thinking, we bought people from the pawnbroker. They are also from poor families, and sometimes they do things and speak inappropriately."
The maid looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Shen Cui certainly would not argue with a half-grown child of this age. She just nodded and said, "It can be seen that she is honest."
If the people selected by Mu Yunchuan are not careful in their words and deeds, then he deliberately selected them to be cunning and treacherous.
If she really was a clever maid who was so perfect in everything she said and did, people would worry that she might be too clever and might bully her master and not take Zhou, who came from a humble background, seriously.
Earlier, Mu Yunchuan returned to Qingzhou Prefecture and carefully observed Zhou for a while. He was sure that Chen Cui had taken good care of Zhou and Erpang. Only then did his attitude towards Chen Cui become more gentle and real.
It was the same this time. Seeing that Mu Yunchuan had not treated Zhou badly after high school, Chen Cui also had a better impression of him. She said to Zhou, "When you go back, tell Yunchuan that everything is fine here. When he settles down, it won't be too late for him to come over."
Mu Yunchuan still strictly abided by his filial piety in front of others, so that he wouldn't have to come back and pretend, and Chen Cui would have to entertain him.
So he took the initiative to ask him not to come over, which would not damage his reputation and save both of them from being busy.
After changing and altering clothes, they talked for a while, and the sun was setting outside.
It would be time to close the city gates soon, so even though Zhou was very reluctant, she had to leave.
Chen Cui walked her to the door and saw that she was moving very slowly, so she comforted her: "No matter what the situation is in the future, I will be here for the next six months. You can come and see me anytime you are free."
Zhou nodded obediently. Just as she was about to leave the room, she suddenly realized, "I forgot to give this to mother. I earned it myself."
She pulled a bulging purse from her sleeve.
Needless to say, the money inside was naturally the savings she had accumulated over the years.
Shen Cui refused to accept it, saying that she had enough money, while pressing her wrist under her sleeve.
After this press, Shen Cui's expression changed, "Why have you lost so much weight?"
Zhou tried to withdraw her hand, but Shen Cui held her tightly and pulled her sleeves open, revealing Zhou's thin wrist.
She was really thin, the kind of thin that was just skin and bones. Shen Cui pinched her shoulder blades again and confirmed that Zhou in front of her was much thinner than when she was hungry, cold, and doing sewing and washing work alone at home.
Zhou murmured without answering, and Shen Cui looked at the maid beside her.
The maid was indeed honest and answered with red eyes: "In reply to the old lady, our mistress has lost a lot of weight for no reason in the past six months. The master has invited many doctors to see her, even the most famous doctor in Beijing, Dr. Huang... The doctors all said that the mistress is in good health and there is nothing wrong with her pulse. But she is..."
Chen Cui's back teeth creaked as she clenched her teeth. None of the doctors could see anything wrong, but she became so thin for no reason. Is there any need to ask? It must be that damn law again!
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