Chapter 1: Newlywed

"I know you feel wronged."

This was the first sentence Cheng Zhao's newlywed husband, Zhou Yuanshen, said to her.

When he said this, he had not yet lifted her bridal veil, so Cheng Zhao did not see him.

The young male voice was formal and proper, yet carried a hint of coldness.

"The situation is a chaotic mess, and we are both but pawns. When the future becomes clear and things are set right, I will help you get a divorce so you can remarry. For now, live here in peace. I will explain things to Chancellor Cheng myself."

Hearing this, Cheng Zhao's heart skipped a beat.

After he finished speaking, footsteps echoed in the room. The sound, neither heavy nor light, gradually faded away before Cheng Zhao realized what had happened.

She forcefully pulled off her veil, only to see a tall, straight back disappearing from her line of sight.

Cheng Zhao was speechless.

The room full of dowry maids and older women servants looked at each other in dismay.

"What is the meaning of this?" Her head dowry maid, Suyue, had eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Cheng Zhao remained silent.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"...Fifth Miss?"

Cheng Zhao had been silent for too long, prompting Suyue to call out to her in a low voice.

"Help me change my clothes and remove my makeup," Cheng Zhao said.

Suyue was appalled. "Are we not waiting for the groom?"

"He won't come. Not only will he not come tonight, but he won't come in the future either," Cheng Zhao said.

Suyue's face turned extremely ugly. "This is too much! Your marriage was bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress. The Ministry of Rites prepared the wedding, and you married into the Duke's estate legitimately and honorably. How dare they?"

The last few words practically dripped with hostility.

The Cheng family was no poor, lowly household to be bullied by the Zhou family at will.

Cheng Zhao said, "Change my clothes first. I need to rest."

Suyue was still unwilling to let it go.

Then she heard Cheng Zhao say, "Do you think tomorrow morning will be peaceful? Conserve your energy first."

Tomorrow morning?

For the traditional tea-serving ceremony on the second day of the wedding, would the Duke's estate really dare to cause trouble?

The bridal chamber was quiet. The bed curtains were extremely thick, almost completely blocking the glow of the red candles in the room. Cheng Zhao had been tired all day; no matter how heavy her thoughts were, she couldn't fight off her drowsiness, and she fell asleep.

The maid Suyue kept the night watch, resting on the footstool nearby. Hearing her master's even breathing, she felt both sad and amused, and eventually drifted into a deep sleep as well.

At the hour of Yin the next day, Cheng Zhao's dowry nanny came in to wake her up.

The new bride had to perform the tea-serving ceremony, so she needed to dress up grandly once more.

Just as she finished washing up and put on her clothes, but before her hair was combed, Nanny Fan, a manager who served Cheng Zhao's mother-in-law, arrived.

Nanny Fan smiled brightly and said to Cheng Zhao, "Third Young Madam, our Madam says she is not feeling well today, and the Old Madam also caught a chill last night. You may stay in your own courtyard today; there is no need to go out."

She added, "Rest assured, the gifts for your return visit to your maiden home on the third day have already been prepared for you."

The face of Cheng Zhao's head maid, Suyue, darkened like the bottom of a pot. "Insolent!"

Nanny Fan glanced at the maid in surprise.

Suyue held her slender neck high and angrily rebuked Nanny Fan, "Our Madam's marriage was bestowed by Her Majesty the Empress. How dare you treat her so harshly?"

After a moment of stun, Nanny Fan smiled and said, "It is not harsh treatment; this is out of consideration for the Third Young Madam. She was tired all day yesterday, wasn't she?"

"No matter how tired she is, how can the tea-serving ceremony be delayed?" Suyue glared at her.

Not consummating the marriage and not performing the tea-serving ceremony meant they simply did not acknowledge this marriage.

From now on, Cheng Zhao living in this estate would be nothing but a joke.

And the return visit on the third day was just a show for the Empress and the Cheng family.

They wanted to put Cheng Zhao under house arrest.

Cheng Zhao came here to be the Duchess.

Suyue trembled with anger.

The Fifth Miss was suddenly granted this marriage, leaving the Ministry of Rites only four months to prepare for the wedding. Because it was an imperial bestowal, all the betrothal gifts and dowry were provided by the Imperial Household Department.

During those four months, the Zhou family of the Duke Chen's estate did not send a single person to the Cheng family to formally acknowledge the ties.

There was absolutely no contact.

The Cheng family all knew this was inappropriate, and that Cheng Zhao's marriage would be fraught with difficulties.

But while the hereditary Duke's estate dared to disregard the Empress's decree, the Cheng family did not dare, so Cheng Zhao had to bite the bullet and marry into the family.

She never expected that this Duke's estate wouldn't even do the bare minimum to keep up appearances.

It wasn't as if the Cheng family was marrying above their station.

The Cheng clan hailed from a prominent aristocratic family in Wu Commandery, highly respected and regarded as a noble and pure lineage since the previous dynasty; furthermore, Cheng Zhao's grandfather was the current Chancellor, with countless disciples.

It wasn't as if Cheng Zhao had to marry into the Zhou family.

Suyue was about to make a move, but Cheng Zhao held her back.

"Qiubai, escort Nanny Fan back," Cheng Zhao called to another dowry maid.

The dowry maid named Qiubai was thin and frail. Like Nanny Fan, she wore a natural smile and appeared extremely gentle and demure.

"Yes," she replied softly, her voice delicate and sweet.

As soon as Nanny Fan went out, Cheng Zhao said, "Continue, my hair hasn't been combed yet."

"Fifth Miss..."

Cheng Zhao took Suyue's hand and told her, "Open that trunk with the gold-plated corners and distribute the items inside."

Suyue was startled. "Truly?"

"Naturally."

Cheng Zhao's tone was extremely slow.

The dejection on Suyue's face was completely swept away. She opened the trunk with the gold-plated corners, took out six small crossbows, and distributed them to Cheng Zhao's dowry maids.

She wore one herself and saved the remaining one for Qiubai.

Soon, Qiubai returned.

Nanny Li, the manager, had finished combing Cheng Zhao's hair and was inserting a gold hairpin inlaid with rubies.

Qiubai stood behind her.

Cheng Zhao looked at her in the mirror. "How was it?"

"I memorized the route, Fifth Miss," Qiubai said. "The Second Madam's courtyard is called Jiangyun Courtyard; it is not far from your courtyard."

Suyue finally realized, "The Fifth Miss asked you to escort her back just so you could scout the way."

Qiubai smiled slightly and silently strapped the small crossbow onto her wrist.

The managing nanny helped Cheng Zhao put on her earrings.

Looking at her, the managing nanny smiled and said, "This is what a young lady from a noble and distinguished family should look like: well-educated, reasonable, gentle, and amiable."

Cheng Zhao smiled and stood up.

"Let's go. We are going to pay our respects to my parents-in-law," she said.

The six maids followed her with quiet steps, heading toward Jiangyun Courtyard where her parents-in-law lived.

When they reached the entrance, Cheng Zhao heard a scolding voice.

"Marrying such a daughter-in-law, she is inferior to the eldest branch's daughter-in-law in every way! I will never be able to turn my life around; I will be suppressed by the eldest branch for the rest of my life!"

"I disagreed with this marriage from the start. But all of you were so cowardly and timid, not daring to decline it for fear of offending Her Majesty the Empress."

The frail and slender Qiubai kicked the courtyard door open.

The door latch cracked in response. As it broke and fell, all the voices inside the courtyard instantly vanished, leaving an absolute silence.

Cheng Zhao, walking with the most elegant lotus steps typical of noble ladies of the time, headed toward the main hall of Jiangyun Courtyard.

Her parents-in-law, sitting in the main hall drinking tea, were neatly dressed and waiting for breakfast. It looked like they had been up for a long time.

Seeing the intrusion, they stood up and looked at Cheng Zhao in astonishment.

Someone stepped forward to block her, only to see the maids behind Cheng Zhao each raising a short crossbow.

The small arrows gleamed with a cold light.

The maids and older servants were terribly frightened, also intimidated by the aggressive aura of the door being kicked open just moments ago. Some screamed, some dodged, but absolutely no one dared to approach.

Cheng Zhao's father-in-law, after recovering from his shock, stood up and blocked her mother-in-law behind him.

"Cheng Shi, if you have something to say, say it properly." He pulled a long face. "Causing such a massive scene, you cannot bear the crime of disrespecting your parents-in-law."

"What Father-in-law says is absolutely right. Your daughter-in-law would not dare to be disrespectful." Cheng Zhao smiled and bent her knees in a curtsy. "Your daughter-in-law, Cheng Shi, pays her respects to Father-in-law and Mother-in-law."

The Second Madam: "..."