Chapter 10: An Eye for an Eye

Cheng Zhao's shout of "Kneel!" commanded everyone's hearts.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the eldest branch exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

How dared Cheng Shi?

It would be a piece of cake for Dowager Madame to crush her and destroy her maiden family. The ignorant were fearless; Cheng Shi actually dared to hit Mu Jiang in front of Dowager Madame.

Wasn't this a direct slap in Dowager Madame's face?

The Second Madame also understood this. Her hand trembled, and she subconsciously reached out to block Cheng Zhao, wanting to protect her.

"You dare to act fierce?" Mu Jiang finally came to her senses after a long while, her voice sharp and piercing.

"What's all this noise?"

Suddenly, a young male voice came from the door.

Like everyone else, Cheng Zhao turned around following the voice and saw Zhou Yuanshen.

Before her wedding, she had looked down at him from a teahouse. He rode a horse through the street, and she saw his upright posture sitting on horseback; she didn't see him at the wedding.

The next two times, she only saw a back and a silhouette.

Until this moment.

It had not yet snowed in Kyoto in October, but it was cold in the mornings and evenings. Everyone wore thick clothes, yet Zhou Yuanshen only wore a dark robe embroidered with dark patterns, walking slowly and heavily to the bright hall of the Shou'an Courtyard.

It had been half a year since she last saw him at the teahouse. His skin was slightly paler, and he had added the nobility of a young master of an aristocratic family, losing some of the fierceness of a military general.

He was very tall, his shoulders and back straight and level, which made him look as deep as an abyss and as towering as a mountain, with extraordinary bearing.

When Mu Jiang saw him, her eyes instantly turned red, and tears rolled down: "Third Brother, I was bullied."

Zhou Yuanshen examined her, swept a glance around, and turned his gaze to Cheng Zhao.

Cheng Zhao exchanged a glance with him, then lowered her eyelashes and gave him a curtsy: "Concubine Cheng Shi, greets the Duke."

Before Zhou Yuanshen could speak, Mu Jiang rushed to say: "She just got the title of a lady of rank, and she's throwing her weight around, daring to act fierce in front of Dowager Madame!"

She kept saying that Cheng Zhao was disrespectful to Dowager Madame, but didn't mention why Cheng Zhao was so reckless.

"You're turning black into white. Do you still have any rules?" The Second Madame said angrily, "It was clearly you who ambushed Cheng Shi and even hurt me."

She stretched out her hand to Zhou Yuanshen, "Look, your mother was hurt by your Secondary Wife."

A scratch, with beads of blood seeping out, wasn't too serious.

The Second Madame got excited as soon as she argued. Her voice raised three pitches, and even if she was right, she lost the momentum.

Zhou Yuanshen withdrew his gaze, didn't answer the Second Madame, but looked at Dowager Madame: "Grandmother, seriously speaking, this matter is a private affair within your grandson's room."

Dowager Madame was silent for a long time, and only now sighed faintly: "You young people, your tempers are so big!"

Then she said, "Ah Jiang was a bit rude, it's all my fault for indulging her. I'll reflect on myself."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the eldest branch immediately apologized: "We wouldn't dare."

"Grandmother doesn't need to blame herself, it's the younger generation's unfilial piety."

"Mother constantly worries about her children and grandchildren. How can you be blamed for the children throwing tantrums?"

Dowager Madame's "self-reflection" was actually putting pressure on them.

The Second Madame had seen this kind of trick for over twenty years, and every time she was confused: You said you wanted to reflect on yourself, but you should reflect! Why did one sentence suppress all the unfairness in the end, making the suffering people swallow the bitter fruit themselves?

This was power.

Dowager Madame's coercion, the mother-in-law's power.

The Second Madame turned her head to the side, not following the "sincere fear and trepidation". She really wanted to rebel.

"Making Grandmother reflect on herself is all your grandson's fault. I deserve ten thousand deaths." Zhou Yuanshen's tone was very light.

His words were earnest, but his attitude was very cold.

He didn't wait for Dowager Madame to say anything, and changed the subject: "This matter started because of Concubine Mu. Make her kneel in the courtyard for an hour to apologize to Grandmother."

Not to the Second Madame or Cheng Zhao, but to Dowager Madame.

Dowager Madame said she wanted to reflect on herself, forcing everyone to let this matter pass, but Zhou Yuanshen wanted to strike back by punishing Mu Jiang.

If Mu Jiang dared to resist or refuse the punishment, it would mean she was disrespectful to Dowager Madame.

Dowager Madame raised her eyes and looked at this grandson.

Zhou Yuanshen's eyes were pitch-black, his gaze quiet. He had practiced martial arts since childhood and didn't suit Dowager Madame's temper. Moreover, he was a man of few words but had sharp eyes, so Dowager Madame disliked him even more.

Choosing him to inherit the title was a helpless move.

Like the late emperor, the emperor inherited the genetic disease of the Helian royal family. He went mad at the age of forty, his paranoia reached a paranoid level, and his methods were cruel.

In the past two years, the emperor hadn't been rational very often, and old feelings were somewhat unreliable. If someone instigated him and the emperor took back the Zhou family's title when he went mad, Dowager Madame's lifelong efforts would come to nothing.

Besides the Second Master, the only grandson who had come of age was Zhou Yuanshen. He was Dowager Madame's forced choice.

"Ah Jiang, go kneel in the courtyard." Dowager Madame finally spoke.

The room was frighteningly quiet.

Mu Jiang stared blankly at Dowager Madame, then looked at Zhou Yuanshen.

Meeting Zhou Yuanshen's eyes, which were as deep as a cold pool, she felt timid.

With thousands of grievances, Mu Jiang could only endure it.

She went to kneel in the courtyard.

"It's getting late. Grandmother, please rest first. Your grandson will take his leave." Zhou Yuanshen bowed.

The Second Madame didn't react, and Cheng Zhao gently poked her waist.

And Cheng Zhao herself also said she was leaving and pulled the Second Madame's arm; the Second Madame was smart this time and left with her son and daughter-in-law.

After they left, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the eldest branch also took their leave. Their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were the best at reading people's expressions and would never touch a bad omen.

Dowager Madame was about to die of anger, and Mu Jiang was punished again. Staying at this time would make them a punching bag.

"Qingtang, did you hear that? The Duke called Mu Jiang 'Concubine Mu'." The Eldest Madame lowered her voice.

The Eldest Young Madame, Huan Qingtang: "Yes, daughter-in-law heard it."

"He's so mean, actually saying this in front of Dowager Madame."

"It seems that Mu Jiang has lost the upper hand." Huan Qingtang said.

After a pause, she added, "Perhaps Mu Jiang and Dowager Madame didn't take Cheng Shi seriously, underestimated the enemy, and temporarily lost the upper hand. The second branch has a good show to watch."

The Eldest Madame: "That's good too. Wait until they fight to the death, then bring up the matter between you and the Duke."

Huan Qingtang's expression was a bit unnatural.

The Eldest Madame comforted her: "You are a lady of a pure family, and you can't accept sharing a husband for a while. But think about Cheng Shi. She got a title by being shameless. Sometimes we have to put down some airs for the sake of our future."

Huan Qingtang didn't say anything.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked back slowly.

Cheng Zhao, Zhou Yuanshen, and the Second Madame walked back to the Jiangyun Courtyard.

The Jiangyun Courtyard was far from the main courtyard, and even further from Dowager Madame's Shou'an Courtyard. It took less than half an hour to walk.

The Second Madame wanted to complain, but the farce just now really shocked her, and she couldn't care less about complaining about the old, stale matters.

"... You contradicted your grandmother." The Second Madame said to her son.

Zhou Yuanshen walked in front, not turning his head: "It's okay. Grandmother is very fair. I'm just telling the truth."

The Second Madame: "Isn't it because she looks down on your wife?"

Then she asked, "Where are you resting tonight?"

The Secondary Wife was still kneeling in the Shou'an Courtyard.

Like Cheng Zhao, the Second Madame actually didn't know where Zhou Yuanshen usually slept.

He had been back from the border for two years. Before that, he had been living in his general's mansion and didn't return to the Duke of Chen's mansion to live; suddenly he was asked to inherit the title and was granted a marriage. He temporarily lived in the outer study of the Duke's mansion.

Now that he was married, he should have moved back to the inner courtyard to live.

It wasn't that the Second Madame didn't want to care, but this son had too strong an opinion, and she couldn't control him at all.

"I will rest at Nonghua Courtyard," Zhou Yuanshen said.

The Second Madam cast a glance at Cheng Zhao.

Nonghua Courtyard was the very courtyard where Cheng Zhao resided.

Was he merely joking, or was he being serious?