Chapter 116: The Duke of the State Ignores Her
Late at night, a crescent moon hung faintly on the distant treetops, its thin silvery light streaming through the window.
Cheng Zhao had finished her bird’s nest porridge when her maid Suyue entered and placed a lamp on the kang table.
“...The Lord Duke sent it in.” Qiubai handed a kite to Cheng Zhao.
It was a butterfly kite.
The butterfly closely resembled the one Cheng Zhao had embroidered on a pouch last time—plump, endearingly naive, and full of childlike charm.
“The painting is well done. The kite itself is a bit roughly made, but the artwork is exquisite,” Cheng Zhao said. “Did he claim to have made it himself?”
“He didn’t say,” Suyue replied. “Soon after you left, the Lord Duke arrived.”
Qiubai added, “He was wearing soft armor, and his hair was damp, as if wet by dew. Arriving in the city so early, he must have ridden back from the camp late at night and waited at the city gate. The moment the gates opened, he returned.”
Suyue nodded. “The Lord Duke set down the kite and was about to leave when Mingyu, the maid from the outer study, came looking for him.”
Cheng Zhao pieced the events together.
Zhou Yuanshen had likely taken a night ride back to the city, waited at the city gate for it to open, and then rode slowly home because galloping was prohibited inside the city walls.
By the time he reached the mansion, Cheng Zhao and Second Madam had already left for the Fan residence.
After delivering the kite, he had intended to go to the Fan residence to find her. But during his absence from home, numerous matters must have piled up.
Mingyu, the maid from the outer study, had probably spotted his adjutant, learned that he had returned to the mansion, and sought him out for urgent business.
By the time he arrived at the Fan residence, Cheng Zhao and the others had already been riding for quite a while.
Thinking about how hectic his day must have been, Cheng Zhao no longer felt angry.
She said, “This kite is nice. When things are less busy in a few days, I’ll take Heng’er to fly it.”
Heng’er was her niece, the daughter of her eldest sister.
Unable to sleep, Cheng Zhao took out her sewing basket and asked Suyue to bring out some fabric. She chose a piece of sapphire blue, intending to make a pouch for Zhou Yuanshen.
That sapphire blue outfit Fan Xiao had lent him today really suited him well.
Qiubai was getting drowsy, so Cheng Zhao told her to go to bed first.
Suyue stayed with her, helping to arrange the threads.
“Young Mistress, please don’t quarrel with the Lord Duke,” Suyue said. “Given the current situation, I’m truly a bit frightened.”
She was referring to the Dowager Madame’s faction.
What had started as minor skirmishes had turned bloody since the death of the Fifth Prince.
A domestic matter had become a blood feud between two great clans. Consort Dou and the Duke of Piguo’s household would not forgive the Dowager Madame, and the Dowager Madame would undoubtedly blame Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen.
“I don’t intend to fight with him,” Cheng Zhao said. “Didn’t you see I’m preparing to make him a pouch?”
“That’s good,” Suyue said. “But you shouldn’t let him push you around either. I was terrified when we returned yesterday.”
Cheng Zhao: “...”
She recalled everything that had happened in the carriage—anger mixed with a trace of uncontrollable arousal. She was becoming addicted to it.
After all, Zhou Yuanshen was a military officer, and in that regard, he was truly formidable.
“I’ll talk to him when he gets back tomorrow,” Cheng Zhao said.
They sat for a while, and she yawned; Suyue was also a bit sleepy.
The mistress and maid rested and slept until daybreak.
As usual, Cheng Zhao went to Crimson Cloud Courtyard first thing in the morning. Second Madam asked her what she and Zhou Yuanshen had discussed the previous day, and Cheng Zhao only said “trivial matters.”
“What is Yuanshen busy with today? If he’s free, tell him to come here for dinner. He hasn’t been home for some time,” Second Madam said.
Cheng Zhao replied, “He went to the early court session this morning, I think. I didn’t see him. I’ll pass the word.”
Second Madam nodded.
That day, while handling duties at the Hall of Brightness, Huan Qingtang arrived.
She handed a gold-and-pearl earring to Cheng Zhao. “I picked this up yesterday. Could it have fallen off you, sister-in-law?”
Cheng Zhao took it. “Thank you, Elder Sister-in-law.”
“Be more careful in the future, sister-in-law. If things are lost, they may be gone for good,” Huan Qingtang said with a smile.
Cheng Zhao nodded. “You’re right. But such small things—if lost, I can simply replace them. It’s no loss.”
Huan Qingtang inclined her head slightly. “Well said, sister-in-law.”
They exchanged a few more words, all seeming quite amicable, until First Madam Madam Song emerged.
Madam Song’s expression was none too pleasant.
She looked at Cheng Zhao, then at Huan Qingtang, as if she wanted to say something.
“Mother, what’s wrong?” Huan Qingtang asked.
Madam Song said, “I only just found out that my relative has left the Duke’s mansion. Were either of you aware?”
She was referring to Hu Zhiwei.
Her gaze turned to Cheng Zhao.
That day at the Double Ninth Temple, Hu Zhiwei had stepped forward to help Cheng Zhao put on a wooden hairpin; she might have been involved in the matter, though Madam Song wasn’t sure whose orders she had followed. Had Cheng Zhao used her, or was it the Dowager Madame?
“Where did she go?” Huan Qingtang asked, sounding slightly surprised.
“They said she went to the Song family. I sent someone to inquire, but the Song family said the Hu clan had come and taken her back to the Hu ancestral home,” First Madam said.
“That might be for the best,” Huan Qingtang said. “Going back to her own clan is safer, after all. And our younger cousin has reached the age for marriage.”
“If her clan were good to her, why would she have run away in the first place?” First Madam said bitterly.
Her anger seemed directed at someone, but it wasn’t clear whom.
“After all, she bears the Hu name. If her clan wants to take charge, there’s nothing we can do. You’ve already done your best,” Huan Qingtang said.
First Madam’s wrath spilled out toward Huan Qingtang. “You speak so easily!”
Their mutual discord was now out in the open.
Cheng Zhao, uninvolved, merely listened silently as they exchanged words. Even if First Madam had questioned her directly, she wouldn’t have intervened.
At noon, Cheng Zhao rested at the Morning Light Pavilion.
She asked her servant Nanfeng, “What time will the Lord Duke return this afternoon?”
Nanfeng said, “That’s uncertain.”
In the late afternoon, when her duties at the Hall of Brightness were finished, Zhou Yuanshen still hadn’t returned to the Morning Light Pavilion.
Cheng Zhao told Nanfeng, “Second Madam has requested that the Lord Duke go to Crimson Cloud Courtyard for dinner. If he returns before dinner, be sure to inform him.”
Nanfeng acknowledged the order.
Cheng Zhao went back to Crimson Cloud Courtyard.
She didn’t mention what had happened at the Hall of Brightness.
She felt that, compared to when she had first married into the family, Great Uncle’s wife and Huan Qingtang had both changed a lot. Their usual calm composure was cracking, revealing their flustered inner selves.
Zhou Yuanqi returned from the clan school.
“How are your eyes?” he asked Cheng Zhao.
Her eyes had been uncomfortable the day before and still blurry while riding, but after a night’s sleep, they were fine.
“That powder was just heavily scented, and it wasn’t poisonous. I’m better now. Thank you for your concern, Fifth Brother,” Cheng Zhao said.
Zhou Yuanqi asked, “Did you put that powder on? Is the color light on your face?”
Cheng Zhao replied, “Not yet. I still don’t have the courage...”
“What courage does it take?”
“It’s so fragrant that my nose would be overwhelmed in a day. Anyone walking past me would think I’m trying to attract bees and butterflies. I’m not ready to endure the mockery,” Cheng Zhao said.
Zhou Yuanqi: “...”
“Would you like it back?” Cheng Zhao asked with a smile.
Zhou Yuanqi said, “It was so expensive. What use would it be to me?”
Second Madam scolded him, “How many times must street vendors swindle you before you learn your lesson?”
Cheng Zhao, teasing him but fond of her younger brother-in-law, defended him. “Mother, even if he does get cheated, it’s not like he can’t afford it. He’s lucky.”
“You’ve learned this from your grandmother!” Second Madam said. “You two spoil him.”
Zhou Yuanqi snorted.
That evening, Second Master returned to Crimson Cloud Courtyard, but Zhou Yuanshen didn’t come.
Nanfeng said he hadn’t returned to the Duke’s mansion at all.
Three days later, Cheng Zhao had finished making the pouch but still hadn’t seen Zhou Yuanshen.
She asked Nanfeng.
“The Lord Duke still hasn’t returned, so I’ve been eating his evening meal myself. Young Madam, thank goodness you’re in charge of the main kitchen; we can bend the rules.” Nanfeng said cheerfully.
The child ate well, in high spirits, and recounted this to Cheng Zhao with great animation.
But Cheng Zhao frowned.
She was still waiting for Zhou Yuanshen to apologize to her.
He had actually been avoiding her. Could it be that he was angry because she hadn’t recognized him at the time?
Did she have to go and apologize to him?
Utterly senseless.
Cheng Zhao had originally planned not to be angry, to let it go this time as long as he said a few kind words; but now, mulling it over, she felt a surge of indignation.
She returned to Ronghua Courtyard, and the first thing she did was cut that embroidered pouch to pieces.
Nanny Li saw it and said with regret, “Why cut up something so nice? Making one is such a bother.”
Cheng Zhao didn’t reply, but turned and went to the washroom to freshen up.