Chapter 118: A Houseful of Women Belonging to Him
The Dowager Madame was not seriously ill.
She had simply given her name card to Cheng Zhao, instructing her to tell the head steward at the gate to arrange for a carriage to fetch Doctor Wang.
Doctor Wang specialized in women’s health.
“There’s also Doctor Feng, who is just as skilled in women’s health, but he is close with the Dou family,” the Dowager Madame said.
The Dou family was the Duke of Piguo’s household, Consort Dou’s maternal relatives. Since Consort Dou’s son, the Fifth Prince, had just died, summoning Doctor Feng at this time would be highly unwise.
No one knew if Consort Dou had lost her mind and might do something rash.
“Doctor Wang is a fine physician, and he has some connections with our estate. When you reward him later, be generous,” the Dowager Madame added.
Cheng Zhao acknowledged the order.
Cheng Zhao understood the Dowager Madame’s meaning at once: Doctor Feng was the best at women’s health, and he had previously been the one to diagnose Mu Jiang. Doctor Wang was second only to Doctor Feng, but due to the matter with Consort Dou, they had to switch to him on short notice.
Since this was likely Doctor Wang’s first visit, the gatekeeper would need to prepare a gift—explaining this task to anyone else would take ages. But telling Cheng Zhao required only a single sentence; she instantly knew what to do.
The Dowager Madame’s demeanor held no particular displeasure. She simply directed Cheng Zhao to handle the matter, and once done, they both left together.
Cheng Zhao went to the gatehouse to delegate the task and appoint a capable steward. Meanwhile, the Dowager Madame and Huan Qingtang took a small oiled cart to Lijing Court to visit Mu Jiang.
At the entrance, after finishing her errands and preparing to return, Cheng Zhao spotted the young servant Nanfeng heading out.
“...Where are you off to?” Cheng Zhao asked as she looked at Nanfeng, who was leading a horse.
Nanfeng was only twelve, barely taller than the horse, yet he was leading a fine steed; Cheng Zhao worried he might not be able to control it.
“I’m going to the General’s Mansion, Young Madam,” Nanfeng said with a grin.
He waited for Cheng Zhao to ask further.
Cheng Zhao only warned him, “Take it slow. Don’t gallop through the streets—if the authorities catch you, no one will save you. Remember?”
Riding a horse recklessly through a bustling market was a crime, and getting caught would even implicate the master’s household.
“Yes, Young Madam. But the Lord Duke, he...”
Cheng Zhao turned and went back inside.
She didn’t wait for Nanfeng to finish.
Nanfeng: “...”
Hadn’t the Young Madam gotten into trouble with the Lord Duke? How could she be even angrier than he was?
Nanfeng scratched his head. Thinking of the generous piece of meat the head cook in the main kitchen had slipped into his bowl, he knew better than to offend the Young Madam. Without her special favor, why would the head cook give him extra food? And without her approval, how would he dare take the portion of the evening meal his master had refused?
In a grand estate, the most lucrative places had the most tangled human relationships and the most sycophantic, snobbish behavior. The main kitchen was one such “fat-cat post.”
Nanfeng was only twelve, and the two most important things in his life were sleeping well and eating well.
Food was paramount.
He had to go to the General’s Mansion.
After giving her orders, Cheng Zhao sat quietly in a small room of the gatehouse.
Two stewards chatted idly with her.
Their words were all flattery and ingratiation.
“If you have other matters to attend to, feel free to go. I’ll personally escort Doctor Wang inside when he arrives,” one steward said.
Cheng Zhao replied, “It’s fine. Today, this is my only task; I’ll wait here.”
She couldn’t afford to give the Dowager Madame any handle.
The Dowager Madame had specifically called her to Shou’an Court and solemnly entrusted her with this duty.
She also inquired about a social matter: “For Grand Princess Fukang’s recent banquet, what gift did our estate send?”
From Grand Princess Fukang, the talk turned to the estate’s interactions with the Prince of Jingnan’s mansion and the Princess Qing’an’s residence. Some matters would never be recorded in ledgers.
Cheng Zhao’s questions were purposeful; the stewards were tight-lipped and answered selectively.
Although the gate was under Cheng Zhao’s supervision, she hadn’t managed to win over many loyal followers. Her people were in the inner courtyard, and she couldn’t easily extend her reach outward.
The gate was too crucial—it governed the family’s social connections—and the stewards there were all confidants of the Dowager Madame.
Back when Zhou Yuanshen had contested the Dowager Madame, she had compromised and given Cheng Zhao authority over the gate, but the stewards had always been wary of her.
Cheng Zhao had no intention of gobbling everything up at once. She made inquiries slowly, probed indirectly, without fanfare.
The April weather was warm, and a thin sheen of sweat formed on the steward’s forehead.
This told Cheng Zhao she had gained some prestige. Both the inner and outer courtyards knew of her competence, and the stewards were so on edge when speaking to her that they sweated in nervousness.
“Manager Sun, your daughter married the head steward’s youngest son, didn’t she?” Cheng Zhao asked abruptly. “And Nanny Sun, who serves the Dowager Madame, seems to be your relative by clan?”
“Yes, Young Madam’s intelligence and connections are keen,” Manager Sun replied with a smile.
“Are you all originally from the Marquis of Qingyuan’s lineage? A house-born servant family of the Marquis?” Cheng Zhao pressed.
Manager Sun: “Our family has been with the Zhous for decades. My parents were originally the Dowager Madame’s dowry servants. Strictly speaking, we’re house-born servants of the Zhou clan, not the Sun family.”
“So you do share ties of long-standing loyalty with the Dowager Madame,” Cheng Zhao remarked with a smile.
She affected an air of deep respect and high regard for him.
But it startled Manager Sun, who broke out in a cold sweat: “I dare not claim that. We’re all merely servants.”
“You are indeed loyal and steadfast, Manager Sun,” Cheng Zhao said. “The ledgers you’ve given me have always been very clear and very clean.”
“Clean” meant they hadn’t disclosed the full truth.
Sweat trickled down Manager Sun’s nose.
Cheng Zhao took a sip of tea and asked no further.
A servant boy came to announce that Doctor Wang had arrived.
Cheng Zhao rose leisurely, handed Manager Sun a red packet containing a fifty-tael banknote, and said, “Give this to Doctor Wang discreetly when you see him. It’s his first visit, and the Dowager Madame holds him in high regard.”
Manager Sun accepted the packet.
Cheng Zhao walked along the covered corridor to the main gate, but before she stepped over the threshold, she came face-to-face with Zhou Yuanshen.
He was dressed in his court robes, neat and formal, with dark, quiet eyes that held a detached and stern coldness.
“Lord Duke.” Cheng Zhao performed a curtsy.
“Has the physician arrived?” he asked.
Cheng Zhao looked behind him. A carriage had just stopped, and a doctor in official robes was descending: “He has arrived.”
Zhou Yuanshen turned.
Seeing him, Doctor Wang respectfully bowed: “The Grand Tutor.”
Zhou Yuanshen responded, “We are in your debt, Doctor.”
Cheng Zhao mused that in the official world, they addressed each other by rank. Of Zhou Yuanshen’s three posts, two were military; “the Grand Tutor” was his highest and most prestigious title.
His peers called him “Grand Tutor Zhou.”
They went together to Lijing Court.
Zhou Yuanshen didn’t enter the inner bedchamber, but a servant girl informed Mu Jiang inside.
She wanted to come out, but didn’t dare act rashly.
Zhou Yuanshen and Cheng Zhao waited in the eastern side room. The Dowager Madame stayed in the inner room; once the physician went in, Huan Qingtang emerged.
She greeted Zhou Yuanshen: “Lord Duke.”
“Elder Sister-in-law.” Zhou Yuanshen’s face grew even colder. “How is Concubine Mu?”
In his mouth, it was always “Concubine Mu” — never an intimate term, and certainly no one might imagine he would call her “Lady Consort.”
Those two words, “Concubine Mu,” must have grated on the ear, hadn’t they?
Huan Qingtang thought this, glanced at Cheng Zhao, then quickly looked away: “Her complexion is fair. It may be due to excessive worry. The physician is still taking her pulse.”
Zhou Yuanshen gave a slight nod.
He said nothing more.
Someone brought in tea.
Then someone else brought in refreshments.
They remained standing on either side, serving, and didn’t leave.
These were two young, beautiful women, dressed in finery and adorned with pearls and jade—far from ordinary servant girls’ attire.
They were presumably bestowed by the Dowager Madame and placed in Lijing Courtyard as bedchamber maids to help Mu Jiang win over the Lord Duke.
"All of them are quite attractive—the Dowager Madame has good taste," Cheng Zhao couldn't help thinking.