Chapter 134: Great Uproar in Nonghua Court

Zhou Yuanshen let the maid go.

He gave no instructions.

The maid scrambled to her feet and fled. When she returned to Lijing Courtyard, Mu Jiang had been waiting for her report and immediately summoned her inside.

"Did you see the Lord Duke?" Mu Jiang asked.

Her complexion was terrible.

Not gaunt, but swollen.

She couldn’t eat well, couldn’t sleep well, and would periodically break into loud crying and tantrums. The almost-stopped vaginal bleeding had somehow increased again.

Her temper was utterly foul.

The day before, when the maid on duty served her tea, she insisted it was too hot, grabbed the horsewhip by her bedside, and struck the maid, leaving her bleeding profusely.

Today, that maid was nowhere to be seen, her fate unknown.

The young maid was terrified of Mu Jiang. Trembling, she knelt and truthfully told her what had just happened.

When Mu Jiang heard that Zhou Yuanshen and Cheng Zhao had been walking together to aid digestion and that he refused to see her, rage consumed her. Snatching up the whip, she lashed the maid: "Useless thing! I might as well kill you!"

The maid crumpled on the ground, not daring to dodge.

Even Nanny An, the steward, dared not intervene; she held little authority over Mu Jiang.

After a few lashes, Mu Jiang burst into tears, drowning in self-pity. She felt utterly pitiful, utterly miserable.

She wanted to see Zhou Yuanshen.

Throwing down the blood-streaked whip, she ran out, losing one of her shoes.

The maids and Nanny An scrambled after her, yet they dared not restrain her. The previous day’s dead maid had been covered up.

Lijing Courtyard was the residence of the "Secondary Wife," and the household’s masters would never antagonize the Dowager Madame over a servant. A dead maid was a dead maid, no consequence.

Thus, when Mu Jiang went into her frenzy, no one dared risk their lives to stop her.

"Secondary Wife, your body is frail; you shouldn’t run like this. It’s already night," Nanny An said, almost weeping. "The inner courtyards are all locked."

Mu Jiang paid no heed.

She charged to Nonghua Courtyard, only to find its gate bolted shut. The lanterns at the entrance cast a faint, dismal glow.

The May night breeze was not cold, yet Mu Jiang felt chilled to the bone, as if frozen through.

She pounded on the gate: "Third Brother! Third Brother!"

Inside Nonghua Courtyard, the maids had been washing up and tidying. Though not rowdy, some noise had lingered.

At the pounding, all sound ceased. The courtyard fell into a deathly hush.

Cheng Zhao had already changed into her undergarments and was sitting on the heated brick bed by the window, combing her hair, ready to sleep. Hearing the commotion, she glanced at Zhou Yuanshen, who sat nearby perusing a chess manual.

Zhou Yuanshen’s brow did not stir, his face utterly impassive.

"...I’ll go see," Cheng Zhao said.

Zhou Yuanshen: "Let her call."

Cheng Zhao: "After all, it concerns our household. It’s too unseemly and won’t do either of us any good. Servants love to gossip."

Secrets within the Duke’s mansion could even leak beyond its walls.

"As long as they call her ‘Secondary Wife,’ she has nothing to do with us," Zhou Yuanshen said.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

You even recognize the maids of Lijing Courtyard and share a past with her. How lightly you speak of ‘nothing to do with us’?

Is it because of that child, which made you feel betrayed?

Cheng Zhao wished to stay out of it.

But Mu Jiang was pounding on Nonghua Courtyard’s gate—Cheng Zhao’s courtyard. Any gossip would inevitably drag Cheng Zhao in.

"Let your maid handle it," Zhou Yuanshen said again.

Cheng Zhao also didn’t want to see Mu Jiang.

She knew Mu Jiang was now unhinged.

Losing a five-month fetus had ravaged Mu Jiang’s body and mind, making her temper explosively volatile.

In her agony, she didn’t just torment herself; she lashed out at everyone around her, including Cheng Zhao.

If Mu Jiang turned violent, Cheng Zhao would not yield.

A fight between wife and concubine would be like fine jade striking a rough stone. Win or lose, Cheng Zhao’s prestige would be damaged.

And the only one to benefit would be Huan Qingtang.

Cheng Zhao could contend with machinations and schemes, but she wouldn’t court a berserk madwoman.

"Suyue," Cheng Zhao called to her maid.

Suyue stood at the door: "Young Madam, I’ll go have a look."

"Don’t let her in," Cheng Zhao said. "Don’t let yourself be hurt, and don’t touch her."

If she accidentally touched Mu Jiang and the Dowager Madame was angered, Cheng Zhao’s maids’ lives would be forfeit.

Suyue acknowledged the order.

"Qiubai," Cheng Zhao called again. "Come in."

The bedroom door opened, and Qiubai entered noiselessly.

Cheng Zhao spoke in a low voice, instructing her to slip out over the wall.

Qiubai acknowledged.

The two maids went about their tasks.

Nanny Li stood at the door and asked Cheng Zhao: "Young Madam, shall I bring more tea?"

"Come in," Cheng Zhao said.

Nanny Li entered with tea and whispered: "The Secondary Wife’s bleeding hasn’t stopped. If she makes such a scene and something goes wrong, we can’t bear the responsibility."

Her implication was that Cheng Zhao should persuade Zhou Yuanshen to go out and calm Mu Jiang.

A concubine was hardly that important, but the Dowager Madame was.

Cheng Zhao understood Nanny Li’s meaning but shook her head: "It’s fine. She started this trouble, not us. I’ve kept my distance from her."

Since Mu Jiang’s miscarriage, Cheng Zhao had avoided meeting her, precisely to prevent the Dowager Madame from blaming her in case Mu Jiang lost control.

Nanny Li said no more and withdrew.

Cheng Zhao listened to the noise outside.

Zhou Yuanshen slowly turned a page of his chess manual, studying it intently, as if deaf to the uproar.

Outside, Mu Jiang’s cries grew more piercing and anguished, punctuated by the maids and servants’ frantic pleas.

Suyue blocked Mu Jiang from entering. When she went out, she had ordered two rough-service matrons to stand behind the courtyard gate, ready to slam it shut once she stepped out.

When Mu Jiang tried to push through, Suyue blocked her, and Mu Jiang scratched at Suyue.

Suyue couldn’t evade properly and took a stinging scratch on her cheek.

Soon, more people gathered.

It was early evening; many in the inner courtyards were still awake. The crowd served as witnesses.

Mu Jiang desperately tried to grab Suyue; Suyue dodged behind the maids and servants of Lijing Courtyard, shielding herself.

Several maids were pinched by Mu Jiang.

"How dare you cause such chaos!" came the voice of Second Madam.

Cheng Zhao shot to her feet.

Zhou Yuanshen’s eyes finally lifted from the chess manual.

The couple walked out of the courtyard.

Cheng Zhao approached Second Madam: "Mother, what brings you here so late?"

"With her screaming like this, the whole household will know by tomorrow, and then we’ll be blamed!" Second Madam fumed. "Send people to tie her up and take her back!"

Zhou Yuanshen: "Men, tie her up."

Nanny An knelt before Zhou Yuanshen: "Lord Duke, you mustn’t! The Secondary Wife’s body can’t endure such treatment!"

"If you don’t stop her and let her rage, that’s how she ends up like this. It seems she’s clouded by phlegm delusion," Zhou Yuanshen said. "Tomorrow, call a physician to give her medicine."

"I’m not mad!" Mu Jiang wailed. "Third Brother, our son is gone—Cheng Zhao harmed me!"

Second Madam’s flicker of pity vanished without a trace. Pitying Mu Jiang was truly a pointless sentimentality.

"She who harmed you has long been determined. Don’t slander the Duke’s wife!" Second Madam snapped.

"It was her! I know it was her! She didn’t want me to bear the eldest son!" Mu Jiang cried.

Second Madam was sorely tempted to slap her.

"Someone, tie her up and send her to Shou’an Courtyard," Zhou Yuanshen ordered.

The two coarse serving women of Nonghua Courtyard immediately brought out ropes and firmly pressed Mu Jiang down, binding her tightly.

She was still struggling.

She hurled curses at Cheng Zhao with all her might.

Cheng Zhao thought, "She is certain it was me."

Mu Jiang's hatred required a clear, specific target, and someone had confirmed her suspicions, so Cheng Zhao became that scapegoat.