Chapter 142: Cheng Zhao, You Should Reward Me

The Fan household was buzzing with activity.

They had gone to watch the dragon boat race that morning and had already returned.

Zhou Yuanqi remarked, “We ran into the Cheng family. They asked about you.”

Then he added, “Is your diarrhea any better?”

Cheng Zhao: “...”

That illness indeed kept one up all night with a churning belly, and it was a bit unpleasant to talk about—too embarrassing for anyone to inquire too closely or offer too much concern.

That rascal Zhou Yuanshen certainly knew how to come up with an excuse.

Cheng Zhao replied, “Much better now.”

Second Madam said, “I’ve already ordered the main kitchen to prepare fried rice tea. Don’t eat lunch; just drink this instead. When we were young, we always used it as a remedy—more effective than medicine.”

Cheng Zhao: “...”

But she was hungry.

She longed to feast on the delicacies laid out at the banquet, not sip on fried rice tea.

All she could do was agree.

Second Madam glanced at her again and suddenly noticed the red marks on her neck. She also took in her complexion—far from the pallid, weak look of someone who had spent the night with a stomach bug; instead, she looked full of life, fresh and dewy.

As a woman with experience, she immediately understood.

Second Madam suppressed a smile.

It reminded her of her own younger days, when there had been a few moments of indiscretion as well.

“...Not eating will make you hungry,” Second Madam added. “Have something light later.”

Cheng Zhao acknowledged this.

Before the midday meal, she was forced to drink a bowl of fried rice tea.

It wasn’t bad, actually—toasty, with a slight bitterness, and it whetted her appetite a little.

“Zhao Zhao, what happened to your hands? Did something scratch you?” her Grandmother asked.

Cheng Zhao laughed lightly. “I was playing with pomegranate flowers at home, and the stain won’t wash off.”

Second Madam said, “Still such a child.”

Cheng Zhao hid her hands in her sleeves.

Zhou Yuanqi continued talking about how they had run into the Cheng family that day, as well as Sun Zhisheng and his pack of friends.

“I also saw Third Young Lady’s husband,” Zhou Yuanqi said. “He keeps a mistress on the side. Third Young Lady could do the same, couldn’t she?”

Everyone turned to stare at him.

Then the room burst into laughter.

Zhou Yuanqi often said startling things, and even Cheng Zhao was taken aback by this.

Second Madam tapped him on the forehead, quite firmly. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

Zhou Yuanqi covered his head, muttering that his mother was vulgar.

Her aunt-in-law also said, “Yuanqi, you mustn’t say such things casually. You’re just a child and don’t think twice about your words, but others might take them seriously. They could harm her reputation.”

Fan Xiao, who had been listening with a smile, chimed in, “Inside Yuanqi’s little head, he’s got the most orthodox economic theories on one side, and the most radical, heretical ideas on the other.”

Being treated like a child annoyed Zhou Yuanqi.

What he said was true, after all.

When you considered family background, looks, and talent, Third Young Lady surpassed her husband by far. If he could keep a mistress, why couldn’t she keep one too? She deserved one more than he did.

Zhou Yuanqi loved studying, which often made him oblivious to worldly conventions. There was still a pure, untainted part of him that sought absolute fairness.

For example, he thought that if a rough-and-tumble man could have two wives under the dual-inheritance custom, then his sister-in-law should be allowed to take a husband into her family instead.

—He didn’t dare say that last part aloud because he was afraid his mother and that rough fellow might both beat him, but he truly believed it was the fairer solution.

The conversation shifted to an afternoon game of polo.

Second Madam and Fan Xiao each led a team. Her aunt-in-law, the cousins-in-law, and the three younger female cousins all joined in. Even Grandmother wanted to play, but Zhou Yuanqi objected.

He firmly refused to allow Grandmother to join.

“If you break a bone, I’ll be worried. When I’m worried, I can’t concentrate on my studies. You’d be ruining my future,” Zhou Yuanqi said.

Cheng Zhao: “...”

Sons and grandsons—they could be a burden.

The Old Dowager doted on him far too much, and she chuckled, “Fine, Grandmother won’t play. I’ll just watch you all.”

The polo match was thrilling. Both Second Madam and Fan Xiao were skilled riders and excellent players.

Cheng Zhao thought to herself, “If my mother-in-law hadn’t married into the Zhou family, maybe she’d be happier.”

A woman with such a fiery temperament must have found it stifling to play the role of a refined noblewoman all the time.

Midway through the match, Second Madam had scored four goals, and Fan Xiao had scored seven.

Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanqi were the most nervous.

“Uncle, you have to let my mother win—she’s your sister!” Zhou Yuanqi shouted from the sidelines.

Fan Xiao laughed heartily. “On the battlefield, life and death are at stake—no giving in.”

Second Madam was a little embarrassed. “Go play somewhere else. What nonsense are you shouting? Your mother isn’t going to lose.”

But deep down, she knew that both in stamina and skill, she couldn’t match her younger brother.

Just then, Second Master and Zhou Yuanshen arrived.

Both father and son were still in their official robes.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, most government offices had a day off, but senior ministers had to accompany the emperor—the emperor and empress both watched the dragon boat races.

“...How many goals did you win?” Second Master asked Second Madam.

“Four.”

“Let Yuanshen take over. He can win you six more,” Second Master said.

Fan Xiao protested, “Unfair! You can’t switch players mid-game!”

“Switching players mid-game happens all the time,” Second Master replied. “You’ve been on the frontier for years, but you’ve never seen real combat—that’s why you speak like an amateur.”

He was essentially saying that Fan Xiao had spent all those years doing odd jobs on the border without ever tasting real battle.

Cheng Zhao felt this was the first time she’d heard her father-in-law speak so sharply.

No wonder Zhou Yuanshen and Zhou Yuanqi were not easy people to deal with—they took after their father. Her mother-in-law, on the other hand, was genuinely kind-hearted.

Fan Xiao was momentarily at a loss for words.

He laughed in exasperation. “Fine, then today we must settle this. You have to put up a wager, brother-in-law.”

Then he turned to Zhou Yuanshen. “Yuanshen, do you dare take this on?”

Zhou Yuanshen first glanced at Cheng Zhao.

With everyone watching, Cheng Zhao smiled politely but inwardly wished she could strangle him.

Only then did Zhou Yuanshen turn back and ask Second Madam, “Mother, would you like to make the switch?”

“Yes,” Second Madam said eagerly. “You must beat him!”

“Understood.”

Zhou Yuanshen went to change clothes.

Fan Xiao insisted on setting a stake.

The Fan family had excellent horses, and he put forward one of their finest stallions as his wager.

Second Master responded, “If you win, I’ll give you that treasured lance I’ve kept in my collection.”

“The lance of Hulie, the Northern Di General?” Fan Xiao asked.

“Yes, that very lance.”

“It’s a deal!” Fan Xiao declared.

Soon, Zhou Yuanshen returned in his riding attire. Her aunt-in-law, the cousins-in-law, and the younger cousins withdrew, replaced by their deputies.

The second half of the match was intense.

At one point, a deputy fell off his horse, though fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured—just a possibly twisted ankle. It wouldn’t leave him crippled or threaten his life.

As dusk fell, the match finally concluded.

Zhou Yuanshen caught up to Fan Xiao and narrowly won by one goal.

He thus secured the lance his father had treasured and won the Fan family’s best horse.

Second Madam was overjoyed.

Cheng Zhao had to admit that Zhou Yuanshen looked far more handsome on horseback playing polo than he normally did.

That night, everyone stayed over at the Fan residence.

There was a private courtyard set aside for Second Madam’s visits, with three main rooms in the center: a hall in the middle, and two bedrooms to its left and right. There were also side wings and a rear-facing annex.

Zhou Yuanqi slept in the side wing; Cheng Zhao and her husband Zhou Yuanshen took the eastern bedroom on the upper floor.

Covered in sweat from the polo match and with limited bathing facilities in the small courtyard, Zhou Yuanshen went to bathe in Fan Xiao’s quarters.

By the time he returned, everyone else had already settled down for the night.

The day had been tiring, with no afternoon nap, and all were exhausted.

He walked softly into the east bedroom.

Cheng Zhao was already lying down.

Zhou Yuanshen climbed onto the bed and said to her, “Let me see your lower back.”

Cheng Zhao replied, “It’s not broken.”

“When will this color wash off? Bring it here so I can see,” he insisted.

Cheng Zhao stopped him, grabbing his hand. “Don’t fool around. Your parents and Yuanqi are all in this courtyard.”

Zhou Yuanshen pulled her close. “I won today.”

“Oh?”

"Since I've won, Cheng Zhao, you need to reward me," he said.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

"I'll be gentle." He kissed her lips.