Chapter 15: Let Down Hair

"Why did the princess give you the hair accessory?"

Zhou Yuanshen's expression was cold, asking straightforwardly.

Cheng Zhao told him everything that had just happened, in detail.

After listening, Zhou Yuanshen remained expressionless.

He tilted his head slightly, wanting to look at her hair accessory. Cheng Zhao planned to take it off and give it to him, to spare him from staring at it like that.

Being stared at by him made her very uncomfortable.

She casually pulled it out.

But she accidentally touched her own hair bun, loosening the hairpin that held her hair in place, just as the carriage hit a bump.

Cheng Zhao's hair was thick and smooth.

It was very difficult to style it into a beautiful bun because her hair was too thick and smooth to secure easily.

It required Nanny Li's skillful hands.

Cheng Zhao was caught off guard. By pulling the hair accessory out like that, half of her hair bun fell apart, and her black hair cascaded over her shoulders.

Her hand froze.

Faced with such a sudden turn of events, she didn't know how to react for a moment. Since there was nothing she could do and it was beyond saving, she didn't react at all.

Therefore, in Zhou Yuanshen's eyes, she looked stunned.

He supported her head and took out the hairpin from the remaining half of the bun, causing all her hair to fall down.

Zhou Yuanshen: "You can tie a bun."

There were several times when his mother went to her maternal grandfather's house, wearing her hair ornaments properly. But when she was preparing to spar with her brother and maternal grandmother, she would neatly remove the hair ornaments and tie her hair into a low bun.

It was very easy, a casual thing to do, done in a few strokes, fixed with a single hairpin.

"...How do I tie it?" Cheng Zhao asked him in return. "Do you know how?"

Zhou Yuanshen: "..."

He just assumed that any woman with hands would know how.

"I can't be seen by anyone now," Cheng Zhao sighed. "Having my hair down in the carriage and walking back to the Nonghua Courtyard from the gate is almost the same as not wearing clothes."

Zhou Yuanshen remained silent.

Cheng Zhao handed him the hair accessory: "Does the Duke still want to look at it?"

Zhou Yuanshen took it, looked at it carefully for a few glances, and returned it to her.

Cheng Zhao was very depressed and stopped talking; Zhou Yuanshen just thought about something and didn't speak again either. The carriage returned to the Duke Chen's Mansion.

He said to Cheng Zhao: "Don't move."

Cheng Zhao didn't know why, but she really couldn't move either.

Riding in a carriage with the Duke, her hair disheveled, who knew what kind of gossip would spread once she got out of the carriage.

Zhou Yuanshen went to the Old Madam's carriage and said to her: "Grandmother is tired today, don't get out of the carriage. Let the servants lower the threshold and drive straight in."

Without waiting for the Old Madam to react, he had already gone to give instructions.

The servants lowered the threshold and laid wooden boards at the same time, allowing the carriages to drive smoothly up the steps.

The three carriages drove directly into the Duke's Mansion.

The Old Madam was puzzled but didn't ask much; the Eldest Madam Madam Song was half dead with anger and didn't have the mood to worry too much.

Cheng Zhao benefited from this, as the carriage arrived directly at the gate of the Nonghua Courtyard.

Nanny Li and Qiubai came out to welcome her, and Cheng Zhao almost trotted into the courtyard, with no one else around.

Seeing her hair, Nanny Li and Qiubai were both stunned.

"How, how did you get so messy?" Nanny Li asked worriedly.

Qiubai: "Who bullied you?"

Cheng Zhao shook her head: "No one."

After returning, washing her hands, and changing into a set of casual clothes, Cheng Zhao sat in front of the dressing table, allowing Nanny Li to put her hair up simply.

It's not hard for someone who knows how. Nanny Li indeed casually put her hair into a simple low bun.

Suyue rode in the servants' carriage and couldn't drive into the mansion, returning to the Nonghua Courtyard a little later.

Nanny Li and the others wanted to ask her about today's situation, so Cheng Zhao said: "I'll go to the Jiangyun Courtyard and tell Mother about today's events, so she won't worry."

"That makes sense, the Second Madam has probably been worrying all day," Nanny Li said.

As a new daughter-in-law going out to socialize for the first time, the Second Madam must be very concerned about the situation. And she couldn't go herself.

Sure enough, when Cheng Zhao entered the Jiangyun Courtyard, the Second Madam was instructing a maid to go see if Cheng Zhao had returned.

The Second Master had also returned home from the government office, changed into casual clothes, and was drinking tea; the Fifth Young Master Zhou Yuanqi came over to have dinner after finishing his studies.

Cheng Zhao told them everything that happened at Princess Fukang's mansion.

When the Second Madam heard that the Eldest Madam Madam Song publicly found fault with her, anger rose from her heart: "It's one thing for her to bully me, but to bully a younger generation, it's simply clumsy. These scholarly families..."

The Second Master coughed.

The Second Madam came to her senses: if she cursed scholarly families again, she would be cursing Cheng Zhao too.

"...Her character is despicable, and she is short-sighted. You are just a niece-in-law, how do you get in her way? She is living perfectly well in the Chengming Hall!" the Second Madam said.

Cheng Zhao: "Don't be angry, Mother. I didn't lose to her. Among the titled ladies, no news can be hidden. The Eldest Aunt's expression was extremely ugly at the time, and she couldn't recover no matter what. Others will inevitably discuss her. In a few days, this matter will spread, and she will make a fool of herself."

"She deserves it!" the Second Madam said.

She repeatedly praised Cheng Zhao for doing a good job.

Cheng Zhao was indeed very capable.

It's still better to read more books. A woman who has read books like the Eldest Madam Madam Song needs Cheng Zhao, who has the same background, to put her in her place.

The dinner was rich, and the Second Madam even served soup for Cheng Zhao, telling her to eat more.

"You can't get full at banquets, eat more, no one will laugh at you," the Second Madam said.

Cheng Zhao: "It was too cold today, and I really didn't eat much at noon. Thank you for your consideration, Mother."

She unceremoniously dug in.

The Second Master and Zhou Yuanqi also had good appetites, and no one would show a strange look just because they ate a little more. Cheng Zhao ate very comfortably.

Eating well at the dining table, the Second Madam's mood improved a lot.

After the meal, they chatted about trivial matters again.

Although there was only one more person, Cheng Zhao, it seemed much livelier, with many topics.

When the Duke was mentioned, the Fifth Young Master Zhou Yuanqi suddenly said: "The boor changed his deputy general. The dark, long-faced deputy general beside him was replaced by a dark, round-faced one."

Cheng Zhao was amused by the child's mature yet vivid description.

The Second Madam: "The previous one was Deputy General Wu, who had been with him since he was seven or eight years old. He shouldn't have been replaced. Was he sent out on some errand?"

The Second Master drank his tea in silence.

He had been replaced, and he had noticed it too.

He even asked Zhou Yuanshen.

Zhou Yuanshen said he sent Deputy General Wu to his uncle to gain experience for a while.

How could one's right-hand man be sent out casually?

Wasn't it because, in the Shou'an Courtyard, he touched the Old Madam's "favorite pet"?

The Emperor said he would give Mu Jiang to Zhou Yuanshen as a concubine, and the whole mansion called her that, but Zhou Yuanshen called her "Concubine Mu" in front of the Old Madam.

He even made Mu Jiang kneel as punishment.

This was using Mu Jiang to challenge the Old Madam's authority.

How could the Old Madam's prestige be shaken by a grandson? Not to mention the fledgling Zhou Yuanshen, even the scheming Chancellor Cheng had to yield to her.

If Deputy General Wu didn't leave, he would die, so Zhou Yuanshen had to make a painful decision.

But the Second Master wouldn't bring these things to the inner courtyard, let alone tell the Second Madam.

The Second Madam wasn't interested, and she didn't quite understand it either. The Second Master didn't want to taint the inner courtyard either.

These storms could just stay in the outer courtyard, just like the previous twenty-odd years.

However, the eight-year-old Zhou Yuanqi understood it and deliberately said it out loud.

He seemed to be saying it for Cheng Zhao to hear.

The Second Master sometimes thought that bloodlines were still very terrifying.

The brothers Zhou Yuanshen and Zhou Yuanqi were simply standard Zhou bloodlines: cold, mean, and sharp-eyed enough to see through everything.

More like the Old Madam.

The Second Master glanced at Cheng Zhao again.

Cheng Zhao looked thoughtful for a moment, then lowered her lashes and took a sip of her tea. She understood.