Chapter 158: Duchess of the State

Zhou Yuanshen had returned.

Both Cheng Zhao and Second Madam turned to look at him.

He stood in the shadow away from the lamplight, his brow bones prominent and his eyes dark and tranquil. With an expressionless face, he bowed to Second Madam.

“Mother.”

Second Madam’s gaze bored into him as if trying to poke a hole in his face.

“What have you been busy with lately?” she asked.

Zhou Yuanshen replied, “Some matters at the Beijing Garrison. Discussions with my advisers ran late, and I feared spies from the Duke’s estate, so it wasn’t safe to speak here. I stayed at the General’s mansion instead.”

Relief flooded Second Madam’s face. “Still dealing with the garrison’s affairs? I thought everything had settled?”

“Temporarily, it’s not settled yet,” Zhou Yuanshen said.

She exhaled deeply.

Then she scolded him lightly, “If you’re not coming home to stay, you should at least let us know. Zhaozhao and I were both worried.”

With that, she turned to Cheng Zhao.

Cheng Zhao performed the traditional woman’s bow. “Lord Duke.”

“Duchess,” Zhou Yuanshen replied flatly.

Cheng Zhao froze slightly.

The once relaxed atmosphere tensed up again in an instant.

Second Master looked at his son, then at his daughter-in-law, and remained silent, saying nothing.

Zhou Yuanqi observed them curiously, mentally adding them to his list of “estranged couples.”

Only Second Madam’s face changed slightly, and she pressed on, “Are you angry with Zhaozhao?”

“No,” Zhou Yuanshen said.

“Then why did you call her ‘Duchess’?” she demanded.

It seemed she was acting as Cheng Zhao’s advocate, as if Yuanshen had wronged her.

Zhou Yuanshen’s eyes were calm. “Mother, she called me ‘Lord Duke’ first.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Second Madam countered, frowning. “What else would she call you? The General?”

“We’re just being polite,” Zhou Yuanshen said. “Isn’t that right, Duchess?”

Cheng Zhao had been called “Duchess” a few times before, and it never ended well.

“The Lord Duke is quite right,” Cheng Zhao replied.

Second Madam: “...”

Dinner passed in considerable silence. Second Madam tried to speak several times, but Second Master subtly restrained her each time.

After the meal, Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen took their leave. Zhou Yuanqi seized the opportunity to slip away as well.

“Why are they fighting?” Second Madam fretted. “They were fine before.”

She then complained to her husband, “And you wouldn’t let me ask.”

Second Master gave a good-natured smile. “Young couples have their ups and downs. There’s no need for you to worry so. Besides, if the mother-in-law meddles in a lovers’ quarrel, a small rift can turn into a big grudge. That’s not worth it. So I stopped you from probing too much.”

Second Madam recalled how, when she was young, an argument with Second Master would have the Dowager Madame personally intervene, and that would only infuriate her even more. She’d felt excluded. Later, when they moved to her mother’s courtyard, her mother would hide away whenever she heard them arguing, never asking a single question. It was then that their relationship grew deeper, right up to today.

“You’re right. I do tend to meddle too much,” Second Madam reflected quickly. “I probably shouldn’t have brought it up at all.”

A couple calling each other “Lord Duke” and “Duchess” might just be a playful front, with flirtation beneath the surface. But now that she had pointed it out, all that was left was anger.

“You did the right thing just now. Your daughter-in-law knows you care. Not too much, not too cold,” Second Master said.

“Really?” Second Madam asked.

“Yes. You’re truly a good mother-in-law,” Second Master laughed.

Second Madam: “...”

She couldn’t tell if she’d been praised or mocked. Ah, well—since it sounded pleasant to her ears, she decided not to argue.

Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen returned to the Fragrant Blossom Courtyard.

Both of them remained silent.

Cheng Zhao detested hot weather. It made her restless and drained, stripping her of her usual composure. All she wanted was to bathe quickly, change into clean, cool linen clothes, and sit down to fan herself.

“Prepare my bathwater,” she ordered her maid.

She entered the inner chamber.

Zhou Yuanshen followed her in.

When she saw him sit down on the heated brick bed by the window, she circled behind the screen and sat at her dressing table. She untied her hair and slowly combed through the jet-black tresses.

She wasn’t planning to wash her hair tonight.

The man sitting by the window didn’t move or speak.

Cheng Zhao refrained from glancing at him with her peripheral vision, so she couldn’t tell if he was sneaking looks at her.

“Qiubai,” she called toward the door after a moment.

Qiubai entered.

“Is the water ready?” she asked.

“Everything’s prepared,” Qiubai said.

Cheng Zhao let out a sigh of relief, then escaped swiftly from the inner chamber into the washroom.

While bathing, Qiubai asked, “Why didn’t you say anything just now? Is the Lord Duke angry?”

Cheng Zhao said, “Do you think he’s angry?”

Qiubai answered honestly, “I couldn’t tell. The Lord Duke is always like that—he rarely talks much or shows any expression.”

“Exactly,” Cheng Zhao replied. “Who knows what he’s thinking?”

Cheng Zhao tallied everything in her mind: after he returned to the city, she recognized him; she deliberately waited for him at the Morning Glow Courtyard and went through that exhausting ordeal in the heat; she handled his birthday banquet beautifully and didn’t hide anything about Eldest Aunt from him; and when he stayed for so long at the General’s mansion fear it might make things awkward, she specifically asked Young Uncle to check on him instead of going herself.

Absolutely nothing to fault. She had done everything well.

She was a model mistress of the house, an excellent wife.

So what right did he have to be angry?

Confused at first, Cheng Zhao now felt a rising indignation.

What gave him the right?

“I’ll ignore him!” she declared to herself.

Finished washing, she put on thin, light clothes and returned to the inner chamber.

Zhou Yuanshen was still sitting there, slowly sipping tea.

Cheng Zhao didn’t approach. Instead, she went back behind the screen.

Standing there, she said flatly, “Lord Duke, I’m done with the washroom. You may use it.”

“I’ll return to Morning Glow Courtyard for the night,” he said, rising. “Duchess, rest early.”

Cheng Zhao called out, “Qiubai, ask a maid to light a lantern and see the Lord Duke back. The path is dark outside.”

Then she added, “Go slowly, Lord Duke.”

And Zhou Yuanshen left.

An anger swelled in Cheng Zhao’s chest, impossible to swallow or to spit out. She was nearly furious. Amid all the internal and external troubles, he was inexplicably sulking over nothing.

“Madam...” Nanny Li started. “Why did the Lord Duke go to Morning Glow Courtyard?”

Cheng Zhao snapped, “If you must know, go ask him. I certainly don’t.”

She went to sleep.

That night, unusually, Cheng Zhao couldn’t fall asleep easily.

She tried not to overthink it.

Tomorrow, there would be a mountain of tasks. She had taken on several new responsibilities in unfamiliar areas and was still figuring things out. She didn’t show any hesitation because, before marriage, her mother had kept her close and taught her everything hands-on. She had seen it all before. No matter what she did, she looked competent.

But only she knew how vigilant she truly was, how afraid that anything might go wrong.

And yet, she was letting a man distract her.

The more she willed herself not to think about it, the more her mind seethed. She was so angry she wanted to march straight to Morning Glow Courtyard and hash it out with him.

But that would mean surrendering the advantage.

Lose once, lose every time. End up at his mercy.

“Maybe this is an opportunity,” she thought to herself. “Maybe I can turn it around and come out on top.”