Chapter 16: Quietly Eclipsed

Cheng Zhao ate her fill at Jiangyun Courtyard.

It had been a long time since she had eaten so heartily.

She had a good appetite when she was young. When she turned twelve, her mother told her that her face was getting round, which lacked the refined elegance of a young lady from a noble family, and assigned someone to keep an eye on her during meals.

She was not allowed to chew loudly or eat her fill.

She had to take small bites, eat slowly, and stop when she was 70% full. She was to avoid strong flavors, and only take a small taste of dishes with heavy oil and dark soy sauce.

Now, in Nonghua Courtyard, Nanny Li would occasionally advise her to eat less to avoid "indigestion," subtly reminding her not to get fat.

Currently, thinness was considered the ideal figure, and none of the noble ladies were fat.

The Second Madam practiced the spear year-round, so she wasn't afraid to eat more. Cheng Zhao hadn't felt the satisfaction of a full stomach for a long time.

Satisfied at the time, she suffered from indigestion that night, and her stomach burned terribly.

"I want to take a walk in the courtyard," Cheng Zhao said.

Nanny Li brought her a thick coat and warned her, "Don't go out of the courtyard. If the old women on night patrol see you, they'll surely gossip."

"I won't go far, just walk around the courtyard twice," Cheng Zhao replied.

Nanny Li asked Qiubai to accompany her, carrying a horn lantern.

Qiubai agreed.

The master and servant strolled slowly, chatting about trivial matters.

A dark figure flashed past.

Cheng Zhao glanced back at Qiubai.

Qiubai shook her head at her and whispered, "Just a passerby, it's fine."

It was the same path as the slow-moving snake last time; it was someone belonging to the Duke.

Cheng Zhao said nothing more, smiling bitterly. "This Duke Chen's mansion is so strange."

She had already received the title of a noble lady of Duke Chen's mansion and consummated her marriage with Zhou Yuanshen; she no longer had the chance to "jump ship."

Cheng Zhao could only comfort herself that although the Duke's mansion was strange, at least her parents-in-law were good people, and her brother-in-law was cute and clever.

After strolling twice around the courtyard, Cheng Zhao went back to sleep. It was quite cold outside, but once she returned to the warm inner bedroom, she felt sleepy and finally slept soundly.

The next day, the maid serving the Old Madam came early to Nonghua Courtyard and said to Cheng Zhao, "The Old Madam invites you for breakfast."

Cheng Zhao smiled and replied, "Thank you for the trouble, Sister."

She told Suyue to tip her.

After the maid left, Cheng Zhao washed and changed her clothes. The maid serving the Second Madam also came and told her, "The Old Madam has invited you and our Madam for breakfast."

She added, "The Madam asks you to go to Jiangyun Courtyard and ride in her small oil carriage; you two can squeeze in."

The small oil carriage was a green-curtained carriage with oiled sides, drawn by a single horse or mule, usually used for traveling within the inner courtyards of noble families.

Duke Chen's mansion occupied an entire street, and the back garden couldn't be fully explored in an hour. Nonghua Courtyard and Jiangyun Courtyard were located at the east and west ends of the mansion, respectively, far from the Old Madam's Shou'an Courtyard. Whether it was cold or hot, they had to take a carriage to get there.

Cheng Zhao dressed neatly and went to Jiangyun Courtyard.

The Second Madam was also ready. The small oil carriage was parked at the door, with a sturdy old woman holding the horse, waiting.

"...Why did she suddenly call us over for a meal?" Cheng Zhao asked the Second Madam.

The Second Madam replied, "She only calls me to pay my respects on the first and fifteenth of the month; usually, it's the eldest daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law who serve her. Today is the tenth, not a day for paying respects. Since she called us, she must have something to tell us. It might not be a bad thing."

If it were a bad thing, she would have called them in the mid-afternoon, not early in the morning.

Punishing daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law early in the morning was truly bad luck, and the old lady was very superstitious about it.

"Does it have something to do with the banquet yesterday?" Cheng Zhao asked again.

The Second Madam replied, "Don't ask me; I can't guess the Old Madam's thoughts. She has never liked me."

Cheng Zhao was speechless.

When they arrived at Shou'an Courtyard, they saw Mu Jiang had already arrived and was feeding millet to the birds under the eaves.

Seeing Cheng Zhao and the Second Madam, a look of arrogance appeared on her face first; then, she reluctantly walked down the steps and curtsied to them.

The Second Madam ignored her. She had never considered her a concubine of the second branch, only treating her as someone belonging to the Old Madam; Cheng Zhao didn't mind either.

Entering the main room, they heard voices coming from the inner bedroom.

A maid went in to announce their arrival.

The Eldest Young Madam, Huan Qingtang, came out.

She was wearing a lilac brocade long jacket and had her hair combed into a round bun. Her face was lightly powdered, her eyebrows drawn, and she wore a thin layer of lip rouge, looking gentle and elegant.

She had never given birth, and since she was young, she exuded a strong youthful aura. The Second Madam felt she had more temperament and charm than Mu Jiang—though, of course, she couldn't compare to her own daughter-in-law.

"Second Aunt, Sister-in-law, please sit for a moment; Grandmother will be ready soon," Huan Qingtang smiled.

The Second Madam immediately stopped finding her charming.

Huan Qingtang's attitude of treating herself as the master and the mother and daughter-in-law of the second branch as outsiders, even if she tried hard to hide it, still leaked out a bit.

Her words seemed to be welcoming them, but in reality, they were blocking them from the Old Madam's bedroom.

They were all daughters-in-law, all outsiders, yet they were divided into different classes; it was simply ridiculous.

"Go about your business; we will sit by ourselves," the Second Madam said.

Huan Qingtang smiled slightly, turned, and went back inside.

After Mu Jiang finished feeding the birds, she also entered the main room. As if she couldn't see the Second Madam and her daughter-in-law, she turned and went into the inner bedroom as well.

The Second Madam whispered, "Calling us over early in the morning just to watch their family be affectionate."

Cheng Zhao took the opportunity to squeeze the Second Madam's hand. "We can be affectionate too."

The Second Madam couldn't help but laugh.

Cheng Zhao released her hand and smiled, "Mother, don't mind them. When others put on a show for us, it's deliberately to make you angry. As long as you don't take it to heart, you win."

The Second Madam cared a lot about winning or losing. Cheng Zhao's words hit the nail on the head, and she took two deep breaths, indeed relaxing a lot.

When the Eldest Madam, Madam Song, helped the Old Madam out, Cheng Zhao and the Second Madam were full of smiles and respect, curtsying to the Old Madam.

A hint of surprise flashed in Madam Song's eyes.

Being left out in the cold for so long, the Second Madam, Madam Fan, didn't pull a long face, which surprised her a bit.

"Calling you over, you don't blame this old woman for being meddlesome, do you?" the Old Madam chuckled.

Cheng Zhao spoke up before her mother-in-law, smiling at the Old Madam, "It is only right to pay respects every morning and evening. However, Mother said that Grandmother gets up early to worship Buddha and was afraid of disturbing you. Serving you is filial piety, and being considerate is also filial piety. Mother and this granddaughter-in-law are full of filial piety for you, but we were afraid you didn't know. Being called here this morning, we can finally show our filial piety, and there is only joy left."

The Second Madam thought: ...How good at flattering. Daughter-in-law, how much suffering did you endure in your maiden home to develop such a glib tongue?

If it were the Second Madam, even if she were made to memorize these words, she would be too ashamed to say them.

The Old Madam chuckled, "The Cheng family girl indeed has a clever tongue. No wonder the Eldest Princess also likes you and gave you precious jewelry upon your first meeting."

"The orioles under the eaves are the ones with clever tongues; why didn't the Eldest Princess reward them? The Eldest Princess was only showing you respect by favoring this granddaughter-in-law," Cheng Zhao replied.

The Old Madam's smile deepened. "You child, you really have some insight. That's why they say, when choosing a daughter-in-law, you must choose one from a prestigious family; their perspective doesn't need to be taught."

Huan Qingtang also smiled along.

The Eldest Madam, Madam Song, smiled forcedly; Mu Jiang rolled her eyes and turned her gaze away.

The Second Madam thought: Belittling me again? Forget it, at least you praised my daughter-in-law.

Just standing there for a moment, the Second Madam felt exhausted, her head aching.

Fortunately, the Old Madam didn't continue to torment her, and ordered them to sit in the flower hall for the meal.

While the Old Madam ate, Huan Qingtang and Cheng Zhao stood by to serve; the Eldest Madam, Madam Song, and the Second Madam, Madam Fan, sat as companions; as for Mu Jiang, she sat boldly beside the Old Madam, enjoying the treatment of a "younger sister-in-law."

Huan Qingtang seemed completely oblivious, and Cheng Zhao likewise pretended not to notice.