Chapter 207: Playing Hard to Get, Refusing to Return Home

Cheng Zhao was visiting her family home that day.

Her fourth brother had even reserved a restaurant, and the brothers and sisters went out to have some drinks together.

In the evening, Cheng Zhao brought her eldest sister back to the General's residence for a short stay.

The next day, the two sisters strolled around the General's residence.

"It's a bit small," her eldest sister said. "Even smaller than my courtyard."

"Fine for a short visit, but not for a long stay," Cheng Zhao said with a smile.

Her eldest sister added, "It's elegant and tranquil, and Yuanshen earned it himself. This place is very good."

"He loves it here," Cheng Zhao said.

As she spoke, her ears grew slightly warm.

She felt that Zhou Yuanshen here was more bold and reckless in his behavior, three parts more unrestrained than when he was in the Duke's mansion, as if all the restraints on him had scattered.

"Looks like you quite enjoy it too," her eldest sister teased, her words carrying a double meaning.

Cheng Zhao: "..."

In the afternoon, the sisters sat idly in the small rear garden pavilion of the General's residence.

The osmanthus blossoms had not yet all fallen, and a faint floral fragrance drifted through the garden; a few plates of delicate pastries were laid out, exquisite and delicious.

On the stone table in the pavilion sat a small tea stove, and her eldest sister personally boiled water to brew tea. Tea sets were arranged nearby.

Cheng Zhao hesitated several times, as if about to speak.

"What do you want to ask?" her eldest sister encouraged her with a smile. "It's fine—whatever we say here, I won't tell anyone."

Cheng Zhao hesitated a few more times before finally telling her eldest sister what Zhou Yuanshen had asked of her.

"Zhaozhao, you really should consider this matter," her eldest sister said with a smile. "You are husband and wife, not just the Duke of Chen and the Duchess."

"Being the Duchess is easy; being a wife is hard," Cheng Zhao said.

She added, "Wouldn't plain and simple be better, eldest sister? Some trees never bloom their whole lives, yet still tower into the clouds."

"If your aspiration is to be a tree that never blooms, that's all well and good. But I'm afraid that as time goes on, your heart will harbor regrets," her eldest sister said.

Cheng Zhao did not answer.

Her eldest sister continued, "Yuanshen's words have shaken you, which shows your resolve is not so firm either."

She also said, "A tree that blooms is not necessarily one that cannot grow tall."

Cheng Zhao let out a soft sigh.

"The water is boiling," her eldest sister said.

The water on the small tea stove was bubbling, and white steam drifted out from the spout.

Cheng Zhao took out the tea leaves and handed them to her eldest sister.

Her eldest sister poured in the hot water and began brewing the tea. Her tea-making skill was excellent, her movements fluid, and Cheng Zhao watched without blinking.

After a moment, the fragrant tea was poured into a teacup, and she handed it to Cheng Zhao.

"Not hot anymore—so fragrant," Cheng Zhao said.

As she spoke, she suddenly paused.

She looked at the teacup.

"What's wrong, does it taste off?" her eldest sister asked.

"I was just thinking—the water for brewing tea must be boiled; but it's best to drink it once it's cooled slightly," Cheng Zhao said.

"Yes, who can drink boiling-hot tea?"

"What I've always feared is the boiling tea, eldest sister," Cheng Zhao said.

She was afraid of having too deep a bond with Zhou Yuanshen—like bringing her emotions to a boil, steaming and bubbling, fervent and intense.

At that point, she would lose her rationality.

She would become jealous and greedy.

But if the water never boils, the tea leaves won't release their fragrance, and the tea will have no flavor.

Cheng Zhao wanted to become the revered old matriarch; she needed a more harmonious and stable family, a more solid marital relationship.

If she never brought the water of her marriage with Zhou Yuanshen to a boil, what kind of good tea could she brew?

This wasn't about trees blooming or not blooming—it was a cup of tea.

She hadn't experienced it yet. In another ten or twenty years, could she still drink tea brewed with lukewarm water, bland and astringent?

How could she refuse to bring this pot of water to a rolling boil?

When it boils, there is inevitably the risk of scalding, but it is also essential for brewing tea.

"...It seems you've had an epiphany," her eldest sister said, observing her expression and smiling.

Cheng Zhao nodded. "An awakening."

"Good, as long as you can see it clearly," her eldest sister said. "You're growing up day by day, Zhaozhao. Time really flies."

She added, "Back then you were so small—Mother carried you over... from the wet nurse. All wrinkled, I was a bit scared to look at you. But within a few months you blossomed, so beautiful, I wished I could be by your side every day."

"You were still a child yourself then."

"I was already twelve," her eldest sister said with a laugh. "Think about when you were twelve—you had such strong opinions."

Cheng Zhao still remembered her twelfth year clearly; she had felt she was practically an adult.

Her eldest sister then recounted some amusing stories from Cheng Zhao's childhood.

Cheng Zhao had been unusually perceptive from a young age; by four or five, her intellect was already remarkable.

The two sisters always enjoyed each other's company, and before she knew it, her eldest sister had stayed at Cheng Zhao's place for two days.

She had to return home—she still had three children to look after. Though each had their own wet nurse, her eldest sister couldn't stay away from them for long.

She told Cheng Zhao not to be afraid: "Your grandmother-in-law is more anxious than you."

Cheng Zhao nodded.

She prepared several gifts for her eldest sister to take back for her niece Heng'er.

Another three days passed, around the time Zhou Yuanshen was due back from the capital garrison, when the Zhou family once again sent someone to the General's residence.

This time, it was actually Nanny Sun who came in person.

"...Young Madam, do you wish to see her?" Suyue asked.

Cheng Zhao replied, "I have to see her. If she appears in person, it's as good as the Dowager Madame appearing herself."

Since Nanny Sun had come, the Dowager Madame must have calmed down and started thinking about the real matters at hand.

Cheng Zhao received Nanny Sun in the front hall of the General's residence.

Nanny Sun was always stern, and this time was no different.

"Young Madam, the Dowager Madame requests that you return to the mansion to stay. The restoration of Ronghua Courtyard requires your own input," Nanny Sun said.

Her face was stiff and proper as she looked calmly at Cheng Zhao, her gaze sharp.

Cheng Zhao spoke in a gentle and composed manner: "When Ronghua Courtyard caught fire, someone tried to burn me to death. I was frightened."

She added, "I heard the termite inspection is finished—they found the nest in Second Aunt's courtyard, and she's moved back; my dowry staff have moved to the servants' quarters, and Ronghua Courtyard is empty awaiting repairs?"

"Young Madam certainly has far-reaching connections—even from the General's residence, you know everything about the Duke's mansion," Nanny Sun said.

Cheng Zhao replied, "I am, after all, the Duchess."

"The Dowager Madame said the Duchess may temporarily stay at Chengming Hall," Nanny Sun said.

Cheng Zhao looked rather surprised. "Then has the arsonist been caught?"

"It was the First Madam," Nanny Sun said.

Cheng Zhao said, "Aunt?"

Nanny Sun said, "The First Madam confessed herself. She placed a fire-accelerating powder inside the Buddhist scriptures. When a spark from the incense fell onto the scriptures by accident, it would ignite within half an hour."

Cheng Zhao: "..."

So there had been an unexpected windfall.

Cheng Zhao's idea of having someone set the fire had actually originated from her aunt.

That time, her aunt had looked at Cheng Zhao with a venomous expression and offered to embroider scriptures for her—that had given Cheng Zhao the idea of starting a fire in the small prayer hall.

She just hadn't known how her aunt would do it or plan it.

Cheng Zhao had followed that path and done it first.

In the end, it really was the scriptures that were the problem.

Her aunt was simply too impatient.

She had experienced little in her life, her horizons confined to the inner quarters, and she had never faced much hardship before Cheng Zhao married in—she was far too rash.

"I never imagined she would try to burn me to death," Cheng Zhao said, pressing a hand to her chest.

"You may return and ask her yourself," Nanny Sun said.

Cheng Zhao said, "I don't think this was my aunt's idea. Perhaps someone misled her into believing that killing me would let her return to Chengming Hall."

Nanny Sun seemed about to say something, but held back.

She knew whom Cheng Zhao was referring to.

Cheng Zhao: "Mother, please go back. I’ll wait for Lord Duke to return to the city, and then we’ll go home together."

Nanny Sun: "Young Madam, you must go and pay your respects to the Dowager Madame. She is waiting for you."

Cheng Zhao: "Grandmother would not be so harsh as to torment a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. With Lord Duke away from home, I am afraid. I was nearly burned to death."

Nanny Sun: "..."

You weren’t even there the day of the fire—how were you nearly burned to death?