Chapter 216: “Praise Killing Cheng Zhao”
In the inner room of Chengming Hall, neither Cheng Zhao nor Zhou Yuanshen had gone to sleep.
Zhou Yuanshen still had to go to the mourning hall later. For the next few days, he would have to keep vigil by the coffin.
“...Cheng Zhao, if I tell you not to be afraid, will you be afraid?” Zhou Yuanshen asked her.
“I’m not afraid,” Cheng Zhao replied.
“You’re an intelligent person. You understand what I mean.”
Cheng Zhao fell silent.
“My father once said that Aunt, my eldest uncle, and my second cousin all died under very suspicious circumstances,” Zhou Yuanshen continued.
Anyone who considered the cause of Eldest Madam Song’s death would understand exactly where the suspicion lay.
No one was allowed to stand in the way.
The Zhou family’s power and status were the path to the Grand Madam’s wealth and glory. There could not be a single obstacle on that road.
“There are still three brothers in our branch. That’s more than enough. Even if two more were to die, it wouldn’t matter,” Zhou Yuanshen added.
Cheng Zhao shivered.
Outside, the shadows of the trees swayed. Then, all at once, a gust of wind rose.
The wind grew stronger, rattling the windows. Startled by the sudden commotion, Cheng Zhao instinctively moved closer to Zhou Yuanshen.
He wrapped an arm around her.
She put her arms around his waist and simply nestled into his embrace.
After a while, the wind still had not stopped. In fact, it grew fiercer by the moment.
Nanny Li instructed the maids on night duty to secure the doors and windows once more.
Only then did Cheng Zhao say, “The weather is going to change these next few days. It was unnaturally hot during the day.”
“Yes.”
It was merely a coincidence that the wind had risen in the middle of the night.
A remarkably convenient coincidence, considering what they had been discussing.
Zhou Yuanshen said, “I’m not going to keep vigil tonight. I’ll stay with you. Let Father and Yuanqi go instead.”
“The sudden wind will make the mourning hall frightening enough. Don’t frighten Yuanqi as well,” Cheng Zhao said. “You should go. I’ll have Qiubai and Suyue come in and sleep with me.”
She glanced at the warm chamber and continued, “We’ll sleep in the warm chamber tonight. Close both doors of the room. Then there’ll be nothing to fear.”
“Are you really all right?” Zhou Yuanshen asked.
“It isn’t only family members who are keeping vigil. There are also members of the clan and the household stewards. We can’t give anyone an opportunity to find fault with us, especially at a time like this,” Cheng Zhao said.
If they made even one mistake, they would have less leverage when facing the Grand Madam in the future.
Zhou Yuanshen gently kissed her between the brows. “Make sure you keep the doors and windows shut.”
“All right,” Cheng Zhao replied.
She still saw him out.
In the middle of the night, the wind suddenly rose. It was fierce enough to make the treetops in the distance seem to wail, while Zhou Yuanshen’s mourning robes fluttered wildly.
Nanfeng was waiting at the gate, carrying a windproof lantern.
But the wind was too strong. Even the lantern was blown this way and that, its light flickering between brightness and darkness.
After Zhou Yuanshen left, Nanny Li ordered the courtyard gate to be shut.
Suyue and Qiubai stayed with Cheng Zhao in the warm chamber, while Nanny Li slept on the heated brick bed by the window.
The wind outside showed no sign of stopping. It carried a mournful edge, like the cries of ghosts.
Cheng Zhao could not sleep.
Qiubai and Suyue were awake as well. Whenever they heard her turn over, they asked whether she wanted some water. Nanny Li, on the other hand, had fallen sound asleep on the heated bed and was even snoring softly.
The sound was oddly comforting amid the noisy night.
Cheng Zhao felt thirsty.
Qiubai poured three cups of water and carried them into the warm chamber. The three women sat up to drink and chat.
“...Second Madam is truly softhearted,” Suyue said. “I certainly wouldn’t feel sorry for Eldest Madam. She tried to burn you to death last time.”
Cheng Zhao sipped her water slowly. Only after a moment did she say, “Mother-in-law has many virtues. People with obvious strengths often have equally obvious weaknesses. I don’t mind that she’s softhearted. She may be gentle, but she never holds us back.”
“That’s true,” Suyue said.
Qiubai added, “Compared with most women, Second Madam really is very good to our Young Madam.”
“If I had any other mother-in-law, my path would not have been so smooth,” Cheng Zhao said.
Qiubai and Suyue both nodded.
After finishing their cups of water, Suyue went out to put them away and covered the bright-angle lamp on the table.
The warm chamber sank into darkness.
Nanny Li slept deeply, her snores growing louder. In the chaotic night of wind and rain, the familiar sound was strangely reassuring.
“Do you think it will snow tonight?” Qiubai asked.
“It probably won’t,” Suyue replied. “The weather was so fine during the day. If it were going to snow, the sky would have to remain overcast for several days.”
“I think it will probably rain.”
Cheng Zhao thought so too.
Not long after they finished speaking, raindrops began to strike the roof and windowsills.
Mixed with the wind, the sound of rain finally lulled Cheng Zhao to sleep.
Nanny Li woke her at dawn the next morning.
It was still raining outside.
The wind had not stopped. The rain was not heavy, but it drifted everywhere in fine, dense sheets.
The temperature had dropped sharply. The previous morning, a single layer of clothing had been enough; today, she needed padded clothes, and could even wear a light winter coat.
“Do you think anyone will come to offer condolences today?” Suyue asked.
“In this cold, rainy weather, there probably won’t be many visitors,” Cheng Zhao replied.
Nanny Li brought out Cheng Zhao’s wind cloak and draped it over her shoulders. “Even if no one comes, we still have to be prepared.”
The bitter wind and rain did not stop until the following dawn, as though someone had been weeping over their sorrow and resentment.
After the rain, the sky remained overcast. Once the wind died down, guests offering condolences suddenly began arriving in large numbers. Everyone was afraid of encountering another bout of bad weather and being unable to make the journey in time.
Cheng Zhao was busy from morning until night.
Huan Qingtang fainted from grief three times in the mourning hall. Cheng Zhao sent her nourishing tonics and personally went to comfort her.
Many people witnessed it.
When the Zhou family’s funeral was over, Eldest Madam Song was buried in the Zhou family’s ancestral tombs, and her memorial tablet was placed in the ancestral shrine. The Marquis of Changling’s title was stripped from the estate; some were executed, while others were exiled. The entire household collapsed in an instant.
Quite a few families were implicated along with the Marquis of Changling’s residence.
Throughout the early winter in the capital, the great clans and noble families grew bleak and withdrawn. Banquets among the highborn became increasingly rare, and everyone shut themselves indoors to “avoid the cold.”
Someone began singing Cheng Zhao’s praises.
“She handled everything during the funeral with such care. No wonder she’s the legitimate daughter of the Cheng clan of Wu Commandery. She truly has grace and ability.”
At the same time, they disparaged Huan Qingtang.
“She does nothing but cry. When something happens, she has no idea what to do. You can’t rely on her.”
When Cheng Zhao’s mother heard about it, she sent a senior steward woman to deliver winter tonics and told Cheng Zhao what was being said.
“Why would anyone spread such rumors?” Cheng Zhao asked with a frown.
Belittling Huan Qingtang while excessively praising Cheng Zhao—what was the purpose? In such turbulent times, whoever was behind it was deliberately creating trouble for Cheng Zhao.
“I don’t know who started it. Madam said she would ask the Princess of Jingnan to help clarify matters on your behalf. Madam and the Princess of Jingnan both have considerable influence among the noblewomen,” the steward woman said.
“Please thank Mother for me,” Cheng Zhao replied.
And so Cheng Zhao’s mother and the Princess of Jingnan began saying that Cheng Zhao had been efficient because the Zhou household was well ordered, because the Grand Madam commanded great respect, and because everyone was willing to show Cheng Zhao deference. As for Huan Qingtang fainting several times from grief, it was simply because she was filial.
The label of “filial” suited her perfectly. No one could use it as an excuse to accuse Huan Qingtang of incompetence.
Little by little, the voices praising Cheng Zhao while belittling Huan Qingtang died down.
“Those people watching from the outside never fear making matters worse,” Suyue said. “They’re terrified you might suffer too little.”
Cheng Zhao replied, “Things have been too chaotic lately. It doesn’t matter. They can’t damage my foundations.”
“The Eldest Young Madam’s side still thinks you were the one who started those rumors,” Suyue said angrily. “I ran into the chief maid beside her this morning. She was practically sticking her nose in the air at me.”
Cheng Zhao told her not to get angry.
Then she said, “With Eldest Uncle’s wife gone, she’s the only person left in the eldest branch.”
“She has no children and no imperial title. To put it harshly, there’s practically no eldest branch left. She can’t hold it up on her own,” Suyue said.
A woman could not be considered an independent household unless the court had granted her the right to establish a separate female household. A widowed woman with an imperial title naturally still possessed some standing.
Huan Qingtang had none of that.
She might not have been pretending when she fainted from grief during her mother-in-law’s funeral.
Her circumstances had become exceedingly difficult.
“What I’m afraid of is that she’ll take desperate measures and become even more unhinged,” Nanny Li said. “It’s best not to provoke her.”
“Who has the time to provoke her? Our young madam is far too busy,” Suyue replied.
But would Huan Qingtang really behave herself if they left her alone?
A cornered dog would leap over the wall. Who knew what she might do in the future? The thought made Suyue glance at Cheng Zhao worriedly.
Cheng Zhao, however, remained perfectly calm.
“Life has to be lived one day at a time,” Cheng Zhao said.
Whether it was soldiers at the gate or floodwaters breaking through, she would deal with each problem as it came. The road ahead was never destined to be smooth, and Cheng Zhao had been prepared for that from the start.