Chapter 219: Nobody's Gossiping

Mu Jiang was sent away.

When she left, she was so ill that she was barely conscious. Supported by maids and old matrons, she was dressed in heavy layers; because she could not be exposed to the wind, her head and face were wrapped up.

Even after she was helped into the carriage, her coughing could still be heard.

Her breath was weak, and even her coughs were faint, as though she might stop breathing at any moment.

Huan Qingtang had been hiding in her courtyard and refusing to go out these days. It was from the people around her that she heard about what had happened.

“What are the servants saying?” she asked, slowly stirring aside the floating tea leaves, her tone indifferent.

Her confidante replied, “Almost no one is talking about it.”

Huan Qingtang’s hand paused.

She slowly lifted her eyes. A glimmer of moisture seemed to gather in them. “No one is gossiping?”

Her confidante fell silent.

Mu Jiang had been Duke Chen’s concubine. Yet no one openly discussed her departure from the duke’s residence. This showed just how formidable Cheng Zhao’s authority had become.

The servants had all tacitly accepted that Mu Jiang would never return, while the Duke’s wife, Cheng Zhao, naturally possessed the rightful position. Speaking about the matter would only invite trouble.

Huan Qingtang lowered her head and took a sip of tea.

The tea was scalding hot, leaving the tip of her tongue numb. For a long while, she could taste nothing at all.

She ought to go out and resume handling affairs.

At Jingyun Court, Second Madam did ask Cheng Zhao about it.

“...It really was your grandmother’s idea?” Second Madam asked.

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t your grandmother have kept her around so she could continue making trouble and causing you all difficulties?” Second Madam asked, puzzled.

“After she was beaten with the boards, she had no value left, Mother,” Cheng Zhao replied.

Second Madam sighed softly.

She said nothing more.

Mu Jiang left quietly, without causing a stir.

Xian Si, who lived in Yujin Court, had always been a quiet person. After Mu Jiang left, she became even more withdrawn.

The more dutifully she behaved, the more people watched her.

Everyone from Shou’an Court to Huan Qingtang, even the servants, seemed curious about how she would win the Duke’s favor.

Even the people around Cheng Zhao remained wary of her, keeping a close eye on her at all times.

“Young Madam, do you think she feels that her opportunity has arrived?” Suyue asked.

“From the few times I’ve interacted with her, she does seem dutiful,” Cheng Zhao said.

“Do you think she’s a good person?”

“Suyue, what does it mean to be a good person? In the eyes of the Dowager Madame, Mu Jiang, and the Huan family, I’m not a good person either,” Cheng Zhao replied.

Suyue fell silent.

“I once wanted to live in Chengming Hall. Now, I want to secure my place in Chengming Hall. Everything else is merely a trivial detail and isn’t worth too much of my attention,” Cheng Zhao said.

Nanny Li praised her from the side. “Young Madam truly thinks far ahead.”

The lady of the house, who managed the inner household, was busy every day. Keeping watch over the concubines would only distract her and waste her energy.

It truly was not worth it.

Many titled noblewomen only gradually came to understand this once they grew older. Yet Cheng Zhao was still young, and she and the Duke were currently as close as honey and oil. Even so, she could already see through these matters. She was remarkably wise.

“Bring out my sewing basket,” Cheng Zhao instructed. “When I have some free time, I’ll make the Duke a pair of shoes.”

Qiubai went to fetch it.

Cheng Zhao’s hands were quick and nimble. Before long, she had embroidered the uppers. The work was not exquisite, but it was quite presentable.

Two days later, the shoes were finished.

Zhou Yuanshen put them on, and his dark eyes brightened slightly. “They’re very comfortable.”

“If you like them, I’ll make you another pair next time,” Cheng Zhao said with a smile.

It had taken a great deal of time and left her neck and wrists aching, but when she saw the look on his face, she still could not help but be generous again.

“I’m worried you’ll tire yourself out,” he said. “One pair is more than enough.”

He wore the shoes when they went to Jingyun Court for dinner.

Second Madam noticed them at once. “What a finely made pair of double-soled shoes. Where did they come from?”

“Cheng Zhao made them,” Zhou Yuanshen replied.

“Zhaozhao can do this as well?” Second Madam asked, pleasantly surprised.

Beside them, Zhou Yuanqi said, “Why won’t you make me a pair?”

“Wait for your wife to make them for you,” Cheng Zhao replied.

Second Madam added, “Your sister-in-law is very busy. How could she have time to make shoes?”

Zhou Yuanqi curled his lips. “That brute is rough and careless. He’ll wear through a pair in just a few days. Giving them to him would be a waste.”

—You might as well give them to me.

“No need to trouble yourself,” Zhou Yuanshen said blandly.

He very casually stretched his foot a little farther out.

Zhou Yuanqi spotted it immediately and cursed him inwardly for showing off.

They finished dinner amid lively banter.

Second Madam did not bring up a single troubling matter—not Song-shi’s death, Huan Qingtang’s low profile, or Mu Jiang’s departure.

She merely said to Cheng Zhao, “The weather is growing colder by the day. You live so far away now, so you needn’t come here every day.”

“Mother, we have the small carriage. Its walls are made thicker for winter, and there’s a brazier inside. We won’t be cold,” Cheng Zhao said. Then she added, “Are you tired of having us around?”

“What a childish thing to say,” Second Madam replied, pretending to scold her.

“Coming over every day, even if it’s only to sit for a while and exchange a few words, is how we remain close as a family,” Cheng Zhao said. “A good blade may be precious and sharp, but if it’s left unused for too long, it will rust.”

She used an analogy Second Madam could understand.

Zhou Yuanqi said from the side, “Mother, it’s a long way for me to come from the outer residence too. I’m still a child. Why don’t you feel sorry for me?”

“What are you, a child, afraid of?” Second Madam replied.

“I’m going to tell Grandmother that you’re being far too biased now. You don’t love me,” Zhou Yuanqi threatened.

“The fact that I haven’t beaten you is already proof that I love you. And you still dare to complain?” Second Madam said.

Zhou Yuanqi was rendered speechless.

After this exchange of teasing and banter, Second Madam no longer refused to let her son and daughter-in-law come for dinner every day.

A brief meeting allowed them to keep track of one another’s circumstances and prevented malicious people from driving a wedge between them and creating discord within the family.

The fact that Cheng Zhao continued dining at Jingyun Court also spread throughout the Duke’s residence.

The servants all praised Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen for their filial devotion.

The Dowager Madame was convinced that Cheng Zhao was flaunting herself. “She makes a spectacle of even the smallest matter. She’s become far too pleased with herself lately.”

Nanny Sun still suggested giving Cheng Zhao a little warning, so she would understand her place and stop displaying herself so openly.

The Dowager Madame shook her head. “There are more important matters at hand. Let her be as arrogant as she likes.”

Huan Qingtang heard about it as well.

“I’m going to Shou’an Court,” she told her confidante.

The following morning, Huan Qingtang rose early and went to Shou’an Court to pay her respects.

This time, the Dowager Madame received her.

Huan Qingtang’s eyes were slightly swollen, as though she had been crying for a long time—or perhaps had slept poorly.

“...Although I’m in mourning, I shouldn’t let it interfere with managing the household affairs. Leaving everything to my younger sister-in-law is truly too much of a burden for her,” Huan Qingtang said. “She already has so much responsibility on her shoulders and needs to take care of her health.”

One of Cheng Zhao’s burdens was providing the Zhou family with an heir.

With Mu Jiang gone and Xian Si unable to win the Duke’s favor, the continuation of the Zhou family bloodline rested entirely on her.

Huan Qingtang was hinting to the Dowager Madame that this matter could be used to pressure Cheng Zhao.

They could even threaten her: if she remained childless, the Zhou family would divorce her.

The Dowager Madame smiled. “You’re concerned only for your younger sister-in-law. That shows your kindness. But you must also take care of yourself. You have responsibilities on your shoulders as well.”

Tears glimmered in Huan Qingtang’s eyes.

“I will never disappoint Grandmother’s expectations,” Huan Qingtang said.

The Dowager Madame patted her hand and praised her for being obedient and filial.

In early October, Huan Qingtang appeared in the meeting hall of Chengming Hall.

The flower hall fell silent.

The various stewards looked from Huan Qingtang to Cheng Zhao. No one dared speak rashly, afraid of offending either side.

Cheng Zhao stood and asked with concern, “Elder Sister-in-law, are you feeling better?”

“I’m much better now.”

Huan Qingtang was dressed in mourning clothes, with a white flower still pinned at her temple. The plain white garments lent her a graceful, delicate air, making her look even more beautiful and aloof.

“Elder Sister-in-law, please sit. I haven’t called the roll yet,” Cheng Zhao said.