Chapter 222: Childhood Fun

Cheng Zhao waited for Zhou Yuanshen to return.

Zhou Yuanshen came back rather early that day.

Seeing that the stewards had already dispersed from the reception hall, he asked, “Are today’s affairs over so quickly?”

“They quarreled a little. Since tomorrow’s matters have to be put off again, they simply postponed the afternoon’s work as well,” Cheng Zhao replied.

The household affairs of the Duke of Chen’s residence were orderly and well managed. Even if no one attended to them for half a month, nothing would go wrong. Of course, if the head of the household was incompetent and weak, it could just as easily result in wicked servants bullying their master.

The Dowager Madame was indeed highly capable. Although she had not managed affairs for many years, her authority was deeply rooted in everyone’s hearts.

Cheng Zhao’s feelings toward the Dowager Madame were exceedingly complicated. She admired her, detested her, and felt that she resembled her greatly—yet she was determined not to become like her...

“Who was quarreling with whom?” Zhou Yuanshen asked.

His question brought Cheng Zhao back to herself.

Cheng Zhao told him about the disagreement between herself and Huan Qingtang.

Zhou Yuanshen praised her. “That was a fine retort. Cheng Zhao, there’s nothing you can’t answer and no situation you can’t handle.”

Cheng Zhao broke into a nervous sweat. “What scheme are you plotting now?”

The previous night, he had praised her a little too much. Overcome with emotion, Cheng Zhao had climbed into his arms, costing herself more than an hour of sleep.

There was no smile on Zhou Yuanshen’s face, but his eyes were unnaturally bright. He reached out and stroked her head.

Cheng Zhao: “...”

Perhaps his palm was simply too warm. A wave of heat rose to her cheeks, and the tips of her ears began to burn.

“Talk about serious matters!” she said, shifting to the side.

She mentioned the snow-viewing banquet at the Prince of Jingnan’s residence and then asked Zhou Yuanshen about what he had said that morning.

Knowing that she had not heard him clearly earlier, Zhou Yuanshen repeated himself.

Cheng Zhao was astonished after hearing him out. “For such a minor matter, you dragged my eldest and third sisters into it?”

“No matter how capable a general is, without thousands of troops under his command, it is difficult to win every battle. We have never fought alone.

“As long as we remain undefeated, if your eldest or third sister ever encounters difficulties, I will do my best to help them. I can repay that favor.

“And as for matters within the inner household, it would be inappropriate for me to interfere on your behalf. Was I supposed to stand by and watch you fall behind? I had no choice but to ask them for help,” Zhou Yuanshen said.

Cheng Zhao stared at him blankly, unable to speak for a moment.

Only after the warmth in her heart had gradually subsided was she able to reply calmly, “They’re all trivial matters.”

“I only helped with a small thing,” he said.

Cheng Zhao reached out and took his hand.

Zhou Yuanshen clasped hers in return and pulled her over. Cheng Zhao ended up sitting in his lap.

He kissed her gently.

The husband and wife leaned against each other, neither saying another word. The room was heated by an underfloor warming system, and as the warm air drifted around them, Cheng Zhao felt both her face and her heart slowly beginning to burn.

It was still a long while before nightfall...

She stood up. “There’s still snow in the courtyard. Let’s build a snowman.”

Then, after thinking it over, she changed her mind. “Let’s go build one in Jiangyun Court and show it off to Fifth Younger Brother.”

Whenever she got something good, she wanted to show it off to Zhou Yuanqi.

Showing it to other people would be frivolous bragging. Showing it to Zhou Yuanqi was simply a way to annoy him.

Zhou Yuanshen agreed without hesitation. “All right.”

He did not mock Cheng Zhao for being childish.

The couple took a small carriage to Jiangyun Court.

The underfloor heating had also been lit in Jiangyun Court. The large heated brick bed beside the eastern side room’s window was warm as well. The Second Madam ordered the maids to serve hot tea and asked the couple, “Why have you come so early today?”

Cheng Zhao replied, “We wanted to build a snowman.”

The Second Madam’s eyes lit up. “That sounds fun.”

She never spoiled anyone’s mood and was an excellent mother-in-law.

With Zhou Yuanshen doing most of the work, while the Second Madam and two sturdy older maids assisted him, they soon built an angler in the courtyard.

The Second Madam then called for a maid. “Go find a straw rain cape and bamboo hat.”

The maid acknowledged the order.

When Zhou Yuanqi entered, it was dusk, and the light was gradually fading. Seeing someone sitting in the courtyard, he jumped in surprise.

“Who is that?”

Cheng Zhao and the Second Madam were each holding a hand warmer beneath the eaves, chatting idly. Zhou Yuanshen stood with his hands behind his back, occasionally adding a comment.

Hearing Zhou Yuanqi’s voice, Cheng Zhao laughed. “What do you think of this?”

Zhou Yuanqi had thought it was his father sitting in the courtyard. As it happened, his father came out after changing clothes, wearing a cloak with a fur collar.

“Who could be so bored as to make such a useless thing?” Zhou Yuanqi glanced at his elder brother.

“I built it,” Cheng Zhao said.

Zhou Yuanqi looked the snowman up and down for a long while before sneering. “You packed it so tightly. Where would you have gotten the strength?”

It must have been made by a brute.

“You have a sharp eye. Lord Duke did indeed make it,” Cheng Zhao said. “Isn’t it lifelike?”

Zhou Yuanqi: “...”

No one had praised him. Why were you acting as though you had something to be proud of?

Building an angler in the courtyard was vulgar and uninteresting.

He would not look at it again. Otherwise, he might become vulgar as well.

That was what Zhou Yuanqi told himself, yet he still circled the snowman twice.

The Second Madam suppressed a laugh. “Yuanqi, if you truly like it so much, ask your Third Brother to build one in your courtyard too.”

“Such a little trinket of clever workmanship is nothing I need. There are bamboo plants in my courtyard. They are refined enough,” Zhou Yuanqi replied.

“A bamboo grove beneath the snow, with an angler among it—that sounds even more poetic,” the Second Madam said.

Zhou Yuanqi: “...”

After dinner, Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen took the small carriage back home.

The Second Madam instructed the older maids to arrange another small carriage for Zhou Yuanqi as well.

Zhou Yuanqi dawdled and refused to leave.

“What is it?” the Second Master asked him. “Did you leave something behind?”

“Father, move that angler to my courtyard. Be careful when you carry it, or it might fall apart,” Zhou Yuanqi said.

The Second Madam asked, “Weren’t you just calling it vulgar?”

“A scholar isn’t afraid of vulgar objects. I can keep them under control,” Zhou Yuanqi said.

The Second Madam replied, “If you like it, just say so. There’s nothing embarrassing about that.”

Zhou Yuanqi: “...”

The Second Master doted on his child. Sure enough, he found a handcart and helped Zhou Yuanqi move the snowman to his courtyard.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuanshen was strong, and the snow had indeed been packed very firmly. Even after being carried and shifted around like that, the snowman did not come loose in the slightest.

“Next time you take a fancy to something, ask your Third Brother to make it for you,” the Second Master said. “Who told him to be your elder brother?”

Zhou Yuanqi raised his chin proudly. “If his work is worthy of my attention, he ought to feel honored.”

The Second Master said, “After the New Year, you won’t be allowed to talk like that anymore.”

“Why not?”

“You’re getting older by the day. You’re no longer a little child. If you keep speaking this way, your Third Brother will hit you,” the Second Master said with a laugh.

Zhou Yuanqi: “...”

Having obtained the snowman, Zhou Yuanqi was delighted, though he still put on an air of indifference. He amused the Second Master immensely.

He really was still a child.

Zhaozhao could be like a child sometimes too. Her proud manner was exactly like Zhou Yuanqi’s.

The next day, Cheng Zhao returned to her parents’ home.

As expected, her second sister-in-law had invited quite a few people to view the snow. They were all young married ladies of her acquaintance, along with relatives and friends she got along well with.

“...I also invited Eldest Sister and A-Ying, but neither of them is coming. A-Ying’s family is hosting a banquet, while Eldest Sister accepted an invitation from the Princess Consort Jingnan and went to the Zhang residence,” the second sister-in-law said.

Cheng Zhao did not mention the plans they had made for that day. She merely said, “We see each other every day anyway. Missing one occasion won’t hurt. Another day, we can invite them to view the plum blossoms.”

She smoothly changed the subject.

When they went to change clothes midway through the gathering, the sisters-in-law spoke privately. The second sister-in-law even asked Cheng Zhao, “Have you been bullied? Mammy Li said the Dowager Madame was restricting your outings.”

Cheng Zhao explained the matter to her.

The Dowager Madame had not forbidden her from going out; it was simply that invitations no longer passed through her hands.

The second sister-in-law studied her expression. “You don’t seem discouraged at all.”

“Just a small matter.”

“That’s exactly how it should be,” her second sister-in-law said with a smile.

Cheng Zhao had a very pleasant day at her family home.

When she returned to the Duke of Chen’s residence, she first went to pay her respects to the Dowager Madame, then headed to Jiangyun Courtyard.

By the time she arrived, Zhou Yuanqi was there as well, carrying a generous selection of pastries.

“They were given to me by Grandmother. They’re delicious, so I brought them for you and Third Brother. That way, you won’t accuse me of keeping all the good things for myself,” Zhou Yuanqi said.

Cheng Zhao couldn’t help laughing at his teasing.

Huan Qingtang returned rather early that day.

The rumors about her did not reach the Second Madam’s ears until the following day. The Second Madam then told Cheng Zhao about them.