Chapter 226: A Substantial Harvest
A small covered carriage waited outside Shou’an Hall.
Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen had gone to Jiangyun Court for dinner.
Second Madam had already learned everything that had happened that day, including the fact that Cheng Zhao had spent four hours copying Buddhist scriptures in Shou’an Hall.
Her heart ached for her and she had a rough-serving matron massage Cheng Zhao, loosening her muscles and bones so they would not stiffen and ache.
Cheng Zhao did not refuse.
“...Lady Huan is hateful, and the Old Lady is hateful too!” Second Madam cursed. “Why don’t we take this matter to the Empress and see what they can do!”
They always picked on the weakest target, bullying such a lovely young girl, fair as frost and snow.
How could they be so vicious and heartless?
They might as well torment her instead. She could endure it. But how could Zhao Zhao possibly stand it?
Second Madam was both furious and heartbroken, wishing she could storm over to Shou’an Hall and demand an explanation. Nanny Fan persuaded her not to; when Second Master returned, he held her back as well.
Cheng Zhao smiled. “Mother, making a scene would only hurt me. At a time like this, if I resist Grandmother and earn a reputation for being unfilial, wouldn’t I just be helping Eldest Sister-in-law? I would rather copy Buddhist scriptures.”
When she needed to be forceful, Cheng Zhao gave up not an inch. When she needed to show weakness, she could lower her head as well.
“That’s true. Everyone outside is talking about her. If the subject turns to you, she’ll be delighted,” Second Madam said.
Second Master nodded from the side. “Zhao Zhao knows exactly where to draw the line. No one can find fault with anything she does.”
The Cheng family had deep roots and placed great importance on proper upbringing. That was how they had raised such an exceptional daughter.
Whoever’s household Cheng Zhao became mistress of would be blessed by her.
Second Master felt that he and his wife could now enjoy their later years in peace. Cheng Zhao was capable of managing everything, and they would no longer need to worry on her behalf.
She truly had that ability.
Even when facing the Dowager Madame, Second Master would feel intimidated. Cheng Zhao, however, could employ both firmness and softness, never allowing herself to fall into a disadvantageous position.
“Does your hand still hurt?” Zhou Yuanqi asked as well.
“A little,” Cheng Zhao replied.
“Copying for four hours straight—you really are something,” Zhou Yuanqi said. “If I held a brush for four hours, my wrist would swell.”
Second Madam said, “That’s because you’re useless. I told you to practice with your spear.”
Then she added, “Your third brother has been practicing spear work since he began his lessons. His wrist has never swelled.”
Zhou Yuanqi was deeply displeased. “Mother!”
He had been showing concern for his sister-in-law. How had his mother suddenly turned around and started criticizing him?
His mother came back to herself when he called out, and ordered the chief maid, “Bring in a handkerchief soaked in hot water and have the Young Madam use it as a compress.”
The chief maid went to do so.
Once the massage was over, Cheng Zhao obediently draped the hot handkerchief over her right wrist.
It was time to eat, and Second Madam once again ordered the chief maid to feed Cheng Zhao.
Cheng Zhao hurriedly said she did not need help.
After dinner, they returned.
Second Madam spent the entire evening sighing over Cheng Zhao’s suffering, while Second Master said that the Dowager Madame was already a spent force.
“...I only hope the children understand what must never be done,” Second Master said suddenly.
Second Madam did not understand. “What must never be done?”
Second Master remained silent for a long while.
He was very afraid that the Dowager Madame would die at the hands of Zhou Yuanshen and Cheng Zhao.
That could not happen. It would leave them with a disgraceful reputation that would be condemned for generations.
He only hoped the children understood the seriousness of the matter. Even if they were driven to the brink, they must not commit an irreversible mistake.
Cheng Zhao returned to Chengming Hall, where Nanny Li and the others immediately came out to welcome her.
“This old servant went back to the Cheng residence and informed Madam and the others about what happened to you,” Nanny Li said. “I’ll go again tomorrow to let them know you’re safe.”
Cheng Zhao had said she would return home, only to end up not going. Naturally, the Cheng family had been anxious as well.
“I’ll go back tomorrow,” Cheng Zhao said.
Nanny Li nodded, then looked her over. “Did you suffer much? I heard you were punished by being made to copy Buddhist scriptures.”
Unless someone deliberately concealed what had happened in Shou’an Hall, the entire household would soon know.
Cheng Zhao said, “This little bit of hardship is nothing. When I was young, my mother often punished me by making me copy scriptures too, to teach me and my fourth brother a lesson.”
She added, “Whenever I was punished as a child, it was always together with my fourth brother.”
Nanny Li thought Cheng Zhao was about to sigh over the deep bond between herself and Cheng Chao, siblings who had grown up inseparable. Instead, she heard her say, “That scoundrel Cheng Chao was always dragging me into trouble.”
Nanny Li: “...”
To be fair, it was not entirely Fourth Young Master’s fault every time they were punished together...
But that could not be said aloud. The moment it was mentioned, Cheng Zhao would lose her temper.
That night, beneath the bed curtains, Zhou Yuanshen also massaged her wrist.
His hands were strong, and before long the skin around Cheng Zhao’s wrist felt warm.
She wanted to talk about something, but she was too tired. The moment she closed her eyes, she sank into dreams and slept utterly unaware of the world.
When she awoke the next morning, daylight had already filled the room. To her surprise, Zhou Yuanshen was still there.
“...I don’t have to attend court today. I’ll accompany you to your parents’ home,” Zhou Yuanshen said.
Cheng Zhao agreed.
Perhaps her grandfather and father wanted to speak with him as well. After all, he was also involved in the rumors surrounding the Jingnan Prince’s residence.
The gifts prepared the day before were still there. Qiubai arranged for them to be carried to the carriage, and the young couple set out.
When Cheng Zhao arrived at the Cheng residence, she found Eldest Sister, Third Sister, and her second sister-in-law all in her mother’s courtyard.
Her two sisters had stayed at their parents’ home after Cheng Zhao failed to arrive the previous day.
Zhou Yuanshen exchanged greetings with everyone before being led by a servant to the outer study to meet Cheng Zhao’s grandfather.
“How is it?” Eldest Sister took her hand and examined her repeatedly. “Is your hand swollen?”
“My mother-in-law had someone massage it for me and then applied a hot compress. It’s perfectly fine this morning,” Cheng Zhao said.
She moved her wrist around.
She used this hand for calligraphy, sword practice, and needlework on a daily basis. How could it be so easily injured? She was not made of clay.
“Did Lady Huan deliberately provoke you?” her mother asked.
Cheng Zhao nodded.
She then told her mother and sisters how Huan Qingtang had behaved at the time.
“Lady Huan does seem rather calculating,” her second sister-in-law said.
“She has all the cunning, but none of the strategy. If she wanted to attack, she should at least have known herself and her enemy. She charged in without even knowing how much food or how many soldiers the other side had,” Third Sister, Cheng Ying, said.
Huan Qingtang had not understood Cheng Zhao’s temperament in the slightest.
They had been sisters-in-law for so long. Cheng Zhao had been steadily chipping away at Huan Qingtang’s position, yet Huan Qingtang still looked down on her so thoroughly. Cheng Ying found the woman baffling.
Perhaps she did understand Cheng Zhao, but had overestimated herself, believing she could win an argument with her.
In any case, every one of Huan Qingtang’s defeats began with her making the first move. She had brought it upon herself; no one else could be blamed.
“Zhao Zhao handled it perfectly,” her mother said with great satisfaction. “She did not yield an inch to Lady Huan, yet she did not put on airs before the Dowager Madame.”
Being able to swallow one’s anger for the moment was a quality possessed by extraordinary people.
“Grandmother was waiting for me to offend her. Then she would have dragged my grandfather into it and accused the Cheng family of being ‘unfilial,’” Cheng Zhao said.
The others burst out laughing.
At midday, Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen ate separately. She had lunch with her mother, while Zhou Yuanshen ate with Cheng Zhao’s grandfather in the outer study.
In the middle of the afternoon, Cheng Zhao’s father returned home. Zhou Yuanshen spoke with him for quite some time, and Cheng Zhao’s two elder brothers also went to the outer study to meet him.
As a result, the young couple did not leave the Cheng residence until dusk, when darkness was already approaching.
“What did they say to you?” Cheng Zhao asked.
“Congratulations,” Zhou Yuanshen replied.
Cheng Zhao did not understand. “Congratulations on what?”
As for taking on dual marital obligations and taking concubines, Zhou Yuanshen had already dealt with everything. What else was there to congratulate him on?
“Last year, I carried out the Emperor’s orders to confiscate the estates of several high-ranking noble families, which earned me quite a bit of abuse among the common people. Although my maternal uncle arranged for people to defend my reputation, some unpleasant rumors remained after all.
“But now that this has happened, the rumor that County Princess Xizhen and my cousin’s wife once ganged up on me has become firmly entrenched in everyone’s minds. Risqué gossip carries more weight and is easier to remember.
Grandfather congratulated me, saying that this would erase—or at least downplay—the disgraceful reputation of ‘harming a court official,’” Zhou Yuanshen said.
Cheng Zhao had actually forgotten about that.
There had indeed been several incidents last year, and Zhou Yuanqi had even feared being implicated by his elder brother.
For an official, harming a fellow courtier was a stain on his reputation. That stain could become a major problem or a minor one in the future—even if the emperor himself had ordered him to do it. But scandalous romantic rumors were merely entertaining gossip; they did not strike at his foundations.
By replacing the former with the latter, Zhou Yuanshen had made a profit without taking any losses.
Cheng Zhao had not expected such an unexpected benefit.
“I really ought to kowtow to Sister-in-Law,” Cheng Zhao said. “I completely forgot about this. If I’d remembered, I would have let her scold me a few times yesterday and considered it repayment for her kindness.”
Zhou Yuanshen: “......”