Chapter 227: Happy Event
Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen returned to the Duke of Chen’s residence quite late.
“Did anything happen today?” Cheng Zhao asked Nanny Li.
Nanny Li replied, “The steward from the gatehouse came by. But since you weren’t handling affairs and the Eldest Young Madame didn’t come either, I told him to return tomorrow and report then. Other than that, nothing happened.”
Cheng Zhao nodded slightly.
The young couple went to bed early.
As usual, they chatted for quite a while before falling asleep.
“I’ll have to go to the Metropolitan Garrison again in a few days,” he said.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Cheng Zhao replied.
“I’ll delay it as long as I can,” Zhou Yuanshen said.
Then he added, “I have some good news to tell you.”
“Good news?”
“Young Uncle is getting married.”
Cheng Zhao was a little surprised. “Which family’s daughter?”
She hadn’t heard anything about it.
Second Madam probably didn’t know either. Given her mother-in-law’s personality, the moment she found out, she would tell Cheng Zhao at once rather than keep it until the next day.
“The daughter of Vice Minister Song. She put off marriage to observe mourning for her mother. Later, because of the severe drought in the two lake regions and the disaster that struck her hometown, she was stranded there for several years. She and Young Uncle are the same age,” Zhou Yuanshen explained.
“How old is Young Uncle this year?”
“Twenty-eight.”
Cheng Zhao said, “A young woman who has remained unmarried until twenty-eight must have some reason behind it, surely. Is she very ugly?”
“...Cheng Zhao, how are you so sharp? The young lady isn’t ugly. There is a reason.”
It was a long story.
Zhou Yuanshen told Cheng Zhao that Vice Minister Song was a member of the Ministry of Rites, and the girl was his third daughter. Of course, he had no connection whatsoever with the Eldest Aunt’s maternal family, the Marquis of Changling’s household.
The reason Third Miss Song had waited until she was twenty-eight to discuss marriage—and was now marrying a widower—was that the Duke of Pi had taken a fancy to her when she was young.
Neither Vice Minister Song nor Third Miss Song was the type to covet wealth or status.
The Duke of Pi had been remarrying as well; this would be his third wife. Furthermore, he was more than twenty years older than Third Miss Song, so the Song family was unwilling to agree to the match.
But they did not dare offend the Duke of Pi.
Vice Minister Song used an excuse to send his daughter back to their ancestral home. Two years later, the girl’s mother fell ill and died, and she observed mourning for a year. Since her hometown truly had been struck by disaster, she entered a Buddhist convent as a laywoman to pray for the villagers, voluntarily abstaining from meat and reciting Buddhist scriptures for five years.
The story became a celebrated one in the region, and even the prefect submitted a memorial praising her.
In the second year after Third Miss Song left the capital, the Duke of Pi married another young and beautiful woman as his third wife.
He declared that he would destroy the Song family and that Third Miss Song could marry no one but him. If she did not want to become his principal wife, then she could become his concubine.
Fortunately, Vice Minister Song had fellow disciples and was not without support. He stood his ground. However, he made no progress in his official career for many years, and his future was more difficult than that of others.
The Duke of Pi wielded considerable influence.
His nephew was the Fifth Prince, and his daughter was Consort Dou. It was not until last year, when the Fifth Prince died in the Dowager Madame’s formation, that the Duke of Pi’s household lost its imperial prince and its greatest source of support. Only then did it gradually fall into decline.
A close friend of Vice Minister Song’s had also been promoted to Chief Justice. With his friend’s support, Vice Minister Song finally dared bring his daughter back.
The match had been arranged by his superior, Chief Justice Fan Xiao.
“...From the sound of it, the Song family has good character. The young lady is strong-willed and decisive, and Vice Minister Song truly cares about his daughter,” Cheng Zhao said.
He had not sold his daughter for the sake of wealth and glory.
“Come to think of it, Third Miss Song does have some connection with our family. Not only was the Duke of Pi’s household weakened by the Fifth Prince’s death, which was related to Grandmother, but back when she was being forced into marriage, your grandfather submitted a memorial accusing the Duke of Pi.
“The Duke of Pi was confined and had his salary docked, giving the Song family a chance to catch their breath. That was how Vice Minister Song managed to send his daughter away. Otherwise, how could she ever have escaped the capital?” Zhou Yuanshen said.
Cheng Zhao remembered the matter.
The reason Consort Dou had treated Cheng Zhao with such hostility when they first met was precisely because of this old grudge between the Cheng family and her maternal family, the Duke of Pi’s household.
“What a tangled web of fate,” Cheng Zhao said with a smile. “The two people who are meant to become husband and wife must have some connection destined by heaven.”
Zhou Yuanshen thought so too.
After inheriting the title, he had never considered marriage. Then the Empress suddenly bestowed a marriage upon him.
As for Cheng Zhao, among the young ladies of the capital, she was not particularly well known and rarely socialized. If the Zhou family had taken the initiative to seek a marriage alliance for Zhou Yuanshen, they would never have considered Cheng Zhao.
They did not even know she existed.
And yet, through a twist of fate, Cheng Zhao had become his wife. What an extraordinary bond that was!
At the thought, Zhou Yuanshen tightened his arms around her.
Cheng Zhao gently pushed him away. “I’m going to sleep!”
Zhou Yuanshen merely held her and did nothing else. “Go to sleep.”
Cheng Zhao: “...”
He truly did not do anything. Cheng Zhao was genuinely tired as well, and she gradually fell into a deep sleep.
When she awoke, Zhou Yuanshen had already gone to court. Cheng Zhao washed, changed, and ate breakfast before sitting down to handle household affairs.
The stewards arrived one after another.
Huan Qingtang did not come.
Many of the stewards had previously thought that if the Dowager Madame sent Huan Qingtang out to attend social events, she would suppress Cheng Zhao.
Unexpectedly, the situation had turned around. Huan Qingtang had instead become the target of ridicule.
Cheng Zhao’s position as Duchess had become even more secure.
Seven-tenths of the stewards, whether they had originally belonged to the Dowager Madame’s faction or the Eldest Madam’s, had come to acknowledge Cheng Zhao in their hearts and wanted to place themselves under her protection.
The gatehouse steward in particular had such thoughts.
“I may not have many people under my command, but even if I submit to her, I can’t let her control me entirely. I need to show her a little authority first, so she’ll respect me from the bottom of her heart,” he had said to his wife.
Thus, during this period, he had deliberately delivered invitations from the gatehouse to the Dowager Madame, encouraging her to place Cheng Zhao under “confinement.”
His original plan had been quite perfect. Once the time was right, he would offer the Duchess a little “sweetness.” Perhaps Cheng Zhao would come to rely on him in every matter from then on.
Maybe she would even promote him to chief steward in the future.
Unexpectedly, Huan Qingtang had fallen first.
The stewards could not imagine how she might recover from this.
Perhaps Huan Qingtang would be better off moving to Qingfeng Court and living out her days in the idle peace of a widow. For the sake of her own dignity, the Duchess would surely treat her well and care for her until the end of her life.
“...If there’s nothing else, everyone may leave,” Cheng Zhao said.
There was not the slightest trace of smugness on her face. Her unfathomable composure was frightening.
Many young masters and madames of eminent families possessed less dignity than old stewards, especially when the Dowager Madame was still alive.
Yet Cheng Zhao had established her authority in a very short time.
“Young Madam, will the Eldest Young Madame continue managing affairs in the future?” one of the stewards asked Cheng Zhao.
“That is not something you should ask me about. If you’re curious, you may ask the Dowager Madame.”
She glanced over them.
“Of course, someone who takes such an interest in other people’s business may well displease the Dowager Madame.”
The steward lowered his head.
After everyone had left, Nanny Li said with a smile, “There weren’t any troublemakers today.”
“Let’s wait and see,” Cheng Zhao replied.
Then she added, “They’re waiting for me to make a mistake. The moment I do something inappropriate, they’ll find an excuse not to work, and I won’t be able to do much about it.”
“They all think you have no one to use,” Nanny Li said.
When Cheng Zhao had married into the family, her mother had told her to keep her household retainers stationed outside. The purpose was to protect them from being pushed aside by the old stewards.
Once her own people lost confidence and authority under that pressure, it would be difficult for them to become a source of support for her in the future.
“My mother really did see far ahead,” Cheng Zhao said.
The matter was set aside for the time being.
Two days later, Nanny Qian from the main kitchen quietly came to Chengming Hall and said to Cheng Zhao, “The meals for Jade Brocade Court haven’t been collected for several days. Is the Second Concubine ill? I had the servants keep it quiet and wanted to inform you first.”
Cheng Zhao smiled faintly. “I already know. Just continue doing your work as usual. There’s no need to hide anything.”
Nanny Qian was completely bewildered, but she did not ask any further questions and respectfully replied, “Yes.”