Chapter 228: Beautiful as an Immortal

Several days after the snowfall, the skies finally cleared.

The weather had grown a little warmer, and the sunshine was bright and splendid.

Zhou Yuanshen did not go to the Capital Garrison. He was still in the Eastern Palace, teaching the Crown Prince calligraphy. Cheng Zhao handled the household affairs as usual. In the evenings, she chatted with her mother-in-law about amusing bits of gossip and traded barbs with Zhou Yuanqi.

Huan Qingtang did not appear before anyone.

She seemed to have been thoroughly beaten down.

Her “fight” with County Princess Xizhen, fueled by certain people’s deliberate spreading of the tale, had indeed become known throughout the capital.

Not only had every noble household heard of it; it had even become a favorite topic in teahouses and among commoners.

“Will County Princess Xizhen never be able to marry?” Second Madam asked Cheng Zhao.

Cheng Zhao replied, “Marrying upward will be difficult for her. Marrying beneath her station, her parents will not be willing. You are right—her marriage prospects are rather troublesome.”

Second Madam shook her head.

Then she asked about Huan Qingtang. “Has she stopped stirring up trouble these days?”

“She has been fairly quiet,” Cheng Zhao said. “She claims to be ill and has shut herself away in her courtyard.”

“Zhaozhao, if she truly claims illness and ceases managing affairs, then after a year or two asks to move into a more secluded courtyard, she would be a clever woman.

“She is the eldest sister-in-law. Even fifty years from now, you would still have to show her some measure of respect. For the sake of your and Ashen’s reputations, you would have to provide for her properly,” Second Madam said.

Nanny Fan, who was attending nearby, could not help laughing.

Second Madam asked, “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Nanny Fan replied. “This servant merely thinks that Madam has become very thoughtful in her considerations. If Eldest Young Madame is truly clever, keeping quiet would benefit her more.

“If she truly hates Lord Duke and Third Young Madam, she ought to act discreetly. Her very existence is an eyesore; for the rest of her life, she could make things unpleasant for our Third Young Madam.”

Second Madam nodded.

They thought so, and others thought the same.

“Mother, it is easy to say, but difficult to do. She harbors resentment and bitterness. If she wishes to use silence and the passing years to make my life difficult, the first question is whether she can truly settle her heart and remain still,” Cheng Zhao said with a smile.

“I certainly could not do it,” Second Madam said.

“Neither could this servant,” Nanny Fan added.

“Eldest Sister-in-law is even more restless by nature. Though she does not show it, she wants far too much, and none of it is within her reach.

“If she truly settles down, there is indeed nothing I could do about it. She could vex me for decades. But I do not think she has the patience to remain quiet,” Cheng Zhao said.

Second Madam sighed again after hearing this.

Leaning against her bolster, she was silent for a long while, seemingly at a loss for words.

Seeing how dispirited she looked, Cheng Zhao feared that she would grow depressed. She deliberately changed the subject to cheer her up. “Mother, have you heard that my maternal uncle is discussing marriage?”

The moment those words were spoken, both Second Madam and Nanny Fan were startled.

“Where did you hear that?” Second Madam hurriedly asked.

She sat up straight, her eyes brightening considerably, filled with astonishment and curiosity.

Cheng Zhao smiled. “Lord Duke told me.”

“No one told me!” Second Madam said, hastily sitting upright. “When is he getting married? Whose daughter is it? Who is arranging the match?”

Before Cheng Zhao could answer, she stood. “You cannot possibly know all the details. I am going to the Grand General’s residence.”

Cheng Zhao: “...”

Second Madam acted with tremendous haste, and Nanny Fan was just as efficient. Though it was already late afternoon, mistress and servant set off at once.

They ran into Zhou Yuanqi as he was entering.

“Mother, what has happened?” Zhou Yuanqi asked.

“Your maternal uncle is about to take a wife.”

“A second wife.”

“Do not quibble over the wording,” Second Madam said. “I have not heard anything about it, so I am going to ask.”

“I have not heard either. I am coming too.”

He followed them out.

Cheng Zhao was left standing in the doorway. “...”

That day, Cheng Zhao did not have dinner at Cloud-Red Courtyard. Instead, she returned to Chengming Hall.

When Zhou Yuanshen came back, Cheng Zhao told him what had happened.

“Let my mother go,” Zhou Yuanshen said. “Neither the Fan family nor the Song family intends to make the matter public. My mother ought to know in advance.”

A marriage to take a second wife could be conducted with varying degrees of ceremony. It could be kept very simple, and no one would criticize the families for keeping it low-key.

The Duke of Pi was still alive, and the Dou family had not completely fallen from power. Vice Minister Song did not dare make much of a show of marrying off his daughter. The Fan family, meanwhile, did not wish to involve itself too deeply in political affairs.

Thus, it was only after the marriage negotiations were nearly completed and the auspicious wedding date of the seventeenth day of the eleventh lunar month had been set that Zhou Yuanshen dared reveal the news.

Had Zhou Yuanshen not mentioned it, Second Madam likely would not have learned of it until her younger brother’s wedding day.

She would have been furious.

“Not only will Mother be angry; Fifth Brother will be angry as well. He loves organizing things, and he is Grandmother’s favorite, yet he was not told,” Cheng Zhao said with a smile.

Zhou Yuanshen thought she, too, was enjoying the excitement.

Perhaps happy occasions naturally brought people joy and made them inclined to join in the fun.

Recently, they truly needed a little good news.

“Go ask tomorrow and see what they have found out,” Zhou Yuanshen said.

Cheng Zhao nodded.

The next day, as soon as she had finished handling her affairs, Cheng Zhao went straight to Cloud-Red Courtyard.

Second Madam dearly wished to gossip with her, but she was afraid of disturbing her and did not feel it appropriate to go to Chengming Hall.

The moment Cheng Zhao arrived, Second Madam began talking without pause.

She introduced Third Miss Song to Cheng Zhao all over again.

“The wedding date has been set?” Cheng Zhao deliberately asked.

“The seventeenth day of the eleventh lunar month,” Second Madam said. “There is no time for me to prepare any substantial wedding gift. I discussed it with your father-in-law; when the time comes, we can only give money.”

“Money is practical,” Cheng Zhao said. “My maternal uncle can buy whatever he needs himself. The expensive gifts sent by relatives may not be useful and will simply sit in the storeroom. Left there too long, they may be looked down upon when they are later given away as gifts to others.”

It was like Cheng Zhao’s first birthday after entering the Zhou family, when the eldest madam and Huan Qingtang had selected presents for her from the storeroom. She had known at a glance that they had been sitting there for a very long time.

“You are right,” Second Madam said with a smile.

She was in high spirits.

Second Madam also said, “The family has seen Third Miss Song. She is very beautiful. Her looks are comparable to yours.”

Then, afraid Cheng Zhao might be displeased, she added, “Of course, that is only praise for the new bride. I have never seen anyone more beautiful than you.”

Cheng Zhao lowered her voice. “The Duke of Pi is extravagant and licentious. Any girl who catches his eye must surely be a peerless beauty.”

Second Madam heartily agreed.

She was entirely delighted, without the slightest fear of the Dou family’s influence at the Duke of Pi’s residence.

Vice Minister Song had found himself a powerful and formidable in-law.

Second Madam even suggested to Cheng Zhao, “Should we sneak over and take a look?”

“Mother, do not make a mess of things,” Cheng Zhao said. “If you are truly curious, ask Madam Sheng to inquire for you.”

“But I have not seen her with my own eyes.”

Cheng Zhao laughed.

Second Madam’s heart was so full of joy over her younger brother’s wedding that she failed to notice the rumors spreading through the residence: Second Concubine Xian Si might have gone missing.

Xian Si had been taken away by Zhou Yuanshen. On the eighth day, when Zhou Yuanshen returned in the middle of the afternoon, Xian Si followed behind him.

The two entered the Duke’s residence one after the other.

The news spread immediately.

There were all sorts of rumors.

Some even claimed that the Duchess was jealous, and that Lord Duke did not dare favor Second Concubine in the residence, so he had no choice but to take her elsewhere.

Second Concubine had not returned for several days, yet Lord Duke had come home every day.

Second Madam finally heard the rumors.

In an instant, her joyful mood sank to the bottom.

“Where is Ashen?” she asked Nanny Fan. “Go wait in the outer court. When he returns, bring him here at once!”

He had only just settled down for a few days. Why was he causing trouble again?

Zhou Yuanshen had not returned, but Fan Xiao came instead.