Chapter 23: Two Sets of Tricks

Cheng Zhao's monthly cycle had arrived, so Nanny Li used the small kitchen in Nonghua Courtyard to stew beef soup for her.

Beef bones and meat were simmered over a low fire for six hours. The meat melted into the broth, and with the addition of several tonic herbs, the soup became thick and savory.

"...This kind of soup is the most nourishing in winter. Madam loves to drink it. You see, her complexion is always rosy," Nanny Li said.

The Madam she spoke of was Cheng Zhao's biological mother.

Cheng Zhao then said, "We stewed a bit too much today. Send a pot to my mother-in-law's side."

Nanny Li complied and instructed a second-tier maid to wrap the soup pot in cotton cloth, place it in a food box, and carry it over to Jiangyun Courtyard.

The maid returned after quite a while.

"...The Fifth Young Master was also there, and he drank a large bowl," the maid reported. "The Second Madam also had some and was full of praise. She even rewarded this servant with a string of cash."

"It seems that Mother and Fifth Brother both like it very much," Cheng Zhao smiled.

Nanny Li asked again, "Should we send some to the Duke? You are still using his inner study, after all."

Cheng Zhao immediately replied, "He is neither a woman nor a child; he wouldn't like drinking soup. Don't send it, it will make us look too fawning."

Nanny Li agreed once more.

Before bed, Nanny Li combed Cheng Zhao's hair. Only after all the serving maids had withdrawn did Nanny Li ask Cheng Zhao in a low voice, "Why are you angry with the Duke?"

Cheng Zhao thought of what happened that night on the large heated bed by the window, and anger welled up from the bottom of her heart.

She had suffered so much, even scraping the skin off her knees, but to no avail. Her monthly cycle arrived without a single day's delay.

She had consummated the marriage with him several times, yet she still wasn't pregnant. Perhaps there was something wrong with him.

Cheng Zhao had a rosy complexion and was in excellent health. Her mother had given birth to two sons and three daughters. No matter how you looked at it, Cheng Zhao should be able to conceive very easily.

She had always hoped to hit the mark on the first try so that she wouldn't have to put on a false show of affection with him anymore.

After that night, Cheng Zhao saw him a few times in Chenhui Courtyard. She hardly spoke to him, and he ignored her as well.

Afterward, his whereabouts became unknown.

Hearing the servants gossip, Secondary Wife Mu Jiang was also not in the manor those few days, her whereabouts equally unknown.

Some guessed that the Duke had taken the Secondary Wife to a hot spring villa for a short stay. Others vowed confidently that the Secondary Wife would definitely be the first to give birth to the Duke's eldest son.

Cheng Zhao couldn't be bothered to pay attention and treated it all as wind blowing past her ears.

Yet Nanny Li brought it up again.

"...I am not angry with him," Cheng Zhao said.

She added, "When on earth will the Secondary Wife get pregnant?"

Nanny Li's hands paused, looking at her face in the mirror in astonishment. "Why are you hoping for the Secondary Wife to get pregnant?"

Was she confused by anger?

That night... Nanny Li did know about it. She had even sent all the servants in the courtyard back to their rooms, forbidding anyone from walking around outside.

They were a young married couple; there was nothing inappropriate about it.

To fly into a great rage over this and even hope for a concubine to get pregnant first was losing the greater goal for a petty grievance.

"Didn't you say it yourself, that I shouldn't be jealous of concubines? You said that when a man spends a long time messing around with his concubines, he empties out all his frivolous energy, and what he gives his main wife is pure gold?" Cheng Zhao asked.

Nanny Li was speechless.

Weren't those just words the madams of the inner courts used to comfort themselves?

Otherwise, if they spent all day fighting over jealousy with concubines, how would they have the mind to manage the family's daily affairs? If they lost the dignity of a main wife, which of the managers would be willing to submit to them?

Naturally, there had to be all sorts of excuses to make her feel a bit more comfortable in her heart.

But those concubines belonging to others were all fed medicine.

If the main wife hadn't given birth, they wouldn't stop the concubines' medicine.

"I didn't get any gold. I just suffered all the hardships, both deserved and undeserved," Cheng Zhao said.

Nanny Li said, "Don't be impatient, Young Madam."

Cheng Zhao took a few deep breaths.

Perhaps because it was her time of the month, she was feeling unwell and was indeed full of complaints.

"Pour out your grievances to this old servant, don't hold it all in," Nanny Li seemed to understand her harmless little temper. Instead of persuading her otherwise, she encouraged her a bit.

After Cheng Zhao vented her frustrations, she also laughed.

For the next half a month, Cheng Zhao did not see Zhou Yuanshen.

She didn't run into him at Chenhui Courtyard either.

They said Chenhui Courtyard was his inner study, but it wasn't actually that important.

It was only guarded by a twelve-year-old servant boy, Nanfeng, with two rough-work older women coming to clean. They left as soon as they finished cleaning and belonged to the outer study.

And Nanfeng would often run off without a trace. When asked, he would say that the older servant girls from the outer study had things for him to do.

From this, it was evident that this inner study was merely a place to rest one's feet.

At first, Cheng Zhao had been apprehensive, afraid that she had mistakenly entered Zhou Yuanshen's territory and disturbed his peace. She was even more afraid that if some valuable document in the inner study went missing, she wouldn't be able to explain it clearly.

She was overthinking it.

She had been going to Chengming Hall for a while now and had almost completely figured out the tasks the Eldest Madam had on hand.

The end of the year was approaching, yet not a single manager from the outer estates had come to report.

In Cheng Zhao's maiden home, starting from the tenth month, the managers of the farming estates would return to the capital one after another. What they brought back was real gold and silver.

At this time, the four first-tier maids by Cheng Zhao's mother's side would all have to use abacuses, working day and night without rest.

The end of the year was the busiest time for the main courtyard.

If anyone caused trouble during these days, her mother would sternly punish them in a foul temper. Therefore, every time the end of the year approached, Cheng Zhao would be extremely well-behaved.

During this period, Huan Qingtang didn't come to Chengming Hall.

Cheng Zhao saw her several times leading a few first-tier maids to the Old Madam's Shou'an Courtyard. The Eldest Madam herself didn't seem indignant, let alone feel any sense of urgency.

"...The Eldest Madam's management authority is strictly limited to the inner residence," Cheng Zhao told Nanny Li upon returning.

Nanny Li was very surprised. "The Eldest Madam has been managing the household affairs for quite a few years now. Has she not noticed it herself?"

"I am surprised as well."

Nanny Li still couldn't believe it. "It can't be, can it? The Eldest Madam comes from the Marquis of Changling's manor. How could she be so ignorant?"

"I personally think that the Zhou family's noble estates are much richer and far exceed those of the Cheng family. Madam Song's maiden family can't even compare.

They are so wealthy that what flows into the inner courtyard is enough to make the Eldest Madam believe it is everything," Cheng Zhao said. "Perhaps she doesn't know the total income of the Zhou family's noble estates."

She added, "When the late Emperor was alive, he was rather strict in bestowing noble estates. The Marquis of Changling's family is a scholarly lineage, and perhaps they even inherited the title at a reduced rank, so they might not have much left in their hands."

Except for a clean reputation.

On the other hand, for a family like the Zhous, who relied on the merit of following the dragon for two emperors, their noble estates were terrifyingly vast. What they wanted most was a clean reputation to serve as a fig leaf over their massive profits.

When the Zhou family chose daughters-in-law, they specifically picked noble ladies from clean and prestigious lineages.

Nanny Li was stunned by Cheng Zhao's analysis and still told Cheng Zhao to observe a bit more.

When Cheng Zhao went to Chengming Hall again, everything was as usual, and she didn't utter half an extra word.

The Eldest Madam said to her, "Calling you here every day has truly been hard on you. The main kitchen only has those few tasks. How about this: starting next month, I will have the main kitchen's manager go to Nonghua Courtyard to report, saving you the trouble of running back and forth."

Cheng Zhao said, "Thank you for your deep affection, Eldest Aunt."

"Then perform well, so it will be easier for me to bring it up with the Old Madam," the Eldest Madam said.

Her tone was uncharacteristically gentle.

The next day, it snowed.

Heavy snow fell for three consecutive days, burying the streets and crushing houses, causing a moderately severe snow disaster.

Madam Song wanted to set up porridge sheds.