Chapter 250: Epilogue (10)

Zhou Yuanshen was far away in the northwest.

He would receive a message from Mingyu every half a month.

In the early stage of pregnancy, it had to be kept secret, so Zhou Yuanshen didn't learn that his wife was pregnant until early May.

"Act tonight. Under the guise of a surprise attack, I'll go for the assassination," Zhou Yuanshen said.

The people around him were quite surprised.

Why was he suddenly being so reckless?

The rebellion in the northwest couldn't be concealed because the emperor was very angry and made it public, vowing to take the head of the rebellious general.

This also enraged many generals and princes.

There had been no further news of the rebellion for the time being. Maybe they were still preparing or just waiting and seeing.

Zhou Yuanshen had planned to proceed steadily, arranging the suppression on one hand and assassinating the rebellious generals on the other. But he suddenly wanted to end it quickly.

In the middle of the night, a team of less than two hundred people set off. They climbed over a mountain and reached the rebel camp directly.

At dawn, Zhou Yuanshen was covered in blood, carrying the head of the rebel general in his hand.

"Send the good news to boost the morale," he said. "Prepare the prisoners of war. I'll set off for the capital tomorrow."

The deputy general: "..."

The good news reached the capital before Zhou Yuanshen, and the emperor was overjoyed.

After this rebellion was quelled, those who had been eager to take action all stopped.

When Zhou Yuanshen returned to the capital, it was the hottest time of the year, and it was also approaching Cheng Zhao's birthday.

He rushed back to the capital on horseback, only bringing fifty prisoners of war.

He presented the prisoners at the Meridian Gate, and the capital was extremely lively for a moment.

Cheng Zhao was sitting in the east side room of Jiangyun Courtyard, eating cherries and waiting for Zhou Yuanshen to come back. Zhou Yuanqi and the Second Master had gone out to wait. The Second Lady kept looking towards the door from time to time.

"He's only been away for three months. He quelled a rebellion in such a short time. The court officials must praise him!" the Second Lady said.

"The emperor must praise him too," Cheng Zhao said. "He's really made a great contribution this time."

Mentioning the emperor, the Second Lady's mood dropped sharply.

She snorted: "Who knows? He..."

Looking at Cheng Zhao, she didn't say the rest. Some words were just for venting, meaningless and might cause trouble for the children.

Cheng Zhao smiled and said, "No matter what the emperor does, Lord Duke will gain prestige in the court."

The Second Lady became happy again.

In the late afternoon of that day, Zhou Yuanqi came back first, braving the scorching sun.

"Third brother has entered the mansion," he said loudly to Cheng Zhao and the Second Lady. His head and face were full of sweat, and the front of his linen robe was soaked.

Cheng Zhao quickly said, "Come in quickly and cool off!"

The Second Lady also scolded him: "You're getting older year by year, but still running around wildly in the hot sun. You'll get a heat illness."

Then she ordered the maids, "Quickly bring some cold tea."

Zhou Yuanqi: "I was in a hurry to come back and tell you as soon as third brother entered the mansion."

"Where is he?" Cheng Zhao asked.

"He's in Chenhui Courtyard, having a few words with father. He stank all over. He went to present the prisoners and meet the emperor like that. I can't stand the smell. I told him to take a bath before coming, so as not to stink you up. You're pregnant now," Zhou Yuanqi said.

Cheng Zhao couldn't help laughing.

The Second Lady: "Rarely do you show such consideration."

"Third sister - in - law couldn't even stand the smell of flowers some time ago," Zhou Yuanqi said.

Cheng Zhao: "Yes, I really couldn't. Thank you, fifth brother, for thinking so carefully."

She was much better now and wasn't afraid of strange smells anymore, but she accepted Zhou Yuanqi's kindness.

After waiting for about half an hour, the Second Master and Zhou Yuanshen came to Jiangyun Courtyard together.

Cheng Zhao looked at him carefully.

He had taken a bath before coming and changed into clean clothes.

He had become much darker, and his cheeks were thinner, making him look even more rugged. He was wearing a light blue linen robe, and his hair was still wet, casually tied with a cap.

He also looked back at Cheng Zhao.

Cheng Zhao's eyes were a bit moist, and she felt inexplicably wronged in her heart - maybe it wasn't really wronged. There was just a sudden urge to cry.

Anyway, it wasn't sadness or gratitude, just an inexplicable urge to shed tears.

She wasn't such a clingy person.

Zhou Yuanshen looked at her quietly, and there were surging emotions in his eyes: "You look a bit thinner."

Cheng Zhao: "..."

"No, she hasn't vomited once. She eats less, but she eats every day," the Second Lady said with a smile beside them.

Cheng Zhao had only retched for half a month and hadn't really vomited anything. She didn't like to eat before. Some days ago, when cherries were on the market, the Second Lady specially asked someone to find some for her.

Maybe Cheng Zhao got used to the taste and had an appetite, or maybe the early stage of pregnancy had passed. Since then, her diet had returned to normal, and she could feel hungry.

"Mother took good care of her," Zhou Yuanshen said.

The Second Lady just smiled.

She asked Zhou Yuanshen to sit down and let his hair dry before tying it up again, so as not to be stuffy with the damp heat and get a headache later.

She asked a lot of questions.

"Is the emperor happy?" the Second Lady asked again.

"The budding rebellion has been nipped in the bud. He's very happy and rewarded me with a hundred taels of gold," Zhou Yuanshen said.

The Second Lady: "That's quite generous."

Although they didn't really need it.

After Dowager Madame passed away, Cheng Zhao took over all the fief - related properties of the Chenguo Duke's Mansion.

She told the Second Lady that the Zhou family had countless sacrificial fields, and the annual income from the fief - related properties was as high as 450,000 taels, definitely ranking first among the high - ranking noble families.

The Second Lady could also understand why Dowager Madame was so reluctant to let go.

Sometimes, power and wealth were like a curse. Once you got them, you were afraid of losing them and wouldn't let go until death. And it wasn't easy for the Zhou family to get these.

The Second Lady forced the Second Master to tell her, and only then did she know that many people in the family had died abnormally.

If the Second Master hadn't seemed "incompetent" in Dowager Madame's eyes and couldn't bring back much, he might have died too.

As for Huan Qingtang, she had helped Dowager Madame manage the rent for a while before. She might have known about 60 - 70% of the situation.

She was also blinded by wealth and just couldn't "give it away" voluntarily.

Both she and Dowager Madame died because of their greed. They thought they could control the gains and losses and fight against fate.

The Second Lady didn't need these silver coins. She just knew there was a lot. And for the emperor to reward a hundred taels of gold, the Second Lady didn't think it meant much.

After dinner, it was still very hot outside. The heatwaves were trapped between the courtyards and kept hitting people.

Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen took a small oil - powered cart back to Chengming Hall.

When they returned to the inner bedroom, she hugged him.

Zhou Yuanshen hugged her back, and the tears that Cheng Zhao had held back all night rolled down.

"Why are you crying?" He held her face in his hands. "Are you not feeling well?"

Cheng Zhao choked with sobs and couldn't speak clearly: "No..."

Maybe it was because of excessive longing.

She seemed to have never waited for anyone like this, and she would never have such emotional ups and downs because of someone's return.

- Of course, it might just be because she was pregnant and more vulnerable and thoughtful.

Cheng Zhao couldn't explain it clearly.

Zhou Yuanshen wiped the tears from her eyes and gently kissed her eyes: "Don't cry."

Cheng Zhao couldn't hold back anymore and cried loudly.

In the second half of the night, the inner bedroom with ice finally cooled down. Zhou Yuanshen hugged Cheng Zhao in his arms.

Cheng Zhao still felt a bit hot, but she didn't push him away.

"Was it very dangerous this time?" Cheng Zhao asked.

Zhou Yuanshen: "It was okay."

He told Cheng Zhao all about the situation at that time, including his surprise attack and assassination.

"Was it also you who went for the assassination when there was a rebellion before and it was quickly quelled?" Cheng Zhao asked.

Zhou Yuanshen admitted: "Yes."

"You've done a lot for the emperor," Cheng Zhao said.

Zhou Yuanshen kissed her.

He asked about Cheng Zhao's pregnancy symptoms.

How she knew she was pregnant, how she felt, and how she was feeling now, etc. Cheng Zhao told him all about it one by one.

"...Cheng Zhao, there's something I want to discuss with you. We need to handle it as soon as possible. The earlier, the better," Zhou Yuanshen said.

"What's the matter?"