Chapter 30: The Showdown in the Bedroom

Zhou Yuanshen entered Nonghua Courtyard first.

Nanny Li was slightly taken aback. She looked behind him but did not see Cheng Zhao.

She held back her questions, however, and bowed to Zhou Yuanshen.

"Qiubai, go help the Duke change his clothes," Nanny Li instructed.

Qiubai complied.

But Zhou Yuanshen said in a deep voice, "There is no need."

He stopped Qiubai outside the door and went into the inner bedchamber alone.

Cheng Zhao returned a moment later with a young maid. Nanny Li looked at her inquiringly, but Cheng Zhao merely shook her head, signaling Nanny Li not to interfere.

"The Duke is in the inner bedchamber," Nanny Li said.

Cheng Zhao acknowledged this and lifted the curtain to enter the inner chamber.

Zhou Yuanshen had taken off his thick outer coat himself. He sat on the heated kang by the window, fiddling with the Go board.

Seeing him, Cheng Zhao immediately recalled what had happened here that night. Irritation and unease filled her almost instantly.

She involuntarily paused at the doorway.

Zhou Yuanshen raised his eyes.

His gaze was bone-chillingly cold.

Cheng Zhao found it familiar.

When the Dowager Madame was displeased, she had the exact same look.

It was filled with scrutiny, displeasure, and coldness.

But looking closely, Zhou Yuanshen resembled both the Second Madame and the Second Master; he didn't look much like the Dowager Madame. This was because the Second Master hadn't inherited much of the Dowager Madame's looks either.

Cheng Zhao's parents-in-law must have been a stunning couple in their youth. Both possessed excellent features, making the brothers, Zhou Yuanqi and Zhou Yuanshen, very handsome.

While Zhou Yuanshen didn't resemble the Dowager Madame in appearance, his temperament was strikingly similar.

"Go wash up first. Come back and play a game of Go," Zhou Yuanshen said.

Cheng Zhao voiced her agreement.

After washing up, she left her hair down, put on her inner garments, and draped a silver-red short jacket over her shoulders.

By the time she returned from the washroom, Zhou Yuanshen had gone to wash up as well.

She waited for a while, her emotions mostly settling down, before Zhou Yuanshen walked in wearing thin inner garments.

The inner chamber was very warm; the underfloor heating was burning exceptionally strong.

Zhou Yuanshen was probably a little hot, as the collar of his inner robe was slightly open, allowing Cheng Zhao to see a bit of his skin.

Meanwhile, Cheng Zhao was still wearing her short jacket.

Cheng Zhao thought he was thick-skinned and unafraid of the cold, while he probably thought she was overly delicate.

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment before shifting away.

He glanced at her hair.

Cheng Zhao's black hair was cascading down.

Neither spoke again. They played Go in silence, with Zhou Yuanshen taking the white stones this time.

As the game stabilized, Zhou Yuanshen suddenly asked, "You heard what my father said last time?"

Cheng Zhao was still pondering her next move. Hearing this, she looked at him. "...That time at Chenhui Courtyard? Yes, I heard it."

Zhou Yuanshen placed another stone.

While they were talking, Cheng Zhao lost her focus for a second, and he instantly wiped out a large section of her pieces.

Cheng Zhao was speechless.

She had worked so hard to defend that territory. This damn brute!

She quietly let out a breath.

Zhou Yuanshen seemed completely indifferent to winning the game and continued, "Today, why was your maid peeking outside Chenhui Courtyard?"

Cheng Zhao was startled once again.

"I failed to manage my people properly. It won't happen again, My Lord," Cheng Zhao said.

She thought to herself, you were secretly meeting your widowed sister-in-law—such a shameful thing—and my maid saw it. Are you planning to take your anger out on me?

Regardless, my maid's actions represent my intentions.

Just treat it as if I was the one peeking.

If Cheng Zhao hadn't been curious, the maid would never have stayed to watch before leaving. Of course, she was acting on what she guessed were her master's wishes.

Cheng Zhao had no intention of punishing the maid, let alone driving her away.

She pretended not to understand the underlying meaning of Zhou Yuanshen's words.

"If there is anything you want to know, you can ask me," Zhou Yuanshen said.

Cheng Zhao placed a stone.

This move should stabilize the situation in this area and also capture a bit of Zhou Yuanshen's territory. She was temporarily satisfied with this layout.

Only after making this move did she have the mind to speak: "My Lord, you and I are both of the younger generation. I understand that there are many things we cannot control."

A young tree trunk is simply not as thick and sturdy as an older one. When facing fierce winds and torrential rain, a young tree might snap in half or be uprooted completely.

Accumulating strength takes time.

Faced with the Empress's bestowed marriage and the Dowager Madame's deliberate difficulties, Cheng Zhao had no power to resist, but she was not disheartened.

She knew very well that she was merely young and therefore weak in influence.

Her path had only just begun.

The same went for Zhou Yuanshen.

He was also young and equally needed time to grow stronger.

Cheng Zhao had heard her grandfather say that Zhou Yuanshen was carrying out the slaughters for the Emperor, so the Emperor wouldn't leave behind a bad name.

Who would willingly seek out infamy?

Zhou Yuanshen simply understood that with the deaths of the men in the eldest branch, the heavy burden of the family was forced onto his shoulders. His military path was cut short, and to find a new path for himself, he had to do what others dared not or were unwilling to do.

And the Dowager Madame was someone who could influence the Emperor.

If she told Zhou Yuanshen to take on dual lineage duties, what could he do?

Cheng Zhao had already pondered this issue.

She had already received the imperial mandate as a Duke's wife; she was walking this path a bit faster than Huan Qingtang.

A woman's ultimate achievement was to become a revered matriarch: possessing a top-tier imperial mandate, having flocks of children and grandchildren, and securing the family's noble titles, properties, and status.

Huan Qingtang had a similar background to hers and shared the same goals. As long as she also married Zhou Yuanshen, the two of them would inevitably be unable to tolerate each other.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain. It wasn't something that could be reconciled just by Cheng Zhao being magnanimous.

Huan Qingtang could tolerate countless Mu Jiangs, but she would absolutely never tolerate a Cheng Zhao.

Cheng Zhao and she would definitely have a showdown, and the one who took the first step held the advantage.

Of course, Huan Qingtang had her own advantages: she was the eldest grandson's wife personally selected by the Dowager Madame. Whether it was her family background or character, the Dowager Madame preferred her.

Cheng Zhao did not ask Zhou Yuanshen too many questions.

In her heart, Zhou Yuanshen wasn't necessarily her ally; he had no personal affection for her.

He might even favor Huan Qingtang.

If she discussed everything with him now and revealed her bottom line, only for him to turn around and betray her, what could she do?

Cheng Zhao's future situation would be even more difficult.

She had to be prepared to fight alone.

Cheng Zhao didn't expect Zhou Yuanshen to favor the eldest branch; she was just making the worst-case preparations first, forcing herself not to slack off.

"...My Lord, is there anything you want to tell me?" Cheng Zhao asked him in return.

She wanted to fish for information from him, too.

Zhou Yuanshen's face was completely expressionless. His gaze fell on the Go board, and he wiped out another huge section of Cheng Zhao's stones, effortlessly destroying the layout she had just set up.

Cheng Zhao looked at the board speechlessly, only to hear him say, "No."

He had nothing he wanted to talk to her about.

Cheng Zhao suffered a crushing defeat this time.

Since she started learning Go, this was the first time she had been completely annihilated. For a moment, she was almost furious.

She stood up. "I am tired and will go to rest now. Please make yourself comfortable, My Lord."

She took off her short jacket and tossed it at the foot of the bed, wrapped herself in the brocade quilt like a silkworm chrysalis, and rolled over to sleep facing the inside of the bed.

Then, the light inside the bed curtains dimmed.

Zhou Yuanshen got into bed, let down the curtains, and lay down as well.

The night passed in silence.

When Cheng Zhao woke up the next morning, he had already left for court.

She changed her clothes. The Go board was still on the kang table, the endgame a horrible sight. Cheng Zhao casually swept the stones onto the floor.

As a result, Nanny Li spent the entire morning coaxing her.

As Nonghua Courtyard gradually lost the lingering traces of Zhou Yuanshen, Cheng Zhao finally felt a bit happier. The Go board in the inner bedchamber was cleaned up, and Cheng Zhao went to Chengming Hall to handle her duties.