Chapter 33: Call Her Name

Dowager Madame did not help Mu Jiang vent her anger.

Instead, she sent a maid to Nonghua Courtyard to deliver some pastries to Cheng Zhao.

"Dowager Madame asks, since you returned to your maiden home today, is your family all well?" the maid said.

Cheng Zhao glanced toward the inner bedchamber.

Zhou Yuanshen was quite heavily drunk. He had just thrown up once in the washroom. It wasn't until he vomited that Cheng Zhao realized he had truly been forced to drink too much by her two older brothers.

After throwing up, he washed up, changed his clothes, and went to rest.

Cheng Zhao sat in the eastern side room drinking tea until the maid from Shou'an Courtyard arrived.

She had planned to wait for Zhou Yuanshen to wake up so they could go pay their respects to Second Madam together.

Seeing this, Cheng Zhao said to Nanny Li, "Prepare a small carriage for me; I am going to Shou'an Courtyard."

When Cheng Zhao arrived at Shou'an Courtyard, Mu Jiang was in Dowager Madame's small Buddhist hall copying scriptures; Dowager Madame did not mention a single word about Mu Jiang blocking the way.

To bring it up would mean acknowledging Mu Jiang was in the wrong, and that whatever punishment Cheng Zhao gave her was justified.

"...I would like to invite my eldest sister over as a guest tomorrow," Cheng Zhao said.

Dowager Madame smiled cheerfully. "Relatives should visit each other often; harmony brings prosperity. Go ahead and invite her, and it's perfectly fine to have her stay for a few days."

"Everyone is busy near the end of the year. Once the new year has passed and things are more leisurely, I will invite her for a short stay," Cheng Zhao said with a smile.

Dowager Madame gave a slight nod and told Cheng Zhao to send someone to inform the main kitchen to add a few more dishes for the guest tomorrow; she also told Cheng Zhao to go to the wine cellar to pick out a few jars of good wine.

"...Speaking of drinking, during lunch, Lord Duke was made drunk by my two older brothers," Cheng Zhao said with a smile.

Dowager Madame: "Is that so? Ah Shen has always been restrained."

"Perhaps he was just happy. They are of similar age and compatible temperaments, so they drank without restraint," Cheng Zhao said.

Dowager Madame: "Prepare some hangover soup and let him get a good rest."

Cheng Zhao agreed.

After chatting for quite a while, she finally left Shou'an Courtyard.

Since she already had the small carriage, Cheng Zhao made a side trip to Second Madam's Jiangyun Courtyard.

She recounted the day's events to Second Madam once more.

Second Madam had more points of concern, so Cheng Zhao chatted with her for quite a while, right up until dinnertime.

"I'm not very hungry, I'll just have some rice porridge tonight; Lord Duke is probably awake by now, and he likely won't have much of an appetite either," Cheng Zhao said.

Second Madam: "Go on back, I don't need you to serve me during the meal here."

When Cheng Zhao returned, Qiubai and Suyue had already arrived home.

"Madam has prepared return gifts and left them at the porter's lodge. They will be sent to Dowager Madame and Second Madam first thing tomorrow morning," Suyue said.

"My mother is very thoughtful."

"Madam has always been thorough," Suyue said.

Nanny Li asked Cheng Zhao what she wanted to eat and where the meal should be set.

Just then, Zhou Yuanshen woke up.

Cheng Zhao entered the inner bedroom and asked him, "What would Lord Duke like for dinner?"

"Some rice porridge."

It coincided perfectly with Cheng Zhao's thoughts.

Dinner was plain rice porridge paired with side dishes. Cheng Zhao casually took a few bites.

She had gone out today and ate very little for dinner, so Cheng Zhao planned to take a bath right after eating and go to bed early.

She still had to host her eldest sister tomorrow.

After dinner, when Cheng Zhao ordered the maids to prepare hot water, Zhou Yuanshen raised his eyes and glanced at her.

Cheng Zhao was solely focused on thinking about her eldest sister and did not notice his expression.

Inside the washroom, as she soaked in the warm water, planning tomorrow's arrangements, a hand landed on her shoulder. She just assumed it was Nanny Li.

Whenever Cheng Zhao spent too much time doing needlework, reading, or practicing calligraphy, Nanny Li would massage her shoulders and neck while she bathed.

However, when the hand slid further down, Cheng Zhao was suddenly startled.

She subconsciously turned her head, and the man leaned in slightly to look at her.

Cheng Zhao avoided his hand. "Lord Duke, do you want to take a bath too? I will order the maids to come..."

Zhou Yuanshen untied his inner garments.

Cheng Zhao had barely ever seen his body and turned her face to the side.

The bathtub was spacious. When he stepped in, the water almost overflowed past Cheng Zhao's shoulders. She wanted to get up and leave.

"I'll let you have it!" She was about to go.

Her waist was already caught in an embrace.

Cheng Zhao smelled the faint scent of alcohol on him. After vomiting in the afternoon, he had brushed his teeth with tooth powder, and he had rinsed his mouth again after dinner, so the smell of alcohol had mostly dissipated.

The water was a bit hot, but his body was even more scorching.

Cheng Zhao was like a cat that had fallen into the water, flailing and struggling to escape.

Zhou Yuanshen was behind her, practically caging her in his arms. Her black hair hung over the edge of the tub and into the water.

It felt a bit wet and heavy.

Zhou Yuanshen spoke: "Cheng Zhao."

He called her by her name.

Cheng Zhao felt slightly surprised that he actually remembered her name.

She always thought that when addressing her, he would call her Cheng Shi, just like how he introduced her to his uncle at the restaurant.

"...If you don't want to, tell me directly. Once you say it, I absolutely won't force you. Just don't regret it later." His voice was very slow.

His hands were underwater, gripping her waist neither lightly nor heavily, his thumbs gently rubbing the skin on the side of her waist.

Cheng Zhao stopped all her movements.

"I don't mean that." Cheng Zhao's throat felt stiff, the words squeezed out one by one.

She waited for his reply.

But he didn't say anything else.

Cheng Zhao wanted to turn around, but his hands applied a slight pressure, forbidding her to move.

Following the force of the water, she was pushed by him until she was leaning over the edge of the bathtub.

Cheng Zhao felt like she was seasick; as the water rippled around her, she felt a bit dizzy, her consciousness turning hazy.

"Can, can you... the water has gone cold..."

She muttered this sentence like she was sleepwalking.

Just a moment ago, there was an instant where her breathing tightened so much she couldn't catch her breath, her whole body was burning hot, yet suddenly a flower bloomed.

She began to drift and float, feeling somewhat dazed.

She really felt the water had gone cold; she was freezing.

The man behind her also seemed very frustrated.

"I drank alcohol." His voice was low. "I didn't expect it to be this difficult either."

He forcefully gripped her waist again, one hand climbing up to gently touch her face. "You can use some strength this time."

Fearing she wouldn't understand, he explained, "Last time when your leg cramped, you used a lot of force. Try exerting strength like that again."

Cheng Zhao tensed her waist and abdomen.

She was very tired, and in such a posture, when she exerted force again, she only felt like she was going to collapse from exhaustion.

His hands, one gripping her waist, the other holding her shoulder, suddenly applied force together.

It hurt a lot. Cheng Zhao felt as if her bones were going to be crushed by him.

In Cheng Zhao's line of sight, she saw the veins suddenly bulging on his arm.

Cheng Zhao was in a lot of pain, but she endured it and didn't speak, because he released his grip in the very next instant.

A complete mess everywhere.

She fell asleep in a daze, feeling someone applying ointment to her, just like last time.

She did not open her eyes.

When she woke up early the next morning, she saw the bruises on the side of her waist.

They were finger marks, firmly imprinted on her body.

Zhou Yuanshen had left early in the morning again. Cheng Zhao didn't see him when she woke up.

She was very tired, and knowing she had already woken up late, she couldn't be bothered to move.

"Is there any hope of getting pregnant this time?" she thought with frustration as she lay in bed.

Why was getting pregnant so exhausting?

Not only was she not pregnant, but there was no sign from Mu Jiang either.

Cheng Zhao calculated the days; the number of times Zhou Yuanshen spent the night at Mu Jiang's place was far greater than at Nonghua Courtyard.

"If he really has a problem, could we invite a doctor to prescribe medicine?" Cheng Zhao thought.

Would he fly into a rage?

It would be better to wait.

Wait until Mu Jiang couldn't stand it anymore and suggested calling a doctor for him first, and then Cheng Zhao could play along and offer some supporting remarks.