Chapter 46: The Thoughtfulness of the Duke

Zhou Yuanshen arrived.

He carried an aura of aloofness and chill. Some of the scholars seemed to recognize him, while others were intimidated by his presence, whispering among themselves.

The shopkeeper was a good judge of character, knowing exactly who could be offended and who could not. He swiftly took down the lantern and handed it to Zhou Yuanqi.

The small lantern was exquisite and ingenious. Its light and shadow fell upon the child's face, making his fair and delicate features look like someone out of a painting.

Zhou Yuanqi handed the lantern to Cheng Zhao.

"Here, I got it first," Zhou Yuanqi said.

He thought Cheng Zhao would tease him a bit; he also thought Cheng Ying would be unconvinced and try to argue that her ideas had enlightened him.

However, the fairy-like ladies merely looked at him quietly, their eyes full of joy.

No one wanted to be a killjoy at this moment.

Cheng Zhao said, "Yuanqi indeed has great knowledge. Whatever treasure of my grandfather's you want, just tell me. I will go ask for it."

Cheng Ying also added, "To have such a quick mind at such a young age, you must have put a lot of hard work into your studies and possess true knowledge. Yuanqi will become a great scholar of his generation in the future."

Zhou Yuanqi felt like he was floating.

His heart was like boiling water, with little bubbles tumbling and rising, impossible to suppress.

His joy must have shown on his face, because his teeth felt a bit cold—he was smiling so broadly that his teeth were showing.

Realizing he had lost his composure, he immediately shut his mouth and adjusted his expression. "The answer to this riddle was very simple. Given a little more time, you could have guessed it too."

"I couldn't have guessed it anyway," Cheng Zhao laughed. "This lantern is too beautiful. I'll give it to my mother-in-law later."

Zhou Yuanshen walked slightly ahead and to the side of them. Hearing the two sisters flatter the child, he caught a glimpse of his younger brother's silly smile out of the corner of his eye, but he showed no reaction.

The lantern was held in Cheng Zhao's hand.

Her hands were slender and fair like scallion roots. Illuminated by the lantern's light, her nails appeared almost transparent.

Zhou Yuanshen didn't turn his head to look again and just kept walking forward.

As expected, spinning lotus lanterns were not easy to find. They walked down most of the street without encountering another one.

"There definitely must have been more than one shop. Were they won by other people?" Cheng Zhao said.

Cheng Ying replied, "The adjacent street isn't as bustling and lively as this one. If this street doesn't have any, it's likely there won't be any more."

Looking at the lantern in her hand, Cheng Zhao smiled, "Having even one is great. When I give it to my mother-in-law later, she will definitely be happy."

"Since there's only one, you can keep it for yourself," Zhou Yuanqi said.

There was no need to constantly please others.

She was so beautiful and came from a good background. Why did she have to be so humble as a daughter-in-law?

It was because of the brute.

The brute didn't like her.

The brute not only had a beautiful concubine, but also two pretty maids given to him by their grandmother in Lijing Courtyard. On top of that, he was going to marry that cunning and beautiful widowed sister-in-law from the eldest branch.

The brute's side was stuffed with people, but his mother only had one daughter-in-law.

Pleasing his mother seemed more advantageous.

It was a bit humble, but she knew how to grasp the crucial point. His sister-in-law was not only beautiful but also smart.

Except that she didn't know how to guess lantern riddles.

It was fine if she couldn't guess; Zhou Yuanqi could, and he could help her.

Zhou Yuanqi once again felt that it would be better if the brute wasn't in the family. Let the eldest branch and their grandmother have him, and let him never come back.

Didn't his sister-in-law need a husband too?

They could find a better one outside and have him marry into the family. This way, his parents would gain a son-in-law, and they could still kick the brute out.

As Zhou Yuanqi let his imagination run wild, the brute suddenly turned his head and glanced at him, startling Zhou Yuanqi.

"What?"

"Are you thirsty?" Zhou Yuanshen asked.

"No," Zhou Yuanqi replied.

"There's a rice milk stall ahead. Do you want to quench your thirst?" Zhou Yuanshen then asked Cheng Zhao and Cheng Ying.

Cheng Zhao wasn't thirsty, but she was a little hungry. Rice milk was sweet, filling, and wouldn't cause indigestion.

"I'm not thirsty," Cheng Ying said.

Cheng Zhao, however, said, "I want some."

She handed the lantern to Cheng Ying to hold, and walked forward with Zhou Yuanshen, telling Cheng Ying and the others to wait where they were.

The two of them stood before the stall, waiting to buy the rice milk. A parade carrying lanterns passed by, and Cheng Zhao shifted inward a bit, moving closer to Zhou Yuanshen.

The lanterns being carried on poles happened to shine on her profile, bathing her features in an orange glow.

Zhou Yuanshen turned his head to speak and happened to catch sight of this scene.

He silently turned his head back.

He told the vendor he wanted two bowls of rice milk.

He handed one bowl to Cheng Zhao and downed his own in one gulp. Then he said to the vendor, "Give me another bowl."

"Is the young master this thirsty? Drink slowly, this milk can be intoxicating," the vendor laughed.

This time, Zhou Yuanshen drank it slowly, sip by sip, unlike his previous thirst.

Cheng Zhao didn't quite like the taste of the rice milk; it was a bit sticky on her teeth. She took three sips and put it down.

When she turned around, she didn't see Zhou Yuanqi and Cheng Ying; Suyue and the guards were nowhere to be seen either.

Cheng Zhao felt inexplicably nervous. "Where are they?"

Zhou Yuanshen finished his bowl before answering her, "I saw our young uncle just now. With another parade passing by and the crowd getting dense, they probably went back with him."

Cheng Zhao thought that her third sister was the most reliable and wouldn't lose Zhou Yuanqi, and since Suyue and the guards were skilled in martial arts, nothing would happen to them. She felt relieved.

"Let's head back too," Cheng Zhao said. "We still have to walk a big circle along the river later, so we shouldn't make them wait for me."

Zhou Yuanshen nodded.

As Cheng Zhao turned around, a vendor carrying a shelf of lanterns on a shoulder pole passed by. It was piled high, and when pushed by two playing boys, it almost crashed into Cheng Zhao.

The Lantern Festival market was just this crowded.

Cheng Zhao dodged, but her hair still got snagged by a bamboo strip on the shelf, and her hairpin became tangled in the lantern rack.

The vendor didn't notice and kept walking forward. Cheng Zhao couldn't keep up, and her hairpin was pulled out.

With quick reflexes, Zhou Yuanshen retrieved the hairpin.

When he turned back, half of Cheng Zhao's hair bun had come undone.

She wished she could find a place to hide.

"So unlucky!" she muttered.

She came out to see the lanterns every year.

Every time, some little incident would happen—losing an earring or jewelry, getting her clothes dirty, or getting into a conflict with someone—but this was the first time her hair bun had been ruined.

"...In the past, when I was at home, I wore my hair in a double bun, which was easier to secure," Cheng Zhao still tried to explain.

She had messed up her hair in front of Zhou Yuanshen several times already.

Zhou Yuanshen probably thought that Cheng Zhao's servants were unskilled at doing hair.

But that wasn't the case.

Cheng Zhao's hair was too thick and smooth. The double bun she wore as a young unmarried girl divided her hair into two sections, making it easier to manage.

Now married, she had to wear a married woman's hairstyle, and her hair simply wouldn't stay securely in a single bun.

"Last time, there was a maid serving my mother-in-law who did hair very tightly. I'll go ask for her later," Cheng Zhao thought.

While she was at a loss for what to do, Zhou Yuanshen pulled her.

The two retreated beneath the eaves of a street shop, into a shadowed area.

He told Cheng Zhao to turn around and then completely undid the rest of her bun.

Cheng Zhao gasped.

Zhou Yuanshen used his fingers to comb through her hair, attempting to pin it up for her.

He didn't control his strength well, pulling Cheng Zhao's hair so hard it hurt.

Cheng Zhao didn't move.

She really had no other choice.

Zhou Yuanshen seemed to actually have some skill. In just a moment, he managed to twist Cheng Zhao's hair into a round bun and insert her hairpin.

It was a bit low and too tight, making Cheng Zhao's scalp burn with pain.

But at least her hair was fixed.

She touched it.

It was far too tight; if she wore such a round bun often, her scalp would peel right off.

"Thank you, Lord Duke," Cheng Zhao said.

Zhou Yuanshen did not speak.

He hadn't bothered to speak to Cheng Zhao all night. It seemed he was still angry about her rejecting his invitation yesterday.

"Let's go." He turned around first.

Cheng Zhao had no choice but to hurry after him.