Chapter 47: Staying Over Again

Returning to the Zuixian Pavilion, Cheng Ying and Zhou Yuanqi were already sitting in the private booth.

"...We were pushed to the side of the road just now. Some stall over there was selling something with a smell so strong that Yuanqi couldn't stand it, so we came back first," Cheng Ying explained to Cheng Zhao.

With the crowded and chaotic streets, and the child growing a bit impatient, Cheng Ying was terrified he might accidentally wander off. They happened to run into Fan Xiao, so they all came back together.

Safety first.

Every year during the Lantern Festival, children went missing, so one had to be vigilant.

They hadn't waited for Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen.

"I know Third Sister is reliable. I figured you must have returned first," Cheng Zhao said.

This year, Cheng Zhao didn't stroll through the Lantern Festival all night because she felt dizzy.

That bowl of rice wine had quite a kick. Cheng Zhao's alcohol tolerance was usually decent—she could normally drink a few ounces of liquor—but today she felt drowsy.

She told the group, "I'm going back first, I can't hold out any longer."

She looked a bit listless, which her Eldest Sister had already noticed. "You've been exhausted by all the busy affairs of the New Year. Go back early and get some rest," she said.

Cheng Zhao agreed and then asked Zhou Yuanqi, "Are you going back?"

Zhou Yuanqi replied, "No!"

It had been a long time since he had this much fun at a festival, and he had no desire to go back early.

Cheng Zhao looked around at everyone, considering who to entrust Zhou Yuanqi to.

Her Fourth Brother, Cheng Chao, should have been the most suitable, but considering he couldn't even book a private booth correctly, Cheng Zhao didn't trust him.

Third Sister spoke up, "I'll take Yuanqi."

She then asked Zhou Yuanqi, "Are you willing to be obedient and stay by my side?"

Zhou Yuanqi felt her tone was a bit arrogant, treating him almost like a servant; yet, coming from Cheng Ying, it sounded very natural.

She didn't usually like paying attention to people, but she was willing to let him tag along, which put Zhou Yuanqi in a good mood.

He nodded, giving an equally arrogant nod in return. "I can protect you. You are a woman."

A child claiming he was going to protect a woman...

Cheng Zhao held back her laughter. She left Qiubai behind so there would be an extra person to look after Zhou Yuanqi, and only then prepared to return to the manor.

Zhou Yuanshen then said, "I'll head back first as well."

The husband and wife rode in the same carriage. There were too many people on the street, and the carriage couldn't squeeze its way out for a long time. Amidst the stop-and-go motion, Cheng Zhao nearly fell fast asleep.

The alcohol had gone to her head.

Zhou Yuanshen was also in the carriage. In her drowsy state, she vaguely felt him support her head to prevent her from bumping into the carriage wall.

Cheng Zhao shifted a bit to the side and told him, "I'm not asleep, just resting my eyes."

Zhou Yuanshen made no sound.

When she felt the person in the carriage move, she opened her eyes to find Zhou Yuanshen's face right next to hers.

She froze for a moment.

Zhou Yuanshen looked at her quietly, saying nothing.

The light in the carriage was dim, and Cheng Zhao couldn't clearly see his expression, but she could feel his scorching breath.

He had drunk two bowls of that rice wine.

Cheng Zhao had felt uncomfortable after just three sips; having drunk two bowls, he was perhaps far more intoxicated than she was.

She didn't want to serve a drunkard. She thought she shouldn't have returned with him, let alone shared the same carriage.

Zhou Yuanshen held her face, his fingers gently stroking her cheek. His fingertips brushed against her skin and traced over her lips.

Slowly, yet with a bit of force, he rubbed against her lips.

Cheng Zhao's drowsiness cleared up by a fraction.

She simply sat up and moved to the other side.

Zhou Yuanshen didn't move again. He sat in the shadows, not saying a word.

Cheng Zhao turned her head to the other side. Thinking about the earlier clash at the Duke's estate in the Yixia Pavilion, and still feeling the touch of his fingers on her lips, she felt exceptionally irritable.

This irritability felt like being forced to wear a padded cotton coat in the sweltering heat of midsummer.

Not only was it hard to breathe, but her whole body felt wrapped in dampness.

She tried hard to calm her emotions.

The carriage returned to the Duke's estate, and Zhou Yuanshen instructed the driver, "Go directly to Nonghua Courtyard."

The driver went to pass on the word, and the servants immediately removed the door sill so the carriage could smoothly enter the estate.

Once inside the estate, Cheng Zhao sobered up a bit more. "My Lord, are you resting in Chenhui Courtyard tonight?"

Zhou Yuanshen replied, "Nonghua Courtyard."

Cheng Zhao: "..."

Unless they were going to share a bed, he rarely ever stayed in Nonghua Courtyard.

Every time he went there, it was as if he was on a mission, and Cheng Zhao would suffer through another ordeal.

Since they returned quite early, Nanny Li was a bit surprised. "You didn't stay out for long."

"I'm a bit tired," Cheng Zhao said.

She had taken a nap in the carriage. The slight drowsiness brought on by those three sips of rice wine had all but vanished. She realized she was completely awake now.

Then what did she come back for?

Not only did she come back herself, but she had also brought Zhou Yuanshen along.

Skipping the lantern festival just to come back and suffer his humiliation?

Cheng Zhao was filled with regret and frustration.

After washing up, she lay down, vainly attempting to pretend to be asleep to get through the night.

Carrying the faint scent of water vapor, Zhou Yuanshen climbed into bed wearing his inner garments.

He sat there and after a long while, spoke: "Cheng Zhao?"

Cheng Zhao had her eyes closed, pretending to sleep. Hearing him call her, she simply rolled over, turning her back to him. "I won't regret tonight, nor will I resent you."

Every time she showed the slightest reluctance, he would use "heirs" to pressure her: if she dared to refuse him, they might as well cut ties going forward.

He wanted to keep Cheng Zhao cornered.

Cheng Zhao was usually very rational, but when she was exhausted, she just wanted to throw a tantrum.

Especially after Mu Jiang got pregnant, she always felt that even though they shared the same man, Cheng Zhao was not treated as well as Mu Jiang.

Perhaps that one time she said she was "willing," it had placed a shackle on her, making him feel he could humiliate her at will.

A hand fell onto her shoulder, neither light nor heavy.

He turned Cheng Zhao's body to face him.

Cheng Zhao was stunned.

She thought she understood Zhou Yuanshen. As long as she was unwilling, he would definitely respond with coldness and might even leave Nonghua Courtyard in the middle of the night.

The last time she cried, he left right after finishing.

"Cheng Zhao, why are you always unhappy?" he asked. "What have I done wrong this time?"

Cheng Zhao looked at him in astonishment.

Did he actually think he had done something right?

Did he have so little self-awareness?

"My heart is the same as yours. I also want you to have a child. We are fundamentally striving in the same direction, so why does it always seem like I am bullying you?" he demanded, almost aggressively. "If you have any dissatisfaction, can you just tell me?"

All of Cheng Zhao's spite and anger dissipated in that instant.

Yes, why should she be angry with him?

Acting out of spite was meant to achieve a purpose.

Being angry now, aside from venting her emotions, was entirely meaningless and would only block her path to wealth and status.

Mu Jiang was already pregnant, and the dual-lineage marriage with Huan Qingtang was imminent. Was she going to wait until both of them had children before she bowed and scraped to beg for mercy?

Her posture then would be far more pathetic than her current state in the bedroom.

To forever be a titled lady in name only? She couldn't accept that either.

Life in the inner chambers meant enduring hardship. She couldn't suffer all this bitterness and end up with nothing.

If she wanted to be the primary wife of the household, besides a royal title, she needed to at least have an heir. This was the established condition of the world, as well as the family rule.

Cheng Zhao sat up.

The small horn lantern on the bedside table inside the bed curtains illuminated a tiny space, leaving his eyes pitch-black in the shadows. And Cheng Zhao unexpectedly noticed that his gaze was a bit dazed.

He was always calm and restrained...

"I don't want to be on my stomach. I find it very humiliating," Cheng Zhao said.

Zhou Yuanshen frowned slightly.

"Besides, the results aren't good. Look, Concubine Mu is already pregnant, and she probably didn't use the method I do, right?

Not only is my body uncomfortable and my heart stifled, but I've gained nothing from it. Could you... treat me in a different way?" Cheng Zhao said.