Chapter 62: Zhou Yuanshen completed this month's errand.

Zhou Yuanshen had not visited Nonghua Courtyard for several days.

Everything in the Chen Duke Estate remained the same.

The First Madam, Madam Song, had not yet "fully recovered" and was still resting; Huan Qingtang's orders were not as effective as before; some stewards were now taking their cues from Cheng Zhao.

Cheng Zhao remained steady, continuing to observe more and speak less at Chengming Hall.

Her duties were relatively relaxed. She woke up early to practice swordplay and practiced calligraphy in the evening, letting the days pass at a leisurely pace.

After the arrival of spring, a late spring snow melted, and the weather grew warmer day by day.

The Chen Duke Estate had already begun tailoring summer clothes for the masters and servants.

Cheng Zhao's maid brought out her spring clothes to air them in the sun.

In the mid-afternoon sunlight, she returned to Nonghua Courtyard to find the yard filled with fluttering dresses in vibrant and fresh colors, a sight that greatly lifted her spirits.

After dinner, Cheng Zhao sat under the lamp doing her embroidery.

She was embroidering a fat cat.

The chubby little cat took a lot of time to embroider, but it also perfectly explained why Cheng Zhao had delayed giving it to her niece for so long—she had to rush the work.

Spending a long time on embroidery allowed her mind to wander over various matters.

Since Zhou Yuanshen had not come for several days, Cheng Zhao guessed that with the newly appointed Crown Prince and the complex political situation, he was too busy to get away.

Regardless of whether the Emperor was friendly towards Zhou Yuanshen, he needed him.

Zhou Yuanshen was currently the most useful weapon; and Zhou Yuanshen, in order to escape his constrained situation, was willing to sacrifice his reputation in exchange for real power.

They both got what they needed.

"...Except for his parents-in-law, everyone else has ulterior motives toward him," Cheng Zhao thought, "including me."

She didn't think Zhou Yuanshen was pitiful.

In this world, being schemed against by others meant that the person had value.

If it were Cheng Zhao, she would need to have value. She would rather be calculated against than be completely useless.

Moreover, Zhou Yuanshen still had parents who truly loved him; his younger brother constantly showed disdain for him, but in a way, it was just another form of worrying about him.

He was better off than the vast majority of people.

Cheng Zhao admired Zhou Yuanshen for being able to find his own way out in such a situation, rather than being flattered into arrogance or wallowing in self-pity and grievance.

Most of the time, he was like a dormant leopard, lying quietly in wait as he hunted.

He had also gained some rewards.

In his contest with the Old Madam, he was not completely controlled.

It was only in his struggle against the Emperor that he temporarily held the lower hand, which was why he tried so hard to make Mu Jiang pregnant with his child.

Cheng Zhao suddenly thought, "Does he want me to get pregnant?"

She was his official wife bestowed by Empress Guo. What role did Cheng Zhao play in this situation?

"He probably does, right?"

Zhou Yuanshen did not reject sharing a bed with her; the Cheng family had no conflict of interest with him.

In fact, the Cheng family's good reputation and the stability of his marriage with the Cheng family brought him no harm whatsoever.

Unknowingly, nearly half a month passed.

By February in Shengjing City, the weather had warmed up. Wild grass sprouted in the suburbs, willow branches budded, and many people arranged to go on spring outings.

Cheng Zhao's new handkerchief was finished.

She had embroidered a plump, adorable kitten with pale yellow patterns.

"I'll visit my maiden home tomorrow and go out to play with my eldest sister," Cheng Zhao said. "I heard my brother-in-law's position has been finalized as the Vice Minister of War."

She also wanted to know where her eldest sister and brother-in-law would live next.

Would they move back to their own residence, or continue staying at the Cheng estate?

She also needed to give the handkerchief to her niece, Du Heng.

As she was planning this, she felt an anxious ache in her lower abdomen.

Cheng Zhao hadn't been worrying about having children lately, so she hadn't paid much attention to her menstrual cycle.

Startled by the sudden sensation, she paused and immediately went to the washroom.

Sure enough, her period had come again.

This time, it was only delayed by two days.

She felt a little discouraged when she came out.

"...How on earth did the Secondary Wife get pregnant?" Cheng Zhao held a warm cup of ginger tea, feeling somewhat disheartened.

Mu Jiang was lively and healthy, but Cheng Zhao wasn't sickly either. Why couldn't she match up to her?

"Don't worry, Young Madam. Didn't the doctor advise you to relax a bit?" Nanny Li said.

Cheng Zhao replied, "But this is just too unfair."

She and Zhou Yuanshen had shared a bed several times this month.

The doctor said she only had some stagnant qi and was otherwise perfectly fine and healthy.

Her mother had even invited a Guanyin statue for granting children for her.

"Have you all been burning incense for me lately?" Cheng Zhao asked Suyue and the others.

Her Guanyin statue was placed in the east room, and the maids offered incense every day.

Because Cheng Zhao was sometimes too busy, she would forget about it.

"You should offer the incense yourself; we will remind you every day," Suyue said. "Your heart is not sincere enough. If we offer incense on your behalf, the Bodhisattva won't accept it."

Cheng Zhao thought this made sense.

"Once my period is over, I must offer incense to the Bodhisattva every day," Cheng Zhao said.

Nanny Li couldn't help but smile: "None of you are sincere enough."

She repeatedly urged Cheng Zhao not to be anxious.

Blossoming and bearing fruit both require the right timing.

"Why hasn't the Duke come over these past few days?" Nanny Li also asked.

Cheng Zhao thought to herself that they had already been together several times, so it didn't matter much whether he came or not.

If he missed a month and the gap was too long, only then would she need to worry. This month, Zhou Yuanshen's duty was already fulfilled.

"The court has many matters; he is busy," Cheng Zhao replied.

The next day, Cheng Zhao went to Chengming Hall to "ask for leave," as she needed to go out.

Huan Qingtang naturally agreed readily; the head steward wouldn't restrict her either, and didn't dare ask what she was going out to do.

Cheng Zhao then informed the Old Madam and the Second Madam before heading to the Cheng family.

Her mother told her that her eldest sister and brother-in-law had already moved back to the Du family's residence.

The Du family's residence was not far from the Chen Duke Estate, about five or six miles away. The entire house was not large, but it was fully equipped and very comfortable to live in.

After her eldest sister returned to the capital, her mother had instructed her second brother to quickly start renovating the house from the inside out and replace all the furniture with new pieces.

Having been unoccupied for years, there were always places the servants had neglected.

By the time her eldest sister and brother-in-law moved in, her brother-in-law would definitely have to go to work at the government office, and her eldest sister would have to manage the household and take care of three children. How would she have the time to repair the house?

They would just be making do.

Cheng Zhao's mother couldn't stand making do; life had to be refined.

Her second brother handled things properly and had asked friends for help, so the house renovations were completed last month.

Her eldest sister had only moved in three days ago.

Cheng Zhao wanted to visit, and her mother wanted to take a look along the way, so the mother and daughter set off together.

"...Your grandfather said that we originally needed to call in more favors; your brother-in-law was also using his superior's connections, striving to stay in the Ministry of War.

The court has been busy with appointing the Crown Prince recently, and everything is chaotic. We all thought it would drag on until at least June or July. We didn't expect the appointment letter to come down so quickly," her mother said to Cheng Zhao.

She was probing Cheng Zhao with her words.

Cheng Zhao nodded: "The Duke said he would help. Eldest brother-in-law is his relative by marriage, and will be of assistance to him in the future."

"Next time, tell your father and your second brother to invite the Duke home for drinks," her mother said. "Also, tell your eldest sister and brother-in-law to keep the Duke's favor in their hearts."

"Brother-in-law and the Fan family share the same master, and the Fan family is the Duke's maternal family. They already have a relationship, so they should interact more," Cheng Zhao said.

Her mother nodded in relief.

As they talked, they arrived at the Du residence.

However, at the entrance, they ran into Fan Xiao, as well as her brother-in-law, Zhou Yuanqi.

Cheng Zhao was slightly surprised.

She wasn't too surprised that Fan Xiao was here, but why had Zhou Yuanqi also come?

She looked at Zhou Yuanqi in confusion.

Zhou Yuanqi came over to pay his respects. Proper and well-behaved, and exceptionally handsome, he made Cheng Zhao's mother nod repeatedly: "Has the Fifth Young Master been busy with his studies lately?"

She liked him very much.

"Not too busy, Auntie," Zhou Yuanqi replied respectfully.

He looked absolutely nothing like his usual self at home, where he would roll his eyes at the drop of a hat.

Cheng Zhao could not help but smile.

Just as the group was about to head inside, a voice suddenly called out from behind them, "Brother Fan!"