Chapter 82: Call Me "Third Brother" Again

That night, Second Madam rested on the long couch in the secondary room of Jiangyun Courtyard, leaving the inner bedroom to the father and his two sons.

The brothers Zhou Yuanqi and Zhou Yuanshen stayed in the warm pavilion; Second Master slept on the bed.

Zhou Yuanqi was extremely disgusted by the arrangement, but after night fell, he had no energy left to fuss, because his fever flared up again.

He drank another dose of talisman water.

Groggy, he was about to fall asleep.

Second Master and Zhou Yuanshen spoke for a good while across the warm pavilion.

"The Crown Prince is too young and in poor health. The men of the Helian clan go mad when they reach a certain age; the Crown Prince may not turn out to be a wise ruler," Second Master said.

Zhou Yuanshen replied, "We will talk about the future when it comes."

"You have done so much for the Emperor, yet you still can't refuse your grandmother's arrangement for you to carry on two family lines?" Second Master asked again.

Zhou Yuanshen said, "I have my own plans."

"Yuanshen, you have always brooded over the matchmaking matter at Princess Qing'an's manor back then, haven't you?" Second Master asked.

Zhou Yuanshen remained silent.

Second Master did not know how to comfort him either.

After Zhou Yuancheng of the eldest branch passed away, many things did indeed change, leaving Zhou Yuanshen in an awkward position.

Actually, when he was first asked to inherit the title, Zhou Yuanshen had refused it.

It was the Emperor who told him to inherit the title.

The Emperor always treated the Zhou family's affairs as his own.

Second Master felt that his son hated many people. He hated all those who mocked him and wantonly treated him as a pawn.

He clearly had his own bright future; he was doing quite well on the path of a military general.

"...However, Zhaozhao is a very good person," Second Master said, bringing up something happy. "The Cheng family is also not bad."

"Yes," Zhou Yuanshen replied.

"Then treat Zhaozhao better, and be filial to your father-in-law and mother-in-law," Second Master said.

"I know."

"Have children early and spread the family branches with Zhaozhao," Second Master added. "If it really comes down to it, we can move away from the capital in the future."

"Father, where in this world is there a pure land?"

Second Master sighed.

They talked about a few other things.

Zhou Yuanshen suddenly said, "Father, Yuanqi is sweating."

Second Master immediately got up.

He walked over to the warm pavilion and touched Zhou Yuanqi; his forehead was indeed wet.

"Don't move him yet, let him sweat it all out," Second Master said. "If he can break a sweat, he will probably get better."

The father and son waited for another hour, then called a maid to bring hot water to wipe Zhou Yuanqi down and change his clothes.

Zhou Yuanqi woke up but felt tired again, groggily closing his eyes.

Second Madam couldn't sleep in the secondary room and came in to look when she heard the commotion.

"His fever has finally broken." Second Madam touched Zhou Yuanqi's forehead, feeling a wave of relief.

As she spoke, the corners of her eyes grew damp.

Her child being sick almost broke her heart; it also reminded her of the torment she felt when Zhou Yuanshen was injured in the past.

The next day, when Zhou Yuanqi woke up, his low-grade fever was completely gone, and his forehead felt cool.

He even said he was especially hungry.

Second Madam hurriedly sent someone to prepare breakfast and another to inform Cheng Zhao.

After washing up, Cheng Zhao came to Jiangyun Courtyard.

Seeing that Zhou Yuanqi had regained his spirits, she was also happy.

She even teased him, "The Duke's wealth and nobility suppressed your illness. Hurry up and say, 'Thank you, Third Brother, Third Brother is truly a good person.'"

Zhou Yuanqi was so annoyed; he bit the tip of his chopsticks and ignored her.

Zhou Yuanshen, however, glanced at her.

"The Duke must be tired from last night, right? Are you resting today?" Cheng Zhao asked him.

Zhou Yuanshen replied, "I'll rest for a day, I've already asked for leave."

"Then are you going to Nonghua Courtyard?" Cheng Zhao asked.

Zhou Yuanshen said yes.

Her taking the initiative to invite him to Nonghua Courtyard meant that the previous incident was completely behind them.

After Zhou Yuanqi finished his breakfast, he muttered a "Thank you."

Cheng Zhao still didn't let him off: "Thank you who?"

Zhou Yuanqi turned around and ran off; he had to go to the clan school.

Second Madam shouted from behind, "You just recovered and you're going to the clan school? Rest a bit more."

"I'm already fine."

"Let him go. Children have strong constitutions; once the fever breaks, it's no big deal. If he stays here all day, I'll get annoyed with him too," Second Master said.

Second Madam: "..."

Cheng Zhao and Zhou Yuanshen returned to Nonghua Courtyard.

She instructed the maids to make the bed again. Zhou Yuanshen had watched over his brother last night and hardly slept.

Of course, he wasn't too sleepy at the moment.

"Aren't you going to Chengming Hall?" he asked her, seeing that Cheng Zhao had changed into casual clothes after returning from Jiangyun Courtyard.

"I also asked for leave. Three days of leave," Cheng Zhao said.

She added, "I thought that if Yuanqi didn't get better, I would have to go back to my maiden home and ask my mother for a solution; I was also afraid that Mother might need help here, so I simply asked Eldest Aunt for leave."

Zhou Yuanshen nodded slightly.

He said he couldn't sleep in the morning and would rest a bit after lunch.

"Want to play chess?" he asked Cheng Zhao.

Cheng Zhao agreed.

The couple played chess and chatted about trivial matters.

They didn't mention Mu Jiang, only talking about his general's manor. He said the residence wasn't large, but it was decorated quite nicely, and they could go see it next time.

Cheng Zhao then said she would go see it when she had time.

"How will that horse be handled?" Cheng Zhao asked again.

"It's being kept at the general's manor. The lieutenant will tame it," Zhou Yuanshen said.

He added, "It was because Yuanqi is young that he was bullied by the horse. It's in an animal's nature to bully the weak and fear the strong; it's not a major fault. It has a well-proportioned build and a beautiful coat; it will be a fine steed in the future."

Cheng Zhao said, "Will you still give it to Yuanqi later?"

"Depends on whether he likes it."

The two continued talking.

Seeing that he was still in good spirits, Cheng Zhao said, "How about we go to the Cheng family for lunch? We can return the Ziyang Pill to Grandfather while we're at it."

"You shouldn't have brought such a precious thing for Yuanqi."

"My grandfather takes a detached view of life and death. Children are the hope and future," Cheng Zhao smiled.

Zhou Yuanshen looked at her deeply again.

Cheng Zhao was thinking that since she had gone home last time making a fuss about a divorce, she should let her parents know; her eldest sister also told her to reconcile with Zhou Yuanshen and bring him home for a meal.

Zhou Yuanshen agreed to go back with her.

Cheng Zhao sent a maid ahead to the Cheng family to inform them, then went to change her clothes.

Zhou Yuanshen went to the storehouse to pick out a few gifts.

The young couple returned and had lunch with her mother; then they waited until mid-afternoon when her grandfather and father returned home from court.

Grandfather asked about Zhou Yuanqi's condition.

"He's already well. He went to school bright and early this morning," Cheng Zhao smiled.

"Indeed eager to learn, and talented too," Grandfather smiled.

Cheng Zhao's father was rather stern and taciturn; Cheng Zhao and her sisters didn't dare misbehave in front of him.

Zhou Yuanshen, however, was able to chat with him about the political situation.

After returning Grandfather's Ziyang Pill and having dinner at the Cheng family, the couple finally returned to the Chen Duke's Manor.

That night, Zhou Yuanshen stayed at Nonghua Courtyard.

After bathing, Cheng Zhao got into bed wearing her inner garments.

Perhaps because she had experienced quite a few things recently, her awkwardness from last time had faded a lot.

When Zhou Yuanshen embraced her, she fell softly into his arms.

"You called me 'Third Brother' this morning. Call me that again," his voice was hoarse.

Cheng Zhao: "When did I?"

It took her a moment to remember that she had said it while teasing Zhou Yuanqi.

No wonder Zhou Yuanshen had glanced at her at the time.

Cheng Zhao turned her head away.

She ignored him.

Zhou Yuanshen gently turned her face back and kissed her lips. "Cheng Zhao, say it for me to hear."

Cheng Zhao: "..."