Chapter 87: Excluding Cheng Zhao
By the time March seventeenth arrived, it was the day of the Chen Duke’s estate birthday banquet.
The weather was fine—a vast blue sky without a single cloud, golden sunlight spilling over tender new branches, everywhere fresh greenery and vibrant life.
The Second Madam was also helping to receive guests that day.
Zhou Yuanshen had requested leave from his duties and was at home managing affairs as well.
At dawn, a long string of firecrackers was set off, echoing through the entire street. The air hung thick with haze for a while, all the smell of gunpowder from the firecrackers.
With that, the birthday feast began.
All the maids and servants in the household had changed into brand-new blue cotton clothes, brighter in color than usual by three shades.
As for the masters, needless to say, even the widowed First Madam, Lady Huan Qingtang, was decked out in gold and silver, adorned with pearls and jade, dressed in resplendent luxury.
Though they did not wear mourning clothes on ordinary days.
Led by the Second Master, over a hundred members of the Zhou clan gathered early in the morning to offer birthday greetings to the Grand Madam.
Among the throng of women, Mu Jiang was dressed the most opulently.
On her head, Mu Jiang wore an intricate gold hairpin with an oversized tail, hung with a dozen gold tassels, dotted with tiny rubies; her earrings were set with two rubies, each the size of a pigeon’s egg, the pinnacle of extravagance.
Her gown was of kesi silk embroidered with gold-thread crabapple blossoms, each step she took shimmering with golden light.
In comparison, Huan Qingtang’s clothes and jewelry were not as delicate and dazzling, but she still held her own in presence, because she wore a set of jadeite ornaments gifted by the Grand Madam.
Cheng Zhao’s jewelry was of gold matched with pearls. Compared to the two of them, it might be less valuable, but its quality was not inferior.
Among the three, Huan Qingtang was steady and composed, exuding the dignity of a leading mistress; Mu Jiang was arrogant, flashy, and beautiful, and being pregnant gave her a unique privilege.
As for Cheng Zhao, she was not outshone. Her features and figure were even more superior. Even if her clothes and jewelry were not as fine, she was still dazzling and eye-catching.
“The Duke truly is blessed with good fortune,” someone deliberately remarked.
The words were vague, not singling anyone out, yet it seemed to praise all three women at once.
Mu Jiang glanced at Huan Qingtang, then at Cheng Zhao. She saw both of them looking straight ahead, their expressions unchanged, which made Mu Jiang’s own furtive glances seem petty.
Indignation welled up inside her.
But on such an occasion, she dared not cause trouble. She silently stood still.
“Nonsense—my daughter-in-law is clearly the true beauty,” the Second Madam thought to herself as she also looked at them.
In her opinion, neither Huan Qingtang nor Mu Jiang was as attractive as Cheng Zhao.
Cheng Zhao had good skin and good bone structure; no matter how she dressed, she was beautiful.
The other two, if they insisted on comparing with her, would always fall short somehow.
“Don’t flatter yourselves by trying to match Zhaozhao. You can’t,” the Second Madam thought further.
Luckily, she had gained some tact now.
In the past, she would have said it out loud.
After the birthday greetings, several clan relatives gathered around the Grand Madam, sitting with her and making small talk. The daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law had to go attend to their duties.
Mu Jiang sat nearby.
Great-Aunt kept praising her: “Secondary Wife is truly a peerless beauty, and she even looks a bit like Grandaunt. No wonder the Grand Madam dotes on her.”
As she spoke, she cautiously observed the Grand Madam’s expression.
The Grand Madam looked at Mu Jiang with affectionate indulgence, showing no sadness.
Great-Aunt continued, “She’s even more graceful than before. That belly must surely be carrying a son. The pregnancy signs are good, and she’s steady.”
She cited examples of the signs when she had given birth to sons to affirm Mu Jiang’s condition.
The Grand Madam indeed beamed with joy: “May your kind words come true.”
Mu Jiang’s smile grew even more radiant: “I’ve had several dreams, and in every one, I dreamed of a boy.”
“That’s a pregnancy dream—it can’t be wrong,” Great-Aunt said.
The Grand Madam sighed with emotion: “Among all the children in this house, Ah Jiang pleases me the most. And now we also have Huan Qingtang; she is considerate and thoughtful, and has deep refinement. When I chose her back then, she was selected from hundreds—truly unique among scholarly families.”
Mu Jiang’s smile faded a few degrees.
Huan Qingtang again!
Great-Aunt chuckled, “Speaking of scholarly families...”
She paused there, glancing at the Grand Madam.
She wanted to bring up Cheng Zhao.
Seeing the Grand Madam’s expression turn instantly cold, Great-Aunt shifted her words, “Indeed, among all the families in the world, the Huan family stands supreme.”
The Grand Madam’s face returned to normal.
So Great-Aunt thought to herself: Before the Grand Madam, Cheng Zhao doesn’t even rank. Today, she would have to flatter Huan Qingtang more.
Huan Qingtang was the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law.
Compared to Huan Qingtang, Mu Jiang was barely a favored concubine.
And that favored concubine only had a slight edge because she was pregnant.
“Cheng Zhao is somewhat unlucky. With beauty like hers, and having been granted marriage by the Empress, she would have had an easy life marrying into any other family,” Great-Aunt thought.
But she had to marry into the Zhou family.
Among all the nobles at court, only the Zhou family could stand against the Empress’s maternal family, the Guo clan.
A person’s fate, truly hard to say.
In Great-Aunt’s eyes, Cheng Zhao was exceptionally beautiful and socially adept. Leaving aside personal preferences, it was hard not to steal a few more glances at her.
Within the Shou’an Courtyard, everyone had their own thoughts.
Taking the opportunity to get some air, Mu Jiang sought out her trusted maid and instructed her to carry out properly the tasks she had ordered a few days prior.
The trusted maid acknowledged the order.
Cheng Zhao was receiving guests. The vast majority of the guests were very warm toward her, not treating her as inferior to Huan Qingtang.
In fact, the guests got along with her even better.
Cheng Zhao was sharp-tongued, quick-witted, and could laugh and joke easily, making her much more approachable than Huan Qingtang.
Huan Qingtang was elegant, noble, and proper, but some of the honored ladies came from military families and recognized only a few characters, not being fond of reading. Talking to Huan Qingtang was an ordeal for them.
Cheng Zhao was different.
Young as she was, she knew a little about everything under heaven and earth. When it came to common folk humor, as long as it wasn’t too vulgar, she could keep up.
Of course, the honored ladies who came as guests to the Chen Duke’s estate wouldn’t dare say anything too crude.
Regardless of how people outside compared the two, the honored ladies clearly preferred Cheng Zhao—that was plain for all to see.
The only one who paid little attention to Cheng Zhao was Lady Chu of the Feng’en Bo Estate.
The Chu family’s daughter had taken the initiative to break off an engagement with Cheng Zhao’s family, without even giving a proper reason. In short, the two families were now at odds. Cheng Zhao didn’t bother with her either, leaving her entirely in Huan Qingtang’s hands to entertain.
Accompanied by Huan Qingtang, Lady Chu went to the Grand Madam’s courtyard.
On the way, Lady Chu said, “From now on, you should visit our home often. Our family is related by marriage to the Grand Madam, but we have no wish to see anything foul.”
The “foul thing” she meant was Cheng Zhao.
Huan Qingtang pretended not to understand and simply smiled: “I will certainly come to visit often, madam. Please don’t mind me being a nuisance.”
“Of course not. My daughter is just like you—well-read and well-mannered,” Lady Chu said.
In the Shou’an Courtyard, Lady Chu kept praising Huan Qingtang.
Cheng Zhao’s mother, three aunts, and her eldest sister also arrived to offer birthday congratulations. Her third sister came with her mother-in-law, the Princess of Jingnan.
The Princess of Jingnan seldom took her youngest daughter-in-law out in society, afraid people would gossip, but she treated Cheng Ying very well and was protective.
At the midday banquet, eighty percent of the guests had arrived.
There were also eighteen dishes, one of which was hibiscus soup.
“This hibiscus soup is truly excellent.”
“It’s been a long time since I saw such a splendid vegetarian dish. It really opened my eyes.”
“Which chef made this?” the Lady of Feng’en Bo asked.
The Grand Madam smiled and said to Huan Qingtang, “It’s from the head chef at Jin’an Temple, isn’t it? Huan Qingtang, you were in charge of the banquet. Tell them.”
Huan Qingtang was startled for a moment.
But she quickly understood the Grand Madam’s intent.
She stood up: “Yes, it’s from the head chef at Jin’an Temple.”
All the guests were full of praise.
Some people praised Huan Qingtang for her filial piety, thinking of such a vegetarian dish; others admired her resourcefulness for being able to invite the chef from Jin’an Temple. The Princess of Jingnan, however, seemed to hesitate, as if she had something to say. Seated at the main table beneath the Dowager, she paused for a moment before finally speaking with a smile: “This is not the Furong Soup made by the chef of Jin’an Temple.”