Chapter 92: Destroyed the Dual Inheritance
The most important thing was to make the pigeons glow, allowing them to replace fireworks as they burst open in the night sky.
The luminous pearls were Cheng Zhao’s own. Back when she was in Fengzhou, she had once gone out to sea with her maids Suyue and Qiubai and brought back seven such pearls.
Her mother kept them in the cellar, where they shone brilliantly at night.
The red sunstone was the work of her fourth brother, Cheng Chao. The stone was originally a dull grayish brown; only after being exposed to the sun for a period of time did it turn red and glow in the dark.
It was also quite expensive.
The pigeons themselves had an even more interesting origin—they, too, came from Cheng Chao.
Initially, Cheng Chao had tried to ask Cheng Zhao for money, but she threatened him: “If you keep stealing grandfather’s treasured calligraphy scrolls and selling them to booksellers, flooding the market with forgeries so convincing they’re nearly indistinguishable from the originals, all for a hefty profit—what do you think will happen if Grandfather finds out? Won’t Father give you a beating?”
Their father was indeed the type to hit his children.
Cheng Chao begged her to keep quiet and never asked for money again.
He could be a bit of a nuisance at times, but he was also thorough in his work, handling the tasks Cheng Zhao assigned him exceptionally well.
Cheng Zhao explained the origin of the “pigeon trick” to the Grand Matriarch, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince, then said with a smile to the Grand Matriarch: “Grandmother, these pigeons don’t come from merchants. They were sent by pigeon breeders from the nearby villages, who heard that Your Ladyship was celebrating a birthday. They offered them as a token of good fortune for you.”
The Emperor nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this and said, “This is indeed very thoughtful.”
The Grand Matriarch’s authority did not conflict with the Emperor’s in the slightest. No matter how her honor was displayed, the Emperor would not feel jealous.
Instead, he felt that Cheng Zhao had handled the matter beautifully; the gesture was full of good omens.
The Grand Matriarch beamed, not directly at Cheng Zhao, but at the Emperor: “These children don’t know their limits. I, this old woman, only managed this good fortune by borrowing a little of Your Majesty’s prestige. These pigeons are actually a prayer for Your Majesty and the realm.”
The Emperor laughed: “In that case, I must reward the Duchess of Chen.”
The Grand Matriarch replied, “That would be her great fortune.”
Cheng Zhao immediately knelt and kowtowed: “I thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace.”
The Emperor thought for a moment, then said to the eunuch beside him, “Reward her with five hundred taels of gold and a set of ruby head ornaments.”
The eunuch acknowledged the order and noted it down.
Cheng Zhao kowtowed again to express her gratitude.
Last time, the Grand Matriarch had rewarded her with golden leaves worth only fifty taels, which was already considered quite generous; now the Emperor casually gave her five hundred taels of gold.
It was an extremely heavy reward.
Many high-ranking generals who had rendered illustrious military service were only granted “five hundred taels of gold” when the Emperor bestowed titles upon them.
And that was already from a generous emperor. Some emperors, when enfeoffing a marquis, only rewarded “two hundred taels of gold.”
The Emperor had given Cheng Zhao five hundred taels of gold on a whim. Of course, it was not to elevate Cheng Zhao herself, but to honor the Grand Matriarch.
It was also meant to show all the nobles in the capital that the Zhou family’s favor would always be unique and unparalleled.
As for the source of this imperial favor, Cheng Zhao was somewhat puzzled.
After the evening banquet ended, the guests departed in high spirits, all chatting about the night’s events.
Just as everyone was about to leave, the Crown Prince was still asking about the cranes. The Emperor stared at him quietly for a few seconds, and the Crown Prince immediately shrank his shoulders, his expression dejected.
Only then did Cheng Zhao understand one of the purposes behind this reward.
As the crowd dispersed, Cheng Zhao saw off her own relatives and tidied up. She sat in the outer courtyard’s main hall until the gatekeeper had finished all his duties before returning to the inner courtyard.
By the time she got back, it was already past midnight.
“Madam, I saw the Secondary Wife’s maid making trouble, but I didn’t stop her; Nanfeng saw it too and told me not to say anything,” Qiubai reported.
Cheng Zhao said, “You did well.”
“I was scared too. If the Secondary Wife had harmed the cranes and the Emperor became furious, it could have implicated the entire Duke’s mansion, and you would have suffered as well. But that kid Nanfeng is sharper than me. I thought it best to listen to him,” Qiubai said, patting her chest.
Cheng Zhao smiled and said to her, “The Emperor values the Grand Matriarch, and the Grand Matriarch dotes on the Secondary Wife. She can do whatever she wants. Your judgment this time was correct. Everyone around the Duke is useful. From now on, observe more and learn more.”
Qiubai acknowledged the advice.
Since Zhou Yuanshen did not come over, Cheng Zhao naturally assumed he had rested elsewhere. Just as she was preparing to wash up and go to sleep, he arrived at the Ronghua Courtyard.
“...After seeing off the Crown Prince and His Majesty earlier, I talked with Father for a while,” Zhou Yuanshen said. “Then Grandmother called for me again.”
Cheng Zhao asked, “What did she say?”
“Just trivial matters. I’m tired from today. Let’s rest first,” he replied.
Cheng Zhao didn’t press further; she was indeed exhausted to the point of collapse and couldn’t hold on any longer.
She went to sleep, but the Grand Matriarch’s Shou’an Courtyard was still awake.
Mu Jiang was kneeling in the side chamber.
Huan Qingtang stood beside her, gently pleading: “Grandmother, please let the Secondary Wife rise. She is with child.”
The Grand Matriarch said, “Confine her to her quarters until she gives birth.”
Mu Jiang wept bitterly: “Grandmother, that will be unhealthy for both me and the child. I beg you to have mercy on me.”
The Grand Matriarch closed her eyes, feeling very helpless.
Mu Jiang knew exactly how to manipulate the Grand Matriarch. Since she was pregnant, the Grand Matriarch could neither hit nor scold her, nor impose any real punishment.
That was why she dared to act so recklessly.
“...Originally, tonight His Majesty was going to order the Duke to take a secondary wife to carry on the lineage. But to suppress the ‘Crane Dance,’ His Majesty had no choice but to heavily reward Cheng. The two of you fought among yourselves, and Cheng reaped all the benefits,” the Grand Matriarch said, deeply pained and furious.
Mu Jiang prostrated herself and wept, but in her heart, she felt no regret.
She had sabotaged the plan for a secondary wife.
No matter how much the Grand Matriarch analyzed the situation for her, Mu Jiang simply did not want to share her third brother.
Having Cheng Zhao in the picture was already unbearable for Mu Jiang; adding Huan Qingtang would only infuriate her to death.
Mu Jiang didn’t care about the broader situation, whether it was favorable or unfavorable to her. She only sought what made her own heart comfortable.
Huan Qingtang soothed the Grand Matriarch: “Grandmother, His Majesty’s generous reward was for the Zhou family, not for Cheng. All the glory belongs to the Duke’s mansion and to you.”
She added, “Cheng was merely acting as your agent. No matter how well she performs, others will only say that the Chen Duke’s mansion’s birthday banquet was magnificent and unparalleled.”
The Grand Matriarch sighed.
She fell silent for a long while, then finally said, “Both of you return. It’s late.”
Huan Qingtang still attended to the Grand Matriarch, helping her change clothes and let down her hair, then supporting her until she lay down before leaving.
She was meticulous and thoughtful.
“...Huan is perfect in every way, but she lacks that fierce edge Cheng has. She still needs more experience and caution in handling matters,” the Grand Matriarch said to her trusted Nanny Sun.
When it came to tasks under her charge, Cheng Zhao always prepared for every contingency.
For the vegetarian sauce in the Lady’s Honor dish, she had outright changed the cook.
The Grand Matriarch was certain that with the pigeons replacing fireworks, Cheng Zhao must have also had a backup plan. If the Grand Matriarch had tried to take the credit and give it to Huan Qingtang, it would have only brought shame upon them all.
As for Huan Qingtang, she had merely arranged a Crane Dance performance, allowing Mu Jiang to seize the opportunity and kill the cranes.
Before leaving, the Emperor repeatedly told the Grand Matriarch: “What are cranes but just wild fowl? Tributes of them come in by the thousands every year. If one dies, so be it. Don’t blame A’Jiang for this.”
With that said, the Grand Matriarch, though furious, held back from slapping Mu Jiang.
She was truly disappointed.
It wasn’t just Mu Jiang who disappointed her; it was also Huan Qingtang.
She had always thought that her carefully chosen eldest grandson’s wife, a noble lady from a pure and prestigious family, would possess the same capability and good reputation as herself.
But she never expected that, in front of Cheng Zhao, Huan Qingtang would prove so vulnerable.
As for Cheng Zhao, her overly obvious eagerness to curry favor would only worsen the Chen State Duke’s estate’s already precarious state—adding fuel to the fire. Besides, the Grand Dowager disliked her, finding fault with her no matter what she did.
“Grand Dowager, this time we had no choice but to let that Cheng woman benefit greatly in order to divert the guests’ gossip,” Nanny Sun said. “At least the estate’s reputation is preserved.”
She added, “Lady Huan is still young. You can teach her for a few more years.”
“She needs some confidence,” the Grand Dowager said.
“You mean...”
“Let Cheng suffer a little. Let Huan Qingtang see that Cheng is nothing more than someone with a bit of petty cleverness,” the Grand Dowager said.
Otherwise, Huan Qingtang would lose her nerve facing someone like Cheng Zhao.
What was so hard about dealing with Cheng Zhao? She was just a little troublemaker. The Grand Dowager simply didn’t stoop to her level.
But she really did deserve to be taught a lesson.
“This old servant understands,” Nanny Sun said. “I’ll make arrangements. Let her be a bit more restrained, give her a lesson to remember.”
The Grand Dowager nodded slightly.
Then she asked, “What about the investigation into Commandery Princess Zhaoyang? Did she flee to Wu Commandery back then?”