Chapter 93: Really Like Cheng Zhao
The Dowager Madame once again brought up the matter of Commandery Princess Zhaoyang from years ago.
She had always suspected some connection between Cheng Zhao and the Commandery Princess, but she had met Cheng Zhao’s mother and sisters, and had even investigated the women of the Cheng family.
Every daughter-in-law of the Chengs came from a distinguished family, each with a clear lineage that could be traced.
Now, eighteen years had passed since those events.
Nanny Sun dared not investigate the matter too openly and said, “There’s been no progress yet. Too much time has gone by.”
“Forget it. Let’s set this aside for now,” said the Dowager Madame.
She barely managed to fall asleep as dawn approached.
In the following days, both the Duke of Chen’s mansion and the capital city were abuzz with talk of the birthday banquet.
The main topic was a comparison between the two young married women of the Zhou family.
“Wasn’t there supposed to be a crane dance? In the end, it never appeared. The eldest young madam seemed somewhat flustered.”
“Maybe Lady Su wanted to steal the spotlight. Could the crane dance have been part of her plan? That’s why the Duchess of Chen switched it to a pigeon act instead?”
“The pigeon act was truly brilliant—an ingenious idea. The Emperor himself praised it and rewarded her generously.”
“Five hundred taels of gold! Now she’s rich, won’t the servants be flocking to curry favor with her?”
The one most delighted was not Cheng Zhao’s own family, but her mother-in-law.
The Second Madam felt truly vindicated.
“...General Sheng’s wife showered you with so many compliments she got parched. She really knows how to praise. Everyone outside is singing your praises too,” the Second Madam said, beaming.
Cheng Zhao smiled and replied, “That’s because Madam Sheng holds you in high regard, Mother, so she praised me along with you.”
“Oh, you silly child!” The Second Madam couldn’t hide her grin. “She was praising you, only you!”
She added, “This time, I’ve finally let out a huge sigh of relief. I suspect there’s plenty of trouble brewing between the first branch—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.”
Cheng Zhao just smiled.
How could there not be conflict?
Several days had passed since the birthday banquet and the incident of stealing the limelight. Everyone knew the Dowager Madame intended to elevate Huan Qingsheng.
Surely Lady Song had already figured it out by now?
The handover of household management rights between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could have been done in countless more dignified and gentle ways.
Even if the Dowager Madame had ordered her to hand over the tally tokens, it would have been better than scheming against her like this.
Lady Song herself was not a magnanimous person. Once she mulled things over, she and Huan Qingsheng would surely become sworn enemies.
She probably also harbored deep resentment toward the Dowager Madame.
Gloating aside, the Second Madam also warned Cheng Zhao, “You need to be careful. Your eldest aunt may try to use you as a pawn and lure you in. Don’t mistake that for goodwill.”
Cheng Zhao nodded. “I understand, Mother.”
She lowered her voice to the Second Madam, “If she plays hypocrite, I can play that game too. Rest assured, I know all these petty tricks of the inner court.”
The Second Madam smiled with relief.
Then she looked at Cheng Zhao again. “Your mother seems gentle-natured. How do you know all this?”
“I have three aunts by marriage, each from a prestigious family. Below my father are twin sisters a year younger than him. As for my grandmother, she never really liked her daughters-in-law much. The rivalry between them never ceased. Now they seem meek and proper only because they’ve run out of strength to resist,” Cheng Zhao said.
She added with a laugh, “These unsavory matters must sound amusing to you, Mother.”
The Second Madam was taken aback. “They all seemed fine. Your aunts were quite pleasant.”
“When visiting as guests, of course they appear pleasant. If my sister-in-law and I went out visiting, I’d act affectionate and chatty with her too,” Cheng Zhao said.
The Second Madam: “...”
Cheng Zhao’s mother was likely exhausted by the time she chose her daughters’ marriages, wanting them to have an easier life.
The eldest daughter, who should have married into a high-ranking family, instead chose Du Anli for mutual affection, even though his family was relatively modest.
The third daughter was married to the youngest son of a high-ranking family, with the hope that she could live a life of untainted aloofness, composing poetry and admiring flowers.
When choosing daughters-in-law, temperament was her priority.
Only Cheng Zhao’s marriage, which was decreed by imperial edict, was beyond her mother’s expectations.
Still, Cheng Zhao was never one to fear hardship—she simply could not tolerate mediocrity.
After the birthday banquet, Empress Guo summoned Cheng Zhao to Kunning Palace.
“Everyone is talking about you. You handled things beautifully, and the pigeon act was brilliant,” Empress Guo said with a smile. “The Crown Prince couldn’t stop praising you.”
Since the Emperor had rewarded Cheng Zhao handsomely, Empress Guo had to know what happened that day.
Cheng Zhao first made a few modest remarks, then recounted the events of the birthday banquet.
“...Perhaps His Majesty planned to grant another titled lady to the Zhou family on this joyous occasion,” Empress Guo said with a smile.
Unfortunately, Huan Qingsheng failed to seize the opportunity. Her timing was unlucky, and she simply couldn’t rise to the occasion.
The Dowager Madame had tried to elevate her, but she didn’t succeed.
Instead, it was Cheng Zhao who earned fame and reward. Five hundred taels of gold would keep the titled ladies talking for years.
From now on, when people mention the titled ladies of the Duke of Chen’s mansion, the first will be the Dowager Madame, and the second will be Cheng Zhao.
She had even overshadowed her eldest aunt.
And she had only been married into the family for half a year.
In such a short time, Cheng Zhao had performed so brilliantly that Empress Guo regarded her with new respect.
“If His Majesty does grant another lady title to the Zhou family, you’ll need to stay vigilant,” Empress Guo reminded her with a smile.
Cheng Zhao replied, “Your Majesty, you were the one who arranged my marriage. I will never bring shame to you. No matter how good a match His Majesty might arrange, I won’t be outshone.”
Empress Guo laughed.
She told Cheng Zhao, “The one who praised you most lavishly was Grand Princess Fukang. She insisted that I select another unmarried girl from the Cheng family to betroth to her son the heir-apparent.”
Cheng Zhao said, “I do have a few unmarried cousins. But they are gentle and reserved, not nearly as cunning as me.”
She meant that if the princess valued her abilities and assumed all Cheng daughters were like her, she was mistaken.
Even her own sisters had different temperaments.
For instance, her third sister was quite detached from worldly affairs.
As for Cheng Zhao’s other cousins, every one of them were obedient—her mother had never mentioned any troublesome ones.
“I also reminded the Grand Princess of that. But she’s now dead set on asking for a Cheng girl for her son. She simply adores you too much,” Empress Guo said with a chuckle.
Cheng Zhao replied, “The heir-apparent used to visit my home often. The Grand Princess has known me for a long time. She never planned to betroth her son back then. It’s only after Your Majesty arranged my marriage and I had a chance to shine that she began to appreciate me. I think what the Grand Princess truly admires is Your Majesty’s discerning judgment.”
Empress Guo couldn’t help but laugh.
“What a silver tongue you have,” she said, patting Cheng Zhao’s hand.
They chatted for quite a while before Cheng Zhao left the palace. At the palace gate, she encountered Zhou Yuanshen.
“Duke of Chen,” Cheng Zhao stepped forward to greet him. “Why are you here?”
“I heard the Empress summoned you to the palace,” Zhou Yuanshen said succinctly. “Has something happened?”
“Nothing really. She had heard about the birthday banquet and summoned me to ask about it, and also to give me some praise. Since the Emperor already rewarded me, the Empress couldn’t pretend not to know,” Cheng Zhao explained.
It was merely a matter of social decorum.
If Cheng Zhao had failed at the banquet, the Empress would now be eager to disown her.
Zhou Yuanshen nodded slightly. “Come along. Ride in my carriage. I’m going to the Drunken Immortal Tavern with your maternal uncle for some drinks. You can join us.”
“The Drunken Immortal Tavern has a braised fish dish that’s tender and flavorful. I really like it,” Cheng Zhao said.
Zhou Yuanshen replied, “That’s their signature dish. They have plenty of other good food there too.”
As they spoke, the carriage soon arrived at the Drunken Immortal Tavern, where her maternal uncle, Fan Xiao, was waiting at the entrance.
He also went to the birthday banquet that day and witnessed the spectacular sight of doves flying, which filled him with admiration for Cheng Zhao.