Mother worried deeply about her natal family’s financial situation, while Dou Zhao nonchalantly nibbled on sugar-roasted chestnuts.
In her previous life, even after Mother’s suicide, Uncle had managed to pass the imperial examinations. This time, with everything kept secret from him, surely he’d pass with flying colors.
Once Uncle became a jinshi, all their previous expenses would naturally be recouped!
These chestnuts must have been stored in the cellar over winter. They were dry and sugar-roasted, lacking moisture. But something was better than nothing—she was now a three-year-old child. What could a three-year-old do? She had plenty of idle time on her hands.
Dou Zhao carefully chewed the chestnuts, scattering crumbs on the floor.
Aunt brought up her marriage prospects to Mother: “It’s only a verbal agreement. I think you should discuss it with your father-in-law and ask him to find a respectable person to finalize the matter with the Wei family!”
Dou Zhao paused mid-bite, then slowly resumed chewing.
Aunt’s consideration wasn’t without reason.
In her previous life, after Mother’s sudden death, Father had remarried Wang Yingxue within a hundred days. Uncle’s family had hurriedly left for his new post. Father had devoted himself to studying. As soon as the mourning period for Mother ended, he immediately took the provincial examinations, passed as a juren, and then participated in the following year’s spring imperial examinations. He passed as a jinshi, was promoted to Hanlin Academy, and began observing government affairs in the Ministry of Personnel. By then, the Wang family had moved to the capital. Wang Yingxue’s mother, Madam Xu, missed her daughter, granddaughter, and grandson. She begged Father to bring them to the capital for a reunion. After obtaining Grandfather’s consent, Father took Wang Yingxue, Dou Ming, and Dou Xiao to the capital… Who still remembered her engagement to the Wei family?
It wasn’t until after Grandfather and Grandmother passed away and she was sent to the capital that Father suddenly realized she had grown into a young woman of marriageable age. Recalling the arrangement with the Wei family, he sent someone to discuss it with them. However, the Wei family hesitated, never giving a clear answer.
Dou Zhao still remembers her feelings of anxiety and unease at that time.
With Father alive, her uncles from the Dou family couldn’t take her in. Uncle was far away in the northwest. Although her stepmother never deprived her of food or clothing, when her gaze inadvertently fell on Dou Zhao, it always held a hint of malice, like a predatory wolf eager to devour her in one bite. Yet, if you looked again, she would have already regained her calm composure, appearing as dignified and graceful as ever.
As the saying goes: the unusual is often monstrous.
Dou Zhao didn’t know what Wang Yingxue’s true intentions were.
She lived each day in fear, worried that a moment’s carelessness could bring disaster upon her.
Ironically, Grandmother had warned her on her deathbed that a woman without support from her natal family couldn’t stand firm in her husband’s home. She advised Dou Zhao to maintain outward respect towards her stepmother no matter what. Though Dou Zhao hated Wang Yingxue for driving her mother to death, the servants’ rumors about her mother being “jealous” and “childless” made her feel she had no right to hate Wang Yingxue. Moreover, Wang Yingxue maintained a flawless facade; even if Dou Zhao spoke out, no one would believe Wang Yingxue treated her differently. Dou Zhao felt conflicted—aggrieved, sorrowful, hesitant, and contradictory. Her days felt like being fried in oil, with a sense that “though the world is vast, there’s no place for me.”
So when she first heard that Mother had arranged a marriage for her while still alive, Dou Zhao felt a surge of joy, as if escaping a desperate situation. She wished she could marry immediately.
This was also why, when she learned that Dou Ming’s marriage fell through and Dou Ming vowed to marry into a prestigious family in the capital to redeem herself, while Wang Yingxue set her sights on Wei Tingyu, old and new grudges intertwined. From then on, Dou Zhao and Wang Yingxue became irreconcilable enemies.
If she hadn’t found a way to learn of her mother-in-law’s whereabouts and arranged their “chance encounter,” it was uncertain whether the Wei family would have acknowledged the engagement.
If she hadn’t rekindled her mother-in-law’s old feelings, even if the Wei family had been willing to ally with the Dou family, it might have been Dou Ming marrying into their household instead of her!
Dou Zhao’s chewing slowed once more.
In her previous life, she had no choice. But did she need to continue entangling herself with Wei Tingyu in this life?
As she approached the Wei family mansion during the twelfth lunar month, just before the New Year, she eagerly volunteered to assist her mother-in-law with the holiday preparations. This gesture aimed not only to please her new mother-in-law but also to silence Wei Tingzhen’s criticisms. However, her lack of experience, coupled with the unfamiliarity of her newly assigned maids and servants from the Wang family, proved challenging. Unaware of her pregnancy, she overexerted herself, resulting in a miscarriage.
This was her first child.
Wang Yingxue sent Dou Ming to visit her.
Dou Ming encountered Wei Tingyu at the mansion.
On that sunny day, the emerald-green bed curtains filtered the light in her chamber. She lay listlessly on the nanmu wood canopy bed, her complexion pale and lifeless, resembling a dusty cloisonné vase left too long on an antique shelf – dull and somber. Standing beside the curtains, Dou Ming wore a light purple Hangzhou silk jacket adorned with auspicious patterns. The room’s soft light glinted off the pearls and jade ornaments in her jet-black hair, accentuating her picturesque features. She appeared as delicate as an autumn chrysanthemum, captivating Wei Tingyu’s gaze.
This scene deeply wounded Dou Zhao.
Although petite and graceful, Dou Ming was far from gentle. On the contrary, spoiled by Madam Xu of the Wang family, she was not only proud but also hot-tempered and impulsive, wearing her emotions. This was precisely why Wang Yingxue had been so intent on marrying Dou Ming to her nephew.
Dou Ming’s visit that day was deliberate, and calculated.
She merely wanted to show Wei Tingyu what a beauty he had missed by not agreeing to marry her into the Wei family!
Wei Tingyu, true to Dou Ming’s expectations, praised her gentleness and charm in front of his wife several times.
Back then, her heart still raced at the sight of Wei Tingyu, which perhaps made his words all the more intolerable.
Dou Zhao crunched on the chestnut, prompting Zhao Xiuru to exclaim, “Spit it out quickly! That’s a bad chestnut!”
Both her mother and aunt were startled.
“This child, how can you be so greedy!” her mother hurriedly took the chestnut from Dou Zhao’s hand and offered her tea for rinsing. “It’s as if you’ve never eaten chestnuts before.”
“Children don’t understand these things,” her aunt apologized. “It’s Biru and the others’ fault for not watching over Shou Gu properly.” She then lightly scolded her daughters.
Naturally, Dou Zhao’s mother intervened to stop the admonishment.
The two sisters-in-law exchanged humble words for a while, but Dou Zhao’s mother no longer dared to let her play with Zhao Biru and the others. Instead, she brought Dou Zhao and Zhao Zhangru to sit on the kang bed, personally peeling chestnuts for them while continuing their earlier conversation: “Wei Tingyu is the heir to a marquis’s household. I’m worried about putting Sister Tian in a difficult position, so I plan to send someone to Beijing to gather information before discussing this matter with my father-in-law.”
“That’s a good idea! It’s more prudent this way,” her aunt nodded. Their conversation gradually shifted to her uncle, worrying whether he had safely arrived in Beijing if he was resting well, and speculating about his chances of success in the imperial examinations. It wasn’t until the afternoon, around 5-7 pm, when the carriage guard came to urge them, saying, “It’s getting late. If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it back in time,” that her mother reluctantly bid farewell to her aunt.
Perhaps due to her intense dissatisfaction with her father’s failure in the examinations, throughout the spring plowing season, he devoted himself to practicing essay writing under her grandfather’s guidance. Neither her mother nor Wang Yingxue dared to disturb him, and the plan to visit her grandmother was consequently abandoned.
As a concubine, without relatives visiting, friends calling, or interactions with other wives, life in the back courtyard was quite lonely. After paying respects to Dou Zhao’s mother, Wang Yingxue often found excuses to linger in her chambers.
Her mother always maintained a cool demeanor towards Wang Yingxue, often dismissing her with just a few words.
Dou Zhao sensed that her mother still harbored some feelings towards Wang Yingxue.
If it were up to her, she would have kept the concubine around to tell jokes and provide entertainment. Otherwise, what was the point of keeping her?
However, some things need time.
Dou Zhao’s thoughts now revolved entirely around her marriage to Wei Tingyu.
Just as her appearance had given her mother a new lease on life, turning the once-remarried Wang Yingxue into a concubine, would her marriage to Wei Tingyu also change because of this? If not Wei Tingyu, whom would she marry?
Dou Zhao longed for her three children.
As spring breezes stirred the lush vegetation, good news arrived from Beijing.
Her uncle, Zhao Si, had placed fifth in the second rank of the metropolitan examination, earning the title of Jinshi.
While her grandfather and father were delighted, it was her mother who was most overjoyed. When the Dou family sent congratulatory gifts to the Zhao family, she took Dou Zhao to visit her maternal home once again.
This visit differed from the previous one. The Zhao residence was adorned with red decorations, as if celebrating a festival, with joy evident on everyone’s faces.
Zhao Zhangru pulled Dou Zhao into her room and retrieved a rose-flavored pastry wrapped in oiled paper from behind her bedboard. “It’s from the Chen family in town. Have some, it’s so sweet! Nanny Peng says I can have as many as I want from now on. If you want to eat them, just come to our house.”
Dou Zhao gazed at the half-crumbled pastry in her hand, her heartwarming. Her nose tingled, and tears began to fall.
In her previous life, she hadn’t even known Zhao Zhangru’s name.
If for nothing else, for the sake of this pastry, she resolved to cultivate a good relationship with her uncle’s family.
Her mother had some wine that evening, so they stayed overnight at her uncle’s house, departing early the next morning.
“This is wonderful,” her mother said, smiling throughout the journey. “Our Shou Gu now has an uncle who’s a Jinshi.”
Her expression was serene, radiating contentment.
Dou Zhao, happy for her mother, asked, “When will Uncle return?”
“He still needs to take the palace examination,” her mother explained, smiling. “The earliest would be after May.”
“Will we visit Uncle’s family again?”
“Of course!”
“I like my cousin’s sister.”
Her mother joyfully cupped Dou Zhao’s face and kissed her, whispering, “The bond between aunts, uncles, and cousins is the closest. You and your cousins are the dearest relatives, understand?”
Dou Zhao nodded, “Even closer than Third Sister?”
Her mother nodded repeatedly, praising her cleverness. Upon reaching home, she carried Dou Zhao through the second gate.
In the courtyard, lilacs, magnolias, peonies, passion flowers, and irises were in full bloom, a riot of colors. Bees and butterflies flitted among the flowers, their fragrance wafting through the air.
Her mother paused, taking a deep breath. “This year’s flowers seem especially vibrant compared to previous years.”
“Indeed!” Nanny Yu smiled discreetly.
However, her mother’s face suddenly turned cold.
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but follow her mother’s gaze.
In the pavilion by the lotus pond sat a man and a woman.
The woman wore a goose-yellow spring dress, smiling radiantly as she lazily reclined against the pavilion’s railing, holding a round fan. Her beauty was tinged with a hint of allure.
The man, handsome and refined, sat smiling at the stone table in the center of the pavilion, which was covered with xuan paper. He was painting the beauty before him, his brow betraying unmistakable joy… and satisfaction.
Dou Zhao’s heart tightened.
Her mother, face now stern, walked straight ahead without a sideways glance.
Nanny Yu hurriedly followed.
From behind came the sound of silvery laughter.