Chen Qushui implied that He Yu had taken a liking to Dou Zhao and was forcing his parents to propose on his behalf.
Dou Zhao immediately felt overwhelmed.
She and He Yu had only met a few times. How could he suddenly be so determined to marry her?
She asked Chen Qushui, “What’s your view on this matter, sir?”
Chen Qushui hesitated for a moment before carefully responding, “Although the He family is prestigious, in my opinion, if Young Miss were to marry, Young Master He wouldn’t be a suitable match.”
Dou Zhao raised an eyebrow.
Chen Qushui analyzed calmly, “Master He is ten years older than the Fifth Master and is already advanced in years. The He family’s eldest son is a jinshi of the guichou year, currently observing in the Ministry of Works, with three sons and a daughter. The third son is a juren of the Renzi year, with one son and one daughter. By the time Young Master He is ready to establish his career, all that will be left for him in the He family is an empty title.”
For the Dou family, the value of the He family lay in their political resources.
But for Dou Zhao, the He family’s weakness also lay in those same political resources.
He Wendao could help Dou Shizhu now, but he wouldn’t be able to help Dou Zhao in the future.
His eldest and third sons had already established their careers. By the time He Yu grew up and needed support, his elder brothers, also legitimate sons, would have already secured their positions and divided He Wendao’s political resources. They also had their children, so rather than helping their younger brother establish himself, they would likely reserve their political resources for their sons. He Yu might seem promising now, but his future was limited.
Compared to He Wendao, Dou Shizhu was in his prime and could potentially enter the cabinet after Zeng Yifen’s death. Moreover, Dou Zhao had a natural blood relationship with Dou Shizhu, unlike in the He family where she would be just one of many daughters-in-law. If she wanted to stand out there, she’d have to please Madam He, but doing so might offend the first and third Madams of the He family. Trying to please everyone… it would be better to focus her efforts on Dou Shizhu, who already favored Dou Zhao due to the half of the West Dou family’s assets in her name.
Why should they emphasize their weaknesses and ignore their strengths, giving up their advantages?
“I’ve been thinking along the same lines,” Dou Zhao nodded slightly. “Moreover, I have some concerns. Master He and Madam He know that their son’s actions are inappropriate, yet they still propose to the Dou family despite the generational difference. This shows how much they dote on Young Master He. If I were to marry into their family, I might not have a good life with Young Master He. If the He family feels they’ve made a losing deal, my life could become even more difficult. It would be a waste of energy.”
“Fourth Young Miss speaks wisely,” Chen Qushui sighed in relief.
Although Dou Zhao had said she didn’t want to marry, Chen Qushui, as a man who had experienced much in life, hadn’t taken her words to heart. He thought Dou Zhao was still young and hadn’t reached the age of romantic interest. When the He family suddenly proposed, he worried that Dou Zhao might be dazzled by their prestigious name or attracted to He Yu’s good looks. Seeing that Dou Zhao remained calm and rational, he was greatly relieved and said, “I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’s feasible. I’ll share it for your consideration.”
He spoke carefully, “We probably can’t count on the Fifth Master, but after all, the Seventh Master is your birth father. As long as the Seventh Master firmly refuses, the Fifth Master can’t force him to agree to this marriage, right? I think we can proceed in two steps. First, we can send someone to persuade the Seventh Master, letting him know that while this marriage might benefit the Dou family temporarily, it would be harmful to you in a hundred ways without a single benefit. Given the Seventh Master’s care for you these years, I believe he will certainly consider it carefully. The best person to act as this messenger would be the Sixth Master!”
The Sixth Madam was about to enter the capital.
Dou Zhao smiled, “You want me to convince the Sixth Aunt?”
“Exactly,” Chen Qushui said. “The Sixth Master has always respected the Sixth Madam, and he’s close to the Seventh Master. Having the Sixth Master, who is the Fifth Master’s full brother, intervene would be twice as effective.” At this point, he smiled slightly, a hint of cunning flashing across his face. “Moreover, if the Ji family learns about the He and Dou families’ intention to marry at this time, they might have their thoughts. We might be able to muddy the waters and come out unscathed! This would be the second step, dragging the Ji family into it as well.”
Dou Zhao laughed heartily, “A woman follows her husband in marriage. My Sixth Aunt wouldn’t be so foolish. Rather than trying to influence my Sixth Aunt, why not focus on our Mr. Ji, the juren?”
“That works too,” Chen Qushui, admitting he didn’t understand the Sixth Madam well, readily agreed. “Then we’ll send a message to Mr. Ji.”
Dou Zhao pondered, “Your words have reminded me. I’m sure more than one family hopes to prevent the Dou and He families from allying through marriage at this time. We might as well make use of the Wei family of the Jining Marquis.”
“The Wei family of the Jining Marquis?” Chen Qushui was somewhat confused.
Since neither the Dou nor Wei families had taken the marriage seriously, he didn’t know about Dou Zhao’s relationship with the Wei family.
Dou Zhao told him about the events from years ago.
Chen Qushui was stunned, taking a while to recover.
Dou Zhao smiled, “When the time comes, I’ll just say that if they want me to marry into the He family, they must first retrieve the token my mother gave to the Wei family. I think even if Master He doesn’t care, he’d hope that the Dou family could clear things up with the Wei family as soon as possible, right?”
Chen Qushui thought for a moment and said with some concern, “According to what you say, the Wei family isn’t enthusiastic about this marriage. If your father demands the return of the token, the Wei family certainly won’t hesitate…”
Dou Zhao smiled, “You don’t need to flatter me. The Wei family isn’t just unenthusiastic; they’re completely unwilling.”
Chen Qushui laughed awkwardly.
Dou Zhao didn’t mind and continued, “If we just wanted the token back, the Wei family would be more than happy to oblige. But we want the token back to marry into the He family, so I’m afraid the Wei family won’t be so accommodating.”
“That’s true,” Chen Qushui said, growing excited. “If we plan this well, we might not only smoothly decline the He family’s proposal but also retrieve the token from the Wei family.”
It would work.
Based on her understanding of Wei Tingzhen, he would make a big fuss using this leverage from the Dou family, then proudly cancel the marriage.
“This approach has another advantage,” Dou Zhao smiled confidently. “With such a commotion over my marriage, it might be three to five, or even seven to eight years before another suitable family comes to propose. Even if someone unaware of the situation tries, with the He family standing there as an example, the Second Madam will most likely find it inappropriate and let the matter drop.”
“Let’s proceed as Fourth Young Miss suggests,” Chen Qushui’s earlier heaviness and worry had completely disappeared. He said happily, “I’ll go make the arrangements right away.”
Dou Zhao personally saw Chen Qushui out through the second gate.
On the way back, Suxin kept secretly glancing at Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao, who greatly appreciated Suxin’s steadiness and attentiveness, smiled and asked, “What is it?”
“Nothing,” Suxin replied, but couldn’t help adding, “Fourth Young Miss, won’t you regret this in the future?”
“I won’t,” Dou Zhao smiled. “I know what I want, so naturally, I won’t have regrets.”
Suxin felt slightly reassured.
By the next day, people in both the East and West Mansions knew that He Wendao’s youngest son, He Yu, had taken a liking to Dou Zhao. After returning to the capital, he had urged his father to propose to the Dou family, and the Dou family’s Fifth Master had gladly agreed.
Concubine Cui deeply regretted, “Was it that handsome young man? If I had known, I should have met him.”
The Second Madam sent someone to contact Dou Shizhu in the capital while contentedly telling the Sixth Madam, “This is truly a well-matched marriage! Fortunately, we didn’t ally with the Wu family earlier, or we’d be regretting it now with no way to change things.”
The Sixth Madam smiled in agreement but inwardly didn’t fully support the Second Madam’s words.
In private, she told Mama Wang, “I don’t wish for Shou’gu to marry into too prestigious a family. What’s important is that the husband’s family is uncomplicated, with good moral standing, and that they wholeheartedly love and protect Shou’gu. Young Master He seems too immature; I’m a bit worried…”
Mama Wang asked, “Should we remind the Seventh Master?”
Lady Ji hesitated, “But what if I’ve misjudged Young Master He? Wouldn’t that hinder Shou’gu’s prospects? After all, it was Young Master He who chose this match…”
Feeling conflicted and anxious, she couldn’t sleep well for two nights.
Dou Zhao, unaware of Lady Ji’s worries for her, had already written a letter for Chen Qushui to deliver to her father overnight, asking him to retrieve the token from the Wei family. She also wrote to her aunt in the Northwest, informing her of the situation to prevent her from being taken advantage of due to lack of information.
Back then, when her aunt heard about her and Wu Shan, knowing that the Sixth Aunt had acted as the matchmaker, she was overjoyed. She left her husband and cousins behind, packing her bags to come to the capital to meet Wu Shan. But before she could set out, the engagement fell through. Her aunt was heartbroken for a long time, writing several letters to her grandmother and the Sixth Aunt. During the New Year, she even specially sent someone to pay respects to the Sixth Aunt, firstly to thank her for her efforts in arranging the marriage, and secondly to ask her to continue looking out for a good match.
These little details were all stored in her heart, and she would find opportunities to repay them in the future.
Ji Yong came to visit her.
Dou Zhao was somewhat surprised, but upon reflection, it seemed quite reasonable.
She received Ji Yong in the flower hall.
Ji Yong said nothing, examining her from head to toe as if seeing her for the first time.
Dou Zhao, long accustomed to his mercurial moods, sat there composedly, allowing him to look while going about her business. When he finished, she asked, “Are you done looking?”
Ji Yong very seriously answered “I’m done,” then frowned and asked her, “Why did you say I was ‘improper’?”
Surprised that this statement had bothered him so much that he needed to ask for clarification after nearly half a year, Dou Zhao answered him seriously, “I think a person can be innovative and independent, which is the style of a scholar. But if it disturbs others and makes them uncomfortable, then it’s just being a foolish oaf and annoying people!”
“You’re insulting me!” Ji Yong’s face immediately darkened as if it could rain at any moment.
“Are you that kind of person?” Dou Zhao asked him.
He, veins popping on his forehead, grimly asked back, “Am I that kind of person?”
Dou Zhao hadn’t said this to embarrass him, so she replied sincerely, “You’re good in every way, except sometimes you’re too overbearing. For example, at the time of writing of Spring Festival couplets, Qiguang sincerely hoped for the emperor’s longevity and eternal prosperity because he wanted to enter the imperial examinations and become an official. But you went out of your way to mock Qiguang. He wasn’t bothering you, so why did you have to be so aggressive?”
And so, the two of them started arguing again…