When Lady Yuan, the wife of Zhang Pei, the Duke of Jing, gave birth to her eldest son Zhang Yuanming, she nearly died in childbirth. Zhang Yuanming grew up to be slow-witted, dull, and overweight. Lady Yuan found him irritating and favored her second son Zhang Jiming and youngest son Zhang Xuming. As a result, even though Zhang Yuanming was already twenty-six, the Duke of Jing’s household had not yet named an heir apparent. This situation not only made Wei Tingzhen uneasy but also caused anxiety for Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xuming. Beneath the seemingly prosperous facade of the Duke of Jing’s household, undercurrents of tension swirled.

Wang Qinghai, the fourth young master of the Marquis of Ting’an’s household and a close friend of Wei Tingyu, naturally knew the ins and outs of this situation.

Upon hearing this, he fell silent for a moment before asking Wei Tingyu softly, “So, what do you plan to do?”

Wei Tingyu replied, “That’s why I need to hurry back and talk to my father!”

Wang Qinghai perked up and said, “You mean…”

Wei Tingyu’s face suddenly flushed red. “We can’t let Miss Dou’s engagement be broken off, can we? How would she live after that?” he stammered, his expression somewhat awkward.

Wang Qinghai burst into laughter and slapped Wei Tingyu’s shoulder hard, nearly causing him to stumble. “I knew it! Brother Wei, you’re a true man of honor. You wouldn’t just slink back home like a coward. Come on, I’ll go with you to talk to the old Marquis.”

Wei Tingyu nodded, put his arm around Wang Qinghai’s shoulder, and the two mounted their horses and rode off.

In the flower hall, Dou Zhao was still talking to Chen Qushui: “…Have you carefully considered why the Dou family and Wei family didn’t handle the broken engagement themselves, but instead let the He family intervene?”

Chen Qushui had pondered this question. He replied thoughtfully, “I believe it might be because the Sixth and Seventh Masters strongly opposed this marriage. The Fifth Master didn’t want to damage the brotherly relationship over this, so he had to pass the matter to the He family. To the Sixth and Seventh Masters, he could say it was to make the He family back off. To the He family, he could explain, thus avoiding offending either side. The main reason is that the Fifth Master is at a crucial moment in his bid for the position of Grand Secretary. He can’t afford any missteps, especially any moral blemishes that his opponents could exploit. The reason the Fifth Master can compete with Wang Xingyi is that he has conducted himself with propriety and integrity over the years, earning praise from his colleagues…”

Dou Zhao nodded continuously and smiled, “We should seize this opportunity!”

“Opportunity?” Chen Qushui asked, puzzled. “What opportunity? The matter has already become public. Surely the Wei family won’t return the betrothal gift to the He family? What would that make them? Selling a wife for glory? How could the Wei family ever stand in aristocratic circles again?”

“Never speak in such absolutes about anything,” Dou Zhao said. “I may not know about other matters, but I understand the Wei family’s situation clearly. At this point, the Marquis of Jining’s household has long been distanced from the imperial court and royal family, declining to a second or third-tier noble family. They not only need the support of powerful officials to secure lucrative positions to maintain their household, but also require substantial funds to sustain their increasingly strained expenses.”

She paused briefly before mentioning Zhang Yuanming: “…He is both the eldest and the legitimate son, and has long since reached the age to be named heir apparent. This matter is a mere trifle for the He family. With Wei Tingzhen’s help in advocating, given the Marquis and his wife’s affection for her, there’s an eight or nine out of ten chance that the Wei family will agree to Wei Tingyu using Zhang Yuanming’s appointment as heir apparent as a bargaining chip with the He family.”

Chen Qushui couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, his disdain for the Wei family growing. He asked, “What does the Fourth Young Miss suggest?”

“I’d like to ask you, sir, to personally go to the capital and have a good talk with the old Marquis of Wei,” Dou Zhao smiled. “Whether for the sake of face or benefit, keeping the betrothal gift with the Wei family is the best choice. After all, my Fifth Uncle might also become a Grand Secretary, and I have a substantial dowry.” She added teasingly, “We can also take this opportunity to clear my Fifth Uncle’s name – it wasn’t our Dou family who wanted to break off this engagement, but rather the Wei family’s years of indifference towards it. One lowers one’s head to take a wife but raises it to marry off a daughter. The Dou family couldn’t very well go knocking on their door, could we?”

Chen Qushui hesitated, asking, “Should we tell the Wei family how much property is under your name?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Dou Zhao smiled. “I’m afraid they might try to take everything. After all, I am a daughter of the Dou family, so it’s normal for my dowry to be more generous than most.”

She recalled the satisfied expression on Wei Tingzhen’s face when he saw her dowry in her previous life when she married into the Wei family.

Chen Qushui understood and smiled, “I’ll make sure to pin the blame on the Wei family.”

Leaving the Duke of Jing’s mansion, Wei Tingyu was very dejected.

His sister Wei Tingzhen’s words echoed in his ears: “…I know this is a bit unfair to Miss Dou. But I have no choice! If your brother-in-law doesn’t get the position of heir apparent, he and I won’t even have a way to survive – have you ever seen a deposed crown prince live well in any dynasty? Just think of it as helping your sister! Once I secure my position, I can help you in the future.”

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered the day before his sister’s wedding. When he went to pay respects to his mother, he saw her crying secretly in her room. He asked why she was crying, and she hugged him, making him swear to always be good to his sister and to stand up for her if she was bullied in her husband’s family.

At the time, he thought his mother was just reluctant to see his sister marry, but now he realized that his sister’s marriage to his brother-in-law was likely to help the family.

Their family had once been prominent.

He had heard his father say that when his great-grandfather was alive, their family would receive gifts from the palace during every festival. But now, apart from some routine gifts during Qingming and Spring Festival, they received nothing for other occasions. Unlike the Marquis of Changxing’s household, just two alleys away, which would receive lanterns from the palace even for the Lantern Festival.

Every time he and his sister returned from the lantern festival with their father, his sister would stare silently at the palace lanterns hanging at the gate of the Marquis of Changxing’s mansion for a long time.

Wei Tingyu got out of the carriage with his head down and saw a black-lacquered, flat-topped carriage with bright blue coarse cloth curtains parked at the entrance. The chestnut-colored horse pulling the carriage looked sturdy, but there were no markings on the carriage body indicating any noble rank or official position.

He entered the main gate, feeling a bit puzzled.

The doorkeeper, Zheng Li, came running over, fawning.

“Young Master,” he winked at Wei Tingyu, “Someone from the Dou family of Zhending has arrived!”

Zheng Li had married Qiuyu, who used to be Wei Tingyu’s mother’s maid and was now Wei Tingyu’s housekeeper. Because of this, Zheng Li always felt he had more status than other servants in front of Wei Tingyu.

“Ah!” It took Wei Tingyu a moment to react. He quickly asked, “Who came from the Dou family?”

The Dou family had never shown their face regarding the matter of breaking off the engagement.

“It’s an accountant from the Dou family,” Zheng Li said eagerly. “I heard he used to be an advisor to the Seventh Master of the Dou family. When the Seventh Master went to the capital, he was ordered to take care of the Fourth Young Miss who stayed behind in their old home in Zhending…”

But no matter what, he was still just an advisor.

Wei Tingyu let out a disappointed “Oh.”

Zheng Li’s eyes darted around as he continued, “I heard he came for the Fourth Young Miss’s marriage. He’s quite eloquent. The old Marquis didn’t want to see him at first, but as soon as he entered, he asked about the Fourth Young Miss’s worth. It startled the Marquis into a cold sweat, so he had to receive him…”

Before he could finish, Wei Tingyu grabbed his collar and asked urgently, “Where is that accountant now?”

Zheng Li quickly replied, “In the study! He’s talking with the Marquis in the study!”

Wei Tingyu dropped Zheng Li and ran like the wind to the warm room behind the study.

Upon entering, he saw his mother sitting on the large kang bed in the warm room with a grave expression, accompanied by Qiuyu. The conversation from the study could be heard clearly in the warm room.

Madam Tian saw her son barging in quietly and gave him a reproachful glance, gesturing for him to be silent.

Wei Tingyu had already slowed his movements when entering and now sat down quietly beside his mother.

“…Are you trying to threaten me?” His father laughed bitterly.

“Your Lordship misunderstands,” another voice, smooth and gentle, likely belonging to the Dou family’s accountant, replied. “For all these years, the Wei family has neither sent New Year’s gifts to the Dou family nor had the young master visit the Seventh Master in Zhending. If the Dou family had such intentions, we could have simply accepted the He family’s proposal. Why would we insist on reclaiming the jade pendant that our lady gave to the young master years ago?” He paused here, as if giving the Marquis of Jining time to think, then continued, “Our Seventh Master has only two daughters.

The Fourth Young Miss is the eldest, intelligent, and accomplished since childhood, much loved by the Second Madam of the East Mansion. After the death of the previous Seventh Madam Zhao, the Second Madam feared our master might neglect the Fourth Young Miss, so she specifically took her into the East Mansion. Later, when the Seventh Master traveled to the capital, the Second Madam couldn’t bear to part with the Fourth Young Miss and forcibly kept her in Zhending, entrusting her to the Sixth Madam, who is the wife of Hanlin Academy scholar Dou Shiheng and the fifth young lady of the Ji family from Yixing.

Our Seventh Master, pitying the Fourth Young Miss for losing her mother at a young age and being unable to care for her himself, has been especially indulgent towards her. If it weren’t for the Fourth Young Miss’s gratitude towards her birth mother and not wanting to break her mother’s promise, our Second Madam and Seventh Master would have long since arranged another suitable match for her. Why would we need to send me to negotiate with the Wei family about the betrothal gift? Talk of threats is even more out of the question!”

Wei Tingyu couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

The study fell silent.

The accountant continued, “To be frank, before I came, our Second Madam called me in and repeatedly instructed me to retrieve the jade pendant that the late Seventh Madam Zhao gave to the young master, no matter what. She said the Dou mansion has twelve young masters but only five young misses, and even fewer girls in the next generation, so there’s no reason to let anyone look down upon us. However, before I left, the Fourth Young Miss also called me in and told me about how deeply the Marchioness cared for the former Seventh Madam.

She asked me to make sure whether the Wei family intends to honor the previous agreement, and if not, then we could reclaim the jade pendant. With the Second Madam on one side and the Fourth Young Miss on the other, I found myself in quite a dilemma.” His voice suddenly turned cold, “Who would have thought that as soon as I arrived in the capital, I’d hear people saying that the Marquis of Jining’s household had sold off their daughter-in-law for a good price…”

“Which bastard is spreading such slanderous rumors!” the Marquis of Jining roared, interrupting Chen Qushui’s words. “If I catch him, I’ll skin him alive!”

Chen Qushui looked at the Marquis of Jining, who appeared old despite being only in his forties and inwardly despised him for a while. He continued pressingly, “When I heard such talk, I was naturally furious. That’s why I’m here to ask Your Lordship what your intentions are. At this point, I still need to ask on behalf of our Fourth Young Miss: what are Your Lordship’s plans? As things stand now, compared to our Dou family, the He family only has the advantage of a current Grand Secretary. Our Dou family has five jinshi who have entered the court as officials. Whatever the He family can offer, our Dou family can match. Why must you humiliate our Fourth Young Miss and our Dou family like this? Let’s be frank: you’re going to sell that jade pendant to someone anyway, so why not sell it back to our Dou family…”