As news of the exchange of Geng ties between the Dou and Wei families spread, heavy rain poured down in Zhen Ding.

The raindrops fell like beans, drenching the ground in an instant and turning Zhen Ding County into a marshy landscape. Dou Zhao stood under the eaves, watching as the splashes of water from the rain quickly soaked her skirt.

Su Xin, clad in a raincoat and wooden clogs, made her way through the heavy curtain of rain and entered.

“Miss, you should go back inside and rest!” she urged Dou Zhao, carefully removing her raincoat and handing it to a nearby maid, worried that any rainwater might dampen Dou Zhao’s clothes. “The rain is too heavy outside. I’ve tidied up the warm room as you instructed, and I’ve even sent two experienced maids to keep watch there. You can rest easy!”

How could Dou Zhao feel at ease?

Spring rain is precious, but if it continued to pour like this, the crops would surely drown. She looked up at the darkened sky, furrowing her brow as she stepped inside.

Chen Qu Shui arrived, braving the rain.

“Miss, I think the weather is turning for the worse. Shouldn’t we send someone to check on the fields?” His expression was grave.

“Mr. Chen, I was just thinking the same thing,” Dou Zhao replied. Just then, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder. “I don’t see this rain stopping anytime soon. The East Courtyard and the main house have been renovated in the past two years, but we should probably send someone to the West Courtyard and He Shou Tang to check for leaks.”

Seeing that Dou Zhao understood the situation, Chen Qu Shui felt relieved.

Hong Gu, holding a paper umbrella, helped Grandma Cui over.

“Mr. Chen is here too!” she greeted Chen Qu Shui, her eyes filled with deep concern. “Shou Gu, this rain is too heavy. The crops in the fields might not withstand it. I need to go back and check!”

“That’s out of the question!” Dou Zhao and Chen Qu Shui said in unison. “If anyone should go, it should be us. We can’t let you go!”

Their words made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere suddenly became warm.

“What good would it do for you to go?” Grandma Cui interjected. “You don’t understand farming. You’d just be sightseeing. I should go instead!” She then instructed Shou Gu, “Prepare a carriage for me. If the crops are indeed suffering, once the rain stops, we’ll need to find a way to plant some corn. Otherwise, if there’s no harvest this year, even if we waive their rent, life will be very difficult. We’ll also need to prepare some grain to lend them for the winter, or they’ll starve.”

Dou Zhao had never experienced a year of famine, and neither had Chen Qu Shui, who had also not suffered much during such times. They didn’t share Grandma Cui’s deep understanding of the situation and thus didn’t feel the same urgency. Dou Zhao advised, “With this heavy rain, what if you catch a cold? I can send a steward to check instead.” Chen Qu Shui added, “Aunt Cui, there’s no need to worry. Zhen Ding has had good weather these past few years. If we do face flooding, the county and the state will find a way to help. If worse comes to worst, the court will send people for disaster relief. You don’t need to worry too much.”

Aunt Cui shook her head, insisting on returning to the fields.

Dou Zhao, feeling helpless, said, “Then I’ll go myself!”

Aunt Cui naturally disagreed. “You’re just a young girl. What can you do by going?”

Chen Qu Shui, who had observed how Dou Zhao treated Aunt Cui over the years, smiled and said, “If you’re worried, I’ll accompany the Fourth Miss. Perhaps the rain will stop soon! You’ve traveled a long way, and I’m sure the Fourth Miss won’t feel at ease at home.”

That sounded good!

Dou Zhao thought to herself, and with Chen Qu Shui’s encouragement, they managed to convince Grandma Cui, who reluctantly agreed to let Chen Qu Shui accompany Dou Zhao to the fields.

Su Xin quickly informed Chen Xiao Feng and Duan Gong Yi to escort them, while Su Lan urged the coachman to prepare the carriage. Gan Lu and Su Juan prepared food and tea for the journey, and with half a stick of incense, everything was ready.

When the two young servants attending Chen Qu Shui arrived, the group donned their raincoats and umbrellas and stepped into the downpour.

At the Huahua Gate, they encountered Dou Ming, who was returning from paying respects to the Second Matriarch.

The two maids escorting Dou Ming quickly knelt to greet Dou Zhao, flattering her with “Fourth Miss” and eagerly asking, “In such heavy rain, where are you going? Do you need us to escort you?”

Dou Zhao recognized them as attendants of the Second Matriarch.

She hadn’t expected Dou Ming to win the Second Matriarch’s favor.

Feeling somewhat gratified, she glanced at Dou Ming and instructed Su Xin to reward the two maids with a red envelope.

The two maids thanked her profusely.

However, Dou Ming’s face turned crimson from Dou Zhao’s glance.

She recalled braving the heavy rain to pay respects to the Second Matriarch, who had only treated her slightly better than usual. Unlike Dou Zhao, who had sent a maid with lotus seed powder and poria paste to the Second Matriarch, making her beam with joy, the Second Matriarch had said to Liu Mama, “This child, though she has lost her mother, is still fortunate. Even without the Wu family, she has the He family, and if not the He family, then the Wei family. She has fulfilled her mother’s wish of becoming the heir’s wife.”

“Exactly, exactly!” Liu Mama, that old sycophant, chimed in, “Soon she’ll be the marquise, a first-rank lady! She’ll be the first among our daughters!”

Dou Zhao couldn’t hear any of this and wondered why they needed to flatter her so much.

She held her breath until she entered the door, only to see Dou Zhao surrounded by attendants.

Unlike her, who only brought a few maids and servants when she went out, Dou Zhao had guards clearing the way, maids attending closely, and even a steward running around as if she were a young master from a wealthy family on an outing. No, even a young master from an ordinary family wouldn’t have such a grand entourage.

Unable to hold back, Dou Ming sneered, “Sister is about to become a marquise. Why don’t you instruct your guards and steward? At the very least, you could command your maids and servants. Why do you have to go out yourself? Is it possible that the marriage with the Wei family has fallen through? But surely you wouldn’t be unable to command the servants at home? Haven’t they always respected you?”

This was a matter between the Dou sisters and didn’t concern outsiders.

Chen Xiao Feng and the others remained silent as mountains.

The two maids from the Second Matriarch’s quarters gasped, feeling unlucky to have been assigned such a task. No wonder the people from the East Courtyard said that the Fifth Miss of the West Courtyard was untouchable. In the future, they would rather be scolded by Liu Mama than get involved in such matters.

The maids attending Dou Ming were so frightened they didn’t dare to breathe, while Mama Zhou was in a cold sweat, forgetting the hierarchy, and pressed Dou Ming to apologize to Dou Zhao, “How can you speak to your sister like that?”

Dou Ming held her head high, refusing to back down.

Dou Zhao chuckled lightly, “I didn’t expect our family to produce a strong-willed person. If I don’t support you, wouldn’t that be a pity?” With that, she walked straight out of the Huahua Gate.

Chen Xiao Feng and the others silently followed Dou Zhao, passing by Dou Ming without a sideways glance, as if she were a stranger.

Dou Ming’s face flushed with anger. Once Dou Zhao’s group had left, she quietly asked Mama Zhou, “Who is this ‘strong-willed person’? What does she mean by that?”

Mama Zhou didn’t know either and hesitated, “Why don’t you ask Mr. Song?”

Dou Ming nodded.

In the carriage, Gan Lu curiously asked Dou Zhao, “Miss, are you planning to deduct the Fifth Miss’s monthly allowance?”

Dou Zhao had her maids study, and Su Xin and the others knew the story behind this. The strong-willed person, Dong Xuan, was known for her integrity and poverty.

“The monthly allowance is a rule of the household. What rule has she broken to warrant a deduction?” Dou Zhao replied nonchalantly. “It’s just that the household has a regulation: young ladies who have not yet married receive fifteen taels of silver for cosmetics each month, while those who are still underage receive only two taels for ointments.” She turned to Su Xin, “You should remember to tell Gao Xing that the Fifth Miss is only eleven this year. She doesn’t need cosmetics yet! Also, the teacher who is teaching the Fifth Miss the Pipa, Wan Niang, is not someone we hired, and Gao Sheng hasn’t specifically instructed us about her. Wan Niang’s clothing and seasonal garments shouldn’t be our responsibility.”

Her current concern was the rain, the harvest of the fields, and the livelihoods of the farmers. She had no time to deal with Dou Ming’s provocations. “I’ve noticed many such small matters. Su Xin, you need to pay more attention to these things in the future to avoid disrupting the household’s rules.”

The Fifth Miss openly disregarding the Fourth Miss in front of everyone was unacceptable. If the Fourth Miss didn’t teach the Fifth Miss a lesson, with the Fifth Miss’s temperament, who knows what kind of trouble she would cause in the future?

The Fourth Miss appeared strict with the Fifth Miss, but in reality, she cared for her deeply.

Su Xin smiled brightly in response.

Dou Zhao pushed the matter aside and lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.

The fields were a vast expanse of white, with only a few wheat stalks swaying in the wind.

The wind rustled the branches, and the raindrops pounded on the roof of the carriage like hail.

When they reached the entrance to the fields, the road had become a muddy mess, and the carriage would likely get stuck if they tried to drive through.

Duan Gong Yi decisively said, “Let’s unhitch the horses and push the carriage into the village.” He then turned to Chen Qu Shui, “I apologize for making you wait here. I’ll go into the village to borrow a mule to carry you in.”

Chen Qu Shui shook his head. “No need. I can walk in. I have my belongings in the fields, and I can just change my shoes when I get there.”

In the heavy wind and rain, Duan Gong Yi didn’t stand in ceremony with Chen Qu Shui. He broke off a branch the thickness of a wine cup and handed it to Chen Qu Shui. “Use this as a walking stick!” Then, with Chen Xiao Feng and the others, they pulled the carriage into the village.

The laborers from each household stood under the eaves, watching the rain grow heavier, worried. When they saw the Dou family’s carriage enter the village, they cheered, grabbing whatever they could to shield themselves from the rain as they gathered around.

“Hey, it’s the Fourth Miss!”

“Why hasn’t Aunt Cui returned?”

“Fourth Miss, what should we do? The wheat is about to be harvested!”

“Should we dig a trench to drain the water?”

Everyone spoke at once.

“The Fourth Miss is here for that very reason,” Duan Gong Yi shouted, “With this wind and rain, once the Fourth Miss settles in, she will call everyone to discuss this matter. Don’t rush; let the Fourth Miss rest inside first.”

The crowd immediately parted to make way.

Surrounded by Su Xin and the others, Dou Zhao entered the main house.

The few maids left in the fields were either boiling water or preparing clean bedding and cushions. In no time, Dou Zhao was seated on the large kang by the window, sipping hot tea and discussing how to weather the storm with several older farmers from the village.