As dawn broke the next day, Gu Yu left Duke Ying’s residence and instructed the coachman, “Take me to Jingan Temple Lane!” He then hopped into the carriage.

The coachman, not daring to delay, drove swiftly, reaching the entrance of Jingan Temple Lane in less than half an hour.

Gu Yu jumped out of the carriage and noticed a vendor selling tofu pudding at the entrance of the lane. Since it was early morning, only two or three porters were sitting there.

He sent his companions to Jingan Temple Lane and found a clean bench to sit on, ordering a bowl of tofu pudding and leisurely eating.

Before long, the tofu stall became lively.

The vendor took a moment to chat with two women standing at the stall drinking tofu pudding. “Sister Liu, why are you and Sister Wang out buying vegetables together today? Do you have guests at home?”

“Yes!” replied one woman dressed in a lilac vest, smiling. “We’re hosting a banquet for the Quanfu people today and need to prepare several tables of food.”

According to custom, when a family marries a daughter, they must invite the Quanfu people and hairstylists to a meal a few days in advance to show their gratitude.

The vendor, busy with his work, continued chatting with the woman, “Your family’s Fifth Miss’s wedding was quite a spectacle! I heard you invited a lady from the Hanlin Academy to be the Quanfu person. Do you know who the Fourth Miss is inviting this time?”

“Of course, it’s also a lady from the Hanlin Academy,” the woman replied with a smile. “But this time, it’s Lady Zhao from Lord Zhao’s family—Lord Zhao and our master are from the same examination class.”

“Rich families are indeed different,” someone nearby chimed in. “Marrying off two daughters in one month must cost at least 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver!”

The two women smiled but said nothing.

Then someone teased, “Sister Liu, tell us! I heard that Lord Dou donated 1,000 taels of silver for incense money to Jingan Temple for his daughter’s wedding, is that true?”

The woman laughed, “How would I know? I’m just a servant in the kitchen. You’d have to ask our steward about that.”

Another person asked, “Why haven’t we seen your steward Gao around lately?”

The woman replied, “I spoke with Steward Gao before I left…”

Gu Yu tossed a piece of silver and quietly left the tofu stall. He found the carriage parked at the side door of Jingan Temple, approached the coachman, and said, “Let me borrow your coat for a moment.” Ignoring the coachman’s embarrassment at wearing only a thin undergarment, he headed straight for the back door of the Dou residence. With the help of two personal guards, he climbed into the Dou family’s backyard and quickly located the east wing where Dou Zhao was resting.

Dou Zhao had hardly slept the night before and had only closed her eyes when dawn broke. At that moment, she was dozing off again. The maids and matrons in the entire upper house moved about quietly, not daring to make a sound.

Gu Yu peeked at his pocket watch.

It was the third quarter of the hour.

At this time, she still hadn’t gotten up, which showed she was quite lazy!

Gu Yu snorted softly, tucked the watch back into his pocket, and continued to hide behind a pomegranate tree at the back of the wing.

As the sun gradually rose, the east wing began to stir.

Suxin brought a bowl of bird’s nest porridge to serve Dou Zhao, smiling as she tucked the blanket around her. “Would you like to sleep a bit longer? There’s still over an hour until lunch!”

Dou Zhao felt restless and could hardly sleep. She instructed Suxin, “Go fetch Steward Gao. I have something to ask him.”

Suxin complied and soon brought Gao Sheng over.

Dou Zhao asked him, “Father has always known he isn’t good at managing household affairs. He usually either entrusts them to Uncle San or hands them over to you. Risheng Silver Shop is relatively unknown; if Father wanted to quietly send me something, he could easily use the excuse of gilding a statue for the temple to move the money off the books. Why would he think of investing in Risheng Silver Shop? Why didn’t you advise him against it?”

Gao Sheng lowered his head and smiled, “The manager of Risheng Silver Shop, Zhang, has approached the master several times. The master said he was a capable person and came to us through Lord Yan. Since we should consider the person rather than the monk, he felt he had to give him some silver. Just as it happened, with your matter at hand, the master invested a large sum. However, Manager Zhang assured the master that within three to five years, he would make Risheng Silver Shop successful. While he couldn’t guarantee the master would recover all his capital, he promised the master wouldn’t lose any.”

Dou Zhao sensed that Gao Sheng was also supportive of the investment. Considering that this man came from a humble background and dared to gamble his entire fortune on the Liao Prince, it was clear he was a bold character. It was no wonder her father and Gao Sheng were willing to follow him.

She said to Gao Sheng, “The other two shareholders of Risheng Silver Shop are Father’s colleagues. If Father suddenly takes out 50,000 taels of silver, word will get out, and it will attract attention. There might be people coming to ask Father to invest in their businesses. Today, it would be difficult to turn down Lord Guo, and tomorrow, it would be hard to refuse Lord Zhao. Otherwise, it could offend them. Although our family has 50,000 taels, I believe Father wouldn’t transfer that much silver to Manager Zhang. Most likely, it’s guaranteed by some silver shop, using promissory notes.” She glanced at Gao Sheng as she spoke.

Gao Sheng quickly replied, “Miss is wise. It’s Tongde Silver Shop that provided the guarantee, and they promised the funds would arrive within fifteen days. Originally, the master wanted to wait until the Risheng Silver Shop matter was settled before telling you, but as soon as he received the investment contract, he mentioned it to you…”

Dou Zhao broke into a sweat.

If it weren’t for her father drinking a bit too much today, and if she hadn’t unusually shouted at him, he might have been secretly pleased and would have waited until the money arrived at Risheng Silver Shop’s account before telling her.

She said, “Then tell Tongde Silver Shop not to transfer the money to Risheng Silver Shop for now. Then go explain to Manager Zhang that our family has two recent joyous occasions, and our son-in-law comes from a distinguished background. We can’t spare a single cent for the formalities right now, as we don’t have enough money. We’ll have to wait until the end of the year to see if we have any funds for him in the spring. Make it clear that the Dou family traditionally only provides 2,000 taels for a daughter’s wedding. My and Dou Ming’s dowries are all from Father’s private funds. Although the Dou family is wealthy, the money is in the public account. If Father wants to use his own money, he still needs to go through Uncle San.”

If Zhang Zhiqi had merely stumbled upon her father and encountered someone like him, who casually took out 50,000 taels, he would surely send people repeatedly to persuade her father to invest more. If this was a premeditated move, his goal must be to curry favor with the Liao Prince and his officials. If her father had no money to give him, he could take the opportunity to bring in more shareholders.

At that point, she could assess Zhang Zhiqi’s intentions.

Gao Sheng had no doubts.

Many masters and young lords were oblivious to household affairs and had no idea how much silver was available. It was common for them to make large debts outside while the family couldn’t produce the funds immediately. He only felt that Dou Zhao’s actions were wasting Dou Shiying’s goodwill, and he hesitated.

However, Dou Zhao was afraid that Dou Shiying, out of sentiment, would insist on investing in Risheng Silver Shop. She said, “For now, don’t mention this to my father. I want to see what Risheng Silver Shop is really about before deciding. If the people from Risheng Silver Shop think you’re making things difficult for them, don’t say anything. Just bring them to me, and I’ll handle it.” Then she thought of Gao Sheng’s loyalty to her father. If her father gave an order, he would surely act according to his wishes. She added, “At the end of the year, when officials from various provinces come to the capital to report, Cui Shisan has secured a big client who promised to lend him 30,000 taels this year, to be repaid in March, with a good interest rate. You can borrow that money from me for now.”

She knew Gao Sheng would immediately inform her father about this, and her father had always been generous to her and her sister. If he found out, he wouldn’t blame them. He might even ask if she needed more money and have Gao Sheng bring her some.

Gao Sheng couldn’t help but wipe his forehead.

The Fourth Miss was lending out money!

And it was a loan of over ten thousand taels!

This was quite bold!

No wonder Mr. Chen and the others were living in the ink shop on Drum Tower Street.

Dou Zhao repeatedly reminded Gao Sheng, “If anyone from Risheng Silver Shop comes to ask you, you must tell me.”

Gao Sheng promised several times before leaving.

Gu Yu, who had been eavesdropping at the window, was furious.

This woman not only meddled in household affairs behind her father’s back but also lent out money. She was truly audacious and greedy for wealth!

How could Brother Tianci marry such a woman?!

No, he had to tell Brother Tianci about this!

No wonder Uncle Song was so eager to arrange this marriage for Brother Tianci.

Originally, he thought that if this woman looked decent and had a dull personality, it would be fine. Once she had a son, he could help keep an eye on things. But now, it seemed she was a troublemaker!

Thirty thousand taels of silver—listening to her tone, it sounded like thirty taels, as if she had no idea how precious money was. How could she be someone capable of managing the household and overseeing finances?

Gu Yu didn’t even care what Dou Zhao looked like. He turned and left the upper courtyard, hurrying back to Duke Ying’s residence.

Song Mo, however, had been summoned to the palace.

He was anxious and wanted to find Song Mo in the palace.

Chen He stopped Gu Yu and whispered, “It was Eunuch Lu from the Empress’s side who personally came to summon the Young Lord.”

Could it be that the Emperor’s illness had flared up again?

Gu Yu feared that if he ran into Princess Jingyi in the palace, she would cling to him and cry endlessly, which would only get him scolded by his aunt.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to go to the Yan’an Marquis’s residence.

Wang Qinghuai was discussing the wedding invitation sent by the Song family with his father. “Wasn’t Song Mo supposed to be with Princess Shang? How did he suddenly get engaged to the Dou family from Beilou? And why is the wedding date set so hastily? The invitation-only arrived now…”

Upon hearing that Gu Yu had arrived, Wang Qinghuai hurried to welcome him in.

The Yan’an Marquis had already returned to his room.

Gu Yu spotted the wedding invitation on the kang table and asked, “You know about this matter too?”

Wang Qinghuai nodded, personally pouring Gu Yu a cup of tea. “From the way you speak, it seems you only found out after receiving the invitation.” He then complained, “Yantang should have informed us earlier about the wedding. I wanted to prepare a big gift, but now there’s no time. I might have to give more cash instead.”

Gu Yu sneered, “Don’t send any cash for now. I need to ask Brother Tianci first.”

Wang Qinghuai subtly probed, “What doesn’t Yantang know yet?”

How could Brother Tianci not know?

He just didn’t know what kind of person the Dou family’s Fourth Miss was.

“I’m going to find Brother Tianci. He was summoned to the palace,” Gu Yu said vaguely. “I haven’t run into him yet.”

Wang Qinghuai nodded with a smile.

But he understood in his heart.

This marriage was likely the Duke’s idea, and Song Mo had no clue.

He didn’t expect the rift between father and son to be so wide.

It’s a good thing they didn’t marry his sister off to the Song family; otherwise, they would have been devoured whole!

He smiled and said, “My sister is getting married on the fourth of September. You and Yantang should come and have a drink at the wedding!”