Dou Shishu nearly jumped up upon hearing the news. He quickly instructed his attendant, “Go find out what’s going on!”
The attendant, not daring to delay, soon returned, wiping sweat from his brow, and recounted the events.
Dou Shishu couldn’t help but explode in front of the attendant, “What is the seventh brother thinking? Is he afraid people don’t know the Dou family is wealthy? A whole cart of silver notes for a dowry—does he think the Dou family is some nouveau riche? Or a bunch of ignorant fools who don’t understand agriculture? Isn’t he afraid of being targeted by thieves? Isn’t he afraid of being reported by the censors? Is he showing off his wealth or squandering it?” The more he spoke, the angrier he became, scolding the bearers, “Hurry up and go to the Seventh Master’s residence!”
The attendants finally snapped to attention, responding obediently as they hurriedly carried Dou Shishu toward Dou Shiying’s home. Fortunately, the crowd that had gathered to watch had already dispersed by half; otherwise, they might not have been able to squeeze through.
Sitting in the sedan chair, Dou Shishu felt a mix of emotions. Many people were unaware that the Dou family was divided into the Eastern and Western branches. Seeing that Dou Shiying was wealthy, most would assume he was of a higher status than Dou Shishu and should naturally be richer. However, Dou Shiying was merely a poor Hanlin scholar; his wealth was inherited, while Dou Shishu was a Grand Secretary. If he were wealthy, it would be difficult to clarify that!
The emperor would surely inquire about this matter; how would he explain it then? Dou Shishu couldn’t help but rub his forehead.
It was also his fault for being too careless. He knew that his seventh brother intended to compensate Shou Gu, yet he hadn’t found someone to keep an eye on things. So many silver notes, all brand new—printing them at the Tongde Silver House would take several months. Had he prepared this in advance? If so, when did he start preparing? Did he anticipate that the sisters would marry off?
Did he know about the agreement with the Ji family back then?
He felt overwhelmed and, upon encountering Dou Shiying, bluntly asked all the questions that had been troubling him.
However, the situation was much simpler than Dou Shishu had imagined.
“These silver notes were originally prepared for Ming Jie,” Dou Shiying replied honestly. “As you know, Shou Gu received half of the estate from the Western Dou family, and compared to her, Ming Jie’s dowry was too meager. I thought Shou Gu was a generous child, and if I prepared a bit more for Ming Jie, she wouldn’t mind. Who knew Ming Jie would marry into the Jining Marquis’s residence on behalf of Shou Gu? I can’t let her suffer just because Shou Gu has always been magnanimous; otherwise, who would be willing to yield to others? Who would be willing to suffer losses? If everyone in this world refuses to take a step back, what would happen? So, I gave the silver notes I originally prepared for Ming Jie to Shou Gu as her dowry…”
When this reached Wang Yingxue’s ears, who was already dazed by the sight of the cart of silver notes, she immediately spat out blood and fainted.
Dou Ming’s face turned pale as she looked at the flustered maids and matrons in the room. She quietly left the back room where her mother was confined and found Wei Tingyu, who was wandering outside the main hall. With a worried expression, she said, “Marquis, it’s getting late; shouldn’t we return to the residence? Otherwise, my mother will start to worry again.”
She felt like a joke as if everyone was pointing at her wherever she went.
Wei Tingyu appeared somewhat restless. He replied with an “oh,” glanced at the main hall, and then turned to leave with Dou Ming.
Dou Ming was concerned that Wei Tingyu had overheard her father’s words and might harbor resentment toward her, so she paid extra attention to his actions. Seeing this, she smiled and asked, “What are you looking at, Marquis?” Her tone was sweet, subtly seeking to please.
“Nothing, nothing!” Wei Tingyu replied awkwardly, quickly regaining his composure. He smiled and changed the subject, “Have you heard? Shen Qing made a big fool of himself…” He recounted what had happened in the flower hall to Dou Ming.
Dou Ming listened intently, appearing very interested, and asked, “Who is Shen Qing?” However, her steps slowed as she stopped at the spot where Wei Tingyu had been standing, turning to look.
Wei Tingyu laughed and said, “He is the late Empress Shen’s nephew, a marquis conferred by the imperial family. The emperor is nostalgic, and the late empress was virtuous and kind, which is why their family has been safe and sound until now…”
Dou Ming could no longer hear what he was saying. From her position, she could see the eastern wing where Dou Zhao lived.
Once a decision was made, her heartfelt settled. From then on, it would just be a matter of facing whatever came her way.
Dou Zhao had a good sleep. When she woke up in the morning, her complexion was radiant, and she was full of energy.
Her mood also lifted those around her.
Su Xin and Su Lan moved about with a lighter touch as they tidied up.
Dou Zhao invited Chen Qushui, Duan Gongyi, and Chen Xiaofeng over to talk.
“It’s likely that I won’t return to Zhen Ding again. I need to ask the three of you about the guards at home. If anyone is willing to come to the capital with us, please arrange things at home so we can move to the capital in October. If they want to stay in Zhen Ding, someone needs to look after them at Aunt Cui’s place. If they have other plans, we won’t force them; we’ll send a generous farewell gift to thank them for their hard work over the years.” Then she formally invited Chen Qushui, Duan Gongyi, and Chen Xiaofeng, “You are my backbone; without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Although things are chaotic on the young master’s side, chaos breeds heroes, and it’s also an opportunity. I hope the three of you can come with me.”
Chen Qushui had guessed before coming that Dou Zhao was calling them over either to invite them to follow her to Duke Ying’s residence or to discuss returning to Zhen Ding. Although the three had already agreed to stand with Dou Zhao during their journey, they all felt it would be better to go to Duke Ying’s residence. At least there wouldn’t be as many “supervisors” above them, and life would be relatively easier. As for the risks, one could trip and fall while walking; what endeavor is without risk? Moreover, risk has always coexisted with wealth.
Naturally, they felt joy at the prospect of their wishes being fulfilled and expressed their willingness to follow Dou Zhao to Duke Ying’s residence.
The four of them discussed some details for half a day, and just as it was time for lunch, the aunts and Zhao Zhangru came to find Dou Zhao to talk. The three of them then stood up to take their leave, their excitement barely concealed.
As Dou Zhao was getting married, there were naturally some matters to address.
When the sixth aunt and the aunts saw that the three were not paying attention, Zhao Zhangru leaned on Dou Zhao’s shoulder and laughed, “It seems everyone thinks going to Duke Ying’s residence is a good thing!”
The aunt lightly tapped Zhao Zhangru’s head and said, “Everyone has been busy with Shou Gu’s matters these past few days. If you run around everywhere, be careful that I won’t take you with me next time!”
Zhao Zhangru begged for mercy, causing the sixth aunt and the other aunts, who had been busy directing the maids in packing the dowry boxes since yesterday, to laugh despite their fatigue.
After lunch, the sixth aunt asked Dou Zhao if she had any special requests for the new house before taking Su Xin with her to Duke Ying’s residence to deliver the dowry and arrange the new house.
The aunt, being a distinguished guest, stayed in Jing’an Temple Alley.
After the dowry was delivered, the fifth aunt brought a group of women from the Dou family over but did not see Dou Ming.
Dou Zhao also didn’t want to see her. She invited the fifth aunt and the others to sit in the hall, while Su Juan and the others served tea and snacks, behaving neither too warmly nor too coldly, maintaining a polite demeanor that made others feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Tenth sister-in-law Cai began to animatedly recount Shen Qing’s incident, and everyone laughed heartily, gradually lighting the atmosphere.
Su Lan, who liked Zhao Zhangru’s straightforwardness, quietly asked her, “Do you think we should bring more dried goods like shark fin, bird’s nest, abalone, and bamboo fungus? Last time I was at the Jining Marquis’s residence, I saw them serving chicken shreds with cold noodles as a table dish…”
This remark was overheard by the neglected sixth sister-in-law Guo, who couldn’t help but exclaim softly, “Isn’t the Jining Marquis’s residence a founding family? Why is the Marquis’s wedding banquet so simple?”
“Exactly,” Su Lan whispered, “I even went to take a look; they served four kinds of dried fruits like walnuts and peanuts, not to mention whole fish and whole cuts of meat. I didn’t even see a fish lip or dried scallop.”
Guo had always appreciated Su Lan’s candidness and smiled as she playfully tapped Su Lan’s forehead, saying, “You have such good eyesight!”
Su Lan giggled, which caught the attention of the fifth madam.
She looked at Cai, who was chatting animatedly in the crowd, and asked loudly with a smile, “What are you discussing with the cousin? You seem so happy! Share it with us so we can laugh too!”
Everyone’s gaze suddenly focused on Guo.
Guo felt flustered under the scrutiny, her face turning red as she mumbled, “Nothing, nothing!”
What a useless person!
The fifth madam couldn’t help but sigh.
Zhao Zhangru decided to tease the fifth madam, saying, “We were just talking about the Jining Marquis’s banquet, which was all pork and chicken, with no fish or dried goods at all. They are stingy!” She added, “I noticed Ming Jie’s dress for the wedding banquet seems to be from her previous dowry. It’s the changing of the seasons; they wouldn’t skimp on that, would they? They’re worse off than our family!”
Her words left everyone speechless.
The fifth madam’s maid entered, making quite a commotion.
The fifth madam’s expression darkened. “What’s going on? Why the commotion?”
The maid, already nervous, became even more flustered upon hearing this and blurted out, “Fifth madam, it’s bad! It’s bad! The seventh master sent a whole cart of silver notes as a dowry for the fourth miss…”
The room fell into a dead silence, then erupted into a buzz of discussion.
No one cared to pursue her inappropriate wording.
“What exactly is going on?” The fifth madam frowned. “Speak slowly!”
Those silver notes had been prepared by Dou Shiying long ago. Fearing they would be targeted by thieves after the De Tong Silver House delivered them, they were hidden under the bed of the high-rise. The bride had been bedridden for several days, and it was only when the dowry was being prepared that they were brought out, along with some medicinal herbs, making up a total of one hundred and twenty-six carts of dowry that left the Dou family.
The Dou family hadn’t noticed, but the Song family assumed it was to avoid being targeted by thieves. It wasn’t until Dou Shishu questioned Dou Shiying that the news spread like wildfire throughout every corner of Jing’an Temple Alley.
Dou Zhao was so furious that she didn’t know what to say!
She excused herself to the fifth madam and the others, hurriedly leaving the hall, naturally unaware of the fifth madam’s dark expression, Cai’s contemplative look, Zhao Zhangru’s excited gaze, and Guo’s envious face.