Even if the girl from the Dou family made a mistake, it was not for just anyone to slap the Dou family in the face.
Madam Wu glanced at Cai Shi.
Cai Shi understood and sneered, “It’s quite strange for the eldest lady of the Jining Marquisate to say such things! Even a tiger wouldn’t harm its cubs. Our Fifth Lady knew she was pregnant, yet she still managed to lose the child. That was her firstborn! The eldest grandson of the Wei family! Even if she doesn’t care about her husband’s lineage, she should at least care about her health! You’re a woman too; don’t you know that a miscarriage can be as dangerous as childbirth? One careless move could cost her life.
Our Fifth Lady has only been married for four or five months; how could she be so reckless as to risk her life?! It’s not that our Fifth Lady is foolish and failed to protect the Wei family’s heir; it’s that your family’s rules are too strict, to the point of sacrificing the grandson for the sake of tormenting the daughter-in-law!”
What a turn of events!
Tian Shi turned pale, unsure of how to respond.
Wei Tingzhen, however, glared at Cai Shi with raised eyebrows, “You need to provide evidence when you speak; don’t just throw around baseless accusations! My brother is already in his twenties. In other families, boys his age are already running around. My mother and brother have been eagerly waiting for a child to join our family. Dou Ming is not an illegitimate child; why would my mother and brother want to abandon him?”
Cai Shi seized on her words and shouted, “There are those who can’t speak properly, but I’ve never seen anyone as inept as you! What do you mean by ‘illegitimate child’? Don’t forget, this marriage was initiated by your family. Our Fifth Lady didn’t marry into the family after her mother-in-law died; she had elders to guide her.
Did the mother-in-law not know whether she was pregnant? Now that the child is gone, you want to blame it all on our lady? Why not say that her mother-in-law didn’t treat her like a person, not even knowing that the new daughter-in-law was pregnant?! I’ll tell you, there’s no such logic in the world! If you don’t clarify your words today, I’ll go to the Shuntian Prefecture to seek justice. If we can’t resolve it there, we’ll go to the Dali Temple! I refuse to believe there’s no place in this world for justice!”
Her words also drew Tian Shi into the fray.
Tian Shi had never experienced such humiliation in her life. Her face flushed red, and she wished she could find a hole to hide in.
Madam Wu pretended not to hear, leisurely sipping her tea.
Wei Tingzhen was not one to back down easily.
If they went to the Shuntian Prefecture and exposed the matter, everyone would lose face.
She didn’t believe the Dou family could afford such shame!
“Fine, let’s go to the Shuntian Prefecture to seek justice,” she declared, calculating that the Dou family was merely bluffing, their arrogance on full display. “It’s just right to ask the Prefect to judge the matter. Originally, it was your family’s Fourth Lady who was to marry, but at the last moment, it turned into the Fifth Lady. Even the dowry clearly stated in the marriage contract was changed…” If she could reclaim the dowry that the Wei family was entitled to, that would be ideal. Even if they couldn’t get it back, she wanted Dou Ming to know her worth and behave properly in the Wei family from now on!
Cai Shi scoffed, “If you want to come and take advantage of us, just say so. There’s no need to pretend to be virtuous while using our lady’s dowry as an excuse! What’s wrong with our lady’s dowry? In the entire capital, how many families can compare? Meanwhile, your Wei family’s betrothal gifts—a set of red gold headpieces—are probably heirlooms from generations past, and you’re too stingy to part with anything but the dregs.
They’re dark and dull, and you think we can’t see through it? The so-called West Lake Longjing tea is nothing but twigs. Not to mention, we can’t even present it to relatives and friends; we have to prepare other tea leaves to give to our aunts and uncles. And those wedding cakes? They’re as thin as pancakes! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life… We, the Dou family, haven’t said a word, yet you’re already chattering away.
Do you want to go to the Shuntian Prefecture? Fine, I’ll order a carriage right now to accompany you. Our Dou family may not have much, but we have two jinshi (top scholars) at most. The Prefect, Lord Huang, is also a two-Jinshi graduate, and he has some connection to our family. Seeking his judgment won’t be embarrassing at all.” As she spoke, she loudly called for a carriage, clearly ready to confront Wei Tingzhen.
Wei Tingzhen felt a wave of panic wash over her.
Especially when she remembered that Dou Shishu was a current cabinet minister, and the three masters of the Dou family in the capital were all two jinshi graduates.
Sweat broke out on her forehead.
As a daughter, only her mother understood her best.
Seeing this, Tian Shi realized her daughter was putting on a brave front. She grew anxious and turned to Madam Wu, only to find her with lowered eyelids, blowing at the floating leaves in her tea. Suddenly, she had an idea and exclaimed, “Stop arguing!” Then she gasped, clutching her chest and leaning back.
“Mother, mother!” Wei Tingzhen was so frightened she felt like she was about to fall apart, supporting Tian Shi and calling out, “Someone, hurry and find a doctor!”
Only then did Madam Wu exchange a glance with Cai Shi and instruct a maid to fetch a doctor, saying coolly, “It’s quite cold in this winter season, and there’s only one brazier in the room? It’s rather chilly. We should move the matriarch to the warm chamber next door to rest.”
Wei Tingzhen nodded helplessly.
Madam Wu called for someone to help Tian Shi to the warm chamber.
A young maid entered with a cheerful smile, “Madam Wu, someone from Jing’an Temple sent word that the Fourth Lady has been diagnosed with a pregnancy pulse.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news!” Madam Wu couldn’t help but smile broadly, quickly asking, “Who brought the news? Hurry and let her in!”
She needed to find out what was going on.
The young maid happily went out.
Wei Tingzhen’s face darkened.
Madam Wu seemed oblivious, smiling, “Don’t worry, matriarch. The doctor will be here shortly. I have some matters to attend to; I’ll be back soon.” Then she instructed Cai Shi, “You stay here and take good care of the matriarch.” Without waiting for Wei Tingzhen to respond, she left the warm chamber.
Cai Shi’s mind was racing.
The Wei family had just lost a grandson, while Dou Zhao was pregnant… This loss and gain would surely stir thoughts in the Wei family.
She instructed her trusted wet nurse, “I can’t leave here, so you go and listen to what the people from Jing’an Temple have to say.” When the wet nurse returned to report, it would also give the Wei mother and daughter a chance to hear and annoy these two.
The wet nurse smiled and agreed. After about half a stick of incense, she returned, laughing, “The news was brought by someone from the Gao family. Although there are no elders in Duke Ying’s inner courtyard, the young master is quite attentive. He waited until the pregnancy was stable before sending word to Jing’an Temple. When the Seventh Master heard, he was overjoyed. He rummaged through his belongings and found a whole pile of writing materials, saying they were for his granddaughter. He sorted them into categories for enlightenment, study, and future use, looking as if he wouldn’t rest until he produced a jinshi!”
Cai Shi laughed heartily, “Then I must prepare well and think about what gifts to bring as congratulations.”
She pretended to ponder for a long time, then said, “I think I’ll go to my dowry storage and look for something! I remember I had a landscape painting by Qiu Ying from the previous dynasty in my dowry. Since the Seventh Uncle is using writing materials as gifts, wouldn’t it be too common for us to send gold and silver jewelry?”
She mumbled to her trusted wet nurse as she left the warm chamber.
Wei Tingzhen was so furious that her teeth ground together.
Dou Zhao was only pregnant, yet the entire Dou family was already catering to her. What would happen if she gave birth to a son? Wouldn’t they empty the Dou family’s coffers?
Dou Ming, that fool, was so narrow-minded. She only wanted her to set a rule, yet to deal with her mother, she lost the child in her womb. If that child had been born, those writing materials would have been worth half of what the child would inherit! If the child had been raised well, perhaps half of the Dou family’s wealth would have belonged to that child!
As the saying goes, a father loves his youngest son, and a grandfather loves his eldest grandson. Even if Dou Ming had another son in the future, he would still be overshadowed by Dou Zhao’s child. If there were good things, they would surely be prioritized for Dou Zhao’s child.
She could almost see gold and silver slipping through her fingers.
“Truly foolish!” The more Wei Tingzhen thought about it, the more she felt her family had suffered a great loss. Unable to hold back, she muttered under her breath, “That mother is worthless, and the daughter she bore is equally unremarkable!”
The unconscious Tian Shi suddenly opened her eyes and whispered, “Tingzhen!”
Wei Tingzhen was overjoyed, forgetting her anger at Dou Ming, and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m fine.” Tian Shi noticed that only two young maids were standing behind the screen and whispered, “When the doctor arrives, I’ll continue to pretend to be ill. Just have someone carry me back home—then the Dou family won’t be able to trouble us, and this matter can be settled quietly.”
Wei Tingzhen stubbornly replied, “Mother, the Dou family wouldn’t dare to sue us…”
Tian Shi waved her hand, looking somewhat fatigued, “I’m not afraid of suing the Dou family; I’m afraid your mother-in-law will say you’re being troublesome. Let’s just let this matter go!”
“Mother!” Wei Tingzhen couldn’t help but feel that Dou Ming had caused the Wei family to exchange pearls for fish eyes, and her heart ached, “How can we just let this matter go…”
“Listen to me,” Tian Shi interrupted Wei Tingzhen, “This matter was my fault, and it would be best if we could let it slide. But Dou Ming is too cunning; it’s wrong not to teach her a lesson. I will no longer tolerate her.”
Wei Tingzhen thought for a moment and quickly came up with an idea: “That works! Her arrogance is merely based on her rich dowry. If you take her dowry into your hands and ensure that her income from her properties is saved intact, with the Dou family as witnesses, she will have to behave as a proper daughter-in-law of the Wei family. You won’t have to bear the reputation of seizing your daughter-in-law’s dowry.”
After all, Dou Ming’s dowry would eventually belong to the Wei family, so temporarily holding onto it wouldn’t matter.
Tian Shi pondered for a moment and said, “You make a good point. After we return, we should invite the matriarch’s husband to discuss this matter. If the Dou family fears I’ll swallow her dowry, let the matriarch’s husband manage it. I believe he is not a greedy or cunning person and will return Dou Ming’s dowry to us.”
That’s hard to say!
Wei Tingzhen was skeptical but didn’t want to worry her mother, saying, “Let’s wait until after the New Year!”
By then, the storm over Dou Ming’s miscarriage would have passed, and it would be the perfect time to deal with her.
Tian Shi nodded.