Dou Zhao rested her chin on her hands, leaning on the windowsill as she watched the sky gradually lighten.
The maids entering to serve Ji shi were startled, exclaiming softly, “Fourth Young Miss, why are you up so early?”
Ji shi awoke with a start, quickly lifting the plain white gauze curtain. “Shou gu, why didn’t you wake Sixth Aunt when you got up?” As she spoke, she couldn’t help but yawn, covering her mouth.
Last night, she and Dou Shiheng had talked late into the night, confirming Wang Xingyi’s promotion.
Dou Shiheng, who had been sleeping soundly, was also awakened. With bleary eyes, he said, “Who was on night duty yesterday? How did no one know Shou gu was awake?” Then, forcing himself to sit up, he continued, “It’s fortunate Shou gu is obedient. If she had wandered off somewhere, how could we explain to Seventh Brother?” He chided Ji shi.
The maid on night duty was the one with apricot eyes and peach-blossom cheeks, named Cailan. She was Ji Shi’s head maid.
She didn’t know why, upon waking, Dou Zhao, who had been sleeping with her in the gauze-curtained bed, had disappeared without a trace.
“This servant was on duty,” she said, trembling as she stood by Ji Shi’s bedside. “This servant slept too deeply and didn’t notice Fourth Young Miss had awakened.”
That she could be on night duty when the Sixth Uncle was staying in the Sixth Aunt’s room likely meant she was the Sixth Uncle’s maid.
Dou Zhao pondered this, then said with a grin, “I got out of bed quietly. Sister Cailan didn’t know.”
Cailan looked relieved, her gaze towards Dou Zhao softer than yesterday.
Ji shi reprimanded Cailan briefly, then sent her to rest.
The maids came in to help Ji Shi, Dou Shiheng and Dou Zhao wash up.
Ji shi then said, “Why don’t you sleep in the study for the next few days? That way, I can arrange for Shou gu’s maids to be on night duty.”
Sixth Uncle, somewhat displeased, said, “I’m leaving the day after tomorrow.”
Ji Shi’s face reddened slightly.
Sixth Uncle suggested, “Why don’t we have Shou gu sleep with Hui’er and the others?”
Hui’er was the Sixth Uncle’s eldest son.
“That won’t do!” Ji shi objected. “Shou gu just arrived, and moving her again would frighten her.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Sixth Uncle asked, a bit impatiently.
Dou Zhao wanted to say she wasn’t afraid and would like her room, but she couldn’t say anything. She could only pretend not to understand as the maids dressed her.
“Then I’ll go with you to the study,” Sixth Aunt said softly. “Let Shou gu rest in the main room for now.”
Sixth Uncle called a maid: “Go ask when the Old Master of the Western Household left.”
Last night, even after they had retired, the gathering at Second Madam’s hadn’t dispersed.
As the maid left to inquire, Ji shi’s other head maid, Caisu, directed the servants to set up breakfast. Two children with thick eyebrows and large eyes entered, surrounded by maids and elderly servants.
The older one was Hui’er, whose formal name was Dou Zhengchang, now nine years old. The younger one’s milk name was Zhi’er, formal name Dou Dechang, now seven years old.
Dou Zhao glanced at Dou Dechang.
In her previous life, Dou Dechang had been the black sheep of the Dou family.
While others studied, he caused trouble everywhere; when others married, he eloped with Ji family’s eldest cousin; when others established their careers, he was already raising crickets in the Hanlin Academy, known as a notorious playboy in the capital.
After paying respects to their parents, Dou Dechang, ignoring his brother standing respectfully nearby, threw himself into his mother’s arms, acting coquettishly.
Ji shi smiled indulgently, gently pulling her younger son away. “You’re already in school now, not a little child anymore. Be careful, or Fourth Sister will laugh at you.”
They had already met yesterday and had dinner together at Third Uncle’s house. On the way, Dou Dechang had secretly tugged at her braids, only stopping when Dou Zhengchang glared at him fiercely.
Unperturbed, he called out “Fourth Sister” to Dou Zhao, then nestled back into his mother’s arms, giggling.
Ji shi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Dou Zhao turned her face away.
She thought of her own two sons…
Meanwhile, Sixth Uncle asked Dou Zhengchang about his studies: “What did the teacher lecture on yesterday?”
Dou Zhengchang replied respectfully, “The Master said: ‘I do not worry about not being known by others, I worry about not knowing others.'”
“How do you interpret this?”
Dou Zhengchang explained, “If others don’t know me, it doesn’t harm me; if I don’t know others, I can’t distinguish between the worthy and the foolish, the good and the evil, which can lead to failure in affairs and life.”
Sixth Uncle nodded approvingly, then turned to Dou Dechang.
Dou Dechang stood up straight, trying to look obedient.
Despite this, Sixth Uncle’s expression remained somewhat displeased. He asked sternly, “What did the teacher lecture on yesterday?”
“Su Mingyun, at twenty-seven, began to study diligently,” he answered quickly, clearly having memorized it by heart.
“How do you interpret this?”
“It means we can start studying even at twenty-seven; it’s not too late.”
Sixth Uncle slammed his hand on the table with a “bang,” his face turning ashen.
Dou Zhengchang lowered his head, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Dou Dechang looked to Ji Shi for help.
Ji Shi’s expression was even sterner than Dou Shiheng’s.
Dou Dechang shrank back, then obediently said, “Su Mingyun, named Su Xun, styled Laoquan, was from Meishan in Meizhou…”
Sixth Uncle’s expression softened slightly.
The maid who had been sent to inquire returned, reporting, “The gathering at Old Madam’s hasn’t dispersed yet.”
Sixth Uncle was surprised and said to Sixth Aunt, “I’ll go check.”
“Why don’t you have breakfast first?” Sixth Aunt suggested, but Sixth Uncle had already waved his hand and hurried out.
The expressions of the brothers, Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang, relaxed. Dou Dechang quickly scrambled onto a chair and waved to Dou Zhao: “Fourth Sister, come quickly! We have chive dumplings today. Our cook’s chive dumplings are delicious. She came with my mother from Yixing, and her dumplings are different from Grandmother’s or Third Aunt’s. You’ve never tasted anything like them.”
Sixth Aunt, being from the South, wasn’t used to kang tables, so the Sixth Household used tables and chairs for meals.
“Why are you bouncing around like a monkey? Can’t you be still for a moment?” Ji shi scolded him with a smile, lifting Dou Zhao onto a round-backed chair at the table. Worried that Dou Zhao might not be used to it, she assigned a maid to specifically support her.
Dou Dechang made a face at his mother.
Ji Shi and Dou Zhengchang both laughed heartily.
During breakfast, although everyone followed the etiquette of “no talking while eating or sleeping,” they all smiled, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
After the meal, the brothers respectfully bid farewell to their mother and left for the clan school.
Ji shi then took Dou Zhao to pay respects to Second Madam.
As Dou Zhao looked at the towering trees along the way, she thought about the conversation she had overheard last night.
In two months, Wang Xingyi would be promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and concurrent Investigating Censor, as well as Governor of Gansu, responsible for horse market affairs. A year later, when the Mongols invaded, Wang Xingyi would repel the Mongol Khan Ludu, capturing 5,000 warhorses and killing over 30,000 enemies, earning him a promotion to Shaanxi Provincial Governor.
Thereafter, Wang Xingyi would repeatedly repel Mongol invasions, achieving great military feats. As a result, Wang Zhishao would be granted the hereditary title of Fourth-rank Commander of the Miyun Guard.
Meanwhile, her Fifth Uncle would still be struggling in his position as Vice Minister of Personnel, only entering the Cabinet and taking charge of the Ministry of Personnel seven years later, after Zeng Yifen’s death, with He Wendao’s support. However, compared to Wang Xingyi, his reputation would be far inferior. Despite having more seniority than Wang Xingyi and managing a more important ministry, he would always rank below Wang Xingyi.
In this life, her rebirth had disrupted the established trajectory. Would things turn out differently?
Dou Zhao smiled as she and Sixth Aunt stopped in front of Second Madam’s door.
Liu Mama, the Second Madam’s most capable servant, signaled to the Sixth Aunt: “The Old Madam has matters to discuss with the Old Master of the Western Household. The ladies are excused from their morning and evening greetings today.”
Sixth Aunt and Second Sister-in-law’s family, who had arrived at the same time, smiled and left the Second Madam’s courtyard.
The second Sister-in-law quietly asked the Sixth Aunt, “Do you know what happened?”
Sixth Aunt shook her head and said, “If you hear anything, please let me know.”
“Of course,” Second Sister-in-law nodded with a smile, then reached out to Dou Zhao, “Come, Shou gu, let Second Sister-in-law hold you.”
Dou Zhao moved from their Sixth Aunt’s arms to their Second Sister-in-law’s. After chatting for a while, Sixth Aunt took Dou Zhao’s hand: “We still need to pay respects to Elder Sister-in-law. We’ll visit you later.”
Second Sister-in-law agreed with a smile, parting ways with them under the century-old osmanthus tree in the east wing.
Sixth Aunt carried Dou Zhao, slowly walking towards her quarters.
Dou Zhao felt somewhat puzzled.
Sixth Aunt suddenly stopped.
The maids following them immediately stood still.
Sixth Aunt, carrying Dou Zhao alone, went to a nearby waterside pavilion.
“Shou gu,” she set Dou Zhao down on the water-polished stone floor of the pavilion, crouched down, and looked at Dou Zhao seriously, asking softly, “Would you like to study?”
Dou Zhao was stunned.
Sixth Aunt’s grandfather, who had placed third in the imperial examinations, was a literary scholar. Sixth Aunt came from a family of deep learning; not only was she skilled in music, but she also wrote excellent essays. It was said that she sometimes discussed the art of composition with her Sixth Uncle. In the South, where the separation between men and women was stricter than in the North, well-educated young ladies usually studied with their mothers, sisters-in-law, or aunts. Only newly risen families would hire old scholars as tutors.
Could it be that Sixth Aunt wanted to teach her?
Previously, she had only felt that her handwriting wasn’t as good as those well-educated young ladies. After hearing Sixth Aunt’s words yesterday, she realized how far behind she was compared to truly learned women.
If she could study under Sixth Aunt, it would be the best outcome.
She nodded vigorously twice.
Ji shi smiled, her gaze soft, and said gently, “Good child, remember this: people become well-behaved through books.”
She must pity me for being used as a pawn while still having to be grateful to those manipulating me, Dou Zhao thought.
Her heart felt heavy.
They returned to the room.
Several elderly servants were waiting for Sixth Aunt’s instructions.
However, the Sixth Aunt ignored them.
She carefully examined Dou Zhao’s tracing practice and instructed Caisu: “Bring the ‘Maosong Pavilion’ calligraphy copybook from my study.” Turning back to see Dou Zhao staring at her with wide eyes, she smiled and said, “The ‘Maosong Pavilion’ copybook was written by my aunt for me years ago. It’s more suitable for girls to practice. You can trace it first, and in the afternoon, I’ll teach you in detail how to handle the brush.”
She had completely disregarded her father’s set.
Dou Zhao smiled awkwardly.
Only then did Sixth Aunt allow the elderly servants waiting in the corridor to enter and report.
Dou Zhao was led by Caisu to Ji Shi’s study.
The study had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves along the walls, densely packed with poetry and books. In the center of the room stood a large painting table with two round-backed chairs.
Next to the painting table was an extremely large old porcelain jar filled with various rolled paintings. On the table was an old porcelain tube holding a large bundle of used brushes. Beside it was a brightly colored, exquisitely crafted enamel box with lotus patterns, containing a half-used old inkstone. A small, finger-thick piece of black ink lay across the inkstone.
Sitting at the painting table, Dou Zhao could smell a faint jasmine fragrance even before grinding the ink.
She couldn’t help but silently praise it.
The Ji family of Yixing, truly deserving of their reputation as a century-old clan of scholars and farmers. Just these furnishings were several levels above Second Madam’s quarters. No wonder Second Madam seemed somewhat insecure in front of Sixth Aunt.