Not far away in a small tea room, Madam Cai was complaining incessantly to her mother, Mrs. Cai: “Mother, I only meant to tell you privately, but you’ve spread it everywhere, even involving my father-in-law! If the Dou family finds out, they might not divorce me, but they’ll surely send me to the family temple. At your age, having experienced so much, how could you cause such a mess…”
As she spoke, there was a commotion outside the wide-open doors and windows of the tea room. Madam Cai quickly lowered her head, pretending to pour tea and chat casually with her mother: “Since we’ve made offerings to the Smallpox Goddess, and my nephew has recovered, sister-in-law should go to the temple to fulfill the vow.”
Seeing it was just two young maids coming in to fetch hot water, she sighed in relief.
The rumors about Dou Ming had grown increasingly bizarre and baseless, no longer mere inner court gossip. Meanwhile, with Dou Qijun taking the examinations, everyone in the family was on edge. Her mother-in-law had even instructed her and Madam Guo to prepare new clothes and examination supplies for Dou Qijun. She hadn’t had time to visit her maiden home and discuss this matter with her mother. Today, she finally saw her mother, but her mother had been busy entertaining the congratulatory visitors, leaving no chance to talk. She had barely managed to pull her mother into the tea room, and after just a few words, her mother started scolding her.
Madam Cai smiled awkwardly. After the two maids left, she listened for any movement around them. Confirming they were alone, she said embarrassedly in a low voice, “I only told your aunt, who knew she would tell her sister-in-law…”
Her aunt’s sister-in-law was married into Duke Jing’s family and was close friends with the second madam of Duke Jing’s household.
Madam Dou glared at her: “Don’t you know that the three daughters-in-law of Duke Jing’s family are constantly at odds with each other, almost to the point of life and death? How could you dare tell your aunt about this?! How are we going to fix this now?”
The matter had escalated to the point where even the men were discussing it. What could she do?
Could she step forward and admit it was her who said it?
Even if she wanted to take responsibility, if the blame fell on her, her husband would likely face reproach as well…
Mrs. Cai, cornered by her daughter, had no choice but to put on a stern face: “Do whatever you think is best! If the Dou family finds out, I’ll have to sacrifice my reputation anyway.”
Indeed! If the Dou family found out, not only would her mother lose face, but she, as a daughter-in-law, would suffer too. Moreover, this matter was now beyond the Dou family’s control. Rather than drowning in gossip, it might be better to stand aside and watch the drama unfold.
After all, she hadn’t spread false rumors.
Dou Ming was indeed an illegitimate child.
The Wang family had indeed bullied and caused the death of Madam Zhao.
Thinking this way, she suddenly felt at ease, and her tone softened: “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just want you to be more careful in the future when it comes to matters involving the Dou family. Don’t make a joke of things like this, letting outsiders laugh at the Dou family’s expense. Don’t forget, you’re the mother-in-law of the Dou family’s tenth master. If the Dou family loses face, you’ll lose face too…”
Seeing her daughter soften, Mrs. Cai straightened her back.
“Alright, alright!” she interrupted her daughter impatiently, “Do I need you to teach me these principles? Just focus on serving your mother-in-law well and taking care of my two precious grandchildren. What’s the point of saying so much? It’ll only cause trouble if others overhear.” She then headed towards the tea room’s exit, “The wives of Grand Secretaries Yao and Dai have arrived. I need to go speak with them. After you finish preparing the tea, come over quickly.” She added in a low voice, “Don’t miss such a good opportunity.”
Madam Cai rolled her eyes and followed her mother out of the tea room, carrying a tray with large red begonia flowers.
Meanwhile, Dou Qijun was invited to the study, where Dou Shiying asked about his plans: “…In my opinion, your fifth great-uncle’s place already houses three families. It’s not as spacious as my place, which is also closer to your sixth great-uncle. It would be best for you to stay with me. But Yantang has a point too. You’ve just arrived in the capital and will need to make friends. Living with us older relatives might not only be uncomfortable for you, but it would also make it difficult for your fellow scholars to visit. It might be better for you to have your small residence. As it happens, Yantang has a small house in Yuqiao Alley – you know, where the Zhao family held their celebration. It’s just across the street from the Hanlin Academy. Why don’t you stay there temporarily, and we can look for a better place later?”
Dou Qijun was overjoyed.
He had traveled extensively over the past few years and made friends from all walks of life across the country. Some of these friends might not meet their elders’ approval. Living alone would be ideal. However, many of his elders had houses in the capital, and he thought that neither his fifth nor sixth great-uncle would agree to him renting a place outside. This idea had barely crossed his mind when Dou Shiying brought it up. He hesitated, “But what about my fifth and sixth great-uncles…”
Dou Shiying replied, “I’ll handle that. You just focus on passing the Shujishi examination.”
Dou Qijun had always liked this kind and approachable seventh great-uncle. Hearing this, he quickly thanked him with a smile and asked about Song Mo: “Where’s Fourth Uncle? I should thank him for letting me use his house, shouldn’t I?”
Dou Shiying frowned slightly: “He’s been pulled away by his friends to talk.” He added disapprovingly, “I don’t know what’s wrong with these people. They come uninvited, and once here, they’re all eager to speak with him privately. What can’t they say at home that they have to do here and now? They’ve turned a joyous celebration into something quite odd!”
“Maybe they need Fourth Uncle’s help with something,” Dou Qijun explained. “It might be difficult to speak at the office, and Duke Ying’s mansion might be too intimidating to approach, so they’re taking this opportunity.”
Dou Qijun was the guest of honor today, and if he didn’t mind, what reason did Dou Shiying have to be displeased?
The two of them went to the study, which was filled with scholars from the Hanlin Academy, chatting and laughing.
The one who had pulled Song Mo aside to talk was Hao Dayong.
He spoke in a secretive manner: “…The Marquis of Jining is good in every way, except that he’s too easily swayed and often does the wrong thing with good intentions. Just the other day, a man surnamed Wang, claiming to be some relative of Duke Jing’s family, wanted to open a silk shop on East Street. He got into an argument with a broker over the shop’s commission. What does this have to do with our Five Cities Military Command? Somehow, this fellow managed to persuade the Marquis of Jining, who brought people from the Eastern City Command to intervene, scaring the broker away.”
“In my opinion, if he’s a relative of Duke Jing’s family, why didn’t they step in instead of the Marquis of Jining?”
“Even if it’s because the Marquis holds a position in the Five Cities Military Command, after the incident, at least a regular steward, if not the head steward of Duke Jing’s mansion, should have come to say something.”
“But Duke Jing’s family acted as if nothing had happened.”
“Later, I found out that this Wang person’s aunt had once been a wet nurse for Duke Jing’s heir, but his aunt had long since passed away, and Duke Jing’s heir didn’t even know such a person existed. Yet the Marquis of Jining not only acknowledged him but also accepted a 20% stake in his business. Now Wang is using the Marquis’s name to do business in the Eastern City, making all the silk shops there give way to him. His business is booming.” He secretly observed Song Mo’s expression, “What do you think of this? That Wang is so cunning, I fear the Marquis of Jining will suffer losses!”
What was Hao Dayong trying to do?
Song Mo smiled slightly, making his stance clear: “Although the Marquis of Jining and I are brothers-in-law, it’s not my place to interfere in his household affairs. In such matters, I’m afraid he’ll have to learn to be more vigilant on his own.”
In other words, the young master wasn’t going to get involved!
Hao Dayong, having received this information, immediately perked up.
He smiled, bowing to Song Mo, and said, “You’re right. Some things one can only rely on oneself; no one else can help.”
Song Mo smiled back.
Hao Dayong stood up to take his leave: “Now that the examination results are out, some families are rejoicing while others are grieving. Those who passed are surely drinking themselves into a stupor, while those who failed are even more intoxicated, some even attempting to jump into lakes in their drunken state. We need to return to the office to keep an eye on things. I won’t stay for the banquet, but I’ll come another day to congratulate Young Master Dou personally.”
A newly minted Jinshi would be celebrated and revered elsewhere, but in the capital, with examinations held every three years and a long list of names, who would remember which scholars had passed if it didn’t concern them directly?
People like Hao Dayong, who believed they would never associate with those sour scholars from the Hanlin Academy, were even less likely to remember. He could only refer to Dou Qijun as “Young Master Dou” based on Dou Shixu’s status.
Song Mo couldn’t help but smile as he escorted Hao Dayong out through the side door.
Hao Dayong was extremely excited.
His attendant was confused: “I didn’t hear the young master say anything. Is it appropriate to deal with the Marquis of Jining?”
“You fool, if the young master wanted to protect the Marquis of Jining, he would have responded to my words with something like ‘The Marquis has only been at the Five Cities Military Command for a short time and doesn’t understand these things yet. Please guide him more.’ Then not only would I be unable to undermine the Marquis, but I’d also have to create an opportunity for his promotion.” He said rather smugly, “If I handle this well, the young master will have to thank me!”
He suddenly felt eager to return to the office.
Song Mo returned to the study, maintaining his composure.
Dou Shiying and Dou Shiheng were engrossed in conversation with Yu Li and others. When Song Mo entered, the younger ones greeted him with smiles, while the more senior ones like Yu Li sat there waiting for Song Mo to greet them.
After all, they moved in different circles.
Song Mo graciously greeted these people, following Dou Shiying’s generation. Yu Li and the other older scholars nodded slightly in approval.
Someone asked Dou Shiying, “How come we haven’t seen your second son-in-law?”
The Dou family had been scholars for generations, and Dou Shiying was unique in having married both his daughters into noble families. As a result, people were quite familiar with his family affairs.
Dou Shiying’s face darkened upon hearing this.
They had sent a message to the Marquis of Jining’s mansion long ago, but Wei Tingyu still hadn’t arrived.
Song Mo came to Dou Shiying’s rescue, smiling as he said, “He was here just now, but the Empress Dowager called him in for a chat. I’m afraid he won’t be back for a while.”
Everyone burst into laughter, teasing Dou Qijun: “How did you manage to escape? Give your fifth uncle some tips!”
“What could I do?” Dou Qijun laughed, glancing thoughtfully at Song Mo. “My seventh great-uncle and fourth uncle rescued me. If I went back in, I’m afraid even they wouldn’t be able to get out.”
This elicited another round of laughter from the group.
From then on, Dou Qijun felt closer to Song Mo. After the celebratory banquet ended, he took the initiative to get the keys and move into the house in Yuqiao Alley.