Wang Xingyi’s hand rested heavily on Wang Zhibing’s shoulder as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
A servant was peering around the flower garden.
Wang Xingyi’s face darkened slightly, exuding an imposing air. “What is it?” he asked.
The servant ran over trembling, “Sir, there’s a man named Du who says he’s the steward of the Dou family from Zhending. Their Fifth Master was in the same imperial examination year as you. He’s here on orders from their Old Master to deliver a letter to you.”
“Could it be Dou Zhenzhi?” Wang Zhibing asked, puzzled.
Zhenzhi was Dou Duo’s courtesy name.
“It must be him,” Wang Xingyi said with a cold smile. “Didn’t he claim Yingxue caused the death of his daughter-in-law? A blood feud that couldn’t be forgiven. I wonder what business he has with us now?” He then ordered the servant, “Bring the letter here.”
The servant scurried over with the letter.
Wang Xingyi glanced at it before handing it to his son.
Wang Zhibing took the letter with suspicion and quickly scanned its contents. “Dou Zhenzhi wants you to go with their family steward to persuade Zhao Ruifu to agree to officially recognize Yingxue as a proper wife?” he exclaimed, completely baffled by the situation.
Wang Xingyi snorted and said to his son, “Now do you understand why I spoke as I did earlier?”
Wang Zhibing did not.
Wang Xingyi sighed helplessly and patiently explained to his son, “If the Dou family truly didn’t want to recognize Yingxue officially, they could have forcibly sent her away, even if she refused to leave, let alone the Pang family causing trouble. The fact that this has dragged on until now shows the Dou family has their agenda. When you first told me about this, I wasn’t entirely sure, but now I can guess with about 80-90% certainty. It’s likely that Dou Yuanji, seeing how his mentor favors me, fears I’ll steal his spotlight. He wants to use Yingxue’s official recognition to curry favor with me.
But Dou Duo and the Zhao family disagree. Not only does Dou Duo disagree, but he hoped to provoke me through you, leading to Yingxue’s death and undermining Dou Yuanji’s plans.” Wang Xingyi let out several cold laughs before continuing, “But Dou Zhenzhi suddenly changed his mind, shifting the blame to the Zhao family – it’s not that he disagrees, but that Zhao Ruifu disagrees.” He pondered, “If I’m not mistaken, the Eastern and Western Dou branches are likely at odds.
Dou Duo’s sudden change of heart is probably because the Western Dou only has Dou Shengying as their sole heir, with no scholarly achievements. They’re in a weak position. Seeing that I’ve now become the Governor of Gansu, they want to form a marriage alliance with our family, using my influence to join forces against Dou Yuanji.”
Wang Zhibing looked at his father with admiration and asked respectfully, “What should we do now?”
Wang Xingyi seemed not to hear, muttering to himself, “Could Yingxue have caused Madam Zhao’s death?”
Wang Zhibing was taken aback.
Wang Xingyi then spoke loudly, “Dou Zhenzhi’s letter says he has twice sent people to negotiate with Zhao Ruifu about officially recognizing Yingxue, but Zhao Ruifu avoided meeting them. He wants me to meet with Zhao Ruifu. Whether Dou Zhenzhi intends to bypass Dou Yuanji and have me owe him a favor wants to show me how much effort he’s put into Yingxue’s recognition, or aims to prove to me that Madam Zhao’s death is indeed related to Yingxue, or hopes to use my official authority to pressure Zhao Ruifu into agreeing, you should go on my behalf. Take this opportunity to see what Zhao Ruifu’s true intentions are.” It was as if his earlier comment had been a mere slip of the tongue.
Wang Zhibing hesitated, “Father, the Dou family claims sister caused Madam Zhao’s death, yet now they want to officially recognize her because of your favor with the Grand Tutor… They’re fickle and disloyal… not people we should associate with… Sister may not have good days ahead…”
He looked at his father hesitantly.
“I know,” Wang Xingyi said with disdain. “I want to see what schemes they’re plotting against me.” He paused, then continued, “As for Yingxue, try to persuade her again for me. Explain all these pros and cons to her. If she still insists on being with Dou Shengying… she’ll have to bear her hardships…”
The implication was that he would no longer help her.
Wang Zhibing looked at his father in surprise.
“It’s easy to be just and fair, but difficult to remain impartial and unwavering,” Wang Xingyi murmured. “Though I hope she can live well, I can’t live her life for her. There are some things she must understand for herself.”
Wang Zhibing nodded firmly, “Father, I understand. After meeting with Zhao Ruifu, I’ll depart immediately for Zhending.”
When the Second Madam learned that Dou Duo had privately contacted Wang Xingyi, asking him to help persuade Zhao Si to agree to officially recognize Wang Yingxue, it was already mid-September, the Mid-Autumn Festival. The osmanthus flowers were fragrant, chrysanthemums were yellow, and crabs were plump. Along with this news came word that both Dou Shengying and Dou Shengheng had passed the provincial examinations.
The entire Dou household was overjoyed. Dou Duo even exchanged a basket of copper coins from the first year of Chengping and had two stewards stand at their gate, handing them out to everyone. The whole of Zhending County flocked to the Western Dou’s gate.
Ji personally combed Dou Zhao’s hair into a girl’s bun, adorned it with a pearl hairband, and dressed her in a bright red embroidered jacket. With undisguised joy in her eyes, she asked, “Is Shou Gu happy?”
Experiencing all these events again, even the happiest occasions would lose some of their surprises.
But she still smiled sweetly and answered “I’m happy” as befitting her role.
Ji kissed her on the cheek with a “smack” and took her hand, “Let’s go with your great-grandmother well and get you a red envelope.”
Dou Zhao nodded with a smile and went with Ji to the Second Madam’s quarters.
However, as soon as they lifted the curtain to enter, they heard the sound of shattering porcelain from the inner room, followed by the Second Madam’s furious roar: “What does he mean by this? Is he afraid we’ll cause his niece’s death? Thirty years old? Why doesn’t he say we should keep her alive past fifty?”
Ji realized she had come at an inopportune moment and quickly led Dou Zhao to visit the eldest aunt instead.
Dou Zhao was very curious about who the Second Madam was referring to and what had made her so angry. But she wasn’t in a hurry; Sixth Aunt would likely find out soon, and she just needed to stay by Sixth Aunt’s side.
Thinking of this, she became a bit worried.
As she grew older, this effortless way of obtaining information probably wouldn’t last many more years.
After having a cup of tea at the eldest aunt’s, they returned to their room.
Cai Lan, who had been standing in the corridor, followed them in.
She first glanced at Dou Zhao, then curtsied to Ji before saying softly, “The Fifth Master sent a letter saying that Master Zhao from the Zhao family has agreed to officially recognize Miss Wang…”
“Ah?” The Sixth Aunt was greatly surprised.
Dou Zhao, however, felt relieved.
It seemed her uncle was not recklessly brave after all.
Let whoever wants to do such thankless tasks do them; there’s no need to get oneself involved.
In her previous life, her uncle had sacrificed too much for her. In this life, she would rather suffer some hardships herself than see her uncle repeat the mistakes of the past.
If Wang Yingxue wanted to be officially recognized, then let her be recognized.
In her previous life, Wang Yingxue could barely pretend to be happy upon entering the family. This time, entering the family five months pregnant, even if officially recognized, those proper wives would not associate with her out of self-respect. As for Dou Ming’s marriage prospects, they would likely be even more difficult than in the previous life.
“However,” Cai Lan glanced at Dou Zhao again, “Master Zhao from the Zhao family has set two conditions. First, the Wang family must not interfere in the Fourth Miss’s marriage. Second, half of the Western Mansion’s property is to be allocated as the Fourth Miss’s dowry. From the day the Wang family receives the agreement for official recognition, a special steward will manage the Fourth Miss’s dowry. If the Fourth Miss passes away after the age of thirty, she may dispose of the dowry as she wishes. If she passes away before thirty and has offspring, the dowry will be left to the offspring. If there are no offspring, the Fourth Miss’s dowry will be considered compensation and belong to the Zhao family.”
“What did you say?” Sixth Aunt drew in a sharp breath.
Cai Lan looked at Dou Zhao once more and repeated herself.
“How can this be?” Sixth Aunt said with a headache. “Zhao Ruifu dares to make such demands!”
Dou Zhao, however, was already dumbfounded.
She could understand the fear of the Wang family marrying her off carelessly, but dividing half of the Western Dou’s property… Not to mention her grandfather, even the Second Madam of the Eastern Dou probably wouldn’t agree.
No wonder the Second Madam was shouting about “fifty years”!
However, she quickly snapped out of her daze and regained her composure.
If the Dou family could make demands, why couldn’t her uncle set conditions?
Just like the Dou family’s request to officially recognize Wang Yingxue, her uncle’s proposal to allocate half of the Western Dou’s property as her dowry was equally outrageous. But if the Dou family could come up with such ideas, why couldn’t her uncle think of the same?
It’s a negotiation tactic – ask for the moon to settle for less!
An uncle with such awareness could protect himself and avoid being devoured alive by both the Dou and Wang families!
The corners of her mouth involuntarily curved into a pleased smile.
Let the Dou family worry about this matter!
Ji’s slender finger tapped Dou Zhao’s forehead. “Silly girl, what are you smiling about? Do you know what your uncle has done for you?” She sighed, “Your uncle has given up opportunities for promotion and wealth, focusing solely on ensuring you grow up safely and marry a good husband. In the future, you must be filial to your uncle!”
Dou Zhao nodded repeatedly, sweetly saying, “When I grow up, I’ll be filial to Sixth Aunt too.”
She meant it sincerely.
In her previous life, if it weren’t for hearing Sixth Aunt’s words just before her marriage, she would have surely taken many more wrong turns. Unfortunately, in her previous life, Sixth Aunt had always seemed like a polite but distant Dou family daughter-in-law in her eyes. She had no intention of debasing herself by offering warmth to someone cold, so her relationship with Sixth Aunt had always remained at the level of nodding and smiling when they met.
In this life, although she was just a naive child, Sixth Aunt didn’t care whether she remembered her kindness. She not only took care of her meticulously but also helped plan for her future survival in the wolf-infested Dou family… Teaching one to fish is better than giving them fish. This kindness, she would never forget.
Sixth Aunt couldn’t have imagined all this. She smiled and said, “Oh my, our Shou Gu has such a sweet mouth.”
But Dou Zhao could see that the Sixth Aunt was very pleased.
That evening, Sixth Aunt whispered to Wang Nanny: “…I’ve always worried that Zhao Ruifu would clash head-on with the Wang and Dou families. Now it seems we’ve all underestimated Zhao Ruifu. Third Uncle went behind Fifth Brother’s back to find Wang Xingyi, intending to pass the ball to Zhao Ruifu – it’s not that I don’t agree to officially recognize Wang Yingxue, but that the Zhao family is obstructing it. Now Zhao Ruifu has cleanly kicked the ball back – it’s not that I don’t agree to officially recognize Wang Yingxue, but that the Dou family is unwilling to part with the money. This time, Third Uncle has truly lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet!”
“Indeed,” Wang Nanny laughed. “I heard that the Old Master was so angry he nearly fainted on the spot. If it weren’t for Du An’s quick reflexes in supporting the Third Old Master, he might have fallen headfirst into the lotus pond. However, our Madam, after smashing her teacup, cheered up and even spent half the day talking with young master Lan.”
“That’s right,” Ji smiled. “In my opinion, if our Madam were a bit more astute, she should step forward and persuade Third Uncle to agree to Zhao Ruifu’s conditions. After all, that money won’t go to Shou Gu or the Eastern Mansion anyway, so why not do a favor for the Zhao family and annoy Wang Yingxue in the process? Do you want to be officially recognized? Then take half of the Western Dou’s property and give it to Zhao Guqiu’s daughter. If Wang Yingxue finds out, she’ll probably kick her blanket to shreds tonight.”