That evening, Dou Zhao, left behind at the East Mansion, lay sleepless in the gauze-curtained bed in Sixth Aunt’s inner chamber.
Half of the West Dou family’s property was now hers. The image of her father crumpling the document, his face a mixture of gentleness and determination, kept replaying in her mind.
Did Father realize what he was doing, giving away a quarter of the Dou family’s assets? Yu Daqing had only managed Mother’s small dowry, yet after her death, he harbored ulterior motives. Who would faithfully manage these properties for a five-year-old child without being tempted by silk and riches?
Should she contact the Cui family?
In her previous life, she had been twelve.
In this life, she was still naive and unknowing.
Dou Zhao had experienced too much to dare test a person’s character with money.
On the other side of the gauze curtain, Lady Ji was also awake.
She pondered the day’s events.
Wanting to share some intimate words with her husband, she turned to see his peacefully sleeping face.
A thousand words remained stuck in her heart.
She quietly got up, first checking on the “sleeping” Dou Zhao, then sat alone on the large kang bed by the window.
Dou Zhao was now like an infant clutching a bag of gold ingots in her swaddling clothes. Though the gold could ensure her comfort, she was powerless to protect it, only inviting others to covet and steal it.
For Dou Zhao, the disadvantages surely outweighed the benefits.
Lady Ji recalled the child’s serene sleeping face, her serious expression while writing, and the occasional glint of mischief in her eyes. Suddenly, her heart ached unbearably.
How could such a wonderful child be allowed to be ruined like this?
She couldn’t help but glance towards her mother-in-law’s quarters.
Meanwhile, the Second Madam, having sent off Dou Tuo and his son, was whispering with her second son, Dou Shishu, in her inner chamber.
“If your Third Uncle ultimately refuses to give half of the West Dou property to Shou’gu, do you intend to give her your share along with what Third and Sixth Uncle should receive?” she asked.
The servants had been dismissed, leaving only the Second Madam and Dou Shishu in the room.
Dou Shishu smiled without answering, personally brewing tea for his mother.
The Second Madam, both angry and anxious, chided, “You’re being too hasty! Fortunately, Wan Yuan intervened today. Otherwise, how would you have resolved this situation?”
“I hadn’t anticipated that,” Dou Shishu sat opposite his mother. “Wan Yuan has become much more steady compared to before.” He continued, “Please take care of family matters. I’ll return to the capital early tomorrow morning.”
“I understand,” the Second Madam sighed. “After all this effort, I doubt Wang Xingyi will appreciate your gesture. He might even blame you for not trying hard enough to prevent this mess.”
“Mother,” Dou Shishu chuckled, “do you think I could ever be on the same side as Wang Yousheng?”
The Second Madam paused, slightly puzzled.
Dou Shishu explained, “Our Dou family is in its third generation since entering the scholarly ranks, correct?”
The Second Madam nodded.
“No matter how many Juren or Jinshi our family produces, as long as no one becomes a cabinet minister, we’ll remain an ordinary official family, unremarkable in officialdom and powerless in court,” Dou Shishu’s expression grew serious, his features sharp as if carved from stone. “Now that I have this opportunity, this prospect of potentially having my portrait hung in the Dou family ancestral hall and my name written on the first page of our genealogy, do you think I could give that up? Would I give that up?”
“Of course not!” the Second Madam affirmed resolutely.
“Wang Xingyi chose to be Fang Shi’s vanguard for ten full years. He endured hardships in the northwest while his wife and children lived in poverty,” Dou Shishu’s eyes narrowed, a sharp glint flashing like a knife’s edge. “Now that he’s finally returned to officialdom, Fang Shi will compensate him for all his suffering. Do you think he’ll be content with the status quo and not strive for more, letting his hardships go unrewarded?”
“He can’t!” the Second Madam pondered.
“Since neither of us is likely to yield, why should I try to please him?” Dou Shishu smiled. “Besides, the current situation is more advantageous for us. ‘Cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the state, bring peace to all under Heaven’ – he can’t even handle family affairs and needs us to expend such effort to clean up his mess. Fang Shi will likely reevaluate his worth.”
“Indeed!” the Second Madam’s spirits lifted. “How can someone who can’t manage his household be trusted with important state affairs? Even if we don’t speak of it, this matter will eventually reach the ears of our classmates and colleagues. Which official doesn’t aspire to advance? Even if Minister Zeng favors him, others will surely disapprove.” She laughed, “In that light, we should thank Madam Pang for causing this commotion. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have progressed to this point.”
“However, allowing a woman like Wang Shi to enter our family is still inappropriate,” Dou Shishu mused. “I fear the younger generation might follow her example and tarnish the Dou family’s reputation. You should pay close attention to matters at the West Mansion – Third Uncle’s household has long lacked someone to manage domestic affairs. There’s much to be done. It would be best if Shou’gu stays with us, and if we could also bring Wang Shi’s daughter to live with you, that would be ideal.”
The Second Madam, despising Wang Shi and by extension disliking Dou Ming, said, “We’ve already fallen out with your Third Uncle. If it’s just for the sake of educating her, I think we should forget about it.”
“But she’s still a Dou family girl,” Dou Shishu reasoned. “If she marries into another family and behaves improperly, it’s our family’s reputation that suffers.”
The Second Madam nodded reluctantly.
Dou Shishu added, “Please instruct our household not to speak carelessly about Shou’gu receiving half of the West Mansion’s property.”
The Second Madam looked puzzled.
Dou Shishu explained discreetly, “I’m afraid someone might target Shou’gu.”
The Second Madam understood.
Half of the West Dou property – how much silver was that?
Any family marrying such a daughter-in-law could live off the wealth for generations without working.
“We must find someone close to our family for Shou’gu,” the Second Madam pondered.
“If her heart leans towards the East Mansion, that would be even better,” Dou Shishu, seeing his mother understood his intention, smiled. “Madam Zhao will return with Lord Zhao’s consent in a few days. Madam Zhao is still young, so please assist her in preventing any complications in dividing the property. Since we’ve agreed to the Zhao family’s conditions, why not do it gracefully?”
The Second Madam was surprised that Dou Zhao’s maternal aunt would arrive so quickly.
Dou Shishu explained with a smile, “As soon as I heard that Ruifu wanted to give half of the West Dou property to Shou’gu as her dowry, I understood his intention and immediately sent someone to Ganquan County. I feared that if we delayed, Third Uncle might change his mind when it came time to hand over the property.”
“You’ve thought of everything,” the Second Madam praised her son, who appeared refined yet brimming with confidence.
Dou Tuo’s regret came faster than Dou Shishu had anticipated.
Upon returning home, he hurled the brush washer from his desk at Dou Shiyingx.
Dou Shiying neither dodged nor flinched. After his father’s anger subsided, he calmly said, “I’ll return to the capital with Fifth Brother tomorrow…”
“Haven’t you embarrassed us enough today?” Dou Tuo angrily interrupted.
“I still need to participate in next year’s spring imperial examination,” Dou Shiying continued. “I want Fifth Brother to introduce me to an old Hanlin Academy scholar to help with my essay writing.”
Dou Tuo’s anger suddenly subsided. Then he said, “Very well. We’ll hold the ceremony to formally recognize your status after you return from the spring examination. It will also serve to put Wang shi in her place.”
Why go to such lengths?
Dou Shiying wanted to advise his father, but considering his father’s resentment and his own need to take the examination, he hesitated.
Dou Tuo, however, began discussing essay-writing techniques with his son.
Father and son engaged in a question-and-answer session until the sky turned a pale white with dawn.
Dou Shiying, rubbing his bloodshot eyes, went to wash up before returning to He Shou Hall to have breakfast with his father. When Gao Xing came to report that the luggage had been loaded onto the carriage, Dou Tuo accompanied his son to the main gate.
As father and son were talking, a large group of people suddenly approached, beating gongs and drums.
Dou Tuo frowned and had just called out “Du An” when a man’s loud cry came from the crowd: “Old Master Dou, it was my foolish brother who offended you. We three brothers have come to apologize with thorns on our backs. Please be magnanimous and forgive us, don’t hold it against us.”
The Dou family members were shocked and turned to look at the group.
In the middle of the crowd walked three men wearing lilac silk trousers, bare-chested, with thorny branches on their backs.
Weren’t these the three Pang brothers?
Du An’s mouth gaped in surprise.
Dou Tuo, however, was so angry that his temples throbbed. He sternly asked those around him, “What are they doing here?”
“I… I don’t know,” a servant replied. “I’ll go ask.” Before he could reach the Pang brothers, they had already fallen to their knees in the middle of the street.
“Master Dou, we kowtow to you!” they said, then began knocking their heads on the ground with loud thuds, their foreheads quickly turning purple.
“What’s going on?”
“Who are these people?”
Some recognized Pang Xilou, the third Pang brother: “Isn’t that Third Master Pang from neighboring Lingshou County? He’s a notorious ruffian there. I never thought he’d see such a day! I wonder what the Pang family did to offend the Dou family?”
The onlookers discussed animatedly, while the Pang family members kept explaining to the crowd: “Our Third Master offended Old Master Dou without realizing his importance. We’ve come to apologize.”
“Serves him right!” came a vindictive spit from the crowd. “So even Pang Yiba has his day of reckoning!”
“The Pang family patriarch should teach him a harsh lesson.”
“He must have tried to extort Old Master Dou!”
Various comments flew about.
Dou Tuo’s fingers trembled with anger.
Pang Yulou’s second brother, Pang Yinlou, feeling somewhat proud, whispered to his elder brother Pang Jinlou, and younger brother Pang Xilou: “See? Listening to me wasn’t wrong, was it? If I had personally gone to confront those families that day, how could we save face today? When dealing with family matters, it’s crucial not to burn all bridges. In the future, you need to be more thoughtful when facing such situations!”