Father’s carriage was parked at the second gate. Several servants were busy carrying things inside. Father wore a sapphire blue straight-collared robe with a water-lily pattern made of Hangzhou silk, draped with a gray squirrel fur cloak. He stood elegantly by the carriage, talking with Gaosheng.
Hearing the commotion, he turned around, smiling faintly, his handsome figure reminiscent of a gentle breeze and bright moon.
Dou Zhao’s heart skipped a beat.
She knew this was her father.
But she had never seen her father like this before.
In her memory, Father always had a slight frown. Even when laughing heartily, there was an undissolvable gloom between his brows. Especially when he looked at her quietly, his eyes were calm like an ancient well, chilling to the core.
Unlike now, he appeared young, handsome, and radiant, like a carefree youth, warming one’s heart just by looking at him.
“Shou Gu,” Father’s smiling face appeared before her eyes, “You don’t even call out when Father returns!” He reached out to pinch her nose.
Dou Zhao instinctively turned her head away, avoiding Father’s hand.
Father paused, then smiled without taking offense. He took out a pinwheel from behind the carriage, blew it to make it spin noisily, and held it in front of her. “This is what Father bought for you from the capital. Isn’t it fun?”
If she were truly a child, she would have been delighted by this pinwheel. But she was already a mother of three children, the one who bought pinwheels to amuse her children. How could she be interested in it?
Dou Zhao craned her neck to peek inside the carriage.
Mother, however, was blushing, gazing at Father with loving eyes, and said coyly, “It’s good enough that you’ve returned safely. Why buy us things? We have everything at home.”
“But this is different!” Father took Dou Zhao from Mother’s arms. “I bought these specially for you from the capital.”
Mother’s face reddened even more as if she had drunk aged Huadiao wine, her eyes becoming misty.
Dou Zhao leaned sideways, trying to pull open the carriage curtain, but her small arms couldn’t reach it.
Father noticed her intention and gently patted her bottom, placing her on the carriage. “What are you looking for?”
Dou Zhao ignored him and dove headfirst into the carriage.
The interior was lined with thick bedding. A few classics like “Annotations of the Four Books” were casually tossed on the bedding. In the corner was a tea bucket for keeping tea warm, with a purple clay teapot inside.
There was nothing else.
Dou Zhao stood in the carriage, looking around in confusion.
Had she remembered incorrectly?
Or perhaps… what Tuo Niang said wasn’t true at all!
Naturally, Father’s first task upon returning from a long journey was to pay respects to Grandfather.
Mother, using the excuse of arranging a family feast, returned to the main house and summoned all the servants working there to the hall.
“Which scoundrel told the young miss those filthy words? Step forward now!” She slammed the table in a rage. “If I have to wait for the young miss to point you out, it won’t just be a matter of being sent to work in the outer courtyard or having your wages docked for a few months! I’ll report to the Old Master and call for a slave trader to sell you to some poor mountain village where you’ll never taste a white flour steamed bun again in your life!”
The room fell into dead silence.
The teacups on the table rattled from Mother’s outburst. “Fine then! Not one of you will step forward. Do you think I can’t find out who it was? The young miss is barely old enough to speak clearly, yet you instigate her to spout nonsense in front of me. If she were any older, wouldn’t you have corrupted her completely…”
Dou Zhao sat on the heated kang in the inner room of the main house, accompanied by a young maid, sighing from time to time.
It was her idea; who would step forward to admit it?
But Dou Zhao didn’t defend the servants.
She was now a child who could barely speak properly. In Mother’s understanding, the baseless words “Father is bringing a woman back” must have been taught by the servants around her. If she were to defend those servants, Mother would only become more suspicious that someone had ulterior motives, making it even harder for the servants to extricate themselves.
She asked the young maid beside her, “What… is your name?” Her throat still felt blocked, unable to form complete sentences.
The young maid was flattered by the attention and eagerly replied, “In response to the Fourth Young Miss, this servant is called Xiangcao.”
She said, “I want… Tuo Niang!”
The young maid’s eyes widened with curiosity. “Who is Tuo Niang?”
Dou Zhao was dumbfounded.
Someone announced loudly, “Seventh Madam, the Seventh Master has returned.”
There was a commotion outside.
Mother instructed with a slightly nervous tone, “Yu Mama, take the people from the Fourth Young Miss’s room back first. The Fourth Young Miss will sleep here with me tonight. Everyone else, go about your business.”
An elderly voice respectfully responded, “Yes.”
Then there was another commotion.
Soon after, Mother entered with Father, her laughter like the tinkling of jade.
Seeing Dou Zhao sitting dazed on the kang, Father smiled and patted her head. “What’s wrong with this child today?”
Mother didn’t want to tell her husband that Dou Zhao had been influenced by someone, so she vaguely smiled and said, “She might be tired from playing. She’ll be fine soon.”
Father didn’t pursue the matter further.
Maids brought in water and soap. Mother helped Father wash his face and change clothes. Dou Zhao was also carried down by a maid to wash and change before they all went to see Grandfather.
Grandfather lived on the west side of the residence. Because the main hall had a plaque inscribed with “Crane and Longevity in the Same Year,” it was called the “Crane Longevity Hall.”
In front of the Crane Longevity Hall was a pond with artificial mountains, and behind it were vines and flowering trees, making it the most scenic spot in the household.
In Dou Zhao’s memory, she had been to the Crane Longevity Hall twice. Once when she was nine years old, after Grandfather passed away. According to his will, the mourning hall was set up in the Crane Longevity Hall, and she returned for the funeral. The other time was for Grandfather’s end-of-mourning ceremony.
Both times were chaotic, and she hadn’t even had the chance to take a good look at the Crane Longevity Hall.
Now, revisiting it in her dream, she peered around from her mother’s shoulder.
The pond was frozen, the artificial mountains were covered in snow, the trees had withered, and the vines were nothing but dry stems. Although desolate, the elegant layout couldn’t hide its refined beauty.
She nodded inwardly in approval.
No wonder those old Hanlin scholars in the capital praised Grandfather for his talent when they spoke of him.
It was a pity that Grandfather grew weary of official life and resigned before he was thirty to become a country gentleman.
Lost in these thoughts, they arrived at the entrance of the Crane Longevity Hall.
A middle-aged beauty, still charming, greeted them with a smile.
Dou Zhao stared at the beautiful woman, her eyes wide.
How could she be dreaming of Aunt Ding?
If she were to dream, shouldn’t it be of her grandmother?
After all, she had grown up with her grandmother.
As she was thinking this, Aunt Ding came forward, gently pinched Dou Zhao’s little hand, and said to Mother, “What’s wrong with Shou Gu today? She seems dispirited and isn’t even greeting anyone…”
Mother gave Aunt Ding a meaningful look and whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”
Aunt Ding understood and smiled, taking Dou Zhao into her arms and accompanying Mother into Grandfather’s study.
Dou Zhao’s mind was in turmoil.
Grandfather was over forty and still childless. The principal wife had arranged for him to take two concubines. One was Aunt Ding, and the other was Grandmother Cui. Like the principal wife, Aunt Ding had no children, and Grandmother only gave birth to Father. Their branch of the family was not prosperous. Later, when the stepmother entered the family and gave birth to younger brother Dou Xiao, Grandmother was credited with continuing the family line. The Dou family then began to call her “Madam Cui.” Although Father still called her “Aunt,” the grandchildren addressed her as “Grandmother,” while Aunt Ding remained Aunt Ding.
After the principal wife passed away, Grandfather decided not to remarry. Aunt Ding managed the household affairs, which were then handed over to Mother when she married into the family. Aunt Ding only took care of Grandfather’s matters. In his later years, Grandfather was always accompanied by Aunt Ding. Grandmother, on the other hand, lived on a farm fifty li away from Zhending County, only returning for short stays during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival each year.
Dou Zhao felt a vague sense of unease as if something had happened that she was being kept in the dark about.
She discreetly observed the people and events around her.
During the evening meal, Dou Zhao noticed that the dishes and bowls were made of blue and white porcelain with a “Jade Hall Spring” pattern, complete with bowls, plates, cups, and spoons.
When Grandfather was talking to Father, Dou Zhao was left to play on the heated kang in the study.
She saw that on Grandfather’s desk was a pair of “Success Upon Arrival” rosewood paperweights.
Dou Zhao thought for a moment, then stood on tiptoe to count the glass beads on the tassel of the Longquan treasure sword hanging on the wall.
She had seen all these things before.
At that time, they were Grandfather’s beloved possessions and had been placed in his coffin as burial objects.
She remembered that only four bowls, two plates, one cup, and five soup spoons remained of the “Jade Hall Spring” blue and white porcelain set; there was only one rosewood paperweight; and there were five glass beads on the tassel of the Longquan treasure sword.
It was as if time had reversed, erasing the years that had left their mark on these objects.
Then she heard Grandfather speaking: “…This passage is from ‘The Analects of Confucius, Gong Ye Chang.’ You used ‘The minister’s heart is generous and impartial, loyal in his counsel’ to introduce the topic, and then followed with ‘When one is generous, they balance gain and loss; when impartial, they equalize self and others. Zi Wen considered this loyalty, but I do not know if it is benevolence’ to develop the theme. Very good. It shows that you have already grasped the essence of the ‘variation’ method…”
Dou Zhao’s hands and feet turned cold.
Although she could read, she had never studied the Four Books and Five Classics. How could she imagine such words out of thin air?
“Mother, Mother!” Dou Zhao was terrified. She called out loudly for her mother, tears falling uncontrollably.
Grandfather, who had been engrossed in conversation with Father, frowned.
Mother hurriedly ran in from the hall. “Father-in-law, I’ll take Shou Gu to play elsewhere.”
With an apologetic look, she carried Dou Zhao out of the study.
Aunt Ding came to meet them.
Mother had been dining with Grandfather and Father. Since the wet nurse hadn’t come today, Aunt Ding had fed Dou Zhao first. By the time Dou Zhao was full, the others at the table had dispersed, leaving only some leftovers. She had just been eating her dinner haphazardly.
“What’s wrong?” She felt Dou Zhao’s forehead. “She was fine earlier. Could she have encountered something unclean?”
Dou Zhao clung tightly to Mother’s neck, feeling the warmth of her nape as if this was the only way to prove that she wasn’t encountering a group of ghosts.
“Surely not?” Mother shuddered and hesitated. “Could it be the work of those who instigated Shou Gu?”
“It’s alright,” Aunt Ding said confidently. “Even if someone has done something, we needn’t worry. We are a virtuous family, and the gods will bless us with peace and tranquility. Later, I’ll pray for two talismans for Shou Gu before the gods. You can brush them over Shou Gu’s body and then burn them. Shou Gu will be fine after that.”
Mother nodded repeatedly and said through gritted teeth, “If I find out who’s behind this ill-intentioned act, I’ll skin them alive!”
“It’s fortunate that she said it in front of you. If she had said it in front of the Seventh Master, it would have been troublesome,” Aunt Ding sighed. Just then, a young servant boy ran in and announced, “Old Master, Seventh Master, Seventh Madam, Aunt Ding, the Third Master from the East Mansion has arrived.”