Song Yan began studying at the Dou family school, while Song Yumin took charge of teaching Dou Zhao and Dou Ming. They rested on the first and fifteenth of each month. He would first teach Dou Zhao about various philosophers, then instruct Dou Ming on the Analects.

Dou Ming diligently attended Song Yumin’s classes. However, due to her weak foundation, besides her morning lessons, she had to practice writing 500 characters every afternoon. After a few days, she began to complain incessantly.

Zhou Mama constantly encouraged her: “Only by tasting the bitterest of bitters can one become the best of the best. Look at Fourth Young Miss, while the housekeeper matrons are still using abacuses, she’s already calculated the amount…”

Dou Ming stared at Zhou Mama, bewildered: “What does accounting have to do with writing?”

Zhou Mama quickly reassured her, “Nothing, nothing at all. It’s just that Fourth Young Miss seems to be capable of everything. Fifth Young Miss is so intelligent; surely, you should be able to master everything like Fourth Young Miss.”

Dou Ming remained silent but stopped complaining about writing practice.

Due to the Pang Kunbai incident, Chen Qushui had come to the forefront. He moved into the Dou mansion, helping Dou Zhao manage business affairs and newly recruited guards. Gao Xing managed the affairs of the West Dou and the internal housekeeper matrons. Du Ning was relegated to assisting Zhou Mama. Gao Xing, considering herself Dou Zhao’s confidante, quickly aligned with Chen Qushui. After Du An died from a beating during his imprisonment for theft, Du Ning became extremely cautious, no longer managing any affairs. Zhou Mama, being new, struggled to handle everything alone. Although the West Dou was divided into three, everyone still looked to Dou Zhao for guidance. With her annual allowance of 10,000 taels and her influence over people, Dou Zhao found it even more convenient to act than before. Her focus shifted from the East and West Dou to political affairs in the capital.

“Minister Zeng must be nearly seventy this year, right?” she asked Chen Qushui. “I wonder how many more years he can hold on?”

In her previous life, she hadn’t paid attention to such matters and didn’t know exactly when Zeng Yifen had passed away.

Chen Qushui replied, “Fourth Young Miss’s intuition is spot on! I just received news yesterday that rumors in the capital suggest ‘Zeng Yifen is unwell and may retire soon.'”

“It all depends on whether Fifth Uncle can seize this opportunity.”

In her previous life, Wang Xingyi had returned to the capital before Zeng Yifen’s death, seemingly serving as Vice Minister in the Ministry of War. This time, due to Wang Yingxue’s situation, he was stuck in his position as Governor of Shaanxi.

Dou Zhao pondered, “Who is the current Vice Minister of War?”

Chen Qushui answered, “Gu Yanjing.”

Dou Zhao mused, “Can we pass a message to the Wang family? Say that Minister Zeng originally intended to promote Wang Xingyi to Vice Minister of War, but because Ye Shipei caught wind of the Wang family’s affair, Minister Zeng had to compromise and support Gu Yanjing for the position…”

In her memory, Ye Shipei and Zeng Yifen were old rivals. Zeng Yifen’s retirement was Ye Shipei’s doing. If Ye Shipei hadn’t passed away shortly after Zeng Yifen, and if he had had stronger disciples, it would have been uncertain whether Wang Xingyi and Dou Shizu could have entered the cabinet.

The ban on horse markets was a struggle between civil and military officials, so Ye Shipei wouldn’t hinder Zeng Yifen on that front. However, now that it involved a competition for a third-rank position between disciples of two cabinet ministers, Wang Xingyi’s affair could be brought up.

Chen Qushui considered, “We can’t spread such rumors carelessly. If we’re not careful, it might backfire…”

“Then let’s try to gather information from this angle,” Dou Zhao said. “We should be able to find some related rumors. Even if there aren’t any, we can create them!”

“That’s true,” Chen Qushui smiled. “If the Wang family believes that Wang Yingxue has hindered Wang Xingyi’s career, I think even Madam Wang might harbor some resentment towards her daughter. Moreover, since marrying into the Dou family, Wang Yingxue has never established a firm footing and has caused numerous troubles.”

“Removing the source of the problem seems cleaner and more efficient,” Dou Ming nodded with a smile, then inquired about the shops.

Chen Qushui reported, “Only the shops in the capital are breaking even. The others are slightly losing money, totaling over 200 taels in losses.”

“That’s not bad,” Dou Zhao smiled. “By September, when Boyan’s affairs are settled, you should prepare some silver for Cui Thirteen to lend out at interest.”

“It’s already prepared,” Chen Qushui was explaining his plans to Dou Zhao when Suxin announced from behind the curtain, “Fourth Young Miss, Young Master Ji has arrived.”

Ji Yong? What does he want?

After finishing her discussion with Chen Qushui, Dou Zhao went to the flower hall to meet Ji Yong.

Ji Yong asked her, “I’m going to Baoding Prefecture. Is there anything you’d like me to bring back?”

She had never been to Baoding Prefecture, how would she know what to bring?

Nevertheless, Dou Zhao smiled and thanked him, “There’s nothing I need. I wish Cousin Ji a safe journey!”

Ji Yong smiled and said, “Then I’ll just bring back something for you at random!”

His smile was warm and polite, but for some reason, Dou Zhao felt as if he had some hidden agenda, making her feel uneasy.

“No need, no need,” Dou Zhao repeatedly declined.

Ji Yong smiled without responding and rose to leave.

Dou Zhao escorted him to the entrance of the flower hall but felt a gaze fixed intently upon her.

She turned around and saw Dou Ming standing under a willow tree.

Dou Ming turned away expressionlessly, disappearing down the winding, willow-shaded path with her entourage of maids and servants.

Dou Zhao sighed deeply, then spent half the day tending to flowers and plants in the greenhouse. Seeing that several night-blooming cereus she had planted were about to bloom, she invited Sixth Aunt to come and appreciate the flowers.

Sixth Aunt suggested, “Why don’t we host a flower-viewing banquet?”

Grandmother chimed in, “Yes, yes, yes! The night-blooming cereus is a rare sight. Let’s invite all the ladies over. We have plenty of space. We can’t always let the East Mansion entertain us; we should return the favor!”

Ever since Dou Zhao’s marriage to the Wu family fell through, her marriage prospects had become a source of anxiety for Grandmother. Fearing that Dou Zhao might be left behind, she eagerly seized any opportunity for Dou Zhao to shine.

Seeing Grandmother’s enthusiasm and considering that she rarely had anywhere to go, Dou Zhao smiled and said, “Alright, let’s have an evening banquet then!”

Sixth Aunt also became interested, and the three of them whispered and discussed for a long time, finally settling on the details of the flower-viewing banquet. They determined the guest list, sent out invitations, cleared out the storerooms for decorations, arranged the menu, and assigned maids and servants. The West Dou hadn’t been this lively in a long time. From the housekeeper matrons to the senior maids, everyone was unsure of what to do. Dou Zhao, however, handled everything with ease, arranging each task methodically and effortlessly. This left Madam Ji, who had come to help personally, astounded, repeatedly asking her “Who helped you come up with these ideas.”

“Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘You don’t need to eat pork to know what a pig looks like’?” Dou Zhao said nonchalantly. “With such grand affairs every New Year, one learns by observation.”

Some people are just naturally intelligent.

Madam Ji smiled and nodded continuously, saying, “It’s good that you pay attention to everything like this. It saves me from worrying about you.” Realizing this might not sound right, she joked, “I should tell your Third Aunt that you compared her to a pig!” trying to change the subject.

Understanding her intention, Dou Zhao played along, “If Third Aunt asks, I’ll deny it.”

Madam Ji laughed heartily.

On the day of the flower-viewing banquet, she still couldn’t help but arrive early. Seeing that everything was perfectly arranged, she finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

That night, the flowers were beautiful, the wine was mellow, and the dishes were exquisite. The invited performers sang the “Hairpin Reunion” scene from “The Story of the Jade Hairpin.” Even Dou Ming, who had reluctantly attended the banquet, listened with tears in her eyes, occasionally whispering with Yi’er and Shu’er.

Meanwhile, Chen Qushui, listening to the distant sounds of string and wind instruments, pondered the news from the capital until he dozed off as the sky began to lighten.

When he awoke, the sun was already high in the sky.

He hurriedly got up and asked his servant, “Has Fourth Young Miss arrived at the flower hall?”

After her lessons, Dou Zhao would spend half an hour in the flower hall dealing with household matters.

The servant brought in water for washing and smiled, “Fourth Young Miss has been in the flower hall for a while!”

Chen Qushui felt relieved.

But then he paused.

In his early years, he had served as an advisor under Zhang Kai, the Governor of Fujian, but even facing Zhang Kai, he had never felt this nervous… Could it be because of the news he heard yesterday?

He sat in his room for a moment, estimating that Dou Zhao would be returning to her inner quarters soon, and hurried to the flower hall.

Outside the flower hall, weeping willows were planted everywhere. In the height of summer, the willows were lush, their myriad green branches swaying in the wind, giving a sense of coolness to onlookers. Through the open windows, Chen Qushui saw Dou Zhao, wearing a pale striped cotton gauze shirt, talking with Gao Xing.

Her posture was upright, her gaze calm. Her smooth forehead and long eyebrows extending into her hairline gave an impression of wisdom. Even from a distance, one could tell she was an intelligent and strong-willed person.

Even boys much older than her might not compare, he thought as he entered the flower hall.

Gao Xing was excitedly recounting how well yesterday’s flower-viewing banquet had gone and how the people from the East Mansion had praised it.

Dou Zhao smiled and responded, complimenting Gao Xing on her capable management. Gao Xing left, beaming with joy.

Chen Qushui composed himself and said solemnly, “Fourth Young Miss, it seems things are indeed as you said. Zeng Yifen originally intended to support Wang Xingyi for the position of Vice Minister of War, but because Wang Xingyi failed to manage his household properly, Zeng Yifen had to agree to Ye Shipei’s request to let Gu Yanjing take the position.”

“Oh!” Dou Zhao’s interest was piqued. “Did you pass the message to the Wang family as I asked?”

Although things had deviated slightly, they were generally on track.

Dou Zhao felt more confident about the future.

“The message has been passed,” Chen Qushui reported. “Madam Wang summoned Wang Yingxue and severely reprimanded her. It’s said that Wang Yingxue left the Wang household in tears. Not only that, but the old incident with Madam Pang was also brought up, and Madam Wang has confined her to her quarters.”

Dou Zhao smiled broadly.

Chen Qushui couldn’t help but ask, “Fourth Young Miss, did you hear some rumors from somewhere? How else could you have known about the inside story regarding Gu Yanjing…”

“No, I didn’t know,” Dou Zhao smiled. “I just found it strange that despite Wang Xingyi’s illustrious military achievements, he remained stuck in his position as Governor of Shaanxi, while Gu Yanjing, who is less renowned and experienced, moved ahead of him.”