Dou Zhao’s tone was somewhat hurried, which made Chen Qushui doubt the source of her information. Could it be that Fifth Master had said something to Fourth Miss?

But he immediately dismissed this thought. How could Dou Shizu possibly discuss matters of state with his niece who hadn’t even come of age?

He felt puzzled.

Dou Zhao also realized that her tone was too rushed and her words sounded too perfunctory. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. After all, she was still insecure and lacked confidence!

She had no choice but to say concisely, “People say that too much wisdom borders on sorcery… Sometimes, overthinking isn’t necessarily a good thing!”

Chen Qushui thought this made sense. Otherwise, Fourth Miss wouldn’t have explained herself to him. It seemed he was the one being overly suspicious.

Chen Qushui mocked himself internally and then asked about Dou Zhao’s plans: “Regarding the Wang family, do you have any further instructions?”

“Let’s put this matter aside for now,” Dou Zhao thought that the fire had been lit, and if fanned too quickly, it might be extinguished. It would be better to let it burn slowly and then add some fuel later; this way, the fire might burn even stronger. So she said, “Keep an eye on Zeng Yifen’s health. If we can keep Wang Xingyi in Shaanxi, that would be ideal.”

Although the emperor’s will played a decisive role in who could enter the cabinet, such rapid promotions were rare. As long as Wang Xingyi remained in the local government, his chances of entering the cabinet were slim, especially with many others eyeing the position. If he still managed to enter the cabinet smoothly under these circumstances, it could only be attributed to his exceptional luck or heaven’s will.

Chen Qushui asked, “Do you mean… we should contact Fifth Master?”

“My fifth uncle certainly has plans for this matter,” Dou Zhao said diplomatically. “Even if we wanted to help him, we don’t have the qualifications or ability. Our main task is to gather more information so that we won’t be caught off guard if anything changes.”

“I understand,” Chen Qushui smiled. “I’ll also find ways for Fan Wenshu and the people at the main store to have more interactions.”

Dou Zhao nodded with a smile.

Chen Qushui had made two consecutive trips to the capital, bringing back good news each time.

“First, someone accused Wang Xingyi of falsely claiming military merits, and then another accused him of embezzling military funds,” he said, sitting in the flower hall and drinking iced mung bean soup. His voice exuded a sense of satisfaction. “Although the emperor has kept these accusations on hold, he sent his trusted eunuch Peng Qian to Shaanxi as a military inspector, which shows he has some misgivings about this matter. As a result, when Zeng Yifen recently requested to promote Wang Xingyi to the position of Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the emperor didn’t approve.”

It seemed that Zeng Yifen still favored Wang Xingyi the most.

Dou Zhao asked, “Has my fifth uncle made any moves?”

“He’s the same as before with Zeng Yifen,” Chen Qushui replied, “but he’s grown closer to He Wendao.”

Dou Zhao murmured, “If we could make Ji Yong’s uncle, Ji Song, leave the race early, perhaps the Ji family would support my fifth uncle…”

Chen Qushui was stunned.

There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

He hadn’t expected Fourth Miss to have already grasped the threshold of officialdom!

But knowing is one thing, and implementing is another. It’s like those advisors under the powerful regional governors – no matter how good their ideas are, without the support of those governors, they’re just building castles in the air.

He couldn’t help but remind Dou Zhao, “Fourth Miss, even if Zeng Yifen and Ye Shipei personally intervened, they might not be able to make someone like Ji Zirong leave the race early…”

Ji Song’s courtesy name was Zirong.

“I know!” Dou Zhao laughed. “I’m just thinking out loud.” Suddenly, she felt a bit like those idle talkers in the capital’s teahouses, who could talk a good game but had no idea where to start when it came to actually doing something.

Time slowly crept to early August. During this period, Dou Shengying sent two letters inquiring about Dou Ming’s situation. Dou Zhao responded to each: “She’s studying with Teacher Song and has made great progress in calligraphy… She practices the pipa for an hour every day… Every few days, she pays her respects to the Second Madam at the East Mansion and is very much liked by her. During the Zhongyuan Festival, the Second Madam specifically instructed her to join in offering incense at Fayuan Temple… Shu’er has become engaged. Her fiancé’s family name is Wu, from Pingshan County. Their ancestors once produced a jinshi scholar. He’s three years older than Shu’er and has studied at the Dou family school. Dou Ming embroidered a pair of lotus flower pillows as a gift for Shu’er.”

Dou Shengying was very satisfied.

He instructed Dou Zhao, “If she doesn’t behave, feel free to discipline her. If she dares to talk back to you, tell her it’s on my orders.”

No matter who said these words, in the end, it would only be Dou Zhao who would be resented.

Dou Zhao ignored Dou Shengying’s instructions.

Ji Yong had returned.

He gave Dou Zhao a red lacquered box with gold inlay. It was so heavy that Suxin almost dropped it when she received it.

Dou Ming laughed from the side, “What did Cousin Ji bring for my sister? It’s so heavy! Could it be gold and silver treasures? Sister, open it quickly and see!”

Lady Ji glared fiercely at Ji Yong, feeling that if he wanted to give Dou Zhao a gift, he should have chosen something easily identifiable to avoid wild guesses and inappropriate comments.

Ji Yong, however, laughed heartily and said, “I’ve brought your sister something good. If Fifth Miss is curious, why don’t you open it and see?”

Dou Zhao could tell from his tone that it wasn’t anything good. She wanted to stop Dou Ming, but knowing her willfulness, she decided to let her open the box.

Inside the box was a pair of iron balls, shiny and bright, about the size of an infant’s fist.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Ji Yong smiled and took the iron balls in his hands, rotating them.

The sound of the iron balls rose and fell, clear and melodious.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” He smiled at Dou Zhao. “If you rotate them like this every day when you’re free, it can strengthen your body. Fourth Sister won’t need to walk around the courtyard for exercise anymore.”

Is this something for a girl to use?

Dou Zhao was exasperated. With a forced smile, she said “Thank you” and asked Suxin to put them away.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Ji Yong’s eyes, but he quickly regained his previous cheerfulness. He showed Lady Ji a piece of Shu embroidery he had brought back from Baoding Prefecture: “…The blue-green weave with a few strands of bright red. In a few days when it gets cold, Aunt can make a cape with it. It will surely look beautiful.”

Lady Ji accepted it with a beaming smile.

Then there was a peach wood hairpin for Aunt Cui, a gold-inlaid jade bracelet for Second Madam, a string of prayer beads for First Madam…

Dou Ming was bewildered and asked, “Cousin Ji, what about mine?”

Ji Yong thought for a moment and smiled, “I’ve brought something for Fifth Miss too.” He instructed his servant, “Bring out the large velvet silk flower from the ‘Plum Blossom’ trunk.”

The servant complied and left.

Dou Ming pouted coquettishly, “Why do I only get a large velvet silk flower? Cousin Ji is playing favorites!”

Ji Yong laughed, “These are all I brought back. Would you like to exchange with your sister?”

Thinking of the iron balls, Dou Ming quickly said, “I don’t want to exchange!”

Ji Yong sighed, “Then there’s nothing I can do. I didn’t know you didn’t like silk flowers. Next time I’ll bring you something else.” He looked quite helpless.

Dou Ming glanced at Lady Ji and said no more. She sweetly thanked Ji Yong and had her maid accept the silk flower.

Dou Zhao noticed that although the silk flower was made of velvet, it looked lifelike. There was even a butterfly perched on the flower, its antennae trembling, which was quite interesting.

Dou Ming smiled at her sister and had Ji Hong help her put the silk flower in her hair.

A few days later, when Dou Zhao and Dou Ming came to pay their respects to Second Madam, they found that all the senior maids and elderly servants in the Ji family were wearing velvet silk flowers in their hair, differing only in color and the type of insect perched on the flower.

Dou Ming’s face alternated between red and white. She grabbed a maid and pointed at the silk flower on her head, asking sharply, “What is this?” Her voice was so shrill that it startled the maid, who quickly replied, “It’s a gift from Young Master Ji.” Realizing this answer was inappropriate, she added in panic, “Young Master Ji bought many silk flowers in Baoding Prefecture and gave one to everyone he met. When I served tea to Young Master Ji, he gave me one too. Even Caiyun in Second Madam’s room got one when she served him fruits…”

Seeing that Dou Ming was so angry her mouth was twisted, Dou Zhao quickly sent the maid away, “It’s nothing, Fifth Miss was just asking. You can go about your business!”

The maid ran off as if escaping from a tiger’s den.

Dou Zhao warned Dou Ming in a low voice, “This is Second Madam’s courtyard. If you don’t want to be confined, control your temper.”

Dou Ming let out a cold “hmph” and it took a while for her expression to calm down.

Dou Zhao said to Ji Yong, “It’s one thing not to bring a gift for Dou Ming, but you didn’t need to humiliate her like this!”

Ji Yong, however, justified himself, “I didn’t bring anything for her. She asked for a gift in front of my aunt, so I had to make do. How is this my fault? Who asks for gifts in front of others?”

Dou Zhao was speechless.

“Alright, alright,” Ji Yong smiled. “For your sake, I won’t hold it against her. Is that satisfactory?” Then he said, “Fourth Sister, are those iron balls fun? I heard that anyone passing through Baoding Prefecture on their way to the capital buys those iron balls as gifts…”

Dou Zhao called for Suxin.

Suxin smiled and took out the pair of iron balls from her waist pouch, rotating them smoothly and naturally. The sound was like a soft, low-pitched tune.

Ji Yong smiled awkwardly.

Dou Zhao left in a huff.

From then on, Dou Ming harbored a hatred for Ji Yong.

During the family banquet on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the large red lantern above Ji Yong’s table suddenly caught fire. Everyone panicked, trying to get away, except for Ji Yong, who sat there calmly. Before the steward and servants could rush over, he had already thrown a cup of tea to extinguish the fire on the lantern.

A few days later, one of Dou Ming’s young servants disappeared.

Dou Ming searched for half a day but couldn’t find him. That night, someone discovered him in the latrine of the West Dou Alley – he was tied up, his face smeared with ink, a smelly sock stuffed in his mouth, stuck in the corner of the latrine pit with various yellow and white substances hanging from his head.

Dou Zhao’s face turned ashen as she asked Dou Ming, “What exactly happened?”

Dou Ming remained silent.

Dou Zhao sneered, “You don’t have to say anything, but next time it might be your turn…”

Before she could finish, Dou Ming shrieked, “I just had someone put a few croton seeds in his horse’s feed, and he reacted so cruelly…”

Dou Zhao thought of those sleek, tall, and sturdy horses.

Isn’t this enough?

Dou Zhao said sternly, “Who told you it’s not allowed to put croton seeds in horse feed?”

Dou Ming was stunned.

Dou Zhao’s gaze flashed like a cold blade.

Dou Ming took a few steps back and said in a low voice, “It was, it was Brother Tan!”