Blossom

Dou Zhao had called Song Yan to act as a ghostwriter, and she did so quite openly at that.

"What? Is there a problem?" Dou Zhao ignored their reactions and said leisurely, "It's all the same since someone else is writing it anyway. Why not have Song Yan do it? Besides, his calligraphy is much better than mine."

Being able to help the exceptionally talented young Recommended Man Ji Jianming, also known as Ji Yong, write spring couplets had already flushed Song Yan's face with excitement. Upon hearing Dou Zhao's words, he couldn't help but cast her a grateful glance and exclaimed eagerly, "Recommended Man Ji, though my calligraphy may not be as good as Fourth Miss says, I will write with utmost care..."

Unexpectedly, Ji Yong retorted bluntly, "If it's not as good as Fourth Miss claims, what makes you qualified to write my spring couplets?"

Song Yan froze in place, utterly humiliated.

Dou Zhao turned pale with anger and sneered, "He was just being modest and polite, yet you took it seriously." She called out to Song Yan, "Since Mr. Ji doesn't need any help, let's head back first!"

He Yu stood by, smiling with narrowed eyes.

Ji Yong's face darkened instantly, and he barked at Song Yan, "Hold it! Write a few characters first so I can see!"

Song Yan glanced hesitantly between Dou Zhao and Ji Yong, clearly at a loss.

Dou Zhao sighed inwardly.

A Successful Candidate in the Imperial Examination would act like a son before a Recommended Man, let alone someone like Song Yan who held no scholarly rank.

Since she was the one who brought him here, she couldn't just abandon him, could she?

Dou Zhao smiled at Song Yan and said, "Then write a few characters for Recommended Man Ji to see." Then, putting on a competitive air, she added, "Don't let Recommended Man Ji look down on us!" This helped smooth over the earlier awkwardness.

He Yu's eyes lit up.

Song Yan quickly agreed and timidly approached the writing desk.

Ji Yong's expression softened slightly as he followed.

Once Song Yan picked up the brush, he became completely composed, as if transformed. His brows exuded determination, and his strokes were steady and powerful. His Yan-style calligraphy was dignified and precise, displaying considerable skill—so much so that even Ji Yong let out a surprised "Hmm" and abandoned his dismissive attitude, standing solemnly to observe.

He Yu shot Dou Zhao a glance before also stepping forward to watch.

Dou Zhao curled her lip at Ji Yong.

After setting down the brush, Song Yan stood respectfully to the side, inviting Ji Yong to evaluate his work.

Ji Yong remained where he was, hands clasped behind his back, and casually glanced at the desk before asking, "Can you compose couplets?"

His expression was solemn, his tone indifferent, exuding the superiority of the strong. For the first time, Dou Zhao felt he truly resembled the proud young Recommended Man he was.

"Please enlighten me, sir!" Song Yan replied nervously, bracing himself.

Ji Yong declared clearly, "The heavens chill, yet plum bones stand proud."

Such a... clichéd couplet?

He Yu let out a soft chuckle and said, "How about pairing it with 'The snow melts, and horse hooves tread lightly'?" A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

Ji Yong shot him a cold glance.

He Yu merely raised an eyebrow, unfazed.

Song Yan, however, lowered his head and pondered carefully.

Dou Zhao also straightened, waiting attentively.

What was Ji Yong really getting at?

He shouldn't be offering such a simplistic couplet.

What response would align with his intentions?

"The wind warms, and grass hearts grow fragrant"?

That seemed too simple.

As Dou Zhao speculated, Song Yan timidly proposed, "Spring warms, and all things revive."

"Good enough!" Ji Yong said. "Use this desk. Finish two hundred spring couplets, and you're done."Song Yan let out a long sigh of relief, his face brimming with joy as he eagerly responded, "Yes!" He quickly walked to the writing desk and began cutting paper, as if afraid that delaying even a moment might cost him this task.

Dou Zhao smiled wryly.

He Yu, however, looked stunned and said, "Isn’t this couplet a bit too plain?"

Ji Yong retorted bluntly, "This isn’t an imperial audience in the Golden Hall. If I came up with something like 'Confucius, Mencius, Laozi,' would those people even understand? This is just for the streets and alleys. During the New Year, all that matters is good fortune and festivity."

He Yu’s face flushed slightly.

Song Yan nodded repeatedly, clearly delighted that he had guessed Ji Yong’s intentions correctly.

Seizing the opportunity, Ji Yong remarked, "Do you know why so many people who write dazzling current essays repeatedly fail the exams? It’s because they don’t understand what the examiners actually want... If they’re asked to write 800 words, they insist on writing 8,000. Even if every word is a gem, what’s the use? That’s why I say the Eight-legged Essay is the easiest thing in the world—just follow the formula, and you’ll never go wrong..." His tone was brimming with arrogance.

He Yu looked visibly embarrassed.

Song Yan, on the other hand, was utterly awestruck, his gaze at Ji Yong openly worshipful.

Seeing that her presence was no longer needed here, Dou Zhao bid farewell to Ji Yong, He Yu, and the others, intending to visit Ji Shi for a while. But after taking just a few steps, she noticed the window of the eastern study slightly ajar, with Dou Dechang waving at her from behind it.

Maintaining her composure, she entered the study.

Dou Dechang sprawled in his chair and said, "Fourth Sister, you’re usually so sharp—how did you get tricked by Ji Jianming into coming here? If you hadn’t brought Song Yan to help, I would’ve had to step in and write those couplets for you."

"What has Ji Yong done this time?" Dou Zhao teased. "Why does everyone seem so eager to avoid him?"

"Nothing much," Dou Dechang said dejectedly. "We were all writing couplets when Qiguang jokingly came up with one: 'Boyu, Zisi, Zishang; Kaiyuan, Tianshun, Zhanghe.' Ji Jianming scoffed at it, saying it might as well be 'Father, Son, Grandson'... Qiguang stormed off in anger... None of us could argue with him..."

Boyu, Zisi, and Zishang were respectively the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Confucius. Kaiyuan, Tianshun, and Zhanghe were the reign titles of the founding emperor Gaozong, the second emperor Gaozong, and the third emperor Renzong.

Dou Qiguang’s couplet was merely meant to flatter the imperial family, implying their eternal reign. Being mercilessly mocked by Ji Yong was naturally hard to swallow. No wonder Ji Yong had earlier mentioned "Confucius, Mencius, Laozi"—there was a backstory to it.

"This Ji Jianming really has a sharp tongue," Dou Zhao remarked. "Earlier, when he tested Song Yan with a couplet, he also mocked Young Master He. Thankfully, He Yu didn’t take it to heart, or they might’ve ended up quarreling right then and there." She added, "At first glance, with his fine furs and embroidered sash, I thought He Yu was just another spoiled noble. But it turns out he’s quite composed."

"Don’t think he’s any better!" Dou Dechang said impatiently. "Do you know how he found me?"

Dou Zhao was surprised. "Didn’t you say you ran into him on the road?""What on earth!" Dou Dechang leaned weakly against the large bolster behind him. "That's just the excuse for the elders. He's the same guy who sang opera in the middle of the night at Dafang Temple. Later, I won five hundred taels of silver from him in a cockfight—just for those five hundred taels, he put out word to both the underworld and the authorities. If I hadn't been studying at home those past few months, he would've caught me long ago. That's why I was tailed the moment I stepped out, otherwise he wouldn't have set off with us."

Dou Zhao recalled her first encounter with him. It wasn’t all that surprising.

But this situation didn’t match her earlier assumptions. She had thought it was Fifth Uncle trying to curry favor with the He family, which led to He Yu and Dou Dechang traveling together.

She couldn’t help but ask, "Why is he after you? Surely not just for those five hundred taels? He doesn’t strike me as that petty!"

"He couldn’t care less about the five hundred taels, but he can’t stand the humiliation!" Dou Dechang said irritably. "He feels ashamed of losing to me and wants to win it back to clear his name. But I’ve quit cockfighting... I plan to take the Provincial Examination next year! At first, he didn’t believe me. Later, he reluctantly accepted it, but now he insists I sell him my old champion rooster, Iron General. I already gave it away—what am I supposed to sell him? So he won’t leave me alone, demanding I raise another rooster as fierce as Iron General... And worst of all, I can’t let Father and Mother find out—if they knew I was gambling on cockfights, they’d make me kneel in the ancestral hall at North Tower!"

"That’s true," Dou Zhao said. "So what are you going to do?"

Dou Dechang sighed. "If only Wu Shan were here. I could pin this on him, and Father and Mother wouldn’t blame me at all!"

Wu Shan...

They had always been close.

Taking the fall for Dou Dechang probably wouldn’t bother him.

I wonder how he’s doing now?

After just a few months apart, he already feels like a distant memory.

Dou Zhao silently sipped her tea.

Dou Dechang said awkwardly, "I... I didn’t bring him up on purpose..."

"It’s fine," Dou Zhao replied. "Just because the marriage didn’t work out doesn’t mean we’re enemies. Wu Shan is a good person, and he’s always been good to you..." In her past life, he had even helped Dou Dechang get married, confessing to every misdeed. She couldn’t help but advise, "Twelfth Brother, you shouldn’t let these things drive a wedge between you and Fourth Brother Wu."

"No wonder Wu Shan thinks so highly of you," Dou Dechang said, visibly moved. "Fourth Sister, you’re magnanimous—a woman who rivals any man."

Dou Zhao laughed heartily. "I love hearing praise, whether it’s sincere or not. I’ll gladly take it either way!" Her candor was refreshing.

Dou Dechang’s mood lifted considerably. He stood up. "Come on, I’ll go help them write Spring Festival couplets. Can’t leave Song Yan alone to deal with Ji Jianming—he’s still a bit frail."

Song Yan probably saw it as a pleasure rather than a chore.

Dou Zhao chuckled and rose as well. "Then I’ll go chat with Sixth Aunt. It’s been a while since I last saw her."

Dou Dechang shook his head. "You girls... Just yesterday, you sent Mother a few pots of wintersweet. Don’t you remember?"

"But I didn’t visit in person!" Dou Zhao cherished every chance to spend time with Ji Shi.

Laughing and chatting, the two of them left the room.That evening, Dou Zhao discussed the matter with Chen Qushui: "...I fear we may have misjudged the situation. Perhaps He Wendao doesn’t wish to involve himself too early in the conflict between the Grand Secretaries at this time."

"Quite possible," Chen Qushui replied, taking the news seriously. "Although He Wendao was recommended to join the Grand Secretariat by Zeng Yifen, the He family has always maintained their own faction, never aligning with others. That’s precisely why the He family has remained unshaken for so many years."

Dou Zhao nodded. "We should investigate the He family further—He Yu is the youngest son. Why would He Wendao send him back to their ancestral home for the rites?"

"Understood," Chen Qushui acknowledged before leaving to arrange for someone to look into the He family’s affairs.

After the Laba Festival, news arrived from the Capital: "He Wendao achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations at a young age and married his mentor’s daughter. He holds this Madam in the highest esteem, and together they had six sons and three daughters, with no children born outside the marriage. He Yu was a late blessing, born twenty-two years after the eldest son of the He family. Both He Wendao and his wife dote on him as if he were the apple of their eye. Originally, the eldest son was to return for the ancestral rites, but He Yu insisted on going, so the arrangements were changed at the last minute to send him instead."