Blossom

Chen Qushui's implication was that He Yu had taken a fancy to Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao immediately felt a headache coming on.

She and He Yu had only met a few times—how could he suddenly be so determined to marry her?

She asked Chen Qushui, "What do you think of this matter?"

Chen Qushui hesitated for a moment before carefully weighing his words. "Although the He family is illustrious, in my opinion, if the young lady is to marry, Young Master He is not a suitable match."

Dou Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Chen Qushui analyzed calmly, "Lord He is ten years older than the Fifth Master and already advanced in years. The eldest son of the He family is a Presented Scholar from the Guichou year and is currently observing governance in the Ministry of Works, with three sons and a daughter. The third son is a Recommended Man from the Renzin year, with one son and one daughter. By the time Young Master He needs to establish himself, all that the He family can leave him is an empty title."

For the Dou family, the value of the He family lay in their political resources.

But for Dou Zhao, the flaw of the He family also lay in their political resources.

He Wendao could assist Dou Shishu now, but he would not be able to help Dou Zhao in the future.

His eldest and third sons had already achieved success in their careers. By the time He Yu grew up and needed support, the eldest and third sons—both legitimate heirs—would have already firmly established themselves, dividing He Wendao's political resources. Moreover, they each had their own children. When the time came, rather than helping their youngest brother gain a foothold, they would prefer to pass their political resources to their own sons. He Yu might appear to be in a glorious position now, but in reality, his prospects were limited.

In contrast to He Wendao, Dou Shishu was in the prime of his life. After Zeng Yifen's death, he was very likely to enter the Grand Secretariat. Moreover, Dou Zhao and Dou Shishu shared a natural blood relation, unlike in the He family, where Dou Zhao would merely be one of many daughters-in-law. If she wanted to stand out, she would have to curry favor with Madam He. But pleasing Madam He might offend Da Taitai (The Eldest Madam) and Third Madam. Trying to please everyone... with that kind of effort, she might as well focus on Dou Shishu. At the very least, Dou Shishu already regarded Dou Zhao differently because of her ownership of half of Western Dou's property.

Why should they highlight their weaknesses and abandon their strengths?

"I've been thinking the same," Dou Zhao nodded lightly. "And I have another concern. Lord He and Madam He clearly know that Young Master He's actions are improper, yet they still proposed marriage to the Dou family despite the generational gap. This shows how much they dote on Young Master He. If I were to marry into their family, I might not have a harmonious life with him. Once the He family feels the marriage isn't worth it, my days could become even harder. It would be a waste of energy."

"The Fourth Young Lady speaks wisely," Chen Qushui sighed in relief.Although Dou Zhao had once said she didn’t want to marry, as someone who had weathered life’s storms, he didn’t take her words to heart. He thought Dou Zhao was still young and hadn’t yet reached the age of budding romance. When the He family suddenly proposed to her, he worried she might be momentarily dazzled by the He family’s illustrious reputation or taken with He Yu’s good looks. Seeing that Dou Zhao remained calm and rational, he felt greatly relieved and said, “I have an idea—I’m not sure if it’s feasible, but I’ll share it for your consideration.” He spoke cautiously, “Fifth Master is likely a lost cause, but after all, Seventh Master is your birth father. As long as Seventh Master firmly refuses, Fifth Master can’t force him to agree to this marriage, can he? I think we can proceed in two steps. First, we should send someone to persuade Seventh Master, making him understand that while this marriage might benefit the Dou family temporarily, it would bring you nothing but harm. Given Seventh Master’s care for you over the years, I believe he would give it serious thought. As for the mediator, no one would be better suited than Sixth Master!”

Sixth Aunt would soon be arriving in the capital.

Dou Zhao smiled. “You want me to persuade Sixth Aunt?”

“Exactly,” Chen Qushui said. “Sixth Master has always respected Sixth Aunt, and he’s also close friends with Seventh Master. Having Sixth Master—a brother who shares the same mother as Fifth Master—step in would be twice as effective.” At this point, he gave a faint smile, a hint of cunning flashing across his face. “Moreover, if the Ji family learns that the He and Dou families are planning to unite in marriage at this time, they might have some thoughts of their own. Perhaps we can take advantage of the chaos to slip away unscathed! That’s the second step—dragging the Ji family into the mix.”

Dou Zhao laughed heartily. “A woman follows her husband in marriage—my Sixth Aunt wouldn’t be so foolish. Rather than scheming against her, you’d have better luck targeting our Recommended Man Ji!”

“That would work too,” Chen Qushui conceded, admitting he didn’t know Sixth Aunt well. “Then let’s just send a message to Recommended Man Ji.”

Dou Zhao pondered for a moment. “Your words remind me—I’m sure there’s more than one family hoping to stop the Dou and He families from forming an alliance at this time. We might as well make use of the Wei family, the Marquis of Jining.”

“The Wei family, the Marquis of Jining?” Chen Qushui was puzzled.

Since neither the Dou nor Wei families had taken the betrothal seriously, he was unaware of Dou Zhao’s connection to the Wei family.

Dou Zhao recounted the past events to him.

Chen Qushui was stunned, taking a long moment to recover.

Dou Zhao smiled. “When the time comes, I’ll simply say that if they want me to marry into the He family, they must first retrieve the token my mother left with the Wei family. I imagine even if Lord He doesn’t care, he’d prefer the Dou family to settle matters with the Wei family sooner rather than later, wouldn’t he?”

Chen Qushui thought it over but voiced some reservations. “From what you’ve said, the Wei family isn’t enthusiastic about this marriage. If your father demands the token back, the Wei family surely wouldn’t hesitate…”

Dou Zhao chuckled. “No need to sugarcoat it—the Wei family isn’t just unenthusiastic, they’re outright unwilling.”

Chen Qushui gave an awkward laugh.

Dou Zhao, however, was unbothered. “If all we wanted was the token back, the Wei family would gladly oblige. But if we’re retrieving it to marry into the He family, I doubt the Wei family would be so accommodating.”"That's true," Chen Qushui said, growing excited. "If we plan this well, we might not only smoothly reject the He family's marriage proposal but also retrieve the betrothal token from the Wei family."

It would definitely work.

Given her understanding of Wei Tingzhen, Dou Zhao knew Wei would seize this leverage over the Dou family to make a huge scene, then triumphantly call off the engagement.

"There's another advantage to this," Dou Zhao said with a confident smile. "After such a scandal surrounding my marriage prospects, it might take three to five years—maybe even seven or eight—before any suitable families come forward with proposals. Even if some uninformed parties do approach, with the He family situation looming, Second Madam would likely find them unsuitable too. The matter would just fade away unnoticed."

"We'll proceed as Fourth Miss suggests," Chen Qushui said, all his earlier heaviness and worry gone. Happily, he added, "I'll make the arrangements immediately."

Dou Zhao personally saw Chen Qushui out to the second gate.

On the way back, Su Xin kept stealing glances at Dou Zhao.

Appreciating Su Xin's steadiness and attentiveness, Dou Zhao smiled. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Su Xin replied, though she couldn't help adding, "Fourth Miss, will you regret this later?"

"No," Dou Zhao said with a laugh. "I know exactly what I want, so there'll be no regrets."

Su Xin felt somewhat reassured.

By the next day, everyone in both the eastern and western households knew that He Yu, youngest son of He Wendao, had taken a liking to Dou Zhao. Upon returning to the capital, he had begged his father to propose to the Dou family. The fifth master of the Dou family had readily agreed.

Consort Cui was full of regret. "That handsome young man? Had I known, I should have met him properly!"

While sending word to Dou Shishu in the capital, Second Madam said contentedly to Sixth Aunt, "Now this is a well-matched marriage! Thank goodness we didn't finalize things with the Wu family earlier—it would have been too late for regrets now."

Sixth Aunt politely agreed, though privately she didn't entirely share Second Madam's enthusiasm.

She confided in Wang Momo, "I don't care about Shou Gu marrying into extreme wealth or status. What matters is that her husband's family is uncomplicated, their morals clean, and that they cherish her wholeheartedly. Young Master He seems too immature—I'm a bit worried..."

Wang Momo asked, "Should we mention this to Seventh Master?"

Ji Shi hesitated. "But what if I'm wrong about Young Master He? Wouldn't that ruin Shou Gu's chances? After all, this proposal came about because he took a genuine liking to her..."

Torn between options, she fretted endlessly, losing sleep for two nights.

Unaware of Ji Shi's anxieties, Dou Zhao had already written to her father, instructing Chen Qushui to deliver it immediately and have him retrieve the betrothal token from the Wei family. She also wrote to her aunt in the northwest, explaining the situation to prevent any misunderstandings that might be exploited later.

She remembered how overjoyed her aunt had been upon hearing about her and Wu Shan—especially learning that Sixth Aunt had arranged the match. Her aunt had immediately packed to come to the capital and meet Wu Shan, leaving her uncle and cousins behind. But before she could depart, the match fell through. Her aunt had been heartbroken for a long time, sending multiple letters to Grandmother and Sixth Aunt. During New Year's, she even sent special envoys to greet Sixth Aunt—both to thank her for the matchmaking efforts and to beg her to keep looking for another good prospect.All these little moments were tucked away in her heart, waiting for the right opportunity to repay them.

Ji Yong came to visit her.

Dou Zhao was surprised, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

She received Ji Yong in the Reception Hall.

Ji Yong remained silent, scrutinizing her from head to toe as if seeing her for the first time.

Long accustomed to his unpredictable moods, Dou Zhao sat composedly, letting him look his fill while going about her business. When he finally finished, she asked, "Done looking?"

Ji Yong answered earnestly, "Yes," then frowned and demanded, "Why did you call me 'improper'?"

She hadn’t expected those words to weigh so heavily on him that he’d seek an explanation half a year later.

Dou Zhao replied just as seriously, "I believe a person can be unconventional and stand apart—that’s the mark of a free spirit. But if it disturbs others and makes them uncomfortable, then it’s just boorish and obnoxious!"

"You’re insulting me!" Ji Yong’s face darkened instantly, as if a storm were brewing.

"Is that the kind of person you are?" Dou Zhao asked.

Veins bulging on his forehead, he retorted icily, "Am I that kind of person?"

Dou Zhao hadn’t spoken to humiliate him. Sincerely, she said, "You’re exceptional in every way—except for your occasional overbearingness. Take that time with the Spring Festival couplets, for instance. Qiguang genuinely aspired to enter officialdom through the imperial exams. His wish for the Emperor’s eternal reign and the dynasty’s prosperity came from the heart. Yet you mocked him relentlessly. He hadn’t done anything to provoke you—why be so aggressive?"