Blossom

In Dou Zhao's memory, the Dou residence in Huai Tree Alley was a four-courtyard house with three main rooms and side chambers. The front yard was planted with pomegranate trees, while the backyard had square bamboo. Stone tables and stools were placed under the grape trellis. Although it felt a bit cramped for Fifth Uncle's family, it still carried a warm and lively atmosphere.

But in this lifetime, the moment she stepped off the carriage, she noticed the Dou family's residence had more than doubled in size compared to her recollection.

Not only had Dou Shishu purchased the neighboring three-courtyard house with three main rooms, but he had also acquired a two-courtyard house behind it. He then connected all three properties, renovated them, and transformed them into the current Grand Secretary Dou's residence in Huai Tree Alley. Gone was the former restraint and caution, replaced instead by a subtle yet noticeable air of confidence.

This was likely due to the fact that in her previous life, Fifth Uncle had been suppressed by Wang Xingyi for a long time, whereas in this lifetime, he had entered the Grand Secretariat before Wang Xingyi.

The men—Dou Shishu, Dou Shiheng, Dou Shiying, and others—stood at the front, while the women—Fifth Madam Fan, Sixth Madam Ji, and others—were at the back. Nearly all the maids, married women, and old women of the household had turned out, crowding around the Dou family members as they stood waiting at the entrance early on. Only Wang Yingxue was absent.

Upon seeing Second Madam, Dou Shishu stepped forward and knelt before her, his eyes moist as he called out, "Mother."

Second Madam immediately burst into tears and tried to help him up.

But Dou Shishu insisted on kowtowing three times to her, his forehead soon dusted with dirt.

Dou Shiheng and the others promptly followed suit, kowtowing in greeting.

Second Madam's tear-filled eyes brimmed with gratification and joy.

Walking behind Second Madam, Dou Zhao noticed Dou Ming hesitate in the crowd before kneeling alongside a slender, fair-skinned, and delicate-looking young woman.

Dou Zhao recognized her as Dou Zhengchang's wife, Han Shi, and couldn't help but take a few extra glances.

Han Shi had an extremely poor relationship with Ji Lingze, who had first been her sister-in-law and later her sister-wife, to the point where Dou Dechang and his wife eventually had to move to West Street near Yongguang Temple in the outer city of the Capital.

Sensing Dou Zhao's gaze, Han Shi gave her a friendly nod.

Dou Zhao smiled in return.

As if to prove something, Dou Ming quickly linked arms with Han Shi and shot Dou Zhao a cold glance.

Dou Zhao pretended not to notice and instead turned her attention to Guo Shi and Cai Shi beside Han Shi.

Though Guo Shi was as slender and gentle as Dou Zhao remembered, her skin was now fair and smooth, her dark eyes as tender as a deer's—unlike the last time Dou Zhao had seen her, when she had looked sallow and listless, like a long-term invalid weighed down by an oppressive gloom.

Next year, that Bai Shi would enter the household.

Dou Zhao sighed inwardly, thinking of Ji Lingze.

Through the coming-of-age ceremony, Ji Lingze had reconnected with Dou Zhao. Dou Zhao had used the pretext of Second Madam inviting a Daoist Master from Dragon Tiger Mountain to perform divinations to secretly ask the master to cast a fortune for both herself and Ji Lingze. The master said Ji Lingze would face a critical juncture in the next two years. If she could overcome it, her path ahead would be smooth and prosperous. If not, she might suffer hardships in the latter half of her life. It would be best for her to avoid red colors, lively celebrations, and noisy gatherings, and instead live quietly, observing a vegetarian diet for two years.Her friendship with Ji Lingze was still too shallow to discuss such matters. When she sent the letter, she couldn’t help but shake her head with a bitter smile. Who would have thought that not long after, the Ji family would postpone the wedding with the Han family? Some time later, news spread that the young master of the Han family had fallen seriously ill. Dou Zhao sighed in relief, thinking Ji Lingze might end up a widow before marriage. Yet unexpectedly, the Ji and Han families quickly set a new wedding date, and Ji Lingze was married into the Han family in a "joy-bringing" ceremony to ward off illness. Three months later, the sixth young master of the Han family passed away.

When Dou Zhao heard the news, she stayed awake the entire night and wrote a letter to console Ji Lingze.

After that, the two frequently exchanged letters, but Ji Lingze never mentioned the circumstances of her rushed marriage. Out of respect, Dou Zhao never asked. Now that she had come to the Capital, she naturally intended to visit Ji Lingze—though she wasn’t sure whether her friend was staying with the Ji family or the Han family.

She quickly dismissed her thoughts and waited for Second Madam and the others to finish their greetings before stepping forward to curtsy to her father, Dou Shiying.

Dou Shiying, who hadn’t seen Dou Zhao in a long time, was visibly moved. He took her hand and eagerly asked whether her journey had been safe, what she usually did at home, and how Consort Cui was doing—his questions endless, like unbroken lotus roots. It was Dou Shiheng who finally interrupted with a laugh, “The child has just arrived. There’ll be time to talk later—Shou Gu isn’t going anywhere.” Yet he then turned to Shou Gu and asked, “Are you tired? Let your Sixth Aunt make you some pomelo tea to cool you down.” This drew laughter from everyone.

Dou Zhao promptly bowed to Dou Shiheng, cheerfully calling out, “Sixth Uncle!” Then she linked arms with Sixth Aunt and greeted Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang as “Eleventh Brother” and “Twelfth Brother.” Her manner, though slightly improper, was warm and affectionate, as if she were Ji Shi’s own daughter. This delighted Ji Shi, who wrapped an arm around Dou Zhao’s shoulders and said with a smile, “Don’t listen to your Sixth Uncle. Come and meet your Fifth Aunt.” With that, she led her to Fifth Madam.

Before Dou Zhao could speak, Fifth Madam had already taken her hand and said warmly, “Seeing you in person is even better than hearing about you. Our Fourth Miss is truly beautiful—no wonder you were raised under the care of the Madam.” The last remark was directed at Second Madam.

Second Madam chuckled, happily accepting her daughter-in-law’s flattery.

Dou Zhao smiled and curtsied.

Fifth Madam beckoned her two daughters-in-law and grandchildren forward. “Come meet your Fourth Sister.”

Guo Shi and Cai Shi, along with their children, greeted Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao signaled Su Xin to bring out the gifts she had prepared in advance, presenting them to her nieces and nephews.

Guo Shi, seeing that Dou Zhao had given her daughter a pair of small gold ruyi bracelets, felt they were too extravagant and repeatedly thanked her in embarrassment. Cai Shi, however, carefully examined the jade pendants Dou Zhao had given her two sons before smiling and expressing her thanks.

Cai Shi was just as calculating as she had been in Dou Zhao’s past life.

Dou Zhao curled her lip inwardly, then stepped forward to bow to Dou Shishu.

Dou Shishu smiled faintly and said, “The last time I saw you, you were just a child. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown into a young lady. Time truly spares no one.” His tone was wistful.

Dou Zhao noticed that Dou Shishu had gained some weight, with a few silver strands now visible at his temples, and felt a pang of melancholy.

Ji Shi then introduced Dou Zhao to Han Shi.

Han Shi had already met her briefly before and knew that Dou Zhao was practically like an adopted daughter to Ji Shi. She treated Dou Zhao with a mix of respect and warmth, like a sister-in-law, which made a favorable impression.Dou Shiying scolded Dou Ming, "Your elder sister is here, and you don't even step forward to greet her?"

Dou Zhao had expected her to sulk or put on a cold face, but instead, Dou Ming cheerfully stepped forward and bowed to her, saying, "It's because I'm the youngest and lowest in seniority that I have to wait until last."

Everyone burst into laughter, making Dou Shiying appear somewhat coarse.

Fortunately, Dou Shiying had always doted on both his daughters. He smiled helplessly and reprimanded her with the usual platitudes like "be obedient," before everyone escorted Second Madam to the main house.

Dou Zhao was settled in the west wing.

Su Lan, along with the young maids, attended to Dou Zhao's washing and dressing, while Su Xin directed the married women to arrange Dou Zhao's personal belongings brought from Zhen Ding.

The young maids and old women assigned by Fifth Madam to serve here couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement, whispering among themselves, "This Fourth Miss from Zhen Ding certainly puts on quite a show."

One young maid said, "What's so special about this? I heard Fifth Miss's display is even grander. Besides the usual attendants, she has seven or eight guards, two laundry women, two kitchen women, and four needlework maids... Seventh Master is the wealthiest among all the masters."

Another young maid did a quick calculation and said, "Fourth Miss only brought four guards, four maids, and two old women for rough work. Indeed, it's not as grand as Fifth Miss's."

Guo Shi, who had come to invite Dou Zhao to dinner, overheard and scolded, "What nonsense are you all talking about here? Go and lend a hand!"

The young maids scattered in a flurry.

Hearing the commotion, Su Xin hurried forward, respectfully curtsied, and addressed her as "Sixth Young Madam."

Guo Shi, always gentle and kind, asked softly, "Has Fourth Sister finished washing up?"

Su Xin ushered Guo Shi into the reception hall, smilingly invited her to sit, but before tea could be served, Dou Zhao emerged, freshly washed and dressed.

Guo Shi quickly stood up and said, "Fourth Sister, Second Madam has already arrived. We're just waiting for you before we can start the banquet."

Dou Zhao thanked her with a smile and accompanied Guo Shi to the reception hall where the meal was set.

Meanwhile, Song Mo sat cross-legged on the meditation chair in the study of the Hall of Cultivating Will, eyes closed as if in deep thought, listening to Gu Yu and his steward Qiao An settle accounts: "...By then, the fifty thousand taels from the Ministry of Revenue will have arrived. Money isn't the issue, but isn't monopolizing like this too risky?"

Qiao An seemed worried.

Gu Yu sneered, "What monopoly? Compared to Shen Qing, we're far behind. He wouldn't even pay for hired laborers, making the nearby military garrisons transport stone materials for him. We even have to personally entertain those officials from the Ministry of Works with courtesans." At this point, he couldn't help but complain, "Wang Qinghuai is too cautious. In my opinion, we're in this business with no capital. No matter how polite you are, without connections, people won't take you seriously. And no matter how impolite you are, with connections, they can only endure..."

Before he could finish, Song Mo suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "How much money does the Wei Family have with us?"

Gu Yu was startled but quickly composed himself and replied, "About twenty thousand taels."

Song Mo then asked, "How much have we settled with them?"Gu Yu curled her lips and said, "Zhang Yuanming's wife is quite ambitious. During the first settlement, I followed your instructions and returned their principal to her. Who would have thought she would send it back, saying it should be counted as capital shares... I figured it wasn't much, and at worst I could allocate some from my own share to her, so I didn't mention it to you. These twenty thousand taels include the Wei Family's principal of three thousand taels."

Song Mo nodded indifferently and said, "Withhold all this silver. I'll tell you when to give it to them, and only then will you settle the accounts."

Gu Yu's mouth fell open in surprise. After a long pause, she loudly exclaimed, "Got it!" Her voice couldn't conceal her delight.

Song Mo lowered his head and took a sip of tea, recalling what Master Yan had told him about the incident at Daxiang Temple when he returned that day.