Blossom

Ji Yong felt that Dou Zhao was utterly infuriating.

How had she become like this?

She actually thought highly of someone like Wei Tingzhen!

Was she still the same Dou Zhao who dared to challenge him?

Disappointed and dejected, Ji Yong returned to Yuqiao Alley.

Old Master Ji, who was inscribing a poem on his painting in his study, suddenly paused his brush and looked up at Ji Fu, his attendant of several decades. "Has Jianming returned?"

Ji Fu, whose temples were now streaked with silver, was surprised and smiled. "I'll go check right away!"

Old Master Ji gave a hum of acknowledgment, finished the last line of his poem, examined it carefully for a moment, and then smiled in satisfaction.

Ji Fu returned with a smile. "Young Master Jianming is back. But something must have happened—he’s in a terrible mood, ignoring everyone, and has locked himself in his room to sulk!"

"Oh?" Old Master Ji raised his graying eyebrows and chuckled. "It seems the young lady from the Dou family has a mind of her own and wasn’t swayed by him."

"The Dou family is, after all, a scholarly household. Miss Dou the Fourth was raised with proper discipline—she ought to have some discernment," Ji Fu said, adding a few drops of water to the nearly dry inkstone in front of Old Master Ji and rolling up his sleeves to grind the ink. "Otherwise, why would you have agreed to form a marriage alliance with the Dou family in the first place?"

Old Master Ji shook his head. "Don’t you know? There are very few people who can avoid being led around by Jianming. This young lady from the Dou family is no ordinary girl."

Ji Fu laughed. "No matter how extraordinary, can she compare to Young Master Jianming, whom you personally taught?"

Old Master Ji was momentarily taken aback, then burst into laughter, pointing at Ji Fu. "You’ve been flattering me for decades—you should take a break now and then!"

Ji Fu grinned. "Look at you, always doubting me! I never flatter, yet you never believe me. What can I do?"

His earnest expression made Old Master Ji laugh heartily again.

Ji Fu then suggested, "It’s been years since you last praised anyone. Should we have the young mistress invite Madam Dou (the elder) over for a meal? Since Madam Dou has come to the Capital, it’s only proper that we extend our hospitality."

"You’re quite the schemer," Old Master Ji said, dipping his brush into the inkstone. "We’ll certainly send an invitation to Madam Dou. As for who else from the Dou family comes, we’ll leave that to them."

Ji Fu chuckled in agreement.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Cultivating Will, Song Mo frowned upon hearing that Ji Yong had stormed out of Huai Tree Alley in anger.

Dou Zhao and Ji Yong had just met and already parted on bad terms—it was almost certainly over the matter of Qianfo Temple Alley.

He ordered Du Wei, "Find out what exactly happened."

After lunch, Du Wei returned to report. "They argued over a young lady from the Ji family who married into the Han family—her maiden name was Lingze."

Song Mo was surprised.

How had a Han Ji Shi suddenly come into the picture?

As the thought crossed his mind, he heard Du Wei continue, "...At noon today, Miss Dou the Fourth went to the stationery shop under the Drum Tower."

Chen Qushui and Duan Gongyi must have accompanied her.

While Song Mo pondered this, Dou Zhao had already settled into the accountant’s office of the stationery shop.

Duan Gongyi stood guard at the door, while Chen Qushui discussed the matter of the Great Xiangguo Temple with her. "...Upon receiving the news, Wei Tingzhen immediately changed her tune and hurried back to the Jingguo Duke’s residence. The whole affair ended abruptly, without resolution.""I always wondered why Seventh Madam suddenly seemed to have gone mad, attacking me for no reason. Turns out she had already conspired with Wei Tingzhen—Wei Tingzhen would help Dou Ming secure a good marriage, while she would help the Wei Family find a reason to break off the engagement." Dou Zhao sneered. "So it was because of the incident at Qianfo Temple that Wei Tingzhen changed her mind at the last moment, causing Seventh Madam to take a nasty fall!"

Chen Qushui nodded regretfully. "If it weren't for Ji Yong suddenly appearing, this marriage would likely have been called off long ago!"

Indeed!

Ji Yong always acted so bluntly—a classic case of good intentions leading to trouble!

Dou Zhao gave a bitter smile and recounted her unpleasant parting with Ji Yong. "I just hope he won’t interfere anymore, or things will only get messier."

Hearing the implication in her words, Chen Qushui asked, "Does the young lady have a plan in mind?"

Dou Zhao nodded. "Wasn’t Madam Zheng, the wife of the Ministry of War’s Military Appointments Bureau official, tripped and dropped by Madam Xu Wang? She must be deeply resentful. If we could use her to spread the word about Wei Tingzhen’s scheme to 'lure' Seventh Madam into framing me..."

"Brilliant idea!" Chen Qushui’s eyes lit up before she could even finish. "This way, no matter what the elders think, the two families won’t be able to proceed with the marriage. And since the blame would fall on Wei Tingzhen, Seventh Madam, to save herself, would surely push Madam Zheng to keep Wei Tingzhen under fire."

Dou Zhao smiled in agreement. "Moreover, after suffering such a heavy blow, I’d naturally become disillusioned and refuse to marry again. By both sentiment and reason, the Dou family elders couldn’t force me, could they?"

"Excellent, excellent!" Chen Qushui clapped his hands.

Dou Zhao cautioned him, "This time, we must absolutely prevent Ji Yong and Song Mo from interfering—Ji Yong only does what he thinks is right, while Song Mo’s actions are always thunderous. I just want to break off the engagement, not cause a bloodbath."

Chen Qushui fully agreed. "Last time, I was careless. Seeing everything arranged, I returned to Zhen Ding. But with the young lady overseeing things this time and me personally handling it, we will surely succeed in calling off this marriage."

"Then I’ll trouble you to take extra care, Mr. Chen."

After a few more instructions, Dou Zhao noticed it was getting late and returned to Huai Shu Alley.

Dou Shiying was waiting for her there.

He was still in his official robes, clearly having come straight after leaving the yamen.

Dou Zhao personally brewed him a cup of tea.

Dou Shiying stared at her intently, as if trying to imprint her image firmly in his heart, making her deeply uncomfortable. She had no choice but to ask, "Father, did you need something?"

"Nothing in particular," Dou Shiying replied with a smile. "It’s just that we haven’t had a proper talk in days, so I came to see you." He then added, "I heard you went to the shop? How’s business? The Shuntian Prefecture School has been patronizing your stationery store—it seems Manager Fan has some real skill."

Dou Zhao silently thanked the heavens that all the Dou family’s assets were managed by Third Uncle.

She steered the conversation elsewhere, bringing up the Wei-Dou marriage. "...I feel things aren’t going smoothly. Perhaps you could consult a master to select a few auspicious dates for the wedding."

Delaying the wedding date would be more advantageous for her plans.Dou Shiying frowned upon hearing this and said, "Have you heard something? Don’t worry, I will handle this matter for you. As for Wang Shi, I certainly won’t let her off lightly this time. What she did was too excessive!"

"Father, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions," Dou Zhao replied. "You should at least hear what Seventh Madam has to say. Perhaps it’s all just a misunderstanding?"

She still needed Wang Yingxue to deal with Wei Tingzhen!

If something happened to Wang Yingxue, wouldn’t her plans be disrupted again?

"There’s no need for you to speak up for her," Dou Shiying said with visible anger. "What happened in the past was my fault. Since she refused to return to her parents' home, it was only right for me to compensate her financially. But this matter… it’s truly disheartening…"

Faced with her father’s untimely reactions, Dou Zhao felt both exasperated and amused.

She quickly added, "Father, have you considered that Seventh Madam has been in charge for quite some time now? I’m in Zhen Ding, while she’s in the Capital. We’ve kept to our own affairs without interfering in each other’s business. Moreover, I’m about to get married, and after that, I’ll hardly return home more than a couple of times a year. What benefit would she gain from doing this?"

Dou Shiying was momentarily stunned.

Dou Zhao softened her voice. "Don’t always take rumors at face value. Why not have a proper talk with Seventh Madam and find out who really prompted her to act this way? Dou Ming is no longer a child—you must leave some dignity for her."

She remembered. In her past life, Gao Mingzhu had encountered trouble around this time. By the following spring, Wang Xingyi had chosen Liu Qingzhuo, a young Recommended Man from a humble background, as Dou Ming’s husband. Four years later, Liu Qingzhuo passed the imperial examinations and became a Presented Scholar. Despite his exceptional talent, upright character, and unwavering respect for Dou Ming, she remained indifferent and even provoked Liu’s widowed mother, who had raised him with great effort. Liu Qingzhuo was deeply tormented by this. Before her rebirth, he had been on the verge of divorcing her.

However, back then, Wang Xingyi had already risen to the rank of Grand Academician in the Grand Secretariat. In this life, he was merely the governor of Yunnan. She wondered if he would even have the chance to learn of Liu Qingzhuo’s existence, let whether Liu could still become Dou Ming’s husband.

Taking Dou Zhao’s hint, Dou Shiying began to ponder seriously. "All these years, she’s hardly stepped beyond the second gate… Yet this year, she claimed to have received an invitation from the wife of the heir to the Duke of Jing’s household to attend a Buddhist lecture at the Great Xiangguo Temple…" As he spoke, he thought of Wei Tingzhen, then recalled how the Wei Family had treated Dou Zhao before. His expression suddenly darkened as a suspicion formed in his mind—could it be Wei Tingzhen…?

He could no longer sit still. After exchanging a few absent-minded words with Dou Zhao, he stood up and excused himself.

Dou Zhao sighed in relief, silently praying that Ji Yong and Song Mo wouldn’t add to the chaos.

The following days passed peacefully as she accompanied the Dowager on tours around the Capital.

However, Dou Ming suddenly stormed in, pointing at Dou Zhao and shouting, "What did you say to Father? He’s going to divorce Mother! Are you happy now?"

Su Xin let out a cold hum.

A flicker of fear flashed in Dou Zhao’s eyes, but she quickly masked it with an even more haughty demeanor. "Don’t forget—you’re about to get married too. If your stepmother is divorced because of you, you’ll lose face as well. Let’s see if the Wei Family still acknowledges you as their daughter-in-law then!"

Marriages were meant to forge alliances between families. At the Dou family’s level, outright divorce was unthinkable—the most likely outcome would be confining the offending party to a nunnery.Dou Zhao didn't believe Dou Ming's words at all, but she still went to see Second Madam and recounted Dou Ming's words truthfully. With grievance in her voice, she said, "I've only been here for a few days and don't even know which way the gate of Jing'an Temple Alley faces, yet this matter is being pinned on me. I won't stand for such unfair treatment. Could you arrange for someone to escort me back to Zhen Ding? I'll just get married directly from Zhen Ding."

"Such talk from a young girl—what's all this about 'getting married'?" Second Madam scolded her affectionately. "This matter will be decided by the elders. A young girl like you shouldn't speak like this again, understand?"

Dou Zhao responded softly in agreement.

Second Madam then summoned Dou Ming.