Blossom

Uncle and Grandfather had a conversation, but Dou Zhao had no idea what was said. However, when her uncle returned, his expression was extremely grim.

"Ruifu," Aunt greeted him anxiously, "what did your in-law say?"

"What decent words could he possibly say!" Uncle sneered, his gaze flickering toward the heated kang. There, he saw Dou Zhao sitting at the far end, holding a fluffy ball, her bright eyes like morning stars fixed on him with curiosity. His heart ached, remembering that Dou Duo was her grandfather and Dou Shiying her father. The bitter words on his tongue were swallowed back. Worried his expression might frighten her, he forced a smile and asked his wife gently, "Have the children had lunch yet?"

"They’ve all eaten," Aunt replied, following his gaze to Dou Zhao. Her eyes immediately welled up. "This child... it’s as if she knows her mother is gone. She doesn’t cry or fuss, eats whatever I feed her... She used to be so picky, refusing this and that... Who knows how much hardship she’ll face from now on?"

Uncle lowered his head sorrowfully. "I wanted to discuss this with you..."

"Go ahead," Aunt said, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "When I married into this family, Gu Qiu was only five... On our wedding night, she insisted on sleeping with me, saying she liked me as her sister... I raised her until she was sixteen, then personally sent her off to the Dou family with her dowry. She was my sister-in-law, but she felt more like my own daughter... You don’t need to discuss her affairs with me. Whatever you decide, I won’t say a word against it."

"Xiao'e!" Uncle squeezed her hand gratefully. "You’ve worked so hard all these years."

"We’re husband and wife," Aunt murmured, her ears reddening. "No need for such words." She sat on the kang, a little embarrassed, and lifted Dou Zhao onto her lap, coaxing her, "Your cousins have all gone for their nap. Why don’t you sleep too? If you nap now, you’ll have energy to play with them later. Wouldn’t you like that?"

Dou Zhao had been waiting for her uncle’s return. Now that he had something to say to Aunt, she knew feigning sleep would let them speak more freely. She nodded slightly and yawned.

Aunt helped her out of her outer jacket, wrapped her in a quilt, and cradled her gently, patting her back. Then she called her personal maid to pour Uncle some tea and instructed her, "The master and I have matters to discuss. Keep watch outside."

The maid obeyed and left.

Uncle and Aunt sat side by side on the kang. "I want to bring Shou Gu to live with us permanently," he said.

Dou Zhao’s ears twitched beneath her closed eyes.

Aunt raised no objections. "Shou Gu’s arrival would be perfect—she can keep Zhang Ru company."

A flicker of relief crossed Uncle’s eyes. After a thoughtful pause, he asked, "You mentioned before that Shou Gu was betrothed to the son of Sister Tian’s family. Was there a token?"

"Yes," Aunt replied, still patting Dou Zhao. "A mutton-fat jade bracelet from Sister Tian’s dowry."

"Gu Qiu just passed—the Dou family likely hasn’t had time to sort through her belongings yet," Uncle said quietly. "Her things were always managed by Yu Momo. Send a trusted maid to discreetly retrieve the betrothal token from her."

Though surprised, Aunt asked no questions. She summoned a maid and relayed the instructions.The uncle explained, "Now that Gu Qiu is gone, and Shou Gu's engagement with the Wei Family hasn't been formally settled, I fear there might be some complications later. That Dou Shiying is such a fool—if women glance at him a few times, he loses all sense of direction..." Speaking of Father, the uncle grew agitated. "He doesn't even know his own worth. Expecting him to stand up for Shou Gu is like hoping for his early death! At least if he dies, we can rightfully intervene in Shou Gu's affairs..."

"Keep your voice down!" Aunt hurriedly said. "You might wake the child."

The uncle leaned over to glance at Dou Zhao, relieved to see her eyes closed, and his tone softened. "If Shou Gu can find a good match in the future, then let's not bring this up again. But if no suitable one comes along, with this token in hand, the Wei Family won't find it easy to back out."

Dou Zhao's eyes stung.

With her mother gone, she had become a "fatherless daughter"—someone without proper upbringing. No respectable family would want such a girl as their daughter-in-law.

Her uncle had thought of everything for her...

Suddenly, she remembered.

When her mother and mother-in-law exchanged tokens, she had thought it was a dream and paid no attention. In truth, in her previous life, she had never seen any token before her wedding. It was only on her wedding night that Wei Tingyu showed her a jade pendant and a pair of bracelets, claiming they were the betrothal tokens exchanged between the two families. She had assumed Father had given them to the Weis.

Could it be that in her past life, the jade bracelets had been in her uncle's possession?

Her heart began to race.

Her uncle's voice, tinged with guilt, reached her ears: "Xiao'e, apart from the thirty mu of sacrificial land, I'm thinking of... selling the rest of our ancestral property!"

"What?!" Aunt gasped. "Why... why sell the ancestral property?"

Dou Zhao was equally shocked, peeking at her uncle through half-closed eyes.

Her uncle lowered his gaze and said softly, "Xiao'e, you were once a delicate young lady who never lifted a finger. But since marrying me, you've had to care for my bedridden mother, raise my young sister, bear and raise our children, manage the household, and even inspect the fields during busy seasons... Everything, inside and out, has fallen on you... I remember it all... I had hoped to study hard, earn a Presented Scholar title, and win you a Rosy Cape so you could hold your head high for once... But with what happened to Gu Qiu, I can't pursue my own ambitions at the expense of my only sister... 'No Grand Secretariat without the Hanlin, no Hanlin without the Presented Scholar'... I've failed you..."

"No, no," Aunt said urgently, her eyes reddening. "You've treated me well. I know. After I gave birth to Zhang Ru, my mother feared you might resent me and specially sent someone to buy a beautiful young girl from Jiangnan for you. But you said we couldn't afford to keep her and refused outright..."

The uncle looked flustered, as if caught in a lie, and insisted stubbornly, "We really couldn't afford it!"

Aunt laughed warmly, meekly agreeing, "Yes, we couldn't afford it." But tears streamed down her face.

Dou Zhao's tears nearly fell too.

Her elegant and refined uncle stood beside his middle-aged, plump aunt, looking less like husband and wife and more like siblings—with her appearing at least five years older.

Yet her uncle had never forgotten his roots, always remembering Aunt's kindness and never willing to hurt her.“What’s the point of saying such things! Biru and the others are still my flesh and blood, no matter what.” Uncle said awkwardly, tossing a handkerchief to Aunt. “Wipe your tears quickly.”

Aunt smiled while drying her eyes.

Uncle continued, “I’m thinking of going to the capital to make some arrangements and try to secure an official post. When the time comes, we’ll take Shou Gu with us to my assignment.” His tone grew bitter as he spoke. “But I’ve done the calculations—even if we sell the few ancestral acres of land, it still won’t be enough… Could you—” His voice gradually lowered, his face flushing with shame as he avoided Aunt’s gaze, “lend me your dowry… I’ll pay you back as soon as I have the means…”

“What nonsense are you saying!” Aunt chided. “What’s mine is yours! When my parents gave me such a generous dowry, wasn’t it for our happiness? As long as we’re well, the dowry serves its purpose. Why shouldn’t we use it? If you didn’t come to me for something this important, I’d think you didn’t trust me!”

Dou Zhao burst into tears.

“Shou Gu, Shou Gu, what’s wrong?” Aunt panicked, lifting her into her arms. “What happened? What’s the matter?”

Dou Zhao buried her face in Aunt’s shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably.

In her past life, after her mother’s death, Uncle had been powerless against the Dou family. Swallowing his grief, he had gone to take the Metropolitan Examination, then used Aunt’s dowry to secure an official post, intending to take her with him. But she had bitten Aunt in front of the Dou family and screamed that she wouldn’t go with her… Uncle had already wronged Aunt for the sake of his sister. If he secured a post but didn’t take office, he would lose his position, further betraying Aunt, who had sacrificed so much for him. Besides, the Zhao family’s properties had all been sold—they had no choice but to leave.

Who was it?

Who had incited her to bite Aunt?

Though she had lost her mother, her father and grandfather were still alive. If she had vehemently refused to go to Uncle’s house, he would have been helpless.

And in that situation, her resistance would have been like a slap in the face to Uncle and Aunt!

Dou Zhao straightened up, her tears stopping. Her little face, still wet with tears, was filled with determination.

She would find out who was behind this!

※※※※※

Uncle obtained the mutton-fat jade bracelet without any trouble and handed it to Aunt for safekeeping. “…After Gu Qiu’s seventh-week memorial, I’ll set off. You handle things at home. Once I send word, use the excuse of having Shou Gu stay with us for a few days, then take her with you to my post. When she comes of age, we’ll send her back to the Dou family for marriage.” He added, “Don’t mention anything to your mother and brother yet. Visit them before we leave, and once we’re settled, we’ll write to apologize to the elders.”

Aunt didn’t hesitate. “I’ll start arranging things at home these next few days.”

A maid outside the door coughed loudly and announced, “Third Master, Sixth Master!”

Aunt whispered, “Go attend to your duties. I’ll take good care of Shou Gu.”

Uncle nodded slightly and lifted the curtain to leave.

Aunt combed Dou Zhao’s hair and smiled. “Shou Gu, how about coming to live with Aunt from now on?”

Her expression was relaxed, her tone cheerful. It was clear she not only held no resentment toward Uncle’s plans but was even happy about them.

Aunt was such a good woman!

Dou Zhao’s eyes curved into crescents, her smile sweet as candy.

Aunt planted a kiss on her cheek.Zhao Zhangru came running in with a patter of footsteps: "Shou Gu, Shou Gu, I found an ant nest under the osmanthus tree in your yard. Let's go watch the ants carrying things!"

Zhao Biru entered steadily and stopped her younger sister: "Auntie is no longer here. Don't run around like this. Shou Gu still needs to go offer incense at the memorial hall."

Zhao Zhangru didn't understand these matters and blinked her big eyes as she asked her mother: "Where did Auntie go?"

Aunt stroked her daughter's head and said somewhat sadly: "Auntie has gone to the South Sea."

"Oh!" Zhao Zhangru nodded in understanding. "So Auntie went to see the Bodhisattva."

Zhao Biru turned her face away.

Aunt set Dou Zhao down on the ground and gently instructed her: "Go play in the courtyard with your sisters for a while!"

"Hurry, hurry!" Zhao Zhangru grabbed Dou Zhao's hand and ran outside.

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I didn't manage my time well today and came back late. My sincere apologies.

With relatives gathered at home, I can only correct typos tomorrow.

O(∩_∩)O~

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