The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Gu Yu left the Duke of England's Mansion and instructed the coachman, "To Jing'an Temple Alley!" before leaping into the carriage.
The coachman didn't dare delay, speeding along the way, and in less than half a shichen (ancient Chinese time unit, approximately 2 hours), they arrived at the entrance of Jing'an Temple Alley.
Gu Yu jumped off the carriage and saw a vendor selling douhua (tofu pudding) at the alley's entrance. Since it was still early, only two or three laborers were seated there.
He sent his attendants away into Jing'an Temple Alley, found a relatively clean stool to sit on, ordered a bowl of douhua, and began eating leisurely.
Soon, the douhua stall became lively.
The stall owner, while busy, found time to greet two women standing in front of the stall drinking douhua: "Sister Liu, why are you and Sister Wang going to sell vegetables together today? Do you have guests at home?"
"Yes!" one of the women, wearing a lilac-colored sleeveless jacket, replied with a smile. "Today, our mansion is inviting the woman of complete blessings, and we're preparing several tables of feasts."
According to custom, when a family was marrying off a daughter or welcoming a bride, they would invite helpers like the woman of complete blessings and the hairdresser a few days in advance for a meal to show respect.
The stall owner, hands busy, chatted with the woman: "Your fifth young lady's wedding was truly lively! I heard the wife of an Imperial Academy scholar was invited as the woman of complete blessings. I wonder who will be invited for the fourth young lady's wedding this time?"
"Naturally, it will also be the wife of an Imperial Academy scholar," the woman replied with a smile. "But this time, it's the wife of Official Zhao—Official Zhao and our master passed the imperial examinations in the same year."
"Rich families are different," someone nearby chimed in. "Marrying off two daughters within a month must cost at least forty to fifty thousand taels of silver, right?"
The two women smiled without answering.
Someone else egged them on: "Sister Liu, tell us! I heard that Master Dou donated a thousand taels of silver as incense money to Jing'an Temple for his daughter's wedding this time, is that true?"
The woman laughed. "How would I know? I'm just a kitchen servant. For such matters, you'd have to ask our mansion's steward."
Another person asked, "Why haven't we seen your Chief Steward Gao lately?"
The woman replied, "I greeted Chief Steward Gao before I left…"
Gu Yu tossed a piece of broken silver and quietly left the douhua stall. He found his carriage at the side gate of Jing'an Temple Alley, immediately stripped the coachman of his clothes, and said, "Let me wear these for a while." Ignoring the coachman's embarrassment as he sat on the carriage shaft in only thin undergarments, Gu Yu headed straight for the back gate of the Dou residence. With the help of two close bodyguards, he climbed into the Dou family's rear courtyard and quickly located the eastern chamber where Dou Zhao was resting.
Dou Zhao had barely slept all night, only closing her eyes as dawn approached. Now, she was catching up on sleep, and not just in her chamber—the maids and old women in the entire upper quarters tiptoed around, not daring to make a sound.
Gu Yu took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.
9:45 a.m.
Still not awake at this hour. Clearly, she was lazy and indulgent!
Gu Yu snorted coldly, tucked the watch back into his pocket, and continued standing motionless behind the pomegranate tree at the back of the chamber.
As the sun rose, movement began in the eastern chamber.
Su Xin brought a bowl of bird's nest porridge and served it to Dou Zhao, then helped her tidy her clothes and bedding with a smile. "Would you like to sleep a little longer? There's still over an hour until lunch."
Dou Zhao, restless as if sitting on pins and needles, couldn't possibly sleep. She instructed Su Xin, "Go and summon Chief Steward Gao. I have something to ask him."Su Xin responded promptly and went to fetch Gaosheng.
Dou Zhao asked him, "Father has always known he's not adept at managing mundane affairs. These matters are usually entrusted to Third Uncle or handed over to you. That Risheng Silver House is unheard of—no one has ever heard of it. Even if Father wanted to quietly send me something, he could have easily justified it by saying it was for gilding a Buddha statue at the temple and moved the funds through the accounts. Why would he think of investing in Risheng Silver House? Why didn’t you advise him against it?"
Gaoxing lowered his eyes and smiled deferentially. "The manager of Risheng Silver House, Zhang Zhiqi, approached the master repeatedly. The master said he seemed like a capable man. Besides, he came through Master Yan’s connections. Out of respect for Master Yan, we had to give him some silver to send him away. Coincidentally, this happened around the time of your affairs, miss. So the master invested a large sum. However, Manager Zhang also swore to the master that within three to five years, he would surely establish Risheng Silver House. While he couldn’t promise full returns on the investment, he guaranteed the master wouldn’t lose his capital."
Dou Zhao detected Gaoxing’s approving tone. Considering this man had risen from humble origins and dared to stake his life against Liao Wang, he was clearly a formidable figure. It was no surprise he could win over her father and Gaoxing.
She said to Gaoxing, "The other two shareholders of Risheng Silver House are Father’s colleagues. If word gets out that Father invested fifty thousand taels at once, it would attract unwanted attention. Others might come knocking, asking Father to invest in their ventures. Today, it’s hard to refuse Master Guo; tomorrow, it’ll be Master Zhao. Refusing them would only create enemies. Although our family has fifty thousand taels, I doubt Father handed over that much silver directly to Manager Zhang. Most likely, it was guaranteed by a silver house and paid with silver notes." Here, she glanced at Gaoxing.
Gaoxing hurriedly replied, "You’re most astute, miss. It was Tongde Bank, which often deals with our family, that guaranteed the funds, with the agreement that the silver would be transferred within fifteen days. Originally, the master intended to inform you after the Risheng Silver House matter was settled. But he ended up telling you as soon as he received the investment contract..."
Dou Zhao broke into a cold sweat.
Had her father not been slightly drunk today, had she not unusually raised her voice, he might have kept this to himself, secretly pleased, and only told her after the silver had been transferred to Risheng Silver House’s accounts.
She said, "Then inform Tongde Bank to hold off on transferring the silver to Risheng Silver House for now. After that, explain to Manager Zhang that our family has had two joyous occasions in a row, and both sons-in-law come from illustrious backgrounds. The expenses for such events cannot be spared, and we’re currently short on funds. We’ll only know by year-end whether we can spare any silver for him next spring. Make it clear to him: the Dou family’s public funds allocate only two thousand taels for a daughter’s dowry. Both mine and Dou Ming’s dowries came from Father’s private savings. Although the Dou family is wealthy, the money is held in the public coffers. If Father wants to use funds under his name, he must go through Third Uncle."
If Zhang Zhiqi had merely stumbled upon her father by chance and encountered someone who could casually invest fifty thousand taels without a second thought, he would surely send people repeatedly to persuade Father to invest more. But if this was a calculated move, his goal was likely to help Liao Wang forge connections with officials. If Father couldn’t provide the silver, Zhang would seize the opportunity to bring in more shareholders.
By then, she could discern Zhang Zhiqi’s true intentions.
Gaoxing didn’t question her.Many masters and young lords paid no attention to household affairs and had no idea how much money was actually available at home. It was quite common for them to impulsively incur large debts outside that the family couldn’t immediately cover. He simply felt that Dou Zhao was squandering Dou Shiying’s goodwill and hesitated somewhat.
Dou Zhao, however, was worried that Dou Shiying might insist on investing in Risheng Silver House out of obligation. She said, “Don’t mention this to my father for now. I want to investigate what’s really going on with Risheng Silver House first. If the people from Risheng Silver House think you’re deliberately making things difficult for them, say nothing and bring them directly to me. I’ll handle them.” Then it occurred to her that Gaoxing (Happy) was most loyal to her father and would follow his orders without question, so she added, “At the end of the year, when officials from the provinces come to the Capital to report, Cui Shisan has secured a major client who agreed to borrow thirty thousand taels of silver this year, to be repaid in March at ten percent interest. Lend me that sum for now.”
She knew Gaoxing would immediately report this to her father, and since her father had always been indulgent toward his daughters, he wouldn’t scold them. Instead, he might even ask if she was short on funds and send her more money.
Gaoxing was well aware of this too and responded with a smile.
Dou Zhao repeatedly reminded Gaoxing, “If anyone from Risheng Silver House comes to plead with you, you must tell me.”
Only after Gaoxing repeatedly assured her did he withdraw.
Gu Yu, who had been eavesdropping by the window, was furious.
This woman not only meddled in household affairs behind her father’s back but also engaged in loan sharking—utterly audacious and greedy.
How could Tianxi-ge marry such a woman?
No, he had to tell Tianxi-ge about this!
No wonder Uncle Song was in such a hurry to arrange this marriage.
He had originally thought that if the woman was decent-looking, her dull personality wouldn’t matter much—once she bore a son, he could help keep an eye on things. But now it seemed she was nothing but trouble!
Thirty thousand taels of silver—she spoke of it as casually as if it were thirty taels, completely oblivious to the value of money. How could someone like her manage household affairs?
Without even bothering to see what Dou Zhao looked like, Gu Yu turned and left the upper courtyard, rushing straight to the Duke of Yingguo’s mansion.
But Song Mo had been summoned to the palace.
Gu Yu was so agitated he nearly jumped out of his skin and wanted to go to the palace to find Song Mo.
Chen He, however, pulled him aside and whispered, “The Young Lord was summoned by Eunuch Lü from the Empress’s side.”
Had the Emperor fallen ill again?
Gu Yu was afraid of running into Princess Jingyi in the palace, who might weep endlessly and drag him into trouble with his aunt.
After some thought, he went to the Yan’an Marquis’s residence instead.
Wang Qinghuai was discussing the wedding invitation from the Song family with his father when he heard Gu Yu had arrived. He quickly welcomed Gu Yu into the study.
The moment Gu Yu saw the invitation, he said, “So you know about this too?”
Wang Qinghuai nodded, pouring tea for Gu Yu himself, and said with a smile, “From your tone, it seems you only found out after receiving the invitation.” He then complained, “Yantang is really something—getting married without even telling us. I wanted to prepare a grand gift, but now there’s no time. I’ll probably just have to send more money.”
Gu Yu sneered, “Hold off on the money for now. I’ll talk to Tianxi-ge first.”Wang Qinghuai probed subtly, "What, doesn't Yantang know yet?"
How could Brother Tianci not know?
He just didn't realize what kind of person Fourth Miss Dou was.
"I went to find Brother Tianci, but he was summoned to the palace," Gu Yu said vaguely. "I haven't met him yet."
Wang Qinghuai nodded with a smile.
But he understood clearly in his heart.
This marriage was likely the Duke of Yingguo's idea—Song Mo had no knowledge of it at all.
He hadn't expected the rift between father and son to be so deep.
Good thing he hadn't married his sister into the Song family, or she might have been devoured without a trace.
He said cheerfully, "My sister is getting married on the fourth day of the ninth month. You and Yantang must come for the wedding feast!"
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