Blossom

Wang Yingxue, seeing her daughter's dismissive attitude, admonished her, "Why don't you use your brain a little? The Duke of England's Mansion will treat Dou Zhao based on the ceremony they use to welcome her—a daughter valued by her in-laws can support her natal family in crucial times; a daughter not valued by her in-laws will only have her natal family helping the in-laws, never the other way around.

"Marriage is meant to unite two families. If you can't maintain this bond, why would your natal family help you?

"Your sister-in-law is so formidable. Less than a month after you entered the household, she urged your mother-in-law to have you manage the household, yet there's hardly any money in the accounts. Clearly, she's scheming to exploit your dowry. Without your natal family's support, can you outmaneuver your sister-in-law? Are you just going to admit defeat and let her have her way?"

Dou Ming couldn't help but ask, "Then what do you suggest I do?"

She had come to her mother precisely for advice on this matter.

"I'm under house arrest now, aren't I?" Wang Yingxue sneered. "Go find your Fifth Aunt, and in front of all the relatives, pretend you know nothing and ask her what to do."

"But what if she tells me to take over managing the household?" Dou Ming was taken aback. "They only care about their reputation, not whether I fare well."

Wang Yingxue's greatest hope now was to pull her daughter, who had been brainwashed by the Dou family and grown distant from her, back to her side.

Otherwise, she truly would have no chance to rise again!

"Don't be foolish!" Wang Yingxue said. "Just do as your Fifth Aunt says! But remember, you must frequently visit Huai Tree Lane to seek her advice on household management. Wear the same few outfits repeatedly when you go, and act timid when dealing with servants..."

Dou Ming was clever and understood immediately.

She fell into thoughtful silence.

A glimmer of relief flashed in Wang Yingxue's eyes.

Soon after, the little maid returned with news.

Her parrot-like repetition of the events made Wang Yingxue and Dou Ming's expressions darken.

"What did you say?" Wang Yingxue even stood up in shock. "The Marquis wants to call Fourth Brother-in-law 'elder brother'?"

The little maid was somewhat dull—otherwise, she wouldn't have been assigned to serve Wang Yingxue.

She nodded earnestly. "That's what that Sir Shen said. He also said the Marquis was unlucky to meet Fourth Brother-in-law, otherwise he could have insisted on separate terms. The master laughed when he heard it, and so did his colleagues..."

Wang Yingxue's heart felt as if it had been doused in oil.

"Idiot!" She glared fiercely at the little maid. "Who told you to report in such detail?"

The maid lowered her head in grievance.

Didn't you tell me to recount everything I saw and heard in full detail?

Dou Ming also grew restless.

She asked the maid, "What did the Marquis say when Sir Shen spoke like that?"

The maid whispered, "The Marquis didn't say anything."

In other words, Wei Tingyu had acquiesced.

Mother and daughter fell silent, their faces grim.Seeing the situation, Hu Momo tried to smooth things over with a smile, "You silly girl, talking nonsense! When the Fourth Miss Dou's groom comes to fetch the bride, aside from his younger brother and cousin, the rest are either heirs of noble families or deputy generals? It's not like selling cabbages where you can just pick one at random. Where would so many heirs and deputy generals come from? Did you mishear?"

But the little maid didn’t seem to grasp Hu Momo’s meaning and hurriedly defended herself, "It wasn’t me who said it! It was the Marquis who introduced them to the master that way. And they were either dressed in flying fish robes or python robes—so imposing! Everyone along the way was stealing glances! Sister Xiaohong even said that anyone who dares to wear those robes falsely would be beheaded. So it must all be true!"

Wang Yingxue and Dou Ming’s faces darkened as if rain could drip from them.

Hu Momo couldn’t hold back anymore and scolded the little maid, "If you don’t speak, no one will think you’re mute!"

The little maid was so frightened she didn’t know what to do with her hands and feet.

Dou Ming suddenly found it all tiresome and waved the maid away, "You may leave."

The little maid fled as if granted a pardon.

Wang Yingxue also recovered from the shock and asked Dou Ming, "How could the heir’s status be more illustrious than the Marquis’s?"

Dou Ming couldn’t help but retort, "Since you’ve married me into the Marquis of Jining’s Mansion, didn’t you bother to find out how things really stand?"

Wang Yingxue looked somewhat uncomfortable and said, "I never imagined your sister would marry some heir. Given her circumstances, at best she’d marry some poor scholar’s family. Who knows, your father might even get a whim and keep her at home to take in a son-in-law..."

Dou Ming was left speechless with frustration.

She had no choice but to explain the hierarchy of noble families to Wang Yingxue.

Wang Yingxue was dumbfounded, "So, they all rely entirely on the Emperor’s favor to get by?"

Dou Ming nodded, "That’s why everyone participates in the Autumn Hunt, hoping to make a name for themselves and gain the Emperor’s favor. Then they can rise swiftly in their careers!"

Wang Yingxue immediately perked up, "It’s just like scholars taking the imperial exams. Since there’s a path to advancement, there’s nothing to fear! The Marquis is excellent in archery and horsemanship. At worst, we can ask your Fifth Uncle to find a way to get the Marquis noticed by the Emperor and secure a position." Here, she urged her daughter again, "You must visit Huai Tree Lane more often. Especially your Tenth Sister-in-law Cai Shi—her family is so greedy, which shows she’s no good either. You might as well start with her."

Dou Ming nodded, "That’s exactly what I was thinking!"

Meanwhile, her tenth cousin Dou Jichang was in the Reception Hall drinking with the Song family’s bridal urging party.

Handsome, refined, and witty, he easily won the favor of Wang Qinghuai and the others.

Ma Youming chuckled and said to Zhang Xuming beside him, "The Dou family members are all good-looking. That Fourth Miss Dou must be quite a beauty! Yantang is a lucky man."

Zhang Xuming laughed but said nothing.

Gu Yu, who had been eavesdropping, thought to himself:

What’s the use of being pretty?

This Fourth Miss Dou is formidable!

She even dares to lend usurious loans!

Who knows how she’ll bring misfortune to Tianci-ge in the future?

Lu Zhan, standing nearby, smiled and remarked, "Fourth Miss Dou must be quite lovely—back when Grand Secretary Dou was in charge of personnel selection at the Ministry of Personnel, they praised him as ‘majestic and handsome in bearing’!"No sooner had he finished speaking than Shen Qing, sitting across from him, let out an exclamation: "The Dou family actually served bird's nest with lily, shark fin with minced chicken, and braised bear paw..."

The faces of the Song family members who had come for the Bridal Urging turned as dark as a pot's bottom.

Meanwhile, Dou Jichang and the others wore bright smiles.

Dong Qi, however, squirmed as if sitting on pins and needles.

He thought to himself that in all his years, he had never been so humiliated. What was the big deal about a few rare delicacies? Why make such a fuss?

He wished he could slap Shen Qing—this nouveau riche—right across the face and couldn't help but glare at him fiercely.

As soon as Shen Qing spoke, he realized his mistake. Seeing everyone's expressions, he shrank back and muttered in a small voice, "It's not that I've never eaten them before. I just didn’t expect the Dou family to go all out for their daughter’s dowry..."

The more he tried to explain, the worse it sounded!

Wang Qinghuai quickly smiled at Dou Jichang and said, "Few families these days serve such an authentic 'Bird’s Nest and Shark Fin Banquet'!"

Dou Jichang replied with graceful composure, "We hired chefs from the Drunken Immortal Tower. I’m not sure how well they’ve done—everyone, please taste and see if it’s any different from usual. If it’s not up to par, we’ll have a good excuse to dock their pay!"

Wang Qinghuai, Ma Youming, and the others burst into laughter, smoothly moving past the awkward moment.

Still, Shen Qing’s blunder had dampened the mood, and during the Bridal Urging, they restrained themselves somewhat.

※※※※※

At the hour of You in the afternoon, Dou Zhao’s dowry procession left the gates of the Dou family.

The first item carried was a foot-tall sandalwood carving of the Three Star Gods—Longevity, Prosperity, and Happiness. Following that were various gold, silver, and pewter utensils, along with damasks and brocades. From large camphorwood carved chests down to small combs made of boxwood, mottled bamboo, and Sichuan bamboo—everything was accounted for. For someone like Wang Qinghuai, born into wealth, none of this was particularly surprising.

What was surprising, however, was one particular item in the procession: two boxes filled to the brim with silver notes, each weighed down by a pair of foot-long golden Ganoderma lucidum ruyi scepters. The sight left people gaping.

"Holy—!" Ma Youming couldn’t help but exclaim. "Good thing Fourth Miss Dou is marrying into the Duke of England's Mansion. If she were marrying into any other family, thieves would be breaking in the moment the dowry arrived!" He then turned to Wang Qinghuai in amazement. "The Dou family really has guts!"

Even the usually composed Wang Qinghuai couldn’t hide his shock.

Though he dealt with money every day, seeing an entire palanquin load of silver notes—and displayed so brazenly in the dowry procession—left him stunned.

"That’s at least forty thousand taels in silver notes!" He couldn’t resist taking another look. "All in ten-tael notes from Tongde Bank! The Dou family must be one of Tongde Bank’s top clients—otherwise, the bank wouldn’t have specially printed so many ten-tael notes just for them. This must have taken months to prepare."

Wang Qinghuai, who handled money daily, was particularly sensitive to such details.

Tongde Bank was the largest bank in the Northern Metropolitan Region, one of the few remaining prestigious institutions from the previous dynasty, known for its fairness and substantial financial backing.

To make Tongde Bank bend to their will...

Shen Qing shuddered at the thought. "N-no way! That much silver? How... how could anyone spend it all?" His mind then wandered off. "Do you think if I asked Song Da to lend me some, he’d refuse?"

No one paid him any attention.

Gu Yu’s face darkened.

For the Dou family to give away so much silver in their daughter’s dowry—there must be something wrong with this girl!

Dong Qi, meanwhile, was completely blank-minded.He only knew that Song Mo had found a very powerful wife's family, and the gap between him and Song Mo had grown even wider.

Zhang Xuming, on the other hand, thought about how Song Mo had invited his wife to be a bridesmaid. It seemed there were some things he needed to remind his wife about.

Only Lu Zhan wore a beaming smile.

It appeared that his uncle had put considerable thought into Yantang's wedding.

When he told his grandfather about it later, the old man would surely be delighted!

Song Han's face was blank, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

※※※※※

Dou Shishu left his office, originally planning to attend an engagement. But just as he was about to board his sedan chair, he remembered that today was the day Dou Zhao was sending her dowry. He instructed his attendant, "Cancel my dinner appointment. I’m going to Jing'an Temple Alley to take a look."

It seemed the Grand Secretary still felt some guilt toward the Fourth Miss!

The attendant quickly assented and directed the sedan bearers to carry Dou Shishu to Jing'an Temple Alley.

However, when the sedan chair reached Jing'an Temple, it could go no further.

The attendant, sweating profusely, explained, "We’ve run into the Fourth Miss’s dowry procession!"

Dou Shishu gave a noncommittal hum and lifted the curtain to look outside. The surrounding crowd buzzed with excited chatter: "A whole palanquin of silver notes! Pressed down by four red gold scepters—those scepters, gleaming gold, over a foot long, solid in weight, dazzling enough to blind the eyes... And those silver notes, each one identical, if not a hundred thousand taels, then at least fifty thousand... In all my years, I’ve never seen a daughter married off like this! The Dou family truly lives up to its reputation as the wealthiest in the dynasty!"

The rumors had exaggerated the matter several times over.