Blossom

Dou Zhao ultimately picked up the scented sachet.

After all, it contained three thousand taels of silver—enough to buy over a thousand acres of farmland or a four-courtyard mansion!

If someone else had found it, both the person and the silver notes would likely vanish in the blink of an eye.

Better it go to her than to anyone else.

She opened the sachet.

Inside were notes of one hundred, two hundred, and even several dozen taels—all payable on sight.

Father had thought quite carefully about this.

As Dou Zhao tucked the silver notes back into the sachet, a commotion of crying and shouting erupted from the Reception Hall: "Brother, if you're going to force me like this, you might as well give me three feet of white silk to hang myself! At least then I wouldn’t be tormented, living worse than death..."

Then just give her the three feet of white silk!

Dou Zhao thought sarcastically.

Hadn’t Mother given her a handkerchief back then, just as she’d wanted? Yet here she was, still alive and well.

How could Wang Xingyi have fathered such a shameless creature?

It truly tarnished his lifelong reputation.

From the Reception Hall came Wang Zhibing’s low, indistinct murmurs, too muffled to make out.

Dou Zhao considered eavesdropping further, but then she saw the lattice doors of the Reception Hall shift as Father escorted Wang Zhibing out.

She quickly hid behind a nearby Taihu Rock.

Father was consoling Wang Zhibing: "...There’s no need to be so upset. The situation is so sudden—she might just need time to accept it. Going back and forth like this won’t resolve anything. Why don’t you return home today and have her sisters-in-law visit her? See if she has any other thoughts, and then we can sit down and discuss it properly. Whatever the Dou family can do, we’ll certainly try our best to accommodate her."

Wang Zhibing’s face darkened, veins bulging on his forehead as he retorted coldly, "What do you mean by that, Seventh Master Dou? Do you think my sister is trying to extort silver from your family?"

"Don’t misunderstand," Father replied gently. "I only mean that while you are her brother, there are still boundaries between men and women, and you’ve been apart for so many years. She may not feel comfortable sharing her true feelings with you. It might be better to wait a couple of days until she’s calmer before making any decisions." He added, "If she misses Mingjier, she’s welcome to visit anytime. But Mingjier is still young—I worry that if certain words reach her ears, it might upset the child. If she agrees, Mingjier could formally acknowledge her as a godmother or aunt. When Mingjier is older, we can explain the past to her. But as for how to phrase it and whether this is feasible, we’d appreciate your family’s guidance. I’ll follow whatever you decide."

His words were both considerate and sincere, easing Wang Zhibing’s expression.

After scrutinizing Father for a moment, Wang Zhibing said, "I hadn’t expected you to handle things so steadily and honorably. I underestimated you."

Father flushed with embarrassment and stammered, "It’s getting late—I won’t keep you. Next time you visit, I’ll treat you to tea. I still have some Big Red Robe that my second cousin brought from Fujian—quite worth tasting."

Wang Zhibing left satisfied.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Father turned toward the Taihu Rock where Dou Zhao was hiding and called out, "Come out already! The sun’s scorching—you’ll get heatstroke!"

Dou Zhao emerged with a grin. "I was hiding so well—how did you spot me, Father?"

Father chuckled and pointed at the golden hairpin in her hair.

If she’d known, she would’ve just tied her hair with a ribbon.Dou Zhao muttered to herself, thinking about the three thousand taels of silver. She flashed the scented sachet she was holding and said with a smile, "Father, I found a scented sachet..."

Even if she were fifteen instead of just five, hiding three thousand taels of silver without a trace wouldn’t be easy. The best approach was to lay it all out openly and claim it as her own.

Her father chuckled, "So you were the one who picked it up." As he spoke, he reached for the sachet.

Dou Zhao swiftly moved it behind her back. "I found it, so it’s mine."

Her father paused, then laughed. "But this sachet is mine. If the owner comes looking, are you really going to refuse to return it?"

"Then you should thank me," Dou Zhao retorted. "And give me half."

Amused, her father tapped her nose. "Who taught you this?" He then opened the sachet, picked out a ten-tael silver note, and handed it to her. "Here’s your reward."

"No, no!" Dou Zhao protested, grabbing a handful of hundred-tael and two-hundred-tael notes. "These are all mine..."

Just then, her grandfather walked in.

Her father hurriedly stuffed all the silver notes back into the sachet.

Her grandfather frowned. "What’s going on here?" His voice was cold.

"Nothing, nothing," her father quickly replied. "Shou Gu’s sachet came loose. I was just helping her tie it back."

Ah!

Dou Zhao couldn’t help but grin.

The silver notes were her father’s private savings.

No wonder he had to hide them even from his own father.

Her grandfather said disapprovingly, "These are tasks for maids and old women. What’s a grown man like you meddling in them for?" He then added, "Come with me. I have something to discuss."

Her father nodded, called Tuo Niang over, whispered a few instructions about Dou Zhao, and followed his father to Crane Longevity Hall.

Dou Zhao cheerfully headed back to the main house.

Tuo Niang kept her eyes fixed on the sachet at Dou Zhao’s waist the entire way. Every time they crossed a bridge or path, her face tensed, and she muttered incessantly, "Fourth Miss, be careful, be careful," as if she wanted to cradle the sachet in her hands.

Dou Zhao asked her, "Do you know what’s inside?"

Tuo Niang nodded repeatedly.

Dou Zhao pulled out a ten-tael silver note from the sachet. "This is for you!"

"I can’t take it, I can’t!" Tuo Niang paled. "Miss, please put it away quickly! If someone sees it and takes it, I wouldn’t be able to repay it even if I died a hundred times!" She looked on the verge of tears.

Dou Zhao sighed and handed the sachet to Tuo Niang. "Help me keep it safe, then."

Tuo Niang agreed, carefully tucking the sachet into her bosom and keeping a hand over it all the way back to the main house.

That evening, when her father returned, he asked, "Where’s the sachet?"

Dou Zhao pulled out a box from the compartment by her bed. "It’s here."

Her father burst into laughter.

Dou Zhao took the opportunity to put the box back.

Her father called Yu Momo in. "Fourth Miss now has three thousand taels of silver notes in her room. Record it in the ledger."

Yu Momo’s face changed. Uneasy, she said, "Such a large sum in Fourth Miss’s room—is that really appropriate?"

Her father, accustomed to extravagance, waved it off. "It’s fine. It’s just three thousand taels."

Yu Momo didn’t dare say more, but Dou Zhao’s eyes curved with delight.

She had big plans for this money!

The next evening, Wang Yingxue’s sisters-in-law arrived.

The three women shut themselves in a room to talk.Gao Shi was a stern woman who spoke bluntly, "There are no outsiders here. Speak your mind plainly!"

Madam Pang sat leisurely on an ebony stool adorned with gold tracery, sipping tea with an air of ease, yet her almond-shaped eyes shrewdly scanned every furnishing in Wang Yingxue's room.

The rose-red Hunan quilt, the cloisonné flower vase, the lilac-colored Zhangzhou velvet cushion, the imperial green spun silk bed curtains, and the famille rose teacup from the imperial kiln in her hand—it would likely take no less than ten thousand taels of silver to furnish such a room!

No wonder she didn’t want to leave.

Pang Yulou pursed her lips in a faint smile as she heard her sister-in-law choke out, "If I bring Mingjier back with me, will Father agree?"

"If you think it’s best, I’ll make the decision on Father’s behalf and agree to it," Gao Shi said firmly, her voice low. Years of hardship had transformed her from a meek woman into someone decisive. "If anyone asks, we’ll say she’s a relative’s child, orphaned with no one to care for her, and I’ve taken her in as my foster daughter. Your elder brother will handle all the official documents—you needn’t worry."

The most urgent matter now was to bring Wang Yingxue home.

Wang Yingxue hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

She bit her lip unconsciously and said, "But in that case, she’d only be a foster daughter..."

Gao Shi’s heart twisted in pain at her words.

Where was that pure, kind, and noble Wang Yingxue, as pristine as an orchid?

Was poverty truly so terrifying?

Gao Shi herself had been a young lady of good breeding. After marrying into the Wang family, she had managed the household, served her mother-in-law, cared for her sister-in-law, and raised her children. Whenever she recalled her father’s teachings—"A noble person should find contentment in poverty and joy in virtue, remaining tranquil in ambition"—she could calm her heart and fulfill her duties.

But what about Wang Yingxue?

When had she begun to change?

Was it when the Lei family broke off the engagement? When she started working to support the family? Or when Gao Shi, out of pity for her momentary lapse, had gone against her conscience to intervene on her behalf?

Gao Shi didn’t know what to say.

Madam Pang, however, who came from a merchant family, rolled her eyes shrewdly.

She had grown up listening to the clatter of abacus beads—how could she not understand the implication behind Wang Yingxue’s words? Besides, she had long been annoyed by this sister-in-law who looked down on her origins and constantly compared her to Gao Shi. Thus, she couldn’t resist stirring the pot with a smirk. "Sister-in-law does have a point. But our family isn’t what it used to be—we can’t have someone becoming a concubine. How about this: let Father speak to the Dou family? Have them break off the engagement with the Zhu family and elevate you to the main wife instead..."

"Don’t talk nonsense! Do you want the Dou family to laugh at us?" Gao Shi snapped, inwardly regretting that she hadn’t stood firm against her mother-in-law’s persuasion and brought Madam Pang along to the Dou residence.

"Eldest sister-in-law, I don’t care for that tone," Pang Yulou said lazily. "Are you the only one who’s a daughter-in-law of the Wang family, and I’m not? You come from a noble family—I can’t compare. But I married into the Wang family when they were down on their luck. Poverty doesn’t change my worth—I’m not necessarily so unfit for polite company."

Gao Shi, born into a distinguished family, often felt like a scholar facing an unrefined soldier when dealing with Pang Yulou, who hailed from the marketplace. Thus, unless it was a matter of principle, Gao Shi usually yielded to her.

But Wang Yingxue’s reluctance to leave the Dou family was a matter of principle.

Suppressing her impatience, Gao Shi said, "You’re not ignorant of the ways of the world. What family would casually elevate a concubine to the main wife?"Pang Yulou certainly knew, but she just didn’t want Gao Shi to outshine her. She muttered, “Didn’t the Successful Candidate in the Imperial Examination Tao from our town elevate his concubine to the status of a proper wife?”

“That’s because Tao’s legitimate wife passed away from illness, and the concubine bore him his only son. Moreover, Tao’s brothers-in-law wrote a letter of consent, acknowledging the concubine as their sister,” Gao Shi replied, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes. “How is that the same?”

“Isn’t it just about having a son?” Pang Yulou winked at Wang Yingxue.

Wang Yingxue’s face immediately flushed red and then paled.

Noticing something amiss, Pang Yulou lowered her voice and asked, “What’s wrong? Mingjier is already over a year old and is being cared for by a wet nurse. Have you still not had any news?”

“What nonsense are you spouting, Second Sister-in-law?” Wang Yingxue’s expression stiffened. “The Seventh Master said he would observe three years of mourning for Zhao Guqiu.”

“Ah!” Pang Yulou’s mouth fell open. She stared at Wang Yingxue, her lips moving as if to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.

Gao Shi, meanwhile, sighed inwardly.

Such a good person, but encountered at the wrong time.

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Today, I went out to get a mobile internet card and set up a scheduled post. Then a friend messaged me asking why I hadn’t posted yet, so I rushed back in a hurry...

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