Blossom

If it were merely because Wei Tingyu was Dou Zhao's fiancé and Wang Yingxue suggested it, Dou Ming would eagerly marry Wei Tingyu, then Dou Ming's insistence on proceeding despite knowing it was wrong would be solely due to Wei Tingyu's handsome and charming demeanor, his consistent gentleness and courtesy toward her, and his attentive care. Only secondarily would it be because of his noble lineage and uncomplicated family, allowing her to live a secluded life after marriage. And Wei Tingyu indeed turned out as she expected—even knowing she had replaced her sister, he accepted the marriage. Though they often quarreled after marriage, they always made up quickly. But never before had he looked at her with such icy detachment, as if she were a stranger.

Dou Ming panicked, disregarding her pride, and chased after him in front of all the servants in the courtyard.

"Marquis!" She tugged at Wei Tingyu's sleeve.

But Wei Tingyu didn’t even glance at her, shaking off her hand and walking away.

Dou Ming froze.

As a child, she had first lived with Second Madam, then with her maternal grandmother Madam Xu Wang, spent a few years in Zhen Ding, returned to the Capital, and lived with her mother for several more years. If nothing else, she had honed an instinct for reading people—though her stubborn nature made it hard for her to humble herself.

Wei Tingyu's behavior triggered an instinctive sense of danger in her.

She followed him.

Wei Tingyu ignored her, striding straight into the study and slamming the door in her face, nearly hitting her nose.

Dou Ming stood stunned for a long moment before whispering, "Marquis, what exactly happened? Even if it's my fault, you should tell me so I can correct it. How can I know where I went wrong if you won’t say a word?"

Inside, Wei Tingyu sat behind his desk, lost in thought.

He remembered the first time he saw Dou Ming, her radiant smile.

Back then, he had thought, "This girl is so innocent and lively, brighter than spring itself."

The Dou family was a scholarly and official lineage, one of the most prominent noble households in the northern capital. Their daughters were expected to remain secluded, like Dou Zhao—even as his rightful fiancée, he had only glimpsed her once.

Had he already fallen into Dou Ming’s trap back then?

Wei Tingyu’s heart ached unbearably.

He recalled the day Dou Zhao summoned him to Jing'an Temple Alley, saying she believed he and Dou Ming had no involvement... Her gaze had been as clear as spring water... Yet in the end, he had betrayed her...

Wei Tingyu covered his face, feeling dampness between his fingers.

Meanwhile, Wei Tingzhen, seeing her brother storm off, hurriedly sent her personal maid after him. Learning that Dou Ming was pleading softly at Wei Tingyu’s door, she smirked coldly. With countless household matters demanding her attention, she couldn’t linger at her parents' home. She left her trusted Granny Jin to attend to Tian Shi and said to her, "No one wanted this to happen. Even if you wish to hold a memorial service for that Zhao Shi, with the New Year approaching, it’s impossible to find a virtuous monk on such short notice. Why not wait until after the Lantern Festival? I’ll find a suitable temple for you then. For now, focus on recovering your health. During the New Year, I’ll bring your grandchildren to collect red envelopes from you!"Tian Shi finally settled back into bed peacefully, but her thoughts lingered on the deceased Zhao Guqiu: "She was several years younger than me. Back then, at family banquets and friends' weddings, she always liked to stick close to me. If I wore a new piece of jewelry, she'd ask where I bought it. If I embroidered a new handkerchief, she'd inquire where I got the pattern..."

Wei Tingzhen signaled Granny Jin with her eyes, instructing her to keep a close watch on Tian Shi to prevent any mishaps. Only then did she reluctantly return to the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion, her heart still heavy.

Amidst her busy schedule, she naturally had no time to dwell on the matter. But when evening came and she had leisure, a pang of pain shot through her heart.

Three hundred thousand taels of silver!

Even if converted into silver notes, it would pile up into a small mountain, let alone the fields, forests, shops, and properties.

Enough to sustain the Wei family for two generations!

She tossed and turned in bed like a pancake on a griddle, unable to sleep.

Zhang Yuanming, disturbed by her restlessness, sat up wearily against the headboard and asked, "Did Mother give you trouble again?"

Wei Tingzhen never hesitated to discuss her family matters with her husband. After a moment's thought, she also sat up and leaned against the headboard beside him, recounting the affair with Dou Ming.

Zhang Yuanming chuckled. "What's done is done. Overthinking it won't help. Besides, Dou Shi's dowry is substantial enough. Don't be too stubborn about it."

"How can you say that!" Wei Tingzhen was displeased. "If Dou Zhao had married into the Wei family, that money would have been ours!"

As she spoke, she suddenly recalled the time Wang Yingxue had approached her to collaborate in sabotaging the marriage between Dou Zhao and the Wei family.

Could it be that Wang Yingxue had already been scheming to break off the engagement between the Dou and Wei families back then?

Wei Tingzhen gritted her teeth in fury.

The Wei family had been ruined by Wang Yingxue and her daughter Dou Ming.

Did Wang Yingxue and Dou Ming think they could just walk away from this? Not a chance!

She said to Zhang Yuanming, "Go and find out for me exactly how much dowry the Dou family added for Dou Zhao."

"Why bother with that?" Knowing it had nothing to do with his mother, Zhang Yuanming couldn't be bothered. He yawned and burrowed under the covers. "The Dou family used to be in the Ministry of Works trade. In the Capital alone, each branch of the family owns properties. Grand Secretary Dou was known for his integrity and reportedly never took his salary. Since it's a quarter of the Dou family's assets, it must be far more than three hundred thousand taels..."

Mumbling, he drifted off to sleep.

Wei Tingzhen, however, felt as if she were being roasted over a fire. It wasn't until dawn began to break that she finally fell into a fitful slumber. After handling the trivial matters at the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion, she rushed off to the Marquis of Jining's Mansion in a flurry.

Tian Shi was listlessly sipping porridge when her daughter arrived and asked if she had eaten breakfast.

"I ate long ago," Wei Tingzhen replied. Not seeing Dou Ming, she couldn't help but ask, "Where's Dou Ming? Why isn't she attending to your breakfast?"

Tian Shi replied dispiritedly, "I'm not some tyrannical mother-in-law enforcing strict rules."

Wei Tingzhen wouldn't stand for this. "Mother, if it weren't for Wang Shi's meddling with the sister-swap marriage, how could Dou Zhao have become the wife of the Duke of Yingguo's heir? How could Dou Zhao's dowry have ended up with the Song family? A crooked stick will have a crooked shadow. Look at Dou Ming—since marrying into our family, you've treated her kindly and never enforced rules, yet she shows no sense of duty as a daughter-in-law. Aside from paying respects morning and evening, she disappears without a trace. Clearly, these bad habits were learned from Wang Shi."“Now that she’s entered our family, she’s one of us. We can’t just send her back, can we?

“But you mustn’t let her skip learning the rules. If she does anything disgraceful, people will still point fingers at our family and gossip.

“I think you should keep her by your side, constantly teaching her what’s acceptable and what’s not. You can’t just let her do as she pleases.”

Tian Shi shook her head repeatedly, saying, “I don’t like seeing her.”

Wei Tingzhen couldn’t help but rub her forehead.

Granny Jin, ever the loyal confidante to Wei Tingzhen, softly advised, “Madam, you don’t know this, but recently it was our Madam’s birthday. The relatives of Second Madam and Third Madam arrived early, but our Madam only showed up right as the banquet was about to start. Not only that, she claimed you were ill and needed tending, so she left early, making our Madam very unhappy. She even scolded our Mistress of the Household a few times. If you don’t intervene now, who knows what will happen in the future!”

Tian Shi froze, then said, “No wonder my daughter-in-law’s mother-in-law sent over some medicinal herbs the other day…” A surge of anger rose in her heart.

Why she was “ill” might be unknown to others, but how could Dou Ming not know?

Clearly, she was using her as an excuse to humiliate her daughter!

Tian Shi immediately made up her mind and ordered her personal maidservant, “Go, summon Madam here. Tell her I’m about to have breakfast and she must come to serve the dishes and pour tea!”

The maidservant hurried off to carry out the order.

A faint smile flickered across Wei Tingzhen’s face.

If you dare scheme against me, don’t blame me for being ruthless.

But then her thoughts turned to Dou Zhao’s dowry, and her heart burned with regret.

She couldn’t help but say to Tian Shi, “Mother, did you know that Dou Zhao owns properties worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? If it weren’t for Wang Shi and her daughter’s schemes, that fortune would have belonged to our Wei Family. Not only would Peijin be set for life, but even his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons would never want for anything…”

“That much?” Tian Shi was utterly shocked.

“Indeed!” Wei Tingzhen sighed. “What a pity we were outmaneuvered by Wang Shi and her daughter… That Wang Shi must be laughing behind our backs even now!”

Tian Shi slammed her hand on the kang table, her resolve hardening further. For someone like Tian Shi, who usually lacked strong opinions, once she made up her mind, not even nine oxen could pull her back.

She was determined to make Dou Ming suffer. However, since her own mother-in-law had never imposed strict rules on her, she didn’t know how to discipline a daughter-in-law properly. So, she went around asking others for advice.

Those she consulted naturally believed that the more numerous and stringent the rules, the more refined they seemed. From waking up at dawn to help her mother-in-law dress to drawing the bed curtains for her at night, the list was exhaustive—hundreds of trivial and tedious rules.

Tian Shi not only wrote them all down but spent two days memorizing every single one. Then, she made Dou Ming follow each rule to the letter.

Not only did Dou Ming have to rise at the crack of dawn, but she also had to hold a towel while her mother-in-law washed her face and pass the comb while her mother-in-law did her hair. And when it came to meals, wherever her mother-in-law’s gaze lingered, Dou Ming had to quickly serve that dish into her bowl. If she was even a second slow, a lengthy reprimand would rain down on her. Even her visits to Willow Leaf Alley were denied by her mother-in-law: “What kind of daughter-in-law is always itching to run outside? Can’t you sit still? Do you feel wronged in this household?”Dou Ming thought the Wei Family was upset about missing out on her dowry, so she pretended not to hear and gritted her teeth while serving Tian Shi.

But standing on ceremony before her mother-in-law was no easy task.

Within just two days, Dou Ming was so sore and exhausted she could barely stand.

"What can we do?" Zhou Momo was heartbroken but helpless, only able to massage Dou Ming every night in hopes of easing her discomfort.

Yet Dou Ming still dropped a spoon into the soup bowl while serving her mother-in-law at lunch, splashing oily droplets all over Tian Shi's clothes.