Blossom

Fortunately, Father, Sixth Aunt, and Aunt (Mother's Brother's Wife) cared for her deeply and hadn't told her about Dou Ming's affairs. Otherwise, listening to Dou Ming and Wei Tingyu attacking each other like dogs would surely have made her too nauseous to eat.

Dou Zhao decided to comfort Father properly later.

However, Cai Shi said, "Fourth Aunt, I heard from Mother-in-law that she intends to invite Wei Tingzhen over for a talk on the fifth. Would you like to go and listen? Scolding the Wei Family would also show your sisterly care for your younger sister."

Everyone in the Dou family knew that Dou Ming and Dou Zhao didn't get along. Dou Zhao had also made it clear that she didn't plan to interact with Dou Ming but would maintain superficial politeness for the sake of their shared family name. However, Cai Shi, coming from a scholarly background, believed Dou Zhao was merely putting on a noble and magnanimous front. Given the chance, who wouldn't want to stab their rival? That's why she suggested that Dou Zhao take advantage of Dou Ming's current predicament—where she could barely hold onto her dowry—to appear virtuous by standing up for her. This would place Dou Zhao in a morally superior position, making Dou Ming indebted to her and forcing her to swallow any resentment.

Dou Zhao understood perfectly well.

But she had no desire to be associated with Dou Ming in any way.

She wouldn't kick Dou Ming while she was down, nor would she suppress or scheme against her when she was thriving. Dou Zhao had her own happy life to live and saw no need to fret or exhaust herself over Dou Ming.

"With Fifth Aunt and Sixth Aunt at home, why would a married woman like me need to step forward?" Dou Zhao firmly rejected Cai Shi's suggestion. "If others saw, they'd think our Dou family had no one left!"

The flattery had missed its mark.

Cai Shi felt awkward.

Dou Zhao ignored her and sat by the kang to listen to Sixth Aunt and Aunt (Mother's Brother's Wife) talk: "...During that time, there will be lantern festivals on East Street, West Street, and near Chang'an Gate—it's incredibly lively. When I was little, I once came to the Capital with Father, and the most vivid memory I have is of the Capital's lantern festival. Even now, I can't forget it. Aunt, you should take Zhang Ru to see it. Such a spectacle isn't something you get to witness often."

They were discussing the Lantern Festival.

Zhao Zhangru widened her eyes at her mother, her face full of hope.

Aunt smiled but replied with some regret, "There will be huge crowds that day. As a woman, it wouldn't be proper for me to take a young lady like her out alone. If only her father were here..."

Dou Zhao quickly said, "Aunt, leave this matter to me—the Hall of Cultivating Will has plenty of guards!"

Aunt hesitated but eventually relented under Zhao Zhangru's eager gaze, smiling as she said, "Alright then. We'll trouble the Young Lord when the time comes."

"No trouble at all," Dou Zhao replied cheerfully, deciding to extend the invitation further. "Who else wants to go? We can all go together."

"I do!" Cai Shi, knowing her mother-in-law hoped they'd grow closer to Dou Zhao, immediately chimed in. "Tenth Brother and I will take Ren Ge'er and Fu Ge'er along."

Hearing their names, the two little boys pricked up their ears. When they realized they'd get to see the lanterns, they cheered excitedly.

Dou Pin Yuan wasn't pleased. Clinging to her mother's leg, she whined sweetly, "Mother, I want to go too! I want to go too!"

Guo Shi seemed torn, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she looked at her daughter.Just before the New Year, Bai Yiniang, Dou Bochang's concubine, gave birth to his firstborn son, Dou Yun.

Guo Shi's voice grew even quieter.

Dou Zhao felt both sympathy and frustration toward her.

What was wrong with daughters? Did daughters not carry the Dou family's blood? Were daughters inherently less filial or sensible than sons?

Dou Zhao patted Dou Pin Yuan's head and said to Guo Shi, "Why don't you take Pin Yuan along, Tenth Sister-in-law? I'll assign more guards and experienced maids to ensure she's well taken care of."

"Let's go! Let's go!" Dou Pin Yuan, seeing her aunt Dou Zhao speaking up for her, pleaded even more eagerly.

Given her difficult circumstances, Guo Shi wanted nothing more than to see her daughter happy.

She cast a grateful glance at Dou Zhao and smiled at Dou Pin Yuan. "Then you must listen to the maids and not run around..."

"I will, I will!" Dou Pin Yuan nodded her little head like a chick pecking at grain, but the sight only made Dou Zhao's heart ache.

On the way home, she leaned against Song Mo's shoulder and asked, "If I only give birth to daughters, would you treat them well?"

Song Mo sensed something amiss. "What happened? Did your sister-in-law say something about you bearing daughters while admiring flowers or trees? Our family has few descendants—even daughters are precious. Don't overthink it." He hugged Dou Zhao and added, "Besides, our daughters would carry my blood and yours. They'd surely be the smartest and most beautiful, unmatched by anyone. With more daughters, we could even pick the best sons from other families as sons-in-law, making them send us wine and tea during festivals. Wouldn’t that make those who only have sons envious?"

Dou Zhao burst into laughter. "Stop trying to cheer me up!"

"I truly mean it," Song Mo said with a smile. "Imagine a house full of girls—it would be like admiring flowers every day, so pleasing to the eye. But a house full of boys? Picture them standing there, all big and burly—what’s the fun in that?"

Dou Zhao thought about it and realized he had a point. If she had several daughters and dressed them up beautifully, wouldn’t it indeed be like admiring flowers?

"You’re just trying to scare me," she said, suppressing a smile. "With my looks, how could I possibly give birth to big, burly sons? If that happened, they’d definitely take after your Song ancestors!"

"Impossible!" Song Mo retorted. "The Duke of Yingguo's mansion is famous for producing handsome men. When Emperor Taizu adopted our ancestor, it was because he was obedient and exceptionally good-looking."

"Really?" Dou Zhao laughed, cupping his face. "Let me see—where exactly is this handsomeness?"

Song Mo scoffed lightly, putting on an air of noble aloofness.

Dou Zhao laughed heartily.

The couple chatted all the way back to the Hall of Cultivating Will.

Only then did Dou Zhao remember the Lantern Festival arrangements and quickly informed Song Mo. Worried that Xia Lian might be busy, she added, "I’ll just have Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng accompany us."

Song Mo thought for a moment. "Use Duan Gongyi and his men as guards—they’re familiar with the Dou family and easier to manage. Leave the rest to Liao Bifeng. You don’t need to worry about it." Then he asked curiously, "Aren’t you planning to go out during the Lantern Festival?"

Dou Zhao knew Song Mo would be on duty at the palace that day. No matter how beautiful the lanterns in the Capital were, she had no desire to go alone.

"In my condition, it’s better not to jostle with the crowds."

Song Mo said nothing.Two days later, Liao Bifeng came to see Dou Zhao and said, "I've reserved a private room on the second floor of Gathering Virtue Manor. How does Madam find it? Should we change to another one?"

The private rooms on the second floor of Gathering Virtue Manor. By opening the window, one could see East Street clearly without jostling with the crowds below, allowing a perfect view of the Lantern Festival on East Street. If one wished to see the lanterns on West Street, they would need to book a private room at Fragrant Literature Pavilion. As for Chang'an Street, due to its proximity to the Chengtian Gate and concerns about potential spying on the inner court, no buildings along Chang'an Street had second floors. To view the lanterns there, one would have to park their carriage near Yuhe Bridge and walk.

Having lived in the Capital for over a decade, Dou Zhao was well aware of this. She didn’t wait for Liao Bifeng to finish explaining the differences between the locations and immediately thanked him: "Thank you for your efforts, Mr. Liao! Private rooms on the second floor of Gathering Virtue Manor are always in high demand during the Lantern Festival, often impossible to secure. Given the short notice and last-minute arrangement, you must have gone to great lengths to secure it."

Liao Bifeng modestly declined the praise, asked a few more questions about her preferences, and then took his leave.

Dou Zhao sent someone to inform her Aunt and others about the arrangements for the day.

Upon learning they could watch the lanterns from a private room, everyone eagerly anticipated the Lantern Festival.

Guo Shi came to pay New Year’s respects to Dou Zhao, bringing her daughter along.

Dou Zhao was startled. She handed some snacks to Dou Pin Yuan and had a maid take her to the back garden to see the flowers. Then she sat down with Guo Shi on the heated kang.

Before she could speak, Guo Shi said, "Don’t worry, Fourth Paternal Aunt. Nothing’s wrong at home. I just didn’t want to stay there and needed to get out. If I went to someone else’s house, Mother would surely be upset, so I used your name, saying you had invited me to bring Pin Yuan over for a visit."

Dou Zhao understood Guo Shi’s feelings.

After a moment of silence, she asked Guo Shi, "What are your plans?"

Guo Shi smiled bitterly. "What plans can I have? Just taking each day as it comes."

Dou Zhao said, "You should think about Pin Yuan! Girls usually learn from their mothers. No matter what, she is the Dou family’s legitimate young lady, and her grandfather was once a Grand Academician of the Grand Secretariat. Marrying into any family as a Lineage Wife would be effortless. But even so, once she’s married, she must be able to stand firm in her husband’s household. You can take each day as it comes, but Pin Yuan cannot!"

Guo Shi pressed her lips together, then suddenly covered her face and wept silently.

Dou Zhao stepped down from the kang and said firmly, "Sixth Sister-in-law, think carefully about whether my words make sense!" With that, she left the inner chamber.

Ruo Zhu and the others immediately gathered around.

"It’s nothing," Dou Zhao exhaled deeply. "Listen for any requests from Aunt. If she needs anything, attend to her properly." She then went to the back garden to admire the flowers, eat snacks, bask in the sun, and play happily with Dou Pin Yuan.

When Song Mo returned home, he saw her flushed, cheerful face.

"You seem very happy today!" As usual, he hugged Dou Zhao and kissed her twice, only to be seen by Guo Shi, who had come out upon hearing the noise to greet him.

She exclaimed "Oh!" and retreated back into the inner chamber.

Dou Zhao smiled radiantly.

Song Mo, thicker-skinned than she had imagined, calmly greeted Guo Shi, who looked slightly flustered, as if she were the one who had been impolite.

Guo Shi couldn’t stay any longer and prepared to leave with Dou Pin Yuan.

Dou Pin Yuan still remembered this kind Fourth Uncle and cheerfully called out to Song Mo, "Fourth Uncle!"Song Mo was overjoyed and kept praising Dou Pin Yuan for being clever and well-behaved. He held her while she ate two pieces of fruit and rewarded her with a scented sachet filled with golden beans before handing her back to the wet nurse.

Guo Shi watched thoughtfully, then curtsied to Dou Zhao and Song Mo before taking Dou Pin Yuan back to Huai Shu Alley.

Song Mo smiled and said, "I'll have five consecutive days off starting tomorrow. Leave the household matters to me."

The next day was the sixth day of the lunar month.

The family banquets on the fourth and fifth days passed uneventfully, albeit somewhat dull. Starting from the sixth, the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion would begin hosting the Spring Banquet.