Blossom

In the letter, Dou Shiying first mentioned Yu Zan's marriage arrangements, then listed at length the farmsteads and properties he intended to allocate to Dou Zhao. Finally, he asked Madam Zhao, "...If there are any objections, you may discuss them with the Sixth Master," thus entrusting the matter to Dou Shiheng.

Madam Zhao frowned as she held the letter and asked Peng Momo, "What do you think? Can we trust Dou Shiying’s words?"

Dou Zhao was also full of suspicion.

"It’s hard to say whether we can trust him or not," Peng Momo mused. "But if we have Clerk Tang investigate the details of these farmsteads and properties, it would certainly save us more time than groping blindly like a blind man trying to identify an elephant."

Madam Zhao nodded and copied Dou Shiying’s letter, handing it to Peng Momo. "Take this to Clerk Tang."

Clerk Tang received the list and worked overnight with others to verify the details. Meanwhile, Madam Zhao spent her days either chatting with Second Madam, visiting Da Taitai (The Eldest Madam), or conversing with Ji Shi—hardly like someone who had come to negotiate Dou Zhao’s dowry with the Dou family, but rather like a relative paying a visit. If anyone asked, she simply replied, "The master has invited someone to assist with drafting the contract. I don’t understand these matters, and the person is still on the way."

Since it wasn’t Dong Dou’s property being divided, nor their relatives being supported, the Dong Dou family naturally felt no urgency. Taking advantage of Madam Zhao’s visit and Second Madam’s enthusiastic hospitality, the second and third branches of the family seized the opportunity to persuade Second Madam to invite a female storyteller to entertain at home. Having received hints from her second son, Second Madam reasoned that if Madam Zhao also agreed to have Dou Zhao raised in the eastern household, the matter would be easily resolved. Thus, not only did she invite a storyteller, but a few days later, she also brought in an opera troupe to perform, even inviting the matriarchs of wealthy families in Dingzhen County to join the festivities. The household bustled with activity, filled with laughter and chatter, livelier than during the New Year celebrations. This left Wang Yingxue and Madam Pang restless and uneasy, unsure of what was happening.

After more than half a month passed, Clerk Tang finally sent word that the properties listed by Dou Shiying were all excellent. Particularly the houses on South Street and North Street in Qingyuan County—these were street-facing shops, all connected in a row, occupying more than half of both streets, generating over ten thousand taels of silver in rent annually.

Qingyuan County was the seat of Baoding Prefecture, and South Street was the most prosperous main street in the county.

Madam Zhao couldn’t help but sigh, "I knew the Dou family was wealthy, but I didn’t expect them to be this rich."

Peng Momo chuckled. "This time, we owe much to the Wang family."

Even though Madam Zhao disliked the Wang family, she couldn’t help but laugh.

The next day, she introduced Clerk Tang to Dou Shibang.

Dou Shibang took Clerk Tang to Dou Duo to finalize Dou Zhao’s dowry.

Dou Duo was already prepared. He produced a thick stack of papers and said, "These are for Shou Gu."

Clerk Tang glanced at them and smiled. "Our master’s opinion is that since the young cousin is a woman and inexperienced in business, these oil presses and bamboo workshops and such are unnecessary. It would be better to have more farmland and houses." With that, he handed over the list he had agreed upon with Madam Zhao.

After reading it, Dou Duo’s face darkened as if a storm were brewing, and he shot a cold glare at Dou Shibang.

Caught in this undeserved blame, Dou Shibang couldn’t resist picking up Clerk Tang’s list. The moment he saw it, he cursed inwardly—who had tipped off the Zhao family? Several of the most profitable businesses were listed here.

No wonder Third Uncle was glaring at him.

But this truly wasn’t his doing!

He felt like crying but had no tears left.Yet they could only continue to endure by each other's side.

After more than ten days of back-and-forth negotiations, the Zhao Family relinquished some farmland and took over several workshops, while the Western Dou gave up a few properties. The matter was thus roughly settled.

Madam Zhao prepared several gold ingots, ten bolts of the latest brocade cloth, and some pearl hair ornaments to visit Third Aunt: "...These past days have troubled Third Master greatly. In the future, we will still need her uncle's support regarding Shou Gu's affairs."

Seeing gifts worth nearly a thousand taels of silver before her, Third Aunt couldn't help but smile even more brightly.

After leaving the third branch, Madam Zhao went to see Second Madam.

"You see, the child is still so young and understands nothing. Brothers join hands to hunt tigers, fathers and sons fight side by side in battle. According to my husband's wishes, we'd like to ask the child's uncles and cousins to help manage this property."

Second Madam's eyes lit up.

Dragons give birth to nine sons, each different. The Dou family had those like Dou Shishu who achieved success in the imperial examinations early, and also those like Dou Shibang who remained merely a Successful Candidate in the Imperial Examination even past forty. Having Dou family members help manage Dou Zhao's property would at least provide them with a livelihood and sound respectable when mentioned.

But would the Zhao Family feel at ease with Dou family members in charge?

She recalled that infuriating "over thirty years old" clause that had made her blood boil.

"I fear our Dou family members might not manage well," Second Madam said tactfully, "and disappoint Madam Zhao's kind intentions!"

"How could they not manage well!" Madam Zhao laughed. "Those currently helping with management are already Dou family members. Fortunately, what Shou Gu inherited are mainly farmsteads and properties - I don't understand business matters, but I'm quite clear about farmland affairs. In good years, the harvest is more; in bad years, less. But taking a ten-year average, there's a consistent annual figure. In my view, we should take the average earnings of the past ten years as the standard. Any surplus can be held by the manager first, to make up for lean years. If there are ten consecutive good years, that must be the Bodhisattva rewarding his hard work, and naturally it should all go to him."

"Ah!" Even Second Madam couldn't remain seated calmly at this.

That half of the property was too substantial - even a small surplus would be no trivial amount.

She called in daughters-in-law from various branches to discuss the matter.

The Eldest Madam listened with a smile - Lan Ge'er couldn't possibly abandon his scholarly pursuits to manage mundane affairs for others.

The third branch's children were still too young and inexperienced. Unless Dou Shibang secretly took charge, they lacked the capability.

The fourth branch was in Xinyang, the fifth in the Capital, and the sixth only had Dou Shiheng.

After careful consideration, this matter could only fall to the second branch.

Ji Shi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Who had come up with this idea?

Truly formidable!Dou Zhao was, after all, a daughter of the Dou family. She still had to live within the Dou household, and after marriage, she would rely on the support of her uncles and cousins from the Dou family. Due to Zhao Guqiu's death, the Zhao family had fallen out with the Dou family, and now they had even divided half of the Western Dou's assets. Some within the Dou family were already privately grumbling about the Zhao family stirring up trouble. The Zhao family had a simple household structure—without going into details, if Second Madam simply gave the word, the Dou family could withdraw all the stewards and clerks who had previously managed Dou Zhao's dowry, and chaos would ensue on the Zhao side. The Zhao family simply lacked the capability and manpower to take over those assets in a short time. Now, Madam Zhao had proposed letting the Dou family manage Dou Zhao's assets and offered such generous terms. Whoever took over the management of Dou Zhao's assets would be tied to her, becoming her most steadfast support within the Dou family. If this person came from the second branch, and Second Madam was the Lineage Wife of the Dou family... Dou Zhao's life in the Dou household would become much easier.

She glanced at Second Madam.

A flicker of eager interest flashed in Second Madam's eyes.

The Zhao family had indeed come prepared this time!

Ji Shi smiled and said, "Our sixth master just passed the provincial examination this year and is wholly focused on preparing for the Spring Examination. With Hui Ge'er and Zhi Ge'er still needing care, our branch won’t be participating in this matter."

Upon hearing this, Da Taitai quickly chimed in, "Lan Ge'er will be taking the imperial examinations next spring and studies diligently until midnight every day. I’m afraid we won’t have the capacity to help."

Third Madam hesitated for a long while before finally saying, "Our third master is already managing the Dou family's assets. Not only is he swamped with work every day, but it would also be inappropriate for him to help Shou Gu manage her assets, given the need to avoid conflicts of interest."

Second Madam turned to Second Madam and asked, "What do you think?"

Second Madam stepped forward without hesitation, saying, "The eldest is in the Capital with Fifth Uncle, while the second, third, and fifth are all at home. Perhaps we could choose one from among them."

"Very well," Second Madam replied with a smile. "Once you’ve decided, let me know so I can give Madam Zhao an answer."

This could also be seen as a reward for Second Madam’s support of her son in the matter concerning Dou Zhao.

Second Madam understood this perfectly well. Upon returning to her quarters, she summoned her sons and daughters-in-law to discuss the matter.

When Dou Zhao learned of this, she chose her third cousin, Dou Xiuchang.

In her previous life, the eldest cousin had always stayed by Fifth Uncle’s side, and later, Fifth Uncle secured him an official position through hereditary privilege. The second cousin had persisted in the examinations until he achieved the rank of Presented Scholar. As for the third and fifth cousins, she had little interaction with them, but she remembered that after Third Uncle passed away, the third cousin had assisted the second cousin in managing the Dou family’s affairs. This showed that the third cousin was competent in such matters. Moreover, the third cousin’s eldest son, Dou Qijun, was the most promising among the "Qi" generation.

While chatting with her aunt, she mentioned, "...Third Aunt scolded Seventh Cousin, saying he studied even less diligently than Zhi Ge'er."

Madam Zhao took this to heart and immediately sent someone to inquire about Dou Qijun.

By the time Second Madam invited her aunt over to discuss the matter, her aunt had already chosen the third cousin over the fifth: "...Third Master Xiuchang is older and already a father to several children. He must be steadier and more reliable."

Second Madam didn’t mind—after all, they were all her sons.

The Dou Xiuchang household, however, was overjoyed.

For a family living on a monthly allowance, the extra income meant their children could eat better and dress more respectably.

Even Dou Duo couldn’t object.He had a very close relationship with Dou Xiuchang's father, who was also Dou Zhao's second uncle, Luo Shiqi.

Dou Xiuchang smoothly took over Dou Zhao's dowry, and Aunt handed the consent letter to Second Madam.

By the time these matters were settled, it was already the Winter Solstice, and every household was eating dumplings.

Aunt discussed with Dou Xiuchang, "Why don’t you also take charge of the properties Shou Gu’s mother left for her? Wang Shi is about to enter the household, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for Yu Momo to remain in the Western Residence. Why not take this opportunity to let her retire honorably? Her son and daughter-in-law can also be released from servitude—it would be a fitting reward for her years of serving our family’s paternal aunt."

If it were anyone else, they might worry about whether this would give the impression of eliminating dissenters right after taking over Dou Zhao’s assets. But Dou Xiuchang was a proper master of the Dou family—why would he care about what the servants might say?

"Fine!" he agreed without hesitation. "After all, one sheep or two, they’re all herded the same way."

Aunt summoned Yu Momo for a talk and instructed Yu Daqing to hand over the account books to Dou Xiuchang that afternoon.