Blossom

Dou Zhao walked out of Dou Zhengchang's study. He smiled and asked her, "What? Leaving already? Why not stay a bit longer?" As he spoke, he lightly lifted his eyelids and glanced toward the study.

What is improper, do not see; what is improper, do not hear.

This person, why does he enjoy peeping at others' private affairs so much? Where has all his book learning gone?

And he's even a Recommended Man!

Feeling displeased, Dou Zhao nodded faintly at him and went to Ji Shi's room.

Ji Yong turned around and saw Wu Shan sitting there, pale as a sheet, dumbstruck.

He called out to Wu Shan, but Wu Shan responded by slamming the study window shut with a "bang."

Frowning, Ji Yong thought for a moment and then followed Dou Zhao into Ji Shi's room.

Dou Zhao was bidding farewell to Ji Shi.

Ji Shi took her hand and smiled warmly, "Come visit Sixth Aunt whenever you have time." It sounded as if she might not see her again.

A wave of guilt washed over Dou Zhao.

Sixth Aunt treated her like a daughter, yet she had failed to live up to her kindness.

"I'm afraid I'll end up making so much noise that you'll have to chase me away," she joked with Sixth Aunt.

But Ji Yong asked her with a grin, "Didn't you say you asked Wu Shan to help paint a fan? Where is it?" He looked her up and down. "Could it be that Wu Shan doesn't know how to paint? Do you want me to paint one for you? I'm not bad at it—I studied under the renowned southern artist Zhou Liuyi!"

Dou Zhao felt a headache coming on. For Sixth Aunt's sake, she couldn't be too rude, so she smiled and said, "Fourth Brother Wu said he'd send the finished fan to the Western Residence via a page."

"Is that so?" Ji Yong was about to say more when Ji Shi called out to him warningly, "Jianming, didn't you say you were going to Mount Tai to watch the sunrise in a couple of days? Have you packed everything? Is there anything you've forgotten?"

Ji Yong pursed his lips and said nothing more.

Dou Zhao noticed a flicker of helplessness cross Ji Shi's face.

She quickly stood up. "Sixth Aunt, I'll take my leave now. As for the jasmine flowers you wanted, I'll have them sent over at dusk."

"Thank you, Shou Gu," Ji Shi said with a smile. She instructed her senior maid, Caishu, to see Dou Zhao out, then couldn't help but chide Ji Yong, "What did Grandfather tell you? 'Speak less, observe more.' Don't disappoint him!"

Ji Yong muttered, "I know," but still couldn't resist adding, "Don't you think that Wu Shan lacks any grace or refinement? He's simply not worthy of Shou Gu! Who arranged this match? It's like playing the qin all wrong!"

Ji Shi was so angry she couldn't speak for a moment. "What nonsense are you spouting? What does it have to do with you whether they're suited or not?"

Ji Yong fell silent.

Ji Shi's expression softened, and she said gently, "Sometimes things aren't as they appear on the surface. Don't be so quick to judge."

Ji Yong gave an "Oh" and bowed respectfully to Ji Shi before withdrawing.

Ji Shi watched her nephew's tall, straight figure recede like a pine tree and sighed deeply.

Meanwhile, Dou Zhao instructed Su Lan, "Visit the Eastern Residence more often these next few days. If you hear any news, report to me immediately."

Su Lan was young but sharp-witted and clever. Previously, Dou Zhao hadn't been able to place her own people in the Eastern Residence, but with Su Lan, information flowed much more freely.

Su Xin hesitated. "Miss, shouldn't you discuss this with Consort Cui? Or perhaps Seventh Master in the Capital..."

She also thought the Wu family was a good match.Dou Zhao had no choice but to make an excuse: "The Wu family has close ties with my Fifth Uncle, and my Fifth Uncle aspires to become a grand secretary and enter the cabinet. He wants to compete with Wang Xingyi. I just want to live a peaceful and comfortable life and don't wish to get involved in all this."

Su Lan tilted her head: "But what if Fifth Master wins? The popular stories outside all say that those with Merit for Supporting the Ascension can become grand secretaries. If we help Fifth Master now, he’ll surely treat you well in the future..."

Before she could finish, her elder sister Su Xin rapped her on the head: "And what if Fifth Master loses? If we don’t think of others, others won’t think of us. As the young lady says, we won’t take sides and will live our lives steadily. If you keep talking about such opportunistic ideas, I’ll make you stand in punishment stance!"

Su Lan stuck out her tongue and clung to Dou Zhao’s arm.

Dou Zhao thought of her daughter Yin Jie'er, who would also cling to her arm and act coquettishly when scolded, and couldn’t help but smile. She wrapped an arm around Su Lan’s shoulders.

Su Xin chided, "Young lady, it’s all your fault for spoiling her!" But her smile spread from her eyes to the corners of her mouth.

Dou Zhao laughed heartily, then suddenly realized she could no longer clearly recall her children’s facial features. Deep in her memory, only their expressions—sometimes playful, sometimes respectful—remained.

She gazed out the window, and tears came without warning.

Su Lan and Su Xin exchanged glances, with Su Lan shrinking back slightly.

Dou Zhao wiped her tears: "It’s nothing, nothing. I just remembered some things from the past!"

Su Lan pulled a small scented sachet from her bosom and took out a piece of osmanthus cake, saying cautiously, "Young lady, my sister bought this for me. Whenever I miss my father, eating a piece of cake makes me feel better. Have one too, and you won’t think about those past things anymore."

Dou Zhao placed a piece of osmanthus cake in her mouth, tears still in her eyes, and smiled: "It’s delicious!"

Su Lan beamed, her smile as bright as sunlight, dispelling the gloom in Dou Zhao’s heart.

Su Xin turned her face away and wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes.

Dou Zhao composed herself and said, "Let’s go find Mr. Chen. I asked him to invite Chen Xiaofeng and Duan Gongyi to serve as house guards for me, but I don’t know how that’s coming along. With so few people around, I always feel uneasy when going out. Also, we need to secure that fixed allowance of ten thousand taels of silver soon, so we don’t end up inviting people but having no money to settle them."

Su Lan gasped: "More silver? Didn’t the young lady already give them a large reward?"

"A reward is a reward, and wages are wages. How can they be the same?"

The three of them chatted and laughed as they returned to the East Mansion.

Grandmother was sorting through trunks, shaking her head at one thing after another. Dou Zhao asked with a smile, "Are you preparing autumn clothes or winter clothes?"

Hong Gu stifled a laugh beside her.

Suddenly, Dou Zhao understood.

Grandmother was preparing dowry items for her.

A fine sweat broke out on her forehead. She took Grandmother’s hand and led her to the outer hall.

Grandmother chuckled and instructed her, "Help me write a letter to your father. Ask him to find a few tailors and embroiderers from Jiangnan. We’ll make some nice new clothes to wear."

Was such a grand gesture really necessary?

Seeing Grandmother’s enthusiasm, Dou Zhao agreed anyway.

If it made the old lady happy, so be it!Grandmother began discussing with her which shops had the best shoes and which sold the finest hairpieces. Dou Zhao had no idea where the elderly lady gathered such information, but it filled her heart with warmth. After chatting for about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, Gan Lu entered to announce, "Mr. Chen requests the young lady's presence in the study!"

"You should go quickly then!" Grandmother urged. "It's probably something about the shops?"

Most likely concerning the hiring of guards, Dou Zhao thought.

Without voicing her guess, she headed to the study.

Indeed, Chen Qushui had sought her out for this matter: "Chen Xiaofeng and the others agreed without hesitation. However, they all requested to finish out this month and wait until their employers find replacements before coming. Only Duan Gongyi said he could arrive within the next couple of days. Upon inquiring, I learned that Duan Gongyi originally became a house guard at the Lang family through the old master's personal invitation. After the old master passed away, the current head of the Lang family considered Duan's fixed allowance too high and had wanted to reduce it several times. Out of respect for his service to the old master, they couldn't bring themselves to say it. Duan had long wanted to leave, but with his bedridden mother requiring both care and expensive medicine, he couldn't find a better position than being a house guard for the Lang family and didn't dare bring it up. When I approached him, he was greatly relieved and even offered to take five taels less than what the Lang family paid him. Seeing his immediate readiness for the role, I offered five taels more than the Lang family's rate, but he absolutely refused to accept..."

Dou Zhao pondered, "Who else is in his family?"

"His wife passed away a few years ago," Chen Qushui replied. "They had no children. His mother's illness has drained their savings over the years, leaving him unable to remarry."

"Then buy a maidservant to care for his mother," Dou Zhao decided. "We'll cover the maidservant's monthly allowance."

Chen Qushui agreed with a smile. Dou Zhao then inquired about the legal case's progress: "Pang Xilou wants to sue the Dou family. Has Lord Lu accepted the petition?"

"He has," Chen Qushui said with a laugh. "Not only did he accept it, but he also invited Pang Xilou for drinks at the back office, advising him to turn major issues into minor ones and minor ones into none. That Pang Xilou is quite the character—after hearing Lord Lu's advice, he claimed it wasn't his idea to sue but his second brother's, asking Lord Lu not to be angry..."

The Pang family was more amusing than she had imagined.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but chuckle and entrusted Chen Qushui: "Please keep an eye on this matter for me."

Chen Qushui cheerfully agreed. In the following days, he busied himself arranging accommodations for the new guards, inquiring about Pang Kunbai's condition, and monitoring reactions from the Capital.

Ji Yong set his departure date for Mount Tai and went around bidding farewell to various members of the Dou family, naturally including Wu Tai Tai, who also resided in the guest quarters.

Wu Tai Tai warmly invited Ji Yong for tea.

Without ceremony, Ji Yong took a seat beside her and asked, "Why haven't I seen Brother Wu Shan these past few days?"

He stayed in the eastern guest quarters of the east residence, while Wu Shan lived with his mother and sister in the western guest quarters.

Wu Tai Tai smiled. "We'll be leaving for the Capital in a couple of days. Perhaps fearing his father might test him on his studies, he's been holed up in his room working hard, burning the midnight oil and refusing any disturbances. Today, if not for Zhigeer, we probably couldn't have gotten him to open his door—he went out with Zhigeer, saying some classmates wanted to see him off."Ji Yong laughed and said, "No wonder Brother Wu is so well-liked—he truly has a forthright nature. If it weren't for him that day, we might never have found that farmstead!"

Wu Tai Tai was taken aback. "What farmstead?"

Ji Yong's smile faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered and replied, "Oh, we got lost while out for leisure that day, and Brother Wu helped us find our way." Then he picked up his teacup and took several large gulps, as if trying to conceal something.

Wu Tai Tai grew suspicious.

After seeing Ji Yong off, she summoned Wu Shan's page for questioning.

Though the page had been warned by Wu Shan, he dared not lie to Wu Tai Tai and quickly spilled every detail of Dou Zhao's abduction like beans from a bamboo tube.

Wu Tai Tai's expression darkened upon hearing this. She pressed the page repeatedly, "When you arrived, Pang Kunbai was already half-beaten to death? And Fourth Miss Dou was completely unharmed, surrounded by unfamiliar guards?"

The page swore, "Madam, I wouldn’t dare deceive you. If I’ve spoken a single lie, may I be struck by lightning and die a wretched death!"

Wu Tai Tai raised a hand to silence him and whispered sternly, "Never speak of this again, or you’ll be beaten to death."

The page shuddered, nodding frantically before scrambling out of the hall in haste.