Blossom

By mid-June, the matter of Pang Kunbai's robbery finally reached a conclusion.

Originally, Pang Yulou had intended to say a few good words for her nephew, but due to Du An's involvement, she and Wang Yingxue were confirmed to have instigated the crime. Madam Xu Wang naturally refused to admit any connection between this incident and Wang Yingxue, placing all the blame on her daughter-in-law. She claimed her daughter had merely been deceived and insisted on divorcing Pang Yulou. Wang Zhibiao, along with his two sons Wang Tan and Wang Shan, knelt before Madam Xu Wang's door to plead for his wife's forgiveness. Only then did Madam Xu Wang relent, ordering Pang Yulou to abide by strict rules in her presence. Not daring to utter a word, Pang Yulou diligently served her mother-in-law every day, hoping to weather the storm and not daring to mention Pang Kunbai again.

Dou Shiying was furious.

He threw a copy of Admonitions for Women at Wang Yingxue, ordering her to copy it in her room—she would not be allowed out until she had transcribed it a thousand times. He then handed over the management of the household to Gaosheng's wife, effectively stripping Wang Yingxue of her authority. He also set a date to send Wang Yingxue back to their hometown in Zhen Ding, where she would be placed under the supervision of Second Madam.

Madam Xu Wang was horrified.

Wang Yingxue's childlessness had long been a source of distress for her.

If Wang Yingxue were sent back to Zhen Ding, given her age, she would likely never bear a son again!

She personally pleaded with Dou Shiying.

But Dou Shiying remained unmoved, displaying an unprecedented firmness.

Left with no other options, Madam Xu Wang turned to Dou Shishu for help.

Dou Shishu smiled and said, "This is my seventh brother's family matter. As his elder brother, it’s not appropriate for me to interfere." However, he hinted to Madam Xu Wang, "Not even I could sway him. Even Shou Gu pleaded on behalf of Seventh Sister-in-law, suggesting that the Pang family compensate with twenty thousand taels of silver, but Seventh Uncle wouldn’t budge..."

Madam Xu Wang's eyes lit up. Upon returning, she pressured the Pang family to compensate Dou Zhao with twenty thousand taels.

But where would the Pang family get such a sum?

Madam Xu Wang sneered, "Then take your daughter back. We can’t afford to keep such a spendthrift in our family!"

Pang Yulou was furious and sent her trusted steward to persuade her three brothers: "As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Without the Wang family’s protection, no amount of silver will save us."

Pang Jinlou urged their father, "The ancestral property must not be sold. Second Brother’s restaurants and teahouses, Third Brother’s money shops and pawnshops—they should be worth twenty thousand taels. If that’s not enough, we can mortgage our sundry goods shop to borrow more. With the shop as collateral, the money shops will lend to us, and we’ll still have the means to recover."

The sundry goods shop was Pang Jinlou’s own business.

Their father nodded repeatedly, ignoring whether Pang Yinlou and Pang Xilou agreed, and immediately arranged to sell off the properties, scraping together twenty thousand taels to deliver to Western Dou.

Pang Yinlou and Pang Xilou kicked down Pang Jinlou’s gate and chased him down, beating him.

Pang Jixiu’s wife, Madam Chen, stood by with her arms crossed, watching the spectacle with glee.

Pang Jixiu, furious, yelled at her, "Aren’t you going to help pull Second Uncle and Third Uncle apart? If anything happens to my father, I’ll divorce you on the spot!"

Madam Chen wasn’t afraid.

Pang Jixiu threatened divorce at least twice a day.

She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back inside."Given the things Pang Kunbai has done, the Dou family showed mercy by not beating him to death. And now you want me to help you fight? Dream on." Madam Chen sneered, calling her maid to pack their belongings. "You're coming with me to stay at my family's home for a few days. We'll return once this matter is settled."

Pang Jixiu turned to leave in a huff, but Madam Chen grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back to the center of the hall.

"I'm serious—you need to listen to me!" Madam Chen's face hardened, her large, bell-like eyes flashing with menace. "You're coming with me to my family's home right now. My mother hasn’t seen you in a while and says she misses her son-in-law."

Unable to fight back and with his curses falling on deaf ears, Pang Jixiu could only stomp his feet in frustration.

Madam Chen chuckled and forcibly escorted him out of the room.

Pang Yinlou's wife was sprawled in the front courtyard, wailing, "Pang Jinlou, you scoundrel! You convinced Father to sell our family’s shop—how are we supposed to pay for Kunbai’s treatment now? My poor Kunbai, lying there like a living corpse..."

Pang Jixiu grew frantic and pointed at her, exclaiming to Madam Chen, "Look at this!"

"What’s there to see?" Madam Chen strode ahead without turning. "If he dies, he dies. People like him are just a waste of food and cloth, taking up space for nothing!"

Pang Jixiu was too furious to speak.

Madam Chen shoved him into the carriage. Her maid leaped onto the driver’s seat, cracked the whip, and the carriage rumbled out of the Pang residence.

Dou Zhao naturally had no desire to see Wang Yingxue return.

Out of sight, out of mind!

She instructed Su Xin to relay a message to the Pang family: "Those twenty thousand taels are compensation for us. If they want me to put in a good word for her with Father, they’ll need to cough up another five thousand."

The Pang family groaned in dismay but had no choice. They borrowed five thousand taels from loan sharks and delivered it.

Dou Zhao wrote to her father, stating that a household without a mistress would invite gossip. Since Gaosheng’s wife was currently managing the household affairs, it would be best to keep Wang Yingxue by his side and simply restrict her social engagements. Moreover, she herself had no wish to live under the same roof as Wang Yingxue.

But Dou Shiying was determined to sideline Wang Yingxue. While he agreed to let her stay in the Capital, he insisted that Dou Ming return to Zhen Ding to be disciplined by Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao refused.

Dou Shiying sent Dou Ming back anyway.

At ten years old, Dou Ming was delicate and graceful, her slender frame already hinting at a fragile, willow-like beauty. Yet her snow-white face was taut with anger, her large almond-shaped eyes burning like flames—more a thorny rose than a gentle water lily.

"Don’t think for a second that I wanted you back," Dou Zhao said coolly from her seat in the Grand Preceptor's Chair in the main hall. "If you’re upset, blame the Pangs. No need to take it out on me." She gestured toward Qi Xia courtyard. "You’ll stay in the West Wing Courtyard. I’m assigning Du Ning to serve you—do whatever you like there, as long as you don’t trespass into my main courtyard or disturb Consort Cui in the East Wing." Rising, she added, "Come, I’ll take you to pay your respects to Consort Cui."

Her sister’s icy gaze, composed demeanor, and absolute confidence—as though she held the world in her hands—instantly transported Dou Ming back to childhood. It cowed her into submission but also ignited a gnawing, venomous resentment.“How dare you order me around!” She couldn’t help clenching her fists and shrieking, blurting out thoughtlessly, “She’s just a concubine! Don’t expect me to go greet a mere concubine!”

Dou Zhao stopped in her tracks and stared coldly at her without a word.

A mammy hurried forward to cover Dou Ming’s mouth. “Fourth Miss, please don’t take offense. Fifth Miss is just overwhelmed with anger. No—she’s not angry at you, but at the master…” Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Dou Zhao recognized her.

In her past life, this was the steward mammy Madam Xu Wang had arranged for Dou Ming after she went to the Capital. Her surname was Zhou, and she had some distant familial ties to the Xu family. She was fiercely loyal to Dou Ming and managed her household affairs impeccably.

Who would have thought they’d meet again in this life?

Dou Zhao smiled faintly and said to Dou Ming, who was struggling in Zhou Momo’s arms, “Don’t humiliate yourself. This time, I’ll only punish you by kneeling in the Reception Hall for half an hour. If there’s a next time, I’ll make you kneel in the courtyard of the North Tower Ancestral Hall for two hours. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try!”

Dou Ming glared at her.

Dou Zhao instructed Zhou Momo, “Let her go. This isn’t the Wang residence—this is the Dou family. There are elders above and juniors below. If I don’t discipline her, her wild behavior will only ruin her reputation and leave her isolated.”

Zhou Momo nodded repeatedly.

Dou Zhao heard her whisper to Dou Ming, “A wise man knows when to retreat,” before slowly releasing her.

Sure enough, Dou Ming fell silent.

Dou Zhao took her to see their grandmother.

As her granddaughter, Dou Ming was warmly welcomed by the old lady, who held her hand and asked repeatedly about her journey—whether she had eaten well, slept well—and instructed Hong Gu to bring out all the delicious treats in the room for her.

Dou Ming had no love for the Dou family and even less for her grandmother’s offerings, but seeing Dou Zhao standing nearby with a smile that didn’t reach her intimidating eyes, she forced herself to humor the old lady.

The grandmother sighed inwardly and, after sending Dou Ming away to rest, said to Dou Zhao, “Your father sent her back, likely to prevent Wang Shi from corrupting her. As her elder sister, you must be patient with her.” She added gently, “You are sisters in this life, but who knows about the next? This is your fate.”

Dou Zhao wanted to say she had already been Dou Ming’s sister for two lifetimes… but not wanting to worry her grandmother, she simply bowed in agreement.

The grandmother hugged Dou Zhao with a smile. “I knew our Shou Gu is a generous and sensible child!”

“She thinks so too,” Dou Zhao replied.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so lenient earlier.

The thought made her burst into laughter, her mood suddenly lifting.

Back in her quarters, Dou Zhao summoned all the household stewards to the Reception Hall and reorganized the staff.

The kitchen, Laundry Room, stables, sedan chair bearers, and even the night watchwomen were divided into three groups: those in the East Wing Courtyard would serve Consort Cui, those in the main courtyard would attend to her, and those in the West Wing Courtyard would serve Dou Ming. The East Wing and main courtyard staff would be managed by Happy, while the West Wing would be overseen by Zhou Momo. The household expenses were also divided accordingly.

Zhou Momo was visibly surprised and hesitated before calling out, “Fourth Miss—” but Dou Ming cut her off. “You’re someone Grandmother assigned to me. Why shouldn’t you take charge?” Then she turned to Dou Zhao and said, “At least you know your place!”No one had ever dared to speak to Dou Zhao like this.

All the maids and servants in the room lowered their heads in fear, and for a moment, the silence was so profound one could hear a pin drop.

Dou Zhao lifted her teacup, gently skimming the tea leaves floating on the surface with the lid. The jade bangles on her wrist clinked softly, like a drumbeat pounding on everyone's hearts, creating an oppressive and heavy atmosphere.

"Dou Ming, do your knees hurt?" Dou Zhao asked softly. "Can you kneel for another half an hour?"

A flicker of humiliation crossed Dou Ming's face.

After paying respects to their grandmother, Dou Zhao had ordered her to kneel in the Reception Hall as punishment. Dou Ming had dismissed it at first, but one of Dou Zhao's maids forcibly dragged her to the Reception Hall, where she knelt for half an hour. Even now, her knees still ached faintly.

"Dou Ming," Dou Zhao continued, "I treat you as a sister and ensure the household servants respect you as a young lady. But if you disregard this respect, I can just as easily treat you as a stranger, and the servants won’t need to honor you either."

Dou Ming glanced at Su Xin standing behind Dou Zhao and fell silent, not daring to utter another word.