ATLAS TRANSLATES

Mother was very worried about her maiden family’s financial situation, but Dou Zhao carelessly munched on sugar-roasted chestnuts.

In her previous life, her uncle had passed the imperial examinations even after her mother’s suicide. This time around, with everything kept from him, surely he would pass with an unburdened mind?

Once Uncle passed the imperial exams, all the previous expenses would naturally be earned back!

These chestnuts must have been stored in the cellar over winter. They were dry and sugar-roasted, without much moisture left. But having something was better than nothing—she was only a three-year-old child now, and what could a three-year-old do? She had plenty of free time on her hands.

Dou Zhao nibbled the chestnuts into tiny pieces, scattering crumbs all over the ground.

Her aunt was discussing her marriage with her mother: “After all, it’s only a verbal agreement. I think you should discuss it with your father-in-law and ask him to find someone respectable to formally arrange this matter with the Wei family!”

Dou Zhao paused her chestnut-eating for a moment before slowly continuing to chew.

Her aunt’s concerns made sense.

In her previous life, after her mother’s sudden death, her father had married Wang Yingxue within the hundred-day mourning period. Her uncle’s family had hurriedly left for their official post. Her father had devoted himself to studying, and immediately after the mourning period for her mother ended, he took the provincial examinations and passed as a qualified candidate.

Soon after, he participated in the spring imperial examinations, passed as a jinshi scholar, was selected as a Hanlin Academy scholar, and worked in the Ministry of Personnel.

By then, the Wang family had moved to the capital. Wang Yingxue’s mother, Madam Xu, missing her daughter, granddaughter, and grandson, had begged father to bring them to the capital for a reunion.

After getting grandfather’s permission, father had taken Wang Yingxue, Dou Ming, and Dou Xiao to the capital… Who still remembered her engagement to the Wei family?

It wasn’t until after her grandparents passed away and she was sent to the capital that her father suddenly realized she had grown into a young lady of marriageable age.

Remembering the arrangement with the Wei family, he sent someone to discuss it with them. However, the Wei family had been hesitant and never gave a clear answer.

Dou Zhao still remembered how anxious she had felt at that time.

With her father alive, her uncles from the East Dou family couldn’t take her in. Her uncle was far away in the northwest, and although her stepmother never short-changed her in food or clothing, whenever her gaze fell unconsciously on her, it carried a hint of viciousness, like a predatory wolf wanting to devour her in one bite. But when you looked again, she had already returned to her usual composed self, maintaining her dignified and elegant appearance.

As the saying goes: Abnormality indicates evil.

She didn’t know what Wang Yingxue’s true intentions were.

She lived each day in fear, worried that a moment’s carelessness would bring disaster upon her.

What’s more, her grandmother had warned her before passing that a woman without family support couldn’t establish herself in her husband’s home, so she must maintain outward respect toward her stepmother no matter what.

Though she had followed her wet nurse’s words and hated Wang Yingxue for driving her mother to death, the servants’ rumors about her mother being “jealous” and “childless” made her feel she had no right to hate Wang Yingxue.

Moreover, Wang Yingxue maintained such a good facade that even if she spoke up, no one would believe Wang Yingxue treated her differently. Her heart was filled with grievance and sorrow, hesitation and contradiction.

Her days felt like being fried in oil, giving her the feeling that “though heaven and earth are vast, there is no place for me.”

So when she first heard that her mother had arranged a marriage for her while still alive, she felt such joy at the thought of “escape” that she wanted to marry immediately.

This was also why, when she learned that Dou Ming’s marriage had fallen through and Dou Ming had sworn to marry into a prestigious capital family to wash away the shame, and Wang Yingxue had set her sights on Wei Tingyu, old and new grudges intertwined, making her and Wang Yingxue irreconcilable enemies.

Back then, if she hadn’t found a way to learn about her mother-in-law’s whereabouts and arranged their “chance encounter,” it was questionable whether the Wei family would have acknowledged this marriage arrangement.

If she hadn’t stirred up her mother-in-law’s old feelings, even if the Wei family had been willing to marry into the Dou family, it would probably have been Dou Ming who married over instead of her!

Dou Zhao slowed her chestnut chewing again.

In her previous life, it had been unavoidable, but did she need to continue entangling with Wei Tingyu in this life?

She remembered when she first married into the Wei family during the twelfth lunar month, just before the New Year.

To please her mother-in-law and silence Wei Tinzhen, she had voluntarily helped her mother-in-law manage the Wei household’s New Year preparations. Due to her inexperience, and because the maids and servants in her dowry had been hastily assigned by Wang Yingxue and were neither helpful nor close to her, she hadn’t known she was pregnant and ended up miscarrying due to overexertion.

That was her first child.

Wang Yingxue had sent Dou Ming to visit her.

Dou Ming had encountered Wei Tingyu.

That day had been sunny, with the official green bed curtains blocking the light. She had been lying listlessly on the nanwood canopy bed in the inner chamber, her face pale and lifeless, like a cloisonné vase left too long on an antique shelf, covered in dust, stiff and dull.

Standing beside the curtains, Dou Ming had worn a lotus-colored Hangzhou silk jacket with the four-seasons pattern.

The indoor light had shone on the pearls and emerald flowers in her black hair, emanating a lustrous glow, making her features appear as beautiful as a painting, as lovely as autumn medicine, causing Wei Tingyu to stare in fascination.

That scene had deeply wounded Dou Zhao.

Although Dou Ming was petite and graceful, she wasn’t a gentle person. On the contrary, due to Madam Xu’s doting from the Wang family, she was not only arrogant but also had a fierce temper and acted rashly, wearing her emotions openly on her face. This was why Wang Yingxue had been determined to marry Dou Ming to her own family’s nephew.

She had come deliberately that day, intentionally appearing so.

She had merely wanted to show Wei Tingyu what a beauty he had missed by not agreeing to marry her!

Wei Tingyu had not disappointed Dou Ming, praising her gentleness and loveliness several times in front of her.

At that time, her heart would still pound at the sight of Wei Tingyu, which was probably why she had been especially intolerant?

Dou Zhao crunched the chestnuts loudly, causing Zhao Ruru to exclaim: “Spit it out quickly, that’s a bad chestnut!”

Both her mother and aunt were startled.

“This child, how greedy!” Mother hurriedly took away the chestnut from Dou Zhao’s hand and offered her own tea for her to rinse her mouth. “It’s as if she’s never eaten chestnuts before.”

“Children don’t understand these things,” Aunt apologetically said, “It’s all Biru and the others’ fault for not taking good care of Shou Gu.” Then she scolded her daughters a few times.

Mother naturally tried to stop her.

After the two sisters-in-law had been modest for a while, Mother didn’t dare let Dou Zhao follow Zhao Biru and the others anymore. She took her and Zhao Zhangru to the kang bed to play, personally peeling chestnuts for them while continuing their previous topic: “Wei Tingyu is the heir of the Marquis’s mansion. I’m worried about troubling Sister Tian, so I plan to send someone to the capital to inquire first before discussing this matter with father-in-law.”

“That’s good! It’s more prudent this way.” Aunt nodded, and their conversation gradually shifted to Uncle, worrying whether he had safely arrived in the capital, if he was resting well, whether he would be listed on the golden roster, and so on. It wasn’t until the afternoon when the guard accompanying the carriage came to urge that “it’s getting late, if we don’t set off now we won’t make it back,” that Mother reluctantly bid farewell to Aunt.

Perhaps due to great dissatisfaction with Father’s failure in the examinations, throughout the spring plowing period, Father had been practicing essay writing under Grandfather’s guidance. Neither Mother nor Wang Yingxue dared to disturb him, so the plan to visit Grandmother was left unfulfilled.

As a concubine, with no relatives visiting, no friends calling, no sisters-in-law socializing, life in the back courtyard was very lonely. After paying her respects to Mother, Wang Yingxue would often find excuses to stay longer in Mother’s room.

Mother always remained distant with her, usually dismissing her after just a few words.

Dou Zhao felt that Mother still cared somewhat about Wang Yingxue.

If it were her, she would keep the concubine around to tell jokes and provide entertainment, otherwise wouldn’t it be a waste to keep someone?

However, some things needed to happen gradually.

Dou Zhao’s thoughts now were all about her marriage to Wei Tingyu.

For instance, her appearance had kept Mother alive, and Wang Yingxue, who was originally supposed to be the second wife, became a concubine instead.

Would her marriage to Wei Tingyu also change because of this? If she didn’t marry Wei Tingyu, who would she marry?

Dou Zhao missed her three children very much.

The spring breeze blew, the grass and trees flourished, and good news came from the capital.

Her uncle Zhao Si had ranked fifth in the second tier of the imperial examinations, earning the title of Advanced Scholar.

Grandfather and Father were both very happy, but Mother was the happiest. When the Dou family sent congratulatory gifts to the Zhao family, she took Dou Zhao to visit her maiden home again.

This time was different from the last visit. The Zhao family home was decorated in red and colorful hangings, as if celebrating a festival, with everyone’s faces beaming with joy.

Zhao Zhangru pulled Dou Zhao to her room and pulled out a rose-flavored pastry wrapped in oiled paper from behind her bed board: “This was sent by Examination Candidate Chen from town. Have some, it’s very sweet! Nanny Peng said I can have as much as I want in the future, and you can come to our house whenever you want to eat some.”

Dou Zhao looked at the half-crumbled pastry in her hand, her heart warming and her nose stinging as tears fell.

In her previous life, she hadn’t even known Zhao Zhangru’s name.

If for nothing else, just for this pastry, she decided to maintain a good relationship with her uncle’s family.

Mother had some wine, so they stayed at Uncle’s house for the night, leaving early the next morning to return home.

“This is wonderful now,” all the way home, Mother’s lips held a smile, “Our Shou Gu now has an Advanced Scholar for an uncle.”

Her expression was serene, showing great contentment.

Dou Zhao was happy for her mother and asked, “When will Uncle return?”

“He still needs to take the Palace Examination,” Mother smiled, “The earliest would be after May.”

“Will we visit Uncle’s family again then?”

“Yes!”

“I like Cousin.”

Mother happily held her face and kissed her, whispering, “Aunts and uncles are close relatives generation after generation, like broken bones still connected by sinew. You and your cousins are the closest relatives, understand?”

Dou Zhao nodded: “Even closer than Third Sister.”

Mother kept nodding, praising her cleverness, and personally carried her through the second gate when they arrived home.

In the courtyard, the lilac, magnolia, peony, passion flower, and purple orchids were all in bloom, creating a brilliant display of colors. Walking among them, bees and butterflies danced, and a subtle fragrance drifted through the air.

Mother stopped her steps and took a deep breath: “This year’s flowers are blooming especially beautifully compared to previous years.”

“Indeed!” Nanny Yu smiled discreetly.

But Mother’s face grew cold.

Dou Zhao couldn’t help but follow her mother’s gaze.

By the lotus pond in the pavilion sat a man and a woman.

The woman wore a goose-yellow spring dress, smiling like a flower as she held a round fan, lazily leaning against the pavilion’s beauty rest, her elegance carrying a hint of enchanting charm.

The man was handsome and refined, smiling as he sat at the stone table covered with xuan paper in the middle of the pavilion, drawing the beauty, his expression showing unmistakable joy… and satisfaction.

Dou Zhao’s heart tightened.

Mother had already darkened her face and walked straight ahead without a sideways glance.

Nanny Yu hurriedly followed.

From behind came a silver bell-like laugh.