At this rate, Father’s marriage to the Fifth Miss Zhu would surely be delayed for two years, and by then it would be too late. Dou Zhao felt she needed to do something to speed up the marriage arrangements between the two families.
But before she could make up her mind, Spring Festival1 arrived.
According to tradition, on New Year’s Eve morning, both the East and West Dou households would visit the ancestral hall in North Tower Village to pay respects to their ancestors.
They would have their reunion lunch in the back courtyard of the ancestral hall, then return to their respective homes for their own family gatherings and to stay up for the New Year.
While concubines weren’t qualified to participate in ancestral worship, they still attended the reunion lunch.
Because Dou Ming was born premature and had always been weak, rarely leaving the house, Grandfather worried about her getting sick and had Wang Yingxue and Aunt Ding stay home to look after her.
Early in the morning, Yu Mama pulled Dou Zhao out of her warm bed.
While helping Dou Zhao dress, she instructed Yuzhen and Tuo Niang: “There will be many people today. Don’t get distracted by the festivities and lose sight of Fourth Miss.”
Yu Mama needed to prepare their family’s New Year’s Eve dinner, so she couldn’t accompany Dou Zhao to North Tower.
Both maids promptly agreed.
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but give Tuo Niang an extra look.
Today, both Yuzhen and Tuo Niang were dressed up in new clothes, wearing neat blue-green silk cotton robes, with red velvet flowers in their hair, looking especially spirited.
Yuzhen had grown up following her mother, who loved to dress up, so under her mother’s influence, she always appeared neat and properly made up when going out. It was normal for her to wear new clothes and dress up for the New Year.
But Tuo Niang, who had lost both parents at a young age and lived with her uncle, often went hungry and only had basic necessities.
This was the first time she had dressed up so carefully.
Tuo Niang tugged uncomfortably at her clothes’ hem and mumbled, “Yuzhen helped me do my hair. She said it’s New Year’s Eve, and everyone would be wearing red and green. If I were the only one wearing plain clothes… since Seventh Master is already engaged to Fifth Miss Zhu, people might think it’s intentional and cause trouble for Fourth Miss…”
This made sense.
She was in mourning clothes to observe the mourning period. But if her maids also wore mourning clothes, some people might develop other thoughts.
Dou Zhao smiled and nodded, telling them they looked “very pretty,” then picked two simple pearl flowers from her jewelry box, giving one to Yuzhen and one to Tuo Niang.
Both were surprised and hesitated to accept.
Yu Mama, standing nearby, smiled and said, “Since Fourth Miss is bestowing them, you should accept. When you wear them, if anyone asks, it’s Fourth Miss’s kindness.”
The two stopped declining and smiled as they helped each other pin on the pearl flowers. They then served Dou Zhao her breakfast and carried the plump-as-a-dumpling Dou Zhao to He Shou Hall.
Grandfather and Father were sitting on the kang bed talking.
Dou Zhao came forward and curtsied.
Dou Shiying placed Dou Zhao on his knee and asked gently, “Are you cold?”
“Not cold!” Dou Zhao shook her head and asked Dou To, “Grandfather, Grandfather, they say my father is going to marry Fifth Miss Zhu, is that true?”
Dou Shiying’s face reddened slightly, and he awkwardly tried to stop Dou Zhao: “Don’t talk nonsense!”
“I’m not talking nonsense.” Dou Zhao opened her eyes wide, glaring at her father disapprovingly, “They say Miss Zhu is a good person and isn’t afraid of Concubine Wang having a firstborn son.”
“Ah!” Dou Shiying’s mouth gaped open.
But Dou Tuo’s eyes flashed with a hint of shrewdness. He took a sesame cake from the box on the kang table and handed it to Dou Zhao, asking gently, “Who told you these things?”
Dou Zhao tilted her head while nibbling on the sesame cake and said, “Many people — First Aunt’s maid, Third Aunt’s nanny, and… Ninth Cousin’s servant…”
Grandfather didn’t pursue the question further, but gave Father a meaningful look.
Father looked embarrassed.
Fortunately, a servant came in to announce: “Ninth Master Huan has arrived.”
Grandfather smiled, “Quick, let him in!”
The tall and thin Dou Huanchang walked in quickly.
He respectfully bowed to Grandfather and Father first, then smiled and greeted Dou Zhao.
Grandfather nodded and stood up: “Let’s go!”
Dou Huanchang responded “Yes,” stepped forward to support Grandfather, and unhurriedly left He Shou Hall.
He had come to escort Grandfather and Father to North Tower.
Father carried Dou Zhao and followed slowly behind. When they were at a distance, Father gently pinched Dou Zhao’s little face: “You little thing, have you come to collect a debt?2” His gesture was affectionate, his tone helpless.
Dou Zhao giggled and asked Father: “What does “collecting a debt” mean?”
Father couldn’t help but laugh.
The group walked out the main gate.
Third Uncle and Third Aunt had gone to North Tower yesterday to prepare for the ancestral worship. Besides First Aunt and Dou Huanchang, their group included Second Madame, Sixth Uncle’s family, Second Cousin’s family, Third Cousin’s family, and Fifth Cousin’s family.
Seeing Grandfather, everyone except Second Madame got down from their carriages to bow to him, making the already narrow alley crowded due to the stopped carriages.
Grandfather held onto Fifth Cousin’s three-year-old son, not letting him kowtow: “It’s freezing cold, and there’s no outsiders here, no need for such ceremony. Whatever needs to be said can wait until we reach the ancestral hall.”
The ancestral hall had over ten side rooms, with large braziers in all four corners burning smokeless silver frost charcoal, making it as warm as spring.
“Little Uncle is always so considerate!” Second Cousin chuckled.
Second Madame poked her head out of the carriage: “Shou Gu, come to your Grand-aunt!”
Dou Zhao didn’t like this cold Grand-aunt and tightened her grip on Father’s sleeve.
Father hesitated slightly, then carried Dou Zhao over with a smile: “She’s very mischievous. You’re elderly, how could you handle her antics? I think it’s better if she stays with me?”
Second Madame paused briefly, looked at Dou Zhao quietly nestled in Dou Shiying’s arms, and nodded with a smile, saying, “That’s fine! She lost her mother, it’s best if you can be closer to her!” She then dropped the carriage curtain.
Father was somewhat surprised.
Over there, Third Cousin called out loudly to Father: “Seventh Uncle, if you have space, could you help carry two of my maids?”
Third Cousin had the most children, with three sons and one daughter, but household resources were allocated by branch, so he was always the most anxious.
“Yes, yes, yes.” Father carried Dou Zhao over, “If it’s too crowded, let Zhi boy come with us!”
Zhi boy was Third Cousin’s eldest son, eleven years old this year, named Dou Qijun. This fellow later became an imperial censor and made a name for himself in the scholarly world by impeaching Long Xing Marquis Shi Duanlan.
After Fifth Uncle Dou Shizu entered the cabinet, he went to become the prefect of Baoding Prefecture to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
But at this moment, he was just a lanky youth with a voice like a drake.
Learning he wouldn’t have to squeeze in with his mother and sister in one carriage, he immediately jumped down from his family’s carriage and ran over with a grin.
“Seventh Grand-uncle!” Dou Qijun bowed to Father, then reached out to pat Dou Zhao’s head, “Fourth Aunt!”
Dou Zhao, with an adult soul in her body, could barely tolerate Grandfather and Father patting her head, but having her eleven-year-old nephew Dou Qijun pat her head… she tilted her head to avoid his hand.
“Huh?” Dou Qijun was momentarily confused.
Dou Shiying was already carrying Dou Zhao toward his carriage, asking Dou Qijun as they walked: “I heard you recently quoted classics at the clan school, making even Old Master Du bow in admiration?”
Dou Qijun laughed dryly, putting aside Dou Zhao’s strange behavior.
He followed Dou Shiying into the carriage, sat down next to him, and said playfully: “Seventh Grand-uncle, aren’t you supposed to be staying home studying? How do you know about the jokes we make in school?”
This implied that Dou Shiying wasn’t focused enough on his studies.
Indeed, he was quite sharp-tongued.
Dou Zhao looked at Dou Qijun with interest.
“Always trying to show off your wit, be careful that trouble comes from your mouth,” Father laughed, “No wonder your father has to apologize to Master Du every few days!”
Master Du was the western tutor at the Dou family clan school.
Dou Qijun chuckled and nudged Father with his shoulder, saying somewhat roguishly: “Seventh Grand-uncle, can I discuss something with you?”
Father raised an eyebrow.
Dou Qijun smiled, “I made plans with my classmates to go see the lanterns in Zhending Prefecture during the Lantern Festival. Would you support me with some travel money?”
Father laughed, “Does your father know?”
“He knows, he knows,” Dou Qijun, seeing hope, said excitedly, “But he only agreed to give me three taels of silver, which isn’t even enough to buy a decent lantern! Seventh Grand-uncle, we all know you’re the most generous — lend me twenty taels of silver, and I’ll help you when you go to Fu Fang Zhai to buy antiques!”
“I have servants, why would I need your help? Besides, you might not even do as well as my servants!”
“Then, then I’ll copy scriptures for you.” Dou Qijun didn’t blush at all, his eyes darting as he quickly said, “I know you want to copy a thousand volumes of the Lotus Sutra for deceased Seventh Grand-aunt, to burn for her when her second anniversary of passing comes…”
Dou Zhao looked at Father in surprise.
Father hadn’t noticed her reaction and smiled, “Copying scriptures is valuable for its sincerity — what’s the point if you help me copy? Alright, alright, twenty taels is impossible, but ten taels I can consider…”
“Seventh Grand-uncle, ten taels is too little!” Dou Qijun gritted his teeth, “Wouldn’t that diminish Seventh Grand-uncle’s reputation!”
“I didn’t know I had a reputation as a ‘money-scattering boy’?” Father remained unmoved, “You’re so young, eating and using what your family provides — what do you need so much silver for? It’s ten taels, take it or leave it?”
“I’ll take it, take it, take it!” Dou Qijun feared that if he said more, he might lose even these ten taels.
Father laughed, “However, I’ll mention this to Third Brother and Sixth Brother, to prevent you from getting ten taels from me and then going to beg elsewhere!”
“Seventh Grand-uncle!” Dou Qijun wailed as he fell back on the large welcoming pillow.
Dou Shiying laughed heartily, feeling that the heaviness that had been weighing on his heart these days had somewhat dissipated.
Dou Zhao watched her father’s laughing face, feeling a mix of emotions.
In her previous life, she had harbored resentment toward her father.
Therefore, she had never really looked at him properly.
She had always thought he cared about nothing except researching his “Book of Changes”… allowing Dou Ming to be arrogant and domineering, Dou Xiao to cause trouble, and letting her fend for herself!
She hadn’t expected he had this side to him!
The sound of carriage wheels mixing with Dou Qijun’s jokes and banter, they soon arrived at North Tower.
Seven or eight carriages were already scattered in front of the Dou family ancestral hall, with stewards and servants busy coming and going.
Hearing the commotion, some ran to inform Third Uncle, while others gathered around, either helping to steady the carriages or setting up footstools.
For a moment, the entrance of the Dou family ancestral hall was filled with a bustling crowd and lively atmosphere.
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