As Madam Gao walked out the door, her wet nurse immediately came forward. Seeing her ashen face, the wet nurse’s heart skipped a beat as she hurriedly asked in a low voice: “What happened?”
“They’ve gone mad, mad!” Madam Gao trembled with anger, “They’ve all gone mad!” As she spoke, she scanned the courtyard.
The courtyard was silent. The large red lanterns under the eaves cast their light on the blooming tuberose flowers by the steps, making them appear even more beautiful.
Coming from a noble family, she knew that just because she couldn’t see anyone in the courtyard didn’t mean no one was there.
“Go call the carriage driver and give him one tael of silver,” Madam Gao instructed her wet nurse, “We’re leaving for Nanwa now.”
The carriage and driver belonged to Scholar Li from their village, who had forcefully lent them to their family after hearing about Wang Xing Yi’s reinstatement. They had originally planned to return tomorrow night, but asking the driver to travel through the night would require a reward.
The wet nurse knew something had changed, but being from the Gao family, she understood propriety and didn’t ask questions. She called the carriage driver, making the excuse of an urgent matter at home, and they left the Dou residence early.
On the road, they encountered the Dou family’s carriage.
The wet nurse made a sound of surprise and smiled: “It might be Master Seven of the Dou family returning!”
Implying whether they should greet them.
But Madam Gao pulled at her wet nurse and instructed the driver: “Don’t stop!” Her voice was somewhat hurried.
The two carriages passed each other.
Madam Gao let out a long sigh, muttering: “How could I face the Dou family now!”
The wet nurse finally leaned close to Madam Gao’s ear and whispered: “What happened?”
The wet nurse had cared for Madam Gao since birth and had endured ten difficult years with her in the Wang family. She was like family to Madam Gao, who held nothing back and told her everything that had happened.
The wet nurse listened in shock, anxiously saying: “What should we do? What should we do?”
Thinking about Madam Gao rushing back to Nanwa at night, she held her hand and kept advising her, “You married the eldest master and on the nineteenth day he followed the old master to Xining Guard. To be honest, there’s only obligation between you and the eldest master, no love. Don’t be foolish – this is between siblings. You can try to persuade them, but don’t stand alone against them. You know the old madam’s temperament. Without you these years, how could the Wang family have bought land? How could young madam have done business? You’ve been more like a mother to the old madam than her own mother, yet when it comes to family matters, she always puts young madam before you. Madam Pang married in unwillingly, and even when the family had no spare money, she looked down on you. Relying on the second master’s indulgence of her every whim, she had to compete with you. Now that the old master has been reinstated, who knows what she’s planning! Don’t let everyone in the family end up looking at you with displeasure.”
“All mothers care for their daughters, just as my mother cares for me,” Madam Gao defended weakly, saying, “The reason I want to hurry back is to convince the eldest master to have father-in-law intervene and forcefully bring young miss back. Otherwise, if we let Madam Pang continue stirring up trouble like this, even if we bring young miss back, it might cause such an uproar that everyone would know. That would be mortifying!” Her expression was somewhat helpless.
The wet nurse nodded continuously: “I’m relieved that you understand the situation.”
Meanwhile, Dou Zhao saw a carriage pass by and turned to look.
This half of the street was all West Dou residences – who would be passing through at this time?
As this thought crossed her mind, she heard Gao Sheng say: “Seventh Master, it looks like the Wang family’s carriage.”
Dou Shi Ying was startled, then relaxed and said: “They probably have something to discuss with Wang Zhi Bing. We should pretend we didn’t see them.”
Gao Sheng responded with an agreeable “Yes,” and the carriage didn’t stop until it reached the second gate.
The butler and servants all came forward, and the steward smiled and said: “Seventh Master, Sixth Master came at the you hour and has been waiting for you in the study until now.”
Dou Shi Ying carried Dou Zhao to the study.
Dou Shi Heng was leisurely sitting in the drunk scholar chair reading a book, with tea and fruits laid out on the side table.
Hearing movement, he looked up and said “You’re back” to father, then asked: “You went fishing again?” His tone was so natural that anyone would think he was the master of the study.
Father smiled without saying anything.
Sixth Uncle seemed to want to say something but held back.
Father said softly: “I know what I’m doing!”
“Good that you know.”
The two of them spoke like they were solving riddles, and quickly changed the subject.
“What did you want to see me about?” Father asked, “You waited all this time for me, couldn’t you have left a note?”
“Just wanted to ask if you’re taking part in this year’s provincial examinations,” Sixth Uncle poured Father a cup of tea, “If you’re going to participate, it’s time to prepare for departure.” Then he tugged at Dou Zhao’s hair and smiled, “Little tail, did you go fishing with your father? Was Brother Feng’s food good?” He handed her a cup of tea.
It seemed Sixth Uncle not only knew about Father secretly visiting Grandmother but also knew that after visiting Grandmother, Father would go to Feng Bao Shan to talk!
Dou Zhao politely called out “Sixth Uncle,” responded “It was good,” and sat quietly drinking her tea.
Father was hesitant: “If I go, what about Shou Gu? There’s no one in charge of the inner courtyard, I’m a bit worried.”
Sixth Uncle dismissed his concern: “Send her to my place, let your sixth sister-in-law help take care of her.”
“We’ll see when the time comes!” Father was still uncertain.
Sixth Uncle didn’t press the matter, pointing to several volumes of books on the desk: “These are new essays published this year, Fifth Brother had them brought back. One copy for everyone in the family who’s entered school.”
Father said: “So Fifth Brother is determined to have all our family’s successful candidates participate in the metropolitan examination?”
Sixth Uncle smiled: “Zi Jun says he won’t go. He’s afraid of becoming a co-ranked jinshi!”
Zi Jun was Second Cousin Dou Yu Chang’s courtesy name. Later he really did become a co-ranked jinshi, but fearing ridicule, he refused to take office no matter what, and eventually stayed home helping Third Uncle manage the Dou family’s affairs.
Father laughed heartily and called for a maid to summon Tuo Niang, asking her to help Dou Zhao return to bed, while he stayed with Sixth Uncle to read the essays.
Dou Zhao tried hard to remember her past life.
Father and Sixth Uncle went to the capital together for the provincial examinations, both passed as juren1, and then stayed in the capital until returning the following June. In the metropolitan examination, Father ranked thirteenth in the second class, while Sixth Uncle failed.
She remembered Father’s mentor was He Wen Dao, then Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, who had been Grand Secretary for twenty years and presided over two metropolitan examinations, serving two emperors – a famous figure in officialdom who never fell from power. But the name Chen Ji Zhou, she had never heard before. However, she had married into a noble family and knew few scholars, so it was normal that she hadn’t heard of him.
At this thought, she suddenly sat up.
Dou Xiao was born in the gengxu year, on the sixteenth day of the third month next year. When he completed his first month, news arrived of Father’s success in the imperial examinations. Wang Ying Xue often mentioned this later, using it to prove how Dou Xiao had the fortune to prosper the family.
Counting the days, Wang Ying Xue must have conceived around this time.
She felt somewhat agitated but did nothing.
When it rains, it pours. When mother wants to remarry, she will.
If she could stop it once, could she stop it twice or three times?
Dou Zhao thought of her mother.
Even if she hadn’t died that time, seeing Wang Ying Xue pregnant and giving birth, wouldn’t she still have done something foolish?
Dou Zhao was angry at her weakness, but more than that, she felt heartache for her mother’s devoted love.
She tossed and turned in bed before finally falling into a confused sleep.
The next day when she woke up, it was drizzling. The leaves in the courtyard were washed a bright green, giving off a fresh scent.
Tuo Niang was leading Mo Li and Hai Tang in making winter socks for Dou Zhao when Yu Zan rushed in.
“The rain outside is so heavy!” she said to Tuo Niang while wringing out her wet skirt, “I need to take some silk thread to Sister Yu’s house later. Let me borrow the Hangzhou silk embroidered skirt that Fourth Miss gave you. I’ll return it as soon as I get back.”
Sister Yu was what everyone called Yu Da Qing’s wife. Yu Da Qing was Yu Mama’s son.
Tuo Niang was somewhat displeased and said: “If Sister Yu needs silk thread, why doesn’t she buy it herself? You’re using Fourth Miss’s things to curry favor with others. Be careful if Seventh Master finds out and gets angry.”
Yu Zan became embarrassed and angry, sneering: “As long as you don’t say anything, Seventh Master won’t know.”
She continued, “You think everyone is like you, thinking you’re rich just because you have ten taels of silver! Seventh Master is a master of the Dou family – three thousand taels of silver, if he says it’s for Fourth Miss then it’s for Fourth Miss. It’s just some silk thread. If I mentioned it, Seventh Master might see that I’m taking care of Fourth Miss on behalf of the former mistress and reward me with several boxes of silk thread! If you don’t want to lend the skirt, just say so. Don’t use Fourth Miss’s name to put me down.”
Mo Li was so frightened she hid trembling in the corner, but Hai Tang wasn’t about to back down: “Then let’s go tell Seventh Master and see if he rewards you with several strokes of the paddle or several boxes of silk thread!”
“You little wretch, you dare to defy me!” Yu Zan stepped forward and slapped the seven-year-old Hai Tang. Just as she was about to give her another slap, Tuo Niang rushed forward and grabbed her hand with force, causing Yu Zan to stumble and nearly fall.
“Try hitting her again!” Tuo Niang glared at Yu Zan angrily, “I’ll tell Seventh Master right away.”
Thinking that Tuo Niang came from a background of rough work in the laundry room and fearing immediate disadvantage, Yu Zan gave Tuo Niang a fierce glare and stormed out, rattling the curtains as she left.
Mo Li was so anxious she was about to cry: “Sister Su Xin, quickly apologize to Yu Zan. She’s surely gone to complain about you to Mama Yu.”
But Tuo Niang coldly snorted, stubbornly saying: “I’ve done nothing wrong. She was clearly wrong to hit someone. Why should I apologize to Yu Zan!”
“But…” Mo Li, who was a year older than Hai Tang, was very worried, “Sister Yu is Mama Yu’s daughter-in-law…”
“So what if she’s the daughter-in-law?” Hai Tang said defiantly, “Being a daughter-in-law makes it even more wrong to take things from Fourth Miss’s room.”
She supported Tuo Niang, “Sister Su Xin, when Second Madam from the East Mansion returned from Fujian last time, she specifically sent some Fujian specialties to Fourth Miss. I saw Yu Zan pick two pieces of each snack and send them to Sister Yu’s place. If Seventh Master asks, I’ll testify for you!”
They treated Dou Zhao as a child who didn’t understand, not avoiding her when Yu Zan hit someone and Hai Tang tattled.
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
This was the trouble of not having a mistress in charge of the household.
However, Yu Zan could no longer stay in her room. Her behavior would set a bad example for the young maids.
As for Mama Yu, they would wait and see how she handled this matter!
- Juren (??) refers to someone who has passed the second level of imperial exams in ancient China; still very prestigious and with the chance to to hold government positions or continue to higher exams. ↩︎
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