When Ji Yong said this, there was no smile in her eyes, and Dou Zhao could even sense a hint of sarcasm.
Is he still upset about what he said last time about him being "unruly"?
I didn't expect that he was so petty and vindictive.
Dou Zhao smiled and said, "You guys are going to the Daci Temple to eat vegetarian food! I won't go. The New Year is coming soon, and I have a lot of things to do at home!"
Her answer obviously made Ji Yong very dissatisfied, and there was even a hint of a sneer on his face.
Dou Zhaoquan pretended not to see it and talked to the brothers Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang: "How are my fifth uncle, fifth aunt, and sixth uncle? Did my father bring back any words?"
Dou Zhengchang answered, "My fifth uncle and fifth aunt are both fine. My tenth sister-in-law is about to give birth. My fifth aunt hopes that she can give birth to a daughter, so that she can bloom first and bear fruit later. My father thought that my fifth uncle's place was too noisy, so he moved to Jing'an Temple Hutong in September to live with my seventh uncle. During his days off, my father went to the Daxiangguo Temple to look for antiques, and my seventh uncle went to Tianning Temple to listen to people talk about Buddhism. My father has gained weight, but my seventh uncle is still the same..."
Dou Bochang, the sixth among the brothers, was the eldest son of his fifth uncle, and Dou Jichang, the tenth, was the second son of his fifth uncle. Dou Bochang married the daughter of Guo Xun, the junior minister of the Taichang Temple; Dou Jichang married the daughter of Cai Bi, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. She had met these two cousins a few times in her previous life, but they had no relationship. In this life, she had never met them at all. Cai was pregnant as soon as she entered the family, and gave birth to two sons. The fifth aunt was afraid that she could not bear the bumpy journey and had a miscarriage. Then she gave birth to two more babies, and it was not convenient for her to return home to worship the ancestors. Guo had not made any movement for four years after entering the family. She could return home, but with Cai in front of her, it was difficult for her to return.
Dou Zhao heard what Dou Zhengchang said and then realized that she was pregnant. She thought about how she had given birth to a daughter in her previous life and then had no children. She had a powerful sister-in-law, Cai, in front of her and Aunt Bai who had given birth to four sons in a row behind her. Even though her father was eventually promoted to the Left Chief of the Censorate, a second-rank official, she had never been able to speak loudly in the Dou family. She suddenly felt pity in her heart and said with a smile, "It turns out that the tenth sister-in-law is going to give birth to a little boy. Then I will make some clothes for the little boy and let someone take them over?"
"Okay!" Dou Zhengchang said with a smile, "Father asked us to go to Kyoto with Mother after the New Year. Then Fourth Sister will go with us, right?"
With Sixth Aunt?
Dou Zhao couldn't help but look towards Ji.
Ji's eyes were filled with joy that could not be concealed, and she asked Dou Zhengchang anxiously, "Did your father say this?"
Dou Zhengchang nodded: "Yes, my father also asked me to bring a letter back to my mother. I was in a hurry to greet my grandmother just now, so I didn't have time to give it to you."
Upon hearing this, Ji smiled even more brightly and glanced at Nanny Wang who was serving Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang on their journey to Beijing.
Nanny Wang smiled and nodded.
Ji couldn't stop being happy.
She said to Dou Zhao, "You haven't seen your father for a few years, right? Why don't you come with us to Beijing this time? We will stay at the Ji family's Yuqiao Hutong in Beijing. We will stay there for half a month at most and then come back..."
In other words, there is no need to meet Wang Yingxue, and there is no need to visit the Wang family.
Dou Zhao didn't want to go back to Kyoto.
Jininghou Mansion is only three blocks away from Yuqiao Hutong.
She had no intention of meeting her old friend again.
"I'm not going." She said with a smile, "Dou Ming is still at home..."
Ji Yong suddenly said coldly: "Do you want to take care of Dou Ming or do you not want to live in the Ji family's house?"
It's only natural that she doesn't want to live in the Ji family's house!
Dou Zhao pretended not to hear and continued to smile and say to Ji: "And Aunt Cui loves to eat pork belly the most. If I don't keep an eye on her, no one can stop her."
Ji thought that she really didn't want to meet Wang Yingxue, and she felt upset. She stopped making things difficult for Dou Zhao and smiled and said, "Kyoto is rich in resources. What do you want? I will bring it to you when the time comes!"
Dou Zhao thought of Sulan's love for eating wo shredded candy, so he didn't bother to be polite with Ji and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you to bring me two packs of wo shredded candy... and bring me eight or ten boxes of the eight big items from Fu Xiang Zhai so I can give them away... and bring me some preserved fruits from Lin's, such as plums, apricots, olives, and winter melon pulp... bring me two packs of each."
"Aren't you afraid of damaging the carriage?" Ji laughed, but a trace of confusion flashed through her mind.
Dou Zhao had never been to Kyoto, so how could she know all the local customs of Kyoto so well?
Could it be that Dou Ming had shown off in front of her, so she ordered these on purpose?
Ji felt a pang of heartache and pulled Dou Zhao's hand: "But don't worry, I will help you get everything back without leaving anything behind."
Except for Ji Yong who had a stern face, everyone laughed.
Dou Zhengchang even joked with Dou Zhao, which was rare: "Fourth sister, do you want clothes and jewelry? I heard that East Street in Kyoto sells all these things, but I haven't been there yet. Why don't you ask mother to bring you some clothes and jewelry? Mother will definitely let us brothers go along if we don't have people to move the things..."
The atmosphere in the room is very warm and harmonious.
Despite this, Dou Zhao's indifference to Ji Yong and Ji Yong's stern expression towards Dou Zhao still added a strange flavor to this warm feeling.
He Yu looked at Dou Zhao, then at Ji Yong, with a glimmer of interest in his eyes.
The thirteen-year-old Jieyuan was a direct descendant of the Ji family. His father praised him again and again, and when he knew that he was going to Beijing, he specially hosted a banquet for him at home.
He was a man of profound knowledge, humble and elegant, like a warm winter day. Both his scholarship and his manners were highly praised by the scholars in Kyoto. How could he be so angry and upset just because the young lady from the Dou family ignored him? Who would believe it if I told others about it?
He Yu's lips curled up slightly, he lowered his head and took a sip of tea, but the scene when he first met Dou Zhao flashed through his mind.
The morning light shone on her smooth forehead, tiny beads of sweat were crystal clear and as bright as dewdrops, her cheeks were rosy, her eyes were bright and lively, and she looked like a flower in full bloom, more dazzling than the rosy clouds in the sky.
A trace of confusion flashed through his mind.
He Yu couldn't help but compare Dou Zhaohe with several sisters in her family.
The He family had been prominent since the previous dynasty, and now it was even more prosperous. In terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, few families could compare with them. The sisters in the family were also very beautiful, like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each with their own style. But compared with Dou Zhao, it always seemed that something was missing. Seriously speaking, although Dou Zhao was handsome, he could not be called stunning; his clothes were elegant, but not ingenious, and he was not even as good as Ji Yong - the seemingly ordinary blue cloth robe he was wearing had a fine and firm texture, as if it was covered with velvet. It was a twill cloth special to Jiading. Even the plain color cost three taels of silver a piece, and when dyed blue, it would probably be more expensive than the gold-covered robe he was wearing. This was the usual dress of those children from wealthy families, but he did not like such pretense and disdained it.
But for some reason, Dou Zhao has a temperament that his sisters don't have.
Just like she didn't want to pay attention to Ji Jianming, she could just ignore him, without forcing, perfunctory, or pretending. But among his sisters, there are gentle ones, strong ones, smart ones, and ones who are good at judging the situation. If they encounter such a situation, even if they don't like it in their hearts, they are afraid of being blamed by their father and brothers, and afraid of losing their mother's love. No matter how wronged they are, they will deal with it. No one can express their true feelings as righteously and honestly as she does.
The thought flashed through his mind and he was slightly shaken.
His sisters are more like a flower arrangement or a fine painting. Although they are pleasing to the eye, they still lack some vitality. Dou Zhao, on the other hand, is like a tree or a clump of bamboos, tall and luxuriant, growing and withering with the changing of the seasons, free and natural, and unshakable.
"Fourth Miss," He Yu suddenly interrupted Dou Zhengchang and sincerely invited Dou Zhao, "How about you put aside your trivial matters and go to Daci Temple with us for a vegetarian meal tomorrow? It will be more fun to take a break from your busy schedule!"
Dou Zhao of course declined politely.
There was no reason to reject Ji Yong but agree to He Yu.
Ji Yong's complexion looked much better.
A look of disappointment passed across He Yu's face.
Dou Zhao thought about how hard it was for Dou Zhengchang and his men to travel. After entering the house, he did not even have time to say a few words to Ji Shi, so he stood up and said goodbye: "I'm going to pay my respects to the Second Madam and visit Ming'er, the son of my ninth cousin."
Mingger is the son of Dou Huanchang.
Thinking of He Yu, a distinguished guest at home, Ji reminded her a few words like "come over and visit when you are free", and asked Caishu to see her off. Then she chatted with He Yu for a few words, and then they went their separate ways and returned to their rooms to rest.
She was talking with Nanny Wang in the inner room.
"Have you seen the daughter of the Han family?" Ji couldn't hide her joy and curiosity. "What's her personality like? What does she look like?"
Dou Zhengchang is seventeen years old this year and has long passed the marriageable age. Ji does not think highly of girls from Northern Zhili and is determined to find a marriage for him among Ji's relatives.
The Han family of Huzhou was her sister-in-law, and the family of Ji Yong's mother. They were also officials for generations. Not only did they have Jinshi, but they also had top two places in the imperial examinations. They were also one of the few wealthy families in Jiangnan. Moreover, they had intermarried with the Ji family for generations, and their relationship was very close.
She wrote several letters to her sister-in-law asking her to help her find a match for Dou Zhengchang, but her sister-in-law politely refused every time because she had never met Dou Zhengchang. This time, Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang went to Beijing to meet Han.
When Ji heard Dou Zhengchang say that Dou Shiheng asked her to take her two sons to Kyoto again in the spring, she knew that the marriage was settled, so she couldn't wait to pull Nanny Wang to ask about the situation.
Nanny Wang smiled, bent her knees and folded her hands to bow to Ji: "If you respect your wife, you will become a mother-in-law." Then she smiled and said, "No wonder you entrusted this matter to your seventh uncle's wife. Your seventh uncle's wife is really good at doing things! The tenth daughter of the Han family introduced by you is not only gentle and honest, but also very dignified. She is also very stable in dealing with people and there is nothing wrong with her. I also asked about it privately. It is said that the tenth daughter of the Han family has been obsessed with calligraphy since she was a child. She writes better than the young master of the Han family, but she is not very good at needlework. But what the seventh uncle's wife said is right. No one is perfect, and no gold is pure. For a family like us, it doesn't matter whether we are proficient in needlework or not. What matters is that we can help our husbands and educate our children..."
Ji nodded continuously: "Sister-in-law, what you said is right. A person without flaws is not real. I am most afraid of those who are perfect without any flaws. Such perfect people are usually pretending..."
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