Dou Zhao avoided his aunt and ran towards his third aunt.
My aunt was stunned.
The third aunt picked up Dou Zhao with a smile on her face and said, "Aunt, the child is still too young. She doesn't understand anything. She can't be separated from the maids and old women who serve her. It will be troublesome if she is frightened. I think it is better to let her stay in a place she is familiar with. What do you think?" She couldn't help but sound sarcastic.
My aunt's face turned red and white, but in her heart she was scolding the little maid in the house.
She didn't even tell her mother the real reason why she followed her husband to take up the post. But the little girl Zhangru told the maid who usually played with her like a parrot, and the maid told her cousin... After a while, no one knew who informed the Dou family, but the Dou family had already made their preparations before she even arrived.
They had no right to take Shougu away in the first place, and now the Dou family had invited the mistresses of several wealthy families in Zhending County to testify. Shougu had no idea what she had heard, and she avoided them as much as possible. This time, she was afraid that she would not be able to get what she wanted.
Her eyes turned red, and her voice became choked up: "Shou aunt, your aunt is here to take you home to play." She made her last effort, "Do you still remember your cousin Zhangru? They are all waiting for you to play at home!"
Dou Zhao nodded, but hid in the arms of his third aunt. He stared at his aunt fearfully with his big black and white eyes, and stammered, "I want to play with my cousin... But Aunt Ding said that if I go with you, you will sell me to Laoshangou..."
The whole audience burst into laughter.
Aunt Ding was even more panicked and said, "When did I say such a thing? You are just a kid, don't say such nonsense."
Third Aunt's face was very ugly, but she still forced a smile: "Shougu, please don't talk nonsense!"
"The child is telling the truth. I was saying that Shougu and I are usually as close as mother and daughter, so why did she hide when she saw me today?" My aunt was so angry that her face turned red. "You are ruining an ignorant child like this, be careful of retribution!"
A woman smiled and advised: "It's all a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! Just explain it clearly, just explain it clearly! Mrs. Zhao, you have come from a long way, please come in and rest and have some tea..."
"What misunderstanding?" The aunt counterattacked rudely, "Is there such a misunderstanding? Our aunt's body is still warm, and you are trying to separate Shougu and her uncle. Are you interested in a daughter of a wealthy family and want to marry her to our aunt as a continuation? Are you afraid that our Zhao family will ruin the good things of your two families?"
This makes sense.
Several mistresses avoided him and no one dared to talk to him.
Seeing this, the aunt became even more angry. She snorted coldly and said, "I also know that the Dou family is rich and powerful. If they stomp their feet, Zhending County will tremble. But you can't bully people like this!" It was impossible to take Shougu away secretly. The Dou family was already prepared. Even if they could take advantage of the Dou family's unpreparedness to leave Zhending County, they would still have to hand Shougu over if they were caught by the Dou family on the way. In this case, it would be better to make a big fuss to give the Dou family a lesson, so that they would not think that the Zhao family had no one and would not show their anger to Shougu. My aunt had made up her mind, and her words became even more pointed. "What do you mean we want to take Shougu to work? I don't know where you heard that. Shougu's father and grandfather are both alive. Even though she has lost her mother, there is no reason for her to be fostered in her uncle's house. Your Dou family is a family of officials after all. Those who study and work as officials are not ordinary people. Even a woman like me knows this, don't you know it? Even if you want to frame her, you should think of a better reason..."
Dou Zhao was greatly impressed after hearing this.
Put the blame on someone else!
It turns out that there is a reason why my uncle thinks so highly of my aunt.
Third Aunt had been scolded until her face turned purple, but now she had no choice but to give in. However, she represented the Dou family, and if she gave in, wouldn't that mean she was acknowledging Mrs. Zhao's accusations?
The thought flashed through her mind and she glanced at Aunt Ding, whose face had turned pale.
The only option now is to let her take the blame.
Anyway, she is just a concubine and cannot appear in public, so it is reasonable for her to do such a thing.
"My dear," Third Aunt handed Dou Zhao to the maid behind her, knelt down and bowed to apologize to her aunt, "It's all my fault. I believed everything I heard. Please forgive me for my mistakes. For the sake of our kinship, please forgive me once." After saying this, her face turned serious and she ordered Aunt Ding: "Hurry up and apologize to my dear wife!"
Aunt Ding's face turned even paler.
They were the ones who made her instigate Shougu, and they were the ones who made her take the blame when something went wrong... But what could she say? Unless she didn't want to stay in the Dou family anymore.
"Mrs. Zhao," she suppressed the humiliation in her heart, thought for a moment, lowered her head and knelt in front of her aunt with tears in her eyes, "It's all my fault!" She fell to the ground and kowtowed to her aunt.
My aunt let out a long sigh.
Knowing that Aunt Ding was only following orders, what could she say?
Shougu was young and unable to protect herself. When the Zhao and Dou families fell out, the only one who would be implicated and the victim of their anger could be Shougu.
She had to look at the Buddha's face instead of the monk's, and she could only keep the matter quiet and keep people at peace.
Despite this, she still said to her third aunt: "It's not a good thing for this woman to gossip. Shougu is still young and ignorant. It's really worrying to have such a person around. I'm afraid I have to talk to my father-in-law about this matter. Shougu should also have a well-behaved person around her so that people can feel at ease!"
This is to ask the Dou family to punish Aunt Ding.
The third aunt could only bite the bullet and say, "What the mother-in-law said is right," and then tried to smooth things over, "Look at us, we are only concerned with talking. The mother-in-law is about to follow the father-in-law to take up his post, and she may not return to Anxiang for three to five years. It is better to meet by chance than to invite her. It just so happens that several ladies are visiting our home, so I will take this opportunity to set up two tables in the flower hall to see the mother-in-law off." As she spoke, she took the arm of my aunt and instructed the maid beside her, "Go and tell the eldest lady that I want to see off the Zhao family's uncle's wife, and ask her to come and accompany us."
The maid responded and left in a hurry.
My aunt did not refuse and said with a smile, "You came here so early in the morning, just to have a cup of tea."
One of the mistresses immediately took up the conversation and said with a smile, "When will Madam Zhao leave? Then we can join in the fun and see you off."
"Just these two days!" said my aunt with a smile, "Why bother Mrs. Zheng to delay..."
A group of people chatted and laughed, and went to the flower hall next door.
No one mentioned what had just happened.
Dou Zhao looked out over the maid's shoulder at the hall.
The empty hall was spacious and deserted.
Aunt Ding lay on the ground shivering, like a wilted autumn leaf, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Dou Zhao turned his head, his eyes calm.
If you dare to be used as a gun by others, you must have the awareness of hiding the bow when the bird is gone!
※※※※※
In the evening, my aunt stayed at Dou's house.
She invited Nanny Yu to talk.
Dou Zhao knew what his aunt would say without having to guess.
It's just to entrust her to Nanny Yu.
Unfortunately, although my mother brought half of the Zhao family's wealth when she married into the family, it was insignificant compared to the Dou family.
Brocade moves people’s hearts.
It is possible to charm someone with just a few words for a while, and it is also possible when there is no comparison. But if it goes on for a long time, and with the glory and wealth of the Dou family around, people will inevitably lose their minds.
What happened in the previous life is the best evidence.
She had no interest in knowing.
I am lucky to have found Tuoniang.
Dou Zhaoan slept soundly and got up early the next day. Before dawn, she asked Tu Niang to carry her to the guest room where her aunt was resting.
My aunt hadn't gotten up yet. When she heard that Dou Zhao was coming, she was very surprised.
Dou Zhao had already run in, using his hands and feet to climb onto the kang: "Aunt, Aunt, I want to sleep with you!"
Her aunt laughed, carried her onto the kang, and wrapped her in a quilt and held her in her arms.
My aunt smells like magnolia.
She said to her aunt, "Aunt, I will write to you in the future, okay?"
My aunt was surprised.
Dou Zhao smiled and said, "I know how to write a letter. It means writing down what I want to say on paper, so that my aunt will know what I have done."
The aunt hugged her tightly and said, "Shou aunt is so good! If your mother were alive, she would be so happy!" She was very sad.
Aunt Peng advised my aunt: "Don't say such things in front of the children again."
"No more talking, no more talking." My aunt smiled and asked Aunt Peng to call Yuzhan over.
Dou Zhao understood immediately after his eyes rolled.
"Yu Zan is not here." She said with a smile, "Aunt Ding wants to marry her off."
The aunt's expression tensed up, and she asked her gently, "Who is Aunt Ding going to marry her to?"
"I don't know!" Dou Zhao shook his head heartlessly.
My aunt thought for a moment and said to Aunt Peng, "Then let's call her Tuo Niang!"
Nanny Peng agreed and called Tuo Niang in.
My aunt asked Madam Peng to give her twenty taels of silver and said, "If the fourth young lady has any problems, please tell Madam Yu. If Madam Yu can't help, please ask someone to write a letter to tell me."
Aunt Peng handed a small piece of paper to Tuoniang: "This is the address of the master and his wife. I will tell you how to read it later, and you memorize it."
Tuoniang nodded repeatedly and took the note personally, but she refused to accept the twenty taels of silver.
"Take it," said my aunt. "I have told Madam Yu to give you five taels of silver every month. This is for the expenses of the Fourth Young Miss. I know the Dou family will also give the Fourth Young Miss a monthly allowance, but it will be more reassuring if you have some money in your hands. And if you encounter any emergency, you will have to spend money to hire someone to report to us."
Tuoniang nodded and put the two silver ingots in her arms.
Dou Zhaoyi was talking to her aunt in her aunt's arms.
"I want to play with my cousin, but I don't want to go to Anxiang," she said in a distressed tone, "Mother has gone to the South China Sea to worship the Bodhisattva. What if she can't find Shougu when she comes back? I have to wait for her at home. What if father forgets about mother? What if Nanny Yu gives mother's beautiful clothes to someone else? When mother comes back, there will be no one to play with her, and she will have no clothes to wear..."
My aunt was stunned.
Then I got excited.
"I have lived so long, but I am no better than a three-year-old child." Aunt Dou Zhao held his face and kissed him. "Shou Gu is right. This is Shou Gu's home. The Dou family should take good care of Shou Gu. Why did you follow us to the northwest secretly and let others abuse our power? Good boy, we will not go to the northwest. Aunt Dou will come back to see you in two years. If the Dou family dares to treat you badly, I and the Dou family will never let it go."
Dou Zhao smiled and nodded continuously.
She had never thought about going to work with her uncle's family.
This is her home, why would she give up without a fight, why would she give away what should be hers to someone else?!
She won't leave.
She wanted to leave because she was bored of staying at the Dou family and wanted to move to another place.
But I didn't leave the Dou family like this.
Dou Zhao came out of the guest room. The morning glow filled the sky, dyeing the blue sky red.
The immortal stroked my head and gave me eternal life.
She stood under the eaves, looking at the sky quietly.
If something like rebirth can happen to her, what else is impossible?
She wants to choose life and never be chosen by life again.