"Of course we want to stay in the Dou family!" Wang Zhibing and Dou Duo said in unison.

"No, no!" Wang Yingxue shook her head, looking panicked, "She is still so young, I can't leave her in the Dou family..."

Can you bring him back to the Wang family?

Even if the Wang family agreed, it would be impossible for the Dou family to agree!

Wang Zhibing felt a headache looking at his sister who looked like a protective child.

When something like this happened to their family, the neighbors had already been talking about it behind their backs. Now that my father had been reinstated, more people knew about their family. By then, not only the small Nanwo Township, but the entire Zhending Prefecture would point fingers at their family behind their backs. Not only would my father be embarrassed, but the children would also have a hard time holding their heads up high in Nanwo Township. So when he came, my father had discussed with him and quietly took his sister back. After my father was settled, they would move the family with him to take up his post and never return to Nanwo again.

He was also thinking about finding a good marriage for his sister after things had calmed down in a few years.

What does it mean to have this child with you?

Will my sister get married in the future?

Even if the Dou family is willing to let the child go with the younger sister, and the father agrees to raise the child, how should they explain the child's background if relatives and friends ask about it?

They originally left Nanwo because they were afraid of the rumors. If it was said that the child was born by their younger sister, then her past would be exposed. Wouldn't it be a waste for them to move there?

If he wants to distance himself from the matter, he can only say that it is his child or his younger brother Wang Zhipiao's child.

It just so happened that this child came at the wrong time.

Some say it's his, but he hasn't been home for the past few years; some say it's his younger brother's, but his sister-in-law gave birth to a big fat boy who just turned one month old... Could it be that he picked it up?

These thoughts only flashed through her mind, but after all, it was her own family affair and she couldn't discuss it in front of Dou Duo.

Wang Zhibing had no choice but to whisper to Wang Yingxue: "There are some things we can discuss when we get home."

Wang Yingxue didn't dare to go back with her brother.

In her case, she would either be sent to a nunnery or married off far away. I'm afraid she would never have the chance to see her daughter again.

Dou Zhao still had the care of the housekeeper left by her uncle and mother, but her daughter was all alone with nothing. She could not pin her daughter's future on the hands of the fifth young lady of the Zhu family, with whom she had never met or dealt with.

Where is Dou Shiying?

Wang Yingxue looked around.

Why isn't he there?

He has always been soft-hearted and would never sit idly by and watch the mother and daughter separate.

"No!" She took two steps back and put some distance between herself and her brother. She looked at him with a bit of vigilance. "I will not go home with my brother without discussing Ming Jie'er's matter!" She said, winking at Qiong Fang who was standing at the door of the hall, and then begged Dou Duo with tears in her eyes: "Grandpa, Ming Jie'er was born weak and didn't even have the strength to suckle. The doctor and those old maids said that Ming Jie'er might not live long. It was me who raised her carefully from head to toe. How could I just hand her over to someone else? Please, for Ming Jie'er's sake, let me take care of her?"

"It was I who gave Ming Jie'er her name!" Dou Duo smiled gently, "Children are a piece of flesh that fell from their mothers. We all know that you are worried about Ming Jie'er, but Ming Jie'er is a child of the Dou family. She can't just follow you to the Wang family without knowing why, right? You just came to our house, you also know what the situation is like in our family. When you just came in, an experienced nanny, two maids, and several rough women were assigned to serve in your room. When you gave birth to Ming Jie'er, in addition to Ming Jie'er's wet nurse and the people who served in Ming Jie'er's room, two more maids were added for you... You don't have to worry. The fifth young lady of the Zhu family has been taught by the family since she was young. She has a gentle temperament, is virtuous and honest, and will take good care of Ming Jie'er..."

"No matter how good someone else is, how can they compare to my own biological mother?" Wang Yingxue watched Qiong Fang quickly leave Heshou Hall. She felt relieved in her heart, but she kept begging Dou Duo, "Please, old lady, please help me and my daughter get married?"

Dou Duo smiled and said, "Wan Yuan also grew up in front of his stepmother, so you don't have to worry, Ming Jie'er!"

The two of them were arguing back and forth, neither willing to give in.

Dou Zhao soon got the news.

She thought for a moment and said to Tuoniang, "Let's go see Daddy."

Dou Zhao wanted to know what his father thought and what plans he had for this matter.

Tuoniang agreed, dropped her needle and thread, and went to Dou Shiying's study with Dou Zhao.

Dou Shiying is not in the study.

Dou Zhao thought about it and went to the flower room behind the hall.

Grandfather and Wang Zhibing were drinking tea in the flower hall, while father and Wang Yingxue were talking beside the bamboo bushes behind the flower hall.

Dou Zhao made a stop gesture to Tuoniang, and relying on his small stature, he walked around the flower hall and hid behind the bamboo to eavesdrop.

"...No matter what, I am sorry for you." There was a hint of sadness in my father's voice. "I am older than you and I am married. Even if you were in love with me, I should have rejected you righteously instead of going along with it and doing something to humiliate you. Then I blamed Gu Qiu for not helping me cover up. I even abused Gu Qiu because of this incident, causing Gu Qiu to lose all face and hang himself."

"No, no!" Wang Yingxue said hurriedly, "How can you blame Seventh Master for this! It's Sister Gu Qiu who is too harsh in treating others and herself..."

"I used to think so too." Father interrupted Wang Yingxue with a smile, "But when I think of what Gu Qiu said to me before he died..." Father paused, "I think Gu Qiu was right. It was my own dirty mind that made the mistake, but I only knew how to blame others and expect them to clean up my mess..."

"Seventh Master!" Wang Yingxue looked as if she couldn't bear her father blaming her, "Don't say that. It makes me feel even worse..."

"Okay, okay, no more talk!" The father smiled and said, "After all this talk, Gu Qiu can't come back." He took out a royal blue purse embroidered with magnolia flowers from his sleeve, "There are three thousand taels of silver in it. Take it and go home with your eldest brother! If you need my help in the future, bring me a message. As long as I can do it, I will never refuse. I will take good care of Ming Jie'er. This will not separate her from me. Shou Gu favors one over the other. You can go back without worry! Don't learn from those bitter women and go to some temple to practice. If you meet a good family, just marry her! If you miss Ming Jie'er one day, send someone to tell me quietly, and I will let Shou Gu take her to the temple to burn incense or visit relatives at the fifth brother's house. You can take a look at her from a distance, which will also complete the fate of you and your mother. If Ming Jie'er grows up and you still want to recognize her, I will tell her her life story..."

It turns out that my father wanted to persuade Wang Yingxue to return home!

Dou Zhao looked at the two of them with a smile, and then saw Wang Yingxue, with tears streaming down her face, throw herself into her father's arms, hugging her father's waist tightly: "I'm not going anywhere, I just want to be by your side, even if I have to be a slave, I'm willing..."

"Don't be like this!" The father gently pried open the arms around him and said softly, "What should Lord Wang do if you do this?" He stepped back a few steps and looked at Wang Yingxue with sincerity, "Your father and brother treat you very well, you must cherish them and don't make them sad again..."

Wang Yingxue looked at the distance between the two, with pain in her eyes, and asked her father: "Is it because of the fifth daughter of the Zhu family?"

The father was stunned: "What?"

"Is it because of the fifth daughter of the Zhu family?" Wang Yingxue asked again, tears suddenly falling like rain, "Are you in love with the fifth daughter of the Zhu family? I heard that she is very beautiful..."

"What are you thinking about?" The father laughed, "I have never seen the fifth daughter of any family."

"Then why did you let Gaosheng deliver letters to everyone?" Wang Yingxue's eyes were somewhat intimidating.

It seems that she is not the only one who cares about the marriage of the Dou and Zhu families!

Dou Zhao pricked up his ears.

"You know I asked Gaosheng to deliver letters to everyone?" Father was surprised.

Wang Yingxue realized that she had let the cat out of the bag and said with a guilty conscience, "Ming Jie'er was noisy that night, and I coaxed her until dawn. Just as I was about to go to bed, I heard the maids say that Gao Sheng was delivering letters to various families on your orders..."

Full of nonsense!

Dou Zhao curled his lips.

Gao Sheng is my father's confidant. If he couldn't keep his mouth shut, my father would have replaced him long ago.

It was obvious that she had found out by some means!

My father did not dwell on this matter too much and said frankly: "I sent a letter to someone, telling him some things about our family and asking him to wait until I have sorted out the family affairs before talking about marriage..."

"Why?" Wang Yingxue looked at her father with a sharp gaze, "Why did you do this?"

Does she think her father did this for her?

Dou Zhao sneered.

My father was silent for a long time, and then he whispered, "Yingxue, I have my responsibilities! Xidou needs an heir, and my father is also waiting to have a legitimate grandson. I don't want to drag the fifth daughter of the Zhu family into this. She has no responsibility to bear the mistakes I made, and she has no obligation to face these disputes as soon as she enters the house..."

"Am I a mistake to you?" Wang Yingxue's face turned pale as snow and she asked sharply.

"Don't get the wrong idea." The father said kindly, "I just hope that no one else will be hurt because of me!"

"What about me? Who am I?" Wang Yingxue questioned her father. "You don't want to hurt the fifth daughter of the family, so are you willing to let Ming Jie'er and I go our separate ways? Are you willing to let Ming Jie'er be motherless since she was a child?"

"Yingxue, it's not that I'm cruel." The father sighed and said, "Ming Jie'er's identity in the Wang family is unknown. She is in the Dou family, and she is at least the fifth daughter of the Dou family. She is still young now and doesn't remember anything. She will be close to whoever she is raised with, so she won't be so sad..."

"She is my daughter, my daughter!" Wang Yingxue shouted in a low voice, and angrily threw her purse on her father. "I don't want your banknotes, I want my daughter." After saying that, she turned around with her head held high and walked into the flower hall.

My father smiled bitterly, shook his head and followed me into the flower hall.

Dou Zhao looked at the purse on the ground, wondering if he took the three thousand taels of silver for himself, he wondered if it would bring trouble to the maids and servants on duty in the brothel.