That night, Wang Zhishao and Gao stayed at Dou's house.

Dou Zhao didn't care about these, she was waiting for Tu Niang to come back.

"Madame Yu said that she will deliver the things over early tomorrow morning." Tuo Niang came back a little late.

Dou Zhao heaved a sigh of relief and told Tuoniang: "Pack up all the things we usually use. We may have to stay with our sixth uncle in the East Mansion for a few days."

"Why do you want to live in Sixth Master's house?" Tuo Niang opened her mouth wide, "Is it because Aunt Wang is making too much noise at home?"

Even she knew about it, which showed that everyone in the Dou family had heard about it.

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "No. My father is going to Kyoto to take part in the provincial examination. He is worried that no one will take care of me, so he might send us to live with my sixth uncle for a while."

No matter what happened, my father would definitely go to Kyoto to take part in the provincial examination.

In her previous life, Aunt Ding successfully divorced Dou Zhao and her aunt, and she stayed in the Dou family safely, with Dou Shiying helping her to grow old and see her to the end of her life. In this life, she lost the power to manage the inner house, and Dou Zhao also lost the care of the elders. Under the circumstances that my grandfather did not like my grandmother, my sixth uncle's proposal was just the right thing to do for my father, and she would most likely be sent to my sixth uncle's house to live temporarily.

Dou Zhao was also willing to stay temporarily at his sixth uncle's house.

My sixth aunt’s surname was Ji. She was from Yixing County, Changzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili. Her grandfather Ji was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the Jichou year. Her ancestors also produced an imperial tutor and a palace elder. Their family was one of the most prominent official families in Jiangnan.

The Second Lady had taken a fancy to Sixth Aunt's family background, and relying on the convenience of dating given by Second Great-Uncle when he was a historian, she begged for this marriage for Sixth Uncle with a sly face.

Compared with the Ji family, the Dou family was far inferior in terms of reputation and financial strength at that time. Moreover, people in the south of the Yangtze River were more meticulous in their lives than those in the north. After the sixth aunt married into the family, the second lady felt like she was in a privileged position in front of her daughter-in-law, and was a little cautious in what she said and did.

Fortunately, Sixth Aunt came from a wealthy family and was generous and calm. She did not become arrogant because she married down. She was respectful and polite to both her mother-in-law and her sisters-in-law. In addition, Sixth Aunt was pregnant when she married into the family and gave birth to two sons. As a result, Sixth Aunt became the apple of Second Lady's eye.

In his previous life, Dou Zhaohe had little contact with his sixth aunt.

But before she got married, her father asked her sixth aunt to tell her about the concubine.

She still remembered that before her sixth aunt left, she held her hand and whispered to her: "Remember, the most important thing after you get married is to give birth to a son, and the second is to please your mother-in-law. As for your husband, you just need to keep a fresh face in front of him..."

This was the first time that someone had stripped away the veil of women's words and virtues and explained to her so bluntly how to be a wife.

Dou Zhao was extremely shocked.

But despite being shocked, she couldn't help but think carefully about what her sixth aunt said, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her, and the more it made sense to her, the more she acted accordingly.

In her previous life, she was so busy with her own affairs that she had no time to care about others. Thinking back now, she couldn't help but become very curious about the relationship between her sixth aunt and sixth uncle.

In addition, she had something to ask of her sixth aunt, so she couldn't help but look forward to staying temporarily at her sixth uncle's house.

※※※※※

At noon the next day, a large group of people came to the Pang family.

Perhaps he had already decided to let Ji take care of Dou Zhao for a period of time, or perhaps he felt that the atmosphere at home was not good, so Dou Shiying personally sent Dou Zhao to the East Palace in the afternoon.

The second aunt and the sixth aunt greeted them at the second gate.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but look at his sixth aunt.

Ji was no more than twenty-four or twenty-five years old at this time, fair and pretty, with her jet-black hair tied into a bun and two gold-encrusted jade hairpins inserted in it. She wore a lilac summer shirt and a white gauze skirt, with no other ornaments on her body, looking very plain and elegant.

She smiled and walked forward to hug Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao smelled the faint scent of roses.

She knew this scent.

It was not ordinary incense, but rose water from the Qin Dynasty. A small bottle cost fifty taels of silver, which was more valuable than gold. Moreover, it was only sold in the largest shops in Kyoto.

The second aunt smiled and patted her head, then said to Dou Shiying, "You should also come with us to meet the Madam!"

His daughter asked the women of the East Palace to help take care of her. Dou Shiying thanked them again and again, and the group went to the Second Lady's place.

The decoration of the Second Lady's room was simple, but each piece was simple and elegant, with a low key yet luxurious feel, reminding people of a storehouse where antiques were kept, lifeless and cold everywhere.

This house suits the Second Lady very well.

Dou Zhao thought about her cold-heartedness towards his mother and complained in his heart.

After the formalities, the second wife gave a handful of candy to Dou Zhao, and then asked Dou Shiying: "I heard that the Wang family is making some undue trouble?" There was a hint of severity in her casual tone.

Dou Shiying blushed and whispered, "I'll take care of it soon."

The Second Lady said, "You are going to take the provincial examination soon. I think we should let your Second Sister-in-law help you negotiate with the Wang family on this matter."

It was a tone of command, not a question.

Dou Shiying nodded shyly.

The Second Lady said "hmm" with satisfaction, and when she looked at Dou Zhao, she put on a kind smile: "Come on, Shougu, come to Second Aunt! Let Second Aunt see if you have grown taller?"

Dou Zhao felt that the Second Lady was like a thousand-year-old demon. She died ten years after his grandfather's death.

She had no intention of getting close to the Second Madam. When she heard the Second Madam's call, she did not go over. Instead, she took Sixth Aunt's hand and said loudly, "I am five years old this year, so I have grown taller naturally."

The sound was so clear and loud that everyone was stunned and burst into laughter.

Second Aunt said jokingly, "Second Aunt, you miscalculated! You should have taken the candy in your hand first and then called Shougu over. Now you have nothing in your hand, how can Shougu come to you?"

Everyone laughed again.

Second Aunt stood up and said to Dou Shiying with a smile, "Don't worry, leave Shougu to Sixth Brother's wife. We will help you take care of her. It's getting late. Shall I go back with you to take a look? Zhending is only the size of a palm. If we make a scene like this, it will be embarrassing for everyone."

Dou Shiying patted his daughter's head, told her a few words like "be obedient", and then returned to Xidou with his second aunt.

The Second Lady carefully asked Sixth Aunt how to arrange for Dou Zhao, and then let them leave.

Sixth aunt took her to pay respects to eldest aunt.

As a widow like the Second Lady, she lived in the yard next to the Second Lady.

The house was silent, with green tents, black lacquered furniture, and pine shades blocking the sunlight outside. My aunt's haggard face was as pale as snow.

Dou Zhao recalled her former smiling face and sighed.

The eldest aunt smiled and held Dou Zhao in her arms, and asked the maid to bring in fruits and sweets to entertain Dou Zhao: "Come and see your eldest aunt if you have nothing to do."

Dou Zhao responded with a smile.

The sixth aunt chatted with the eldest aunt for a few words, then took Dou Zhao to leave the eldest aunt.

After going out, basking in the sun and listening to the noisy cicadas, Dou Zhao inexplicably felt relieved.

Sixth aunt asked her gently, "Are you tired?"

Dou Zhao shook his head.

The Sixth Aunt smiled and said, "Well, let's go and greet your Third Aunt." She coaxed her, "After greeting your Third Aunt, we'll go back and eat iced watermelon, okay?"

Dou Zhao smiled and nodded.

The third aunt and the sixth aunt lived next door to each other. When they entered, the third aunt was scolding her seventh cousin Dou Fanchang, who had just turned 20: "...Can you compare with Qijun? He can stump the teacher with questions, but you, you are stumped by the teacher..."

He was the eldest son of his third aunt. Before Dou Fanchang, his third aunt had three daughters.

Seeing Ji and Dou Zhao coming in, he could no longer argue.

Dou Fanchang greeted Ji and Dou Zhao with an awkward smile and left in a huff.

The third aunt rubbed her forehead and told the maid to serve tea and snacks, then complained to the sixth aunt: "I don't know which god I offended. I finally gave birth to two sons. The elder one is 20 years old and still ignorant. He only knows how to play every day. The younger one is smart, but he just doesn't like to study. Asking him to study is like asking him to die..."

In Dou Zhao's memory, his third uncle's two sons were really not very promising in their studies.

After Dou Fanchang passed the examination for a scholar, he continued to study and take imperial examinations, but failed. When he was over 30 years old, he switched to the antique business. Dou Zhao also introduced several important clients to Dou Huachang.

The Sixth Aunt comforted the Third Aunt: "He is still young and has not yet settled down. It will be fine if he gets married."

Dou Fanchang and his cousin are engaged, and the wedding date is set for March next year.

Third Aunt sighed: "I hope so!"

The sixth aunt took Dou Zhao to say goodbye.

Third aunt saw them to the door, and when she looked up she saw third uncle walking towards them in a hurry.

"Shou Gu is here!" He smiled from afar, bowed to Sixth Aunt, called "Sixth Brother's Sister-in-law", and said, "I have something important to see Mother about. Can you guys come over for dinner tonight? I'm here to welcome Shou Gu!"

Third Aunt said hurriedly, "Yes, yes! Come over to our place for dinner!"

The two families originally lived together in Dongdou, and except for the solar terms and sacrifices, each family ate their own food on weekdays.

The person they invited was Dou Zhao. Ji accepted the invitation with a smile without any hesitation, and then carried Dou Zhao back to the house.

Ji's wet nurse Wang had already arranged Dou Zhao's things and maids. Seeing that Dou Zhao's face was sunburned, she called Tuo Niang and helped Dou Zhao take a warm bath. She also helped Dou Zhao apply camphor powder, changed her into a white gauze shirt, and put on a silver necklace and silver bracelets. Then she took her to see Ji.

Ji also took a bath and changed her clothes. Two maids were fanning her from left and right.

She took Dou Zhao's hand and looked him up and down, then nodded with a smile and carried him to the bed: "Now you are like a girl!" She picked up a fan and fanned Dou Zhao while instructing Nanny Wang: "Today we are going to Third Uncle's house for dinner. If Sixth Master can come back in time, let him go to Third Uncle's house. If he can't come back in time, you can cook dinner for Sixth Master alone."

Dou Zhao guessed that his sixth uncle must have gone to her house with his father.

Nanny Wang smiled and agreed.

A maid with peach eyes and almond cheeks walked in.

When Nanny Wang saw this, she immediately took the maids who were serving in the room away.

The maid took the fan from Sixth Aunt's hand and fanned Dou Zhao, whispering to Sixth Aunt, "Third Master received a letter from Fifth Master, saying that Chen Jizhou was forced to retire, and Zeng Ge Lao recommended He Wendao to preside over this examination. Fifth Master was highly regarded by Zeng Gecai when he was the Minister of Personnel. When the Madam heard this, she immediately sent someone to take the letter to the old lady in the West Mansion. When I came here, the messenger had just left."

Sixth aunt said “hmm”.

The maid went to lift the curtain, and Nanny Wang and several serving maids came in one after another. They continued to do what they were doing. If the maid had not been fanning Dou Zhao, Dou Zhao would have thought she was dreaming!

Sixth aunt is indeed a hidden master.

Dou Zhao was embarrassed.

I couldn't help but think of what I just heard.

Zeng Yifen forced Chen Jizhou to leave, and Uncle Five was valued by Zeng Yifen, which was a good thing! Why did Second Lady hurriedly call Grandfather over when she heard this?

She couldn't figure it out.