Wang Xingyi's hand, as heavy as a thousand pounds, rested on Wang Zhibing's shoulder.

There was a servant peeking out from outside the flower garden.

Wang Xingyi's face darkened slightly, and he looked a little embarrassed. "What's the matter?"

The servant ran over tremblingly and said, "Sir, there is a man named Du who says he is the manager of the Dou family in Zhending. The fifth elder of their family is the same age as you. He is sending you a letter on the orders of their old lady."

"Could it be Dou Zhenzhi?" Wang Zhibing asked in confusion.

Zhenzhi is Dou Duo's courtesy name.

"It should be him." Wang Xingyi sneered, "Didn't he say that Yingxue killed his daughter-in-law? The blood feud is irreconcilable. I wonder what he wants to talk to us about?" Then he ordered the servant, "Bring the letter over."

The servant came running over with the letter.

Wang Xingyi took a look at the letter and handed it to his son.

Wang Zhibing took the letter with suspicion, and read it quickly: "Dou Zhenzhi actually wants you and their family's steward to ask Zhao Ruifu for his consent to make Yingxue his legal wife?" He had no idea of ​​the situation and was unable to react for a long time.

Wang Xingyi sneered and said to his son, "Now you know why I said that, right?"

Wang Zhibing didn't know.

Wang Xingyi sighed helplessly and patiently taught his son: "If the Dou family really didn't want to make Yingxue the legal wife, not to mention the Pang family, they could have forcibly taken Yingxue away even if she refused to leave. The matter has been delayed until today, but the Dou family has their own plans. When you came back and told me, I was still a little unsure, but now I can guess it. Most likely, Dou Yuanji saw that my mentor valued me and was afraid that I would steal his limelight, so he wanted to use Yingxue's promotion to become the legal wife to do me a favor. As a result, Dou Duo and the Zhao family disagreed. Not only did Dou Duo disagree, he also hoped that "I hope you can anger me, let Yingxue die, and cut off Dou Yuanji's firewood." Wang Xingyi said, snorting several times, and then said, "But Dou Zhenzhi suddenly changed his mind and pushed the responsibility onto the Zhao family - it's not that he disagrees, but Zhao Ruifu disagrees." He pondered, "If I guess correctly, the East Dou and the West Dou are probably just pretending to be in harmony. The reason why Dou Duo changed his mind temporarily is that the West Dou only has Dou Shiying as his only child, and he has no business, so he is weak. Seeing that I am now the governor of Gansu, he wants to marry into our family and use my power to jointly deal with Dou Yuanji."

Wang Zhibing looked at his father with admiration and said sincerely, "So what should we do now?"

Wang Xingyi seemed not to have heard anything, and muttered to himself: "Could it be that Yingxue really killed Zhao?"

Wang Zhibing was surprised.

Wang Xingyi said loudly: "Dou Zhenzhi said in the letter that he had sent people to negotiate with Zhao Ruifu twice about Yingxue's promotion to the position of legitimate wife, but Zhao Ruifu avoided him both times. He wanted me to meet Zhao Ruifu. Whether Dou Zhenzhi wanted to bypass Dou Yuanji and let me do him a favor, or wanted me to see how much effort he spent on Yingxue's promotion to the position of legitimate wife, or wanted to prove to me that Yingxue was indeed related to Zhao's death, or wanted to use my official power to pressure Zhao Ruifu to agree, you should go on my behalf and see what Zhao Ruifu is up to?" It seemed as if the words just now were just a momentary slip of the tongue.

Wang Zhibing was quite hesitant: "Father, the Dou family said that it was my sister who killed Zhao, but on the other hand, they wanted to make Yingxue their wife because you were valued by Zeng Gelao... She is cold and ungrateful... She is not someone you can make friends with... My sister may not have a good life..."

He looked at his father hesitantly.

"I know." Wang Xingyi said disdainfully, "I want to see what they want to plot against me." At this point, his tone paused, "As for Yingxue, help me persuade her and explain all the interests to her. If she still insists on being with Dou Shiying...she will have to bear the pain herself..."

It means no more help for her.

Wang Zhibing looked at his father in surprise.

"It's easy to be fair and just, but it's hard to be impartial and unbiased." Wang Xingyi murmured, "Although I hope she can live a good life, I can't live her life for her. There are some things that she has to understand herself."

Wang Zhibing nodded heavily: "Dad, I understand. After I meet Zhao Ruifu, I will immediately set off for Zhending."

By the time the Second Lady learned that Dou Duo had privately contacted Wang Xingyi and asked Wang Xingyi to help persuade Zhao Si to agree to make Wang Yingxue his legal wife, it was already the Mid-Autumn Festival in September, when osmanthus flowers were fragrant, chrysanthemums were yellow, and crabs were plump. Along with this news, the news also came that Dou Shiying and Dou Shiheng were both on the list of successful candidates.

Everyone in the Dou Mansion was overjoyed. Dou Duo even exchanged a basket of copper coins from the first year of Chengping and sent two stewards to stand at the door of his house to give gifts to everyone they met. People from all over Zhending County flocked to the gate of Xidou.

Ji personally combed Dou Zhao's hair into a bun, put on a pearl headband, and changed her into a bright red blouse with brocade patterns. With an unstoppable smile in her eyes, she asked her, "Are you happy, Shougu?"

Going through everything all over again, even the happiest things will lack some of the surprise.

But she still answered with a smile "Happy" according to her status.

Ji gave her a kiss on the cheek and took her hand: "Come on, let's go congratulate your great aunt and ask for a red envelope for you."

Dou Zhao nodded with a smile, and went to the Second Lady's place with Ji.

But just as they lifted the curtain and entered, they heard the sound of broken porcelain from the inner room, followed by the Second Lady's furious roar: "What does he mean? Is he afraid that we will kill his niece? She is thirty years old, why didn't he tell us to ensure that she lives past fifty?"

Ji knew that she had come at the wrong time, so she hurriedly took Dou Zhao to her aunt's place.

Dou Zhao was very curious about who the Second Lady was talking about and what had made her so angry, but she was not in a hurry. She thought her Sixth Aunt would be able to figure it out soon, so she just had to stay by her side.

Thinking of this, she felt worried again.

As she gets older, she probably won't be able to enjoy this kind of effortless news for many more years.

After drinking a cup of tea at their aunt's place, they returned to their room.

Cai Lan, who was standing in the corridor, also followed in.

She first glanced at Dou Zhao, then knelt down to pay respect to Ji, and whispered, "The Fifth Elder sent a letter saying that Uncle Zhao has agreed to make Concubine Wang his wife..."

"Ah?" Sixth Aunt was shocked.

Dou Zhao, however, breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that my uncle is not a man of courage but strategy.

Whoever wants to do this thankless task can do it, there's no need to drag yourself into it.

In her previous life, her uncle had given so much for her. In this life, she would rather suffer some grievances than let her uncle repeat the same mistakes as in the previous life.

If Wang Yingxue wants to be straightened out, then let her be straightened out.

In her previous life, Wang Yingxue could still pretend to be happy when she got married. In this life, she gave birth five months after getting married. Even if she was promoted to the first wife, the first wives would not date her because of their status. And Dou Ming's marriage was probably more difficult than in his previous life.

"However," Cai Lan glanced at Dou Zhao again, "Zhao's uncle has put forward two conditions. One is that the Wang family must not interfere in the marriage of the fourth young lady. The second is that half of the property of the West Mansion will be allocated to the fourth young lady as a dowry. From the day when the Wang family receives the consent letter for the legalization, a special manager will be responsible for the fourth young lady's dowry. If the fourth young lady dies after the age of 30, the dowry will be handled by the fourth young lady herself. If the fourth young lady dies before the age of 30, and has children, the dowry will be left to the children. If there are no children, the fourth young lady's dowry will be used as compensation and belong to the Zhao family."

"What did you say?" Sixth Aunt gasped.

Cailan looked at Dou Zhao again and repeated it.

"How could this happen?" Sixth Aunt said with a headache, "Zhao Ruifu is so bold!"

Dou Zhao was already dumbfounded.

She could understand that she was afraid that the Wang family would marry her off casually; but as for giving her half of Xidou's property... not to mention her grandfather, even Dongdou's second wife would probably not agree.

No wonder the Second Lady was clamoring about “fifty years”!

However, she quickly regained consciousness and calmed down.

If the Dou family can make demands, why can’t my uncle make conditions?

Just like the Dou family's request to make Wang Yingxue their legal wife, my uncle's proposal to give her half of Xidou's property as a dowry is equally absurd. But if your Dou family can do it, why can't my uncle think of it?

Asking for a high price, but paying low!

Only an uncle with such awareness can protect himself and avoid being eaten alive by the Dou and Wang families!

The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve into a happy arc.

Let the Dou family worry about this matter!

Ji's green onion-like finger touched her forehead: "Silly girl, still laughing! Do you know what your uncle has done for you?" She sighed, "Your uncle gave up the opportunity to get promoted and make a fortune, and only wanted you to grow up safely and marry a good husband. In the future, you must be filial to your uncle!"

Dou Zhao nodded continuously and said sweetly, "When I grow up, I will be filial to my sixth aunt."

She really meant what she said.

In her previous life, if she hadn't listened to her sixth aunt's words before getting married, she would have definitely taken more detours. Unfortunately, in her eyes, her sixth aunt in her previous life was a Dou family daughter-in-law who was gentle and polite to others but always a little distant and cold in her bones. She had no intention of putting up with someone else's cold face and making a fool of herself. Her relationship with her sixth aunt always stayed at nodding and smiling when they met.

In this life, although she was an ignorant child, Sixth Aunt did not care whether she remembered her kindness or not. She not only took good care of her, but also helped her plan how to survive in the Dou family surrounded by wolves in the future... It is better to teach someone how to fish than to give him fish. She will never forget this kindness.

Sixth aunt had no idea of ​​this. She smiled and said, "Oh, our Shougu is so sweet."

However, Dou Zhao could see that Sixth Aunt was very happy.

At night, Sixth Aunt and Nanny Wang were talking in private: "...I have always worried that Zhao Ruifu would go head-to-head with the Wang and Dou families. Now it seems that we have all underestimated Zhao Ruifu. Third Uncle went to Wang Xingyi without Fifth Uncle's knowledge just to kick the ball to Zhao Ruifu - it's not that I disagree with Wang Yingxue's appointment as the legal wife, it's the Zhao family who are interfering. Now Zhao Ruifu has kicked the ball back cleanly - it's not that I disagree with Wang Yingxue's appointment as the legal wife, it's the Dou family who are reluctant to spend the money. Third Uncle has really shot himself in the foot this time!"

"That's right." Nanny Wang laughed, "I heard that the old lady was so angry that her eyes turned black and she passed out on the spot. If Duan hadn't quickly supported the third old lady, he would have fallen into the lotus pond. However, our lady was very happy after smashing the teacup and even talked to Lang'er for a long time."

"That's right," Ji said with a smile, "In my opinion, if our lady was more insightful, she should have come forward to persuade Third Uncle to agree to Zhao Ruifu's conditions. Anyway, if the money is not given to Shougu, it will not be Dongfu's turn, so it is better to do a favor to the Zhao family and make Wang Yingxue feel bad. Don't you want to make her the legitimate wife? Then take out half of Xidou's property and give it to Zhao Guqiu's daughter. If Wang Yingxue knew about this, I'm afraid her quilt would be torn tonight."