Dou Zhao watched his sixth aunt leave, but he was thinking about his fifth uncle's request for leave.

My fifth uncle is the Minister of Personnel. Who would he ask for leave?

Of course it was his immediate superior, Zeng Yifen, the Minister of Personnel and his teacher.

ha!

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing.

I wonder if Wang Xingyi will rush back to Kyoto to explain to Zeng Yifen, who is also his teacher, why his fifth uncle asked for leave after hearing the news?

Tuoniang looked at Dou Zhao and laughed for no apparent reason, then called out "Miss" in surprise.

"It's okay, it's okay." Dou Zhao smiled even more happily. She shook Caishu's arm, "Caishu, I want to go home and see my father!"

"But Sixth Madam has instructed that you will be sent back home after she comes back." Caishu was in a dilemma.

Dou Zhao didn't care and was determined to go back.

She is still a child, it is normal for her to be noisy and willful.

Caishu had no choice but to ask a little maid to ask Ji for instructions.

Ji is in the flower hall.

She glanced at the Second Lady sitting in the main seat, then glanced at Lang'er, the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law sitting opposite her, feeling a little subtle.

The second wife looked at Dou Shishu, Dou Shiyang, the third wife, Dou Shiheng and Ji who were sitting opposite her, and her heart was filled with anger.

What are you talking about discussing? The third, fifth and sixth brothers, who were born from the same mother, had already discussed it. But their three rooms were rushed in. They had no idea why the second lady called them over. How could they discuss it?

She knew that no egg can survive an overturned nest, but she was still angry at being forced to clean up the mess for the West Mansion. If she objected, given Lao Wu's character, he would have a lot of reasons waiting for her. Would she be able to win over Lao Wu? If she was not careful, she might leave people with the impression that she was seeking profit and avoiding harm, and was afraid to take responsibility. As the wife of the head of the Dou Mansion, what prestige would she have in the Dou family in the future?

The second wife glanced at the first wife.

The eldest wife's face was pale, her eyes were swollen, but her expression was calm.

This widow, who had been a matriarch for more than a decade and whose husband had died and whose children were still young, had her own plans.

Among the uncles and brothers, the fifth-old Dou Shishu has the best future. Langeer will have to rely on this fifth uncle for help in the future. They must not fall out with Dou Shishu.

When the eldest master was alive, he served as an official in Jiangnan for many years, and they had quite a bit of savings. Not to mention that, even if half of the property of the East Palace was given to Shougu, and the other six branches divided the remaining half equally, if they were a little frugal, it would be enough for them to live on for two or three generations. Why bother making a fuss over money?

As long as there are people, there is no need to worry about not having money!

However, the second wife has the most sons. If I propose that the six wives share the property, I am afraid the second wife will not agree.

Fortunately, she has now relieved herself of her responsibilities as a clandestine wife, so she doesn't have to take the lead in these matters.

The eldest wife pursed her lips tightly.

The second wife was full of resentment.

If she had known this, she should not have listened to the Second Lady and followed her husband to take up the post.

In order to let her sons study well and to avoid being accused of being "unfilial", she left all four sons in Zhending. Now, except for the eldest son Dou Wenmao who followed the fifth son to study and gain experience in Kyoto, the second son Dou Yuchang, the third son Dou Xiuchang and the fourth son Dou Guangchang, who ranked fifth among the brothers, studied in the family school. Wenchang was over thirty years old, but he was still just a scholar; although Yuchang was good at studying, he was much worse than his two uncles Dou Shiheng and Dou Shiying; Xiuchang, needless to say, got married early and had several sons, but he was not as good at studying as her own son Zhige'er; Guangchang was only slightly better than Xiuchang...

Thinking of this, she made up her mind and said with a smile, "What does Fourth Brother say?"

Dou Shizhu, the fourth elder of the Dou family, had made no progress in his career as an official. A few years ago, he finally gave up the idea of ​​being on the imperial examination roll. With the recommendation of Dou Shishu, he became a chief historian in the mansion of Prince Xinyang, the eldest prince of the emperor, who was enfeoffed in Xinyang. It was said that he was very much loved by Prince Xinyang, so he moved to Xinyang with his family two years ago.

Dou Shishu listened, hesitated for a while, took out a letter from his sleeve and motioned the maid to pass it to the second wife: "This is the reply letter from my fourth brother. I originally thought it was a bit inappropriate, so I didn't take it out..."

The second wife cursed Dou Shishu a hundred times in her heart.

Xinyang is thousands of miles away from Kyoto. As soon as I open my mouth, you can take out Lao Si's letter... If you hadn't planned it in advance, I would have killed myself in this hall!

But deep down I knew that the situation was hopeless!

The fourth brother had been in collusion with the fifth brother...

She didn't need to read the letter to know what was written in it.

But she couldn't help opening the letter.

Sure enough, Dou Shizhu not only agreed with Dou Shishu's distribution of the East Palace's property, but also suggested that Shougu's dowry be shared equally by the six families.

The second wife simply gave the letter to the first wife.

The eldest wife looked at him with a faint smile on her face.

The second wife sighed inwardly, and then she heard the first wife laughing and saying, "Fourth uncle and I have the same idea. I think we should just do as Fourth uncle says. This is not just a matter for one family or one branch. It concerns Fifth uncle's future and the rise and fall of the Dou family."

"I didn't show my fourth brother's letter before because I was afraid that my two sisters-in-law would misunderstand me." Dou Shishu laughed and said, "Seriously speaking, it was because I didn't handle this matter well that we are in this situation today. I appreciate your kindness. Since I made the decision, I should take the responsibility, right? I can't drag everyone down with me."

Before the Second Madam could say anything else, the Second Madam smiled and said, "He discussed this matter with me first, and I also agreed. You two should stop arguing, it is decided." The Second Madam made the decision and ordered Madam Liu, "Go and tell Steward Dou to invite the old lady from the West Mansion over, and tell him that I have something important to discuss with him." She then said to Dou Shibang, "You have always been in charge of the affairs of the two families, so take some time to sort out the accounts in the next few days. When the Zhao family comes, we can discuss which properties should be transferred to Shougu's name."

Dou Shibang quickly stood up and replied respectfully, "Yes."

Seeing this situation, the maidservant under Ji's instruction dared not go forward and ran back, saying that she could not go to the Sixth Madam. Caishu had no choice but to coax Dou Zhao.

Just then, Aunt Liu came out to pass on a message. Seeing this, she couldn't help but laugh and asked, "What's going on?"

Caishu quickly told Mother Liu what had happened.

Madam Liu was the second wife's personal servant, and even Dou Shishu had to give her some face. If it was normal, she would have asked a few questions out of concern and would never have taken the blame on herself. But thinking of what had just happened in the flower hall, and knowing the Fifth Master of the Dou Family, there was nothing that the Fifth Master of the Dou Family could not accomplish, the importance of the Fourth Young Lady of the West Mansion in her mind suddenly rose straight up to the point where she could not help but pay attention to her.

She couldn't help but laugh and said, "I was ordered by the Madam to ask Steward Dou to go to the West Mansion. Why don't you let Steward Dou take you there and leave a message for the Sixth Madam? How can you not miss your blood relatives? No wonder the Fourth Miss insisted on going back."

With Madam Liu's words, Caishu became bolder. She gave a few instructions to the maid beside her, and then accompanied Dou Zhao back to the West Mansion with Tuoniang.

Gao Sheng was instructing the servants to move Dou Shiying's boxes.

Seeing Dou Zhao coming back, he hurried forward to greet him.

Dou Zhao asked him, "Where is my father?"

Gao Xing smiled and said, "Seventh Master went to Qixia Courtyard."

Dou Zhao turned around and wanted to leave, but after a moment of thought, he asked Haitang to accompany Caishu, and he took Tuoniang to Qixiayuan.

From a distance, she saw Pang standing in the yard with an arrogant attitude, ordering the maids and old women to serve tea and water.

Dou Zhao took a detour to Dou Shiying's study.

The corner gate of the backyard of Qixia Courtyard is diagonally opposite Dou Shiying's study.

The corner gate was left open and unattended.

She entered the backyard of Qixia Courtyard without any obstruction.

There are several magnolias planted in the backyard of Qixia Courtyard. When the flowers bloom, they are as brilliant as colorful clouds, so the courtyard is named Qixia Courtyard.

Dou Zhao listened to his father and Wang Yingxue talking in the warm room behind the inner room.

"...I'm just an ordinary man, selfishly wanting to live a happier life and forget about the past," said the father, "but every time I see you, I think of how Gu Qiu died, and my heart aches like a knife... Yingxue, let's start over!"

Wang Yingxue was stunned: "You, what do you mean?"

"Yingxue, don't you understand yet?" Dou Shiying looked at Wang Yingxue with a complicated expression and murmured, "If we are together, apart from the name, I can't give you anything else..."

Dou Zhao in the warm room was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

What does it mean to start over?

What does it mean that apart from a status, nothing else can be given?

For a woman, you are willing to give her a name. What could be more important than this?

She couldn't bear to listen any longer, and angrily came out of the warm room and went straight to the front yard of Qixia Courtyard.

Mrs. Pang was lying on the window frame and eavesdropping like a gecko, while her maid was watching from the side.

The maid of the Dou family stood far away at the corner of the veranda, with a look of contempt in her eyes.

Dou Zhao stood there quietly, looking at Pang with a half-smile.

Pang's maid suddenly discovered Dou Zhao.

Her face flushed red, and she kept pulling at the corner of Mrs. Pang's clothes: "Second Madam, Second Madam..."

"Stop making noise!" Pang said impatiently, "I can't hear you when you talk!"

"No," the maid was so anxious that she almost cried under Dou Zhao's gaze, "It's the fourth young lady, the fourth young lady of the Dou family is here..."

"Who?" Pang turned around and saw Dou Zhao not far away.

"Oh, it's Miss Four!" She patted her collar and adjusted her temples as if nothing had happened, and said with a smile, "Miss Four, why are you here? Who accompanied you?"

In past and present lives, Dou Zhao admired her ability to talk to herself.

The people in the house heard the noise and rushed out.

"Shou-gu?" Dou Shiying stared at his daughter, speechless. "Why are you here? Aren't you at your sixth aunt's place? Who brought you here?" As he spoke, he looked around. When he saw Tuo Niang, his face darkened. Just as he was about to reprimand her, Dou Zhaoyi said, "Caishu came with me." With that, he turned around and walked out. "I have to follow Manager Dou's car back later!"

She didn't want to stay in this place for even a minute.

"Slow down!" Dou Shiying chased after his daughter, "I'll go with you to pay my respects to grandfather..."

Wang Yingxue followed out and stood on the steps, watching the figures of Dou's father and daughter gradually move away and slowly disappear from her sight.