Pang Yulou has three older brothers, Pang Jinlou, Pang Yinlou and Pang Xilou.

Pang Jinlou was capable and had already seized the Pang family's shop when his two younger brothers were still ignorant. Pang Yinlou was smart and knew that he would not get any good results if he helped in the Pang family's shop, so he coaxed Pang's father to secretly give him his own money and opened a teahouse. Pang Xilou had been a gangster since he was a child and liked to fight. , he learned a few moves in the county martial arts school. He could not interfere in the affairs of the shop, and he was unwilling to serve others with a humble attitude like in Pang Yinlou. He only got a few dry monthly wages, with nothing to drink after eating, and nothing to eat after drinking. So he simply started a business of collecting debts and lending money with a few good friends in the martial arts school.

As soon as Dou Shishu heard it, he knew what the Pang brothers were going to do.

In order to curry favor with the Wang family, they could not wait to serve them. Now that the Wang family was going to marry the Dou family, they were afraid that the Dou family would bear a grudge against them for their previous actions and abandon them, so they simply acted out the drama of asking for forgiveness - I have already bowed my head and admitted defeat in front of my neighbors, you Wang and Dou families can't just beat us to death with one blow, can you?

Although he understood it in his heart, Dou Shishu was still somewhat surprised by the Pang brothers' preparation for the situation, their decisiveness and audacity, and their disregard for their reputation.

He had no intention of interfering in the affairs of the West Mansion and the Wang Family, but he was somewhat unhappy that the Pang Family had received the news of the upcoming marriage between the Dou and Wang Family so quickly. He smiled at the Second Lady who was seeing him off with her family members, and said, "I don't know why the Pang Family suddenly became so arrogant and respectful?"

The Second Lady thought about her son's words and understood what he meant.

She smiled and said, "Every effect has its cause, and every cause has its effect."

It means that I will investigate this matter myself.

Dou Shishu smiled and said, "I don't know how long the fuss will last. Lord Gong is still waiting at the post station to see me off. I will wait for my seventh brother at the post station! I can also have a chat with Lord Gong."

Lord Gong is the newly appointed official in Zhending County.

Although Dou Shishu is not the patriarch of the Dou family, he is the highest-ranking official in the Dou family. Now that someone is making trouble in the Dou family, Dou Shishu should go to mediate. But thinking about why the Pang brothers had a rift with the West Mansion... the second wife couldn't help but mutter in her heart, is it okay to let her son, who is a third-rank official, to ask about such a mess? Naturally, she hopes that her son will leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

She nodded hurriedly and said, "Although you have reached the third rank in officialdom, it is better to manage the family affairs than to be an official now. You must not be arrogant and offend Lord Gong. It would be even more inappropriate to make Lord Gong wait for you!" After that, she urged Dou Shishu to go and see Lord Gong quickly.

Dou Shishu thought for a moment and said, "Sixth brother, can you bring your sister-in-law and Shougu with me to the post station?"

Dou Shiying didn't come, but Dou Zhao had to see him off. Since Dou Shishu was determined to get Dou Zhao closer to the people in the East Palace, Dou Zhao's contact with the West Palace should be as little as possible.

Ji did not want Dou Zhao to be involved in the disputes among these adults.

She held Dou Zhao and looked at Dou Shiheng with a smile, as if to say, "If you agree, I can set off right now with Dou Zhao in my arms."

Dou Shiheng thought that this was the matter of the East Palace after all. If Dou Shiying needed help, he would ask the steward to help. If Dou Shiying didn't need help, he shouldn't go to help without hesitation. Seeing his wife looking at him, he smiled and hugged Dou Zhao, saying, "Shougu, let's follow your fifth uncle to see the post station in Zhending County, okay?"

Dou Zhao chuckled.

She was too lazy to care about the troubles of the Wang and Dou families.

Dou Dechang also wanted to go, but the Second Lady ordered Madam Liu to hold him by the waist and hug him: "Your father and mother have important matters to attend to, why are you joining in the fun?"

Dou Dechang pouted in grievance.

Dou Shiheng and Ji ignored him and took Dou Zhao into the carriage.

The Gongxianling was a man of about the same age as Dou Shishu, with a dignified appearance and extraordinary bearing. He claimed to be a Jinshi in the Xinchou exam, four grades lower than Dou Shishu, and he respected Dou Shishu very much.

Dou Shishu's attitude was very humble.

After everyone had exchanged greetings, Gongxianling, Dou Shishu and Dou Shiheng talked in the hall of the post station. Ji avoided them and took Dou Zhao to the backyard of the post station to look at the flowers and plants.

It was not until noon that Dou Shiying arrived.

He presented gifts to Dou Shishu and others to apologize.

Dou Shishu did not take it seriously and introduced Gong County Magistrate to Dou Shiying.

The county magistrate praised Dou Shiying for his good looks: "He is indeed a descendant of the Xie family."

After Dou Shishu and Dou Shiying expressed their humility, the palace county magistrate held a banquet to see them off, and Dou Shiheng accompanied them.

Dou Shiheng decided to study at home for three years before taking part in the imperial examination. This time, only Dou Shiying followed Dou Shishu to Kyoto.

This is the same as what Dou Zhao remembered.

Ji, who was eating in the back hall, saw that the dishes served were full of oil and sauce, so she only picked up a few light dishes and fed them to Dou Zhao: "Bear with it, your Sixth Aunt will make you lotus leaf soup when you go back."

Dou Zhao was never picky about food. After finishing the dishes, he ate another steamed bun. He was very satisfied and sleepy. He didn't even know when he returned to the East Palace.

After getting off the carriage, Caishu came up to greet them with a big smile on his face: "Sixth Master, Sixth Madam, Mrs. Zhao from Anxiang has returned from Ganquan and is now talking to the Madam. The Madam asked you and the Sixth Madam to bring the Fourth Miss over as soon as you return."

Dou Zhao, Dou Shiheng, and Ji were all shocked. Dou Zhao was even more excited and said, "My aunt is here? When did she come? Who came back with her?"

Caishu said hurriedly, "I have been here for almost an hour. I just had dinner in the Madam's room. Mrs. Zhao came back alone. She should be drinking tea with the Madam in the banquet room at this time."

Dou Zhao took Ji's hand and said, "Let's go!"

Ji laughed and hugged Dou Zhao: "Let me wash your face first and change your clothes, so that your aunt won't hug you and get you covered in dust."

Dou Zhao smiled awkwardly, followed Ji to wash up and went to the Second Lady's place.

My aunt is a little thinner than when she was in Anxiang, but she looks much more energetic.

She threw herself into Mrs. Zhao's arms, calling her "Aunt," and asked her, "How is my uncle? How are my three cousins? Why did you suddenly come back to Zhending?" One question after another, her words were so earnest that her aunt almost burst into tears: "After only two or three years of not seeing her, our Shougu suddenly became a grown-up girl, knowing how to greet people."

The Second Lady smiled and said, "For the past six months, Shougu has been following her Sixth Aunt. You know her Sixth Aunt, who comes from a famous family in Jiangnan and is a very virtuous person. She takes her with her wherever she goes on weekdays. In order to take good care of her at night, she even arranges for her to rest in her own green gauze closet. You don't have to worry."

There was a hint of exaggeration in the tone. Mrs. Zhao felt suspicious. She raised her eyelids and saw that Dou Zhao's little face was pink and lovely. After a summer, there was not even a mark of mosquito bites. She thought that Ji had indeed taken good care of Dou Zhao, and it was only natural for people to praise her for her merits.

She knelt down and saluted Ji: "Thank you for your concern, Sixth Madam."

Ji quickly returned the gift.

But in my heart, I was thinking about what the Second Lady said.

It seems that the mother-in-law still wants her to help Xifu take care of the children!

Dou Zhao also recognized some of the sounds. Accompanying her aunt to settle down in the guest room of the East Palace, she said to her aunt: "...My great-aunt asked me if I like my sixth aunt, and also asked me if I want my sixth aunt to stay with me forever!"

Mrs. Zhao didn't want to see anyone from Xidou, so the Second Lady asked her to rest in the guest room of Dongdou, and she immediately agreed.

After hearing what Dou Zhao said, she only left Aunt Peng by her side, then took Dou Zhao's hand and asked her seriously, "Do you like Sixth Aunt?"

"I like it!" Dou Zhao said with a smile, "She bought me beautiful puppets, made me new clothes and socks, fanned me at night, and painted my nails." As she spoke, she stretched out her little hand to Mrs. Zhao, "Aunt, do they look good?"

Mrs. Zhao felt extremely sad when she heard this.

These were supposed to be done by Gu Qiu, but now they were done by his aunt.

Aunt Peng whispered beside her: "It would be good if Miss Cousin could follow the Sixth Madam. It would be better than being subservient to Wang Yingxue."

"Bah!" said the aunt angrily, "How dare she show disrespect to Shougu!" But in her heart she knew what Madam Peng said made sense, "She will look like whoever raised her. Any girl in the East Palace will be better than Wang Yingxue. However, this matter needs to be considered in the long run. I need to take a closer look at what the lady means. With half of Xidou's property as a dowry, Shougu is no longer the same Shougu as before."

Aunt Peng sighed when she heard this: "Master, this move is too risky. I'm really worried that my cousin will be raised in a wrong way."

"This is also a helpless solution!" Mrs. Zhao also sighed, "We didn't expect the Dou family to actually agree." She paused and continued, "When the old man received the letter from Shougu's fifth uncle, he said it was bad. He also said that Shougu's fifth uncle never lied. Since he asked us to take the consent letter and hurry back, he was sure that Shougu's grandfather would agree to our conditions... As expected. Fortunately, we also made two plans. The old man brought Master Qian Gu from the county to Otherwise, how can we, women and children, know how much money the Dou family has? Which farms have good harvests? Which shops make money? If they use the farms that have no harvest to fool us, I am afraid we will find it difficult to find out. We should just have a good time with the Dou family these days, so that Master Tang can secretly check the Dou family's property, so that we don't have to do it in the dark and let the Dou family say whatever they want, and Shougu will be labeled as "taking half of Xidou's property" for nothing."

As they were talking, a little maid said through the curtain, "Madam, Gao Sheng's wife from the West Mansion has come with a few maids and old women to greet you."

Gao Sheng was Dou Shiying's personal servant.

Mrs. Zhao was puzzled: "Even if she came to greet us, it should be Nanny Yu who came to greet us. Why is she here to join in the fun?"

Ever since Zhao Guqiu's death, the Zhao family has been very disgusted with the people of Xidou.

Gu Ma Ma advised: "You should go and see it! If you like it, then listen to it. If you don't like it, then don't listen to it."

Mrs. Zhao nodded.

Nanny Gu went to bring Gaosheng's daughter-in-law over.

Gaosheng's daughter-in-law was a fair and clean little woman with a good figure, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.

She bashfully bowed to Mrs. Zhao and Dou Zhao, then pulled out a thick letter from her bosom: "This is something that Master Qi specifically asked my wife to bring to you when he left."

Dou Zhao was stunned when he heard this.

Did father already know about fifth uncle’s arrangement?

She leaned on her aunt's shoulder, wanting to see what was written in the letter.