In his previous life, my father ranked thirteenth in the second class of the imperial examination. In this life, he ranked sixteenth, which is not as good as his previous life.
Is it because Wang Yingxue's affairs in this life have taken up more of his energy?
Dou Zhao made random guesses.
The second wife was very regretful.
She said to Dou Shiheng, "Wanyuan is so lucky! If you also take part in the Spring Examination this year, you might be able to get on the list."
Ever since Wang Yingxue's incident, Dou Shiying was regarded as an unlearned and incompetent person by the Dou family. Although he passed the imperial examination and was selected as a scholar, the second wife still felt that he relied on luck rather than talent.
The Second Lady was not the only one in the Dou family who had this idea.
Dou Shiheng could not help but feel a little annoyed, and said: "Wan Yuan has always been a smart student, but he is not as hardworking and studious as others. Who can pass the imperial examination and the palace examination and be selected as a scholar just by luck?"
The Second Lady remained silent, but she never agreed in her heart.
Dou Duo was overjoyed.
He posted the good news on the front door of his house, and while enjoying the satisfaction and pride of passers-by looking up at him, he wrote a letter to Wang Xingyi to inform him of the good news.
Wang Xingyi's life was somewhat depressing.
Last winter and this spring, he repelled the Mongolian invasions several times. His prestige in the northwest was unparalleled. Master Fang was also very happy. The emperor even suggested that he be appointed as the governor of Shaanxi. But for some reason, this matter was shelved.
He suspected that it was because of Dou Shishu's return home last time that Master Fang felt that he was not stable enough and needed another two years of training.
Wang Zhibing muttered, "If you had known this earlier, you should have rushed to Kyoto to explain it to Master Zeng."
"The facts are there. If we explain them, we will be outdone. It is better to let everyone know that I, Wang Xingyi, am open and honest and I dare to take responsibility for my actions."
Despite this, he still wrote to his best friend in Kyoto, Guo Yan, a lecturer in the Imperial Academy who was also Zeng Yifen's son-in-law: "... our family is so poor, and my daughter has fallen into misfortune. Whenever I think of it, I burst into tears. Fortunately, the seventh son of Dou's family in Beilou intended to make my daughter his legal wife after his wife passed away. Although I think it is inappropriate, I am willing to accept the pain of my daughter's lack of education even if it is bitter."
Now it seems that although this letter played a certain role, the effect was not very obvious.
Thinking of this, Wang Xingyi walked around the house with his hands behind his back and told his son, "Let's set the date for this month!"
Conferring the concubine on the throne is different from marrying a wife. There is no need to present a name or give an engagement letter to her husband, and no date is required. Just set up a few tables of wine at home, invite relatives, and let the concubine wear the red wedding dress that represents the principal wife to toast the relatives who come to drink, and the concubine's status will be re-determined.
Wang Zhibing agreed and wrote a reply letter on behalf of his father, stamping it with Wang Xingyi's private seal.
Dou Duo set the date as May 22nd.
Dou Zhaoyi had no intention of kowtow- ing to Wang Yingxue, offering her tea, or calling her mother.
She asked Tuoniang to take a letter to her grandmother, saying that she wanted to visit her.
There was no reply from my grandmother for a long time.
Dou Zhao had some money in his hand, so he asked Tuo Niang to hire a car secretly: "...Tell the driver to wait at the alley entrance behind the West Mansion at 12:00 on May 22. At that time, the third cousin's wife will be there with the helpers from the East Mansion. It is Wang Yingxue's wedding day, so she can't go out casually. Aunt Ding and Madam Hu will come out to receive the third cousin's wife and others. We will take that opportunity to leave."
Tuoniang nodded and said, "I will help the young lady pack the boxes."
"What boxes and crates do you need to pack?" Dou Zhao asked. "Just take a few banknotes and some small change with you. When you're settled, you can come back and move the boxes and crates."
Tuoniang always felt that something was missing.
Dou Shiying is back.
He brought several jars of Dongjiu for his sixth uncle, several boxes of Beijing-style snacks for his sixth aunt, several inkstones for the brothers Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang, and two identical dolls for Dou Zhao and Dou Ming.
Dou Ming was so happy that he held her in his arms and refused to let go.
Dou Zhao felt that this doll was not as exquisite as the one her sixth aunt gave her, so she said "thank you" and let Tu Niang take it.
Dou Shiying felt uncomfortable because of his eldest daughter's sensible but distant appearance.
After greeting the Second Madam, he made a special trip to see Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao was tracing under Ji's guidance.
Seeing Dou Shiying coming back, Ji used the excuse of making tea for Dou Shiying and gave the study to Dou Zhao and his daughter.
Dou Zhao walked out from behind the desk, stood there straight and said to Dou Shiying: "On the 22nd, I want to go see Aunt Cui."
Dou Shiying was stunned.
Dou Zhao stared into Dou Shiying's eyes.
The room was as quiet as an empty room.
After a long while, Dou Shiying asked his daughter in a hoarse voice: "Why?"
"I don't want to call an aunt my mother." Dou Zhao said seriously.
Dou Shiying was silent for a while, then said "I know", with a blank expression on his face, showing no emotion.
Dou Zhao didn't think about his father's thoughts.
If her father agreed to let her go to her grandmother, it would just make things easier for her; if her father disagreed, she could still achieve her goal.
Just based on the bag of elm sprouts her grandmother gave her, she was sure that her grandmother would take her in as long as she arrived at the farm.
Dou Shiying returned home in a daze.
Gao Sheng was waiting for him at the door.
"Seventh Master!" He stepped forward and saluted Dou Shiying, whispering, "Aunt Cui just sent someone to tell me that she is sick and wants Miss Four to go to the farm to keep her company."
Dou Shiying was very surprised and asked hurriedly, "Where is the person who delivered the letter?" His voice was tense and seemed a little panicked.
"I invited him to have dinner in the kitchen." Gao Sheng said, "The old lady didn't agree."
Dou Shiying hummed and hurried to the kitchen.
In the dim kitchen, Cui Da was eating noodles from a bowl.
He is Cui's eldest nephew and is just 20 years old this year.
"Seventh Master," he dropped his bowl and chopsticks and stood up, looking rather reserved, muttering, "Aunt Cui said that if she met Seventh Master, she would tell you that she has nothing to do, she just wants to take Fourth Miss to stay with her for a few days." Then she emphasized, "Send her back after a few days!"
In Dou Shiying's mind, Aunt Cui was a very strong-willed person. Ever since her father sent her to the farm, she had never spoken to anyone in the Dou family, let alone interfered in the family affairs.
He suppressed his confusion and said to Cui Dadao: "Well, you can rest here tonight and escort the fourth young lady to the farm early tomorrow morning."
Cui Da let out an "ah" and grinned, a simple and honest smile.
Dou Shiying closed his eyes subconsciously, as if his eyes were stung.
He went to see Dou Duo.
Dou Duo was happily fiddling with a pot of asparagus fern. When he saw Dou Shiying, he put down the spray bottle in his hand and smiled even more: "Have you met your second aunt?"
"Yes." Dou Shiying said, "I also met Cui Da."
Dou Duo's smile froze on his face.
"I let him stay," Dou Shiying said in a gentle tone, as if he hadn't seen anything. "I will escort Shougu to the farm early tomorrow morning."
With a "bang", the basin was thrown to the ground, splashing water everywhere, and a few drops fell on the corner of Dou Shiying's clothes.
Dou Shiying didn't care at all and said, "Dad, it's decided. I only took ten days off. In order to catch up, I haven't slept for two days. I'm going to bed first. We can talk about it tomorrow if there is anything else!" He bowed and retreated.
Dou Duo stared at his son's receding back and was unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
※※※※※
Dou Zhao felt very guilty when he knew that his grandmother was "sick".
She knew that if her grandmother was really ill, her father's expression would not be so relaxed. Her grandmother was only pretending to be ill for her sake.
Dou Zhao offered three incense sticks to the Bodhisattva, praying for the Bodhisattva to bless his grandmother with a long life.
Dou Shiying was shocked when he heard his daughter mumbling to herself. After a while, he said, "You, are you..."
Looking at his daughter's tender face, he didn't know how to greet her.
Once Wang Yingxue becomes her stepmother, she will be in a dominant position. If she continues to pretend to be deaf and dumb, she will only be manipulated by Wang Yingxue.
Dou Zhao decided to slowly show off his edge and force Wang Yingxue to back off from her affairs.
So when she saw Dou Shiying was suspicious, she simply said, "I asked Aunt Cui to take me to the farm."
Dou Shiying was speechless.
Dou Zhao was too lazy to pay attention to him and instructed Haitang to put the porcelain statue of Fu Lu Shou Xi that she liked very much into the box.
The porcelain statue symbolizes joy and has bright colors. My grandmother would definitely like it.
She went to see the dried longans for her grandmother.
Each one is big and sweet.
Dou Zhao nodded with satisfaction and rewarded the maid with some coins.
The little maid was overjoyed and thanked him again and again.
Dou Shiying looked at his daughter, who was calm, generous, and composed, and felt a strange feeling in his heart.
My daughter is like a sword orchid, which should have been carefully cared for in a greenhouse and grown up slowly. But suddenly, she was thrown into a violent storm and had to struggle in the storm with the weeds around her, and she grew taller and bigger quickly in the struggle... And I am that violent storm...
"Shougu," he asked Dou Zhao, "do you want to go home?"
He wanted his daughter to return to the greenhouse.
"No." Dou Zhao said bluntly, "That house is a mess, it's annoying just looking at it, I'd rather live with my Sixth Aunt and Aunt Cui."
Dou Shi is an English speaker.
The father and daughter walked in silence all the way to the farm.
Grandma stood by the road, looking forward.
When she saw her father, her eyes became moist.
"I heard you passed the imperial examination," my grandmother said with a smile, "you are amazing!"
My father smiled faintly, looking as if he didn't know what to say.
Grandmother bowed her head and greeted Dou Zhao, "Shougu."
That loving expression had accompanied Dou Zhao through countless dark nights.
Dou Zhao felt a lump in his throat and couldn't help but shed tears.
“Grandma Cui,” she hugged her grandmother, “dried longan, it’s delicious!”
The grandmother was stunned, then hugged Dou Zhao tightly.
※※※※※
My grandmother's estate is just as I remember it.
There are green crops, smooth dirt roads, and old locust trees at the entrance of the village that are so thick that you can hug them, with crowns like umbrellas. There are women sitting in groups of three or four, chatting and laughing while doing needlework, and a few children are playing around.
Seeing someone entering the village, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at them curiously.
Dou Zhaoyi stared at those people, trying to find a familiar face among them.
But it’s a pity that after more than 20 years in our past and present lives, these people look so strange.
The carriage soon stopped in front of my grandmother's green brick and tile house.
A neat and nimble woman came forward and lifted the curtain, and my grandmother personally carried Dou Zhao out of the car.
The yard paved with bluestone, the window frames covered with white paper and paper-cuts, and the pony quietly chewing grass in the barn were all so familiar, except for the plum tree that she had planted herself that was missing in the corner of the wall.