In the evening, Dou Zhao came to pay his respects to his sixth aunt.

Ji and Bi were sitting in the veranda enjoying the cool air.

"Is this the eldest daughter of the Seventh Master?" Bi smiled at Dou Zhao, with a hint of curiosity that was not there when she looked at Dou Ming. "She is really beautiful."

"Mrs. Wu is very kind." Dou Zhao smiled generously and said to Bi, "Why don't I see Ah Qi?"

Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "She and Ming Jie'er went to visit the lady."

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "Madam Tai always has delicious food. No wonder we all miss her."

"That's right, that's right." Mrs. Wu spoke a few words to Dou Zhao. Seeing that the ceremony had arrived and there was no chance to talk to Ji, Dou Zhao stood up and said goodbye.

Caishu saw her out.

I met Wu Shan head on.

Dou Zhao greeted him with a smile: "Why are you alone, Fourth Brother Wu?"

Wu Shan smiled and said, "They are all discussing how to send Pang Jixiu off at the waterside pavilion."

Dou Zhaoqi asked, "See you off?"

Or maybe it was true that "the person who knows you best is your opponent", Dou Zhao knew more about the Pang family's affairs than his own.

In his previous life, Pang Jixiu also studied in the Dou family school. After obtaining the title of scholar, he inherited the family business, sold out all the businesses such as pawnshops and drug stores, and concentrated on running a restaurant. Relying on the influence of the Wang family, he opened branches all the way to Kyoto and became a well-known figure in the Kyoto business community.

Why did he suddenly want to leave the Dou family in this life?

Wu Shan winked at the person serving beside him.

Dou Zhao and the people around him moved away.

Wu Shan then whispered, "Mr. Du said that Pang Jixiu is old but has a weak foundation. In the next two years, Hui Ge'er, Zhi Ge'er, and Lao Si will all be leaving school, and he can't split his attention to teach Pang Jixiu alone. This will delay Pang Jixiu's studies. He recommended that Pang Jixiu go to Jingyun Academy in the state to study. He also said that Pang Kunbai studies but doesn't work hard, and ranks last in the examinations every month. It would be best to hire a teacher to teach him at home."

Dou Zhao pursed his lips and smiled.

In her previous life, her impression of the Pang family was that they were flexible and not fussy about details. However, in this life, she felt that the Pang family was so shameless and humble that it was completely shameless. It was better not to have any dealings with them if possible.

However, in this case, even if the Pang family wanted to rely on the Dou family's school, they would be unable to do so!

It can be seen that the Pang family's fuss over Wang Yingxue's promotion to the position of legitimate wife made the Dou family very upset.

She smiled and asked Wu Shan: "Aren't you going to leave?"

Wu Shan and Dou Dechang are the same age.

Wu Shan touched his head and said, "I will have to go down too. But I am not as sure as Eleventh Brother."

Thinking of the fact that Wu Shan was a Jinshi in his previous life, Dou Zhao smiled and said, "You should be able to pass the county exam as well."

Wu Shan blushed instantly and murmured, "You, you really think I can do it..." He looked at her eyes full of hope, as if if she said he could pass the county exam, he would definitely pass it.

Dou Zhao was embarrassed.

In her previous life, she had no impression of Wu Shanzhen, and had no idea in which year he passed the imperial examination, let alone the county and prefectural examinations. If he didn't pass in this life, wouldn't Wu Shanzhen be happy for nothing?

But now that things have come to this, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Eleventh and Twelfth Brothers both said that you are a good student. I think you should be able to do it." She hoped that he would do well in the county exam.

Wu Shan grinned at her, looking very happy.

For some reason, Dou Zhao suddenly felt that he had said something wrong.

She quickly changed the subject: "When will Pang Jixiu go to Jingyun Academy to study?"

"We'll go after the Mid-Autumn Festival." Wu Shan said with a smile, "We'll plan to see him off at Jingfuchun..."

The two of them stood in the middle of the yard, talking to each other. Bi looked up and saw her son coming back through the half-open window. He stared at Dou Zhao without blinking. It was unknown what he said, but Dou Zhao smiled slightly, and her son grinned and followed suit, looking silly, without any of his usual intelligence and cleverness.

Her heart skipped a beat and she glanced at Ji out of the corner of her eye.

Ji was instructing the maid: "... take out the plum wine brewed in the summer, send one jar to the old lady, send one jar to Shougu, and send the rest to the Tea and Wine Department to be used during the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet..."

Bi heaved a sigh of relief, chatted with Ji for a few words, then left. She returned to the guest room and called her son's personal maid over: "Is the fourth young master familiar with the fourth young lady of the West Mansion?"

The head maid was startled, and then she said, "The fourth young lady grew up with the sixth wife. The fourth young master and the eleventh and twelfth masters are all on good terms. She often goes to the sixth wife's room to play with the eleventh and twelfth masters, and occasionally runs into the fourth young lady. She is much more familiar with the fourth young lady than with the other young ladies in the Dou family."

Seeing the maid's cautious look, Bi became even more suspicious.

I questioned all the people who served my son, and the matter of Xianglu was also asked.

Bi was so angry that she couldn't speak for a long time. She took the hand of her personal nanny and went to her son's room.

Before I even stepped into the yard, I could hear my son reading aloud.

Bi was stunned.

Although my son is smart, he has never been a hard-working person.

When I entered the yard, it was quiet and there was no one in sight.

Bi couldn't help but lighten his pace.

The son stopped reading, and the servant's voice was heard: "Fourth Master, please take a rest! It's getting late. You usually rest at this time..."

"In two years, I will end up like Shiyi and the others," Wu Shan said with a smile, "If Shiyi and the others have passed and I haven't, Shougu will probably think I'm stupid."

The servant still wanted to persuade him.

He smiled and said, "No matter what, I have to do better than the people from the Dou family."

Bi listened and laughed silently. She whispered to the maid, "Let's go back!" She walked out of her son's yard briskly and told the maid, "Don't let the fourth young master know what happened today."

The personal nanny responded repeatedly.

Ji was a little worried and asked Nanny Wang, "What did Madam Wu say?"

Nanny Wang told Ji how Bi had called the people around Wu Shan to question them and how she had instructed them not to spread the news.

Ji's expression relaxed.

Nanny Wang smiled and said, "You think that the fourth young master of the Wu family and our fourth young lady..."

Ji smiled and said, "Although the Wu family is not a wealthy family, they have a long tradition of poetry, literature, and etiquette. Lord Wu and Madam Wu are both people of high moral character. Shougu has a tragic fate. If she can marry into their family, she will surely be protected by Lord Wu and Madam Wu, which is much more reassuring than marrying far away in Kyoto."

Nanny Wang knew that Ji was referring to the Wei family of Jining Marquis, so she smiled and said, "The third old master has passed away, and the Wei family hasn't even sent three sacrificial animals. This marriage is most likely to fail."

"It's better if it doesn't work out." Ji said with a smile, "When Shougu gets married, they will regret it."

Nanny Wang thought of Dou Zhao's thick dowry booklet and burst out laughing.

The master and servant talked privately for a long time.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Pang Jixiu suddenly came to visit Dou Zhao.

Dou Shiying frowned and asked Wang Yingxue, "What is he doing here?"

Wang Yingxue was also confused and said hurriedly: "I'll go see what's going on!"

After a while, he came back with a carved red lacquer box in his hand. "He said he wanted to thank Shougu for saving his life last time. He was going to study at Jingyun Academy in the state, so he sent a gift to thank Shougu."

Dou Shiying opened the box and found a gilded kaleidoscope inside, a Western-style gadget worth a thousand taels.

Wang Yingxue looked at him with red eyes and forced a smile, "Do you want to ask Shou Gu?"

Dou Shiying thought for a moment and said, "I'll go ask."

I went to the main room in person.

Dou Zhao played with the kaleidoscope for a while, then quietly told his father about their swimming trip to the farm, and said, "...I also received a copy of the Lengxiangtang painting album from Zhi Ge'er and a Shoushan stone from Wu Si Ge, but Pang Jixiu's things are more precious." He also warned his father, "Don't tell anyone about this. They had a hard time hiding it from the adults. If I tell anyone, I'm afraid they will avoid me like a tiger in the future."

Dou Shiying laughed and promised, "I will never tell anyone else." He then asked, "Wasn't Aunt Cui scared that day?"

"Yeah." Dou Zhao smiled, "Boys always forget the pain once the wound has healed. I'm afraid they will go swimming there again next year. Do you want to find a way to bring Aunt Cui home to stay for a few days?"

Dou Shiying said, "We should bring Aunt Cui back to stay for a few days. Also, mention it to Madam Tai next summer." Then he joked, "The adults won't hear about it until next year. They probably won't think it was you who said it, right?"

Dou Zhao chuckled.

Wang Yingxue stood under the veranda of the main house, her heart in a turmoil.

Pang Jixiu would send some strange little things from time to time, and each of them was very valuable.

If one is diligent without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.

As time went by, Dou Zhao became confused, but he couldn't figure out why Pang Jixiu was like this. He secretly became wary of Pang Jixiu and put the things he sent in a separate box. He told Su Jun to keep the key: "Don't lose any of them."

Su Jin did not dare to be careless. She strung the key to the box with a red rope and hung it around her neck, never taking it off day or night.

In November, a mourning period was held for my grandfather. Another month later, after the mourning period, it was the Chinese New Year.

The east and west windows were decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, firecrackers were set off, drums and music were blaring, and the place was extremely lively.

Wu Shan gave Dou Zhao a rabbit lantern, while Pang Jixiu gave him a colorful glazed revolving lantern depicting the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.

The lamp was spinning, flashing bright colorful light.

Dou Ming was very curious and urged Shu Jie'er: "Don't you say that your sister treats you the best? Ask your sister to lend it to you for a few days."

Dou Zhao rejected Shu Jie'er for the first time and said, "This was given to me by someone else. I can't give it to you. If you like it, I'll ask someone to buy you a cup."

"No, no. I just want to borrow it to play for a few days." Shu Jie'er's face flushed as she returned to the East Mansion, blaming Dou Ming for letting her go to ask for the lantern, "You knew clearly that it was given to Fourth Aunt by someone else, and you still let me go."

Dou Zhao sneered, "Which of those things wasn't given to her by others? Why didn't she say 'don't give it to me'? It's obvious that she didn't want to give it to you. Why are you angry at me for not being able to get the lamp?"

Shu Jie'er was so angry that she burst into tears.

Yi Jie'er scolded her, "You keep thinking about Fourth Aunt's things every day and never return them. If Fourth Aunt hadn't considered herself an elder and didn't want to argue with you, who would have tolerated you like this? You don't know how to reflect on your mistakes and burst into tears when others say a few words to you. It's no wonder that Fifth Aunt looks down on you!"