Shu Jie'er had hit a wall with Dou Zhao, was ridiculed by Dou Ming, and now was scolded by Yi Jie'er. She was anxious and angry, and pushed the maid beside her away and ran out.

But I ran into Haitang head-on.

"Shujie'er," she smiled and bowed to Shujie'er. The little maid behind her was holding a glass revolving lantern with the Four Beauties Welcoming Spring in her hand. "Our fourth young lady said that the revolving lantern with the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea was sold out, and only this lantern with the Four Beauties Welcoming Spring was left. You can keep it for fun first, and next year, the fourth young lady will ask someone to buy it early in the morning."

Shu Jie'er felt better now.

But what happened in the mansion could not be hidden.

The fifth cousin asked Yijieer, "Was it really Mingjieer's idea to ask Shujieer to ask Shougu for the lantern?"

"Should be?" When Dou Ming urged Shu Jie'er to ask for the lamp, Yi Jie'er was not present. She said hesitantly, "Although Shu Jie'er is a little brainless, she is used to asking Fourth Aunt for things. If it is her own idea, there is nothing wrong with admitting it. There is no need to blame Fifth Aunt." At this point, she seemed to have just realized it, and said in surprise, "Fifth Aunt seems to be a little different since she came back from Kyoto. She always talks about how good Kyoto is and how good her in-laws are..."

This made Sister Yi feel a little uncomfortable.

The fifth cousin's wife frowned as she listened to this and warned her daughter, "She is the elder after all. You should be more respectful when you meet her in the future. Don't always ask her to help you. If you want to play, go and play with Shujie'er - you and Shujie'er are of the same generation."

The older Yijie gets, the more strong-willed she becomes. Unfortunately, her father is the most incompetent one in the Chang generation. She has long been unhappy with the sense of superiority that Dou Ming often shows in front of her. Her mother's reminder made her realize that the little girl who is three years younger than her is still her aunt, and that she has met someone to whom she should show respect as a younger generation. She couldn't help feeling a little sullen and replied listlessly, "I know."

Over there, the third cousin scolded Shu Jie'er, "You believe everything others say? If someone asked you to steal the lady's things, would you steal them? Luckily, it was Shou Gu who met you. If it was someone else, what would she say about you? You are so naughty at such a young age. You took things and didn't even return them. I thought you were young and would be sensible when you grow up. Who knew that you would become more and more ignorant of the importance of things as you grow older. You even feel resentful when others don't give you anything... Cry, just cry! Now you feel ashamed, what did you do before?" She also ordered the housekeeper in Shu Jie'er's room, "Please clear out the things she took from Shou Gu, and I will return them to Shou Gu myself."

There were too many things and it had been too long. Even Shu Jie'er didn't know which ones were hers and which ones were Dou Zhao's. She was so angry that she pounded the kang and said, "Why did I raise someone like you who doesn't care about me?"

The three Dou Qijun brothers were shocked when they came back from school. One comforted their mother, and the other asked their sister what happened. The youngest Dou Qishun blinked and said, "Fourth aunt is not such a person. You don't have to be so stingy to return anything..."

All four pairs of eyes in the room stared at him.

He hurriedly said, "The last time you went to the farm..."

Dou Qitai rushed forward and covered his younger brother's mouth. He dragged him out while nodding and bowing to his mother and sister with a smile: "This matter can be a big or small matter. At the most serious level, it will ruin my sister's reputation; at the least, it will ruin the relationship between our family and Fourth Aunt. My brother and I will go and ask our father to come back..."

Third cousin's wife and Shu Jie'er's faces were full of suspicion.

Dou Qijun could only cough lightly and said calmly: "Fifth brother is right. It is better to discuss this matter with father."

Since the considerate and reliable eldest son said so, the third cousin's wife's doubts were gone.

Dou Qishun, who was outside the door, pushed away his brother's hands that were covering his body and muttered in dissatisfaction: "I'm not wrong. You guys got into such a big trouble last time, but Fourth Aunt didn't say a word and even covered for you. Don't think I don't know..."

"You know we've done something terrible, but you're still shouting about it?" Dou Qitai gritted his teeth and said, "Are you afraid that others won't know?"

Dou Qishun became depressed.

Dou Qitai said, "Let's go find Fourth Aunt."

"Didn't you say you were going to look for Dad?" Dou Qishun asked curiously, "Why are you looking for Fourth Aunt?"

"You fool." Dou Qitai was so angry that he wanted to slap his brother. "After such a commotion, I'm afraid everyone in the mansion knows about it. If Fourth Aunt is willing to come out and speak for me, saying that these things were given to me by Fourth Aunt as a reward, then it would be different..."

Now Dou Qishun understood and nodded continuously. Without even getting in the car, the two brothers trotted all the way to the West Palace.

After listening to this, Dou Zhao pondered for a while.

Actually, she was also wrong in this matter.

Whenever she saw Shujie'er's eyes light up when she saw something she liked, she would think of her daughter Yinjie'er and her heart would soften. She thought it was just some small things and Shujie'er could take them away if she liked. But she did not think carefully about how this would affect Shujie'er's reputation.

"I'll go to the East Palace with you." Dou Zhao changed his clothes and followed the two brothers to the third room.

The third cousin's wife felt ashamed and embarrassed when she saw her.

Dou Zhao didn't wait for her to speak, and said with a smile: "Does Third Cousin want me to return Shujie'er's things as well?"

Dou Qijun was stunned.

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "You only saw the things I gave to Shujie, but you didn't see the things Shujie gave me." She sighed and pretended to be regretful, saying, "Shujie gave me a purse before the New Year. I thought it was beautiful, so I wore it to pay my respects to the lady, but I didn't know where I left it when I came back, and I haven't found it until today. What can you let me give back to Shujie?"

The third cousin's wife knew that Dou Zhao was trying to help her daughter out, so she called out "Shou Gu" and her eyes turned red.

Dou Zhao took the opportunity to support the third cousin's wife's arm, signaled Dou Qijun and the others to take Shu Jie'er away, then sat on the kang side by side with the third cousin's wife, and said sincerely: "Speaking of which, I am also wrong in this matter. If I hadn't gotten used to Shu Jie'er like this, Shu Jie'er wouldn't have gone too far. But if you say that Shu Jie'er has developed bad habits because of this, I don't think so - why didn't she take other people's things, but only my things? It shows that she still has a sense of closeness and distance in her heart, and knows what is important."

There is no parent who is not partial.

Dou Zhao's words were very appropriate. Third cousin's wife felt as if she had drunk a cup of hot tea in the middle of winter. She showed gratitude on her face: "I also think that Shujie didn't mean it."

After giving birth to Shu Jie'er, my third cousin-in-law gave birth to the fourth son Dou Qiyuan and the fifth son Dou Qi'an in succession. She had no time to take care of Shu Jie'er.

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "It would be great if this misunderstanding is resolved. Otherwise, I, as your aunt, would be blamed."

Now that things have been talked about, the atmosphere has improved.

Dou Zhao and his third cousin's wife chatted for a long time before leaving.

However, she later asked Shu Jie'er about her monthly allowance and found out that it was not that she did not have enough money, but that she used the money she received to reward this and that. She had no money left, so when she saw something nice, she had no money to buy it herself, so she had to take Dou Zhao's money. Dou Zhao taught her how to command maids, how to save money, and how to save money. He took her to the farm and taught her how to manage the farm. Shu Jie'er later became an expert in managing money. Of course, this is all a story for later.

The third cousin's wife went to the lady's place.

She wanted to clear her daughter's name.

After recounting the whole story, she said with emotion: "… Dou Ming was the one who caused the trouble, but Shou Gu did not blame her at all, and took all the blame on herself. After all, she is the daughter of Aunt Seven, and has the blood of An Xiang Zhao family."

The Second Lady did not say a word. After the Third Cousin-in-law left, she cursed, "You brought this upon yourself."

By the time Wu Shan found out about this, the Lantern Festival had already passed.

He tossed and turned in bed like a pancake for several nights. He could not bear it any longer and pulled Dou Dechang: "Will you accompany me to the West Mansion to borrow a book from my seventh uncle?"

Dou Dechang was still very young, but eventually he became fascinated with antiques and went to antique shops with Dou Qijun every day.

"What book? Don't we have it at home?"

Wu Shan lied to him, "It's a book about the collection of bronze and stone inscriptions. I don't remember the name. I can't find it at your house. I want to go to my seventh uncle's house to have a look."

Dou Dechang immediately perked up: "Call Boyan, let's go together."

Dou Qijun came of age this year, and his fifth uncle gave him the courtesy name "Boyan".

Wu Shan secretly rejoiced, and the three of them went to the West Palace.

Dou Shiying was directing people to renovate the east wing when he heard that Wu Shan was coming to borrow books. He cleaned his hands and face, changed his clothes, and met Wu Shan, Dou Dechang and Dou Qijun in the study.

"What books has Boyan been reading these days?"

Dou Qijun failed the provincial examination last year.

"Reread the Annotations to the Four Books." When talking about serious matters, he was still very respectful in front of Dou Shiying.

Dou Shiying nodded and said, "Don't just focus on the Four Books Annotations all the time. You should also read more of the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Records of the Grand Historian."

Dou Qijun smiled and said, "My fifth uncle said the same thing, and asked me if I wanted to go to the Imperial College to have a look."

"Oh," Dou Shiying said with a smile, "What do you say?"

"I heard that Kyoto is full of hidden talents. I want to go and see them."

The two talked about business matters, Dou Dechang listened with great interest, but Wu Shan's eyes kept rolling around, but he didn't even see the figure of the maid. After Dou Shiying finally finished his questions and let them go to the study, Dou Dechang and Dou Qijun pestered him to ask what the book was, so he had to help find the book with all sorts of nonsense. After being busy for almost half an hour, he still couldn't get rid of these two guys, and Wu Shan gradually became a little impatient.

Dou Zhao's clear voice suddenly came from outside the study: "Didn't you say Daddy went back to the study? Where did he go now?"

Wu Shan felt relaxed all over instantly, and without caring that Dou Dechang and Dou Qijun were beside him, he hurried out.

"Fourth sister!" He stared at Dou Zhao intently, "Why are you here?"

"It's Fourth Brother Wu." Facing a boy who looked about the same age as her son and was also a close friend, Dou Zhao found it difficult to always maintain strict gender separation. She smiled and said, "Why are you here?"

"I came to borrow a book." Wu Shan said, raising the book in his hand. He wanted to say it more tactfully, but the opportunity to say it was fleeting. He had to seize the opportunity, "I didn't know you liked the revolving lantern. Otherwise, I would give you a revolving lantern."

Dou Zhao was surprised to see Wu Shan's dark yet extremely serious eyes.