After the Pang Jixiu incident, his father's attention suddenly shifted to the inner house, and he began to ask about the trivial matters of the family. Unfortunately, Dou Zhao was in charge of the family and Wang Yingxue was in charge. He asked and asked, but he didn't get anything that he could do anything about. In frustration, he began to focus all his energy on the renovation of the east cross courtyard. The construction that should have been completed in early summer was still being delayed until midsummer, which made Dou Qijun run to the west mansion whenever he had nothing to do. He squatted under the shade of the trees with his father to discuss what kind of colorful paintings to paint on the beams and what kind of stone sculptures to erect in front of the door. Every time they talked enthusiastically, they were very happy.

Wang Yingxue couldn't help but mutter: "Father said that there are still vacancies in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice in Kyoto. He has already written to his friends who work in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice... Time waits for no one, can you give Father a reply?"

Dou Shiying didn't take it seriously. He drank iced green bean soup and looked at the blueprints while saying absentmindedly, "Whether it's the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of Justice, you have to go through the Ministry of Personnel. Don't worry about this matter. I have my own ideas."

Relying on your father-in-law is considered as a freeloader in the eyes of others; relying on your cousin is as it should be.

Wang Yingxue did not dare to ask any more questions. Even Dou Zhao thought that his father had already discussed it with his fifth uncle and did not take it to heart. Instead, he listened with great interest to his father and Dou Qijun discussing how to borrow the scenery and how to build rockery, as if they were going to turn the east courtyard into a Jiangnan courtyard.

Gao Sheng came to Dou Zhao and said, "In just five months, we have already spent 60,000 taels of silver."

Dou Zhao asked him, "Is your family in financial difficulty because of this?"

"That's not the case." Gao Sheng whispered, "It was spent too quickly. All the profits from last year are gone."

"Come back and tell me when he's spent all of Xidou's savings." Dou Zhao said calmly, "You have to keep him busy, right?"

Gao Sheng smiled bitterly.

Dou Zhao looked at Dou Qijun, who was arm in arm with his father in the yard, and suddenly his eyes became sore.

It has been nine years since my mother passed away, and my father has lived alone for nine years.

If a father fails to teach his son well, it is his fault. If a father fails to teach his daughter well, it is his fault. If he has a son, will he be more cautious?

As the thought flashed through her mind, Dou Xiao's listless look appeared in her mind. She suddenly felt disgusted and decided to ignore the matter.

Unexpectedly, at the end of June, my fifth uncle sent a letter, asking my father why he didn't go to Beijing to wait for a vacancy, and said that my grandfather had passed away, and my father should support the family. In this world, there are many people who add flowers to the brocade, but few who help in times of need. The people of the Dou family should stick together, and my father should not give up the hard work of studying for ten years. Then he also asked about my father's offspring in a vague way, saying that if Wang Yingxue was infertile, he could ask my fifth aunt to keep an eye on it and find a concubine with a clean background for my father, so that when his son entered the officialdom in the future, my father could return to his hometown and be an old lady with peace of mind.

My father was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He wrote back to my fifth uncle overnight, saying that he didn't need to worry about the matter of taking a concubine, but he didn't mention the matter of waiting for a vacancy.

Only then did Dou Zhao realize that it was entirely his idea for his father not to go to Kyoto to wait for the vacancy.

She deliberately blocked her father's words: "If you are worried about Madam and Dou Ming, you can take them to Kyoto. I will take Aunt Cui with me so that she can enjoy a few days of peace and quiet."

My father actually thought seriously and said, "You make sense. Why don't we go to Kyoto together and let Aunt Cui take care of the household affairs."

Living in the same house with Wang Yingxue and drinking water from the same well for three years was Dou Zhao's limit. Letting her continue to be with Wang Yingxue? Don't even think about it!

"If I go to Kyoto, the Pang family will probably have an excuse to come to our house, right?"

Dou Shiying was silent.

Dou Zhao took the opportunity to ask about the concubine: "...you should have someone to take care of your daily life."

As a father, how could Dou Shiying discuss this issue with his daughter?

He blushed and scolded Dou Zhao: "What nonsense are you talking about? Who told you this?"

"Didn't Fifth Uncle write that in the letter?" Dou Zhao said frankly, "It's impossible that Xidou doesn't have a son, right?"

Dou Zhao had forgotten all the resentment his father had because his mother had been alone for nine years.

Dou Shiying said with embarrassment: "You have seen it too. How can I have the time to keep an eye on the inner house every day? If I marry another person, wouldn't it be a waste of others? Besides, even if I give birth to a concubine's eldest son, who will raise him? Look at Ming Jie'er, what has she become!"

Dou Zhao remained silent.

At the end of April, the academy for scholars was disbanded, and my sixth uncle Dou Shiheng went to the Ministry of Travel and became a close minister to the emperor. The second wife was very happy. During the Dragon Boat Festival, she funded the county government to hold a lantern festival and invited all the prominent people in Zhending County to her home to listen to operas. As a successful candidate in the imperial examinations of the Dou family, Dou Shiying was naturally indispensable.

He took his family to Dongdou.

Somehow, Dou Ming had a fight with the seven-year-old Eighth Miss of the Lang family, and even pulled a strand of the Eighth Miss's hair off...Afterwards, no matter how Dou Shiying questioned Dou Ming, Dou Ming kept his mouth tightly closed like a clam shell and didn't say a word. The Eighth Miss of the Lang family just kept crying. Dou Shiying had no choice but to apologize in person. To this day, he still hasn't figured out why Dou Ming had a fight with the Eighth Miss of the Lang family.

Dou Zhao thought Wang Yingxue should know.

Not only Wang Yingxue knew about it, most of the female members of Dongdou probably knew about it.

The fifth daughter of the Zhu family finally married the fifteenth son of the Lang family.

Dou Ming and the Eighth Miss of the Lang Family started arguing over a disagreement, and the Eighth Miss of the Lang Family jumped up and cursed Dou Zhao as a "young woman's son"...

Dou Shiying couldn't help but regret when he said this: "If I had known you were so sensible, I should have handed your sister over to you. But it's too late now. You are already twelve years old this year, and you will be married in two or three years..."

Dou Zhao was sweating profusely when he heard this. He thought that it would be inconvenient to do things without a male child at home, so he smiled and said, "If you give me a younger brother now, I will help you take care of him. Don't count on me, sister."

Dou Shiying smiled awkwardly.

Dou Qijun came to see his father.

Dou Zhaoqi asked, "Hey, why don't I see my eleventh and twelfth brothers?"

Dou Qijun chuckled and said, "They are all preparing to leave next year, and now they are all working hard at home!"

Dou Zhao chuckled.

Dou Qijun and his father went to the East Courtyard.

Wang Yingxue received a letter from her mother, Ms. Xu, saying that she had not seen Dou Ming for several years and missed him very much, and wanted to take Dou Ming to live with her relatives in Kyoto for some time.

She went to discuss it with Dou Shiying.

Dou Qijun ran to the study and talked to Dou Zhao.

"We're going to visit the Pang family in a few days." He said, winking at Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao was stunned and asked hurriedly, "What are you going to do?"

Dou Qijun laughed and said, "Guess?"

When Dou Zhao was extremely anxious, he hated guessing the most. He didn't even think about it and said directly, "I can't guess it."

Dou Qijun was a little disappointed and said, "Pang Jixiu is getting married."

Dou Qi was shocked.

Dou Qijun smiled slyly and said, "Doesn't Pang Jixiu want to find a wife? We felt that we were too weak to do this on our own, so we mobilized our brothers and sisters to help Pang Jixiu find one. Look, they took a liking to Pang Jixiu at first sight, and the search for a wife was completed in just three months..."

Dou Zhao knew there was a story behind this and laughed, "Tell me quickly, or you won't have iced mung bean water next time you come!"

Dou Qijun saw that there was no one around, so he laughed shyly and said, "The family of Constable Chen from Lingbi County has been officials for generations. They have five sons and one daughter, all of whom are strong and muscular. They have been learning martial arts from Constable Chen since they were young, and people with no one are allowed to get close to them. Chen is over 20 years old and still has no marriage proposal. She never thought that Pang Jixiu would go to the snack shop run by her family to buy something and secretly touch Chen's hand. Chen knew that Pang Jixiu had not yet married. The Chen family had already said that Pang Jixiu could choose not to marry her, but that as long as he cut off his hands and apologized to the Chen family, the matter would be over..."

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing and asked Dou Qijun: "Who touched Chen?"

"Of course it's Kou Ge'er." Dou Qijun said righteously, "Could it be that we would ruin the reputation of the Chen family?"

Kou Ge'er is the eldest son of my seventh cousin Dou Fanchang, and he is only five years old this year.

Dou Zhao couldn't stop laughing.

I know that Chen is taking advantage of the opportunity to rely on Pang Jixiu.

She asked Dou Qijun: "Who are 'you'?"

Dou Qijun looked around but said nothing.

Dou Zhao did not ask any further questions. Thinking of the shameless faces of the Pang family, he felt that this marriage was quite suitable.

She told Dou Shiying about it during dinner.

Dou Shiying and Wang Yingxue were both a little surprised.

"We will also have to give gifts when the time comes," said Dou Shiying.

Dou Zhao nodded with a smile.

Dou Ming, who had been sitting silently, suddenly asked Dou Shiying loudly: "When are we going to Kyoto?"

Dou Shiying frowned slightly and said gently, "Don't talk while eating."

Dou Ming became excited all of a sudden. She threw her chopsticks to the ground with a bang and shouted loudly: "I want to go to my grandmother's house in Kyoto! I don't want to live here! I don't want to stay in Zhending..." As she spoke, tears fell from her eyes.

Wang Yingxue on the side turned her face away, her eyes also filled with tears.

Dou Shiying was so angry that he was shaking. For the first time, he said to Dou Ming in a stern manner: "Don't forget, your last name is Dou, not Wang! This is your home. If you don't stay at home, where do you want to go?"

Wang Yingxue hesitated to speak.

Dou Ming pushed the bowl aside and ran away.

Dou Shiying looked at Wang Yingxue coldly and said, "Starting tomorrow, let her learn the rules from the Second Madam. She even fought with others. Our Dou family has never had a young lady like this before! If she doesn't correct these rough habits, you are not allowed to go anywhere!"

Wang Yingxue's face suddenly changed and she said, "Seventh Master is so unreasonable. My mother just misses Ming Jie'er and wants to take Ming Jie'er to live with her for a few days. Seventh Master said this, as if our Wang family is competing with the Dou family for the daughter... Father has arranged everything for you, but you are so indifferent. How has our Wang family ever let you down? Why do you treat Ming Jie'er and me like this..." As she said this, she glared at Dou Shiying with resentment and turned to leave the hall.

Only Dou Shiying and Dou Zhao were left in the hall.

Dou Shiying sat paralyzed on the armchair.

Dou Zhao, however, stood straight and continued to eat gracefully, as if nothing had happened.