Song Yan went to the Dou clan school, and Song Yumin was responsible for teaching Dou Zhao and Dou Ming. He had a day off on the first and fifteenth day of every month. He would first finish teaching Dou Zhao the various philosophers, and then teach Dou Ming the Analects.

Dou Ming followed Song Yumin's lessons obediently. However, her foundation was weak. In addition to her morning homework, she had to practice 500 Chinese characters in the afternoon. She complained about it over and over again.

Madam Zhou kept encouraging her: "Only those who endure the most hardships can become superior people. Look, Fourth Miss, the maids in charge are still using the abacus, but Fourth Miss has already calculated how much money it is..."

Dou Ming stared at Madam Zhou: "What does accounting have to do with writing?"

Madam Zhou tried to comfort her, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I just think that Miss Four knows everything, and Miss Five is so smart, she should be able to do everything like Miss Four."

Dou Ming didn't say anything, but he didn't complain about writing anymore.

Because of the Pang Kunbai incident, Chen Qushui came to the fore. He moved into the Dou Mansion and helped Dou Zhao manage business and the newly recruited guards. Gao Xing managed the affairs of Xidou and the housekeepers of the inner courtyard. Du Ning fell to the point of helping Zhou Ma Ma. Gao Xing thought he was Dou Zhao's man and soon got together with Chen Qushui. After Du An was sent to the government for theft and died after failing to endure the beating, Du Ning had already become a frightened bird. How could he manage anything? Zhou Ma Ma was new and could not handle it alone. Although West Dou was divided into three parts, everyone had to act according to Dou Zhao's wishes. Dou Zhao also had an annual allowance of 10,000 taels. With money and people in hand, it was easier for her to do things than before. Her attention also shifted from East and West Dou to the political affairs of the capital.

"Mr. Zeng Ge should be almost 70 this year, right?" she asked Chen Qushui, "I wonder how many more years he can hold on?"

In her previous life, she had never paid attention to these things and did not know in which year Zeng Yifen died.

Chen Qushui said, "Miss Fourth is so accurate! I just got news yesterday that there was a rumor in Kyoto that Zeng Yifen was unwell and might retire."

"It all depends on whether Fifth Uncle can seize this opportunity."

In his previous life, before Zeng Yifen's death, Wang Xingyi had returned to Beijing and seemed to be serving as a vice minister in the Ministry of War. In this life, because of Wang Yingxue, he was detained in the position of Shaanxi Patrol.

Dou Zhao pondered and asked, "Who is the current Minister of War?"

Chen Qushui said: "Gu Yanjing."

Dou Zhao thought, "Can I tell the Wang family a message? Just say that Zeng Ge Lao wanted to promote Wang Xingyi as the Minister of War, but because Wang's affairs were caught by Ye Shipei, Zeng Ge Lao had no choice but to compromise and support Gu Yanjing as the Minister..."

In her memory, Ye Shipei and Zeng Yifen were old rivals, and it was his doing that Zeng Yifen retired. If he had not died soon after Zeng Yifen, and Ye Shipei did not have very strong disciples, it would be hard to say whether Wang Xingyi and Dou Shishu could have entered the cabinet.

The ban on the horse market was a dispute between civil officials and military generals, so Ye Shipei would not hold Zeng Yifen back. But now, it involves a dispute between the two elders' disciples for the position of third-rank official, and Wang Xingyi's matter can be brought up.

Chen Qushui thought: "I can't say this carelessly. If I'm not careful, it might backfire..."

"Then let's try to inquire about it from this aspect," Dou Zhao said, "We should be able to find some explanation related to this matter." As she said this, she laughed, "Even if there is nothing, we can make it happen!"

"That's true." Chen Qushui said with a smile, "If the Wang family thinks that Wang Yingxue has hindered Wang Xingyi's future, I think even Wang Xu will probably feel some resentment towards her daughter. Moreover, Wang Yingxue has never been able to gain a foothold in the Dou family since she married into the family, and she has also caused a lot of trouble."

"It's better to remove the firewood from under the cauldron. I think this is a cleaner and more efficient way." Dou Ming nodded with a smile and asked about what was going on in the shop.

Chen Qushui said: "Only the shop in Kyoto has roughly broken even. The other shops have suffered a slight loss, totaling more than 200 taels."

"That's not bad." Dou Zhao said with a smile, "By September, Boyan's work should be done, and you need to prepare some money to put a stamp on Cui Shisan's loan."

"We've already prepared everything." Chen Qushui and Dou Zhao were discussing their plans. Su Xin said through the curtain, "Fourth Miss, Master Ji is here."

Ji Yong?

What is he doing here?

After Dou Zhao and Chen Qushui finished talking, they went to the flower hall to meet Ji Yong.

Ji Yong asked her, "I'm going to Baoding Prefecture, do you have anything for me to take with me?"

She had never been to Baoding Prefecture, so how would she know what to bring?

But Dou Zhao still smiled and thanked him: "Nothing to bring. I wish you, cousin Ji, safe journey!"

Ji Yong smiled and said, "Then I'll just bring you some things!"

His smile was gentle and polite, but for some reason, Dou Zhao always felt as if he was up to something, which made him feel uneasy.

"No, no." Dou Zhao declined repeatedly.

Ji Yong smiled but did not answer, then stood up and said goodbye.

Dou Zhao walked him to the door of the flower hall, but he felt someone was staring at him closely.

She turned around and saw Dou Ming standing under the willow tree.

Dou Ming turned and left expressionlessly, and disappeared into the winding path shaded by willow trees with a large group of maids and old women who surrounded her.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but sigh deeply. He went to the greenhouse and tended to the flowers and plants for half a day. Seeing that several Epiphyllums he had planted were in bud, he asked his sixth aunt to come over to appreciate the flowers.

Sixth aunt suggested: "Why not hold a flower viewing party?"

Grandmother agreed, "Yes, yes, yes. It's a rare opportunity to have a chance to shine. Invite all the ladies and grandmothers. We have plenty of space at home. We can't always let the East Palace entertain us. We have to give something in return!"

Ever since the marriage between Dou Zhao and the Wu family ended without notice, Dou Zhao's marriage has become a concern for her. She was afraid that Dou Zhao would be delayed because of it, and when she saw an opportunity for Dou Zhao to stand out, she tried her best to make it happen.

Dou Zhao saw that his grandmother was in high spirits, and thought that she had nowhere to go on weekdays, so he smiled and said, "Okay, let's have a night banquet!"

Sixth Auntie also became interested after listening to this. The three of them discussed and whispered for a long time, and finally decided on the flower viewing banquet. They decided on the guests for the banquet, sent people to send out invitations, cleaned up the furnishings in the warehouse, arranged the menu for the flower viewing banquet and the maids and old women who would serve. Xidou hadn't had such a lively time for a long time. From the nanny in charge to the maids below, no one was sure what to do. Dou Zhao handled the heavy tasks with ease, and arranged them one by one in an orderly manner without any effort. Ji Shi, who was going to come over to help in person, was stunned and asked her "Who gave you the idea?"

"Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen a pig run!" Dou Zhao said nonchalantly, "Every year during the Chinese New Year, there's such a big commotion. You have to watch it."

Some people are just born smart.

Ji smiled and nodded continuously, saying, "It's good that you can be so attentive in everything, so I don't have to worry about you." After saying that, she felt that this was not a good thing to say, and joked, "I will tell your third aunt that you said she was a pig!" She wanted to change the subject.

Dou Zhao knew what she was thinking and smiled and joked with her: "If Third Aunt asks, I won't admit it."

Ji laughed out loud.

On the day of the flower viewing party, I couldn't help but come over early. Seeing that everything was arranged, I breathed a sigh of relief.

That night, the flowers were delicious, the wine was mellow, and the dishes were exquisite. The invited actors sang the "Chai Yuan" scene from "Jing Chai Ji". Even Dou Ming, who was reluctant to attend the flower-viewing banquet, was moved to tears and whispered with Yi Jie'er and Shu Jie'er from time to time.

Chen Qushui listened to the sound of bamboo coming from afar and thought about the news from Kyoto. He fell into a drowsy sleep until daybreak.

When he woke up, it was already noon.

He hurriedly got up and asked the servant who was serving him: "Has the fourth young lady arrived at the flower hall?"

After class, Dou Zhao would stay in the flower room for half an hour to do housework.

The servant came in with water for washing her face and said with a smile, "The fourth young lady has arrived at the flower hall early!"

Chen Qushui felt relieved.

But then he was stunned.

In his early years, he served as an aide to Zhang Kai, the governor of Fujian. Even when facing Zhang Kai, he had never felt so nervous... Could it be because of the news he heard yesterday?

He sat in the room for a while, and guessing that Dou Zhao was going back to the inner courtyard, he hurried to the flower hall.

There were weeping willows planted all over the flower hall. In the midsummer, the willow trees were lush and green, with branches swaying in the wind, making people feel cool. Through the four-open window, Chen Qushui saw Dou Zhao, who was wearing a moon-white striped cotton gauze shirt, talking to Gao Xing.

She has an upright posture, a calm gaze, a smooth forehead and long eyebrows that give her a sense of wisdom. Even just looking at her from a distance, you can tell that she is a very intelligent and strong-willed person.

Even boys who are much older than her are not as good as her, right?

Chen Qushui thought about it and walked into the flower hall.

Gao Xing was excitedly talking about how well yesterday's flower-viewing banquet went and how those people from the East Palace praised it.

Dou Zhao responded with a smile, praised Gao Xing for his efficient work, and Gao Xing left happily.

Chen Qushui straightened his face and said in a deep voice: "Fourth Miss, maybe it's really as you said. Zeng Yifen originally wanted to support Wang Xingyi to be the Minister of War, but because Wang Xingyi couldn't cultivate himself and manage his family, Zeng Yifen had to agree to Ye Shipei to let Gu Yanjing be the Minister of War."

"Oh!" Dou Zhao became interested. "I asked you to pass a message to the Wang family. Did you pass it on?"

Although things have deviated a bit, they are generally not too outrageous.

Dou Zhao is more confident about the future.

"The message has been passed on." Chen Qushui said, "Wang Xu called Wang over and scolded her severely. It is said that Wang left the Wang family crying. Not only that, but the old story about Pang was brought up again, so Wang Xu banned her from leaving the house."

Dou Zhao smiled.

Chen Qushui couldn't help but ask, "Fourth Miss, did you hear some rumors from somewhere? Otherwise, how would you know that there is something behind Gu Yanjing's affairs..."

"No, I don't know." Dou Zhao smiled, "I just think it's a bit strange that Wang Xingyi, who has made great military achievements, has always been stuck in the position of Shaanxi Patrol, and Gu Yanjing, who is less prestigious and experienced than him, has stepped forward instead."