After hearing Du Zhao's words, Shuang Zhi looked at Du Zhao with a few points of horror in his eyes.

  Dong Zhao didn't mind.

  As long as mothers and elders don't suspect anything, no matter how much the maids gossip, it's just gossip.

  Dong Zhaoming ordered Tuo Niang to carry him back into the house.

  The people in Xidu were simple and the tense situation at Heshou Tang's place, although making the maids nervous, was still far from chaotic.

  Shuangzhi told everyone about Tuo Niang and Xiangcao going to Du Zhao's house to work as servants, and soon everyone's attention was focused on the two of them.

  Some laughed and scolded: "That little hoof of Xiangcao has finally gotten her way. I don't know whose path she's taking."

  More of them came to pay their respects, introducing themselves one after another as "I am Gingko" and "I am Lilac", while others asked: "Sister, which room were you originally serving in? How did you suddenly get transferred to the Fourth Miss's room?"

  The young lady was not used to such enthusiasm and murmured a reply.

  It's said that she is a rough and menial servant in the laundry room, everyone looks at each other in dismay, some are at a loss.

  The girl was even more shy when she saw him.

  "Alright," Shuangzhi smiled and helped Tuo Niang out of the awkward situation, "you can talk about it later. Let's get Tuo Niang settled down first." Then she thought for a moment, "There are two more beds in my room with Hanxiao sister. Since Qi Guifen and the others won't be back until who-knows-when, and Fourth Miss can't be left unattended... I think we should let Tuo Niang sleep in our room first, and then decide what to do after Qi Guifen gets back."

  The girl let out a sigh of relief.

  Everyone came back to their senses, either volunteering to help Tuo Niang collect things or actively helping Tuo Niang make the bed.

  Tuo Niang refused to leave Du Zhao: "Who will serve Miss? I'll wait until Xiang Cao comes."

  Dòu Zhāo smiled faintly.

  She died of a broken heart.

  When she married into the Jin'ning Marquis's estate, her future was uncertain, and she didn't dare bring Tuo Niang over. By the time she had established herself in the Jin'ning Marquis's estate and thought of bringing Tuo Niang over, Tuo Niang had already passed away due to illness.

  Thinking of this, her eyes were slightly red, and she gently held Tuo Niang's hand.

  Tuo Niang looked at her seriously and solemnly said, "Fourth Miss, rest assured, I will guard you without leaving your side." As if the others were all bad eggs, the faces of the people in the house turned dark, and they looked at Tuo Niang with some malice. However, Tuo Niang was completely unaware, standing upright by her side, unmoved.

  Shuangzhi could only instruct the maid to go and report back to the house, and have Suanni's resting place cleaned up.

  Everyone went their separate ways, and no one bothered to talk to Tuo Niang again.

  Dong Shao and Tao Niang were waiting in the inner chamber with wide eyes staring at small eyes.

  Before long, Xiang Cao rushed in: "Fourth Miss, Seventh Granny and Yu Niang have returned!"

  But didn't mention his father.

  Dong Zhaixin's heart sank, and she asked: "Father?"

  Xiangcao wiped the sweat from her forehead and said: "Seventh Master, Old Master, Third Master and Third Mistress are still in Heshou Hall."

  Is it discussing taking a concubine? Or is it discussing how to get Mother to relent?

  Dong Zhao was somewhat anxious, and with Tiao's daughter's help, he got down from the kang and ran out.

  Tuo Niang and Xiang Cao closely followed behind her.

  The mother with a calm face was supported by Yu's nanny and walked in expressionlessly.

  "Mother, mother!" Dou Zhao rushed over.

  Her mother's face slightly cleared, she bent down and picked up Du Zhao, kissed her little face, then handed her over to Han Xiang behind her: "Play with the fourth lady to skip rope."

  With a smile, she hastily hugged Dou Zhao over. However, Dou Zhao grasped her mother's lapel and refused to let go.

  "Your mother suddenly became very impatient: "You child, why don't you listen? Mother still has things to do, go and play with Huan Xiao." As she spoke, she raised her eyes and saw Tuo Niang and Xiang Cao, raising her hand to point at the two of them, "Or, go and play with those two."

  Dou Zhao knew that her mother was not in the mood to coax her, so she obediently let Huan Xiao hold her. After her mother and Yu Niang entered the inner chamber, she slipped out of Huan Xiao's arms and ran towards the inner chamber.

  The loyal maid did not dare stop her.

  She went into the inner room smoothly.

  His mother was crying on the kang table: "...... You all saw that, before he even entered the door, he protected him like this, afraid that the man would suffer a little bit of grievance. What can I say? I'll just follow his will and let that woman in! I want to see what kind of ability she has, what means she uses, how she's enchanted him to the point where he doesn't care about his parents, wife, children, reputation or integrity!"

  Yu's eyes flickered slightly as she spoke in a low voice, "Seventh Master taking a concubine, it's not a big deal, nor is it a small one. You see, why don't we send someone to tell your uncle..."

  "No way!" Before Yu's words were finished, her mother suddenly raised her head and said urgently, "Brother is going to participate in the spring examination in Beijing at the beginning of the year. He is now closed for reading. If he knew that I would marry over here for only three years and then take a concubine, with his temper, he would definitely not let it go. We can't delay brother's future because of my affairs." She repeatedly warned Yu, "You are serving me, if you do something behind my back, I won't blame you, I know you're doing it for my good. But this matter is different. Our Zhao family has not produced a scholar for 40 years. If you cause any trouble because of this, you will be trapping me in injustice and making me the sinner of the Zhao family for all eternity!"

  Yu's mother nodded and turned around to wipe away her tears.

  Is uncle really this good?

  Dong Zhao pouted and secretly told his mother: You can just go disturb him. He is a jinshi of the Ding Wei year. Moreover, as soon as he obtained an official position, he got a real vacancy in the northwest and took his whole family to take office, and never returned to Zhending again.

  She had met her uncle only once on the day she got married.

  Her mother had a brother. When saying goodbye to her relatives, she looked at her mother and respectfully gave her uncle three bows.

  Her uncle seemed to be in high spirits, and his gaze gave her the illusion that he was thinking "my family has a daughter who has just grown up". She was overjoyed at the time, thinking that her uncle was an official in the northwest, far away from home, and it was inconvenient to contact him. Her stepmother only had eyes for her own brother's family, and her uncle was a scholar, so he must be proud and unwilling to suffer this humiliation, which is why he didn't visit their house often. This time, her uncle came all the way from his post to see her off, it can be seen that he still has her in his heart, this niece of his. She even planned to take advantage of this reunion to show her respect to her uncle and ask him to tell her stories about her mother's past.

  She didn't expect that as soon as she left, her uncle returned to the northwest and from then on, he never sent her a single word or message.

  If in the past, her uncle was cautious of his stepmother, then after she married into the Jin'ning Marquis's household, what would he still be wary of?

  Dòu Zhāo couldn't figure it out no matter what.

  Later, Eldest Sister Zhao Bi Ru from uncle's family followed her husband to Kyoto for his appointment and lived there. I once visited her and she entertained me with three cups of tea.

  Can you count on such a person?

  Dong Zhaohui suspected, hiding behind the curtain of the floor screen and deep in thought.

  Since mother agreed with father taking a concubine, does it mean stepmother was promoted to be the legitimate wife?

  Her stepmother always said that she was "married into the Duan family through a proper matchmaker, and was welcomed with eight sedan chairs". No one ever contradicted her when they heard this.

  The stepmother can dismiss the mother's loyal servants, threaten and bribe the maids in the house, but it's impossible for even the respectable ladies of Zhen Ding County to follow suit and blindly tell lies!

  Is there also a woman in between?

  That's not right either, Stepmother entered the door with joy, younger sister Duan Ming is only two years and seven months younger than her...

  Dòu Zhāo Yuè thought more and more confused.

  Smiling, she walked in.

  "Seventh Grandma," she said cautiously, "Third Madam is coming."

  Mother hastily wiped away her tears and instructed her to "quickly invite Third Aunt into the house to talk", while she herself got up to welcome.

  Third Aunt walked in with a stern expression, surrounded by two maidservants.

  Seeing her mother, she turned red in the eyes, holding her mother's hand and got on the kang.

  The servants in the house all quietly withdrew.

  Third Aunt didn't wait for Yu Niang to serve the tea before saying, "I know you're heartbroken. I won't try to persuade you either, just go ahead and cry if you want to. But after crying, you must perk up and be brave, look at Seventh Uncle, you still have tough battles to fight in the future!"

  "I know!" said the mother, tears falling again as she apologized to Third Aunt, "Please help me tell Third Uncle that I was wrong. I was so angry that I said those things to him. Please ask him to forgive me because of my youth and inexperience."

  "You're saying that, and you're putting me and your third brother at odds." Third Aunt also burst into tears, "In the end, it's all your third brother's fault! If it wasn't for your third brother's rashness, Seventh Uncle wouldn't have caused this trouble..."

  "What does this have to do with Third Uncle?" Mother interrupted Third Aunt, sobbing. "You're talking about brothers, but Third Uncle treats Yuan as if he were his own son. If Yuan has something on his mind, can't Third Uncle just ignore it? In the end, it's all Yuan's fault... He's possessed by a demon... I'm so angry... We grew up together since childhood, and in terms of affection, we should be closer than other couples. If he wants to take a concubine, why didn't he discuss it with me first? I wouldn't agree, and he would kneel in the snow and refuse to get up... His father was 42 when he had him, this only child... What does he think of me? Where has he put me? The more I think about it, the colder my heart becomes..." She buried her face in the kang table and cried again.

  "Don't cry, don't cry!" Third Aunt hugged Mother. "Who doesn't have ups and downs in life? Seventh Uncle is still young, it's inevitable to be confused sometimes. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, your Eldest Uncle was a person who should be calm and reserved, right? When he had just passed the imperial examination, wasn't he also learning from others, publishing books, taking concubines... Eldest Aunt was so angry that she cried back then, but after a few years, look, after passing that reckless phase, he knew that home is where the heart is, and wholeheartedly lived with Eldest Aunt. Eldest Aunt, who was almost 40 years old, even gave birth to Lan Ge... It can be seen that sometimes, one must use softness to overcome hardness, cannot be hard-headed!"

  "I understand everything Third Aunt said." Mother sat up straight, wiping away tears and said, "I have something to ask of Third Aunt." She didn't continue the topic with Third Aunt.

  Third Aunt was somewhat surprised and hastily said: "You say, you say. As long as I can help."

  "That woman is going to enter our family's door, I'd better take a look!" Mother said, "I think I'll invite Third Aunt and Eldest Aunt to accompany us at that time."

  This was originally the rules of a big family, even if they agreed to their husband's concubine, they had to see the person first. If it was a woman with a bad reputation or poor conduct, the wife could refuse her husband's request without being considered "jealous". Unlike those newly rich merchants who didn't have any standards and could bring anyone home as long as they liked them.

  "Alright, alright, alright! I'll go talk to your sister-in-law right now."

  "Then I'll have to trouble you, Third Aunt," Mother said, standing up. "I'll go tell Yuan right away and have him bring the person from Kyoto to Zhending."

  Third Aunt didn't respond, smiling and patting Mother's hand, saying: "Seventh Brother and Sister have also grown up!"

  The tone was half nostalgic and half relieved.

  ※

  Today I went to check the rankings and found that "Jiǔ Chóng Zǐ" has risen to fifth place on the PK chart.

  O(∩_∩)O~

  Thank you everyone!

  It should be able to support some days now!

  ※