My father's carriage was parked at the second gate, and several young servants were busy moving things inside. My father, wearing a blue brocade changshan with a gray squirrel fur cloak draped over his shoulders, stood elegantly beside the carriage, talking to Gao Sheng about something.

  Hearing the noise, he turned around, smiled lightly, with a handsome and elegant appearance, like a clear breeze on a bright moonlit night.

  Dou Zhao was slightly hesitant in his heart.

  She knows her father is good-looking.

  But she had never seen such a father before.

  In her impression, her father always had a faint frown, even when he laughed loudly, his eyebrows still held a hint of indelible melancholy. Especially when he gazed at her quietly, his eyes were as calm as an ancient well that had been stagnant for thousands of years, sending shivers down one's spine.

  Not like now, young, handsome and sunny, like a carefree boy, it warms people's hearts just by looking at him.

  "Shòu gū," her father's smiling face appeared before her eyes, "Dad is back and you don't even call out!" He reached out to pinch Du Zhao's nose.

  Dou Zhao subconsciously turned his head away, avoiding his father's hand.

  Her father was taken aback, then smiled and pulled out a pinwheel from the carriage behind him, blowing it to make a whirring sound, and held it in front of her: "This is what Daddy brought back for you from Kyoto. Isn't it fun?"

  If she were a child, she would be fascinated by the windmill, but she is already the mother of three children and the one who bought the windmill to amuse the kids. How could she possibly take it seriously?

  Dòu Zhāo stretched his neck towards the carriage and took a peek inside.

  Mother's face turned red, and she looked at her father with deep affection, saying in a spoiled and scolding tone: "You're back safely, that's all that matters. Why did you buy us things? We have everything we need at home."

  "That's different!" Father took Dou Zhao from Mother's hands, "This is what I specially brought back from Kyoto for you."

  Her mother's face turned even redder, as if she had drunk a few years of old Huadiao wine, and her eyes became blurry.

  Dong Zhao leaned over and tried to pull open the curtains of the carriage, but being small and short-armed, he couldn't quite reach them.

  Her father sensed her intention, gently patted her buttocks and put her on the carriage: "What are you looking for?"

  Dong Zhaowu ignored him and rushed into the train carriage.

  The car was lined with thick mattresses, several books such as "Annotations on the Four Books" were casually thrown on the mattress, and in the corner there was a tea bucket for warming tea, with an open lid and a purple clay teapot inside.

  Nothing else but this.

  Dong Zhao stood in the carriage, looking around blankly.

  Did she remember it wrong?

  Or... what Tuan'ge said was completely untrue!

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  Father returned from his long journey, the first thing he did was go and pay respects to grandfather.

  Mother made an excuse to arrange a family banquet and returned to the upper house, calling all the maids serving in the upper house to the hall.

  "Which scoundrel told you those filthy words? Come out and own up to it!" She slammed her hand on the table, furious. "If I have to wait for my sister to point them out, it won't just be a matter of being sent to work outside or having your monthly allowance docked! I'll report it to the old master, call in the matchmaker, and sell you off to some poor mountain village where you'll never get to eat a decent meal again!"

  The house was dead silent.

  The teacup on the table was shaken by Mother's loud voice: "Good! Not one of you stood up. Can't I find out? Your sister is only a few years old, can't even speak clearly, and you're all inciting her to talk nonsense in front of me. If your sister were a bit older, wouldn't she be corrupted by all of you..."

  Dou Zhaoyou sat on the heated kang in the inner room of the upper house with a small maid accompanying her, occasionally sighing.

  It was her own idea, who would jump out and admit it!

  But Dòu Zhāo did not defend those maidservants.

  She is now a child who can't even speak properly. In her mother's opinion, it was the maids who taught her to say things like "Father brought a woman back home" out of thin air. If she were to defend those maids, her mother would only become more suspicious that someone had ulterior motives, and those maids would be even less likely to escape unscathed.

  She asked the little maid beside her: "What's your...?" Her throat was still choked, and she couldn't say a complete sentence.

  The little maid was delighted and said eagerly: "In response to Fourth Miss's words, I am called Xiang Cao."

  She said: "I want... to be a concubine!"

  The little maid opened her eyes wide and curiously asked: "Who is Sister Tuo?"

  Dou Zhao was stunned.

  "Seventh Granny, Seventh Grandpa is back."

  A commotion broke out outside.

  Mother's tone was slightly tense as she instructed: "Yu Niang, you take the people in Fourth Miss's room back first. Fourth Miss will be staying here tonight. The others can do what they need to do."

  There was an old voice respectfully responding with "yes".

  Then there was another commotion.

  Before long, mother smiled and accompanied father in.

  Jian Dou sat stupidly on the kang, her father smiled and patted her head: "This child, what's wrong with you today?"

  Her mother didn't dare tell her husband that Du Zhao had been instructed by someone, and she smiled vaguely: "Maybe he's just too tired from playing, he'll be fine later."

  Father no longer asked.

  The maids brought in water and towels, and Mother helped Father wash his face and change his clothes. Duan Zhao was also carried away by the maids to be washed and dressed, and then they all went to see their grandfather together.

  Grandfather lived in the west wing of the house, which was called "Crane Longevity Hall" because of a plaque on the central hall that read "Crane and Longevity Together".

  The front of the He Shou Tang building is a pool with artificial hills, and the back is a wisteria flower tree, which is the best scenic spot in the house.

  In Su Zhaos memory, she had been to He Shou Tang twice. Once was when she was nine years old, her grandfather passed away, and according to his will, the funeral was held in He Shou Tang, she came back for the funeral; another time was to attend her grandfathers Da Yi ceremony.

  Both times were in a flurry, and she didn't even have time to take a closer look at the He Shou Tang.

  This time in her dream, she returned and leaned on her mother's shoulder, looking around everywhere.

  The pond is frozen, the artificial hill is covered with snow, the trees have withered, and the wisteria is just a few dry branches. Although it's desolate, its elegant layout makes it difficult to hide its beauty.

  She couldn't help but nod secretly.

  No wonder those old Hanlin in Kyoto would praise his grandfather for being talented whenever they mentioned him.

  It's a pity that his grandfather was impatient with official career and resigned before the age of 30 to return to his hometown as a farmer.

  They arrived at the gate of He Ming Tang in a daze.

  A charming woman with a lingering youthful air smiled and welcomed them in.

  Dong Zhao stared at the beautiful woman, his eyes wide with wonder.

  How did she dream of Grandma Ding?

  It's better to dream of her grandmother instead!

  She grew up with her grandmother since she was a child.

  Just then, Aunt Ding smiled and came forward to pinch Du Zhao's small hand, saying to her mother: "What's wrong with Shou Gu today? She's been dazed all day and didn't even call for anyone..."

  Mother glanced at Aunt Ding and whispered: "I'll talk to you later."

  Fourth Aunt understood and smiled as she hugged Du Zhao over, accompanying her mother into Grandfather's study.

  Dong Zhao's mind was in a mess.

  The grandfather was over forty years old, and his knees were still empty. The first wife took charge and gave the grandfather two concubines. One of them was Auntie Ding, and the other was Grandmother Cui. Auntie Ding and the first wife had no children, and Grandmother Cui only gave birth to Father. Later, Stepmother entered the house and gave birth to Brother Dòu Xiǎo. Grandmother Cui's childbearing was successful, and the Dou family people began to call her "Mrs. Cui". Although Father still called her "Auntie", the grandchildren generation called her "Grandmother", while Auntie Ding remained Auntie Ding.

  After the death of his first wife, my grandfather decided not to remarry. Aunt Ding took charge of household chores and handed them over to my mother when she married in. Aunt Ding only managed things in Grandfather's room. In his later years, he was always accompanied by Aunt Ding. My grandmother lived in a rural estate fifty miles outside of Zhengding County and only returned for short stays during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival.

  Dong Zhao felt a vague sense of unease in her heart, as if something had happened and she was being kept in the dark.

  She quietly observed the people and things around her.

  At dinner time, Duan Zhao noticed that the dishes were a set of Qinghua porcelain in the color of Tuyet Tang Spring, with bowls, plates and spoons all complete.

  When Grandfather asked Father questions, Du Zhao was left on the heated kang in the study room to play.

  She saw on her grandfather's desk a pair of horse-shaped wooden paperweights made from purple sandalwood.

  Dòu Zhāo thought for a moment, tiptoed up, and counted the crystal beads on the sword tassel of the Longquan treasure sword hanging on the wall.

  She had seen all these things before.

  At that time, they were placed in the coffin as grandfather's favorite things and became funeral objects.

  She also remembered that the Yu Tang Chun-colored Qinghua porcelain tableware was left with only four bowls, two plates, one cup and five soup spoons; there was only one Zixi wooden paperweight; and there were five glass beads on the sword hilt of Longquan Baojian.

  It's as if time has flowed backwards, erasing the years left on those objects.

  Listen to Grandfather's words again: “...... This article comes from "Analects of Confucius - Gong Zhichang". You use 'Dafu heart Yu and Gong, Zhongyu Mouye' to break the topic, and then use 'Fu Yu Ze Qi De Shi, Gong Ze Ping Wu Wo, Er Zi Wen Wei Zhi Zhong Yi, Ren Ze Wu Bu Zhi Ye...' to continue the topic, very good, it can be seen that you have already deeply understood the three flavors of the 'variable form' method...”

  Du Zhao's hands and feet were icy cold.

  Although she knew the characters, she had never read the Four Books and Five Classics. How could she possibly come up with such words out of thin air?

  "Mother! Mother!" Dou Zhaosheng's heart was filled with terror, she shouted loudly for her mother, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

  The grandfather who was excitedly talking with his father suddenly fell silent.

  His mother hastily ran into the hall: "Father, I'll take Shougu to play next door."

  She looked apologetic and took Du Zhao out of the study with her arms around him.

  Fourth Auntie came forward to greet her.

  Mother had dinner with grandfather and father at the same table, because today the wet nurse did not follow, Aunt Ding first fed Dou Zhao to eat, until Dou Zhao was full, the people at the table also dispersed, leaving only some leftover dishes and rice, just now she was messing around with dinner.

  "What's wrong?" She touched Dun Zhao's forehead, "Usually fine. Did you come into contact with something unclean?"

  Dou Zhao clung tightly to her mother's neck, feeling the warmth of her nape, as if this could prove that she wasn't surrounded by a group of ghosts.

  "Really?" Her mother shivered and hesitated, "Could it be that someone instructed by Shougu is behind this?"

  "It's nothing," said Auntie Ding with confidence. "Even if someone plays tricks on us, we're a family that does good deeds, the great immortal will protect us from harm. Later, I'll ask the great immortal for two talismans on behalf of Shougu, you scan them twice on her body and then burn them, and Shougu will be fine."

  Her mother nodded without stopping, gritting her teeth and saying: "If I find out who is being unkind, I'll skin her alive!"

  "It's just as well that I said it in front of you. If I had said it in front of Seventh Master, it would have been troublesome." Aunt Ding sighed and a small servant ran in to report: "Old Master, Seventh Master, Seventh Mistress, Aunt Ding, Third Master from the East Mansion has arrived."

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  Happy New Year! Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year!

  PS: From this chapter on, the story is completely logical and coherent, everyone can start reading now.

  O(∩_∩)O~

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