Chapter 47: Calculations (Pink Ticket 150 + Extra)

  At night, Duan Zhao, who was left at the East Mansion, slept in the inner room of Liu Bo Mu's boudoir, but couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

  Is half of Xi Diao's property going to be hers just like that?

  She kept replaying in her mind the image of her father crumpling up the letter with a gentle yet resolute expression.

  A quarter of the Dou family's assets, does Father know what he is doing?

  Yu Daqing only managed his mother's dowry, but after her death, he had other ideas. She was a five-year-old child, who would wholeheartedly help her manage these industries and not be moved by Jin Bo?

  Should we contact Cui's family?

  In her previous life, she was twelve years old.

  In this life, she was still muddled and unaware.

  Dong Zhao has been through too much and no longer dares to test a person's character with money.

  On the other side of the mosquito net, Ji also didn't sleep.

  She is thinking about today's things.

  She wanted to say a few intimate words to her husband, but when she turned around, she saw his face sound asleep.

  A thousand words and countless phrases got stuck in my heart.

  She quietly got out of bed and went to take a look at Dun Zhao, who was "asleep", then sat alone on the kang by the window.

  Nowadays, Du Zhao is like a baby in a cradle holding a bag of gold ingots. Although the gold ingots can guarantee her food and clothing, she has no strength to keep them safe, but only makes people who covet it have the heart to rob her.

  For Duan Zhao, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages!

  Ji thought of her serene face when she was asleep, her serious expression when writing, and the occasional glint of cunning in her eyes, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart.

  What a good child, can't let her be ruined like this?

  She couldn't help but look in the direction where her mother-in-law lived.

  As for sending off the second lady of Duan's family, she was talking in a low voice with her second son Duan Shijiao in the inner room.

  "If your third uncle ultimately refuses to divide the property of Xī Dòu in half for Shòu Gū, are you really prepared to give away the share that Lǎo Sān and Lǎo Liù deserve, along with your own, to Shòu Gū?"

  The maidservants in the house had been dismissed, and there were only two people left in the house, Mrs. Duan and Du Shixiong.

  Dòu Shì Zhuī smiled but didn't answer. He personally made a cup of tea for his mother.

  The second lady was both angry and anxious, scolding: "You're also too impatient! Fortunately, today there's a ten-thousand-yuan guarantee to cover the loss. Otherwise, I don't know how you'd wrap this up!"

  "I didn't expect it either." Dou Shi-zhu sat opposite his mother. "Compared to before, the family is much more stable now." He also said, "As for family matters, I'll have to trouble you to take care of them, I'll be heading back to Kyoto early tomorrow morning."

  "Alas," said the second mistress, sighing. "So much effort has been wasted. I think that Wang Xinyu may not even appreciate your kindness and might even think that this whole mess is because you didn't try hard enough."

  "Daughter," Dou Shi Hui smiled wryly. "Do you think I can eat from the same bowl as Wang You Sheng?"

  The second lady was slightly stunned.

  Dong Shi said: "Our Dong family has reached the third generation with me?"

  Since someone from the Duan family entered the imperial academy, Duan Shixiong is the third generation.

  The second mistress nodded.

  "No matter how many jinshi and jinshi came out of our family, as long as no one entered the cabinet and became a prime minister, it would always be just an ordinary official family, with no reputation in the officialdom and no power to speak in the court," Dou Shi said, his face gradually becoming solemn, his features sharp as if carved by a knife. "But now I have such an opportunity, I see such a prospect, maybe one day my portrait will hang in the ancestral hall of the Dou family's north building, my name will be written on the first page of the Dou family genealogy. Can you say that I can give up? Will I give up?"

  "Of course it cannot be!" said the second mistress firmly.

  "Wang Xingyi, chose to be the vanguard for Fang Shi, for a whole decade, he himself was in the northwest, enduring wind and rain, his wife and children were impoverished and destitute," Dou Shixu's eyes narrowed slightly, his sharp and bright gaze flashed like a knife edge, "Now that he has finally returned to officialdom, all the grievances Fang Shi will compensate him for, do you think he will be content with the status quo, not strive for progress, and let the hardships he suffered go unrewarded?"

  "Impossible!" The second lady seemed lost in thought.

  "Since neither of us can back down, why should I try to please him?" Dou Shixu smiled and said, "Moreover, the current situation is more favorable for us - cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. He can't even manage his own household affairs clearly, yet he wants our family to spend so much energy cleaning up after him. As for Fang Shi, I'm afraid we'll have to reevaluate him."

  "Not bad!" The second lady's spirit was lifted, "A person who can't even manage household chores properly, how can he be trusted to handle important state affairs? Secrets can't be kept hidden, this matter will eventually reach the ears of your colleagues and peers. Who doesn't want to advance in their official career? Even if Lord Zeng favors him, there will still be people who won't accept it." She said with a smile, "It seems that we should thank Mrs. Pang for causing such a commotion, otherwise things wouldn't have developed to this point."

  "But to let a woman like Wang into the family is not quite right." Du Shi-zhu said thoughtfully, "I'm afraid that if the younger generation follows her example, it will ruin the reputation of our Du family. I think you should pay close attention to what's going on in the West Wing - since there hasn't been a master of the house for a long time, there are many things that need to be done. It would be best if Shou-gu could stay with us and take care of her. And as for Wang's daughter, it would be even better if she could come live with you too."

  The second lady looked down on Wang's family and also disliked Dou Ming, saying: "We are now at odds with your third uncle. If it were just for her upbringing, I think that would be enough!"

  "But she is still a daughter of the Duan family," said Duan Shixiong, "If she marries into another family and loses her dignity, it will still be our family's shame."

  The second lady nodded reluctantly.

  Dong Shixiu also instructed: "Now that Shougu has obtained half of the Western House's property, please remind your family members not to speak carelessly."

  The second lady was puzzled.

  Dong Shixu said in a low voice: "I'm afraid someone has designs on Shougu."

  The second lady understood.

  How much silver is half of Xi Diao's property?

  If someone marries a wife like that, their descendants can be idle for generations to come, just sleeping and eating.

  "It's best to find someone close to our family for Shou Gu." said the second lady.

  "If her heart is towards the East Mansion, that would be even better." Duan Shixiu saw that his mother understood his meaning, and his eyes were filled with a smile. "In these two days, Madam Zhao will bring back Lord Zhao's letter of consent. After all, Madam Zhao is still young. If she has any matters, you can help her out a bit, lest the matter of dividing the property gives rise to more twists and turns - since we have agreed to the Zhao family's conditions, why not do it beautifully?"

  The second lady was surprised that Diao Zhao's aunt had arrived so quickly.

  Dong Shixu smiled and said, "As soon as I received the news that Rui Fu wanted to give half of his property to Shou Gu as a dowry, I knew what he meant. I immediately sent someone to Ganquan County, also afraid of being too late. Third Uncle was about to hand over the property when he changed his mind again."

  "You're still so thoughtful." The second mistress couldn't help but praise her son repeatedly, who was gentle and elegant yet confident and proud.

  Dong's regret came sooner than Dou Shi thought.

  He returned home and picked up a pen from his desk and threw it at Du Shiying.

  Dong Shiying didn't dodge or evade, waiting for his father to finish venting his anger. He then said quietly, "I'll return to Kyoto with Fifth Brother tomorrow..."

  "Aren't you ashamed enough today?" Du Dang cut him off in anger.

  "I'll also participate in next year's Spring Imperial Examination," said Du Shiying, "I want to ask Fifth Brother to introduce me to an old Hanlin to help me with the imperial examination essays."

  Dong Tong was taken aback. Then he said, "Alright, let's do the formal promotion ceremony when you return from the spring exams. It'll be a good opportunity to put that Wang Shi in her place."

  Why must it be so?

  Dou Shiying wanted to advise his father a few words, thinking of his father's resentment, thinking that he couldn't not attend the spring examination, he hesitated and stopped.

  Dong Tong however picked up his son and started talking about making a living.

  The father and son asked each other one by one, and gradually talked about the white clouds rising in the sky.

  Dou Shiying rubbed his red eyes and went back to wash up, then returned to the He Shou Hall to have breakfast with his father. After finishing, he saw that the trunks had been loaded onto the carriage, so Dou Tong sent his son off at the gate.

  The two fathers were talking when a large crowd of people came rushing towards them with gongs and drums.

  Dong Dong furrowed his brow and had just called out "Du An" when a loud, shrill cry came from the crowd opposite: "Old Master Duan's family, it was my brother who didn't understand what he was doing, offending you. My three brothers and I will apologize to you with our heads bowed. Please, sir, be magnanimous and don't hold this against us, forgive us."

  The people of Dòu's family were shocked and they all looked towards the group of people together.

  Only three men in pink silk pants were seen walking through the crowd, bare-chested and carrying thorny branches.

  Isn't this the Ponzi three brothers?

  Du An was so surprised that his mouth was wide open.

  Dong Tong was so angry that his temples throbbed violently as he sternly asked the people beside him, "What are they here for?"

  "No... I don't know." The young servant said, "I'll go ask right away." Before he could run to the front of the three brothers of the Pang family, the three brothers of the Pang family had already fallen to their knees with a loud thud in the middle of the street.

  "Master Duan, we kowtowed to you!" After that, "thud thud thud", they started kowtowing, and soon their foreheads turned purple.

  "What's going on?"

  "Who are these three people?"

  Some people also recognized Pang San, the third son of the Pangs: "Isn't this Pang San from next door's Lingshou County? He's a notorious rascal in Lingshou County. Who would have thought he'd end up like this? I wonder what the Pangs did to offend the Dus?"

  The neighbors were all discussing and speculating, while the members of the Pang family repeatedly explained to the crowd: "Our third master has eyes but fails to recognize gold and jade, offending Old Lady Duan. This is to make amends and apologize."

  "It serves him right!" The crowd jeered in satisfaction, "Even Pang Yu has his day of reckoning!"

  "Pang's old master should be severely punished."

  "It must be Pang Yibao who has swindled Old Master Du!"

  There are all sorts of people who say all sorts of things.

  Dong's hands trembled with rage.

  Pang Yulou's second brother, Pang Yinlou, couldn't help but feel a little smug, and whispered to his older brother, Pang Jinlou, and younger brother, Pang Xilou: "How about it? Didn't I tell you so? If our younger brother had gone to stir up trouble with the Zhang family that day, how would we have gotten out of this mess today? When dealing with these kinds of family squabbles, the most important thing is not to leave anyone an inch of room to maneuver. From now on, when you encounter situations like this, you need to be more careful!"

  ※

  Sisters, pink tickets...... If you like this work, welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.