Chapter Thirty-Seven: Night Talk

  Ji sat on the kang by the window, gazing at Dun Zhao who had fallen asleep, and let out a barely audible sigh: "This child is really beautiful!" As he spoke,

  After leaving the house of San Ye, she took Dou Zhao to pay respects to several nieces-in-law. When they returned, it was already late at night and quiet everywhere. After washing up, Dou Zhao fell asleep on the bed.

  Wang's wife was sitting on the edge of the bed fanning Dou Zhao when she heard this and couldn't help but look at Dou Zhao.

  Inside the room, without lighting a lamp, under the moonlight, her face was as smooth as jade, with a hint of a smile on her small red lips, as if she had just had a beautiful dream, making one's heart melt at first sight.

  "Yes!" Wang's nurse exclaimed uncontrollably, "How could Seventh Granny bear to abandon Fourth Miss and leave just like that!"

  Ji didn't make a sound.

  "Anyway, it's all the fault of the concubine. Clearly a familiar face from the past, yet she still dares to entice Seventh Master, how can Seventh Madame show her face? No wonder Seventh Madame wants to take this path."

  "She didn't hang herself just because of a loss of face." Ji heard this and sighed, "It's that she regarded Seventh Uncle as too important. Even if it wasn't Wang's wife, but some other woman, even a lowly prostitute, who could gain Seventh Uncle's favor, to her it would be a catastrophic event, she'd rather die than see it happen. But then she thought, what about the child? What about the brothers from her natal family who raised her? She's made things so that those close to her are pained and her enemies rejoice. Alas, I don't know what to say! If only she had a mother to help her make decisions or a close friend to talk to, maybe things wouldn't have gone this far. 'A widow with an unmarried daughter should not remarry' isn't without reason. Poor Shougu, from now on her life will be difficult!"

  Wang's wife said disbelievingly: "Didn't they say that Fourth Miss had been betrothed to the young master of the Jining Marquis' manor?"

  "It's just empty talk." Ji sighed, "If the Wei family really wanted to acknowledge this relationship, they wouldn't have only sent a steward when Zhao died."

  The queen mother was somewhat worried about Du Zhao.

  "Let's not talk about these things behind each other's backs." Ji said "Has the news spread on your mother-in-law's side?"

  She had already sent someone over. As soon as the second master's side dispersed, he immediately reported back to her.

  The queen hastily got up and said: "I'll go take a look!"

  Ji nodded and took over Wang's fan to help Du Zhao fan herself.

  The queen mother came back with news: "They said it hasn't dispersed yet."

  Ji's eyebrows were tightly locked, looking somewhat nervous and uneasy.

  "Then... what happened?"

  Ji said in a low voice: "I'm afraid it's because of Seventh Uncle's marriage and the old master of the Western Mansion are at odds!"

  .

  Dong Zhaowen turned over in his sleep.

  Ji gently patted Dou Zhao, seeing that she was calm, and then said in a low voice: "Zeng Gong Lao kicked out Chen Ji Zhou and recommended He Wen Dao. What does this mean? It means Zeng Gong Lao has already stood firm in the court." Her voice was calm and rational, colder than the moonlight on the windowsill. "Zeng Gong Lao is already past his prime, his body and energy are not what they used to be, at most he can hold on for five or six years. Who will take over Zeng Gong Lao's position then?" She paused slightly, "If I'm not mistaken, Wang Xing Yi should have been promoted to the Six Ministries' official by now."

  The queen mother thought for a long time, her face suddenly changed: "You mean, Queen Wang, to be promoted as the legitimate wife?" Her voice was even trembling.

  Ji nodded solemnly and seriously: "My mother-in-law is a person who knows the situation. This time, the old master of the Western Mansion will have a headache."

  The king's nanny was stunned for a long time and the shocked expression on her face did not dissipate.

  She muttered to herself: "After Zeng Guofu was forced to retire, all of his disciples were neglected. Only the Fifth Master could take care of himself. Before Zeng Guofu's reinstatement, they all relied on the Fifth Master... Now that Wang Xingyi has been reinstated, if he were just a small county magistrate, it would not be worth mentioning. But within half a year, he was promoted to a high-ranking official in the Six Ministries, which means he is also highly valued by Zeng Guofu... The Fifth Master may be powerful, but he does not have Wang's reputation. If things continue like this, they will inevitably suffer losses... If they were to legitimize Wang's concubine, the Wang family would owe a favor to the Duan family, and Wang would definitely not dare to compete with the Fifth Master for the position of party leader, perhaps he would even help the Fifth Master contend for it... But Wang's concubine has a terrible character. A person like that, even if they could give birth to a son, would not be able to teach him properly... The Western Mansion would be completely ruined... The old master would never agree to this..." She shook her head suddenly. "No, no. If I can understand this, the Madame and the old master must also know it. Why did the Madame persuade the old master to agree to legitimize Wang's concubine?" She couldn't figure it out.

  "So I'm worried!" Ji sighed and looked at Dou Zhao, "I'm afraid Sixth Master has done a good deed but ended up with bad consequences!"

  The king's mother did not understand.

  "Now the West House is indeed a bit messy, Shou Gu this child, at such a young age, lost her mother, I'm heartbroken too." Ji Shi said slowly "Sixth Master asked me to take care of Shou Gu, I didn't think twice and agreed. It was supposed to be a good thing, but now the situation has changed greatly, if Madame uses this as an excuse, and asks me to help raise the eldest grandson of the West House... In the past, the Dou family's property was divided equally, later they operated together, Seventh Uncle alone could get half of the Dou family's property, how many people can see that without being moved? Not to mention the Wang family, even the Dou family, who knows if they won't be jealous. At that time, we will be in a difficult situation, and our home will not have peace!"

  **

  "What's to be done?" Wang's aunt hastily said, "If it's really up to you to bring the eldest son of the West Mansion, then Wang's mother is his birth mother. Can't she see him at least once a year? Just thinking about dealing with such a despicable person makes me feel disgusted. Moreover, 'dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes', and mice give birth to mice that can dig holes. What kind of good thing can she raise? Don't let her bring our family's Hui Ge Er and Zhi Ge Er down! Sixth Lady, if Old Madam mentions this matter to you, you absolutely cannot agree! Even if it's Fourth Miss..." She glanced at Dou Shao "I think she also can't stay... You just say the weather is too hot and your body is uncomfortable. Send her to Old Madam, whoever wants to bring her can bring her, anyway, she won't lack food and clothing."

  Hui Ge Er and Zhi Ge Er are the eldest son and second son of the sixth house.

  "Don't ever say that again!" Ji Shi said displeased, "She's not a cat or dog that you can raise when you like and abandon wherever when you don't. She's a living child!"

  "But..." Madam Wang hesitated.

  "This is just my guess." Ji Shi interrupted her and said, "Even if I'm right, this matter can't be settled in one go. The marriage of the various families needs to be explained, doesn't it? We need to get a letter of consent from Zhao's uncle, don't we? And we need to think of a way to make Wang Xingyi understand, don't we?"

  "It's indeed!" Wang's emotions slowly calmed down. "Not to mention anything else, the Zhū family is also a respectable family in True Definition County. If the Dòu family doesn't come up with a good reason, the Zhū family will definitely not agree to break off the engagement."

  "You're absolutely wrong," said Ji Shi with a smile. "Among these three things, the easiest and simplest is the marriage between our families. Think about it, previously the Zhao family heard some rumors from somewhere that there was something unseemly going on between Seventh Uncle and his concubine, so Third Aunt found many people to speak up for them. The Zhao family didn't agree to the wedding in May, which shows they're a family who dotes on their daughter. If they knew how chaotic things were at our house, they would definitely not want their precious daughter to suffer such injustice. They wouldn't need us to bring it up, they would proactively break off the engagement themselves."

  She took a sip of tea.

  "The hardest thing is getting Uncle Zhao to agree to promote Wang's concubine to a proper wife." Her voice dropped lower. "Uncle Zhao probably hates our family to death right now. If not for consideration of Old Lady Shou, he would have killed Duan Shiying already. Our family doesn't need to go ask for that agreement letter, but if we do, it's definitely unattainable. Not only will they refuse, but they might also take the opportunity to make our family lose face."

  "What's bothering the old master?" Wang's wife smiled and said, "At that time, just say that Uncle Zhao doesn't agree to make Wang's aunt a proper wife, and then marry again. Can't Madam still force Uncle Zhao to write an agreement letter?"

  "It's probably exactly what the old lady wants!" Ji Shi said, her eyes falling on Du Zhao again "The old lady can't force Uncle Zhao to write a letter of consent, but she can make sure that Uncle Zhao will never be able to move his nest in the northwest. The mountains are high and the water is long, unless Uncle Zhao quits his official position and comes back to fight a lawsuit with the Du family, otherwise, with the support of the Du family, Wang's wife can openly bear children under the title of successor... But if Uncle Zhao quits his official position and comes back to fight a lawsuit with the Du family... A person without an official position... Can he win against the Du family? Not only will he not win, but most likely he will also lose all his property and become destitute. Even if his children are intelligent, they will have no power to continue studying and entering officialdom..."

  "Old Madam Wang shivered: 'Madam, this is too, too cruel!'"

  "It's not necessarily all Madam's idea." Ji said with a sigh, "Our family's Fifth Uncle has always liked to say half and leave half unsaid."

  Wang's wife sympathized with Du Zhao: "Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh. Fortunately, Fourth Miss doesn't understand things, so she won't be stuck in the middle, having a hard time."

  "Do you think Shou Gu has had a good life?" Ji Shi stroked Dun Zhao's head lovingly. "If you were Shou Gu, and one day someone told you that Wang Niang was the murderer who killed Zhao Shi, what would you do?"

  "I must definitely get justice for my birth mother." Wang's nanny said without thinking.

  "It's just that." Ji's voice was low and melancholic, as if the old huqin sounded sorrowful and desolate. "If Zhao's uncle doesn't write a letter of consent, they will continue to confront each other like this. If Wang Xingyi wholeheartedly follows Fifth Uncle, then it's fine. But if Wang Xingyi is indecisive, when Shougu grows up, the Duan family only needs to tell her the truth. If she marries a wealthy and influential husband, she can persuade him to help her take action, and with one lawsuit, they can bring down Wang's wife from her pedestal; if she marries an ordinary person, among the many sons of the Duan family, there will be someone who will stand on Shougu's side. Either way, they can make Wang's wife become a concubine... If Shougu submits this lawsuit, Seventh Uncle will not be able to escape the crime of 'taking a concubine as a wife'."

  She didn't hand over the letter, Shou Gu was afraid that it would be hard to calm down... If it really came to that point, the Wang family would be heartbroken and the Duan family would be plagued by a chronic illness. Others would only say that the Duan family was considerate of their colleagues' feelings, while the Wang family was failing to teach their adopted daughter properly... Besides, Seventh Master wasn't one of the Eastern Duan's people after all..."

  "How could our old master have married you into such a family!" Wang's face turned pale, and in the sweltering summer, she felt a chill run down to her bones. "Our Ji family would never do such a thing."

  "Which big family looks prosperous and embroidered on the surface but is full of holes inside?" Ji Shi said, "You just don't know about the affairs of the Ji family."

  The queen mother remained silent.

  A little maid reported: "Sixth Master is back!"

  Ji's wife gave a signal with her eyes: "Whatever you do, don't breathe a word in front of Sixth Master, let him go to the imperial examination happily and then we'll talk."

  "The old slave understands." Wang's voice was low as she followed Ji Shi out the door.

  The room is quiet and still, peaceful and serene.

  The moonlight shines on Du Zhao's face, the water droplets at the corners of his eyes are like dew falling on the petals of a flower, crystal clear and dreamlike.