Song Mo sensed a hidden meaning in Dou Zhao’s words, especially regarding Huaishu Hutong. After Gao Sheng left Yizhi Hall, he asked Dou Zhao with concern, “Has something happened? Do you need my help?”
“Not for now,” Dou Zhao replied with a tight-lipped smile. If Song Mo knew the truth, he probably wouldn’t be so relaxed.
She urged Song Mo to have lunch, adding, “…so we can set off early.” Then she suggested, “Given the cold weather, why don’t we go directly to the estate in Daxing? As for Fengtai, since we’ve asked people to keep an eye out for flowers and trees, they’ll report any good news. There’s no need to rush; if we appear too eager, opportunists might inflate prices, turning a ten-tael item into a twenty-tael one, treating us like sheep to be fleeced.”
Originally, visiting the flower market was just to cheer up Dou Zhao. Since she wasn’t interested, Song Mo readily agreed to change plans.
After lunch, their carriage sped straight to Daxing. The steward, maids, and older women were already waiting at the gate, escorting Song Mo and Dou Zhao into the estate.
After a brief rest, Song Mo went to inspect the fields accompanied by the steward, while Dou Zhao stayed in the reception room, attended by the same women who had served her during her previous visit.
Meanwhile, at the Jining Marquis’s mansion, the flower hall was packed with people. Not only were the Wei family’s relatives present, but most of the Dou family’s relatives in the capital had also arrived, except for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from Maoer Hutong. Even Gao’s wife, Pang’s wife, and Wei Tingzhen’s two sisters-in-law were there in full regalia. The hall buzzed with laughter and chatter.
Amidst the crowd, Wang Qinghuai’s wife felt uneasy. Before the banquet started, they had inexplicably been made to wait for quite a while. Now that it had begun, she couldn’t see Duke Ying’s heir’s wife anywhere.
Could Dou Zhao be seated elsewhere?
Wang’s wife craned her neck, looking around, only to meet the gaze of the Third Madam from the Jing Duke’s mansion.
The Third Madam smiled and nodded at Wang’s wife.
Wang’s wife hurriedly returned a friendly smile.
The Third Madam turned away, her eyes scanning from east to west and back again as if also searching for someone.
Wang Qinghuai’s wife had a sudden realization. She whispered to her sister-in-law Zhou, who was sitting beside her, “I need to use the restroom,” then stood up and slowly made her way through the Dou family’s female relatives’ seats towards the exit.
She caught snippets of conversation: “…Fourth Miss didn’t come… I heard the Seventh Uncle personally sent his head steward to invite her… She said she’d treat others the way they treated her… Did you see Fifth Miss’s face? It was quite a sight…”
Wang’s wife couldn’t help but glance at Dou Ming, who was smiling and toasting Gao’s wife.
Indeed, his smile seemed somewhat forced.
Wang’s wife hurried to the restroom.
On her way back, she saw the Third Madam from the Jing Duke’s mansion whispering with her maid.
She deliberately took a detour past the Jing Duke’s family’s seats.
She faintly heard, “Duke Ying’s heir’s wife didn’t come.”
Wang’s wife returned to her seat, maintaining her composure, but no longer had the heart to stay.
After the banquet, maids brought in tea and snacks.
Just as Wang’s wife was about to take her leave, the Third Madam from the Jing Duke’s mansion suddenly stood up and said with a smile, “I must go now—I can’t stop worrying about the mischief my two little monkeys might be up to at home. My heart’s been restless since I arrived.” She took Dou Ming’s hand and continued, “Jining Marquis’s wife, I’m afraid we’ll have to meet another day.”
Wei Tingzhen looked slightly displeased.
The Third Madam’s children were surrounded by maids and servants; when she played mahjong, she could play all day without mentioning her children. Now she was putting on a show of maternal concern—who was she trying to impress?
However, this was Dou Ming’s first interaction with the Third Madam. Believing her to be a mother who couldn’t bear to be away from her children even for a moment, she warmly tried to persuade her to stay.
The Third Madam insisted on leaving, saying, “Next time, I’ll bring the children along.” She added jokingly, “I just hope they won’t be so noisy that you’ll regret inviting them.”
“Third Madam, you’re an honored guest we can hardly ever invite. How can you say such things?” Dou Ming exchanged pleasantries with the Third Madam but ultimately couldn’t persuade her to stay. She escorted the Third Madam out of the flower hall.
Watching this, Wang’s wife also stood up.
“Tomorrow is my sister-in-law’s ‘Nine Days’ celebration, I need to go back and prepare,” she said to Wei Tingzhen, excusing herself. “My sister-in-law can stay here.” She smiled at Zhou.
This was indeed true.
Wei Tingzhen couldn’t stop her and smiled, inviting Wang’s wife to visit again when she had time.
How could Zhou possibly stay seated now?
As sisters-in-law, if the elder one was rushing back to honor the younger sister-in-law, how could she remain here, enjoying herself without care? Moreover, she was a newly married wife of just two years, still under her mother-in-law’s scrutiny…
“I’ll go back with my sister-in-law!” she said, grabbing Wang’s wife’s sleeve. “How can I let her do all the work while I enjoy myself here?”
The other women present, all seasoned wives who had become mothers-in-law themselves, naturally didn’t try to stop her.
After exchanging a few polite words, they saw the Wang sisters-in-law out of the Jining Marquis’s mansion.
With these three gone, the Second Madam from the Jing Duke’s mansion also came to her senses. Despite Dou Ming’s attempts to keep her, she found an excuse and took her leave early as well.
Wei Tingzhen’s face darkened, but Dou Ming remained oblivious, continuing to chat with the remaining female relatives.
The Fifth Madam sighed and said to Cai, “You stay here. I’m not feeling well, so I’ll head back first!”
How could Cai possibly stay?
If Dou Zhao held a grudge against her, it would be disastrous!
She clung tightly to the Fifth Madam’s arm. “Mother, where are you feeling unwell? Let me take you back! Sixth Sister-in-law is still here, isn’t she?” She insisted on returning with the Fifth Madam.
The Fifth Madam was displeased but couldn’t express it in front of everyone. She had no choice but to leave the wooden-faced Guo behind and return to Huaishu Hutong with Cai.
Seeing this, the Dou family’s eldest daughter-in-law and others also began to take their leave one after another.
Soon, the once-crowded flower hall was left with only two tables, all filled with Wei family relatives.
Dou Ming’s face changed dramatically.
Meanwhile, far away at the Daxing estate, Dou Zhao was talking with the estate’s managing woman.
“My senior maids are all reaching the age to be married off, so I’m looking to add a few young maids. Intelligence and quick-wittedness are secondary; what’s most important is loyalty and the ability to endure hardship,” she said with a smile. “Could you keep an eye out for suitable candidates at the Song family’s estate? This way, I won’t have to bring people from Zhending and have them learn the Beijing dialect from scratch.”