The next few days,

  The doctor looked at one after another, and the prescription was changed again and again. Duan Ming still had that silly and stupid look on his face, not speaking or paying attention to anyone.

  Old Lady Zhou burst into tears: "What's to be done? What's to be done?"

  Dòu Zhāoyě also had no good way.

  Here is the translation:

  The Duan Gongyi faction has sent someone to deliver a message, saying that Wang Tan did not actually damage Wang Nan's letter of recommendation. It was Yu Er who committed a crime - he gambled with others and lost money, then intimidated Shang Er into stealing an antique pen holder from Wang Tan, which was discovered by the people in the Wang household, and they were both expelled from the Wang estate.

  The trail has gone cold again.

  Dong Zhao let out a long sigh.

  The second lady, third lady and several sisters-in-law and nieces' wives at home all came to visit the sick.

  The kidnapping of Dòu Míng had a bad impact on the reputation of the Dòu family. The second lady, the second madam and Dòu Zhāo had already unified their statement, no matter who asked, they only said that Dòu Míng was playing truant to Kyoto to find her mother, but Dòu Zhāo didn't agree, so she got angry with Dòu Zhāo, and in the middle of the night, she hid in the garden to scare Dòu Zhāo, but unexpectedly scared herself instead.

  She looked like that, no matter who saw it, they all wanted to help her come up with a plan, or introduce some famous doctor, or recommend some Taoist priest. However, the women in Dong's family didn't know whether they believed what Er Tai Furen said and thought this was just a trivial matter not worth paying attention to, or if they were pretending to be stupid while actually understanding the situation. Everyone kept comforting Dong Ming to rest well, but none of them helped Dong Ming come up with a plan. Their ambiguous attitude seemed like they were just going through the motions for the sake of their relatives' faces.

  On the other hand, Dong Zhao was often pulled aside by this person or that person to have private conversations, being called "foolish child" or "foolish younger sister", and told: "You can't bear this, quickly tell your father, and let him give Ming Jie to her mother, that's the proper thing to do!"

  Dong Zhao had no choice but to explain again and again that Duan Huai had already escorted Liu Mang's mother and Su Xin to Kyoto.

  The people speaking let out a sigh of relief at the same time, repeatedly reminding her: "This time no matter what your father says, you can't take Ming Jie's hand again. This child is too troublesome."

  Dong Zhao nodded without stopping, thanking the person who reminded her.

  It was not easy to deal with the relatives of the Dongfu family, and now it's the day of the Beginning of Winter.

  Dong Zhao gave out chrysanthemum and honeysuckle flowers he had prepared earlier to everyone in the mansion, who then made a decoction with them for bathing and washing away scabies.

  The whole mansion is filled with the fragrance of chrysanthemum and honeysuckle.

  Zhou Ayi helped Dou Ming take a bath early, and seeing the good weather, she thought that Dou Ming had been cooped up in the house for days, so she reported to Dou Zhao. Along with Fang Shengjia's wife and several maids who were newly assigned to take care of Dou Ming, carrying cushions, tea, snacks, and a sedan chair, they escorted Dou Ming to the rear garden.

  As they walked, she told Du Ming: "This is a golden jasmine, this is a broad玉兰, this is a pomegranate tree... The broad玉兰 blooms in the spring, and the pomegranate tree doesn't bloom until summer. After it finishes blooming, it bears fruit..." She chattered on and on, treating Du Ming like a naive child who didn't know anything. Du Ming, however, was wooden and expressionless, as if all of this had nothing to do with her.

  Fang Sheng's family was full of pity. Ya Wen, with a gentle expression, led the young maid to serve Dou Ming at the lakeside pavilion.

  Old Lady Zhou then ordered a few young maids: "You all go and play!"

  "Is this all right?" Fang Sheng's family hesitated.

  They were all new to the mansion, and it was said that the previous ones had been driven out by Du Zhao for not serving Du Ming well. When they came in, they followed the housekeeper mother to learn the rules for nearly half a month before being assigned to Qixia Courtyard. Everyone followed the rules and did things according to what the housekeeper mother said, not daring to take a step beyond the boundaries.

  "In the past, Fifth Miss was fond of lively scenes." Zhou Mama said wistfully, "You're all happy and joyful, with Fifth Miss watching. Perhaps thinking of past events will help her condition improve a bit." She also said, "Fourth Miss isn't as rigid as you think either. It's because of the mistakes made by those people from Qixia Temple in the past that Fourth Miss changed. If you don't believe me, take a look at the people around Fourth Miss - which one doesn't have a happy and joyful face?"

  Fang Sheng's family also thought about it and smiled as they went on with their orders.

  Several little maids, only seven or eight years old, were chosen by Duan Zhao to serve Duan Ming in the hope that the atmosphere of Qixia Temple would be more lively. They were not children with heavy thoughts, and at first they were a bit restrained. Later, looking at the small paths paved with colored tiles in the flower garden, the tea flowers blooming in clusters, and the lush old trees, they gradually relaxed and had fun. You and I compete to pick grass, I and you watch flowers, laughing and chatting, making a lively scene. Duan Qijun, who had been bothered by Duan Xing for several days, made an excuse to go out for a walk and sat on the Taihu stone fake mountain not far away, startling Ji Yong and Duan Qijun.

  Dòu Qǐjùn pulled Jì Yǒng up onto the pavilion on the artificial hill, just in time to see a few little maids giggling and playing together. He couldn't help but say: "The butterfly dances with joy at all times, the oriole sings sweetly!"

  Ji Yong rolled his eyes and said, "Which one of them looks like a thousand charming beauties like the spring oriole? They all look dull and dirty..." Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?" and walked down the mountain.

  "What are you doing?" Du Qijun hastily caught up, and saw several maids surrounding Du Zhao walking towards the waterside pavilion.

  "Fourth Aunt!" Duan Qijun shouted at Duan Zhao.

  Dou Zhao turned his head and saw that it was Dou Jiunn and Ji Yong, and smiled: "Brother Ji and Bo Yan are also strolling in the garden?"

  Dou Qijun smiled and said, "These days I've been reading books till midnight, it's rare to have good weather, let's go out for a walk." Then he saw Dou Ming sitting in the pavilion by the water and asked, "Is Fifth Aunt's illness getting better?"

  "For now, there's still no progress." Du Zhao's mood was somewhat downcast.

  Ji Yong said disapprovingly, "What's it to you? You're not her mother! Even if you were her mother, you can't tie her to your waistband every day, can you?"

  Dong Zhao smiled wryly: "Father has entrusted her to me, so I have a responsibility after all."

  Dong Qizhong also said: "The law is nothing more than human feelings. From a legal point of view, it makes sense, but from a Confucian point of view, it doesn't make sense."

  "Thus Confucianism disrupts the law and collapses the imperial order."

  "It's too arbitrary to say that. If everyone only abides by the law and doesn't care about human feelings, wouldn't all those righteous men who rid the people of harm be sentenced?"

  "It's precisely because of such relationships that there are loopholes to exploit. It's the government's job to rid the people of harm, what does it have to do with those Jianghu figures?"

  Dong Zhao couldn't help but tease and said: "Brother Ji, it seems like you're also a Confucian scholar!"

  "After drinking and eating, the Buddha's heart remains."

  Dòu Qǐjùn and Dòu Zhāorěn couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Three people entered the pavilion together.

  Zhou Nu and others hurried forward to pay their respects.

  Dong Zhao asked them: "How is Fifth Miss today?"

  "It's okay." Zhou Ayi said with a hint of reserve, "This morning I had half a bun and a small bowl of millet porridge. At noon, I had a few slices of spring bamboo shoots, several meatballs, and half a bowl of noodles."

  Dong Zhao nodded.

  Dòu Qǐjùn smiled and greeted Dòu Míng: "Fifth Aunt, do you still recognize me?"

  Dong Ming sat quietly beside the beautiful woman leaning on the waterside pavilion, staring blankly outside the window, not knowing what she was looking at.

  "She's not quite herself now."

  Dòu Qǐjùn nodded in understanding.

  Ji Yong retorted with a poisonous tongue: "I think she's quite good! She can eat and drink, and doesn't make trouble. Compared to before, she looks much more pleasing to the eye."

  "Lord Ji!" Zhou's nanny suppressed her anger and said in a low voice, "Please spare your words."

  Ji Yong sneered, "Am I wrong? Someone like her who doesn't know the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth can actually stay at home without causing any trouble. She's lucky. There are people outside of people, and there is heaven beyond heaven. Not all matters can be settled just because someone from the Duan or Wang families shows up!"

  Dong Shao and Dong Qijun were silent.

  Zhou Ayi's eyes turned red and she said in a hoarse voice, "Even so, Master Ji shouldn't say such things about our Fifth Miss! She's still just a young girl..."

  "At three years old, one can see the elderly." Ji Yong cut off Zhou's words without any politeness, "What kind of virtue does she have? You still don't know? She has become like this today, can you really wash your hands clean of it? Don't wait until something happens and then blame others, also don't think about yourself..."

  "Ge Zhong!" Dou Zhao shouted at him in discontent.

  "Whatever!" Ji Yong waved her hand, looking like she didn't want to bother with Zhou Mama. "I'm not going to waste my breath explaining it to you, you wouldn't understand anyway!"

  Zhou Ayi's face turned bright red.

  Dong Ming suddenly covered his ears and let out a sharp cry - he didn't know when she had turned her face around.

  Dongming, Dong Qijun, Zhou Mama and Fang Shengjia's busy running over, anxiously asked her: "What's wrong? What's wrong?" Zhou Mama even hugged Dongming in her arms, choking back tears: "Ming sister, Ming sister, what's wrong with you?"

  Since being rescued by Duan Gongyi, Dou Ming's expression had been dull and lifeless, but he suddenly pointed at Ji Yong and shrilly shouted: "It was him, it was him who wronged me. He instructed Yu Er..."

  Everyone's face was filled with shock, except for Du Xiang and Du Qijun - the former lowered his eyelids, while the latter had a cold expression.

  "Eldest Aunt. Words can't be spoken recklessly!" He said with a stern face, "You say that Master Ji harmed you, what evidence do you have?"

  "I knew it, I knew it!" Dou Ming cried out in a shrill voice, "Yu Er said it, when gods fight, the little ghosts suffer... I've only offended him, he's the only one who would harm me..."

  Dou Qijun listened to this completely unreasonable talk, directly ignoring Dou Ming's shouting, and instead apologized to Ji Yong with a face full of apology: "Aunt Wu may have been frightened and confused, please forgive me, Master Ji!"

  Ji Yongmu shot a sarcastic glance at Dou Ming and walked away with a swagger.

  Dòu Qǐjùn hastily said to Dòu Zhāo, "Jì Gōngzǐ is arrogant, I'll explain this matter to him properly, you don't need to worry about it," and then chased after him.

  "It's him! It's really him!" Dou Ming shouted at Ji Yong's back, struggling and kicking against Zhou Mama, trying to break free to chase after Ji Yong. "I want to die with him!"

  "Miss Wu, Miss Wu!" Old Lady Zhou was so anxious that she was sweating all over her head. The people from the Fang family also came forward to help.

  Dòu Zhāo walked to the waterside pavilion and stood beside the beauty, gazing into the distance.

  Ji Yong and Dou Qijun walked away talking, disappearing into the winding path.

  At night, she went to find Ji Yong: "If Duan Gongyi couldn't catch up with Dong Ming in time, what would happen?"

  "Teaching her a lesson, that's all," Ji Yong said with a smile. "Actually, you don't need to bother about her at all."

  He didn't explicitly tell her what arrangements he had made.

  The night wind blows by, carrying a chill that pierces to the bone.

  Dou Zhao was furious and tightened his grip on Dou E's hair.

  "Hey, you're not really getting angry, are you? If anyone's to blame, it's just that she had bad luck and ran into me. But if she hadn't run into me, then it would've been your bad luck..."

  "I know," Dou Zhao said in a low voice, "the lanterns fell from mid-air and might have burned half of your face, you would never have had the chance to enter officialdom again; if the horse that ate the beans suddenly went lame, you could have fallen off its back and ended up crippled... In the garden that time, if she had succeeded, we might have been ruined. So I didn't blame you. But I also hope that when you do things, you can leave a way out for others."

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  Sorry about that, book-reading sisters and brothers. I was really tired at noon and wanted to take a nap, but overslept... Only started writing after making lunch for the kids.

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  PS: Update, let's see it tomorrow!

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