Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Chapter 1300: Made Me Sick

If he had not fallen out of favor earlier and been unable to curry favor with influential officials, do you think he would have endured until now?

Seeing that Young Master Dou would not easily let go of this opportunity to seize power, Manager Dou began to stall for time: "Great Chu is so vast, and now in chaos. It’s not easy for the housekeepers from various places to come to the Capital. It’s too rushed before October. How about we wait until the year-end for a big discussion? What do you think, my son?"

The words "my son" were uttered with such warmth that it almost made Young Master Dou want to vomit.

He looked at Manager Dou and said, "It’s only the end of August now. There’s at least a month until October. If Dou Family provides them with fast horses, and they still can’t reach the Capital in a month even if they travel day and night, wouldn’t they be useless? If they’re useless, then we don’t need to keep them. Just sell them off."

Manager Dou’s face turned very ugly. He wanted to get angry but knew that Dou Ke wouldn’t fear him. He could only say, "I will do my best to get them back... If it’s really not possible, we’ll have to postpone."

Young Master Dou laughed: "You can do as you wish, but I will also send a message to them, telling them that if they still want to continue working, they must return early. Anyone who dares to be late will be sold along with their family!"

"You!" Manager Dou was extremely angry. Dou Ke, this unfilial son, was indeed ruthless. But he was injured now, and Dou Ke had the upper hand, so he could only let this go, thinking to start from the Dou Family’s side.

Dou Family is his natal family. The clan elders are all on good terms with him. As long as he speaks, the clan elders will deliberately be late or even not come, and the matter of changing the head of the Dou Family can only be postponed.

Young Master Dou saw through Manager Dou’s thoughts and smiled: "Father, those clan elders are even greedier than you. If I offer them some small benefits and promise to support their descendants, they will naturally side with me."

Manager Dou was startled but quickly said, "Ha, brat, do you really think you can control the Dou Family elders? In front of the clan elders, you are just a junior!"

Young Master Dou said: "It’s true that I’m a junior, but as long as they know that Junior Minister Ming and the Ouyang Family are on my side, and since Ms. Meng has been sentenced and Meng Imperial Censor has been removed from office, they will stand with me without me even needing to say anything."

Manager Dou’s face turned dark. He was aware that Dou Ke was right. Those clan elders were a group of selfish and timid people. If they found out that the Meng Family had fallen, they certainly wouldn’t be afraid of Mrs. Dou Meng anymore.

But...

"Your father-in-law has been an official for decades, while you are just a commercial merchant’s son. The Emperor has always looked down on merchants. Do you really think that just because the Emperor praised you once, he would dismiss an official for you?!"

Young Master Dou calmly retorted: "Between Old Man Meng and Junior Minister Ming, who holds more value in the Emperor’s heart?"

He laughed with an infuriating demeanor and said, "Old man, do you really think I’m fighting the Meng Family empty-handed? It’s the powerful figures behind me fighting the Meng Family, and in their eyes, the Meng Family is nothing!"

The Meng Family was indeed once illustrious, but now they have declined to just an Imperial Censor, with no outstanding descendants in the family. The most promising second grandson of the Meng Family is merely a Scholar who barely passed by being last; what is there to be afraid of!

As for Miss Meng, there isn’t even a beautiful one, with limited family background, what kind of noble connection could she possibly make?

"The most formidable Old Man Meng of the Meng Family is finished, and the Meng Family is beyond saving. If you’re smart, you should know what to do." Young Master Dou didn’t want to waste any more words with Manager Dou and said, "I’m tired of talking with you. I’m leaving. Rest assured, I will divide one-tenth of the Dou Family’s estate to Dou Er and Dou San, given that they’re foolish. Without an estate to rely on, they might starve to death."

Manager Dou was taken aback and exclaimed, "Stop, what do you mean by giving Dou Er and Dou San one-tenth of the estate? What do you take them for? They’re not beggars, they’re legitimate sons!"

Young Master Dou turned back to look at Manager Dou, smiled, and said, "Legitimate sons? In front of me, the legitimate son of the first wife, they are like bastards. Yet, I haven’t treated them unfairly, as I’ve distributed the estate according to the rules. Originally, they should have gotten thirty percent of the estate, but given that fool Dou Er will definitely send someone to assassinate me, and the male white lotus Dou San will surely acquiesce, I will withhold twenty percent of the estate as punishment for Dou Er and Dou San trying to assassinate me."

Manager Dou was choked. Indeed, given Dou Er’s temperament, he would not rest until he gets his way and would definitely use Mrs. Dou Meng and his own people to assassinate Dou Ke.

"Don’t worry, I will keep an eye on Dou Er and won’t let him make mistakes," Manager Dou spoke up for Dou Er since he cared for the two sons born to Ms. Meng.

Young Master Dou disdainfully glanced at Manager Dou and said, "Keep an eye on Dou Er? If you could have kept an eye on him, he wouldn’t have turned out as stupid as he is now."

He continued, "And don’t say anything about caring for Dou Er. The one you really care for is Dou San. Protecting Dou Er is just a way to ensure Dou San can also get a bigger share of the estate."

Dou San was good at studying, and Dou Wen had always valued him, wanting Dou San to earn an official position to elevate the Dou Family’s status.

Having his thoughts directly exposed left Manager Dou feeling quite embarrassed.

Seeing this, Young Master Dou said, "They should be grateful to me. If not for my natural kindness, they would have been dead long ago."

He then corrected Manager Dou’s previous words: "Remember, the only part of the estate I will share with Dou Er and Dou San is from the Dou Family. As for the silver earned from the Tang Family’s property over the years, they shouldn’t expect a single cent!"

Manager Dou’s face turned entirely black. He had already ignored what Dou Ke had previously said, but seeing him bring it up again, he pointed at him and cursed: "Eldest, are you really this heartless? Are you trying to force your father and your two brothers to death?!"

It was painful, heart-wrenchingly painful. The Tang Family’s property accounted for half of the current Dou Family’s assets, and it was the result of his twenty-plus years of hard work. If he couldn’t get even a copper coin from it, he might as well be dead.

Young Master Dou looked at Manager Dou for quite a while before finally saying coldly, "Then you all can just go ahead and die."

With that, he stepped away, and Manager Dou stood there pointing at his departing back, cursing with words like beast, unfilial son, son born without an anus, and father-in-law’s life.

Amidst his vigorous scolding, Young Master Dou unexpectedly returned, his eyes fixed on Manager Dou so intently that Manager Dou was nearly frightened to death. He hurriedly went for the knife under his pillow, holding it tightly, and said, "El... Eldest, don’t do anything reckless. Patricide is a severe crime, and you will pay with your life."

"Pfft, you’re not worth me wasting my life on," Young Master Dou said dismissively. Finally, he said, "Dou Wen, I’ve often heard Nanny Tang say that the reason my grandfather trusted you so much back then was that you deeply loved my mother, and she had feelings for you too, and that it was mutual... I don’t believe it. If it were true, what a big joke it would be!"

"I came here just to ask you one thing: If what Nanny Tang said is true, do you not feel guilty? Have you ever regretted letting down my mother?"

Manager Dou was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected Young Master Dou to bring up Mrs. Tang... They hadn’t mentioned Mrs. Tang for many years.

After questioning, Young Master Dou turned and left, going to arrange his people to deal with Dou Er’s attempt to gather men to assassinate him.

Inside the room, Manager Dou stood there in a daze for a moment, gradually recalling the figure of Mrs. Tang...