Duke Dou Ergou is a novel set during the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, chronicling the tumultuous rise of Dou Ergou, an impoverished scholar from Hejian Prefecture, Hebei. The novel spans several volumes. The first volume, available here, depicts his hardships in youth and the upheaval in his family, while the second follows his success in the imperial examinations and marriage to a princess, then focuses on his dramatic return home to settle old scores and reform officialdom.
The story opens in the twenty-third year of Hongwu, with Dou Ergou living in a poor farming household. Bright and gifted, he loves to read and hopes the imperial examinations will change his fate, but he fails again and again and is mocked by the villagers. His eldest sister-in-law, Liu Xianghua, is cruel and overbearing. A dispute over an egg sparks a family feud, and she eventually forces the family to split up. Dou Ergou receives only a small plot of poor land and a dilapidated house, where he struggles to support his elderly, sickly parents. With the help of his kind wife, Chen Hongmei, he studies diligently while scraping by. Meanwhile, his parents both die bitter and wronged after enduring years of bullying and abuse from Liu Xianghua.
In the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu, Dou Ergou travels to the capital to sit the examinations and places third in the top tier, earning the title of Tan Hua. His life takes a turn for the better. At court, he wins the favor of the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, who gives him the name Dou Jin, appoints him to office, and arranges his marriage to the Fifth Princess, Zhu Runing. Six years later, Dou Jin returns home in glory, only to find that his hometown has changed beyond recognition. With the princess's support, he uses an iron hand to investigate official corruption in Hejian Prefecture, bringing corrupt county magistrates, prefects, and other officials to justice, including those who colluded with his sister-in-law, Liu Xianghua. He also settles old family scores: Liu Xianghua, who drove his parents to their deaths and abused his wife and children, receives her just punishment. At last, he relocates his parents' graves and erects a memorial stele, clearing their names and giving them justice.
