When Dou Zhao stepped into his grandmother's banquet room, Ji Yong's clear voice was echoing in the air: "... You see, this is what the Buddhist scriptures say, but how many people in those prosperous Zen temples have actually done it? They are all thinking about how to make more money. How is this different from secular business? You don't have to donate so much money every year. In the end, they will use it for their own benefit!"

The grandmother sitting on the armchair and Hong Gu standing behind her stared at Ji Yong in amazement, their expressions somewhat dull.

"Cousin Ji!" Dou Zhao interrupted Ji Yong, "When did you come back? How is Sixth Aunt? How are Eleventh and Twelfth Brothers? Have the two families agreed on a wedding date?"

Ji Yong looked at the sun outside and asked in surprise, "What were you doing in the state? Why are you back so early?"

The answer was irrelevant, but it made Grandmother and Hong Gu feel relieved. Grandmother even shouted as if she had met a savior: "Shou Gu, you are back? Master Ji has been lecturing on Buddhism to us all day, and his mouth must be dry. After you have had your tea, why don't you go see the Second Madam together? Aunt Liu has come to see you several times today, and she must be waiting anxiously." She actually looked like she was in a hurry to see the guest off.

What is going on?

Dou Zhao couldn't help but look at Hong Gu.

Hong Gu quietly pointed at Ji Yong and said, "Master Ji wants to participate in the next spring exam, but he thinks Kyoto is too noisy and Yixing is too far away. He also heard that Heshou Hall has a rich collection of books, which is rare in the whole northern Zhili, so he asked the Fifth Elder to let him stay in Heshou Hall for a while. The Seventh Elder said that he still needs to ask you about this matter. The Second Lady sent Aunt Liu to ask you to come over to discuss this matter. Aunt Liu came several times but couldn't find anyone. Master Ji couldn't wait, so he came here first and has been waiting for you until now..."

Why are you so nice to Ji Yong?

Did the fifth uncle decide to take over the Ji family after he entered the palace?

Ji Yong is very cunning. If he is determined to move in, the more you delay him, the more interesting he will find it and the more he will try his best to move in. How can she have the time and energy to deal with him? Besides, the elders in the family all agree. If she disagrees, wouldn't she offend everyone? It would be better to just let him move in.

"A sword goes with a hero, and a beauty goes with a lady." Dou Zhao said with a smile, "Since my grandfather passed away, Heshou Hall has been empty, and it's rare for cousin Ji to use it. Father made the decision, so why bother to consult me? I'll go and tell the Second Lady so that she won't keep thinking about this."

Ji Yong listened and blinked, but said nothing. He drank his tea, thanked his grandmother, and then walked out of the Chuihua Gate side by side with Dou Zhao, who had changed his clothes.

"I heard that Mr. Chen went to Beijing to visit friends?" He suddenly asked before getting on the carriage, "Why didn't you write a letter to your seventh uncle? Kyoto is crowded with people, and he hasn't been there for a long time. It's always good to have someone to take care of him!"

"Mr. Chen said that it was his personal matter and he didn't want to disturb my father and uncle." Dou Zhao smiled and said, "I can't act on my own, can I?" As he said that, he got on the carriage.

Ji Yong raised his eyebrows and got on his carriage.

Rather than going to discuss it with Dou Zhao, the Second Lady informed her: "You grew up with your Sixth Aunt, and you are as close as mother and daughter. Master Ji is your Sixth Aunt's nephew, and your cousin. He is about to start a business, and your family has such a convenient place. There is no reason to not make things convenient for your own relatives. If you sisters feel it is inconvenient, why not move in with Aunt Cui's place together."

Since you elders have said so, I cannot have any objection.

Dou Zhao muttered to himself, then smiled and said, "He Shou Tang already has a corner door leading directly to the outside, so it's not inconvenient. When do you think cousin Ji will move in? I can then order someone to clean up He Shou Tang."

The Second Lady was very satisfied with Dou Zhao's attitude and glanced at Ji Yong, meaning to ask him when he would move in.

Ji Yong was very respectful and modest in front of the Second Lady, and said thoughtfully, "Why don't I move over today? That way I don't have to clean the guest rooms here. Fortunately, I brought a few people with me, so my cousin can leave the cleaning to me."

The Second Lady nodded with a smile, "That's all right then." She then took Ji Yong's hand and instructed him, "If you need anything, just come and tell me."

Ji Yong looked straight ahead and said respectfully, "Madam, you are too kind. I heard from my aunt that my cousin has managed the West Mansion in perfect order. I am sure that this has impressed you." He had a smile on his face at the end of his words.

The Second Lady was slightly surprised when she heard this, and Shi immediately laughed and said, "That's also because your aunt taught you well."

Ji Yong smiled but said nothing.

All the servants in the room laughed along in flattery.

Dou Zhao also smiled.

Although this Ji Yong may have problems from time to time on weekdays, which makes people feel a little out of tune, he is never vague when it comes to major events.

She felt grateful to Ji Yong.

Coming out of the Second Lady's room, she couldn't help but ask him, "Do you have a number?"

"Not yet." Ji Yong smiled nonchalantly, "When I think of it, I'll tell you first."

Is this person Master Yuantong?

Dou Zhao was a little distressed, but there was no point in rushing such a matter, so he had to put it aside and greeted him: "Why did you suddenly think of participating in the Spring Examination next year? Didn't the old lady say that she wanted you to hone your skills for a few more years?"

He curled his lips and said, "I found that it is more convenient to pass the imperial examination."

Dou Zhao laughed and said, "What ridiculous thing are you planning to do?"

Ji Yong's eyes flickered slightly.

He knew she would ask him this! But he didn't expect Dou Zhao to ask him with a smile. In his expectation, she should have a blank expression, a sarcastic look, and look at him with disdain. But for some reason, when he thought of the rustling sound of the dress behind the pearl curtain and the girl's suppressed laughter when he accompanied Dou Zhengchang to visit his uncle's house that day, and saw Dou Zhao's frank and bright smile, his mood suddenly became as relaxed as a cloud: "What do you think, is it possible that the Heshi Bi became a burial object of the First Emperor?"

He wouldn't want to dig up the tomb of the First Emperor, right?

Dou Zhao could not help but get furious: "How could you do such a thing? To sacrifice to a bad person is to damage one's merits and virtues..."

"Why are you so angry?" Ji Yong's reaction was even stronger than hers. "I just wanted to study the Qin calendar carefully. How can it be considered as a bad sacrifice and a loss of merit?"

Dou Zhao was speechless.

Ji Yong strode past her with big strides, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise higher and higher.

Dou Zhao sighed helplessly, and Su Xin came to tell her: "Mr. Mei has quietly left the farm."

But that Lu Ming still stays in the Dou family!

Dou Zhao remained silent. He asked Su Xin to take care of the trivial matters of He Shou Tang, and repeatedly warned Su Xin: "Don't let him demolish He Shou Tang. We are helping him move bricks and stones."

Su Xin looked suspicious and obviously doubted what she said.

Dou Zhao sighed deeply.

Why are the first and second people she meets such two-faced people?

She ignored him, but he came to her.

"Hey, what on earth did your accountant do?" Ji Yong broke into the flower room and asked Dou Zhao, who was watering the flowers, "What did he tell you? Do you know the name of his friend?"

Dou Zhao raised his eyelids, glanced at him, said coldly, "I don't know", and continued to water the flowers with his head down.

Ji Yong frowned and snatched the water bottle from her hand: "I can't find this person!"

Dou Zhao was secretly shocked when he heard this.

What did Ji Yong discover?

Otherwise, why would he suddenly become so interested in Mr. Chen?

Thinking of Ji Yong's devilish intelligence, she panicked a little. In order to hide this emotion, she snatched the water bottle from his hand in an angry manner and asked nonchalantly: "Do you think Kyoto is your home? You can find whoever you want to find?" But her heart was pounding.

Ji Yong, however, took the kettle from her again, thought for a moment, and put it where Dou Zhao couldn't reach it. Then he looked at her seriously and said, "Do you know who Chen Bo is? Last time I saw him acting very sophisticated, so I sent someone to investigate him carefully. He used to be an aide to Zhang Kai, the governor of Fujian. When the Japanese pirates besieged Fuzhou, Zhang Kai actually abandoned the city and fled. You can't trust such a treacherous person..."

Dou Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.

"I know he used to be Zhang Kai's staff." She said sincerely, "Zhang Kai was in a high position at that time. How could Mr. Chen, a small staff, influence him in such a matter of life and death? Mr. Chen has always been ashamed of this, so he settled in Dongxiang Street, where all kinds of people mix. We can't just kill him with one blow because of his momentary mistake, can we?"

"If he truly repented, I would not have exposed his identity." Ji Yong's brows furrowed even tighter. "The problem is that he told you that he was going to Kyoto to visit a friend, but he actually disappeared..."

His words made the huge stone that was pressing on Dou Zhao's heart fall away.

Fortunately, Song Mo is careful in his work. Otherwise, given Ji Yong's personality, if he had discovered something strange about Mr. Chen, he would have definitely been curious and investigated further... That would have been troublesome!

She suddenly realized that having such a person around her was also a burden.

Sulan rushed in with a letter. When she saw Ji Yong, she couldn't help but look a little depressed, as if she was very afraid of Ji Yong.

What did this guy do again?

Dou Zhao waved towards Su Lan: "Whose letter is it?"

Su Lan said hurriedly: "It's a letter from Mr. Chen. It came from Kyoto."

Ji Yong was stunned and reached out to take the letter, but Dou Zhao had already snatched it away.

"This is for me!" she warned Ji Yong secretly.

Ji Yong didn't take it seriously and said nonchalantly, "I'm just afraid that you'll be cheated, right?"

Dou Zhao ignored him, went back into the house, asked Sulan to guard the door, and then he opened the letter to read.

Song Mo has lifted the ban on Chen Qushui and relaxed his vigilance against him. Whenever he asked the servant beside him anything, the servant would answer his questions, unlike before when he kept his mouth shut. Chen Qushui thus discovered that the Jiang family's information network in Kyoto was actually controlled by Song Mo. He decided to stay in Kyoto for a few more days under the pretext of visiting Dou Shiying, Dou Shiheng and others, to see if he could use the people in Song Mo's hands to find out some information about the court before coming back.

Isn't this just plotting against a tiger?

Dou Zhao burned Mr. Chen's letter and watched Su Lan bury the ashes in the flower garden. Then he went back to the house and wrote a letter to Chen Qushui, asking him to return home as soon as possible and not to rush into danger.

She never dared to underestimate Song Mo.