At noon in mid-autumn, the sun is still scorching hot, making people feel a little hot.

Dou Zhao felt sweat coming out of his vest.

She glanced at the still somewhat messy courtyard and said with a smile, "Everyone go have lunch first. It won't be too late to clean up in the afternoon."

The Dou family provides three meals a day.

The maids thanked her with a smile and were led to the kitchen by Ganlu.

Su Jin fetched some water for Dou Zhao to clean his face and hands.

The water was slightly cool, allowing Dou Zhao to breathe a sigh of relief.

After lunch and a short rest, she stood on the veranda, looking at the courtyard and thinking about how to decorate it.

Song Mo's voice suddenly came from behind: "What are you doing?"

Dou Zhao was not surprised.

Since this person could find a way to live here, he must have a way to talk to her.

"I want to plant some flowers and trees in the yard," Dou Zhao said without even looking at him, looking at the yard all the time, "so that in winter the yard won't be bare and look desolate."

Song Mo said nothing, but stood at the other end of the corridor, looking at the yard quietly like her.

The wind blew through the ginkgo trees, and golden leaves fell to the ground, making the coming winter seem a little warmer.

"My third uncle passed away due to illness..." he said abruptly, "He passed away due to illness in Tielingwei..." His voice was neither hurried nor slow, as if he had considered for a long time before speaking, and his tone was very serious, "My fifth uncle lived under the shadow of my eldest uncle for so many years, he knew exactly where the Eight Great Hutongs were, but he had no idea how many maids there were in the family!"

Is it because of this that Jiang Meisun handed over the Jiang family’s information network in Kyoto to Song Mo?

"None of us dared to tell grandma." Song Mo's voice was as clear as usual, but at this moment it was a little dazed, making people feel that he was in a low mood. "Dad asked me to go to Liaodong on the pretext of paying homage to my third uncle, to say hello to King Liao, and ask him to help take care of my fifth uncle and several cousins... But in the autumn siege a few days ago, I only got second place, and lost to the emperor's deputy commander of the Jinwu Guard... The emperor gave me a severe lecture and threatened to throw me to Fengtai Camp... Men's hair is tied up at the age of fifteen. But the emperor has never cared about these things. Mr. Yan was afraid that the emperor would really issue an imperial decree to let me go to Fengtai Camp, so he suggested that I stay at home to reflect on my mistakes, so as to see the emperor's reaction.

I should be leaving for Liaodong in the next two days..."

Although Song Mo's tone was unclear, Dou Zhao had been a marquis's wife for more than ten years and was very familiar with the daily life of a noble family. She immediately understood what he was talking about.

Even when the Jiang family was in trouble, the emperor still favored Song Mo; but in his previous life, Song Mo left Kyoto in disgrace and disgrace.

As Mr. Yan said, at this time, it is best to stay at home and reflect on your mistakes. Going to Liaoning is not a good choice. What did the Duke of Yingguo and Jiang think?

That side is the younger brother, but this side is the son.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but look at Song Mo.

Song Mo was staring blankly at the ginkgo tree in the yard, with an unconcealable sadness and loneliness on his face.

Yes, it is sadness and loneliness.

Just like the expression he had in his previous life when he was half-squatting and talking to his daughter.

At that time, he was in a high position of power, surrounded by many beautiful women and guards.

He still felt lonely.

In this life, he is in the prime of his life, enjoying the emperor's favor and his name is known throughout Kyoto.

He still felt lonely.

In Dou Zhao's eyes, the boy who was still a bit childish and the mature and stable man gradually merged into one person.

Or maybe no one ever really understood him.

No matter in the past life or in this life, no matter in the prosperity or decline, he has always been alone!

Dou Zhao felt a sudden pain in his heart.

She called out "Song Mo" loudly, and said, "I have planted a lot of chrysanthemums in the backyard. Now is the flowering season. I am going to build a chrysanthemum mountain in the yard. Can you give me a hand?"

"What?" Song Mo was surprised.

He thought he had heard wrongly.

No one had ever called him so righteously.

But inexplicably, he felt a kind of frankness and intimacy.

"I said, help me transplant the chrysanthemums in the backyard into pots." Dou Zhao's voice was so clear and pleasant that it was hard not to hear clearly, "Then move the pots to the front yard and build a chrysanthemum mountain."

She repeated it slowly.

※※※※※

A ceramic flowerpot that is as thick as a man's embrace is nothing in Song Mo's hands, but if you fill it with soil and plant a tall azalea tree full of azalea flowers in it without damaging its flowers and leaves, it will be a bit difficult to move it.

Song Mo couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you say you were going to transplant the chrysanthemums? Why are you moving the azalea trees too?"

"If just placing chrysanthemums on a cone-shaped rack is called a chrysanthemum mountain, then on what basis can Yang Jintai be called a master?" Dou Zhao, with a blue cloth headscarf on her head, squatted in the flower field to pick chrysanthemums. She said leisurely without raising her head.

Song Mo was furious about this.

Seeing this, one of his guards was about to step forward, but was stopped by Chen He.

He glared at the guard fiercely, signaling him to stop messing around.

Su Xin, who was standing silently by, looked at her nose with her eyes, and at her heart with her nose, pretending not to see anything.

On the contrary, the old woman who worked in the flower field with Dou Zhao felt sorry for Song Mo and said, "Looking at your delicate skin and tender flesh, I know you have never done anything before. Put it down, put it down! We can move it."

"He's a young man, how could he be worse than you?" Dou Zhao raised his head to glance at Song Mo, then lowered his head to dig chrysanthemums.

Song Mo gritted his teeth and followed Dou Zhao's instructions to move the azaleas and camellias, and then the chrysanthemums and put up the wooden frame. By the time the sun was setting, he was already sweating all over.

The violent anger in my heart disappeared in an instant.

He stood there in a daze.

Dou Zhao, is it because he knew that he had an intractable hatred in his heart that he used the excuse of building a chrysanthemum mountain to vent his anger through labor?

Song Mo lowered his eyelids.

When he heard the news of his third uncle's death, he felt like a ferocious beast was beating up and down in his heart, almost making him feel heartbroken, but he couldn't show any abnormality.

His mother was waiting for him to comfort her, his father was waiting for him to make a decision, his brother was waiting for him to enlighten him, and Mr. Yan was waiting for him to make a decision...

He had originally just wanted to run around the moat, just like he had done in the past, and wait until his anger subsided. But when his mount gradually stopped running, he realized that he had already been on the post road to Zhending without knowing when.

Kyoto was already out of reach.

Chen He asked him in fear, "Sir, are you going back to Kyoto, or are you staying at the inn ahead?"

He still remembered how he answered: "Stay at the post station and return to Kyoto tomorrow."

But the next morning, with a clear mind, he chose to continue heading south.

Has he already determined in his heart that she is not only intelligent and trustworthy, but also tolerant and strong-willed? No matter how unorthodox his behavior is, no matter how shocking his words are, she will not be swayed by him, nor will she be frightened by him, but will understand and deal with it in her own way.

Just like he was standing in front of her at this moment, she didn't ask him why he came, nor where he came from, or where he was going. It was as if he was the white clouds in the sky, the streams flowing in the mountains, coming when he should come, and leaving when he should leave, without asking anything, and she believed that he had his own reasons!

Song Mo looked towards Dou Zhao.

She was instructing the old women to arrange the flowers and plants.

The sunset glow in the sky coated her figure with a layer of golden foil, giving it a dreamlike glow.

Only then did he realize that she had a pair of perfect almond-shaped eyes, just like the Persian cat his mother raised, with the corners of her eyes slightly upturned. When she opened her eyes wide, her slender eyelashes curled upwards, making her eyes look exceptionally bright and clear, yet always with a hint of cold charm.

Song Mo felt more peaceful, calm and down-to-earth than ever before.

It’s great to have someone with whom you can speak freely!

He raised his head, looked at the clear blue sky and took a deep breath.

In mid-autumn, the air is still a little warm, lingering around your nose, warming your heart.

※※※※※

Song Mo got up before dawn.

After an afternoon of hard work, he worked up an appetite and ate two large bowls of noodles. He then fell asleep immediately and slept soundly all night without even turning over.

Just like the dry seedlings being moistened by nectar, he felt refreshed and his mood was more peaceful than ever before.

He told Chen He: "Leave ten taels of silver, and we will set off back to Kyoto."

Chen He was stunned and said, "You haven't had breakfast yet!"

"Let's buy some dry food on the way!" Song Mo said calmly, "Liaodong can't wait."

Chen He replied "yes" respectfully, gave instructions to his personal guards, gave the gatekeeper ten taels of silver, and the group quietly left the manor.

When they left, Dou Zhao had already woken up.

In the quiet morning, the slightest sound will appear particularly clear.

She listened to the sound of them opening the door, the sound of them leading the horses, the sound of them whispering to the old woman, and the sound of horse hooves fading away...the surroundings gradually became quiet again.

Dou Zhao covered his head with the quilt, hid himself in the darkness, and began to fall asleep.

※※※※※

My grandmother stayed in Cuijiazhuang for three days and when she came back she brought a cart of things, including several handkerchiefs and sweat towels that Tuoniang had embroidered for Dou Zhao.

Hong Gu said, "She said that she has been focusing on taking care of the children for the past few years and her hands are so numb that she dares not do anything else. If you find these handkerchiefs and sweat towels useful, you can use them. If not, you can use them as a reward."

Dou Zhao smiled and nodded.

Grandmother asked her, "What happened while I was away?"

"Nothing." Dou Zhao said calmly, "Everyone is looking forward to a good harvest of winter wheat this year, so we are going to offer sacrifices to the God of Land in the City God Temple on the day of the Beginning of Winter, and ask the God of Land to bless us with good weather and good harvests in the second half of the year."

"Really?" Grandmother asked in confusion, "Why did Chen San's wife say that a young man who looked like a New Year picture stayed at our house a few days ago..."

Dou Zhao said calmly, "There was a man who stayed here and helped me with some work. As for what he looked like, I really didn't pay attention to him."

Grandmother stopped talking about this matter, went to take a look at the fields, stayed at the farm for two more days, and then returned to the county town with Dou Zhao.