Chapter 156 Decision

A few days later, Kyoto welcomed the first snow of winter.

Four hundred miles away in Zhending, there were also howling cold winds and heavy snow.

A few days ago, the manager of the farm came to deliver New Year's goods and presented two sable skins. There were not enough to make a bodice, and it would be a pity to use them to inlay the hem of a skirt. After much thought, Dou Zhao decided to make a wind collar for her grandmother, and also make a Zhaojun suit in the color of Yunqiuxiang, just in time for the New Year.

The weather was cold and there was nothing to do, so Ganlu and a few others sat with Dou Zhao on the warm kang by the window in the inner room and did needlework.

Su Xin walked in quietly.

"Miss," she winked at Dou Zhao and smiled, "There's something wrong with the account sent by Tianzhuang a few days ago."

When Ganlu and the others heard this, they immediately retreated.

Su Xin then took out a letter from her bosom and said, "Miss, Mr. Chen had someone send it back."

Dou Zhao took the letter nervously.

It had been eight or nine days since the incident, but there had been no news from Kyoto. She seemed relaxed, but in fact she was worried all the time, and often tossed and turned at night and couldn't sleep.

After reading the letter at a glance, Dou Zhaoqing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Su Xin, who was watching her anxiously, relaxed when she saw this, and then she showed a happy smile: "Miss, are Guard Duan and the others safe?"

Dou Zhao nodded and signaled Su Xin to light up the Yangjiao Palace lamp next to her. While burning the letter, he whispered, "Master Mei has already made up his mind. He will preside over the sacrifice for Madam Jiang on the 37th day of the twelfth lunar month. Mr. Chen and Guard Duan will be back in a few days!"

Su Xin was such a calm person, and upon hearing that Chen Qushui and the others would be back soon, she couldn't help but exclaim in joy: "That's good, that's good!"

Dou Zhao looked at her happy expression and couldn't help laughing. He said, "Go tell Lu Ming so that they won't worry."

Su Xin went there happily.

Dou Zhao stared at the letter that had turned to ashes in a daze for a long time.

Song Mo is indeed not the kind of person who would just accept things passively.

Even if his father wanted to frame him, he would still rise up in resistance.

He sent Duan Gongyi, Chen Xiaofeng and others to rescue Song Mo overnight. This decision was very risky.

But whenever she thought of what happened to Song Mo in her previous life, she could not sit idly by and watch the tragedy happen again.

However, Dou Zhao could not find the answer to why the Duke of England framed his eldest son, whether in his past life or in this life.

In the previous life, the Jiang family was exterminated, and Jiang was bedridden and passed away soon after. Song Mo had just lost his uncle and his mother, and he must have been exhausted and had some resentment in his heart. He could not, and had no mood or energy to pay attention to the things around him. This gave the Duke of England the opportunity to calmly arrange and kick off the prelude to the murder of Song Mo by impeachment. In this life, although Jiang Meisun and others were killed, Mrs. Mei and other women and children survived. In order to protect the Jiang clan, Song Mo not only did not become depressed because of the death of Jiang Meisun and others, but actively integrated into the aristocratic circle of Kyoto. In order to test the emperor's intentions, he even deliberately lost the archery competition in Qiuwei and re-established his position in the emperor's mind.

The notorious Song Mo was like a hot potato to the Duke of England, so he finally had no choice but to attack Song Mo the moment he returned from the funeral procession... His warning and the Duke of England's helplessness gave Song Mo a glimmer of hope.

Sometimes, identity is also a constraint.

After he was able to escape successfully this time, he hoped that he would not be as crazy as he was in his previous life after retaining his position as the crown prince.

Dou Zhao sighed softly.

At dusk, Lu Ming came to say goodbye to her.

Without saying a word, he knelt down and kowtowed three times to Dou Zhao: "Fourth Miss, not only the Crown Prince, but also all of us will never forget your great kindness and virtue!" Then he said, "Prince Crown Prince I was injured and needed someone to take care of me, but there was not enough manpower around me. Mr. Yan discussed with me and planned to rush back to Kyoto tonight. Xu Qing's injury was too serious, and I was afraid that I would have to trouble Miss Fourth to let him stay at the farm. Raise for a few days.”

Lu Ming had been in the Dou family for nearly half a year, and had always been very respectful to Dou Zhao, but not like now. His respect was mixed with a bit of humility, which showed that he was very sincere.

Maybe it’s because I saved Song Mo!

"Stand up and talk!" Dou Zhao thought, and said, "There is no one else in the farm, so you can rest assured and let Xu Qing recover there." Then he asked Su Xin to give him fifty taels of silver, Cheng Yi, "Be careful on the way. My people haven't come back yet, so I can't escort you back to Kyoto."

Lu Ming didn't hesitate and put the banknote in his pocket. "It's only five or six days' journey from here to Kyoto. Since the situation has been decided, the Duke must be too busy to care about us at this time. We should be able to arrive safely."

Dou Zhao thought so too. After giving a few instructions, she served tea and sent Lu Ming away.

Ganlu came in and said, "Miss, Gao Xing is back!"

A month ago, Gao Sheng was ordered by Dou Shiying to bring Dou Ming back to Kyoto.

Dou Zhao sent Gao Xing to accompany him.

She met Gao Xing in the hall.

"Miss, you had a smooth journey." Gao Xing's body was still stained with water stains from the melting snow. It was obvious that he had come to see Dou Zhao before he even entered the house. "Seventh Master also called me to ask a lot of questions about Miss." He grinned. Dou Shiying cared about Dou Zhao so much, and it was obvious that he valued his eldest daughter very much. He was very happy for Dou Zhao, "and asked me to bring back a lot of special products from Kyoto, saying that they were for Miss to celebrate the New Year."

Dou Zhao thanked him for his hard work, asked Su Xin to count the things, and asked about his father's health.

"Seventh Master is very good." Gao Xing smiled, "Every time he has a day off, he goes to the temple to discuss Buddhism with the masters. Everyone praises Seventh Master for his profound Buddhist knowledge, and even we are blessed by him." As he spoke, he took out a peace amulet from his waist pouch, "This was when I went to Daxiangguo Temple to play. The monk Fude, who was in charge of reception, knew that I was a follower of Seventh Master Dou's family in the north building, and specially gave me a peace amulet blessed by the presiding master!"

Dou Zhao was stunned, then burst into laughter.

At that time, the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple, Fude Fang, and the monk Yuantong of Dalong Zengokoku Temple were the two most famous Zen masters in Kyoto. One could make the dead come back to life, and the other could make the living die. One was handsome, and the other had a well-dressed appearance. Every year during the Ghost Festival, the front of Daxiangguo Temple and Dalong Zengokoku Temple would be crowded with women who came to listen to the Dharma. It is said that when the monks from the two temples came out with the donation boxes, copper coins would fall like raindrops.

Now, the future abbot of Daxiangguo Temple is still serving as a receptionist, but he already knows how to take care of the servants of Dou Ge's relatives in his hometown. If Ji Yong is the future abbot of Dalongshan Huguo Temple, Master Yuantong... He is temporarily staying in the Heshou Hall of the Dou family and is preparing to participate in the next year's spring examination...

Is it true that people who are destined to be together often intersect with each other inadvertently?

The more Dou Zhao thought about it, the more he felt that Ji Yong was most likely the Master Yuantong.

But what on earth has Ji Yong been doing these days?

Since that day when he left, she ignored him and he never appeared in front of her again.

Dou Zhao was hesitating whether to go see Ji Yong, when Gan Lu's voice suddenly came from outside: "Master Ji..." As soon as the voice fell, it turned into panic, "What are you going to do..."

The warm curtain flickered and Ji Yong walked in carelessly.

He was only wearing a green brocade robe, with snowflakes falling on his head and shoulders. If his expression had not been so unusually serious, she would have frowned and shouted at him.

"Miss!" Gan Lu, who was following closely behind Ji Yong, looked at Dou Zhao aggrievedly.

Dou Zhao made a gesture, signaling her to go down and serve tea, then pointed to the armchair beside him and said, "Cousin Ji, please sit down!"

Ji Yong seemed to be completely unaware that there was anything wrong with him. He nodded, but did not sit down. Instead, he stood there straight and said indifferently, "I have decided. I will leave for Kyoto tomorrow. I will rent a house near Shunten Fuxue, study behind closed doors, and participate in the Spring Examination next year."

He came with such force that Dou Zhao never thought that he was here to tell him that he accepted his advice. He was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses.

"That's great!" She said calmly, "I'd like to wish my cousin He Ji all the best and hope he can get his wish and be selected into the imperial examination!" But in her heart she wanted to laugh.

This Ji Yong, even when admitting his mistakes, had to use a condescending tone.

Seeing this, Ji Yong nodded with great satisfaction.

Dou Zhao turned his head away and coughed softly, then he suppressed the smile that was about to come out of his mouth.

Manna ran in.

"Miss, Miss, Mr. Chen is back!"

"Ah!" Dou Zhao's brows lit up with joy. He quickly said to Ji Yong, "Please sit down for a while," and went out to greet her.

Passing through the Chaoshou Gallery in the wind and snow, Chen Qushui and others in blue clothes gradually approached.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

"Miss!" The group stopped under the corridor. Chen Qushui looked at Dou Zhao excitedly, bowed deeply and saluted Dou Zhao.

"Mr. Chen," Dou Zhao smiled, "You are finally back!" He carefully looked up and down at Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng who were standing behind Chen Qushui and bowing to her. Seeing their flushed faces, he nodded with a smile on his face, "I am glad you are safe!" Then he called them, "Everyone come in and talk!"

The joy after the reunion put smiles on everyone's faces.

Several people were surrounding Dou Zhao and were about to enter the house when the warm curtain was lifted and Ji Yong came out.

Mr. Chen and others were a little surprised.

Ji Yong narrowed his eyes slightly, and his sharp gaze fell on Chen Qushui.

"Mr. Chen?" He raised his eyebrows. "I heard that you went to Kyoto to visit a friend. I wonder where your friend is now? Why didn't you go to visit Master Dou Qi when you went to Kyoto? You are like a dragon that you only see its head but not its tail!" There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Chen Qushui didn't know that Ji Yong was investigating him.

If it were in the past, he would definitely be unhappy. But after experiencing what happened in the Duke of Ying's Mansion, he suddenly felt that compared to what happened to Song Mo, these were all trivial matters.

"My friend lives in Daxing," he smiled calmly, "I habitually called it Kyoto. But Master Ji misunderstood. I also visited Seventh Master, but I didn't meet Master Ji." His words were brief and to the point, without a single word extra.

Ji Yong felt that Chen Qushui was even more suspicious, but looking at Dou Zhao's excited expression, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

"Then I'll take my leave!"

He shook his sleeves and left Xidou's upper room.

A breathless and pleading voice came from outside: "Young Master, Young Master, you should wear a shawl, right?"

Dou Zhao couldn't help but smile, and went into the house with Mr. Chen and the others.

After Ganlu and the others had their tea, they quietly retreated.

Mr. Chen talked about his experiences in Kyoto these days.