Chapter 192 Panic

By this time, Huaishu Hutong had been in chaos for several days.

The fifth wife, led by her eldest daughter-in-law, Guo, sent away the servants around Dou Ming and repeatedly interrogated Dou Ming why Wei Tingyu invited her to visit the Daxiangguo Temple; the sixth wife, led by her daughter-in-law, Han, took care of the second wife who was angry and fainted; Cai was in charge of the overall situation in the family. She ordered the maid to serve tea and snacks to the sixth and seventh masters who were sitting in the study in silence, and then ordered the personal nanny to find out what happened to Dou Zhao, who locked himself in the room and would not open the door no matter who knocked; and then she ordered the servant to go to the gate to see if the fifth master had returned from the yamen... Although she was very busy, her face was rosy and radiant, and she looked energetic and full of spirit.

Soon, there was a commotion at the gate.

Cai's personal nanny hurriedly said, "Tenth Madam, the old man is back!"

Cai nodded, straightened her clothes, and walked quickly towards him.

Dou Shishu looked serious and dignified without getting angry. He asked Cai: "How is Shougu?"

Dou Shiheng and Dou Shiying could take leave to deal with the matter at home, but he could not abandon his official duties.

Cai's expression darkened when she heard this, and she said softly, "No one will open the door no matter who knocks..."

Dou Shishu frowned and said, "That won't do! You have to persuade her to eat something. If she continues like this, her body won't be able to bear it." Then he asked, "What do you say when the matchmaker from the Wei family comes?"

Dou Zhao ignored everyone, what could he do?

Cai grumbled in her heart, but said modestly and respectfully, "They say the second day of March is a good day. Although Uncle Qi was very sad, he didn't say anything."

As they were talking, the two of them had already entered the main courtyard and saw Guo supporting the tired-looking Fifth Madam coming out of the east chamber.

Seeing Dou Shishu, the Fifth Madam was slightly startled. She and Guo came forward to greet Dou Shishu and asked, "Why did you leave the government office so early?"

Dou Shishu sighed and said with a wry smile, "I don't have the heart to sit there and listen to them set up the dragon gate formation. I came back when I found an excuse." Then he looked at the east room where Dou Ming was imprisoned, "What did Sister Ming say?"

Mrs. Five said nothing.

Guo and Cai understood, bowed and retreated.

The Fifth Madam then whispered, "It is said that when Marquis Jining came to our house to pay tribute and apologize, she met him and said a few good words for him. This time, the Dou family has not agreed to the wedding date, and Marquis Jining was very anxious, so he invited her to meet at the Daxiangguo Temple, hoping that she could help him get some information. I checked, and she did not lie. There should be nothing going on between the two of them..."

Dou Shishu snorted coldly and said sarcastically: "I guess you haven't had time to do anything yet!"

The fifth wife dared not say a word.

The husband hated this kind of thing the most. He himself was self-disciplined. Not only did he not have any concubines, but even when she was pregnant, he slept in the study and was served by servants.

After venting his anger for a few words, Dou Shishu felt much better and said to the Fifth Madam, "Let's go see Shougu first."

The Fifth Madam agreed and went to the west room where Dou Zhao lived with Dou Shishu.

The window frame of the west wing moved almost imperceptibly.

Su Lan turned around and ran back to the inner room, saying hurriedly, "Miss, the Fifth Master and the Fifth Madam are here."

Dou Zhao quickly swallowed the pastry in his mouth, drank some water, wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, and then asked, "Besides the Fifth Master and the Fifth Madam, who else is there?"

"Just the two of them." As Su Lan said this, Su Xin had already neatly put the cakes on the kang table into the tall cabinet next to it. She turned around to pat Dou Zhao's collar, and took a large pillow and placed it behind Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao had just laid down "weakly" when there was a knock on the door: "Shou Gu, I'm your fifth aunt! Your fifth uncle and I are here to see you."

Su Xin dipped some warm tea with her fingertips and applied it to the corners of Dou Zhao's eyes, then she loudly replied "coming", motioning Su Lan to open the door.

Sulan understood and welcomed the fifth wife in.

Dou Shishu was unable to enter his niece's inner room and stood outside the door.

Dou Zhaozheng was weakly helped off the kang by Su Xin.

The Fifth Madam hurried forward to help Dou Zhao up, and said hurriedly, "Hurry up and lie down. Hurry up and lie down. There's no one else here."

"I'm sorry to have worried my fifth uncle and fifth aunt." Dou Zhao said weakly, "I'm fine. I'll be fine in a few days."

Mrs. Wu looked at her pale face and shook her head secretly.

This child has such a miserable fate.

The marriage has been full of twists and turns, and there is still no certainty.

"You said it was nothing, but you're so thin that you're just a bag of bones." Mrs. Wu said with concern and was about to push her to sit on the kang.

Dou Shishu was still standing outside the door, so Dou Zhao naturally couldn't sit down. She forced herself to bow to Dou Shishu, but before she could say anything, tears started to fall: "Fifth Uncle, I don't want to marry into the Wei family, please help me!"

Mrs. Wu couldn't help but sigh.

Dou Shishu was silent for a long time before he said, "You are not young anymore. The He family had proposed to you before. If you break off the engagement with the Wei family now, I am afraid that you will have some difficulties in finding a marriage in the future. Your fifth aunt has already asked Ming Jie'er. The Marquis of Jining just wanted to ask Ming Jie'er to help say a few good words in front of your father. He was afraid that your father would be upset with him, so he asked Ming Jie'er to talk outside. It was not like what others said, that he went to visit Daxiangguo Temple with Ming Jie'er. I know you are sad. But I promise you that they will never do this again. Ming Jie, I will let your fifth aunt discipline her, you just need to marry her with peace of mind..."

Dou Zhao knew this would happen.

"Fifth Uncle, I will not marry into the Wei family." Her tone was firm and resolute, and she said again, "I can't afford to lose face! If the Wei family wants to marry me, they can just carry my tablet into the house."

Dou Shishu and the Fifth Madam remained silent.

※※※※※

In the Yizhi Hall of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion far in the east of the city, Song Mo, wearing a lynx fur coat, sat at the desk by the window, looking at the paper in his hand intently.

The afterglow of early spring shone on him, making his face look as shiny as jade or ice sculpture, yet also somewhat cold, revealing a noble temperament, so much so that Du Wei, who was standing in front of him, couldn't help but be attracted to him and glanced over.

"So, the Jining Marquis' wedding date is set for the second day of March?"

Song Mo's clear voice echoed in the study, making Du Wei feel uneasy. He quickly collected his thoughts and replied respectfully, "Yes," saying, "The Wei family has already started to renovate the new house."

Dou Zhao arrived in Kyoto last autumn, and the Wei family has only just started renovating the new house. What were they doing before?

Song Mo pursed his lips and waved at Du Wei.

Du Wei bowed quickly and retreated.

Song Mo picked up the paper on the table again and was stunned.

Dou Zhao's marriage is very strange.

As soon as he suppressed the matter of Wei Tingyu staying overnight at Nanfeng Pavilion, the matter of Daxiangguo Temple became known to everyone. He warned Zhang Yuanming a few times, and Wei Tingyu immediately came to his senses and went to Jing'an Temple Hutong to apologize in person. After much effort, the Dou family's attitude softened, and news came out in Kyoto that the Wei family had chosen the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Yan'an. Moreover, what Wei Tingzhen said, how many times he went to the Wang family, what gifts he brought, what clothes the wife of Marquis of Ting'an wore when she met Wei Tingzhen, and what kind of tea was served when she entertained Wei Tingzhen... all of these were spread in detail.

This is not the most shocking thing.

The most shocking thing was that he sent Du Wei to investigate the matter, and he discovered that all the rumors were true!

The relationship between the Dou family and the Wei family once again reached a freezing point.

Dou Zhao and Wei Tingyu's marriage was put on hold again.

Then a new peak appeared.

Dou Ming suddenly got into trouble with Wei Tingyu... The Wei family was forced to bow to the Dou family and sent a matchmaker again to discuss the wedding date. This time, in order to cover up the scandal of Dou Ming and Wei Tingyu, the Dou family quickly agreed to the wedding date.

Things have come to this point, how could the strong-willed Dou Zhao agree to marry into the Wei family?

It seemed as if an invisible hand had been secretly manipulating Dou Zhao's marriage, causing the relationship between the Dou and Wei families to deteriorate continuously, and finally even to the brink of breaking off the engagement.

Who is this person?

Why did he do this?

Did Dou Zhao notice it?

And what about Ji Yong? What role did he play in this?

Whenever Song Mo thought of these things, he felt like he was being roasted on a stove and couldn't rest for a moment.

I wonder how Dou Zhao is doing now?

Things have come to this point. If the Dou family is willing to stand up for Dou Zhao, they should cancel the engagement instead of agreeing to some ridiculous wedding date!

Song Mo seemed to see Dou Zhao hiding in an empty corner and crying quietly.

His heart felt like it was cut by a knife.

"Chen He, Chen He!" Song Mo stood up and shouted loudly to his foster brother.

Chen He trotted into the study.

"Go to the Dou family's calligraphy and painting shop on Gulouxia Street and tell them that I want to see the fourth young lady."

Chen He was stunned, but quickly regained his composure and left.

Song Mo paced back and forth in the study, unable to tell whether he was angry or sad.

Since the Dou family doesn't care about Dou Zhao, then he should take care of it.

As long as Dou Zhao agreed, he would help Dou Zhao cancel the marriage.

He is not the kind of person who jumps around like Ji Yong and does all kinds of unreliable things.

The rumor that the Wei family wanted to cancel the engagement had to continue to spread, so as to cover up the scandal of Dou Ming and Wei Tingyu. As long as the reputation of the Dou family was not damaged, the Dou family would remain silent on the matter of canceling the engagement, thus reducing a layer of resistance.

Then she negotiated with Wei Tingzhen. It depends on whether she wanted to find a good job for Wei Tingyu, or to find a good marriage for Wei Tingyu, or both. There was always one thing that could make Wei Tingzhen excited.

The Wei family wanted to cancel the engagement, but Dou Zhao refused to marry, so the marriage naturally fell through.

Song Mo thought about talking to Gu Yu and asking him to give Wei Tingyu a better position in the royal guards such as Fengtai Camp and Jinwu Guard. As for marriage, thanks to his father, he knew almost all the young ladies in Kyoto who were of marriageable age.

It was difficult for him to marry a princess or a county lady, but it was not difficult for him to matchmake for a daughter of a nobleman who had a rich dowry and good appearance...

The more Song Mo thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

But Ji Yong's eyes were blank.

Since when did he become so different towards Dou Zhao!

He knew clearly that Dou Zhao was going to marry Wei Tingyu, but he also planned to let Wei Tingyu sleep with Zhao Zishu, hoping that Dou Zhao would disdain Wei Tingyu from then on; he knew clearly that Dou Zhao had a grudge against Dou Ming, but he also let Dou Ming and Wei Tingyu have a secret relationship, hoping that Dou Zhao would never be able to stand being with Wei Tingyu...

Dou Zhao said that he did not respect her decision.

That's because he thought Dou Zhao's decision was wrong.

But he knew that Dou Zhao was smart and capable, so why would he doubt her decision?

Ji Yong stood there, with more and more beads of sweat on his forehead.

Mr. Ji laughed a few times, twirled his beard and walked out of Ji Yong's inner room leisurely.