Chapter 204: Lighthearted

Song Mo walked out of the hall slowly.

Ji Yong turned and left.

A gust of night wind blew, and the lantern with a big red wedding character on it on the porch swayed in the wind. The light was dim, reflecting the bright red firecracker debris all over the ground, and there was a kind of loneliness after the music had ended and the people had left.

He stood there for a while with his hands behind his back, and ordered Chen He: "Go and see where the people who accompanied the fourth young lady to marry are placed. Find me the personal maid."

Chen He left immediately.

There are several hostas planted next to the Taihu stones in the corner of the wall. The bright flowers appear particularly crystal clear under the moonlight.

Song Mo looked upset and couldn't help pacing back and forth in the corridor.

Chen He came over with a slender maid.

Song Mo looked at the unfamiliar face.

Chen He was well-trained to speak in a voice that Song Mo could hear but others could hear vaguely, and whispered, "My Lord, the people who came with the fourth young lady to marry are all resting in the guest house behind the main house. The maids Su Xin and Su Jun who were with the fourth young lady were left in Jing'an Temple Hutong, saying that they were to help with the aftermath and would come with the fourth young lady when she returned home in three days. Gan Lu was called to be questioned by the wife of the Marquis of Yan'an, who was invited to the Marquis of Jining's mansion, while Su Lan ran out to see the excitement. I waited for a long time but Gan Lu and Su Lan did not show up, so I called a maid named Wen Xiang who was with the fourth young lady to come over..."

Song Mo knew the two sisters Su Xin and Su Lan.

The reason why he suffered a great loss at the farm was because he did not expect that both sisters Suxin and Sulan knew martial arts and were quite skilled. After that, in the few times he met Dou Zhao, Dou Zhao was always accompanied by either Suxin or Sulan.

Hearing that Sulan had gone out to see the excitement, his eyes couldn't help but darken.

Did Sulan not know that the bride had been replaced? Or was she detained for some reason?

The maid called by Chen He was so frightened that she trembled and dared not raise her head.

She had just come out to ask for tea from the people in Jining Marquis's Mansion, but was forcibly taken over by the man who looked like a servant in front of her. Her wrist still hurts slightly.

Thinking that it was a dark and windy day, and that this place was quiet and deserted, facing two men, all kinds of bad thoughts came to my mind.

Before Song Mo could speak, she knelt down in front of him with a thud, kowtowed and sobbed, "Master, please spare my life, Master, please spare my life! I know nothing. I am just a second-class maid in the Dou family. After the fourth young lady came to the capital, the fifth wife assigned me to serve the fourth young lady. On weekdays, I just serve the fourth young lady tea... I know nothing..."

Song Mo glanced at Chen He.

Chen He blushed with embarrassment and said, "I'll call the leader's wife over..."

He really didn't know what Song Mo wanted to ask. He thought that a maidservant as a dowry would be enough. He even picked one who looked smart. Who knew that he would be wrong.

"No need." Song Mo ignored the maid who was begging for mercy and strode towards the ceremony gate while saying calmly, "Since this matter involves Huaishu Hutong, asking someone else will only alert the enemy. Tell Xia Lian to take Zhu Yicheng and a few others to Huaishu Hutong immediately and follow my orders."

Chen He responded with “yes”, but his heart was shocked.

Zhu Yicheng and his men were top fighters from Fujian. They had served under Duke Dingguo before. Zhu Yicheng had even taken the young master to the battlefield on the orders of Duke Dingguo. He was half of the young master's teacher and one of the most loyal people to the young master. From the tone of the young master, he was actually going to Huaishu Hutong in person.

Did something happen to the fourth young lady of the Dou family?

He looked at Song Mo's face, which seemed a little stern because of a hint of hostility, suppressed the desire in his heart to take a look at the wedding hall, and quickly walked out of the Jining Marquis Mansion.

Song Mo let out a long breath, got on the carriage, and told the driver: "Go to Huaishu Hutong."

※※※※※

In the upper house of Jing'an Temple Hutong, Dou Shiying slowly opened his eyes.

"Shou Gu!" He called his daughter with difficulty, "I, I'm sorry!" Tears immediately flashed in the corners of his eyes.

"It depends on what you said." Dou Zhao smiled, "I didn't want to marry into the Wei family in the first place, but you insisted that I marry. Now Dou Ming and I have both got what we wished for, what have you done to let me down? Don't think too much, have a good rest, Dou Ming has the fifth uncle to take charge, and Jining Marquis is a gentle man, since Dou Ming has sworn to heaven and earth with him, he will definitely not treat Dou Ming unfairly. You don't have to worry."

Dou Shiying didn't believe it at all.

In his impression, Dou Zhao had always been generous and kind to others, and he thought that Dou Zhao was comforting him.

He was even more sad.

But what can I do?

The palms and backs of your hands are all made of flesh.

Can he get Dou Ming back and remarry Dou Zhao?

Does Dou Ming still have a way to survive?

But if he just accepted it, what would he do about the injustice Dou Zhao had suffered?

Dou Shiying didn't dare to look at Dou Zhao any longer. He turned his head away, tears silently rolling down his eyes.

Dou Zhao sighed secretly.

My father doesn't like to argue with others. He always thinks that if he is more tolerant, he can avoid conflicts. However, he doesn't realize that the more he does this, the more things become a tangled mess. Everyone feels wronged and resentful, and the relationship between them becomes more tense. After a long time, it will explode.

She adjusted the lamp, and the room became brighter.

Dou Zhao called Gao Sheng, who had been waiting outside, to come in: "Come and talk to father!"

His father and Wang Yingxue were cold to each other, and his two daughters were not close to him. The only person who could comfort him the most now might be his loyal servant Gao Sheng.

Gao Sheng responded respectfully.

Dou Zhao left the inner room.

"Shou Gu!" Mrs. Five came forward with an embarrassed look.

Dou Zhao glanced at her gently and said, "Instead of waiting here for father to wake up, Fifth Aunt should try to get the Wei family to accept this marriage! One of our sisters, Xidou, was separated from her by you, and the other was married to the Wei family by mistake. Now they are both like being fried in a frying pan. You have to save one of them, right?"

The Fifth Wife's face flushed red, and she said, "This was originally your stepmother's idea..."

"You are quite courageous to do such a thing," Dou Zhao interrupted the Fifth Madam with a sneer, "I respect you as a heroine who is as good as any man. Please don't let me look down on you."

These words blocked the Fifth Madam there, and even Madam Liu took a few steps back.

Dou Zhao didn't even glance at the women in the hall and left the main room with a solemn expression.

The maids standing guard outside lowered their heads and made way for the door.

It was not until he returned to the east room where he lived and heard Su Xin slam the door shut that Dou Zhao's eyes and eyebrows came alive.

She asked Su Xin, "Where is Madam Seven?" She looked content.

Su Xin laughed softly and said, "He was locked up in the back room by the Seventh Master."

Dou Zhao smiled and nodded.

She had long ago decided not to care about her father's family affairs, and Wang Yingxue's ending had nothing to do with her. She felt relieved now, and even the air was refreshing.

Dou Zhao went to his aunt's room.

My aunt hadn't slept yet. She was lying there feeling sad. Zhao Zhangru was trying to comfort his mother with clumsy words.

Seeing Dou Zhao, she breathed a long sigh of relief and quickly gave up her seat at the head of the bed to Dou Zhao.

"What can you do?" Auntie held Dou Zhao's hand and cried softly.

Dou Zhao felt a lump in his throat and started to cry.

She felt guilty for hiding the truth from her aunt.

Dou Zhao thought about it and decided to tell his aunt the truth.

The aunt was stunned, but Zhao Zhangru gave Dou Zhao a thumbs up as if she was afraid that the world would not be in chaos. The aunt could not bear to blame Dou Zhao, and scolded her daughter: "If you continue to make such a fuss, I will tell your father to punish you to kneel in the ancestral hall!" She couldn't help but ask Dou Zhao, "Are you telling the truth? Did you let them arrange Ming Jie'er to marry you because you didn't want to marry into the Wei family? You didn't lie to me just to comfort me, did you?" There was suspicion in her eyes.

The incident happened suddenly, and my aunt didn't have time to think about it. When she returned to her room, she thought about it carefully and saw some clues.

But she couldn't figure out why the Fifth Madam acted this way.

Dou Zhao simply told his aunt about the Ji family's affairs.

My aunt didn't come back to her senses for a long time.

Zhao Zhangru muttered to himself, "Why can't I encounter such a good thing?"

The aunt patted her daughter on the head and said sternly, "You did the right thing! The Ji family knew you were engaged but still came to ask for your hand in marriage. Their intentions are not right. Even if Ji Jianming is a good man, we cannot marry into their family." At this point, she thought of Ji and wanted to ask Dou Zhao if she knew about it. But she thought that even if she asked, what would she do? On one side was her natal family, and on the other was her husband's family. Ji was also in a difficult situation. She thought of Dou Zhao, who was still young, but had to live a difficult life with wolves in front and tigers behind. She avoided this and still had to face that. She blamed herself and her husband for not being able to protect this poor niece. She felt sad and said with red eyes, "What are you going to do in the future?"

"What's so good about getting married?" Dou Zhao hoped that his aunt would not be so sad. "Look at my mother..." She said with a smile, "Didn't you and uncle help me get half of Xidou's industry? Are you still worried that I won't have food to eat? Marriage is a big deal, I will slowly choose someone I am satisfied with."

My aunt thought about it and felt that it made sense.

Anyway, Dou Zhao has no worries about food and clothing, so she doesn't have to marry a son of aristocratic family. As long as the man has good character and can get along with Dou Zhao, it would be a good match.

※※※※※

After coming out of his aunt's room, Dou Zhao felt that his steps were much lighter.

She smiled and said, "I need to have a good sleep. Fifth Aunt must have arranged for someone to get Marquis Jining drunk. Tomorrow morning is the key. I need to be fully alert to deal with them."

Su Xin smiled and helped Dou Zhao to rest.

Dou Zhao was so happy that he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.

Then she thought about which of her nephews and nieces was the most loyal and honest, and whether she could bring him over to keep her company occasionally. She would definitely learn from the teachings of Wei and Rui, accompany him in a gentle voice, take care of his daily life, accompany him in reading and writing, and raise him into a filial and good child.

For a while, she thought, why did the Dou family have so many sons? How wonderful it would be if she could raise a few girls at home! In spring, she could take them outings, in summer, she could go boating on the lake, in autumn, she could go mountain climbing, in winter, she could lie on the kang and tell stories. When they got married, she could give them a lot of money to buy them a box. When they had children, they would bring a group of little girls and boys back to see her.

After a while, I thought again, this might lead to favoritism and cause trouble. It would be better to give money to reward those children who have achieved academic success in the Dou family school, or to buy a farm to accommodate those lonely elderly people or orphans... I wonder if the court has any restrictions on this aspect? I have to discuss it with Mr. Chen when I return to Zhending.

Although she couldn't get half of Xidou's silver, if she used it on the children of the Dou family, no one in the Dou family would dare to stop her.

As long as she uses it properly, she can live freely in the Dou family!