Chapter 209: Making a Mistake
The sky was slightly white, Dou Zhao was standing under the veranda, Song Mo couldn't see her expression clearly. But her standing posture was like a plum blossom in the cold, proud and independent, but always revealing a bit of aloofness, and like a quiet and faint green mountain, gazing at him peacefully and tranquilly.
The past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
The stunning talent when they first met, the generosity when they met again; the helping hand that came day and night to save him in times of crisis, the silent care that was as gentle as spring rain when he was sad; and the dreamless sleep that Kikuta had after his hard work, and the sudden enlightenment when he stood on the wild peach tree and looked at the distant village, were all like the breeze in the autumn morning, blowing gently in his heart.
Dou Zhao's beauty is always subtle and silent. People may overlook it inadvertently, or feel it inadvertently.
Song Mo suddenly became excited.
What was Dou Zhao thinking at this time?
Is he also inadvertently overlooking something?
Song Mo turned around and strode towards Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao's face gradually became clear in his sight.
The black hair, fair face, long eyebrows, rosy lips like flowers, and smiling eyebrows all gradually become vivid.
"Dou Zhao," he said, staring at her intently with his eyes wide open, "If we are destined to be together, can we get married?"
I don't know when the pale sky at the horizon turned into a light purple, as if the magnificent glow hiding behind the clouds was impatient to reveal a little of its sharpness.
Song Mo's face shone brightly in the morning light, like the finest jade, and his dark eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky.
Dou Zhao was in a trance for a moment as he looked at the handsome young man in front of him, whose youth had long since faded and who had grown to be a head taller than him without him noticing.
Are they destined to be together? Can they get married?
Can't it?
Whether in the past life or this life, they are not the same kind of people.
He is destined to be the focus of everyone's attention, and even if he is down and out, he will still show his existence in another way; she herself likes to plant flowers and grass, imagining herself as a flower tree, growing in spring, growing in summer, harvesting in autumn, and hiding in winter as the seasons change.
One is the cloud on the peak, the other is the tree in the forest, they can only see each other from a distance.
But in the clear light of autumn, under the young man's bright and expectant eyes, she couldn't bear to reject him so bluntly.
She thought for a moment and said with a smile: "If we can be married, then we are destined to be together!"
But they may never have such a fate!
But Song Mo's face suddenly lit up at this moment.
There was a faint smile flowing in his eyes.
He stared at Dou Zhao deeply for a moment, said nothing, turned around and strode out of the main courtyard.
Dou Zhao looked at his steady and strong steps, and for some reason, he felt uneasy.
Did I say something wrong?
Dou Zhao carefully recalled the conversation between the two just now.
The bells and drums announcing dawn at Jing'an Temple sounded melodiously, the air still had the coolness of mid-autumn, but the morning glow had quietly dyed half the sky.
Song Mo walked out of the Dou family's mansion with an inexplicable joy even to himself.
Duan Gongyi, Xia Lian and others, who had drunk a bowl of hot soy milk on an autumn morning and felt warm from the belly to the whole body, were gathered in an alley near the Dou family's residence, talking and laughing in low voices. They looked very relaxed and comfortable, like old friends who had met again after a long separation.
Hearing the noise, several people became alert. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Song Mo, and their expressions relaxed again.
"Your Highness!" Everyone bowed respectfully.
Zhu Yicheng couldn't help but glance at Xia Lian from the corner of his eye, thinking to himself: No wonder the master said that martial arts is just a stepping stone. If you want to gain a foothold in the family of hairpins, you must learn to guess the intentions of the master. Xia Lian said that the prince would not show up for a while, and they really waited for nearly half an hour.
Song Mo smiled and nodded, but his eyes fell on Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng: "Since you have come to Kyoto with the fourth lady, why don't you go to an alley and sit for a while? Mr. Yan and I were talking about you a few days ago. I wonder what you have been busy with these days?"
Such courtesy was not given to the guards, not even the coaches of the Kyoto Yulin Army, no, not even the centurions and thousand-householders.
Zhu Yicheng couldn't help but look at Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng with admiration.
Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng were so flattered that they quickly bowed and said "I dare not" repeatedly.
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Although he went to Jing'an Temple Hutong early yesterday morning and drank a lot of wine in Jining Marquis Mansion at night and returned home almost at dawn, Ji Yong slept very soundly. However, he woke up when the first bell of the Kyoto Bell and Drum Tower rang.
After washing up energetically, he went directly to Jing'an Temple Hutong.
Dou Wenchang was discussing with his fifth wife the matter of having a family reunion dinner with He Hong in the morning.
Yesterday, the Fifth Madam was busy asking after Wang Xu who was ill, dealing with Wang's two sisters-in-law, comforting Ji, and worrying about what was going on at the Wei family. She was thinking about who should be in charge when she went to the Wei family today, and she hasn't slept a wink yet.
When Mrs. Five heard that Ji Yong had arrived, she was greatly relieved.
Ji Yong has the talent of Zhang Yi and Su Qin. With him accompanying him, it would be difficult for the Wei family to disown this marriage. Moreover, Ji Yong values Dou Zhao so much that if anyone from the Dou family asks him for something in the future, he will surely not refuse.
She warmly entertained Ji Yong: "Have you had breakfast? We haven't had breakfast yet. Why don't you have breakfast with us first, and then go to Jining Marquis Mansion with Jingwei!"
Jingwei is Dou Wenchang's courtesy name.
He was slightly surprised when he heard this.
Ji Yong was just an in-law, because he was so affectionate and called her cousin, but he was not a real relative of the Dou family - most of those who went to the recognition wine were the bride's brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews.
But since the Fifth Madam had already spoken, he naturally wouldn't be stupid enough to jump out and say that it was inappropriate for Ji Yong to go.
Ji Yong was not polite and sat down to have breakfast with the Fifth Madam and Dou Wenchang. The Fifth Madam kept Dou Wenchang to talk.
"It was Ming Jie'er who got married yesterday, not Shou Gu!" She whispered, "We only found out when we said goodbye to our parents. It was too late then, so we had to make do with it. Jian Ming has always been close to your seventh uncle, so I specially asked him to help Shou Gu. When you go over, if you have anything to do, follow Jian Ming's instructions. Since the wedding night has already begun, there is absolutely no reason to let Ming Jie'er suffer." She also hinted to Dou Wenchang that this matter was Wang's responsibility, "...If Madam Seven doesn't speak up, we can't just act rashly."
The Fifth Madam knew that Dou Wenchang was an honest man and was afraid that he would reveal something, so she kept it a secret from him yesterday and only revealed the truth today.
Dou Wenchang was extremely shocked and confused.
Even so, Fifth Aunt is my sister-in-law. How can we allow Seventh Madam to do whatever she wants in such a matter of right and wrong?
However, he and Dou Shishu were as close as father and son, and saying such words would be disrespectful to the Fifth Madam. He suppressed his confusion in his heart, responded respectfully, and left the hall with the Fifth Madam.
Ji Yong was standing on the west corridor with a playful smile on his face.
Dou Wenchang walked over suspiciously and found that he could faintly hear the sound of a woman crying from where Ji Yong was standing.
Seventh uncle's family was simple, and he was a little curious about who was crying. Ji Yongyi said, "Brother, let's say hello to Seventh uncle first, and then go to Jining Marquis's Mansion, shall we?"
Dou Wenchang had no choice but to follow.
Ji Yong sneered in his heart.
Why are the people from the Wang family crying at this time? What were they doing before?
In just one night, Dou Shiying seemed to have aged ten years.
He lay on the bed sullenly, ignoring the Fifth Madam, and only said a few words of "Sorry for the trouble" to Dou Wenchang and Ji Yong who were helping to clean up the aftermath, full of apology.
After something like this happened, everyone would feel bad, let alone a father!
Dou Wenchang could understand Dou Shiying's feelings. He nodded silently and asked Dou Shiying to rest assured with a serious expression.
However, Ji Yong said a few soothing words in a very polite manner, such as "Please rest assured, Seventh Uncle, we will handle this matter well," and then he and Dou Wenchang went to the Jining Marquis' Mansion.
Tian had received the news and almost fainted after a short breath. When she regained her breath, she hurriedly ordered her personal nanny to find Wei Tingzhen and burst into tears: "How could this happen? If people knew about this, how could our Wei family save our reputation?"
The person sent by Tian to find out what was going on was Luo Ma, the most capable woman around Tian.
"Madam, keep your voice down!" She took out a handkerchief and wiped Tian's tears. "Not many people know about this now. If you cry like this, won't everyone know about it? Although the Marquis and Miss Dou haven't offered sacrifices to their ancestors yet, they have already entered the bridal chamber. Should you accept this marriage or explain it clearly to the Dou family? You have to wait until the eldest aunt comes. You can't let everyone know now!"
When Tian heard this, she stopped crying and choked up, "Zhen'er is right, the Dou family is indeed not a good family. It's all my fault for being indecisive and causing harm to Yu'er." After saying this, she started crying again, "If I had known this would happen, I should have agreed with Zhen'er's idea and broken off the engagement with the Dou family. It would have been better than marrying a daughter-in-law of unknown origin." She felt very regretful.
Where is the time to say this?
Fortunately, Nanny Luo had served Tian for decades and knew her temperament. She was not anxious and reminded her gently, "Over in the upper room, do you think you can send someone to control the mouths of the maids and the old women? I don't think the people in the Dou family want to make this public. And with the elderly relatives, this has happened. I'm afraid we have to put the sacrifices, ancestor worship, and kinship acknowledgment on hold for the time being. We need to give them an explanation."
Tian nodded repeatedly and said to Luo Mama, "I'll leave this matter to you. Don't let anyone get suspicious before the eldest aunt comes."
Nanny Luo replied respectfully, "Yes," and stepped back.
When there is a happy event in the family, the aunts and uncles always sit at the table. What's more, Zhang Yuanming, an uncle with a distinguished family background and a lot of help to the Wei family.
He got up early, had breakfast, dressed up, and waited for Wei Tingzhen to do her makeup.
When the Wei family went to invite Wei Tingzhen, they dared not mention in front of Zhang Yuanming that the bride had been replaced. They just said that Tian had something important to discuss with Wei Tingzhen and asked Wei Tingzhen to go over quickly.
Zhang Yuanming teased Wei Tingzhen after hearing this: "Mother-in-law probably woke up this morning and felt that the meeting gift we agreed on yesterday was too light, so she wanted to give the new daughter-in-law a few more pieces today and asked you to help her choose jewelry. I think you have to pay more - you are an aunt, so don't be too stingy and let your new sister-in-law think you are stingy, and then she won't prepare meals for you when you return to your parents' home."
"She dares!" Wei Tingzhen had been unhappy in his heart. Hearing this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said domineeringly, "If she wants to be the head of Jining Marquis's Mansion, she must have the ability to do it."
Zhang Yuan knew that his wife was strong-willed, so he was not surprised that she said that. He teased Wei Tingzhen a few more times, making her laugh. Then the couple chatted and laughed and took the children to the Jining Marquis' Mansion.