Chapter 211 Cutting the Grass
Song Mo sat in front of the large rosewood desk inlaid with rolling cloud patterns in the study, looking out the window at the crabapple trees in full bloom that looked like three feet of snow, with a solemn expression.
After calming down, he carefully recalled Dou Zhao's words.
Did she want to tell him that they were not destined to be together?
What she says always makes sense.
Just six days ago, he learned that his father had formally proposed to the youngest daughter of Marquis Yan'an on his behalf.
Marquis Yan'an neither agreed nor refused.
After he got the news, Marquis Yan'an immediately went to discuss the matter with his eldest son Wang Qinghuai after returning home. Wang Qinghuai was very much in favor of the marriage, and Marquis Yan'an could not help but be tempted.
Song Mo opened the window.
Outside the window, under the flower shed with lush green bamboos, ancient plum trees, charming Yunnan flowers and entwined vines of Indian lotus, Wuyi was boasting proudly to a few servants.
Song Mo couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
He can marry anyone, but he won't let his father decide for him!
The next day, he began to appear in front of Concubine Ning, who had always had a good impression of him when she accompanied the emperor to the summer palace.
Concubine Ning was the biological mother of Princess Jingfu.
Princess Jingfu came of age this spring.
Three days ago, the day before he asked for leave to attend Dou Zhao's wedding, he was summoned to the summer palace by the emperor. Wang Yuan smiled and said "congratulations" to him, and whispered: "Empress Ning has been speaking well of you in front of the emperor these two days."
He thought of the questions the emperor had asked just now, and he knew the answer, so he smiled and stuffed a silver bill over.
If things go as he expected, Marquis Yan'an will give his father a reply in the next few days.
The palace will probably summon my father for questioning soon.
Does he really have no fate with Dou Zhao?
Song Mo paused for a moment under the crabapple tree in the West Palace, then went to Yan Chaoqing's residence.
There is nothing in this world that he cannot accomplish if he sets his mind to it!
Yan Chaoqing personally brewed a cup of Da Hong Pao to entertain Song Mo. While he was holding the purple clay pot and dispensing the tea into small purple clay teacups, he asked with a smile, "When will the prince leave?"
Song Mo only took two days off.
"I'll leave after lunch." Song Mo took a sip of tea leisurely and said, "I want to marry Dou Zhao, and I have something to tell you, sir."
Yan Chaoqing was shocked and his hand trembled, and the hot tea in the teapot poured onto his own thigh.
He jumped up with a scream of "Ah!" The hot water quickly seeped through the silk gown and soaked his trousers. He was anxious to take off the gown, but thinking that Song Mo was sitting right in front of him, it would seem disrespectful, so he had to run to the inner room holding the hem of the gown, shouting for the servant to come in and serve him. This attracted Chen He and others who were guarding outside the door and didn't know what was going on, and they rushed in. The room suddenly became a mess.
Song Mo burst into laughter.
He just said that he wanted to marry Dou Zhao, but Yan Chaoqing lost his composure like that. If he really married Dou Zhao, who knows how many people would be shocked?
Dou Zhao always seems to have this ability to make people remember him and be amazed.
After a while, Yan Chaoqing changed his clothes and came out from the inner room.
Song Mo asked him, "How is it? Is the burn serious? Do you want to see a doctor?"
"It's okay." Yan Chaoqing said, "It's just a red patch." His mind was still immersed in the shock just now, and he seemed a little dazed. After the servant cleaned up the bed, he finally caught his breath, sat down again, and asked Song Mo seriously, "What happened to the fourth lady?"
Today is the fifth day of August, which should be the day for Dou Zhaoshuang to celebrate the New Year.
"The bride has been replaced." Song Mo told Yan Chaoqing the news he had found out. As for what he had said to Dou Zhao when he visited Jing'an Temple Hutong at night, he did not mention it, and Yan Chaoqing did not ask a word. But this news made Yan Chaoqing's mind work quickly.
He has always been worried about Song Mo's marriage.
Now Song Mo controls Yizhitang, and Song Yichun is the legitimate Duke of Yingguo, who controls the Duke of Yingguo's mansion. Although Song Mo is the prince, he has shown his brilliance and is evenly matched with the Duke of Yingguo, and they have fought to a draw. However, the Duke of Yingguo's remarriage is not going smoothly, and the Duke of Yingguo's mansion has no one to take charge of the matter. At this time, if Song Mo's wife could preside over the imperial banquet, she could represent the Duke of England's Mansion when traveling outside, and inquire about the daily life of Song Han, who is not yet an adult, and break the Duke of England's control over Song Han. Although it is not expected that the relationship between the brothers will be as close as before, it can at least reduce the possibility of Song Han standing against Song Mo, making Song Mo's position more stable. She can also enter and exit the Forbidden Palace and the inner courtyards of various mansions, and build momentum for Song Mo through those concubines and ladies, making the Duke of England jealous and dare not act arbitrarily.
Quite the opposite.
If the second wife of the Duke of England presided over the tribute to the Duke of England's mansion, she might have spread rumors and caused trouble in front of the concubines and the ladies of the various mansions, ruining Song Mo's reputation and making it more difficult for Song Han and Song Mo to contact each other. If Song Han, with the support of the Duke of England, sets his sights on the position of the crown prince, things will not only become more complicated, but Song Mo may also be branded as unfilial, which will be very unfavorable to Song Mo. If that lady gives birth to another male heir, with the support of her family, the brothers will quarrel. Even if Song Mo wins in the end, it will be a matter of hurting the enemy and hurting himself. The foundation of the Duke of England's mansion will be damaged, and it is not impossible that it will decline from then on...
Yan Chaoqing is different from Liao Bifeng and other aides.
Not only did he receive the Jiang family's kindness, but he also watched Song Mo grow up. In addition to the relationship between master and servant, he also had the affection between a teacher and a father. He not only hoped that Song Mo's wife would have the ability to manage the affairs of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion, but also hoped that she and Song Mo could get along harmoniously.
When he heard that Dou Zhao's sister had married into the Jining Marquis's Mansion in Dou Zhao's place, his eyes lit up.
He has always admired Dou Zhao's intelligence, wit and courage.
Song Mo, a mature young man, always seemed more lively than usual whenever he met Dou Zhao, and always had endless things to talk about.
He regretted more than once that Dou Zhao had gotten engaged to someone else so early.
If Song Mo married Dou Zhao, they should have lived a happy life, right?
Moreover, now that Song Mo has Dou Zhaoxiang's support, it won't be long before he controls the Duke of Ying's Mansion!
Yan Chaoqing was very excited. He couldn't help but smile and his mind worked faster.
"Whether it's the fifth wife or the seventh wife of the Dou family, they are all women in the inner house, and they may do something dirty because of a momentary grudge. But the marriage exchange is a big deal, and Dou Yuanji cannot be unaware of it." Maybe because he was excited, his voice was very hurried. "Even if he didn't know beforehand, he could make up for it in time afterwards. Judging from his behavior, he would not allow his wife to do such a thing that would damage the face of the Dou family for such a small matter. It can be seen that he knew the Dou sisters. This is a bit unreasonable. If the prince wants to marry the fourth young lady, we must first find out why Dou Yuanji did this, so that we can prescribe the right medicine. Secondly, it is about the Jining Marquis's Mansion. If the Jining Marquis's Mansion recognizes this marriage, it will be fine. If not, we have to find a way to help the Dou family and send someone to keep an eye on the situation there. Then, who is in charge of the fourth young lady's marriage? What is the attitude of Mrs. Zhao, the aunt, when the fourth young lady was humiliated? Can you think of a way to influence the Fourth Miss's marriage through Mrs. Zhao's attitude..." Speaking of this, he couldn't help but look slightly condensed, and said, "The most important thing is how to get the Duke to agree to help you propose marriage..." He tapped his forehead and thought of several reasons, all of which he rejected one by one. Thinking that the Marquis of Yan'an would agree to Song Mo's marriage in the next few days, and the palace might also issue an order to grant the marriage at any time, he immediately felt a headache and said, "No matter what, this matter must be done quickly! I'm afraid that the Dou family will... In order to cover up this matter, another arrangement was made for the Fourth Miss..." He added, "I always feel that the matter of proxy marriage is not simple..." He suddenly remembered what Dou Zhao had asked him for, "There is one more thing. Because the Fourth Miss did not give any specific instructions, I have never told the Prince..." He told the story of Dou Zhao asking him to help arrange for her to be married off to a family. "Because it was the Fourth Miss's own business, I did not check what was going on with this family. Now it seems that it may have something to do with the Fourth Miss's breaking off the engagement..."
Song Mo's eyes were filled with smiles.
Giving up the royal marriage and taking a more difficult path was his choice, but it was not the choice of the people around him who shared his life and death, honor and disgrace.
He thought that he would need to spend a lot of energy to convince Yan Chaoqing and others, and might even have to use Dou Zhao's life-saving grace to suppress Yan Chaoqing, so when he spoke to Yan Chaoqing about this matter, he used an imperative tone rather than a negotiating tone.
Unexpectedly, Yan Chaoqing had such a good impression of Dou Zhao.
For some reason, Song Mo's heart was filled with warmth.
It's like going back to the time when my mother was still alive and we were all united and happy.
He leaned on his elbows and whispered, "Sir, I am thinking the same thing. However, I have a few more things I would like you to do. This is the most urgent matter."
Yan Chaoqing said solemnly: "Prince, please give your orders!"
Song Mo pondered and said, "The fourth young lady's engagement was broken off. Is this a scandal?"
Yan Chaoqing was stunned.
"My father will definitely hear about it." Song Mo said in a suggestive tone, "The fourth young lady is the eldest daughter, and lost her mother at a young age. Although her only uncle is a Jinshi who passed the imperial examinations twice, he has been an official in the northwest. Her father remarried the daughter of Wang Yousheng, the governor of Yunnan. The fourth young lady grew up in Zhending with her grandmother who was born a concubine. Although she has an uncle who is a cabinet minister, not only is she about to be out of the fifth mourning period, but she has also been replaced by a married woman... My father must be very interested, especially when it was rumored that Concubine Ning was looking for a son-in-law for Princess Jingfu."
"Not bad!" Yan Chaoqing couldn't help but clap his hands, "As long as we can find out what the Dou family plans for the fourth young lady!"
At this moment, Song Mo couldn't help but thank the corner that he accidentally heard that day.
"No matter what Dou Yuanji's plan is for the fourth young lady, whether it is marriage or finding a son-in-law, considering the seventh elder of the Dou family's current mood, as long as father is sincere, he will definitely not refuse." He said leisurely, thinking of his father's words and deeds before his mother passed away, a faint sadness arose in his heart again.
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At this time, Wei Tingyu was sitting woodenly on the big kang by the window in the banquet room. What rang in his ears were either the wailing of the Dou family's nanny and maids, the sharp scolding of his sister, and the angry rebuke of Dou Wenchang, the young master of the Dou family.
How did things turn out like this?
He had just heard that his sister had an argument with the Dou family and wanted to think carefully about what to do about the matter. Just as he had drunk a cup of tea in the study, Dou Ming hanged himself.
Fortunately, the Dou family's nanny felt something was wrong and pushed the door open in time...
Wei Tingyu has a splitting headache!