Chapter 215: Ears
Shuntian Fuxue Hutong next to the Duke of Yingguo Mansion is named after the Shuntianfu Fuxue Hutong. Jianzi Hutong is crowded with stalls and shops selling all kinds of snacks. Among them is a wonton shop called Maoji. The wontons are made with thin skin and big fillings, with small fish and shrimps, and the soup is very delicious, which suits Tao Qizhong's taste as a Jiangnan native. He occasionally goes to Maoji to eat a bowl of wontons, and then chats with the owner of Maoji Shop, who is also from Jiangnan. The homesickness will disappear immediately and he will feel much happier.
When I came out of the Osmanthus Fragrance Courtyard, the lights were already on.
Tao Qi hesitated for a moment and went to Mao Ji Wonton Shop.
Business in the shop was good as usual, with every seat being filled.
Under the dim light, the noisy voices and the hot steam made people's faces blurry.
But the owner of Mao Ji Shop recognized Tao Qizhong at first sight.
He smiled and wiped his hands with his apron as he walked over: "Mr. Tao, let's follow the old rules. Can I set up a table for you at the back door?"
Tao Qizhong smiled and said "thank you".
The boss of Mao Ji personally cleared the table and placed a bowl of wontons in front of Tao Qizhong.
Taoqi took another sip of the soup.
Two men next door could be heard talking in low voices.
"...Really? The Dou family is a family of scholars, so why would they agree to let the sisters marry off?"
"Why would I lie to you? The fourth and fifth daughters of the Dou family are half-sisters. It is said that there was no time to prepare at that time, so the fifth daughter was married with the fourth daughter's dowry. Now the fifth daughter has married into the Jining Marquis's mansion in place of the fourth daughter and has become the Marquis's wife. Naturally, the fourth daughter wants her dowry back. I didn't know whether I was the one who helped carry the dowry!"
"I heard that the Dou family gave a dowry of 20,000 taels of silver when marrying off their daughter. If the dowry is taken back, wouldn't the Marquis of Jining be at a loss?"
"What kind of loss is that?! Twenty thousand taels of silver, that was given by the public treasury. The fourth young lady just asked for back the things her biological mother left for her. I think it's only about one or two thousand taels of silver. And the fifth young lady's grandfather is Wang Yousheng, the governor of Yunnan. He is the one who won battles wherever he went. You know him, right? Now that the fourth young lady has asked for back the things her biological mother left for her, the fifth young lady's biological mother and the Wang family will definitely give her a large sum of money. All in all, the Jining Marquis's Mansion has made a profit!"
Hearing this, Tao Qizhong couldn't help but turn his head to look over.
The two men who were speaking were dressed in coarse cloth and short brown clothes. They were burly and had dark skin. Although one of them looked honest and the other smart, their hands were full of knots and there was dirt in the gaps between their nails. It was obvious that they made a living by physical labor.
He could not help but bow to the two of them, calling them "two gentlemen", and said, "Are you talking about the Dou family in Beizhili? The residence of Lord Dou Wenhua?"
Because Dou Shishu served as the Grand Academician of the Wenhua Palace and as an official in the Ministry of Personnel for many years, there were many people who benefited from his care. To show respect among the literati, they often called him Dou Wenhua instead of his pen name.
The two men who were talking saw that Tao Qizhong was dressed like a scholar and knew that they had met a scholar. They stood up quickly, bowed and returned the greeting, saying "I dare not" and said, "It is the old man of Dou Ge, the Minister of Justice and the Grand Academician of Wenhua Palace."
Tao Qi saw that the two men were dressed in rough clothes, but their speech and manners were quite proper. Thinking of what he had just said, he knew that the two men were used to taking on jobs for wealthy families, so his attitude became much more friendly. He smiled and said, "It's a cold night, and I have nothing to do. I can't help but lose my composure a little bit when I hear you two talk so interestingly. Please don't take it to heart."
"Where, where!" the two men hurriedly asked respectfully. The one with a sharp face said, "From your tone, you are familiar with the Dou family. What do you want to know? We will tell you everything we know."
The one with the honest face looked surprised and kicked the one with the smart face. But the one with the smart face pretended not to know and kindly invited Tao Qizhong to sit at the same table with him.
Tao Qizhong understood what was going on and said with a smile, "Why don't you sit over here? It's quieter here."
The honest one hesitated, but the smart one was overjoyed and sat down next to Tao Qizhong with his half-finished bowl of wontons. The honest one showed some helplessness in his eyes and had no choice but to sit down as well.
Tao Qizhong smiled and said, "Let's sit together. The boss will have an empty table. We can entertain others and earn a few more coins."
The one with the clever look even said "yes", and the one with the honest look also became slack after hearing that.
Tao Qizhong usually talked to the honest-looking man: "What's the story behind the dowry you helped the fourth young lady of the Dou family move?"
The other one said honestly, "This incident made everyone feel embarrassed. After the bride came back to her parents' home to recognize her relatives, the Dou family took advantage of the darkness to move back the dowry that the fourth young lady's biological mother had left for her. Because they were short of manpower and I often helped the Dou family with the heavy work, they called me to help. In addition to my wages, they also rewarded everyone with one or two taels of silver. Just now, I finished my work and invited my brother to come here to eat a bowl of wontons."
Although Mao Ji’s wontons are cheap, for these coolies, being able to eat a bowl of wontons like this is considered a treat.
Tao Qi nodded emphasized and asked with a smile about the issue of sisters getting married.
The smart-looking man could answer ten questions for every question, but he just listened to the honest-looking man's retelling and couldn't say anything. The honest-looking man knew a lot, but he was like a copper oil lamp wick, it would light up when you turned it, but it wouldn't light up if you didn't turn it. Tao Qizhong paid for the wontons for the two people, and asked the shop owner to bring a pot of white liquor and four dishes of food to go with the wine. They drank slowly with the two people at the back door of the wonton shop until the second watch, and then they went their separate ways.
When the wind blows, the pottery feels heavy.
He held onto the wall and slowly walked into the alley next to the Duke of England's mansion.
The guard at the side gate saw Tao Qizhong and hurried over to help him up, flattering him, "Mr. Tao, where are you going? Why didn't you let the servant follow you? It's so dark here, what if you bump into something? The Duke's affairs will be messed up!"
Tao Qizhong laughed and gave the guard a small piece of silver: "I'll buy you some wine!"
The guard on duty was so happy that his eyes narrowed into slits. He kept thanking and became more attentive: "Shall I help you back to your room? Just now the Duke sent someone to ask where you were going. If you want to go out alone in the future, you can tell us. In case the Duke looks for you, we have a place to look for you..."
I wonder what the Duke wants to talk to him about? If it's really urgent, he should have sent people to look for him everywhere. When he knows he has returned home, he will send people to look for him again.
Tao Qizhong felt a little dizzy at this time. He uttered "hmm" in a daze and went back to the house to rest.
I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and remembered this.
Did I go to see the Duke later?
He was so confused that he could not think clearly. He leaned against the bed and rubbed his temples. He asked the servant to pour him a cup of tea and asked, "Did the Duke send anyone to look for me?"
"No." The servant smiled, "But the Second Master came to see you in person." At this point, he paused and whispered, "It seems that the Duke got angry with the Second Master, and the Second Master almost got beaten for it. The Second Master came to you and wanted you to say a few good words for him in front of the Duke."
Tao Qizhong listened and sighed deeply.
It turns out that he is much inferior to Song Moliang!
If Song Mo really marries the princess, given Song Mo's abilities, the Duke and the Second Master will probably have to live their lives according to Song Mo's wishes!
The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately remembered what happened in Mao Ji Wonton Shop.
Didn't he think the matter of the fourth young lady of the Dou family was quite interesting?
Tao Qizhong jumped up and ordered the servant: "Hurry, help me get dressed, I want to see the Duke!"
The servant was stunned.
Tao Qizhong was shocked to realize that he was too excited and said, "You go down first! I will tell you if there is anything."
He was just hearing it from others. Some things needed to be verified first, so as not to make mistakes in front of the Duke.
The servant retreated in response.
Tao Qizhong walked around the room until dawn, then he called a servant to help him wash up. He didn't even have breakfast and left the Duke of Ying's mansion alone.
When Song Yichun thought about Song Han's homework, he felt a dull pain in his chest. But this pain was caused by himself, so he had no place to complain. Yesterday, he wanted to find Tao Qizhong to play chess, but he was out of the house. This morning, Song Yichun tested Song Han's homework. Although he had memorized the article he was asked to recite yesterday, he stuttered, which made him angry again. He wanted to talk to Tao Qizhong, so he sent a servant to invite him, but Tao Qizhong was out again. He couldn't help but get furious.
This pottery is heavy, what is it used for?
He clearly knew that I was looking for him, but he refused to meet me. Could it be that he thought that once Song Mo married the princess, he would be suppressed by Song Mo and become a decoration in the Duke of Ying's Mansion, so he started to be indecisive about me?
Song Yichun was so angry that veins popped out of his forehead. He yelled at the servant, "Go find him now! Even if you have to dig up the whole city, you must find him for me!"
The boy answered "yes" in a panic, but when he turned around he bumped into the pottery.
Tao Qizhong cried out "ouch!" and covered his chest, but he didn't even look at the servant. He pushed the servant away and strode forward to salute Song Yichun.
"My Lord, I have a good candidate for the Crown Prince's marriage!" He looked at Song Yichun with a smile.
※※※※※
Dou Shiying stood on the steps of the upper room, looking at the maids coming in and out carrying things, with a heavy heart.
Gu Qiu wants to get back the things he left for his daughter, but where is her marriage?
He thought of Dou Ming's smile that couldn't hide his joy, his eyes darkened slightly, and he went to the east room.
The hall was a bit messy. Zhao Zhangru was squatting in front of two boxes that he had brought back from the Jining Marquis's mansion and talking to Dou Zhao: "...My aunt's box must be a set with ours. Ours is carved with the Eight Hundred Arhats, and yours is carved with Peng Zu paying homage to his birthday, but they are both made of red sandalwood with ivory inlays."
Dou Zhao smiled when he heard this and pointed to a small screen beside him: "This one is also made of rosewood and inlaid with screws."
"Where? Where?" Zhao Zhangru walked over.
Dou Zhao pointed it out to her.
Both girls were past marriageable age, and most of them would have been wives and mothers at this age, but at this moment they were still laughing and giggling like innocent children.
Dou Shiying felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife.
My aunt came over at some point, looked at the two pretty girls, called them "Aunt", and asked, "What are your plans?"