Chapter 221 Thunder

When Dou Shiying returned to Jing'an Temple Hutong, the lights were already on.

He called out to Gao Sheng loudly, and asked excitedly, "Do you know how to find the weight of the pottery?"

Gao Sheng knew Dou Zhao's marriage was going to be arranged, and he couldn't help but smile. He said hurriedly, "He didn't leave his address, but since he works at the Duke of Ying's mansion, I'll go to the Duke of Ying's mansion to find him."

In a prominent noble family like the Duke of England's Palace, the chief steward and staff all earn a lot of money. In addition to having a separate chamber and servants to serve in the mansion, most of them will also buy houses outside to accommodate their families.

Dou Shiying nodded repeatedly and said with emotion: "I met the prince of the Duke of Ying today. It is just as Tao Qizhong said, if he is not envied by others, he is a mediocre person. Song Yantang is not only handsome, but also good at riding and archery. He has a good character and is highly valued by the emperor. He has a distinguished family background, but he is humble and polite, and has a good relationship with his superiors and colleagues. He deserves the title of 'a humble gentleman, gentle and smooth like jade'."

At this point, he thought of Song Mo's beautiful face. He thought of Dou Zhao, who was one year older than Song Mo. Women take care of household chores and have children, and usually age faster than men. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful. "I just don't know if their temperaments are similar. I only cared about asking about his studies and jobs, but forgot to ask if he had a concubine at home? Is he indulgent with women? You can ask about it when you go to the Duke of Ying's mansion later!"

But then he thought again, the Song family hadn't come to propose yet, but he was asking this and that, looking like he was eager to marry off their daughter. If the Song family knew about this, they would probably look down on Dou Zhao, so he quickly changed his words and said, "Forget it, don't ask about things like concubines. Wait until the Song family formally proposes." After saying that, he felt that it was a bit too eager to go to Tao Qizhong, so he simply said, "It's better not to go to Tao Qizhong. If the Song family really cares about this marriage, they will naturally send him to make the proposal."

But what if the Song family thinks Dou Zhao is dispensable?

For a while, Dou Shiying was worried and at a loss, looking like he didn't know what to do.

There was a burst of laughter and noise coming from outside.

Dou Shiying looked at Gao Sheng in confusion.

Gao Sheng hurriedly smiled and said, "It should be that the fourth young lady, the aunt and the cousin have returned from the Baiyun Temple. I will go and see if the fourth young lady has any instructions." Before he finished speaking, his eyes lit up and he said, "Seventh Master, don't we still have the aunt and the cousin?"

"Yes! Why didn't I think of that!" Dou Shiying was cheered up when he heard that.

It doesn't matter whether my aunt is not here or not. If she is, Dou Zhao's marriage must be discussed with her. Instead of racking my brains here alone, it is better to ask my aunt to help me make a decision. I must let Dou Zhao get married decently.

He left the main room.

Gao Sheng followed closely behind Dou Shiying.

They bought a lot of things, and seven or eight servants carried the things and went into the east room.

Dou Zhao didn't know what he was talking about with Zhao Zhangru. His eyes were as crescent-shaped as the moon, his cheeks were slightly red, and he was smiling happily like a child who had eaten candy.

Dou Shiying was stunned for a moment.

Is this Shougu?

He had never seen his daughter smile so brightly!

Dou Shiying felt a slight pain in his heart.

She was so happy just going out for fun, which shows how restrained she was in her normal life.

He couldn't help but make up his mind.

No matter what, he wanted to marry his daughter to a young man like Song Yantang!

At worst, I can give more dowry.

No matter how wealthy the British Duke's family is, is it possible that they can't get along with money?

Dou Shiying took a deep breath and walked over with a smile.

Dou Zhao already knew that the Fifth Madam had come to propose marriage to Ji Yong, but was rejected bluntly by her father.

She is very happy.

Seeing her father coming over, she called out "Daddy" with a smile before he could speak, then took out a stone from her purse and handed it to Dou Shiying: "My cousin and I bought this at Baiyun Temple. It only cost us fifty cents."

It is a yellow and brown Shoushan stone.

The stone is moist, delicate, thick and simple, but unfortunately there is a deep crack in the upper left corner, which affects its quality.

Dou Zhao pointed at the crack and said with a smile, "My cousin and I both think that we can carve a slanted gourd or a reclining Buddha."

If it is carefully carved to remove any flaws, it will become a top-quality Shoushan stone seal, and its value will increase several times.

Dou Shiying is good at stone carving and seal carving.

He smiled and nodded, then he took the stone in his hand and rubbed it for a while, saying, "It would be OK to carve a jade cicada resting on the stone."

Dou Zhao laughed and said, "This is a gift for you. You can carve whatever you want!"

Dou Shiying was surprised and happy, and kept saying "thank you" repeatedly.

My aunt and Zhao Zhangru covered their mouths and laughed.

The atmosphere suddenly became cheerful.

Dou Zhao invited his father to sit in the hall.

There are differences between men and women. My aunt and Zhao Zhangru used the excuse of being too tired and went back to the guest room.

Dou Zhao served tea to his father, and sat down with him smilingly. He took the opportunity to ask Dou Shiying, "Did your fifth aunt come to act as a matchmaker for me yesterday?"

Dou Shiying choked on the tea and asked, "How did you know?"

"I heard it from someone else." Dou Zhao didn't say who it was, but just said, "Dad, I don't want to get married yet, so don't betroth me to someone rashly! I want to stay at home for a few more years. Look at my cousin Zhangru, she has traveled to many places with my aunt, and I want to be like her, to travel around and see the world. I don't want to get married so early! If someone comes to propose marriage to me, you must tell me!"

Dou Shiying felt that he could understand Dou Zhao's feelings.

Dou Zhao's marriage turned out like this today because of Dong Dou's interference.

When Dou Ming was young, Dou Zhao had taken care of her, but she acted so heartlessly. No wonder Dou Zhao was sad. First, he didn't want to talk about marriage for the time being, and second, he was afraid that if he married her off hastily, her life would be more difficult in the future.

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Dou Shiying assured Dou Zhao, "I will definitely not treat your life's most important event as a joke."

If the man is someone he has personally selected and is not only good-looking but also talented, Dou Zhao would surely be willing.

He really wanted to tell Dou Zhao about the Prince of England, but he thought that the matter was still unsettled. If he let Dou Zhao be happy for nothing, wouldn't that make her even more embarrassed?

Dou Shiying endured it again and again, and finally kept the words deep in his heart. He chatted with Dou Zhaoxian for a few words and then returned to the study.

He asked someone to secretly invite his aunt over and told her about Taoqi's matchmaking.

Tao Qizhong was an aide to the Duke of Ying's Mansion, so it was not surprising that he acted as a matchmaker for Dou Zhao in order to curry favor with Dou Shiying.

She just looked at Dou Shiying with suspicion: "Have you really been there?"

"How could I lie to you about such a big thing?" Dou Shiying seemed to be afraid of being overheard and spread to Huaishu Hutong. He lowered his voice even though there was no one serving in the room. "I even went to visit my classmate. He said that he often saw Song Yantang serving the emperor. He was always polite, modest and respectful to others. Although he was a little cold, he never talked about other people's right and wrong. He was a young noble who knew how to advance and retreat and knew the limits." He added, "People outside have spread rumors about our Shougu in a very bad way, but you and I both know what this has to do with Shougu. So, rumors stop at the wise, which is a very clear saying."

Once a person's heart is biased, he or she will often inadvertently speak well of or make excuses for the person.

My aunt was still a little worried and said, "You have to judge the matchmaker. You have to judge the character of the matchmaker. If Tao Qizhong comes to our house to make a proposal again, please let me meet him."

Dou Shiying nodded in agreement and said worriedly, "I don't know when the pottery will come back. Since my fifth cousin has set his sights on the Ji family, he will definitely find a way to get me to agree. This matter must be done quickly and in secret in Huaishu Hutong..."

Before he finished speaking, a servant came in and said, "Master, the old lady of the Ji family sent someone to give you an invitation, inviting you to go to Yuqiao Hutong to listen to an opera tomorrow. She also said that several old masters from the Hanlin Academy will be there, so you must come!"

Dou Shiying and his aunt couldn't help but exchange glances.

Another servant came in and reported, "Master, Mr. Tao, who came to visit you with Lord Xu, is here again..."

"Please invite Mr. Tao in!" Before the servant finished speaking, Dou Shiying and his aunt responded in unison.

※※※※※

"What? What?" Song Yichun went through the families in Kyoto that might agree to the Song family's marriage in the study. It was not that they could not find a family as suitable as the Dou family, but they had spent a lot of time in the Dou family before, and it was probably too late to change their mind.

When he heard that Tao Qizhong wanted to see him, he didn't care about anything else and went to meet him in person.

Seeing that there were servants beside him, Tao Qizhong, with a beaming face, bowed to Song Yichun and said meaningfully, "Congratulations, Duke."

Song Yichun suddenly felt as if he had drunk a bowl of iced mung bean soup in June. His whole body felt relaxed and he couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you for your hard work, sir!" He clapped his hands in joy and asked the servant to make a pot of his treasured Taiping Monkey King Tea.

This is a reward for the pottery.

Pottery emphasizes comfort.

After pretending to be a flatterer in front of Dou Shiying for a long time, he can finally stand up straight and speak.

Song Yichun hurriedly sent away the servants in the room and had a secret talk with Tao Qi again.

"Lord Dou meant that things like the exchange of engagement letters should not be publicized, but the engagement must be celebrated with great fanfare, and the marriage certificate and wedding date should be written at the same time," Tao Qizhong said softly, "I think the Dou family probably wants to marry off the fourth daughter of the Dou family before the news of the sisters' marriage swap spreads out, so that they can have an explanation to the outside world and avoid giving people a chance to talk about it. This is exactly what we thought of."

Song Yichun nodded repeatedly, thinking that this was simply a "good fate given by heaven", and said: "I have received news that the emperor will return to the palace on the 12th, and we must propose before then. If it were another family, they would definitely think it was too hasty, but since the Dou family wants to dispel the rumors about the easy marriage of the sisters, they will definitely agree. When the emperor returns to the palace, it will be a done deal, and the emperor will not be able to seize my son-in-law? If the emperor asks about it, he is in the summer palace, and I am in the forbidden palace, and I have not heard anything. Can the emperor still punish me for disrespect? It is just to make the emperor feel "If we are not happy, we can just go around in front of the Empress Dowager and even ask Prince Liao to help us. Then the matter will be over. Anyway, the Emperor wants to marry Song Mo to Princess Jingfu and slap Concubine Ning in the face. I'm sure the Empress Dowager won't take it too seriously." Then he told Tao Qizhong, "There is no time to waste. You should arrange the engagement with the Dou family quietly. I will go to the Dou family in person tomorrow morning. When Lord Dou sees our sincerity, he will agree to the marriage very happily."

Tao Qi stood up again and said with a smile, "I will go and send an invitation to the Dou family right away."