Chapter 227: Crowd

Wang Yingxue took the lead in the remarriage of Dou Zhao and his sister. Even if the Wang family was heartbroken for their daughter, they could not protect her. Therefore, when the Dou family proposed that Wang Yingxue return to Zhending with the second wife next spring, the Wang family had no choice but to agree. Wang Yingxue also moved to the back room of the main courtyard and was "served" by Gaosheng's daughter-in-law. No one was allowed to approach her. They only told the outside world that Wang Yingxue was ill due to overwork and needed to recuperate. It was natural for her to follow the second wife back to Zhending to "recuperate".

So when Dou Ming saw Wang Yingxue leaning against the window frame and staring out the window foolishly, he did not rush forward to hug her and cry loudly, or go to the elders of the Dou family to plead for mercy on behalf of his mother. Instead, his eyes were slightly moist and he was hesitant to speak.

Wang Yingxue knew that her daughter had never looked down on her, thinking that even her power to manage rewards had been taken away by the Dou family, and that she was a complete loser.

But she didn't take it as an offense.

What's there to worry about when it comes to your own daughter?

She has done what she can and given her daughter what she can.

Wang Yingxue smiled slightly, invited Dou Ming to sit on the kang, and asked the maid to wash some fruits to entertain Dou Ming.

Dou Ming looked at the newly-released autumn pears, of which the Jining Marquisate had also bought a few kilograms for Tian and her to taste. He was silent for a long while before he whispered, "My sister is betrothed to the Yinggong Mansion. Did you know that?"

"I've heard about it." Wang Yingxue helped Dou Ming peel pears and sneered, "Your father wants everyone in the world to know that Dou Zhao is getting married. Even if I don't want to know, I can't stop the maid from nagging me!" She added, "Although the Duke of Ying's Mansion is prominent, the Marquis of Jining's Mansion is not bad either. Just live your life well. This is all your mother can help you with. In the future, you have to rely on yourself. If you have nothing to do, spend more time with your mother. Go to your grandmother's house - with your grandfather supporting you, even your eldest sister-in-law dare not neglect you. When you are free, come and see your father - your father has never treated you badly financially, with his support, you can save up the income from your dowry. With these two piles, the Wei family can't touch you. As for the Dou family, they have never treated you as a daughter, so you just need to be polite to them. "

Dou Ming couldn't help but frown.

Mother probably thinks that the Duke of Ying’s Mansion and the Marquis of Jining’s Mansion are similar, right?

Even if there is any difference between the two families, it is only the level of title and the amount of salary.

She had believed the same thing before she married into the Jining Marquis's Mansion. But after she married into the Jining Marquis's Mansion, she discovered that the Marquis's Mansion was not necessarily richer than the Earl's Mansion, and the Earl's Mansion was not necessarily more powerful than the Hereditary Jinyi Assistant.

She still hasn't figured out these ways.

Unlike an official family, where a person's rank is what his or her rank is, no matter how hard a fellow Jinshi works, his or her path to promotion will not be as smooth as that of a Jinshi who passed the imperial examinations on the second list. Once you hear about a person's background, you can tell what his or her future will be like.

The affairs of the noble family are very chaotic!

"How can the Jining Marquis's Mansion be compared with the Yingguo Mansion?" Dou Ming said unhappily, "Look at my sister's betrothal gift, it's a full 20,000 taels of silver. Daddy said that one for a man and one for a woman, so at least 10,000 taels of silver must be given to my sister as a reserve..."

Wang Yingxue didn't take it seriously and sneered, "Don't you know how much money your sister has? What does it matter to her if it's 10,000 more or 10,000 less? Since the Duke of Ying's Mansion is more prominent than the Marquis of Jining's Mansion, and the Marquis of Jining originally disliked Dou Zhao's family background, after you married her into the Wei family, the Duke of Ying's Mansion still took a fancy to your sister, and set the wedding date so quickly. Don't you think it's a bit strange? I think the Duke of Ying's Mansion is probably just a show of gold and jade, but rotten inside. Maybe the betrothal gifts were pieced together from some things left by the ancestors, just to cheat your father of money! Just wait and see, there will be a time when Dou Zhao will cry and your father will regret it!"

Dou Ming fell silent when he thought of the rumors about Song Mo.

Wang Yingxue observed the expression on his face and knew that she had guessed it right. She slowed down her tone and said, "Don't think that mother is a fool. I know that the Dou family is plotting against me. Why am I not plotting against the Dou family?"

Dou Ming was stunned.

Wang Yingxue handed the peeled pear to Dou Ming, who took it absentmindedly. Wang Yingxue lowered her head and picked another pear. While peeling the pear, she said, "Ever since I knew that your fifth uncle and your grandfather were competing for the position of cabinet elder, I figured it out. The Dou family would use any means to plot against your grandfather. Mrs. Cai agreed to help, so I guessed that your fifth aunt probably already knew about it, but even if that's the case, so what? I still married you to the Jining Marquis's Mansion smoothly! Can they divorce me?

Let's go back to Zhending. I don't want to stay in Kyoto anymore. Rather than being the wife of a scholar in the Imperial Academy, it's better to go back to the farm in the countryside, where I can be free and unfettered. You and Dou Zhao are both married, and your father can't just watch the family business end. No matter who your father chooses as his concubine and gives birth to a son, can he still deny me as his legal mother? What do I have to be afraid of!"

Wang Yingxue spoke in a nonchalant tone, but the strong reluctance revealed between her brows exposed her true thoughts.

Dou Ming felt a pang in his heart as he looked at the pear. He lowered his head and ate the pear woodenly.

Wang Yingxue saw that her daughter was not interested. She also thought that she would be returning to Zhending soon. It would be difficult for her to see her daughter again. She wanted to see her as often as possible. So she stopped talking and asked Dou Ming, "How is the Marquis treating you?"

Dou Ming's face turned slightly red, he nodded calmly and said simply, "It's okay."

Wang Yingxue smiled knowingly, her eyes and eyebrows were full of wrinkles, and she looked even worse than her grandmother.

Dou Ming couldn't help but turn his head away.

※※※※※

If you want to be a famous official, you must first be famous.

At the beginning of summer, Ji Yong was recognized by Yu Li, the president of the Hanlin Academy, due to the recommendation of his uncle. Together with Yu Li and several great scholars of the Hanlin Academy, he compiled "Wenhua Daxun", which would be published with the emperor's preface.

Although the Hanlin Academy's yamen is spacious, due to its age, the locust tree in front of the house is like a canopy, covering the entire room, making the entire Hanlin Academy room gloomy and damp all year round, even in this clear and crisp autumn season.

Naturally, the books were written by the great scholars, and Ji Yong only helped to look up the classics. Nevertheless, after the book was completed, his name would still appear in a small corner at the beginning of the volume, which made the top three scholars and scholars in the Hanlin Academy, who had waited for who knows how many years, envious and jealous.

When Cai Guyuan invited his colleagues to drink, he deliberately left Ji Yong out.

"The staff of the prefect in my hometown came to Kyoto for work and came to visit me specially." He glanced at Ji Yong who was walking by with a pile of books, and said loudly, "It is difficult to refuse such a kind invitation, so I have to do it with reluctance. If you gentlemen have nothing important to do after leaving the court, why don't you come with me to Zuixianlou to join in the fun?"

Zuixianlou is a famous den of brothels in Kyoto.

Some people are inevitably tempted.

Under normal circumstances, Ji Yong would pretend not to understand and follow Cai Guyuan out of dislike for him, and then have a verbal battle with Cai Guyuan until Cai Guyuan was so angry that he was speechless or left in anger.

Cai Guyuan knew Ji Yong's temper very well, so he specially invited Liang Jifen's eldest son Liang Wuen.

Liang Wuen stuttered, and he disliked those who were too eloquent and unreasonable. Liang Wuen's stuttering was caused by the fact that Mrs. Liang did not treat Liang Wuen in time in order to get money for Liang Jifen to take the exam. Liang Wuen was the best student among the children. Although Liang Wuen passed the imperial examination, he could not enter the government because of his stuttering. Liang Jifen felt very guilty about this eldest son. All family affairs were decided by this eldest son, and she often consulted with him on official matters. Liang Wuen was like Liang Jifen's adviser.

Liang Jifen keeps a low profile and has only been the Prime Minister for a short time, so not many people know about this.

But everyone who knew about this wanted to follow Liang Wuen's path, and everyone got what they wanted.

Most importantly, Liang Wuen's biggest hobby is pretending to be a down-and-out scholar...

This time, he will definitely teach Ji Yong a lesson!

Thinking of this, Cai Guyuan's voice became even louder: "In the past, when I went to Zuixianlou, it was always my friends who treated me. This time, it's someone else who treated me. The wine tastes different in my mouth. My lords, please don't be polite to me!"

His poor and sour appearance of living off others was also one of the main reasons why Ji Yong looked down on Cai Guyuan.

Cai Guyuan calculated that Ji Yong was going to be fooled.

Who knew that Ji Yong hurriedly passed him by, not only did she not say a word to him, but also had a blank expression on her face, as if she didn't hear what he said at all.

Cai Guyuan kept his mouth open for a long time.

Ji Yong's heart was in a mess.

Ever since he was called to the study by his great-grandfather three days ago and was told that Dou Zhao was engaged to Song Yantang, the prince of the Duke of Ying, his mind has been blank. He has been like a puppet, doing whatever he was told to do, and he has not recovered yet.

Why would the person Dou Zhao was going to marry be Song Yantang?

He has a distinguished family background and is not the same kind of person as them at all. How come he suddenly got engaged to Dou Zhao?

Dou Zhao, what do you think?

He jumped up and was about to go to Jing'an Temple Hutong to find out what was going on, but was stopped by his great-grandfather.

"Jianming, you should consider this as a test for you." Great-grandfather looked solemn, wearing a Taoist robe, and had a calm and detached manner. "Why did we fail in this matter? Is there a way to remedy it? If not, how should we use this opportunity to maximize the benefits for the family? If there is, what methods can be used? Instead of rushing to the Dou family to question them like you are doing now! I ask you, what good can you get by going to the Dou family to question them like this?"

He didn't know what benefit he could get, but he felt as if a piece of his heart had been dug out, and it was burning with pain. He wanted to find out why Song Mo, who was prettier and more pretentious than a woman, could do it, but he couldn't?

Ji Yong said nothing, pushed Old Lady Ji aside and walked out.

However, he was carried back by the followers around Old Lady Ji.

Old Lady Ji looked at him coldly, her tone showing undisguised disappointment: "You stay with the Sixteenth Young Master, and no one is allowed to let him out without my permission." She added, "You have already failed. Even if you cannot accept the consequences of failure, you should maintain the demeanor of a loser."

The study door closed with a bang.

He held his head and sat down calmly on a small stool in the study.