Chapter 230 Telling

At the gate, Chen Qushui and Sulan met Dou Shiying, who had just returned from outside and was drunk.

He looked at Chen Qushui holding the account book in surprise and looked up at the sky.

It was already dark and lanterns were hung all around.

Chen Qushui said hurriedly: "The fourth lady suddenly ordered me to sort out the accounts for the past six months. I have been busy until now and have only come to report to the fourth lady..."

Dou Shiying nodded, patted Chen Qushui on the shoulder, and praised in a slurred voice: "Very good! Very good! You serve the Fourth Miss well, I will not treat you unfairly!" He looked very satisfied.

Sulan muttered quietly in her heart.

I don't know at whose house the Seventh Master got drunk and started talking nonsense.

If they had counted on the Seventh Master to give them praise, they would have been out of luck long ago.

Chen Qushui thanked him politely, and together with Gao Sheng who came out to greet him, he sent Dou Shiying back to his room, and then went to the flower hall with Sulan.

Dou Zhao had received the letter and was waiting for Chen Qushui in the flower hall, dressed neatly.

Sulan served the tea and snacks, then quietly left and stood guard outside the door.

Chen Qushui bowed his hands and apologized, saying, "I have always felt ashamed to see the elders of Jiangdong again. My old friends occasionally contacted me because they had something to ask for. Now that I am almost old, I am more insightful than before. I went to visit my old friends these two days. I am sorry that you worried me."

Dou Zhao was not the kind of person who asked his subordinates to report everything to him. He smiled and asked him about his visit to his friends, and then the two of them got down to business.

"I also have a purpose for going to see my old friend this time." Chen Qushui pondered, "The Duke of Ying's Mansion is full of twists and turns, and I'm sure the young lady can see that. These things didn't matter to us in the past, and even if there were changes, they had nothing to do with the young lady's life or death. But now it's different. The young lady and the prince are engaged, and we will settle down in Kyoto. We have to prepare for some things in advance and make plans early. We can't rely entirely on the prince." He thought of the close personal relationship between Dou Zhao and Song Mo, and that Song Mo kept his word and was decisive in killing, so he was worried that Dou Zhao would not... He could look at Song Mo fairly, and after a pause in his tone, he explained, "We all know what the prince is like, but there are some things that the prince can't do, and we will be moved at that time. So what I mean is that on the one hand, we should make more friends, such as those officials who have dealings with Cui Shisan, and my old friends... Once there is any change in the Duke of Ying's Mansion, we have a back-up plan and a trump card. Even if we can't help the prince, at least we can save your life and won't let you get caught up in it!"

Dou Zhao was very surprised.

Chen Qushui spoke in a tone that was completely about how things would be after she got married.

"So you approve of my getting married?" she asked Chen Qushui.

Chen Qushui said tactfully: "Although the prince is strong, there are several advantages for you to marry him. First, the reputation of the Duke of Ying's Mansion is strong enough. You rejected the Ji family's proposal this time. The Fifth Elder will probably have to spend a lot of effort to mend the relationship with the Ji family. The people of Dongdou will not say it, but they will always have a grudge in their hearts. If you stay at home, we will definitely have to live with the Dongdou for a long time in the future. It's still unclear who will win in a battle of wits and courage, but if you marry into the Duke of Ying's Mansion, even if the people of Dongdou are unhappy, they will have no choice but to make peace with you and repair their relationship with Dongdou without any effort. And for his own benefit, Dongdou will always respect you, which may not be a bad thing for you.

Secondly, the Crown Prince and I know each other well, so you don't have to worry about anyone suppressing you after you get married. Even if you propose to live in separate rooms, I'm sure the Crown Prince will not find it outrageous.

Third, we can ask the prince to help you get back all the dowry in your name, so that we can train our own head shopkeeper, and in ten years at most, we can completely break away from the Dou family." Speaking of this, he couldn't help but dance with joy and full of ambition, "Miss, this way, we don't have to rely on the Dou family to make a living! Only then can we be the master of our own house!"

How could Dou Zhao not know this?

But they have to get over the palace coup four years later!

The British Palace must remain standing!

But I can’t tell Chen Qushui about this thing that hasn’t happened yet.

Dou Zhao thought for a moment and said tentatively, "Under an overturned nest, how can the eggs remain intact? The noble families rely on the emperor's grace, which is unpredictable. If I marry into the Duke of Ying's Mansion, I will be tied to it. If the Duke of Ying's Mansion is like the Duke of Ding's Mansion, no matter how many calculations we make, I'm afraid it will be useless. I still feel a little uneasy."

Chen Qushui said, "Miss, do you know why I went to meet my old friend? I have another purpose?" He smiled and said, "I suspect that the prince is not the Duke of England's biological son!"

"This is impossible!" Dou Zhao exclaimed, knocking over the teacup beside him.

The tea quickly flowed over the table and dripped onto the bluestone bricks on the ground, making a "drip, drip" sound.

If Song Mo was not Song Yichun's biological son, how could he have killed his father and brother so righteously in his previous life?

Chen Qushui smiled as he helped Dou Zhao lift up his teacup, and said slyly, "Look, how could the prince have thought of something that even you hadn't thought of? But things in the world are often so unexpected!"

Dou Zhao had to admit that what Chen Qushui said made sense.

She was so shaken that she couldn't think.

"According to Duan Gongyi, the Crown Prince is a skilled fighter, but he was beaten half to death by the powerless Duke of England. In the final analysis, it was just a matter of taking over the father-son relationship, which was beyond the Crown Prince's expectation." Chen Qushui said, "You don't know the true face of Mount Lu because you are in it. But we are different - we are outsiders, and we can see things more clearly and understand more. I have also carefully thought about what the young lady is worried about," he leaned forward slightly, looking at Dou Zhao with burning eyes, "This is like a trap. If we can uncover this trap, we will know why the Duke of England did this. Treat the prince, with the prince's talent and means, why worry about not being able to deal with the Duke of Ying... If the internal troubles are gone, why worry about the external troubles? ! How could the Duke of Ying's mansion collapse? ! "As he spoke, he leaned back and leaned on the back of the armchair, and smiled proudly, "Miss, every man wants to 'hold the power of the world when awake and lie on the lap of a beautiful woman when drunk'. There are many women in this world who can help the prince to have children, but as long as you have this certificate of loyalty, you can walk around in the Duke of Ying's mansion for the rest of your life! Isn't it much better than staying in the Dou family and fighting with those women and children?"

Dou Zhao had calmed down by now.

She couldn't help but pour cold water on Chen Qushui: "But if we find out that the prince is not the Duke of Ying's biological son, what awaits us is probably to be killed to silence him, right?"

Chen Qushui laughed and said, "The Duke of England wants to kill the Crown Prince. After much thought, I can only think of two possibilities. One is that the Crown Prince is not the Duke of England's flesh and blood, and the other is that the Crown Prince has done something that threatens the Duke of England's life or death.

After I heard that you and the Crown Prince were engaged, I went to inquire about some things, and then I went to find an old friend and asked him to help look into the Crown Prince's affairs.

The prince's wet nurse was selected from the wet nurse's mansion. She was from Wanping County. She left the mansion when the prince was three years old. Now she is alive and well. She likes to show off to others that she was once the wet nurse of the prince of the Duke of Ying's mansion. According to her, she arrived at the Duke of Ying's mansion ten days before the prince was born. The wet nurse used by Mrs. Jiang when she gave birth was recommended by the Empress Dowager. She had helped the Empress Dowager deliver a baby. Not only was the deceased Mrs. Lu of the Duke of Ying's mansion accompanied in the delivery room, but the deceased Mrs. Mei of the Duke of Ding's mansion was also present, and the old Duke was waiting in the yard. After the prince took a bath, the two ladies personally carried him to the door of the delivery room to show him to the old Duke and the Duke of Ying. Later, at the invitation of Madam Lu, Madam Mei personally sat in the Upper House to direct the maids to take care of Madam Jiang's confinement. Madam Lu, the wet nurse, a group of maids and old women took care of the prince together. The old Duke, apart from attending court, spent the rest of his time at home holding his grandson... The possibility of the prince being replaced was almost non-existent."

Dou Zhao didn't believe that Song Mo was not the son of Song Yichun, but she still admired Chen Qushui's strict manner. She pondered and said, "So you suspect that the prince has done something that threatens the life and death of the Duke of Ying?"

Chen Qushui nodded and said solemnly: "Either something has threatened Song Yichun's life or something has infringed upon the fundamental interests of the British public, making the British public prefer to kill their own son rather than give in."

Dou Zhaoqing couldn't help but frown.

"Time is too tight," Chen Qushui sighed, "Otherwise, the prince can be in the open while we are in the dark, quietly getting to the bottom of the matter, and then the young lady can enter the mansion, it will be much safer!"

Is it really that simple?

Dou Zhao was very hesitant.

Chen Qushui advised: "Miss, there is a saying that wealth and honor are sought in danger. It means that the greater the reward of the thing you seek, the greater the risk. Fortunately, we know the details of the Duke of Ying's mansion. It is better for you to marry there than to marry into another family and find out that the family is "golden outside, but rotten inside" after marriage. Moreover, we have already prepared ourselves and have a plan in mind for what we will encounter after marrying there. We can plan well. "After a while, we have at least 70% to 80% chance of getting through this difficult time. What are you still hesitating about? You should know that there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, nor is there a good thing that can be achieved without doing anything." Seeing that the atmosphere was serious and Dou Zhao's face was tense, he deliberately adjusted the atmosphere and joked, "Unless the prince is guilty of treason, I guarantee that you will get out of this unscathed, without any harm. What else are you worried about, young lady?"

Dou Zhao looked a little strange when he heard this.

But Song Mo will be guilty of treason in the future!

Chen Qushui was stunned when he saw this and asked, "What's wrong? Is what I said wrong?"

Or maybe Dou Zhao discovered something and didn't tell him!

"It's okay," Dou Zhao said angrily, "I still need to think about this matter carefully!"

After listening to Chen Qushui's words, she became even more confused.

Should I marry her or not?

Could time just stop and let her think it over before moving on?

After seeing Chen Qushui off, Dou Zhao stood in the yard with his fists clenched, and screamed in venting. Dou Shiying, who had just finished washing up and was about to go to bed, was horrified and ran out in his slippers: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Dou Zhao drooped his shoulders and said listlessly, "I just saw a black shadow and got scared. I looked closely and found out it was a cat."

Dou Shiying breathed a sigh of relief and waved to Dou Zhao mysteriously: "Come here, Daddy has something to tell you."