Chapter 235 Leaving the Palace
Song Mo left Kunning Palace and met Ma Youming, deputy general of Shenshuying, and a group of his subordinates at Xizhimen.
Without waiting for Song Mo to greet him, Ma Youming slapped Song Mo on the shoulder, causing his shoulder to tilt.
"Prince, you are getting married, why don't you ask your brothers to help you?" He said unhappily, "That's really not nice!"
Ma Youming's subordinates also joined in the fun.
"My Lord, our brothers in the Divine Base Camp are no worse than those in the Golden Guard!"
"Your Highness, although we are military officers, we have also studied imperial marriage for several years. We will not be disrespectful in helping you to welcome the bride. You can rest assured!"
"That's right!" someone said, "My Lord, when the time comes, we will select a brother of the same height to wear the official uniform of the Divine Shuying to welcome you. I guarantee that he will look more majestic than the flag bearer guards!"
…
They were talking at once, and the four flag guards on duty at the Xizhimen gate couldn't help but say, "What's wrong with us flag guards? Our flag guard commander is from the Front Army Governor's Office and has served under the Duke. If the Crown Prince wants a ceremonial guard, it shouldn't be the turn of you guys from the Divine Shuying!"
"Your embroidered pillows are just pretty on the outside, but how can they compare to those of our Divine Frontier?"
"Come on, you guys from the Divine Base Camp are going out with murderous intent. Those who know will say you are here to help the Crown Prince welcome his bride, while those who don't will think you are here to seek revenge. Don't ruin the Crown Prince's good fortune!"
A group of people abandoned their master Song Mo and started quarreling among themselves.
Song Mo was both amused and confused.
I've known for a long time that these guys are a group of people who are eager to create chaos in the world!
He is not a prince, nor a royal family member, so why should he use the royal guards? It is not like he thinks Yu Shi has nothing to do, right?
Song Mo pretended he didn't see or hear anything. He bowed to Ma Youming and said, "When did you enter the palace, Brother Ma? Why don't you come to my place and sit for a while?"
"The threshold of your Jinwuwei Yamen is too high, I'm afraid of falling." Ma Youming complained a few times, then said, "Boss Wang was called by Liang Gelao for questioning, and I and a few brothers accompanied him." Then he repeatedly said "congratulations" to him: "I wish the prince and his wife to live in harmony and grow old together."
The Boss Wang that Ma Youming was talking about was Wang Xu, the commander of the Shenshuying.
Song Mo hurriedly thanked him.
Ma Youming talked about Song Mo's wedding: "...I didn't hear any rumors about it before. I was shocked when I suddenly received the wedding invitation yesterday. I thought someone was playing a joke on me! It happened that the Prince of Huichang came to see Boss Wang, and I asked him, then I knew that the wedding invitation was true. Looking at the date, the makeup should be sent tomorrow. I wonder which adults the prince asked to urge the makeup?" After all, he still felt a little resentful about receiving the wedding invitation in a hurry and feeling neglected.
Song Mo smiled bitterly.
As soon as the Lu family heard the news, they sent someone to question my father about the marriage. My father hesitated for a long time before he finally explained away the matter. Perhaps he was afraid that people would question him again, so he simply sent people to send out wedding invitations in the past two days.
If this marriage was set in stone, he would not let his father take his wedding so lightly. He was afraid that Dou Zhao would insist on not marrying him. The more high-profile he was now, the worse it would be for him later.
Song Mo sighed inwardly and could only say, "I followed the emperor back to the palace on the 12th, and I have only slept for three hours at home until today. The wedding day is almost here, but Lord Shao has only given me five days off. I have no idea how the wedding preparations are going!"
Ma Youming felt that Song Mo had no reason to lie about this matter, and he was relieved immediately. Then he remembered something, put his arm around Song Mo's shoulders, pulled Song Mo under a large locust tree, and whispered, "I heard that the emperor is unwell. Is this true?" His expression had become very solemn.
Song Mo considered that Ma Youming looked careless but was actually a man of action, and was a man worth making friends with, so he said tactfully: "The emperor's old illness relapsed, but he is now well and nothing is wrong."
Ma Youming was delighted when he heard this, and patted Song Mo's shoulder vigorously, saying: "My Lord, this is very kind! I accept your kindness!"
His family background was not bad, otherwise, even if he was highly skilled, he would not have been able to sit in the position of deputy general of the Divine Shuying at such a young age. But compared with Song Mo, a top noble who had been favored by the emperor for generations, he was far behind. Song Mo's words were like parting the dark clouds to see the bright moon, making his future much brighter, no less than the grace of a mentor.
Song Mo was prepared this time, so his shoulder didn't get crooked when he was hit, but he couldn't let him do that to him the first time he met him. Song Mo pretended to be in unbearable pain and touched his shoulder, saying with a smile: "You lost to me in archery, but you don't have to break my shoulder to vent your anger! Look at the strength of your hand, half of my body is numb."
Ma Youming laughed out loud.
Song Mo took the opportunity to say, "Brother Ma, when I get home, I'll see how my family has arranged the wedding. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Brother Ma to help me calm down the situation."
If the marriage with Dou Zhao could be accomplished, with the help of Ma Youming, the deputy general of the Shenshuying, and several of his colleagues in the Jinwuwei to pick up the bride, the scene would naturally be much more majestic.
Seeing that he was sincere, Ma Youming didn't hesitate and said with a smile, "I just happen to be free these days. Even if you don't invite me, I will still go and join in the fun."
As soon as he finished speaking, a eunuch in fourth-rank clothing came hurriedly over with two young eunuchs holding things.
Seeing the scene in front of them, the three of them were stunned.
However, Song Mo recognized the person as Cui Yijun, the chief eunuch beside the prince.
He greeted Choi Yi-jun with a smile.
Cui Yijun came back to his senses and said hurriedly, "Oh, my prince, I was on the order of the crown prince to look for you. Fortunately, you did not leave the palace. If you had left the palace, I would have chased you to the Duke's Mansion!" Then, he waved to the two young eunuchs and smiled at Song Mo, "His Highness the Crown Prince knows that the day after tomorrow is your big day, so he specially asked me to deliver two gifts from His Highness."
Song Mo thanked him repeatedly, took the box, introduced Ma Youming to Cui Yijun, and was about to follow Cui Yijun to thank the prince.
Cui Yijun knew that Ma Youming was a capable person, having won prizes in the Autumn Competition several times. In addition, he was recommended by Song Mo, so he was polite to Ma Youming, nodded, and greeted him.
Ma Youming had always looked down on these lotteries, but seeing that they were so polite, he naturally could not lose his manners.
After the two of them exchanged greetings, Cui Yijun smiled and said, "His Royal Highness has told you not to go and thank him. If you are free that day, you can go and ask him for a glass of wedding wine. If you are not free, please invite him and his wife to the palace for a cup of tea. His wife is here to pay her respects to the Crown Princess." He then took a few steps forward and whispered to Song Mo, "The Emperor has invited His Royal Highness to have dinner with him."
The emperor's condition is not stable.
Song Mo gave him a knowing smile and said, "Thank you, eunuch." He stuffed two red envelopes into his hands.
"You're welcome, you're welcome!" Cui Yijun really didn't bother to be polite with Song Mo. He accepted the red envelope and took out a skinny purse and handed it to Song Mo. "My Lord, your big day is in two days. I have to serve you, so I'm afraid I don't have time to congratulate you. This is a little gift from my Lord. Please don't dislike it."
Ma Youming tried hard not to show any disdain on his face.
Song Mo, however, looked calm as usual. He took the purse with a smile and said something like "If I have time, I must go to the wedding for a drink." Gu Yu ran over breathlessly and shouted "Brother Tianci" from a distance.
When Cui Yijun saw that it was Gu Yu, the troublemaker, his face changed slightly. He hurriedly saluted Gu Yu and ran away with two eunuchs.
Gu Yuqi asked, "Did Cui Pianyi do something bad again? Why did he run away when he saw me?"
Cui Yijun likes to take advantage of small things, and the children of noble families all know it. They all like to call him "Cui Pianyi" in private.
Song Mo calmly stuffed the purse into his sleeve and asked Gu Yu, "Has the Empress allowed you to leave the palace?"
Gu Yu nodded: "Let me go back to the palace with you then."
Song Mo asked Gu Yu and Ma Youming to say hello.
Gu Yu reluctantly called out "Master Ma".
Perhaps it was because he was in the palace and Ma Youming had to maintain his image, or perhaps it was because Song Mo's previous words made him a little absent-minded, he did not tease Gu Yu this time. Instead, he smiled and nodded slightly to Gu Yu, being very polite.
Gu Yu had something on his mind and was too lazy to pay attention to Ma Youming, so he pulled Song Mo out of the palace.
The carriage of the Duke of England's mansion had received the news long ago and was waiting outside the palace gate.
Gu Yu jumped onto the carriage first. After Song Mo sat down, he couldn't wait to tell Song Mo what he had heard when he climbed over the wall.
Dou Zhao, he actually lent money at usury!
No wonder Chen Qushui is so familiar with temple affairs. He must have close contacts with those low-level officials.
Dou Zhao, why do you do this?
And why didn't she think highly of the prospects of the Risheng Silver House? She would rather give up her private savings of 50,000 taels of silver than insist on asking Mr. Dou Qi to withdraw his shares?
At this moment, Song Mo suddenly wanted to meet Dou Zhao and ask him about all the confusion in his heart. He had no time to talk to Gu Yu and fell into deep thought.
After he said what he wanted to say, the huge stone that was weighing on Gu Yu's chest fell to the ground. He felt relieved. Thinking that Song Mo would definitely make a decision on this matter, he didn't care what Song Mo would do and followed Song Mo back to the Duke of Ying's Mansion.
Song Mo's uncle Song Maochun, his uncles Song Fengchun and Song Tongchun were talking and laughing with Song Yichun about tomorrow's makeup appointment. When they heard that Song Mo was back, Song Maochun said to Song Yichun, "Tianci must have some friends, besides Qin'er and Duo'er, why not let Tianci invite a few friends to go with him to the makeup appointment? This will make it more lively."
It was as if the expulsion of Song Mo from the clan had never happened, and the tone was very intimate.
Song Fengchun was a little unhappy when he heard this and said, "Our Jun'er is not a child anymore this year. It's a good opportunity for him to go with the brothers to broaden his horizons. Why not let him go with us to get his makeup done?"
When the Duke of Yingguo's mansion holds a wedding, all the princes and ministers in Kyoto will come to congratulate. It is the time for the younger generation to show their faces in front of the adults and make themselves familiar with them. Why would they leave out his son? The eldest brother has already received a lot of favors from the second brother!
Song Maochun had the same idea. He smiled and said, "Jun'er is still young..."
Song Yichun didn't want to listen to this kind of clichés at all. He thought Song Maochun's idea was good. It was a good opportunity for everyone to see that there was no discord between them.
He ordered Lu Zheng: "Please ask the prince to come over and talk."
Lu Zheng left in response, and after a while, he returned and reported, "The prince said that Master Gu is visiting the mansion, and he can't leave for the moment. He will come to see you as soon as Master Gu leaves."