Chapter 240: Mistake

Dou Shishu almost jumped up when he heard this.

He hurriedly ordered his followers: "Go and find out what's going on."

The attendant did not dare to delay, and soon he came back, wiping the sweat off his face, and recounted what had happened.

Dou Shishu could not help but get angry in front of his followers: "What is the Seventh Master trying to do? Is he afraid that people don't know that the Dou family is rich? He gave a whole load of banknotes as a dowry. What does he think the Dou family is? A nouveau riche? Or a mediocre family who don't know how to farm? Isn't he afraid of being targeted by robbers? Isn't he afraid of being shot by the police? Is he showing off his wealth? Or is he squandering money?" He became more and more angry as he spoke, and shouted at the coachman: "Hurry up and go to the Seventh Master's house!"

The followers finally came to their senses, and responded in a meek manner, carrying Dou Shishu and hurriedly going to Dou Shiying's house.

Fortunately, most of the noisy crowd had dispersed, otherwise they would have been unable to squeeze in.

Dou Shishu sat in the sedan chair with mixed feelings.

Most people don't know that the Dou family is divided into the East and West Dous. Seeing that Dou Shiying is rich, most people would think that he is a higher official than Dou Shiying and should be richer. However, Dou Shiying is just a poor Hanlin, and his wealth is naturally passed down from his ancestors, but he is a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, and it is not easy to explain his wealth!

The emperor will definitely ask about this matter. What should he say then?

Dou Shishu couldn't help but rub his forehead.

It's also my fault for being too careless.

Although he knew that his seventh brother wanted to compensate Shougu, he didn't ask anyone to pay attention. There were so many banknotes, and they were all brand new. Even if Tongde Bank wanted to print them, it would take several months. Could it be that he had prepared them in advance?

So when did he start preparing?

Could it be that he had predicted that it would be difficult for the sisters to marry?

Did he know about the agreement between himself and the Ji family at that time?

He felt overwhelmed, and when he met Dou Shiying, he asked all the questions in his mind without any hesitation.

But things were much simpler than Dou Shishu had imagined.

"I originally prepared these banknotes for Ming Jie'er." Dou Shiying said honestly, "You also know that Shou Gu inherited half of Xi Dou's property. Compared with her, Ming Jie'er's dowry is too shabby. I thought that Shou Gu was a generous child, and I prepared more dowry for Ming Jie'er, and she would not say anything. Who knew that Ming Jie'er married into the Jining Marquis' Mansion in place of Shou Gu... I can't let Shou Gu suffer injustice just because she has always been magnanimous. Otherwise, who would be willing to give in to others? Who would be willing to suffer losses? If no one in this world is willing to take a step back, what would happen?! So I gave the banknotes originally prepared for Ming Jie'er to Shou Gu as a dowry..."

When Wang Yingxue heard this, she was already staring blankly because of the pile of silver bills. She vomited blood and fainted on the spot.

Dou Ming's face turned pale. He looked at the panicked maids and old women in the house, quietly walked out of the back room where his mother was imprisoned, and found Wei Tingyu wandering outside the upper room. He said sullenly, "My Lord, it's getting late. Should we go back home? Otherwise, my mother will be worried again."

She felt like a joke, and it seemed like people were pointing fingers at her wherever she went.

Wei Tingyu seemed a little uneasy. He said "Oh", glanced at the upper room, then turned around and left the main courtyard with Dou Ming.

Dou Mingzheng was worried that Wei Tingyu had also heard what his father said and was resentful of her, so she paid more attention to Wei Tingyu's actions than usual. Seeing this, she couldn't help but smile and said, "What are you looking at, Lord Hou?" Her tone was tender and vaguely flattering.

"No, nothing!" Wei Tingyu answered somewhat unnaturally, but soon regained his composure and changed the subject with a smile, "Did you hear that Shen Qing made a big joke..." He told Dou Ming what had just happened in the flower hall.

Dou Ming listened attentively, as if he was very interested, and asked, "Who is Shen Qing?" But he slowed down and stopped at the place where Wei Tingyu had just stood, and turned his head to look.

Wei Tingyu smiled and said, "He is the nephew of the late Empress Shen. He was conferred the title of marquis by his maternal relatives. The Emperor is a nostalgic man, and the Empress is a virtuous and honest woman. That is why their family has lived in peace until now..."

Dou Ming could no longer hear what he was saying.

From where she was standing, she could just see the east wing where Dou Zhao lived.

※※※※※

Once a decision is made, you feel at ease. From now on, you can just deal with it as soon as the enemy comes.

Dou Zhao had a good sleep.

When I wake up in the morning, my face is rosy and I look full of energy.

Her emotions also infected the people around her.

Suxin and Sulan felt much more relaxed as they packed up their things.

Dou Zhao invited Chen Qushui, Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng to come over and talk.

"I'm afraid it will be hard for me to go back to Zhending in the future. I'd like to ask the three of you to ask the guards at home. If anyone is willing to come to Kyoto with me, they can arrange their family affairs and move to Kyoto in October. If you want to stay in Zhending, there will be someone to take care of Aunt Cui in Zhending. If you have other plans, I won't force you. I'll give them a generous gift as a thank you for their hard work over the years." Then she formally invited Chen Qushui, Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng. "You are my backbone. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today. Although the situation is chaotic over there, heroes emerge in times of chaos, and this is also an opportunity. I hope the three of you can go with me."

Before Chen Qushui came, he had guessed that Dou Zhao had called them over at this time, either to ask them to go to the Duke of Yingguo Mansion together, or to discuss the matter of returning to Zhending. Although the three of them had already agreed to go forward and backward with Dou Zhao on the road, they all felt that it would be better to go to the Duke of Yingguo Mansion, at least they would not have so many "bosses" above them, and life would be relatively easier. As for the risk, you might fall down for no reason while walking, what can you do without risk? Besides, this risk has always coexisted with wealth.

At this moment, they were naturally happy to have gotten what they wanted, and they all expressed their willingness to follow Dou Zhao to the Duke of Ying's Mansion.

The four of them discussed some details about the future for a long time. When it was time for lunch, the aunt who was accompanying the bride, the sixth aunt, and the little tail Zhao Zhangru came to talk to Dou Zhao. The three of them then stood up and said goodbye, but they could not hide their excitement on their faces.

When Dou Zhao got married, some things naturally had to be explained.

When the Sixth Aunt and the Auntie saw that the three of them didn't care, Zhao Zhangru leaned on Dou Zhao's shoulder and said with a smile: "It seems that everyone thinks that it's a good thing to follow us to the Duke of Ying's Mansion!"

The aunt patted Zhao Zhangru's head gently and said, "Everyone has been busy with Shougu's affairs these past two days. If you run around everywhere, be careful or I won't take you anywhere with me anymore!"

Zhao Zhangru begged for mercy repeatedly, which made his aunt and sixth aunt, who were very tired because they had been busy directing the maids to pack the dowry boxes since yesterday, couldn't help laughing.

After lunch, Sixth Aunt asked Dou Zhao if he had any special requirements for the new house, and then took Su Xin to the Duke of Ying's Mansion to hand over the dowry and decorate the new house.

Because my aunt was a distinguished guest, she stayed in Jing'an Temple Hutong.

After putting on makeup, the fifth aunt came with a group of female relatives from the Dou family, but Dou Ming was not to be seen.

Dou Zhao didn't want to see her either, so he invited his fifth aunt and others to sit in the living room. Su Jin and others served them tea and snacks. They were neither friendly nor cold, but very polite, which made people feel a little uncomfortable.

Tenth cousin Cai then told the story of Shen Qing in vivid detail. Everyone laughed and the atmosphere gradually became lively.

Sulan liked Zhao Zhangru's generosity and her lack of airs the most, so she asked her quietly, "Do you think we should bring some more dried goods like shark fins, bird's nests, abalone, bamboo fungus, etc.? Last time when I was at the Jining Marquis's Mansion, I saw that they served shredded chicken with vermicelli as a bowl of cold meat on the table..."

This was heard by the sixth cousin, Guo, who was left out. She couldn't help but utter a low "Aiya" and asked Sulan quietly, "Isn't it said that the Jining Marquis's mansion is a founding hero? Why is the banquet for the Marquis's wedding so simple?"

"That's right." Su Lan muttered softly, "I even went to take a look. Walnut and peanut paste were made into four pieces of dried fruits and served on the table, not to mention whole fish and whole pieces of meat. There was not even a fish lip or dried scallop to be seen."

Guo also always liked Sulan's quick words, so she smiled and tapped Sulan's forehead, saying angrily, "You have a good eye!"

Sulan pursed her lips and giggled.

This attracted the attention of Mrs. Five.

She looked at Cai who was talking loudly in the crowd, and asked Guo with a smile: "What did you say to your cousin? You sound so happy! Say it out loud and make us laugh!"

Everyone's eyes were suddenly focused on Guo.

Guo was frightened by the look, and she blushed as she murmured, "No, I didn't say anything!"

What a hopeless case!

Mrs. Wu couldn't help but sigh.

Zhao Zhangru decided to embarrass the Fifth Madam and said with a smile, "We were talking about the banquet at the Jining Marquis's mansion. It was all pork and chicken, not even fish or dried goods. They are really stingy!" He added, "I saw Ming Jieer coming to the wedding, and she seemed to be wearing the clothes she brought as a dowry. It's the time of changing seasons, they wouldn't save money on this, right? They're even worse than us!"

These words made everyone speechless.

When the Fifth Madam's personal nanny walked in, it caused quite a stir.

The Fifth Madam's face darkened and she asked, "What happened? You're so flustered!"

The personal nanny was already nervous, and she became even more flustered after hearing this. She blurted out, "Fifth Madam, it's bad, it's bad, Seventh Master gave Fourth Miss a whole load of banknotes as a dowry..."

The room suddenly fell silent, and then it became as if a pot of boiling water had exploded with a buzz of discussion.

No one bothered to pursue her for her inappropriate remarks.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Wu frowned. "Tell me slowly!"

Dou Shiying had prepared those banknotes long ago. For fear that people would know about it and that they would be targeted by thieves, he hid the banknotes under Gao Sheng's bed after they were delivered by Detong Silver Shop. Gao Sheng's wife therefore did not get out of bed for several days. Only when it was time to put on her makeup did she have someone carry the banknotes out. Some medicinal herbs were added to the banknotes, and in this way, a dowry of 126 loads was collected and carried out of the Dou family's house.

The people of the Dou family didn't notice it, and the people of the Song family thought they were afraid of being targeted by thieves. It was not until Dou Shishu questioned Dou Shiying that the news spread like the wind to every corner of Jing'an Temple Hutong.

Dou Zhao was so angry that he didn't know what to say!

She apologized to the Fifth Madam and the others and hurried out of the hall. Naturally, she did not see the Fifth Madam's gloomy eyes, Mrs. Cai's thoughtful expression, Zhao Zhangru's excited eyes, and Mrs. Guo's face full of envy.