Chapter 243 Leaving the Pavilion

Dou Zhao took his sixth aunt's arm and went back to the chamber with his aunt, Zhao Zhangru and others, ignoring Wang Yingxue's noise - today was Dou Zhao's wedding day, and the bride was the most respected, so naturally no one came to disturb them.

After a quiet lunch, Mrs. Zhao, a wealthy woman, came over.

After everyone had exchanged greetings, Mrs. Zhao began to instruct the maids to help Dou Zhao wash and dress in preparation for her marriage.

She had participated in the entire process when Zhao Zhangru's two elder sisters got married. At this time, she experiencedly instructed Ganlu to check the personal belongings that Dou Zhao was going to bring over, while her aunt and sixth aunt sat in the hall drinking tea.

"Fifth Madam hasn't come yet. Looks like there's quite a commotion over there!" My aunt whispered to Sixth Aunt.

My sixth aunt and my aunt get along quite well, and she enjoys talking to my aunt about the shortcomings of the parents.

"Although Uncle Seven has never treated her badly financially over the years, he has never been considerate of her." She whispered, "She is older now, not like when she was young. She feels that she still has plenty of time to wait for Uncle Seven to change his mind. She has no son, so she can't help but feel impatient and lose her composure when thinking about the future. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come up with the stupid idea of ​​swapping the marriages of the sisters!" She added, "My mother-in-law was originally scheduled to leave for Zhending on September 6th, but who knew that Ming Jie'er would marry on her behalf, and Shou Gu quickly set a date for the wedding with the Song family, so she postponed the trip to October 10th. Seeing that she was about to go back to Zhending with my mother-in-law, and today is Shou Gu's good day, even if Uncle Seventh is unhappy, he will endure it. When will she stop making trouble?"

My aunt nodded slightly and said, "I wonder if anyone from the Wang family will come?"

According to etiquette, the Wang family was also Dou Zhao's maternal family. Such close relatives would come to congratulate a few days in advance and would come to the house to eat and drink for several days to make the occasion lively. The Wang family sent the gift early in the morning, but used the excuse that Wang Xu was ill and did not send anyone to the banquet. Even when they sent the makeup yesterday, no one from the Wang family showed up.

Ji always thought that Wang Yingxue's increasingly absurd behavior was mainly due to the Wang family's tolerance. And because Pang Kunbai had once plotted against Dou Zhao, she hated the Wang family very much. Upon hearing this, she sneered: "It's better not to come. On such a happy day, it will also make Shougu feel uncomfortable."

As the two were talking, Dou Shiying walked in.

His hair was messy, his clothes were rumpled, his face was ugly, and he looked very wolfish. He asked his aunt and Ji: "Where is Shougu?"

My aunt and Ji exchanged glances and said with a smile, "Aunt, what do you want to see Shougu about? She is dressing in the inner room."

"That's good, that's good!" Hearing that his daughter was not disturbed, Dou Shiying seemed to be relieved and said, "Please stay here with Shougu. I have already told Gaosheng that no outsiders are allowed to enter the upper courtyard."

The two of them agreed with a smile, and Dou Shiying left with peace of mind.

Sulan, who was sent by her aunt to get information, jumped out immediately.

"Aunt, Sixth Madam," she said hurriedly, "Seventh Master came too late, I didn't have time to rush back to report the news..."

Who has the time to pursue these issues at this time?

"It's not your fault!" Her aunt interrupted her and said, "What happened over there? How did your master get away so quickly? Why didn't you see the Fifth Madam come over?"

"Seventh Madam cried and made a fuss, and Fifth Madam went to persuade her but to no avail. The old man lost his temper and called the eldest master, asking him to invite the eldest master of the Wang family, saying that he wanted the eldest master of the Wang family to take Seventh Madam back. No matter who tried to persuade her, she would not give in and even forced the eldest master: If you feel that your Seventh Uncle can't make you move, just tell me so that I can send someone else to inform the Wang family. Seeing that Fifth Madam didn't even raise her eyelids, the eldest master had to go to the Wang family." Su Lan spoke clearly and cleverly, "When Seventh Madam heard this, she wanted to commit suicide. Fifth Madam hurried forward to stop Seventh Madam, but was almost caught by Seventh Madam. The Fifth Madam was so angry that her face was scratched. She said: "The guests who came to congratulate should have arrived by now. Let the master go to entertain them quickly to avoid suspicion and ruin the festive atmosphere. As for the Seventh Madam, she should stay in the room for the time being and wait until the Fourth Madam leaves. As she was talking, a little maid came to report that the Fifth Madam and the Marquis of Jining had come. The Fifth Madam ordered her personal nanny to invite the Fifth Madam to come over, and also told the master that mother and daughter are connected by heart, and the Seventh Madam is not in a good mood at this time, so it is better to let the Fifth Madam persuade the Seventh Madam. The master came over, and the Fifth Madam stayed in the back room waiting for the Fifth Madam."

My aunt and Ji suddenly understood, and then they began to discuss in a low voice: "I wonder how the Wang family will deal with this matter?"

"No matter what, she has been humiliated this time. She will never be able to hold her head up in front of the younger generation again!"

"I never thought that my aunt, who is as gentle as a clay figurine, could have such a violent temper!"

"The more gentle a person is at ordinary times, the harder it is to persuade him to be gentle when he gets stubborn!"

Zhao Zhangru's joyful voice came from the inner room: "Shougu, you look so elegant in this Fengguanxiapai! Now I can imagine what it will be like when you wear the formal dress after becoming the Crown Prince's wife."

It looks like Dou Zhao has already changed into her wedding dress.

My aunt and Ji Shi simultaneously stopped talking and went back to the inner room with smiles on their faces.

The tall Dou Zhao wore a bright red wedding dress and sat on the big kang by the window, looking radiant and dazzling.

My aunt and Ji couldn't hold back their tears.

The fifth wife walked in with Cai, looking tired.

"Shou Gu, you look so beautiful today!" She forced a smile and pulled Dou Zhao aside to ask him all kinds of questions. Cai was also making jokes to ease the atmosphere.

Dou Zhao listened with a smile.

My aunt and Ji didn't say anything either. They just let the Fifth Madam carry on her monologue without asking about Wang Yingxue.

Soon the auspicious time arrived. Mrs. Dou Zhao combed her hair three times symbolically and drank lotus seed and lily soup. Then the sky gradually darkened.

Some relatives of the Dou family also gathered in Dou Zhao's room one after another.

Everyone praised the bride for her elegance and grace, and said she looked destined to be a lady.

In the distance, there was a faint crackling sound of firecrackers.

Someone shouted at the top of his voice: "The sedan has arrived, the sedan has arrived!"

Many of the women in Dou Zhao's house rushed out to see the excitement.

My aunt and Ji stayed in the house, hurriedly helping Dou Zhao with the final arrangements.

Dou Zhao was in a very calm mood, just like the calmness he felt when he moved from Zhending to Jing'an Temple Hutong. His aunt couldn't help laughing and said, "It's true that the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuchs are anxious to death."

Ji couldn't help but chuckle, and the sadness in her heart suddenly disappeared.

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing.

A little maid ran in and said excitedly, "Fourth Aunt is so generous. All the rewards were silver ingots worth eight cents each, and he sprinkled two baskets of baby's breath."

The aunt and others couldn't help but smile slightly. Although they were not very satisfied with Song Mo's sixth aunt, they also felt that the Song family still valued Dou Zhao very much, and they were in a much better mood.

Su Xin rewarded the little maid with a red ribbon.

From outside came the sound of drums and music celebrating a happy reunion.

Another little maid ran in happily, "Fourth Aunt is leading the sedan chair in."

As usual, Su Xin rewarded the little maid with a red ribbon.

Auntie and Ji told Dou Zhao nervously, "Hurry up and sit down!"

Another little maid ran in and reported, "The bride of the fourth aunt's family is here." Then she took a red envelope from Su Xin's hand.

Mrs. Zhao hurried out to greet them, exchanged a few words with the eldest lady of the Lu family with a smile, then went into the inner room and exchanged a few polite words with her aunt and others. Mrs. Zhao and the eldest lady of the Lu family helped Dou Zhao to the flower hall.

The Song family's bride-welcoming party and the Dou family's bride-sending party, with their drums and music, filled the flower hall inside and outside, making it noisy and bustling.

Dou Zhao immediately spotted Song Mo, who was wearing a bright red auspicious suit.

The bright and eye-catching color contrasted with his face, which was as white and flawless as the first snow, and seemed to be reflected in his eyes, making his pupils as bright as the sun.

Dou Zhao was stunned.

She felt both familiar and unfamiliar with Song Mo like this.

What is familiar is his usual reserved smile; what is unfamiliar is his eye-catching and voluptuous figure.

Like a crane standing out among a flock of chickens, making everyone around it pale in comparison!

Song Mo seemed to be more dazzling than usual.

Mrs. Zhao's voice could be heard in the main hall: "It's time to say goodbye to our parents!"

She quickly gathered her thoughts and respectfully kowtowed three times to her father, who had washed and combed his hair, looked neatly dressed and had a gentle expression.

Dou Shiying looked at his daughter with a complicated expression, and somewhat unconventionally picked up Dou Zhao by himself. He had just said softly, "Going to a girl's home, it is proper to be obedient," when his voice suddenly choked and he could not continue. Tears began to glisten in the corners of his eyes, and his reluctance to let her go was obvious.

No one expected it.

Usually it is the mother who is reluctant to let her daughter get married, but they have never met a father as reluctant as Dou Shiying.

For a moment, the flower hall was silent.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but shed tears.

She thought of her mother's death, her father's doting smile when he saw her plundering his treasures when she was a child, and her father's premature graying hair...

"Daddy!" She knelt in front of her father and cried silently.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Dou Shiying clumsily wiped the tears from his daughter's face. "Today is your lucky day, don't let your makeup get ruined by crying... The Duke of Yingguo's Mansion is so close to home, you can come back during the holidays..."

But she is no longer the daughter of the Dou family!

She thought she would put behind her the good and the bad, the things she had and lost in her life without hesitation, but now, they have become unforgettable memories in her heart that she will never be able to get rid of.

"Daddy!" Dou Zhao burst into tears.

Zhao Zhangru and Guo, who were easily moved, began to cry quietly.

Song Mo looked at the scene in front of him in shock, but a hint of envy flashed in his eyes.

The joyous ceremony turned into a farewell of life and death, full of sorrow.

Grandma Lu and Mrs. Zhao, who were anxious not to delay the auspicious time, were the first to react. Mrs. Zhao quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe Dou Zhao's tears, while Grandma Lu promptly took out the veil and said with a smile, "The newlyweds are getting into the sedan chair! The newlyweds are getting into the sedan chair!"

Everyone came to their senses.

Ji called out to Dou Dechang, "Hurry up and carry your fourth sister to the sedan chair!"

Grandma Lu quickly put the veil on Dou Zhao's head and led Dou Zhao to lie on Dou Dechang's back.

Amid the crackling sound of firecrackers, Dou Zhao got on the sedan chair.

From beginning to end, Dou Ming did not show up.

From beginning to end, Dou Zhao did not notice Wei Tingyu standing far away in the corridor of the flower hall.