Chapter 261 Questions

The inner palace is not allowed to interfere with the imperial court.

This is the ancestral precept set by Emperor Taizong.

A stone tablet with an inscription written by Emperor Taizong himself is said to be located outside the gate of Kunning Palace.

The Empress can mobilize the Emperor's personal guards!

Was it because of this that the Prince of Liao became ambitious? Or was it because the Prince of Liao became ambitious that the Empress began to take action?

You only regret not having read enough books when you need them.

At this moment, Dou Zhao hated himself for caring too little about these things in his previous life.

When Song Mo came out after washing up, she smiled and poured a cup of tea and placed it on the kang table.

Song Mo readily followed suit and sat on the kang opposite Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao sent away the maidservant and asked him quietly, "How can the Empress mobilize all of you imperial guards?"

Song Mo didn't expect Dou Zhao to ask this, and was a little surprised, but he still explained patiently: "In the spring of the ninth year of Chengping, the emperor suddenly fell into a coma while reviewing memorials. After careful diagnosis and treatment by the Imperial Hospital, the disease was cured, but he was left with a headache. At that time, Empress Shen had passed away for four or five years, and Empress Wan had just taken charge of the harem. She learned finger techniques from Doctor Yu of the Imperial Hospital and massaged the emperor every day, and the emperor's headache symptoms gradually eased. In the eleventh year of Chengping, the Yellow River burst its banks, and the memorials were When he reported to the palace, the Empress was massaging the Emperor. Seeing that the Emperor was worried about the candidate for the post of Disaster Relief Historian, she recommended Mu Chuan, who was then just an editor in the Imperial Academy. Mu Chuan was also lucky. At that time, Ye Shipei, the Emperor's favorite, had dysentery, and there was no suitable candidate at the time, so he called Mu Chuan to the palace for an interview. It was then that he learned that Mu Chuan's father had served as the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture. He grew up with his father in office and had a lot of experience in river engineering. The Emperor made him the Disaster Relief Historian.

He did a great job. Not only did he prevent the refugees from causing trouble, but he also came up with a method to regulate the Yellow River. Ye Shipei was very impressed and followed his method to regulate the Yellow River. The Yellow River has not breached its dikes in recent years. Mu Chuan was promoted all the way to the Minister of Works and the Director of Zhongji Palace University.

The emperor saw that the empress had a good way of judging people, and occasionally he would talk to her about the affairs of the court, and she would always hit the nail on the head. Over time, the emperor trusted the empress more and more. "

At this point, his tone paused slightly, revealing a rare hesitation, but it quickly disappeared in his eyes, and he said in a gentle voice, "Once, the emperor suddenly fell ill. The empress was afraid that others would see the emperor losing his composure, so she ordered the palace maids to close the door of Kunning Palace. However, the emperor accidentally pushed her to the ground, and her forehead hit the incense burner, with blood all over her face... But the empress held the emperor and refused to let go. She waited until the emperor calmed down and the imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital arrived, and then she hastily cleaned the wound with salt water... The emperor felt very guilty afterwards, so he gave the empress the power to mobilize the Jinwu Guards, the Qibiao Guards, and the Shenshuying..."

In her previous life, she had never heard that Mu Chuan was the Empress's man.

Dou Zhao was horrified: "The emperor is so seriously ill?"

It is now the sixteenth year of Chengping, which means that the emperor has been ill for seven years!

She had a vague understanding of why Prince Liao's palace coup was successful.

Song Mo nodded, and his voice lowered a little: "In the past few years, the disease only occurred every two or three years, but this year it has occurred twice in a row." He was worried when he said this, and it was obvious that he was very worried about the emperor's condition.

Dou Zhao had to comfort him: "If the emperor is seriously ill, it will involve the matter of succession. You'd better be careful. The Duke of Ying's Mansion is famous, so it's best not to get involved. Who would not want to be in the court of the emperor? This merit of following the emperor may be an opportunity for others, but for us it's just icing on the cake."

Her words were tactful yet straightforward, and straightforward yet comforting, which made Song Mo's eyes light up. He asked in confusion, "Why did you think of this?"

"My sisters-in-law came to see me this morning and told me about an old story in my hometown where two half-brothers were fighting over an inheritance. I was inspired to write this." Dou Zhao's mind raced, and he said, "Even if they fought over an inheritance of three or five hundred gold coins, they would have ended up with bloodshed. How much more so over such a vast territory?"

Song Mo laughed, thinking that Dou Zhao was very suspicious. Logically, a person like Dou Zhao would not trust anyone, but for some reason, Dou Zhao never doubted him... He could not help but stare at Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao wore a casual emerald green jacket. Her face was rosy and she looked very energetic. The pearl droplets on her ears shone brightly, making her face look delicate and plump, and very beautiful.

"What's wrong?" Dou Zhao couldn't help but touch his face, "Is there something dirty?"

"Nothing." Song Mo said, "I saw a mark on your face earlier, and then I looked carefully, and it turned out to be the reflection of the pearl hairpin in your hair... I was mistaken."

"Oh!" Dou Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Moyi asked, "What have you been doing at home these days?"

Dou Zhao immediately became interested and told Song Mo about Tao Qi's return to Zhending to inquire about him, but was beaten up by Duan Gongyi and others.

Song Mo was stunned, then burst into laughter and said, "If you were born in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, you would be the second Meng Changjun - a thief and a thief, with so many talented people!" He added, "Duan Gongyi did a good job on this matter, you should reward him generously."

Dou Zhao couldn't help but smile, and mentioned that Mr. Chen and others would come to Beijing in October: "... How to arrange it then, please give me some advice, Your Highness."

This is Dou Zhao's companion room. Song Mo has no reason to use her for his own use. Moreover, Song Yichun's hostility towards Song Mo is obvious. Dou Zhao also needs someone to protect him. He discussed with Dou Zhao: "Why don't we just live in Yizhi Hall? Leave the affairs of the inner courtyard to them."

This was also Dou Zhao's plan. He said, "Just tell the outside world that she is my companion. She can help you at critical moments. It is the best plan for Mr. Yan and others to be in the open and Mr. Chen and others to be in the dark."

Song Mo was somewhat jealous of Chen Qushui's good intentions and Duan Gongyi's ability to attack, and he couldn't help but be eager to give it a try. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Dou Zhao's idea was a good one.

However, it seems that there are too many people!

Maybe the dowry was prepared too hastily, Dou Zhao's dowry was mostly gold and silver jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and even banknotes, but no farms or shops. Since it was decided that there would be one open and one hidden, there must be a reasonable explanation for so many people suddenly appearing.

He smiled and said, "I'll tell Mr. Yan to buy you a few farms before October. Then you can just say they are gifts from your father-in-law." At this point, he couldn't help laughing, "With that pile of banknotes as a backing, no matter what outrageous things your father-in-law does, I'm afraid no one will find it incredible!"

Dou Zhao said angrily: "Don't say bad things about my father!" The sidelong glance he gave her was filled with a hint of unintentional charm.

Song Mo's heart was pounding.

"How dare I, how dare I!" he said hurriedly, "I just think my father-in-law is a man of character, and he definitely doesn't mean to joke." At this point, his heart moved, and he smiled, "My father-in-law gave us such a big gift, it's only natural for him to send a few guards, it's a matter of course!" This can explain why there are so many guards around Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao finally understood why he was worried. A hint of anxiety flashed through his eyes. He said, "Don't worry about that. When Mr. Chen and his team come, they will bring some of the business with them. Then no one will wonder why I have so many concubines."

My father-in-law spent at least five or six thousand gold to marry Dou Zhao off. Even if he added some more industries to give to Dou Zhao as a dowry, it would not be too much.

Song Mo didn't take it to heart and asked the Duke of Ying: "...After I left, did your father call you to question you?"

"No." Dou Zhao smiled, "When the father-in-law left in the morning, I hadn't gotten up yet; he usually had a lot of social activities after work, and when he came back it was already late, so it was inconvenient for me to go and greet him - I haven't run into the father-in-law in the past few days."

Song Mo felt relieved and asked, "Didn't you meet Tian En either?"

"The day before yesterday, he sent a servant to bring me two packets of Poria powder," Dou Zhao said, unable to help but laugh, "He said that eating it would calm the mind and nourish the qi, and asked me to talk to him after I finished eating it."

Song Mo couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and said to Dou Zhao apologetically: "He is just like this, he has been spoiled by his mother since he was a child..." Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

Dou Zhaosui smiled and said, "I don't have a younger brother, so I will treat him as my own brother, don't worry."

Yes, with Dou Zhao by his side, what else does he have to worry about?

Song Mo wiped away his previous sullenness and said with a smile, "By the way, I remember that your farm and home have large flower gardens, and there is also a small garden behind Yizhi Hall. I have a day off tomorrow, so why don't I help you turn the soil and build a trellis to make the whole flower garden appear? You see where is suitable? Do you want to build a flower shed? I remember that every household of the flower farmers in Fengtai has a flower shed. Do you want to add a few Taihu stones or something like that? Gu Yu happens to have to go to Huai'an for something these days, so I'll ask him to help you pick out two stones."

Dou Zhaoqi asked, "What are you doing at Fengtai?"

Song Mo said, "A friend of mine is working in Fengtai Camp. He saw many flower farmers' flower sheds on the road and was curious, so he went over to ask." He was a man who did what he said. As he spoke, he got off the kang, put on his slippers, and was about to go to the small garden with Dou Zhao.

Looking at Song Mo's excited look, Dou Zhao couldn't help but laugh and cry: "It's almost the beginning of winter, how can we turn the soil and build a trellis at this time? If we want to cultivate the garden, we have to wait until spring!"

"Really?" Song Mo said embarrassedly, his feet in slippers froze there, with an awkward look of dilemma between his brows.

As Dou Zhao watched, it was as if a stone was thrown into the lake of his heart, and ripples spread out in circles.

Song Mogui is the eldest son of the Duke of Ying. What kind of friend working in Fengtai Camp would allow him to visit Fengtai Camp in person?

She seemed to see again the handsome young man sweating profusely as he helped her dig chrysanthemum seedlings in the chrysanthemum field.

"However," Dou Zhao looked at Song Mo with a smile, her eyes showing an indulgence that she herself did not notice, "It is a good time to build a flower shed. Maybe we can also plant some radishes. When the New Year comes, we can put them in a small bamboo basket. It will be the best New Year gift."

Is she trying to save herself, or can she really grow a crop of radishes?

Song Mo stared at Dou Zhao, but a smile spread from his eyes to his brows.

"Can you grow radishes in a greenhouse?" He put on his shoes. "Why have I never heard of this?"

"So you don't understand farming!" Dou Zhao smiled and walked out of the inner room with Song Mo. "Otherwise, where can we get radishes and cucumbers in the middle of winter?" She said to Song Mo in a negotiating tone, "How about we try to plant some this year? If we grow a lot, we can send some to Princess Ningde, Madam Lu and other relatives. What do you think?"

"Okay!" Song Mo didn't understand any of this, so he just listened to Dou Zhao. "Do you want to ask someone to come over and help..."

As they talked, they walked through the hall and headed for the small garden.

Su Xin, who was following behind them, couldn't help but lower her head and smile.

The young lady is very impatient to coax people, but she always can't help but coax the prince.