Chapter 266 Looking at Each Other

Song Mo, however, instructed Yan Chaoqing: "...You should go to the Marquis of Jiading when you have time."

Wan Cheng, the Earl of Jiading, was the younger brother of Empress Wan and the uncle of Gu Yu, and his courtesy name was Pengji.

Yan Chaoqing understood and stood up, saying, "I'll go get ready right away."

Song Mo nodded.

A servant came in and reported, "Master, the Tenth Young Mistress from Huaishu Hutong is here."

Song Mo asked, "Are you here to see me?"

The servant said hurriedly: "No, I came to see the lady..."

Song Mo said calmly, "Since you are here to see the Madam, why are you reporting to me?" Then he said to Yan Chaoqing, "Let's transfer him to another place to work!"

Yan Chaoqing glanced at the boy and replied with a "yes".

The servant was so frightened that he knelt down in front of Song Mo and kowtowed.

Song Luo quickly pointed at a few people and asked them to carry the boy out.

Song Mo told Yan Chaoqing: "I never want to hear such heart-breaking words again."

Yan Chaoqing replied "yes" and stepped back.

Song Luo asked worriedly, "Do we really not need to report this to the prince?"

Yan Chaoqing glanced at him, half warning and half sighing, "If even the Madam can't trust you, the prince would probably rather be betrayed!"

Songluo was confused by what he heard and was dazed, touching his head.

Yan Chaoqing smiled and said, "If you don't understand, don't think about it. Just remember to respect the lady as you respect the prince."

Mr. Yan is the military advisor of the Crown Prince. It will not be wrong to listen to the military advisor.

Songluo happily responded, "I'll listen to you, old man," and went downstairs to deal with the boy.

Yan Chaoqing, however, frowned.

Why hasn't Chen Qushui come yet?

Could it be that he has forgotten what he said?

Chen Qushui, who was rushing day and night to Kyoto, sneezed.

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Dou Zhao met his tenth cousin-in-law, Cai, in the flower hall.

Cai happily congratulated Dou Zhao: "...What a coincidence that I met you. You don't know where Jing'an Temple Hutong is, do you? Do you want me to deliver a message to your seventh uncle?"

Perhaps because he trusted Song Mo, Dou Zhao was very calm about being granted the title of "Madam" in advance. After hearing what Cai said, he was surprised and felt that being granted the title in advance was also a grace from the royal family, and his father would surely be very happy if he knew about it.

She smiled and said, "I'll let Suxin tell father the news. There's no need to bother Tenth Cousin-in-law." Then she smiled at Suxin and said, "Go tell Jing'an Temple Hutong and Mao'er Hutong the news."

I have to say something to my sixth aunt, too.

Su Xin smiled and took the order and left.

Dou Zhao asked Cai: "What does Sister-in-law Ten want to talk to me about?"

After being named the Crown Prince's wife, in addition to making ceremonial clothes of corresponding grade and creating jewelry, she also had to reward the maids, inform relatives and friends of the Dou family, and test Song Yichun's reaction... She had a lot of things to do and really had no time to practice Tai Chi with Cai.

Cai could imagine how busy Dou Zhao was, and was afraid that he would be impatient, so she smiled and told him the purpose of the visit sent by the Fifth Madam.

Although Song Mo said it was okay, Dou Zhao thought it would be good to let Fifth Uncle help her analyze the Emperor's intentions from another perspective. Perhaps there would be new gains. It would be even better if Fifth Uncle could find out something related to Prince Liao.

She told Cai what had happened.

Who knew that Cai's eyes lit up when she heard this? She asked, "Did the Queen Mother really say that the Crown Prince was raised by her? If you marry the Crown Prince, you will be one of our family?" Then she asked, "Are the things the Queen Mother gave as gifts really given by the Emperor?" Then she asked, "The Queen Mother asked about your natal family, why didn't you tell us in detail?" Dou Zhao was annoyed by her questions. His face darkened and he asked, "Sister-in-law, are you asking these questions because of your fifth uncle and aunt's intention? Or is it your own idea?"

Cai's face flushed.

Dou Zhao brought the tea.

She was furious but dared not show it. Her face was as red as pig liver. Even when she returned to Huaishu Hutong, she still had the undisguised anger on her face.

Cai's personal nanny was shocked and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong with you?"

Cai took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Nothing." Then she asked, "Did my mother tell me anything?"

The personal nanny whispered in her ear, "Madam said that you must serve Fourth Aunt well no matter what. Marquis Jining wanted to confer the title of Marquis' Lady on Fifth Aunt and reported it to the Ministry of Personnel, but the Ministry of Personnel did not respond for a long time. It was the Fifth Madam who personally called the wife of the doctor in the Ministry of Personnel's Ennoblement Division to inform the Ministry of Personnel, and then the Ministry of Personnel passed the petition up. That's how it is, and there is still no news to this day."

Cai took a deep breath and finally calmed down. She put on a happy look and went to the upper house where the fifth wife lived.

※※※※※

However, a layer of frost could be scraped off from Song Yichun's face.

Song Mo and Dou Zhao entered the palace. The Queen Mother and the Empress asked some questions. The Duke of Ying's Mansion had been in business for generations, so he had his own way of knowing. As for Dou Zhao's early title, and at this juncture, he had to suspect Song Mo.

"Keep an eye on Yan Chaoqing who is beside the prince," Song Yichun said to Chang Huwei with a gloomy expression, "There are some things he won't do in person, but he will definitely hand them over to Yan Chaoqing to handle."

Chang Huwei bowed and replied "Yes".

The servant came in and reported: "Mr. Tao is back!"

Song Yichun perked up and said hurriedly, "Please invite Mr. Tao in."

Chang Huwei curled his lips and retreated.

Tao Qizhong looked a little sullen, and when he saw Song Yichun he kept calling him "Dong Weng".

Song Yichun took two steps forward, looked Tao Qizhong up and down, and sighed, "Glad you're back, glad you're back!" Then he pointed to the armchair beside him and said, "Let's sit down and talk... You said someone was chasing you, what's going on? Could it be related to the prince?"

Tao Qi lowered his head, looking ashamed of himself for Song Yichun, and said, "I was careless and underestimated the enemy!"

Song Yichun raised his eyebrows.

Tao Qizhong said, "The Dou family is a local tyrant in Zhending. We asked a few more questions about the fourth daughter of the Dou family and were targeted by the Dou family. We were afraid of ruining the relationship between the Dou and Song families, and we dared not say that we were from the Duke of Ying's Mansion, so we had no choice but to run to the guardhouse for help!"

"That's not right!" Song Yichun frowned. "Since you ran to the guardhouse for help, how dare the Dou family continue to hunt you down?"

Tao Qizhong said hurriedly, "The Dou family did not pursue us again, but I found out something important and hurried back to report it to you, so I didn't explain it clearly to the people in the health station."

Song Yichun was relieved that the Zhending guards wanted to take credit for him.

Tao Qizhong said, "We always thought that the fourth young lady of the Dou family was placed in Zhending by the seventh elder of the Dou family because she was rejected by her stepmother Wang. It turns out that it is not the case. Wang was originally a concubine who was promoted to the first wife. When she entered the family, she was already three months pregnant. The fourth young lady of the Dou family's aunt is a powerful person. She kept this point. When the fourth young lady of the Dou family grew up, she did not respect her stepmother at all. The people of the Dou family had no choice but to let the fourth young lady of the Dou family stay in Zhending."

Song Yichun listened, his face darkened, and he said, "So, the fourth daughter of the Dou family is not as lonely as we thought?"

"This is my negligence." Tao Qizhong said self-reproachfully, "I didn't expect that the Wang family could do nothing about the Zhao family. For the sake of face, they actually said that Wang was unwilling to educate the fourth daughter of the Dou family." At this point, he changed the subject, "However, I found out that the fourth daughter of the Dou family is very fierce, and idle people can't control her at all. The people of the Dou family also avoided her. Wang had her eyes on the Marquis of Jining, so the Dou family turned a blind eye and let the mother and daughter make trouble. No one stood up for the fourth daughter of the Dou family. Later, the fourth daughter of the Dou family came forward in person to ask for her dowry, and the seventh master of the Dou family gave her a pile of silver bills. It was also because she had a habit of making trouble that the people of the Dou family had to keep quiet."

Song Yichun thought of Dou Zhao's dowry and how she had dared to confront Song Jin on the first day she entered the house, so he could not help but believe it. Although it was a headache for him that his wife, who he had thought was gentle and kind, had turned into a fierce female demon, he felt much better because she was still a daughter who was not welcomed by the Dou family.

"What should we do now?" he asked Tao Qizhong, "I heard that the eldest daughter of Weizhou Wei Huatang is of outstanding appearance, but because she is too picky, she has not married yet at the age of 20. I also wanted to find out more about Miss Hua. If she is gentle and honest, I will marry her so that she can help discipline Tian'en..." The implication was that this plan might fail now.

Tao Qizhong sighed in his heart.

No wonder people often say that even an honest judge finds it difficult to settle family disputes.

It would be better for him to stay out of the British Duke's family affairs.

Tao Qizhong said tactfully, "You are still in your prime, and you need someone to keep you company. If the young lady from the Hua family is indeed of outstanding appearance and character, it would be a good idea to marry her and have her take care of your daily life."

It's like saying nothing.

Song Yichun sighed, presented Tao Qi with two hundred taels of silver, and said, "You must have worked hard on your trip to Zhending. Go down and have a good rest for two days. Although Anlu Hou said he would be my matchmaker, I'm afraid you will still have to help me with the details."

Tao Qizhong responded with a smile and stepped back.

The attendant was anxiously waiting under the corridor. When he saw him come out, he followed him out of the Fragrant Courtyard without making a sound. Then he whispered, "What did the Duke say?"

Before coming, the two had already discussed their excuses.

"The Duke has no suspicion." Tao Qizhong said, "You have to say this! Think about the Dou family, who is so fierce. I'm afraid that everyone in the palace will know about it in a few days. Instead of making people think that the Dou family is weak and can be bullied, it is better to say that the Dou family is very fierce and can get us out of it." It seemed like he was explaining why he did this, but it seemed more like he was trying to convince himself.

The followers nodded continuously.

Song Yichun was walking around the room.

Should he marry into the Hua family?

Logically speaking, the Hua family couldn't help him at all. But if he didn't continue, it would be even harder for the Dou family to suppress him over time.

But Dou was a difficult person to get along with, and with a gentle personality, he was afraid that he would not be able to control her; but if he married a smart and capable woman... he would have had enough.

This really puts him in a dilemma!

At this time, Dou Zhao went to the residence of Princess Ningde.

Princess Ningde's residence was only separated from the Lu family's residence by a street. The two sisters-in-law had a very good relationship, and the two families were therefore very close.

Princess Ningde was very surprised to hear that Dou Zhao was coming to visit her. She asked her personal maid, "What's going on recently?"

The female official smiled and said, "I heard that the Prince of England was summoned and entered the palace with his wife early this morning."

This is normal.

Princess Ningde couldn't figure out why Dou Zhao wanted to see her.

The maid who came to report the news smiled and said, "Princess, the wife of the Crown Prince of the Duke of Ying said that she had just received an imperial decree and was named 'Madam'. She came here specially to thank you!"

Princess Ningde suddenly realized and said with a smile: "Please ask her to come in!"