Chapter 299 Eye Contact

Song Mo listened to Dou Zhao's hidden meaning, which also involved Huaishu Hutong. After Gao Sheng left Yizhi Hall, he couldn't help but ask Dou Zhao with concern: "What happened? Do you need my help?"

"Not for now." Dou Zhao smiled.

If Song Mo knew what happened, he probably wouldn't be so relaxed, right?

She urged Song Mo to have lunch: "...it's better to set off early." She added, "The weather is so cold, why don't we go directly to the farm in Daxing? In Fengtai, we have asked someone to help keep an eye on the flowers and trees. If there is good news, they will report it. There is no need to be so anxious. If someone has ulterior motives, ten taels of silver may become twenty taels, and we will be slaughtered like a fat sheep."

The original purpose of visiting the flower market was to make Dou Zhao happy. Since Dou Zhao was not interested, Song Mo followed suit.

After lunch, the two of them drove the carriage quickly towards Daxing.

The steward, maids, and old women had been waiting at the door for a long time, and they escorted Song Mo and Dou Zhao into the farm.

After a short rest, Song Mo, accompanied by the steward, went to inspect the fields, while Dou Zhao was still accompanied by the daughters-in-law who had served her last time, and they talked in the banquet room.

※※※※※

The flower hall of the Jining Marquis's mansion was filled with people. Not only were there the Wei family's relatives, but most of the Dou family's relatives in Kyoto were there, except for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from Maoer Hutong. Even Gao, Pang, and Wei Tingzhen's two sisters-in-law were present in their best attire. There was a lot of laughter and chatter at the table, making it very lively.

Wang Qinghuai's wife, who was sitting in the crowd, was very uneasy.

Before the meal started, they were inexplicably made to wait for a long time, and after the meal started, she did not see the wife of the Prince of England.

Could it be that Dou Zhao was sitting somewhere else?

Madam Wang stretched her neck to look around, but her eyes met with those of the Third Wife of Duke Jingguo's Mansion.

The third wife of Duke Jingguo smiled and nodded to Madam Wang Shao.

Mrs. Wang Shao quickly returned her a kind smile.

The third wife of Duke Jingguo turned her head and looked from east to west, and from west to east, as if she was also looking for someone.

Mrs. Wang Qinghuai's heart moved, and she whispered to her sister-in-law Zhou who was sitting next to her, "I need to go wash my hands." Then she stood up and left the table, slowly walked past the banquet table where the women of the Dou family were sitting, and headed out of the flower hall.

She heard the intermittent discussions: "... Fourth Aunt didn't come... I heard that Seventh Uncle personally sent the chief steward to invite her... She said that she would treat others the way others treated her... Didn't you see the ugly look on Fifth Aunt's face..."

Mrs. Wang couldn't help but look at Dou Ming, who was toasting Gao with a smile on his face.

The smile was indeed a little stiff.

Mrs. Wang hurried to the clean room.

When she came back, she saw the personal nanny of the Third Wife of Duke Jingguo's Mansion whispering to the Third Wife.

She deliberately took a detour and passed by the banquet held by the women of Duke Jing's mansion.

I only vaguely heard the words "The wife of the Prince of England did not come."

Mrs. Wang sat down again calmly, but she no longer had the mood to sit there.

After the banquet, the maids brought up tea and snacks.

Madam Wang was about to say goodbye, but the third wife of Duke Jing suddenly stood up and said with a smile, "I'll say goodbye first - I don't know what kind of trouble the two naughty monkeys at home have caused. I feel like I have a rabbit in my heart. I haven't felt at peace since I entered the house." She said, pulling Dou Ming's hand, "Madam Jining Marquis, it's not possible today. We can only meet again tomorrow."

Wei Tingzhen was slightly annoyed.

The Third Wife's children are surrounded by a group of maids, wives and old women. She plays mahjong all day long. Why didn't she say she missed her children at that time? Now she pretends to be a loving mother who loves her children. Who is she doing this for?

However, this was Dou Ming's first time meeting the Third Wife. He thought that the Third Wife would not be able to let go of her child for even a moment, so he tried to keep her.

The third wife insisted on leaving: "...Next time, next time I will bring the children over." She also joked with a smile, "I'm afraid that the noise will disturb you and make you regret letting me bring the children over."

"The Third Madam is a distinguished guest who cannot be invited no matter what. Why do you say that?" Dou Ming exchanged pleasantries with the Third Madam, but in the end he could not persuade her anymore and sent her out of the flower hall.

Mrs. Wang looked at it and stood up as well.

"Tomorrow is my sister-in-law's ninth day, I have to go back and make preparations." She said goodbye to Wei Tingzhen, "My brother and sister-in-law are here, it will be fine." As she said this, she smiled at Zhou.

That's true.

Wei Tingzhen couldn't stop her, so she smiled and asked Mrs. Wang to come over and visit when she had time.

How could Zhou sit still?

As a sister-in-law, the elder sister-in-law hurried back to save face for the younger sister-in-law, but she was having a great time at the Wei family... Moreover, she had only been married for less than two years, and her mother-in-law was still observing her...

"Let me go back with my sister-in-law!" She pulled Madam Wang's sleeve, "How can I let my sister-in-law suffer while I am having fun?"

Everyone present here has been a daughter-in-law for many years and has become a mother-in-law, so it is naturally difficult for them to stop her.

After saying a few polite words, he escorted the Wang family's sister-in-law out of the Jining Marquis's Mansion.

As soon as these three people left, the second wife of Duke Jing's Mansion also reacted. She ignored Dou Ming's attempts to keep her, found an excuse, and left early.

Wei Tingzhen looked unhappy, but Dou Ming didn't notice anything and continued talking to the women present.

The Fifth Madam sighed when she saw this and said to Cai: "You stay here. I am not in good spirits. I will go back first!"

How could Cai be willing to stay here?

If Dou Zhao holds a grudge against me, it would be a huge loss!

She held the Fifth Madam tightly and said, "Mom, are you feeling unwell? Let me take you back. Isn't Sixth Sister-in-law here?" She insisted on going back with the Fifth Madam.

The Fifth Madam was unhappy, but she couldn't show it in front of so many people, so she had to leave the dull Guo behind and take Cai back to Huaishu Hutong.

When the eldest lady of the Dou family and others saw this, they all left one after another.

After a while, there were only two tables left in the flower hall that was originally full of people, and all of them were relatives of the Wei family.

Dou Ming's face changed drastically.

Dou Zhao, who was far away in Daxing Manor, was talking to the wife of the manager of Daxing Manor.

"The older maids in my house are all old enough to be sent out, so I want to add a few young maids. Intelligence is secondary. The most important thing is loyalty and the ability to endure hardship." She smiled and said, "Please help me keep an eye out in the Song family's farm to see if there are any suitable candidates. This will also save me from having to bring people over from Zhending and learn to speak Kyoto dialect again."

The housekeeper's wife was stunned.

Usually, such good things are monopolized by the important stewards in the mansion. Even the ordinary stewards and stewards' mothers cannot get involved, so there is no place for them!

She thought Dou Zhao didn't know the rules, so she readily agreed and said with a smile, "I wonder who the Madam's sisters have been promised to? When you get married, don't forget to send us an invitation. We will definitely go and ask for a glass of wedding wine!"

"She hasn't been betrothed yet." Dou Zhao said with a smile, "It's just that we have to prepare for a rainy day."

The housekeeper's wife flattered him, "These sisters are not only beautiful, but also smart and capable. I wonder which family is lucky enough to marry them..."

Su Lan blushed and said angrily, "I won't marry! I want to stay by my wife's side and serve her for the rest of my life!"

All the servants in the room laughed.

Sulan started to quarrel with them unwillingly.

Dou Zhao watched from the side with a smile.

Everyone became more courageous, and the laughter could be heard outside the house.

Finally it was time for dinner. Su Xin helped Dou Zhao clean her hands and whispered, "Madam, if you want to add someone to your family, why don't you find a matchmaker? Most of the servants in the Duke of Ying's mansion are hereditary servants, and the relationships are complicated. Even a small matter can be known to everyone. Moreover, girls who grow up on farms have little education, and sometimes it is difficult to get rid of their petty temperament even if you spend a lot of energy to train them..."

"I'm not just looking for a few more maids." Dou Zhao whispered to her in private, "After Madam Jiang passed away, the Duke of Ying's mansion replaced most of the servants, so that we couldn't find anyone to ask about what happened back then. But they couldn't let everyone go, so some of them must have been sold or taken to the farm. I spread the word that I'm going to add a maid to my house, and someone with ulterior motives will definitely know that the Crown Prince and the Duke are not on good terms. Maybe we can find a few descendants of the maids who served in Madam Jiang's house back then."

Su Xin suddenly realized.

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "However, you have indeed reached the age where you should be released. If you have any plans, just tell me and I will make the decision for you!"

Su Xin replied "yes" respectfully, but she could not hide the shyness between her brows, which made Dou Zhao smile.

Song Mo found out and discussed with Dou Zhao: "How about marrying your daughter Su Xin to Lu Ming? After a few years, I will let Lu Ming go out and become a centurion or something like that. I promise not to treat her unfairly."

Dou Zhao thought of Zhao Liangbi.

From her perspective as an experienced person, Zhao Liangbi's feelings for Su Xin were obvious to everyone.

She hesitated and said, "I need to think about this carefully."

Song Mo thought for a moment and said, "Do you want to keep Su Xin by your side?"

Dou Zhao responded vaguely.

Song Mo smiled and said, "Then assign it to Chen He - I plan to let Chen He stay at home to be the housekeeper."

"Su Xin is several years older than Chen He!" Dou Zhao shook his head without thinking.

Song Mo was determined to integrate Dou Zhao's people into Yizhitang as quickly as possible. After thinking for a while, he said, "Then let Sulan marry Chen He. They are of similar age and should get along well."

Dou Zhao couldn't help but ponder: "Let me discuss this with Su Xin! After all, they are not servants who have signed a death contract."

Song Mo smiled and nodded.

Chen He came in and said softly, "Chen Jia is here."

Song Mo signaled Dou Zhao to hide behind the screen and asked Chen He to bring Chen Jia in.

Chen Jia wore a lilac short brown shirt, a felt hat that blocked his eyes, and a pair of straw sandals. He was hunched over, like a farmer bent over by the burden of life. There was not a bit of his usual shrewdness and competence left in him.

Dou Zhao was secretly alert.

Such a flexible person must have big ambitions.

In his previous life, he was Song Mo's confidant; in this life, I don't know if Song Mo can subdue him.

Dou Zhaocun looked out through the gap in the screen and saw Chen Jia taking off his felt hat. His body suddenly stretched and straightened like a flexible bamboo, and his ordinary face became sharp and shrewd, as if a sword had been drawn from a hidden box, revealing its sharp edge.

"Your Highness!" He saluted Song Mo neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Song Mo looked at him with a dull expression and said nothing.

Chen Jia stood there respectfully, in silence, waiting for Song Mo to speak.

Song Mo smiled coldly and picked up the teacup.

Chen He was stunned. It took him a while to react and he hurriedly shouted "Show him away".