Chapter 313: Personal Visit
Dou Dechang hurriedly recounted what had happened, and Dou Shiying was stunned.
"Could it be that Yan Tang saw it from somewhere else?" He frowned and muttered, "No! Even if he saw it from somewhere else, he doesn't have to make a piece of art out of it! Besides, why is he testing Song Qianli?"
Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang couldn't figure it out either.
Dou Shiying said: "I will call Yantang to ask him tomorrow!"
That's all we can do.
Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang looked at each other helplessly.
Dou Shiying sent Gaosheng's wife to ask his aunt, "What did Shougu come back for?"
The aunt naturally couldn't say it directly, so she used the excuse that she had discussed with Dou Zhao beforehand to evade Dou Shiying: "We discussed going to Kaiyuan Temple on the tenth day of the tenth month."
Dou Shiying nodded, thinking about how to start the conversation when he met his son-in-law tomorrow.
Song Mo sent Dou Zhao back to the Duke of Ying's Mansion, and then went to the place where Song Yumin was temporarily staying.
Song Yumin had just arrived at the house and had no time to change his clothes, so he had to go out to greet the guests wearing the clothes he had just worn when he went out to visit guests.
Seeing that Song Mo was also wearing the same clothes he had just worn in Jing'an Temple Hutong, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy while being full of suspicion.
Song Yumin's friend was just a well-off family who only hired two or three maids to take care of the whole family. Song Yumin lived here, and his daily life was still taken care of by Song Yan.
After he and Song Mo took their seats as host and guest, Song Yan came in with some tea.
Song Mo glanced at Song Yan and said to Song Yumin: "Mr. Song, I want to talk to you alone..."
Song Yan heard the sound and retreated. But before he walked out of the door, he heard Song Mo say, "Speaking of which, this matter is related to your nephew..."
If it were normal times, even if he heard such words, Song Yan would not look at them or listen to them. But today's events were too strange. First there was Song Mo's unreasonable test, and then there was such a half-spoken statement, which made him hesitate again and again, and he could not help but stand outside the curtain and listen attentively.
Song Mo's voice reached his ears clearly: "I want to ask for a glass of wedding wine from your nephew!"
Song Yumin and Song Yan were both shocked, and immediately understood why Song Mo had behaved so strangely.
Song Mo's status and position made Song Yumin ask cautiously, "Whose family do you want to matchmake for, my Lord? Although our Song family has a good reputation in Quzhou, we are a small family that has been passed down from generation to generation through farming and studying. We are too big to be together, and I'm afraid we can't afford it!"
After careful consideration, Song Yumin, as an uncle who was both a teacher and a father, thought that Song Yan could marry a girl from an ordinary scholarly family and live frugally.
The Prince of England was too far away from them and unthinkable. He thought it was impossible to climb up the social ladder of Song Mo, so there was no question of making any choices.
Song Mo pretended not to hear and said with a smile: "You also know the girl - she is my wife's cousin, the third daughter of the Zhao family in Anxiang Village."
Song Yumin had been a teacher at the Dou family for five years, so how could he not know about the Zhao family in Anxiang Village?
He suddenly felt humiliated.
The Zhao family is looking for a live-in son-in-law!
Is it because the Song family is a small family and because Song Yan's parents are both dead that he should marry into another family? !
But before he could open his mouth, Song Mo smiled and said, "I think you have heard about Lord Zhao's character. In order to be able to mourn his sister in time, he even gave up the examination for the imperial examination. When the Wang family wanted to make their daughter their first wife, they promised him a promotion and wealth, but he ignored it. How could your nephew be treated unfairly when he came to the Zhao family to be their son-in-law?"
Lord Zhao's character is indeed beyond reproach.
On this point, Song Yumin could not deny it.
"Besides, you know Third Miss Zhao's appearance and character. She will never let your nephew down by marrying her."
Although there are differences between men and women, he had seen Miss Zhao San from a distance twice, and she was indeed a lady of good character and appearance!
But Song Yumin couldn't help but ask, "But we can't let Qianli take advantage of this, right?"
Song Mo lowered his head to drink tea, but the corner of his eye swept across the plywood curtain, and through the gap under the curtain, he saw a pair of blue cloth fat-faced shoes.
He couldn't help but smile and said, "Your nephew's parents are both dead, and he grew up relying on the help of his clansmen. You are just a hostel owner for a living. Although the tuition of the Dou family is generous, I think it is only two or three hundred taels of silver. Your nephew follows you, and your food, clothing, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone are all supported by the Dou family. Not to mention, even your nephew's clothes for four seasons must have cost you a lot of money, right?
Today I tested your nephew's craftsmanship. It was well-behaved, smooth and natural. If he is well cultivated, he may become a great talent within ten years.
It is said that a round trip from Quzhou to Kyoto would cost over a hundred taels of silver. I wonder how many years you can support yourself with your savings after you close your office and go home?
Moreover, in this dynasty, the examinations were divided into north and south, and the south of the Yangtze River had a long-standing culture of reading. It was rare for two out of ten scholars to become imperial examinees, and it was rare for two out of ten imperial examinees to become Jinshi.
But it is different when you enter Zhao’s house.
Considering the financial situation of the Zhao family, Mr. Zhao's character and knowledge, although it may be a little difficult for your nephew to pass the imperial examination due to the inheritance, if he works hard, he may be able to pass the imperial examination and become a judge.
The Zhao family is a family of scholars. Even if your nephew has no chance of pursuing a career in officialdom, his descendants will surely be good.
And there is also the emphasis on three generations of ancestry, what else are you dissatisfied with?"
The so-called three-generation return to the clan refers to the sons born to the adoptive parents. When the family line reaches the third generation, either a designated branch or according to agreed customary rules, the last branch, whether boys or girls, will take the original grandfather's surname and return to the clan temple.
But Song Yumin still politely declined: "Qianli has studied with me for so many years, I have to let him try it out before he gives up. As for marriage, let's put it on hold for the next few years!"
Song Mo glanced at the fat-faced shoes under the curtain again, and said slowly: "A forced melon is not sweet. Please think carefully, sir. If you change your mind, just let someone go to the Duke of England's Mansion to tell him." Then he stood up and said goodbye, shaking his head, and sighed: "You really love your nephew more than your own son! You took out all your retirement money to support your nephew's studies..." He looked very emotional.
Song Yumin pretended not to hear anything and politely escorted Song Mo out.
Song Yan walked out from behind the big locust tree at the door with a pale face.
He stood there for a long time, watching Song Mo's carriage go away.
There was another figure who turned and walked to an inconspicuous alley in the south of the city after Song Mo's carriage disappeared.
"Brother Chen!" the man knocked on the door, "It's me, Huzi!"
The door creaked open, revealing Chen Jia's ordinary but sharp face.
"Come in!" He let the person into the yard calmly, but his tone was a little nervous. "Did anyone notice you?"
"No!" Hu Zi whispered, "I followed them from a distance, so they couldn't find me."
Chen Jia said "hmm" and went into the house with Hu Zi.
After drinking two large bowls of water, Hu Zi told Chen Jia where Song Mo had been in the past few days.
Chen Jia looked confused: "So, it was really the Madam who followed the Prince to the farm that day?"
Hu Zi nodded repeatedly and said, "Also, the prince seemed to be busy with Madam's affairs these days. He recruited more than 20 guards and suddenly threw them all in the yard. Then he accompanied Madam back to her parents' home. The people he came into contact with were all from Madam's family."
This is difficult to deal with!
Chen Jia was walking around the room.
He thought that if he was interested, he could become friends with anyone, no matter what kind of people they were, but this woman and child...
Hu Zi said, "Sir, why don't you continue the relationship? If you continue the relationship, at least you can become a godparent to the respectable daughter-in-law of your wife, and you can have a relationship with her, right?"
That's a good idea.
Chen Jia's eyes lit up, and he had an idea. He told Hu Zi, "I only heard that Madam is the fourth daughter of Dou's family in Beilou, and the daughter of Wang Yousheng, the governor of Yunnan, is Madam's stepmother. Wang followed the seventh master of Dou's family in Kyoto, but the fourth daughter has been in Zhending. When she was about to get married, her half-sister came to marry her off. You go to Zhending and find out more about Madam - who are the people who can speak in front of Madam? What kind of food and clothes does Madam like? What are her hobbies... Find out as much as you can."
Hu Zi replied "yes" with a smile, had dinner at Chen Jia's place, and left Kyoto overnight.
Dou Zhao waited for Song Mo at home until it was dark, when Song Mo came back.
She hurried out to greet him and asked him anxiously, "What did the Song family say?"
"It's definitely going to take a while." Song Mo said with a smile, "Wait until tomorrow, I guess someone will figure it out." He added, "If they still can't figure it out, I think we should think of another way for my cousin, right?"
Dou Zhao didn't understand.
Song Mo deliberately kept the secret: "You will know tomorrow!" Then he called Dou Zhao: "Tell the kitchen to prepare something for me to eat, or the same food we had at Jing'an Temple Hutong at noon."
Dou Zhao was greatly surprised and asked, "Why haven't you had dinner yet?"
Song Mo smiled and said, "I went to the palace right after I came out of Mr. Song's place. So many people were transferred here. Although I used the Five Cities Military Department as an excuse, I had to make a good excuse. I went to see the emperor and gave him the list of several people to review, so that no one would flatter me in front of the emperor in the future."
Show it to His Majesty...
Dou Zhao's eyes widened: "What does the emperor say?"
Song Mo smiled at her: "Come to think of it, the emperor and we had the same idea and both chose those three people."
Dou Zhao couldn't help but laugh.
Song Mo sighed, "It would be great if my aunt didn't have those prejudices! If a scholar gets married and changes his name, he will be suspected of forgetting his roots. Even if he can participate in the Spring Examination, no one will be willing to choose him as a disciple. But this noble family is different. They are leaving because of a favor, so they don't care about these things. Instead, they can accept the woman's position..."
Otherwise, he would not have first thought of finding a husband for Zhao Zhangru in the Guards.
Dou Zhao took his arm and said jokingly, "Thank you for your hard work, my Lord!"
"It's good that you know!" Song Mo simply said, "I'm really exhausted today!"
Su Xin and the others who followed Dou Zhaoying out couldn't help but lower their heads and smile.
After dinner, washing and changing clothes, the two lay side by side on the bed and whispered to each other.
"Why did you think of trying Song Qianli's craftsmanship?"
"We failed the first time, but we can't fail the second time too, right?" Song Mo smiled. "Didn't my aunt want to find a son of a scholar? What if my aunt tests his knowledge as soon as she meets him?"
Dou Zhao smiled and said, "The imperial examinations also require poetry, so why don't you test his poetry as well?"
Seeing her sweet smile, Song Mo pinched her nose unnaturally and said, "I would like to, but looking at his silly look, how can he be as charming and charming as writing a poem for my wife?"
Dou Zhao and he played with flower guns.
"Still charming and seductive?" She bit his ear and said, "Write a poem for me to listen to!"
Song Mo likes Dou Zhao like this the most.
He turned around and pressed her down, whispering in her ear, "Do you really want me to do it?"
"Really?" Dou Zhao glanced at him.
Song Mo chuckled, chanting "The dense branches are easy to fall"... Her clothes were taken off... His hands played in the valley... "The tender buds are slowly opening"...
For a moment, Dou Zhao's face was as bright as the morning glow...