Chapter 354: Clues
Although the court had given an annual holiday, Song Mo was working for the Jinwu Guard and still had to go on duty, so after breakfast the next day, Song Mo went to the yamen.
Dou Dechang and Dou Junqi came together.
The two did not go to see Dou Zhao, but went straight to Xixiangyuan.
Song Yichun was still feeling pain in his heart from having been irritated by Dou Zhao on New Year's Eve. He leaned sickly on the pillow on the kang by the window, worrying about the Duke of Ying's Mansion's income this year - compared to last year, this year's income was one third less, but he looked left and right and couldn't see what was wrong.
When Madame Jiang was in office, although he was not in charge of the government affairs, he knew the annual income of the mansion. Affected by the weather, the annual income was different, but it would not be so different all of a sudden. Moreover, it was declining year by year, and it was almost half less than when Madame Jiang was in charge.
Even a fool could tell there was something fishy going on.
But he couldn't find the reason.
Each of those dealers and shopkeepers had good reasons.
He called Tao Qizhong over to discuss the matter.
Tao Qizhong was a scholar who did not engage in farming. Although he was good at making plans and strategizing, he was not as good as Song Yichun in handling household chores.
He looked at the account book for a long time but couldn't figure out what was going on. He had no choice but to give Song Yichun some advice: "How about finding a grain maker to help?"
Song Yichun sighed.
Anyway, it has come to this. Even if we invite the master here now, he can't call the head of the farm and the head shopkeeper who have already returned to the farm and the shop. Next year is next year! As long as we can find out the reason, it will be fine.
Tao Qi thought about it and recommended several fellow villagers who were grain farmers.
Song Yichun couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Hearing that the uncle of the Dou family had brought a nephew to see him, he was stunned. Thinking of what Dou Zhao had said that day, he felt a little uneasy. He hesitated for a long time before saying, "Do you know what the uncle of the Dou family is here for?"
"I don't know!" The servant shook his head. Thinking of the reward, he couldn't help but say, "Uncle Dou and nephew Dou are both in their early twenties. They are well-mannered and look like scholars."
People from the Dou family are, of course, well-mannered and cultured.
When my daughter-in-law first came home, didn't she look virtuous? Who knew she was such a slut!
Song Yichun complained in his heart and hesitated for a while. He told the servant to invite Dou's uncle and nephew to the flower hall to serve tea. He changed his clothes and went to the flower hall with Tao Qizhong.
Tao Qizhong wanted to remind Song Yichun: You are the elder. If the Dou family has bad intentions, why do you have to condescend to meet them in the flower hall? You can just call them to the study room, and you can even suppress the Dou family in terms of momentum. But he saw that Song Yichun looked worried. He knew that Song Yichun grew up in a wealthy circle since he was a child. Few people he had dealt with spoke arrogantly. When he met the wife of the prince, it was like a scholar meeting a soldier. He couldn't explain himself even if he was right. He was scared by the wife of the prince. When he heard that it was related to the wife of the prince, his momentum was weakened by three points. He couldn't say such words, so he had to follow Song Yichun to the flower hall silently.
There are many male members in the Dou family, and Song Yichun is the elder, so how could he recognize them all! Dou Qijun is a young man, and he has traveled a lot in recent years. He is much calmer, unlike Dou Dechang, who stays at home all day to study. He also has a typical Dou family appearance, and looks tender and tender, but only fifteen or sixteen years old. Seeing that one of the two Dou family members is calm and the other is young, Song Yichun directly recognized Dou Qijun as the uncle of the Dou family and Dou Dechang as his nephew. When he entered the flower hall, he smiled at Dou Qijun and said, "It's New Year's Day, Uncle Dou, do you have anything important to talk to me about?"
Dou Qijun wore a royal blue silk brocade robe with bamboo pattern today and held a bright red lacquered gold Sichuan fan. Although his skin was not as fair as Dou Dechang's, he had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and had the unrestrained style of a nobleman from a famous family.
Hearing this, he threw away his fan and sneered, "You are really blind. You actually treat the younger generation as the elders and don't take the elders seriously! I'm afraid that without the support of your ancestors, you won't be able to be a servant in our Jifen Pavilion!"
The words were as sharp as a knife, hitting Song Yichun directly on the head. If Tao Qizhong, who was following behind, had not quickly supported him, he would have almost stumbled and fallen at the door.
Dou Dechang saw this, walked up to Song Yichun leisurely, bowed, and said with a smile: "My dear relative, I am the brother of the wife of the prince of your family, and that one is my nephew. Because he is a young man, he is arrogant and proud, so it is inevitable that he speaks a little frivolously. You are a prime minister with a broad mind, so please forgive him!"
He casually brushed aside the matter and explained his purpose.
"During the New Year, our ancestor was still at my fifth uncle's home in Kyoto, but our fourth aunt's personal nanny came to Huaishu Hutong crying and begging, saying that the Song family wanted to divorce her! When our ancestor heard this, he was so angry that he fainted on the spot. When he woke up, he slapped the edge of the kang and scolded my fifth uncle and aunt, asking who had said this marriage? In the five generations of our Dou family, there has never been a man who committed a crime or a woman who remarried, and there has never been an aunt who was divorced by her husband's family."
Dou Dechang said aggrievedly, "Most of our Dou family members are in Zhending. The few branches in the capital are all elders, old and grandfathers. The younger generation is like me, too young, still studying in the Imperial College. It just so happens that my nephew came to the capital to take the exam, and was called by the ancestor to accompany me to your house. I want to ask what's going on. If the Song family really looks down on our Dou family, our Dou family will There is no reason to rush and cling to her. Just count the dowry of the fourth aunt and take her back. The old ancestor will have another person to take care of him, and he can spend the New Year in peace!" At the end of his words, his tone was sharp and his expression was cold, looking a little solemn and austere, "My fifth uncle is still kneeling in front of the old ancestor, waiting for my reply before the old ancestor is willing to punish him!"
Song Yichun was so angry that his whole body was shaking and the blood rushed to his head.
No wonder Dou was so tyrannical, it turned out to be due to his family tradition!
He had long since stopped wanting this daughter-in-law. Now that the Dou family was willing to take her back, did they still expect him to persuade her to stay?
Song Yichun called out "Zeng Wu" loudly, and said without showing any weakness: "Take Uncle Dou and Younger Nephew to count the dowry of the Crown Prince's wife!"
Tao Qizhong took two steps forward and stood in front of Song Yichun. He politely bowed to Dou Dechang and Dou Qijun, who was looking up at him. He introduced himself and said with a smile, "It takes a hundred years to be together. The prince and his wife are destined to be together. Otherwise, how could they become in-laws when their families are so far apart? As the saying goes, it is better to demolish a temple than to break up a marriage. You two are still young. You don't know that it is inevitable that there will be some bumps and bruises in the lives of a wealthy family. How can you clamor to take the child home just because of a small quarrel? I see that the uncle and nephew of the Dou family came here in anger. It is better to calm down and go to see our prince's wife first."
Then he smiled and made a "please" gesture, but quickly whispered to Song Yichun: "None of these old ladies who have been widowed for decades are reasonable. I think Dou Ge Lao is also following his mother's orders, otherwise, the Dou family would not have sent these two people out. You should not bother with them."
Can we just let it go like this?
Song Yichun clenched his hands into fists and his face turned pale with anger.
Who knew that people didn't even want to buy the heavy pottery?
Dou Dechang smiled and shook his head, saying, "No need. My seventh uncle has no son, so in order for his daughter to have a foothold in her husband's family, he gave half of Xidou's property to the fourth aunt. Our ancestors have ordered us to take the fourth aunt back today no matter what, and even the carriage carrying the dowry has come with her. Please ask the Duke to call the prince out and ask him to write a divorce letter so that we can go home early and drink some hot tea."
Half of Xidou's property?
so it is!
Song Yichun and Tao Qizhong simultaneously showed expressions of sudden enlightenment and looked at each other.
It turns out that they are really not just pretending!
He became excited.
Why should we give up the money that has come to our house?
But then, he thought that all the silver was now in Song Mo's hands... He immediately lost his temper and thought bitterly, if he let Dou return home, what would Song Mo use to fight with him?
If I can cut off Song Mo's wings, what does fame matter?
He shouted "Come here," and said, "Take Uncle Dou and Young Nephew to Yizhi Hall to count Madam's dowry!"
There is no intention to retain.
Dou Dechang and Dou Qijun felt a chill in their hearts.
No matter who it is, if they heard that their daughter-in-law had such a large dowry, they would keep her for the time being. However, Song Yichun did the opposite.
There is something wrong with the Song family!
They had done countless things like this when they were little, and they already had a tacit understanding of each other. They didn't even need eye contact, one of them was playing the good cop and the other the bad cop.
"I'm going to see the fourth aunt." Dou Dechang calmly instructed Dou Qijun, "You get the divorce letter here." With that, he strode out of the brothel with Zeng Wu.
Dou Qijun sat carelessly on the armchair and said in a sinister tone, "Please ask the Duke to call the Crown Prince back and write me a divorce letter. Since our fourth aunt is going to return, she can't just follow us back without knowing why."
Song Mo will definitely not agree to divorce his wife!
Song Yichun said, "The prince has gone to the palace to work. When he comes back, I will have him write a divorce letter and send it to your house."
Dou Qijun snorted coldly, "Do you think I'm a fool? You didn't write a divorce letter, but let Fourth Aunt go back with us and left the dowry behind... You Song family are really going too far! If the prince writes a divorce letter today, it's fine. If he doesn't, I'll go to Shuntian Prefecture and see if there has been such an example since the founding of this dynasty!"
Anyway, it was just to stir up trouble for Song Mo, so Song Yichun was very willing to do it.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't want a daughter-in-law like this even if she was offered to me! Just take her back, and I'll have someone deliver the divorce letter to her later."
"Okay!" Dou Qijun said straightforwardly, but he didn't believe him at all. "These merchants all pay attention to the difference between money and goods. I'll take her back here, but what if you don't put Fourth Aunt's dowry there? I think it's better to write me a certificate, saying that from now on the two families will have nothing to do with each other, and then stamp it with your private seal. I will take it back to our ancestors for safekeeping, and then we can move things here in the future with a legitimate reason."
Let me write something for the Dou family to control?
Song Yichun instinctively sensed the danger and was unwilling to write: "How can a son divorce his wife and ask his father-in-law to write a document?"