Chapter 359: Mother's Home

Dai Jian and Wang Yuan are very close, while Mu Chuan is the Empress's man. Both of them can manipulate Wang Ge.

Who is it?

Song Mo thought for a moment and said, "I'll go ask Wang Ge directly and get rid of the Kuang family first."

But it's only a matter of twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver a year, so Wang Ge would still give him this little bit of face.

Dou Zhao thought differently.

In his previous life, after the Liao prince ascended the throne, Dai Jian served as the chief minister of the inner cabinet for a period of time. Unlike the peaceful and prosperous times when the emperor was in power, the political situation after the Liao prince ascended the throne was somewhat complicated. He was limited in ability and was eventually forced to retire. Later, he was implicated in a military pay corruption case, his property was confiscated and he was exiled, and he died on the way.

Both of these people have intricate connections with King Liao.

She warned Dou Songmo: "Most eunuchs are vindictive. Be careful not to offend Eunuch Wang because of this matter."

"I know." Song Mo smiled and kissed her cheek, and reminded her, "Hurry up and dress up. I will go with you to pay New Year's greetings to Madam Lu and Princess Ningde."

Today is the second day of the Chinese New Year, and I am going to my uncle’s house.

Song Mo's uncles were not in Kyoto, so he went to his uncle Lu's house.

Dou Zhao was grinning as she wore a bright red silk-lined shirt with lantern patterns that matched the occasion, as well as a pearly headdress. Because she was pregnant, her skin, which was already as white as snow, became even whiter and more rosy. She looked radiant and dazzling, and anyone who looked at her would feel refreshed.

Princess Ningde was delighted when she saw her. She took her hand and smiled at the relatives who came to wish her a happy new year: "This child, no wonder the Queen Mother praised her for being good-looking."

Everybody burst into laughter.

Princess Ningde's granddaughter, the third wife of Duke Jing's mansion, Mrs. Feng, joined in the fun: "When has grandma ever not been happy to see my cousins? It makes us look like rubble."

The third grandmother of the Lu family had always been afraid of her aunt's mouth, so she quickly pulled her aside and said, "The Empress Dowager has given us two baskets of oranges from Fujian as a tribute. Please help me peel some oranges for the elders."

Princess Ningde likes people who are clean and efficient, and the servants around her cannot be lazy at all. For things like peeling oranges, idle people are usually unable to help.

Mrs. Zhang San knew her grandmother's temper. She stood up and went to the tea room with Mrs. Lu, pretending to be wronged and complaining: "She just orders me to do things, but she doesn't think about the fact that I am an aunt. Is this how an aunt should be treated when she returns to her parents' home?"

Mrs. Lu retorted, "Today is your brother and sister-in-law's day, but you insisted on coming along. What can we do?"

This made everyone laugh again.

Several younger members of the Lu family took the opportunity to come forward to greet Princess Ningde and Madam Lu and ask for red envelopes.

Mrs. Zhang San's sister-in-law, Feng Shao's wife, whispered to Dou Zhao: "I heard that your sister had a miscarriage because the wife of the Marquis of Jining asked her to set the rules. Is that true?"

This was the first time Dou Zhao heard about Dou Ming's miscarriage.

She was shocked.

Fortunately, she had lived two lives and had experienced a lot, so the surprise only flashed across her face before she returned to normal.

"I have been staying at home to protect my pregnancy for a while," Dou Zhao said with a smile, "and no one has told me much about what is happening outside. I don't know whether it is true or not."

The eleventh grandmother of the Feng family was somewhat unhappy. She felt that Dou Zhao's words were too polite and distant, and that he did not treat her as a family member.

She turned around and started talking about royal gossip with Mrs. Lu Er who was sitting next to her: "...Princess Fuyuan has already married, I wonder who Princess Jingyi and Princess Jingtai will marry? Princess Jingyi was raised by the Empress, but Princess Jingtai was raised by Consort Shu who didn't give birth to a prince. How can she be so confident and not marry because of all the nitpicking?"

Mrs. Lu laughed and said, "The emperor's daughter will never have trouble finding a husband. How should I know that?"

But Dou Zhao knew.

Although this Concubine Shu did not give birth to a prince, she was very versatile and good at networking!

The word "Shu" was the title of Empress Wan in the past. Not only was it given to her, but after Prince Liao ascended the throne, she was the only concubine who lived with Empress Wan in Cining Palace.

She sat there smiling and listening to what the people in the room were saying, but she was thinking about Dou Ming in her heart.

Logically speaking, Dou Ming was pregnant, even if her relationship with Dou Ming was bad, she should have been told, but neither Jing'an Temple Hutong nor Huaishu Hutong informed her. Could it be that what Grandma Feng Shiyi said was true? She was pregnant, and everyone was afraid that she would be upset if they knew, so they didn't tell her?

When she got home, she asked Song Mo.

Song Mo obviously knew it a long time ago.

He said, "Sixth Madam and my aunt both told me not to tell you, and when we sent the New Year gifts, the Jining Marquisate didn't say anything, so I didn't tell you either."

In fact, he didn't want Dou Zhao to pay too much attention to the affairs of the Jining Marquis' Mansion.

Dou Zhao asked him, "So, it is true that Dou Ming had a miscarriage because of her mother-in-law's rules?"

Song Mo nodded: "Sixth Madam and my aunt both said so."

Dou Zhao couldn't help but sigh.

In her previous life, she married into the Wei family and had a miscarriage of her first child.

But her miscarriage was her own responsibility.

In fact, Tian was a person without his own opinion and brains. Apart from Wei Tingzhen, there was no other person who could have made Tian think of using this method to torment Dou Ming.

From Dou Zhao's perspective, Tian was a very easy person to get along with. As long as you coaxed her a little and lowered your attitude, she would feel sorry for you and treat you as someone who needed her protection. In her previous life, she had tried to gain Tian's approval and then control Wei Tingzhen through Tian.

Dou Ming had been married for less than half a year, but she was already on the opposite side of her mother-in-law and aunt. She was afraid that there would be many "good" days ahead of her in the future.

Is this the "benefit" she got by marrying into the family with great care?

Dou Zhao smiled sarcastically.

Since her sixth aunt and her aunt didn't want her to worry about Dou Ming, she pretended not to know. The next day, she changed into a royal blue jacket with ten kinds of brocade, a royal blue plain skirt with rose-red lotus embroidery, and a headpiece with kingfisher feathers and silk, and returned to her parents' home with Song Mo, all glittering with jewels.

Dou Shiying saw that Dou Zhao was very happy. He did not mention Dou Ming, but just said to her: "Your eleventh brother took your eleventh sister-in-law back to Yue's family to pay New Year's greetings to the elders of Yue's family. Your sixth uncle and your sixth aunt will bring your twelfth brother to have dinner later."

Dou Zhao was naturally overjoyed. He was taken by Gao Sheng's family to the inner courtyard to pay New Year's greetings to his aunt and cousin, while Song Mo and Dou Shiying went to the study.

The maid brought up the teacup.

Looking at the bright color and mellow aroma of the tea, Song Mo couldn't help but sigh for himself.

The teacup contains the best Tieguanyin tea.

Dou Shiying was completely unaware and was still trying to persuade Song Mo: "I specially asked someone to get it from Anxi, Fujian. Try it and see how it tastes. If you like it, I'll make some for you to take back later."

Looking at his father-in-law's face full of expectation for praise, what else could Song Mo say except to express his gratitude in surprise?

Dou Shiying smiled with satisfaction and told Song Mo about his job: "Jinwuwei is the emperor's personal guard, so they just need to be responsible to the emperor. Wucheng Bingmasi is different. They deal with ordinary people more often, so how to uphold justice and redress grievances for the people has become their main responsibility. You must pay attention to the difference between the two, and you must not lose the emperor's heart, nor the people's heart..."

Song Mo listened attentively, more respectful than in front of the emperor, but he muttered in his heart: I don't want to be the emperor, why do I need the people's support? Things are almost done, if I go too far, maybe I won't even be favored by the emperor.

Dou Shiying had no idea what Song Mo was thinking. Seeing Song Mo's obedient look, he couldn't help but think of his other son-in-law, Wei Tingyu.

The daughter and mother-in-law have conflicts. As a son-in-law, he must be in a dilemma. Even if he has to favor his mother, it is understandable. But Wei Tingyu put all the blame on Dou Ming, and even accepted Dou Ming's dowry, so that Dou Ming would learn the rules from Tian! He didn't think about the fact that Dou Ming was the blood of their Wei family, and there was no affection between them at all... This made him feel distressed just thinking about it.

Dou Shiying couldn't help but reveal a hint of displeasure between his brows.

Song Mo was secretly shocked. While talking to Dou Shiying, he reflected on his words and actions just now.

There is nothing wrong with the answer!

Song Mo thought for a long time but couldn't find the reason why Dou Shiying frowned.

Dou Shiying, however, had put the matter behind him, which was his usual attitude towards things that gave him a headache.

He asked Song Mo: "I heard that Shou Gu is now in charge of the reward for the Duke of Ying's mansion. Is she busy enough? Do you want me to buy a few more maids and wives to serve her?"

"No need!" Song Mo was not a sentimental person. If he didn't know now, he would know after checking. He also threw the worries in his heart aside and said, "Shou Gu said that there are rules for family affairs. She just follows them and it's easy. If we are too busy, we will definitely ask my father-in-law for help."

These words made Dou Shiying feel as comfortable as if he had drunk a cup of hot tea in a cold day.

He thought for a moment, then took out a palm-sized box from the storage compartment under the desk and handed it to Song Mo: "Take a look, do you like it?"

Song Mo opened it and found something black and dirty that looked like an old tree root.

His expression changed slightly, and he said, "Could this be the legendary meteorite inkstone?"

"That's right!" Seeing Song Mo recognize the goods, Dou Shiying said proudly, "This is the meteorite inkstone named 'Fairy from the Sky'. I'm giving it to you! You can use it yourself or leave it to my grandson. It's a rare thing."

It is not only rare, it is precious!

Most people who have such an inkstone would treat it as a family heirloom.

Song Mo thought that his father-in-law was a scholar, just like a sword to a famous scholar and rouge to a beautiful woman, in his father-in-law's eyes, this inkstone was more valuable. He instinctively wanted to refuse, but he saw Dou Shiying's expectant expression from the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but shudder.

Father-in-law, you must be lonely, right?

For so many years, he has been living in the circle he has drawn for himself. Others cannot get in, and he is unwilling to get out. After a long time, others don’t know how to get in, and he doesn’t know how to get out either.

He remembered his father-in-law's unguarded kindness towards him, and his eyes suddenly became moist.

"Father-in-law!" Song Mo said with a smile, "Since you left so many good inkstones, you must have left some good ink too, right? What's the use of inkstones without ink? Why don't you give me some good ink? What will happen to your grandson in the future? Without good ink, how can he write good characters?"

Dou Shiying laughed heartily, feeling very happy.

He waved at Song Mo: "Come with me - I have a few pieces of good ink here, which were collected by Shougu's grandfather. I'll give them to you as well!"

Song Mo immediately followed him to the warehouse.

At this time, my sixth uncle Dou Shiheng and his family arrived.