Chapter 369 Pass

The plum blossoms in Fucheng herald spring early.

But it was only the end of the month, and a gust of wind still made people standing outside Fuchengmen on the west side of Kyoto shiver with cold.

Zhao Si stood in front of the teahouse, looking at the strange young woman with a fallen horse bun in front of him, and his eyes couldn't help but become moist.

More than ten years have passed in a flash. The little girl who was just learning to speak back then has now become a wife and a mother. What has he missed during this period?

"Shougu!" He stretched out his hand tremblingly to support Dou Zhao, signaling her to get up quickly.

Dou Zhao stood up and called out "Uncle", tears already falling from his eyes.

In her previous life, she misunderstood her uncle’s forbearance and regret; in this life, it was her uncle who helped her get half of Xidou’s property, so that she could live such a carefree life... In both lives, her uncle had never treated her unfairly. On the contrary, she owed her uncle so much for the misunderstandings in her previous life and the inability to help him in this life... But today, she not only lived a happy and fulfilling life, but also met and reunited with her uncle. This was the happiest thing. She should not cry, but laugh.

Dou Zhao raised his head and smiled brightly from the bottom of his heart: "Uncle, you are going to be transferred this time, so you should stay in Kyoto for a few more days, right?"

She greeted politely, but her tears still blurred her vision.

Zhao Si hummed, tears welling in his eyes: "I will stay in Kyoto for ten more days. After your cousin's wedding is over, we will set off for Huguang..."

He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask his only niece, but there were differences between men and women, and they had been separated for too long, so when the words came to his lips, he didn't know where to start. Only such a polite and conventional response seemed to be the most appropriate.

My uncle and niece stood outside the teahouse under the large black lacquered sign with gold characters. Surrounded by a bustling crowd, they stood there silently, looking a little at a loss.

The aunt originally had tears in her eyes, but when she saw the uncle and nephew looking at each other in silence, she couldn't help but burst out laughing, breaking the silence between the two.

"Look at you two uncle and nephew. You missed each other when you were apart, but now that you meet, you have nothing to say." She held Dou Zhao's hand and said to her uncle, "This is not the place to talk. Shougu has been waiting for you here for most of the day. Shougu's son-in-law rented a house for us in Yuqiao Hutong. If you have anything to say, let's go home and talk."

Hearing that the British prince had rented a yard for him, Zhao Si couldn't help but frowned slightly, but when he thought that today was a good day for his family to reunite, he immediately relaxed his brows, smiled and nodded to his wife, got on the carriage, followed Dou Zhao's carriage, and returned to Yuqiao Hutong.

On the way, Dou Zhao was still immersed in the complicated feelings of meeting his uncle. Zhao Zhangru whispered to Dou Zhao: "Are you disappointed? My father is such a serious and old-fashioned person." As she spoke, she sighed, relaxed her whole body and leaned back on the big pillow, and said leisurely, "But it's also good for me. He didn't even look at me today, but he will definitely stare at you in the future, so I feel relieved. I don't know if Song Yan will be timid when he sees my father? You don't know, the last time someone told me about a scholar, he was rejected by my father because he stuttered and couldn't speak when he saw my father..."

No matter how much Dou Zhao thought, he was still amused by Zhao Zhangru's words.

She teased Zhao Zhangru: "What? Do you want to regret it? You are already engaged now. Even if your uncle asks Song Yan speechless, you can only get married on the date? Or are you worried that Song Yan will be embarrassed by your uncle?"

After all, Song Yan was the one who was going to spend his life with Zhao Zhangru, so how could she remain indifferent?

Zhao Zhangru's face was as red as the morning glow, and he reached out to pinch Dou Zhao's face: "I told you not to talk nonsense!"

Dou Zhao turned his head away and said with a smile: "I am a double now. If you bully me, I will tell my uncle and aunt immediately!"

"Besides complaining, what else can you do?" Zhao Zhangru looked at Dou Zhao angrily, his eyes wide open.

Dou Zhao laughed and whispered, "I will also save some pocket money for my cousin."

"Go to hell!" Zhao Zhangru's face turned red again.

Her wedding date was officially set for the second day of the second lunar month. A few days ago, Dou Zhao sent her a box of gifts, which turned out to be a house with four entrances and three rooms and a farm. My aunt thought it was too expensive and was unwilling to accept it. Dou Zhao was unhappy and said, "Aunt, do you want to calculate it clearly with me?"

The aunt thought about it, thanked generously, and accepted Dou Zhao's makeup.

But when her uncle asked about Dou Zhao's recent situation while changing clothes, she told her husband about it.

Zhao Si was furious and asked, "How could you accept Shougu's things?"

The aunt knew her husband's character best. She knew that if he had heard about Dou Zhao adding makeup to his daughter from someone else, he would be furious. It would be better for her to explain it to her husband as soon as possible so as to consider Aunt Shou's good intentions.

She said unhappily, "Who is Shougu? You are so clear about your relationship with her, afraid of getting a little bit of her help. Aren't you afraid that she will be disappointed? Why don't you think from her perspective? When did you become so narrow-minded? The house we live in belongs to Shougu's son-in-law. Are you going to move out immediately? Friends should share money. Is Shougu worse than your friends? I treat her as my own daughter. I like everything my daughter gives me as a gift, and I am happy to accept it. Not to mention that this is Shougu's private money given to her sister as a gift to save face because she feels sorry for the difficulties she has faced after getting married!"

Zhao Si was silent.

The aunt went out, told the maids to serve the meal, and then stood on the veranda waiting for her husband to calm down.

After a while, Zhao Si came out with a guilty look on his face, and stood on the veranda with his wife, pretending to be calm and saying, "When is dinner? I'm starving! These days I've either been eating dry food or those weird things at the post station, and I've never had a full meal!"

My aunt smiled and told the maid, "Go and invite the young lady and cousin to come out for dinner."

The little maidservant left immediately.

My aunt straightened my uncle's clothes and turned to go into the hall.

Zhao Si hurriedly followed him in.

When Dou Zhao and Zhao Zhangru came in, my uncle and my aunt were sitting at the table talking in a friendly manner. There was no sign that they had been angry with each other just now.

The uncle sincerely thanked Dou Zhao and said: "You are the only mother, and I only have three sisters, Zhang Ru and the others. You are the closest to each other in this world. You must help each other in the future." He then regretted, "Your eldest sister I wanted to come with you, but your eldest brother-in-law failed the exam last September and was feeling uncomfortable, so I didn’t let her come.”

Dou Zhao knew that three years later her eldest cousin-in-law would successfully pass the provincial and metropolitan examinations, become a scholar-official, and observe government affairs in the Ministry of Works.

She comforted her uncle: "My eldest cousin's husband will definitely pass the imperial examination, so don't worry. A person's life is not always smooth sailing. He is still young now, and more experience will only benefit him."

After hearing this, her uncle laughed and said, "You are so young, but you talk like an adult. You even know that people's life cannot be smooth and peaceful!" He looked down on her.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but pout.

It was rare to see her acting like a little girl, and both her aunt and Zhao Zhangru laughed.

The atmosphere suddenly became relaxed, and Dou Zhao felt that his relationship with his uncle had become much closer.

Everyone was chatting casually until the little maid put down her chopsticks and everyone quieted down.

But a servant came to report: "The Prince of England is here."

Dou Zhao was shocked.

Song Mo should be on duty in the palace today.

Zhao Zhangru, however, winked and frowned at Dou Zhao.

My aunt stood up with a smile on her face and said to my uncle, "I'm afraid Yantang knew you were coming to Beijing and took a leave of absence to welcome you!"

Because this marriage was Dou Shiying's idea, although his wife said in the letter that Dou Zhao's marriage was happy, he still had a skeptical attitude. In addition, the news that Song Mo easily instigated and suppressed martial artists from all over the country spread to the Northwest Army, and he also felt a little dissatisfied with Song Mo. Hearing that Song Mo had come to visit, he pondered for a moment, and the servant said, "He is not an outsider, so please invite him to the hall to have dinner together."

The servant was originally from Yizhitang. Upon hearing the words, he immediately ran over and quickly invited Song Mo in.

Song Mo saluted Zhao Si respectfully.

Zhao Si felt even more conflicted.

With her beautiful appearance and vicious methods, how could Shougu be his opponent?

He nodded slightly, and without paying any attention to the maid, he served tea and said to Song Mo, "Come with me to the study."

Song Mogong went to the study room carefully.

Zhao Zhangru immediately rushed to Dou Zhao and said, "It's over, it's over! Father must have gone to test the prince's homework! My eldest brother-in-law was defeated in front of my father, let alone the prince!"

Dou Zhao glared at her: "Can you have some confidence in the prince?"

She was not afraid of her uncle testing Song Mo's knowledge, but she was afraid that her uncle would have a preconceived prejudice against Song Mo because of her father, and that Song Mo would suffer injustice.

But how did my uncle become like this?

Dou Zhao pondered.

Zhao Zhangru said: "What's the use of my confidence? He has to pass the test!"

Listening to their mumbling, the aunt scolded Zhao Zhangru: "You are always getting upset. Is your father such a person without any sense of propriety?"

But she was still worried that Song Mo didn't have enough food in his belly and that she would be humiliated by her husband, so she looked towards the study.

I hope the prince has some real talent as Shougu said!

Zhao Zhangru winked at Dou Zhao, sat up straight and said no more.

For a moment, the hall was silent.

Only when the tea in the cup had grown cold did Zhao Si and Song Mo leave the study one after the other.

Dou Zhao looked at his uncle with a sullen expression and breathed a sigh of relief.

No change is the best case scenario.

She looked at Song Mo and indeed saw a smile in his eyes.

Only then did Dou Zhao feel completely relieved.

My aunt was also relieved.

She knew her husband's feelings towards Dou Shiying. Since her husband did not dislike Song Mo, it was obvious that the two of them had a good conversation in the study just now.

"Eat, eat," she said with a smile, "If you have anything to say, let's talk after you eat."

Song Mo sat down below Zhao Si with a smile on his face and poured wine for him.

A faint smile appeared on Zhao Si's face.

The meal made everyone smile.

In the evening, everyone moved to the banquet room in the west to drink tea, and Zhao Si and Song Mo even commented on the generals of the Northwest Army.

On the way back, Song Mo pretended to wipe his sweat and sighed: "My uncle is much more difficult to deal with than my father-in-law!"

Dou Zhao chuckled.

Song Mo suddenly said, "I have decided. If I have a daughter, I will treat you like my father-in-law. If I have a son, I will treat him like my uncle."

Dou Zhao laughed so hard that tears almost came out.

But my heart is filled with sorrow.

Song Mo wanted to be a good father, but he could only use his own father and uncle as references.

Song Yichun was of no help at all.