Chapter 374 Dissatisfaction

Dou Zhao was a little confused. She said to Su Lan, "Tell me, what's going on here?"

Su Lan smiled and said, "Madam should be happy that the old man and the prince have such a good relationship."

"Yes!" Dou Zhao sighed, "I am not a good daughter, but fortunately I still have the prince."

Her mood became cheerful again, and she went to the kitchen herself and instructed the maid at the stove to prepare a banquet and send it to the outer courtyard.

Dou Shiying chatted with Song Mo for a while and was in a good mood. He stayed in Yizhitang until the lights came on before returning home. By the time Zhao Si's family left Beijing, he no longer cared about Zhao Si's indifference towards him.

If this happened to his sister, he would probably find it hard to let it go.

No one in this world can satisfy everyone, so why not live an honest life? Just be true to your conscience!

Yantang is absolutely right.

As long as you have a clear conscience, what others think or say about you is their business.

He just felt refreshed, and cleared away the knot in his heart that had accumulated for so many years. He prepared a ceremony and a farewell gift for Zhao Si, and personally sent him to Yuqiao Hutong. In the slightly apologetic look of his aunt, he calmly drank a cup of tea, chatted with his aunt for a few words, and then stood up to say goodbye.

My aunt went to the study.

Seeing her husband practicing calligraphy in a restless mood, she couldn't help but sigh softly, turned around and went to Zhao Zhangru to ask her if her luggage was packed properly: "...Don't forget anything."

Zhao Zhangru, however, didn't care at all and said, "This is Shougu's house. Even if something is left behind, Shougu will help us collect it. She has farms in Huguang, so we can just have someone take it to Huguang when the time comes."

My aunt glared.

Song Yan happened to come in, and after knowing what was going on, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother, I'll help keep an eye on it, so nothing will be left here."

Zhao Zhangru blushed and smiled at her husband.

My aunt couldn't help but laugh and shake her head.

Fortunately, there is Song Yan.

He grew up eating at many people's houses and was careful and cautious, which made up for his daughter's carelessness. But because of this, his daughter's liveliness and cheerfulness made up for Song Yan's sensitivity and meticulousness, so this marriage was a great one.

If you are neither stupid nor deaf, you won’t be a fool.

She went to the hall with a smile.

※※※※※

Dou Zhao sent his uncle and his family away and began to prepare for Sulan's marriage.

She prepared the same dowry for Sulan as for Suxin.

Chen He was very uneasy and asked Yuan Yuan to refuse the dowry: "My brother-in-law is from a poor family and works for the lady. But I am the foster brother of the prince. I don't need to do this because I have the prince to take care of me."

Su Lan shook her head and said, "I dare not refuse a gift from an elder, and the same goes for gifts from my boss. You and I should accept them happily, but in the future, when you treat people and things, think about how my boss treated us, and then you will know how to behave and what to do, and how to choose what to do and what not to do, which is to repay my boss."

Chen He had never expected that Su Lan, who was usually carefree, could actually speak such simple truths. He couldn't help but look at her differently. He no longer dared to treat her as an innocent girl as before, and he treated her with more respect from then on.

Seeing that Chen He really liked his daughter-in-law, Chen's mother thought of the dead Chen Tao, and felt that fortune and misfortune were unpredictable, so she became more tolerant towards Sulan. After Sulan got married, she lived a happy life beyond Dou Zhao's expectation, which was something Dou Zhao had not expected.

But that’s all for later.

Just two days before Sulan's wedding, Lu Zheng's wife brought two maids to the east room of the upper courtyard to pick up Xia Shang from Song Hanyuan. When she heard that Dou Zhao was in the backyard watching the maids tidying up the flowers and plants, she thought about it, went to the backyard, and greeted Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao was already a little bit pregnant. She stood for a while and felt a little tired, so she sat down next to the beauty on the fur mat. She took two tangerines from Fujian from the blue and white porcelain high-footed plate on the tea table and gave them to Lu Zheng's family as a reward: "Take them back for the children!"

Mrs. Lu thanked him again and again, and whispered, "I heard from the people in the Osmanthus Courtyard that the Duke intends to assign Chuan'er from the Osmanthus Courtyard to the Second Master. But Chuan'er has served the Duke closely, so how can she be sent to the Second Master's room? Madam, please help me make a decision on this matter."

Anyone who has served Song Yichun closely?

How to get close?

To be honest, she really didn't find out.

Dou Zhao pondered and said, "I've said it before, Second Master has the final say on matters in his house. If this is what Second Master wants, I will naturally intervene."

The implication was that if it was just Lu Zhengjia's intention, even if Chuan'er had served Song Yichun closely, she would have turned a blind eye.

Lu Zhengjia's face flushed red, and after a while he said, "Madam, you don't know, that Chuan'er looks like a fairy, and any man will stare at her. Second Master is still young, if he knew that Duke had called Chuan'er to his room, how could he refuse? Moreover, Chuan'er originally offended Miss Baizhi in Duke's room, and Miss Baizhi had put eye drops on her, which offended Duke, so Duke was furious and called Chuan'er to Second Master's room to order her around. If such a person entered Second Master's room, it would surely make Second Master's room full of smoke and miasma!"

As she spoke, she knelt in front of Dou Zhao and said, "Madam, please fulfill my sincere wish."

Angelica dahurica?

Isn't she a second-class maid in Song Yichun's house?

The last time she went to the Xiangxiang Courtyard to take care of the sick, she only saw two big maids, Luoyan and Chenyu, and a few little maids who were still in their teens. She was surprised at the time, why did Song Yichun only have these few maids around her? Later, she looked at the list of servants in the Duke of Ying's mansion and found that there were four big maids, eight second-class maids, twelve third-class maids, and some maids and wives of lower-ranking maids in Song Yichun's house, a total of 44 people.

She had not had the chance to get to know them yet, but unexpectedly, because of a second-class maid named Chuan'er, she had contact with the maids of Osmanthus Courtyard in advance.

Dou Zhao said: "I will consider this matter."

Lu Zhengjia left in disappointment.

Dou Zhao shouted "Su Xin" loudly.

Ganlu came in and replied with a smile: "Madam, how could you forget about this matter? Sister Suxin took Sister Suxian to bring some fruit to the nephew."

Dou Zhao burst out laughing.

Today is the third provincial examination. Like the previous two times, she prepared fresh fruits for Suxin to deliver to the examination room.

Normally, I always call Suxin for help when there is something going on.

When Zhao Liangbi returned to Beijing in the summer, Su Xin also wanted to go home, and it seemed that he didn't even have a maid to confide in.

I have to slowly get used to these trusted maids leaving me one by one.

Dou Zhao remembered Chen Qushui coming in.

No wonder those men like to have staff.

In addition to being knowledgeable, another important reason is that the host and the guest can get along for a long time, get used to each other's living habits and ways of thinking, and become more and more in tune with each other.

She walked around the house for a long time, and finally made up her mind to ask Ganlu to invite Chen Qushui over.

Chen Qushui sat down opposite Dou Zhao and said with a smile, "Suxin is married now. Madam must be feeling very uncomfortable. She has no one to discuss matters in the inner court with. That's why she asked me to come, right?"

Dou Zhao's face suddenly turned red.

Chen Qushui smiled and said, "Actually, even if Madam didn't look for me, I would have come to look for Madam." As he spoke, his expression gradually became serious. "I still remember the first time I saw Madam. The owner of the Bie Pavilion was dying. Madam walked in calmly and confidently in a bright red jacket. The bright color brightened up the room. The owner of the Bie Pavilion asked me to ask you to take in the Bie sisters. You looked reluctant, but you still calmly weighed the pros and cons. That kind of confidence made you like a gem thrown in the rubble. As long as there is a ray of sunlight, you can shine brightly. I thought at that time that this little girl must have been loved by thousands of people to have such style and tenacity.

After I learned about the lady's situation, I could only admire her.

So when my wife asked me to be a teacher, I was moved.

I will never be able to serve as an aide to any provincial governor in my lifetime, but I can help this little girl in front of me become the head of a family.

Madam did not disappoint me.

After weighing the situation, she wisely gave up her plan to remain single and became a loving couple with the Crown Prince.

But now, after you have legitimately taken control of the power to preside over the Duke of England's mansion, you have begun to hesitate, waver, and doubt. You treat Master Duan and the others as ordinary guards, and treat me as an old and frail person, which is contrary to the decision you made when you first entered the mansion.

But I understand you.

Since you have decided to solve the mystery of the feud between father and son for the Crown Prince, you will definitely do it.

I just don’t know what happened.

But no matter what happened, I just want to tell Madam that we, the people who came here from Zhending, will prosper together with Madam. If Madam has any accident, even if I want to be Cheng Ying, I am afraid it will not be possible with the close relationship between Madam and me. "

Dou Zhao was slightly shocked.

Is it not possible?

Chen Qushui's heart seemed to be filled with thousands of waves.

Sure enough, the lady encountered a matter of life and death.

He added: "Even if Madam sends all of us back to Zhending right now, who do you think will protect us, rootless duckweed?"

A word can awaken a person from his dream.

When she asked Chen Qushui to bring Duan Gongyi and others to Beijing, the fate of these people in Zhending was tied to her.

It's not something she can deny just because she wants to.

She did make a wrong decision.

Dou Zhao's eyes became as firm as a mountain.

Chen Qushui laughed.

Dou Zhao stood up and said, "Sir, let's go to the pavilion in the backyard to talk."

The view there was wide, and although everyone could see her and Chen Qushui, anyone approaching them could also be seen clearly.

Chen Qushui nodded and went to the pavilion with Dou Zhao.

The spring breeze was chilly, but Dou Zhao and Chen Qushui sat in the pavilion for nearly an hour. Then they returned to the small flower hall and continued their conversation.

"So, you suspect Prince Liao?" Chen Qushui's face was pale, and his eyes looked a little gloomy when he looked at Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao nodded slightly.

Chen Qushui lowered his head and said nothing for a long while.

The early spring breeze blew by, and the branches and leaves outside the glass window, which had just begun to show signs of green, trembled slightly, already having the gentleness of spring.