Chapter 393 The Intention
Dou Zhao laughed and said, "Mother-in-law was born into a military family, so she should be in good health. How come her health deteriorated after giving birth to the second master?"
Song Mo's expression dimmed, and he whispered, "My mother and my second uncle had the best relationship. Cousin Hanzhu was my second uncle's posthumous daughter. When my mother was pregnant with Tianen, cousin Hanzhu suddenly got chickenpox and had a high fever. My mother was extremely anxious. She went to the palace to ask the Empress Dowager for medicine, and she and my second aunt took care of cousin Hanzhu for several days without taking off their clothes. Later, she had a miscarriage and had to lie in bed for more than half a month before she recovered.
Later, her grandfather passed away. Although the palace sent eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting to help with the funeral, her mother could not completely abandon the matter, and she ended up having another miscarriage.
When Tian'en was born, my mother had a severe hemorrhage and almost lost her life. Tian'en was born very weak and could not suck milk three days after birth. My grandmother was so focused on my mother that she could not take care of Tian'en, so she gave Tian'en to my father. My father had no idea how to take care of a child, so he had to ask my aunt to take care of Tian'en for two or three months.
"My mother felt that she owed Tian En a lot, so she was particularly tolerant of him, and only hoped that he could grow up healthy and safe, and she didn't dare to ask for anything else," he said with a wry smile, "but unfortunately, she went too far and Tian En has become what he is today!"
After more than a hundred years of founding the country, most of the children from meritorious families were like Song Han.
If she hadn't had the experience in her previous life, Dou Zhao would have thought that having a brother-in-law like Song Han was not bad, but she was convinced that Song Mo would not kill his father and brother for no reason, and there must be something wrong between Song Yichun and Song Han.
But she has no evidence now.
Dou Zhaoyan comforted Song Mo insincerely: "Each of the ten fingers has its own length. You can't expect the Second Master to be as capable as you, right? He has never had a better foundation than you since he was young. It is already God's blessing that he can grow up safely. You can't expect more and offend God."
Song Mo hugged her shoulders, smiled, and kissed her cheek.
Dou Zhao changed the subject and said, "What do you think about handing over the affairs of the Hanlin Academy to Bo Yan?"
"Bo Yan?" Song Mo was very surprised and asked hesitantly, "Is this okay?"
"I think he is more suitable." Dou Zhao said, "First, he has traveled to many places in recent years. He is calm and steady, upright, chivalrous, and smart. It would be less noticeable for him, a newly-minted Jinshi, to deal with Zhao Peijie and Chen Songming, and it would not arouse the vigilance of Zhao and Chen." She said, helping Song Mo straighten his clothes, and smiled, "Second, I also have some selfish motives - if things are really as we guessed, with his status and eloquence, it would be easier to impress Fifth Uncle to make the right choice, so as not to drag the Dou family down with him."
Dou Qijun is one of us no matter what.
Song Mo naturally prefers to use his own people.
He thought, "Then I'll find a chance to talk to Boyan and feel out his reaction first."
Only three years have passed since the Liao Palace coup, and time is running out.
Dou Zhao couldn't help but urge Song Mo: "Then you should tell him as soon as possible."
Song Mo's heart moved, and he said, "I don't know what Prince Liao's plan is. It's really frustrating to wait indefinitely like this."
Dou Zhao reminded him: "If he wants to succeed, he must have a chance, right? As long as the emperor is healthy, he will have no excuse to come to the capital."
Song Mo's eyes lit up when he heard this.
The next day, Dou Qijun was invited to have dinner at Zuixianlou. Afterwards, Song Mo went to the palace to take up duty. Dou Qijun ran to see Dou Zhao with a pale face, but sat in her flower hall, hesitant to speak, with a look of uneasiness on his face.
Dou Zhao sighed and simply got straight to the point with him: "This is just our guess, but we're afraid that it might be true. Both sides are big families, so it's always better to be on guard against it."
Dou Qijun nodded, still looking a little dazed.
Dou Zhao asked Chen Qushui to send Dou Qijun back to Yuqiao Hutong.
The carriage was halfway gone when Dou Qijun came to his senses. He looked up and saw Chen Qushui's calm face under the flickering light. He was stunned and lifted the curtain. Outside the carriage were the strong figures of Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng.
He suddenly realized that his fourth aunt was very extraordinary and seemed to have prepared for everything that happened today a long time ago.
The thought flashed through his mind and he couldn't help but laugh.
How old was Fourth Auntie at that time? The Prince of Liao hadn't even established his own government yet, so how could things turn out the way he imagined?
I was really scared today, and I started to have some random thoughts.
He thanked Chen Qushui with a smile, jumped off the carriage, waved to Chen Qushui nonchalantly, and strode into the house.
Chen Qushui looked at his back and smiled slightly, then told the driver to go home.
Dou Zhao, however, became more and more interested in the past affairs of Mrs. Jiang and Song Yichun.
After Buddha's birthday, Dou Qijun passed the imperial examination and became a scholar-official. The palace also awarded him five-poison sachets and tablets. Dou Zhao took advantage of Dou Shiying's day off and returned to Jing'an Temple Hutong. In addition to giving his father a Dragon Boat Festival gift, he also brought two bottles of the tablets awarded by the palace to his father.
Dou Shiying was naturally overjoyed when his daughter came back to see him. He invited her to have lunch at his home, checked Dou Zhao's calligraphy in the study, and rewarded her with two pieces of fine Shoushan stone seal materials.
Dou Zhao smiled and said, "Dad remembers it clearly. He always gives me the same thing every time."
Dou Shiying said proudly: "You have liked this since you were a child, how could I not remember it?"
Dou Zhao looked at the silver hair on Dou Shiying's temples, thought for a moment, and said, "Are father and Seventh Madam going to drag on like this for the rest of their lives? Have you ever thought about finding someone to take care of your daily life?"
When asked about his personal affairs by his daughter, Dou Shiying seemed a little flustered.
He coughed violently a few times, then looked around and asked, "Where is Yantang going? Why didn't he come to pick you up?"
Dou Zhao didn't want to go into details, so he smiled and said, "He was taken to the Shenji Camp by Ma Youming, and he won't be back until the lighting time. I told him that I would be back early, so he didn't have to come to pick me up."
Dou Shiying thought of Dou Minglai.
He sighed secretly in his heart, and his interest in talking to Dou Zhao diminished.
Dou Zhao thought his father was tired, so he chatted with him for a few words and then stood up and said goodbye.
Dou Shiying didn't keep her for long and said, "Since Yantang is not coming to pick you up, you'd better go back early." He sent her sedan chair to the gate.
As the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, Jing'an Temple was crowded with pilgrims. The driver of the Duke of Ying's mansion was afraid of bumping into Dou Zhao, so he turned a corner and went through Shibei Hutong behind Jing'an Temple. But someone was getting married in Shibei Hutong, and the sound of firecrackers was heard everywhere. The driver had no choice but to bypass Shibei Hutong and go through Fucheng Street, Xuanwu Street and Yuqiao Street.
The sedan chair swayed forward.
Dou Zhao was bored, so he lifted the curtain and looked outside, and he saw the tall spire of Wanming Temple at a glance.
She had an idea and said to Duan Gongyi who was sitting beside her: "I want to go to Wanming Temple to burn some incense."
"That won't do!" Duan Gongyi said with a smile, "Today, there are people burning incense everywhere, you can't squeeze in now. If you really want to go and have a look, I will go back tonight and discuss it with Mr. Yan, send someone to greet the abbot of Wanming Temple, and then accompany you to burn incense." He added, "It's not that I have become more particular now that I have arrived in Kyoto and entered the Yingguo Mansion, but you are different now and can't stand this hardship."
Dou Zhao smiled slightly and said, "How about we find a quiet place to sit next to Wanming Temple? I just want you to find out something."
Duan Gongyi ordered the coachman to stop the sedan chair on the side of the road and sent someone to look for a small teahouse two streets away from Wanming Temple. He then placed Dou Zhao in a private room in the teahouse.
Dou Zhao said, "There is a family named Li. A widowed mother and her son and daughter lived in two alleys nearby. They moved away seventeen years ago. Please ask around for me to see if any old neighbors know where they moved to. If anyone asks, just say that they are distant relatives who have come to live with you. Don't draw anyone's attention."
The Li family had lived here since the previous dynasty, so even if they had moved away, it was impossible for the old neighbors to be so clean. At the time, the situation was tense, so it might have been difficult for them to contact the old neighbors, but now that more than ten years have passed, maybe some of the old neighbors know where they are.
Duan Gongyi was full of doubts, but he didn't ask anything and just left.
Dou Zhao was sitting behind the bamboo curtain in a private room on the second floor of the teahouse, looking at the crowd on the street outside.
No wonder Song Yichun chose to set up the Golden House near Wanming Temple. There is a side street here that specializes in selling rouge and pollen, and people come and go, mostly women. In addition, there are often female pilgrims who come to Wanming Temple to worship Buddha. It is also close to Li's home, so whether it is Song Yichun or Li Tiao Niang, they will not attract much attention when they come in and out here.
She sat down and drank two cups of tea, and Duan Gongyi turned back.
He looked a little embarrassed, and said, "Neighbors said that since the daughter of the Li family died of a sudden illness, the Li family sold the ancestral house and moved away. I asked where they moved to, but no one knew. But the family living in the ancestral house now seemed to know the Li family very well and asked me a lot of questions. I was about to reveal the truth, so I had to flee." He blushed and said, "Madam, I'm sorry, I didn't do what you asked me to do."
Dou Zhao was a little surprised and asked, "Have you found out who is living in the Li family's ancestral house now?"
"I asked." Duan Gongyi said, "He said that it was a long-time neighbor of the Li family. He saw that they were selling it at a low price, so he bought it. He also said that someone came to inquire about the Li family in the first two years. Who would have thought that more than ten years later, someone would come to inquire about the Li family again."
Dou Zhao was stunned and asked, "Then have you asked who came to inquire about the Li family?"
"I asked." Duan Gongyi said embarrassedly, "but the family became suspicious of me, saying that Li's mother was from the capital, so how could she have relatives far away in Hebei... I didn't dare to ask any more."
It seems that this kind of thing has to be done by professionals!
Dou Zhao smiled and comforted him, then went back home somewhat disappointed.
Just as he stepped into the door, a servant came to report: "Master Chen of the Jinyiwei sent his daughter-in-law to give you a Dragon Boat Festival gift. The daughter-in-law is waiting outside the door and wants to come in to greet you. Do you want to see her or not?"
After all, they found two maids with good skills for me, so I should give them some face.
Dou Zhao smiled and said, "Then let her in!"
The servant smiled and said "yes", then turned around and led the person in.
It was nothing more than kowtow to her twice on behalf of Chen Jia and say a few festive words.
Dou Zhao saw that the daughter-in-law had a good appearance, behaved in a measured way, and spoke politely and moderately. He felt a bit of favor for her and asked someone to reward the daughter-in-law with two top-quality red ribbons.