Chapter 400: Resistance

Tomorrow is the date for Jiang Lizhu to get married. Today, the Wu family came to urge the marriage. The fourth wife of the Jiang family has been busy all day. Instead of resting at home and talking to Jiang Lizhu in private, why did she suddenly come to find me?

Dou Zhao suppressed his surprise and met the fourth wife of the Jiang family in the banquet room of the main house.

The fourth wife of the Jiang family looked a little embarrassed. She held a cup of tea in her hand for a long time and said abruptly, "Madam, you have never met anyone from the Mei family, right?" Then, without waiting for Dou Zhao to answer, she said to herself, "My mother-in-law's grandfather was once the general of Yunnan. Because of the defeat, his family property was confiscated and he was exiled. At that time, my mother-in-law had already married into the Dingguo Mansion, so she was spared from confiscation. But she had witnessed the miserable experience of the women in her natal family.

So when my uncle was convicted, my mother-in-law immediately had someone prepare arsenic and told us that it would be better to die with a clean record than to live in humiliation, so that at least we could leave a good reputation in the world.

Now that my mother-in-law has passed away, we, the daughters-in-law, have even more respect for her.

If it weren't for the reputation of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism of the Duke Dingguo Mansion, and the family tradition of loyalty and righteousness, how could the Jiang family, which had fallen to this point, receive protection from others and guard its final resting place?" As she spoke, she pulled out a small rosewood box from her sleeve and handed it to Dou Zhao, "Please return this item to the Second Master, and also tell him that no matter how useless the girls in our Jiang family are, they will never be concubines of others!" After she finished speaking, she stood up, bowed slightly to Dou Zhao, and walked out.

The back is straight.

Dou Zhao was speechless, and it took him a while to realize what the fourth wife of the Jiang family had said.

"Aunt, wait a minute." She chased after him with the rosewood box in her hand. "I don't know what to say, but you have watched the prince grow up. You should know his character and how he treats the Jiang family. Neither the prince nor I have any intention of insulting the two cousins ​​of the Jiang family. Please calm down, aunt. Wait until the prince and I have found out everything before we come to apologize."

"I don't mean to blame you." The fourth wife of the Jiang family listened, sighed sadly, and said, "If I had any grudges against you, I wouldn't have made this trip at this time. Maybe the second master has good intentions, but our Jiang family has our Jiang family dignity, our Jiang family has our Jiang family way of life, and we should do what we should do and not do what we shouldn't do. Please also ask Madam to convey my meaning to the second master and ask him not to go there again in the future. Anyway, we will be back to Haozhou in a few days, so as not to delay the second master's homework and make the Duke unhappy!"

What else can Dou Zhao say?

She could only nod and respectfully escort the fourth wife of the Jiang family out the door.

But as soon as the fourth wife of the Jiang family left the house, her eyebrows raised and she asked the old woman guarding the second gate: "Has the second master returned?"

The old woman came forward to greet Dou Zhao with a smile on her face, and said respectfully, "Second Master came back half an hour ago, and I'm afraid he has just started dinner now."

Dou Zhao sneered and went to Song Mo's study.

Because Jiang Lizhu was going to go out for a visit tomorrow, he took a day off and returned home early to talk with Chen Qushui and Song Shize in the study.

Seeing Dou Zhao rushing in with a stern face, Chen Qushui and Song Shize retreated tactfully.

Dou Zhao told Song Mo that the fourth wife of the Jiang family had come.

When Song Mo heard this, he was so angry that the veins on his temples popped out.

He opened the rosewood box, which contained a pair of lotus seed-sized South China pearl earrings.

Song Mo's face became even uglier, and he took the rosewood box and went to Song Han.

Dou Zhao thought about it, winked at Ruozhu, and went back to his room.

Song Han was lying on the bed, being fed by his personal maid Caiyun.

His face was rosy, his eyes were smiling, and he seemed to be in a good mood.

Song Mo walked in, and he happily called out "brother", saying, "I have already prepared clothes for the wedding tomorrow, can you help me take a look?"

He shouted to Qixia to bring the clothes over.

Song Mo was choked for a moment, and after a pause he said, "No need, I have something to talk to you about, please ask the servants in the room to leave!"

Song Han replied "yes" happily, sent the maid away, and said with a smile: "Brother, what's the important matter you want to talk to me about?"

Song Mo threw the rosewood box in front of Song Han's pillow.

Song Han's smile faded little by little, and his eyes became moist.

"Did cousin Xie Xiu ask you to give it back to me?" He said aggrievedly, "Brother, you also know that I have liked cousin Xie Xiu since I was a child. I didn't dare to say this when you were in the lead, but now you already have a sister-in-law, why does cousin Xie Xiu still look for you when she has something to do?" He raised his head and stared at Song Mo with red eyes, "I just want to keep cousin Xie Xiu by my side! No matter who of you stops me, it won't work!"

"How dare you talk nonsense!" Song Mo was furious. "Which of my cousins ​​from my uncle's family doesn't get along well with me? How dare you have such a dirty mind! I think the more you read, the more backward you are. You can't even tell right from wrong! Who did you learn these words from?" He shouted "Qixia" loudly, "Call all the maids and servants in the upper courtyard to the courtyard for me. I want to see today who is instigating you?"

Song Han started crying when he heard this.

He wiped his tears and said, "Don't think I don't know. When mother was alive, she was going to betroth cousin Xiexiu to you, but uncle got into trouble, so she changed it to cousin Hanzhu. In the end, cousin Hanzhu hanged herself for brother Yin... Cousin Xiexiu is so pitiful. If it weren't for you, she would have been betrothed to someone else long ago, and she wouldn't have fallen to the point where no one wants her now. I really like cousin Xiexiu, what are you holding me back on? If you don't like her, at worst, after my cousin and I get married, we can move out of the Duke of Ying's Mansion! I have the dowry left by mother, and cousin Xiexiu is a good housekeeper. We can live frugally with simple meals and we will definitely live a good life!"

Song Mo was so angry that he raised his hand and waved at Song Han.

Song Han closed his eyes angrily and raised his face towards Song Mo.

Song Mo looked at the face which still had a bit of childishness, and thought of how much his mother loved him when she was alive, and he couldn't bring himself to slap him.

Song Han took the opportunity to make a scene: "I want to marry my cousin Xie Xiu, why don't you agree?!"

He cried bitterly.

Song Mo said coldly: "Because my father won't agree!"

"Go tell Daddy." Song Han took Song Mo's hand, "Dad will definitely listen to you."

Song Mo forced himself not to immediately shake off Song Han's hand.

"Do you know what you are doing?" His voice was as oppressive as the air before a storm. "Father has high hopes for you, so why would he allow you to marry the daughter of the Jiang family? Your nonsense will only cause people to misunderstand cousin Xiexiu and fourth aunt. You are not showing love, you are harming them, do you know that?"

Perhaps it was because Song Mo's voice was too gloomy, and Song Han's shouting was stuck in his throat.

He stared at Song Mo blankly, as if he didn't know why Song Mo said that.

Song Mo suddenly felt exhausted.

What should he do with his younger brother?

Song Mo thought of Dou Zhao.

Did she also feel this powerless when facing Dou Ming?

But if Dou Zhaoneng could ignore Dou Ming, how could he ignore Song Han?

Dou Zhao, who was in Yizhi Hall, heard Ruozhu's whisper and could not hide his surprise.

It turns out that Jiang's mother once thought of marrying Jiang Xiexiu to Song Mo, which explains why Jiang Xiexiu had a complicated expression when she saw Song Mo.

But she didn't think much of it.

She not only believed in Song Mo, but also believed in the Jiang family's education.

In previous lives, the gentle Jiang Lizhu, the proud Jiang Xiexiu, and the considerate Jiang Xieying all committed suicide.

How painful it must be for Song Mo!

Dou Zhao thought about it and went to the upper house.

If Zhu could hear what Song Han said, then naturally other people could hear it too.

But whether they heard it or not, when she entered, the maids and servants in the upper courtyard all stood respectfully in the middle of the yard with their hands lowered. There was complete silence, so Song Han's sobbing could be faintly heard.

Qixia helped Dou Zhao lift the curtain and quickly retreated into the crowd.

When Song Mo saw Dou Zhao, he obviously breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps because of the memories of his past life, Dou Zhao could never like Song Han.

She looked at Song Han, whose eyes were red from crying, and whispered, "It's not that your brother and I didn't fight for you, but because the box was sent by your fourth aunt. Everything should be based on your own wishes. You can't force your fourth aunt to fulfill your wish just because you like it. Don't you think this is the truth?"

Song Han was not convinced and said, "If Fourth Aunt knew that I wanted to marry Cousin Xie Xiu, why would she not agree? When Mother was alive, Fourth Aunt loved me the most..."

Dou Zhao thought of what the fourth wife of the Jiang family said. She deliberately misunderstood him and said, "So, the fourth aunt thought you wanted to take your cousin Xiexiu as a concubine? Although the Jiang family has declined, its integrity remains. What did you do to make the fourth aunt have such a misunderstanding?"

When Song Mo looked at Song Han, his eyes immediately turned cold as ice.

Song Han couldn't help but shudder and shouted, "I didn't do anything. I just asked cousin Xiexiu if she liked to stay in Kyoto. Cousin Xiexiu said that although Kyoto is good, it is no longer her home. Only then did I know what I really wanted. Sister-in-law," he looked at Dou Zhao sincerely, "I really want to marry cousin Xiexiu. Please help me talk to my fourth aunt!"

"I won't ask this to my fourth aunt." Dou Zhao rejected Song Han directly, "Your marriage will be decided by the Duke, so don't let your imagination run wild."

Song Han listened and jumped up.

He questioned Song Mo: "Does my brother think the same as my sister-in-law?"

Song Mo hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Without my father's consent, Xie Xiu won't have a good life even if she marries into my family. You'd better give up on this idea!"

Song Han's eyes turned red, and he limped out: "If you don't care about me, I'll go tell my father! At worst, he can beat me to death, I don't want to live anyway. One of you doesn't care about me, and the other one wants to control everything for me. I am the punching bag for you two. I'm going to find mother. Only mother loves me. If mother is still alive, why would she stop me?"

Dou Zhao shouted "Ruozhu" loudly, "Why don't you stop the Second Master! The Second Master has a fever and is a little confused. Why don't you quickly ask a doctor to check on him!"

Without saying a word, Ruo Zhu ordered Jingui and Yingui to pin Song Han to the ground, while he himself stuffed a handkerchief into Song Han's mouth.

Jin Gui and Ying Gui were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They couldn't help but secretly look at Song Mo, but found that Song Mo had a sullen face but didn't say a word. The two sisters then felt relieved and carried Song Han to the bed.