Chapter 415: Raising a Cat

"What do you think of your home? You can't even do such a small thing. Don't you want to stay here?" Song Han yelled at Qixia and the others, scaring them so much that they knelt on the ground and trembled.

The cat meowed and jumped onto the back of Song Han's feet, rubbing against Song Han's legs, appearing very affectionate.

Dou Zhao didn't want Song Han to use him as a scapegoat, so he said with a smile, "Okay, okay, don't lose your temper. I didn't expect you to have a cat in your inner room, and I haven't heard anyone talk about it before, so I was shocked." Then he pointed at the cat and said, "Why did you pick a cat of this color? It's so scary to look at. If you like to keep cats, I'll have someone pick out a few white or gray ones for you tomorrow. They'll be prettier, and they won't suddenly pop out and scare people like they did today."

Song Han laughed, looking a little embarrassed, but he bent down and held the cat in his arms, saying, "Sister-in-law, what do you want to talk to me about? I learn piano with my teacher every afternoon. If you have anything to say, please send someone to tell me. It's okay to be delayed for a while."

He changed the subject naturally and didn't mention the cat at all, which sounded like a subtle refusal.

Dou Zhao looked at the cat for a few more times and said with a smile, "My grandmother asked me to walk around more. I wander around Yizhi Hall every day. No matter how beautiful the scenery is, it's normal. I came to see what the maids in your room are doing." Then he talked to him about learning the piano. "I heard that this gentleman once studied under Du Jianian of the Hanlin Academy. I guess he must be a scholar, right?"

"He is a man born in the year of Ren Zi, and is from the same hometown as Lord Du." Song Han handed the cat to Qixia, and sat down on the big kang by the window with Dou Zhao, saying with a smile, "Lord Du had no time to accept disciples, so he recommended this gentleman. He has a good temper, is not only good at music, but also good at calligraphy and painting. I have benefited a lot from him."

"That's good!" Dou Zhao greeted him and saw Qixia carefully hand the cat to the little maid who had been kneeling in front of her like a sieve. The little maid retreated lightly as if she was holding a rare treasure.

interesting!

She glanced at Ruozhu, lowered her head to drink a sip of tea, talked to Song Han with a smile on her face, and then stood up to say goodbye: "...My grandmother told me to walk for at least an hour every day, so I dare not sit here for too long. I'll come to see you next time when I'm free!"

Song Han stood up and respectfully escorted Dou Zhao out of the upper courtyard.

Dou Zhao stood on the steps and watched the maids feeding the birds.

Ruozhu came over in a hurry.

"Madam," she whispered, "after you left, the Second Master had the cat-watching maid dragged away and beaten with 20 sticks. Qixia and the others were also deducted one month's salary."

The little maid was only twelve or thirteen years old. She was killed after twenty beatings with the stick.

Dou Zhao looked a little unhappy.

Ruozhu stood with lowered eyebrows, calm eyes and hands hanging down.

Dou Zhao waited a long time before saying, "Go and keep an eye on that little maid, and see if you can save her life and put her in the farm."

If Zhu Gong answered "yes" politely.

Dou Zhao asked, "Does Second Master like raising cats? How come I don't know? Besides raising cats, what other hobbies does Second Master have?"

Ruo Zhu couldn't help but feel very terrified and said, "In addition to the cat, the Second Master also has four orioles, a pair of parrots, a pair of mynah birds, and two turtles in his house. I don't see which ones he particularly likes or dislikes."

In that case, why only protect the cat?

Dou Zhao felt that Ruozhu was a little lazy and couldn't help but think of Su Xin's good qualities.

At night, she discussed with Song Mo: "Who would keep a black cat with green eyes? I feel uneasy just thinking about it. If Second Master doesn't like it very much, why not give it to someone else to keep?"

Song Mo said, "When my mother was alive, she liked to raise Persian cats, and she liked to raise black Persian cats with green eyes." As he spoke, his expression darkened and he sighed, "Unfortunately, when something happened at home, those cats disappeared. I ordered people to look for them several times but couldn't find them. Later, there were many things to do at home, so I didn't care about them anymore."

Dou Zhao leaned on Song Mo's shoulder and asked, "Could it be that the cat was left by my mother-in-law?"

"How is that possible?" Song Mo fanned Dou Zhao and said with a smile, "If the cat was left by mother, she would have told me long ago. She wouldn't have kept it like this secretly."

Is it a tool to attack people's hearts?

We have lived together as brothers for more than ten years and have too many common memories. It seems that my method of boiling the frog in warm water was correct.

Dou Zhao pursed his lips and smiled.

Song Mo said, "Don't take it to heart. I will talk to Song Han tomorrow and ask him to send the cat to foster somewhere else. When there are children in the family, cats and dogs are always unruly. Children love them. It will be troublesome if they cling to or bite them."

Is it because these cats and dogs are raised by Song Han?

Dou Zhao nodded with a smile.

As expected, Song Mo went to Song Han to tell him about this the next day. Song Han was very surprised, but he obediently sent the cat to the farm. The process was so smooth that Dou Zhao was a little surprised, but what surprised her even more was that Song Han followed her advice and caught a pair of gray cats and brought them back to raise in the house.

After knowing this, Gu Yu looked down on Dou Zhao and said, "Do you know how much that Persian cat is worth? The nobles in the palace have to wait for an opportunity to raise one, but you are wasting such a gift."

Dou Zhao didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "How about I have someone send the cat to your house?"

Gu Yu said with disdain: "I don't want to keep these little things! They are so precious, even if they die, they are still lives."

Dou Zhao immediately felt like he had found a close friend.

It is for this reason that she rarely keeps cats and dogs.

But she still couldn't help teasing Gu Yu: "I didn't expect our little bully to be such a pitiful person!"

Gu Yu's face flushed immediately, and he said, "Cats and dogs are much more loyal than people."

Dou Zhao couldn't help but feel soft-hearted when he heard this. He argued with him about all sorts of things for a long time and felt very happy.

When Song Mo came back and saw that they were getting along harmoniously, he couldn't help but smile. After changing his clothes, he sat over and asked Dou Zhao to ask the maid on the stove to prepare a few dishes that Gu Yu liked. He wanted to keep Gu Yu at home for dinner.

Gu Yu frowned and begged Song Mo: "Brother, please tell my aunt. The emperor asked me to serve in the flag bearer guard a few days ago, but my aunt rejected it, saying that I was still young and not stable enough, and I should stay at home with my grandfather for two more years. My brother is only a month older than me, and he is already a third-rank military general. I am still eating and drinking at home. Even Feng Zhi has gone to the Fifth Army Camp, and I am embarrassed to hang around outside. But my uncle and aunt said the same thing, and I can't go to my grandfather to plead for him - that woman will definitely spread it everywhere with gloating when she knows about it. After thinking about it, I can only ask my brother to help me speak for my aunt."

Song Mo and Dou Zhao both knew that it was because of Gu Yu's reputation that Empress Wan was afraid that he would be more likely to cause trouble than accomplish anything, so she would rather keep him for nothing until the matter of Prince Liao was settled. No matter who they asked to plead with Empress Wan, Empress Wan would not let Gu Yu take up a government position.

In fact, both Queen Wan and Prince Liao took good care of Gu Yu.

In the previous life, after King Liao ascended the throne, Gu Yu, who had just reached the age of twenty, became the commander-in-chief of the Five Military Commandery, and also served as the commander-in-chief of the flag-bearer guards. He was so powerful that he was unparalleled in the court.

Of course Song Mo didn't know all this, he had his own way to deal with Gu Yu.

"After all, you are dragged down by the reputation of 'Little Bully of Kyoto'." Song Mo said with a smile, "Don't worry, didn't the Queen say that you are not 'stable' enough? Show her some stable things, and she will naturally stop holding you back."

Gu Yu became interested when he heard this and asked hurriedly, "Then what should I do?"

Song Mo said, "I bought a shipyard in Tianjin, and I'm worried about not having anyone to manage it. How about you go and help me manage it? When you come back, everyone will look at you with new eyes!"

"No way!" Gu Yu was disappointed, "You want me to be your steward?"

"No wonder the Empress is worried about you." Song Mo said, "What can you accomplish if you have high aspirations but poor skills? Don't look at me as glamorous now. When I was twelve years old, I was already competing with the big shopkeepers of the Thirteen Hongs in Guangdong. If I didn't have this ability, do you think those big shopkeepers who can stand on their own will obey me?"

Gu Yu sat there shyly and didn't say anything.

Asking him to do the job of a manager all of a sudden is a bit of a gap.

Dou Zhao said, "A real man should be able to bend and stretch. If you can't even bear such a small grievance, how can you achieve great things?"

The fact is that Gu Yu had never suffered any hardship in his previous life, and he lived a carefree life in fine clothes and on horses.

If Gu Yu knew that I was just trying to coax him, I wonder if he would glare at me and ignore me from then on?

Dou Zhao was thinking in his heart.

Gu Yu stood up suddenly, walked around the room for a few times, then stood still with a determined look on his face, gritting his teeth and saying, "Okay, I'll go to Tianjin! I don't believe that such a small matter can stump me!"

Dou Zhao quickly praised Gu Yu.

Gu Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Don't think I don't know that you guys tricked me into buying your labor. It's just that Beijing is boring, so I just want to go out and relax."

Dou Zhao and Song Mo laughed out loud.

Gu Yu immediately forgot about Song Mo's plot against him, and said to Song Mo with a smile: "I heard there are rare treasures overseas, why don't we build a big ship and go out to sea for a tour?"

Song Mo was both amused and annoyed, saying, "The construction technology of large ships that go out to sea is controlled by the Ministry of Industry. Ordinary people can't even see it, not to mention that privately building it is against the rules."

Gu Yu nodded reluctantly, but his eagerness to try was hard to conceal from his brows.

Song Mo looked at Dou Zhao and sighed.

I don’t know whether it is right or wrong to send this heartless person to Tianjin?

Song Mo originally wanted to talk to Earl Yunyang, but he never expected that a caravan from Liaodong would enter the capital the next day.

In addition to sending Song Mo two large boxes of furs, Jiang Sunbai also sent a greeting letter.

Song Mo politely received the caravan's chief clerk, and accompanied by Liao Bifeng, they had a meal at the Duke of Ying's mansion. However, he waited until the lights were turned on, took the letter back to the study, and asked Wu Yi and others to wait outside the study. He stayed in the study alone for a long time without coming out.

Dou Zhao was a little worried and went to the study.

The study was brightly lit. Song Mo sat in front of his desk, staring at the octagonal palace lamp on the desk in a daze.

On the desk, besides an open letter, there was also a volume of "A Thousand Poems".