Chapter 426: The Third Bath

When the child's nickname was reported to Song Yichun, he snorted at Liao Bifeng and said, "Only girls are named 'Yuan Jie', and no one names boys 'Yuan Ge'. Go and tell him that the child is named 'Dong Ge'."

Liao Bifeng smiled and said "yes", and went back to report to Song Mo, but Song Mo pretended not to hear and continued to call the child "Brother Yuan". The people in Yizhitang naturally followed Song Mo's instructions and called him "Brother Yuan", while the people in the Duke of Ying's Mansion called him "Brother Dong" in front of Song Yichun and "Brother Yuan" in front of Song Mo.

Chen Qushui was nervous and said with a smile, "Originally, the child is young, and the more he is called like this, the better it will be to ward off evil and avoid disasters. But if we accidentally call him 'Brother Yuan' or 'Brother Dong', it will be troublesome. I think we should just call him 'Grandpa'. Brother Yuan is the eldest grandson of the Duke of Ying's mansion, and his great-grandfather is no longer around, so he deserves to be called that."

Liao Bifeng took the opportunity to stir up trouble and said, "Then just call him Grandpa, it will save you a lot of trouble."

Someone reported the flattery to Song Mo. Although Song Mo remained expressionless, he rewarded the woman with two taels of silver.

Now all the maids in the mansion understood which direction the wind was blowing, and they started calling Yuan Ge'er "Master" and "Master".

The people outside the mansion were surprised to hear this and asked, "What is your Second Master's name now?"

The people in the mansion laughed and said, "Let's still call him Second Master."

People outside the mansion couldn't help laughing: "This nephew has climbed over his uncle's head."

"Hasn't the Second Master married yet? Once he does, it won't be too late to upgrade the title to a higher level."

Usually the one who is criticized is always the last one to know.

By the time Song Han found out about it, the incident had already spread throughout Kyoto and had been talked about as a joke for a long time.

Despite this, the name "Ming Yi" that Song Mo gave the child was only used for one night. On the next day, during the baby's third-day baptism ceremony, Wang Ge, who had been promoted to Junior Supervisor of the Qianqing Palace, went to the Duke of Ying's Mansion in person to convey the emperor's decree, and the emperor named Yuan Ge "He".

Song Mo and Song Yichun were very surprised.

Only the royal family would use such uncommon characters when naming to avoid taboos.

The emperor named Brother Yuan in accordance with the royal rules. The emperor was not a mother-in-law. He didn't even know all his grandchildren, so how could he think of naming Brother Yuan? Besides, naming was always the responsibility of the elders in the family. Song Yichun hadn't said anything yet, but the emperor had overstepped his authority. Although this was a supreme favor, it came too unexpectedly, making people feel uneasy.

Song Mo took the imperial edict, and together with Song Yichun, invited Wang Ge to the small flower hall for tea.

Song Yichun asked Wang Ge: "Why did the emperor think of giving our child a name?"

Wang Ge had a lot of dealings with Song Mo. Although Song Yichun was not favored by the emperor in the past two years, he was one of the five governors of the Five Military Governors' Office. Wang Ge believed that he had a good relationship with the father and son of the Song family, so he said bluntly, "The emperor is still waiting for me to go back and serve him, and I will not play tricks with the Duke and the Prince. The eldest son of your mansion is also blessed by the Third Grandson of the East Palace. Yesterday, the Third Grandson had his third birthday. The emperor went to the East Palace and saw that the Third Grandson was white and fat, and could eat and sleep. He was happy and gave the Third Grandson a name. When he woke up early this morning, the emperor suddenly remembered that the eldest son of your mansion was only one day younger than the Third Grandson, and he had to have a third birthday today, so he ordered the messenger department to write an imperial edict and asked me to be an angel to come to your mansion to announce the edict."

Is this really the case?

Song Yichun was very suspicious that it was Song Mo who did it.

But this occasion is not suitable for prying.

He hurriedly said a lot of words like "Thank you, Lord" and stuffed two big red envelopes into Wang Ge's hands.

Song Mo asked Wang Ge quietly, "What name did the emperor give to the Third Grandson?"

Wang Ge dipped his hand in tea and wrote the word "Chong" on the tea table.

Soar, the swan flies thousands of miles, and soars into the vast sky.

The wing is the stem of the feather. The big wing is used as two wings, and the bird flaps its wings to fly high.

Song Yichun gasped.

What does the emperor mean?

Do you want Brother Yuan to assist the emperor's grandson?

Song Mo was very grateful.

Regardless of whether the emperor acted on impulse as Wang Ge said, or knew that his father was unkind and intended to promote this child, with this name bestowed by the emperor, it was like a talisman attached to the child. Anyone who wanted to embarrass this child would have to think twice before doing so.

He rewarded Wang Ge with two big red envelopes, then sent Wang Ge out, placed the imperial edict in the ancestral hall, and went to the palace with Song Yichun to express his gratitude.

The inner courtyard was in chaos.

Those who came to attend Yuan Ge'er's baptism ceremony congratulated Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao smiled and said "thank you" to everyone.

The old woman's face lit up as well. She looked at the silver and gold ingots of all sizes in the basin and couldn't help laughing: "Oh, I'm lucky enough to get some of this too. I can show off to my neighbors when I go back home."

Su Xin and other people who served Dou Zhao covered their mouths and laughed.

The Fifth Madam couldn't help but sigh: "Fourth Aunt is really honored in front of the Emperor. This child has only been born for three days, and he has already given him a name."

The Sixth Madam nodded, but said, "What's even more rare is that Fourth Aunt is devoted to Shou Gu." She felt a little scared in her heart. If she had insisted on stopping this marriage at that time, wouldn't she have harmed Shou Gu?

It seems that I should be more careful in what I say and do in the future.

Cai couldn't hide her envy: "Fourth aunt's luck is better than Fifth aunt's. It's no wonder she was so lucky when she was young. Now that she's grown up, even if Fifth aunt snatched away her marriage, she can still marry into a noble family. Not only did she marry into the family, but she married into a better family than before. How can one not accept this!"

Guo didn't know what to say and didn't respond. Han always looked down on Cai's vulgarity, so she smiled and said nothing. However, Dou Wenchang's wife, Grandma Wen, wanted to ask how Dou Ming was doing, but seeing that no one mentioned Dou Ming, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and couldn't help sighing for Dou Ming in her heart.

Mrs. Song, however, felt bitter.

After Dou Zhao gave birth to a son, her position in the mansion became more secure.

What she said about the old lady that day was just a test for the truth. I'm afraid she will have questions to ask herself again in the future.

But I really don't know anything, how should I reply to her?

Thinking that she had offended Dou Zhao by taking over the bribery of the Duke of Ying's Mansion, and now was suspected by Dou Zhao of being involved in the affairs of Song Han and Jiang Yan, she really wanted to jump into the Yellow River.

If Dou Zhao didn't believe in her innocence at all and thus jeopardized her child's future, would her husband and son still respect her?

Mrs. Song felt very uneasy and glanced at Mrs. Song San and Mrs. Song Si.

Mrs. Song San was very dissatisfied with the fact that the women of the Song family were seated near the door. She was whispering to Mrs. Song Si, trying to encourage her to complain.

Mrs. Song listened with a smile on her face, but she was very disdainful in her heart.

The third-day bathing ceremony is the bride's family's business, and the Dou family is famous and generous, so if they don't sit in the seat of honor, who will?

She thought of the words Dou Zhao said when they came to visit on the day Yuan Ge'er was born.

Could it be that the rumors in the government are actually true?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glance at the banquet room to the west.

Princess Ningde and Old Lady Lu were resting there, and Jiang Yan was serving them tea.

The two old men looked at Jiang Yan, but their words contained something else.

"With this name bestowed by the Emperor, Yuan'er's position as the eldest grandson is secured. It will never be that man's turn to take the position of Duke of England." Princess Ningde said as she took a sip of tea.

"Our family has built up the Duke of England Mansion, not just to help a bastard of unknown origin." Old Madam Lu raised her eyebrows. Her expression was no longer kind and gentle as before, but rather stern and solemn, revealing the majesty and dominance of a mistress. "It's a pity for Sister Yan, such a beautiful girl was killed by that bitch! No matter how well-behaved and sensible that bastard was, I feel disgusted when I think of the bitch's blood flowing in his veins!"

My sister-in-law has the most strong temper and can't tolerate any sand in her eyes. It's just that she has become more restrained as she gets older.

However, the matter of Jiang Yan triggered her temper.

Princess Ningde could only say: "This is a big deal. It is a scandal after all. It is of no benefit to Yantang. We can only do it slowly."

Madam Lu nodded and said, "Let's not talk about other things. First, get Huisun's dowry back, and then find a marriage for Song Han. Let him set up his own house and separate his own room, so that I won't lose my appetite just by looking at him."

"I'm afraid the Duke has other ideas." Princess Ningde pondered, "I think it would be better to ask the Queen Mother to arrange a marriage for Song Han. The palace has female officials released every year, and some concubines' families also go to the palace to pay their respects to the Queen Mother. It won't be a disgrace to him to point to any one of them."

Most of the concubines in the palace were of humble origins, and their sisters had become rich after a long period of poverty. They did not have much to show for themselves, and there were no female elders to guide them after they got married. It was good enough if they could do no harm. As for hoping to compete with Dou Zhao, I'm afraid they have neither the desire nor the ability.

Madam Lu was very satisfied with Princess Ningde's idea and whispered, "Then there is no time to waste. You should go to the palace to congratulate the Third Emperor's grandson during the full moon celebration and test the Empress Dowager's attitude."

Princess Ningde smiled and said "OK", and a servant ran in: "The eunuchs of the East Palace, under the order of the Crown Princess, have brought gifts for the Master's third birthday."

Song Mo and Song Yichun both went to the palace to express their gratitude. Dou Zhao was in confinement after giving birth, so Mrs. Song came out to express her gratitude and brought the gifts back.

It was just a golden ingot for promotion, but it was a reward from the Crown Princess, so the meaning was different. The old lady was holding it in her hands and she was a little distracted.

Everyone couldn't help but congratulate.

Jiang Lizhu came over to congratulate Yuan Ge'er on his third birthday.

She had helped Jiang Yan to cover for him. Jiang Yan felt friendly towards her and took her to kowtow to Madam Lu and Princess Ningde.

Jiang Lizhu's witty remarks made the two elderly people laugh from time to time.

Jiang Yan meekly poured tea and served water to everyone.

On the way back from the Duke of Ying's Mansion, Old Lady Lu said to Princess Ningde with emotion: "She is not surprised by honor or disgrace. This is the demeanor of a girl from an aristocratic family. How can she do this just because her father or brother is an official or because her family has some money?"

Jiang Lizhu's father-in-law was just a small commander, and her husband was a commoner. She stood among the female relatives, but she was neither humble nor arrogant, and was calm and composed.

Princess Ningde patted Madam Lu's hand and said, "Mrs. Yantang knows what's going on. A'yan is by her side, and she will teach him well."

"I hope so." Old Madam Lu smiled bitterly.