Chapter 433: Xie En

Seeing that his son-in-law was on his side, Dou Shiying was secretly pleased and liked him even more. He said, "I heard that your second son is getting married? Have you set a date for the engagement? We will go and join in the fun then."

Although Dou Shiying knew that Song Han's life experience was somewhat complicated, he always felt that this was a grudge among the older generation and had nothing to do with Song Han. As long as Song Han was Song Mo's younger brother, he, as Song Mo's father-in-law, had to give Song Mo face.

Song Mo regarded Dou Shiying as his father, so he naturally didn't want him to be involved in these dirty things. He smiled and said, "Because Ci Yu's marriage is very complicated, the engagement period must be approved by the palace first, which is very troublesome. I will ask Liao Bifeng to invite you when the time comes."

The implication is that he should leave it alone.

Dou Shiying thought Song Mo's words made sense. As he did not like socializing, he was very satisfied with this arrangement.

Dou Zhao went back to her parents' home for a short stay and lived in the east wing of the upper courtyard, while Song Mo was arranged to stay in the small study in the east wing. Dou Zhao had nothing to do, so she asked the maid to bring needle and thread over. While she was doing needlework, she listened to Dou Shiying and Song Mo chatting.

Dou Shishu came to visit suddenly.

Dou Shiying was very surprised and asked, "At this time?"

There is a curfew in the city.

He handed the child to Dou Zhao and said, "I'll go take a look."

Song Mo stood up to see Dou Shiying off and consoled him, saying, "The palace has been peaceful these past few days. Fifth uncle may be looking for you for something else."

Dou Shiying nodded and went to the study in the outer courtyard.

Dou Shishu was still wearing his official uniform, sitting on the armchair in the study drinking tea. When he saw Dou Shiying coming in, he said straight to the point, "The Emperor wants to teach his eldest grandson, and I want to recommend you to lecture on "A Thousand Poems". Are you sure?"

Dou Shiying, however, was unwilling to be involved in such things. He frowned and said, "I have a cold personality. Does Fifth Brother have any other candidates?"

"Sixth brother is even worse!" Dou Shishu said, "He looks steady, but he doesn't care about details. Letting him enter the palace would harm him."

Dou Shiying felt that this matter came too suddenly, and it was not as simple as Dou Shishu said. Thinking of Song Mo being here with him, he could not help but say, "Let me think about this matter carefully."

After all, Dou Shishu was asking Dou Shiying to teach the emperor's eldest grandson, the future crown prince. He did not expect Dou Shiying to agree immediately. He nodded, asked Dou Shiying about his knowledge, and then stood up to say goodbye.

Dou Shiying saw him off to the gate.

He saw the carriage parked in the hall, stroked his forehead with sudden realization, and said, "Is Yantang here?"

"Yes!" Dou Shiying smiled when he mentioned his son-in-law. "He came to visit Shougu and Yuange'er. I let him stay at my house for one night. I didn't know what you wanted to see me about, so I didn't let him come with you."

Dou Shishu said, "It's getting late, and I don't want to see him anymore. Please tell him!" Then he hurriedly got into the sedan chair.

Dou Shiying was cautious and asked a servant to follow him.

The servant came back and reported, "The Fifth Elder has gone to Chang'an Street."

The six ministries, the Censorate, and the Dali Temple are all on Chang'an Avenue.

Dou Shiying said "hmm", returned to the east chamber, and told Song Mo the purpose of Dou Shishu's visit.

Song Mo was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

If Dou Shiying agreed to enlighten the emperor's eldest grandson, he would be labeled as the crown prince. If Prince Liao succeeded, wouldn't Dou Shiying be in trouble?

He said hurriedly, "Fortunately, you, father-in-law, are kind and honest, and are not swayed by power. You did not immediately agree to my fifth uncle's request. I think my fifth uncle is so anxious, it is probably related to the officials in the inner cabinet. I will go to the palace tomorrow to take a look, and then it will not be too late for my father-in-law to make a decision."

Dou Shiying felt very relieved after listening to this and nodded repeatedly. Seeing that it was getting late, he repeatedly reminded them to take good care of Yuan Ge'er and then went back to his room to rest.

Dou Zhao smiled and teased Song Mo: "Your father-in-law is a man of integrity and honor. Is he not moved by power?"

Song Mo said seriously, "I am speaking from the heart! If it were someone else, knowing that he could become the emperor's teacher, he would probably agree immediately. Only someone like my father-in-law who is indifferent to fame and gain would hesitate." He added, "I can't be wrong when judging people."

Dou Zhao could only sigh.

It can be seen that the relationship between people also depends on fate.

In his previous life, Wei Tingyu thought his father was cowardly and incompetent, but in this life, he has become Song Mo and thinks his father is indifferent to fame and fortune.

She couldn't help but put down her needlework and said softly, "You have to go to the palace tomorrow, why don't you go to bed early? This place is not as close to Chang'an Street as home, I'm afraid you will have to get up at 3 pm."

Song Mo blinked at her and whispered, "Aren't you going to accompany me?"

Dou Zhao gently pinched his waist and said, "I'll deal with you when I get back."

Song Mo laughed and returned to the south room which had been turned into a small study.

Dou Zhaoze took his child and wet nurse to rest in the north room.

Early the next morning, Dou Zhao and the child were still asleep, but Song Mo and Dou Shiying had already left Jing'an Temple Hutong together.

Dou Shiying went to the Hanlin Academy, and Song Mo went to the duty room of the Jinwu Guard in the palace.

Colleagues congratulated Song Han on being given a marriage.

Song Mo smiled and returned the greetings one by one. Only Dong Qi looked at Song Mo with a half-smile, said in a neutral tone, "Master Song, it is really a double blessing", and went back to his duty room.

Those who have some background in the family have their own ways to get information. It is no secret that the Queen Mother and Concubine Miao are not on good terms. Song Han married the niece of Concubine Miao, and no one who knows the inside story would think that this is a good marriage.

If it were in the past, Song Mo would have tried his best to ruin this marriage, but now... he doesn't care at all.

After changing into court robes and taking a tour of the palace, Song Mo was hesitating whether to ask the Eunuch Wang Yuan directly for information or to go to the Pedestrian Office to sit down, when he saw the prince's carriage.

Song Mo avoided it.

A personal eunuch beside the prince hurried over and said respectfully, "Sir Song, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince invites you to come over and speak."

Song Mo stepped forward and saluted the prince.

The prince smiled and said, "I just came out of the Golden Palace. My father and several ministers are discussing matters in the study. Please follow me to the East Palace and sit for a while."

Three years ago, the Crown Prince had already begun observing government affairs. When the Emperor went to the East Garden to escape the summer heat, the Crown Prince would handle state affairs on behalf of the Emperor with the assistance of the Cabinet ministers.

Song Mo smiled and said "yes", then followed the prince to the East Palace.

The prince asked about Song Han's marriage: "I heard that it was the Empress Dowager's idea. Why would the Empress Dowager have such an idea? If Yantang is free, I can go and pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

The status and position of the two families are too different. This is not an arranged marriage at all, but a slap in the face.

The prince tactfully reminded him that the Queen Mother might have some misunderstanding about the Song family and asked him to explain it to the Queen Mother.

Song Mo had long wanted to cut off ties with Song Han.

If you don't act now, when will you act?

He gave a faint bitter smile and said respectfully, "The Queen Mother has always been very caring towards the Song family. I am very grateful to her for favoring me and marrying her. I should kowtow to her and express my gratitude. Thank you for your reminder, Your Highness!"

The prince saw that he was not happy at all, so he did not know how to ask any more questions, so he could only talk about Yuan Ge'er and the Third Emperor's grandson: "...What a fate! Not only are their birthdays only one day apart, but their names are also similar."

Song Mo chatted with him for a while, and then the prince's teacher came to urge him to finish his homework. Song Mo then left the East Palace and went to the Imperial Household Department.

The prince sent people to inquire about Song Han's arranged marriage.

The Empress Dowager had no intention of hiding the matter. Seeing the Song family making a fool of themselves, Concubine Shi also wanted to add fuel to the fire. Within half an hour, news of Song Han reached the ears of the Crown Prince.

The prince was shocked.

After being shocked, he secretly thanked himself for not being so smart as to promote Song Han.

The prince thought of King Liao.

The prince's biological mother died early, and he was taken care of by Queen Wan in his early years. After Queen Wan passed away, she treated him with respect and kindness as before, and he treated Queen Wan as his own biological mother. But Prince Liao... has become more and more aggressive in recent years. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if Queen Wan was secretly behind this?

But he dared only keep this thought in his heart and told no one.

He didn't even dare to tell the Crown Princess, who was closest to him.

The prince thought of Song Mo's slightly bitter smile, and suddenly felt a sense of sympathy for Song Mo.

When Song Mo encountered such a thing, he could only smile bitterly.

He paced around in the study, wondering if he could have a chance to talk to Song Mo again.

※※※※※

Song Mo drank a lot of tea in the Imperial Household Department and it was time for lunch.

The food in the palace was not as delicious as the food at home, so how could he eat it?

After leaving the yamen, he went to the Lu Mansion again. Princess Ningde had arranged such a good marriage for Song Han, so it was only right for him to go to the mansion in person to thank Madam Lu and Princess Ningde.

Princess Ningde was very happy when she saw him. She smiled and said, "I am doing this for myself. You don't have to take it to heart. Just be a good prince and don't let others get hold of you."

"Aunts and cousins ​​are blood relatives." Song Mo said with a smile, "I don't have any brothers, so my cousins ​​are my real brothers. If there is anything, the eldest princess can just let them tell me."

Princess Ningde was very satisfied with Song Mo's words and asked about Jiang Yan: "Are you going to keep her at home, or do you want to find a son-in-law for her?"

Thinking of the fact that the princess had successfully arranged a marriage for Song Han, Song Mo said frankly, "She is still young. It would be best if she could marry into a suitable family again."

Princess Ningde nodded with a smile, took the matter to heart, and invited Song Mo to have dinner.

Song Mo was thinking about his wife and children, so he said that he had just eaten and then left and went back to Jing'an Temple Hutong.

He went to pay his respects to Dou Shiying first.

As a result, Dou Shiying was in the east chamber.

He went to the East Chamber again and told Dou Shiying what he had learned from the Imperial Household Department: "The Emperor wants to give enlightenment to his eldest grandson. He Wendao recommended Du Jialun, but the Emperor thought Du Jialun was rigid and took a fancy to Chen Rong from the Ministry of Travel. Chen Rong's father was a classmate of Dai Jian. When they were in the Hanlin Academy, they had a rift over the lecture, and Chen Rong's father resigned and returned home. Dai Jian recommended you..."

Dou Shishu thought this was a good opportunity, so he went with the flow, pretending to know nothing, and wanted Dou Shiying to take over.

Dou Shiying was furious when he heard this: "Isn't this putting me on the spot? If it works, I will become an enemy of Chen Rong; if it doesn't work, I will be known as a sycophant, and my colleagues will laugh at me."

From Dou Shiying's perspective, Song Mo certainly felt that Dou Shishu's behavior was not right; but from the Dou family's perspective, he felt that Dou Shishu's behavior was not wrong.

He advised Dou Shiying: "Fifth Uncle is doing this for your own good. Since you don't want to, just decline it."

Dou Shiying nodded and said, "I'm going to Huaishu Hutong."

Song Mo was afraid that Dou Shiying and Dou Shishu would get angry, so he said, "Shall I go with you?"