Chapter 435: Xiao Ding

Dou Zhao came out after feeding Yuan Ge'er, but she never dreamed that the Queen Mother would play cards with Concubine Shi so early in the morning, and even asked her to join in. It was almost noon, and her milk was full, so she couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable.

When she heard the Queen Mother ask her to continue playing cards in the afternoon, she glanced at the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess immediately realized Dou Zhao's dilemma.

She thought for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Madam of the Duke of England, have you arranged everything at home?"

Dou Zhao said hurriedly, "I am breastfeeding the child myself, but we have a wet nurse at home... I will have someone tell them to take good care of the child."

The Queen Mother exclaimed, "Eh!" and asked in surprise, "You're breastfeeding your child? Be careful not to harm your health."

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "You know the family affairs best. The prince takes the children very seriously, and others are worried."

The Queen Mother laughed twice, raised her hand and let Dou Zhao go back: "Go and take good care of the child. When he grows up, bring him to the palace for me to see. I remember that he is only one day younger than Chong'er."

Dou Zhao thanked her solemnly, and when he saw that the Crown Princess had no intention of leaving, he retreated on his own.

The Crown Princess knelt and saluted the Empress Dowager: "Grandmother, you really have a kind heart."

The Queen Mother gave the Crown Princess a hint of contempt and said with a smile, "You only know how to make me happy." She then said, "I am giving you a favor, what does the Bodhisattva have to do with it?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The Crown Princess smiled and stepped forward to pinch the Empress Dowager's shoulders. "My grandson's wife knows everything, so I stayed to thank the Empress Dowager!"

The Queen Mother laughed and looked at the Crown Princess with a very loving look.

※※※※※

Dou Zhao, who had left the palace, breathed a sigh of relief and ordered Gan Lu, "Go back quickly!"

Ganlu thought something had happened and was so frightened that her face turned pale and she gave orders hastily.

Dou Zhao was embarrassed and had to let Ganlu continue to misunderstand him and hurried back to Jing'an Temple Hutong.

Yuan Ge'er is crying.

He had gotten used to his mother's smell and refused to drink his nurse's milk.

Dou Zhao hurriedly took the child over.

The child began to gobble up the milk.

Dou Zhao trembled with heartache.

It seems that it would be best for her not to go anywhere until the baby is weaned.

Only then did she realize the importance of a wet nurse.

But when she saw the peaceful and contented look on her child's face while breastfeeding, Dou Zhao's heart suddenly melted into a pool of water. She felt that no matter how much inconvenience and trouble she had to endure, she would still be happy with it.

She touched the child's shiny black hair and thought of the Crown Princess who had rescued her.

Such a delicate and exquisite woman ended up dying a violent death. Can this be considered as a beauty with a tragic fate?

When she thought of the Third Emperor's grandson, who was only one day older than Yuan Ge'er, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

When Song Mo came over, she couldn't help but ask him, "What kind of person is the prince?"

Song Mo smiled and asked, "Why? Did you suffer injustice from the Crown Princess?"

"What?" Dou Zhao glanced at him and said, "Don't you know whether I have been wronged in the palace? When I went to the East Palace, the eunuchs there only offered me a glass of water."

People who are breastfeeding their children should avoid drinking tea.

Song Mo laughed loudly, leaned over and kissed the sleeping Yuan Ge'er, and said with a smile: "He was taught by great scholars, so he naturally abides by the Confucian way. There is nothing to worry about."

Or was it because of the saying “A gentleman deceives others with tricks” that the prince failed in his previous life?

This thought flashed through Dou Zhao's mind.

She asked about Song Mo's return home: "What did the Duke say about my mother's dowry?"

"Of course he won't return it." Song Mo sneered, "He said he would go to the Dali Temple with me to sue. But when I proposed to exchange three farms worth a total of 7,000 taels of silver for Song Han's property, he immediately changed his mind and asked me to add three more shops, and then he would return my mother's dowry to me. I guess Song Han was going to get married, and he wanted Song Han to have a more glorious life. I was too lazy to argue with him, so I agreed. I asked Liao Bifeng to go to the street to buy three shops, and in two days I went to Shuntianfu to get the contract signed."

"That's fine," Dou Zhao said. "It's just a few more taels of silver. Just think of it as a reward. This way you don't get angry with them and hurt yourself in vain."

Song Mo nodded.

The property had already been divided among Song Han. He was worried that Song Han would act rashly and sell off Jiang's belongings piecemeal. It would be even more troublesome to restore them when the time came. It would be better for him to take over Jiang's property first.

As for the farmland provided to Song Han, how much harvest it can yield depends on who is managing it. It may be worth 10,000 taels of silver now, but it may not be worth 10,000 taels of silver in the future.

Dou Zhao then talked about the matter that was scheduled for tomorrow: "…Is it appropriate for me not to participate?"

"What's inappropriate?" Song Mo said with a smile, "Can't others have urgent matters? Besides, I will be there by then, and they won't have time to worry about you."

Dou Zhao was puzzled.

Song Mo smiled and said, "I'll keep it a secret for now, you'll know when the time comes."

I guess he's going to do something bad to torment Song Yichun again.

Dou Zhao pursed his lips and smiled.

Song Mo felt sorry for her because she was not feeling well today, so he said softly, "I will take your leave of absence for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet on August 15th, shall I?"

Dou Zhao was a little hesitant.

They are fighting with Song Yichun, and the support from the palace is very important.

Song Mo said: "It's okay, I'll take care of it!"

Dou Zhao believed Song Mo and didn't ask any more questions.

Early the next morning, Song Mo went to Yuanping County and entered a teahouse not far from Miao's home.

Yan Chaoqing, Xia Lian and others had been waiting in the lobby of the teahouse. The owner of the teahouse was holding a teapot and serving them attentively like a waiter.

Seeing Song Mo coming in, Yan Chaoqing and the others immediately stood up and said, "Master, the private room has been cleaned up. It's next to the window. Once it's opened, you can see the pedestrians on the street..."

Song Mo smiled and nodded at him, then went up to the private room on the second floor.

The owner of the teahouse rushed over to serve, but was stopped outside the door by Wuyi: "Our master likes quietness. If there is anything, he will call you."

The owner of the teahouse retreated awkwardly.

The sun gradually rose, and more and more people walked on the street. Through the Korean paper-pasted window sashes, the noisy voices outside could be vaguely heard. Wuyi walked in quickly.

"Grandpa, the people have arrived."

Song Mo nodded, handed the scroll in his hand to Wu Yi, and said, "Ask the boss how much it costs and take it back for my wife to see."

It was a travelogue that was used for entertainment in the teahouse's elegant room. Song Mo had nothing to do just now, so he opened it and took a look. He found it quite interesting, so he decided to take it back.

Wuyi smiled, stuffed the book into his arms, and accompanied Song Mo downstairs.

The Miao family invited Wanping County Magistrate Jie Wan and County Deputy Ma Hao to act as matchmakers. Since the Duke of Ying's Mansion came to make an engagement, naturally the two officials would have to accompany them.

Ma Hao arrived early in the morning, but Jie Wan, who was proud of his status, did not show up even when the auspicious time was approaching.

Miao's father sent Miao Ansu's brother Miao Anping to ask for relief from Wan.

Miao Anping felt unhappy when he thought about Jie Wan, who was sitting in the sedan chair, accepting a thank-you gift of three hundred taels of silver from their family before agreeing to be a matchmaker for his sister.

The wedding had just begun, but the Miao family had already spent one thousand and two taels of silver.

If things continue like this, I'm afraid this wedding will cost at least three thousand taels of silver.

They only prepared two thousand taels of silver. Who could they ask to fill the gap of the other thousand taels of silver?

Miao Anping was so worried that he couldn't help but walk absent-mindedly.

I bumped head-on into someone coming out of the restaurant next door.

He cried out "ouch" and fell to the ground.

But the other party acted as if nothing had happened, and didn't even look at him, just walking forward as if nothing had happened.

This is Wanping County, who doesn’t know about the Miao family?

What's more, the county lord is right beside him.

Miao Anping got up and grabbed the man's sleeve: "You bumped into someone and you're going to leave like this? You don't even want to pay for it? Aren't you too unreasonable?"

Because someone from the Duke of England's mansion was coming to place an order today, he wore a newly made silk Taoist robe that cost him nearly four taels of silver, and now it was all ruined.

But before he could touch the man's sleeve, someone came out and grabbed his hand, saying in a deep voice: "Where did you come from, you rogue? You dare to stretch out your claws without even looking at who our master is? Believe it or not, I will have someone cut off your dog claws right now, and the Shuntianfu constables will even say we did a good job!"

Miao Anping took a closer look and saw that the man who grabbed his hand was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, with delicate features. Although he was dressed like a servant, the material of his clothes was fine gauze produced in Guangdong, which cost six taels of silver per piece, and he looked quite wealthy and respectable.

He knew that he had encountered a servant of a wealthy family.

Wanping was very close to Kyoto, and many families with great achievements had properties in Wanping, so people like this were often seen there.

He couldn't help but cheer up and shouted, "If you kill someone, you must pay for his life; if you owe a debt, you must pay for it. You hit me and you didn't even say a word of apology, and you just want to walk away like this, how can this be justified! Before anything else, you must compensate me for the clothes I'm wearing. Six taels of silver, pay it quickly! Otherwise, we'll meet in Shuntianfu! Our father-in-law is the Duke of England, don't say I'm bullying you then..."

The person in front stopped walking upon hearing this and turned back to glance at Miao Anping.

Miao Anping's heart skipped a beat.

He had never seen such a delicate and graceful young man. Just standing there casually, he gave people the feeling of a jade tree standing in the wind.

Miao Anping suddenly felt a little weak.

The young man asked, "Are you from the Miao family of Wanping?"

Before Miao Anping could answer, Jie Wan, who had lifted the curtain to look outside, had already got off the sedan chair and said, "Sir Song, Sir Song! I am Jie Wan, the magistrate of Wanping County. I have been asked by the Miao family to be the matchmaker for your brother's marriage to the sixth young lady of the Miao family. I am preparing to go to the Miao family to discuss the marriage."

Since this is Yu Ci's wedding, everything will be kept simple. After the small engagement is made today, we will discuss the betrothal gifts, betrothal money and wedding date.

Song Mo sneered and walked away.

Miao Anping and Xie Wan stood there in a daze.

Wuyi hurriedly chased after him.

The guards also hurried past them.

Xie Wan came to his senses, pulled one of the guards, and whispered, "Brother, what is going on?" As he spoke, he stuffed a red envelope into the man's pocket.

The guard glanced at his companions who were drifting away, and said in a low voice: "Since you are going to the British government for the second master's business, I will tell you - the prince originally came to accompany the second master. The Miao family made a decision, but the Duke of the country did not In order to save face for the second master, he had to exchange the land of 5,000 taels of silver in the second master's name for the farm of 7,000 taels of silver in the name of the prince and three shops worth 3,000 taels of silver... The prince was so angry that he refused to go to Miao. Home..."