Chapter 448: Zen Temple

The Sixth Madam hesitated to speak.

Dou Zhao said, "Are you afraid that Dong Dou's people will gossip about you?"

The Sixth Madam had been virtuous all her life, but now that she was old, she was regarded as greedy and heartless because of her son's inheritance. She must have felt as if a knife was stabbing her heart.

Who knew that the Sixth Madam shook her head and whispered: "Even if your twelfth brother inherits the throne to Xidou, does that mean he is no longer a descendant of the Dou family? The elders see things further and more deeply, and they may not be unwilling. But I always feel that your father is still young, and he may have his own children in the future. The best way is to let your father take a concubine or a maid..." When she said this, she was speechless for a moment.

Dou Zhao understood what Sixth Madam meant.

Ever since Dou Ming had a quarrel with my father, my father was disappointed and almost cut off all contact with Dou Ming. Now I am the only one who can speak in front of my father.

Dou Dechang would inherit half of Xidou's property if his father did not leave a will after his death, and the remaining half would be divided equally between Dou Zhao and Dou Ming. Dongdou was naturally happy to see this happen.

But my sixth aunt and uncle still hoped that my father could have his own heir.

But her biological mother committed suicide because her father took a concubine. Her sixth aunt wanted to persuade her father, but she couldn't open her mouth.

Dou Zhao was very grateful for her sixth aunt's kindness. She thought that her mother had been gone for so many years and her father had been all alone. It might not be a bad thing if she could let go of the past and start over.

She smiled and said, "I'll go ask my father what he thinks."

The Sixth Madam breathed a sigh of relief, patted her hands gently, and said, "Now that you can let go of the past, I can rest assured."

Even though he knew that this was how things should be, Dou Zhao still felt a little disappointed. When he saw Miao Ansu, he spoke absentmindedly.

Miao Ansu was secretly puzzled and didn't know what had happened. She tried to probe Dou Zhao several times but failed. She also wanted to ask indirectly, but Dou Zhao's eldest cousin, Grandma Wen, sixth cousin Guo, and tenth cousin Cai came to congratulate her.

When the three saw the Sixth Madam Ji here, they came forward to pay their respects and urged Dou Zhao to treat them to a bird's nest and abalone banquet.

Dou Zhao replied with a smile, "Okay", and the wife of the eldest son of Marquis Yan'an, Mrs. An, and the third wife of Duke Jing, Mrs. Feng, also came.

Cai was very outgoing, and she had met An and Feng before. When greeting them, she joked, "I didn't expect you two would come along."

An smiled and said nothing.

Feng said, "We met on the road."

Before he finished speaking, a little maid came in and reported that the three grandmothers of the Lu family had come together.

The crowd came forward and had a conversation with them again.

For a moment, the room was lively and noisy, with laughter continuing.

Miao Ansu had no choice but to keep his curiosity to himself.

At night, Dou Zhao tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.

Song Mo held her in his arms, kissed her forehead, and said, "I'll go to the temple with you some other day to burn incense for my mother-in-law! Let her stop worrying about the affairs of this life, and be reborn peacefully. It would be best if she could live a prosperous, happy and fulfilling life."

The warmth in his embrace diluted the inexplicable sadness in Dou Zhao's heart.

She laughed and said, "Maybe my mother has already been reincarnated!"

"Yes!" Song Mo took the opportunity to persuade her, "So since we are still struggling in this world, we should stop making things difficult for ourselves."

Dou Zhao said nothing.

Song Mo suddenly bit her chest.

Dou Zhao was shocked.

Because she was only wearing a thin layer of clothing, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

"Are you crazy?" She pushed him angrily.

"Let's do something and you'll feel better." Song Mo didn't care. He raised his eyebrows and smiled at her cunningly, and his hand immediately reached into her lapel.

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing and said, "Your hands are so cold, take them out quickly."

"Really?" Song Mo bit her ear, "That's great, you helped me warm it up..."

A burst of blushing moans came from the room...

The next day, when Dou Zhao woke up, Song Mo had already gone to the yamen. She stretched her aching body and felt much better.

She told Duan Gongyi to go to Daxiangguo Temple to burn incense tomorrow.

After Dou Zhao married into the Duke of Ying's mansion, she lit a perpetual lamp for her mother in the Daxiangguo Temple.

Duan Gongyi quickly arranged the relevant matters.

Song Mo asked her to go two days later: "After these two days, I will be free."

Shao Wenji was suddenly thrown into prison, and there was no official handover. Song Mo had no choice but to ask people from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel to be witnesses and count the things of the Jinwu Guard. He also had to be careful that the Jinwu Guard's small treasury would be exposed, and he was very busy.

"I'm just going to burn some incense, not to go sightseeing," Dou Zhao said with a smile, "You rarely get a rest, so I'm going to use your day off to go out for a walk with you."

Song Mo listened and felt sweet in his heart.

He repeatedly told Jiang Yan to take good care of Dou Zhao and asked Xia Lian to go to Daxiangguo Temple with Dou Zhao.

Jiang Yan was hesitant and very nervous. He asked, "Sister-in-law, did you bring a cloak?" Then he asked, "Sister-in-law, did you bring salted green plums to eat on the road?" And then he asked, "Sister-in-law, should we go by car or sedan?" He was like a little housekeeper.

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing, and pulled her to sit down next to him, saying, "The maids will take care of these things, and you just need to go with me to relax when the time comes. Your brother also means the same thing."

Jiang Yan smiled awkwardly.

The two went to Daxiangguo Temple to burn incense.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple came out to greet him personally.

Dou Zhao knelt before the compassionate Guanyin, and for no apparent reason, tears rolled down his cheeks.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple had seen many resentful women in their confinement, but he pretended not to see anything.

Dou Zhao wiped away his tears and stood in the hall for a while. Only when he calmed down did he leave the main hall.

The abbot invited Dou Zhao to stay in the temple for a vegetarian meal.

Dou Zhao declined.

She decided to go to Jing'an Temple Hutong in the afternoon.

When she walked down the steps, she met Ji Yong.

Ji Yong was wearing a grey Taoist robe and a bamboo hairpin in his hair. He looked like an immortal as he talked in a low voice side by side with a handsome monk.

Dou Zhao was surprised.

The person walking next to Ji Yong was De Fu.

How did the two of them get together?

Dou Zhao murmured in his heart.

Ji Yong suddenly raised her head and looked in her direction as if she had sensed something.

When he saw it was Dou Zhao, a gentle smile immediately appeared in his eyes.

He whispered a few words to Defu, who also raised his head, looked at Dou Zhao with a probing look, and walked over with Ji Yong.

Dou Zhao and Ji Yong paid him a courtesy visit and introduced Jiang Yan to him.

Jiang Yan blushed, lowered his head and hurriedly bowed to Ji Yong.

Ji Yong glanced at her and said to Dou Zhao, "Is this the girl who was switched by Song Yantang?"

Dou Zhao coughed.

Ji Yong laughed and said, "Don't cover your ears to the ringing of the bell. The news has spread all over Kyoto..." He was still as unrestrained and carefree as before.

Dou Zhao interrupted him: "What's wrong with covering one's ears and stealing the bell? At least others know that we don't want to talk about this matter."

Ji Yong hadn't seen Dou Zhao for a long time and didn't want to quarrel with Dou Zhao, so he just nodded a few times and moved on from the topic.

De Fu, who had already saluted the host, had a look of surprise on his face and saluted Dou Zhao with his hands clasped together.

Dou Zhao and Jiang Yan quickly knelt down to return the greeting.

Ji Yong asked Dou Zhao, "Why did Song Yantang allow you to come to Daxiangguo Temple alone to burn incense? Where is your son? I heard that he was nicknamed Yuan Ge'er? When he was one month old, I was in Fujian under the imperial order. I asked my aunt to bring a longevity lock to Yuan Ge'er. It was blessed by a Taoist monk from Mount Putuo. You can take it out and hang it by his bedside to ward off evil spirits!"

Dou Zhao broke out in a cold sweat.

In front of the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple, He Defu, he actually told her that the longevity lock blessed by the Taoist monks of Mount Putuo could ward off evil spirits. This was like praising Li Po's melons for being sweet in front of Wang Po's stall...

She quickly glanced at the host and Defu, but found that they were both calm and composed, as if they hadn't heard anything.

What is happening?

Dou Zhao's mind was a little confused, so he could only ask, "What are you doing in Fujian? Is everything going well?"

Ji Yong said, "I'm going to be a historian! Don't you know? Fujian has been in chaos since the death of Duke Ding. Japanese pirates often come ashore to kill and abuse people. It's no exaggeration to say that the people are living in misery. The emperor asked me to go and see the situation of the resistance against the Japanese there."

Duke Dingguo hasn't been rehabilitated yet, okay?

Even so, you can't comment on political affairs like this in public!

Dou Zhao glanced at the host and Defu again.

The host was fine, but Defu smiled and said, "Mrs. Song, don't worry. I think what Master Ji said makes sense."

Dou Zhao was embarrassed.

Ji Yong laughed and said to her, "Go back quickly! Be careful that Yuan Ge'er will come looking for you crying. Monk Defu and I have an appointment to debate sutras today, so we can't entertain you. Next time you come to Daxiangguo Temple, let me know in advance, and I'll treat you to the famous sweet and sour fish of Daxiangguo Temple."

Defend the Bible?

Why not go to Longshan Temple instead of Daxiangguo Temple?

Dou Zhao wanted to say something, but felt that nothing she said would be appropriate. She smiled and nodded at Ji Yong, then got into the carriage with Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly: "Sister-in-law, who is this Lord Ji? He looks very difficult to get along with..." As he said this, he patted his chest with some fear.

Her intuition is very accurate!

Dou Zhao explained to Jiang Yan the relationship between himself and the Ji family.

Jiang Yan said seriously: "Sister-in-law, you'd better have less contact with him!"

Dou Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

For some reason, these two siblings dislike Ji Yong.

After returning home, Dou Zhao asked Ganlu to find the longevity lock that Ji Yong gave to Yuan Ge'er.

There were so many people who sent gifts for Yuan Ge'er's full-month celebration that she didn't know that Ji Yong also gave Yuan Ge'er something.

Ganlu searched through all the boxes and cabinets but couldn't find the longevity lock that Ji Yong had given her.

Dou Zhao said, "Did it get mixed up with the things Sixth Aunt sent?"

"I have carefully read the gift list," Ganlu said, "Sixth Madam gave a pair of longevity locks, one is inlaid with gold and jade, and the other is carved with silver. Lord Ji only gave one longevity lock, so it should be a single one." As she spoke, she opened the box containing the longevity locks and showed it to Dou Zhao.

Really not.

Where did that thing go?

Gifts must be put on the gift list, it's impossible for someone to have taken them.

Dou Zhao said: "Did you check the gift list? Could it be that something was missed?"

Gift lists are usually written by the gift giver, so the possibility of missing something is small, but it cannot be completely ruled out.

Ganlu hurried to check the gift list.

Ruotong came in to report that the carriage was ready.

Dou Zhao wanted to reach Jing'an Temple Hutong before his father left the government office, but seeing that time was running out, he had to put the matter aside for the time being and went to Jing'an Temple Hutong.