Chapter 449: Heir

Dou Zhao and Dou Shiying entered the door one after the other.

Dou Shiying saw Dou Zhao and said straight to the point, "You are here for the matter of adopting a son, right?" Then, without waiting for Dou Zhao to speak, he continued, "You don't have to persuade me about this matter! I have thought about it for a long time. I told Wang Yingxue at the beginning that I could not give her anything except the status, but she insisted on staying in the Song family. Now that we have come to this point, she is wrong, but I am too stubborn. But if you want me to let go of all the sins I did in the past, I can't forget them.

When I see Yuan Ge'er these days, I think of your childhood. You are like grass in the field, growing in the wind; Ming Jie'er was thrown to the Wang family by me, to fend for herself. You two are good children, born into my family, but you have more bitter times than sweet times. Not only did I not teach you well, I also did not plan a good future for you. Instead, because of me, you had many twists and turns in your marriages, and suffered a lot of resentment. "

When he said this, his eyes became moist.

"Especially you, your husband's family is prominent, your husband is gentle and considerate, your child came on time, and is lively and healthy. I like you just by looking at you, and I feel that I am not completely useless.

Wang Yingxue and I are destined not to live together. I thought about divorce in the early years, but now... since she doesn't want to, let's just get along like this. Otherwise, she will make a scene and make you lose face, and I, as a father, will not be able to see you.

Your sixth uncle is a man who is careless in small matters but very opinionated in big matters. Your sixth aunt is a virtuous person who behaves properly and is smart. Dechang is almost a young man, not like a child, and still needs the care and even teaching of his adoptive mother. I, as his adoptive father, cannot help him, but your sixth uncle and your sixth aunt can help him make decisions. Moreover, after I die, with him as my adopted son, Wang Yingxue will not be able to get involved with you.

Didn’t our ancestors work so hard just to give their descendants a good life?

I gave up a quarter of Xidou's property in exchange for your life of peace and tranquility, which is worth it.

Just don't say anything.

No matter what you say, I won't change my mind!"

The attitude is very firm.

Dou Zhao was speechless.

Could it be that father wanted to adopt his twelfth brother in order to prevent Wang Yingxue from becoming a problem for her in the future?

She couldn't help but say, "Father, you will surely live a long life and follow the Seventh Madam."

"There is no age barrier on the road at dusk." Dou Shiying said with a smile, "Who knows who will walk in front of whom? It is better to make arrangements in advance."

Dou Shiying lived a good life in both his lives.

Dou Zhao looked at his father's head of black hair and suddenly felt upset.

The atmosphere in the room became somewhat solemn.

She blurted out the words that she thought she would never be able to say: "Father, you guessed wrong this time! I am not here for your succession to the twelfth brother. Succession is human nature. Father thinks that the twelfth brother is good and wants to invite him to come. As a daughter, I am only happy. How could I object? This time, I came for father's personal matter - the seventh wife lives in her parents' home for a long time, and father should find someone to take care of herself! As you said, Dou Ming and I are both married, and you are getting older, but you have no children. If there is someone who can take care of you by your side, we, as your daughter, can rest assured."

Dou Shiying was stunned.

He stared at Dou Zhao blankly.

Dou Zhao nodded gently.

Dou Shiying suddenly laughed.

"My dear, you have grown up!" he sighed, "I thought you would hate me for the rest of your life!"

Now it was Dou Zhao's turn to be surprised.

Is it so obvious?

As if he could see through her thoughts, Dou Shiying said, "Since your mother passed away, you have looked at me with cold eyes. Even if you get excited occasionally, you just turn your face away, not wanting me to know..."

In her previous life, she looked at her father with even colder eyes.

Does my father also know my hatred?

Dou Zhao felt mixed emotions.

She smiled and said, "I'm grown up now!"

Dou Shiying nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, I have grown up! But, I am more involved now."

Dou Zhao was shocked.

Dou Shiying said, "I am fine now. I don't want to take a concubine, nor do I want to find a maid. Since you are already an adult, you should know that it is difficult to be free in this world. Don't follow your sixth aunt's lead and insist on finding a woman to serve me."

After all, they are father and daughter, and it is very embarrassing to talk about such a topic.

Dou Zhao was embarrassed and said, "You know it's Sixth Aunt..."

"Who else could it be besides her?" Dou Shiying said with a smile, "Others would like me to die like this, so that they can choose their children to inherit the throne."

Dou Zhao didn't know what to say for a moment since his father knew so much.

Dou Shiying said, "When I was young, I listened to your grandfather. When I grew up, I listened to your fifth uncle. The only thing was that when it came to your marriage, I didn't listen to anyone else, but I found a good son-in-law for myself. This time, I won't listen to anyone else." After that, he changed the subject and asked Yuan Ge'er, "When did you leave? Will he be hungry after being out for so long? I see that it's getting late. Yantang will be closed tomorrow, and he should be back early today. You should go back early too!" He told her to leave without any hesitation.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but mutter in his heart.

If Song Yantang didn't know her beforehand, with her father's matchmaking skills, she would have been eaten up by Song Yantang without leaving anything behind!

Now it seems that my father is really unreliable.

What should I do?

Dou Zhao told Song Mo what had happened.

She thought Song Mo would tease her father, but unexpectedly Song Mo said solemnly: "Shougu, your father-in-law is right. He has almost never made his own decisions in his life. Now he finally wants to make his own decision. You shouldn't hold him back. Even if he made a mistake, it was his own decision. Even if he was frustrated, depressed and resentful, it was the consequence he should bear. You can't always take on so much. You should let him make his own decision."

Dou Zhao seemed to be thinking about something.

Song Mo let her think alone, hugged Yuan Ge'er and said with a smile: "Daddy is off tomorrow, let's go see your grandfather!"

Yuan Ge'er giggled, so cute.

The next day, Dou Zhao went to Maoer Hutong and told his sixth aunt about his father's decision and Song Mo's advice.

Ji sighed: "I didn't expect Yantang to be such a good husband."

Dou Zhao teased his sixth aunt: "Don't judge a person by his appearance."

Ji was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Indeed, indeed. I judged people by their appearance."

Sometimes, being too beautiful can be a problem.

Han personally directed the maid to bring in tea and snacks.

The two talked about children.

Dou Zhengchang and Dou Dechang came back from school.

When cousins ​​meet, there is a natural bond between them.

Ji invited Dou Zhao to have lunch.

Dou Zhao was worried about Yuan Ge'er, so he postponed lunch and went home.

Ji then asked about Dou Dechang's studies.

Dou Dechang was quite surprised.

He was the second son and was lazy. His father treated both brothers equally, but his mother was stricter with his elder brother Dou Zhengchang. This was the first time that his mother asked about his homework instead of his elder brother's.

He agreed dutifully.

Han's expression seemed a little strange.

Dou Zhengchang saw this and asked his wife privately, "Did something happen?"

"What are you asking?" Han, who was serving her mother-in-law, guessed something, but things were not settled yet. She didn't even dare to tell Dou Zhengchang, so she had to pretend to be confused. "It seems that nothing unusual has happened at home these days?"

Dou Zhengchang thought he was seeing things, so he stopped asking questions and went to the study to practice calligraphy.

Han heaved a sigh of relief and sat under the lamp making a bag for her son Qijin, but her heart was in a mess.

My mother came to see her a few days ago, and she kept asking about Dou Dechang, as if she wanted to be a matchmaker for him. She smiled and asked who it was, but my mother stammered and said it was not true. She also mentioned my cousin's wife Ling Ze... What did my mother mean by this?

Han was puzzled.

Dou Shiying was more decisive than ever.

He soon formally proposed to Dou Shishu to succeed Dou Dechang as his adopted son.

Dou Shishu had discussed this matter with Dou Shiying privately more than once. Seeing that Dou Shiying insisted, he wrote letters to his second grandfather Dou Shiqi who had retired and returned home, Dou Huanchang of the Dou clan, Dou Shiyang who was in charge of household affairs, and the second wife.

Although Zhending was surprised, Dou Shiying had mentioned this once before, so it was not surprising. After discussing with Dou Shiqi and Dou Shiyang, Dou Huanchang wrote a letter on behalf of the clan, agreeing to let Dou Dechang take over as the successor to Xidou.

Dou Shiheng sighed and said to Dou Shiying, "I will write the succession documents to you after Yuan Ge'er celebrates his 100th day."

Dou Shiying got what he wanted and nodded happily.

Dou Dechang's mood was very complicated.

After the inheritance, he had no relationship with the sixth branch of the Dongdou family. Whenever he met his parents again, he could only call them "uncle and aunt".

Dou Shiying comforted him: "It's just that you moved to my place, just think of it as entering the Imperial College in advance."

Dou Dechang didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this, but the sadness in his heart inexplicably disappeared.

The water-horse carriage used for Yuan Ge'er's hundred-day-old celebration was crowded with people. Not only were there members of noble families with outstanding achievements, but also some prominent figures in the Beijing Guards. Even the Crown Prince came and sat for a while.

There was constant music in the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion, and it could be heard even when walking on Andingmen Street.

Gu Yu flitted around the banquet like a colorful butterfly. Together with Feng Ye, a well-known playboy, and Shen Qing, who liked to hang out wherever there was excitement, they managed to make the banquet full of laughter and joy.

Song Han sat in the corner and watched coldly, then quietly left the hall before the party was over.

Wei Tingyu sat there drinking silently with his head down.

If he had chosen Dou Zhao at the beginning, would today's excitement belong to him?

He thought of Dou Ming's changeable mood, sometimes gentle and considerate, sometimes frowning and angry, and he drank faster and more.

However, Dou Zhao never found the longevity lock that Ji Yong gave him.

She asked Ganlu, "Has Master Ji arrived?"

Last time Yuan Ge'er's full moon came, she remembered clearly that she did not send an invitation to Ji Yong, but Ji Yong sent something anyway. This time, she felt embarrassed not to send an invitation to Ji Yong, but with Ji Yong's personality, who knew if he would come?

Ganlu went out to ask around and came back to report, "I didn't see Master Ji."

It's indeed something he could do.

Dou Zhao said, "Don't worry about him. Tell the maids in the teahouse to be smart. There are many guests today. Be careful not to run out of hot water."

Ganlu left immediately.

Dou Zhao straightened his sleeves and left the inner room.

But he saw Jiang Lizhu coming towards him.