Chapter 464: Registration

Two days later, Song Mo took a day off. Dou Zhao discussed Jiang Yan's marriage with him: "I have asked Monk Defu of Daxiangguo Temple to look at the engagement letter. He said it is a match made in heaven and there are no taboos. When do you think I should give the Chen family a reply? They can make the decision!"

Song Mo was very dissatisfied with this marriage from the bottom of his heart.

In his view, this was tantamount to marrying his sister to a servant.

Although he knew that Dou Zhao was very accurate in judging people and things, and that she had always been the one taking care of Jiang Yan's affairs, and that Jiang Yan was also happy to be close to Dou Zhao, it was impossible for Jiang Yan not to be affected after experiencing the Wei He incident. If Dou Zhao felt that Jiang Yan was more suitable to marry Chen Jia, then it would definitely be suitable. However, he still couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart, and completely adopted a policy of delaying. Even though he knew that Chen Jia had come to propose marriage and Dou Zhao had received the engagement letter, he pretended not to know about it and did not ask about it. Hearing Dou Zhao mention this, he said angrily, "Why are you in such a hurry? Ah Yan just came of age this year. In the past, no one helped her take care of the family. Now that she has returned home, she must be raised for two more years. If the Chen family is sincere, can't they wait for a few days?"

Dou Zhao was a little amused and said, "It will take at least a year or so to set a date for the marriage. By then, Sister Yan will be seventeen or eighteen years old, and it will be time for her to get married."

Song Mo said "Oh" without making any comment, and answered the question irrelevantly: "If it's a matchmaking, why did you invite people from Daxiangguo Temple? Why didn't I know that Daxiangguo Temple also helps people to read birth charts? Who is that Defu?"

It's very awkward.

Dou Zhao just thought Song Mo was very cute like this.

She smiled and said, "Defu is a great monk who is in charge of reception at Daxiangguo Temple. He is very knowledgeable about fortune-telling. I heard from my fifth aunt that when Yao Gelao and He Gelao are free, they like to go to him for a chat. Last year, He Ge's family married off their granddaughter and asked him to match her up, and the result was very accurate. So I asked him for help this time as well."

In fact, Dou Zhao knew that the reason why Defu was able to become the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple and compete with Ji Yong in the end was that, in addition to being proficient in Buddhism and the Book of Changes, he also liked to read fortunes for the women of powerful families. After he became the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple, it was difficult to get a divination from him. Moreover, he was very accurate in reading fortunes and his methods of interpreting fortunes were very effective. This was one of the reasons why he was so popular.

Song Mo took the opportunity to change the subject and said with a smile: "There are still such people? Then let's go to Daxiangguo Temple to meet this monk and let him tell my fortune. I always feel that I have been unlucky in the past few years. One thing after another makes me upset."

Dou Zhao pursed his lips and smiled.

She didn't see why Song Mo was upset.

No matter how difficult things were, he always faced them head-on, never complained about himself, and had a very strong will, which made her, who knew some of his past experiences in two lives, admire him very much.

Dou Zhao stepped forward and hugged Song Mo's arm, his voice softening involuntarily: "Okay! Then we'll take Yuan Ge'er to burn incense to the Bodhisattva, and ask the Bodhisattva to bless him with peace and health."

She followed his wishes and did not mention the matter of Jiang Yan and Chen Jia.

Song Mo laughed happily.

Dou Zhao almost reached out and touched his head like he did to Yuan Ge'er.

※※※※※

Chen Jia waited for two or three days but received no reply from the Song family, and he couldn't help feeling a little anxious.

He made an appointment with Duan Gongyi for a drink.

Duan Gongyi counseled him, "Your Highness has finally found your sister, how could he bear to let her marry off so soon? But don't worry, Madam has rejected all those matchmakers and is in a hurry to prepare a dowry for your cousin, so there shouldn't be any changes."

Chen Jia wished someone could write him a written contract in black and white as a guarantee, but he felt that Duan Gongyi's words were of no use at all. He just kept drinking and finally got drunk. He was carried back by Hu Zi.

Duan Gongyi smiled and shook his head. After thinking for a while, he went back to report to Dou Zhao. However, he was afraid that Dou Zhao would think Chen Jia was not stable enough, so he concealed the fact that Chen Jia was drunk.

It happened that the family's cook had made some carrot cakes, walnut cakes and the like for the New Year. Dou Zhao asked Duan Gongyi to take some to Chen Jia to appease his somewhat restless heart. She also packed some more in gift boxes and sent them to Maoer Hutong, Huaishu Hutong and the homes of Jiang Lizhu and others. As for her grandmother, she took Yuan Ge'er to deliver them there in person.

Grandmother was extremely happy, holding Brother Yuan tightly in her arms, and told Hong Gu: "Send someone to Jing'an Temple Hutong and ask the Seventh Elder to come over for dinner after he gets off work." Then she smiled at Dou Zhao and said, "He loves Brother Yuan the most, so ask him to come over and have a look and satisfy his hunger."

Dou Zhao couldn't help but feel grateful to Song Mo again.

He arranged for his grandmother to stay here, and indeed his grandmother was not like when she was in Zhending. Even when he lived with her, it seemed like he was just a guest. She seldom expressed her opinions easily, let alone gave orders like she did now.

She replied with a smile, "Okay."

Yuan Ge'er, however, twisted his body impatiently and wanted to go outside to play.

Grandma coaxed him with a smile on her face: "My dear, it's cold outside. When spring comes, I will lead you to plant beans."

Dou Zhao laughed out loud when he heard this.

Yuan Ge'er also giggled along with his mother.

Suddenly, the house was like spring with flowers blooming, warm and lively.

The smile spread from my grandmother's eyes to her eyebrows.

The two of them played with Yuan Ge'er on the kang, rocking the waves.

Yuan Ge'er listened quietly at first, but soon he became impatient and tried to grab the wave drum. Dou Zhao handed the wave drum to him. He wanted to shake the wave drum like Dou Zhao, but it didn't make any sound. He pouted and threw the wave drum on the kang.

Grandma's eyes narrowed into slits with joy. She said, "Whose temper did you inherit? You can't stand even the slightest injustice."

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "It must be Sui Yan Tang."

Her grandmother teased her: "Do you think you had a good temper when you were a child?"

Dou Zhao was a little surprised and asked curiously, "Have you seen me when I was a child?"

"Of course!" Grandmother never took the grievances she suffered in the Dou family to heart, and she didn't hesitate to talk about these things. "When I heard that you were born, I changed into a coarse cloth dress and followed the maid who delivered the vegetables to the main courtyard. Your mother knew it was me, so she specially asked someone to bring you out for me to take a look. Later, when I went there again, she pretended not to know and let me play with you for a while. Later, your grandfather accidentally found out, and I was afraid that he would blame your mother, so I didn't dare to go there again." She added, "I still remember when you were a child, you were chubby. As long as your diaper was not properly placed or the quilt was not pressed down when you were put on the bed, you would cry non-stop, making your mother and your wet nurse cry so hard that they were at a loss. If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have found out the reason!"

Speaking of this, she showed some pride.

Song Mo's voice suddenly rang out in the room: "It turns out that Yuan Ge'er's bad temper is not inherited from me! When I was a child, I was very obedient. I would not sit when I was told to lie down, and would not lie down when I was told to sit. If I dared to cry loudly, I would slap my butt."

"Yan Tang!" Dou Zhao didn't expect him to come over at this time, and his eyes lit up.

Song Mo walked in with a smile and bowed respectfully to his grandmother.

When my grandmother saw him coming, she was also very happy. She hurriedly asked him to sit down on the armchair beside the kang, asked the maid to bring tea and snacks, and asked with concern: "Why did you come here at this time? Is there nothing to do in the government office?"

Yuan Ge'er already recognized people a little, and Song Mo held him for a while every day, so he would jump towards Song Mo in Dou Zhao's arms.

Song Mo smiled and held the child in his arms, then sat down on the armchair and said, "When I was a Tongzhi before, I had a commander-in-chief above me, and I had to take care of everything. Now that I am the commander-in-chief, there is no one pressing on me, so it is much more convenient for me to move around."

My grandmother actually nodded in agreement, as if she shared my feelings: "That's the truth."

Yuan Ge'er was clamoring to go outside again.

Song Mo was also afraid that the wind would blow the child, so he carried him to the living room to look at the jade bonsai displayed on the shelves of Duobao Pavilion.

Grandmother said to Dou Zhao in dissatisfaction, "Yan Tang came over, and you didn't even get off the kang to greet him. How can this be reasonable? No one is good forever, and no flower is red forever. Who doesn't like to be valued? You and Yan Tang still have a long time to live together, so don't always take advantage of his kindness to you and put on airs. After a long time, anyone would get tired of him."

These words made Dou Zhao very embarrassed.

But if you think about it more carefully, what my grandmother said is very true.

No wonder people often say “An old person in the family is like a treasure”.

Dou Zhao humbly accepted the advice and went to the main room to play with the children with Song Mo.

Song Mo's brows were indeed a little more cheerful, and he whispered, "Don't worry, Yuan Ge'er is close to me, he won't cry, you can go and talk to Old An more, she is unfamiliar with the place and has no close friends, since you are here, you can help her to relieve her boredom."

He never called his grandmother "Aunt Cui" but followed the younger generations in calling her "Lao An".

Dou Zhao felt warm inside, thinking about his grandmother's words, and intentionally trying to make Song Mo happy, he lowered his voice and said, "But I want to be with you!"

A smile immediately couldn't be stopped from overflowing from Song Mo's eyes.

His expression softened, but his attitude became more resolute. He said, "You go and keep her company. I'm not a child."

Dou Zhao squeezed his hand and then turned and went into the inner room.

Even when Dou Shiying came back from the yamen, the smile on Song Mo's face did not diminish in the slightest.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but reflect on himself deeply.

She seemed to slowly transfer the husband-and-wife relationship model from her previous life to the relationship between her and Song Mo.

This is a big taboo!

I must change myself in the future.

Meanwhile, Song Mo was teasing his son with his father-in-law while he asked about the inheritance with a smile: "Have all the relatives and friends at home posted the invitation?"

Dou Shiying took out a Hetian jade carving from his sleeve and put it into Yuan Ge'er's hand, saying with a smile, "After all, it's a family affair, so we didn't invite any friends."

Song Mo wanted to say something but stopped.

He rarely showed such an expression. Dou Shiying couldn't help but straighten his face and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, no." Song Mo hesitated, "I had an idea when I came back from Liuye Hutong..."

He looked like he didn't know whether to say it or not.

Dou Shiying said with a smile: "Don't play dumb in front of me! Just say whatever you want to say. You are my half son."

Song Mo laughed twice, but he didn't care about much, and simply said straight to the point: "After all, the original wife and the concubine are different. Have you ever thought about registering the twelfth brother under the name of your mother-in-law?"