Chapter 485: The Plan

Song Mo, who was playing with his son, was a little surprised to hear the news. He smiled and said to Dou Zhao, "It seems that Prince Liao should not be underestimated!"

Of course, in his previous life, he was an emperor.

But in his previous life, he did not come back halfway.

Then why did he return to Kyoto in this life?

Is it because the situation in this life has changed from the previous life that he has to change his original plan?

Dou Zhao felt that it was never too much to be cautious against Prince Liao.

She warned Song Mo: "Be careful."

"We haven't fallen out with the Liao King yet!" Song Mo smiled and comforted her, "I will act according to the circumstances."

Dou Zhao wanted to tell him a few more words, but Yuan Ge'er came over, hugged Song Mo and shouted "Qiuqiu".

Song Mo smiled and picked up his son, saying to Dou Zhao, "Let's go play football, and stop talking about such a disappointing thing."

Yuan Ge'er couldn't speak until he was one year old, but after the one-year-old ceremony, he seemed to have opened his mind. Not only did he call "Daddy", but he also waved to the servants beside him and said "Come here", and then pointed at the teacup for water and pointed at the snacks for food. Song Mo was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. The next day, he said to Dou Zhao, who was always worried about whether Yuan Ge'er had any problems, with a sense of pride: "I said my son is very smart. He is silent, but when he speaks, it's amazing. You just like to worry about things that are not necessary, and I have been worrying for a long time in vain."

Dou Zhao smiled without saying anything, listening to his complaints, but his heart felt both sour and sweet.

In her previous life, Wei Tingyu never cared about her children. Her two children only started to call "Daddy" when they were almost two years old and could speak clearly. In this life, Song Mo accompanied Yuan Ge'er after leaving the government office. Her children could call "Dad" before they could call "Mom"... She turned her face away, blinked a few times, and then turned back to give Song Mo a brilliant smile again.

Song Mo taught Yuan Ge'er how to play Ju.

Yuan Ge'er stood by clapping his hands. As soon as the ball landed, he ran over to pick it up and handed it to Song Mo. Song Mo asked him to kick it twice, so he ran behind Dou Zhao and hid, sticking his head out to look at Song Mo. If Song Mo had a stern face, he would wave to the nurse who served him and say "Come here, come here". The nurse would walk over with a smile, and he would either ask for water or snacks. If Song Mo was smiling, he would point at the ball and say "Ball, ball", meaning that Song Mo should continue to play Cuju.

Song Mo was still laughing and kicking the ball at first, but after a few times, he suddenly realized what was going on. He said to Dou Zhao, who was sitting next to him doing needlework, with a smile on his face: "This kid wants me to kick the ball for him to see! I have become a juggler."

Dou Zhao laughed.

Yuan Ge'er didn't understand why his parents were laughing, but laughing represented kindness.

He picked up the ball with a chuckle, and handed it to Song Mo in a flattering manner, looking at Song Mo with his big, shiny black eyes.

Song Mo's heart suddenly softened. He squatted down, hugged Yuan Ge'er and kissed him twice.

Yuan Ge'er giggled again, which was very cute.

Song Mo took the ball from Yuan Ge'er's hand and said with a smile, "Watch carefully, Daddy will play Cuju for you to see."

He kicked the ball high, almost hitting Chengchen.

Yuan Ge'er clapped his hands, laughed and jumped, as happy as a little bird.

Wuyi looked at it and stood at the door, hesitating whether to come in or go out.

Dou Zhao nodded at him.

Wuyi then walked in with a smile and presented a bright red visiting card: "My Lord, Mr. Geng Ligeng from the Liao Palace has sent you a message on behalf of the Liao Prince, saying that the Liao Prince will host a banquet at the Liao Palace on September 12th, and invites you, your wife, and your Lord to go there to admire the chrysanthemums."

The Prince of Liao did not go to Liaodong from the beginning, but lived in Kyoto for two years after leaving the palace before going to Liaodong. His residence in Kyoto was also taken care of by the Zongrenfu.

Dou Zhao felt that there was no good banquet, but it was difficult not to go to the Liao Wang's banquet. Especially since he didn't know how long he would stay in Kyoto, he could find an excuse to refuse once, but what about twice or three times?

She thought for a moment, and said to Song Mo, who was holding the note in deep thought, "It is a taboo for a vassal king to make friends with court officials, especially for someone like you who is the commander of the guards guarding the Forbidden Palace. Do you want to tell the emperor about this?"

If the emperor could show even a hint of displeasure, Song Mo would have an excuse not to attend Prince Liao's banquet.

Song Mo smiled and said, "Of course I have to greet the Emperor. Otherwise, why do you think I have almost no social engagements now? I am showing my loyalty to the Emperor! However, what has Prince Liao done these days? Who will he invite? Who did he send the invitation to first? Who did he send the invitation to later? We have to find out everything." At this point, he pondered and said, "And there is Song Han. The Queen is not the kind of person who likes to gossip about other people. She praises Song Han like this, I don't believe she doesn't have her own little calculations."

Dou Zhao nodded continuously.

The next morning, Du Wei investigated every move of Prince Liao after he came to Beijing and placed the record on Song Mo's desk.

Song Mo read the intelligence first before returning to the inner room to have breakfast with Dou Zhao and Yuan Ge'er.

Dou Zhao asked him, "What did Du Wei say?"

Song Mo picked up a piece of meat floss and fed it to Yuan Ge'er while saying, "He invited all the royal relatives, and sent the invitations according to their seniority and age. I don't see anything wrong with that. He sent the invitation to the palace yesterday before he entered the palace in person. If nothing unexpected happens, the emperor will see him after the morning court today. It depends on whether the prince will be there then!"

If the crown prince was present, it would at least prove that although the emperor favored Prince Liao, he was still calm and rational, and still maintained the crown prince's position as the crown prince as before; if the emperor met Prince Liao alone, or even left the crown prince aside and met Prince Liao with the empress... the crown prince's position would become delicate.

Dou Zhao also understood this.

When she saw Song Mo off the door, she couldn't help but pat his hand gently.

Song Mo smiled, and seeing that the maids and old women were following him from a distance, he turned around, pecked Dou Zhao quickly on the cheek, and then got on the sedan chair.

Dou Zhao's face was burning. After a while, he collected himself and walked calmly to the main courtyard of the Duke of Ying's Mansion.

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The emperor not only met with the Liao prince alone, but also smiled and said to the royal relatives who mentioned the Liao prince's banquet: "I just missed my son and called him back to tell him about it; he just wanted to meet you uncles and brothers, you don't have to be polite to him, he has made a lot of money in Liaodong in recent years, selling leather, digging ginseng and collecting pearls, you just let him treat you to good food and drink!"

The Prince of Huainan and others smiled awkwardly and replied "yes", and tactfully changed the subject to ask the Emperor what good businesses there were in Liaodong in recent years and how much money the Prince of Liao had earned.

The emperor was obviously pleased with the Prince of Liao and was very interested in talking. He not only recounted the interesting stories of Liaodong that the Prince of Liao had told him, but also talked about the customs and practices of Goryeo and other places.

The Prince of Huainan and the others were all very good at observing people's expressions. They smiled and followed the emperor's words, making the emperor laugh continuously.

Song Mo stood at the back of the crowd and lowered his eyelids.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was extremely anxious. He asked Cui Yijun anxiously, "What should I do?"

Cui Yijun no longer had any of the petty greed he had shown at this moment, but said calmly, "Your Highness, what did Mr. Zeng tell you before he died? You are the pillar of the country, and as long as you don't move, no one can touch you."

Mr. Zeng refers to the late Zeng Yifen, the master of Sanchao Pavilion.

The prince thought of Zeng Yifen's earnest gaze before her death, and his heart gradually calmed down. He walked to the large desk, picked up his pen and wrote the word "忍" ten times in a row. Then he took a deep breath and went to the Crown Princess.

Cui Yijun silently burned the ten characters of "忍" written by the prince into ashes, and then called the eunuch to come in and clean the study.

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Prince Liao appeared in Kyoto in a high-profile manner.

He visits this family today and that family tomorrow. By September 12, the entrance to Prince Liao's Mansion was crowded with people. All the people he invited came.

Prince Liao did not bring Princess Liao with him, but brought his eldest son back to Kyoto. He took his five-year-old eldest son to greet guests at the door of the hall, while the third princess helped to entertain guests in the inner courtyard.

As soon as Dou Zhao got off the carriage, he saw Miao Ansu following closely behind Princess Ningde.

She was very surprised.

Those who came today were either ladies of super rank or princesses of the first or second rank. Miao Ansu did not have an imperial edict.

Miao Ansu felt uncomfortable looking at the noble ladies wearing long gowns and robes. She explained to Dou Zhao quietly, "Yesterday, just before the lights were turned on, the Liao Palace sent someone to send us an invitation, saying that they didn't know that the Second Master had opened a separate residence, so they only sent invitations to my father-in-law and my uncle. I thought the Liao Prince was just being polite, but the Second Master insisted on coming, saying that the Liao Prince was honoring him, and that if he could come to the Liao Prince's banquet, he would have a say in the Jinyiwei in the future. So I had no choice but to come along."

Dou Zhao had always gotten along well with Miao Ansu. She felt a little uncomfortable when Miao Ansu spoke to her in this tone, so she smiled and said, "No wonder I didn't know you were coming. But since you are here, you should enjoy the chrysanthemums in the Liao Palace. I found two black chrysanthemums at Fengtai Flower Market a few years ago. It is said that they were raised by a gardener from the Liao Palace. It shows that there are experts in raising chrysanthemums in their palace. I came here this time to see them for myself."

A wife's success depends on her husband's.

Song Han had no fame or power, so no one took Miao Ansu seriously as his wife.

Miao Ansu knew this very well, and took the opportunity to catch up with Dou Zhao: "Sister-in-law, let me go with you! I don't know any of these people, and I don't even know which leg to step on first when I walk."

Dou Zhao smiled and said, "Then you should just follow Princess Ningde like you did just now - she is of noble birth and graceful. If you follow her, you will not make any mistakes no matter what!"

Miao Ansu could feel Dou Zhao's alienation from her.

She looked a little gloomy and forced a smile.

Just then, the wife of Marquis Changxing came over.

Dou Zhao pretended not to notice Miao Ansu's gloom, walked forward with a smile and greeted the wife of Marquis Changxing, and then the two of them walked into the flower hall side by side, chatting and laughing.

After paying respects to the Third Princess, Dou Zhao sat down next to Princess Ningde.

Princess Ningde quietly pointed to a woman wearing a rose-red floral bodice next to Miao Ansu and asked, "Who is that? Do you know her?"