Chapter 495: Congratulations

No one said anything at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, but when the grand court celebration on the first day of the new year came, the wife of the Marquis of Changxing could not help but pull Dou Zhao aside and ask about Song Han: "...Is it true?"

Song Mo had long ago made up his mind to sever ties with Song Han, even going so far as to use the Lu family's name. When Dou Zhao was asked about it, she no longer felt any sense of shame for sharing the honor and disgrace. But she couldn't admit directly that it was true, as others would inevitably misunderstand that she was gloating.

She made an embarrassing expression.

"Alas!" Lady Changxing immediately understood and comforted her, "Whose family doesn't have one or two useless people? Don't take it to heart. We have all seen what the prince has done, and he will never confuse right and wrong."

Dou Zhao thanked him gratefully.

But within two cups of tea, all the ladies attending the grand court celebration knew about it.

There was either sympathy or curiosity in the way they looked at Dou Zhao. For a moment, Dou Zhao became the focus of everyone's attention.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but groan inwardly.

Although she wanted to ask the wife of Marquis Changxing to pass on the message, the wife of Marquis Changxing spoke too quickly.

Dou Zhao pretended not to know.

The Crown Princess couldn't help but sigh when she saw this, and called her over to her side to talk: "I haven't seen Brother He for a while, has he grown taller? The weather has been cold these days, and I didn't dare let the Third Emperor's grandson go out, but he can't sit still, and he keeps making a lot of noise. What has your Brother He been doing these days?"

Dou Zhao answered them one by one with a smile.

The Crown Princess's lifting made the faces of everyone in the palace look even more enthusiastic when they looked at her, allowing Dou Zhao to experience the warmth and coldness of human nature.

When the court ceremony was over, she heard some women whispering, "...Without a legal wife, how come he hooked up with the gentlemen in the mansion? Madam Jiang has been dead for so many years, and the Duke of Ying's mansion has no successor. Could it be that he is physically incompatible and unable to do anything?"

Everyone has such a rich imagination!

Dou Zhaoqiang tried hard not to burst out laughing, but he couldn't help turning around and glancing at the woman who was speaking.

The two women felt her gaze, shrank their shoulders uneasily, and walked past her quickly.

Even when he returned home, Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing whenever he thought of the expressions of the two women.

This is such a beautiful misunderstanding!

When the dragon rose on the second day of the second lunar month, even Gu Yu heard about the rumor. He ran to Song Mo and asked, "What's going on?"

Only then did Song Mo realize that the word had been spread like this.

He was speechless.

Fortunately, the servant came in and reported that "the uncle from Jing'an Temple Hutong is here", which saved Song Mo from the siege.

Gu Yu couldn't help but feel a little strange: "Isn't he going to take the exam? The exam is just a few days away, why is he here instead of staying at home?"

Song Mo was also a little puzzled, and asked the servant to invite Dou Dechang to the study.

After a while, Dou Dechang walked in.

He looked angry, said nothing, sat down and gulped down his cup of tea.

Song Mo and Gu Yu looked at each other in bewilderment. Dou Dechang pushed the teacup aside and raised his eyebrows, saying, "Wei Tingyu, that good-looking fellow, actually has a mistress outside!"

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Wei Tingyu went to visit his wife's parents. He used the excuse that Dou Ming was not feeling well, and the gifts were present but the guests were not. On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, his grandmother invited them to eat glutinous rice balls, but Wei Tingyu and his wife still did not show up. Dou Shiying was a little unhappy, but his grandmother was tolerant and thought that Wei Tingyu looked down on his background. She advised Dou Shiying: "People have to rely on fate. Look at Shougu, she has loved me since she was a child, but I only met her a few times when she was young. You are also an old man, so don't worry about these things."

Dou Shiying did not blame Ming Jie'er, but blamed Wei Tingyu. He privately said to Dou Zhao: "He teaches his son in front of the hall and teaches his wife by his bedside. Wei Tingyu is a few years older than Ming Jie'er. He was able to seduce Ming Jie'er to marry him regardless of everything. Why doesn't he know how to teach Ming Jie to be filial to her elders now?"

Dou Zhao didn't know how to judge this case, so he just kept silent.

Now it seems that there is something else going on.

Song Mo's mind turned, and he asked, "What on earth is going on?"

Gu Yu, however, was a man who was only afraid of chaos in the world, so he immediately pricked up his ears to listen.

Dou Dechang knew that Gu Yu and Song Mo were like brothers, and he liked Gu Yu's straightforward behavior, so he said frankly: "Fifth sister has not shown up, and father is very worried. He has been watching my homework for the past few days. These two days, seeing that the examination is coming, he collected the homework, let me take a rest, and told me to go to Jining Marquis's Mansion to see Fifth Sister. Who knew that Jining Marquis's Mansion was in chaos, the lady was ill, and Fifth Sister was scolding and making a fuss. The maids and servants in the mansion avoided her. It turned out that Wei Tingzhen used the excuse that Fifth Sister had no children, and gave two maids to Wei Tingyu as concubines a few years ago. Fifth Sister didn't like Wei Tingzhen's interference in the affairs of Jining Marquis's Mansion, and those two maids were killed. After bringing him to the door, she sold him out the moment she got him. This annoyed Wei Tingzhen. She simply bought two skinny horses from Yangzhou and placed them in a house not far from the Duke of Jing’s Mansion. Wei Tingyu said that he went to the Duke of Jing’s Mansion to visit, but he was actually playing in the house. When the fifth sister found out, she fought with Wei Tingyu and scratched Wei Tingyu’s face. Wei Tingyu was too embarrassed to go out, so he hid in the outer room during the New Year. The fifth sister brought people to catch him, but Wei Tingyu got the news in advance and actually hid with the two skinny horses. The fifth sister couldn’t find anyone, so she had to lie down at home. Tell me, how should I explain this to my father?"

Gu Yu's eyes lit up when he heard this.

He has always disliked Wei Tingyu. If it weren't for Song Mo, he would have dealt with Wei Tingyu long ago.

"Brother Tianci," he rolled up his sleeves impatiently, "Wei Tingyu is a poor man. He has relied on the dowry from the Dou family to eat and wear warm clothes for the past few years. He has no idea how much he weighs. Let's go and teach him a lesson."

"This is none of your business!" Song Mo frowned and yelled at Gu Yu, "Just stay here."

Logically, it would be best for Dou Zhao to be involved in this matter, but he really didn't want Dou Zhao to have anything to do with Wei Tingyu, let alone try to reconcile the two of them.

He thought for a moment and said, "I'll talk to my father-in-law about this, and you just focus on preparing for the test."

Dou Dechang came to see Song Mo with the same intention. When he saw Song Mo taking over, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and started to complain about Wei Tingyu with Gu Yu.

Song Mo couldn't help but feel relieved and told Dou Zhao about it.

Dou Zhao was very surprised.

In her previous life, Wei Tingzhen liked to meddle in her natal family's affairs, but she never interfered in Wei Tingyu's affairs; in her previous life, Wei Tingyu didn't care about farming and considered himself a playboy, but he never disrespected his wife.

No matter how good the days are, they will be ruined for Dou Ming.

She shook her head and asked Song Mo, "What are you going to do about this?"

"It takes two to tango!" Song Mo said coldly, "I want to persuade my father-in-law not to care about this matter - if you are not stupid or deaf, don't be a father-in-law! They are not children, we can't control them all their lives. And we can't delay Zixian's important matter because of this matter."

This is the best!

They sow the seeds themselves, and they reap the fruits themselves.

Dou Zhao nodded.

The next day after Song Mo left the yamen, he went to Jing'an Temple Hutong first.

Dou Shiying was very sad after hearing this, but he had to admit that Song Mo's words made sense.

He asked Song Mo to drink with him.

Dou Dechang accompanied him.

A servant ran in and said, "New Dongjuzi Wu Shan greets the Twelfth Master!"

Dou Shiying laughed when he heard "Oh my!" and said excitedly, "I haven't seen this young man for some years. I didn't expect that he would come to Jing'an Temple Hutong to visit! He should also come to participate in this year's spring examination. Please invite him in." After he finished speaking, he turned to Song Mo to explain the relationship between the two families. As for the grievances in the past, firstly, he was not very clear about them, and secondly, he felt that they were all misunderstandings caused by the women in the inner house. He didn't take it to heart, and would not tell Song Mo.

Song Mo saw that Wu Shan was calm, elegant, and spoke modestly. After knowing that he was the fourth aunt of the Dou family, he looked at him with a look of scrutiny and an inexplicable complexity.

His heart was beating fast, and as soon as he left Jing'an Temple Hutong, he told Wuyi: "Ask Du Wei to help me investigate this Wu Shan!"

Wuyi responded respectfully, “Yes.”

But after much investigation, it was found that there was nothing wrong with Wu Shan. However, news came that Wu Shan, Dou Dechang and Kuang Zhuoran all passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi.

Dou Shiying was overjoyed, and together with Dou Shiheng, he detained Dou Dechang at home to study in preparation for the selection of Shujishi.

In April, the list of scholars was announced, and Dou Dechang and Wu Shan were both on the list, but Kuang Zhuoran was not selected.

But he was not depressed, and happily brought a gift to thank Song Mo: "If it weren't for Boyan and the prince, my Kuang family would have been destroyed long ago, and how could I, Kuang Zhuoran, be where I am today?"

Song Mo thought he was too polite. The two of them exchanged pleasantries for a long time. After Dou Zhao had packed up, they went to Jing'an Temple Hutong together.

Today, a family dinner was held in Jing'an Temple Hutong to celebrate Dou Dechang's admission into the Academy of Scholars. Dou Shishu, Dou Shiheng, Dou Wenchang, Dou Bochang, Dou Jichang and Dou Qijun were all present, and it was very lively.

Yuan Ge'er warned Dou Shiying in a clear voice: "Grandfather, you are not allowed to drink. My mother said that drinking is harmful to the body!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Dou Shishu hugged Brother Yuan and praised him, "It's not easy for you to speak so clearly at such a young age."

Dou Shiying was very proud and said to Dou Dechang, "I heard that the youngest daughter of Du Xueshi in the Hanlin Academy is about your age. I will go to Du Xueshi for a drink in a few days."

Everyone laughed.

Dou Dechang's face turned pale and he fled in panic.

Everyone thought he was shy, but Song Mo remembered Dou Zhao's words and held the wine glass to his lips for a long time before taking a sip.

During dinner time, Wu Shan came over.

It is better to resolve a feud than to create one. He was now a newly-minted Jinshi, and was willing to take the initiative to get close to the Dou family. Those who knew about the past kept silent about it, and those who did not know just thought that he was going to study at home in the past few years and was a little far away from the Dou family, and they still entertained him warmly with a smile.

However, he was pulled by Dou Dechang to his study.

No one took it as an offense and let them say whatever they wanted.

The topic of conversation in the study gradually turned to the young scholars who had passed the imperial examinations in recent years.

Dou Shishu said: "After all the calculations, Ji Jianming is still the most dazzling. He went to the Zhanshi Mansion a few days ago and became a minister of the Eastern Palace."