Chapter 519 Leaving
Song Han was filled with shame and anger. He held his chest and hunched over to enter the city, but was stopped by the city guards: "Second Master Song, it's not that we don't give you face, but the East Factory has issued a message that you are not allowed to enter the city in the future. If anyone gives you any hint, it will be regarded as treason. Please don't make things difficult for us!"
How could this happen!
He was stunned.
So how will he live in the future?
Song Han panicked and wanted to rush in without caring about anything.
The guard who had just been polite to him ruthlessly kicked him: "How shameless! Do you still think you are the second master of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion? You even ignored the words of the master! If I don't teach you a lesson, I think you don't know who you are!"
Song Han staggered and fell to the ground.
There was laughter from all sides.
Someone said, "This young man looks innocent, I wonder what he has done wrong? You guys are a bit vulgar!" Then he pulled Song Han and said, "Poor thing, even his clothes have been stripped off. I just happen to need someone to serve tea in my shop. Why don't you come with me? Although you can't wear silk and satin, you can eat well and wear warm clothes..."
Before he finished speaking, someone laughed out loud with ill intentions: "Lao Lai, which of those who served tea and water did not become your cash cow in the end?"
Everyone laughed, and their laughter was obscene.
Song Han fled in panic.
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The west warm pavilion of the Qianqing Palace study.
The prince is reviewing memorials.
Cui Yijun walked in quietly and changed the tea.
The prince suddenly put down his pen and said, "I heard that the Duke of Ying is ill?"
"Yes!" Cui Yijun laughed, "Song Han had an affair with the Duke of Yingguo's concubine. The Duke of Yingguo drove Song Han out of the house and held a ancestral hall to question him. Who knew that Song Han would be desperate and would strangle the Duke of Yingguo..." He recounted the whole story.
"In other words, Song Han has been expelled from the house and the Duke of Ying is still unconscious?" the prince pondered.
"Yes!" Cui Yijun bent slightly, appearing more respectful than usual.
The prince pondered for a long time.
Under normal circumstances, Cui Yijun would have asked the question long ago, but ever since the crown prince began to review memorials independently, he never interrupted again.
He stood there quietly, his eyes looking at his nose, and his nose looking at his heart.
The prince suddenly asked, "How are you doing with the matter I asked you to investigate last time?"
Cui Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Are you talking about the matter between Lord Song and Lord Ji?"
The prince nodded and said, "Although it is said that the matter of Prince Liao should not be publicized, we cannot let those loyal people feel cold. Now the Jinyiwei has no commander-in-chief, and I am thinking whether to let Song Yantang go, but Jinwuwei also needs him, and there has never been anyone who has served as both the commander-in-chief of Jinyiwei and the commander-in-chief of Jinwuwei. And there is Ma Youming of the Shenjiying. If he had not feared personal danger, it would still be unknown who would win that day. Since the commander-in-chief of the Shenjiying, Wang Xu, is in poor health and has requested to retire, I think it would be better for Ma Youming to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Shenjiying..."
In other words, the prince is going to use Song Mo more.
But Song Mo and Ji Yong are not on good terms!
Cui Yijun's heart skipped a beat.
Is the prince trying to strike a balance?
Cui Yijun's waist became even more bent.
He said respectfully: "Lord Ji and Lord Song have a grudge against each other for stealing my wife!"
"Oh!" The prince suddenly became alert, his eyes sparkling, and he asked, "Tell me quickly, what is going on?"
Cui Yijun said: "Although several families kept it a secret, both the Dou and Ji families are famous and prominent families with many in-laws, especially Master Ji, who has not yet married. No matter who proposed marriage, they all returned in disgrace. Some things could not be kept secret. It is said that Madam Dou and Master Ji were childhood sweethearts. Master Ji wanted to marry Madam Dou, and the Dou family was happy to see it happen. Who knew that Master Dou was traveling in Kyoto and didn't know that the Ji family intended to marry Madam Dou. The Ji family thought that as long as they informed Dou Gelao, it would be fine. As fate would have it, Master Dou married Madam Dou to the Duke of Ying's Mansion..."
"Is there such a thing?" The prince was delighted and couldn't help laughing. "I heard that Ji Jianming and Madam Dou are cousins. Do the two families still have any contact?"
"Yes, they do!" Cui Yijun said with a smile, "Not only that, Madam Dou is very open-minded. When Master Ji visits the Song family, Madam Dou will come out in person to say hello!"
The prince nodded as he listened, and then told the princess as a joke.
The Crown Princess did not expect this to be fair, and said, "I think Madam Dou is not like an ordinary woman, and it is no wonder that Master Ji looks down on everyone now."
The prince smiled and said, "Should we ask Ji Jianming to be our matchmaker?"
The Crown Princess smiled and said, "It depends on how you plan to use Lord Ji. If you just want to be in the Ji family, there is nothing more honorable and glorious than arranging a marriage for Lord Ji. If you want to use Lord Ji, I think you should just ignore this matter - he is so stubborn, he must not be someone who can be easily persuaded. If you rashly arrange a marriage for him, he will only feel aggrieved."
The prince was just talking casually. The princess consort was very concerned about handling the relationship between relatives. Since she said it was inappropriate, he no longer insisted and talked about Song Mo and Ji Yong: "I want Song Mo to be the commander of the Jinyiwei, and Ji Yong to be the scholar of the Zhanshifu and the director of the Xingrensi."
In this way, the different paths of civil and military affairs can check and balance each other.
The Crown Princess smiled and said, "Your Highness, have you ever thought of letting Song Mo concurrently serve as the commander-in-chief of the Shenji Camp?"
The prince was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "This is a really good idea. Song Mo will be the commander-in-chief of the Shenjiying and Jinyiwei, Ma Youming will be the commander-in-chief of the Jinwuwei, and Dong Qi will be the commander-in-chief of the Wucheng Bingmasi."
The relationship between Dong Qi and Song Mo was also very tense, and everyone in the Jinwu Guard knew about it.
The Crown Princess smiled slightly.
The prince then asked about the queen's situation: "How is she now?"
A few days ago, he heard that the Empress was ill, but the prescriptions presented by the Imperial Medical Office were all for calming the nerves, which made the Prince suspicious.
The Crown Princess whispered, "The Queen Mother said that the Queen was sick because of Prince Liao's anger. How dare the doctors prescribe other prescriptions?"
The prince understood and changed the subject, saying, "It's almost Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition to the usual gifts of anchor medicine, the Duke of Ying's mansion should also give some food and perfume to show their affection."
The Crown Princess replied “yes” with a smile.
The next day, the prince called Song Mo to the West Warm Pavilion to talk: "How is the Duke's health now?"
Song Mo smiled bitterly and said, "He is conscious, but his throat is broken and he can't speak. He also has a high fever from time to time. Doctor Yu said that he needs at least two years of rest before his body gradually gets better."
"You can't speak anymore?" The prince frowned. "You can't say a word?"
"He can only mumble like an ignorant child." Song Mo looked distressed. "If he didn't use a pen, we wouldn't know what he was talking about. As he was talking, father became impatient and would either smash things or overturn the table. But Doctor Yu said that father couldn't get excited, so I had no choice but to arrange for an attendant who had served father for many years to serve him personally..."
"There's nothing we can do about it." The prince comforted Song Mo, "Fortunately, the Duke of Ying's mansion has hereditary servants. Over time, the Duke will slowly get used to it."
"That's what I thought, too."
The two talked about Song Yichun's condition for a long time, and the prince brought tea.
Song Mo's head was covered with mist.
But when he saw Cui Yijun personally opening the curtain for him, he had a vague guess and whispered to Dou Zhao at night: "The emperor may let me take charge of the Jinyi Guard."
Dou Zhao was shocked.
In his previous life, Song Mo was in charge of the Jinyi Guard.
"Did His Highness reveal this to you?" she asked Song Mo.
"His Highness asked about my father's condition." Song Mo smiled, "He must be afraid that I would observe mourning - now that the Jinyiwei are not under command, the palace is like blindfolded and deafened. I can't think of any other reason for His Highness to call me into the palace."
"Can we not go to Jinyiwei?" Dou Zhao said hesitantly, "Jinyiwei has a very bad reputation."
"Whether one's reputation is good or bad depends on one's behavior." Song Mo smiled disapprovingly, "There are also good things about joining the Jinyiwei," he bit her ear and said, "At least you don't have to go to the palace to be on duty..." But his hand covered her breasts, which had become fuller due to pregnancy.
"What are you thinking about?" Dou Zhao was both angry and amused, and slapped his hand away, "This concerns your future!"
"No matter how incompetent I am, I can be a mediocre commander-in-chief like my father in the Five Armies Commandery," Song Mo simply held Dou Zhao in his arms, "No matter how capable I am, His Highness can't hand over both the Jinwu Guard and the Jinyi Guard to me. I was thinking about how to clear my uncle's name and find out why my father killed my mother. Now my wish has been fulfilled. I just want to accompany you and the child well, and I just want to be a good husband and a good father, so that my child will not be like me when I was a child. There is nothing worth fighting for those worldly things."
Song Mo has also had a hard time these years.
Since he is willing, let him do it!
Dou Zhao touched Song Mo's face lovingly and said softly, "It's up to you. As long as you feel happy."
"What's the point of me being happy?" Seeing Dou Zhao caring about him so much, Song Mo wanted to hug Dou Zhao happily, but when he reached out his hand, he remembered that it was inconvenient for her to do so, so he kissed her face hard a few times instead, "What matters is that you are happy. Don't you like me to accompany you?"
The couple talked sweet nothings to each other for most of the night. When they woke up the next day and saw Gao Sheng coming to Jing'an Temple Hutong to send Cheng Yi to Jiang Boxun, they remembered that Jiang Boxun had to leave for Haozhou the next day.
Song Mo asked anxiously, "Has A-Yan not come to see Uncle Five yet?"
Before, Jiang Boxun was covered with wounds and Jiang Yan was pregnant. Jiang Boxun was afraid of scaring Jiang Yan, so he did not let Song Mo tell Jiang Yan that he lived in Yizhitang. Now Jiang Boxun's external injuries have healed, and he is about to leave Beijing and go far to Liaoning. It is unknown when the relatives will see each other again. How can Jiang Yan not come to pay a visit to Jiang Boxun?
Dou Zhao smiled and said, "Look at you. Is Yuqiao Hutong far from here?" He smiled again and said, "I've asked the maid to post a notice to Chen Zan a long time ago. Sister Yan is timid. Instead of telling Sister Yan directly, it's better to let Chen Zanzhi tell her!"
"What's there to relay?" Song Mo was unhappy. "Fifth Uncle is her biological uncle, how could he harm her?"
Dou Zhao smiled but said nothing.
Song Mo sighed helplessly.
However, Dou Zhao thought to herself that eight out of ten things in life are not satisfactory. If this is the unsatisfactory thing in her life, then she would enjoy it!