The Town Protector’s Office is the core department of the Jinyiwei. Although the Deputy Chief of the Jinyiwei manages its internal affairs, can someone who oversees internal matters compare to one who handles criminal cases?
Song Mo smiled slightly and said, “The Deputy Chief of the Jinyiwei seems to hold the same rank as the Town Protector of the Town Protector’s Office, both being of the fourth rank, right?”
Shi Chuan, already aware that Song Mo would not easily agree, chuckled and replied, “The Town Protector’s Office has been quite stable under Chen Zan’s leadership these past few years. I was just considering whether to grant him a hereditary position as a hundred households to commend his contributions over the years.”
A hereditary hundred households!
Shi Chuan is truly willing to invest heavily to keep the Jinyiwei under his control!
Some matters cannot be rushed.
Song Mo raised his cup with a smile, saying, “Chen Zan is fortunate to have someone like Lord Shi as his superior!”
Shi Chuan laughed heartily and clinked his cup gently with Song Mo’s.
Thus, the matter was settled.
Yet, Shi Chuan felt no relief in his heart.
What exactly does Song Yantang know?
And how much does he know?
He gazed at the elegantly smiling Song Mo, feeling uncertain.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard of Aunt Cui’s house in Si Si Hutong, Yuan Ge’er had already fallen asleep. Dou Zhao was absentmindedly patting his son, but his ears perked up, fully focused on the sounds coming from the main room.
His father, Dou Shiying, spoke with a bitter tone, “…Why must you be like this? The Jing’an Temple Hutong is so spacious, and the Wang family often stays at their maternal home. If you go there, it would be just right to have someone in charge in the inner courtyard. If you stay here, how will Yantang think of me? How will our relatives and friends view me…?”
His grandmother’s voice remained as lively as ever, “You are someone who loves those empty titles! Yantang is our family’s grandson; he shows me filial piety, so why shouldn’t I accept it? Moreover, I like how this house is arranged. I enjoy living here. If I move to your place, during the festivals, will the families of the fifth and sixth sons come to visit you to pay their respects or not? They are all in high positions now, and I won’t make things difficult for them. If I stay here, we can pretend not to know each other’s presence, and everyone can live peacefully. Why complicate simple matters? This is quite good. You don’t need to say anything; I have already decided to live here.”
“This…” Dou Shiying murmured, still wanting to persuade his grandmother.
Dou Zhao, however, breathed a sigh of relief.
The reason Song Yantang wanted to wait until Yuan Ge’er completed his hundred-day celebration before bringing his grandmother to the capital was to avoid having her, at her age, subjected to the half-hearted respect of the Fifth and Sixth Ladies, being treated poorly. Now, this arrangement was perfect; she could live quietly here, with all the servants being her people. They could pretend not to know she had come to the capital, so they wouldn’t have to pay their respects, and she wouldn’t need to return the courtesy. Everyone would be comfortable.
Dou Zhao entrusted Yuan Ge’er to the wet nurse and lifted the curtain to leave the inner room.
“Father, we all know you are filial,” she urged Dou Shiying, “but Aunt Cui is elderly; let her live according to her preferences!”
Her grandmother nodded repeatedly, smiling, “Sister Shou knows me well!”
Dou Shiying could no longer insist, awkwardly saying, “If you lack anything or need to buy something, just let Hong Gu tell me.” He then nodded at Hong Gu, who had accompanied his grandmother to the capital.
Hong Gu quickly knelt and respectfully said, “Seventh Master, please rest assured; I will take good care of Aunt Cui.”
The grandmother waved her hand, smiling, “Alright, you all don’t need to talk about these trivial matters. Now that I am in the capital, there will be plenty of opportunities to speak! I heard from the cook that Yantang especially had someone bring a basket of crabs from the south. Sister Shou can’t eat them, and I haven’t had many of these cold foods in recent years. However, you have always liked them since you were little. I had Hong Gu find a jar of Huadiao wine; let’s have dinner here tonight!”
A flicker of surprise crossed Dou Shiying’s face.
He hadn’t expected his grandmother to know his eating habits… He thought she was just the one who gave birth to him…
In an instant, his eyes felt a bit moist.
He quickly lowered his head and softly replied, “Yes.”
Hong Gu immediately instructed the servants to set the table.
Soon, the Eight Immortals table in the main room was filled with dishes.
The cook eagerly said, “This is a crispy pigeon, specially prepared for the old lady by the young master; this is braised pork knuckle. The young master said that the old lady was getting older and should eat less sweet food, so I made this dish. Old lady, please try it and see if it suits your taste. This is steamed double vegetables; I arranged it in a Tai Chi shape, wishing the old lady happiness as vast as the East Sea and longevity as high as the South Mountain…”
Both the grandmother and Dou Zhao couldn’t help but laugh, with the grandmother saying, “I’m not celebrating my birthday; why wish for happiness as vast as the East Sea and longevity as high as the South Mountain!”
The cook’s face turned bright red, and she quickly knelt, saying, “I’m illiterate and don’t know how to speak; please don’t be angry, old lady!”
The grandmother laughed, “There are no such strict rules here; get up quickly!” She then instructed Hong Gu, who was helping the cook, “Reward her with a red envelope.” She added, “You’ve worked hard today; go eat now! You don’t need to serve here anymore.”
Seeing that the grandmother was easygoing, the cook joyfully accepted the red envelope, thanking the grandmother repeatedly before retreating.
Dou Shiying lowered his head, deciding not to bring up the matter of moving his biological mother to Jing’an Temple Hutong again.
How could the servants in Jing’an Temple Hutong be so fawning over her?
Who doesn’t want a comfortable and joyful life? Since she likes it this way, let it be!
Dou Shiying silently ate his meal.
Dou Zhao, however, rewarded the cook with two more high-quality red envelopes and instructed Gan Lu to convey, “If you take good care of the old lady, there will be additional rewards.”
Dou Shiying was even more generous.
Ten taels of silver!
This made the other servants in the household both envious and jealous, seizing every opportunity to get close to the grandmother, and making her smile every day.
Of course, that was all later.
That evening, after Song Mo brought Dou Zhao and the child back to the residence, Dou Zhao, disregarding that Song Mo was changing clothes, tightly embraced him from behind.
She held him so tightly that Song Mo felt a bit breathless, and he vaguely understood that Dou Zhao was moved by his actions.
He felt somewhat proud and inexplicably satisfied, gently caressing the back of her delicate, jade-like hand, and smiled, “I’m glad you like it!”
“I like it very much!” Dou Zhao leaned against his shoulder and kissed his neck fiercely.
Song Mo inhaled sharply, his body instantly igniting with heat.
Dou Zhao chuckled, her fingers skillfully slipping into his clothing.
“Sister Shou!” Song Mo’s voice deepened, tinged with a hint of hoarseness.
After the child’s full month celebration, they had been together.
But each time, Dou Zhao was either preoccupied with the child or worried about milk overflow, leaving her disinterested, which made it difficult for him to fully enjoy their time together.
In his previous life, Dou Zhao had not breastfed her child, so she was unaware of the troubles that came with it. However, she could sense Song Mo’s restraint, and her grandmother’s arrival suddenly unleashed her emotions.
She trailed down his neck.
Her hands were not idle.
How could Song Mo endure any longer? He turned around and lifted her, striding toward the bed…
Gan Lu and the others had been waiting outside for most of the night, but the room showed no signs of quieting down.
Ruo Tong could hardly hold on any longer, sitting in the armchair, feeling drowsy. She decided to stand up and quietly walk around the hall.
Gan Lu said, “You should go rest! I’ll stay here with the two little maids. Tomorrow morning, remember to bring two nimble maids to tidy up the bedding in the lady’s room.”
Usually, at this time, Dou Zhao’s belongings would not be sent to the laundry.
Gan Lu was their mentor and took good care of them, being a very kind person. Ruo Tong didn’t stand on ceremony with her and went back to rest.
Gan Lu sat in the hall, making nets, but her mind was on what Dou Zhao had said to her in the carriage on the way back: “One family is a third-rank steward from Duke Ying’s outer courtyard, about your age, with only a younger sister who is already engaged and will marry in a couple of years; the other is the second manager from the young master’s silk shop, who has studied for a few years and started as an apprentice at twelve. He’s said to be quite decent; then there’s the eldest son of Zhang Fugui’s family, who is two years younger than you and currently running errands with his father. I think that child is much more handsome than his father and acts more maturely. Since we know his background, I’ve included him as well… Think about it and see which family suits you.”
Which family suits her?
She didn’t know.
Suxin and Sulan had both married well and were doing quite nicely.
She felt that if she could be like them, that would be enough.
As for which family was suitable, she would leave it to the lady to decide!
She trusted the lady!
Thinking of this, her face flushed, and she couldn’t help but listen carefully to the sounds from the inner room.
Faintly, Dou Zhao’s laughter drifted over, cheerful and tinged with an indescribable charm.
Gan Lu couldn’t help but smile along.
The lady is truly living well!
She lowered her head and continued making nets.
Chen Jia, however, was filled with fear and unease.
Just before leaving the office, Shi Chuan suddenly summoned him to the Jinyiwei headquarters. He first praised him at length and then informed him that starting tomorrow, he would be promoted to Deputy Chief of the Jinyiwei. His duties would be taken over by Jinyiwei Qianhu Liu Yu, and he was to hand over his responsibilities to Liu Yu in the next couple of days.
This was a blatant promotion in name but a demotion in reality!
Everyone knew he was Song Mo’s man, while Liu Yu was Shi Chuan’s trusted aide.
Was this a punishment from Song Mo for the matter concerning Jiang Yan? Or had he inadvertently gotten involved in Shao Wenji’s affairs, making Shi Chuan wary of him?
Regardless of whether it was the former or the latter, facing heavyweight figures like Song Mo and Shi Chuan, he felt like an insignificant ant.
What should he do?
He paced back and forth in the room.
Hu Zi watched from the side, biting his lip.
The next day, he feigned a headache and did not accompany Chen Jia to the Town Protector’s Office.
But as soon as Chen Jia left, he hurried to Duke Ying’s residence to find Duan Gongyi.
Duan Gongyi was relatively close to Chen Jia and naturally recognized Hu Zi.
When Hu Zi mentioned that he was sent by Chen Jia to see Jiang Yan, Duan Gongyi didn’t think much of it and had someone deliver a message to Ying Hong.
However, Hu Zi insisted on seeing Jiang Yan in front of Ying Hong and said nothing.
Ying Hong knew that Jiang Yan had asked Chen Jia to inquire about Li Liang’s news and didn’t dare to stop him, so she went to report to Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan was quite surprised to hear this.
She quickly arranged to meet Hu Zi.