While no one said anything at the palace banquet on New Year’s Eve, during the grand court greetings on the first day of the new year, the Marchioness of Changxing couldn’t help but pull Dou Zhao aside to ask about Song Han’s affair: “…Is it true?”
Song Mo had long decided to distance himself from Song Han, even going so far as to borrow the Lü family’s name. When Dou Zhao was asked about it, she no longer felt any sense of shared honor or shame. However, she couldn’t openly admit to the truth, as others might misunderstand and think she was gloating.
She put on a face of reluctance to speak.
“Ah!” The Marchioness of Changxing immediately understood and comforted her, “Every family has one or two disappointing members. Don’t take it to heart. We all know the Young Master’s character and won’t confuse right and wrong.”
Dou Zhao thanked her gratefully.
But within the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, all the noble ladies attending the grand court greetings knew about this matter.
Their gazes toward Dou Zhao were filled with either sympathy or curiosity. For a moment, Dou Zhao became the center of attention.
Dou Zhao inwardly groaned.
Although she had intended for the Marchioness of Changxing to help spread the word, the Marchioness’s mouth was a bit too quick.
Dou Zhao pretended not to notice.
The Crown Princess saw this and couldn’t help but sigh. She called Dou Zhao to her side and said, “I haven’t seen young He for some days. Has he grown taller? The weather has been cold these past few days, so I didn’t dare let the Third Prince go out. But he’s a restless one, always causing a fuss. What has your young He been playing with these days?”
Dou Zhao smiled and answered each question.
The Crown Princess’s favor made the other ladies in the hall look at Dou Zhao with added warmth, giving her a good taste of the fickleness of human nature.
As the court greetings dispersed, she overheard some women whispering, “…Without a proper wife, how could she get involved with the men of the household? Duke Ying’s estate hasn’t taken a new wife in all these years since Lady Jiang passed away. Could it be that his body is weak and he’s unable to perform?”
People’s imaginations were truly fertile!
Dou Zhao barely managed to hold back a laugh, but she couldn’t help glancing back at the women who were speaking.
Feeling her gaze, the two women nervously hunched their shoulders and quickly walked past her.
Even after returning home, Dou Zhao couldn’t help but laugh whenever she thought of those two women’s expressions.
What a beautiful misunderstanding!
By the time the Dragon Raising Its Head festival came around on the second day of the second lunar month, even Gu Yu had heard this rumor. He came to ask Song Mo, “What’s going on?”
Only then did Song Mo realize how the story had been twisted.
He was left speechless.
Fortunately, a servant came to report that “the uncle from Jing’an Temple Lane has arrived,” saving Song Mo from his predicament.
Gu Yu couldn’t help but wonder, “Isn’t he supposed to be taking part in the imperial examinations? With the exam date approaching, why isn’t he staying at home to prepare? What’s he doing coming here?”
Song Mo was also puzzled and instructed the servant to invite Dou Dechang to the study.
Soon after, Dou Dechang entered.
His face was filled with anger. Without a word, he sat down and gulped down a cup of tea.
Song Mo and Gu Yu exchanged bewildered glances. They saw Dou Dechang push away the teacup and raise an eyebrow, saying, “That scoundrel Wei Tingyu is keeping women outside!”
On the third day of the New Year, when visiting the wife’s family, Wei Tingyu made excuses about Dou Ming being unwell, sending gifts but not showing up in person. Then on the sixteenth day of the first month, when Grandmother invited them for tangyuan, Wei Tingyu and his wife were again absent. Dou Shiying was somewhat displeased, but Grandmother was more open-minded, assuming Wei Tingyu looked down on her background. She advised Dou Shiying, “Relationships between people are about fate. Look at Shou Gu, she’s been close to me since childhood, but I’ve only seen her a few times when she was little. You’re getting on in years now, don’t let these things trouble you.”
Dou Shiying didn’t blame Ming’er, but he did blame Wei Tingyu. In private, he said to Dou Zhao, “One teaches sons in the hall and wives in bed. Wei Tingyu is several years older than Ming’er. If he could seduce Ming’er into marrying him without regard for anything else back then, why can’t he teach Ming’er to be filial to her elders now?”
Dou Zhao didn’t know how to judge this case and remained silent.
Now it seemed there was more to the story.
Song Mo’s mind raced, and he asked, “What exactly happened?”
Gu Yu, always eager for drama, immediately perked up his ears to listen.
Dou Dechang knew that Gu Yu and Song Mo were as close as brothers, and he liked Gu Yu’s straightforward manner. He spoke directly, “Fifth Sister hasn’t shown her face for a while, and Father has been very worried. These past few days, he’s been focusing on my studies, but now with the imperial examinations approaching, he’s eased up on the lessons and told me to rest. He asked me to visit the Marquis of Jining’s mansion to check on Fifth Sister.
Who knew the Jining Marquis’s mansion would be in such chaos? The Old Madam is bedridden, and the Fifth Sister is cursing and making a fuss, with all the servants avoiding her like the plague. It turns out that Wei Tingzhen, using the excuse that Fifth Sister had no children, sent two maids to Wei Tingyu as concubines before the New Year. Fifth Sister doesn’t like Wei Tingzhen interfering in the Jining Marquis’s affairs, so as soon as the two maids are sent in, she turns around and sells them off. This angered Wei Tingzhen.
She then went and bought two courtesans from Yangzhou and set them up in a house not far from the Duke of Jing’s mansion. Wei Tingyu claimed he was visiting the Duke of Jing’s mansion, but he was playing around in that house. When Fifth Sister found out, she got into a fight with Wei Tingyu and scratched his face.
Wei Tingyu was too ashamed to go out, so he hid at his mistress’s place during the New Year. Fifth Sister then led people to catch him in the act, but Wei Tingyu had received a warning and escaped with the two courtesans. Unable to find them, Fifth Sister could only throw tantrums at home. Tell me, how am I supposed to explain this to Father?”
Gu Yu’s eyes lit up as he listened.
He had always disliked Wei Tingyu, and if it weren’t for Song Mo, he would have dealt with Wei Tingyu long ago.
“Brother Tianci,” he said eagerly, rolling up his sleeves, “Wei Tingyu is just a fallen noble. These past few years, he’s gotten comfortable eating and dressing well on the Dou family’s dowry and has forgotten his place. Let’s go teach him a lesson.”
“This is none of your business!” Song Mo frowned and scolded Gu Yu, “You stay put right here.”
Logically, Dou Zhao would be the best person to handle this matter, but Song Mo didn’t want Dou Zhao to have any connection with Wei Tingyu, let alone try to mediate between him and his wife.
After some thought, he said, “I’ll talk to my Father-in-law about this. You just focus on preparing for the imperial examinations.”
This was exactly what Dou Dechang had come to Song Mo for. Seeing that Song Mo had taken charge, he couldn’t help but feel relieved. He and Gu Yu began to criticize Wei Tingyu’s faults.
Song Mo couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He told Dou Zhao about the matter.
Dou Zhao was very surprised.
In her previous life, Wei Tingzhen had liked to meddle in her maiden family’s affairs, but she had never tried to send women into Wei Tingyu’s household. Wei Tingyu, in his previous life, had neglected his duties and fancied himself a romantic, but he had never disrespected his principal wife.
Even the best of times could turn sour for Dou Ming.
She shook her head and asked Song Mo, “How do you plan to handle this?”
“It takes two hands to clap!” Song Mo said coldly. “I think we should advise Father-in-law not to interfere in this matter. We can’t be deaf and blind as in-laws! They’re not children; we can’t control them for their entire lives. Moreover, we can’t let this matter interfere with Zixian’s important affairs.”
This was for the best!
They had sown their seeds and reaped their harvest. Let them swallow it themselves.
Dou Zhao nodded in agreement.
The next day, Song Mo left his official duties early and went to Jing’an Temple Lane.
Dou Shiying was very upset after hearing about it but had to admit that Song Mo’s words made sense.
He invited Song Mo to drink with him.
Dou Dechang accompanied them.
A servant ran in and announced, “The new scholar Xu Shan from Dongju has come to pay his respects to the Twelfth Master!”
Dou Shiying exclaimed with excitement upon hearing this, “This little fellow, I haven’t seen him in years. I didn’t expect he would come to visit Jing’an Temple Lane! He must also be here to participate in this year’s spring examinations. Quickly, invite him in.” After saying this, he turned to explain the relationship between the two families to Song Mo. As for the past grievances, firstly, he wasn’t very clear about them, and secondly, he felt they were just misunderstandings caused by the women of the inner chambers, so he didn’t take them to heart and certainly didn’t mention them to Song Mo.
Song Mo saw that Wu Shan was steady and elegant, with humble and harmonious speech. After learning that he was the Dou family’s fourth son-in-law, his gaze toward Wu Shan became somewhat scrutinizing and filled with indescribable complexity.
His heart was pounding. As soon as he left Jing’an Temple Lane, he ordered Wu Yi, “Have Du Wei help me investigate this Wu Shan thoroughly!”
Wu Yi respectfully responded, “Yes, sir.”
However, after extensive investigation, they found nothing improper about Wu Shan. Instead, news came that Wu Shan, Dou Dechang, and Kuang Zhuoran had all passed the imperial examinations together.
Dou Shiying was overjoyed and, together with Dou Shiheng, kept Dou Dechang at home to study, preparing for the selection of Hanlin Academy scholars.
By April, when the list of Hanlin scholars was released, both Dou Dechang and Wu Shan were on it, but Kuang Zhuoran had not been selected.
However, Kuang Zhuoran wasn’t discouraged. He cheerfully brought gifts to thank Song Mo: “If it weren’t for Boyan and the Young Master, my Kuang family would have been ruined long ago. How could there be a Kuang Zhuoran today?”
Song Mo felt he was being too polite. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while until Dou Zhao was ready, and they went to Jing’an Temple Lane together.
Today, Jing’an Temple Lane was hosting a family banquet to celebrate Dou Dechang’s entry into the Hanlin Academy. Dou Shizhu, Dou Shiheng, Dou Wenchang, Dou Bochang, Dou Jichang, Dou Qijun, and others had all arrived, making it very lively.
Young Yuan’s clear voice admonished Dou Shiying, “Grandfather, you’re not allowed to drink. Mother says drinking is bad for your health!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Dou Shizhu held Yuan and praised him greatly, “To speak so clearly at such a young age, truly remarkable.”
Dou Shiying was very proud and said to Dou Dechang, “I heard that the young daughter of Hanlin Academy Scholar Du is about your age. In a few days, I’ll go have a drink with Scholar Du.”
Everyone laughed.
Dou Dechang, however, turned pale and fled in panic.
The others thought he was just being shy, but Song Mo remembered Dou Zhao’s words and held his wine cup to his lips for a long while before taking a small sip.
During the evening meal, Wu Shan arrived.
It’s better to resolve grudges than to prolong them. As a newly promoted scholar, he was willing to actively approach the Dou family. Those who knew about the past incidents kept quiet, while those who didn’t simply assume he had been distant from the Dou family in recent years due to his focus on studying. They still warmly welcomed him with smiles.
However, he was pulled away by Dou Dechang to his study.
No one thought it strange, to let them go to have a private conversation.
The topic in the study gradually turned to the young scholars who had achieved success in recent years.
Dou Shizhu said, “All things considered, Ji Jianming is still the most outstanding. He went to the Zhanshi Mansion a few days ago and became an official of the Eastern Palace.”