Dou Zhao got off the kang bed and said to Suxin, “Come, let’s go to the small flower hall! The people from Daxing Farm have brought over several young girls. We’ll choose a few clever ones to keep.”
Due to the attack on the way, Suxin had returned halfway, and the matter of selecting maids had naturally been delayed.
The people at Daxing Farm didn’t know what had happened. But when the originally agreed-upon plan suddenly changed, the farm manager’s wife felt very uneasy. After a few days, when a message came from Yizhi Hall asking her to bring the young girls directly there, she became even more nervous.
She feared that Dou Zhao wouldn’t be satisfied with the girls she had chosen and would send them all back; she feared that the young girls, having never seen the world, would say or do something wrong and be laughed at… She repeatedly instructed the young girls to stand straight, not let their eyes wander, and speak in voices that were neither too loud nor too soft. This made the young girls, who had grown up on the farm hearing stories about the glory of the Duke of Ying’s mansion from their elders, extremely nervous, not knowing where to put their hands and feet.
When Dou Zhao and Suxin entered, the young girls were standing stiffly in the middle of the hall, their faces pale.
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but smile slightly, remembering the scene from her previous life when she first met Ganlu and Sujuan.
“Which farms are they from?” she asked the farm manager’s wife in a gentle voice, causing the young girls to relax a little.
“These two are from our farm,” the farm manager’s wife said, introducing each girl to Dou Zhao. “This one is from Wanping Farm, those two are from the farms near Langfang…”
There were twelve girls in total, all between eight and nine years old. They were all from farms near Beijing, and their ancestors had been tenants of the Song family for generations. Some of their elders had even worked at the Duke of Ying’s mansion before.
Dou Zhao was very satisfied and decided to keep all the girls. She said, “Although there’s a set number of maids and servants when I came to Beijing from Zhending, only Suxin and a few others came with me to serve. Let these girls be considered my dowry maids!”
As dowry maids, their monthly allowances and seasonal clothes would come from Dou Zhao’s dowry.
The farm manager’s wife was overjoyed and quickly knelt to express her gratitude.
Originally, they had only asked for six people, but now all of them were being kept. Others wouldn’t think it was because all these young girls had won the lady’s favor, but rather that she had such a face before the lady.
The farm manager’s wife couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: A woman with a rich dowry is indeed different, able to keep people as she wishes.
Dou Zhao handed the children over to Suxin to manage and called in Gao Xing’s wife to lead the farm manager’s wife to handle the indenture papers for the children.
Just as this was settled, Song Mo returned from the Five Cities Military Command office.
Dou Zhao asked him, “Will you be serving at the Five Cities Military Command office from now on?”
“It’s just temporary,” Song Mo said, taking the clothes from Dou Zhao’s hands with a smile. “I’ll still mainly be with the Imperial Guard.” Then he asked about the maids: “I heard that people from Daxing have been sent over. Are there any suitable candidates?”
“I think they’re all quite good,” Dou Zhao smiled as Song Mo led her to sit on the large kang bed by the window. “So I kept them all.” As for which side would cover the expenses, Dou Zhao felt it was a minor matter and didn’t say much.
Since Song Mo had entrusted the inner courtyard of Yizhi Hall to Dou Zhao, these matters were natural for her to decide, and he wouldn’t interfere. What he cared most about now was Dou Zhao’s health: “Did you vomit again after I left?”
This morning when she woke up, she had vomited so severely that even bitter bile came out, frightening Song Mo. It took him a while to react, holding Dou Zhao and constantly rubbing her back to comfort her.
“No,” Dou Zhao smiled. “I’ve been fine since you left. I asked Gao Xing’s wife, and she said this is normal. She told me not to worry, that it might get worse in the coming days, but it will get better after three months.”
Song Mo pondered, “I think we should still invite Aunt over. With her here, I’ll feel more at ease.”
Dou Zhao, having experience, didn’t feel there was much to worry about, but since Song Mo insisted, she had to agree.
Early the next morning, Song Mo went to Jing’an Temple Alley.
Fortunately, Dou Shengying had gone to the office. Song Mo only said that Dou Zhao was unwell and there were no elders at home, so he wanted to invite Aunt to stay for a few days. Aunt listened, calculated the dates, and was immediately overjoyed. Before Song Mo could finish speaking, she stood up: “I understand. I’ll bring her cousin to stay at your mansion for a few days. You’re busy with official duties, so don’t worry about it. Leave everything to me.”
Song Mo had been worried that Aunt might have reservations about staying at the Duke of Ying’s mansion, but seeing her agree to his request without hesitation, and remembering how well Dou Zhao said the Zhao family had treated her, he felt very grateful and showed even more respect to Aunt.
When Dou Shengying returned home and heard that Aunt was going to stay at the Duke of Ying’s mansion for a few days, he was shocked and repeatedly asked Aunt what had happened.
Aunt, with a face full of smiles, hinted at the news to Dou Shengying.
Dou Shengying was stunned and took a long time to come to his senses. But after he did, he kept smiling foolishly. When Song Mo came to pick up Aunt, Dou Shengying pulled him aside and looked him up and down, finally saying, “I still have some good things specially saved for my grandson. You need to do your part.”
Song Mo suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
Was this something he could control?
But since his father-in-law had spoken, he could only stiffly nod and say “Yes.”
Only then did Dou Shengying smile broadly and release Song Mo, seeing him and Aunt and Zhao Zhangru off at the main gate.
On the other side, Dou Zhao had already prepared the guest rooms for Aunt and her cousin. When they met, there was much laughter and conversation until they finally dispersed late at night.
Early the next morning, Aunt instructed the kitchen to make radish porridge with a splash of vinegar.
Dou Zhao ate two bowls before putting down her spoon.
The smile on Song Mo’s face didn’t fade even by the time he reached the Five Cities Military Command office.
An opportunist, sensing a chance, brought up Wei Tingyu: “…I didn’t expect he would be brothers-in-law with the Young Master!”
Song Mo replied mildly, “At the Duke of Ying’s mansion, I am the Young Master; at the Five Cities Military Command, I am an official appointed by the court. You may address me as ‘Sir’ or ‘Assistant Commissioner Song’.”
The flattery had backfired.
The person looked embarrassed.
Someone else advised him: “In all the days since Commissioner Song has been here, have you ever seen Commissioner Wei pay him a visit?”
The person’s face changed dramatically, and he bowed, saying, “Please, brother, give me some guidance!”
The other person looked around, and seeing no one nearby, said in a low voice, “I heard that Commissioner Song married the legitimate daughter of the Dou family, while Madam Wei only became a legitimate daughter because her birth mother was elevated in status. Even when Madam Song was still unmarried, she didn’t associate much with Madam Wei, and Commissioner Song looked down even more on Madam Wei’s background. You should know, that Commissioner Song is the eldest legitimate son of the Duke of Ying’s family.”
It was the first time the person had heard about this, and he urgently asked, “What else do you know? Tell me quickly!”
The other person smiled but said nothing.
The person suddenly realized and quickly said, “I was thoughtless—after we finish work, let’s go out for a drink.”
The other person nodded with a smile: “I’ll trouble you today, then.”
They looked at each other and smiled, then went their separate ways.
Dou Zhao sat on the kang with Aunt and Zhao Zhangru, doing needlework.
Aunt instructed her earnestly: “For children’s clothes, you should use old clothes to remake them. The rough parts have already been worn smooth and won’t hurt the child’s delicate skin… Childbirth for a woman is like crossing the ghost gate… After three months, you should walk around the courtyard often. The heavier your pregnancy, the more you should move. Why do the noble ladies in the palace often have difficult births, while the women in the fields give birth one after another? The midwife and wet nurse should be found in advance to avoid panic when the child is born…”
Zhao Zhangru, meanwhile, was staring wide-eyed, glancing at Dou Zhao’s abdomen now and then, making Dou Zhao both amused and exasperated. Taking advantage of Aunt and Suxin opening trunks to look for old clothes, she said softly, “If you have something to say, just say it. The way you’re acting is making me uncomfortable!”
Hearing this, Zhao Zhangru leaned on Dou Zhao’s shoulder and asked, “Are you pregnant?”
“Ninety percent sure,” Dou Zhao smiled. “But we’ll have to wait until next month when the doctor checks my pulse to be certain.”
“You’re amazing!” Zhao Zhangru looked at Dou Zhao with great admiration. “It took Big Sister half a year after marriage to get pregnant, and you’ve been married for less than three months…”
Dou Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
A young maid cautiously entered and reported, “Madam, there’s someone who claims to be Chen Zanzhi asking to see you!”
Chen Zanzhi, Chen Jia.
What did he want?
Dou Zhao said decisively, “Don’t see him!”
The young maid timidly acknowledged and retreated.
Zhao Zhangru asked curiously, “Who is Chen Zanzhi? Are you allowed to see men from outside? Doesn’t the Young Master scold you? Does he just let you do as you please?”
“What do you mean, ‘as I please’!” Dou Zhao pinched Zhao Zhangru’s cheek. “How is it ‘doing as I please’ when I properly receive guests?”
“Ah!” Zhao Zhangru tilted her head to avoid Dou Zhao’s attack and said, “The Young Master treats you so well. My second brother-in-law not only doesn’t let my second sister see men from outside, but even when she goes back to her maiden home, he grumbles so much that my mother keeps sighing!”
Dou Zhao was very surprised and was about to ask for more details when the young maid came in again: “Madam, Commissioner Chen insists on seeing you. He says it’s related to the Young Master…”
What did Chen Jia mean by this?
If it was related to Song Mo, he should go find Song Mo. If not, he could also find Mr. Yan or Chen He. Why come to her? What was this about?
Dou Zhao frowned, but considering that he was an Assistant Commissioner of the Jinyiwei, she didn’t dare gamble with Song Mo’s safety. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to see Chen Jia in the small flower hall.
Chen Jia was wearing a very ordinary silk jacket, keeping his head down and eyes lowered. With his ordinary appearance, if he were thrown into a crowd, he would immediately blend in. There was no trace of the Jinyiwei’s grandeur, which made Dou Zhao pause and look at Chen Jia a couple more times.
“Madam!” Chen Jia bowed respectfully to Dou Zhao and said in a deep voice, “The Emperor will be going to the Western Garden in a few days, but the Young Master can’t accompany him because the Duke is ill and he needs to attend to him at his bedside. The Imperial Guard will likely be led by the son of the Earl of Guang’en, Dong Qi, to accompany the Emperor for a short stay in the Western Garden. Did you know this?”
Dou Zhao was secretly shocked and took a few moments to understand Chen Jia’s meaning.
This was a world she didn’t understand.
She pondered and asked, “What old grudge is there between Dong Qi and the Young Master?”
“There’s no old grudge between Dong Qi and the Young Master,” Chen Jia said softly. “Eighteen years ago, when the Earl of Guang’en and the Duke of Ying were both still young masters, they had a very good relationship. Later, for some unknown reason, they became enemies and stopped associating. After that, Dong Qi beat the Young Master in the autumn hunt and even took the position of Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard from the Young Master’s hands…”
He told Dou Zhao about some of the matters between Song Mo and Dong Qi in the Imperial Guard.
Dou Zhao listened quietly until he finished, then smiled and said, “Thank you for your trouble, Commissioner Chen,” before serving tea and seeing him out.