Since Uncle had arrived in the capital, both Jingan Temple Hutong and Huaishu Hutong felt obliged to welcome him.
However, Uncle declined both invitations, citing that he hadn’t yet reported to the Ministry of Personnel.
The Fifth Madam then visited Dou Zhao, saying, “It’s better to resolve grudges than to let them fester. That Wang woman didn’t end well, and we can’t just sever generations of friendship between our families. You should persuade your uncle. After all, your Fifth Uncle is in the Cabinet now. If there’s any issue, wouldn’t it be more convenient to speak with him rather than relying on Mu Chuan’s favor?”
Only then did Dou Zhao realize that her uncle had established a connection with Mu Chuan.
No wonder her eldest cousin’s husband could observe in the Ministry of Works in her previous life.
She couldn’t help but marvel at her uncle’s ability to network with powerful figures in the capital even from such a remote place.
If not for her mother’s death, had Uncle entered the Hanlin Academy, his career might have progressed even more smoothly.
The reason Uncle sought connections far and wide was probably because of her and her mother, wasn’t it?
Dou Zhao disagreed, smiling as she said, “Sometimes circumstances force one’s hand. You can’t expect Uncle to offend Mu Chuan, can you?”
The Fifth Aunt thought she was being naive and said, “Your uncle is related to our family by marriage. Even if he gets close to Mu Chuan, Mu Chuan won’t treat him as a confidant. Instead, he’ll be wary of him in everything. Don’t oversimplify matters.”
It was clear how difficult things had been for Uncle in her previous life!
Dou Zhao was on the verge of tears, suddenly feeling disgusted with the Fifth Madam. She decided to make her uncomfortable, casually saying, “What’s the big deal? Worst case, he can follow Wang Yuan’s path. Dai Jian followed Wang Yuan’s path and became a Cabinet Elder. If my uncle follows Wang Yuan’s path, it wouldn’t be shameful! Besides, the heir and Wang Yuan are on good terms. I think Wang Yuan would do this favor for the heir.”
The Fifth Aunt’s forehead veins bulged with anger, but she couldn’t lose her temper. She had to swallow her pride and leave.
Dou Zhao immediately jumped up and went to Yuqiao Hutong.
Uncle had gone to the Ministry of Personnel. Due to his arrival, preparations for Zhao Zhangru’s wedding had begun in earnest. As the bride-to-be, she naturally couldn’t move about as freely as before.
When Dou Zhao arrived, Aunt and Guo Shi, who had come to help, were hesitating over two pieces of fabric.
Seeing her, they immediately waved her over, saying, “Come quickly and help us decide which fabric to use for the double celebratory red ceremonial dress?”
Guo Shi also smiled, “Your aunt and I have been deliberating for ages. It’s good you’re here.”
Dou Zhao saw that both fabrics were the same, except one had a vase and peony pattern, while the other had a four-season auspicious pattern. She smiled and said, “Why not make one of each? Cousin can wear whichever she prefers. After all, she’ll need to see her mother-in-law on the third day.”
Song Yan, accompanied by Song Weimin’s wife and eldest son, had moved into the Bubu Gao Inn near Yuqiao Hutong yesterday. Song Mo had even found time to visit the Song family.
Hearing this, Aunt spat at Dou Zhao jokingly and said to Guo Shi, “Don’t listen to her. She’s a nouveau riche now, making clothes in pairs. We can’t compare with her.”
Guo Shi covered her mouth and laughed.
Dou Zhao then asked her, “Why haven’t I seen Jing’er? You should bring her out more often. Children need to meet people and experience things to become sociable and poised.”
Guo Shi meekly replied, “I’ll remember that. I’ll bring Jing’er over to play tomorrow.”
As they were talking, the Sixth Aunt Ji Shi arrived with her daughter-in-law Han Shi and Qijin.
Guo Shi, recalling Dou Zhao’s words, gave her a grateful look and followed behind Dou Zhao to the hanging flower gate.
Qijin, lively and active, fixated on Dou Zhao’s filigree lantern-shaped gold earrings.
Dou Zhao joked with Han Shi, “Qijin will be a little money-grubber when he grows up. He already knows gold looks good.”
Han Shi smiled gracefully.
Dou Zhao then linked arms with the Sixth Aunt and asked, “Why did you come today?”
Ji Shi smiled and said, “Your eleventh and twelfth brothers are both idle at home. I was worried Aunt might need someone to run errands, so I came specially to tell her that the two brothers would come over tomorrow. If there are no errands to run, they can help Uncle entertain guests. It’ll be a good experience for them!”
Aunt repeatedly expressed her thanks.
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but feel moved.
Having many children in the family made things easier.
The Song family’s offspring were also few, to the extent that Song Mo couldn’t find anyone capable of assisting him even if he wanted to choose the best from limited options.
In the future, regardless of gender, it would be better to have more children!
Dou Zhao smiled and sat with Ji Shi and the others on the large kang bed in the reception room.
When women gather, their chatter is endless, and time flies by until noon.
Zhao Si returned.
Learning that several ladies from the Dou family were visiting, he sent someone to pay respects and had lunch set up outside.
Dou Zhao, however, quietly went over and asked her uncle directly, “Have you aligned yourself with Mu Chuan?”
Uncle was startled and then assumed the Dou family had sent Dou Zhao as a spokesperson. Feeling angry but suppressing it, he said to Dou Zhao, “Don’t concern yourself with these major court matters. I know what I’m doing. Even without relying on the Dou family, our Zhao family won’t be intimidated by anyone. You just focus on having and raising children.”
Dou Zhao knew her uncle had misunderstood and smiled, “The Fifth Aunt did visit me, but that’s not why I’m talking to you about this. The Crown Prince isn’t Empress Wan’s biological son after all. The King of Liao held sway over Liaodong, and Mu Chuan was elevated by the Empress herself. Since the Emperor occasionally falls ill, the Empress can even command the Imperial Guards. People’s ambitions know no bounds. Even the heir avoids these matters now. Uncle, you should be careful too!”
Zhao Si was shocked and said, “Who told you these things? Was it the heir? Why would he tell you such things?”
Dou Zhao, using Song Mo as cover, spoke boldly, “The heir says the harem is a microcosm of the court, and he wants me to interact more with the noble ladies of the harem.”
Zhao Si turned pale with fright.
Dou Zhao took the opportunity to excuse herself.
Zhao Si locked himself in his study for the entire afternoon.
When Dou Zhao heard about this, she nodded approvingly to herself.
Soon, Uncle’s new appointment was announced.
As they had heard through rumors, he was assigned to Huguang, but instead of being promoted to Huguang Administrative Commissioner, he was appointed as the prefect of Wuchang.
Although both were prefect positions, compared to Wuchang, Qingyang was inferior in terms of geographical location and prosperity. This was a significant step up for Uncle.
Everyone was delighted, especially Aunt. Although promises had been made before, they were just verbal. Now that it was official, she could start preparing for their move to Huguang.
Dou Zhao, having some knowledge of the area due to owning farmland there, advised her aunt, “Huguang has now replaced Jiangzhe as the imperial granary, and unlike Jiangzhe, it’s not overpopulated. Aunt, when you go there, you might consider acquiring more land.”
Aunt nodded repeatedly and asked her, “Would you like to invest in some properties too?”
Dou Zhao thought for a moment and smiled, “Sure! I’ll leave that to you then.”
While she and her aunt were having this intimate conversation in Yuqiao Hutong, they were unaware that Uncle had quietly gone to Yizhi Hall to visit Song Mo.
The two men talked in the study for a long time before Song Mo, with a grave expression, saw the equally serious Uncle off.
When Dou Zhao returned home that evening, Song Mo told her about Uncle’s visit and asked her, perplexed, “Do you think there’s an issue with the King of Liao?”
Dou Zhao replied, “If you trust the King of Liao, why did you have someone investigate how many gifts he’s been sending to officials in the capital over the years?”
Song Mo paced back and forth in the room, somewhat agitated.
Dou Zhao hugged him from behind, whispering, “Let’s not concern ourselves with these matters. As long as we don’t covet the merit of enthroning someone, whoever becomes emperor won’t dare to shortchange you. Why bother yourself with such thoughts?”
Song Mo caressed the delicate, slender hands around his waist, sighed deeply, and agreed, “Let’s stay out of this then.”
But he understood in his heart.
Sometimes, one can’t stay neutral even if they want to.
His current position was too sensitive.
If only he could be somewhere else!
The thought flashed through his mind, and he suddenly thought of Jiang Yi.
Although he had only met Jiang Yi a few times, Jiang Yi had impressed him as a knowledgeable and ambitious young man. Entering the Divine Machine Camp had always been Jiang Yi’s dream and pride, and he never hid his pride in being part of it. How could he suddenly change and complain about the hardships of working in the Divine Machine Camp?
Song Mo decided to find an opportunity to talk with Jiang Yi. However, with Zhao Zhangru’s wedding approaching and his desire to leave a good impression on Zhao Si as Dou Zhao’s husband, he spent his off-duty time helping the Zhao family. For the time being, he couldn’t find a suitable chance to discuss this matter with Jiang Yi.
With the help of the Sixth Madam, Guo Shi, Dou Zhao, and others, Zhao Zhangru’s wedding preparations proceeded very smoothly.
Nevertheless, a small unexpected incident occurred at her wedding.
Ma Youming, passing by Yuqiao Hutong on his way to the Five Chief Military Commission, learned that Song Mo’s cousin-in-law was getting married. He came uninvited, bringing a gift of twenty taels of silver, and insisted on drinking the wedding wine.
Aunt naturally had to entertain such a gesture of goodwill.
She set up a separate table for Ma Youming in the flower hall and invited Song Mo, Dou Zhengchang, Dou Dechang, and others to keep him company.
Halfway through the drinking, Ji Yong arrived.
Still in his court attire, he called out to Dou Dechang, “How could you not invite me to such a big event? If I hadn’t returned home early today, I wouldn’t have known about Shou Gu’s cousin’s wedding!”
Dou Dechang wished he could cover Ji Yong’s mouth.
Dou Zhengchang glanced uneasily at Song Mo and tried to pull Ji Yong outside.
Ji Yong frowned, casting a disdainful look at Song Mo, who sat calmly drinking, and said, “Can you pretend that what happened didn’t happen? You’re trying to emulate the ways of Laozi and Zhuangzi, but I think you’re just confused scholars.”
Ma Youming was bewildered.
Shou Gu was a woman’s nickname, but what did it have to do with Song Mo and Mr. Ji?
Song Mo laughed coldly inside.
Dou Zhao was now his wife; what did he have to fear?
If Ji Yong wanted to ruin his relationship with Dou Zhao, he had no chance!
Many suitors pursue a family’s daughter. Ji Yong had simply recognized Dou Zhao’s beauty, just as he had. He wasn’t the kind of small-minded, insecure man who would become resentful just because his wife was too wonderful, feeling that she overshadowed him.
“Eleventh Brother-in-law,” he smiled, inviting Ji Yong to join them, “All who come are guests. Since Mr. Ji has given us a gift, we can’t neglect him, can we? Why don’t you sit at our table? Ma and I were about to play a drinking game. The more people, the merrier.”
A hint of mockery flashed across Ji Yong’s lips.
Do you think I can’t handle my liquor just because I’m a scholar?
A drinking game?
Watch me drink you under the table!
He shook off Dou Zhengchang’s hand and sat opposite Song Mo, smiling slightly, “I know how to play drinking games too!”