Dou Zhao struggled to sit up.

Su Xin quickly stepped forward to support her and deftly placed a large welcoming pillow behind her.

Leaning against the headboard, Dou Zhao noticed that her Sixth Aunt was not in the room.

Did she know that this matter was related to the Ji family?

Was that why she couldn’t bear to see her?

As Dou Zhao pondered, her aunt approached with tears in her eyes, sitting at the edge of the bed. She tucked the thin blanket around Dou Zhao and whispered, “You fainted earlier, and no matter how we called you, you wouldn’t wake up. Are you feeling better now? Do you want to eat something?” As she spoke, Zhao Zhangru took the hot tea from the maid and handed it to her aunt, who said, “Drink some hot tea to soothe your throat.”

Dou Zhao nodded and took a few sips of the hot tea, feeling much better.

The room was quiet, with everyone exchanging glances, unsure of what to say. Although their expressions varied, they all seemed at a loss for words.

Dou Zhao didn’t know how she should react at that moment.

She could only ask, “Why did I faint?”

Her aunt couldn’t hold back her tears and quickly turned away to wipe them with a handkerchief.

Zhao Zhangru and the others lowered their eyes.

The Fifth Madam, observing the situation, forced a couple of laughs and stepped forward to ease the tension, saying, “It’s nothing, nothing! You’ve probably been too anxious these days, and you just dozed off…”

“Enough!” Her usually gentle father suddenly shouted, interrupting the Fifth Madam. He pointed at the door and said sternly, “Get out! All of you, get out!”

Dou Zhao looked at her father in shock.

The Fifth Madam felt embarrassed and murmured, “Seventh Uncle, please listen to me; this is all a misunderstanding…”

But her father closed his eyes, seemingly suppressing his anger. His voice lowered as he said, “Don’t force me to say unpleasant things!”

The Fifth Madam felt both ashamed and guilty. Just as she was about to say something, her father abruptly stood up, pointing at the door, his forehead veins bulging as he shouted, “Don’t you all have ears? I said, get out!”

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly staggered backward.

“Father!” Dou Zhao gasped in horror, leaping from the bed to her father’s side.

Her aunt panicked, disregarding the propriety between genders. She rushed forward to pinch Dou Shiying’s acupoint while shouting to Zhao Zhangru, “Quick, go fetch a doctor!”

Zhao Zhangru exclaimed, “Oh!” and hurriedly ran out.

The Fifth Aunt and others quickly surrounded them, some calling out “Seventh Master,” others asking, “What happened?” while others shouted, “Quick, lift Seventh Master to the bed!” The room descended into chaos.

At the Jining Marquis’s residence, firecrackers were popping, and drums were beating loudly.

Song Mo, who had taken leave from the summer palace to return, sat somewhat absentmindedly in the hall, sipping tea and listening to Gu Yu and Wang Qinghuai chatter. However, his peripheral vision remained focused on the commotion outside the hall.

“They’re here, they’re here,” someone shouted, “The bridal sedan has entered!”

Half the people in the hall rushed out.

Though Song Mo didn’t move, his gaze instinctively turned toward the outside.

Gu Yu was in the middle of an animated conversation when he noticed that Song Mo wasn’t paying attention. He waved his hand in front of Song Mo’s face, complaining, “Tian Ci, are you even listening?”

Song Mo turned his head and smiled, “Let’s go see the bride.”

“What’s there to see?” Gu Yu grumbled, “She’s covered with a veil; you can’t see anything. If you want to see, wait a few days for the Jining Marquis to invite us over for drinks.” They were good friends with Wei Tingyu and could ask the bride to come out and greet them. Gu Yu continued, “I think it’s best to drag Shen Qing along for this. But he’s been getting close to Dong Qi lately, and that guy isn’t trustworthy. He might tip off Shen Qing and ruin everything. Tian Ci, you’ve already finished your mourning period; it shouldn’t matter if people know you’re in business with us, right? If Dong Qi finds out you’re involved, he won’t dare to make a move…”

At that moment, Song Mo was in no mood to listen to him. He stood up and said, “Are you going to watch the excitement or not? If you’re not going, I’ll go myself.”

Wang Qinghuai, who mostly dealt with Gu Yu, thought it was natural for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy like Song Mo to suddenly feel curious. He put his arm around Gu Yu’s shoulder and laughed, “I want to see too. Let’s find a quiet time to sit down and discuss this properly.”

Two votes against one.

Gu Yu reluctantly followed them to the hall.

The brightly lit hall was packed with onlookers.

Wei Tingyu, glowing with joy, gazed at the bride dressed in a bright red phoenix crown and bridal gown, his eyes sparkling with uncontainable happiness.

He followed the officiant’s instructions, bowing once to heaven and earth; bowing twice to his parents, and bowing three times to his bride.

Standing at the edge of the crowd, Song Mo watched the bride being supported by the attendants, his expression turning to one of shock.

Dou Zhao looked as if she had shrunk a bit.

Moreover, her movements seemed stiff, lacking the usual grace.

He recalled the rumors that Dou Zhao was unwilling to marry Wei Tingyu… and how the wedding date had been hastily set. Was Dou Zhao being forced into this?

As the thought crossed his mind, he felt he might be overthinking it.

Dou Zhao had both strategists and heroes at her side; if she were truly being coerced, others might not know, but with his network of information, he would certainly be aware.

Or perhaps she was just nervous about being a bride?

Song Mo contemplated, but as he observed the bride’s actions, the feeling of something being off grew stronger.

Why did he feel this way?

Song Mo furrowed his brow, his gaze fixed intently on the bride.

Suddenly, his expression tightened.

Each time the bride knelt, she had to grasp the attendants’ hands to stand up, as if her legs were unsteady.

Song Mo yanked the purse from Gu Yu’s waist and threw it toward the bride.

“Hey!” Gu Yu exclaimed, clutching his waist.

The purse struck the bride’s bright red gown.

Thick-soled shoes slipped out from beneath the bride’s skirt.

Song Mo’s face instantly darkened.

She wasn’t Dou Zhao.

Where was Dou Zhao?

Where had she gone?

Panic surged through Song Mo like a drumbeat.

With Chen Quishui and Duan Gongyi by her side, who could touch her?

He couldn’t stay still for another moment.

He pushed through the crowd, determined to rush inside, but Gu Yu grabbed him, asking, “Tian Ci, what’s wrong? Why are you sweating so much?”

Song Mo wiped his forehead and opened his hand, revealing it was damp.

The moisture felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, snapping him back to reality.

Who Wei Tingyu married was none of his business.

Why was he rushing in?

Song Mo repeatedly told himself not to panic, not to be hasty; he would sort everything out once he found Dou Zhao.

He forced a smile and left the main hall of the Jining Marquis’s residence, saying, “It’s nothing; I just feel a bit hot.”

On this cool autumn night, how could Tian Ci feel hot?

If that were the case, why had he rushed into the crowd earlier?

Gu Yu muttered to himself.

Song Mo smiled, “You stay here and enjoy the excitement; I’ll step outside for a bit of fresh air and come back.”

Gu Yu nodded.

Song Mo spotted Ji Yong standing by a pillar in the hall.

Ji Yong happened to look over as well.

Their eyes met.

Neither averted their gaze.

Song Yantang had come to attend Wei Tingyu’s wedding; no wonder he had helped Wei Tingyu clean up the mess before. It seemed their relationship was quite good!

A hint of a mocking smile appeared at the corner of Ji Yong’s mouth.

He hadn’t expected Ji Jianming, such a lowly person, would come to send someone off!

Song Mo’s expression remained impassive.

At the Dou family residence in Jing’an Temple Alley, lanterns were lit, and the red double happiness characters were everywhere.

Dou Zhao sat at the head of the bed, quietly gazing at her unconscious father, and softly asked Su Xin, “Does my father know that Dou Ming’s marriage is related to Huai Tree Alley?”

After her persuasion, her aunt had been helped back to the guest room by her cousin, leaving the Fifth Madam and others behind in the hall. Only she and Su Xin remained in the inner chamber.

“Yes,” Su Xin nodded and whispered, “You had the lotus seed and lily soup, and when the Fifth Madam came in, she took your aunt and cousin to see the excitement. Before long, you fainted, and the Wei family’s bridal sedan arrived. Seventh Madam brought the Fifth Miss in through the back door, and with Madam Cai’s help, she changed into her wedding dress and put on the phoenix crown. It wasn’t until the matchmakers shouted, ‘If we don’t leave soon, we’ll miss the auspicious time,’ that Madam Cai allowed the Wei family’s attendants to enter.”

“The Fifth Miss kept her head down, hurriedly assisted by Madam Cai, and rushed to the hall.”

“When Seventh Master discovered that the bride was the Fifth Miss, he was shocked and took a moment to react. But Madam Cai kept shouting, ‘Quick, quick, quick! If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss the wedding time!’ The Fifth Miss had just performed a courtesy bow to the Seventh Master when she was surrounded by Madam Cai and the others and taken out of the flower hall. Seventh Master chased after them but was stopped by Seventh Madam, and outside, firecrackers were going off loudly, drowning out his voice.”

“By the time Seventh Master got there, the bridal sedan had already left Jing’an Temple Alley.”

“Seventh Master exploded with anger, slapping Seventh Madam in front of everyone and demanding to know what the Fifth Madam was trying to do.”

“The Fifth Madam quickly defended herself, calling for the eldest son to come in and instructing him to rush to the Jining Marquis’s residence to stop the Fifth Miss from marrying the Marquis.”

“Seventh Master became even angrier, saying that if it weren’t for the Fifth Madam’s help, how could the Fifth Miss possibly marry in place of the Fourth Miss? Don’t treat everyone like fools. He also asked the Fifth Madam whether this was the idea of the Fifth Master or her own.”

“Your aunt and cousin had been arranged in a small hall behind the main hall, waiting for you to bid farewell. When they saw you leave in a hurry, they were somewhat annoyed with Madam Cai for not being thorough. When they heard the commotion and rushed out, they realized that the Fifth Miss had taken your place in the bridal sedan… Your aunt pulled Seventh Madam, wanting to confront the Wang family. If your cousin hadn’t shouted, ‘Where’s Shou Gu?’ everyone might still be arguing in the hall.”

That was why her father was so furious with the Fifth Madam.

Dou Zhao couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

Her elder cousin had followed the Fifth Uncle since childhood; he would do whatever the Ji family said!

Perhaps the Fifth Madam had sent him over to solidify the marriage exchange rather than to stand up for her?

After a moment of silence, Dou Zhao asked, “Did you see my Sixth Aunt?”

“No,” Su Xin shook her head, “Since she was called over by the Eleventh Young Madam, she hasn’t appeared.”

It seemed they had used the Ji family to keep her Sixth Aunt occupied.

Whether Dou Ming would successfully marry Wei Tingyu depended on whether the Wei family would acknowledge her tomorrow.

But no matter what, she now had an excuse to never marry again.