While some families rejoiced, others grieved.

Dou Zhao and Song Mo had retired peacefully, but Song Yichun, who had been busy all day, now sat in his study with a grim expression, listening to Tao Qizhong’s report on the information he had gathered over the past two days.

“…It’s true that the fourth Miss Dou grew up in the countryside of Zhending, and it’s also true that she’s at odds with Wang Yousheng’s daughter. Everyone in both the Dou and Wei families knows that the fifth Miss Dou took the fourth Miss Dou’s fiancé. But what we didn’t expect was that because of the sisters’ switched marriages, the seventh Master Dou gave the silver notes originally prepared for the fifth Miss Dou’s dowry to the fourth Miss Dou as compensation…”

At this point, Tao Qizhong frowned and lowered his voice, “I heard that the seventh Madam Dou was distraught over this and didn’t even appear when the fourth Miss left for her wedding. Moreover, the seventh Master Dou not only quarreled with his wife over this but also called in the Wang family to mediate. Even the old Master Dou was alarmed. When I left, the Wang family and old Master Dou were still in Jing’an Temple Alley. I suspect that as soon as the fourth Miss Dou leaves, her natal family will be in an uproar! It might become a laughingstock for the Young Master.”

Song Yichun was displeased.

He wanted to cause trouble for Song Mo, but he didn’t want Duke Ying’s mansion to be tarnished in the process.

After some thought, Song Yichun said, “Have your men keep a close watch. If there’s an uproar over there, don’t let that Dou woman return home for now.”

This way, everyone would know that something had happened in Dou’s natal family, which could help mitigate the shock caused by that load of silver notes.

Tao Qizhong nodded repeatedly and discussed with Song Yichun, “…I’m thinking of making a trip to Zhending to see if I can find out any other information.” He felt that even if Dou Shiying had more silver than he could spend, he wouldn’t casually give a load of silver notes to his daughter as a dowry. There must be something strange going on.

Song Yichun was pleased with Tao Qizhong’s caution and agreed. He then asked about Song Han, “How are his studies these days?”

At Song Yichun’s request, Tao Qizhong introduced a fellow townsman who worked in the Hanlin Academy to tutor Song Han every ten days.

“Master Du says that the Second Young Master is very diligent. If he continues like this, he could take the imperial examinations in two or three years.”

Song Yichun was very dissatisfied upon hearing this.

Everyone knew that children of meritorious officials didn’t participate in the imperial examinations, yet this old man was talking about examinations. Wasn’t he just trying to fool him?

He remembered when Song Mo was studying, no matter which great scholar taught him, they all said Song Mo was intelligent and gifted, and that it was a pity he was born into Duke Ying’s family.

Song Yichun suddenly felt annoyed and said to Tao Qizhong in a nasal voice, “It’s getting late. You should go rest now, sir!”

Tao Qizhong, having been in Song Yichun’s service for over twenty years, knew that Song Yichun was displeased. He sighed inwardly and withdrew with a gloomy expression.

Song Yichun didn’t notice these details at all. Instead, he was fully focused on thinking about the Dou family’s affairs.

If the seventh Master Dou had fallen out with his wife, why not take this opportunity to order his daughter-in-law to cut ties with her natal family? This way, Song Mo would never be able to get help from the Dou family in the future.

The more he thought about it, the better this idea seemed.

But who should tell his daughter-in-law?

He couldn’t go himself as the father-in-law to persuade her, could he?

Moreover, this matter couldn’t alarm Song Mo. With Song Mo’s intelligence, he might figure out Song Yichun’s intentions as soon as he heard about it. Not only would it alert him, but it might also give Song Mo a chance to get closer to the Dou family.

It was only then that he deeply realized how troublesome it was not to have a capable woman by his side to handle such matters!

Jiang’s delicate face flashed through Song Yichun’s mind.

He shuddered and shook his head vigorously, as if doing so could drive Jiang out of his memory.

Meanwhile, two blocks away from Duke Ying’s mansion, at the Jining Marquis’s mansion, although it was past the third watch, the lights were still on in the side courtyard where Tian lived. Several old women serving Tian stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking uneasily at Wei Tingzhen’s maid standing under the corridor.

“What time is it now? Can’t the First Young Madam wait until tomorrow to ask about whatever it is? Why does she have to clear things up at this hour?” one old woman grumbled quietly.

They couldn’t go to rest because of this.

“Exactly!” Her words sparked agreement among her old sisters. Another old woman also complained softly, “She even called for the Marquis and the Madam. The First Young Madam should think, that even if the Marquis has done something wrong, he’s still the head of the family and has married the Madam. She should at least give the Marquis some face. How can she scold the Marquis in front of the Madam like this? I think we should remind the Old Madam about this, otherwise, as time goes on, the Madam will surely become disrespectful towards the Marquis!”

Remembering the muffled sounds of argument between Wei Tingzhen and her brother from the inner room earlier, the old women nodded in unison.

At this moment, Wei Tingzhen, who was being discussed by the old women, was glaring at the silent Dou Ming with her almond-shaped eyes wide open, looking as if she wanted to swallow Dou Ming whole to vent her anger.

“Are you mute?!” She stared at Dou Ming, whose lips were pressed into a thin line, and hissed, “No one in our family is blaming you. We’re just asking you a few questions, but you’re treating me like I’m your enemy. Not only are you ignoring me, but you’re also disrespecting your mother-in-law. You married in place of your sister, and has anyone of us said a word against you? Who knew you’d turn out to be so ungrateful? Forget about being humble and gentle, you don’t even have the basic manners and qualities of a decent person! Is this how the Dou family from the North Tower raises their daughters? Tomorrow I’ll have to ask Old Master Dou’s wife who taught you to treat your mother-in-law like this…”

Wei Tingyu, looking at the dazed Dou Ming, couldn’t help but argue with his sister again: “Sister, can’t you say a bit less? Haven’t I already explained to you that a load of silver notes was originally prepared by my father-in-law for Ming’er? Since Ming’er didn’t use it, they couldn’t let Tongde Silver Shop print them for nothing, so my father-in-law gave that load of silver notes to the fourth Miss Dou… Why are you making such a fuss about this? How can you speak like this?”

Madam Tian shouted, “Yu’er, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Wei Tingzhen sneered, “What? Now that you’ve got a wife, you listen to everything she says and don’t care about your sister anymore?” She argued righteously, “Those silver notes were originally for Ming’er. If Dou Zhao could take back her dowry, why can’t Ming’er take back what was originally prepared for her? Even if she can’t take it back, since they’re both daughters, your father-in-law should prepare a share for Ming’er too!”

When Dou Zhao got married, Wei Tingzhen, as a relative by marriage, also attended the wedding feast.

When she heard about that load of silver notes, she felt a lump in her throat and almost fainted. Unable to sit through the feast, she immediately sent a maid to find Dou Ming. After searching for a long time without success, she returned to the Jining Marquis’s mansion with an uneasy heart. It wasn’t until the third watch that she finally caught Dou Ming coming to pay her morning and evening respects to her mother.

But before she could finish speaking, the dazed Dou Ming had stumbled out, looking like a lost soul, startling both Wei Tingzhen and Madam Tian.

Dou Ming felt exhausted!

She didn’t understand why the load of silver notes that originally belonged to her had become Dou Zhao’s.

Her mother had been crying inconsolably, refusing to listen to anyone.

Her father insisted on sending her mother back to the Wang family, unmoved by anyone’s persuasion.

Her eldest uncle had no choice but to invite her father to the study to talk, but in the end, he sheepishly sent someone to deliver a message to her maternal grandfather…

How had things turned out like this?

When Wei Tingzhen found out, she forced her to go back to her natal family and ask her father to take back that load of silver notes. Her mother-in-law kept nodding, saying it was “only right.”

If it weren’t for Wei Tingyu speaking up for her, Wei Tingzhen might have already ordered the rough old woman to escort her back to the Dou family!

As these thoughts flashed through her mind, she thought of Wei Tingyu.

Yes, where was Wei Tingyu?

Dou Ming looked around with wide eyes and saw Wei Tingyu hurrying after her.

She burst into tears and threw herself into Wei Tingyu’s arms.

But she heard Wei Tingyu stammer, “Don’t blame my sister, she’s doing this for our good! Think about it, even if we got that load of silver notes back, do you think my sister would take even half a tael of silver? It would all be yours…”

Dou Ming stared at her husband with her mouth open, tears still glistening on her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Madam Wang Junior, exhausted from the day, was sitting at her dressing table removing her makeup when she saw her husband stumble in, clearly seven or eight parts drunk.

She quickly stood up to help her husband lie down on the large kang bed by the window, then personally poured him a cup of hot tea before preparing to continue removing her makeup.

Unexpectedly, her husband grabbed her hand and asked about the bride with a smile.

After all, Song Mo had almost become his brother-in-law!

Madam Wang Junior couldn’t help but laugh and began to tell Wang Qinghuai about Song Mo’s foolish behavior in the bridal chamber, exaggerating a bit.

Wang Qinghuai suddenly sat up, sobering up six or seven parts instantly. His previously hazy eyes became sharp and keen: “What did you say? Song Yantan let the bride’s attendants arrange things?”

This was a way of showing respect to the bride’s family.

Madam Wang Junior was startled and said, “What’s wrong? I’m not making up stories about Young Master Song. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Third Master Zhang. Third Madam Zhang was there too, and so was Elder Madam Lu.”

Wang Qinghuai fell silent and sat there in a daze.

Madam Wang Junior looked very anxious and after a while, she cautiously asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Wang Qinghuai gave a bitter laugh and said, “This Song Yantan is something! It’s a good thing my sister didn’t marry him, otherwise she might have been skinned alive if not killed outright!” He sighed deeply and lamented, “In the future, whoever marries their daughter to the Song family to be Song Yantan’s stepmother would be a fool!”

Madam Wang Junior didn’t understand.

But Wang Qinghuai said, “These things are in the past now, it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. But there’s one thing I must tell you: either don’t associate with that Dou woman at all or if you do, you must be very careful and never offend her!”

Madam Wang Junior was even more puzzled.

But she always treated her husband’s words as golden rules. Seeing her husband lie down, she didn’t ask any more questions and kept his words in her heart.

Wang Qinghuai closed his eyes but couldn’t fall asleep.

Song Yantan, he’s daring!

Not only did he fool the Emperor and Empress, but he also dug a pit for his father to fall into, and even their Wang family couldn’t escape being used as his “helpers.”

Judging by Duke Ying’s behavior today, it seemed he hadn’t noticed yet.

This was still because of the character for “filial piety,” which gave Duke Ying the moral high ground. If not for this “filial piety,” what kind of fate would Duke Ying face…

He couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

He wondered if the Dou sisters’ switched marriages had anything to do with Song Mo.

Otherwise, how could things have worked out so conveniently?