Regardless of right or wrong, Gu Yu’s loyalty to Song Mo was worthy of Dou Zhao’s respect.

She respectfully curtsied to Gu Yu and signaled Su Xin to give him the spare set of the scholar’s four treasures as a welcoming gift.

Gu Yu was quite surprised.

Now that Dou Zhao had married Brother Tianci, she was Brother Tianci’s wife. Even if he had any dissatisfaction with Dou Zhao, he wouldn’t trip her up in front of everyone. That wouldn’t just embarrass Dou Zhao; it would be a slap in the face to Brother Tianci. He understood this principle. But he really couldn’t stand how Dou Zhao, clearly just a country girl, now carried herself with such poise in front of the Song family, like a born noblewoman.

He had stepped forward only intending to quickly pay his respects to Dou Zhao and then leave.

He hadn’t expected Dou Zhao to treat him with such courtesy.

Unsolicited favors must have ulterior motives!

Gu Yu grumbled inwardly. Seeing everyone watching them, he had no choice but to abandon his plan to leave immediately. He politely returned Dou Zhao’s greeting, smilingly accepted her welcoming gift, cheerfully called her “Sister-in-law,” and then retreated to the side.

Dou Zhao was puzzled.

When Gu Yu first stepped forward, he seemed aggressive toward her. How had he become so refined in just a moment?

In her previous life, Baron Yunyang Gu Yu was known for his temper that wouldn’t give face even to the Emperor. She wasn’t so arrogant as to think that her respectful curtsy would change Gu Yu’s attitude towards her!

But since this incident had neither precedent nor reason, Dou Zhao couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she tried. She decided not to dwell on it and turned to greet Song Mo’s cousins with a smile.

According to the information Chen Qushui had given her, Song Mo’s eldest cousin Song Qin and second cousin Song Duo were both sons of Song Mo’s eldest uncle Song Maochun.

Song Qin was seven years older than Song Mo. His wife was surnamed Tan, and his father-in-law was the Deputy Commander of the Eastern City in the Five Cities Military and Cavalry Command. He had passed the prefectural examination this April but failed the provincial examination in June. He was now studying at home in preparation for next June’s provincial examination.

Song Duo was four years older than Song Mo and was currently studying with his brother Song Qin.

Song Mo ranked third, Song Han fourth, and Song Jun, who ranked fifth, was the son of Song Mo’s third uncle Song Fengchun. He was seven years younger than Song Mo. Ranking sixth was Song Yao, the son of Song Mo’s fourth uncle Song Tongchun.

Song Jun and Song Yao were still in their childhood years.

Dou Zhao’s welcoming gifts for them were money pouches, each containing two silver notes worth ten taels.

The two little ones were overjoyed, calling “Third Sister-in-law” so loudly that it caused the women sitting in the west hall to glance over frequently.

Wang Qinghuai suddenly popped out from a corner.

Song Mo couldn’t hide his surprise at seeing him, clearly not expecting Wang Qinghuai to appear there. Song Maochun was even more at a loss as to how to introduce him. Fortunately, Wang Qinghuai was prepared. He pretended to look troubled, scratching his head and saying, “Yantang, I originally brought my wife to join in the celebration, but I didn’t expect you to have so many relatives…”

He gave a few dry laughs, looking very embarrassed.

However, a flash of gratitude crossed Song Mo’s face. He smiled and said, “I’m honored by your presence, brother. Please stay for a cup of wine later.”

“Certainly, certainly,” Wang Qinghuai laughed awkwardly, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.

Dou Zhao, however, looked at him strangely.

In her previous life, Wang Qinghuai was praised for being “humble and courteous,” but in this life, he came uninvited. Could a person’s character change so drastically?

She discreetly offered tea to Wang Qinghuai and then followed Lady Lü to the west hall.

Due to the tragedy at the Duke of Dinguo’s mansion, no one from Song Mo’s maternal family came to attend their wedding. Since Song Yichun had no sisters, Song Yichun’s maternal family became the guests of honor.

Led by Lady Lü, Dou Zhao first paid her respects to Princess Ningde and Old Lady Lü.

Both elderly ladies had kind faces and spoke very gently and amiably. They were the type of well-read people, with calm dispositions and open minds. Dou Zhao liked them very much.

Afterward, she paid her respects to the other Lü family relatives.

Lü Fuli had two sons. One died shortly after birth, and the other was Lü Chen, Lü Zhan’s father. Lü Chen only had one son, Lü Zhan. Although Lü Zhan was only twenty-five this year, his son Lü Gui was already ten years old, and his daughter Lü Qi was eight.

Princess Ningde’s branch was only slightly better off than Lü Fuli’s.

Princess Ningde had one son and one daughter. Her son, Lü Shi, had two sons named Lü Han and Lü Qin, both of whom were married with children. Her daughter had married the nephew of Baron Yongen and had a son and a daughter, Feng Shao and Feng Hui, who was Zhang Xuming’s wife, the third lady Zhang.

This time, all the Lü family members were present, including Feng Hui’s parents and her elder brother and sister-in-law.

Earlier, when offering tea to Lü Shi and the others, Lü Han, Lü Qin, and Feng Shao had teased Song Mo a bit. It was evident that Song Mo had a good relationship with the Lü family.

For the elders, she offered tea, received red envelopes, and accepted welcoming gifts. For the younger ones, she greeted them, gave them red envelopes, and presented welcoming gifts.

The third lady Zhang was not only generous, giving Dou Zhao a gold step-sway inlaid with jewels, but also held Dou Zhao’s hand, inviting her to visit the Jing Duke’s mansion when she had time. She said, “…My father-in-law likes to grow chrysanthemums, and the chrysanthemums in our mansion are quite famous in the capital. Although we’ve passed the season of fragrant autumn osmanthus, it’s now the time for winter chrysanthemums to bloom.”

Dou Zhao smiled, pressing her lips together.

Inwardly, she felt deeply emotional.

In her previous life, she had died from a cold caught while attending the chrysanthemum banquet at the Jing Duke’s mansion to support Wei Tingzhen. Who would have thought she would receive such an invitation again in this life?

Moreover, in her previous life, she had quite a few dealings with this third lady of the Jing Duke’s mansion. This Third Lady Zhang always had her nose in the air, and whenever she saw Dou Zhao, she would barely acknowledge her with a nasal “hmm” as a greeting.

Now, reborn, she treated her with such warmth.

Including the Wang Qinghuai couple.

In her previous life, they were people Wei Tingyü had repeatedly warned her not to offend under any circumstances…

Could this be considered a reversal of fortune?

On the Song family’s side, apart from Song Mo’s aunt and two aunts-in-law, there was only Song Qin’s wife, Lady Tan, and a twelve-year-old girl beside her.

Song Mo’s aunt was in her forties, short and plump, looking very good-natured. The third aunt was of average height and very beautiful, but unfortunately, her high cheekbones gave an impression of being sharp-tongued. The fourth aunt was dressed flamboyantly, looking only in her early twenties. Her gaze kept falling either on the gold phoenix step-sway in Dou Zhao’s hair or on the jade chime at her waist.

Lady Tan was only seventeen or eighteen, with a pretty face and very shy. The little girl beside her looked very similar to the Song family’s third madam, with bright big eyes that rolled around when looking at people, clearly not a quiet one.

Without waiting for Lady Lü to introduce her, she called out “Third Sister-in-law” to Dou Zhao and loudly complained, “Last night when I went to see you, your maid stopped me outside, saying it was on my third cousin’s orders — my third cousin never did this before, it must be your maid falsely claiming his orders…”

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the flower hall.

This little girl must be Song Jin, Song Mo’s only female cousin.

“Is that so?” Dou Zhao smiled and said, “My maids have just arrived and haven’t started their duties yet. I won’t know who stopped you until this afternoon when they’re all here. Be patient, and after I’ve asked them, I’ll have them apologize to you. How does that sound?”

The implication was that Song Jin was lying!

Song Jin’s face turned bright red.

Dou Zhao secretly sneered, but when she looked up, she saw Song Mo glaring at her.

She couldn’t help but inwardly exclaim “Oh no.”

Last night, Song Mo had instructed her not to say anything, saying he would handle it for her. How could she have forgotten about this?

When a person is used to being alone, they forget there’s someone else by their side.

She smiled awkwardly, took a few steps back, and stood behind Song Mo.

Song Mo’s expression softened slightly, then he smiled and asked Song Jin, “Who did you come with yesterday? How did you end up at the bridal chamber?”

Song Jin immediately pouted, saying pitifully, “I came with my Father, Mother, and my brother to drink cousin’s wedding wine. Everyone was saying cousin had married a rich sister-in-law, so I just wanted to see…”

She was acting coquettishly.

Song Mo didn’t even look at Song Jin, but instead spoke gently to his third aunt, “Third Aunt, for my wedding, we consulted the Chief Astrologer of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to match our birth dates. From the decorations to the ceremonies, everything was done according to divination. Third Aunt has been managing the household for many years and should understand these customs. How could you let Jin run around freely? I think the people serving Jin should be replaced. Jin is twelve years old now, at the age of marriage talks. It wouldn’t be good if any rumors were to spread!”

The third madam of the Song family broke out in a cold sweat, repeatedly saying “Yes” in embarrassment, and stepped forward to hit Song Jin: “I’ll teach you to talk nonsense…”

Song Jin covered her head and started crying.

Song Mo grabbed his third aunt’s raised arm, his gaze cold as he stared at her: “Third Aunt, today is my happy day…”

“It’s my fault, it’s my fault!” The third madam apologized repeatedly, then scolded Song Jin in a low voice, “If you cry again, I’ll throw you in the lake to feed the fish.”

Song Jin was so frightened she dared not cry anymore.

Lady Wang hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over: “Sister Dou, do you remember me? I was your bridesmaid yesterday. I’ve come to intrude today and ask you for a cup of tea.”

Dou Zhao, also tired of dealing with Song Jin, smiled and stepped forward to curtsy, calling her “Sister An.”

Lady Wang asked curiously, “How did you know my maiden name is An?”

Busted!

Just as Dou Zhao was about to explain, Song Mo, standing nearby, smiled and said, “I mentioned it to my wife last night — Brother Wang and I are as close as brothers, and we’re very grateful for sister-in-law’s help yesterday!”

Song Mo knew that Dou Zhao had both advisors and guards around her, so it wasn’t difficult for her to find out about certain things. He was even a bit pleased — if Dou Zhao didn’t care, why would she bother to inquire about the people and matters around him?

Lady Wang beamed with joy and politely said, “It was just a small matter, not worth mentioning!” She gave Dou Zhao a welcoming gift.

Dou Zhao offered tea to Lady Wang, and they exchanged a few pleasantries.

Old Lady Lü and Princess Ningde exchanged a glance and chuckled softly, “We were worried that Duke Ying might have made a poor match, but it seems we were overthinking it.”

Princess Ningde nodded with a smile and discussed with Old Lady Lü, “What do you think about inviting the young couple over for a casual meal in a few days?”

“Of course,” Old Lady Lü smiled, “I have some things I want to tell Lady Dou!”

As it was approaching noon and the introductions were complete, Song Yichun ordered the feast to begin.

Song Mo went to sit with Dou Zhao’s family members who had come for the introductions, including Dou Jichang and Dou Dechang. Old Lady Lü pulled Dou Zhao to sit beside her.

Everyone chatted and laughed as if the earlier incident had never happened.

Only Song Yichun seemed distracted.

This daughter-in-law of his, it seemed, wasn’t as docile as he had thought!