Finding a suitable personal maid wasn’t an easy task!
Suxin and Su Lan had served her for four or five years. She couldn’t delay their lives any longer.
Dou Zhao smiled and said, “Isn’t it perfect timing with the New Year? We can wait until after the second day of the second month, when the weather warms up, to discuss the matter of maids. How could we postpone Su Lan’s wedding for this?”
Before the New Year, Dou Zhao had already discussed with Song Mo about holding Su Lan and Chen He’s wedding on the fourth day of the second month.
Knowing that Dou Zhao hadn’t yet found a maid skilled in martial arts, and considering that Dou Zhao was currently in conflict with Song Yichun – who was willing to use any means, even deploying assassins to kidnap them just to investigate Dou Zhao’s assets – Suxin felt increasingly anxious.
Although she and her sister weren’t as skilled as men like Duan Gongyi, they could still fend off ill-intentioned intruders for a while if caught by surprise, giving the lady a chance to escape. If both she and her sister left, how would the lady’s safety be ensured? Men like Duan Gongyi couldn’t be by the lady’s side twenty-four hours a day, after all.
After much hesitation, Suxin said, “Why don’t I come back to keep you company? Zhao Liangbi will be inspecting the shops these days and won’t be at home anyway…”
“There’s no need to go to such trouble,” Dou Zhao smiled. “I won’t be leaving Duke Ying’s manor, so nothing will happen.”
Suxin said solemnly, “It’s better to be safe than sorry. If you don’t agree, I’ll have to speak to the Young Master…”
Before she could finish, Song Mo’s voice suddenly came from inside the room: “What do you need to tell me?”
They both looked towards the sound and saw Song Mo walk in with a smile.
“Young Master!” Suxin hurriedly came forward and curtsied, explaining the situation. “Please allow me to serve in the lady’s room as before.”
“How can that be?” Dou Zhao interjected before Song Mo could speak. “If you’re bored and want to keep me company, that’s fine. But to serve in my room? You’re a housekeeper now. How can you still serve others?”
“She came from your household, so it’s only right for her to serve you,” Song Mo pondered briefly, then smiled at Dou Zhao. “Don’t argue about this. Let Suxin serve you in the manor. Her monthly allowance will be doubled, paid from my account.” Seeing that Dou Zhao was about to say something, he added, “If Zhao Liangbi returns, Suxin can go home. If she becomes pregnant, she can stay at home to take care of herself and doesn’t need to come back.”
As a newlywed, Suxin blushed at Song Mo’s last words, lowering her head and softly responding, “Yes.”
Dou Zhao wasn’t the type to be overly rigid. She thought that as long as she was careful not to let Suxin end up like herself in her past life – pregnant without knowing it and causing a big mistake – everything would be fine.
“Then come to the manor and keep me company!” she nodded with a smile, instructing Ganlu and others to prepare accommodations for Suxin.
Suxin knew that whenever Song Mo returned to the main room, he would be affectionate with Dou Zhao. In the past, she had always felt that Song Mo lacked a heroic spirit, but now that she was married herself, she understood the sweetness of such moments. She curtsied, smiled with pursed lips, and led Ganlu out.
Song Mo laughed, “It’s better to use these married women.”
“Oh, stop it!” Dou Zhao glanced at him sideways, her eyes as alluring as spring water.
Song Mo smiled and leaned down to kiss Dou Zhao’s cheek before going to change his clothes.
Dou Zhao handed Song Mo the tea brought by the maid and said seriously, “Is something not going well with the Kuang family?”
Song Mo was startled and asked, “What makes you say that?”
“I saw you leave work early and talk with Mr. Yan in the study for a long time, then come back and tease me,” Dou Zhao said. “I’ve been thinking, and apart from the Kuang family matter, there’s nothing else that should be worrying you these days…”
Song Mo smiled, “You really can read my mind!”
Dou Zhao’s expression tightened, “What exactly happened?”
Song Mo had always felt that Dou Zhao was exceptionally intelligent. Rather than hiding things from her and letting her worry, it was better to tell her the truth. With her intelligence, she could at least find ways to protect herself in critical moments. So he frankly said, “I asked Mr. Yan to find Wang Ge, but Wang Ge refused to let the Kuang family stay out of this!”
Dou Zhao was very surprised.
She raised an eyebrow, “Where did he get the courage to refuse you? Even Wang Yuan wouldn’t risk offending you for an annual income of twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver. Does he think he has more face than Wang Yuan?”
As she spoke, Dou Zhao sensed something strange about the situation.
What gave Wang Ge the right to refuse Song Mo?
In her past life, he had been purged.
Could it be that in her past life, he wasn’t purged as an uninvolved party, but because he knew too much and was silenced?
She was shocked and asked Song Mo, “Have you found out how Jiang Jie leaked the Kuang family’s affairs to Wang Ge?”
“We did,” Song Mo also found the situation somewhat absurd and said with a wry smile, “Jiang Jie was dissatisfied with the Kuang family’s arrogance and wanted to teach them a lesson. However, the Kuang family has been a prominent clan in Panyu and other places for a hundred years, deeply rooted and not easily shaken by ordinary matters. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Jie’s advisor was sent to deliver gifts to Dai Jian and happened to encounter Wang Ge leaving Elder Dai’s house.
When the advisor returned and mentioned Dai Jian’s affairs, he told Jiang Jie about Wang Ge personally delivering festival gifts to Dai Jian. Hearing this, Jiang Jie got an idea. During the Winter Solstice when sending New Year’s gifts, his advisor visited Wang Ge in Dai Jian’s name, complained to Wang Ge for a long time, and asked Wang Ge to help Jiang Jie teach the Kuang family a lesson for Dai Jian’s sake…”
Dou Zhao pondered, “But that still doesn’t make sense. Jiang Jie is just a seventh-rank county magistrate. Even if he’s related to Jiang Jie by marriage, Wang Ge wouldn’t offend you for him and twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver…” She continued thoughtfully, “Yantang, you might need to take this matter seriously and investigate it thoroughly. I’m not saying this to speak up for the Kuang family, but because this situation seems too unreasonable.
Wang Ge usually appears quite respectful to you, and his sudden change of attitude makes me worry that the problem might be on your side. Do you think you should meet with Wang Yuan? The emperor’s affairs can’t be taken lightly. As for the Kuang family, let me talk to Kuang Zhuoran. Since Wang Ge has decided to stand up for Jiang Jie, they shouldn’t hold onto the false hope of finding someone to intervene or mediate. They should make a decision soon on what to do.”
Song Mo and Dou Zhao were thinking along the same lines.
He smiled, “It’s not as serious as you make it sound. If the emperor had doubts about me, he wouldn’t have allowed you to stay at home during your pregnancy and sent gifts. Regardless of what’s going on with Wang Ge, I should pay a visit to Wang Yuan. As for the Kuang family, since the problem stems from Elder Dai, let Elder Dai help Jiang Jie clean up the mess. I don’t believe he’d appreciate someone using his name to throw their weight around behind his back!” As he finished speaking, he smiled coldly with a twisted mouth.
Seeing Song Mo’s expression, Dou Zhao knew that Dai Jian was in for a headache.
However, whether Dai Jian had a headache or not was irrelevant to her. She was now certain that this matter was related to Prince Liao.
Only by relying on Prince Liao’s strong backing would Wang Ge have such confidence.
She was reborn, so she knew that Prince Liao would eventually ascend to the throne, which was why she was wary of him. But now, the Crown Prince hadn’t made any mistakes, and the emperor had no intention of changing the heir. In her past life memory, the Crown Prince never made any significant errors until he was shot dead, and the emperor never showed any intention of replacing him. The Crown Prince’s ascension was a consensus throughout the empire. Wang Ge was a eunuch, and even if Prince Liao developed as he was now and became the King of Liaodong, it wouldn’t benefit Wang Ge at all. If Wang Ge committed any wrongdoing, Prince Liao wouldn’t stand up for him. So why would he dare to bet everything on Prince Liao?
She thought of Prince Liao’s birth mother, Empress Wan.
Could he be relying on the Empress?
But that didn’t make sense either!
Eunuchs like Wang Ge were a dime a dozen in the inner palace. If he wasn’t Wang Yuan’s adopted son, even Song Mo probably wouldn’t give him a second glance, let alone the Empress.
Where did his confidence come from?
Dou Zhao drank some tea in frustration, then suddenly had an idea.
“Yantang, I just remembered something,” she urgently said to Song Mo. “I think I heard someone say that Wang Ge and Cui Junyi are enemies. Do you think this matter might be related to conflicts among the eunuchs?”
Song Mo’s eyes lit up when he heard this, “Why didn’t I think of investigating from this angle!” He leaned towards Dou Zhao and said, “Tell me, what are your thoughts?”
“Thoughts?” Dou Zhao fidgeted with the ruby ring on her finger, looking apologetically at Song Mo. “My mind is in a mess right now, and I don’t have any clear ideas. It’s just a thought, and I don’t know if it’s right or not.”
In her past life, she had been an unremarkable marchioness of a declining house. Whenever she entered the palace, she always followed behind those prominent noble ladies. Once, she fell a few steps behind and accidentally overheard two eunuchs complaining in low voices. She couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, but she heard something like “Even if Cui Junyi dies, he wants to drag Wang Ge down with him. If I die, I’ll drag him down too.” At that time, she didn’t know who Wang Ge was, but she had an impression of Cui Junyi. Since it was all old palace gossip, she had listened and forgotten about it. Now that she suddenly remembered, she told Song Mo. But as soon as she said it, she realized how absurd her words sounded.
Not only was Cui Junyi the Crown Prince’s man, but Wang Ge’s coveting of the Kuang family’s property could only be related to Prince Liao. How could it be connected to conflicts among eunuchs?
Dou Zhao felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Song Mo was a perceptive person. How could he not notice Dou Zhao’s embarrassment?
He hugged Dou Zhao and smiled, “It’s alright! Don’t they say in stories that there are no coincidences? Sometimes when we encounter things we can’t understand, we need to think outside the box. We might just find a way. I’ll have someone thoroughly investigate what you mentioned. We might discover something!”
Dou Zhao smiled sheepishly.
The Kuang family’s affairs seemed to be getting more and more complicated, with so few clues to work with…
Her head was starting to ache from all the thinking.
Forget it, let Song Mo figure it out!
She put the matter out of her mind and enjoyed her bird’s nest porridge comfortably.
Song Mo went to attend to this matter.
Dou Zhao finished her bowl of porridge and looked up to see the large pillow opposite her, still indented from where Song Mo had leaned against it. She suddenly felt dazed.
Since marrying Song Mo, she had grown accustomed to leaving everything to him and had rarely pondered things as meticulously as before.
But Song Mo knew nothing about the future!
Yet she was the one who knew how history would unfold.
How could she let Song Mo grope in the dark like a blind man touching an elephant while she sat back and reaped the benefits?
Could it be that once a woman relies on someone, she becomes too lazy to think for herself?
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but shudder.
No, she couldn’t continue like this.
She needed to help Song Mo uncover the truth of the past. She had to help Song Mo avoid the tragedy of her previous life. She should be working alongside Song Mo, not just nestling under his wings.
He was the person who had been kindest to her in both lives!
Dou Zhao took a deep breath, straightened her back, and called out loudly to Ganlu: “Bring me the four treasures of the study!”
Ganlu responded and quickly brought the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.