Dou Zhao pondered if something she was unaware of had happened in her previous life that caused the young girl to become close to Song Mo.
How could a child raised as an illegitimate daughter, with a mother of questionable character, improve her relationship with Song Mo given his difficult circumstances?
Dou Zhao felt the whole situation was suspicious.
She confided in Chen Qushui.
Chen Qushui was shocked, then reproached her: “Why didn’t you tell me earlier, my lady? Regardless of whether the child is the Duke’s or not, we could have planned something to make the Duke suffer silently. If we could use this opportunity to force the Duke to hand over the affairs of the Duke’s manor to the young master, that would be even better.”
Dou Zhao hadn’t thought about it from that angle.
She tactfully replied, “Using a young girl to blackmail the Duke seems unscrupulous. It’s better not to if we can avoid it.”
Chen Qushui nodded approvingly and said, “Even if the child is the Duke’s, and he wants to bring her back, she’s already married. At most, he’d just need to provide an additional dowry. Surely you don’t expect the young master and you to treat her like a real sister? Besides, it’s still uncertain whether the Duke will acknowledge the child. What are you worried about?”
Indeed!
What did she have to worry about?
Given Song Yichun’s character, who insisted on finding a concubine from a respectable family, even if this child was his, he might not acknowledge her. Moreover, it wasn’t even certain if the child was Song Yichun’s. It was too early to say anything. It was better to wait for news from Chen Jia.
Dou Zhao’s anxious heart eased slightly, and she focused her energy on Jiang Lizhu’s wedding.
She visited Jiang’s family’s fourth madam every afternoon to see if there was anything she could help with.
The Jiang family’s fourth madam gradually became familiar with Dou Zhao. Seeing her easy-going and generous nature, she occasionally introduced the ladies who came to add to Jiang Lizhu’s dowry to Dou Zhao.
Those women all greeted Dou Zhao respectfully, praising Song Mo for his noble character and righteousness, not looking down on the fallen Jiang family and still coming to give face to them.
Dou Zhao had to politely respond with phrases like “It’s only right, you’re too kind” countless times each day. At the same time, it made her take a deep breath.
No wonder the Emperor had executed the entire Jiang family in her previous life.
The Jiang family was so well-regarded among the middle and lower-ranking officers. When Duke Dingguo was wrongly accused, Madam Jiang had relatives and friends plead for him, creating a huge commotion. How could they not end up with their family destroyed?
She also couldn’t help but feel lucky.
If she hadn’t lived two lives, she probably wouldn’t have dreamed that the Emperor would kill Duke Dingguo because of this.
It seemed that every peck and sip was predestined.
Lost in thought, Dou Zhao had a sudden inspiration.
In her previous life, was this the reason why Prince Liao had taken in Song Mo?
How could he do without such influential middle-ranking officers if he wanted to win over people from the Shenjiying and Jinwuwei? Without the Jiang family, Song Mo, who grew up on Duke Dingguo’s side, represented the Jiang family to some extent, representing the Jiang family’s wishes. When the Emperor was gravely ill, Prince Liao, as an adult prince, entered the palace to visit the Emperor. There were many restrictions on the identity and number of his attendants, yet he risked great displeasure by bringing Song Mo, who had been disowned by Duke Ying’s manor for filial impiety and became a pariah.
This couldn’t have been merely because of Song Mo’s martial skills or intelligence. After all, Song Mo’s identity was too sensitive, and having grown up in and out of the forbidden palace, many people should have recognized him. The risk of being exposed was high, and one misstep could have affected Prince Liao’s grand plans. Song Mo’s role in this, looking at it now, was self-evident.
Realizing this point, Dou Zhao became even more determined in her decision to keep Song Mo away from Prince Liao.
She began to pay attention to the identities of these people.
Those who came to offer congratulations were all women. The higher their status, the more likely they were to apologize to the Jiang family’s fourth madam when leaving, saying they had matters to attend to on Jiang Lizhu’s wedding day and couldn’t attend the wedding feast, asking for the fourth madam’s forgiveness. The lower their status, the fewer reservations they had, with some even bringing their daughters and daughters-in-law to add to Jiang Lizhu’s dowry.
The Jiang family’s fourth madam couldn’t help but sigh.
Dou Zhao comforted her: “They still have their own lives to live. Being able to come and add to the twelfth cousin’s dowry is already very kind of them. When the eldest uncle’s false charges are cleared, we can properly celebrate for the twelfth cousin then!”
“It’s thoughtful of you to think this way,” the Jiang family’s fourth madam patted Dou Zhao’s hand appreciatively and said, “I’m not sighing about this. Given the Jiang family’s current situation, we can’t return to court in the short term. Their coming to congratulate us this time is also a way of giving closure to the Jiang family. If the Jiang family faces difficulties in the future, for major issues, they won’t be able to help; for minor issues, they’re in Beijing, so we won’t be able to find them. Seeing so many people come, I can’t help but feel emotional, thinking that we might never have such a lively gathering again.”
She must be feeling sorry for the several unmarried young ladies of the Jiang family, right?
Not only were their marriages unsettled, but when they do get married, they won’t be able to have such a grand occasion as Jiang Lizhu’s!
As Dou Zhao was pondering this, Jiang Xiexiu and Jiang Xieying came in carrying a pair of plum vases for Jiang Lizhu’s dowry.
Hearing this, Jiang Xieying smiled and said, “This is also the twelfth sister’s good fortune. Don’t you always say that every blade of grass and every drop of dew has its place? Who knows, maybe our good fortune lies elsewhere!”
The Jiang family’s fourth madam nodded repeatedly, her expression much more relaxed.
Dou Zhao also nodded inwardly.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Xieying to be so forthright!
She glanced at Jiang Xiexiu.
Jiang Xiexiu was smiling with pursed lips, but the trace of melancholy between her brows had deepened.
Dou Zhao lowered her head to drink tea.
A commotion was heard from outside.
Everyone was startled.
Then they heard a voice cheerfully calling “Fourth Aunt” into the main hall.
Dou Zhao looked closely and saw it was Song Han.
He was wearing a silver-red damask robe with a bamboo pattern, his black hair tied up with a white jade hairpin. Because he had walked quickly, his fair face was slightly flushed, but his eyes were bright, sparkling with joy.
“Tian’en!” The Jiang family’s fourth aunt called out in pleasant surprise. She had just stood up when Song Han threw himself into her arms.
“Fourth Aunt, why didn’t you come to the manor to see me?” he complained coquettishly. “Brother didn’t tell me either. I only found out by chance when I passed by the accounting room and overheard that you, Cousin Lizhu, Cousin Xiexiu, and Cousin Xieying had all come to Beijing.” As he spoke, he glared at Dou Zhao with puffed cheeks, “Sister-in-law is the same, of one mind with brother, keeping only me in the dark!”
Although Song Han was already of age to begin formal studies, his beautiful features took full advantage of time and place. Far from seeming affected, he instead exuded a childlike innocence that made the Jiang family’s fourth madam smile.
She defended Dou Zhao: “This is men’s business, what does it have to do with your sister-in-law? If you had a wife, and your sister-in-law came alone without inviting your wife along, I would scold her for being inconsiderate without you saying anything. You’re the younger brother-in-law, how can you speak to your sister-in-law like this? Quickly go and apologize to her!”
Song Han was now under Song Yichun’s care. The fact that he didn’t come to pay his respects to her first made the Jiang family’s fourth madam attribute this to Song Yichun.
When Song Mo came to receive the Jiang family’s fourth madam, he had personally reported to Song Yichun. After bringing her back, he went to Xirang Hall again. Song Yichun pretending not to know was one thing, but Song Han’s maids went in and out of Xirang Hall every day. She didn’t believe Song Han hadn’t heard that the Jiang family’s fourth madam had arrived in Beijing.
His appearance at this time – who knew if he had just overheard it, or if it was arranged by Song Yichun, or his idea?
Dou Zhao just smiled without speaking.
Song Han stuck out his tongue at the Jiang family’s fourth madam, then sheepishly came forward to apologize to Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao nodded gently with a kind smile.
Song Han immediately became lively again.
After paying his respects to Jiang Xiexiu and Jiang Xieying, he took the Jiang family’s fourth madam’s hand to show her the gifts he had brought: “This is for twelfth cousin’s dowry, this is for aunt, this is for thirteenth cousin, this is for fourteenth cousin…”
Song Han’s eyes and brows were full of excitement, making Jiang Xiexiu and Jiang Xieying laugh.
This encouraged him even more. He opened one of the boxes and took out a Western clock, bringing it close to Jiang Xiexiu’s face and saying, “Thirteenth cousin, this is for twelfth cousin’s dowry. It should surprise the Wu family and make them look at the twelfth cousin differently, right?”
Jiang Xiexiu tapped Song Han’s forehead with her finger, chiding, “You little stinker, do you think the Jiang family is nouveau riche? What’s all this about surprising them and looking differently? The Wu family is proper. If they wanted to slight twelfth sister, they would have broken off the engagement long ago. Why wait until today? Quickly put away those messy thoughts of yours and properly prepare a gift for the twelfth sister’s dowry!”
At this moment, she showed the pride of a young lady from the Jiang family.
The Jiang family’s fourth madam and others all laughed, even Song Han himself, who grinned sheepishly, seemingly trying to please Jiang Xiexiu.
Jiang Xiexiu must have been very popular in Duke Dingguo’s manor, otherwise everyone wouldn’t have reacted this way.
Dou Zhao observed all this.
When Song Mo came to pick her up, she mentioned it to him.
“She has a somewhat impatient temperament but treats people well. Although she’s intelligent, she doesn’t scheme much,” Song Mo smiled and said, “When I was at my uncle’s house, I enjoyed playing with her the most.”
“Didn’t the elders in the family ever think of marrying her to you?” Dou Zhao blurted out.
After saying it, she felt somewhat embarrassed.
After all, Jiang Xiexiu was still an unmarried young lady. If her words were to spread, it would be very damaging to Jiang Xiexiu.
But words once spoken are like spilled water… Dou Zhao was filled with regret.
Song Mo’s eyes suddenly brightened.
“The elders in the family seemed to think I wasn’t good enough for thirteenth cousin,” he stared intently at Dou Zhao, the smile in his eyes overflowing layer by layer, finally blooming uncontrollably on his face, “Or perhaps they thought it better to find someone for me who was a bit more petty, liked to be jealous, more formidable, who could control me so tightly I couldn’t breathe…”
Dou Zhao’s face burned hot. She grabbed the pillow behind her and threw it at Song Mo.
“Ouch!” Song Mo caught the pillow and tossed it aside, pretending to cover his head while laughing uncontrollably, “You dare hit the master of the house? Don’t want to eat? Tonight you can sleep on the floor! Without my permission, you’re not allowed on the bed!”
Looking at Song Mo’s expression, Dou Zhao couldn’t help but laugh as well.