Touched by Song Mo’s filial piety, Dou Shiying naturally didn’t want to trouble him and said, “I’ll go alone. You stay home and rest well.”
He feared Dou Shishu might misunderstand that Song Mo had urged him to go to Huaishu Hutong.
Seeing Dou Shiying’s resolute attitude, Song Mo didn’t insist. However, as soon as Dou Shiying left Jing’an Temple Hutong, he headed to Yuqiao Hutong.
Dou Qijun had gone out to socialize with colleagues.
Song Mo tracked him down to the tavern where he was drinking.
Dou Qijun’s attendant brought out the red-faced Dou Qijun.
Inside the carriage, Song Mo informed him about Dou Shishu recommending Dou Shiying to tutor the Crown Prince’s eldest son.
Dou Qijun sobered up instantly from fear: “I’ll go see Fifth Great-Uncle first thing tomorrow morning.”
He hadn’t realized the situation was so dire – the Dou family could be labeled as part of the Crown Prince’s faction or Prince Liao’s faction at any moment.
Song Mo nodded and said, “Go back to your drinking. I’ll head home first.”
Dou Qijun was in no mood to drink anymore and asked Song Mo to take him back to Yuqiao Hutong.
In the carriage, he worriedly said, “If Fifth Great-Uncle asks, I’ll say these are insights from my recent observations in court. I just don’t know if Fifth Uncle will listen.”
“Whether he listens or not, you must have a good talk with Fifth Uncle,” Song Mo advised him. “Now is not the time to take sides.”
Dou Qijun nodded.
The two parted ways at the entrance of Yuqiao Hutong.
Song Mo hurried back to Jing’an Temple Hutong.
Entering the inner room of the east wing, he saw Dou Zhao drinking a bowl of pigeon soup.
The enticing aroma made Song Mo’s stomach growl.
He suddenly realized he hadn’t eaten much all day.
Dou Zhao quickly ordered the kitchen to bring in a table of dishes for Song Mo.
Song Mo found it troublesome and said, “Just bring me some snacks to fill my stomach.”
“How can that be enough?” Dou Zhao came forward to help him take off his outer robe and called for a maid to bring water. “By the looks of it, you probably didn’t have a proper lunch. You can’t always make do like this. Be careful not to harm your health in the long run.”
As she spoke, a cook from the kitchen had already brought over a tray table.
It was filled with dishes – minced meat with pickled vegetables and yellow beans, braised pork belly with garlic, steamed eggplant puree, sesame chicken… all freshly made.
Song Mo was surprised.
Ganlu smiled and said, “The woman who delivered the vegetables said that when the master returned from court and didn’t see the young master, he said the young master probably couldn’t eat well in the palace. So he ordered the kitchen not to extinguish the stove fire and be ready to serve food at any time.”
Hearing this, Song Mo fell silent for a moment, then looked up and smiled at Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao’s heart melted. She smiled and pushed Song Mo to sit on the kang bed, personally setting out chopsticks for him.
Song Mo lowered his head and began eating heartily.
Dou Shiying returned.
Song Mo and Dou Zhao quickly stood up.
“Please, sit down. Eating is important,” Dou Shiying said, seeing one eating and the other sitting nearby doing needlework. He craned his neck to look into the inner room and asked, “Where’s Yuan? Is he asleep?”
“He just fell asleep,” Dou Zhao replied, taking the tea offered by the maid and placing it in front of Dou Shiying.
“That’s good,” Dou Shiying said with satisfaction. “Children who eat and sleep well will grow tall.” Then he gestured for Song Mo to sit down, “Eat your meal, don’t mind me.”
Song Mo looked at the sumptuous dishes, smiled, sat down, and began eating without restraint.
Dou Shiying watched with a slight smile. After Song Mo finished eating, they moved to Song Mo’s small study to rest. Dou Shiying recounted his visit to Huaishu Hutong: “…I spoke frankly with Fifth Brother. Although he was somewhat displeased, seeing my insistence, he didn’t say much more. He just told me to think it through carefully to avoid regrets later.”
Song Mo smiled and asked, “So, Father-in-law, will you regret it in the future?”
“There might be some regret,” Dou Shiying laughed. “But compared to regret, I’m more afraid of an uneasy conscience.”
Perhaps this was why Dou Shiying had remained alone in his quarters for so many years.
Song Mo personally brewed tea for Dou Shiying, accompanying him in discussing court affairs and sharing amusing anecdotes about various officials.
Dou Shiying found the evening very enjoyable. After checking on little Yuan and advising them to rest early, he left with a smile on his face.
After washing up, Song Mo and Dou Zhao leaned against the large welcoming pillow on the kang bed by the window, talking.
“Why did you come back so late?” Dou Zhao asked.
“After leaving the palace, I went to the Lu mansion,” Song Mo told Dou Zhao about asking Princess Ningde to act as a matchmaker for Jiang Yan.
Dou Zhao thought that although Jiang Yan had just suffered a great misfortune, it wasn’t necessary to discuss marriage so soon. However, if she could find a good family, settling the marriage early would be fine. She smiled and said, “When I return, I’ll start preparing the dowry for Sister Yan.”
Her words stirred up Song Mo’s concerns again.
He said, “Tomorrow I’ll go see Father and have Song Han return Mother’s dowry.”
Dou Zhao said, “I’m afraid they won’t be so amenable.”
“They don’t have a choice,” Song Mo said coldly. “It was fine when the palace didn’t know about this, but now that they do, even if I force Song Han to return Mother’s dowry, the palace will likely turn a blind eye.”
That was true.
Dou Zhao nodded and said, “I’ll return to the mansion tomorrow then. For Yuan’s third-day and full-month celebrations, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess both sent gifts. I should have gone to the palace to express gratitude after my confinement period. I didn’t expect Father to send someone to fetch me just as Yuan turned a month old. The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and if I were to thank the Crown Princess only then, it would seem rather insincere.”
However, Song Mo recalled Dou Shiying’s satisfied smile from earlier and said with a smile, “What’s the conflict between going to the palace to express gratitude and taking Yuan back to your maiden home for introductions? Have Ganlu and the others bring your official robes from the mansion, and you can go directly to the palace from Jing’an Temple Hutong.”
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but laugh, “One becomes confused when overthinking. Then I’ll submit my entry card tomorrow. If I can see the Empress Dowager, it would be a good opportunity to thank her as well. After all, Song Han’s marriage was Her Majesty’s idea!”
As supernumerary female officials of external command, they would pay respects to the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace when entering the palace. The Empress Dowager would receive them or not based on her mood, so they didn’t always get to see her.
Song Mo nodded.
The next day, Dou Zhao went to submit her entry card.
That afternoon, an eunuch came to inform her to enter the palace early the next morning.
It was very quick.
Dou Shiying smiled and said, “It seems Duke Ying’s mansion truly has favor in the Emperor’s eyes.”
Dou Zhao smiled quietly.
A steward from Duke Ying’s mansion came to invite Song Mo and Dou Zhao back, saying they would be going to the Miao family to finalize the engagement in the next couple of days.
As Song Han’s brother and sister-in-law, they needed to return to help, especially Dou Zhao, who would need to entertain the female guests coming to offer congratulations.
Dou Zhao agreed to return to the mansion in three days.
However, when Song Mo returned, he sent someone to reply to Duke Ying’s mansion: “The child is still young, and with all the music and gatherings at home, what if he gets frightened? Moreover, my wife is entering the palace early tomorrow morning. I’ll come back alone.”
Song Yichun was so angry her heart ached. She told the messenger, “Go tell the young master that if he doesn’t want to come back, he doesn’t have to come back ever.”
The messenger didn’t dare relay these words to Song Mo and went to plead with Huang Qing with a dejected face.
Huang Qing was also at a loss and had to steel himself to see Yan Chaoqing.
Yan Chaoqing smiled indifferently and said, “Then go tell the Duke that our young master won’t be coming back that day.”
How would the Miao family react if the elder brother, who was the heir apparent, showed no interest in his younger brother’s engagement?
Huang Qing smiled bitterly, having no better solution. He could only delay the matter for now and deal with it when Song Yichun inquired.
Meanwhile, when Dou Zhao entered the palace to express her gratitude, she was warmly received by the Crown Princess, who even had the third prince brought for Dou Zhao to see. Upon hearing of her arrival, the Crown Prince also had some desserts sent as a reward. When she mentioned going to pay respects to the Empress and Empress Dowager, the Crown Princess accompanied her to Kunning Palace.
On the fourth day of the ninth lunar month, palace ladies and inner court officials were to change into gauze robes. Before the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month, newly made clothes had to be distributed. With the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and rewards for various mansions, the Empress was busy running around. She only had time for Dou Zhao to drink a cup of tea. However, when the Empress Dowager heard that Dou Zhao had come, she immediately summoned her for an audience.
Dou Zhao entered the side hall with her eyes lowered respectfully.
Consort Shi was also present, playing leaf cards with the Empress Dowager.
Without waiting for Dou Zhao to pay her respects, the Empress Dowager asked, “I heard that you used to play leaf cards with your elders at home. Come, join us for a few rounds!”
Dou Zhao humbly replied, “I’m not very skilled, I lose more often than not.”
Hearing this, Consort Shi giggled and said, “If you didn’t lose a bit at cards, how could we feel good about ourselves?”
Was she referring to Dou Zhao’s abundant dowry?
Perhaps due to her dislike for Marquis Changxing, Dou Zhao felt no affection for Consort Shi, who, despite her advanced age, still acted like an eighteen-year-old girl with her coquettish false laughter.
The Crown Princess also seemed to dislike Consort Shi and smiled, “It seems that even having a wealthy background has its downsides, always being a target for others!”
Consort Shi’s expression stiffened slightly.
The Empress Dowager beckoned to Dou Zhao, “You take Huiying’s place. Her eyesight is even worse than mine.”
As she spoke, a woman who looked like a palace official smiled and stood up, handing her cards to Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao was unsure whether to accept or not.
The Crown Princess gently pushed her and said, “The Empress Dowager finds me clumsy, so you keep Her Majesty company for a while!”
At this point, further refusal would seem petty.
Dou Zhao smiled, curtsied to the female official, said “Excuse me,” took the cards, and sat across from the Empress Dowager.
After one round, she had a good sense of the situation.
The Empress Dowager treated card-playing as a pastime, not thinking too much, playing whatever came to mind without much strategy.
Consort Shi was highly skilled at cards, coaxing the Empress Dowager while playing, winning only one hand out of four.
The other player was Imperial Consort De from the palace.
She had been the Emperor’s companion during his time as heir apparent, the same age as the Emperor. Having long ceased her duties in the bedroom, she was often summoned to Cining Palace to keep the Empress Dowager company. She played cards well, not daring to compete with the Empress Dowager sitting to her right, but showing no mercy to the person sitting to her left.
Dou Zhao felt confident she could handle these players without issue.
She imitated Consort Shi, winning only one hand out of four.
This way, the Empress Dowager won the most. And because Dou Zhao and Consort Shi also won occasionally, it appeared that everyone had their share of wins and losses, making for a very pleasant game.
The Empress Dowager praised Dou Zhao’s card-playing skills, thoroughly enjoying herself until an eunuch came to ask where to set up lunch, only then did the game pause.
Dou Zhao took her leave.
However, the Empress Dowager kept her for lunch and said, “We’ll play some more in the afternoon!”