“……The British Lord really killed all the guards who escaped and even had their bodies brought before the Crown Prince,” Chen Quanshui sighed, “Perhaps he heard some rumors, on the 37th day, almost all relatives and friends of the British Lord's mansion came. The Crown Prince responded with courtesy, but his body still bore injuries, the British Lord was solemn, and whenever he mentioned Mrs. Jiang, he looked sorrowful, only Song Er Ye, who knelt in front of Mrs. Jiang crying, his eyes were swollen. After dinner, the British Lord kept the three sons-in-law and the Lu family to discuss, preparing to ask Lu Furen's brother Lu Fuli to act as an intermediary to divide Mrs. Jiang's dowry between the Crown Prince and Song Er Ye. Now the British Lord's mansion looks harmonious, but in fact, the Yizhitang and the British Lord's mansion are already distinct, the Crown Prince even secretly arranged for some people to be placed in his own imperial bestowed estate in Daxing.”

  "Sly rabbit has three burrows." Du Zhao listened very seriously, knowing that Song Mo and Song Yichun were still maintaining the false image of a loving father and son in front of everyone. Having achieved his goal, he also felt a little sentimental, "From now on, they will either be overwhelmed by each other, or one will overwhelm the other. The story of father and son hurting each other will be performed for a long time at the British Gongfu."

  Everyone listened, and their mood became very depressed, and the atmosphere in the house also became somewhat oppressive.

  Dong Zhaoxiao smiled and broke the silence, saying: "Fortunately, none of these things concern us anymore - we've done everything we can do, and what we should have done. As long as we can be at peace with our own conscience, that's enough. What exactly happened between the father and son, after all, is not something outsiders like us can intervene in or even know about."

  Her words didn't have much effect, Duan Gongyi smiled slightly but his expression was still somewhat heavy. However, Chen Quanshui understood Suo Zhao's intention and laughed: "The young master wanted to kill us, but instead we saved the young master's life. To say it, we repaid kindness with resentment. This case of Duan Gong should also be settled. These days everyone has been busy with the affairs of the British Gongfu, eating poorly and sleeping badly. Now that we've returned to Zhēndìng, let's not think about those things anymore. Everyone can go down and rest, Miss can also rest early."

  Duan Gongyi and others heard this and laughed as they stood up to bid farewell.

  Dong Zhaohui instructed Duan Gongyi: "You've all been working hard these days, arrange for a shift to go back and take a few days off, and gather with your family."

  Duan Gongyi and a few others laughed and thanked him, then accompanied Chen Quanshui out of the inner courtyard.

  Dong Zhaorong sent Su Lan to ask when Ji Yong would set off: "...... We can also prepare the ceremony."

  Su Lan smiled and nodded in response. In the evening, she came back to talk: "It's said that they will leave at dawn tomorrow, and Fifth Master will also go to Kyoto with Ji Gongzi."

  Although it was unexpected, it was also reasonable.

  Dong Zhaohui ordered Su Xin: "Prepare two hundred taels of silver for each of them as a travel allowance."

  With a pure heart, respond to the call and leave.

  The next morning, Dou Xiwang and the ladies of the Dou family saw off Ji Yong and Dou Qijun.

  Second Mistress repeatedly reminded Du Qijun: "Don't rush, this time is just to take a look. It's good if you pass the exam, of course." She also said to Ji Yong, "Be careful on the road, discuss things with each other, and arrive safely in Kyoto, so I can rest assured!"

  Two people respectfully replied.

  The two men were escorted by Futaba to the gate.

  The little servants were attending two sedan chairs.

  Ji Yong saw Du Zhao in the crowd at a glance.

  She wore a moon-white plain makeup and the Xue E Jun suit, with a large snow fox fur collar around her neck, and pearl earrings hanging from her ears. In the cold wind, her lotus-like cheeks were like layers of rouge rising up. Like a winter plum blossoming in the snow, she was exceptionally bright and beautiful.

  Ji Yong clenched his fist involuntarily.

  This time I mustn't let her look down on me again!

  He turned around and got into the carriage, loudly ordering his children: "Start the journey, we're going to Kyoto."

  The horse-drawn carriage carrying two people disappeared into the wind and snow.

  Everyone laughed and chatted as they went to the hall.

  Dong Shao and Dong Qijun's wife, Qi Shi, walked side by side, listening to Jiu Tang's sister talk about her son's interesting stories, but thinking about her own affairs in her heart.

  After New Year's Day, she will be coming of age.

  Wang Qinghua's younger sister Wang Qingyuan was two months younger than her.

  At that time, if it wasn't for his own "timely" appearance, Tian would have still been thinking of old feelings and Wei Tingyu would have let Wei Tingzhen take charge and marry Wang Qingyuan.

  The Wang family also seemed to have the intention of marrying off Wang Qingyun to Wei Tingyu.

  She still remembered the strange look in Madame Hu's eyes when she first entered the Jin'ning Marquis Manor.

  If it weren't for Wei Tingzhen getting angry and annoyed about a trivial matter many years later, she would probably never have found out.

  I don't know, with Wei Tingzhen's personality, after marrying the gentle and soft Wan Qingyuan, won't she despise Wan Qingyuan for being too weak just like she despises herself for being too strong?

  Dòu Zhāo was very suspicious.

  Despite this, she still decided to start from this aspect.

  She remembered that Wang Qingyuan finally married the eldest son of Huatang, the commander-in-chief of Weizhou Wei, but was widowed in less than a year. Because she had no children, her younger brother-in-law was overbearing, and she lived very uncomfortably in the Hua family. Wang Qinghuai pitied his sister and forcibly took her back to the Yan'an Hou Mansion. From then on, Wang Qingyuan became a Buddhist nun and a lay practitioner.

  If this marriage can be arranged, it may not necessarily be a bad thing either.

  Dong Zhaohad an idea and decided to act on it. He took advantage of Cui Shisan's return for the New Year to ask him to pay attention to the Yan'an Hou family's affairs.

  Cui Thirteen was somewhat puzzled and said, "The eldest son of the Marquis of Yan'an, Wang Qinghuai, is meticulous in his duties, and the Marquis of Yan'an has great trust in him. He has entrusted all household matters to his management. The residence of the Marquis of Yan'an appears unremarkable, but their daily life is quite affluent. It's just that they have always been low-key and restrained, with strict control over the children in the family, so they don't show off their wealth. We are small operators, even if we get along with the Wang family, I'm afraid there won't be much benefit."

  He spent the past two years in Kyoto lending out money, but it was as if he had fulfilled the saying "If you don't do it, you won't know; once you do it, you'll be scared to death." Not only did officials from the capital borrow silver, but also young masters from noble families borrowed even more frequently. However, when officials borrowed silver, they would return it as soon as they had some, whereas those young masters from noble families wouldn't return the money even if they had it. They were really at their wit's end and had no choice but to pawn family heirlooms that had been passed down through generations. Fan Wen looked on and couldn't help but feel sorry for the ancestors of those families, thinking that he might as well secretly do some more business selling antiques.

  Wang's family situation was naturally clearer than anyone else's to Dou Zhao.

  Wei Tingzhen's interest in Wang Qingyun was also closely related to the rich dowry that came with her.

  It's just that this matter is not good for Cui Thirteen to know about.

  She could only laugh and say, "I've received some news that the Emperor will be dealing with the river works at the beginning of spring. That's a big business opportunity, and the Marquis of Yan'an definitely won't let it slip away. You just focus on keeping an eye on their household then, maybe they'll get to eat meat and we can have some soup!"

  Cui Thirteen thought this idea was terrible, but he was still young at the time. Although he felt that something was not right in his heart, he couldn't find any flaws in Du Zhao's words and solemnly agreed to go discuss this matter with Zhao Liangbi: "You say, is Fourth Miss hiding something from us?"

  Zhao Liangbi was already the manager of the Dou family's grain store in Zhending Prefecture.

  He glanced at Cui Thirteen and said, "Even if Fourth Miss has something to hide from you, what can you change even if you know about it?"

  Chui Thirteen thought seriously and said: "Cannot!"

  "That's it." Zhao Liangbi smiled and said, "Fourth Miss asked you to do something, just help her with it. When that day comes, you'll naturally know. Then he invited him, "I'm going to East Alley Street, are you going or not?"

  "What are you doing in Dongxiang Street?" Cui Thirteen had already taken his annual leave and came to Zhending State specifically to play with Zhao Liangbi. "At this time, I only know you, and I know we're going together."

  Miss Zhao smiled and said, "You've entrusted me with taking care of the other family's martial arts hall and Mr. Chen's residence. Although there are two old men helping to keep an eye on things over there, with Chinese New Year approaching, I should go take a look."

  Chui Thirteen didn't suspect a thing. He followed Zhao Liangbi and hung out with him for a whole day before returning to the Chui Family Village.

  Fourth sister-in-law was busy in the kitchen with Ninth sister, who had just entered, preparing dinner for the whole family. Fourth brother's son Zhongyuan and daughter Changqing were sitting on a small stool in the kitchen helping to shell soybeans and make tofu for the New Year.

  Seeing Cui Thirteen return, Tuo Niang smiled and asked him: "Have you seen Fourth Miss?"

  She entrusted Cui thirteen to Dou Zhao and gave him two pairs of shoes she made herself.

  Zhang Yuan and Chang Qing cleverly called out "Thirteen Uncle".

  Cui Thirteen smiled and patted the two children on the head, then pulled out a bag of maltose from his arms and handed it to them.

  The two children cheered happily.

  Cui Thirteen said, "I've sent them over. Fourth Miss said they fit perfectly and asked you to make two more pairs with embroidered plum blossoms next time. She also had me bring back two boxes of pastries for Zhongyuan and Changqing. According to Ganluo, they were imperial gifts, specially brought from the capital by Seventh Master for Fourth Miss. The things Fourth Miss gave to our family are all together."

  Tuo Niang's face lit up with a delighted smile as she listened. She repeatedly said "it shouldn't be" and carefully asked about Duo Zhao's shoes: "In a few days, it will be Fourth Miss's hairpinning ceremony, I must bring Zhong Yuan and Chang Qing to kowtow to Fourth Miss."

  The family has been discussing this matter for the past few days, and even Father Chui gathered all of Chui Thirteen's brothers to discuss what gift would be suitable. Since Chui Thirteen had been in Kyoto for two years, he was put in charge of this task, but he was at a loss, and upon hearing Tuo Niang's words, he muttered: "Four Aunt is indeed good, just sending two pairs of shoes will do." Before he even finished speaking, an idea struck him, and he decided not to leave after all. Sitting there with Chang Qing, shelling soybeans, he asked: "Fourth Aunt, you used to serve Fourth Miss, what does she like?"

  Tuo Niang and Cui Thirteen chatted, their hands moving swiftly: "As long as you sincerely send Fourth Miss's things, she'll like them." Unconsciously, they began talking about Du Zhao's childhood, "...a tiny bit of a person, who was good to her, who was bad to her, all stored in her heart. She was generous and never calculated anything..."

  Chuijiu's wife looked at Tuo Niang with envy.

  Chui Si had several brothers, and he was the most introverted one. However, after marrying Tuo Niang, no one in the Chui family dared to neglect him. Even his father-in-law and mother-in-law treated them with a hint of courtesy when they saw the couple. Dou family's fourth miss would occasionally give them gifts, and the people in the household also benefited from it. Fortunately, Tuo Niang had a good temperament and never became arrogant because of this. She would go to deliver meals when needed, cook and do chores as usual. The other wives-in-law admired her kindness and thoughtfulness. She managed her husband well and took care of her relatives properly. When women in the nearby villages talked about her, nine out of ten were envious, and one was jealous.

  Her gaze fell on Zhongyuan and Changqing, who were still young.

  With Fourth Miss's connection, what future prospects would these two children have to worry about!

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  Sisters and brothers, thank you for everyone's pink votes!

  Blushing and bowing...

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