Song Mo, courtesy name Yantang, was the eldest son of Duke Song Yichun of the United Kingdom and his mother Jiang Shi, who was the younger sister of Dingguo Gong Jiang Meixuan. He came from a very prominent background. At the age of five, he was granted the title of Crown Prince. When he was 14 years old, during the mourning period for his mother, he was impeached by the Imperial Censor for having an affair with a maid and getting her pregnant, after which Duke Song Yichun drove him out of the house and his whereabouts became unknown.

  In the 20th year of Chengping, Emperor Muzong fell ill. The fifth son, Prince Liao of Liaodong, who was born to Empress Wan, returned to the capital under her advice and launched a coup, killing Crown Prince Shen, the son of Empress Shen, imprisoning the emperor, and usurping the throne.

  Song Mo, who had long been remembered by everyone only in idle chatter after tea and dinner, reappeared in front of everyone in the guise of the new emperor's confidant.

  He single-handedly, with his sword, stormed into the British government office, and in front of his father, cut off his brother Song Han's limbs, letting his father watch as Song Han bled to death. Only then did he behead his father. His methods were bloody, his actions brutal, and the capital was shocked. Even after all these years, his name can still make the children of the capital stop crying.

  The censor successively presented memorials, requesting the emperor to arrest the murderer and rectify public opinion.

  The Emperor punished Song Mo lightly and then imprisoned him in the Western Garden of the Imperial Palace.

  Six months later, Song Mo entered the Brocade Guard and became a small flag of the Northern Pacification Commission, from the seventh rank.

  One year later, Song Mo was promoted to Commander of the Brocade Guard, a position of third rank.

  In Kyoto, people are secretly saying that Song Mo is favored by the Emperor because he made a great contribution in the palace coup by shooting and killing the Crown Prince.

  It seems to prove this sentence, during the twelve years of Emperor's reign, no matter he was corrupt, framed loyal officials, suppressed remonstrance officials, sold favors, bullied the weak, or indulged in lust, Song Moke's imperial favor never declined, and even many impeaching officials were reprimanded, demoted, or executed by the Emperor.

  Encountering such a person and such an event, Dou Zhao couldn't help but feel short of breath. However, if he were to let Wei Tingyu continue like this, it would undoubtedly be like trying to stop a chariot with bare arms, harming the entire family, and possibly even implicating their relatives.

  "She muttered: 'The Zhou family has fallen, and there's also the Cao family. What turn is it for you and Fourth Master Wang to show up? Don't get burned by playing with fire! In my opinion, it's better to be more cautious...'"

  Before she finished speaking, Wei Tingyu had already let out a cold snort and said disdainfully: "I don't have as many schemes as you do. I only know that a gentleman should have things he will and won't do. This matter is settled!"

  It seems like she has a heart of stone, and for her own safety, she is indifferent to the plight of Zhou's mother and daughter.

  Wei Tingyu's attitude deeply hurt Du Zhao.

  She sneered, "Song Mo has no wife or children. In his mansion by the lake, there are countless beauties, comparable to the emperor's harem. Most of them were sent by officials who wanted to curry favor with him or had ulterior motives. I've heard that some women have hung themselves in his house and been carried out the back door. Some women wanted to shave their heads and become nuns but were sent to a convent by him. There are also women who were given away as wives or concubines to his colleagues or subordinates because they caught someone's eye. And there are those who couldn't bear his lust and ran away, but I've never heard of any woman being brought back after he went to great lengths to catch her. Are you sure you're speaking from knowledge?"

  Wei Tingyu was as if struck by lightning, sitting there with a dull gaze, motionless for half a day.

  Dong Zhao ignored him and turned over to lie down by himself.

  The firework exploded with a few loud bangs, and she heard Wei Tingyu whispering behind her: "I, I promised Dahe, can't go back on my word, right? Besides, Dahe also invited Yong'enbo and the others, it's not just me. Everyone agreed to enter the palace together tomorrow to report Song Mo's memorial to the Emperor. If only I don't go..."

  "I'm not sick, am I?"

  "Really! Really!" Wei Tingyu said with joy, "I get to take care of you at home!"

  Dou Zhao lost his smile, and was just thinking of advising Wei Tingyu a few more words, so as not to let him be persuaded by Yong Enbo and others again, when Cui Leng hastily walked in: "Your Lordship, the madam. Ting'an Hou has arrived!"

  "Ah!" Wei Tingyu uneasily sized up Du Zhao's expression.

  Yan'an Marquis Wang Qinghuai was the younger brother of Wang Qinghai.

  "It's not good to avoid him either." Du Zhao said, "He came to visit you in the middle of the night, it can be seen that there is something important. You just need to insist on taking care of me and that's all. Don't agree to anything else."

  "Good!" Wei Tingyu made up his mind, lifted his spirits and went to the outer court.

  Dong Zhaoming instructed Cui Leng: "You quickly go and take a look, what does Yan'an Hou want with the master?"

  Cui Leng nodded and retreated.

  When the fourth watch drum sounded, Wei Tingyu joyfully entered the inner chamber.

  "Madam!" he raised his eyebrows and said, "Can you guess why Marquis Ting'an has come looking for me?"

  Dong Zhao received the letter early, but still smiled and asked in coordination with him: "What's going on?"

  "Yan'an Marquis won't let Dahe manage the Zhou family's affairs, and has forbidden Dahe from intervening again. He's also afraid that we'll follow the original plan tomorrow and bring gifts to personally thank him door-to-door! We're the first household he visited. Yan'an Marquis said the same thing as his wife!"

  Dong Zhao smiled and said: "That's good. Master Hou can also rest assured."

  "No wonder people say, 'A good wife is a treasure.' I'm lucky to have you, or I'd be the laughing stock." Wei Tingyu said with a smile, "It's good that I have you as my wife, otherwise I would be in trouble." Then he grumbled and wanted to squeeze Du Zhao to the inner side of the bed to sleep, and loudly shouted, "I want to sleep on the bed, I don't want to sleep on the wooden couch."

  This is already an apology and compensation.

  Dong Zhao smiled and made way for him on the outside of the bed.

  Before long, Wei Tingyu let out a small snore.

  Dong Zhaoliang had been sleeping poorly for days, being disturbed and unable to sleep. After some thought, he pushed Wei Tingyu.

  "What's wrong?" Wei Tingyu dazedly opened his eyes and then closed them again.

  "Lord Hou, I have something to say to you."

  "Oh!" Wei Tingyu responded, and after a while, he lazily got up, leaned against the headboard, and yawned, "What do you want to say?"

  Dong Zhaohui ordered Cui Leng to bring the sable cloak of Wei Yanyu, and only then slowly said: "I think we should settle the marriage for Brother Wei."

  Wei Yan Yu was taken aback.

  Wei Ge'er is their eldest son, fourteen years old this year. Not only does he look dignified and handsome, but also intelligent beyond his age, mature in his actions, and has won the favor of his sister Wei Tingzhen. Two years ago, she began to hint repeatedly that she wanted to marry her eldest daughter Cai Pin to Wei Ge'er as his wife.

  One was the young master of the Jin'ning Marquis's manor, and the other was the eldest granddaughter of the Jingguo Duke's manor. They were neighbors and cousins, and he thought there couldn't be a better match than this. However, every time whether it was his sister, mother, or him who brought it up, Duan Zhao would laugh it off with a smile, and the matter would remain ambiguous and unresolved.

  Now Dun Zhao brings up the marriage of his eldest son, Wei Yanyu's sleepiness is completely gone, and he teases: "Sister comes to you and says, do you love or not, now you take the initiative, be careful that sister will give you a soft nail to collide."

  Dong Zhao smiled and waited for Wei Tingyu's excitement to pass before saying, "I want to arrange a marriage between Wei brother and the eldest granddaughter of Guo Haiqing, the Marquis of Xuanning."

  Wei Yan's smile froze on his face, his mouth twitching, looking like he didn't know what to say.

  The mother-in-law and husband's thoughts, how could Du Zhao not understand?

  But she also has her own considerations.

  The old master died suddenly from a violent illness, and Wei Tingyu was still under twenty years old, without any experience in managing the household affairs. The mother-in-law had a gentle and soft personality, and couldn't help with anything outside the house, relying entirely on Wei Tingzhen's guidance to get through the initial chaos. Also because of this, both Wei Tingyu and his mother-in-law liked to ask Wei Tingzhen for advice on everything, letting her make decisions for them. As time went by, Wei Tingzhen's reputation in the Wei family grew more and more influential, and no matter how big or small a matter was, as long as she spoke up, Wei Tingyu and his mother-in-law wouldn't disagree. To the point where in the Wei family, Wei Tingzhen's words were even more effective than those of Wei Tingyu and his mother-in-law.

  Dong Zhaosheng's mother died early, and when she was a girl, she always had the feeling of relying on others. What she longed for most was to have her own home. How could she tolerate Wei Tingzhen pointing fingers and drawing pictures beside her whenever something happened or not?

  When she first married into the family, she didn't understand anything and suffered a lot, secretly shedding many tears. It wasn't until she gave birth to two sons and one daughter, took charge of the household chores, and then took over the management of the house that the Wei family's days became more prosperous year by year, and only then did Wei Tingzhen slightly restrain herself.

  If she were to become relatives with Wei Tingzhen, she would be both the mother-in-law and aunt of her son. Given her usual overbearing behavior, wouldn't her son have to live under her thumb for his entire life? What if there's a rift between husband and wife, wouldn't even the person in charge of fairness be absent?

  She would never agree to this marriage.

  But she also knew that without a good reason, her mother-in-law and Wei Tingyu would not agree to her choosing another daughter-in-law for her son.

  She has been thinking about this matter all along.

  It so happened that on the Chongyang Festival, she went to the Jingguo Duke's mansion to admire chrysanthemums. The elder sister-in-law of the Jingguo Duke's mansion joked with her: "...Sister-in-law is still fond of her brother, and insists on marrying Cai Bi into your family. If it were up to my father's wishes, Cai Bi would have married into the Jingjiang Marquis' mansion!"

  She didn't know that Jingguo Gong had such plans until now.

  Dong Zhao suddenly had an idea and thought of a reason to persuade her husband and mother-in-law, but she never had the opportunity to sit down and have a detailed conversation with her husband.

  It's deep into the night and everyone is quiet, which is exactly when we should be talking.

  She saw her husband staring blankly, and she smiled slightly, telling Wei Tingyu what the eldest aunt of Jingguo Gongfu had said, and added: "The eldest aunt of Jingguo Gongfu wouldn't say these things for no reason. I'm afraid that there is a disagreement between Aunt and Uncle on the matter of Cai Ping's marriage. These years, Aunt has helped us a lot, although she is the wife of the son of Jingguo Gongfu, but now the master of Jingguo Gongfu is Jingguo Gong, if because of our brother and Cai Ping's marriage, Aunt would be disliked by Jingguo Gong, then we can't shirk the responsibility!"

  Filial piety is the most important of all virtues.

  If a daughter-in-law is disliked by her father-in-law, what good days are there to live? Even divorce is possible.

  Wei Tingyu's face changed greatly, and he blamed her: "If you had agreed to this marriage earlier, it wouldn't have ended up like this today! What can be done now?"

  She helped Wei Tingyu come up with an idea: "Why don't Master Hou and his mother discuss it together? See how to handle this matter?"

  "Really!" Wei Tingyu's eyes lit up, "How could I not have thought of that!" Without even waiting for the sky to brighten, he loudly called out for Cui Leng to help him get dressed, "I'll go find Mother right away."

  The old lady is advanced in years and sleeps lightly; she should have woken up early at this hour.

  Dong Zhao didn't stop him and called a little maid to help Wei Tingyu carry the lantern, sending him to his mother-in-law's place.

  If her guess was correct, her mother-in-law would have believed it and should come up with a solution with Wei Tingyu immediately.

  She took a nap and was woken up by Cui Leng.

  Grandma and Wei Tingyu have arrived.

  Before she could speak, her mother-in-law hastily asked: "Is what you said true?" And then puzzled: "Why didn't Tingzhen ever mention it in front of me?"

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  The new book is a bit thin, so it needs your support even more.

  O(∩_∩)O~

  Collection and recommendation sought.

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