Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside Chapter 1301: The Attack on Da Rong

Though Mrs. Tang came from a merchant family, she possessed the grace and elegance of a noble lady, knowledgeable in poetry and literature, with fine manners, having learned palace etiquette from an old palace maid from a young age.

She was also quite beautiful.

When he first saw Mrs. Tang, he was awestruck by her beauty and the graceful aura she radiated.

He liked Mrs. Tang, that feeling of heart palpitations was unforgettable for a lifetime; he had expended great effort to seek her hand in marriage, and during their wedding years ago, he swore a solemn oath to cherish her alone for life, treating her as a precious treasure.

But alas, Mrs. Tang passed away.

She was gone, should he mourn her for a lifetime? Wouldn’t people laugh him to death if he truly did?

Moreover, the Dou Family had just become Imperial Merchants, bullied by nobles and high-ranking officials. He needed to find protection for the Dou Family to safeguard its assets.

Even though the Meng Family had declined nowadays, it was very prestigious twenty years ago when Old Master Meng was still alive, and due to his father’s connections, he befriended many nobles and noble families; marrying a daughter from the Meng Family was undoubtedly a rescue for the Dou Family surrounded by wolves.

So when he learned Mrs. Dou Meng failed to win the favor of Prince Heng, he wasn’t belittling her but saw it as seizing a great opportunity, promptly heading to the Meng Family to propose marriage.

The Meng Family, at that time, was putting on airs, disdaining him as a lowly merchant; he promised an annual private allowance of thirty thousand taels of silver for Mrs. Dou Meng before successfully marrying her.

And this thirty thousand taels, bluntly speaking, was money for the Meng Family, after the death of Old Master Meng, he gradually reduced it, otherwise, the Dou Family would have spent much more on the Meng Family over the years.

"Yunniang, I know you’re blaming me, but I had my constraints. If I hadn’t endured hardships, the Dou Family would have been devoured by the Capital’s officials, and where would Brother Ke enjoy such a young master’s life?" Manager Dou lamented to the air: "You must forgive me; I know I haven’t cared enough for Brother Ke, allowing Mrs. Dou Meng to harm him several times, but he didn’t die... I fulfilled my promise to you, letting Brother Ke grow up safely."

Manager Dou lamented for a while inside the room, moved by his own words, yet he refused to mention his promise to Master Tang and avoided discussing his reluctance to relinquish power, or pass on the Tang family businesses to Young Master Dou.

Nanny Tang repeatedly recounted the matters between Manager Dou and Mrs. Tang to Young Master Dou, often ending with: The Old Master indeed had deep affection for the young lady, but people can change.

...

At the Ming Residence, Ming Shaoqing was busy until the evening before returning home to ask Ah Ji: "How is it?"

He inquired about wooing Young Master Dou.

Ah Ji informed Ming Shaoqing of Young Master Dou’s words verbatim, concluding, "Dou Ke hesitated a bit when receiving the invitation, he seems wary."

After hearing this, Ming Shaoqing sneered, "Not bad, a clever one."

Dou Ke’s hesitation seemed like he discerned his intentions, but with Great Chu in the current state, failure in attacking Da Rong would only worsen the future for Great Chu; what’s wrong with having some thoughts?

Among the noble families, influential nobles, even other royal family members, don’t they all harbor thoughts of usurping?

The housekeeper frowned, "Sir, Dou Ke is indeed clever, and the Dou Family’s silver is urgently needed by us, but he doesn’t care about his biological father, has connections with the Ouyang Family, and there’s also the Dou Ou Bank which helped the Emperor greatly; within five years, there’s no concern over anyone swallowing the Dou Family. We have nothing to restrain him, and he’s inherently fearless, difficult to control."

The matters planned by the master are grand, and the people employed must be ensured for complete control.

"Nothing to restrain?" Ming Shaoqing laughed, toying with the teacup in his hand, "Then find something to restrain him."

The housekeeper immediately understood, "You intend to let him marry and have children? But Dou Ke has high standards, refusing to marry anyone but a legitimate daughter of a noble family, though he has had women over the years, he never allows them to conceive; every time after the act, he orders them to drink anti-fertility soup, continuously for five days, then nourishes them for two months to ensure they aren’t pregnant before giving them a hefty sum and letting them go."

And Dou Ke’s actions have a singular intention: to marry a prestigious noble lady without concubines, servants, or illegitimate children.

Ming Shaoqing: "Then find him a noble lady; there are many declining noble families, surely many would trade a daughter for the Dou Family’s silver."

As for the support Dou Ke desired for the Dou Family, Mai Cong could achieve that.

"Yes, I’ll handle it swiftly." The housekeeper responded, suddenly kneeling to plead for punishment: "Sir, Miss Yao has conceived, I conducted my duties poorly, requesting your punishment!"

Ming Shaoqing frowned at the news, sneering, "Originally thought she was pleasing, turns out she’s foolish. Abort the child, ruin her appearance, then feed her infertility drugs, sell her to Da Rong, all her attendants, and those who fed her anti-fertility soup must be dealt with; things breaking the rules need not remain."

Did he believe Mai Cong’s progeny were so easily birthed? Mai Cong’s child must come from an excellent lineage.

Furthermore, his official wife is an Imperial Family’s daughter, truly the legitimate eldest daughter of a noble family; her grandfather, father, and uncles are reliable, brothers are capable; in future endeavors, the Ying Family will assist greatly; he can’t allow a woman from a brothel to birth his child, tarnishing the Imperial Family’s reputation.

But that woman was foolish enough to think she could gain status by birthing a child, truly believing a mere prostitute could rely on a son to call sisters with such noble ladies like the Ying Family’s daughter?

That would be humiliating the Imperial Family, humiliating the Ying Family, such an event can’t be allowed.

"As for you, go to the Punishment Room for ten lashes, and a year’s monthly salary cut."

The housekeeper felt as though pardoned, stating, "Thank you for your mercy, Sir!"

Ming Shaoqing didn’t linger there but went to the backyard to build rapport with Mrs. Ying, though he didn’t stay long before the Emperor summoned him to the palace.

...

In the palace, Emperor Jingyuan asked him about the Meng Family’s Assassins.

Ming Shaoqing recounted everything.

Emperor Jingyuan was furious, smashing things, shouting, "A bunch of hypocrites dare to train so many Assassins; Ming Shaoqing, I command you to thoroughly investigate the number of Assassins and Shadow Guards raised by each major family and show no mercy to those exceeding the numbers!"

Ming Shaoqing frowned, kneeling, "Your Majesty mustn’t; with the army about to go to war, the Capital must remain stable, diligently checking the numbers of Assassins and Shadow Guards around major families should be delayed until after the army’s victory."

Da Rong had always been a thorn in Emperor Jingyuan’s side, and Ming Shaoqing used the excuse of attacking Da Rong to quickly persuade Emperor Jingyuan.

"You’re right, the priority now is attacking Da Rong." Emperor Jingyuan was full of fierceness, staring at the Da Rong Map within the hall, cursing, "Rong bandits, this time I must eradicate you vile beings, avenging the Great Chu Kingdom!"

Avenging the great humiliation suffered by me!

In the following days, the Capital’s officials all became busy, preparing food supplies, troops, weapons, troops’ supplies, sacrificial ceremonies, readying the expedition against Da Rong.