Song Mo, courtesy name Yan Tang, was the eldest legitimate son of Duke Song Yichun of England. His mother, Lady Jiang, was the sister of Duke Jiang Meisun.
His background was extremely prestigious.
At five years old, he was appointed as heir.
At fourteen, during his mother’s mourning period, a concubine became pregnant, leading to impeachment by court officials. The Duke cast him out, and his whereabouts became unknown.
In the twentieth year of peace, Emperor Muzong fell ill. The Fifth Prince of Liaodong, Prince Liao, returned to the capital at his birth mother Empress Wan’s request to visit the sick emperor. He staged a palace coup, killing the Crown Prince born to Empress Shen, imprisoned the Emperor, and secretly ascended to the throne.
Song Mo, who had become merely a topic of idle gossip, reappeared before everyone as a trusted confidant of the new emperor.
He stormed into the Duke’s mansion alone with a sword, dismembering his younger brother Song Han in front of their father, forcing him to watch as Song Han bled to death before beheading their father. His methods were bloody and brutal, shocking the capital. Even years later, his name could still frighten children into silence.
Court officials submitted memorials requesting the Emperor to arrest the murderer and uphold justice.
The Emperor gave Song Mo a minor punishment, confining him to the Western Palace.
Six months later, Song Mo joined the Imperial Guard, becoming a junior officer of the Northern Garrison, seventh rank.
A year later, Song Mo was promoted to Commander of the Imperial Guard, third rank.
People in the capital privately spread rumors that Song Mo received such favor from the Emperor because he had helped kill the Crown Prince during the coup.
As if to prove this point, during the Emperor’s twelve-year reign, no matter what Song Mo did — whether embezzling, framing loyal officials, suppressing critics, buying favor, bullying the weak, being arrogant and domineering, or indulging in lust — he never fell from imperial grace. Many officials who impeached him were reprimanded, demoted, or even beaten to death by the Emperor.
Faced with such a person and situation, Dou Zhao felt short of breath. But if she let Wei Tingyu continue like this, it would be like an ant trying to stop a chariot, harming the whole family and possibly even relatives.
She murmured, “After the Zhou family fell, there’s still the Cao family. How can it be your and Fourth Master Wang’s turn to step forward? Don’t bring trouble upon yourself! In my opinion, it’s better to be cautious…”
Before she could finish, Wei Tingyu coldly snorted and said disdainfully, “I don’t have as many calculations as you. I only know that a gentleman should know what to do and what not to do. I will definitely handle this matter!”
It was as if she was cold-hearted, caring only about her own safety and unmoved by the Zhou family’s mother and daughter’s plight.
Wei Tingyu’s attitude deeply hurt Dou Zhao.
She laughed coldly, “Song Mo isn’t married and has no children. His mansion by Shichahai Lake is filled with beautiful women, rivaling the Emperor’s inner palace. Most are gifts from officials trying to curry favor or seeking his help. I’ve heard of women hanging themselves and being carried out through the back door, women wanting to become nuns being sent to temples, women being given away as wives or concubines to colleagues or subordinates who fancy them, and women who flee to escape his tyranny. But I’ve never heard of him going to great lengths to catch any woman who runs away. Maybe you should investigate clearly before speaking?”
Wei Tingyu sat there stunned, as if struck by lightning, motionless for a long while.
Dou Zhao ignored him and turned over to lie down.
The candle crackled a few times, and she heard Wei Tingyu softly say behind her, “I… I already promised Dahe, didn’t I? I can’t go back on my word, right? Besides, Dahe also invited the Baron of Yong’en and others, it’s not just me. We all agreed to go to the palace tomorrow to petition the Emperor against Song Mo. If I’m the only one who doesn’t go…”
Dou Zhao said carelessly, “Aren’t I sick?”
“Yes! Yes!” Wei Tingyu said happily, “I need to stay home to take care of you!”
Dou Zhao smiled, just about to give Wei Tingyu more advice to prevent him from changing his mind if the Baron of Yong’en and others tried to persuade him, when Cui Leng hurriedly came in: “My Lord, My Lady, the Marquis of Ding’an is here!”
“Ah!” Wei Tingyu anxiously looked at Dou Zhao’s expression.
The Marquis of Ding’an, Wang Qinghai, was Wang Qinghai’s elder brother.
“It wouldn’t be good to avoid seeing him,” Dou Zhao pondered, “He’s visiting you in the middle of the night, so it must be urgent. Just firmly insist that you need to take care of me. Don’t agree to anything else.”
“Good!” Wei Tingyu, having gotten his instructions, perked up and went to the outer courtyard.
Dou Zhao quickly ordered Cui Leng: “Go quickly and see what the Marquis of Ding’an wants with the Lord?”
Cui Leng acknowledged and withdrew.
When the fourth watch drum sounded, Wei Tingyu came into the inner chamber, beaming with joy.
“My Lady!” he said with raised eyebrows, “Guess why the Marquis of Ding’an came to see me?”
Though Dou Zhao already knew, she still played along and asked with a smile, “Why?”
“The Marquis of Ding’an forbade Dahe from interfering in the Zhou family’s affairs and confined him at home. He was worried we would still go to the palace tomorrow as planned, so he brought gifts to personally thank each household! We were his first visit. The Marquis also said the same things as you did!”
Dou Zhao smiled, “That’s good then. My Lord can rest easy now.”
“No wonder people say having a wise wife is like having a treasure,” Wei Tingyu complimented Dou Zhao, “It’s fortunate I have you, or I would have made a fool of myself.” Then he tried to push Dou Zhao to the inner side of the bed, loudly declaring, “I want to sleep on the bed, I don’t want to sleep on the wooden couch.”
This was his way of apologizing.
Dou Zhao smiled and gave up the outer side of the bed.
Soon, Wei Tingyu began to snore softly.
Dou Zhao hadn’t been sleeping well these days and couldn’t sleep with the noise, so after thinking for a moment, she nudged Wei Tingyu.
“What is it?” Wei Tingyu opened his eyes briefly in a daze, then closed them again.
“My Lord, I have something to tell you.”
“Oh!” Wei Tingyu responded, and after a while lazily sat up, leaning against the headboard and yawning, “What do you want to say?”
Dou Zhao ordered Cui Leng to bring Wei Tingyu’s sable cloak to cover him before slowly saying, “I want to arrange Young Master Wei’s marriage.”
Wei Tingyu was stunned.
Young Master Wei was their eldest son, fourteen years old this year. Not only was he handsome and dignified, but he was also intelligent and mature beyond his years. His aunt Wei Tingzhen was very fond of him and had been hinting for two years that she wanted to marry her eldest daughter Caiping to him.
One was the heir to the Marquis of Jining’s house, the other was the eldest granddaughter of the Duke of Jing’s house – they were well-matched in status and were cousins. He thought there couldn’t be a better match. However, whenever his sister, mother, or he mentioned it, Dou Zhao would always smile and change the subject, leaving the matter ambiguously unresolved.
Now that Dou Zhao had brought up their eldest son’s marriage, Wei Tingyu was fully awake and teased, “When sister approached you about it, you barely paid attention. Now that you’re taking the initiative, be careful sister might play hard to get and reject you.”
Dou Zhao smiled slightly, and after Wei Tingyu’s excitement had passed, she said, “I want to betroth the eldest granddaughter of Marquis Guo Haiqing of Xuanning to Young Master Wei.”
Wei Tingyu’s smile froze on his face, his lips twitching, as if he didn’t know what to say.
How could Dou Zhao not understand her mother-in-law’s and husband’s thoughts?
But she had her own considerations.
Her father-in-law had died suddenly from illness when Wei Tingyu wasn’t even twenty years old and had no experience managing household affairs. Her mother-in-law had a gentle and soft personality and couldn’t help with the outer court matters at all. It was only with Wei Tingzhen’s guidance that they got through the initial confusion.
Because of this, both Wei Tingyu and her mother-in-law liked to ask Wei Tingzhen about everything and let her help make decisions. Over time, Wei Tingzhen’s influence in the Wei family grew daily, and whether big or small matters, once she spoke, Wei Tingyu and her mother-in-law would never disagree. In the Wei family, Wei Tingzhen’s words carried more weight than Wei Tingyu’s and her mother-in-law’s.
Dou Zhao had lost her mother early and always felt like an outsider growing up. What she wanted most was to have her own family, so how could she allow Wei Tingzhen to constantly meddle in affairs?
When she first married into the family, she didn’t understand anything and thus suffered quite a bit, crying many tears in private. It wasn’t until she had given birth to two sons and a daughter, taken charge of the household management and then the family affairs, and the Wei family’s fortunes improved year by year, that Wei Tingzhen finally showed some restraint.
If they became in-laws with Wei Tingzhen, she would be both their son’s mother-in-law and aunt. With her consistently domineering way of doing things, would their son have to live under her shadow his whole life? If there were any rifts between the couple, there wouldn’t even be anyone to mediate fairly.
She would definitely not agree to this marriage.
But she also knew that without a legitimate reason, her mother-in-law and Wei Tingyu would not approve of her choosing another bride for their son.
She had been pondering this matter for a while.
Coincidentally, during the Double Ninth Festival1 when they went to the Duke of Jing’s mansion to view chrysanthemums, the Duke’s eldest lady teased her: “…Sister-in-law really cares for her brother, insisting on marrying Caiping into your family despite my brother’s wishes. If it were up to my father, Caiping would have been married to the Marquis of Jingjiang’s family!”
Only then did she learn that the Duke of Jing had such plans.
Dou Zhao had a sudden inspiration and thought of a reason to convince her husband and mother-in-law, but she hadn’t had a chance to discuss it thoroughly with her husband.
Now in the quiet of night, it was the perfect time to talk.
So seeing her husband dumbfounded, she smiled slightly and told him what the Duke’s eldest lady had said, adding, “The Duke’s eldest lady wouldn’t have told me these things without reason. I’m afraid there are disagreements between the lady and her husband regarding Caiping’s marriage. The lady has helped us a lot over the years, and although she is the Duke’s heir’s wife, the Duke is currently in charge of the family. If we cause the lady to fall out of favor with the Duke because of Young Master Wei and Caiping’s marriage, we would be to blame!”
Filial piety comes first in all things.
If a daughter-in-law falls out of favor with her father-in-law, how could she have any good days ahead? She might even be divorced.
Wei Tingyu’s face changed dramatically, and he blamed her: “If you had agreed to this marriage earlier, we wouldn’t be in this situation now! What should we do?”
She helped Wei Tingyu come up with a solution: “Why don’t you discuss it with mother and see what can be done?”
“Right!” Wei Tingyu’s eyes lit up, “Why didn’t I think of that!” Not caring that it wasn’t yet dawn, he called loudly for Cui Leng to help him dress, “I’ll go find mother right now.”
Her mother-in-law was elderly and slept less, so she should be awake at this hour.
Dou Zhao didn’t stop him, but called a young maid to carry a lantern and escort him to her mother-in-law’s quarters.
If her calculations were correct, once her mother-in-law received the news, she would immediately come with Wei Tingyu to seek her advice.
She took a short nap before being woken by Cui Leng.
Her mother-in-law and Wei Tingyu had arrived.
Before she could speak, her mother-in-law urgently asked, “Is what you said true?” Then puzzled, she added, “Why has Tingzhen never mentioned this to me?”
- A festival created where people customarily climb mountains and appreciate chrysanthemum flowers/wine. It’s meant to improve the health of old people, and family outings are often organised on the day as well. ↩︎
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