Chapter 362: Kinship and Estrangement

"Father, what has come over you?"

The Steward had not yet left when he saw Dou Kuang walk over.

Seeing Dou Kuang, anger rose in Dou Wei's heart; he raised his arm and slapped Dou Kuang across the face.

"Smack!" With a crisp sound, five finger marks appeared on Dou Kuang's face, and blood seeped from his mouth.

The Steward's body trembled; he had never seen Dou Wei strike Dou Kuang with such force.

"Why haven't you left yet?" Dou Wei said this to the Steward.

Bowing in a salute, the Steward left quickly.

Dou Kuang covered his face, looking aggrieved, "Father, what mistake did this child make? Why strike me?"

"Why? Striking you like this is still light." Dou Wei was furious. "Ma Jin is not only alive now, but he has also bitten our Dou Family. Do you know this?"

"How is that possible?" Dou Kuang looked incredulous.

"Ma Yuan has already delivered the memorial into the Emperor's hands. Ma Jin told him everything about how we plotted to murder Ma Xuan. Today, the Emperor even developed the intent to kill me, and all of this is thanks to you, you useless thing. You ask me why I hit you?" Dou Wei said through gritted teeth.

"Get out, get out of my sight right now. Do not let me see you for a month. It is because of you—the Ma Family was originally at my disposal, but now I fear Ma Han will become an enemy of our Dou Family." Dou Wei pointed toward the door.

Dou Kuang covered his face and defended himself: "But Father, this child did everything based on your words. The matter of assassinating Ma Jin was also handled by Dou Han; it has nothing to do with me."

"Are you saying this is all your father's fault, is that it?" Dou Wei glared at Dou Kuang.

He looked as if he would kill him immediately if he dared to retort one more time.

Dou Kuang opened his mouth, but finally swallowed the words he wanted to say and slowly backed out.

At this moment, the Steward who had left turned back.

"My Lord, the Third Prince has arrived. This servant said you were not receiving guests, but he insisted on barging in." The Steward looked troubled.

"Then let him in." Dou Wei let out a heavy breath, smoothing his angry expression.

Before long, Zhao Mu appeared in the main hall.

Seeing Dou Wei's gloomy complexion,

he said: "What has happened that you, Uncle, must feign illness to avoid meeting people?"

Sighing, Dou Wei told him about the memorial, and also told Zhao Mu what Zhao Heng had said to reprimand him.

"So that is it. Ma Jin must secretly hate you, Uncle, for sending people to kill him, so he deliberately caused you embarrassment. But why must you worry, Uncle? How can the words of a traitor be listened to?" Zhao Mu said.

"Even so, I fear the Emperor believes most of it in his heart." Dou Wei frowned tightly. "If so, I fear I will not be Prime Minister for much longer."

Hearing this, Zhao Mu also felt worried in his heart.

If his Imperial Father were to give the position of Prime Minister to the Han Family or perhaps the Xie Family because of this matter,

his throne would be in danger.

Frowning, he could not help but ponder a way to resolve this.

After musing for a while, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind, and he laughed loudly, "Uncle, you truly are a wise man who has made a mistake."

"How do you explain that?" Dou Wei was puzzled.

Zhao Mu said: "Think about it, Uncle. Qinzhou has four passes. Now one belongs to Xiliang, one belongs to Ma Han, but two more are in the hands of the Xiao Family and the Dou Family. The Imperial Father fears war most of all; he will certainly order the three families to hold the passes to the death. In that case, what can he do to you?"

"That's right." Hearing this, a glow appeared in Dou Wei's eyes. He slapped his thigh and said: "Among all the Imperial Princes, you, Your Highness, are the most intelligent. If this Great Song empire is not yours, then whose could it be?"

"You flatter me, Uncle." Zhao Mu cupped his hands and said, "Uncle, you only need to submit a memorial now, stating that the Dou Family will strictly guard Wuguan. The Imperial Father will certainly understand. Of course, it would be best to have the Xiao Family submit this memorial together."

Dou Wei nodded and sighed: "I originally thought this Wuguan would become a burden to the Dou Family; I did not expect it to have a beneficial side. Hmm, I will send someone to the Xiao residence right now."

Pausing, he continued: "And Your Highness seems to have an opportunity to earn military merit as well. As long as you go to Wuguan and cut off some heads, claiming they are Ma Jin's soldiers, that will be merit."

Zhao Mu had not thought of this point and could not help but chuckle.

The more Dou Wei thought about it, the more pleased he became.

The only thing that made him unhappy now was that Xiliang and the Northern Di might launch an attack on Wuguan.

But when that day comes, the Imperial Court will certainly send troops to assist.

Otherwise, if their Dou Family cannot hold it, they might as well defect to the Northern Di just like Ma Jin.

It is just that unless the Northern Di truly has the momentum to sweep across the world, he still would not make that choice.

After all, having the Third Prince ascend the throne is more attractive to him.

Thinking of this, his mood lightened considerably. He no longer feigned illness, but sent someone to the Xiao residence to have Xiao Cheng submit the memorial with him.

At this moment, behind a pillar in the main hall corridor, Dou Kuang was watching everything while holding his burning face.

The laughter coming from the main hall made his heart ache in waves.

"Third Prince, you are very good." Dou Kuang muttered.

Clenching his fists tightly, he turned and left.

The next day.

The two men's memorials were sent into the palace.

Zhao Heng sneered repeatedly after reading their memorials.

He had anticipated that Dou Wei would use this matter, but he did not expect it to come so quickly.

It is estimated that Dou Wei was truly frightened by him that day.

It is just that this memorial further increased his distrust of the powerful clans.

Now, throughout the Great Song, only thinking of Yan Wang made his heart feel more comfortable.

It is just that since Dou Wei had submitted the memorial, he could only provide a way out, ordering his Dou Family to guard Wuguan well for the time being.

He would wait until his new Imperial Guard was trained, then find a way to have the Imperial Guard take over.

At the same time, he did not want to appease Dou Wei immediately.

Thus, it was only after five days that he issued an imperial decree rewarding Dou Wei and Xiao Cheng with a thousand taels of silver.

And once Dou Wei received the decree, he finally felt reassured.

At the same time, the Imperial Edict from Zhao Heng arrived in Yancheng.

After receiving the Imperial Edict, Zhao Xu finished reading its contents and breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he had anticipated, Zhao Heng ordered him to assist Ma Han in holding Qin Pass to the death, and not to allow the Xiliang troops to enter the heartland of the Great Song.

Zhao Heng also affirmed his decision to withdraw troops.

In short, the current situation is to maintain the status quo and not to easily start a war.

At the same time, the Imperial Edict also contained another point, mentioning that he would appoint Ma Han as the Si Province Shepherd.

In this way, it was equivalent to acknowledging Ma Han's status as the Head of the Family of the Ma Family.

"Ma Han, congratulations. I estimate that in two days, the Imperial Edict will arrive in Sizhou, and you will become the Si Province Shepherd," Zhao Xu said.

Upon hearing this, Ma Han did not show any sign of happiness.

Although Sizhou is the most prosperous of the Ma Family's three provinces, losing two provinces is, after all, a huge loss for the Ma Family.

He said, "Your Highness, whether I am a Prefect or not makes no difference to me. I only ask that Your Highness can sell the Ma Family Artillery, muskets, Armor, and Weaponry. If I cannot recover Qinzhou and Yongzhou in this lifetime, I, Ma Han, will not be able to close my eyes even in death."

After confirming the fact that Ma Jin had defected to Xiliang, Chang Wei withdrew from Qinzhou with Ma Han.

At the same time, the two also brought many commoners who were unwilling to live under the shadow of Xiliang to Sizhou.

Afterwards, Ma Han went to Yancheng, pestering him relentlessly, wanting to buy firearms from his hands.