Blossom

The news from Song Yichun soon reached Song Mo's ears.

"Mr. Tao, is it?" A faintly mocking smile curled at the corners of Song Mo's lips as he instructed Xia Lian, "Send these letters out."

Among them were letters addressed to the Third Princess, the Lu Family, as well as Zhang Xuming, the third son of the Duke of Jing's household, Ma Youming, the deputy commander of the Divine Machine Battalion, and others.

Xia Lian acknowledged the order and left.

Song Han, accompanied by Li Bai, came to pay his respects to Song Mo.

"Brother, rest well and recover at home," he said sensibly. "I'll go and keep vigil for Mother."

Song Mo pondered for a moment. "It's been three weeks since Mother passed, hasn't it?"

Song Han nodded.

The mourning period was observed in seven-day intervals, with rituals held on each seventh day.

As the eldest son, Song Mo was supposed to lead the ceremony.

If he had truly been beaten into immobility as his father had wished, how would their relatives and friends react when the eldest son was absent during his mother's third-week memorial?

Song Mo sneered but softened his voice as he asked Song Han, "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yes," Song Han replied obediently. "This morning, I had stir-fried mixed vegetables, braised eggplant, vegetarian buns, and a big bowl of noodles."

This was how he usually answered when Jiang Shi asked him.

Hearing this, Song Mo felt tears welling up in his eyes.

He dismissed Li Bai and whispered to Song Han, "I wasn't home when Mother passed. Can you tell me about her?" His voice was filled with longing.

Unaware of any ulterior motive, Song Han wiped his teary eyes and choked out, "Not long after you left, Mother fell ill. At first, she was just listless and weak, but gradually, she couldn't even get out of bed. Father called Yang Xiushan to examine her, but after several doses of his medicine, she showed no improvement. So Father switched to Huang Zhongli. But Mother only grew worse. Then the Empress came to visit and recommended Ren Chongming. Mother tried his prescriptions, but she still didn’t get better. Father decided to switch back to Yang Xiushan..."

Huang Zhongli and Ren Chongming were both renowned physicians—one accustomed to treating the Emperor, the other the Empress. Huang Zhongli was even the head of the Imperial Hospital. If there had been any issue with Yang Xiushan's prescriptions, these two would not have failed to notice, nor could Father have influenced all three Imperial Physicians to prescribe according to his will.

In other words, Mother had truly been ill...

Lost in thought, Song Mo asked, "Who tended to Mother at her bedside when she was sick?"

"I did," Song Han said. "Zhu Jun and Qing Li took turns brewing her medicine, and I stayed by her side to care for her." Then, as if recalling something amusing, he smiled faintly. "Turns out Mother was just like me—she hated bitter medicine. Every time she drank it, she needed lots of rock sugar..." His eyes brimmed with tears again. "Every New Year, Mother would personally sew new clothes for me and give me golden beans as lucky money..."

He burst into loud sobs.

Song Mo's eyes also grew moist.

He wiped his younger brother's tears with a handkerchief. "Alright, Tianen, don't cry. From now on, I'll give you golden beans as lucky money, and..." Who could replace Mother in making new clothes for Song Han? He wasn't married yet... Suddenly, an image of Dou Zhao crouching in the flower field, digging up chrysanthemums, flashed through his mind.

Graceful, natural, unperturbed by praise or blame... If it were her, how would she comfort his brother?

Before he could dwell on it, the thought vanished as quickly as it came.

He coaxed Song Han, "How about I have Li Bai make new clothes for you?""I don't want new clothes!" Song Han sobbed. "I want Mother... I want Mother..."

Song Mo's expression darkened as he silently wiped away his younger brother's tears.

After crying for a while, Song Han gradually calmed down. He said to Song Mo, "Brother, I won't ask for new clothes anymore, or golden beans either."

These words made Song Mo's heart ache even more.

He gently patted his brother's hand.

The two brothers sat in silence for a long moment before Song Mo finally asked softly, "Did Mother give you any last words before she passed?"

Song Han shook his head. "Mother couldn't speak by the end!"

Song Mo was stunned.

Their mother had been strong all her life. Even if she couldn't speak at the very end, during her illness she should have made some arrangements. It was impossible she would leave without a single word for her two sons.

"What exactly happened?" He couldn't help but fly into a rage, though he knew he shouldn't lose his temper in front of his brother and tried hard to suppress the emotion. Yet the fury flashing in his eyes still startled Song Han badly.

"That day... the weather was nice. Nanny Xie and the maids made... made lots of osmanthus cakes..." he stammered. "Father was sitting with Mother under the veranda admiring chrysanthemums. I went to help Nanny Xie carry the cakes. When I came back, Father and Mother both looked stern and weren't speaking. Mother forced down a bite of cake, then said she felt cold and had Li Bai take me back to change clothes... I knew they must have wanted to talk without me hearing. Halfway there, I turned back... Nanny Xie and Mother's attendants were all standing in the courtyard... When Nanny Xie wasn't looking, I ran to the veranda... Mother and Father were arguing... arguing terribly! Before I could hear clearly, Nanny Xie grabbed me and took me under the grape trellis... She warned me never to tell anyone about their fight..." At this point, he looked fearfully at Song Mo. "Brother, I never told anyone!"

It felt like a massive wave crashing over Song Mo, chilling him to the bone.

He knew his brother needed comfort now, but he couldn't muster a smile.

After perfunctorily patting Song Han's head, he asked gravely, "What happened then?"

"Then Li Bai took me back to my room," Song Han said, hanging his head as tears pattered onto his blue bat-patterned shoes. "Later, Qing Li came to get me, saying Mother was dying and I should hurry... When I ran there, I saw Mother vomiting mouthfuls of blood..." He collapsed against Song Mo's bed, weeping uncontrollably. "Father went to her, but Mother pushed him away..."

Song Mo's vision blurred.

So Mother had died vomiting blood after arguing with Father!

What could have caused such a rift between them?

Could it have been related to his uncles?

After careful consideration, he dismissed this thought.

The matter with his uncles had already been settled without harming the Song family's interests. Mother had been clear-headed—even if Father hadn't tried his best to help or had just gone through the motions when his uncles were in trouble, she wouldn't have blamed Father for it. Father represented the Duke of England's Mansion, which always followed the Emperor's lead. Mother understood this distinction perfectly—she couldn't have been so angered by this as to die vomiting blood.

Could this incident be connected to his own framing?What could drive Father to harm his own carefully nurtured eldest son?

If only he knew why Mother and Father had argued!

Now, with Nanny Xie gone, those senior maids became the key!

Although they stood in the courtyard when Mother and Father quarreled, Song Han said the argument was fierce—they must have overheard fragments. Moreover, it was these same maids who had framed him for assault. To claim there was no connection would be unbelievable to anyone!

Now, adopting a desperate stance, he had written letters to Third Princess and others, asking them to help smooth his path to an audience with the Emperor. Without a solid justification, Father might not pass muster before the throne—a fact Father surely understood. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hastily summoned Tao Qizhong after failing to coerce him.

Once Father decided to compromise, to avoid leaving evidence, he would surely silence the "witnesses" who had defected to him or been bribed to frame him.

By closely monitoring Father’s men, he could trace those senior maids.

With this in mind, Song Mo felt the need to reiterate his orders to his subordinates.

After comforting Song Han, he called for guards to escort him and Li Bai to the mourning hall. Then he summoned Xia Lian and instructed him to assign dedicated men to search for Jiang Shi’s senior maids.

Xia Lian respectfully acknowledged the order. A guard entered and announced, "Mr. Tao requests an audience!"

Without lifting his gaze, Song Mo replied indifferently, "Denied."

Outside, Tao Qizhong seemed to anticipate the answer. Before the guard could turn away, he raised his voice: "Young Lord, no parent is without fault. Those guards you killed—your anger should be appeased by now. In a few days, it will be Madam’s third seventh-day memorial. The departed must be honored. Surely you wouldn’t disturb her peace? I come on the Duke’s orders to discuss the memorial rites. However angry or resentful you are, for Madam’s sake, let these days pass first. What do you say?"

The words pierced Song Mo’s heart.

Even now, Father would exploit his reverence for Mother...

He took several deep breaths to steady his voice.

"Come in," Song Mo said coolly to the figure outside the window.

Tao Qizhong promptly bowed toward the inner chamber before entering.

"Please sit, Mr. Tao." Song Mo had regained his usual composure. He gestured for tea, adding, "The servants at Hall of Cultivating Will are all injured—my apologies for the poor reception."

"Not at all!" Tao Qizhong demurred with a deferential half-rise. "This matter stems from vile scheming. The Duke was deceived, and you were wronged—"

"So Father admits his mistake?" Song Mo interrupted, his gaze sharp and unrelenting.

Tao Qizhong hadn’t expected such directness. He could only smile wryly.If he admitted that the Duke of Yingguo was wrong, they would have to make concessions and pay reparations to Song Mo. But if he didn't admit the Duke's wrongdoing... He thought of the sentries posted every few steps along the way here, the letters Song Mo had sent out, the corpses piled in the courtyard yesterday, and the guards surrounding Song Han...

He coughed lightly, feeling uneasy, and could only murmur a faint "Yes."

"In that case," Song Mo said with a mocking smile, looking at Tao Qizhong, "then I ask Father to uphold my dignity as the heir and cut off those villains' heads as a warning to others!"