Blossom

Song Mo had long suspected that Dou Zhao and Wang Shi were at odds. Otherwise, no matter the reason, Dou Shiying would never have left his legitimate eldest daughter, who had lost her birth mother, in their hometown while he resided in the capital with his second wife and their daughter. However, he never imagined that the relationship between Dou Zhao and Wang Shi had deteriorated to the point of disregarding the Dou family's reputation.

What puzzled him even more was Wei Tingzhen's attitude.

Dou Zhao was her future sister-in-law, and Wei Tingzhen was known to be fiercely protective of her own. Yet, in front of so many people, not only did she not speak up for Dou Zhao, but she also hesitated when Wang Shi tried to drag her into the mess. This was highly unusual!

Recalling the incident at Qianfo Temple, he sent someone to investigate the marriage alliance between the Dou and Wei families.

Only then did Song Mo discover that although Dou Zhao had been betrothed to Wei Tingyu since childhood, the two families had rarely interacted in the early years. It wasn’t until He Daowen sought Dou Zhao’s hand for his son that the marriage was brought up again. Even so, after the old Marquis of Jining passed away, the Wei family had proposed that Dou Zhao marry into their household within a hundred days of mourning—a clear display of their contempt and disdain.

Perhaps the Dou family had revived the marriage alliance to politely decline the He family’s proposal, while the Wei family had agreed to it only because of their earlier commitment to the Dou family, forced by circumstances...

This would explain why Ji Yong disliked Wei Tingyu, why Wei Tingzhen allowed Dou Zhao to be humiliated, and why Zhang Yuanming had rushed to bring Wei Tingyu to see him after learning that he had resolved the incident at Qianfo Temple Hutong.

Wang Shi and her daughter were malicious, and Wei Tingzhen was scheming. As a result, rumors were now spreading throughout the capital that the Dou family’s Fourth Miss, who was about to marry into the Marquis of Jining’s Mansion, was unruly, violent, and utterly intolerant—having already openly clashed with her stepmother before even marrying...

Song Mo couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

The problem was that Dou Zhao was determined to marry into the Marquis of Jining’s household. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be difficult to devise a plan for her to withdraw from the engagement unscathed. But what was truly on Dou Zhao’s mind...?

At this thought, he abruptly sat up straight and called out loudly for Chen He, saying, “Inform Master Yan that I’ll be away for a few days!”

Whenever Song Mo planned to be absent from the Hall of Cultivating Will for an extended period, he would have Yan Chaoqing come up with an excuse to handle Song Yichun.

Chen He acknowledged and left.

Song Mo slipped on his shoes and instructed Song Luo to help him change.

Just as he finished dressing, Yan Chaoqing hurried in.

“Young Lord,” he bowed respectfully, his expression somewhat peculiar, “Fourth Miss Dou arrived in the capital with the Dou family’s Dowager Madam a quarter of an hour ago. She is now staying at Fifth Master Dou’s residence on Huai Shu Hutong.”

“Why wasn’t I informed earlier?” Song Mo froze, then frowned with displeasure.

Since she was accompanying her elders to the capital, it couldn’t have been a sudden decision—there must have been preparations. Their people in Zhen Ding should have learned of this much sooner!

Yan Chaoqing lowered his head in shame and said quietly, “Several of the Dou family’s madams and even concubines had repeatedly urged Fourth Miss to come to the capital, but she always declined with one excuse or another. This time, the Dou family also announced publicly that Grand Secretary Dou had invited the Dowager Madam to the capital to enjoy her later years. We assumed it was only the Dowager Madam traveling and didn’t pay close attention...”Most importantly, they hadn't anticipated that Song Mo would return to Zhen Ding so soon after just coming back. Thus, they hadn't inquired carefully.

After some thought, Song Mo said, "From now on, have Du Wei report directly to me regarding matters concerning the Fourth Miss."

Yan Chaoqing was taken aback, his face immediately flushing red.

Du Wei typically collected intelligence in duplicate—one copy for Yan Chaoqing and one for Song Mo. This was originally a rule established during Madam Jiang's time to train Song Mo's analytical skills, which then became standard practice and remained unchanged even after Madam Jiang's passing. Moreover, with Yan Chaoqing overseeing everything and Song Mo busy visiting relatives to suppress Song Yichun's influence, Song Mo hadn't been reviewing Du Wei's reports carefully.

Yan Chaoqing assumed this was Song Mo expressing dissatisfaction with him and hurriedly murmured an acknowledgment.

To his surprise, Song Mo then pondered and said, "Matters concerning the Fourth Miss are my private affairs and should no longer be included in the Hall of Cultivating Will's official business. I will instruct Du Wei to stop reporting her movements to the Hall henceforth."

Yan Chaoqing was stunned, staring at Song Mo in shock. He called out, "Young Lord," wanting to say something but unsure what would be appropriate.

Song Mo getting too close to Dou Zhao would bring no benefits. Yet, if he tried to stop Song Mo, he recalled how rarely Song Mo had been in such good spirits since meeting Dou Zhao—something that had been scarce before and was even rarer now.

With a soft sigh, he acquiesced.

For the first time in his life, Song Mo chose not to dwell on Yan Chaoqing's momentary hesitation.

He had Chen He relay the instructions.

Soon, Du Wei arrived.

Though he repeated the same information Yan Chaoqing had provided, Song Mo still questioned him meticulously, as if only then could he feel at ease.

※※※※※

Meanwhile, in the Reception Hall of Huai Shu Alley, Dou Zhao, seated next to Second Madam, felt puzzled.

She hadn't seen Wang Yingxue?

Was Wang Yingxue ill? Or had something happened?

After lunch, Dou Zhao clung to Ji Shi's arm.

Fifth Madam teased, "This truly looks like a daughter reunited with her mother—ready to cry at the drop of a hat."

Though Ji Shi had raised Dou Zhao, they weren't blood-related, and Ji Shi had felt a tinge of disappointment when Dou Zhao initially refused to come to the Capital with her. Now, seeing the usually composed Dou Zhao acting so affectionately, Ji Shi's heart melted.

She hugged Dou Zhao and laughed, "This is my own flesh and blood."

Dou Zhao giggled, "I want to sleep with Sixth Aunt tonight."

Ren Ge'er, the toddler son of Dou Jichang, the tenth cousin, mimicked Dou Zhao, "I want to sleep with Sixth Aunt too."

The room erupted in laughter.

Second Madam immediately scooped up her great-grandson, her face full of doting affection, and said, "Alright, alright, tonight you'll stay with your Fourth Aunt at your Sixth Uncle's wife's place."

Ren Ge'er burst into tears, calling for his wet nurse, "No Fourth Aunt! No Fourth Aunt!"

Mispronouncing "Fourth Aunt" as "Fow-fow-fow," he drew another round of laughter.

Dou Ming, however, remained stern-faced.

Han Shi, standing beside her, couldn't help but advise, "Everyone's in high spirits. Even for Second Madam's sake, you shouldn't indulge your temper like this."Perhaps because Dou Zhao had a very good relationship with the sixth branch of the family, when they came to the Capital, especially after Han Shi married into the family, Dou Ming became particularly affectionate toward her. Han Shi, having just married into the Dou family, was delighted to have a sister-in-law who was so attentive to her, and she felt a bit grateful as well. Over time, the two grew closer and their relationship improved.

"I couldn't help it," Dou Ming muttered, forcing a faint smile onto her face.

Han Shi shook her head inwardly.

Dou Ming often unconsciously brought up Dou Zhao in conversation, her words laced with bitterness. But to Han Shi, it seemed less like dissatisfaction and more like jealousy toward Dou Zhao. Having heard many of the family’s old secrets, Han Shi couldn’t help but pity Dou Ming, which led her to show unusual tolerance and compassion toward her.

That evening, Dou Zhao stayed in Ji Shi’s room.

The two leaned against the headboard, sharing personal thoughts, and the topic gradually turned to Wang Yingxue.

Ji Shi hesitated for a moment, thinking that even if she didn’t tell Dou Zhao, she would find out sooner or later. So she recounted what had happened at the Great Xiangguo Temple:

"...Your father was furious and wrote a letter to Governor Wang demanding an explanation. Your fifth uncle was also livid and scolded your fifth aunt harshly, blaming her for failing to stop the Wang family’s elderly madam and Wang Yingxue." She sighed bitterly. "Your fifth aunt was full of grievances but had no one to vent to, so she cried in secret several times. When your father found out, he personally went to apologize. This time, when the Grand Madam came, your father didn’t bring Wang Yingxue, claiming she was ill. Your fifth aunt didn’t ask, and I didn’t feel it was my place to pry. I’m not sure what exactly happened."

Dou Zhao sneered inwardly and asked, "When Seventh Madam spoke ill of me, what did the wife of the Jingguo Duke’s heir say?"

Ji Shi, thinking Dou Zhao was worried about the Wei family taking sides, quickly reassured her, "Don’t worry—the wife of the Jingguo Duke’s heir said nothing at all. Though she seemed concerned at the time, your fifth aunt later visited her personally. According to your fifth aunt, the lady said she had been too shocked to react immediately and wanted to confront Wang Yingxue, but Wang Yingxue and her mother had already left early. Not only did she not believe what Wang Yingxue had said, but she also brought up your marriage arrangements unprompted. From the sound of it, she’ll likely send someone to discuss the matter in the next few days."

Based on Dou Zhao’s understanding of Wang Yingxue and Wei Tingyu, she had already guessed their intentions. The only thing that puzzled her was why Wei Tingyu had suddenly switched sides.

After all, Wei Tingzhen was not an easy person to persuade.

She gave a vague response, and Ji Shi, not wanting to dwell on the matter, comforted her briefly before changing the subject to ask about Consort Cui in Zhen Ding.

Dou Zhao, meanwhile, found an opportunity to relay the situation to Su Xin, instructing her, "Tell Mr. Chen about this as soon as possible. Let him know I’ll find a way to gather evidence of Seventh Madam and Wei Tingzhen conspiring to slander me. Also, ask him to keep an eye on the Jingguo Duke’s household."

This way, she could stir up a scene at the right moment and, under the pretext of being "unable to endure the humiliation," formally demand that the Dou family elders cancel the engagement on her behalf. Given Wang Yingxue and Wei Tingzhen’s actions, neither the Dou family nor the Wei family would be able to refuse her request.

Wang Yingxue and Wei Tingzhen had unwittingly done her a huge favor.

Dou Zhao suddenly felt a weight lift from her shoulders.Things require flexibility and adaptability. It seemed she had made the right decision by coming to the Capital.

※※※※※

Ji Yong, however, was having a hard time.

The incident at Qianfo Temple Lane had been meticulously planned by him, only to be disrupted by Song Mo. Not only was his scheme thwarted, but his attempt to spread the rumor of "Wei Tingyu spending the night at Qianfo Temple, with Song Mo catching them in the act at midnight" was also stopped by He Yu, who persistently questioned him, "What exactly are you trying to do?"