Blossom

Song Mo, however, was instructing Yan Chaoqing: "...Regarding Jiading Marquis—"

Jiading Marquis, Wan Cheng, styled Pengji, was Empress Wan's younger brother and Gu Yu's maternal uncle.

Yan Chaoqing understood and rose to his feet. "I shall make preparations immediately."

Song Mo nodded in acknowledgment.

A page entered and reported, "Young Lord, the Tenth Young Madam from Huai Tree Alley has arrived."

Song Mo asked, "Is she here to see me?"

The page hastily replied, "No, she is here to see Madam..."

Song Mo said indifferently, "If she is here to see Madam, why are you reporting to me?" Then he turned to Yan Chaoqing and said, "Assign him to another post."

Yan Chaoqing glanced at the page and acknowledged the order.

The page, however, was so terrified that he fell to his knees with a thud and began kowtowing frantically.

Song Luo quickly gestured for a few men to drag the page out.

Song Mo instructed Yan Chaoqing, "I never wish to hear such treacherous words again."

Yan Chaoqing responded with a "Yes" and withdrew.

Song Luo asked worriedly, "Should we really not report this to the Young Lord?"

Yan Chaoqing looked at him, half warning and half sighing, "If even Madam cannot be trusted, the Young Lord would probably rather be betrayed!"

Song Luo was utterly confused, scratching his head in bewilderment.

Yan Chaoqing chuckled. "If you don’t understand, don’t dwell on it. Just remember to respect Madam as you would the Young Lord."

Master Yan was the Young Lord’s strategist, and following the strategist’s advice could never be wrong.

Song Luo cheerfully replied, "As you say, old master," and went off to deal with the page.

Yan Chaoqing, however, frowned deeply.

Why hadn’t Chen Qushui arrived yet?

Had he disregarded his words entirely?

Meanwhile, Chen Qushui, who was traveling day and night to reach the Capital, sneezed.

※※※※※

Dou Zhao received her tenth cousin-in-law, Cai Shi, in the Reception Hall.

Cai Shi joyfully congratulated Dou Zhao: "...What a fortunate coincidence that I encountered this. Does Jing'an Temple Alley know yet? Shall I deliver the news to Seventh Uncle?"

Perhaps because she trusted Song Mo, Dou Zhao remained calm about receiving the Imperial Mandate for "Madam" ahead of schedule. Only upon hearing Cai Shi’s words did she realize that this early honor was also a royal favor, and her father would surely be delighted to hear of it.

She smiled and said, "I’ll have Su Xin inform Father." Then, turning to Su Xin, she added, "Go and deliver the news to both Jing'an Temple Alley and Cat’s Alley."

She should also inform Sixth Aunt.

Su Xin acknowledged the order with a smile and left.

Dou Zhao then asked Cai Shi, "Tenth Sister-in-law, what brings you to see me?"

Being appointed as the Young Madam meant preparing ceremonial robes of the corresponding rank, crafting jewelry, rewarding servants, and notifying the Dou family’s relatives and friends—not to mention gauging Song Yichun’s reaction. She had much to do and little time for idle chatter with Cai Shi.

Cai Shi could imagine how busy Dou Zhao was. Afraid of overstaying her welcome, she quickly explained that Fifth Madam had sent her to visit.

Though Song Mo had assured her there was no cause for concern, Dou Zhao thought it wouldn’t hurt to have Fifth Uncle analyze the Emperor’s intentions from another perspective. There might be new insights, and if Fifth Uncle could uncover something related to Liao Wang, that would be even better.

She recounted the events to Cai Shi.Who would have thought that Cai Shi's eyes would light up with excitement? She kept asking, "Did the Empress Dowager really say that the Young Lord grew up under her watchful eye, and that by marrying him, you've become one of the family?" Then she inquired, "Were the gifts bestowed by the Empress Dowager truly presented by the Emperor himself?" Moments later, she added, "When the Empress Dowager asked about your family, why didn’t you elaborate?" Dou Zhao grew increasingly annoyed and finally snapped, "Sister-in-law, are these questions coming from Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt, or are they your own?"

Cai Shi’s face flushed crimson.

Dou Zhao picked up her teacup, signaling the end of the conversation.

Humiliated and furious, yet unable to show it, Cai Shi’s face turned as red as liver. Even after returning to Huai Shu Alley, traces of her barely suppressed anger lingered.

Her personal maidservant was startled and hurriedly asked, "What happened to you?"

Cai Shi took a deep breath before gritting her teeth and replying, "Nothing." Then she asked, "Has there been any word from my mother?"

The maidservant whispered in her ear, "Madam said you must do everything to please Fourth Miss Dou. The Marquis of Jining applied for the title of Marchioness for Fifth Granddaughter, but the Ministry of Personnel has been dragging its feet. It wasn’t until Fifth Madam personally spoke to the wife of the Ministry’s Secretary of Titles that the memorial was finally submitted. Even so, there’s been no response to this day."

Cai Shi gasped, taking several deep breaths to calm herself before putting on a cheerful expression and heading to the upper courtyard where Fifth Madam resided.

※※※※※

Meanwhile, Song Yichun’s face was as cold as frost.

Song Mo and Dou Zhao’s visit to the palace—what the Empress Dowager and the Empress had asked—was something he, as the head of the Duke of Yingguo’s household for generations, had ways of finding out. That Dou Zhao had received an Imperial Mandate ahead of time, and at such a critical moment, made him suspect Song Mo’s involvement.

"Keep a close watch on Yan Chaoqing by the Young Lord’s side," Song Yichun said darkly to Chang Guard. "There are things he wouldn’t handle personally, but he’d surely entrust to Yan Chaoqing."

Chang Guard bowed and acknowledged the order.

A page entered and announced, "Mr. Tao has returned!"

Song Yichun perked up and urged, "Bring him in at once."

Chang Guard curled his lip and withdrew.

Tao Qizhong looked disheveled and repeatedly addressed Song Yichun as "Patron" upon seeing him.

Song Yichun stepped forward, scrutinizing Tao Qizhong from head to toe, and sighed, "It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back!" He gestured to the Grand Preceptor’s Chair beside him. "Let’s sit and talk… You mentioned someone was trying to kill you—what exactly happened? Could it be related to the Young Lord?"

Tao Qizhong hung his head, looking ashamed. "I underestimated the enemy!"

Song Yichun raised an eyebrow.

Tao Qizhong explained, "The Dou family is deeply entrenched in Zhen Ding. Just by asking a few questions about Fourth Miss Dou, we drew their attention. To avoid damaging relations between the Dou and Song families, we couldn’t reveal we were from the Duke of Yingguo’s household, so we had to seek help from the military garrison."

"That doesn’t make sense!" Song Yichun frowned. "If you sought help from the garrison, why would the Dou family continue pursuing you?"

Tao Qizhong hastily replied, "They stopped after that. But I uncovered something urgent and rushed back to report to you without properly explaining to the garrison."Song Yichun felt relieved about the Zhen Ding Military Garrison seeking credit from him.

Tao Qizhong said, "Previously, we always thought Fourth Miss Dou was placed in Zhen Ding by the Seventh Master of the Dou family because she was disliked by her stepmother, Wang Shi. But it turns out that wasn’t the case—Wang Shi was originally a concubine who was elevated to the main wife. She was already three months pregnant when she entered the household. Fourth Miss Dou’s aunt is a formidable woman who seized on this point and never let it go. As Fourth Miss Dou grew up, she showed no respect for her stepmother, leaving the Dou family with no choice but to let her stay in Zhen Ding."

Song Yichun listened, his expression darkening. "So, Fourth Miss Dou isn’t the pitiful and lonely figure we thought she was?"

"This was my oversight," Tao Qizhong admitted self-reproachfully. "I never imagined the Wang family would be helpless against the Zhao family. To save face, they claimed Wang Shi was unwilling to raise Fourth Miss Dou." Then, shifting his tone, he continued, "However, I’ve discovered that Fourth Miss Dou is quite fierce—ordinary people simply can’t control her. The Dou family members all avoid her. Wang Shi had her eye on the Marquis of Jining, so the Dou family turned a blind eye and let the mother and daughter quarrel without intervening on Fourth Miss Dou’s behalf. Later, when Fourth Miss Dou personally demanded her dowry, the Seventh Master of the Dou family compensated her with a chest of silver notes—only because she was so unruly that the Dou family had no choice but to appease her."

Song Yichun thought of Dou Zhao’s dowry and how she had dared to subtly challenge Song Jin on her very first day in the household. He couldn’t help but believe some of it. The image of a meek and gentle daughter-in-law had now transformed into a shrewish virago. Though it gave him a headache, the fact that she was also an unwelcome daughter in the Dou family made him feel slightly better.

"What should we do now?" he asked Tao Qizhong. "I heard that the eldest daughter of Hua Tang from the Wei Zhou Military Garrison is outstanding in both character and appearance. But because her standards are too high, she remains unmarried past twenty. I was considering investigating Miss Hua’s background—if she’s gentle and kind, we could marry her in to help discipline Tianen..." His implication was that this plan might now be futile.

Tao Qizhong sighed inwardly.

No wonder people say even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes.

He’d do well to stay out of the Duke of Yingguo’s household affairs.

Tao Qizhong tactfully replied, "You’re still in the prime of life and could use a companion. If Miss Hua truly is outstanding in character and appearance, marrying her to take care of your daily needs wouldn’t be a bad idea."

This was as good as saying nothing.

Song Yichun sighed and rewarded Tao Qizhong with two hundred taels of silver. "You’ve worked hard on your trip to Zhen Ding. Rest well for a couple of days first—though the Marquis of Anlu has offered to act as matchmaker, the practical arrangements will likely still require your assistance."

Tao Qizhong acknowledged with a smile and withdrew.

His attendant was anxiously waiting under the corridor. Seeing him emerge, the attendant subtly led him out of Cassia Fragrance Courtyard before whispering, "What did the Duke say?"

They had already discussed their approach beforehand.

"The Duke didn’t suspect anything," Tao Qizhong said. "But we had no choice but to say this! Given how fierce Dou Shi is, it won’t be long before everyone in the household knows. Rather than letting people think Dou Shi is weak and easy to bully, it’s better to portray her as extremely unruly—that way, we can distance ourselves." His words sounded like an explanation for his actions, but they seemed more like an attempt to convince himself.The attendant nodded repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Song Yichun was pacing restlessly in his room.

Should he or should he not form a marriage alliance with the Hua family?

Logically speaking, the Hua family couldn’t offer him any real help. But if he didn’t remarry, over time, Dou Shi would become even harder to suppress.

The problem was that Dou Shi was difficult to deal with—someone too mild-mannered wouldn’t be able to control her, but if he married someone shrewd and capable… he’d had enough of that already.

This truly left him torn between two choices!

Meanwhile, Dou Zhao had gone to Ningde Princess’s residence.

Ningde Princess’s mansion was just a street away from the Lu family’s estate. The two sisters-in-law got along very well, and the two families had grown quite close as a result.

Hearing that Dou Zhao had come to visit, Ningde Princess was surprised and asked her lady-in-waiting, “Has anything happened recently?”

The lady-in-waiting smiled. “I heard that the heir of the Duke of Yingguo was summoned to the palace early this morning, along with his wife.”

That was normal.

Ningde Princess couldn’t think of any reason why Dou Zhao would want to see her.

The maid who had brought the message smiled and said, “Your Highness, the wife of the Duke of Yingguo’s heir said she has just received an imperial decree, conferring upon her the title of ‘Madam.’ She came specifically to thank you!”

Ningde Princess suddenly understood and laughed. “Invite her in!”