Blossom

This way, the Hall of Cultivating Will could establish its own reputation and no longer be restricted by the British government at every turn.

"However, 'Hall of Cultivating Will' is more of a formal name and might not be entirely suitable," he mused. "It would be better to come up with an alternative alias."

"I was thinking the same," Dou Zhao smiled. "But I haven't come up with any good names yet. Do you have any ideas?"

"Then let's use your alias!" Song Mo laughed. "After all, you'll be helping with such matters in the future anyway."

Dou Zhao felt embarrassed. "I don't have an alias!"

Song Mo was surprised but quickly grew eager. "Then let's create one now!" he said, pulling Dou Zhao to the study. He dismissed all the attendants and personally spread out the rice paper, grinding the inkstone. "Zhao, meaning 'bright as the sun.' Autumn moon casting its glow, winter ridge showcasing lone pines... seems too desolate, not matching our purpose. The bright moon rises over the mountains, vast clouds and seas... 'Lord of the Cloud Sea'... doesn't seem quite right either..."

Seeing him so absorbed in thought, Dou Zhao couldn't help but smile softly. She stepped forward and took the inkstick from Song Mo's hand. "Let me help you grind the ink."

Their fingertips brushed.

Song Mo's hand lingered for a moment before letting go.

"How about using 'Zhen Ding' as the alias?" he said, walking to the brush stand and selecting a Wolf Hair brush. "The Cha River in Zhen Ding originates from the Hutuo River. In the 'Rites of Zhou,' it was called 'Hou Pool,' and during the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was known as 'Qing Ning River.' Let's choose between these two."

Dou Zhao was from Zhen Ding, but in her previous life, she only knew the Cha River as a tributary of the Hutuo, unaware of its ancient names 'Hou Pool' and 'Qing Ning.' It wasn't until Mr. Song mentioned it during a lecture that she learned the river's history—only because Mr. Song had researched ancient texts while in Zhen Ding.

She doubted most people would know such details.

Yet Song Mo spoke fluently, showing deep familiarity.

Dou Zhao's gaze at Song Mo grew more profound.

Unaware, Song Mo continued writing, murmuring to himself, "I think 'Qing Ning' is better. Laozi once said, 'In ancient times, those who attained the One: Heaven attained the One and became clear; Earth attained the One and became tranquil.' How about the alias 'Lord of Qing Ning' or 'Hermit of Qing Ning'... 'Lord of the One Attained Pavilion' is also nice."

Dou Zhao liked it and smiled. "Then let's engrave 'Lord of Qing Ning.'"

Pleased by her approval, Song Mo happily rummaged through the study. "I remember Grandfather left me a piece of Tianhuang stone. I'll carve you a leisure seal."

Dou Zhao was astonished. "You can carve seals?"

"Yes!" Song Mo said. "Sometimes, Uncle would check my internal martial arts progress by having me carve seals to test my hand steadiness. I even studied seal carving under Master Jin Shouyan from southern Fujian." Turning around with a smile, he exclaimed, "Found it!" and placed a gold-lacquered mother-of-pearl box adorned with plum blossoms on the kang table.

The seal knob featured a cicada resting on bamboo, its colors vibrant and charming, the texture as tender as a baby's skin. Dou Zhao couldn't put it down."Should we use this to carve a seal?" Song Mo excelled in calligraphy, and since he claimed to know seal carving, his technique must be decent. However, seal carving requires not only calligraphic skill but also compositional finesse. Given Song Mo's age, even with prodigious talent, he likely still had shortcomings. Dou Zhao felt it would be a pity to use such precious Tianhuang stone now—it would be better utilized when Song Mo's carving skills matured. "When I was little, I took a few pieces of chicken-blood stone from Father. I brought them with me when I married. Why not use those instead? We can save this Tianhuang stone for later, when you can carve a leisure seal with it."

That slightly doting tone caught Song Mo off guard, but he soon broke into a delighted smile.

"Our family has several small stones like this," he said, surprised that Dou Zhao was fond of seal materials. "But only this one's knob suits you, which is why I thought of it. If you like them, you can take them all." He then called out loudly for Chen He.

Chen He appeared instantly.

Song Mo instructed him, "Fetch the key to the storeroom. Madam and I are going to pick out some seal materials."

Chen He hurried off to retrieve the key.

Dou Zhao couldn't resist the temptation and accompanied Song Mo to the storeroom.

Pages held lanterns high, illuminating the storeroom brightly.

A fine sweat broke out on Dou Zhao's forehead.

Five pieces of Tianhuang stone lay scattered carelessly in a box. Two were uncut but had clear, excellent grain, while the other three were already carved with knobs—one a tiger, one a lion, and one a deer.

No wonder Song Mo had said only the one in her hand suited her.

Muttering to herself, Dou Zhao painstakingly wiped the dust off a piece of Qingtian stone with a white jelly-like hue, a chicken-blood stone with a lotus-root-powder jelly appearance, and a Shoushan stone with white hibiscus markings.

Seeing this, Chen He quickly stepped forward to help, explaining, "These are all small items with no proper place, so they were left on this curio shelf. If you like Tianhuang stone, there's also a small Guanyin statue carved from it in the storeroom. It’s a bit tiny, but if you don’t mind, I can fetch it for you to see?"

Who had the idea to carve a Buddha statue from Tianhuang stone?

Dou Zhao nodded.

As Chen He went to search for the statue with the ledger, Dou Zhao discovered two inkstones in an old box. One cleverly used stone "eyes" to carve a lotus leaf with a frog, its texture clear and smooth. The other was purple, with large and small stone "eyes" on the base that, at a glance, resembled mist—exceptionally lustrous. Both were clearly extraordinary.

Dou Zhao gasped and asked Song Mo, "How many more treasures like this does your family have?"

"No idea," Song Mo replied, seemingly seeing the inkstones for the first time as well. He toyed with them in his hands. "There’s too much stuff—pages and pages of ledgers. I only take out the things that leave an impression..." He waved the inkstones at Chen He and added, "Remove these from the ledger. I’ll take them to my study."

Chen He acknowledged the order but continued flipping through the ledger with the storeroom steward, sweating profusely and muttering, "I remember clearly they were in this storeroom... How could they be missing..."

Out of sight, out of mind. Dou Zhao had no patience to wait and, after informing Chen He, returned to her room with Song Mo.

Both were covered in dust, so they called their maids to freshen up.

By the time Dou Zhao emerged, Song Mo was examining the two inkstones under the lamplight.Hearing the noise, he looked up and smiled, saying, "Tell me, if I gift these two inkstones to Father-in-law, do you think he’ll like them?"

So he had brought the two inkstones out to give to his father.

Dou Zhao was taken aback but soon laughed. "He’ll love them so much that he won’t even want to use them. He’ll display them in his study and proudly show them off to every guest, telling them, 'These were gifted by my son-in-law…' Still want to give them?"

Song Mo’s mouth fell open, but he replied, "Of course I’ll give them! Not only that, but I’ll also look for even better treasures to present."

Dou Zhao burst into laughter.

Song Mo sat on the kang, drafting something.

Dou Zhao urged him, "Shouldn’t you sleep early? You have to rise early tomorrow."

But Song Mo was more persistent than she had expected.

"You go ahead," he said without lifting his head. "I’ll join you after I finish this."

Dou Zhao smiled and went to bed first.

When she woke the next morning, Song Mo was sleeping beside her.

He lay curled up cautiously at the edge of the bed, leaving most of the space for her, as if afraid of disturbing her. One wrong turn, and he might have fallen off.

Thinking of the room full of rare treasures and now seeing Song Mo’s sleeping posture, her heart ached, and her eyes grew slightly moist.

She gently tucked the quilt around him and quietly got out of bed, whispering to Gan Lu, who was helping her dress, "Be quiet, don’t wake the heir."

Gan Lu softly acknowledged.

Dou Zhao went to the side room to freshen up.

Unbeknownst to her, Song Mo, who had been facing away, had already opened his eyes.

In the dim morning light, his gaze was as clear as stars.

※※※※※

Since the banquet was hosted by Song Mo and Dou Zhao, aside from Old Madam Lu and Ningde Princess, most of the guests were younger relatives.

Third Madam Zhang of Jingguo Manor smiled warmly as she introduced her sister-in-law—Shi Shi, niece of Marquis Changxing—to Dou Zhao:

"…She heard that you were hosting a chrysanthemum-viewing banquet and was eager to attend. I told her, 'My cousin-in-law is very kind, just come with me.' So here she is! Truthfully, we’re practically family—our eldest brother’s brother-in-law married your sister, so our families are doubly connected."

Compared to her previous reserve, Third Madam Zhang was unusually enthusiastic. Even Second Madam Zhang, who had come uninvited, wore an exceedingly warm smile.

When poor, no one visits you even in a bustling city; when wealthy, distant relatives seek you out even in the deep mountains.

Having lived two lifetimes, Dou Zhao had witnessed such behavior countless times and could now face it with composure.

She exchanged pleasantries with Second Madam Zhang before Young Madam Wang approached with a plainly dressed, unremarkable-looking young woman.

"Madam," she introduced the woman to Dou Zhao, "this is the wife of Huichang Bo’s heir."

Dou Zhao’s heart skipped a beat.

Shen Qing, heir of Huichang Bo, had married the daughter of Xiao Sanyou, a close friend of Huichang Bo before his rise to nobility. After Liao Wang ascended the throne, it was an imperial censor impeachment accusing Xiao Sanyou of market monopolization and exceeding burial rites for his mother that implicated Huichang Bo, leading to the execution of his entire family.

Of course, Dou Zhao had never believed the official charges against the Shen family, but she couldn’t help scrutinizing Shen Qing’s wife, Xiao Shi.

Xiao Shi, clearly still unaccustomed to her new status, shrank back as she bowed to Dou Zhao, murmuring timidly, "Madam.""No need to stand on ceremony." Dou Zhao smiled warmly at her, her tone light and cheerful. "There are no elders present today, so feel free to do as you please and say whatever you wish. Even if you drink too much and lose your composure, I’ll make sure you sober up before heading back."

Xiao Shi let out a relieved sigh, her cheeks flushing as she said, "I—I don’t drink."

Dou Zhao laughed. "That’s perfect—I don’t drink either. I was worried someone might come and insist on toasting."

Xiao Shi chuckled, her tension easing as a look of relief spread across her face.

Meanwhile, Song Mo was speaking with Zhang Xuming: "...Keep an eye out for me. Once the position of battalion commander at the Qiu Ling garrison is confirmed, let me know."

Zhang Xuming couldn’t help but glance at Gu Yu, who sat idly on the railing of the Waterside Pavilion, tossing fish food into the lake. He lowered his voice and said, "Commander, that battalion commander’s post is worth at least twenty thousand taels of silver. Why not team up with Gu Yu to secure it? I can find a buyer!"

"Don’t stir up trouble," Song Mo replied with a laugh. "Marquis Changxing has his eye on this one!"

Zhang Xuming curled his lip. "He’s got his eye on plenty of things. Does he expect to hog all the meat and leave no broth for anyone else?"

"I have my own plans." Song Mo patted him on the shoulder. "Just keep watch for me, that’s all."

Zhang Xuming served as a clerk in the Rear Army Commander-in-chief’s office.

He nodded in agreement.

Song Mo then walked over to Gu Yu.