Blossom

Su Xin and Su Lan happily attended to Dou Zhao as she settled down for the night, then each took a quilt and rested on the heated brick bed by the window.

Song Mo galloped at full speed toward The Duke of England's Mansion.

The crisp sound of hoofbeats not only shattered the morning tranquility of the Capital but also drew the attention of the noble ministers on their way to court, who began inquiring about what had happened.

Soon, news of the fire and burglary at The Duke of England's Mansion spread throughout the Capital.

"A burglary out of nowhere? How absurd!" Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet Liang Jifen frowned in the duty room while waiting for the morning court session. "These descendants of meritorious officials are not only unlearned but also spend their days indulging in frivolous pursuits like falconry, horse racing, cockfighting, and dog walking. How dare they gallop through the inner city? What if they trample someone?"

Coming from humble origins, he held little regard for these spoiled heirs.

Yao Zhongshi, known as the "Tactician," was the complete opposite of Liang Jifen. Hailing from an illustrious family with generations of officials on both his wife's and mother's sides, he disliked those self-proclaimed "proud and upright" scholars from poor backgrounds. He always thought Liang Jifen was sour grapes, so he turned to He Wendao, another scion of a noble family, and said with a smile, "Lord Wendao, do you still keep crickets? The other day, I acquired a pot—neither gold nor iron, and I can't tell its age. But the cricket kept inside sings with a remarkably clear tone, like the clang of metal or waves crashing against the shore. It's quite rare. If you have time someday, could you appraise it for me?"

He Wendao was a shrewd man and immediately recognized Yao Zhongshi's jab at Liang Jifen. Though Liang Jifen was the Grand Secretary, he was stubborn, inflexible, and lacked finesse, relying solely on the Emperor's authority to intimidate. Not only did the cunning Yao Zhongshi and the smooth-talking Dai Jian disregard him, but even He Wendao didn't hold him in high regard. As a result, the Grand Secretariat remained fragmented—unlike the days when Zeng Yifen was in charge, where his word was law, or when Ye Shipei led with worldly wisdom and adaptability. He Wendao also looked down on Liang Jifen, and since Yao Zhongshi was domineering, he didn’t want to offend him. So he smiled and replied, "Certainly! How about next rest day? I should be free then."

Yao Zhongshi then asked about He Yu: "He performed well in this year's Provincial Examination. Will he sit for next year's Spring Examination?"

He Yu had earned the title of Recommended Man in August.

At the mention of his youngest son, He Wendao's expression softened.

He stroked his chest-length beard and chuckled, "Better to study a few more years. That boy is a bit unruly."

"Bright children are always unruly. Unlike some who only know how to study rigidly, yet when they enter officialdom, they can't even tell the five grains apart and are utterly clueless about worldly affairs... The state of the examination halls these days is truly concerning!"

Liang Jifen's expression darkened.

The tall and robust Dai Jian and the handsome, scholarly Dou Shishu entered.

"...I’ve already sent someone to The Duke of England's Mansion to inquire," said Dou Shishu, usually gentle-mannered but now visibly displeased. "First one incident, then another—who knows if it's really burglars or something else? I’ll have to go check in person after court."

He knew Dai Jian was close to Wang Yuan, who was the Emperor's confidant, which was why he voiced his complaints in front of Dai Jian.Dai Jian smiled and said, "Brother Yuanji, there's no need to worry too much. After learning of the matter, the Emperor was furious and bestowed the 'Sun Piercer Sword' upon the Duke of Yingguo's heir. Presumably, the truth will soon come to light, and this time, someone will likely be replaced."

Upon hearing about the incident at the Duke of England's Mansion, he had deliberately slowed his pace to wait for Dou Shishu.

Among the seven members of the Grand Secretariat, Yao Zhongshi was at odds with him. Both of Dou Shishu's younger brothers were disciples of He Wendao, and the two families had always been on good terms. Moreover, Dou Shishu was related by marriage to Ji Song, the Vice Minister of Works. During the Ji family's large-scale water conservancy project in Yixing, they had received Mu Chuan's support. Through this matter, it seemed Dou Shishu and Mu Chuan had reached some sort of agreement, as the two often acted in unison on many issues, appearing almost like allies.

Dai Jian had his eye on the position of Shuntian Prefecture Prefect. If he could secure Dou Shishu's support, with the votes of He Wendao and Mu Chuan, even Yao Zhongshi would have no choice but to watch helplessly... As for Liang Jifen, he was even less of a concern. Now that Dou Shishu was complaining, Dai Jian naturally had to offer something in return: "After the session, shall I accompany you to take a look? With such an incident occurring in the Capital, none of us can shirk responsibility!" He put on a deeply distressed expression.

Liang Jifen's face had already turned slightly pale.

As the Chief Grand Secretary, any responsibility ultimately fell on him. Dai Jian was clearly accusing him of dereliction of duty.

Dou Shishu vaguely guessed what Dai Jian was scheming, but he had no intention of being used as a pawn.

Feigning surprise, he laughed and said, "Such a trivial matter isn't worth troubling Brother Liren. After this incident, the Emperor will likely bring it up during the court session later. Let's wait to see His Majesty's stance before discussing further."

Being politely rebuffed, Dai Jian felt displeased. However, Dou Shishu was a man of deep cunning and patience, having ruthlessly crushed Wang Youyi—whom Zeng Yifen favored—while maintaining an impeccable facade. Dai Jian was somewhat wary of him and couldn't afford to show his irritation. He continued to speak warmly until Mu Chuan arrived.

Dai Jian greeted Mu Chuan with a smile.

Meanwhile, Dou Shishu took a seat on the Grand Preceptor's Chair beside Liang Jifen.

"Lord Liang, I may need to leave early after the session," he said with a smile. "There's a minor issue at home I need to attend to."

Liang Jifen responded with a noncommittal "Hmm," saying nothing further.

Dou Shishu couldn't help but frown.

By requesting leave in front of everyone, he was showing respect to Liang Jifen and extending an olive branch. Even if Liang Jifen had no interest in the Shuntian Prefecture Prefect position, he should have offered a few words of reassurance to prevent Dou Shishu from aligning with Dai Jian. Yet Liang Jifen seemed oblivious to the undercurrents.

Dou Shishu knew everyone looked down on Liang Jifen, but he had always believed that adding flowers to a brocade was easy, while offering fuel in snowy weather was hard. Precisely at such a time, he should strengthen his ties with Liang Jifen. Once Liang Jifen retired, the person he recommended would have a high chance of succeeding as Chief Grand Secretary.

He recalled his previous overtures, which Liang Jifen had similarly dismissed without a word.

Did Liang Jifen harbor some hidden dislike for him?

Where had this all begun?

Dou Shishu was utterly perplexed.

He pondered whether to visit the Liang residence someday to sound out Liang Jifen's intentions when a eunuch entered and announced, "My lords, it is time for the morning court session."

Setting aside his thoughts, Dou Shishu joined the others as they headed to the Golden Hall.

※※※※※Both the Five Cities Garrison and Shuntian Prefecture officials knew things were about to get messy when they heard that not only had a fire broken out at the Duke of England's Mansion, but thieves had also infiltrated the premises. Shuntian Prefecture, in particular, was in hot water—when the Duke's household reported the incident, they hadn't immediately dispatched personnel to help extinguish the flames... The commander of the Five Cities Garrison promptly deployed two additional military garrisons to the Duke's mansion, while the Shuntian Prefecture Prefect personally rushed to the scene to coordinate the thief hunt alongside Tao Qizhong.

The entire lane leading to the Duke of England's Mansion was cordoned off.

So when Song Mo galloped through the lane at full speed, he didn’t trample commoners of the Capital—instead, he knocked down soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison and constables from Shuntian Prefecture.

Yet not a single one of them dared to utter a word of protest.

After such a disaster, their heads were practically hanging by a thread—whether they lived or died might hinge on a single word from the Young Lord of the Duke of England's household.

Song Mo dismounted and strode straight toward the Hall of Cultivating Will.

Dawn had fully broken.

Though his gaze was sharp and his expression calm, the ruthless severity in his tightly pressed lips sent the servants who caught sight of him trembling in fear, pressing themselves against the walls to avoid his line of sight.

Lü Zheng, having heard of Song Mo’s return, hurried after him with two pages, panting heavily.

"Young Lord! Young Lord!" He intercepted Song Mo. "Please hold on—the Shuntian Prefecture Prefect is having tea with Mr. Tao in the Reception Hall. Shouldn’t you at least greet—"

Before he could finish, Song Mo lashed him across the face with his riding crop.

Lü Zheng cried out, clutching his face, only then registering the searing pain.

The pages behind him saw clearly—Lü Zheng’s right cheek had swollen, a livid whip mark slashing diagonally from his right eye to the corner of his mouth, the flesh split and bleeding grotesquely.

Not only had he been struck, but his face was now disfigured.

One of the pages paled in terror and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Kneel!" Song Mo commanded coldly, his piercing gaze like shards of ice.

Song Mo never gave orders to Song Yichun’s people.

Lü Zheng hesitated in shock.

Another lash landed on his shoulder.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he dared not delay further and immediately knelt.

Song Mo kicked Lü Zheng aside where he blocked the path and marched onward without pause.

Only then did Lü Zheng feel the agony searing through him.

Song Mo had already entered the Hall of Cultivating Will.

"Young Lord!"

"Young Lord!"

The guards stationed there saluted him but remained at their posts, unwavering in their duties.

This eased Song Mo’s heart somewhat.

Disregarding that these were merely the Hall’s guards, he urgently demanded, "Where is Madam?"

"Madam has already retired!" one guard replied with a smile. "She mentioned heading to the Duke of England's Mansion in the morning to gather the female servants for a talk. Master Yan instructed us to accompany her later."

Song Mo took a deep breath, only then realizing his palms were drenched in sweat.

Another guard couldn’t resist adding, "Young Lord, it’s a shame you weren’t here to see it. Madam was truly a heroine among women. With just a few pages and some women from the inner courtyard, she held the line—not a single thief made it past the Hanging Flower Gate..."

Song Mo’s heart skipped a beat. "What exactly happened?"

The guards began recounting the events in eager, overlapping voices.The talk of setting fires as warnings and scalding people with boiling water... everyone recounted with animated expressions.

With such a Madam of the Young Lord, they felt a sense of pride.

A genuine smile slowly spread across Song Mo's face, so radiant it put the newly risen morning glow to shame.

The guards had never seen Song Mo like this before, leaving them utterly stunned and stumbling over their words.

Yan Chaoqing, having received the news, emerged from the adjacent study.

"Young Lord!" He bowed to Song Mo.

Song Mo's eyes crinkled with amusement as he said, "You've worked hard, sir." His gaze swept past Yan Chaoqing, then darkened slightly. "Where are the others?"

Yan Chaoqing replied, "Xia Lian took your name card to Shuntian Prefecture to see if he could uncover anything from the government office. Zhu Yicheng and the others are conducting a sweep of the area to ensure the safety of the Hall of Cultivating Will. I feared the news might cause concern at Jing'an Temple, so I sent Wuyi to reassure Elder Dou... As for Du Wei and Lu Ming, we had to wait for your return."

Du Ming was responsible for gathering intelligence, while Lu Ming oversaw the training of the Martial Retainers at the Hall of Cultivating Will.