Blossom

Standing on the steps of the Five Cities Garrison office, Wei Tingyu worriedly said, "Is this really appropriate? What if your father-in-law returns to the office? By protocol, I should have reported here first thing in the morning..."

What troubled him more was: How could the Five Cities Garrison staff be unaware of his appointment?

But in front of Wang Qinghai, he couldn’t bring himself to voice these concerns.

If anything went wrong, how could he face Wang Qinghai?

Wei Tingyu silently blamed Dou Ming for being unreliable!

Wang Qinghai, however, replied, "Don’t be foolish! Didn’t you hear the clerk say my father-in-law went to the Duke of Yingguo’s mansion? With the incident there, they’re practically begging the Five Cities Garrison for help. My father-in-law’s visit means Song Laoda will surely invite him to stay for a meal. Since you’re Song Laoda’s brother-in-law, this is the perfect chance to drop by and use his name to get closer to my father-in-law—who’ll soon be your superior. With his endorsement, your promotion in the Five Cities Garrison will be just around the corner. How can you not see such an obvious opportunity?"

Wei Tingyu chuckled, "Well, I still have you, don’t I?"

"How can I compare to Song Laoda?" Wang Qinghai rolled his eyes. "I’m just the second son of the Yan’an Marquis’ household, with no achievements to my name, still relying on my elder brother. Song Laoda, on the other hand, is the heir of the Duke of Yingguo’s household, deeply favored by the Emperor, serving as Commander of the Golden Guard—a third-rank military officer with a first-rank heir’s title. My words carry no weight next to his."

Wei Tingyu considered this and nodded. "Then let’s go together? With you there, I’ll feel braver."

Perhaps because he was too familiar with Song Mo and didn’t fear him, but the Duke of Dongping was one of the five seal-holding Commanders-in-chief, a pillar of the court, which made him somewhat apprehensive.

Wang Qinghai thought it over—since they were all insiders—and agreed with a smile, accompanying Wei Tingyu to the Duke of Yingguo’s mansion.

Song Mo wasn’t home; he had gone to the Drunken Immortal Tower with the Duke of Dongping.

The two hurried to the tavern.

The Duke of Dongping was deep in conversation with Song Mo when he heard his son-in-law had brought someone to see him. He was displeased.

Didn’t they realize the timing was inappropriate? Even if they wanted to broker favors, they should have waited until he returned home. How could they just drag someone to the Drunken Immortal Tower? Especially with Song Mo present.

Just as he was about to reprimand the pages, Song Mo smiled and said, "Your son-in-law is the fourth young master of the Yan’an Marquis’ household, Dahai, right? I’m close friends with the heir, Dahai. We’re practically family—why not invite him in for a drink?" He extended the invitation to Wang Qinghai.

Such an occasion would be good for his son-in-law to witness.

The Duke of Dongping exchanged a few polite words and instructed the pages to usher Wang Qinghai inside.

The circle of nobility in the Capital was small—even if they weren’t close, they had at least met or heard of one another.

The Duke of Dongping laughed heartily and said to Song Mo, "Indeed, we’re all insiders!" He then gestured to the Grand Preceptor’s chair beside him, signaling Wei Tingyu to sit. "Your brother-in-law is hosting today—don’t hold back on his account. We’ve got premium Bamboo Leaf Green Wine, and we won’t leave until we’re thoroughly drunk."

Wei Tingyu glanced at Song Mo’s youthful, refined face and forced an awkward smile, murmuring, "Young Master," before taking a seat beside the Duke of Dongping. Wang Qinghai, however, bowed respectfully to his father-in-law and Song Mo.

The pages reset the tableware.

Wei Tingyu then explained his appointment to the Eastern City Military Command to the Duke of Dongping.The Duke of Dongping was taken aback and turned to look at Song Mo.

Song Mo had no knowledge of this matter at all.

After the way Wei Tingyu had treated Dou Zhao, he had no intention of helping Wei Tingyu again.

"So the Marquis of Jining has been appointed Deputy Commander of the Eastern City Military Command? How come there was no prior news about this?" he said indifferently. "Had I known earlier, I would have hosted a banquet to celebrate for the Marquis. Now we'll have to wait until he has some free time." Though his words were polite, his tone was cold and detached, clearly distancing himself from the matter.

The Duke of Dongping was secretly surprised.

It seemed their relationship as brothers-in-law wasn't as close as he had imagined!

Thinking of how the Dou sisters had switched marriages...

The relationship between the Dou sisters must be extremely strained. Wei Tingyu was weak and incompetent, completely on a different level from Song Mo—how could their relationship as brothers-in-law be anything but distant? Moreover, this also revealed the influence of Dou Zhao over Song Mo.

Feeling he had grasped the situation, the Duke of Dongping toyed with his wine cup and gradually withdrew his earlier enthusiasm toward Wei Tingyu.

Wei Tingyu, however, remained oblivious. He muttered incoherently, unsure how to respond—after all, he couldn't very well announce that this position had been secured for him by Dou Ming through the Wang Family's connections, could he?

Wang Qinghai, on the other hand, could sense the sudden chill in the air at the banquet.

Did Song Mo also not know about Wei Tingyu's appointment to the Eastern City Military Command?

How could Wei Tingyu not inform Song Mo about such an important matter?

With Song Mo's support and connections, Wei Tingyu's path forward would have been much smoother!

He couldn't help but glare at Wei Tingyu before hurriedly refilling Song Mo's tea cup, forcing a smile as he said, "Actually, this matter was quite sudden—even Peijin only found out about it this morning..." Better to admit they relied on his wife's family than to let Song Mo and his father-in-law misunderstand. Wang Qinghai proceeded to explain how Dou Ming had intervened to help Wei Tingzhen secure the position, sharing this with Song Mo and the Duke of Dongping.

Song Mo was genuinely surprised.

For the first time, he felt a flicker of resentment toward the Wang Family.

If not for the Wang Family's domineering oppression, why would Dou Zhao have preferred living with Consort Cui at the farmstead over coming to the Capital?

Maintaining his composure, he smiled faintly and said, "I never expected the Wang Family to go to such lengths for their granddaughter. The Marquis of Jining is truly fortunate—he mustn't fail to appreciate such kindness from a beauty."

Wei Tingyu flushed crimson with embarrassment.

Dou Zhao and Dou Ming didn't share the same mother, so naturally, their maternal families were different.

The Duke of Dongping laughed heartily, trying to smooth things over.

Now even Wang Qinghai could detect the cold detachment in Song Mo's words.

He inwardly groaned.

They had completely miscalculated!

Not only had they failed to leverage Song Mo's influence to pave the way for Wei Tingyu, but they had also exposed Song Mo's displeasure with him. Knowing his father-in-law as he did, even if the Duke of Dongping didn't actively obstruct Wei Tingyu in the future, he certainly wouldn't promote him either... His head began to throb painfully. He shot Wei Tingyu a warning glance to keep quiet and spent the rest of the time silently serving tea and wine to Song Mo and the Duke of Dongping, not daring to interject again.

Gradually, the conversation between the Duke of Dongping and Song Mo shifted to the fire at the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion."...The Emperor has always shown great favor to the Duke of England's Mansion. This time, he even replaced both the Shuntian Prefecture Prefect and the Metropolitan Commander of the Five Cities Garrison. The common folk of the Capital chatter about it over tea, and who wouldn't give the Duke of England's Mansion a thumbs-up and exclaim 'mighty impressive'! Truly, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Those thieves who came to burgle the Duke of England's Mansion never imagined they'd end up enhancing its reputation—something no one could have anticipated." He chuckled, "I had a brief meeting with Lord Huang, who also told me about this, and we had a good laugh together."

If he didn't show some capability, these people would likely try to fob him off with a few unrelated scapegoats.

Song Mo smiled faintly and said, "It seems the two of you share my thoughts. However, I've heard those thieves are quite cunning and have already fled without a trace. I imagine both Shuntian Prefecture and the Five Cities Garrison will find it difficult to apprehend them within the Emperor's deadline. After some consideration, I don’t want to put you in a difficult position. Instead, our Duke of England's Mansion will offer a substantial reward: anyone who can trace the whereabouts of one thief will receive a thousand taels of silver; for two, two thousand taels, and so on—no upper limit. For anyone who captures a thief, dead or alive: three thousand taels for a corpse, five thousand for a live capture. If someone apprehends three or more, the Duke of England's Mansion will guarantee their recommendation for a position in the military garrison. What do you think?"

Wouldn’t this throw the world into chaos?

Not only would government officials scramble for the reward, but even outlaws, tempted by the silver and the chance at a legitimate status, might actively hunt down the thieves who broke into the Duke of England's Mansion. The thieves themselves might even turn on each other for the bounty...

The Duke of Dongping drew a sharp breath.

Was this Song Mo’s idea—or Song Yichun’s?

He couldn’t help but scrutinize Song Mo more closely.

The youth, as cool and luminous as moonlight, wore a faint smile, his aloofness tinged with arrogance. If there was any difference between him and those privileged young nobles who grew up coddled and unchallenged, it was his extraordinary good looks—far beyond the ordinary. Yet his actions were no different from those spoiled aristocrats who knew nothing of the world, lashing out with wealth and power when frustrated!

This seemed utterly inconsistent with the rumors he’d heard about the heir of the Duke of England's Mansion.

Which version of Song Mo was the real one?

He regretted not having someone investigate Song Mo thoroughly before coming here.

The Duke of Dongping rubbed his forehead and said, "Does your father know about this bounty? It’ll cost a fortune, not to mention requiring the Emperor’s grace..."

Song Mo smiled. "Father isn’t home, and the Duke of England's Mansion is under my care. There’s no need to trouble him with such a minor matter—I’ll cover the silver myself. As for seeking the Emperor’s favor, I’ll handle that too. I only hope Father won’t be too upset when he returns, given the newly repaired stables and side houses!" His tone carried a hint of remorse, like a child who’d made a mistake and was desperately trying to make amends, pleading for leniency.

Nearby, Wei Tingyu grew increasingly convinced that Song Mo was making a mountain out of a molehill. Seeing the Duke of Dongping’s resigned expression, he couldn’t help but interject, "Young Master, I think you should stay out of this! With the Duke of Dongping and Lord Huang involved, those thieves will surely be caught soon. There’s no need for you to go to such lengths—it’s not worth the trouble..."Song Mo had no intention of entertaining him and went straight to the Duke of Dongping, saying, "I said the same thing when Lord Huang, the Assistant Prefect, and the constables from Shuntian Prefecture came by at noon. Lord Huang seemed hesitant upon hearing it, but the Assistant Prefect and the constables were quite interested. Lord Huang thought the reward was too substantial and involved too many people, so he said he’d discuss it with you before giving me a response..."

The Duke of Dongping couldn’t help but curse Lord Huang’s mother in his heart.

You knew about this all along but didn’t bother to send word to me. Now that the news has spread, you’re leaving the decision to me!

If I agree, who’ll take responsibility if chaos erupts in the Capital? If I refuse, wouldn’t I be cutting off my subordinates’ source of income? Who’d wholeheartedly assist me in the future then!

No longer able to restrain himself, he blurted out urgently, "When the Emperor summoned Lord Huang and me, he made it clear that Shuntian Prefecture would take the lead in this matter, with the Five Cities Garrison providing support. Naturally, I defer to Lord Huang’s judgment..."