Blossom

Song Mo was well aware of the numerous rumors circulating about him outside. Yet, being a proud man, he couldn’t bring himself to explain, even to Dou Zhao.

Still, a faint worry lingered in his heart—that repeated gossip might be mistaken for truth. The only solution was to lay his affairs bare before Dou Zhao, allowing her to understand him better. Given her intelligence, there was no better way.

But that didn’t mean he wanted her to witness the bloody scenes. When Lu Ming presented Chen Jia’s visiting card, he had already made up his mind—if Chen Jia failed to give him a satisfactory explanation, he wouldn’t hesitate to sever Chen Jia’s head and send it to the Imperial Bodyguard under the pretext of "spying on the Emperor’s bestowed farmstead." This would also serve as a warning to those petty schemers, lest they think they could grasp his weaknesses from mere fragments of information.

"It’s nothing!" Song Mo smiled at Dou Zhao, letting her wipe his fingers for him. "It’s just that I’ve received several urgent letters from Father over the past few days, so I had some details to discuss with Lu Ming and Du Wei."

Dou Zhao paused slightly at his words and whispered, "Have you already started sending messages into the palace?"

Song Mo nodded.

Dou Zhao couldn’t help but caution him, "Don’t be careless. Look at Gu Yu—the Emperor is sharp-minded these days!" With that, she turned to take a robe from Su Xin and helped Song Mo change into it.

Song Mo sat on the heated brick bed by the window, leisurely sipping tea before replying with a smile, "That’s precisely why I can’t entrust this to anyone else. I must handle it personally."

Dou Zhao washed her hands and sat down beside him. "So, the marriage alliance between the Song and Hua families is completely settled?"

"Mm." Song Mo chuckled. "Hua Tang is quite the character. When Father sent someone to ask for an explanation, he insisted it was due to incompatible birth charts. No matter how much they pressed, he wouldn’t budge. I don’t know who tipped Father off, but he eventually realized I was behind it." He added, "Since Hua Tang kept his word, I won’t discard him after use. I’ve already sent word that I’ll reserve one of the three Imperial Guards positions for his eldest son. This will also show others that I never mistreat those who follow me."

There would be many more confrontations with Song Yichun in the future—this was a way to win loyalty through generosity.

Dou Zhao nodded repeatedly.

Just then, Lu Ming requested an audience.

Dou Zhao made to leave, but Song Mo laughed and said, "It’s probably just more of these messy affairs. You might as well stay and listen." Then he teased her, "That way, you won’t lose sleep worrying about me late at night, forcing yourself to stay silent out of propriety while tormenting yourself with questions."

"Since when have I tormented myself?" Dou Zhao retorted, torn between laughter and exasperation. "If I kept you talking every time you returned late, when would you ever rest? And now it’s my fault for not asking? Fine, next time, no matter how late you come back, I’ll interrogate you thoroughly. Don’t you dare complain that I talk too much then!"

"If you can’t sleep, we could always do something else..." Song Mo murmured suggestively in her ear. "Who was it the other night who slept so soundly she didn’t even turn over, leaving my arm completely numb?"

Dou Zhao’s ears burned instantly. This man was becoming increasingly unrestrained—there was no telling what he might say next. Arguing with him on this matter would only end in her fleeing in embarrassment, so she pushed him lightly. "Lu Ming is waiting. What are you still doing here?"

Song Mo laughed heartily.Reflecting on how she had been taking advantage of Dou Zhao's affection lately, acting more and more unrestrained in both speech and action, while Dou Zhao no longer blushed helplessly as she did at the beginning, Song Mo found life increasingly amusing.

He needed to think of a way to make Dou Zhao never have the heart to refuse him again.

Perhaps one day, he could indulge in a few days of unbridled decadence with Dou Zhao...

Song Mo tugged Dou Zhao’s hand, leading her toward the study.

Knowing Song Mo always had his limits, Dou Zhao let him pull her along.

Sure enough, once they reached the study door, Song Mo released her hand, and the two entered one after the other.

Lu Ming hurried forward to greet them.

The three took their seats according to rank.

"That Chen Jia has sent a visiting card to the farmstead in Daxing," Lu Ming said, pulling a name card from his sleeve. "It seems he already knows the truth about the Daxing farmstead." As he spoke, a chilling glint flashed in his eyes, and his voice turned icy and ruthless. "Young Lord, should I take a few men and eliminate Chen Jia?"

Dou Zhao was startled.

She hadn’t expected the usually meek and humble Lu Ming to have such a side.

She thought of Xia Lian, who was always courteous in her presence, the honest and loyal Zhu Yicheng, the cautious Wuyi and Song Luo... If they were employed by Song Mo, they must all be extraordinary, with a fierce side she had yet to see.

Lost in thought, Dou Zhao noticed Song Mo shake his head lightly as he unfolded the name card. "If he wants to pledge allegiance to me, he’d better show some skill worth my attention. Sending a card to the Daxing farmstead is just a display of his methods. It’s not yet time to deal with him..." As he spoke, he skimmed through the card in a few glances, then tossed it onto the kang table with a flick of his wrist, saying indifferently, "Since he insists he has urgent business to discuss, arrange for him to meet me at the Daxing farmstead."

The Daxing farmstead housed Song Mo’s Martial Retainers. Unless Chen Jia brought a dozen firearms to shoot his way out, he wouldn’t leave without Song Mo’s permission.

This was also a test of Chen Jia’s sincerity.

Lu Ming acknowledged and left.

Dou Zhao stood up. "I’m coming too!"

She wanted to hear what Chen Jia had to say and use her past-life experience to assess whether Chen Xi’s words could be trusted.

Song Mo knew there were many rumors about him outside, but he was too proud to explain, even to Dou Zhao. Yet, deep down, he worried that repeated lies might be mistaken for truth. The best way to counter this was to lay everything bare before Dou Zhao—her intelligence would do the rest. But that didn’t mean he wanted her to witness the bloody scenes. The moment Lu Ming presented Chen Jia’s name card, Song Mo had already decided: if Chen Jia failed to give a satisfactory explanation, he wouldn’t hesitate to sever his head and send it to the Imperial Bodyguard under the pretext of "spying on the imperial-granted farmstead," using it as a warning to deter other troublemakers from thinking they could blackmail him with scraps of information.

"That man is too dangerous. I might not be able to protect you," he tried to dissuade her. "I’ll tell you everything he says afterward."

"If it were anywhere else, I’d be afraid," Dou Zhao replied with a smile. "But at the Daxing farmstead, I’m not!"

Song Mo was left speechless.For the first time, the thought crossed his mind: "Sometimes, a woman being too clever might not necessarily be a good thing."

Dou Zhao had already asked him with a smile, "When did you arrange to meet? I'll go instruct the coachman to prepare the carriage."

Watching Dou Zhao's eager excitement, as if she were heading out for a spring outing, all the ready excuses he could think of suddenly seemed feeble and unconvincing.

Song Mo could only admit helplessly, "We agreed on tomorrow evening..."

"Great!" Dou Zhao, afraid he might change his mind, quickly said, "I'll have everything prepared right away," and hurried out of the study.

A faint smile lingered on Song Mo's lips.

The usually composed Dou Zhao rarely showed such childlike enthusiasm. He decided to let her come along. At worst, he could just avoid dealing with Chen Xi in her presence...

Once he made up his mind, his heart settled.

A page hurried in: "Young Lord, an invitation from the Marquis of Jining's Mansion."

Song Mo acknowledged it and had the messenger brought in.

The messenger was a steward from the Marquis of Jining's Mansion. Standing before Song Mo, he began sweating before even speaking.

"Madam's Imperial Mandate has been granted, and the Marquis has been appointed Deputy Commander of the Five Cities Garrison. They invite the Young Lord and Madam to share a celebratory drink."

Song Mo replied, "Understood," dismissed the messenger, and headed to the inner chambers.

Dou Zhao was discussing something with Su Xin, who quickly withdrew upon seeing Song Mo enter.

Song Mo handed the invitation to Dou Zhao.

After glancing at it, Dou Zhao smiled and said, "With so much going on at home, how can we spare the time? If the Young Lord wishes to go, he can represent us to offer congratulations. Otherwise, we can just send gifts."

Song Mo hesitated. "For appearances' sake..."

"If it weren't for appearances, I wouldn't even send gifts," Dou Zhao retorted. "Why should I grace Dou Ming's banquet with my presence when she didn't attend mine? I won't humiliate myself like this. From now on, I'll treat her exactly as she treats me!"

Given that Dou Zhao had once been betrothed to Wei Tingyu, Song Mo couldn't help but think that, had fate not intervened, she might have married him. Secretly, he was glad she now wanted nothing to do with the Marquis of Jining's Mansion. Hearing her words, he couldn't suppress his delight and said, "Very well! We'll say we're too busy to attend and send generous gifts instead." Then he added, "Shall we visit the farmstead in Dahong tomorrow morning? We could also stop by Fengtai. Last time, our trip was cut short. Without Chen Jia this time, we might find some good saplings!"

"Why should we change our plans for Dou Ming?" Dou Zhao insisted. "We'll stick to our original schedule. If anyone asks why I didn't attend, all the better—let the words reach Dou Ming's ears." She stood firm. "We'll leave for the farmstead in Daxing after lunch tomorrow. If we want to visit Fengtai, we can go in the afternoon."

This way, no one could accuse Dou Zhao of arrogance.

Song Mo nodded.

The next day, while Song Mo met with a few people who had come to the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion for rewards in the outer courtyard, Dou Zhao handled household matters in the inner chambers. As they were about to have lunch, Gaosheng arrived in a hurry, panting heavily.

"Fourth Miss, Young Lord," he said, wiping sweat from his brow, "Everyone is waiting for you to start the banquet!"

"My husband and I have urgent business at the farmstead in Daxing and likely won't make it," Dou Zhao replied with a smile. "But since we've already sent generous gifts, it shouldn't be considered impolite. Please help explain on our behalf.""What could be more important than Fifth Granddaughter's banquet?" Gaosheng knew full well this was Dou Zhao's excuse, but since he had been sent by Dou Shiying, he had no choice but to steel himself and persuade her. "Last time it just happened to coincide with Fifth Granddaughter's return to her maiden home. You can't really blame her..."

Dou Zhao smiled and cut Gaosheng off: "If she truly had no time, a single explanation afterward would have had me happily saving face for her today. Yet to this day, she hasn't spoken a single word to me. In that case, it's better to make a clean break—send the gift but not the person." Seeing Gaosheng about to protest further, she stated plainly: "As the elder sister, I should yield to her. But after yielding for over a decade without earning even a shred of kindness in return, you needn't persuade me further." Suddenly, she asked, "Has Fifth Aunt gone?"

Unsure of her intent, Gaosheng replied respectfully, "Yes!"

Dou Zhao smiled. "Then when you return, relay my words exactly to Father in front of all our relatives. Let them know I won't tolerate any nonsense—I treat others exactly as they treat me!" She added pointedly, "Mr. Chen and the others will be heading to the capital soon. This is the perfect reminder for Dong Dou."

This way, when she settled accounts with the Dou family over the dowry, Dong Dou wouldn't think her an easy target.

Understanding dawned on Gaosheng, sending a chill down his spine. He said no more and withdrew respectfully.