Blossom

After much deliberation, Song Yichun ultimately decided to entrust Lü Zheng with the task of gathering information from Dou Zhao's personal maids and old women.

Since Madam Jiang's passing, when the entire Duke of England's Mansion had undergone a thorough reshuffling, Lü Zheng's wife had taken over the duties of the upper courtyard under his arrangement. Not only was she intelligent and capable, but she also handled matters with great tact. In just a few days, she had everything in the upper courtyard running smoothly. As a result, Song Yichun also entrusted her with matters concerning Song Han's quarters, requiring the stewardesses there to report to Lü Zheng's wife first.

Thanks to her, Song Yichun hadn't had to worry about the upper courtyard's affairs for years.

This filled him with both satisfaction and a touch of pride.

Who said the household would fall into chaos without Jiang Shi?

It was simply because Jiang Shi had been in charge back then, and those she disliked never had a chance.

Now that he had entrusted everything to Lü Zheng's wife, wasn't the upper courtyard just as orderly as before?

Since they needed to start with those close to Dou Zhao, this matter required a woman's involvement. Lü Zheng's wife was utterly loyal to him and knew a thing or two about the past events. Entrusting this task to her was undoubtedly the most appropriate choice.

Song Mo wore a smug expression.

Lü Zheng respectfully acknowledged the order and went home to discuss it with his wife.

Upon hearing this, Lü Zheng's wife immediately lost her temper: "How could you agree to such a thing?" She pointed at the livid, centipede-like whip scar on his face. "Isn't this a lesson enough?"

After her husband was injured by the Young Lord, the Duke had merely rewarded them with fifty taels of silver upon his return, without saying another word. Meanwhile, the guards from the Hall of Cultivating Will who had been injured while fighting thieves during the fire were not only each rewarded fifty taels but also received personal visits from the Young Lord. This made the uninjured guards envious, wishing they had sustained some wounds too, just to have the Young Lord visit their homes.

Now that was true honor!

Lü Zheng's face turned purple with suppressed anger as he muttered, "How could I dare say 'no'?"

"I'm not telling you to contradict the Duke!" his wife retorted impatiently. "I'm telling you to be more cautious! The Duke of England's Mansion has Mr. Tao for civil matters and Chang Guard for military affairs—since when do we need to steal the spotlight?"

Even if this whip scar on his face healed, it would leave an extremely unsightly mark.

For someone like him who attended the Duke closely and accompanied him to various occasions, scarring even a single noble guest would spell disaster. The Duke would never keep him by his side again.

Lü Zheng had long harbored private regrets.

Had he been possessed by ghosts back then? Knowing full well what the Young Lord was like, how had he dared to stand in his way?

He buried his head in his hands as he sat on the kang.

His wife understood his worries perfectly. Softening her tone, she comforted Lü Zheng: "Though Madam only managed household affairs for a few days, it's clear she has everything under control. Her two most trusted maids, Su Xin and Su Lan—one quiet, the other lively—are both difficult to deal with. Getting any information from her people is impossible. Rather than alerting Madam by stirring up trouble, it's better to turn a blind eye. If the Duke asks, just say you found nothing. Wouldn't it be better if this led to someone else taking over the investigation?"

Lü Zheng hesitated.Lü Zheng's wife said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure the Duke doesn't suspect anything."

The next day, she had a young maid pick some camellias from the garden and personally delivered them to the Hall of Cultivating Will.

"The camellias in the back garden are blooming beautifully, so I brought some for the sisters serving Madam to wear!" she explained to the old women at the hall, casually giving them a few flowers as well.

While Madam didn't forbid maids and old women from the Duke of England's Mansion from visiting, she didn't allow them to enter the Hall of Cultivating Will freely or wander about at will.

The old women accepted the flowers from Lü Zheng's wife and led her toward the main chamber: "The plants Madam cultivated in Zhen Ding have arrived. The ladies serving Madam are all waiting in the small garden to tend to them!"

Lü Zheng's wife was surprised: "Plants Madam cultivated at her maternal home?"

"Yes!" the old woman laughed. "There are so many! Seven or eight carts full. All kinds of flowers. They've filled the small garden. If the Young Lord hadn't had people set up shelters overnight, most of those plants would have frozen to death."

Lü Zheng's wife's heart skipped a beat as she smiled and said, "The Young Lord handles such matters now?"

She remembered Song Mo never used to bother with these things.

"It's Madam's business—of course the Young Lord would care." As the old woman spoke, they turned past the alley beside the main house's side rooms, and Lü Zheng's wife immediately spotted Song Mo standing with Dou Zhao in the covered corridors, deep in conversation.

Song Mo gazed at Dou Zhao with smiling eyes, listening intently as if nothing in the world mattered more than her words.

Lü Zheng's wife's eyelids twitched.

A maid noticed her and reported to Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao looked over, her gaze clear and expression gentle.

Lü Zheng's wife hurried forward to bow respectfully, addressing them as "Young Lord" and "Madam."

Dou Zhao smiled at the flowers in her hands and said, "How thoughtful of you. Gan Lu, give Lü Zheng's wife a red envelope."

Lü Zheng's wife thanked her profusely.

Song Mo reached out to support Dou Zhao. "It's too cold outside—let's go inside. If you're worried, I'll stay here and keep watch."

"Let's go in together." Dou Zhao laughed, her hand warmer already cooling. "With Su Xin here, I'm not worried."

Song Mo then asked, "Have Aunt's things all been prepared? Given the weather, it might snow soon. Don't go running around—just have the shopkeepers bring the goods here for you to choose."

Dou Zhao cheerfully agreed, and the two walked out of the small garden side by side.

Gan Lu smilingly took the camellias from Lü Zheng's wife and warmly invited her, "Mother, come to my room for some hot tea!"

Lü Zheng's wife thanked her repeatedly, but when she glanced up, she noticed a corner of the garden piled with camellias—some dazzlingly vibrant, others exquisitely layered, still others elegantly refined. Compared to the simple red petals with yellow centers she had brought, hers seemed embarrassingly plain.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, silently cursing the careless young maids who had picked the flowers.

Gan Lu, however, acted as if she hadn't noticed, warmly entertaining her, chatting about this and that, and even personally escorted her out of the Hall of Cultivating Will.

Sujuan covered her mouth and giggled. "What was she here for?"

"No idea!" Gan Lu sighed. "Dealing with people like that is exhausting!" Then she asked, "Is the Young Lord still in Madam's room?"

Sujuan nodded.Gan Lu smiled and said, "Then I'll go report to Madam later about what Lü Zheng's wife told me."

Sujuan chuckled. "Alright, but first help us move the flowers."

Gan Lu groaned, pulling a face. "Do I have to?"

"Of course!" Sujuan replied. "Unless you'd rather wash all our clothes for us today!"

Gan Lu quickly said, "Fine, I'll go move the flowers!"

Sujuan giggled.

The two bantered as they headed to the small garden.

Inside the main chamber, Song Mo wore a displeased expression. "You don’t have to spare my feelings. If those people come again, just call the guards and have them thrown out." He added, "Without rules, there can be no order. Father has been indulging these servants too much—no wonder the household is in such disarray."

"It’s not as bad as you make it sound!" Dou Zhao laughed. "You know my temper isn’t exactly mild—do you really think I’d let myself be bullied? Lü Zheng’s wife oversees affairs in the upper courtyard, doesn’t she? If she visits the Hall of Cultivating Will often, I can use the opportunity to ask about Second Young Master’s daily life. After all, he’s still a child. If there’s any neglect, we can step in. If she wants to come, let her."

In the end, it was all for his sake.

Song Mo’s expression softened slightly. "Then perhaps I should speak to Old Madam Lu and ask her to persuade Father to hand over the authority of managing the household to you..." That way, Dou Zhao could rightfully oversee Song Han’s affairs without having to tolerate impertinent servants.

"Internal matters should be resolved internally," Dou Zhao said confidently. "The New Year is approaching. In previous years, there were no women in the household, but surely the Duke won’t let Eldest Aunt preside over this year’s Spring Banquet? Even if he wanted to, would she even come?" This was her responsibility. She couldn’t push it onto Song Mo and have him intervene on her behalf. He had his own duties, but his concern still warmed her heart.

A young maid entered and announced, "Young Lord, Madam, Shopkeeper Zhong has arrived!"

"So soon?" Dou Zhao was surprised.

Song Mo teased her, "When you asked for him, you wanted him here quickly. Now that he’s arrived, you complain he’s too fast. You’re truly hard to please!"

Dou Zhao smiled faintly.

Song Mo then said, "Let’s invite Mr. Chen over. It’s better for him to handle this matter—you shouldn’t be directly involved."

Dou Zhao agreed.

Song Mo arranged for Zhong Bingxiang and Chen Qushui to meet.

Zhong Bingxiang had been urgently summoned from Guangdong by Song Mo just to meet the newlywed Madam, which made him fully aware of Dou Zhao’s importance in Song Mo’s eyes. Though he thought Song Mo was making a fuss over nothing by assigning him to temporarily oversee Dou Zhao’s dowry, he accepted the task with a merchant’s professionalism and asked with a smile, "Should I help Madam organize the accounts first or go over the books with Master Yan?"

"Go over the books first," Song Mo said. "The people you’ll need to train haven’t arrived in the Capital yet."

If they had, would he have been asked to help Madam with the accounts first?

Zhong Bingxiang murmured this thought to himself but outwardly replied with a respectful "Yes."

In the following days, Song Mo busied himself reviewing accounts with Zhong Bingxiang.

Meanwhile, the Duke of England's Mansion’s stewards also began settling accounts with Song Yichun.

This year, the Duke of England's Mansion’s revenue was even better than the last.But the thought of those thirteen trading houses in Song Mo's possession made Song Yichun feel as if something was blocking his chest, leaving him breathless.

Without those thirteen trading houses, would he dare to oppose him?

Song Yichun grew restless and irritable, snapping at his newly promoted personal attendant Zeng Wu, "Go, see what the Young Lord is up to!"

Zeng Wu scrambled out of the main room in Cassia Fragrance Courtyard and called for a page to investigate.