Blossom

The Vice Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Garrison Command surnamed Chen?

After a brief moment of thought, Dou Zhao guessed this person must be Chen Jia.

She remembered when Chen Jia came to see her, he was merely a minor officer in the Imperial Bodyguard. Yet within just a few days, he had risen to become a Vice Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Garrison Command... It seemed Song Mo had indeed put in a good word for him with Shi Chuan.

However, she had no intention of receiving Chen Jia.

Regardless of his motives, the fact remained that Chen Jia had helped Su Xin. Since he had no connection to those who had robbed Su Xin, Song Mo's intervention on his behalf had already repaid the favor.

Dou Zhao instructed the young maid, "Give that old woman a tael of silver as a reward. As for the pomegranates, let her take them back for her grandchildren to eat."

The maid hurried off to carry out her orders.

The second young madam of the Lu Family asked curiously, "How does sister-in-law know someone from the Imperial Bodyguard?"

The Imperial Bodyguard had a notorious reputation, enough to make even dukes and high-ranking officials pale at the mention of them.

Dou Zhao quickly replied, "It's someone the Young Lord knows. As for why they sent pomegranates, we'll have to wait until the Young Lord returns to find out."

The second young madam visibly relaxed and spoke earnestly to Dou Zhao, "The wife of the heir to the Yan'an Marquis, the eldest paternal aunt of the Jingguo Duke's household, the fourth madam of the Yunyang Marquis, and the Madam of the Duke of Dongping's household are all gentle and kind-hearted people. If you attend Madam Jingguo's birthday celebration, I can introduce you to them so you won't feel bored."

Dou Zhao could sense the sincerity in her words and repeatedly expressed her thanks, though she couldn't help feeling a strange sensation. The Madam of the Duke of Dongping's household—that was the woman who, in her previous life, had ended up with Song Mo along with her daughter.

At this time, she should still be in the bloom of youth, having married the Duke of Dongping only a few years prior.

That evening, as Song Mo read by lamplight, Dou Zhao found herself studying him.

Just how dissolute had Song Mo been in her past life?

When he was with Madam Zhou and those other women, had he been as unrestrained as he was with her?

Images of their intimate moments flashed through her mind, making her cheeks burn.

Dou Zhao felt as though she had drunk a jar of aged vinegar—the bitterness of jealousy overwhelming her.

She clutched at her collar.

In this life, would Song Mo still become involved with those women?

Unconsciously, her face turned deathly pale.

Song Mo, who had noticed Dou Zhao's covert glances earlier and had been somewhat pleased by her seemingly infatuated gaze, was now startled by her sudden pallor.

"Shou Gu, Shou Gu!" Song Mo quickly pulled Dou Zhao into his arms, calling her by the pet name they used only in their most intimate moments. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The warmth of his embrace quickly calmed her emotions.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself repeatedly that those were events from her past life. She mustn't confuse the past with the present—that would only bring unnecessary suffering.

What happened in her past life would not occur again.

"It's nothing," Dou Zhao said, her face still slightly pale but her expression softening. She brushed it off, "I saw you reading so intently and wanted to see what book it was..."

Song Mo remained silent, staring straight at her with a serious and grave expression. "Shou Gu, do you trust me?"

Dou Zhao was taken aback.

Song Mo continued solemnly, "If you trust me, you must tell me whenever you're troubled."

He lowered his eyelids, a fleeting shadow of loneliness passing through his eyes.When she raised her gaze again, her eyes held only a warm smile.

"I was reading 'Illustrated Discussions on the Changes' by former Grand Academician Chen Yan," he said, sitting up straight and showing Dou Zhao the book's cover.

The warmth of his body had also faded to near imperceptibility with the distance between them.

Dou Zhao felt as if her heart were being torn apart.

Song Mo was such an intelligent man—how could she possibly hide anything from him when they were so intimately close?

His feigned ignorance was merely his way of respecting her wishes.

Yet she had foolishly believed it was because he pitied her.

Unable to resist, she tightly wrapped her arms around his, trying to hold onto that fading warmth.

"Yantang, I... I might be pregnant!" Dou Zhao's face flushed crimson as she stared at the golden-lacquered camellias on the kang table, murmuring the words.

"What?" Song Mo didn't immediately understand. "What do you mean?"

Dou Zhao's blush spread down to her neck.

Even with two lifetimes of experience, this was her first time feeling so embarrassed.

Last time, news of her pregnancy had been announced entirely by the physician.

But seeing Song Mo's worried, urgent expression, she had no choice but to murmur again, "My... my monthly courses haven't come for some time now..."

It took Song Mo a moment to comprehend.

Then he was instantly struck by overwhelming joy.

"Shou Gu!" He leapt up from the kang and knelt before Dou Zhao. "Is it true? Really true?"

Song Mo grasped her hands, gazing up at her with eyes shining like stars.

"Possibly," Dou Zhao hedged, not daring to be too certain. "We'll need to wait for the physician's diagnosis in a few days..."

Song Mo grinned foolishly, then suddenly gasped, his expression turning anxious as he whispered, "Then... did I hurt you yesterday?" His face filled with self-reproach. "I should have realized sooner... I shouldn't have treated you like that yesterday..."

Most men wouldn't notice such things.

Dou Zhao quickly reassured him, "It's not confirmed yet—I might be wrong."

"How could you be wrong about this?" Song Mo thought she was just comforting him.

Dou Zhao had to explain, "Sometimes when you want a child very badly, the longing can create false symptoms..."

Song Mo chuckled softly. "So Shou Gu really wants our child, then?"

Was this answering a question with another question?

Dou Zhao broke out in a sweat.

What kind of conversation was this?

Yet this interpretation made Song Mo immensely happy.

He continued happily down this line of thought: "Even if we're wrong, it doesn't matter. We'll have a child soon enough—consider this practice."

Dou Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Song Mo had already sprung up eagerly. "When can we call the physician? I'll sleep in the study tonight! Are you hungry? What would you like to eat? When Dong Qi's wife was pregnant, he begged the Wine and Vinegar Bureau for preserved plums. It's winter now—I wonder if they have any left from winemaking. I should visit the bureau tomorrow..."

The leaps in his thoughts were becoming increasingly erratic.

Dou Zhao was dumbfounded, yet her heart bubbled with a wonderful feeling.

"We won't know for sure until after Laba Festival at least," she hurriedly interrupted. "Don't go announcing it everywhere—what if it's not true? We'd be laughed at." She added, "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry. If I want anything to eat or drink, I'll ask Gan Lu and the others."Song Mo nodded repeatedly, unable to conceal his excitement. He paced back and forth several times in the room before calling out to Gan Lu: "Have her bring two sets of bedding to the study."

That would mean she'd have to arrange a bedroom servant for him.

The thought made Dou Zhao feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She hesitated and said, "Perhaps you should still rest in the inner chamber..." As she spoke, Dou Zhao recalled Song Mo's enthusiasm after their marriage and doubted he could restrain himself. Her mood suddenly dipped as she said, "Never mind, you'd better sleep in the study!"

Song Mo had grown accustomed to Dou Zhao's company and was only following the household rule of "husband and wife sleeping separately during pregnancy." Seeing her hesitation, his heart leapt with joy, and he pretended not to hear her last words, smiling as he said, "Alright then, I'll stay in the inner chamber."

His response made Dou Zhao even more uneasy, and she wavered, "You should really sleep in the study..."

Song Mo playfully argued, "Who says I have to sleep in the study?"

His reasoning made sense.

Poor families with limited bedding still shared the same bed even during pregnancy.

Dou Zhao relented, "Fine, but no mischief!"

Song Mo felt a small sense of triumph.

Clearly, rules were flexible, and sometimes being a little shameless worked in his favor.

In high spirits, he teased her, "As long as you behave, how could I possibly misbehave?"

Dou Zhao, recalling how she had once thrown herself into his arms, flushed with embarrassment and angrily called out for Gan Lu.

Realizing he'd gone too far, Song Mo quickly pulled Dou Zhao into his arms and said gently, "Alright, don't be angry. I was just teasing you!"

Gan Lu, who had been about to enter, hastily retreated upon seeing the scene.

Song Mo softened his voice further, "I always felt like a barber carrying his load—one-sided enthusiasm..."

His words made Dou Zhao burn with shame, her face hot as she stammered, "No... it's just that mood swings during pregnancy aren't good for the baby... I need to stay calm..."

Song Mo's heart stirred, and he asked, "If I behave properly, we won’t have to sleep separately?"

Dou Zhao nodded.

Yet Song Mo grew hesitant, "But isn’t this just hearsay?"

If they had proper elders overseeing them, he wouldn’t be so indecisive.

His mind raced as he suggested, "Aunt is still in the Capital, isn’t she? Why don’t we invite her over to take care of you for a few days? Then we’d know the proper customs during pregnancy."

Having relied solely on her own experience in her past life, Dou Zhao was intrigued by the idea and was about to discuss when to fetch Aunt when Gan Lu burst in, her face pale with fright, clutching a box: "Madam, it's terrible! That box of pomegranates sent by Lord Chen—they're actually carved from jade! At first glance, they look exactly like real ones..."

She looked on the verge of tears.

Dou Zhao handed her a handkerchief and said soothingly, "Don’t panic. Tell me what happened."Gan Lu calmed down and said, "Didn't Madam instruct that old woman to take the pomegranates back? But the old woman said they were just a few pomegranates. If she took them back and Lord Chen found out she couldn't even handle such a small matter, she would surely be dismissed. So she insisted on giving them to us sisters to try."

"Ruo Tong is young and naive. Thinking they were just ordinary pomegranates, she accepted them."

"After dinner, when we sisters returned to our rooms, Ruo Tong wanted to peel the pomegranates for everyone to taste. That's when we discovered they were fake—carved from jade..." As she spoke, she opened the box and placed it on the kang table.

The yellowish-brown skin, the white flesh, the red seeds... all placed in a box lined with purple satin, so lifelike that under the lamplight, it was hard to tell they weren't real.