Blossom

All the servants in the Duke of England's Mansion had signed indentures. If they fled, they would become unregistered households. If caught, they could be beaten to death with just a few taels of silver settling the matter.

Manager Li's second grandson had escaped, yet no one had ever mentioned it.

Was someone covering up for Manager Li? Or were there simply too many deaths back then to investigate thoroughly?

Dou Zhao's expression darkened slightly.

After she took over managing the household, the inner courtyard's account books were handed to her. She could trace some of the Duke of England's Mansion's past affairs through the mansion's historical expenditures. However, the outer courtyard's account books were under Song Yichun's control, leaving them relatively powerless regarding the outer courtyard's affairs. They could only slowly gather evidence.

"If only we could get the roster of the outer courtyard's servants!" Chen Qushui also found it frustrating. "At least we'd know exactly who has gone missing. Pulling up one radish might bring up mud—perhaps we could uncover more."

Dou Zhao thought for a moment and said, "I'll find a way to handle that. As for Tailor Li, what else did he say? How could a mere tailor without household registration find a guarantor to go south and work on ships?"

Chen Qushui couldn't help but give Dou Zhao a thumbs-up. "Madam's reasoning remains as sharp as ever!"

Dou Zhao chuckled. "There's no one else here. Flattering me like this is like wearing fine clothes at night—no one sees it. Let's focus on the matter at hand."

Chen Qushui laughed a few times before composing himself. "Madam guessed correctly. There were two others who went south with Tailor Li. One was a third-tier manager from the Duke of England's Mansion's Affairs Office, named He Yuan. His father had once been an accountant in the mansion and, under Madam Jiang's orders, had frequently traveled to Guangdong to inspect the Young Lord's properties. Before He Yuan officially took up his post in the Affairs Office, he had often accompanied his father to Guangdong and had friends there.

"The other was named Li Xiaoli. His father died young, and his grandfather was the gatekeeper's manager. Following his father's footsteps, he also worked in the gatehouse and grew up with Manager He, forming a close friendship. On the day the Duke of England's Mansion was attacked, they had drunk too much and secretly rested in the gatehouse, thus escaping the disaster.

"Manager Li had a good relationship with He Yuan's father. When Tailor Li came to the mansion to settle accounts, it was always through He Yuan, so the two were very familiar.

"After He Yuan fled, the first person he sought out was Tailor Li.

"Later, it was He Yuan who proposed going south to work on ships.

"Tailor Li himself had left the mansion early and knew little about Manager Li's affairs. It wasn't until his grandnephew fled to him that he learned something had happened to the Duke of England's Mansion. He even went into the city to inquire but found nothing. Worse, many people he once knew had died suddenly. Frightened, he agreed to let his nephew go south with He Yuan to preserve his brother's bloodline.

"He had initially worried someone might come looking for them, but no one paid them any attention.

"Over the years, he had kept an eye on the Duke of England's Mansion and secretly tried to uncover the truth about the past, but to no avail.

"After going south, He Yuan had twice sent him messages through intermediaries, asking about the situation in the Capital and the Duke of England's Mansion.""Tailor Li said that He Yuan and the others actually wanted very much to return to the mansion, but they didn’t know the current situation of the Duke of England's Mansion and had no way back, so they had no choice but to keep drifting outside. He also said that knowing Madam needed more hands in her quarters and wasn’t continuing to use people from Zhen Ding but instead selecting maids from various farmsteads made him very happy. He hoped these people could gain Madam’s favor, so they too could have something to look forward to."

Dou Zhao was very surprised and looked out the window.

Outside, the weather was fine, with a gentle breeze and warm sunshine. A few young maids, still wearing their hair in childish pigtails, were kicking shuttlecocks in the courtyard.

"The affairs of the Daxing farmstead could actually reach the ears of a lame-footed man who left the mansion early and became a tailor in Wanping. He might truly be unaware of the current state of the Duke of England's Mansion, but if you say he has no connection at all with the people there, I don’t believe it." She turned back with a smile to look at Chen Qushui. "I originally only hoped to find one or two useful leads from them, but it seems I underestimated them—like buying the casket and returning the pearl. Now it seems I’ll need you to investigate all the young maids around me whose names start with 'Fu.' I gave them nearly two months to choose these people."

Chen Qushui smiled in agreement.

When Song Mo returned, Dou Zhao told him about Manager Li.

Hearing this, Song Mo showed little surprise. After a moment of silence, he said, "Back then, though it was chaotic, it wasn’t so bad that so many people had to die. Some escaping isn’t unusual."

So Song Mo already knew.

But why hadn’t he pursued it?

Dou Zhao suddenly understood.

Song Yichun had framed Song Mo. Even if those servants hadn’t known at first, they must have found out later. Yet not one of them stood up for him, not one sought help on his behalf, not even one voiced any grievance for him. So when Song Yichun began slaughtering these people, Song Mo chose to stand by indifferently.

At that time, he must have felt utterly betrayed.

That was why he insisted on using only people from the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion.

Dou Zhao’s heart ached with sorrow. She hugged him tenderly and said, "They were just servants, with limited understanding. They only knew that obeying the Duke couldn’t be wrong. When disaster struck, they fled instinctively, like birds and beasts, without a second thought. Now that they’ve calmed down, isn’t it natural they regret it? Otherwise, why would Mr. Chen, without coercion or enticement, have gotten the full story poured out like beans from a bamboo tube?"

"I made mistakes, and you forgave me.

"These people aren’t even worth your attention.

"Don’t dwell on the past.

"If any of them are useful, we’ll use them for now. If not, we’ll pretend we never heard of this. Those who fled lost their household registrations and can never live openly—what kind of life can they have? Consider it heaven’s punishment on your behalf."

Song Mo chuckled. "Don’t spout nonsense just to comfort me." He turned her shoulders to face him, gazing at her red lips. "When have you ever made a mistake? I don’t recall. How can they compare to you? They aren’t fit to carry your shoes. In all my life, I’ve only compromised for you—why should they deserve that privilege?"

Well, the more she said, the more it seemed to deepen Song Mo’s resentment.Dou Zhao had no choice but to be deliberately unreasonable: "Anyway, you said you'd leave this matter to me. Whatever I say, you just have to agree."

Song Mo truly didn't take these people seriously.

Would a tiger ever concern itself with rabbits?

Even if among these rabbits there occasionally appeared a wolf in rabbit's clothing, it would merely require a bit more effort.

Had his own methods not failed to uncover the truth behind his mother's death, he wouldn't have even considered letting Dou Zhao handle this matter.

However, if these people cooperated obediently with Dou Zhao, he would turn a blind eye and let them fend for themselves!

Those who relied on the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion for survival were worthless without it. But even if the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion suffered a heavy blow without them, it could slowly recover.

Song Mo didn’t want these people to ruin Dou Zhao’s mood. He smiled and said, "Fine, tell me what you want me to do."

"Find a way to get me the past years' duty rosters from the front courtyard," Dou Zhao said, blinking at him.

Song Mo grew serious. "I’ve seen those before. There must be several chests of them. Are you sure you want to look for clues there?"

Dou Zhao teased him, "Seems like someone spent years investigating and found nothing. Clearly, they lacked the right approach!"

"Ah! You dare mock me?" Song Mo reached out to tickle her.

"That’s not fair!" Dou Zhao laughed, dodging away.

Song Mo persisted, and soon the two were tangled together in laughter.

Fufeng, blushing, giggled to Fuye, "The Young Lord and Madam are so wonderful!"

But Fuye’s face remained stern. "Whether they’re wonderful or not, we’ll see after twenty years."

Fufeng gasped. "Sister, you’re so harsh!"

Fuye shot her a glance and turned toward the back rooms where they rested.

Fufeng wrinkled her nose and hurried after her.

Just then, rapid footsteps sounded behind them.

Fufeng turned and saw Ruo Zhu rushing into the main house.

"The Young Lord is in the inner chamber," she murmured. "I wonder what urgent matter has come up?"

Under normal circumstances, servants wouldn’t disturb Song Mo and his wife unless it was urgent.

She lingered on the covered corridors, torn between curiosity and hesitation, before sighing wistfully. As she turned back, she suddenly noticed a figure standing silently across from her, watching.

Fufeng nearly shrieked in fright, but the figure quickly closed the distance and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What are you doing?" a furious voice hissed in her ear. "If you disturb the Young Lord and Madam, you’ll regret it!"

Recognizing the voice, Fufeng relaxed—it was Fuye.

For maids, making a fuss was a grave mistake.

She smiled sheepishly. "Weren’t you already past the side room? Why did you come back?"

Fuye snapped, "You can’t even follow me without getting lost. Did I have a choice?" Then she added, "Why are you still standing there like a fool? Come with me!"

Fufeng gave her an ingratiating smile and followed Fuye out of the main courtyard.

She didn’t notice how, just before they left, Fuye glanced thoughtfully back at the main house.

※※※※※

Inside the inner chamber, both Dou Zhao and Song Mo looked grim.“A doll with Chuan’er’s name written on it and pierced with silver needles was found in Bai Zhi’s room?” Dou Zhao asked Ruo Zhu solemnly. “The head stewardess in the Duke’s residence is Tang Huang Shi, Huang Qing’s sister. What did she say?”

Ruo Zhu replied, “Stewardess Tang was scared out of her wits and kept shouting for someone to fetch the Duke. The whole household knows about it now, but the Duke happens to be visiting Third Princess’s residence, and no one knows when he’ll return…”

As she spoke, she glanced at Dou Zhao.

It seemed there was more to this story!

Though this was a good opportunity to use the incident to clean up Song Yichun’s backyard, it was also easy to get burned. Better let Song Yichun deal with the headache himself, no?

After all, she was just a daughter-in-law!

Afraid that Song Mo might meddle, Dou Zhao took his hand and smiled. “Isn’t there still the chief steward? Since the Duke isn’t home, he should handle such matters. Hurry and ask the chief steward for me—what exactly happened in Cassia Fragrance Courtyard?”