Blossom

The officers of the Five Cities Garrison looked at Wei Tingyu with a hint of curiosity in their eyes.

Wei Tingyu was slow to realize it, only understanding the reason when Jiang Yi was officially appointed to the position.

Recalling the gazes of his colleagues, he couldn’t bear to stay in the office for another moment.

Returning home, Wei Tingyu said to Dou Ming, "Find some time to visit the Duke of England's Mansion to see Shou Gu. Song Yantang recently promoted someone unrelated to him as the South City Commander. Go and ask what’s going on?"

Whether by kinship or friendship, Song Mo should have promoted him instead.

The matter with Jiang Yi suddenly made him realize that since his marriage, he and Song Mo had never shared a drink or exchanged personal words.

He had indeed neglected Song Mo these past days.

Dou Ming was furious upon hearing this, but considering they had just reconciled, she suppressed her anger, though her smile was strained. "Shou Gu? How dare you call her that? Be careful not to slip up in front of Song Yantang—it’ll be embarrassing for everyone. You know Dou Zhao hasn’t given me a single kind look since I married you. If I go to her, it’s better if you approach Song Yantang directly. Don’t you always say how close you two used to be? Talk to him—this small matter shouldn’t be difficult, right?"

Wei Tingyu knew the truth of his situation.

Even when Song Mo treated him best—helping him with business, gifting him horses, introducing him to friends—the more he learned about Song Mo, the more fearful he became. In the end, he became timid in Song Mo’s presence, afraid of saying the wrong thing or drinking too much, lest he incur Song Mo’s displeasure. That was why, when the Duke of England's Mansion faced trouble, he seized the chance to distance himself, leading to those words with his sister. Now that Song Mo treated him coldly and distantly, how could he dare approach him?

But he couldn’t admit this to Dou Ming, so he steeled himself and went to invite Song Mo for a drink.

When Song Mo heard Wei Tingyu had come, he felt uneasy. He instructed Chen He, "Tell the servants that from now on, when the Marquis of Jining visits, he is to be received in the Small Flower Hall of the outer courtyard for tea. There’s no need to go through the trouble of finding me or Madam." He added, "I still have a memorial to draft for the Emperor today. Ask the Marquis what he needs. If it’s trivial, handle it for him. If it’s important, tell him I’m occupied and have him leave a message with you. I’ll consider it later."

In short, he would no longer meet with the Marquis of Jining or assist him in any matter.

Chen He muttered to himself.

This Wei Tingyu really must be missing a screw—how could he still dare to step into the Hall of Cultivating Will?

Chen He went to the Reception Hall.

Wei Tingyu wanted to ask Song Mo for a promotion—how could such a matter be discussed with a mere page?

He stammered for a long time, even unsure of what he was saying, and left in disappointment.

Chen He promptly relayed Song Mo’s instructions to the household.

Wei Tingyu then went to the Jingguo Duke's Mansion.

When Wei Tingzhen heard about it, she nearly jumped in anger.

"Can’t you see? Song Yantang dislikes you because of Dou Ming," she complained. "I told you long ago that Dou Ming was nothing but trouble and warned you not to marry her. You wouldn’t listen, and now look—the South City Commander position slipped right through your fingers! If you don’t heed me, worse is yet to come. Just wait and see..."Wei Tingyu was thoroughly annoyed and said, "That's all in the past. What's the point of bringing it up over and over again? Do you think I can just divorce Dou Ming?" As he spoke, he noticed his sister's expression shift slightly and was startled. He quickly added, "Even if I divorced Dou Ming, do you think Song Yantang would treat me the same as before? More likely, I’d just offend both the Dou and Wang families, making things even worse!" He wanted to dissuade his sister from the idea.

Wei Tingzhen indeed looked crestfallen upon hearing this. After a moment of silence, she said, "I’ll ask your brother-in-law if he has any ideas about this."

Wei Tingyu didn’t want to go home yet, so he played with his nieces and nephews while waiting for Zhang Yuanming to return.

Zhang Yuanming didn’t have any good ideas either and could only suggest, "Why don’t you go plead with the Duke of Dongping? Isn’t he Wang Qinghai’s father-in-law? That’s another connection you can use."

Wei Tingyu then went to find Wang Qinghai.

Given that it concerned Wei Tingyu’s future, Wang Qinghai naturally felt obliged to help. He personally accompanied Wei Tingyu to the Duke of Dongping’s residence.

The outcome was predictable.

Wei Tingyu spent over half a month running around like this, but nothing came of it. Instead, he inadvertently caught the attention of Hao Dayong, the former Commander of the Eastern City Garrison.

Thanks to the fire incident at the Duke of England's Mansion, Hao Dayong had gained some recognition in front of the Young Lord of the Duke of England's Mansion and had benefited from it. After the case was closed, he was promoted to Vice Commissioner of the Five Cities Garrison. Since the Duke of Dongping concurrently held the position of Metropolitan Commander of the Five Cities Garrison but usually didn’t involve himself in its affairs, and given Hao Dayong’s connection with the Young Lord of the Duke of England's Mansion, the Duke of Dongping entrusted the management of the Five Cities Garrison to him. Now, Hao Dayong effectively acted as the Metropolitan Commander, surrounded by subordinates and basking in his newfound authority. He racked his brains trying to figure out how to strengthen his ties with Song Mo and the Duke of Dongping, hoping to secure their recommendation for the official position of Metropolitan Commander of the Five Cities Garrison.

He asked his subordinates, "Has anything worth celebrating happened recently with the Young Lord of the Duke of England's Mansion?"

After some thought, one of them replied, "A cousin from the Young Lord’s wife’s family passed the imperial examinations and became a Presented Scholar. Does that count as something worth celebrating?"

Hao Dayong slapped the man’s shoulder so hard he nearly knocked him over. "You fool! Such great news, and you didn’t mention it sooner! If this isn’t worth celebrating, what is?"

Hao Dayong immediately prepared a congratulatory gift of two hundred taels of silver and headed to Huai Shu Alley.

Upon hearing that a friend of Song Mo’s had come to offer congratulations, the chief steward of Huai Shu Alley gave Hao Dayong a strange look.

What kind of friends does the fourth son-in-law have? Why do they keep showing up uninvited?

He quickly called for an attendant to escort Hao Dayong to the Reception Hall for tea.

There, Hao Dayong spotted several familiar faces from the Five Cities Garrison.

Without hesitation, he greeted them warmly.

Dou Shishu, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. After some thought, he instructed the chief steward, "Go inform the Young Lord—since guests have arrived, he should at least be aware of it. Even if he doesn’t return the courtesy, he should at least express his thanks."

The chief steward hurried off to comply.

Song Mo was currently accompanying Dou Shiying while a group of scholars from the Imperial Academy boasted about their achievements. Upon hearing the news, Song Mo smiled and briefly explained the situation to Dou Shiying before excusing himself to greet the guests.

But Dou Shiying grabbed his sleeve and said, "I’ll go with you. Since they’ve come to honor you, we shouldn’t be too dismissive."

Song Mo had no choice but to rub his nose and follow Dou Shiying to exchange pleasantries with Hao Dayong and the others.Everyone present was sharp-eyed. Seeing Song Mo personally hosting them while deferentially supporting his father-in-law, Hao Dayong and the others naturally knew where to direct their flattery. They lavished praise on Dou Shiying with such eloquence that he was practically driven to retreat, though inwardly he couldn’t help but feel immensely pleased. Finding Dou Shishu, he said, "Just accept the gifts from Yantang’s friends and give me the list. I’ll handle returning the favors."

As if they were flattering you—they were flattering Song Yantang!

If you return the favors, those people would be so thrilled to have a connection with Song Yantang that they’d rush out barefoot to welcome you!

Dou Shishu nearly voiced these thoughts but swallowed them back upon seeing Dou Shiying’s oblivious expression.

Now that he had a good son-in-law, his son-in-law could handle such matters for him. Why should he worry on his behalf?

"Fine!" he readily agreed and instructed the steward to copy the gift list for Dou Shiying later.

Dou Shiying then said to Song Mo, "Don’t worry, I’ll handle returning these gifts!"

Perhaps because Dou Shiying felt he could finally take charge of his own life, he unconsciously chose to compensate for past shortcomings with money.

Song Mo faintly sensed Dou Shiying’s subtle mindset and didn’t refuse. Instead, he played along with a smile, "Shou Gu scolded me just the other day for accepting gifts indiscriminately. As you saw, I didn’t invite these people, and it’s the Dou family’s joyous occasion—how could I turn them away? It’s perfect that you’re willing to step in."

Dou Shiying then advised him, "Don’t argue with Shou Gu. She’s pregnant, and her temper can be a bit unpredictable. Back when her mother was carrying her, in the dead of winter and close to giving birth, she suddenly craved Chinese toon leaves. Where on earth was I supposed to find them?"

Lost in reminiscence, his expression grew distant.

Not wanting Dou Shiying to dwell on the past, Song Mo quickly changed the subject, "Father-in-law, Boyan is about to take the Imperial Academy exams. He’s always been close to our family, and we own several properties in the Capital. Should we prepare a residence for him to study? If he passes and becomes a Bachelor of the Imperial Academy, he’ll stay in the Capital for three years—it would be much better if he had his own place and someone to look after him."

Dou Shiying loved how Song Mo used the word "our."

Beaming, he nodded repeatedly and said, "Let’s talk to Boyan and see what he thinks."

Song Mo stopped a maid and asked where Dou Qijun was.

The maid smiled, "The Fifth Young Master hasn’t come out yet—he’s been pulled in by the ladies for questioning!"

With an amused grin, Song Mo turned to Dou Shiying, "Shall we rescue him?"

Dou Shiying, equally entertained, replied, "Of course! We must find a way to pull Boyan out!" Then he told the maid, "Go tell him I have guests and need the Fifth Young Master to come greet them."

The maid curtsied and hurried toward the inner courtyard.

Dou Shiying and Song Mo exchanged smiles, like accomplices who had just pulled off a clever trick, savoring the camaraderie of kindred spirits.

Meanwhile, Dou Qijun stood by the pomegranate tree in the main courtyard, deep in conversation with Dou Zhao."These days I've been busy with the examinations and haven't had the chance to thank Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt for their help with the Kuang Family affairs," he said apologetically, his brows filled with the excitement and joy of plucking the laurel branch from the moon. "Once I'm through this busy period, I'll pay a visit and properly share a few drinks with Fourth Uncle."

After learning who had been targeting their family, the Kuang Family realized their fleet had become like a piece of fatty meat that would attract predators one after another. They ultimately decided to sell their fleet at a low price to Wang Ge.

As for Kuang Zhuoran, he resolved to study diligently day and night to become a Presented Scholar.

Dou Zhao thought this was for the best.

Merchant families without official protection could never escape the fate of being exploited.

Once Kuang Zhuoran succeeded in his scholarly pursuits, the Kuang Family could rise again.