Blossom

Jiang Yan was bent over the desk practicing calligraphy when she saw Song Mo enter. She offered him a timid smile.

This only fueled Song Mo’s anger further.

His own sister, the precious child his mother had carried for ten months and brought into the world with such hardship, now bore the timid demeanor of someone from a poor, obscure family. And the one who had reduced her to this state was none other than their own father.

His expression darkened involuntarily as he asked, “Where’s your sister-in-law?”

Jiang Yan’s heart pounded like a drum, afraid that Song Mo would blame Dou Zhao for not staying with her. She hurriedly defended her: “Sister-in-law was here with me earlier. It was only because Mr. Chen, her accountant, said he had urgent business with her that she stepped away.” Fearing he might not believe her, she quickly picked up a sheet of rice paper nearby. “This is what she wrote for me to practice copying just now.”

As if I would blame Shou Gu for this!

Song Mo’s expression grew even grimmer.

He glanced at Jiang Yan’s calligraphy, gave her a few instructions like “If you need anything, just tell your sister-in-law,” and then turned to leave for his study.

Jiang Yan exhaled deeply, her entire body relaxing with relief.

But Song Mo was seething. He instructed Wuyi, “Let me know once Madam has finished speaking with Mr. Chen.”

Wuyi acknowledged and left.

Song Mo massaged his temples and reclined in the Drunken Old Man Chair.

Meanwhile, in a small study not far away, Dou Zhao was listening to Chen Qushui’s report about Song Han.

“So, apart from that Li Dasheng, none of the people around Song Han have shown any unusual behavior?” she asked, her brow slightly furrowed, looking serious. “If I recall correctly, wasn’t Li Dasheng the personal guard the Duke of Yingguo assigned to Song Han?”

“Exactly,” Chen Qushui replied. “He left the Capital on the day Li Tiaoniang’s incident occurred. According to Chief Steward Huang, he had submitted his resignation three months prior. But because he had served the Second Young Master since childhood, the Young Master was reluctant to let him go and tried to persuade him several times. In the end, seeing his determination to leave was unshakable, they had no choice but to accept his resignation. Du Wei followed this lead but discovered that Li Dasheng never returned to his hometown—instead, he vanished shortly after leaving the Capital. I suspect he was most likely silenced.”

Song Han had grown up in the Duke of England's Mansion. Those around him were either assigned by Song Yichun or arranged through the chief steward, making it relatively easy to investigate him.

Dou Zhao also felt that Li Dasheng’s chances of survival were slim.

“If Li Dasheng is dead, regardless of whether he killed Li Tiaoniang or not, since he was assigned to Song Han by the Duke of Yingguo,” she said, “Song Han could simply feign ignorance and shift all the blame onto the Duke.”

Dou Zhao and Chen Qushui were thinking along the same lines.

He asked, “What do you think—should we inform the Young Lord about this? I noticed that when he heard of Li Dasheng’s disappearance, he didn’t seem overly concerned. He might still be holding onto brotherly affection for Song Han.”

This was also one of the reasons he had come to discuss the matter with Dou Zhao.

In his view, if this incident could be used to strip Song Han of his right to inherit the Duke of England's Mansion, it would be ideal.

Dou Zhao smiled. “No need. The Young Lord knows how to handle things. You just need to observe from the sidelines.” She added, “If Du Wei uncovers anything new, have him report to us.”

Song Mo never kept secrets from the people of Zhen Ding. Whether it was Chen Qushui or Duan Gongyi, whenever they inquired, Du Wei and the others would provide full and honest reports.

Chen Qushui chuckled and said, “Understood,” before rising to take his leave.Dou Zhao sat alone for a while before instructing a young maid to summon Ruo Zhu. "Has there been any unusual activity from Second Master these past few days?" she asked.

Following the incident with Chuan'er, Song Yichun had reprimanded all the maids in Cassia Fragrance Courtyard and casually assigned two new maids to serve in Song Han's quarters. Ruo Zhu quickly befriended them, becoming as close as sisters.

"Same as usual," Ruo Zhu replied softly. "He rises at the fourth watch, practices horse stance for an hour, has breakfast at the beginning of the seventh hour, pays respects to the Duke at three quarters past the seventh hour, and attends lessons at the eighth hour..."

Every detail—what he ate, drank, whom he met, what he said—was reported meticulously to Dou Zhao. Even yesterday afternoon, when he lingered outside Green Water Residence for over an hour before trudging back to the upper courtyard with his head down, was recounted.

Everything seemed perfectly normal, just as it always had been.

Dou Zhao rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

If Li Dasheng had been acting on his orders, surely there would be some trace of it? Even if he had merely summoned Li Dasheng for instructions, there should have been someone accompanying him. Where was the flaw? What had she overlooked?

The more she pondered, the more intrigued she became by Song Han. Previously, she had avoided him, fearing she might startle the snake in the grass. But now, she realized it might be necessary to visit the upper courtyard more often. After all, Song Han was still young and unmarried. In a few years, even as her brother-in-law, she would have to maintain propriety and keep her distance.

With this in mind, she stood up, about to instruct Ruo Tong to accompany her to the upper courtyard, when the bamboo curtain swayed and Song Mo entered.

"It's so hot—why haven't you asked a maid to fan you?" he complained upon seeing her alone. "Or at least had some ice brought in?"

Worried the summer heat would affect her, he had doubled the ice supply this year compared to last.

Dou Zhao smiled. "I was just sitting here briefly after meeting with Mr. Chen. There's no need for ice. Don’t worry—if I feel hot, I’ll call for a maid to fan me." Then she asked, "Why are you here? Didn’t you say you had something to discuss with Lu Ming?"

She had finally figured it out: if Du Wei was the "gossipmonger," then Lu Ming was the one who handled the "private tasks." Whenever these two were involved, it was best not to ask—nothing they did was ever pleasant to hear.

Song Mo, however, didn’t want her to know about this matter and evaded the question. "I wanted to ask what A-Yan said to Li Liang after meeting him."

Early yesterday morning, after seeing Li Liang off, Jiang Yan went to pay respects at Li Tiaoniang’s grave. Song Mo, preferring to avoid the whole affair, had left for the palace at dawn.

Dou Zhao didn’t believe him. If he wanted to know what Jiang Yan and Li Liang had discussed, he should have sent Du Wei—why involve Lu Ming?

She didn’t press the issue and simply replied with a smile, "She just told him to take care of himself." She omitted the part where Jiang Yan had secretly given Li Liang twenty taels of silver.

Song Mo snorted in disapproval. "Can’t you find a way to make A-Yan stop acting like a timid little wife, shrinking away from everyone? How will she manage social interactions in the future?"

"Why rush?" Dou Zhao countered. "She’s in mourning now—it’s not appropriate for her to socialize. Once she’s settled into life at the Duke of Yingguo’s mansion, we can teach her gradually."“Just looking at her makes me furious,” Dou Zhao fumed as she sat down beside Song Mo. “Why doesn’t she resemble Mother at all?”

Li Tiaoniang had deliberately raised Jiang Yan to be timid and weak in order to manipulate her.

Dou Zhao feared voicing this would only upset Song Mo further, so she smiled and said, “Don’t keep scrutinizing her all the time. The more you watch her, the more nervous she becomes, and the more erratic her behavior gets—which only angers you further…”

Just then, a page peeked in from outside.

The Hall of Cultivating Will had strict rules. Pages wouldn’t dare eavesdrop when Dou Zhao and Song Mo were speaking unless there was urgent news to report.

Realizing something pressing required Song Mo’s attention, Dou Zhao stopped mid-sentence and called the page in.

The page rushed in, visibly relieved, and knelt before Song Mo and Dou Zhao, holding up a letter. “Young Lord, Madam, Fifth Uncle from Liaodong has sent a letter.”

Both Dou Zhao and Song Mo were surprised.

Song Mo opened the letter, skimmed it quickly, and sighed in relief. Smiling at Dou Zhao, he said, “Fifth Uncle writes that he’s collected some fine furs in Liaodong over the years. In a couple of days, he’ll send them with a merchant convoy and asks me to have stewards bring them home.”

Noticing the military seal on the envelope, Dou Zhao chuckled. “Fifth Uncle seems to be living quite comfortably in Liaodong.”

Song Mo grinned. “My fifth uncle has no other hobbies but making friends. Anyone who talks to him for a bit takes a liking to him. It’s a shame you’ve never met—you’d get along well.” Then he added, “Will you return to your room or stay here a while longer? I need to speak with the stewards.”

He clearly took the matter seriously.

Dou Zhao smiled. “I’ll visit Second Master’s quarters and see what the maids and wives are up to.”

Song Mo hesitated. “If you need anything, just ask Gan Lu or the others. The main chamber is a quarter-hour’s walk from here—it’s too far.”

Was he instinctively wary of Song Han and reluctant to let her step into his territory?

After much persuasion and a promise to bring Jin Gui and Yin Gui along, Song Mo reluctantly agreed and personally escorted her to the main chamber.

Song Han was attending music lessons in the afternoon, leaving only Qi Xia and a few maids to tend to his quarters.

When Dou Zhao arrived, Qi Xia was both startled and delighted, quickly serving tea and arranging snacks and fruits.

Though Dou Zhao had visited a few times before, each trip had been hurried and crowded, so she’d never entered Song Han’s inner chambers. Now, upon closer inspection, she noticed the decor was dignified and tasteful, strikingly similar to the heated room in Song Mo’s outer study.

Qi Xia hurriedly explained with a smile, “Second Master emulates the Eldest Master in everything, even these small details.”

Dou Zhao nodded slightly, but suddenly, a cat darted out.

She was startled, and Qi Xia turned pale.

If anything happened to Madam, no one in the household would be spared.

Qi Xia immediately scolded a maid, “Can’t you see Madam is here? Why didn’t you stop it? What if she’d been frightened?”

The maid, her face ashen, dropped to her knees before Dou Zhao, trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the cat gracefully leaped onto the kang and lazily settled beneath the low table. Its black fur gleamed like satin, and its emerald-green eyes shimmered with an enigmatic light, reminiscent of the vast sea under a clear sky.

Only then did Dou Zhao realize—it was an exquisite Persian cat.Unfortunately, she didn't like this type of cat, finding its appearance rather eerie, and couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Qi Xia quickly said, "Madam, this is Second Master's pet. It's usually kept in the heated room... We didn’t expect you to return, and the door to the heated room wasn’t properly latched. Did... did it startle you?"

Dou Zhao thought that even Song Han wouldn’t dare to frighten her—now heavily pregnant—with a cat. After giving the cat a few glances, she replied, "It's fine," and withdrew from Song Han’s inner chamber with Qi Xia and the others.

No sooner had she settled in the main hall than Song Han arrived, his face dripping with sweat.