Blossom

Song Mo lay awake staring at the dark canopy above the bed, his mind filled with memories of Song Han circling around him as a child.

His eyes gradually grew moist.

If only time could stand still at this moment!

Even if he harbored suspicions, without evidence, he wouldn’t have to make a choice.

But time never bends to human will.

The light in the room slowly brightened.

Song Mo sat up quietly, gazing at Dou Zhao’s rosy, peaceful sleeping face, and couldn’t help but gently stroke her forehead.

Dou Zhao mumbled and turned her head slightly.

Song Mo chuckled silently.

With such a sweetheart in his arms, why should he wallow in sorrow?

He got up, practiced swordplay in the courtyard for a while, and only returned to the inner chamber after hearing that Dou Zhao had risen.

Dou Zhao was sitting before the mirror doing her hair when she saw him still at home and asked in surprise, “Don’t you have to go to the yamen today?”

“I do,” Song Mo replied, letting the maidservant help him change his clothes. “But today I’m going to the Five Cities Garrison yamen, not the Golden Guard yamen, so I can leave later.”

Dou Zhao asked, “Did something happen at the Five Cities Garrison?”

“Nothing,” Song Mo said, guiding her to sit on the kang. “I’m just making a routine visit.”

Gan Lu directed the maids to serve breakfast.

Song Mo then said, “How much longer until the birth? I was thinking of asking Old Madam Lu to come and help look after you.”

If Song Han and Jiang Yan had truly been switched at birth, the problem must have occurred during childbirth. He felt it would be safer to have more people keeping watch.

“Around the end of this month or the beginning of next,” Dou Zhao replied with a smile. “Sixth Aunt said she and Fifth Aunt will come then. Old Madam Lu is elderly—let’s not trouble her.”

Song Mo nodded and lowered his head to eat.

Seeing his hearty appetite, Dou Zhao couldn’t help but worry.

Song Mo was so clever, yet he had never questioned Song Han’s actions—proof of how much trust and affection he had for him. Now that Song Han had utterly shattered that trust, it was impossible for Song Mo’s emotions to remain unaffected. The calmer he appeared, the deeper his resentment likely was.

Dou Zhao personally helped him into his court robes and saw him off at the Hanging Flower Gate before returning to the Hall of Cultivating Will.

By the time Song Mo returned from the yamen at dusk, Lu Ming requested an audience.

Song Mo dismissed the maids and old women in the room and received Lu Ming in the Resting Chamber of the main quarters.

Lu Ming kept his head lowered and murmured, “As per the Young Lord’s orders, I hid on Second Master’s roof since last night. No matter what he ate, he always gave it to the cats first. Only after the cats ate would he take a bite. At noon, I hid both cats. When Second Master couldn’t find them, his face turned pale. He had the maids and old women search for them all afternoon. Only when it was time to leave for his qin lesson did he finally ask the kitchen old woman to make him a bowl of plain noodles. But when eating, he claimed he had no appetite and gave a small portion to Qi Xia. Only after Qi Xia ate did he start on his noodles. Before leaving, he instructed Qi Xia and the others to find the two cats before he returned from his lessons.”

Song Mo’s expression remained indifferent as he lowered his eyelids and said coolly, “Feed the two cats some arsenic—one a larger dose, the other a smaller one—then toss them where they can be found.”

Lu Ming bowed and acknowledged the order before withdrawing.

Dou Zhao hesitated, as if wanting to speak but holding back.

That night, loud commotion erupted in the upper courtyard, loud enough to be heard even in the Hall of Cultivating Will.Jiang Yan, who had come to pay her respects to Dou Zhao, was somewhat anxious. She tugged at Dou Zhao's sleeve and asked what had happened.

Although no one in the mansion had explicitly told her, she understood in her heart that if she and Song Mo were siblings by the same mother, then Song Han was either Li Tiaoniang's son or had been adopted by the Song family from somewhere else. Whether it was the former or the latter, once Song Mo acknowledged her, Song Han's identity and status would become very awkward. After all, Song Han had been a son of the Song family for over a decade, and she didn’t want her presence to make his situation difficult. That was why, despite hearing from the maids several times that Song Han had been lingering outside the Green Water Residence, she pretended not to know.

Dou Zhao took her hand and said, "I don’t know either. I’ll have Gan Lu go and check."

Jiang Yan nodded.

She was a little afraid of seeing Song Han, worried that her appearance might make him resentful and cynical.

Gan Lu soon returned and whispered, "Both of Second Master's cats were poisoned. One has already died, and the other is still alive but can no longer walk. Second Master was terrified—crying and making a scene, insisting that someone was trying to harm him. He dragged Chang Guard and demanded a thorough investigation of the Duke of England's Mansion. Of course, Chang Guard had no authority for such a thing, so he reported it to the Duke. The Duke was stunned when he saw the cats and took a long moment to recover before urgently ordering Chang Guard to investigate the mansion. When the Young Lord found out, he also rushed over. He said the Duke and Second Master were making a mountain out of a molehill—conducting a full investigation over mere pets. Those who knew might say the Duke was doting on his son, but those who didn’t might assume Second Master was indulging in frivolous pursuits. Then he called for the coroner from Shuntian Prefecture to examine the cats.

"The coroner said the cats died from eating rat poison.

"The Young Lord then scolded Second Master harshly, calling him alarmist, impulsive, cowardly, and weak-willed... until Second Master burst into tears. The Duke also left with a stern face."

Jiang Yan clasped her hands together and murmured, "Amitabha," before saying, "Who would do this? Knowing full well that Second Master keeps two cats, they still laid out rat poison? I think the courtyard needs a thorough cleaning. If any other cats or dogs eat rats poisoned like this, won’t they suffer the same fate?"

Dou Zhao smiled and instructed Gan Lu, "Go and inform the cleaning maids in the courtyard, then."

Gan Lu left the main chamber with a smile.

Meanwhile, Song Mo entered Song Han’s inner room with his hands behind his back and a cold expression.

Song Han was crying uncontrollably, his eyes swollen like walnuts. When he saw Song Mo enter, he wiped his tears and followed him inside.

Song Mo sat on the kang, dismissed Qi Xia and the others, and asked Song Han, who stood before him with his head hanging low, "When Father and Mother argued, what exactly did they say? Are you sure you didn’t hear anything?"

Song Han looked up, his expression full of astonishment. But Song Mo, whose heart had already turned to ice, caught a fleeting trace of unease in his eyes.

"I had someone sprinkle arsenic in your cats’ food—a heavy dose for one and a light dose for the other. See? The coroner from Shuntian Prefecture came and concluded that your cats died from eating rats poisoned with rat bait." He gazed at Song Han with a faint, gentle smile. "Song Han, I’ll ask you one more time: what did Father and Mother say when they argued?"

"Brother, how could you...?" Beads of sweat formed on Song Han’s forehead, and genuine panic flickered in his eyes.Song Mo simply smiled at him, just like the caring elder brother of old.

"I didn't, I didn't!" Song Han sprang to his feet. "I really didn't hear anything..."

Song Mo stood up, smoothing the slight wrinkles on his robe. He called out indifferently, "Lu Ming," and said, "You tell the Second Young Master how he should speak to me." Then he added, "Don’t leave any marks. I don’t want to bother with excuses if he ends up dead." With that, he strode out, his posture as straight as a pine tree.

Lu Ming bowed to Song Han.

The flickering lamplight cast Song Han’s frail shadow, twisting it into the shape of a monstrous beast.

"No!" Song Han let out a shriek and lunged toward Song Mo.

Lu Ming extended an arm to block him. "Second Young Master, don’t make things difficult for us servants."

His gaze fixed unwaveringly on Song Han, his eyes brimming with undisguised killing intent.

Song Han thought of Song Mo’s ruthlessness, of their father’s wariness toward Song Mo. And then there was Song Mo’s cold indifference toward him ever since Jiang Yan had appeared. It was as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss, the chill seeping into his bones.

"Brother! Brother!" he wailed at Song Mo’s retreating figure.

Song Mo didn’t so much as glance back.

Lu Ming locked Song Han’s arm in place.

A piercing pain shot through Song Han’s shoulder.

He struggled desperately, but it was as futile as an ant trying to shake a tree.

Four men entered from outside.

One of them hesitated. "After all, he is the Second Young Master of the Duke of Yingguo’s household..."

A flicker of hope rose in Song Han’s heart.

But then the man continued, "I think drowning would be best—it’s hot out. If something goes wrong, we can just say he drowned while swimming."

Lu Ming pondered for a moment. "Then fetch a basin of water!"

Every hair on Song Han’s body stood on end. He spat viciously at Lu Ming. "How dare you lay a hand on me! My brother will regret this later and make you pay!"

Lu Ming grinned, his smile full of mockery. "Do you still think you’re the Second Young Master of the Duke of Yingguo’s household? Where did that Jiang girl come from? Don’t forget—though Li Tiaoniang is dead, Li Liang is still alive and well. Everyone in the Duke’s mansion knows you’re not a Song by blood, just a foster child. We’ll beat you with cotton padding—your organs will be ruined inside, but there won’t be a single mark on the outside. At most, you’ll be dead in two or three days. Even the Imperial Physicians from the Imperial Hospital wouldn’t be able to detect such a trick. Rest assured, even if the Duke takes this to the Emperor, it’ll be an unsolvable mess. Besides, with such a huge weakness in the Young Lord’s hands, who knows if the Duke would even stand up for you?"

As he spoke, there was a sharp crack—Song Han’s arm was dislocated.

Song Han screamed in agony.

Lu Ming sneered. "Don’t put on airs in front of me. The Young Lord only questioned you out of brotherly sentiment. If you won’t talk, someone else will."

"Since you refuse the courtesy offered, don’t blame the Young Lord for being merciless."

Song Han’s head was forced into the basin of water.

Bubbles gurgled violently in the water.

Song Han thrashed wildly.

Water rushed into his nose and mouth.

He felt the suffocating pain of drowning.

Then he was yanked back up.

Gasping for air, he barely had time to breathe before Lu Ming asked, "When the Young Lord questions you, will you still claim ignorance?"

Before Song Han could answer, his head was plunged back into the water.

...

Gradually, his struggles weakened.The shadow of death had never been so close to him before.

Yet he remained silent, his lips tightly sealed.

Someone hesitated and said, "What if something really happens... How do we explain it to the Duke?"

Lu Ming sneered, "The man is already dead. Do you think the Duke would cut off his own lineage?"

Song Han's head was forced underwater once more.

This time, it lasted longer than ever before.

The hands pressing him down were like iron clamps, unwavering and unrelenting.

Moreover, each time he was submerged, the duration grew longer, while the intervals between being pulled out grew shorter. It was as though they were in a hurry, treating him like a burden—something to be dealt with quickly so they could finish their task...

Suddenly, Song Han understood.

These men were nothing but puppets in Song Mo's hands. Unlike Song Mo, they wouldn't soften at the sight of his suffering.

If he didn't beg for mercy, he would truly die here.

Just as they said—if he died, Song Mo would become the sole heir of the Song family. What could Father do besides scolding or beating Song Mo?

So when Song Han was dragged out again, he weakly grabbed the arm of the man holding him down.

"I'll talk..." he murmured, collapsing onto the ground.