Blossom

Jiang Yan took Dou Zhao's words to heart and truly stopped worrying about Chen Jia's affairs.

Meanwhile, Song Mo left the Hall of Cultivating Will, feeling a bellyful of grievances with nowhere to vent them. As he looked up, he spotted one of Song Han's pages leading a tall, handsome man toward the eastern path.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Miao Ansu’s brother, Miao Anping.

Miao Anping also noticed Song Mo at that moment.

He hurried forward to greet him.

Song Mo had little regard for Song Han and thus no interest in dealing with his brother-in-law’s family. He exchanged a few polite words with Miao Anping before excusing himself, claiming he had to attend court, and left the Duke of England's Mansion.

On the way, Wuyi quietly informed Song Mo about Miao Anping’s efforts to secure the position of Constable in Jurong County, adding, "Brother Miao has been visiting frequently these days to inquire about progress. He must have come for the same reason today."

Song Mo curled his lip in disdain.

Song Han might have lost his followers, but he still put on airs as if nothing had changed.

What ability did he even have to help Miao Anping secure a constable’s post in Jurong County?

After some thought, Song Mo instructed Wuyi, "Go ask Madam if any of the guards from Zhen Ding would be interested in becoming a constable in Jurong County. I’ll recommend them for an official post outside the mansion."

Wuyi jogged all the way back to the Duke of England's Mansion.

When Dou Zhao received Song Mo’s message, she was utterly baffled. Wuyi then explained the situation, and Dou Zhao couldn’t help but laugh. She summoned Duan Gongyi and relayed Song Mo’s request.

Neither Duan Gongyi nor Chen Xiaofeng had any intention of leaving the Duke of England's Mansion, but they both saw this as a good opportunity—if those who had followed Dou Zhao could be recommended for official posts, the younger ones would have something to strive for, which would only deepen their loyalty to her.

After discussing it, they decided to let the guards volunteer.

Some were willing, while others were not. Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng then conducted an on-the-spot selection, comparing seniority, loyalty, and martial skills before settling on a candidate to report to Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao wrote down the man’s name and family background for Wuyi to deliver to Song Mo.

Song Mo immediately sent someone to Jurong County that same day.

Miao Anping, of course, knew nothing of this.

He stood there, gazing enviously at Song Mo’s crimson official robes until the Young Lord disappeared from sight. Only then did he follow the page to the Green Bamboo Pavilion.

The date for Song Han and Miao Ansu’s move had already been set. Miao Ansu was busy packing, leaving the furnishings in disarray. When Miao Anping saw the mess, he was shocked. "What happened here?"

Miao Ansu had just risen.

Song Han had spent the night in the quarters of Yuehong, another of her dowry maids.

She was having her hair done by Ji Hong when she heard Miao Anping had arrived. She pressed her fingers to her temples and grumbled, "How does he have so much energy? Coming this early in the morning—doesn’t he care about gossip?"

Between the division of the household, the reassignment of maids, and the incident with Qi Xia, Song Han had been in a foul mood lately, finding fault even where none existed. She hadn’t had a chance to bring up the Jurong County constable position with him. Yet her brother remained relentless, pressing her for an answer.

Ji Hong didn’t dare respond, but the little maid who had come to report, oblivious to the tension, cheerfully added, "The Young Lord ran into Brother Miao. The Young Lord was on his way to court but even stopped to exchange a few words with him before leaving."

Miao Ansu froze. "What did the Young Lord say to him?" she asked urgently.The little maid smiled and said, "She was just asking if the young master had eaten breakfast yet. The weather is getting colder, and without the fire dragon in the room, one can hardly stretch out their hands to write, things like that."

Miao Ansu breathed a sigh of relief and went to the hall.

Miao Anping was standing in front of a curio shelf, examining a pair of ruby-glazed plum vases. Hearing movement, he turned around and saw it was Miao Ansu. Frowning, he stepped forward to meet her and said unhappily, "The Duke of Yingguo is splitting you off to live separately—such a big matter, and you didn’t even send someone back to inform your family? The Duke of England's Mansion must have assets worth at least a hundred or two hundred thousand taels of silver. Aren’t you afraid they’ll cheat you? How much of the family property did they give you? Did your brother-in-law sign and seal the agreement? Who acted as the witness? On what grounds are they splitting you off?" He spoke as if it were his own family being divided.

Miao Ansu replied wearily, "Even if I had told you, what could you have done to help? Gather a crowd to make a scene? The Duke of England's Mansion has its customs. The heir inherits the family property, while the second son is set up separately." She was genuinely afraid her brother would cause trouble and offend her status-conscious father-in-law, so she forced herself to explain patiently, "Mother-in-law’s dowry was divided into fifths—three parts went to the second master, two parts to the heir. Later, the heir bought back those three parts at a high price, so that matter is settled. As for the Duke of England's Mansion’s property, it’s all communal. At most, half of the property under Father-in-law’s name could be given to the second master. But Father-in-law is still in his prime—how could he divide the property now..."

Before she could finish, Miao Anping jumped up. "Are you stupid? If you don’t claim what’s rightfully yours now, are you expecting your father-in-law to leave half the property to you when he dies? You know he’s still in his prime—what if he remarries and has another son? And who told you the Duke of England's Mansion has such customs? Have you seen it, or have I? It’s just their word! If they don’t clarify the property division, you can’t agree to this split..."

Miao Ansu gave a bitter smile.

If Song Han were the Duke of England's Mansion’s legitimate second son—or even a bastard son—she could have fought for their rights according to the customs of other families when a secondary son leaves. But Song Han’s status was ambiguous, and he didn’t dare to fight for anything, agreeing to everything. How could she, as a daughter-in-law, possibly argue?

She snapped irritably, "The Duke agreed to the division, and the second master consented too. Do you expect me to argue with my father-in-law? You don’t know his temper—the more you demand, the less he’ll give. The more obedient you are, the more he’ll pity you. Look, the second master didn’t say a word and left everything to Father-in-law’s decision, and didn’t Father-in-law spend over ten thousand taels to buy us a house in Sihutong? He even gave us a farmstead that yields two thousand taels a year and promised to subsidize us with four thousand taels annually. So stop meddling!""Tsk!" Miao Anping said in exasperation, "Words alone are no proof—it must be written down. On which paper did he write that he would subsidize you with four thousand taels of silver every year? This year you have it, but who knows about next year? You were so shrewd back in your maiden home, how come you’ve become so muddleheaded after marrying him? Besides, when has anyone ever divided a household without inviting the wife’s family as witnesses? Has my brother-in-law sweet-talked you into losing all sense of direction?"

As he spoke, he noticed Miao Ansu’s face suddenly flush crimson, and she shot him a warning glance.

Miao Anping’s heart skipped a beat. Sensing something, he turned around and saw Song Han walking in with a dark expression.

How much had he heard?

Miao Anping wondered silently.

He dared to be insolent in front of Miao Ansu, but he wouldn’t risk offending Song Han, whom he had favors to ask of.

Quickly switching to a smile, Miao Anping stepped forward warmly, calling out, "Brother-in-law!" and said, "Have you had breakfast yet? There’s a shop near our place that sells crab roe buns—absolutely delicious. I brought a basket over specially. Why don’t you try some?"

Ji Hong promptly brought in the buns.

Song Han had heard every word Miao Anping said.

He sneered inwardly.

What a clueless fool!

Did he think everyone came from the streets, where after a brawl, they could still grin and call each other "brother"?

If he didn’t divide the household, death awaited him.

Without life, what else was there to talk about?

It was better to move out.

Setting up his own household would give him an excuse to seek an official post.

Living away from Song Mo’s watchful eyes was far better than anything else. Who knew when Song Mo might go mad and decide to make trouble for him?

As long as Father didn’t speak up, Song Mo couldn’t accuse him of passing off a concubine’s son as the legitimate heir. With the title of the Duke of Yingguo’s second son, wouldn’t people still flock to curry favor with him outside?

Seeing the sycophantic smile on Miao Anping’s face, Song Han felt so disgusted he could vomit up last night’s dinner.

He stood up and said, "We’re moving soon. I need to visit the Lu Family’s uncle and a few other elders. I’ll have breakfast outside. You two siblings can catch up." Then, ignoring Miao Anping’s cries of "Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!", he stormed off.

Miao Anping felt slighted. Glowering, he demanded of Miao Ansu, "What’s his problem?"

Miao Ansu shot him a glare. "Who told you to meddle in his family affairs?"

"I was just looking out for you!" Miao Anping muttered guiltily. Seeing that the constable position was now out of reach, he wolfed down the crab roe buns he had brought and returned to Daxing.

His father eagerly asked, "What did your brother-in-law say?"

"Don’t even ask." Miao Anping recounted his experience at The Duke of England's Mansion in detail and added, "Tell me, hasn’t my sister’s head been filled with lead?"

But his father was stunned by the mention of the ten-thousand-tael house and the annual subsidy of four thousand taels.He scolded his son, "Why do you meddle in so many matters? Your sister has both her father-in-law and husband above her. If she won't listen to them, why would she listen to you?" As he spoke, his eyes darted around, and he added, "I wonder if those four thousand taels will be paid in one lump sum or in installments? If it's a lump sum, just by lending out half as usurious loans, we could easily earn eight hundred to a thousand taels a year. Our household expenses only amount to two or three hundred taels annually."

Miao Anping immediately grasped his father's intention.

He quickly leaned in closer and whispered, "We mustn't let Uncle and the others know about this. It would be best to say it's a customary practice at the Duke of England's Mansion."

Father Miao nodded repeatedly.

Unable to contain his excitement, Miao Anping said, "Father, perhaps I should go scout the market? Not just anyone can engage in loan sharking, you know!"

"Of course," Father Miao urged him. "Go quickly and find out the details so we can draft our code of conduct."

"Right!" Miao Anping left in high spirits but returned that night dead drunk.

Naturally, Father Miao couldn't get any useful information out of him.

The next day, Miao Anping slept until the sun was high in the sky. But as soon as he got up, his ne'er-do-well friends came with news—the two new constable positions in Jurong County had been filled.

One was the nephew of the county's Record Keeper.

The other was a guard from the Duke of England's Mansion.