Blossom

To command the Imperial Bodyguards, Shi Chuan was no ordinary figure. Seeing the flicker of disdain in Liu Yu's eyes, he couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart.

Supporting Liao Wang was already a risky gamble—why couldn't he keep it to himself? Why take such a risk?

Shi Chuan pondered silently before instructing Liu Yu, "Write me a letter of apology immediately. Say that Song Yantang was ungrateful, and I originally intended to abduct his sister to force him into agreeing to the marriage. But the men I sent failed and were captured by Song Yantang... Though he hasn’t extracted a confession yet, given his intelligence, he’ll soon figure out who was behind it... I beg for our lord’s punishment."

Liu Yu bowed and replied, "Yes."

Shi Chuan clasped his hands behind his back and slowly descended the stairs.

※※※※※

At Liao Wang’s residence in the Capital, Geng Li, upon receiving the news, flew into a rage. He crumpled the note in his hand and said to his trusted attendant, "Shi Chuan is not someone we can rely on! His selfishness runs too deep."

The attendant hesitated before replying, "But the position of the Pacification Office Commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard Garrison Command is already in his hands. Replacing him now would be troublesome."

Geng Li paced around the room in agitation. "I never agreed to handing the Pacification Office to Shi Chuan in the first place—with it under his control, he’ll dominate the Imperial Bodyguards completely! This is extremely unfavorable for us. Yet our lord listened to that cripple Chen’s advice, not only replacing the Duke of Yingguo’s heir’s man but also going out of his way to secure a hereditary captaincy to placate him, only to leave the Duke’s heir resentful. And now, Shi Chuan dares to act so recklessly..."

He stamped his foot in frustration.

Cripple Chen was another adviser to Liao Wang.

The attendant frowned and said hesitantly, "Our lord will surely punish Shi Chuan. There’s no need for you to worry too much!"

"No!" Geng Li retorted firmly. "Our lord won’t punish Shi Chuan—instead, he’ll have to clean up his mess!"

After a moment’s thought, the attendant understood.

Liao Wang needed Shi Chuan to spy on the Capital’s movements. No matter what Shi Chuan had done, Liao Wang had to magnanimously forgive him and cover for him, demonstrating his "broad-mindedness and respect for talent" to win the loyalty of his followers.

With reluctance, the attendant asked, "But isn’t Shi Chuan afraid our lord will settle accounts later?"

Geng Li gave a bitter smile. "He can easily claim he was testing whether our lord has the tolerance to retain talent!"

That way, Liao Wang would have even less reason to move against him.

The attendant could only smile wryly in response.

※※※※※

In the Hall of Cultivating Will at the Duke of England's Mansion, Gu Yu waved his arms indignantly. "Bandits? What nonsense! Who in the northern capital’s underworld would dare lay a finger on Tianci’s people? This must be someone targeting you! Who could it be? Dong Qi? Impossible—he’s not that stupid! Who else could it be?"

Could Song Mo name Liao Wang?

Of course not.

He stared wide-eyed at Gu Yu.Dou Zhao quickly said, "Since the people who abducted Ah Yan have been found, there's no need to worry. We can investigate slowly. Though the Capital is vast, with you, Lord Ma, and Lord Jiang, surely we can uncover the truth? Don't be anxious." Then she asked him about the shipyard in Tianjin, "I heard the Ministry of Works sent people to learn from you, wanting to borrow your craftsmen to build a few large ships capable of carrying cannons?"

Mentioning this, Gu Yu was as if scratched in just the right spot, brimming with uncontainable pride.

"That's right!" He was practically preening. "Those fools from the Ministry of Works left perfectly good ship blueprints to be eaten by termites, yet they come to me for guidance. I didn’t hold back either—I made them trade the blueprints from the old voyages to the Western Ocean for my help." At this point, he grew even more excited, leaning toward Song Mo. "Tianci-ge, let’s build a few big ships and sail out to sea too! Those merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang are downright ruthless—they turn ten thousand taels of goods into a hundred thousand taels of profit. It’s practically alchemy!"

Song Mo was glad he had shifted his focus and laughed, flicking Gu Yu’s forehead. "Don’t eye the pot while eating from the bowl. Once you’ve built the ships, won’t there be people willing to pay top dollar for them? Focus on doing your current work properly. There’s plenty of silver in the world—how could it all end up in our pockets? Trying to hog it all might just choke you!"

Gu Yu looked sheepish. Just then, the wet nurse brought Yuan Ge’er over, and he happily played with the child, forgetting the matter entirely.

Song Mo and Dou Zhao both sighed in relief.

After Gu Yu left that evening, Dou Zhao discussed with Song Mo, "We should settle Ah Yan’s marriage sooner. Liao Wang only sought her as a Madam, which is easy to refuse. But if someone petitions to marry her as a principal wife, we can’t ignore an Imperial Decree, can we?"

Song Mo still felt somewhat displeased, but recalling how Chen Jia had rushed about tirelessly after Jiang Yan’s abduction, he grunted in reluctant agreement.

Dou Zhao couldn’t help but laugh and chided him, "Don’t be like this! From now on, Chen Jia will be family. When you see him, be a little kinder—it’ll reflect well on Yan-meimei too!"

Song Mo bristled like a cat whose fur had been rubbed the wrong way. "That he gets to marry my sister at all is his family’s ancestral graves spewing smoke! What more does he want?" He sounded like a child whose treasure had been snatched away.

"Alright, alright," Dou Zhao said, both exasperated and amused, treating him like a child to soothe him. "We’ll make sure he doesn’t visit unless necessary. After all, you’re his elder brother-in-law!"

Song Mo snorted a few times, his expression softening somewhat.

On the day the Chen family came with the betrothal gifts, though Song Mo remained aloof toward Chen Jia, at least he didn’t openly show displeasure.

Chen Jia didn’t mind—after all, it was the Song family who had proposed the match. But his colleagues were nearly dumbstruck. The moment Song Mo left, one of them exclaimed, "Pinch me—did I just see Lord Song smile? Am I dreaming? I’ve been to the Golden Guard on business at least ten times and never once saw him smile!" He added enviously, "Zan-zhi, you’ve really done it! To think you’d become the brother-in-law of the Young Lord of Duke of Yingguo!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

But Song Yichun was furious.

He summoned Song Mo and demanded, "Why didn’t you even mention Jiang Yan’s marriage to me?"Song Mo smiled and said, "Didn't you say Jiang Yan has nothing to do with you? Since she bears the Jiang surname, I thought it would suffice with the Jiang family elders' approval, so I didn't inform you. You're not angry, are you? If you are, why not acknowledge Jiang Yan as your own? Then I can call off this marriage and find her a more illustrious match!" Noticing Song Yichun's wide-eyed stare of shock and fear, he couldn't resist adding pointedly, "What a pity! I wonder what Liao Wang heard, but a few days ago he sent his adviser to propose marriage to Jiang Yan. Fearing it might arouse the Emperor and Empress's suspicions, I had to reluctantly decline. Imagine if you had acknowledged Jiang Yan earlier—you'd have a prince as your son-in-law now. How splendid that would have been!"

With that, he strode away, leaving Song Yichun stunned for a long while.

When Song Yichun finally regained his composure, his lips twitched uncontrollably, his heart filled with indescribable bitterness.

Meanwhile, Miao Ansu also received an invitation. She asked Song Han, "How much should we gift for the occasion?"

After moving to Sitiao Hutong, although their lifestyle was less extravagant than before, Song Han enjoyed being the master of his own household without anyone overseeing his comings and goings. He even regretted not moving out sooner and took great delight in his new residence. Despite the winter chill, he often strolled the courtyards with pages and maids, inscribing plaques for various spots, thoroughly enjoying himself. He left household matters to Miao Ansu, who brought up Jiang Yan's upcoming marriage, much to his surprise—he had assumed Song Mo would support Jiang Yan for life.

"Why bother attending?" Song Han dismissed. "It's not like she's a maiden getting married!"

Miao Ansu had no choice but to retreat to her chambers, where she spotted Ji Hong vomiting behind a flowering shrub, her face pale.

After a brief moment of surprise, Miao Ansu realized Ji Hong might be pregnant. Her heart soured with mixed emotions as she summoned a physician to check the pulse.

The physician, familiar with the Duke of Yingguo's household and aware of the situation at Sitiao Hutong, nervously confirmed it was a pregnancy pulse but dared not offer congratulations, watching Miao Ansu cautiously.

After the physician left, Miao Ansu sat blankly for a while before heading to Song Han's study.

Song Han showed no joy, his brow furrowed. "How could she be pregnant? Could it be a mistake? Didn’t you have your maids take preventive concoctions? How are you managing this household? This child is illegitimate and cannot be kept. Call a midwife to administer an abortive draught."

Miao Ansu couldn’t pinpoint her own feelings—neither pure joy nor utter sorrow.

She relayed Song Han's decision to Ji Hong, who nodded silently without a word. Only after Miao Ansu left did Ji Hong bite her handkerchief and weep soundlessly.

Miao Ansu fetched a five-year-old ginseng from her dowry to help Ji Hong recover. Soon after, she heard that First Madam Song and her daughter-in-law Tan Shi had gone to the Duke of Yingguo's mansion to contribute to Jiang Yan's dowry.

Anxious, she approached Song Han again about Jiang Yan's marriage.

Song Han's expression darkened. After a long silence, he reluctantly said, "Since everyone else is going, you might as well join them."

Relieved, Miao Ansu opened the family coffers, took out fifty taels of gold, and had a set of jewelry made for Jiang Yan.

Dou Zhao invited Miao Ansu, along with Third Madam Song and Fourth Madam Song, to stay for a meal.During the gathering, everyone talked about Tan Shi, who was pregnant, and offered advice to Miao Ansu, who hadn't shown any signs yet: "I heard they invited Great Monk Defu from the Great Xiangguo Temple to help pray for blessings. Why don't you try that too?"

Miao Ansu forced a smile, though her heart felt as bitter as if she had eaten coptis root.

Dou Zhao broke out in a cold sweat.

She never expected Defu would even get involved in such matters!

Her thoughts turned to Ji Yong.

Surely, he wouldn't become a monk in this lifetime, would he?

After lunch, as Miao Ansu, Third Madam Song, and Fourth Madam Song were about to take their leave, Ji Shi and Han Shi arrived to present Jiang Yan with her dowry.

This naturally led to another round of lively conversation.

Before they could finish, the mother-in-law and daughters-in-law from Huai Shu Alley arrived.

Everyone greeted them warmly, and the chatter continued.

Third Madam Song and Fourth Madam Song exchanged a meaningful glance.

The Dou family was treating Jiang Yan as a formal relative.

Perhaps they should show more consideration as well?