Blossom

Dou Zhao quietly asked Song Mo, "Are you planning to have Gu Yu relay a message to the Empress?"

"No!" Song Mo replied decisively. "Gu Yu wouldn't tell anyone." He glanced expressionlessly behind him and added, "There will naturally be someone to help me pass the message."

Following Song Mo's glance with the corner of her eye, Dou Zhao noticed the two guards who were always following Gu Yu.

Dou Zhao understood.

She called out to Miao Ansu and, with a smile, carried Yuan Ge'er to the rear hall where the female guests were seated.

Miao Ansu followed closely behind Dou Zhao, stepping where she stepped.

Ningde Princess and several other senior royal princesses and consorts were seated there chatting. They were taken aback when they saw Dou Zhao enter with a child in her arms. As Dou Zhao's elder, Ningde Princess spoke frankly, "Why have you brought the child in? Later, we'll be going to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager for her birthday."

At such banquets, even adults found it taxing, let alone children. But this couldn't be said outright in front of everyone.

She reached out to take the child from Dou Zhao and said, "Has Yuan Ge'er's wet nurse come in with you? You should hand the child to her and have her take him back to the residence first."

Dou Zhao smiled wryly and replied, "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager specially sent a eunuch to our residence with an imperial decree, instructing me to bring Yuan Ge'er into the palace on the day of the birthday banquet."

The gazes of the princesses and consorts toward Dou Zhao changed noticeably. Prince Huainan's consort even laughed and said, "This child takes after his father—so handsome. I wonder which family's daughter will be fortunate enough to marry him someday."

Yuan Ge'er was growing to look more and more like Song Mo.

With snow-white skin, bright black eyes, long and curly eyelashes, and a rosy complexion, he was utterly adorable.

Third Princess teased, "Didn't your household just welcome a granddaughter the other day? I think there's no need to look further. Just have Yuan Ge'er be your son-in-law."

Dou Zhao broke out in a sweat.

Prince Huainan's consort sighed, "Do you think I wouldn't want to? It's just that all my granddaughters are born of concubines." As she spoke, she gently squeezed Yuan Ge'er's tiny hand.

At this age, Yuan Ge'er was beginning to recognize people. Having frequently accompanied Dou Zhao into the palace recently, he had often been held by unfamiliar eunuchs or palace maids and wasn't shy. He gave Prince Huainan's consort a sweet smile, which delighted her so much that she untied a mutton-fat jade pendant from her waist and hung it around Yuan Ge'er's neck. "Take this to play with."

Dou Zhao hurried forward to express her thanks.

Prince Huainan's consort nodded with a smile and said, "Come visit my residence when you're free. My ninth grandson is only four months older than Yuan Ge'er."

Dou Zhao smiled and agreed.

Just then, the Emperor entered, supporting the Empress Dowager.

Behind them followed the Empress and the Crown Prince's family.

The hall immediately fell silent as everyone bowed respectfully.

Oblivious to the solemnity, Yuan Ge'er, upon seeing familiar faces, lifted his head from his mother's arms and babbled loudly toward the Emperor and Empress Dowager standing at the center of the hall. His cheerful noises were strikingly out of place in the quiet hall.

All eyes turned to Dou Zhao and Yuan Ge'er.

Meanwhile, the Third Imperial Grandson, who had been quietly resting in his wet nurse's arms, began wriggling and calling out to Yuan Ge'er.

The dignified atmosphere suddenly took on a somewhat comical tone.

The Empress frowned almost imperceptibly.The Empress Dowager and the Emperor both laughed, with the Empress Dowager instructing the eunuch beside her, "Bring Brother He over and let him play with the Third Imperial Grandson."

The eunuch smiled obsequiously and picked up Yuan Ge'er.

As he passed by the Emperor, the Emperor affectionately patted Yuan Ge'er's little cheek.

For a brief moment, the air in the grand hall seemed to freeze, but it quickly returned to its usual flow.

The Emperor's eldest cousin, Prince Huainan, led the imperial relatives in offering birthday congratulations to the Empress Dowager.

Song Han trailed at the very back, his gaze fixed resentfully on Song Mo and Gu Yu at the front. His heart churned with bitterness.

After the birthday wishes came the banquet.

The Empress and the Crown Princess escorted the Empress Dowager to the western hall, while the Empress conversed with several elder imperial uncles. Eunuchs moved quietly about, setting out bowls and chopsticks.

Finally managing to approach the Emperor, Song Yichun exchanged a few words before beckoning to Song Han.

Song Han immediately stepped forward.

Song Yichun respectfully addressed the Emperor, "This is my second son, Song Han, whose childhood name is Tianen."

Song Han hastily knelt.

The Emperor smiled and nodded, saying, "Today is a family banquet; no need for such formalities." Then he called out loudly, "Song Mo!" and added, "Go tell the wine and vinegar bureau to bring several jars of Pear Blossom White. This thick wine is too bland—it lacks punch."

Song Mo acknowledged the order with a smile.

The Emperor then turned to Shi Chonglan and spoke of Marquis Changxing: "...I heard he took another concubine? How many legitimate and illegitimate sons does he have now?"

From beginning to end, he paid no attention to Song Han.

Song Yichun was deeply disheartened.

Standing beside his father, Song Han watched Song Mo, who chatted and laughed effortlessly with the guests in the hall, appearing completely at ease. The smile on Song Han's face could no longer hold.

He hadn't expected Song Yichun to carry even less weight before the Emperor than Song Mo did.

No, not even as much as Yuan Ge'er—during the birthday greetings earlier, the eunuch had brought Yuan Ge'er out, and everyone coaxed him to bow to the Empress Dowager. After much effort, Yuan Ge'er managed to clasp his tiny fingers and bow twice, prompting the Empress Dowager to laugh heartily and reward him with two boxes of pastries and a scented sachet filled with golden beans.

It seemed there was no hope for his official appointment.

What was he to do from now on?

He couldn't possibly rely solely on the meager income from the farmstead and his father's subsidies, could he?

As the saying goes, no matter how much firewood or rice you have, it will eventually run out. What if his father remarried and had another legitimate son? Would those unrecorded subsidies still come as usual? Even if they did, he'd likely have to grovel for them, wouldn't he?

These thoughts left Song Han feeling lost.

※※※※※

After the Empress Dowager's birthday celebrations, the Ministry of Rites began preparations for the Emperor's birthday.

By June, the heat was already intense, and the Emperor decided to celebrate his birthday in the West Garden.

The Empress suggested with a smile, "This year, why not let Yantang oversee the palace relocation? He's so young yet already commands the Golden Guard. Many may not say it openly, but they whisper behind his back. This would be a good opportunity to silence those voices."

The Emperor agreed with the Empress's reasoning and issued an imperial decree appointing Song Mo to oversee this year's palace relocation.

Upon receiving the decree, Song Mo remained silent for a long time.The Emperor went to the West Garden to escape the summer heat, with the Standard Bearer Guard responsible for the ceremonial procession. The Imperial Bodyguard handled close protection, while the Golden Guard secured the outer perimeter. Although all three military garrisons were the Emperor's personal guards and held the same third-rank status, the Imperial Bodyguard always considered themselves superior and never deferred to the Standard Bearer Guard or the Golden Guard. Moreover, the overall responsibility for palace relocations had always fallen to the Imperial Bodyguard...

After some thought, Song Mo went to see Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan let out a few exclamations upon seeing Song Mo and said, "You're really digging in your heels! The Emperor is our master. We are all servants—you're trying to bend a tree with your bare arms. Be careful not to break them."

"What choice do I have?" Song Mo put on a helpless expression. "No sooner had I spoken than that bastard Wang Ge reported it to the Empress." He then complained, "How could you take on such a heartless, ungrateful disciple? If I don't resist, he’ll eventually take this matter to the Emperor."

Wang Yuan rolled his eyes. "Who are you blaming? If it was a private matter, you shouldn’t have spoken about it in the main hall. Even if you couldn’t hold back, you should’ve checked your surroundings first. But I can’t blame you—you grew up in luxury, always the one others had to please. When have you ever needed to watch your words? Still, you shouldn’t have dragged me into this! I still need to serve the Emperor peacefully and then guard his tomb after his passing..."

Song Mo cut him off bluntly, "That depends on whether you live long enough! The Grand Eunuch who served the late Emperor was beheaded by the current one!"

Wang Yuan fell silent.

Song Mo pressed, "Well? Give me an answer." He added, "I’m not asking you to rebel—just to lend a hand. It’ll make things easier."

Wang Yuan sighed. "Then let’s be clear—I won’t get involved in matters concerning Liao Wang."

Song Mo sneered. "If you can tolerate Wang Ge climbing over your shoulders to advance, then by all means, stand aside and watch. But let’s see if those palace sycophants will still rush to call you 'Godfather' or 'Grandpa' once they realize you can’t even handle Wang Ge."

Wang Yuan turned livid with anger, stamping his feet in frustration.

Song Mo left without a care.

Before the Dragon Boat Festival, the Imperial Observatory presented several auspicious dates for the palace relocation to the Emperor.

The Emperor chose the sixth day of the fifth month and declared, "Today, we’ll hold a dragon boat race in the West Garden. Have the Golden Guard, Divine Machine Battalion, and Five Armies Battalion send participants."

Wang Yuan went to the Court of State Ceremonial with a smile to deliver the imperial decree.

Meanwhile, Song Mo began preparations for the relocation.

With his fearsome reputation, noble lineage, and the Emperor’s favor, both Metropolitan Commander Li Ruxiao of the Standard Bearer Guard and Metropolitan Commander Shi Chuan of the Imperial Bodyguard treated him with respect. Li Ruxiao even assigned Standard Bearer Guard Vice Director Wu Liang and Golden Guard Assistant Prefect Fu Shijie to oversee the relocation. Surprisingly, everything proceeded smoothly.

However, on the day of departure, the yellow and blue flags meant to lead the procession were missing, and the red silk canopy with a curved handle was torn wide open.

The standard bearers responsible for the flags and canopy collapsed in terror, while the officer in charge of the procession turned deathly pale, muttering incessantly, "I checked everything last night—it was all fine. How could this happen? How could this happen?"It was the deputy's trusted subordinate who reacted quickly, saying, "Shouldn't we report this to Magistrate Wu immediately? First, let's open the storeroom to retrieve two banners and a red silk curved-handle umbrella as replacements."

The deputy snapped back to attention and hurried off to find Wu Liang.

Wu Liang was Jiang Lizhu's father-in-law and naturally gave his full support to Song Mo's affairs.

But at that moment, he had been summoned by the Imperial Bodyguards, who said there was some trouble and needed to question him.

The deputy was dumbfounded. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'll go find Magistrate Li instead!"

Suddenly, someone rushed over and stopped him with a smile, saying, "Magistrate Li is currently discussing matters with Magistrate Song and Magistrate Shi! If we involve Magistrate Li in this, the Golden Guard and the Imperial Bodyguards will inevitably find out. All three guards are acting together, yet only our Standard Bearer Guard ran into trouble—where would that leave Magistrate Li's dignity? Even Magistrate Wu might face repercussions. Why not let me think of a solution?"