Blossom

Because he still had to return to the palace for duty, Song Mo rose at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) the next day. After a simple breakfast, he hurriedly rode back to the Capital on horseback.

Song Luo stayed behind to handle miscellaneous affairs in the outer courtyard, while Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng were responsible for guarding the secluded courtyard.

Behind the secluded courtyard was a small vegetable plot. Dou Zhao accompanied her grandmother in watering the plants and catching insects. If not for Yuan Ge'er's mischievous antics nearby, it almost felt like the days before Dou Zhao had married.

When Song Mo came to see her, he couldn't resist pinching her nose and said with a laugh, "When we grow old, let's move to the secluded courtyard. You can plant flowers, and I'll water them. During festivals, we’ll visit our grandchildren. If they please us, we’ll give them extra red envelopes; if they annoy us, we’ll go back and scold them..."

Dou Zhao laughed until she bent over.

After Song Mo left, Ji Lingze came to visit.

Knowing she was raised in a wealthy family and unfamiliar with farm work, her grandmother specially received her in the Small Flower Hall.

Ji Lingze chatted cheerfully with her grandmother for a long while and played with Yuan Ge'er for hours.

Dou Zhao found her efforts exhausting to watch. As noon approached, she made an excuse to ask Ji Lingze to help prepare cold noodles and spoke with her in the tea room: "Has something happened at home?"

Seeing the lunch was buckwheat noodles made from the new harvest, paired with crisp green cucumbers, tender white bean sprouts, and golden peanuts, Ji Lingze sighed enviously and said softly, "Yesterday, the Second Madam of the Wang Family from Willow Leaf Alley visited and brought some gold and silver, saying they hadn’t known about my marriage to your twelfth brother and this was their congratulatory gift. She also said that since your twelfth brother is now married, it’s improper for Seventh Madam to keep living with the Wang Family, and I should send someone to bring her back, as that’s what a virtuous wife would do. I thought this wasn’t something a daughter-in-law could decide alone, and I didn’t want the elders to misunderstand, so I came to tell you, Fourth Paternal Aunt."

Dou Zhao sneered.

The Wang Family had clever intentions.

If Dou Dechang had married someone else’s daughter, the new bride might have taken on this task to earn a reputation for virtue, which would have caused trouble.

Fortunately, Dou Dechang married Ji Lingze, who knew the background well. Otherwise, explaining the whole situation would have been awkward.

She said bluntly, "I worked hard to send Seventh Madam away. Sister-in-law, please don’t bring her back."

Ji Lingze smiled with narrowed eyes. "With your words, I’m reassured." She changed the subject and asked about Dou Zhao’s health: "You seem so light on your feet, unlike someone expecting. Do you have any secrets?"

Dou Zhao teased her, "Why the hurry, Sister-in-law? When your good news reaches me, I’ll share my experience with you then."

This made Ji Lingze blush.

After lunch, seeing Ji Lingze off, Dou Zhao took a nap in her chamber.

The midday sun glared into the courtyard, making everyone too lazy to stir.

Half-asleep, she heard a commotion.

Dou Zhao frowned and instructed her maid Ruo Tong, "Go see who’s making such a noise."

Ruo Tong hurried out and soon returned."Madam, it's Second Master," she said urgently. "He was out with friends visiting White Sparrow Temple when his carriage suddenly overturned. His leg was trapped beneath it, and it hurts terribly when he moves. Knowing you were at the secluded courtyard to escape the summer heat, he ordered his guards to hire a sedan chair to carry him here. He also asked us to fetch a physician for him."

Dou Zhao frowned. "How many people came with him? Where are they now?"

Ruo Tong replied, "There are fifteen in total—three are Second Master's friends, and the other twelve are his guards. Song Luo has settled them all in the East Wing Courtyard of the outer residence. Since Second Master's leg is injured, two pages are assisting him in the small study there, and another page has been sent to summon a physician."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a young maid hurried in and said, "Second Master's personal page has come on his orders to pay respects to Madam and the Old Lady."

It was merely a formality. Dou Zhao had someone give Song Han's page a few pieces of broken silver as a tip and dismissed him. She then instructed Ruo Tong, "Go and relay my orders to Master Duan to increase patrols. Make sure none of Second Master's people slip past the Second Gate."

Ruo Tong curtsied in acknowledgment and left to deliver the message.

Song Luo soon returned with a physician.

The physician said Song Han might have sprained his ankle, but there was also a chance he had fractured a bone. He recommended two doses of medicine and advised against moving him, suggesting rest for a few days. If the leg still hurt, it could be a fracture; if only the ankle was swollen, it might just be a sprain.

Pale with fright, Song Han urged Song Luo, "Quick, go to the Imperial Hospital and fetch an Imperial Physician!" He then ordered his personal page to ask Dou Zhao for a daybed. "If my leg bone is truly injured, I might end up crippled. None of you are to move me—I must rest on a daybed."

Dou Zhao couldn't be bothered with him. She had someone remove a kitchen door panel and send it to the front courtyard, saying, "There are no spare daybeds in the storeroom. Since he needs to rest, use this door panel to carry him to the guest room for now."

Song Han trembled with anger, but with his three companions present, he could only grudgingly agree and let his guards carry him into the guest room.

Song Luo settled Song Han's three friends in adjacent guest rooms and sent a page to the capital to fetch an Imperial Physician for him.

A young maid from the front courtyard brought the prepared medicine, but Song Han irritably knocked it to the ground and snapped, "Which courtyard sent this idiot? Didn’t you see that quack earlier? How dare you bring me his prescription? Are you tired of living?!"

The maid, who usually only tended empty rooms and cleaned, had never faced such a scene and burst into tears.

Song Han's face darkened like the bottom of a pot.

One of his friends stepped in to soothe the maid, saying, "Second Master is upset because of his injury. Don’t take it to heart."

The maid nodded, still sniffling, and withdrew.

The front courtyard was in chaos all afternoon—demands for tea, snacks, and entertainment—until lantern-lighting time when things finally quieted down.

Her grandmother asked Dou Zhao, "Should we send a maid to check on his injury?"

"No need," Dou Zhao replied indifferently, playing cat's cradle with Yuan Ge'er. "Yantang will be off duty the day after tomorrow. He’ll surely rush over tomorrow evening, and he can handle it then."Grandmother knew that the Song brothers were at odds, though she wasn't privy to the details. But she had always trusted Dou Zhao and Song Mo, so she didn't press further. Instead, she taught Yuan Ge'er how to play cat's cradle.

Indeed, the older the ginger, the spicier it is. In the end, Yuan Ge'er actually won against Dou Zhao.

He was overjoyed, bouncing around on the kang and pestering Dou Zhao for another round.

Dou Zhao played along with a smile until the hour of Hai, when Yuan Ge'er finally began to yawn.

She and the wet nurse bathed Yuan Ge'er, and the moment his head touched the pillow, he was fast asleep.

Dou Zhao gently stroked her son's soft, jet-black hair before rising and returning to her room.

The countryside night was exceptionally quiet.

At the Fragrant Mountain Estate, only the rustling of wind through the treetops and the intermittent chirping of insects could be heard.

Three shadowy figures darted out from the roof of the guest quarters, leaping onto the roof of the main residence.

Two stood watch while the third silently pried open a roof tile, pulling out a thin bamboo tube to blow something into the room.

Soon, a faint, sweet fragrance wafted out from the main residence.

The three crouched on the roof.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they slipped through the opening they had made and dropped into the room one after another.

Like a drop of water falling into a lake.

The main residence remained silent, without a sound.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure shot up into the sky, fleeing toward the estate's perimeter.

The estate abruptly lit up with lanterns, exposing the lean figure and masked face of the intruder in the glaring light.

"Friend, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Duan Gongyi stepped out from the shadows, a broadsword in hand. His booming voice was deafening in the night. "This is the Duke of Yingguo's estate—not some back-alley hovel where you can come and go as you please!" Before he finished speaking, a flash of cold steel suddenly appeared beside the shadowy figure as someone swung a broadsword down toward his head, forcing him off the roof.

The intruder was remarkably skilled. Not only did he evade the unexpected ambush, but he also drew a flexible sword from his waist and engaged his attacker in combat.

Duan Gongyi let out a surprised "Huh!" and shouted, "This isn't a duel—no need to fight one-on-one!"

Light laughter rippled through the estate as more men closed in on the intruder.

Numbers prevailed.

The intruder was quickly overwhelmed.

Duan Gongyi, who had been observing from the sidelines, hastily warned, "Watch out—he might kill himself!"

But even as he spoke, the intruder's movements suddenly froze before he collapsed to the ground.

"Damn it!" Duan Gongyi cursed as he rushed over, yanking off the black cloth covering the man's face.

It was one of Song Han's twelve guards.

"Black-hearted scum! Let's see what excuses he has now!" Duan Gongyi fumed indignantly. "Dislocate the jaws of those three who broke into the house. We need at least one alive for the Young Lord."

A guard acknowledged the order, wetting a handkerchief and covering his face before entering the main residence.

Duan Gongyi asked, "What about the Second Master?"

Another guard replied, "Rest easy—our men are watching him like hawks! Not even a mosquito could slip past. Though if he decides to kill himself, there's nothing we can do about that."

Suicide takes courage.

The guard's tone carried a hint of mockery.

Duan Gongyi muttered under his breath, "If only he would kill himself—it'd save us so much trouble!"He carried his sword to the courtyard where Song Han was staying and stood at the gate, calling out, "Second Master, your guards barged into the main courtyard in the dead of night. They were surrounded by us and ended up killing themselves. Don’t you think you should come out and give us an explanation?"

The guest room remained eerily silent, not a sound to be heard.

Duan Gongyi chuckled and said, "Second Master, how about this—a bandit broke in under cover of darkness, and you died protecting Madam!" As he spoke, he took two steps back and raised his voice, "I’ll set fire to the guest quarters!"

Immediately, a light flickered on inside, and the door creaked open. Song Han emerged, his face deathly pale, shouting, "I was kidnapped when the carriage overturned! I tried several times to send word to you but failed—I’m a victim too! Go report to my brother at once—someone is trying to kill him!"

Duan Gongyi couldn’t help but grin. "Second Master, my apologies, but you’ll have to come with me to see Madam first. As for your guards—they can either drop their weapons and surrender, or you can toss their corpses out. I wouldn’t dare barge into a place you’ve stayed without caution!"