Blossom

When Chen Jia brought Jiang Yan over, Jiang Bosun, looking at Jiang Yan who bore a striking resemblance to his late sister, was deeply moved. He repeatedly said "good" with moist eyes.

Although it was Jiang Yan's first time meeting Jiang Bosun, she could sense his goodwill toward her. She stood there blushing with a shy smile.

Seeing this, Jiang Bosun felt complicated emotions.

This niece of his was merely similar in appearance.

Had she been raised in the Duke of England's Mansion as a privileged young lady, who knows how radiant she would have become.

What a pity for this child.

Fortunately, Song Mo had found her, and it wasn't too late. He would just have to look after her more in the future.

He became even more determined to restore the Jiang family's prestige through military achievements.

Jiang Bosun patted Song Mo's shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't worry, your fifth uncle won't let you down."

Song Mo smiled faintly and presented Jiang Bosun with a whip that Duke Ding had once given him, saying, "I'll await fifth uncle's triumphant return."

Jiang Bosun nodded and strode out of the capital.

Song Mo didn't turn back until Jiang Bosun's figure disappeared from the post road.

※※※※※

A few days later, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.

In previous years, the Duke of England's Mansion would invite Song Maochun and the other two families for banquets, music, moon viewing, and lantern displays to celebrate the occasion. This year, with Song Yichun still bedridden, Song Mo simply invited Chen Jia and his wife for a meal to mark the festival.

He said apologetically to Dou Zhao, "For the Lantern Festival, I'll definitely take you all to see the lantern displays in the streets."

Though it was meant to be simple, the Duke of England's Mansion was actually decorated with various lanterns everywhere, brightly lit. Song Mo arranged for several young maids and pages to accompany Yuan Ge'er in play. Yuan Ge'er pulled along a rabbit lantern about three feet tall with wheels at its base, custom-made by the Imperial Workshops, running happily along the Covered Corridors, thoroughly enjoying himself without any desire to go elsewhere.

Looking out the window at her son's joyful laughter, Dou Zhao remarked, "It's crowded outside, and Yuan Ge'er is still young. With people setting off firecrackers and fireworks everywhere, I worry he might inhale smoke or get bumped into. It's better to stay home."

Seeing that Dou Zhao wasn't the least bit disappointed, Song Mo felt relieved and said, "Perhaps we should take this opportunity to do away with some of the old formalities?"

Dou Zhao looked puzzled.

Song Mo explained, "Even if Father recovers, he'll need rest. This New Year—" implying they would no longer invite those three families for celebrations.

"Good!" Dou Zhao agreed readily.

She understood Song Mo's feelings.

When Song Yichun wanted to drive Song Mo out, Song Maochun and the others had only followed Song Yichun's lead. After Song Han was removed from the family register, they didn't even ask why. Others hope for a large family to have support in times of need, but these relatives only gathered around in good times and pretended ignorance during hardships. Such relatives were better off without.

"Fortunately, the Dou family has many aunts and uncles," she joked. "People might say you only have in-laws from your wife's side."

Song Mo leaned in close to her ear and whispered playfully, "Then let's just have more children. After all, our ancestor was just one person, yet the Song family has grown into these branches. We can do the same!"Dou Zhao smiled and gave him a light tap.

Song Mo chuckled, wrapping his arm around Dou Zhao's shoulders as they stood under the eaves watching Yuan Ge'er play.

The grand lanterns cast a warm red glow over the Duke of England's Mansion.

※※※※※

By late August, the imperial decree was issued.

Song Mo was appointed Metropolitan Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard and Assistant Prefect of the Divine Machine Battalion; Ma Youming succeeded Song Mo in leading the Golden Guard; the Duke of Dongping concurrently took over as Commander-in-chief of the Divine Machine Battalion, while the former Commander of the Five City Garrison was replaced by the Marquis of Anlu. Song Yichun, due to illness, stepped down as Commander-in-chief of the Five Armies Commandery. The Datong Garrison Commander, Marquis Changxing, was recalled to the Capital and appointed as the Seal-Holding Commander of the Front Army in the Five Armies Commandery. The former Assistant Prefect of the Datong Garrison Command was promoted to Datong Garrison Commander, while the heir of the Earl of Guang'en, Dong Qi, was appointed as the new Assistant Prefect of the Datong Garrison Command...

The civil officials remained unchanged, but the military ranks underwent a sweeping reshuffle.

When Wang Qinghuai read the court gazette, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply and asked An Shi, "Is there anything else worth celebrating at the Duke of England's Mansion?"

An Shi asked curiously, "What does the Young Lord intend to do?"

Wang Qinghuai placed the gazette in front of her.

After carefully reading it, An Shi remarked, "Marquis Changxing is truly formidable—he actually secured a position as the Seal-Holding Commander in the Five Armies Commandery. No wonder the Marquis's household has been thriving these past years." She then turned to Wang Qinghuai and added, "A few days ago, someone proposed a marriage for my younger brother’s eldest son to the second daughter of the third branch of the Marquis Changxing’s family. My mother thought the girl was quite pretty but seemed a bit temperamental, so she’s still hesitating. Do you think I should suggest finalizing the match...?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Wang Qinghuai frowned in irritation. "I meant for you to look at Song Yantang!" His tone grew complex as he mused, "The Crown Prince treats him with exceptional favor. To ensure he could oversee the Divine Machine Battalion, His Highness even had the Duke of Dongping concurrently serve as its Commander-in-chief!"

Sensing her husband’s discontent, An Shi, recalling his close ties with Song Mo in recent years, hesitated before replying, "Though the Duke of England is no longer the Seal-Holding Commander, Song Mo has been transferred to the Imperial Bodyguard—just like the Golden Guard, both are the Emperor’s trusted forces. While it may not compare to before, it’s hardly a loss of influence!"

Wang Qinghuai shook his head, realizing he’d need An Shi to maintain closer ties with Dou Zhao in the future. He explained, "The Duke of Dongping is a shrewd man. When the Emperor previously appointed him as Metropolitan Commander of the Five City Garrison, he deferred entirely to Song Yantang’s oversight and maintained an excellent rapport with him." Pointing to the names in the gazette, he continued, "See? They’re now colleagues again—Song Yantang isn’t losing influence. On the contrary, the Crown Prince is deliberately elevating him, using the Duke of Dongping’s seniority to pave his way. Now he commands two imperial guard units simultaneously—such favor hasn’t been seen since the founding ancestor of the Duke of England’s Mansion. At this rate, the household will remain prosperous for at least another twenty years!"

An Shi, who always trusted her husband’s judgment, suddenly understood. After racking her brain, she said, "If I recall correctly, Su Xin—one of Madam Dou’s former maids—has her birthday in a few days. But Su Lan, who married Madam Dou’s steward, no longer lives in the Duke of England’s Mansion. And since Su Xin is just a servant, wouldn’t it seem too eager if I personally went to reward her?"

Wang Qinghuai replied, "Why not have your senior maids or matrons strike up a conversation with her instead?""That's true!" An Shi laughed awkwardly. "In my haste, I didn't think of that."

She was a woman of action and immediately called over the personal attendant who served her when she went out, asking which of her people could get along with Su Xin.

"I can get along with her," the attendant smiled. "That Su Xin is easy to talk to and treats everyone kindly. During the Ghost Festival this year, I ran into Su Lan at the Great Xiangguo Temple and even treated her to a bowl of tofu pudding."

Delighted, An Shi instructed her personal maid to open a chest and take out twenty taels of silver for the attendant, saying, "Go celebrate Su Xin's birthday and try to build some rapport with her. She's someone Madam Dou brought from Zhen Ding—not your ordinary personal maid. We might need her to put in a good word for us with Madam Dou in the future."

Understanding the hint, the attendant took the silver and went to Su Xin's home.

But Su Xin wasn't home.

The gatekeeper at Su Xin's house, a man in his fifties with a thick Zhen Ding accent, cheerfully told her, "Master Chen and Master Liu from The Duke of England's Mansion have been released from service. Our mistress has gone there to congratulate them."

Coming from a prominent family herself, and the attendant being a lifelong servant of the An household, they knew that sometimes noble families would honor loyal servants who had done them great favors by releasing them from servitude. In rare cases, some even secured official positions for them. But such instances were exceedingly rare—in her nearly fifty years of life, she had only heard of two or three cases.

She couldn't hide her astonishment. "How many were released? Both Master Chen and Master Liu? Where did they go? What are they doing now?"

The gatekeeper proudly replied, "Several of the most respected masters were released. Some became constables at the county office, others joined the military households as captains in the Imperial Guards—eight or nine in total. The mansion is actually short-handed now. Our mistress will soon be returning to Zhen Ding on Madam's behalf to recruit a few more guards!"

No wonder Madam wanted her to build ties with Su Xin!

The attendant clicked her tongue in amazement, tipped the gatekeeper fifty coins, left the gift with her name, and returned to the Yan'an Marquis's residence.

An Shi couldn't conceal her shock. "Eight or nine released at once? That many—are you sure you heard correctly?"

"No mistake," the attendant hurriedly assured. "I asked clearly—all with names and positions. I rushed back to ask for your instructions. Perhaps we could prepare some fresh pastries and send them to The Duke of England's Mansion to gather more information."

An Shi brought out two boxes of chrysanthemum cakes and a jar of osmanthus wine bestowed by the palace, instructing the attendant, "These may not be impressive to The Duke of England's Mansion, but they represent our sincerity. Madam Dou won't disdain them. Go quickly and return soon."

The attendant agreed and hurried off to The Duke of England's Mansion.

The main hall of the Hall of Cultivating Will was quiet, but the eastern side houses were alive with laughter and chatter, audible several alleys away.

The attendant leading her in said somewhat apologetically, "Several of Madam's guards are being released. Madam treated them to a feast from Jiuxianlou and declared three days of celebration, so it's quite lively. Please excuse the noise."

The attendant exchanged a few polite words of admiration but mentally noted everything to report back to An Shi.An Shi suddenly realized her husband's intentions and hurried to Wang Qinghuai's study.

Wang Qinghuai had a guest.

An Shi quietly asked the page, "Who is it?"

The page smiled and replied, "It's the Marquis of Jining."

Just then, Wei Tingyu stepped out.

An Shi couldn't help but glance at him.

In the sunlight, Wei Tingyu looked haggard, his clothes dull, resembling an unsuccessful and downcast martial artist—far less impressive than Wang Qinghai who stood behind him.