Meanwhile, far away in the capital, Chen Qu Shui was jolted awake by a rumble of thunder.

Startled, he sat up and heard the sound of rain pouring down from the sky.

So it was raining!

He pressed his hand against his chest, taking a while to calm his racing heart.

His time at Duke Ying’s residence had truly been one of constant vigilance. Although Song Mo had lifted his confinement a few days ago, for Chen Qu Shui, remaining in the Duke’s residence felt like living in a tiger’s den.

He sat quietly for a moment.

The rain intensified, and the fierce wind whipped the branches, creating a crackling sound. The scent of sandalwood incense wafted through the air, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility.

Chen Qu Shui couldn’t help but smile.

When had Song Luo lit the incense? Was it to ensure he slept well?

Song Mo had sent two young servants, both around twelve or thirteen years old, to “attend” to him. One was named Song Luo, and the other Wu Yi, both named after types of tea. Song Luo was lively, while Wu Yi was calm, but both were sharp and knew what to say and what to keep silent about. They were attentive to his needs, and when they flattered him, their words held substance. This made him reflect on Duke Ying’s grandeur—how could they produce such capable young servants without a century of accumulation?

He suddenly remembered that he had left the study window open.

The study was particularly vulnerable to dampness.

“Song Luo! Song Luo!” Chen Qu Shui called for the attending servant.

No one answered.

Furrowing his brow, he wondered if it was due to the orders they were following or if it was simply the Duke’s rules. Normally, the two servants never left his side, yet today he couldn’t summon anyone.

Puzzled, his peripheral vision caught sight of a white mourning garment.

It had been delivered by a house servant named Zeng Wu.

The Duchess of Ying had passed away, and everyone in the Duke’s residence was required to wear mourning attire.

He explained to Zeng Wu, “I’m just a temporary guest here; wearing plain clothes is sufficient.”

Zeng Wu rolled his eyes and disdainfully replied, “Since you eat and drink from the Duke’s residence, you must abide by its rules. Don’t think that just because you are a confidant of Mr. Yan, you can act differently. Even if Mr. Yan were to return, he would still have to wear heavy mourning.”

Chen Qu Shui had taken refuge here under the pretext of knowing Yan Chaoqing.

He certainly wouldn’t stoop to Zeng Wu’s level over this matter and silently accepted the mourning garment.

Zeng Wu strutted away, muttering, “It’s just an excuse to know Mr. Yan, fooling the young master to come here for free meals. What’s so impressive about that? He dares to show off in front of me; if I get angry, I’ll report him to Duke and make him regret it!” His tone dripped with contempt and disdain.

Chen Qu Shui could only smile wryly.

Not just one person in the Duke’s residence viewed him this way.

But perhaps that was for the best; no one would pay him any mind.

He found a robe from a nearby high cabinet and draped it over himself before heading to the study.

The four-paneled window, with its ice-cracked patterns, allowed light and air into the study during the day, but closing it now was a bit troublesome.

As he was about to close the window, he saw Song Luo running over, balancing a banana leaf on his head.

Thinking of the incense in his room, he felt a sudden urge to hide behind the window.

Soon, light footsteps echoed from the corridor, approaching the inner room.

That was where Song Luo and Wu Yi’s sleeping quarters were.

Where could they be going at this hour?

Chen Qu Shui pondered, stepping out from behind the window.

Someone was rushing through the rain toward him.

As he focused, he realized it was Wu Yi.

Like Song Luo, he headed straight for the inner room.

Chen Qu Shui sensed something unusual.

He thought for a moment and quietly pressed his ear against the door to listen to the sounds inside.

“Hurry and change out of those wet clothes; be careful not to let Mr. Chen find out,” Wu Yi’s voice, though soft, was clear on such a rainy night.

“What bad luck! How did I end up in such heavy rain?” Song Luo muttered quietly.

Wu Yi asked, “Did you find out anything?”

“I didn’t learn anything,” Song Luo replied, sounding somewhat dejected. “I only know that Duke personally instructed Wang Xi to capture someone. As for the reason, no one knows; we can only wait for the young master to return to deal with it.” He added, sounding puzzled, “It’s strange; many of the guards in the residence are unfamiliar to me. They repeatedly questioned my identity. If I hadn’t run into Guard Xie, I might not have made it back! Normally, new guards are introduced to the household for a while before they start patrolling. But this time, out of the four, I only recognized Guard Xie…”

“That’s why I feel something is off!” Wu Yi’s voice was filled with concern. “Chen Tao is the young master’s attendant. The young master has praised him for being careful and even entrusted him with his silver. What could Chen Tao have done wrong? And then there’s Guard Wen; when the young master left, he told me to keep an eye on our courtyard. He said if I needed anything, I should find him, but I’ve tried several times and couldn’t find him. What on earth is he doing…”

Both fell silent.

Chen Qu Shui hurried back to his room and lay down.

Before long, Song Luo entered.

“Mr. Chen! Mr. Chen!” he called softly.

Chen Qu Shui grunted and turned over.

Song Luo let out a long sigh of relief and lay down on the kang by the window outside the screen.

But Chen Qu Shui found it impossible to sleep.

He knew Chen Tao, just as Wu Yi had said, was a very attentive young man—quiet and observant. With his temperament, he was perfectly suited to be a personal attendant.

What could he have done wrong?

He wondered how Dou Zhao was doing.

With Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng by her side, she should be safe.

That day had been terrifying; if the young lady hadn’t acted decisively, they might have all died at the manor.

But alas, she was to marry Wei Tingyu!

That thoughtless man didn’t consider that he and Song Mo were worlds apart in age and status. Why would Song Mo treat him with such respect?

Should he warn Wei Tingyu?

He couldn’t tell him about the manor incident, and he’d have to come up with a new reason for the Fourth Young Lady’s acquaintance with Song Mo. But lies were like a snowball, growing larger and larger.

Chen Qu Shui sighed, listening to the rain all night.

The next morning, the rain had lessened significantly.

Wu Yi smiled at him and said, “I need to find Guard Wen. Can I take a day off, Mr. Chen?”

Thinking of Wu Yi and Song Luo’s conversation from the night before, Chen Qu Shui smiled nonchalantly, “Go ahead! I have Song Luo here.”

Wu Yi thanked him repeatedly and left in high spirits.

He didn’t return until noon. After lunch, he said he was going out again to find Guard Wen: “…I couldn’t find him; maybe he’s out dealing with something?”

This Guard Wen appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six, a burly man with a mustache, living alone in the eastern quarters of the Duke’s residence.

In the afternoon, Wu Yi still hadn’t found Guard Wen.

Zeng Wu came over, holding an umbrella, accompanying a tall and sturdy man.

He introduced the man, saying, “There are only three people in this courtyard. One is an old scholar, a down-and-out talent, a confidant of Mr. Yan, taken in by the young master, and he lives here. The other two are young servants attending to this scholar. One is named Wu Yi, who used to sweep the study at Yi Zhi Tang; the other is Song Luo, who used to tend to the flowers and plants at Yi Zhi Tang but was later assigned here to help with the courtyard, providing food and hot water for this Chen scholar.” He called out to Chen Qu Shui, “Hey, come over and greet Guard Chang. He will be the guard for Yi Zhi Tang from now on; keep your eyes open.”

Chen Qu Shui was taken aback.

While Song Mo was away, they were changing guards at Yi Zhi Tang.

What on earth had happened?

Chen Qu Shui dared not show any sign of his shock and hurriedly approached to bow to Guard Chang.

Guard Chang glanced at him coldly, then walked around the room.

Chen Qu Shui felt a jolt in his spirit.

This man had hands like large fans—rough and strong, with a jade ring on his thumb.

He had seen men like this under the command of Duke of Ding.

They were all skilled archers.

Guard Chang exited the room, accompanied by Zeng Wu, and strolled around the courtyard under the umbrella.

He stopped at key locations in the courtyard.

If bows and crossbows were set up there, the entire courtyard would be within range.

Chen Qu Shui broke out in a cold sweat, barely managing to suppress his unusual expression.

But as soon as Guard Chang and Zeng Wu left, he immediately called for Wu Yi, saying, “How many guards did the young master leave behind? Do you know what they’ve been doing these past few days?”

Wu Yi also sensed something was off.

Changing guards at Yi Zhi Tang couldn’t have been done without the young master’s approval.

Although he didn’t know Chen Qu Shui’s background, he understood that Chen Qu Shui was being held here against his will.

Being valued by the young master must mean he was not an ordinary person.

Out of caution, he didn’t tell Chen Qu Shui how many guards Song Mo had left behind; he only said, “I haven’t seen any of the guards.”

Song Mo had gone to Liaodong, and his chief aide, Yan Chaoqing, had gone to Haozhou. The most skilled Xu Qing remained with the Jiang family. Yi Zhi Tang was left vulnerable, Chen Tao was still imprisoned, and the other guards had also vanished… By the time Song Mo returned, Yi Zhi Tang would have already fallen into someone else’s hands…

A classic tactic of drawing the tiger away from its mountain lair, cutting off the enemy’s supplies.

It was a method often used by the Emperor against those generals stationed at the borders.

But who was behind the plot against Song Mo?

A figure vaguely surfaced in Chen Qu Shui’s mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

Why would that person do this?

What reason could they have for such actions?

Chen Qu Shui suddenly felt as if his mind was clouded.

He turned to Wu Yi and said, “I want to write a letter back to Zhen Ding. Can you help me send it out?”

Chen Qu Shui often wrote letters to Zhen Ding, and Wu Yi would help him send them through the postal service.

Wu Yi agreed, “Sure.”

Since the young master had allowed Chen Qu Shui to send letters back at any time, those letters had always been reviewed by Mr. Yan.

This time, with Mr. Yan absent, he could also take a look.

Chen Qu Shui wrote about the flowers blooming in the courtyard, the new guards arriving at the Duke’s residence, and how unfamiliar their faces were, mentioning that it would take some time to recognize them.

However, with Yi Zhi Tang under strict guard, the letter couldn’t be sent out. Wu Yi was repeatedly questioned, and if he hadn’t been clever, he might not have made it back.

Chen Qu Shui gasped.

If something happened to Song Mo, would his stay at Yi Zhi Tang implicate the Fourth Young Lady?

As a girl, it was already difficult for her; if she lost the favor of the Dou family elders because of this, what would she do?

Chen Qu Shui gritted his teeth and quietly instructed Song Luo, “From my experience, the rain will stop by midnight at the latest. Can you take advantage of this rainy day to sneak out of the residence? The Duchess has passed away; didn’t they send someone to inform the young master? He will enter the city through the Anding Gate. Wait for him outside the Anding Gate and find a way to intercept him to tell him what’s happening at home!”

Song Luo’s face tightened, and he nodded heavily.

But outside, a commotion erupted.

“The young master has returned! The young master has returned!”

The voice spread through the Duke’s residence like waves, crashing over Chen Qu Shui and causing his face to pale as he collapsed into the armchair.