Chang, the guard, watched and suddenly began to wonder if he had chosen the wrong master. Fortunately, after venting his anger, Song Yichun regained some of his composure and instructed the guards, “Prepare the carriage and horses. I will personally go find Gu Yu.”
The guards rushed off as if their tails were on fire.
Just then, a nervous maidservant entered to report, “Your Grace, the Eldest Master, Third Master, Fourth Master, and both Young Masters have arrived. They have been waiting in the flower hall for two hours…”
In a fit of rage, Song Yichun hurled a teacup, which struck the maidservant, leaving her stunned and unable to move. It wasn’t until Song Yichun approached that tears welled up in her eyes, and she hurried off to inform Song Maochun and the others waiting in the flower hall.
Song Fengchun quickly shooed away the maidservants around him and leaned closer to Song Maochun, whispering, “Eldest Brother, do you think something has happened?”
Song Maochun glanced at his two sons, Song Qin and Song Duo.
The eldest son wore a stern expression, while the second son’s brow remained furrowed.
He understood Song Yichun’s intentions. The reasons for expelling Song Mo from the Song family were insufficient. Last night, Song Yichun summoned them not to discuss matters but to ensure they all spoke in unison during the ancestral hall ceremony, avoiding any slip-ups. The children of the third and fourth branches were still too young to participate in such matters; only his two sons were of appropriate age.
The responsibility weighed heavily on him, and he needed to ensure they wouldn’t speak out of turn. However, when he recounted the events, both sons vehemently opposed the idea. The eldest son argued that they shouldn’t get involved: “Although we don’t know why Uncle is doing this, he must have his reasons. But Tian Ci hasn’t done anything wrong, so we can’t just speak carelessly.” The second son was even more direct: “This is Uncle’s fault; you should have advised him at the time!”
Despite his efforts to assert his authority as a father, he barely managed to suppress Song Qin and Song Duo, leaving him uncertain whether his sons would support Song Yichun’s wishes during the ancestral hall ceremony.
Hearing that Song Yichun had rushed out of the residence, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, and his tone when responding to Song Fengchun lost some of its earlier tension.
“Most likely, something unexpected has happened with Tian Ci,” he said quietly. “We need to send someone to investigate.”
As he spoke, Song Tongchun leaned in and immediately said, “Eldest Brother, I’ll go take a look.”
Being the youngest and sharing the same grandfather as Song Yichun, he felt a closer connection to him than others and tended to be a bit reckless in the Duke’s residence.
With someone willing to take on this thankless task, both Song Maochun and Song Fengchun were more than happy to let him go.
The group waited anxiously in the flower hall, afraid to leave.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside.
In such circumstances, even the slightest noise could send people into a panic, and the clamor grew louder, seemingly heading straight for the main hall.
Song Maochun and Song Fengchun exchanged worried glances and hurried out of the flower hall.
They saw Song Mo, pale as a ghost, striding through the courtyard with a group of guards.
“Tian Ci!” Song Maochun’s face turned even paler than Song Mo’s. “Didn’t Duke say Tian Ci was already tied up?” His expression was grim.
“What’s happening?” Song Fengchun asked, his face filled with fear.
Following closely behind, Song Qin and Song Duo also looked serious. Song Duo exclaimed, “Is Tian Ci going to confront Uncle?”
Song Qin, alarmed, said, “I’ll go check—Tian Ci must not clash with Uncle or a single act of defiance could get him expelled from the family!”
Song Duo nodded vigorously, “Eldest Brother, I’ll go with you.”
“Is this something you can handle?” Song Maochun hurriedly stepped in front of them, but the two sons had already dashed toward the flower gate.
Frustrated, Song Maochun stomped his foot and followed after them.
Song Fengchun thought for a moment and then joined them.
However, they were stopped at the flower gate.
“The Young Master said there are thieves in the house,” four burly men who had entered with Song Mo stood guard at the entrance, their swords drawn. “To avoid harming the innocent, no one is allowed to enter the flower gate.”
In a time of peace, under the bright sky, who would believe that thieves had dared to break into the prestigious Duke’s residence?
This was as unbelievable as the notion that Song Mo would force himself on a maid.
The expressions of Song Maochun and the others turned strange.
From within the main hall came the jarring sounds of weapons clashing, mixed with screams and panicked shouts: “Who are you? How dare you come into the Duke’s inner courtyard to kill…”
Kill!
Things had escalated to murder!
Song Maochun and the others felt their legs weaken, and they anxiously considered whether they should flee this place of chaos. A rough voice boomed like thunder in their ears: “Who the hell are you? I was just about to ask you the same thing! Listen up, I’m a guard under the Young Master of the Duke’s residence, here to capture thieves! You claim to be guards of the Duke’s residence, yet the Young Master doesn’t recognize you? How dare you impersonate the Duke’s guards? Surrender now!”
As the voice faded, Song Maochun saw one of the guards at the flower gate grinning silently.
He shivered and pulled his two sons away. “This has nothing to do with us! We’re leaving, quickly!”
Song Qin and Song Duo no longer dared to stand their ground and stumbled after Song Maochun as he led them away from the flower gate.
Song Fengchun and Song Tongchun dared not linger either, following Song Maochun and his sons out of the Duke’s residence in a panic.
Meanwhile, inside the flower gate, chaos reigned.
In the corners, behind the rockery, and beneath the beauty’s resting place, trembling maidservants hid in fear. Among the guards left by Song Yichun, only a few skilled fighters were still resisting, while the others either knelt on the ground, raising their swords and pleading for mercy or looked bewildered, shouting, “We’re not thieves! We’re truly the Duke’s guards!”
Xie, one of the guards engaged in combat, exclaimed in horror, “Who are you?! Why are you using the paired sabers?”
The paired sabers had been specially created by Duke to deal with the pirates that had invaded the shores.
The attackers surrounding Xie laughed sinisterly and intensified their assault.
Song Mo ignored the chaos around him and walked straight into the easternmost room of the rear courtyard, followed closely by Chen He.
Xia Lian quickly stepped aside to let them pass.
The two immediately spotted the body in the center of the room, so battered that it was unrecognizable.
Chen Tao…
Song Mo’s eyes moistened, and he paused slightly.
Chen He leaped forward in a rush.
“Brother!” He collapsed onto Chen Tao’s body, sobbing uncontrollably.
Xia Lian turned away, unable to watch, and after a moment, he returned to offer quiet words of comfort to Chen He: “May you find peace.”
He had been one of the guards who accompanied Song Mo to Zhen Ding and had followed him to Liaodong. Since Song Mo was eager to return, Yu Jian, who was more skilled, had gone back to the capital with him, while Xia Lian led the guards closely behind. Just as they were less than twenty miles from the capital, he encountered someone sent by Chen Quanshui to warn him, and then met Chen Xiaofeng, who held a letter from Song Mo…
Song Mo walked over with a blank expression.
The two guards who had been stationed in the side room cowered, kneeling on the ground and repeatedly bowing their heads, begging for mercy.
Song Mo silently regarded the Chen brothers and softly asked Xia Lian, “Have you found Yu Jian?”
“Yes!” Xia Lian’s voice carried a hint of hesitation and undeniable sorrow. “However, his tendons and ligaments have been severed…”
Song Mo nodded. A few unshed tears lingered in the corners of his eyes, devoid of warmth.
He said gently, “Kill them all.”
Xia Lian was taken aback. “Kill them all?”
The two guards widened their eyes in shock, momentarily forgetting to beg for mercy.
Song Mo nodded, not even glancing at the two guards, and calmly walked out of the side room.
“There are thieves in the house,” he said nonchalantly, “and a few people were accidentally killed. This is a common occurrence.”
Xia Lian lowered his head and respectfully replied, “Yes.”
Song Mo headed toward the side room where the maidservants, wives, and mothers were being held.
Behind him, a series of heart-wrenching wails echoed.
As Song Mo pushed open the side room door, the maidservants, wives, and mothers rushed toward him, crying out.
“Your Young Master, save us!”
“Your Young Master, you’ve returned!”
But the guards stationed in the side room blocked them, keeping them ten steps away from Song Mo.
Song Mo scanned the side room.
They were all third-rate or lower maidservants and mothers; the head maid, Xie, and several senior maidservants who served his mother were absent.
According to Song Mo’s orders, one of the guards controlling the room stepped forward to report, “Your Young Master, after the lady passed away, not long after, Xie fell ill and was sent to the countryside by Duke to recuperate. The four senior maidservants by the lady’s side—Mei Rui died after the lady’s death, and Xing Fang, Zhu Jun, and Qing Li were called by Duke a few days ago and haven’t been seen since…”
Song Mo lowered his eyes and, after a long pause, instructed the guard, “Send someone to bring Xie back.”
It might be too late, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he wouldn’t give up.
He exited the side room when a guard hurriedly approached. “Your Young Master, we found two severely beaten young servants at Yizhi Hall. One is named Wu Yi, and the other is Song Luo. They said they have urgent news to report to you. I’ve brought Wu Yi here.”
Since his father intended to deal with him, he certainly wouldn’t spare the people at Yizhi Hall, especially since these two served Chen Quanshui. With Chen Quanshui missing, their fate was easy to imagine.
Hearing that the two were still alive, Song Mo felt a surge of excitement and nodded eagerly.
Wu Yi was helped over.
“Your Young Master!” he said, his face filled with despair as he glanced around.
Mr. Yan had instructed that the matter concerning Mr. Chen should not be spoken of to anyone other than him and the Young Master.
He remembered Mr. Yan’s warning.
Song Mo met with him privately.
“Mr. Chen is missing!” Wu Yi exclaimed, nearly in tears. “That day, just before the hour of the rooster, Mr. Chen said he wanted to take a walk in the courtyard while Song Luo was inside tidying up. I stood on the steps as usual, watching, but in the blink of an eye, Mr. Chen disappeared. Song Luo and I searched all night but couldn’t find him…” He knelt, crying, “Your Young Master…”
Song Mo couldn’t help but smile slightly. “If he’s gone, then he’s gone! But you two, your loyalty is commendable. Go and rest well!”
His gentle tone left Wu Yi confused, blinking in surprise.
Mr. Chen was missing, yet the Young Master seemed pleased!
Could it be that his earlier guess was correct?
Mr. Chen was the Young Master’s rival. Although he had been captured, he had never been willing to submit to the Young Master, who had no way to deal with him. Now that chaos had erupted in the residence, he had escaped, and the Young Master had found a way out.
Wu Yi was bewildered, following the guards as he retreated.
A fine sweat broke out on Song Mo’s forehead.
He pulled out a plain porcelain medicine bottle, resembling one used by traveling merchants selling herbal pills, and poured out a blood-red pill the size of a lotus seed, instructing those around him, “Get me a cup of water.”
The guards, puzzled, brought him a cup of water.
Song Mo swallowed the pill, feeling much better.
As Xia Lian entered, his expression changed dramatically. He hurried forward, looking worried. “Your Young Master, do you need to rest?”
“No need!” Song Mo waved his hand dismissively. “Have all those guards been dealt with?”
“A few escaped…” Xia Lian lowered his head in shame. “I’ve already sent people to pursue them…”
“No need!” Song Mo smiled. “I should leave my father a few people to command, right?” Then he added, “Pile the bodies in the center of the main courtyard. We’ll wait for my father at Yizhi Hall!” As he said this, he brushed off his clothes, revealing an unprecedented sense of ease.