The commotion from Song Yichun’s side quickly reached Song Mo’s ears.
“Is it Mr. Tao?” A hint of sarcasm curled at the corners of Song Mo’s mouth as he instructed Xia Lian, “Send these letters out.”
There were letters for the Third Princess, for the Lu family, and for Zhang Xuming of Duke Jing’s household, as well as for Deputy General Ma Youming of the Divine Machine Camp.
Xia Lian complied and left.
Song Han, accompanied by Li Bai, came to pay his respects to Song Mo.
“Brother, you should take good care of yourself at home,” he said thoughtfully, “I will go keep vigil for Mother.”
Song Mo pondered, “In three days, it will be Mother’s thirty-seventh day, right?”
Song Han nodded.
The mourning period is set for seven days, with rituals performed on the seventh day. As the eldest son, it was his duty to preside over the rites. If he were truly incapacitated as their father wished, and he was absent during Mother’s thirty-seventh day, what would their relatives and friends think?
A cold smile crossed Song Mo’s face as he gently asked Song Han, “Have you had breakfast yet?”
“I have,” Song Han replied obediently. “I had stir-fried vegetables, pickled eggplant, vegetarian buns, and a big bowl of noodles for breakfast.”
He answered this way whenever Jiang Shi asked him.
Listening to this, Song Mo felt tears welling up.
He dismissed Li Bai and quietly said to Song Han, “I wasn’t home when Mother passed away. Can you tell me about her, please?” His tone was filled with longing.
Song Han, unsuspecting, wiped his eyes and choked out, “Not long after you left, Mother fell ill. At first, she was just listless and weak, but gradually she couldn’t get out of bed. Father invited Yang Xiushan to treat her, but after taking several of his prescriptions, there was no improvement. Father then switched to Huang Zhongli, but Mother’s condition worsened. Just then, the Empress came to visit and recommended Ren Chongming. The mother tried Ren’s prescriptions, but still, there was no improvement. Father decided to switch back to Yang Xiushan…”
Huang Zhongli and Ren Chongming were both renowned physicians, one accustomed to treating the Emperor and the other the Empress. Huang was the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau. If there were any issues with Yang Xiushan’s prescriptions, the two of them would surely have noticed, and Father wouldn’t have insisted on having three imperial physicians prescribe medicine against their will.
This meant that Mother was genuinely ill…
Song Mo contemplated and asked Song Han, “When Mother was sick, who stayed by her side?”
“It was me,” Song Han replied. “Zhu Jun and Qing Li took turns helping her with medicine, while I attended to her by the bedside.” At this point, he seemed to recall something amusing and smiled, “It turns out Mother, like me, hated bitter medicine. Every time she took her medicine, if there wasn’t a lot of rock candy, she would have to eat candied fruit.” As he spoke, tears filled his eyes. “Every year during the Spring Festival, Mother would personally make me new clothes and give me gold coins as New Year’s money…”
He suddenly burst into tears.
Song Mo’s eyes also grew moist.
He used a handkerchief to wipe his brother’s tears. “Alright, Tian’en, don’t cry! From now on, I’ll give you gold coins for New Year’s money, and…” Who could replace Mother in making new clothes for Song Han? He wasn’t married… Suddenly, the image of Dou Zhao squatting in the flower field, digging up chrysanthemums, flashed in his mind.
Generous, natural, unperturbed by honor or disgrace… If it were her, how would she comfort his brother?
Song Mo didn’t have time to think deeply; the thought flickered and vanished.
He coaxed Song Han, “I’ll have Li Bai make you new clothes, alright?”
“I don’t want new clothes!” Song Han sobbed. “I want Mother… I want Mother…”
Song Mo’s expression darkened, and he silently wiped Song Han’s tears.
After a while, Song Han’s mood gradually calmed. He said to Song Mo, “Brother, I don’t want new clothes anymore, nor do I want gold coins.”
His few words made Song Mo’s heart ache even more.
He gently patted his brother’s hand.
The two brothers sat in silence for a while before Song Mo softly asked, “Did Mother say anything to you before she passed?”
Song Han shook his head. “Before she died, Mother couldn’t speak anymore!”
Song Mo was taken aback.
Mother had always been strong; even if she couldn’t speak before her death, she should have made some arrangements during her prolonged illness. She couldn’t leave without saying a word to them.
“What on earth happened?” He couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. Although he knew he shouldn’t lose his temper in front of his brother, he struggled to suppress the emotion deep within. Yet, the fury in his gaze startled Song Han.
“That day, the weather was nice. Granny Xie brought the maidservants and made a lot of osmanthus cakes…” he stammered. “Father was sitting with Mother under the corridor, admiring the chrysanthemums. I ran to help Granny Xie carry the osmanthus cakes, and when I returned, both Father and Mother had stern faces and weren’t speaking. Mother forced herself to eat a bite of the osmanthus cake and said it was a bit cold, asking Li Bai to take me back to change my clothes… I knew they must have something to discuss and didn’t want me to hear. I turned back halfway… Granny Xie and the maidservants were standing in the courtyard… I took advantage of Granny Xie’s inattention and ran to the corridor… Mother and Father were arguing… It was a fierce argument! I hadn’t heard clearly when Granny Xie grabbed me and pulled me under the grape trellis… Granny Xie also warned me that no one could speak of the argument between Mother and Father…” He looked at Song Mo in fear. “Brother, I didn’t tell anyone!”
It felt as if a giant wave had washed over Song Mo, leaving him chilled to the bone.
He knew his brother needed comfort at this moment, but he couldn’t muster a smile.
He hastily ruffled Song Han’s hair and said in a deep voice, “What happened next?”
“Then I was taken back to the room by Li Bai,” Song Han said, his head lowered, tears streaming onto his blue shoes. “Later, Qing Li came to call me, saying Mother was in critical condition and I should hurry… When I ran over, I saw Mother spitting blood…” He collapsed against Song Mo’s bedside, sobbing uncontrollably. “Father went forward but was pushed away by Mother…”
Song Mo’s vision blurred.
So, Mother had died after spitting blood during an argument with Father!
What could have caused such a significant disagreement between them?
Could it be related to his uncles?
He thought carefully and dismissed that idea.
The matter concerning his uncles had already been settled and hadn’t harmed the Song family’s interests. Mother was a sensible person; even if Father had not helped his uncles during their troubles or had been perfunctory, Mother wouldn’t blame him for that—Father represented Duke Ying’s household, which had always followed the Emperor’s lead. Mother understood this clearly; it was impossible for her to be so enraged over this matter that she would die from spitting blood.
Then, could this have anything to do with the plot against him?
What could cause Father to conspire against his carefully nurtured eldest son?
If only he could understand why Mother and Father had quarreled!
Now that Granny Xie was gone, those maidservants had become crucial!
While they stood in the courtyard during the argument between Mother and Father, Song Han said it was a fierce quarrel, so they must have heard some snippets. Moreover, the ones who conspired against him were also those maidservants. It would be hard to believe that there was no connection between them!
Now, he was putting on a desperate front, writing several letters to the Third Princess and others, asking them to help him smooth things over and arrange a meeting with the Emperor. If Father didn’t have a solid reason, he might not have passed the scrutiny before the Emperor. This was something Father surely understood. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have urgently summoned Tao Qizhong under such coercive circumstances.
Once Father decided to compromise, to avoid being caught in a bind, he would undoubtedly eliminate those “witnesses” who had conspired against him or had been bought off by him.
At that point, he just needed to keep a close watch on Father’s subordinates to find out the whereabouts of those maidservants.
With this in mind, Song Mo felt it necessary to remind his subordinates once more.
After comforting Song Han for a while, he called a few guards to escort Song Han and Li Bai to the mourning hall, then summoned Xia Lian, instructing him to assign someone to find the maidservants who had been close to Jiang Shi.
Xia Lian respectfully replied, “Yes,” when a guard entered to report, “Mr. Tao requests an audience!”
Without lifting his eyelids, Song Mo replied coolly, “I won’t see him.”
Outside, Tao Qizhong seemed to have anticipated the answer. Before the guard could turn around, he called out loudly, “Young Master, there are no parents in this world without faults. You can kill those guards, but you should also calm your anger. In a few days, it will be the lady’s thirty-seventh day; the deceased deserves respect. You can’t let her leave in unrest, can you? I come on behalf of Duke to discuss the rituals for the lady’s thirty-seventh day with you. No matter how angry or resentful you are, for the sake of the lady, you should let these few days pass before deciding. What do you think?”
Hearing this, Song Mo felt a piercing pain in his heart.
At this point, Father still wanted to exploit his respect for Mother…
He took a deep breath to steady his voice.
“Come in,” Song Mo said to the figure outside the window.
Tao Qizhong hurriedly bowed respectfully to Song Mo’s inner chamber before entering.
“Mr. Tao, please have a seat!” Song Mo had regained his previous calm demeanor, instructing the guards to serve tea to Mr. Tao. “The servants of Yizhi Hall are injured, so I must trouble you.”
“Not at all!” Tao Qizhong quickly bowed and said respectfully, “This matter is all due to the mischief of a petty person. Duke has been deceived, and you have been wronged…”
“In that case, does Father already think he has made a mistake?” Song Mo interrupted Tao Qizhong’s words calmly, his gaze piercing into Tao Qizhong’s eyes.
Tao Qizhong did not expect Song Mo to be so sharp, and he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
If he admitted that Duke Ying was wrong, they would have to compensate Song Mo; but if he did not admit that Duke was at fault… He recalled the guards he had seen every five steps along the way, the letters Song Mo had sent out, the corpses piled in the courtyard yesterday, and the guards surrounding Song Han…
He coughed lightly, feeling somewhat uneasy, and could only mumble, “Yes.”
“Since that’s the case,” Song Mo said with a half-smile, “then please ask Father to uphold my dignity as the heir and cut off the heads of those petty people as a warning to others!”