The small river on the back mountain flowed with crystal-clear water, revealing white pebbles on the riverbed.
Song Mo stood by the riverbank, silently gazing at the tree shadows reflected in the gently flowing water. Clad in a bluish-gray brocade robe with a jade hairpin, his tall figure and tranquil aura made him blend seamlessly with the trees behind him. He seemed to meld into the clear breeze and azure sky, exuding an autumnal crispness amidst the vast solitude.
As Dou Zhao alighted from her sedan chair, her steps faltered.
Hearing her approach, Song Mo turned and smiled, “You’ve come!”
His gaze was gentle and his smile sincere, yet Dou Zhao exclaimed in shock, “How did you become so thin?”
His once flawless features now appeared more defined due to his gauntness, lending him an austere and solemn air despite his smile.
“Really?” Song Mo chuckled, “I hadn’t noticed.”
Dou Zhao sighed inwardly. Anyone facing such circumstances would likely toss and turn, unable to eat or sleep, let alone while nursing injuries. The fact that he could stand before her was already remarkable.
She couldn’t help but ask, “How are your injuries?”
“They’re fine,” Song Mo replied briefly, clearly reluctant to discuss the matter. “Gu Yu helped me consult the best imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy. They all said not to rush and to recover slowly. I’ve been lying in bed these days, eating and drinking, not going anywhere.” He then smiled and asked her, “I heard your coming-of-age ceremony was lively. It’s a pity I couldn’t come to offer my congratulations…” His eyes revealed a faint regret, genuinely feeling sorry.
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but think to herself: Even if you hadn’t encountered this trouble, even if you weren’t injured, could you have come? In what capacity or under what pretext?
As the thought flashed through her mind, she realized she was overthinking.
Was there anything Song Mo couldn’t accomplish if he set his mind to it?
Perhaps his inability to attend and offer congratulations was a good thing.
If he had found an excuse to interact with her openly, how could she avoid getting involved in the Song family’s affairs in the future?
Then she thought of Ji Yong.
Why did everyone she encountered have such personalities?
Her thoughts then turned to Wu Shan and Wei Tingyu… She felt that both Song Mo and Ji Yong gave her headaches.
Deciding not to dwell on these thoughts, she looked around and pointed to a large blue rock not far away. She said to Song Mo, “Shall we go sit over there?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized they might be inappropriate—Song Mo’s injuries were reportedly severe, and she wasn’t sure of his current condition. She quickly added, “Never mind, let’s just talk standing here.” She couldn’t help but wonder if standing was causing him discomfort…
Song Mo gazed at Dou Zhao with a smile that reached from the depths of his eyes to the corners of his brows.
He said softly, “I’m fine. The external injuries have long healed, and as for the internal ones… My uncle felt that learning external martial arts was too aggressive for someone in our position as close ministers to the emperor. Years ago, he specially sought out a master to teach me internal cultivation and health preservation techniques. This practice is like brewing tea over a low flame—it requires patience and isn’t rushed.”
“That’s good!” Dou Zhao recalled that when Duan Gongyi first met Song Mo, he mentioned that Song Mo seemed to have learned some special martial techniques. Considering that both the Jiang and Song families were prosperous for generations, they surely had secret arts for self-defense and preservation unknown to outsiders. She simply acknowledged his words.
Song Mo smiled slightly and said, “You mentioned last time that there were wild vegetables on the estate. Do they grow on this back mountain? I haven’t seen any.”
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know how to identify wild vegetables?”
“Of course!” Song Mo smiled, “I didn’t before, but after returning home, I had some brought back… I may not recognize the rare ones, but I know most of the common varieties.”
Surely not, Dou Zhao thought, blinking her eyes.
Song Mo nodded at her very seriously.
Dou Zhao looked around, plucked a plant with oval leaves, and brought it back, asking, “What’s this?”
“This…” Song Mo hadn’t seen it before and began to sweat, mumbling, “It should be… knotweed?”
He had studied, Dou Zhao thought to herself.
“Wrong!” she said solemnly, “This is sorrel.”
Sorrel and knotweed look very similar, though one has narrower leaves while the other’s are more rounded.
Song Mo wiped his sweat in embarrassment.
Dou Zhao burst into laughter.
Her laughter, tinged with mischief and cunning, had a carefree exuberance that brightened Song Mo’s gloomy mood.
He couldn’t help but laugh along with her.
The smile softened Song Mo’s features, revealing a hint of youthful beauty.
Dou Zhao inwardly sighed with regret.
Such a handsome young man, yet Song Yichun had forcibly turned him into a killer.
“This is also called sour sour,” she said, waving the sorrel in her hand. “It’s a summer wild vegetable. After picking, wash it clean with water, blanch it briefly in boiling water, then drain and it’s ready to eat. It has cooling and blood-purifying properties.”
Song Mo took the sorrel from Dou Zhao’s hand and smiled, “Last time we ate okra. You seem to know a lot about these things.”
“Mm-hmm,” Dou Zhao nodded, looking up at the three wild peach trees on the opposite bank. She smiled, “I grew up here. As a child, I often went to the mountains with the village children to pick wild vegetables and catch fish in the river.” She pointed to a bend in the small river, “See that? In summer, there are many wild fish there…” Dou Zhao turned back and asked him with a smile, “Can you walk?”
“Yes,” Song Mo nodded, “I can walk.”
“Come on, I’ll take you somewhere!” Dou Zhao smiled as she walked ahead, saying, “If you feel tired, just say so.” She paused briefly, then added, “Don’t push yourself. There’s no point in that.”
“I understand,” Song Mo smiled, following Dou Zhao as they crossed the small river by stepping on stones.
Dou Zhao nimbly climbed up one of the wild peach trees.
Without hesitation, Song Mo followed suit.
From their vantage point, he could see vast stretches of farmland and two villages. The one to the east was Dou Zhao’s estate, with a gray-brick house standing in the center of the village, surrounded by low mud and thatch houses. The other village was unfamiliar to him. Both villages were similar in size and layout, and he could even make out the farmers working in the fields and people moving about in the brick houses.
Dou Zhao pointed to the unfamiliar village and smiled, “That’s the Lang family’s estate. The Lang family rarely comes here. An old, thin steward manages the estate. He has a plump wife who loves to drink. Every time she gets drunk, she chases the old steward, beating him. He curses while running into the fields, and all the people in the estate come out to watch the commotion…”
Song Mo couldn’t help but chuckle.
He could almost picture a young Dou Zhao, eyes curved in amusement, lying here watching the Lang family’s steward and his wife quarrel… That comical uproar, like a warm current, flowed over his cold heart, warming it.
Suddenly, Dou Zhao’s expression became very serious.
She gazed into Song Mo’s eyes and said solemnly, “I don’t know why your father would want to frame you!”
The smile froze on Song Mo’s lips.
Dou Zhao turned her head, her gaze returning to the two villages that seemed not far apart.
“You know my mother hanged herself, right?” In her previous life, she often stood here looking out at the two villages, but in this life, she rarely had such opportunities. “I often wonder, why did she have to hang herself? Wasn’t I worth staying alive for? In this world, who would truly care about me? Who would protect me regardless of life or death? Am I less important than Lai San from the village entrance? His mother treats him like a treasure even though he gets bullied every day outside…” A hint of bewilderment flashed in her eyes. “Sometimes I think about it until I’m almost driven mad, and I just run wild on the mountain… At the Mid-Autumn Festival, my Third Uncle brought me a box of Beijing-style mooncakes.
For some reason, I felt very unsettled. As soon as Third Uncle left, I ran up the mountain. Suddenly looking up, I saw three wild peach trees… I was wearing new clothes at the time… Like the village children, I climbed up the tree, tearing my clothes, but I saw the Lang family’s old steward being chased and beaten by his wife…” Perhaps recalling the scene, Dou Zhao smiled with her lips curled up. Then she pointed to the westernmost household in the Lang family’s estate and said, “That house has two daughters. Their father always carries a pole with miscellaneous goods to peddle from village to village during slack farming seasons.
When he returns home, he always brings back two baked flatbreads for them.” She then pointed to another household, “The mother-in-law in that family is very strict. If her daughter-in-law is a bit slow, she’ll stand under the eaves and scold her. But once when her daughter-in-law fell ill, she immediately went to town to fetch a doctor and even helped brew medicine for her…” Dou Zhao gazed at Song Mo, her eyes bright and piercing, “You see, there are bad things in this world, but there are also good things. If you experience more people and events, you’ll find that the good outweighs the bad!”
Was she trying to persuade him not to dwell on his father’s attempt to frame him?
Song Mo’s vision blurred.
He wasn’t sure if it was because of what Dou Zhao had said or because of her thoughtfulness towards him.
“I just don’t quite trust my father,” Dou Zhao’s voice reached his ears, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, “So when I heard that Mr. Yan and Xu Qing were being hunted down, I kept it in mind and asked Duan Gongyi and Chen Xiaofeng to go to the capital to gather some information. If you were indeed framed by your father as I suspected, I wanted to lend a hand. If not… well, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Just consider it me being overly cautious and meddlesome!”
Song Mo smiled, though bitterly: “It’s fortunate that you were meddlesome, otherwise I might have already perished.”
Dou Zhao didn’t respond. She gazed down at the two estates below the mountain.
It was nearly noon, and wisps of smoke rose from the village chimneys.
Song Mo followed Dou Zhao’s gaze.
Women carrying meals greeted each other, laughing as they headed towards the fields in small groups.
The quiet village became livelier with their laughter, yet it wasn’t noisy or chaotic. Instead, it exuded a vibrant energy.
Song Mo felt his heart become as peaceful and light as the village.
He turned to look at Dou Zhao beside him and softly said, “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me,” Dou Zhao smiled, “You’ll find that time flies like an arrow. The things that cause you unbearable pain one moment, once that moment passes, you’ll soon forget. You might even forget the pain itself.”
Xia Lian, hiding in the woods and watching Song Mo and Dou Zhao from afar, was full of worry: “What exactly are the Young Master and Fourth Miss Dou talking about? Why did they climb up a tree?”
Chen He, remembering Dou Zhao’s warning that “this is an exception,” pursed his lips.
Fourth Miss Dou must be telling the Young Master why she discovered that Duke of Ying had designs against him.
He was somewhat distracted by this thought and said, “Perhaps they have some urgent matter to discuss. Talking up in a tree certainly prevents eavesdropping.”
“Really?” Xia Lian was doubtful, “Not even a mosquito can fly into this back mountain. Who could eavesdrop on the Young Master and Fourth Miss?”
Ever since the “robbery” incident at Duke of Ying’s mansion, both Duke and the Young Master had increased the number of skilled guards around them. Even when coming to Zhending, the Young Master had brought sufficient manpower.