Song Mo frowned and said, “The English Duke’s Manor is still my father’s. Finding people from the estates to strengthen Yizhi Hall involves too much and may not be a good idea.”

Even those so-called loyal servants were always loyal to the title of English Duke, not to any individual. When Song Yichun was the English Duke, they were naturally loyal to him. But when Song Mo becomes the English Duke, they would be loyal to Song Mo. What Song Mo needed now were people loyal to him personally.

Dou Zhao understood Song Mo’s concerns and smiled, “Everything has two sides. You only thought about the Duke being the master of the English Duke’s Manor and that they would only be loyal to him. But you forgot that you are the heir to the English Duke’s Manor. Since these people are loyal to the manor itself, as long as you don’t do anything to harm its interests or reputation, they won’t turn against you because of the private grudge between you and the Duke. If they can remain neutral, you can use them. Besides, letting these people see what the Duke has done might even work in your favor! It’s better than continuing to use people from Duke Ding’s Manor, which makes the English Duke’s Manor people feel that the heir is close to outsiders and neglecting them!”

Song Mo was struck by her words.

He thought of how the old servants of the English Duke’s Manor had doubted his mother when she was alive.

Perhaps this was also one of the reasons why Song Yichun had so easily succeeded in framing him.

In the eyes of many in the English Duke’s Manor, his mother and he were close to Duke Ding’s Manor.

So when his father was dealing with those old servants, he had remained silent.

Something seemed to flit across Song Mo’s mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

He held his teacup, lost in thought.

Dou Zhao took out her needlework and began sewing.

When he finally put down his teacup, she said, “Yan Tang, if you agree, how about letting me handle this matter?”

Having her take the lead, would express the goodwill of the future Duchess towards these hereditary servants, which could be interpreted as Song Mo having some regrets about his past actions, and could also reassure those servants who were panicked after the great purge. It was a strategy that could be either offensive or defensive.

Song Mo immediately understood Dou Zhao’s intentions, but before he could object, she continued, “In a marriage, some women like to hide under their husband’s wings, while others hope to stand shoulder to shoulder with their husbands to face life’s challenges together. Most women prefer the former, but when their husbands face difficulties, some choose the latter. I think whether it’s the former or the latter, as long as the couple feels good about it, that’s what matters. If we rigidly adhere to formalities, it might create distance between husband and wife.”

She blinked at Song Mo, her expression somewhat playful.

Song Mo burst out laughing and said, “Why make such a fuss about wanting to help me? After all, I was once defeated by you!”

Dou Zhao smiled and said, “I was just worried about hurting your pride.”

“Pride?” Song Mo pretended to look around. “What’s that? I’ve never seen it. I only know that if I hadn’t been so persistent, you would never have married me!”

Now it was Dou Zhao’s turn to laugh uncontrollably.

“So what do you want?” she asked coquettishly, glancing at him sideways.

Song Mo felt his blood boiling under her gaze, but he pretended to ponder and said, “There are too many things I want to do, it’s hard to choose right now. How about we keep a record, and when I think of something later, you can repay me?”

“Can you owe favors like this?” Dou Zhao bantered. “Once this chance is gone, there won’t be another. Think quickly!”

Song Mo grinned and whispered a few words in her ear.

Dou Zhao blushed and scolded him lightly, “Go dream on your own!” She got off the kang bed and called out loudly to the maids, asking if the evening meal was ready.

Song Mo laughed heartily and went with Dou Zhao to the dining room.

The next day, he assigned a servant named Liu Zhang from Du Ming’s staff to serve Dou Zhao.

Dou Zhao had him temporarily serve Chen Qushui.

With this additional help, Chen Qushui quickly investigated the outer courtyard stewards thoroughly.

He came to see Dou Zhao with a grave expression and said with a bitter smile, “Madam’s prediction was correct. All the current stewards of the English Duke’s Manor, except for the estate managers and chief stewards outside the capital, have been replaced. The new ones are either former apprentices of the previous stewards or their relatives. That Steward Li, they say, died of illness.”

Dou Zhao’s expression was equally solemn. She sighed and said, “It’s the same on my side. The newly appointed head matrons are mostly those who previously served in the outer courtyard and stood out or were newly recruited from the outside. None of the former old servants can be seen.”

Chen Qushui asked, “So where should we start now?”

They both understood that most of these people were likely no longer in this world.

Dou Zhao handed him a list and said, “This is a list I copied from the registry of maids and married women who have served in the inner quarters over the years. See if you can find any traces from those maids who married out of the manor earlier — it’s human nature to form friendships, and those maids who left the manor couldn’t have completely cut off all their former relationships.”

Chen Qushui left to begin his investigation.

Dou Zhao stood under the corridor, feeling somewhat frustrated as she watched the maids and older women pruning branches, turning soil, and tending to the flowers and trees in the courtyard.

As March progressed, the weather became warmer. The breeze on her face was comfortably warm, making her feel sleepy.

The menial servants were at ease, having become accustomed to Dou Zhao’s kind and gentle demeanor over the past several months. They greeted her with smiles and worked efficiently. However, the young maids like Fufeng, who had recently arrived from the estates and just finished learning etiquette from Su Xin, were noticeably nervous. As they carried water to water the flowers, they kept glancing at Dou Zhao from the corners of their eyes.

Dou Zhao noticed that one of the young maids was particularly clever. While others only did what the older servants told them to do, this girl, upon hearing the older women ask for scissors, would automatically grab a broom to sweep up the cut branches.

She pointed to that young maid and asked Ganlu beside her, “What’s her name?”

Ganlu had noticed her too and smiled, “Her name is Fuye. She’s from the estate near Tianjin. Her great-grandfather’s generation once served in the English Duke’s Manor, and her grandfather was once an outside chief steward. Because their family line was thin, she was the only daughter of her generation. Her father is just a tenant farmer on the estate. Hoping for a good marriage for his daughter, he asked the head of the Daxing estate to send her into the manor.”

Dou Zhao asked, “What was her original name?”

Ganlu thought for a moment and said, “I think it was something like ‘Meiyi’.”

“It must be Meiji,” Dou Zhao said. “‘If not for you, who else could be beautiful? A beautiful person is like a gift.'”

Ganlu looked confused.

Dou Zhao asked, “Is she her mother’s only child, or did something happen to her siblings?”

Ganlu replied sheepishly, “I’m not sure about that.”

Dou Zhao smiled and said, “Then go find out.”

Ganlu left the corridor.

Dou Zhao went into the inner room.

Soon, Ganlu came back to report, “Madam, I’ve found out. She had an uncle, an older brother, and a cousin. Her uncle drowned in a river after getting drunk. Her brother died of illness at fifteen. Her cousin was born with asthma and passed away at three years old.”

Dou Zhao nodded and dismissed Ganlu.

The next day, she had the young maids whose names started with “Fu,” along with Jin Gui and Yin Gui, make decorative knots together.

Fuye and another girl named Fufeng were the best at it. Fufeng, in particular, could not only make common plum blossom knots but also complex bat knots and butterfly knots with great skill and beauty. This impressed even Yin Gui, who was already thirteen and had always thought her needlework was quite good.

Dou Zhao smiled and asked Fufeng, “I see you’re very skillful. Besides making knots, what other needlework can you do?”

Fufeng was very excited and said with a red face, “I can also make button knots, many kinds of button knots. Double butterfly, begonia flower, none of them are too difficult for me.”

“Oh!” Dou Zhao smiled at her and asked, “Who taught you?”

“I learned from my grandmother,” Fufeng said proudly. “My grandmother once served in the manor. She knows everything and can even deliver babies. In our family, my grandmother’s word is law. It was her idea for me to enter the manor this time. She said it’s my good fortune to have the chance to serve Madam, and that I should listen to Madam’s words, serve well, and good days will come for me in the future.”

Dou Zhao nodded with a smile. Her gaze swept over the faces of the young maids as she said in a measured voice, “Your grandmother is right. If you serve well, the masters will not mistreat you.”

Jin Gui and Yin Gui smiled shyly, while Fuye, Fufeng, and another maid named Fuxue curtsied to Dou Zhao and respectfully responded, “We will not fail Madam’s teachings.” Seeing this, Jin Gui and Yin Gui hurriedly stood up and echoed similar sentiments.

Dou Zhao praised them, sat for a while longer, then left for her study.

She had Ganlu invite Chen Qushui over and handed him a note with the names of Fufeng, Fuye, and Fuxue. “Please help me investigate the backgrounds of these three families thoroughly.”

Chen Qushui folded the note into a small square and tucked it into his sleeve. With an excited expression, he said, “Madam, I’ve discovered that Steward Li had a younger brother. He had a leg condition since childhood that made it difficult for him to walk. He begged the old Duke for mercy to be released from service, learned tailoring from someone, and opened a tailor shop in Wanping County. Before Lady Jiang passed away, the English Duke’s Manor often patronized his shop, giving him small jobs. But since Lady Jiang’s death, this tailor shop hasn’t received any work from the English Duke’s Manor.”

Dou Zhao was very surprised.

She had thought that after Lady Jiang became the Duchess of the English Duke’s Manor, she would use people from the Jiang family… She didn’t expect that Lady Jiang had also used people from the Song family.

Dou Zhao asked in a low voice, “Have you spoken with this Tailor Li?”

“I have,” Chen Qushui replied. “Steward Li had only one son, who once worked in the outer courtyard’s reception office. His daughter-in-law was a second-class maid in the Madam’s quarters. Of his two grandsons, the elder served in the Duke’s study, while the younger was an apprentice in a pastry shop in the capital. On the day of the incident at the English Duke’s Manor, except for the younger grandson who was at the pastry shop, his son, daughter-in-law, and elder grandson all died from illness.

When I went to find him, Tailor Li was inexplicably frightened and turned pale. After I pressed him, I discovered that Steward Li’s younger grandson, after his grandfather, parents, and elder brother had all met with misfortune, thought his family must have committed some crime. Scared, he fled to Tailor Li’s place in the middle of the night. Tailor Li helped arrange for him to follow others south and go overseas…”