“I beg the madam to give us a way out,” Song Shize said, kowtowing three times to Dou Zhao. No longer concealing the past, he continued, “When Madam Jiang was in charge, she favored people from the Ding Gong’s household. When the Duke took over, we became thorns in his side. Now that the young master is following Madam Jiang’s old ways, our loyalty has nowhere to go. We implore the madam to recognize our devotion and allow our descendants to serve in the household again.”
His reaction was within Dou Zhao’s expectations. If they didn’t have such thoughts, why would they have left such obvious clues for Chen Qushui to find when she announced her intention to reemploy the Song family’s hereditary servants?
However, some things needed to be clarified first.
She smiled and said, “Manager Song is a sensible man. Do you know why the young master is following Madam Jiang’s old ways?”
Song Shize hesitated for a moment before answering softly, “When the young master was at odds with the Duke, we old servants who remained in the household stood by and watched him suffer without offering help. The young master harbors resentment and doesn’t want to use us anymore…” He suddenly raised his head and said loudly, “Madam, has the young master noticed that Guard Hu from the guard office, Manager Li from the affairs office, and Managers Chen and Wang from the accounting office disappeared before Madam Jiang’s funeral?”
Dou Zhao was slightly startled. She hadn’t paid attention to this.
At that time, she was solely focused on helping Song Mo escape from Song Yichun’s grasp and return openly to Duke Ying’s household. How could she have noticed the changes among the managers? Even if she had wanted to, she lacked the means and manpower to do so in that situation.
She pondered for a moment before asking, “Were these people left by the old Duke for Madam Jiang or the young master?”
Hearing this, Song Shize became even more respectful towards Dou Zhao.
Although the young madam came from an official family, she was very familiar with the customs and practices of the nobility. Her marriage to the young master had been arranged hastily, and she hadn’t been managing the household for long, only starting to oversee affairs before the New Year. Yet she could pinpoint the crucial issue with a single question, showing she was an extraordinary woman.
His gaze became more solemn as he looked at Dou Zhao again: “These people were left by the old Duke for the young master.”
This answer shocked Dou Zhao.
The old Duke had passed away many years ago when Song Mo was just a toddler. The household affairs had already been handed over to Madam Jiang, yet the old Duke had specifically left several people for Song Mo’s use. This showed that the old Duke still had reservations about Madam Jiang.
In a flash, a thought entered Dou Zhao’s mind.
She exclaimed, “Madam Jiang didn’t know about these people. They were entrusted to the Duke by the old Duke on his deathbed… Is that correct?”
Song Shize could no longer hide his admiration for Dou Zhao. He gazed at her deeply and nodded slowly.
Dou Zhao drew in a sharp breath.
So this was why no one in Duke Ying’s household came to Song Mo’s aid when he was in trouble.
It was so difficult to cultivate loyal servants, yet Song Yichun had disposed of Guard Hu, Manager Li, and others as if they were mere vegetables.
The thought of it made her feel regretful and pained.
Was this why, in her previous life, Song Mo had fled Beijing alone and in such a wretched state?
Song Yichun must have harbored an intense hatred for Song Mo to do such a thing!
Dou Zhao’s expression grew serious as she asked, “What happened back then that forced the old Duke to hand over the management of Duke Ying’s household to Madam Jiang?”
Song Shize’s expression became difficult to read. After a while, he glanced at Chen Qushui, indicating that the matter was of great importance and requesting Dou Zhao to ask Chen Qushui to leave.
“Mr. Chen is in charge of all my affairs,” Dou Zhao said calmly. “There’s nothing he can’t know. You can speak freely.”
Hearing this, Chen Qushui bowed slightly to Dou Zhao in gratitude.
Song Shize was taken aback. He had assumed Chen Qushui was Song Yantang’s man, merely assigned to assist Dou Zhao. He hadn’t expected him to be Madam Dou’s own man!
Song Shize thought about the abilities and methods Chen Qushui had demonstrated on their journey…
To have such a person under her command, what kind of woman was Madam Dou?
His expression became even more respectful and solemn than before.
Song Shize began to recount the events of the past: “…After Lady Lu miscarried her first child, she had difficulty carrying pregnancies to term. When she became pregnant with the Duke, she was already nearing forty. She had to stay in bed for a full seven months before giving birth to the Duke, narrowly avoiding danger. The old Duke and Lady Lu were overjoyed and treasured him like a precious jewel. When he reached the age for schooling, the Duke showed great aptitude for study, which greatly comforted the old Duke. Perhaps because of this, the Duke’s temperament became somewhat careless, and he didn’t pay much attention to dealing with people and affairs.”
“The heir of Marquis Guangen at that time—now the current Marquis Guangen—grew up with the Duke, and they were very close friends.”
“The Guangen Marquis’s household was different from Duke Ying’s. Ever since Princess Huaishu’s consort, Dong Lin, was demoted to commoner status, each generation of the Dong family fought bitterly for the position of heir, causing the Guangen Marquis’s household to gradually decline.”
“After the Ding Gong was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Fujian, the Marquis Guangen had the idea of partnering with wealthy families in Fujian to do maritime business. The Duke had never been interested in such matters, so when the Marquis Guangen approached him, he wrote a letter to the Ding Gong, asking him to look after the Marquis’s affairs.”
“It was an open secret that the wealthy families in Fujian were involved in maritime trade. One more or less Marquis Guangen wouldn’t make a difference. The Ding Gong received the letter and only told the Marquis to be careful and not to draw attention to himself, making it difficult for him to intervene.”
“The Marquis Guangen even wrote a letter to thank the Duke for this.”
“But as the old saying goes, ‘Human greed knows no bounds.'”
“After two or three years, someone reported that wealthy families in Fujian were doing business with Japanese pirates and providing shelter for them when they came ashore.”
“By then, the Ding Gong had been promoted to Governor of Fujian and was in the process of rectifying the local administration. How could he tolerate such a thing? Naturally, he treated it as a major case and investigated it thoroughly.”
“Who would have thought that the investigation would lead to the Marquis Guangen?”
“The Ding Gong, thinking of the relationship between the Marquis Guangen and the Duke, felt very uneasy. He sent a trusted advisor overnight to see the old Duke, with a message saying that he could delay the matter for at most a month. After that, regardless of what was discovered, he would have to report it to the court and await the imperial decision.”
“The old Duke was furious. He led people to search the Duke’s study and not only found the letters the Marquis Guangen had written to the Duke but also discovered huge bank notes tucked inside the letters.”
“The old Duke was so angry that he slapped the Duke on the spot.”
“The Duke, however, knelt before the old Duke and swore that he had not been involved in the Fujian business and that he knew nothing about the bank notes sent by the Marquis Guangen.”
“Madam Jiang also pleaded for the Duke, saying he wasn’t that kind of person. She argued that if an ordinary person had received so much money, they would have hidden it somewhere, not left it carelessly tucked in letters. This must have been the Marquis Guangen’s idea.”
“The old Duke repeatedly cursed the Duke as a wicked son and called for advisors and the head steward to clean up after the Duke.”
“Madam Jiang helped the Duke back to his room.”
“But halfway there, the Duke suddenly broke free from Madam Jiang’s grasp and ran to the outer courtyard, taking several guards with him to confront the Marquis Guangen.”
“The Marquis Guangen, of course, wouldn’t admit to anything.”
“Moreover, the Duke’s questioning alerted the Marquis Guangen, allowing him to cover his tracks. By the time the Ding Gong officially reported to the court, only a few wealthy families in Fujian were implicated. In Beijing, everything appeared clean and uninvolved.”
“From then on, the Marquis Guangen and the Duke no longer associated with each other.”
“The old Duke began to personally teach the Duke about household affairs.”
“However, at that time, the Duke was only interested in studying the classics and couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for these mundane matters. His progress was slow. On the other hand, Madam Jiang, who helped the Duke with ideas, began to show her talents, impressing the old Duke greatly.”
“Normally, such things were common. Who doesn’t indulge in play when young? As one grows older, things improve.”
“But the old Duke, being advanced in years and lacking energy, fell ill with a cold and became bedridden.”
“Seeing that his days were numbered and that the Duke still appeared carefree and irresponsible, the old Duke had no choice but to entrust the family business to Madam Jiang.”
As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered.
“The old Duke saw that the Ding Gong’s household was thriving and feared that Madam Jiang would only care about her natal family. The Duke was easily swayed, and the old Duke worried that Duke Ying’s household would become a mere appendage of the Ding Gong’s. So he kept an ace up his sleeve, hoping that when the young master grew up, he could support the family and stand on equal footing with the Ding Gong’s household.”
At this point, Song Shize’s voice began to choke up.
“Those people were carefully selected and tested by the old Duke. They were the most outstanding individuals in the household at the time. Such excellent guardians for his orphaned grandson, and now they’re gone…”
In other words, the old Duke had never approved of Song Yichun and had planned early on to bypass him and pass the family business directly to Song Mo.
Dou Zhao asked, “The Duke must have done more than just this one thing, right?”
After all, it was his son. The old Duke couldn’t have given up on him so easily.
Song Shize’s choked words caught in his throat.
Dou Zhao quietly sipped her tea, patiently waiting for him to speak.
Song Shize heaved a long sigh, seeming quite helpless, and said softly, “The Duke had been spoiled, and Madam Jiang was a very capable woman. The Duke was no match for Madam Jiang, so this was the old Duke’s last resort…”
This indirectly confirmed Dou Zhao’s guess.
She couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Didn’t the old Duke worry that the young master would be influenced by Madam Jiang and become closer to the Jiang family?”
“How could he not have thought of that?” Song Shize said with a bitter smile. “But the Duke wasn’t capable of shouldering the responsibilities of Duke Ying’s household. He couldn’t let the Duke raise the young master to be ignorant of household management, could he? As long as the young master was educated to be a man capable of supporting the family business, Duke Ying’s household wouldn’t always defer to the Ding Gong’s in everything. Rather than leaving any grounds for the Ding Gong to be wary, it was better to let the young master accept the Ding Gong’s guidance. No matter what, the young master was stillborn after Madam Jiang’s ten months of pregnancy and hard labor. A woman might side with her natal family if her husband is incompetent, but she’s more likely to turn against her natal family for the sake of her son’s future. Since ancient times, this principle has been unshakable!”