Dou Zhao listened, her vision blurring.
“Your brother has come to find you, hasn’t he?” She quickly wiped her eyes and smiled, “Not only are you the daughter of the Song family, but you are also the legitimate eldest daughter of Duke Ying’s residence, the biological sister of the heir. You are not the child of Lady Li; it’s just that your biological mother has passed away. If she knew your brother had found you, she would be overjoyed!”
Although there was no concrete evidence yet, Dou Zhao believed that Yi Gui was indeed the biological daughter of Madam Jiang, based on Song Mo’s various words and actions in the past.
She continued, “The Duke Ying’s residence should have a portrait of Madam Jiang. I’ll have your brother find it so you can see for yourself.”
Yi Gui, like all children who felt wronged by their parents, occasionally fantasized about not being their biological child. However, when someone told her that her real parents were different, she was still taken aback.
She lowered her head and hesitated for a long time before asking, “Then why didn’t they come to find me sooner? When did my biological mother pass away? Did she send my brother to look for me?”
As she spoke, her voice began to tremble.
Dou Zhao could no longer hold back her tears.
“Of course it’s true!” She took Yi Gui’s hand and said, “Your mother is my mother-in-law. Would I lie to you? It’s just that this matter is quite complicated, and I can’t explain it all at once. When we return to the Duke Ying’s residence, I’ll tell you everything in detail, alright?”
Yi Gui nodded obediently.
Dou Zhao sighed in relief.
She was most afraid of girls who acted like victims and cried at the slightest provocation; next, she feared stubborn girls who were obstinate in any situation. Although Yi Gui cried a lot, she was still reasonable. If she had truly been a victim or a stubborn sister-in-law, it would have been a headache.
Yi Gui lowered her head, twisting her fingers anxiously, “Regardless, she raised me for a time. I want to pay my respects to her… And what about my uncle? Can we let him go? I just saw my brother beat him down to the ground…”
This version of Yi Gui could be described as a pushover.
She recognized a thief as her mother.
But if she had truly been strong-willed, she might have been beaten to death by Lady Li long ago.
Some matters could only be approached slowly.
Dou Zhao gently patted her hand, “You stay here for a moment. I’ll go ask your brother how things are going outside. With Lady Li’s suicide and the neighbors reporting it, you can’t go to the yamen to pay your respects, can you?”
In truth, she was worried that Song Mo would hear Yi Gui’s request and become furious, possibly killing Li Liang as well.
When Song Mo heard Yi Gui’s request, his face darkened.
Dou Zhao quickly said, “She was raised by the Li family since childhood, and Lady Li often found reasons to beat her for no reason. She could only survive by being obedient. Please don’t be too harsh on her.” Then she asked Song Mo, “What do you plan to do with Yi Gui?”
Now that Lady Li was dead, Yi Gui’s identity became a problem.
When they returned to Duke Ying’s residence, they needed a legitimate reason; they couldn’t let her continue following Li Liang, could they?
Song Mo replied, “Do you think that just because we found Lady Li, Yi Gui can return to Duke Ying’s residence without any issues? Don’t forget, Lady Li was just a promiscuous woman. Even if this matter went to the emperor, as long as our father refuses to acknowledge it, do you think the emperor would believe Lady Li? It’s possible that Yi Gui could be accused of ‘falsely claiming to be a relative,’ which could cost her life. Many people in this world look alike but have no blood relation! I only regret that Lady Li died so easily; it’s too lenient for her!”
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but ask, “Who killed Lady Li?”
She suspected it was either Song Yichun or Song Han.
Song Mo coldly replied, “Whoever it was, it’s related to the events of that year. I wasn’t sure before that Yi Gui was my sister, but now that Lady Li is dead, it has pointed me in the right direction.”
Dou Zhao nodded, “Then what about Song Han…”
Upon hearing this, Song Mo’s expression darkened, “Regardless, he has been my brother for fourteen years. When our mother was alive, she treated him like a precious gem, afraid he would break. I can’t blame him for the mistakes of our elders. For now, let’s keep this from him. When he’s older, I’ll tell him everything. How he chooses to handle it will be his own decision.” Despite saying this, there was a hint of melancholy in his tone, and he no longer spoke to Song Han with the same warmth as before. “As for Yi Gui, our father will never acknowledge her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have abandoned her to Lady Li all those years ago. Let her live in Yizhi Hall as a distant relative of the Jiang family!”
At this point, he raised an eyebrow, revealing a hint of coldness. “And her name needs to be changed. ‘Yi Gui’ sounds disgusting to me… Let her take my name.” He pondered for a moment, “For the ink, paper, and inkstone, let’s use a homophone for ‘inkstone’ and call her ‘Yan.’ I hope she can be reborn and forget the past.”
“Jiang Yan!” Dou Zhao whispered, praising, “What a beautiful name! ‘Chong Wan Yan in the embrace, spitting out pearls at the end of the brush.’ I’ll tell her to change her name to Jiang Yan!”
“Jiang as the surname?” Song Mo was momentarily taken aback.
Dou Zhao felt that Song Mo was a bit confused.
But this version of Song Mo made her feel very warm and genuine.
“Weren’t you saying she would live in Yizhi Hall as a distant relative of the Jiang family?” Dou Zhao laughed, “If she doesn’t have the surname Jiang, does she still have the surname Song?”
Hearing this, Song Mo sighed, “The surname Jiang is fine; the surname Song isn’t anything special. Following her mother’s surname would make her mother happy if she knew from the afterlife, and she wouldn’t have to worry about his opinions.”
He was referring to Song Yichun.
Dou Zhao recalled how cold her father had been to her in her past life, and how she had hoped to please him. She shared her thoughts with Song Mo when Yi Gui mentioned wanting to pay respects to Lady Li: “… It might be better to tell her everything about the past. This way, she won’t develop any infatuation for the Duke. If she becomes a foolishly filial person, that’s one thing, but I fear the Duke might have no feelings for her and instead use her to harm herself and you.”
Song Mo thought of his delicate sister and couldn’t help but rub his forehead, “Then let’s wait until we return to the residence and tell her slowly!”
“Or we should tell her now!” Dou Zhao insisted, “If we’re going to act, we should do it thoroughly. For now, let’s arrange for Jiang Yan to stay in a separate courtyard. I’ll make her some decent clothes and jewelry, and find a few reliable maids and matrons. Then you can send someone to formally bring her back to Duke Ying’s residence, ensuring that no one can gossip about her. This will give her a chance to think about everything, and we can also investigate the events of that year to see who harmed Lady Li.”
Song Mo nodded, and they parted ways to carry out their plans. By evening, they returned to Duke Ying’s residence without drawing attention.
Song Han came forward, smiling broadly as he pulled Song Mo along, “Brother, why did you come back at this hour? Gu Yu has been waiting for you all morning. I heard you went to Jing’an Temple with your Sister-in-law, and he hurried over there too.” He stretched his neck to look behind them, puzzled, “Where’s Gu Yu? Why didn’t he come with you and Sister-in-law?”
Song Mo looked at Song Han and smiled, “Sister-in-law and I didn’t go to Jing’an Temple; we went to the temple to pray…”
Dou Zhao sensed that Song Mo’s gaze toward Song Han was a bit cold, lacking the previous warmth and affection.
However, Song Han seemed oblivious.
He excitedly interrupted Song Mo, laughing, “I know! Brother and Sister-in-law must have gone to pray for a smooth delivery of a precious child!”
Song Mo merely smiled and guided Dou Zhao toward Yizhi Hall.
Song Han pouted, feeling a bit wronged as he followed behind them.
Song Mo said, “Your sister-in-law is tired; you should go rest too! After dinner, finish your homework, and then come over to play.”
Song Han cheerfully replied, “Okay!” and returned to the main house, surrounded by maids and matrons.
Once alone, Song Mo quietly said to Dou Zhao, “Did you notice that Song Han looks like our father and not at all like our mother?”
With a changed mindset, the way one viewed things also changed.
In the future, Song Mo would surely discover even more differences in Song Han.
Dou Zhao laughed, “When I first married in, I thought Song Han looked a lot like the Duke, but not so much like you.”
“Is that so?” Song Mo pondered, helping Dou Zhao wash up in the inner room. Afterward, he rummaged around in his study for a while and found a portrait of Madam Jiang to show Dou Zhao. “Look, where does Song Han resemble our mother?”
Indeed, there were no similarities in their features, but their demeanor was somewhat alike—perhaps because he had grown up with Madam Jiang. However, Song Mo was currently scrutinizing Song Han with a critical eye, and Dou Zhao naturally wouldn’t mention this to him to avoid upsetting him.
“Not really,” she observed, “but it seems that Yan’s features are like those of our mother as if they were cast from the same mold.”
Song Mo stared at the portrait in silence for a while before putting it away and handing it to Dou Zhao. “You should send someone to deliver the portrait to Yan tomorrow.”
He arranged for Yi Gui—now to be called Jiang Yan—to stay in the residence where Madam Jiang had lived when she first came to the capital, leaving Xia Lian there while Dou Zhao kept Jin Gui.
Dou Zhao took the portrait in her hands when Liu Zhang hurried over, “Heir, Lu Ming, and Du Wei have arrived and are waiting for you in the study.”
Song Mo told Dou Zhao, “I’ll be right back.”
He followed Liu Zhang to the study.
Dou Zhao asked Chen He what was going on.
Chen He smiled, “When I brought the tea, I only heard the heir mention the He family and the Wei family, but I didn’t catch the rest.”
Dou Zhao couldn’t help but tease him, “You’ve become quite slick since getting married!”
Chen He laughed sheepishly.
Dou Zhao waved him off and thought about how the Jiang family had gone through such a significant upheaval. Now that they were just commoners, she had opened the box of sweet dew, dismissed the maids, and personally selected a few not-so-valuable but fashionable fabrics and some gilded jewelry. Since Jiang Yan entered the residence as a daughter of the Jiang family, and the Jiang family had a long-standing heritage, she also found a few heirloom pieces from the dowry to place in the mirror case. Early the next morning, she called Su Lan in, carefully instructed her, and sent the portrait along with her to Jiang Yan.
When Su Lan returned, she told Dou Zhao that Jiang Yan had cried a lot upon seeing the portrait and then held her hand, asking many questions about the residence: “… I told Jiang Yan everything in detail as per the lady’s instructions.”
“You’ve worked hard,” Dou Zhao said, rewarding her with some food. She quietly instructed her to buy two older maids and matrons for Jiang Yan. “Once she’s in the residence, let her show them around first, and I’ll let her go after that, using the maids and matrons from the residence.”