Song Mo stared at the dark, pitch-black tent above him, his mind filled with memories of Song Han circling him as a child.
His eyes gradually moistened.
How wonderful it would be if time could freeze at this moment!
Though he harbored doubts, he had no evidence, so there was no need to make a choice.
But time never bends to human will.
The light in the room gradually brightened.
Song Mo gently sat up and looked at Dou Zhao, whose complexion was rosy and whose sleeping face was peaceful. He couldn’t help but lightly stroke her forehead.
Dou Zhao murmured and turned her head slightly.
Song Mo chuckled softly.
With this Ning Xin’er in his arms, why should he lament the passing of spring and autumn?
He got up and practiced swordplay in the courtyard for a while. After hearing that Dou Zhao had woken up, he returned to the inner chamber.
Dou Zhao was combing her hair in front of the mirror. When she saw him still at home, she asked in surprise, “Aren’t you going to the yamen today?”
“I am!” Song Mo allowed the young maid to assist him in changing clothes and smiled, “Today I’m going to the Wucheng Bingma Si yamen, not the Jinwu Wei yamen, so I can leave a bit later.”
Dou Zhao asked, “Did something happen at the Wucheng Bingma Si yamen?”
“Nothing much,” Song Mo helped Dou Zhao sit on the kang and said, “Just a routine visit.”
Guan Lu directed the young maids to prepare breakfast.
Song Mo then asked, “How much longer until you give birth? I want to invite Old Madam Lu over to help take care of you.”
If Song Han and Jiang Yan had indeed been swapped at birth, then it must have been an issue during delivery. He felt it was better to have more people watching over her for peace of mind.
“It should be around the end of this month or the beginning of next month,” Dou Zhao replied with a smile. “Sixth Aunt said she would come over with Fifth Aunt at that time. Old Madam Lu is getting old; it’s better not to disturb her.”
Song Mo nodded and lowered his head to begin his breakfast.
Seeing that he had a good appetite, Dou Zhao couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
Song Mo was such a clever person, yet he never thought much about Song Han’s situation, which showed how much he trusted and cared for him. Now, however, Song Han had destroyed that trust and affection. Song Mo’s emotions could not help but be affected; the more calm and composed he appeared, the greater the resentment in his heart likely grew.
Dou Zhao personally helped him change into his official robes and sent him to the Chuihua Gate before returning to Yizhi Hall.
By the time Song Mo returned from the yamen at the hour of You, Lu Ming requested an audience.
Song Mo dismissed the maids and servants in the room and met Lu Ming in the main hall’s resting area.
Lu Ming lowered his head and murmured, “On the order of the Young Master, I have been hiding on the roof of the Second Master’s room since last night. No matter what the Second Master ate, he always let that cat taste it first. Only after the cat had eaten would he eat. At noon, I hid the two cats. When the Second Master didn’t see the cats, his face turned pale, and he had the maids search for them all afternoon.
Just as he was about to go to the teacher to learn the guqin, he had the cook prepare a bowl of plain noodles. But while eating the noodles, the Second Master said he didn’t have much of an appetite and pushed a small portion for Qixia to eat. After Qixia had eaten, he began to eat the noodles himself. Before leaving, he instructed Qixia and the others that he must find the two cats before he returned from school.”
Song Mo lowered his eyelids expressionlessly and said lightly, “Put some arsenic in the food for those two cats—more for one, less for the other—and leave it in a corner where they can find it.”
Lu Ming respectfully replied, “Yes,” and then withdrew.
Dou Zhao hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
That evening, a commotion erupted in the upper courtyard, loud enough for Yizhi Hall to hear.
Jiang Yan, who had come to pay her respects to Dou Zhao, looked a bit anxious and tugged at Dou Zhao’s sleeve to ask what was happening.
Although no one in the household had explicitly told her, she understood in her heart that if she and Song Mo were siblings, then Song Han was either not the son of Li Tiao Niang or was adopted by the Song family. Regardless of which was true, if Song Mo acknowledged her, Song Han’s identity and status would become quite awkward. After all, Song Han had been the Song family’s son for over a decade, and she didn’t want her presence to make his situation difficult. This was also why she had pretended not to know when the maids mentioned that Song Han had been lingering outside Bi Shui Xuan.
Dou Zhao took her hand and said, “I don’t know either. I’ll have Guan Lu go take a look.”
Jiang Yan nodded.
She felt a bit afraid to see Song Han, fearing that he would become cynical because of her presence.
Guan Lu quickly returned and whispered, “The two cats in the Second Master’s room have been poisoned. One is already dead, and the other, although still alive, cannot walk. The Second Master was frightened and cried and shouted, claiming someone was trying to harm him. He insisted that Chang Hu Wei thoroughly investigate Duke Ying’s residence. Chang Hu Wei, however, had no authority to do so and reported it to the Duke.
The Duke was also stunned when he saw the two cats and took a long time to regain his composure before urgently instructing Chang Hu Wei to investigate Duke Ying’s residence. When the Young Master learned of this, he rushed over, saying that the Duke and the Second Master were making a fuss over a mere plaything. Those who knew said the Duke was worried about his son, while those who didn’t thought the Second Master was being overly sentimental. Then he called for the coroner from Shuntian Prefecture to investigate the cause of the cats’ deaths.”
“The coroner from Shuntian Prefecture said that the cat died from eating rat poison.”
“The Young Master then gave the Second Master a severe scolding, saying he was making a mountain out of a molehill, acting impulsively, and was cowardly and weak… The Second Master was reduced to tears. The Duke also left with a stern face.”
Jiang Yan couldn’t help but clasp her hands together and mutter, “Amitabha.” She said, “Who did this? Knowing that the Second Master had two cats, they still poisoned them? I think the courtyard needs a thorough cleaning. If anyone else’s cats or dogs eat the poisoned rats, wouldn’t they also be in trouble?”
Dou Zhao smiled and instructed Guan Lu, “Then go tell the maids sweeping the courtyard.”
Guan Lu laughed as she left the main room.
However, Song Mo entered Song Han’s inner chamber with a cold expression, hands behind his back.
Song Han was crying uncontrollably, his eyes swollen like walnuts. When he saw Song Mo enter, he wiped his tears and followed him inside.
Song Mo climbed onto the kang, dismissed Qixia and the others, and asked Song Han, who was standing before him with his head drooping, “What did your father and mother argue about? Did you not hear anything?”
Song Han looked up, his expression one of great surprise, but the already cold-hearted Song Mo still caught a fleeting look of unease in his expression.
“I had someone put some arsenic in the food for the two cats in your room—more for one, less for the other. You see, the coroner from Shuntian Prefecture came and said that the two cats you raised died from eating poisoned rats.” He looked at Song Han with a faint smile, warm and gentle, “Song Han, I’ll ask you one more time: what did your father and mother argue about?”
“Brother, how could you…” Song Han’s forehead broke out in fine sweat, and genuine panic appeared in his eyes.
Song Mo simply smiled at him, just like the caring brother he had always been.
“I didn’t, I didn’t hear anything!” Song Han jumped up, “I didn’t hear anything…”
Song Mo stood up, smoothed out his slightly wrinkled robe, and called out, “Lu Ming, come tell the Second Master how he should speak to me.” He added, “Don’t leave any marks; otherwise if someone dies, we’ll have to find all sorts of excuses.” After saying that, he walked out with a demeanor as steady as a pine tree.
Lu Ming bowed to Song Han.
The flickering light illuminated Song Han’s small, thin figure, making him look like a twisted monster.
“No!” Song Han screamed and lunged at Song Mo’s back.
Lu Ming extended his arm to block Song Han, “Second Master, don’t make it difficult for us servants!”
He stared intently at Song Han, his eyes revealing unmasked killing intent.
Song Han thought of Song Mo’s methods, of his father’s wariness of Song Mo, and of Song Mo’s coldness towards him since Jiang Yan’s appearance. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit, chilled to the bone.
“Brother! Brother!” he cried out to Song Mo’s retreating figure.
Song Mo did not turn back.
Lu Ming locked Song Han’s arm.
A sharp pain shot through Song Han’s shoulder.
He struggled desperately, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Four people walked in from outside.
One of them hesitated and said, “After all, he is the Second Master of the Duke Ying’s residence…”
Song Han suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
But who knew that the person would continue, “I think it’s better to drown him—it’s hot, and if something goes wrong, we can say he drowned while swimming.”
Lu Ming thought for a moment and said, “Then bring a basin of water!”
Song Han’s hair stood on end. He spat at Lu Ming, “If you dare touch me, be careful that my brother regrets it later and comes after you!”
Lu Ming grinned, his smile full of mockery, “Do you still think you’re the Second Master of Duke Ying’s residence? Where do you think Miss Jiang came from? Don’t forget, that although Li Tiao Niang is dead, Li Liang is still alive and well. Now, who in Duke Ying’s residence doesn’t know that you have no relation to the Song family, but are merely adopted by the Duke?
We’ll wrap you in cotton and beat you; your insides will be ruined, but there won’t be a single visible mark on the outside. You’ll be dead in two or three days. This kind of underworld method, even the imperial doctors from the Tai Hospital won’t be able to detect. Don’t worry, even if the Duke reports it to the throne, it will be a muddled case. Besides, the Duke has such a big handle in the Young Master’s hands; whether he will stand up for you is another matter.”
As he spoke, he suddenly released Song Han’s arm.
Song Han let out a miserable scream.
Lu Ming said, “Don’t put on airs as the Second Master of the Duke Ying’s residence in front of me. The Young Master only asked you out of consideration for your brotherly bond. If you don’t speak, someone else will.”
“Since you’re giving us a hard time, don’t blame our Young Master for being ruthless.”
Song Han’s head was pressed into the basin of water.
Bubbles rose in the water.
Song Han desperately shook his head.
Water poured into his nose and mouth.
He felt the pain of suffocation.
He was pulled up.
He gasped for air.
Lu Ming asked him, “When the Young Master asked you a question, did you still say you didn’t know?”
Song Han didn’t have time to respond before his head was pressed back into the basin of water.
…
He gradually felt weak.
The shadow of death was closer to him than ever before.
Yet he still kept his mouth tightly shut.
Someone hesitated and said, “What if something happens… how will we explain it to the Duke?”
Lu Ming sneered, “If he’s already dead, can the Duke cut off his descendants?”
Song Han’s head was pressed back into the water again.
This time, it was longer than any previous time.
The hand pressing down on him felt like an iron clamp, showing no hesitation or slack.
Moreover, the time he was held under the water grew longer each time, while the time he was pulled out grew shorter, appearing somewhat urgent, as if he were a burden that needed to be resolved quickly to meet a deadline…
Song Han suddenly understood.
These people were merely puppets in Song Mo’s hands, so they wouldn’t soften at the sight of his tragic state like Song Mo would.
If he didn’t beg for mercy, he would truly die here.
Just as they said, if he died, Song Mo would become the sole heir of the Song family. What could his father do besides scold and beat Song Mo?
So when Song Han was dragged out again, he weakly grasped the arm of the person pressing his head down.
“I’ll talk…” he murmured, collapsing to the ground.