An Shi was shocked. After Wei Tingyu and Wang Qinghai left, she couldn’t help but ask Wang Qinghuai, “What did the Marquis of Jining come to see you about? I remember he used to be such a handsome young man. How did he end up looking like this after not seeing him for two years?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Wang Qinghuai said, his expression darkening. After all, it was his own brother’s good friend. He couldn’t tell his wife that his brother had brought a friend to borrow money, and not even for an emergency, but to secretly partner in a tea business behind his family’s back. Leaving aside whether the money could be repaid, even if the business succeeded, probably no one in the Jining Marquis’ household except Wei Tingyu would be grateful to him. He didn’t want to think about these troublesome matters anymore and asked, “What did you come to see me for?”

An Shi told Wang Qinghuai all the information her elderly servant had gathered.

Wang Qinghuai sighed and said, “If Wei Tingyu knew about this today, I wonder if he would regret marrying the younger Miss Dou back then.”

An Shi was somewhat confused by this.

Wang Qinghuai didn’t want to discuss the matter further.

Wei Tingyu had married a daughter of the Dou family, yet couldn’t even produce 5,000 taels of silver. One could imagine what kind of life he was living. It was fortunate that he hadn’t impulsively agreed to lend him money.

He had heard from his brother that Wei Tingyu was secretly keeping a mistress outside, who was already five or six months pregnant. He wondered if the younger Miss Dou would cause a scene like last time if she found out… There might be quite a spectacle in the capital then!

Come to think of it, it was embarrassing for Song Mo to have such a brother-in-law!

After some thought, he decided to pay a visit to Duke Ying’s mansion himself.

The release of household guards was a matter of great face for the master. Both emotionally and rationally, he should offer his congratulations.

Dou Zhao in Duke Ying’s mansion was naturally unaware of what had happened in the Wang family. She was busy with Chen Xiaofeng and others’ reassignments – Cheng Yi needed preparation; some were leaving her service, requiring instructions; they were no longer household guards and couldn’t live in the east wing of Duke Ying’s mansion anymore. It was easy to arrange for family members to accompany them to their new posts, but some needed to return to Zhending, requiring reliable people to escort them back… Most importantly, she had grown accustomed to having Chen Xiaofeng and others as her guards over the past few years. With their departure, she suddenly felt empty inside, knowing that even if more skilled and loyal people were brought in to replace them in the future, they would never have that same bond forged through life-and-death experiences.

She entrusted the guards who had died at Xiangshan Villa to Duan Gongyi: “…In the future, you must immediately inform me of anything related to these families, whether they need money, goods, or encounter any difficulties. Don’t hide anything from me.”

“Rest assured,” Duan Gongyi, whose feelings for these people ran even deeper than Dou Zhao’s, said with a sigh, “I’ll have people keep a close eye on them.”

Dou Zhao then brought up another matter, “Now that the Emperor is not managing affairs and the Crown Prince is regent, the household shouldn’t encounter any major difficulties. Do you want to find someone to serve Madam Duan?”

Duan Gongyi’s old face reddened as he said, “I have two maids at home who are quite efficient and well-behaved. My mother has someone to serve her for now.”

Dou Zhao smiled, pressing her lips together, and didn’t pursue the matter further.

However, a few days later, good news came from Duan Gongyi’s side.

It turned out that Duan’s mother had long had her eye on a young maid from the kitchen of Yizhi Tang, but because Duan Gongyi wasn’t ready to start a family, it had been put off. Now that Duan Gongyi had lowered his head, his mother thought to take advantage of the fact that the people from Zhending were still at Duke Ying’s mansion to arrange the marriage. Between matchmaking and setting dates, it was all settled in just five or six days.

Dou Zhao called the girl in to have a look. Seeing that the young maid was fair and clean, with a gentle demeanor in her speech and actions, she rewarded her with 500 taels of silver as a dowry and an additional 20 taels for her trousseau. She chose an auspicious day and married her to Duan Gongyi.

Everyone was very happy, and Song Mo also attended the wedding.

However, before the bride could even enter the door, he was quietly pulled away.

Dou Zhao remained composed. Chen Xiaofeng and the others thought Song Mo had only planned to make an appearance at the wedding and didn’t pay much attention. After Duan Gongyi completed the ceremony, they escorted him to the bridal chamber to celebrate. Only then did she have a chance to quietly ask Wu Yi, “What happened?”

Wu Yi whispered, “The Empress has passed away due to illness. His Highness has summoned the young master to the palace immediately to discuss this matter!”

Dou Zhao felt extremely anxious.

The King of Liao was still “attending to the Emperor’s illness” in the Western Palace, and now the Empress had died first.

It had only been a few days since Yumingshan, how could this not lead to speculation?

Moreover, it was the Crown Prince who had agreed to let the Empress continue to enjoy her position, and Song Mo who had guaranteed it. If someone were to maliciously fan the flames, the two of them could be drowned in people’s spit. Most unsettling was that the Emperor was still above the Crown Prince. If this aroused the Emperor’s suspicion, would it affect the Crown Prince’s position?

Dou Zhao waited until late at night, around 9-11 pm, before Song Mo returned.

“How is the situation now?” she asked, sitting on the kang bed after Ruo Tong and the others had helped Song Mo change his clothes and withdraw. “Has a time been set for announcing the mourning?”

Song Mo sat down beside Dou Zhao, who only then noticed the weariness in his brow.

Dou Zhao began to massage his shoulders.

Song Mo smiled and said, “I’m fine. You’re with child and shouldn’t overexert yourself.” He then drew her into his arms and sighed, “The Crown Prince is not a fool. The Empress being alive was beneficial to him. When he heard this news, he was also stunned. He and the Crown Princess rushed to Cining Palace only to learn that the Empress had died by hanging herself. But with the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace, the Crown Prince couldn’t even ask a single question. He called for me to accompany him to see the Emperor. When the Emperor learned of the Empress’s death, although he said nothing, he remained silent for a long time before waving his hand to dismiss His Highness. He didn’t mention anything about when to hold the funeral or what the arrangements should be. From what His Highness said, the Emperor must be very grieved…”

Even for a once-loving couple turned bitter enemies, no one could remain unmoved.

Dou Zhao couldn’t help but sigh along with him.

“Let’s rest early,” Song Mo comforted her, patting her hand. “I need to enter the palace early tomorrow morning.”

By tomorrow, the news of the Empress’s death would certainly be impossible to conceal. How to face the doubts of the officials – whether it was the Crown Prince or Song Mo – there was still much busy work ahead.

Dou Zhao sighed and blew out the lamp.

The next day, as expected, the capital was in an uproar.

There were rumors that the Empress had been killed by the Crown Prince, that the Crown Prince had long harbored murderous intentions towards the King of Liao, that Song Mo was the Crown Prince’s accomplice… All sorts of rumors flew about, with all kinds of speculation, but no one believed that the Emperor had died of illness.

The Crown Prince spent every day rushing to the Western Palace to explain to the Emperor, while Song Mo was busy spreading new rumors.

But nothing could compare to the royal family’s secrets. People became increasingly interested in the cause of the Empress’s death. Even the grandmother who never left home heard about it and came to the mansion to ask Dou Zhao if Song Mo would be implicated.

The Emperor said nothing, and the Crown Prince, to avoid suspicion, became even more hesitant to make decisions. Twenty-one days after the Empress’s death, the funeral arrangements had still not been finalized. Ji Yong was anxiously pacing back and forth, shouting at Song Mo, “Do you have any ability to command the Imperial Guard at all? How is this matter still not under control? If you can’t do it, there are plenty of others who can take over!”

Song Mo was annoyed that every time Ji Yong spoke up, it was to criticize people without ever offering a good suggestion. He sneered, “Too bad the position of Commander of the Imperial Guard is a military post. No matter how well Mr. Ji does, he can’t control the Imperial Guard!” Then he stormed off.

Ji Yong watched his retreating figure with disdain.

Soon, some busybody reported this incident to the Crown Prince.

Although the Crown Prince was overwhelmed, when he heard about this, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, feeling his mood improve significantly.

As if the situation in the capital wasn’t chaotic enough, an urgent message arrived from Liaodong.

The eldest son of the King of Liao had died of illness!

This time, the Crown Prince couldn’t sit still.

He was furious, throwing the memorial in front of Song Mo: “Look at this! Which bastard is trying to harm me? If I find out who it is, I’ll skin them alive!”

Song Mo frowned slightly but still calmly said, “We should first investigate the cause of that child’s death before saying anything.”

The Crown Prince clutched his hair and said, “How can we investigate this?”

Song Mo replied, “Even if we can’t find out, we need to have a plausible explanation.”

The Crown Prince slumped onto the large kang bed inlaid with nanmu wood.

The Marquis of Changxing requested an audience.

“Let him in,” the Crown Prince said listlessly.

Because of Consort Shi, the Crown Prince had a good impression of the Marquis of Changxing.

The Marquis of Changxing had a square face and thick eyebrows, looking righteous and giving an impression of firmness and loyalty.

He nodded slightly to Song Mo and stepped forward to pay his respects to the Crown Prince.

Song Mo took the opportunity to withdraw.

By the afternoon, it was reported that the Marquis of Changxing had advised the Crown Prince to request the Empress Dowager to persuade the Emperor. By evening, an imperial edict came from the Western Palace, stating that the Empress’s funeral would follow the standards of Emperor Renzong’s Empress in all aspects except for the mourning period.

Song Mo smiled bitterly and said, “This matter is likely to drag on for a while.”

Dou Zhao, sitting on the kang making a belly band for her unborn child, smiled and said, “I thought you were worried about the Marquis of Changxing!”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Song Mo laughed. “There are plenty of capable people in the court. Although Duke Ying’s household is close to the royal family, there are times when we should keep our distance. Just like last time, when the Crown Prince asked me to accompany him to see the Emperor, I went with him to the Western Palace but didn’t accompany him to see the Emperor. Sometimes, being too close to the Emperor isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Dou Zhao had full confidence in Song Mo and smiled, biting off the thread end and nodding continuously.

A letter came from Tianjin, saying that Gu Yu had lost a lot of weight recently.

Song Mo stared at the letter for a long time before instructing Du Ming to bring him some medicinal materials and other things.

Another letter came from Huzhou, saying that Jiang’s eldest daughter-in-law, seeing that Jiang Bosun had no proper guards around him, had sent Shi An to accompany Jiang Bosun to Liaodong.

This meant that the Jiang family now lacked a capable guard to manage affairs.

Song Mo sent Zhu Yicheng to Huzhou and wrote to Xu Qing, asking him to look after the Jiang family.

After a few busy days, the Crown Prince suddenly paid a secret visit.

He paced back and forth in Song Mo’s study: “The Emperor doesn’t believe at all that this has anything to do with the Empress Dowager. He keeps hinting that Empress Dowager is taking the blame for the Empress’s death on herself, on Consort Shi’s suggestion, just so that we father and son don’t become estranged. And the more the Empress Dowager explains, the less the Emperor believes her. Now I really can’t clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River!”

The Crown Prince anxiously scratched his head again – this was a habit he had developed as a child. Although he had been taught to correct it later, when he was anxious and nervous to the point of being at a loss, he would still make this gesture.

Cui Yijun was extremely worried, his eyes full of concern as he looked at the Crown Prince and Song Mo.