Song Mo didn't know how he came back.

When he was on his way back to Xinglong, he received the news that his mother had passed away.

For six days and five nights, he traveled day and night and returned in a hurry.

All the guards around him were left far behind, and only Yu Jian caught up.

The moment he jumped off the horse, his legs went weak. If Yu Jian and the manager on duty at the gate hadn't helped him, he would have fallen to the ground.

"Master, Master!" My ears were filled with choked voices, carrying with them the joy and relief of seeing him return.

Song Mo's eyes were filled with tears as he ran towards the mourning hall along the floating funeral curtains.

"Brother!" Song Han, who was thanking in front of the coffin, threw himself into Song Mo's arms in a sackcloth suit, "Why did you come back just now?" His voice was full of fear and complaints.

"It's my fault!" Song Mo hugged his brother, tears flowing from his bloodshot eyes, "It's my fault... I came back late..."

Song Han burst into tears: "Brother, brother!"

Song Mo took his brother to the coffin and knelt down.

"Mom, I'm back!" With tears on his face, he kowtowed three times to his mother.

Someone came over and said, "Tianci, put on your mourning clothes."

It was the voice of my eldest cousin Song Qin.

Song Yichun was very caring towards everyone in his family. He arranged a job for his eldest cousin Song Maochun as a clerk in the Lin Heng Office of Shanglinyuan. After a few years, he managed to squeeze out the director of Lin Heng Office and let Song Maochun be the director. His cousin Song Fengchun was the deputy envoy of Chongwenmen Taxation Office, and another cousin Song Tongchun was the deputy envoy of Neiku Yiziku. The director of Lin Heng Office was at least a regular eighth-rank official, while the deputy envoys of Chongwenmen Taxation Office and Neiku Yiziku were not in the mainstream, but they were very well paid - the Lin Heng Office was responsible for the tribute of fruits, the Chongwenmen Taxation Office was responsible for collecting the liquor tax from the capital; Neiku Yiziku belonged to the Ministry of War, and was responsible for the fat jackets, combat shoes, and fur hats of the soldiers in each guard post. Although they held low positions, they were all members of the Song family. Even the assistant ministers and junior officials had to give them some face when they met them. They would get a share of any benefits from the higher-ups. They also had the land and property left by their ancestors, so their lives were extremely comfortable.

Therefore, Song Yichun has a very high prestige in the Song family, and it is no exaggeration to say that his words are law.

Song Qin is seven years older than Song Mo, and they got married last spring.

Before the wedding, Song Maochun brought his son to see Song Yichun, hoping that Song Yichun could find a good job for his son. However, Song Yichun scolded him: "You are short-sighted! Jingzhi has passed the provincial examination and will soon be qualified for the imperial examination. He should focus on studying! If he can pass the examination and become a scholar, I will have a say in front of the emperor. If not a normal seventh-rank post as the director of the Yingyu Department, I will at least give him an eighth-rank post as the director of the Wei Department! That would be a great future for him." He is much better than you! He can't be a low-ranking clerk all his life like you! If Jingzhi doesn't have this luck and hasn't passed the exam before he's 30, it won't be too late to find him a job by then." He added, "Our family is small, so we must stick together. Even if you have three heads and six arms, it's useless without blood relatives to help you. Don't be content with a small fortune. If you can let your children take a step forward, you should do everything you can to let them take another step forward!"

Song Maochun was filled with gratitude and thanked again and again.

Even Song Qin was very grateful and felt that his second uncle treated him very sincerely.

He already treated Song Mo and Song Han as his own brothers, so he treated Song Mo and Song Han even closer.

Jiang's death was a major event for the Song family, just like half of a building collapsed. All the members of the Song family came to help, and Song Qin was no exception. He hardly slept a wink during the first seven days, and only had a good sleep in the past two days.

Song Mo had a dull expression as he let Song Qin help him put on mourning clothes.

Seeing that Song Mo was extremely thin and looked exhausted, Song Qin could not help but go to him and said, "Go wash your face first! Second Uncle has been in the inner room of the upper room, you have to go and see him too."

Song Qin's younger brother Song Duo just walked in from outside.

He is four years older than Song Mo. Like all second sons, he has a more lively personality.

Seeing Song Mo, he called out "God's gift" and said, "Go and have a rest! The dead are gone, you must take good care of yourself. There are still many things waiting for you in the future!"

Song Mo didn't expect him to say something like "the dead are dead". If he wasn't so sad, he might have smiled.

Seeing the tired looks of his two cousins, he knew that they had helped a lot these days. He grabbed Song Duo's shoulders, looked at Song Qin and said "thank you".

"We are brothers, why are you saying these things!" Song Qin said humbly.

Song Mo nodded.

Song Han pulled his brother's sleeve and said, "Brother, I want to go with you."

The death of his mother must have scared the eight-year-old brother who still wanted to sleep with his mother!

A trace of pity flashed in his eyes. He thought of his father in his mother's room. If his brother left, there would be no one to thank him. He could only harden his heart and whispered to Song Han: "Mom, you can't kill people here. I'll be there right away!"

Song Han nodded with tears in his eyes, repeatedly telling his brother: "You must come quickly! You must come quickly!"

"Sure!" Song Mo touched Song Han's head and was about to return to Yizhitang when he ran into his father's close attendant Lu Zheng.

"Master," he wiped his tears when he saw Song Mo, "you are finally back! The Duke has been refusing to eat or drink these past few days, and we were all so worried. When I heard that you were back, he asked me to take you to the upper room!"

Song Mo thought of Song Qin's words, and without hesitation, he immediately followed Lu Zheng to the upper room.

Song Yichun sat cross-legged on the big kang by the window in the inner room of the upper room. The furnishings in the room were the same as when Chiang was alive. Even the rouge and powder on the mirror table were arranged as Chiang usually did. An ivory comb inlaid with gold lace that Chiang usually used was placed casually on the table.

Song Mo's eyes turned red, and his vision became a little blurry. But his father's somewhat dry voice rang in his ears: "You're back! How is the matter going? Your mother was thinking about this when she was alive!"

"I'm meeting Prince Liao." Song Mo bowed respectfully to his father and sat opposite him at his father's suggestion. "Prince Liao has known about the Jiang family's affairs for a long time. After my third uncle's condition worsened, it was Prince Liao who helped him to invite a doctor. It was us who were too conceited."

Song Yichun nodded slightly, sighed, and said, "It would be great if your mother heard this news before she died!" He added, "You can go to your mother's coffin and tell her later."

Song Mo agreed.

Song Yichun looked at her son, who looked exhausted, and said, "You haven't eaten yet? I'll ask the kitchen to prepare something for you. You should also wash up. Your mother loves to look pretty. If she sees you like this, I don't know how sad she will be!"

Song Mo couldn't help but shed tears, lowered his head and replied "yes".

Lu Zheng came over to help him take a bath, and then a maid came to report that the meal had been placed in the inner room of the upper house as ordered by the Duke.

"The Duke must want to talk to you!" Lu Zheng said sadly, "The Duke must be feeling very bad these days!"

Song Mo was even more sad after hearing this.

On the kang table by the window in the inner room were placed several vegetarian dishes, a large plate of steamed buns, and a large bowl of vegetarian noodles.

"Eat quickly!" Song Yichun sat next to his son and watched him eat his meal very quickly but with grace and ease.

"In the blink of an eye, you have grown up." He sighed, with a trace of regret in his eyes, "I am old too!"

Song Mo said nothing.

He is not a person who is good at comforting others. He can't help but think: It would be nice if Tian En was here. Tian En is the best at making people happy. From childhood to adulthood, whenever Tian En is here, the occasion will be lively.

He ate his meal quietly.

Song Yichun sat there quietly watching her son eat.

The room was quiet and only the sound of porcelain colliding gently could be heard, making the room even more peaceful.

After Song Mo finished eating, the maids fetched water for him to wash his hands, served him his usual tea, and left quietly.

Song Yichun looked at Song Mo with a complicated expression, but still didn't speak.

Song Mo waited patiently, quietly and calmly.

A strange look flashed in Song Yichun's eyes.

He said in a deep voice: "Do you still remember Mei Rui, the maidservant beside your mother?"

"I remember." Song Mo didn't understand why his father suddenly mentioned his mother's maid, but he still answered his father calmly. "She is the most capable maid by my mother's side."

"After your mother passed away, I planned to release all those who had served her after the 79th day of mourning," Song Yichun said, picking up the teacup, his eyelids slightly lowered, his gaze falling on the green tea leaves floating in the tea like little boats, "but on the night of the 27th day of mourning, Mei Rui suddenly committed suicide by hitting her head against a pillar in front of your mother's spirit."

Song Mo's expression changed slightly.

"Fortunately, it was in the evening, not many people were around, and Lu Zheng handled it properly, so the incident didn't spread widely." Song Yichun said, "I arrested all the servants in your mother's room." When he said this, he suddenly raised his eyelids and looked at Song Mo with a sharp look like a sword. "Guess what Lu Zheng found out?" Without waiting for Song Mo to answer, Song Yichun, whose face had turned ashen, continued, "The maid is actually four months pregnant, and she is already showing her pregnancy!"

"How is this possible?" Song Mo exclaimed, with an expression that showed undisguised shock.

The child was obviously not the father's. Otherwise, given the mother's personality, she would have made some arrangements before she died, and the father would not have had to explain to him, let alone be so angry.

Although my mother was very strict, perhaps because of the influence of the Jiang family, she was not a rigid and mean person. If Mei Rui liked someone, she could have just told her mother directly, considering her mother's love for her, and there was no need to do such a shameless thing.

Whose child is it?

If this matter were to get out, my mother's reputation would certainly be criticized.

His eyes flashed with a cold light, but his father's voice came to his ears: "Lü Zheng went to search her house and found a few pieces of new tribute from Jiangnan Weaving this year, as well as several exquisitely crafted ornaments. One of them was a jade pendant, carefully carved from the finest Hetian jade, with cloud patterns carved on all four sides and a large phoenix with spread wings in the middle..."

Song Mo was stunned.

When he was born, his grandfather gave him a jade pendant like this!

It is said to have been passed down from the ancestors of the Song family.

Song Yichun was furious: "You evil creature! What a bad thing you did!" He slapped Song Mo in the face!