Chapter 417: Tracing the Source

Song Mo stared at the dark tent ceiling with his eyes narrowed, his mind full of the scenes of Song Han circling around him when he was a child.

His eyes gradually became moist.

How wonderful it would be if time could stay at this moment forever!

Even though he had doubts, he had no evidence, so he didn't have to make a choice.

But time never changes according to human will.

The light in the room gradually brightened.

Song Mo sat up gently, looked at Dou Zhao, whose rosy complexion and peaceful sleeping face, and could not help but stroke her forehead gently.

Dou Zhao muttered and tilted his head.

Song Mo laughed dumbly.

He still has his beloved daughter in his heart, so why should he be sad?

Song Mo stood up and practiced sword in the yard for a while. After hearing that Dou Zhao had gotten up, he returned to the inner room.

Dou Zhao was combing her hair in front of the mirror. Seeing that he was still at home, she asked curiously, "Don't you have to go to the government office today?"

"Go ahead!" Song Mo let the little maid help him change his clothes, and said with a smile, "Today we are going to the Wucheng Bingmasi Yamen instead of the Jinwuwei Yamen, so we can go later."

Dou Zhao said, "What happened at the Wucheng Bingmasi Yamen?"

"Nothing." Song Mo helped Dou Zhao sit down on the kang and said, "Just a routine visit."

Ganlu directed the maids to serve breakfast.

Song Mo said, "How long do you have left to give birth? I want to ask Old Madam Lu to come over and help look after you when the time comes."

If Song Han and Jiang Yan were really replaced at the beginning, it was a problem during production. He thought it would be more reassuring to find a few more people to watch over it.

"It will be around the end of this month or the beginning of next month." Dou Zhao said with a smile, "Sixth Aunt said that she will come with Fifth Aunt. Old Madam Lu is old, so we should not disturb her."

Song Mo nodded, lowered his head and started to eat breakfast.

Dou Zhao couldn't help feeling a little worried when he saw that he had a good appetite.

Song Mo is such a smart person, but he never thinks too much about Song Han's affairs, which shows how much Song Mo trusts and loves Song Han. But now Song Han has completely destroyed his trust and love. It is impossible for Song Mo's emotions not to be affected. The calmer and more composed he appears, the greater the hatred in his heart may be.

Dou Zhao personally helped him change into court robes and escorted him to Chuihua Gate before returning to Yizhi Hall.

At 5 p.m., Song Mo returned from his office and Lu Ming asked to see him.

Song Mo sent the maids and servants away and met Lu Ming in the banquet room in the main house.

Lu Ming lowered his head and murmured, "According to the order of the prince, I have been lurking on the roof of the second master's house since last night. No matter what the second master eats, he always gives it to the cat first. He will eat after the cat has eaten. At noon, I hid the two cats. The second master lost the cats and his face turned pale. He asked the maids in the house to look for them all afternoon. Seeing that he was going to the teacher to learn the piano, he asked the maid on the stove to prepare a bowl of plain noodles. But when eating the noodles, the second master said that his appetite was not very good, so he set aside a small half for Qixia. After Qixia ate, he started to eat the noodles. When he left, he also told Qixia and others that he must find the two cats before leaving school."

Song Mo lowered his eyelids expressionlessly and said calmly: "Feed the two cats with some arsenic, feed one more and the other less, and throw them in a corner where they can find them."

Lu Ming replied respectfully, "Yes," and stepped back.

Dou Zhao hesitated to speak.

In the evening, there was a great noise in the Senate, so loud that even Yizhitang could hear it.

Jiang Yan, who came to pay his respects to Dou Zhao, was a little frightened. He pulled Dou Zhao's sleeve and asked what happened.

Although no one in the mansion told her, she knew in her heart that if she and Song Mo were born from the same mother, then Song Han was either Li Tiao Niang's son or someone the Song family had adopted from somewhere. Regardless of the former or the latter, if Song Mo recognized her, Song Han's status would become very awkward. In any case, Song Han had been the son of the Song family for more than ten years, and she didn't want to make Song Han's situation difficult because of her. This was also why she had heard the maid say several times that Song Han was wandering outside Bishuixuan, but she pretended not to know.

Dou Zhao held her hand and said, "I don't know either. I'll let Ganlu go and take a look."

Jiang Yan nodded.

She was a little afraid to see Song Han, fearing that Song Han would become cynical because of her appearance.

Ganlu quickly turned back and whispered, "The two cats in the Second Master's house were poisoned. One is dead, and the other is still alive but can't walk. The Second Master was frightened and cried and made a fuss, shouting that someone was trying to harm him. He pulled Chang Huwei and insisted that he check the Duke of Ying's mansion thoroughly. Chang Huwei didn't have the qualifications, so he reported to the Duke. The Duke looked at The two cats were also dumbfounded, and after a while they came back to their senses, and hurriedly ordered the guards to thoroughly investigate the Duke of Ying's mansion. The prince knew about it and rushed over, saying that the Duke and the Second Master were making a fuss, and they wanted to thoroughly investigate the Duke of Ying's mansion just for a toy. Those who knew said that the Duke was worried about his son, and those who didn't thought that the Second Master's toy was dead, and then called the coroner from Shuntian Mansion to investigate the cause of death of the cat.

The coroner of Shuntian Prefecture said that the cat died after eating rat poison.

The prince gave the second master a severe lecture. He said the second master was easily alarmed, impetuous, timid and cowardly... He made the second master cry. The Duke also left with a stern face.

Jiang Yan could not help but put his hands together and chanted "Amitabha", saying: "Who is this? Knowing that the second master has two cats, he still put rat poison? I think this yard needs to be cleaned up. If someone else's cats or dogs eat the rats that were poisoned by the rat poison, won't they be in trouble again?"

Dou Zhao smiled and told Gan Lu: "Then go and tell the maids sweeping the yard."

Ganlu smiled and left the upper room.

However, Song Mo walked into Song Han's inner room with his hands behind his back and a cold face.

Song Han cried so hard that his eyes were swollen like walnuts. When he saw Song Mo enter the inner room, he wiped his tears and followed him in.

Song Mo got on the kang, sent Qixia and the others away, and asked Song Han, who was standing in front of him with his head drooped, "What did father and mother say when they quarreled? Did you really not hear it?"

Song Han raised his head with a very surprised expression, but Song Mo, who was already chilled to the bone, still caught a flash of uneasiness in his expression.

"I had someone put some arsenic in the two cats in your house, one heavily and the other lightly. Look, the coroner from Shuntianfu came and said that the two cats you raised died because they ate rats that were killed by rat poison." He smiled at Song Han, his smile was gentle and kind, "Song Han, let me ask you again, what did father and mother say when they quarreled?"

"Brother, how could you..." Beads of sweat appeared on Song Han's forehead, and there was real panic in his eyes.

Song Mo just smiled at him, like the brother who cared about him in the past.

"I didn't, I didn't!" Song Han jumped up, "I really didn't hear it..."

Song Mo stood up, smoothed his wrinkled collar, called out "Lu Ming" lightly, and said, "You come and tell the Second Master how to talk to me." He added, "Don't leave any scars, lest you kill the person and then find a lot of excuses." After that, he walked out as steady as a pine tree.

Lu Ming bowed to Song Han.

The flickering light illuminated Song Han's thin figure, like a twisted monster.

"No!" Song Han screamed and rushed towards Song Mo.

Lu Ming stretched out his arm to block Song Han: "Second Master, please don't make things difficult for us servants!"

He stared at Song Han intently, with undisguised murderous intent in his eyes.

Song Han thought of Song Mo's methods, his father's jealousy of Song Mo, and Song Mo's coldness towards him since Jiang Yan appeared. He suddenly felt like he had fallen into an ice cave and was chilled to the bone.

"Brother! Brother!" He cried at Song Mo's back.

Song Mo didn't reply either.

Lu Ming locked Song Han's arm.

Song Han felt a piercing pain in his shoulder.

He struggled hard, but his efforts were like those of 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 of Yingguo's Mansion..."

Song Han suddenly felt a surge of hope.

Who knew that the man continued: "I think it's better to sip water - the weather is hot, if you lose your grip, you can say you drowned while swimming."

Lu Ming thought for a moment and said, "Then fetch a basin of water!"

Song Han's hair stood on end. He couldn't help but spit at Lu Ming viciously and said, "If you dare to touch me, be careful or my brother will regret it and use you as a scapegoat!"

Lu Ming grinned, his smile full of sarcasm: "Do you still think you are the second master of the original Duke of Yingguo Mansion? Where did Miss Jiang come from? Don't forget that although Li Tiao Niang is dead, Li Liang is still alive and well. Now everyone in the Duke of Yingguo Mansion doesn't know that you have no relationship with the Song family, but you are just adopted by the Duke. We will wrap you in cotton wool and beat you later. The five His internal organs are damaged, but there is no visible wound on the outside. He will die in two or three days at most. Even the doctors in the Imperial Hospital cannot figure out this kind of trick. Don't worry, even if the Duke reports it to the palace, it will be a mess. Moreover, the Duke has such a big handle in the hands of the Crown Prince, so it is still unclear whether he will stand up for you. "

As he spoke, he cut off Song Han's arm with a click.

Song Han screamed.

Lu Ming said: "Don't put on airs as the second master of the Duke's Mansion in front of me. The prince is only asking you because we are brothers. If you don't say something, someone else will tell you.

Since you are so shameless, don't blame our prince for being cruel and ruthless."

Song Han's head was pressed into the basin of water.

Bubbles were gurgling in the basin.

Song Han shook his head desperately.

Water still poured into his nose and mouth.

He felt the pain of suffocation.

The man was caught up.

He was breathing heavily.

Lu Ming asked him, "When the prince asked you a question, did you still say you didn't know?"

Before Song Han could say anything, his head was pushed into the basin again.

…

He was losing strength.

The shadow of death was so close to him for the first time.

But he kept his mouth shut.

Someone hesitated and asked, "What if something really happens...how do we explain it to the Duke?"

Lu Ming sneered: "The person is already dead, can the Duke still let me die?"

Song Han's head was pressed into the water again.

This time, it lasted longer than any other time.

The hand that pressed on him was as firm as an iron clamp, without the slightest hesitation or looseness.

Moreover, the time he was held in the water became longer and longer each time, and the time he was lifted out of the water became shorter and shorter each time. He seemed a little eager, as if he was a drag, and he needed to be solved quickly so that he could finish the job early...

Song Han suddenly understood.

These people are just puppets in Song Mo's hands, so they will not be like Song Mo who would feel soft-hearted when seeing his miserable appearance.

If he didn't ask for mercy, he would really die here.

Just as they said, if he died, Song Mo would become the only heir of the Song family. What else could his father do except beat and scold Song Mo?

So when Song Han was dragged out again, he struggled to grab the person who was pressing his head.

"I said..." he murmured and collapsed to the ground.