After the Song family returned to the capital, the accusations from years ago were cleared, and their names were restored. Everyone in the family was reinstated in their former positions. Song Wushen remained in the Ministry of Revenue. Since he already held a high office, it would not be appropriate to promote him too quickly, but after serving another two years, he would almost certainly enter the Grand Council.
Song Xuemu had originally held a minor, mostly ceremonial post in the Ministry of Works. This time, however, he was promoted in one stroke and appointed Vice Minister of Works.
Grandfather Song, citing his advanced age, declined to return to the Grand Council.
It was not that the events of the past had broken his spirit. Rather, after years of upheaval, exile, and an epidemic that had left him ill, his health had truly deteriorated.
The great matter that had weighed on his heart for so long had finally been settled. The Song family had been exonerated and had returned to the capital. The tension that had supported him all these years slowly dissipated, and overnight he felt old. His bones were no longer as sturdy as they had once been, and he could no longer deny that age had caught up with him.
During the five years of turmoil, while the world was in chaos, he had contributed little himself. Yet with his eldest son, second son, and grandson-in-law working together, the Song family had not only weathered the crisis but had flourished. Though those years had been filled with hardship, the children’s growth had been plain to see.
Now that they had returned to court, he felt perfectly at ease stepping down while the younger generation served there.
The Song family naturally supported Grandfather Song’s decision to retire. He had spent most of his life navigating the treacherous currents of court politics. Now that the realm was stable, stepping down to enjoy his grandchildren and live out his remaining years in peace was reassuring for the entire family.
Who could have guessed that when his resignation was submitted, the new emperor would refuse it and repeatedly urge him to stay?
The emperor said that even if Grandfather Song did not wish to hold a high office, he could be assigned a more leisurely position.
The new emperor was shrewd. The Song family had deep roots and had once wielded considerable influence at court. Now that the internal unrest had ended and the government was being reorganized, the new and former officials still needed time to come together. Without winning over several important ministers from the previous dynasty, it would be difficult to unite the old and new factions.
Moreover, the Song family was unlike the other former-dynasty ministers. During the previous reign, they had been falsely accused and exiled, living in a remote region. From beginning to end, they had never involved themselves in the struggle between the two imperial factions. In the end, they had even helped the Qin clan. In the new emperor’s eyes, the Song family could be summed up in one word: clean.
At the beginning of a new dynasty, capable people were urgently needed. How could Qin Zhitian be willing to let a minister like Grandfather Song retire at such a time?
In truth, given the Song family’s standing alone, Qin Zhitian would have cleared their name and invited them back to court even without the debt of gratitude from those earlier years. However, they could not possibly have returned at once to their former high positions. They would have needed to earn new merit before discussing promotion.
Yet at the Song family’s most desperate moment, they had wholeheartedly supported the Qin army. That was a contribution to the preservation of the realm, and Qin Zhitian was not the sort of man to forget such a debt. Thus, the Song family was able to resume important authority as soon as they returned to the capital.
The new emperor spoke with such sincerity that the Song family could no longer refuse.
Thinking of how he had spent the past several years teaching and mentoring students in the provinces, Grandfather Song was willing to instruct scholars for the new emperor.
And so Grandfather Song was assigned to the Imperial Academy, with an honorary affiliation to the Ministry of Rites, where he would prepare the first imperial examination of the new dynasty.
That was how the arrangements for the Song family were settled.
Duan Yan was practically a member of the Song family, but he was, after all, a son-in-law bearing the surname Duan. When they had helped the Qin army, he had been the chief strategist and organizer, while the trusted agent sent by Qin Zhitian had liaised with him and delivered the token of trust.
Qin Zhitian’s intelligence network was excellent. He knew that the recovery and unification of Qianzhou had been achieved through the Song family’s civil administration and Duan Yan’s military command.
Having heard that Duan Yan was courageous in battle and exceptionally skilled at training troops, the emperor specially conferred on him the rank of Fourth-Rank General and placed him in charge of one of the capital’s imperial guard units, with orders to drill troops at the Western Suburban Garrison.
Once the decree of ennoblement had been drafted and issued, Duan Yan was rewarded with fertile fields, silver, a residence, and a host of other gifts. They were transported into the former general’s grand estate. In short, he had transformed overnight from a blacksmith in a small corner of Qianzhou into a great general.
He hurried to settle into the General’s Residence, but there were still countless matters to arrange: servants and attendants, the management of the inner household, and a trip to the Western Suburban Garrison to inspect his troops. When one man prospered, even his associates rose with him. After receiving his honors, he naturally had to promote and reward the people who had followed him through all those years. How could an official or general lack trusted retainers of his own?
He also had to arrange for Old Man Duan and Old Madam Duan to be brought to the capital.
When he had first come to the capital to receive his honors, he had known that his household would eventually be established there, but nothing had yet been settled. Bringing his parents with him so early would have been inconvenient.
Now that his position and residence had been properly arranged, bringing the elders over would also allow them to enjoy the honor and grandeur of the occasion.
Duan Yan was so busy that he scarcely knew which way was up. Fortunately, Young Master Song arranged everything in the inner household with a few calm gestures and impeccable efficiency, leaving Duan Yan to concern himself solely with military affairs.
It was only after more than a month that life began to return to something resembling normal.
It was the height of the summer heat in the seventh month. On a day when Duan Yan was off duty, he carried Little Ji and went with Song Fengsui to dine at the Song residence.
They had been back in the capital for quite some time, yet this was still Duan Yan’s first opportunity to visit the Song family. Several years earlier, after the Song family had been dispossessed and exiled, their residence had been left vacant. The emperor had never granted it to anyone else, and then the realm had descended into chaos. After the war, the Song residence had remained locked and abandoned.
The new emperor was benevolent. Upon the Song family’s return, he had specially permitted them to move back into their old home.
Not long ago, while Duan Yan and the others had been cleaning and restoring the General’s Residence, the Song family had likewise been repairing their old estate. They had only just made it habitable.
Their spacious carriage stopped before the Song residence, where two stone lions crouched on either side of the entrance. Duan Yan jumped down first and lifted Little Ji from the carriage. He then turned and took Song Fengsui’s hand, and the family of three entered together.
Beyond the threshold stood a green-stone screen wall, much like the one at the entrance to the General’s Residence.
But the carving on the Song family’s screen wall depicted pine trees and cranes symbolizing longevity. It was quite unlike the red blossoms and warhorses carved on the General’s Residence, a clear distinction between the refined and the martial.
Duan Yan knew little about such things, but even a layman could tell that the pine needles on the screen wall were carved with remarkable strength and precision, while the crane feathers appeared almost lifelike. It had clearly been made by a master craftsman.
It was elegant and exquisitely detailed.
Once they passed around the screen wall, the view opened out before them. In the broad courtyard, several century-old locust trees spread their interwoven branches overhead, weaving a dense canopy of shade.
To the left was a covered corridor that turned and vanished into the distance, its destination impossible to see. To the right stood a moon gate. Through it, they could glimpse a magnolia tree with a thick, sturdy trunk. Though it was not the flowering season, its twisting branches and luxuriant leaves appeared and disappeared behind the gate, creating a beauty of their own. One could only imagine how magnificent it must be when the blossoms were in full bloom.
Neither Duan Yan nor Little Ji knew which way to go.
Seeing the older and younger pair looking around with equal curiosity, Song Fengsui decided to show them around. Just as he was about to head toward the moon gate, he instructed the servant walking beside him, “Prepare two horses and wait for us at the far end of the garden.”
“Riding horses in the garden doesn’t seem quite appropriate,” Duan Yan said as he followed, Little Ji in his arms.
Song Fengsui did not answer. He simply led them onward.
Beyond the moon gate lay another spacious courtyard. The front section was used for hosting banquets, watching opera, and dining. Second Madam loved opera, so Second Uncle had kept a troupe solely for her. Every year on her birthday, they would put on a specially prepared performance and sing the entire day into a lively celebration.
A corridor connected the courtyard to another area. At its end lay a small lotus pond. White lotuses were in full bloom, and beneath the lotus leaves, countless goldfish wove through the water. Little Ji’s eyes lit up at the sight.
Turning once more, they came to a crabapple blossom gate and then a fortune-and-prosperity gate. The crabapple gate framed a splendid view, with a broad stretch of flowering crabapple trees displayed beyond it in all their beauty.
Song Fengsui pointed toward the Fulu Moon Gate. “Go through that gate and you’ll find another courtyard. Second Uncle used to bury himself in there, studying all those wooden contraptions of his. After he married Second Aunt, he moved most of his tools to Fangfei Court. But whenever the two of them quarreled, he’d hide away there and spend the night.”
He didn’t lead Duan Yan and Little Ji in to disturb his second uncle’s “secret realm.” Instead, they went through the Haitang Moon Gate, beyond which lay a rather unusual yard. The ground rose and dipped, with pits and hollows scattered throughout.
Duan Yan asked doubtfully, “Is this place specifically for playing chuiwan?”
“Mm. When we were young, a few friends and I liked to have fun together. Since our families didn’t feel comfortable letting us go outside, they built this place so we could play chuiwan and pitch-pot at home.”
Duan Yan gave a light cough. “Very good. Very good.”
They continued on to Qingzhu Garden, a courtyard devoted entirely to ornamental plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums. Inside stood only one spacious hall, where the children of the family studied. There were also accompanying rooms for painting and reading…
The Song family was renowned for its scholarly traditions, and naturally had its own private school. Unfortunately, the family had always been short on heirs. In the past, Song Fengsui had been the only child of the main branch. Later, to make things livelier, they allowed children from the maternal side of the family to study there as well. Since the Song family’s education was excellent, some prominent families in the capital even entrusted their children to the school.
“Did the Young Marquis come here to study too?”
Song Fengsui’s brows twitched. He wondered if this man was some kind of fortune-teller.
He scratched the tip of his nose. “There were a lot of children asking to study here back then. I don’t remember… Ah, forget it. In any case, my grades were a complete disaster. Grandfather said I was no good at poetry or calligraphy.”
Duan Yan didn’t look pleased at that. He gave a little snort. “If you were no good at anything, then how could you still…”
He raised a hand to cover Little Ji’s ears, then mouthed, “Still become close to him.”
In truth, no one had ever mentioned Young Master Song’s past to him, but he had always known about it.
The book had brushed over it in a single, offhand sentence, and he hadn’t paid much attention. Later, the two of them had ended up living together in perfect harmony, so he had thought about it even less.
But now that he was seeing the place where Young Master Song had grown up, thinking of all those years when they had yet to meet—years in which someone else had been able to wander aimlessly at his side—an unmistakable sourness rose in his heart.
Song Fengsui smiled sweetly as he gave Duan Yan a solid pinch on the back. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Do you really have to make trouble on such a fine day?”
Duan Yan hissed.
Little Ji had been admiring the beautiful gardens, but when he turned around, he saw his papa twisting about. Afraid that he might fall, he hurriedly wrapped his arms around Duan Yan’s neck and shouted with a furrowed brow, “Little Papa, Papa has lice!”
“Don’t be afraid. Little Papa will give Papa a good lice treatment!”
Duan Yan took off running with Little Ji in his arms. “Good brother, spare me! Spare me! I’ll never get lice again!”
The three of them dashed around the courtyard for quite some time before finally tiring themselves out and panting for breath.
They had thought they’d thoroughly explored the Song residence, with its beautiful scenery at every step. Unexpectedly, while running about at random, they ended up in an even larger garden. The horses Song Fengsui had ordered earlier were already waiting there.
Once they mounted up, Duan Yan realized that the part they had seen earlier was merely one corner of the Song residence. The place they were exploring now was the true garden: pavilions and towers, winding paths leading into secluded depths… The garden was so vast that it could easily accommodate a polo field.
No wonder they needed to ride horses to explore it. If they relied only on their feet, they probably wouldn’t finish seeing everything even by nightfall.
Duan Yan drawled, “A high-ranking minister of the previous dynasty—this is no exaggeration.”
This really was a case of a country bumpkin marrying into a rich beauty’s family.
Duan Yan kissed Little Ji on the cheek and asked, “Is Little Papa’s home pretty?”
“Mm.”
Little Ji nodded earnestly, then spread his arms wide. “It’s so big. I want to play with Big Brother!”
After saying that, he grew a little worried. “But there are so many rooms. What if Big Brother gets lost and can’t find me?”
Song Fengsui laughed. “Big Brother’s home is even bigger than ours.”
