Song Shiyue looked at the lantern hanging above the manor gate, bearing the character “Song”—this was indeed the Guangping Hou Estate.
Seeing Song Zhengyi escorting someone into a carriage, she noticed a servant carrying a medicine chest sitting on the right side of the carriage.
Recalling the conversation between Gu Yu Chen and the others yesterday, it seemed they had summoned a physician to examine Hou Manor’s Madam.
Song Shiyue and Song Zhengyi exchanged glances. She slightly inclined her body, performed a curtsy, and prepared to leave.
“Young Madam Gu.”
Song Zhengyi spoke urgently. Seeing Song Shiyue pause, he found himself at a loss for words.
His steps carried him uncontrollably toward Song Shiyue, his face etched with anxiety.
Song Shiyue waited for him to approach. They had only exchanged glances yesterday without speaking a word, yet she felt no aversion to his abrupt call.
Instead, she felt a faint sense of anticipation—how peculiar.
“Do you need something, young master?”
“I…”
He had come too close. Song Zhengyi retreated two steps, this distance allowing him to see Song Shiyue’s features more clearly.
They bore seventy percent resemblance to his memory of his mother in her youth.
The missing thirty percent lay in their demeanor. His mother had embodied the gentle elegance and refined grace of a lady from a noble family.
The Young Madam Gu before him—or rather, this young woman—possessed a resolute boldness that made her appear sharp and untamed.
Yet she carried the same vibrant spirit his mother once had, especially in her eyes—lively and clear.
“Young master, have you looked your fill?”
Song Zhengyi snapped back to reality, offering an embarrassed bow. “My apologies. Young Madam Gu bears such striking resemblance to a relative of mine that I became momentarily entranced. Please forgive my impropriety.”
Song Shiyue’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Already someone found her face familiar?
“Da Mei, do I have too common a face?”
She needed to confirm whether this Young Master Song suffered from face blindness.
Da Mei didn’t understand what “common” meant, but she knew her mistress was beautiful.
“This maid doesn’t know what ‘common’ means, but Madam possesses apricot-blossom cheeks and peach-like complexion—a visage of celestial beauty.”
She was repeating praise she’d occasionally overheard from Liu Wu and others, putting newly learned words to use.
Song Shiyue burst into laughter.
Song Zhengyi understood she was questioning whether he had mistaken her identity and hurried to explain, “I speak without falsehood. Young Madam Gu greatly resembles my mother.”
His impulsive words made Song Shiyue’s eyebrows arch high.
Could his mother be her birth mother?
“Young master, our young madam hasn’t yet reached sixteen. How could she possibly resemble Hou Manor’s Madam?”
Xiao Mei glared discontentedly at Song Zhengyi. Her young madam was a blooming sixteen-year-old beauty—how could she be compared to a woman in her forties?
“Madam, please don’t misunderstand. I meant you resemble my mother as I remember her from my childhood.”
Why did that sound awkward?
Da Mei directly asked, “Has your mother passed away?”
Xiao Mei grew even more indignant—how dare he say her young mistress resembled a dead person!
The more he spoke, the more tangled things became. Song Zhengyi grew frantic, unsure how to explain.
Song Shiyue patted Xiao Mei’s shoulder. “I’ve heard your mother has long been bedridden due to chronic illness. She likely no longer possesses her former vitality.”
“Young Madam speaks correctly. My mother now…”
Remembering Lin Taiyi’s recent diagnosis, Song Zhengyi’s voice choked with emotion.
“I have been discourteous. I shan’t disturb Young Madam further.”
Song Shiyue was moved by the sorrow in his eyes. Had Hou Manor’s Madam’s condition worsened?
She didn’t want to watch someone who might be her birth mother die for no apparent reason before she could uncover her origins.
With this thought, a bold idea sprouted in Song Shiyue’s mind.
“Young Master Song, if you’re willing, I can examine your mother.”
Examine?
Song Zhengyi looked up in surprise. “Did I hear correctly? You want to examine my mother?”
“You heard right! You can ask Gu Yu Chen about my medical skills – I treated all his injuries.”
“Did Young Master Gu get injured?”
Oh no! I almost let it slip.
Song Shiyue quickly said, “He was punished with family discipline by Master Gu, beaten until his flesh split open and his bones cracked.”
Only then did Song Zhengyi recall the previous rumors – that Young Master Gu had given all his possessions to his savior as a dowry.
He had thought it was just an excuse at the time, but it turned out to be true.
“In that case, after you’ve looked into it and are willing to let me treat her, you can come find me at Gu Mansion.”
She needed to create an opportunity to enter Hou Manor and meet that Hou Manor’s Madam.
In her memory, the vague image was of someone beautiful and gentle.
While Song Zhengyi was still hesitating, Song Shiyue had already briskly departed.
Both she and he needed time to sort out their thoughts.
Today’s encounter was coincidental – progress shouldn’t be too fast.
Watching her retreating figure, Song Zhengyi felt even more urgent to understand her.
Unable to wait any longer, Song Zhengyi asked the gatekeeper to relay a message to his second brother to watch over their mother, then mounted his horse and rushed to Hall of Academician Manor.
Song Shiyue actually hadn’t gone far, her mind completely occupied with thoughts of Guangping Hou Estate and that sickly Hou Manor’s Madam.
Da Mei and Xiao Mei noticed she wasn’t watching where she was going, her face filled with preoccupation.
To prevent her from bumping into anyone, they guided her into a nearby alley with fewer people.
Just then, the sound of galloping hooves approached.
Xiao Mei turned to see Young Master Song riding past on his horse, his speed completely disregarding Jing City’s prohibition against galloping on the streets.
“He looks refined and cultured, so why does he keep doing such improper things?”
Song Shiyue snapped back to attention and asked what had happened.
“It’s that Young Master Song. Who knows what emergency came up? He’s galloping madly through the streets, not afraid of being caught for his offense.”
Hearing this, Song Shiyue became thoughtful. “Xiao Mei, go find out where he’s headed?”
Walking back slowly with Da Mei, Song Shiyue had just entered Gu Mansion’s gate when Xiao Mei returned with the information.
“Young Madam, Young Master Song went to Hall of Academician Manor.”
“Oh?”
Song Shiyue searched through the relationship charts she had studied in her mind, recalling the connection between Hall of Academician Manor and Guangping Hou Estate.
“So he went to his maternal family.”
Hou Manor’s Madam’s background was impressive – she was the only daughter of Zhao Qian, the Hall of Academician and a trusted minister of the emperor.
It was because of this connection that even though Zhao Shi had been ill for many years, Guang Ping Hou hadn’t set her aside to remarry.
The internal affairs of Hou Manor were managed by Second Master’s wife, Qiao Shi.
The Guangping Hou Estate hadn’t divided the family property, so with three branches plus the old madam, it was a large clan with many members – likely quite lively.
Was Young Master Song’s urgent visit to his maternal family related to her?
At Hall of Academician Manor, Zhao Qian was discussing the news brought by Song Zhengyi with his two sons.
“Zhengyi says your sister’s ravings over the years might actually be true. What do you think?”
Zhao Qingsong frowned. “Father, I believe my sister was never mad at all. Her words are credible. It’s just that we’ve never found evidence to prove it.”
Before their younger sister married, she was already a celebrated talented lady in Jing City.
As a wife, then a mother, she was capable and efficient, gentle and virtuous.
She managed all affairs of Hou Manor, both internal and external, with perfect order – even the notoriously picky old lady of the Hou Manor couldn’t find fault with her.
How could such a sister-in-law possibly become deranged just because of postpartum wind exposure?
Zhao Qingshan chimed in, “Father, I agree with Eldest Brother’s view. After all these years without any findings, the appearance of this Young Madam Gu might be a turning point.”