Song Yin was also delighted; he finally understood the joy of his cousin, Song Hong! Having a grown son fall from the sky, along with two plump grandsons, who wouldn’t be happy about it?

Not to mention his own family, who thought they were about to end their lineage, but instead received this unexpectedly good news, sending the whole family into a frenzy of joy.

With nothing else to say, they first welcomed Ru Hua into the residence, having agreed that once the turmoil in the Capital City settled down, they would select an auspicious day to marry Ru Hua as the legitimate wife in a proper ceremony.

This way, his newly found son would be born legitimately, not out of wedlock.

If it were in the past, Song Yin’s parents would have been critical of Ru Hua’s poor background, but for the sake of a big grandson and two plump great-grandsons, they accepted it.

The newly acknowledged child was named Song Chongjian, according to the Song family order, and together with his two sons, they were all recorded in the genealogy, making him the official eldest young master of Song Yin’s family.

Those in the clan who heard the news also sent congratulatory gifts. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

At the Duke Weiguo Residence, Song Chongxiu sent a stewardess over with a gift, and then she came back with some gossip she overheard.

It turned out that Ru Hua was able to escape the poison of the Duke Qiguo Residence thanks to her own cleverness, sensing Lady Wang’s displeasure towards her.

She was fortunate, always on guard, and carrying valuables and the subsidies Song Yin gave her when she went out, she had no worries about silver coins.

Fortuitously, during her hiding, she encountered a small steward at the Imperial Estate. The small steward had recently lost his wife, and his elderly mother was struggling to care for their two children alone.

Seeing her situation, when asked, she only said she was a widow, her husband having died, leaving her alone, with her clan trying to seize her husband’s estate and sell her off, forcing her to flee.

The small steward, seeing her pitiable condition, hired her to help his mother take care of the two children.

A few months passed, and Ru Hua’s belly could no longer be hidden; others merely assumed it was the posthumous child left by her former husband.

Coincidentally, the elderly mother, seeing Ru Hua’s gentle and amiable nature and her kindness towards her two grandsons, had no objections to her son marrying a widow like Ru Hua.

If they were to find someone from outside whose character was uncertain, what if she wasn’t kind to her grandsons?

The small steward was also quite fond of Ru Hua’s beauty and was quite taken with her.

Initially, Ru Hua was somewhat unwilling, but in this world, as a lonely woman carrying a child, if she were to venture out, life would be even harsher.

Besides, after several months, she had seen no sign of her previous young master seeking her, and thought it unlikely to happen now.

So she gritted her teeth and agreed.

Both being in second marriages, they simply hosted a few banquet tables and continued their lives together.

The small steward’s surname was Dong, an honest man, and he treated Song Chongjian as his own son after Ru Hua gave birth.

After the elderly Dong lady passed away, the family simply moved to the Imperial Estate.

Over the years, Ru Hua and Steward Dong had two more children, and life was manageable.

The children grew up, and Song Chongjian, being skillful, gained the favor of the head of the Imperial Estate, who married his daughter to him and found him a small steward position.

Now that Song Chongjian returned to the Song family and wanted to bring Ru Hua back, it wasn’t clear how the Dong family felt.

Let alone the fact that Ru Hua bore children for the Dong family.

However, this news was unknown to outsiders; it was the stewardess, who overheard the Song family matriarch’s maid gossiping, who whispered a few words in Song Chongjin’s ear.

She implied that the affairs in the Song Yin household might become quite busy, though she didn’t say it so clearly.

However, by evening, the information reached Lady Gao’s ears.

Lady Gao had come to terms with things, and although under house arrest, her allowances weren’t shorted, and her spirits were reasonably well, especially compared to the year County Monarch Rongyi passed away.

As time passed, she behaved reasonably in her courtyard, never causing trouble, leading Song Hong’s appointed overseers of the main courtyard to relax quite a bit.

Having managed the Duke’s Mansion’s household for years, even though personnel was overhauled after Song Hong confined her, Lady Gao still maintained some fallback plans.

In recent years, with Song Chongxiu managing the household, being young and overlooking many things, he gave her a chance to slowly pick up the reins again, making her quite informed about matters within the mansion.

Upon hearing the news, Lady Gao merely smirked. Whatever commotion happened in Song Yin’s household was trivial.

Now what mattered most, and her chief concern, was what honors the Emperor would bestow upon Song Hong after this incident.

Lady Gao was now quite relieved that she had entrusted everything to Wang Yongzhu, watching as Song Hong might gain even more power, something she couldn’t bear.

She was thinking of how to discreetly pass information to Wang Yongzhu.

Regardless, she would be content to let Wang Yongzhu and her husband benefit from Song Hong’s gains; allowing Song Hong’s other offspring to profit was something she would never tolerate.

The subordinates didn’t understand Lady Gao’s intentions; they merely thought she cared for Song Hong and hoped that if Lord Duke received a promotion, he might release Lady Gao out of joy.

Thus, they were keen to find out more.

The succession struggle between the Crown Prince and Second Prince in the Capital City wasn’t settled anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Qin Bohan and Song Chongjin, far away, received secret messages through their own channels.

Qin Bohan was initially startled, but then he was reassured, understanding that the Emperor’s previous maneuvers were merely to mislead others.

Quietly, he had set a vast trap to capture those with malicious intents in one sweep.

Even though the Emperor was safe, Qin Bohan felt he needed to see for himself to rest easy, and despite it being a festival and the journey difficult, he couldn’t wait any longer.

At his command, he was prepared to lead people back to the Capital City.

Though the subordinate officials were unaware of what was happening, since Qin Bohan, their superior, declared a return to report, they dared not object.

They had no choice but to pack their things and prepare to follow Qin Bohan.

Others were oblivious, but Song Chongjin understood the reason, not only because he had his own channels but because Qin Bohan didn’t hide it from him.

Even though it was vague, it was quite meaningful.

He advised Song Chongjin to keep things steady there, ensuring nothing went wrong, because at a critical time like this, any mistake could negatively catch the higher-ups’ attention, wasting years of effort.

Song Chongjin appreciated these good intentions and packed up some local specialties as a small token of appreciation.

Qin Bohan didn’t refuse, accepted them outright, and then set off with his guards and officials, hurrying towards the Capital City.