Chapter 44 — The Quick Blade

Everyone was already seated. All that remained was to wait for her.

Ji shi hurried forward to pay her respects to the assembled company.

The Second Matriarch chuckled. "No need for such ceremony; there are no outsiders here." Then she pointed to the empty embroidered stool beside Dou Heng. "Sit next to Zhongzhi."

Ji shi sat down, and took the chance to steal a swift glance at the Third Madam.

The Third Madam sat with her eyes upon her nose and her nose upon her heart, her face betraying nothing.

"Now that everyone is here!" Dou Bingheng, seated shoulder to shoulder with the Second Matriarch, smiled and began, "The reason I have come back this time is that I have an urgent matter on which I must beg the help of Third Brother and Sixth Brother."

He was a Dou through and through: tall and straight of build, with fair, delicate skin. His eyes were bright and full of spirit, and when he spoke, it was like a spring breeze.

Dou Zhen hastily inclined his body.

Dou Bingheng continued, "Wang Xingyi is in Gansu looking into the matter of the horse markets, and now this affair of the Wang clan has cropped up on top of it. If he is impeached, it will leave Old Mr. Zeng in a very awkward position. The Wang clan business must be cut through with a sharp knife. I have an idea; let me put it before you, and we shall discuss whether it is workable." He paused slightly, his gaze drifting slowly across the faces of his brothers and their wives. "Zhao Ruifu has proposed that Third Uncle allot half his property to Shouyuan as her dowry. I believe Third Uncle will never agree. So I have made a rough reckoning: the Dou estate is now divided in two, half belonging to the East Branch and half to the West. The East Branch in turn is split into six shares, of which the First, Second, and Fourth households together hold half, while Third Brother, myself, and Sixth Brother hold the other half..."

Hearing this, Ji shi already dimly perceived Dou Bingheng's design. Her heart pounded, and she could not help glancing toward the Second Matriarch.

The Second Matriarch sat bolt upright, her gaze steady.

And then she thought of what Cailan had said.

It seemed the Fifth Uncle had already won their mother-in-law's support!

Ji shi stole a glance at Dou Zhen.

Dou Zhen's mouth hung slightly open; plainly he too had some inkling of what Dou Bingheng would say next.

But he quickly regained his composure, and listened to Dou Bingheng with the same earnest attention as before.

Then she looked at her husband.

His face was entirely unconcerned, plainly he already knew what Dou Bingheng was going to say.

Ji shi sighed.

Dou Bingheng's voice came to her ear: "...Our three households together make up exactly half the property of the West Branch, which precisely meets Ruifu's demand. If Third Brother and Sixth Sister-in-law agree, I propose that we assign the share due to our three households to Shouyuan. As for the losses of Third Brother and Sixth Uncle, I ask that you give me a little time; I shall write an IOU and repay it gradually."

Hardly had his words fallen when, before the Third and Sixth households could react, the Second Matriarch spoke: "If you have urgent need of funds, give me a figure as well. I still have some private silver put by; it is enough to cover this household's expenses for three to five years."

The one Dou Zhen revered most was his own mother, and besides, this was for the sake of his younger brother's prospects.

He had nothing to say against it.

Only, it would not do for him to declare himself too readily, lest Sixth Brother and Sixth Sister-in-law think him meddlesome.

Dou Heng had always held to the resolve that "a good woman does not wear her bridal clothes, and a good man does not eat his parents' bread." Moreover, he had known of this matter before he returned; his only fear was that Ji shi would feel wronged, and he could not help glancing toward her.

Dou Bingheng had reckoned everything out; could she possibly say she opposed it?

She nodded to her husband.

Dou Heng said in a deep voice, "I agree."

Dou Zhen was by nature a man who could take things up and let them go; seeing the great matter settled, he had no further scruples. "I agree as well." Then, feeling the atmosphere had grown somewhat oppressive, he made his tone deliberately light: "There is no need for Fifth Brother to write any IOU, and as for Mother's private silver, she had best keep it to reward her grandsons and granddaughters. As for our daily victuals, whether it falls to me or Sixth Brother, we can well afford them. And if ever the day comes when we are utterly at our wit's end, I shall take my sons and their wives and my grandsons and granddaughters and go to the capital to seek out Fifth Brother."

Dou Bingheng smiled faintly, a smile warm and sincere: "Rest assured, Third Brother; I shall welcome you with my shoes on backward!"

Dou Heng roared with laughter.

The Second Matriarch was glad from the bottom of her heart, and the wrinkles on her face seemed to smooth out by several lines: "Good, good, good. When brothers are of one mind, their strength can cut through metal. If you can be like this, I can close my eyes in peace when I die. Rest assured, so long as your Fifth Brother has a mouthful, you shall have a mouthful. I say this here and now: Old Five, in front of your brothers and their wives, swear an oath..."

"No need, no need." The Third Madam had by now come to her senses as well, and said with a face full of smiles, "This is not any one man's affair; it is our family's affair. How can we let Fifth Brother bear it alone?" Then, teasingly, "Mother, saying such things, are you not stirring up discord among us brothers and sisters-in-law?"

"It is my fault, my fault!" The Second Matriarch smiled as though she had eaten the fruit of longevity. "I shall say no more, no more."

Dou Bingheng rose with a smile: "Since that is settled, I shall waste no more words. I have already asked Brother Lan, Elder Sister-in-law, and Second Sister-in-law to wait for us in the flower hall. By now they must all be there; let us go over together."

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