Chapter 117 — An Idea

Early morning.

Dou Yan and Chen Yanzhou sat at the black-lacquered four-sided table with the pengya-style legs in the hall, eating breakfast.

Tender green baby bok choy, golden-yellow eggs, a dish of ten-spice pickled melon, a dish of steamed dried fish, a dish of stir-fried bamboo shoots and mushrooms, a dish of assorted vegetables, two bowls of japonica rice porridge. Large white steamed buns, fresh pork buns, and scallion-oil baked cakes were all tucked into small bamboo baskets, filling the entire table.

Yet the two sat facing each other in silence, wholly without appetite.

Duan Bing strode in.

"Fourth Young Lady," he said, his expression grave, "I've noticed that every place around the residence where one could come or go seems to have someone watching..." He did not know what had happened, only that something was off. "Could it be that the guest who took lodging here has brought some trouble? Shall we go have a word with them? If it really comes to a fight, we ought at least to know why. Otherwise, won't we just be the fish in the pond caught in the crossfire?"

Chen Yanzhou looked toward Dou Yan.

This disaster had been brought about by him, and he had originally intended to take his leave of Dou Yan before the matter grew any larger.

Dou Yan said, "I'm afraid it's already too late—even if they hadn't recognized you before, the fact that you kept sending servants to inquire after my movements has likely drawn their attention and led them to guess your identity. Rather than rushing to distance yourself, you'd do better to stay at the farmstead. Their aim is to get that child safely to some secure place without anyone knowing. We can see that they have skilled men guarding them, and no doubt they can see that our guards are no weaklings either. If the two sides come to blows, skilled as they may be, we have numbers on our side, and this is our estate—they may not be able to withdraw unscathed. You're safer staying at the farmstead. There's really no need to resign on that account. Who in this life doesn't stumble into a pit or trip over a stone? We'll step over it together, that's all."

There was one more thing she feared to say, lest it make Chen Yanzhou feel even guiltier.

Matters had come to this pass. Even if he left, given Song's nature—better to kill the wrong man than let the right one slip—she doubted they could ever be cleared of involvement.

Chen Yanzhou was left speechless by Dou Zhiwei's words. Or perhaps "grateful" was the more fitting word.

If it came to eloquence, few could outargue him, yet beneath Dou Yan's generous kindness he felt that anything he might say would ring hollow and feeble.

He bowed deeply to Dou Yan in a formal salute, said nothing further, and joined Dou Yan in quietly watching how matters would unfold.

At Duan Bing's words, Dou Yan's heart gave a start.

Could someone really have pursued them here?

The situation was growing more and more complicated.

By rights, even they had noticed someone spying on them. How could Song Ke possibly not know?

She asked Duan Bing, "Has there been any movement on Young Master Mei's side?"

When Song Yan took lodging, he had given his surname as Mei.

It was his maternal grandmother's surname.

Duan Bing hesitated. "That's just the strange thing—Young Master Mei brought one accountant, one steward, two coachmen, four guards, a wet nurse and a child. Young Master Mei, the accountant, the steward, and the coachmen are all here, but the four guards are nowhere to be seen. Tell me, could Young Master Mei have noticed something too and sent them out..."

Dou Yan's and Chen Yanzhou's expressions changed drastically.

If Song Yan had truly discovered a formidable enemy, he ought to have found a way to divert the trouble elsewhere—let them hold off the enemy for a while, while he took the child and his guards and slipped away. Why would he go out to meet the enemy head-on? Two hands cannot beat four fists. However skilled his guards, their numbers were limited; he could not possibly fight those men head-on... unless the ones spying on them were Song's four guards?

Why would he do such a thing?

Dou Zhiwei's heart pounded wildly, and four words surfaced in her mind: "Silence the witnesses."

Chen Yanzhou blurted out, "We merely happened to be here by chance. Surely they wouldn't be so ruthless?"

He was exactly that ruthless!

Dou Yan cursed inwardly.

He had killed even his own father and full brother—what did the two of them amount to in his eyes?

Though Duan Bing was utterly bewildered, he could sense the tension in Dou Yan and Chen Yanzhou.

He ventured a question he should not have asked: "Has something happened?"

If the people watching this residence really were Song's men, their situation was dire.

A fight was all but unavoidable.

Rather than leave Duan Bing and the others in the dark about what was happening, it was better to tell them the truth. Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang—together, surely they could think up a good plan to escape the danger!

With this in mind, Dou Yan told Duan Bing everything—the origins of Song Yan and his companions, and the old grievance between Song Yan and Chen Yanzhou.

Duan Bing was dumbstruck, and for a long while he could not collect himself.

"Fourth Young Lady, could you all be mistaken?" he murmured. "The Duke of Dingzhen—why, he's the great hero who fought the Japanese pirates! Who in the jianghu doesn't know his name? If not for him holding the line in Fujian, those pirates would have come ashore long ago. Every household in that region set up longevity tablets for the old gentleman, burning incense to him morning and night, praying to the Bodhisattva to keep him safe in coming and going and grant him a hundred years of life! How could the court possibly arrest the old gentleman? Isn't that framing a loyal worthy? And what of the Japanese pirates along the Fujian coast?" As he spoke, he paced about the hall, saying "No, no" several times, then addressed Dou Yan earnestly: "Fourth Young Lady, if that child really is a descendant of the Duke of Dingzhen, we must not oppose Young Master Mei—the jianghu would stab us in the back for it! What if we escort the child out of Zhending? That way Young Master Mei won't suspect us. What do you think?"

Dou Yan stared at him open-mouthed, never having expected such a reaction from Duan Bing.

If all her guards thought this way, how could she ever stand against Song Yan!

At the same time, she could not help secretly rejoicing that she had told him of the matter in advance; otherwise, with the two sides locked in confrontation, he might have defected midway—and that would have been a fine sight.

Enduring the faint throbbing at her temples, Dou Yan reminded him, "If Young Master Mei were really so reasonable, he need only have quietly found Old Chen. Why would he set watchers all around the residence?"

Duan Bing looked toward Chen Yanzhou.

The usually decisive Chen Yanzhou actually hesitated. "Fourth Young Lady, perhaps I should go talk with Young Master Mei? The Duke of Dingzhen did kill my master, but with the great cause of the nation at stake, he was not in the wrong. Clumsy and mediocre as I am, I can still tell right from wrong..."

The idea was far too naive.

Perhaps it would work on anyone else, but it would never work on Song Sui.

Dou Chiyou cut him off. "What do we have to win Young Master Mei's trust?"

Chen Yanzhou fell silent.

Young Master Mei was the heir of the august Yingzhen Duke's household, while he was nothing but a destitute scholar drifting through the streets. On what grounds would the man believe a word he said?

What weight could his assurances possibly carry with the heir of the Duke of Yingguo?

Seeing this, Dou Yan asked again, "And if Young Master Mei believes that only the dead can keep a secret?"

Duan Bing and Chen Yanzhou both lowered their heads.

A dead silence fell over the room.