Chapter 122 — Seeing Them Off

Chen Yanzhou could not help laughing aloud. "Enough, enough. If you have the breath to curse, you'd do better to hurry and tell my servant to pack my bags. It looks as though the men come to fetch the child are here. They should set out before long. I already know everything I ought to know, and a fair bit I oughtn't--so I'll go along with them. Who knows, I may see a thing or two more, and have a few extra cards to play when the day comes to tear the mask away." He turned to warn Dou Yan: "You need only look at Duan Bing and his men to see it. Once the Duke of Dingzhen is impeached, I fear a great many gallant men and righteous fellows will bestir themselves. Zhending is the only road north, and I will speak to Duan Bing and have him keep these guards in hand. Whatever happens, young lady, you must bear with it and not go out of doors, lest you invite trouble for no reason at all. As for Aunt Cui, you need not worry--with Honggu to wait on her and a quiet place to rest and recover, nothing serious will come of it. This match with the Jining Marquis's household is not all one could wish, but it is not without its merits. The young lady is quick of wit and must long since have thought of a countermeasure..." He had thought of everything, and spoke in the tone of a man settling his affairs before death.

Dou Yan's eyes reddened, and she cut him short: "Rest easy. My scheme will surely work, and you will come back safe and sound!" Not wanting the sorrow to spread, she smiled and took up the matter with Chen Yanzhou: "He has set his best men to watch me--but are we to have none of our own? You go on to the capital. Have Duan Bing pick the best hand among these guards to serve as your attendant. If that young gentleman Mei dares to stint your food and clothing, send me word. We shall see that Lu Ming goes short of food and clothes too--we won't let this young gentleman Mei have all the glory to himself!" This set Chen Yanzhou laughing heartily; he sighed, both gratified and melancholy.

Gratified that Dou Yan treated him as one of her own; melancholy that she had been dragged down by him and forced into the storm of rescuing the Duke of Dingzhen--and if her plan were not adopted, the pledge she had offered would have been given in vain. But what must come would come in the end.

If her plan were adopted and took effect, Song Yan would do no more than let bygones be bygones; but if the memorial were never sent, the fate of the Duke of Dingzhen's household would likely be laid at Dou Zhiwei's door. As a hostage, his life would surely be forfeit, and Dou himself would stand in peril.

Whichever way it went, they were the ones to lose, and how could he not be stirred to the depths?

Dou Yan watched Song's carriage and horses vanish into the curtain of rain, and she too was stirred: "At last we have seen this plague god on his way!"

Suxin, who had earlier slipped out of the manor by stealth when Dou Yan feigned a breakout to draw Song Yan and the others away, saw the signal and crept from the haystack where she had hidden. After washing and dressing, she had learned the whole course of events from her sister's chattering, yet she could not bring herself to smile. She longed to ask whether Chen Yanzhou would truly return safe and sound, but seeing the faint weariness on Dou Yan's face, the words reached her lips and she swallowed them again.

Sulang and the others knew only that their young lady had bested that young gentleman Mei, and had no notion of the peril in it; at these words they covered their mouths and laughed.

Dou Yan clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Time we were going too. Well, hurry up and pack!"

The little maids scattered, giggling.

But Suxin asked Dou Yan, full of worry, "Young lady, would anyone really dare to harm the Duke of Dingzhen on the road?"

As young gentleman Mei was leaving, she had heard the young lady repeatedly urge him to send men to guard the Duke of Dingzhen in secret, lest he fall prey to petty villains, and she had spoken too of forged edicts and false decrees. At that, young gentleman Mei's face had gone slightly pale, and he had hurried on his way.

"I hope not," Dou Yan said with a long sigh, her spirits sinking. "I hope it is only my idle fears."

Suxin could not help looking up at the sky.

Only then did she realize that the rain had slackened at some point, and a golden light shone through the dense black clouds and lit the horizon, as though the sun were about to break through.

Dou Yan called back Duan Bing, who was directing the coachman to harness the horses: "When we are back at the residence, draw five hundred taels from the accounts and buy some ginseng, bird's nest, and the like. Pay a visit on my behalf to the old master of the Tan family, and say only that I thank him for keeping the peace in the four villages, and that if in future any matter arises among the country folk in which I can be of service, I will do all in my power."

If Tan Family Manor were drawn into this, there was no telling what it might become.

No one from Tan Family Manor had shown himself, and Duan Bing knew nothing of the inside story; but that Dou Yan should prepare such generous gifts to call on the old master of the Tan family made him, as one of the old man's disciples, feel a glow of pride.

He answered in a loud voice, and with his own hands put the harness on the great chestnut horse.

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Making up for the March 18 update.

I have been badly stuck on the text these two days, so the time of tonight's bonus update is uncertain, but I will try to make it as early as I can...

o(n_n)o~

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