Chapter 129 — Speaking

It took her no small effort to compose herself, but when she turned back, she fell into a pair of eyes deep and still as water.

When had Song Yan opened his eyes?

He, too, must have many thoughts with no place to speak them.

Dou Yan sighed, offered him a sincere "My condolences," and could not help asking about Lady Mei: "Can the ancestral house back in the old hometown still be lived in? The Jiang family's merits are illustrious, and I fear they have made no few enemies. Even if they return safely, what then? I'm afraid some plan will have to be drawn up."

The Jiang family had now been reduced to commoners. If anyone sought revenge, a household of women and children would be easy prey indeed.

"This is precisely what has kept me busy these past days." Song Yan spoke as though he had not noticed Dou Yan's reddened eyes, in the tone of one chatting about everyday matters. "When the moon is full it wanes; when water is full it spills. My grandmother understands this well, and so in the decades she managed the household, she not only bought a good deal of sacrificial land but had the ancestral house renovated several times over. Whenever the local authorities called on the gentry for money or labor, the Jiang family never once shirked. After the imperial edict came down, my grandmother breathed a sigh of relief. She said there was enough to feed the household, and if they tightened their belts, they could even send some silver to Tieling Guard. I, too, feared someone might seek revenge. I sent several of my most trusted guards there, to serve the Jiang family from now on. With their skills, even if bandits came raiding, ordinary bandits would find them no easy mark."

Against a thunderbolt strike, what use were all the calculations in the world?

Dou Yan could not help lamenting on behalf of the Matriarch Mei of her past life, and said, "What is there to fear from bandits? What I fear is the Embroidered Uniform Guard disguised as bandits!"

Song Yan only smiled, but his eyes shone brighter than the sun outside.

One look and it was clear he had long since made his arrangements.

Dou Yan sighed inwardly.

Sure enough, he still could not be regarded as a thirteen-year-old boy!

Yet the mood between them had grown harmonious. After a few more words, Dou Yan rose to take her leave: "It grows late. I must return to the residence. When you leave, I shall not see you off."

She did not dare carry those "humble gifts" home either, and had them locked away in the storehouse of the country estate.

Song Yan said nothing about it and saw Dou Yan to the front gate.

Seated in the carriage, Dou Yan was still grumbling to herself: Is this my home or yours?

Only after returning home did she remember—how had she forgotten to settle with Song Yan the day of Old Chen's return?

As she was regretting it, Sulan, who had stayed behind at the residence, came hurrying up to meet her.

"Fourth Miss," she said, on the verge of tears, "no sooner had you left than Young Master Ji arrived. He has been waiting at home for you all day. He kept pressing me about where you had gone. If you had not come back soon, I could not have held out!"

Dou Yan was stunned: "How did he come to Zhending? What about my sixth aunt? Did she come back too?"

"The Sixth Lady did not come back." Sulan puffed out her cheeks. "Young Master Ji said the weather was too hot and he had come to Zhending to escape the heat. After paying his respects to the Second Old Madam, he came straight to our place, and even asked whether anyone was living in the Hall of Longevity now. There is a pond over there, cooler, you see. He wants to borrow the Hall of Longevity for a few days."

Dou Yan felt her temples begin to throb again.

She asked Sulan: "When Young Master Ji asked where I had gone, how did you answer him?"

"From the look of Young Master Ji, I could tell he would go looking for you wherever you were," said Sulan, her pout so pronounced one could have hung an oil flask on it. "So I had no choice but to tell him you had gone to the prefectural city, and that you had instructed us you would be back by afternoon. Only that calmed him down. Right now he is with Granny Cui, expounding Buddhist sutras to her!"

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Brothers and sisters who read this book, I beg you for pink votes!

ps: Why do I feel like the more I chase after these pink votes, the wider the gap grows...

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