Chapter 130 — Escaping the Heat

Dou Yan sighed in resignation, and Suxin came to report: "Young Master Mei has already quietly left the estate."

But that Lu Ming was still lodged at the Dou household!

Dou Yan was silent. She put Suxin in charge of the trifling affairs of the Crane Longevity Hall, and warned her again and again: "Whatever you do, do not let him tear the Crane Longevity Hall down—and then have us help him haul the bricks and stones."

Su-xin looked doubtful, plainly skeptical of her words.

Dou Yan heaved a deep sigh.

Why was it that every single person she met was this sort of two-faced creature?

She ignored him, yet he came knocking at her door.

"Hey, that accountant of yours, where on earth has he gone?" Ji Yong burst into the greenhouse and demanded of Dou Yan, who was watering the flowers. "What did he tell you? Do you even know what his friend was called?"

Dou Yan lifted her eyes, gave him a cold glance, said "I don't know," and lowered her head to continue watering.

Ji Yong's brows knit tightly. He snatched the watering can from her hands. "I actually can't find this man!"

Dou Yan was secretly startled at this.

Had Ji Yong discovered something?

Otherwise, why would he suddenly take such an interest in Old Chen?

Thinking of Ji Yong's uncanny cleverness, she grew a little flustered; to hide it, she pretended to be angry, wrested the watering can back from him, and demanded with feigned disdain, "Do you think the capital is your own house? That you can find anyone you please?" Her heart, however, was pounding wildly.

But Ji Yong took the can from her again, thought for a moment, and set it somewhere she could not reach; only then did he face her gravely and say, "Do you know what sort of man this Chen Bo is? Last time I saw how very seasoned he was in his dealings, I had people look into him carefully. He once served as aide to Zhang Kai, the Fujian grand coordinator. In those years the Japanese pirates besieged Fuzhou. And Zhang Kai actually abandoned the city and fled. A man who betrays trust and righteousness like that, you cannot put your faith in him..."

Dou Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

"I know he once served as Zhang Kai's aide," she said earnestly. "In those days Zhang Kai held high office and great power. In a matter of life and death like that, what could Old Chen, a mere petty aide, do to sway him? Old Chen has been ashamed of it ever since, and that is why he settled on East Lane Street, where every trade and walk of life mingle. Surely we cannot condemn a man outright for a single fault?"

"If he truly repented, I would not expose his identity either," Ji Yong said, his frown deepening. "The trouble is, he told you he was going to the capital to visit a friend. In truth he has vanished without a trace..."

His words, however, rolled the great stone from Dou Yan's heart.

Thank goodness Song Yan was meticulous in his work; otherwise, given Ji Yong's temperament, had he noticed anything amiss about Old Chen, he would surely have followed the trail out of curiosity... and that would have been trouble indeed!

She suddenly realized that having such a person at her side was a burden as well.

Su-lan came rushing in with a letter. At the sight of Ji Yong she could not help composing her features, looking very much in awe of him.

What had this fellow been up to now?

Dou Yan beckoned to Su-lan. "Whose letter?"

Su-lan said hurriedly, "Old Chen's. It came from the capital."

Ji Yong was startled and reached for the letter, but Dou Yan snatched it into her hands first.

"This is addressed to me!" she warned Ji Yong silently.

Ji Yong was unconcerned. "Aren't I just afraid you'll be cheated?" he said carelessly.

Dou Yan paid him no mind. She went back into the room, set Su-lan to keep watch at the door, and only then opened the letter and read.

Song Yan had lifted the restrictions on Chen Yanzhou and relaxed his vigilance over him. When Chen Yanzhou had questions, he put them to the young servant at his side, and the servant answered whatever he was asked, no longer tight-lipped as before. From this Chen Yanzhou discovered that the Jiang family's intelligence network in the capital was actually in Song Yan's hands. He decided to plead the excuse of paying calls on Dou Huaiying, Dou Heng, and others in order to linger a while longer in the capital, to see whether he might use the men under Song Yan to ferret out something of the court's affairs before returning.

Was this not asking a tiger for its skin?

Dou Yan burned Old Chen's letter, watched with her own eyes as Su-lan buried the ashes in the flower bed, and only then went back inside to write Chen Yanzhou a letter, telling him to return as soon as possible and not to rush headlong into danger.

She had never dared to underestimate Song Yan.

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Sisters, brothers, here is the belated update for March 23rd.

o(n_n)o~

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