Chapter 138 — Jealousy

Dou Yan had never been a simpering creature; she smiled without a word and let them talk as they pleased, which only made everyone more unrestrained.

"Our Fourth Sister is a lucky one, too. If she hadn't been betrothed since childhood to the Marquis of Jining in the capital, I'm afraid she'd have been married into the Grand Secretary's household." Second Madam had nursed a grudge ever since her matchmaking for the Wu family fell through, so now that she had a chance to set things right for Dou Yan before all the in-laws, she spared no effort, her voice not a whit softer than Fifth Madam's. "When the He family heard that Fourth Sister had long been betrothed, they sighed over it for ages."

Third Madam's sister-in-law looked Dou Yan over carefully, then nodded. "Fourth Miss's earlobes are large and full—she's a lucky one."

"Of course!" Third Madam, who shared a special bond with Dou Zhiwei, was bound to exalt Dou Yan. "You don't know—when the old Marquis of Jining passed away, their family sent word that they wanted the wedding within a hundred days. Our Dowager Madam was so furious she kept saying she'd break off the match. But before the words were even out of her mouth, the Marquis of Jining sent his own wet nurse, who apologized and begged pardon and said it was only because there was no one at home to manage the household, not because they meant to slight Fourth Sister. Then on the Ghost Festival they sent lotus lanterns, at Mid-Autumn they sent rice dumplings, on the Double Ninth they sent chrysanthemums—not a single festival went by without a gift. I'd say they're truly anxious to bring Fourth Sister home as soon as they can."

Everyone hid their mouths and laughed, and in their expressions there was more or less a touch of envy.

Dou Fan sighed to himself.

In this life and the last, what Wei Fan liked had always been her looks.

At that thought, he grew a little confused again.

If a man didn't like a woman's looks, what else was there to like?

Was he supposed to make her his confidante, then?

That was what people said, and he understood it well enough in his heart—but to think that a proper husband and wife, in the end, would still find love fading as beauty waned. What was the point of that?

In the end, he had underestimated her.

All at once his interest flagged; he lifted his head and saw Ji Yong sitting alone by the lotus pond.

He wore a straight-collared robe of pale violet and sat blankly on the bluestone bench. The autumn sunlight filtered through the nearly faded branches of the osmanthus tree and fell upon him in shifting patches of light and shadow, making his coldness and despondency seem so remote as to be out of reach.

Ji Yong had never been this quiet before!

What had happened?

Dou Chi guessed silently.

But Dou Ming, sitting beside her, felt as if a fire were burning in her chest.

She bit her lip hard, afraid she would say something she shouldn't.

So she was going to marry a marquis—did everyone have to fawn over her like this?

That marquis held only a sinecure. Could he get a post for any of the Dou sons? Could he speak a word for Fifth Uncle in the Grand Secretariat?

These women knew nothing but needle and thread, day in and day out—not a scrap of sense among them!

Besides, she hadn't even married into the family yet.

Who knew but that one day some mishap might come along and the whole match would fall through?

A flicker of mockery passed through Dou Ming's eyes, just as Matron Liu came to invite everyone to move to the Second Dowager Madam's quarters, saying the Second Dowager Madam had set out a feast in her own courtyard to entertain them all—and the cost of the feast would come from the Second Dowager Madam's own private purse.

No one could do otherwise than congratulate Third Madam and Lady Qi once more.

Third Madam and Lady Qi beamed with delight, overjoyed beyond measure.

It was not the money they cared about, but that the Second Dowager Madam should spend her own private silver to celebrate her grandnephew—it showed her joy and her affection.

The whole party went off toward the Second Dowager Madam's quarters, chatting and laughing.

Dou Ming, who had been keeping a close eye on Dou Zhiwei, noticed that Dou Yan gradually fell behind the others; and when they turned past the wisteria trellis, Dou Yan suddenly vanished.

Dou Ming sneered inwardly, stopped to pick a few sprays of wisteria blossom, and seeing the others already far ahead, hurried off toward the flower hall.

Halfway there, she saw Ji Yong and Dou Yan standing by the lotus pond.

"What are you sitting here for?" Dou Yan teased Ji Yong. "Could it be that now our family has produced a young provincial graduate, Cousin Ji can no longer cut such a figure as before, and so he's feeling a bit sorry for himself?"

At any other time, Ji Yong would have leapt up at these words and counterattacked with such venom that she could not defend herself; but today he only raised his head and glanced at her, then said listlessly, "I'm doing accounts."

※

Making up for the March 26 update!

ps: I saw so many caring comments in the comment section—thank you all. I know staying up late for long stretches is bad for the health, but I promised extra updates this month and I mean to see it through, so I'll find a way to manage. But no matter how many chapters I owe, I won't let quantity lower the quality. It's precisely because I want to write well and keep the quality up that things have been a bit slow lately—so please rest easy on that score.

o(n_n)o~

※