Chapter 172 — A Misstep

Wang Shuying's eyes reddened, and tears pattered down. "Dou Huaiying has a heart too cruel! Dou Yan is his daughter—is Ming not his own flesh and blood too? If I had not been taken in by him back then, how would I have come to such a pass?" Then she turned to rail against her elder sister-in-law, Gao Shi. "When Father met with misfortune, how well I treated her! Nan was so ill he had scarcely a breath left in him—had it not been for me, he would have died long ago. Now that her days are easy and her brother has become a great frontier official, she turns her back and knows me no more. I asked only that she help find a good match for Ming among the Gao nephews and sons, and she hedges and puts me off at every turn, as if she feared I would fasten onto Nan—she hurried to betroth Nan to her own niece, Gao Mingzhu..."

Granny Hu was silent.

Ever since Wang Shuying had been stripped of her authority as mistress of the household, the Wang family too had gradually drawn away from her, and she would say such things every few days.

If she was not complaining of Gao Shi, she was scolding Pang Shi, or else recounting how she had been duped by Dou Huaiying into becoming a concubine...

Not a trace remained of the brisk, forthright woman she had been in her cotton-trading days... she was like a typical resentful wife of a great house...

At this thought, Granny Hu gave herself a great fright.

She could not help studying Wang Shuying closely.

A sallow, withered face, a listless air, endless complaining... whether anyone was listening or not, Wang Shuying talked on to herself.

Granny Hu was on the verge of tears, and before she could stop herself she broke in on Wang Shuying: "Seventh Madam, you are a clever woman. You opened a way through times far harder than these; this time too you will surely weather the storm."

Wang Shuying was startled, and her vacant gaze gradually brightened. Her lips moved as though she would speak—when a little maid came rushing in: "Seventh Madam, the Seventh Master is here."

"Ah!" She exchanged a glance with Granny Hu despite herself.

Dou Huaiying had already strode in.

"I hear the married daughter of the Jining Marquisate is coming to call on you," he said. He wore his court robes and looked hurried, plainly having just had the news and rushed back from the yamen. "She is Shouyuan's elder sister-in-law. I have already given orders for Gao Sheng to receive her well; you must gather your spirits too, and see to it that she feels thoroughly at home!"

Wang Shuying gazed at Dou Huaiying, who to this very day still wore so mild an expression toward her, gentle as polished jade, and a confusion of feelings filled her heart.

Once, she had taken this for tenderness and consideration on Dou Huaiying's part; only now did she know it was merely his Xuanqing manner.

He was like this with everyone.

It was as if he slid a soft blade into her body—she had thought it would not hurt, yet it could torment her until she wished for a single breath to end it all.

Wang Shuying longed to lift the teacup at her hand and fling its brimming contents into Dou Huaiying's face, but she thought of Dou Ming, thought of Dou Ming's marriage prospects, and her hands clenched tightly into fists—then, bit by bit, loosened again.

"I understand," she heard herself answer Dou Huaiying in a docile tone. "I will certainly not make the Fourth Young Lady lose face."

Dou Huaiying nodded in satisfaction. Not long after she left, she sent Gao Sheng's wife over with a box.

Wang Shuying opened the box.

The gleam of pearls and the luster of gold lit the whole room.

"The Seventh Master said that since you were to receive guests, he had my husband hurry to Yubao Pavilion to buy these trinkets." Gao Sheng's wife had a face round as the full moon, and her smile carried a certain festive cheer. Both she and her husband were clever people; though they managed all the affairs of Yunqi Temple Alley, they remained as respectful toward Wang Shuying as ever, so that she could find no fault with them at all.

Smiling, she bent her knees in a curtsy and withdrew.

Wang Shuying slammed the box shut with a sharp clack.

"And what is this supposed to be? A reward for helping Dou Yan save face?"

Her face had gone ashen.

Matron Hu sighed to herself in secret.

In the study of Yizhi Hall at the Yingguo Estate, Song Yan, who had been speaking with Yan Che and Zi Aifeng, took the note Chen He handed him. His expression faltered for a moment. "When did Chen Yanzhou arrive in the capital? What has he come to the capital for?"

Chen He lowered his brows and eyes and answered deferentially, "I hear it is on account of the Fourth Miss's marriage—her stationery shop is due for its accounts, and where she is to be married from must be discussed with the Seventh Master. The Fifth Master and the Sixth Master must be informed as well... He seems quite busy."

With Zi Aifeng present, he instinctively omitted Dou Zhiwei's surname.

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Making up for yesterday's update.

o(n_n)o~

I will keep writing today's update; the time cannot be fixed...

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