Chapter 215 — Within Earshot
Purple Streets of Chang'an Page 2 of 2
In the dead of night he suddenly started awake, remembering the matter.
Had he gone to see the Duke afterward or not?
He could not recall clearly. Leaning against the headboard and massaging his temples, he called a servant to bring him tea and asked, "Did the Duke send anyone to look for me?"
"No," the servant said with a smile. "But the Second Master came to see you himself." Here he paused and lowered his voice. "It seems the Duke gave the Second Master a dressing-down, and he nearly took a beating for it. He came to you hoping you'd put in a good word for him with the Duke."
Tao Jun heard this and let out a long sigh.
He was indeed far from Song Yan's equal!
If Song Yan really did marry a princess, then with Song's abilities, the old Marquis and the second Marquis would likely spend the rest of their days dancing to Song Yan's tune!
The thought had barely flashed through his mind when he immediately recalled the business at the Mao's Wonton Shop.
Hadn't he found the whole affair of the Dou family's fourth young lady rather interesting at the time?
Tao Jun sprang to his feet and ordered his page, "Quick—quick, help me into my clothes. I must see the Marquis of Ying!"
The page stared at him, dumbfounded.
Only then did Tao Jun realize how agitated he had become. "You may go for now," he said. "I'll send for you if I need anything."
What he had was mere hearsay; some matters were better verified first, lest he make a fool of himself before the Marquis of Ying.
The page acknowledged and withdrew.
Tao Jun paced the room until the sky began to pale, and only then did he call the page to help him wash and dress. Without even touching his breakfast, he left the Ying Marquis's residence alone.
Song Cen thought of Song Han's lessons and felt a dull ache in his chest—an ache of his own making, with no one to complain to. Yesterday he had wanted to fetch Tao Jun for a game of chess, only to learn he had gone out. This morning he had tested Song Han on his lessons; the boy had memorized every passage assigned the day before, but stumblingly, haltingly, which set his temper off again. Wanting someone to talk to, he had sent a page to invite Tao Jun, only to be told the man had gone out again. His fury flared on the spot.
What on earth was Tao Jun playing at?
He said he had business with me, yet never shows his face. Could it be that he thinks once Song Yan marries the princess, I'll be crushed under Song Yan's heel and become a mere ornament in the Ying Marquis's house—and so he's begun to hedge his bets?
Song Cen's forehead bulged with veins in his rage. He rounded on the page and bellowed, "Go and find him this instant! Even if you have to dig up every inch of the capital, bring him back to me!"
The page stammered out a "Yes," and turned—only to collide head-on with Tao Jun.
Tao Jun gave a yelp of "Aiyo!" and clutched his chest, yet did not so much as glance at the page. Shoving him aside, he strode forward and bowed to Song Cen.
"Marquis of Ying, I have a splendid candidate for the heir's marriage!" he said, smiling at Song Cen.
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Dou Huaiying stood on the steps of the main hall, watching the serving women carry things in and out, a heavy weight pressing on his heart.
The things Gu Qiu had left her daughter had been recovered, but where was her daughter's marriage prospect to be found?
He thought of Dou Ming's barely concealed smile of delight, his gaze darkening slightly, and went to the eastern wing.
The hall was somewhat cluttered. Zhao Zhangru was crouched before two chests reclaimed from the Jining Marquis's estate, talking with Dou Yan. "...Aunt's chest surely belongs to the same set as ours. Ours is carved with the Eight Hundred Arhats, and yours with Pengzu Offering Birthday Wishes, but both are red sandalwood inlaid with ivory edging."
Dou Yan smiled at this, lips pressed together, and pointed to a small kang screen nearby. "This one's red sandalwood too, inlaid with mother-of-pearl."
"Where? Where?" Zhao Zhangru leaned in.
Dou Yan pointed it out to her.
Two young women both past the age for marriage—an age when most of their peers were already wives and mothers—were giggling together like children innocent of the world.
Dou Huaiying felt as though his heart were being carved with a knife.
His aunt-in-law had come over at some point. Looking at the two lovely, flower-like girls, she called softly, "Eldest Son-in-Law," and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
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Recommended: Liu Anhuaming's ancient legal drama "The Beauty's Legal Stratagems"—a female lawyer reborn as a Tang dynasty female advocate, and the many stories she simply must tell with the men and women around her. Book ID 2530562.
o(n_n)o~
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