Chapter 330 — Drawing Near

In the study, Suxin recounted the whole affair to Song Yan again, omitting no detail, then stood with her hands at her sides, ready to answer Song Yan's questions.

Song Yan said nothing, lifted his teacup, and took a quiet sip, his calm expression betraying a trace of cold severity.

Dou Yan likewise kept silent, turning the matter over in her mind: was this aimed at Song Yan or at herself? If it was aimed at Mo, then why? And if it was aimed at her, whom had she offended?

For a moment the room was utterly silent, the air oppressive to the point of suffocation.

Suxin opened her mouth as if to speak, then hesitated.

Song Yan, recalling that she was Dou Zhiwei's right hand, softened his expression. "There are no outsiders here. Whatever you have to say, say it plainly."

Suxin murmured her assent and said, "I think that gentleman from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Commissioner Chen, arrived a little too conveniently."

"You suspect him of crying thief while himself the thief?" Song Yan asked.

At the age of five he had been granted the title of Heir of the Yingzhenguo Estate. There was no end to the people who wished to curry favor with him, and their tricks and methods were inexhaustible; if you could imagine it, they had already done it. He had long since grown inured to it all.

Hearing this, Dou Yan sat up straighter as well.

Suxin hesitated a while before saying, "It simply struck me as a little strange. I would not go so far as to say Commissioner Chen was behind it—the price he paid would have been far too high. He not only wounded those thieves, he even captured two of them..."

Song Yan gave a cold laugh. "Has Commissioner Chen left yet?"

Suxin faltered for a long moment, then murmured, "No."

If he were truly a gentleman, having delivered the person safely and handed the thieves over to the guards of the Yizhi Hall, he ought to have gone. Yet Commissioner Chen was still sitting in the gatehouse of the Yizhi Hall at that very moment.

Xia Lian requested an audience.

Song Yan received him in the study.

Seeing Dou Yan and Suxin, he showed no surprise. After bowing respectfully to Song Yan, he reported frankly, "Heir, I fear there is something fishy about this business. I questioned Chen Jia closely. He insisted it was a chance encounter, and I could find no flaw in his account. But those two thieves had poison hidden in their teeth. When Chen Jia handed them over to us, they bit down and took their own lives—as if they knew that once they entered the Yizhi Hall there would be no escape."

It was exactly the manner of death-sworn retainers.

And in all the capital, there were few households that could afford to keep death-sworn retainers.

Dou Yan frowned.

The corner of Song Yan's mouth twitched, a flicker of mockery crossing his brow. "Give Chen Jia fifty taels of silver, as thanks for saving my lady's personal maid. As for the matter of the thieves, I leave that to you."

Xia Lian answered and withdrew.

Song Yan took Dou Zhiwei's hand and said gently, "I will get to the bottom of this. Do not worry. If you must go out these next few days, take a few more guards with you."

Because Suxin and the others had gone to the estate at Daxing, the Yizhi Hall had sent only four guards along.

Dou Yan nodded and straightened Song Yan's collar for him. "You still have to enter the palace later. Go and have your midday meal."

Song Yan gave a murmur of assent and went with Dou Yan into the inner chamber.

Chen Jia, fifty taels of silver richer, was both startled and delighted.

Startled, because he had not expected that after all his scheming, he would be dismissed so lightly; delighted, because Song Yan had actually lent his own carriage to Dou's personal maid. Clearly he had backed the right horse.

He stood at the mouth of the Yingzhenguo Estate's lane for a long while, then turned back to the Yizhi Hall and asked to see the injured Guard Zhou.

After the midday meal, Dou Yan personally saw Song Yan into the carriage, then went to look in on the injuries of Ruodan and Ruozhu before returning to her room for a short rest.

But when she opened her eyes, the sky had already darkened.

"Why did none of you wake me?" Dou Yan asked Sujuan, who was attending her. Her voice was hoarse.

Sujuan smiled and poured Dou Yan a cup of warm water. "You were sleeping so soundly that I could not bear to wake you."

Dou Yan drank the warm water and felt much refreshed.

The little maid Ruotong was peeking in at the door.

Sujuan smiled. "What is it?"

Ruotong gave an embarrassed smile. "Sister Suxin sent me to see whether the madam had woken."

"Tell her I am awake." Perhaps because she had slept well, Dou Zhiwei was in excellent spirits. She smiled at Ruotong and leaned softly back against the great bolster, letting Sujuan attend her washing. Then she asked whether Song Yan had returned, and whether the official matchmaker engaged by the Zhao family had arrived.

Sujuan giggled. "The madam is more anxious than the Zhao family! Even if they send for someone today, the earliest they could come to propose is tomorrow morning!"

Dou Yan could not help laughing.

As Sujuan combed Dou Yan's hair, she said, "The heir has not returned yet. I have already instructed the gatehouse to send word the moment he comes back."

The madam and the heir were growing ever closer, and those of them who had come as part of her dowry rejoiced to see it.

Dou Yan was somewhat worried about Song Yan.

Then Suxin arrived.

"Madam," she said, looking rather troubled, "that Commissioner Chen has been over by the west side rooms all this while, talking with Guard Zhou and the others. He even wants to treat Master Duan and Master Chen to a meal. Master Duan asked me to seek your instructions—how should we handle this?"

Dou Yan was rather taken aback; it only confirmed that Chen Jia's rescue of Suxin was not such a simple matter. At the very least, Chen Jia had his own designs.

She pondered for a long while, then said, "Take that Chen Jia to the small flower hall. I want to see him."

Suxin hesitated briefly, then did as she was told and went to summon Chen Jia.

As for Xia Lian, hearing that Dou Yan meant to see Chen Jia, he said nothing at all, and quietly concealed himself with two highly skilled guards behind the screen in the small flower hall.

Dou Chi could not help but sigh with feeling.

When would these days of jumping at every shadow ever come to an end?

The thought had scarcely passed when her hand drifted unconsciously to her belly. Her expression grew grave, and she had Suxin bring Chen Jia in.

Chen Jia did not dare raise his head at all, and performed the kneeling rite of homage before Dou Yan with the utmost deference.

Dou Yan received his courtesy with perfect composure, and came straight to the point: "Why did you come to the aid of my maid?"

The ladies of an inner compound were notoriously hard to fathom. He answered by the book: "This humble official was merely passing by. It was my duty..."

Dou Xin cut him off: "I have already given you your chance. Since you cannot seize it, there is nothing more for me to say." Then she lifted her teacup, and Suxin called out, "Seeing the guest out."

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down Chen Jia's forehead.

The Dou woman was indeed no ordinary woman!

He could no longer care for propriety. With a thud he dropped to his knees in the middle of the small flower hall and cried aloud, "I beg the madam to save my life!"

Dou Yan paid him no heed, and rose to skirt the screen behind her and leave the hall.

The chance came only once; once lost, it might never come again.

"Madam! Madam!" Chen Jia shouted in desperation. "There is a matter I would beg of the madam, and I have long sought an opportunity to speak with her. When I saw the heir's carriage escorted by your guards, I took it that the madam was inside, and followed it. I never thought I would run into robbers..."