Chapter 373 — Observing Quietly

Setting it a little further off would give the restless folk in the household just the time they needed to stir.

Lü Zheng's wife assented respectfully, bent her knee in a curtsey, and was about to withdraw.

Dou Yan stopped her. "How is your husband these days? Are the children well? Is there any difficulty at home?"

Lü Zheng's wife started, then said hurriedly, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. My husband is serving on the estate now, and the children are all obedient. Everything is well. There is no difficulty at all!"

The words were scarcely out of her mouth before she was sick with anxiety.

Her husband and she had been the Duke's people from the first; that the Madam did not slap her face for it was kindness enough — why would she be raised up? The Madam's question was mere politeness. How could she presume to climb the pole and complain of difficulties at home? That was why she had said all was well.

But on second thought, such an answer could not but make the Madam believe that she and her husband still enjoyed the Duke's favor, and so must needs draw a clear line between themselves and the Heir and his wife, who crossed the Duke in every matter, great and small.

Her husband's fate had taught her long ago that her family were no more than ants. If the Heir and the Madam wished them dead, the Duke of Ying would never speak a word on their behalf.

She wanted to explain herself to Dou Yan, and did not know how to begin.

In that moment she was full of regret and resentment both.

But Dou Yan did not pursue any of it. Mild as a gentle rain, she said, "What the Heir values above all is his full brother, the Second Master. The Second Master grows older by the year, and I am only his sister-in-law; in some matters I am much inconvenienced. The affairs of his rooms will need your care. Look after the Second Master well, and neither the Heir nor I will forget your merit."

An elder brother's wife is as a mother.

And Dou Yan now presided over the household accounts of the Duke of Ying's mansion — what was there in Song Han's rooms beyond her reach?

Lü Zheng's wife thought of the rift between the Duke of Ying and the Heir, yet she had not the slightest doubt of Dou Yan's words.

She was utterly astonished; faced with the goodwill Dou Yan radiated, she nearly wept for joy.

The Heir did indeed, as the Madam said, value the Second Master above all. Since she was the stewardess of the Second Master's rooms, to serve him faithfully from now on might well prove a way out for her.

Lü Zheng's wife kowtowed reverently to Dou Yan and vowed solemnly that she would look after Song Han well.

Dou Yan smiled. "I am not familiar with the affairs of the Second Master's rooms. As for choosing the maids there, I must trouble you to take some care."

Lü Zheng's wife hesitated a moment.

Dou Yan had already said, "Since they are to serve at the Second Master's side, it is best that the Second Master's own wishes be followed."

Lü Zheng's wife breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew, head bowed.

Dou Yan smiled faintly and instructed Ruozhu, "Bring me the menu for the banquet for my uncle. I want to look it over carefully and think it through."

Ruozhu went off smiling to fetch the menu, but came back to report, "Madam, the old master has come. He says he has important business and must see you."

"The old master" meant Dou Huaiying, Dou Yan's father.

Dou Yan went to the small reception hall.

Dou Huaiying was pacing the small hall in a fret. Seeing her enter, he did not wait for her to greet him but burst out indignantly, "Tell me, what will it take for your uncle to be appeased? All these years I have worn a cold face only to be shown his cold backside, and he takes no notice of it at all. Must I die to atone before he will forgive me?"

Dou Yan was silent.

She very much wanted to tell him: I am Zhao Guqiu's daughter; it is hardly fitting for you to say such things to me.

But looking at her father slumped dejected in the great armchair, she could not bring the words out.

More than that, a faint bitterness welled up from the bottom of her heart.

Seeing this, Ruozhu slipped away at a run to the study in the outer rooms.

When Song Yan hurried over, he found Dou Huaiying and his daughter sitting face to face, staring at each other, wooden-faced.

He shot Dou Yan a look and scolded her, "Your father is here, and you did not send word to me?" Then he stepped forward with a smile and made his bow to Dou Huaiying. "Father-in-law, it is rare for you to come to the mansion. It happens that I still have a bottle of grape wine bestowed by the Emperor in my study. Let Shouyuan have a feast laid for us, and we will go drink a few cups together."

His own daughter was less attentive than his son-in-law!

Dou Huaiying gave an angry "Hmph" and went off with Song Yan to the small reception hall in the front courtyard.

***

Brothers and sisters, a new month brings a new spirit — here is today's first update, and I beg you all for pink votes and doubled support.

o(n_n)o~

PS: I am at my parents' home keeping them company for the National Day holiday, and there is no network cable here, so I do not know yesterday's results. When I got up this morning I could no longer see the pink vote standings at all, and I can only wait for the official announcement after twelve o'clock. I feel a little uneasy...