Chapter 442 — Opportunists

Steady as Jiang Yan generally was, she was still a young girl at heart, and at the first mention of an outing she lit up with delight.

Dou Yan asked her, "Where would you like to go climbing? The leaves on the Fragrant Hills have turned red these past few days—it is the very season for it, though it is a fair way off. Mount Mian'er and Mount Xuanmo are both fine, except that His Majesty may take it into his head to go as well, and then the roads will be sealed."

Jiang Yan had been to none of them, so she could hardly have a preference for one over another.

She caught Dou Yan's arm and laughed. "I shall go wherever you go, sister-in-law!"

That tone of utter trust melted Dou Yan's heart.

She instructed Ruo Tong to go to the needlework room and see whether the new clothes made for her and Jiang Yan were finished, and Ruo Dan to tell the kitchen to begin preparing chestnut cakes and brewing chrysanthemum wine; then she fell to discussing with Jiang Yan which maids and serving women they should bring along.

Yizhi Hall at once bustled with life.

Lady An, wife of the Heir Apparent of the Marquis of Yan'an's household, came to call.

Dou Yan was rather taken aback.

Not a soul from the Marquis of Yan'an's house had come yesterday for Song Han's kin ceremony; by rights they ought to have kept out of sight for a few days. Why, then, this hasty visit?

She invited Lady An to sit in the reception room.

Lady An did not beat about the bush. After tea and cakes, and a few enquiries after Yuan Heng, she came straight to the point. "I hear that Mrs. Hu, wife of Registrar Hu of the Five Army Commissions, has proposed a match for the young lady of your family, and that you have given your consent. Might I ask whether the matter has been settled?"

Dou Yan's heart gave a small leap. She smiled. "It was no more than a suggestion. The Heir Apparent has not even had a chance to hear of it—how could it be settled?"

Lady An let out a long breath and smiled. "Ours is no common acquaintance, so I shall speak plainly. The first time I set eyes on your Miss Jiang, I had a mind to make a match for her; only I did not know what sort of family you wished for her, and so I hesitated until today. Now that I hear someone has come with a proposal, I am all anxiety again, for fear you have already promised her to another." She pressed her lips together and smiled. "The gentleman is an elder cousin of mine on my own family's side. He is twenty-eight this year. His years are hardly a match for the young lady's—but there is something to be said for an older man: at least he knows how to cherish a wife.

"His first wife died in childbed, leaving a girl who is nine this year; in a few years more she will be of an age to marry. He has two farms, a shop for raw medicinal herbs, a pawnshop, and a grain-and-oil business. One would not call the household one of ten thousand strings of cash, but it never wants for food or clothing. He is an honest, good-hearted man, and he feared that if he took a new wife the girl would be wronged—which is why he has put it off until now.

"Talk it over with the Heir Apparent, and see whether this cousin of mine is worthy of your notice."

A little old, to say nothing of having neither degree nor office—this was no fine match.

Lady An must have thought the same, which was why she had wished to make the match and yet held back so long. Now, seeing that they were willing even to look over Mrs. Hu's candidate, she had come to press her suit without further scruple.

It was a case of casting a brick to draw forth jade. Mrs. Hu's introduction was bearing fruit.

As for whether Song Yan would agree—that was like a blind man eating glutinous rice balls: everyone knew how many lay in his own bowl. It was merely an excuse for putting the matter off. If Dou Yan agreed, would Song Yan stand in her way?

Dou Yan nodded, all smiles.

Lady An, somewhat reassured, chatted with her a while and then rose to take her leave.

Jiang Yan, who had heard every word from the inner room, showed no sign of maidenly shyness; instead her face had gone white, and she said nothing.

Sensing something amiss, Dou Yan sent a maid to ask her quietly, "Do you feel this family is beneath your expectations?"

Jiang Yan shook her head, and seemed about to speak, yet could not.

Dou Yan sighed.

Li Tiaoniang had done no end of harm!

A fine girl, and she had been raised to such a timid, cowering temper.

Gently she urged her. "We are among the few kin you have in this world. What can you have to say that you cannot say to us? If you swallow everything for fear of being a trouble or of being blamed, you will be miserable, and we shall grieve to see it. Speak now, and even if what you say does not please your cousin and me, at least you will be easy in yourself, and we shall be easy in our minds about you."

Jiang Yan's eyes darted this way and that; then she gripped Dou Yan's hand tightly and whispered, "I... I don't want to marry."

Was it because the old wounds still lingered in her heart?

"What happened before was not your doing—you were a victim too. We will not force you into marriage. But try to put the past behind you, and begin your life anew. Will you?"

Jiang Yan nodded gratefully.

That evening, when Song Yan came home, Dou Yan sighed over the matter with him.

Song Yan said nothing. Later, when he was in his study practising his calligraphy, he summoned Lu Ming. "That fellow named Wei and the one named He—see that they are properly looked after. Do not let any mishap befall them."

Lu Ming shivered, assented respectfully, and withdrew.

Song Yan finished three sheets of paper without a word, and only then returned to the inner room.

It was as though a window had been flung open and everyone had suddenly seen what lay inside: for several days running, people came to propose matches for Jiang Yan.

Dou Yan was greatly put out. To Jiang Ling, who had come to the house for a visit, she said, "If I refuse them all, I shall look absurdly particular—this one too low, that one not good enough. But if I agree to have them looked over, Sister Yan has no heart for it just now. Had I known it would come to this, I should never have agreed to Mrs. Hu so readily."

Jiang Ling laughed. "You never thought there would be so many opportunists, did you?"

Opportunists?

Thinking it over, that was exactly what it was.

Dou Yan laughed despite herself. "You see through things as no one else does. One word from you and I am enlightened."

Jiang Ling smiled and asked, "Why, I don't see my cousin anywhere. Has he been very busy these days?"

Dou Yan was rather surprised, and smiled. "Have you some business with your cousin? He is on night duty at the palace these days, and will not be out until the hour of You tomorrow afternoon. Why not come again after the hour of You tomorrow?"

Jiang Ling hesitated for a long while, then said, "I really do have a small matter to discuss with my cousin... I ought not to keep it from you, Sister-in-law, only for the moment I don't quite know how to put it to you."

Dou Yan was not a petty sort, and besides, though she and Jiang Ling had known each other only a few months, Jiang Ling's nature was open and aboveboard; since the girl could not bring herself to speak, Dou Yan naturally did not press her.

"I'm not half so small-minded as you imagine," she teased with a smile. "Why not come over first thing tomorrow and spend the day here? Once you've had your talk with your cousin, you can take supper with us before you go home."

Jiang Ling thought it over, then smiled and agreed.

The next day, Dou Yan had a feast laid out in her honor.

Jiang Yan eagerly kept her company, showing her the flowers and the scenery on every side.

The two came upon Miao Zhi in the pavilion in the rear garden.