Chapter 463 — The Sail

Dou Fan sat smiling on the large heated kang by the window of the reception room, listening to the matchmaker Chen Jia had engaged sing Chen Jia's praises: "...True, he had a wife before, but she left him no children. He is steady and dependable in appearance, and capable besides. Young as he is, he is already a fourth-rank military officer. At this rate, in ten years at most he will rise to the third rank. Your honored family's cousin will become an official's wife the moment she marries. What match could be better than this?"

She said nothing, but smiled and accepted Chen Jia's horoscope card. She had the matchmaker sent off with ten taels of silver.

The matchmaker was stunned, then so delighted that her eyes squeezed into slits.

When Chen Jia had engaged an official matchmaker to propose to the Yingguo Duke's household, several of the official matchmakers had heard of it and waved him off. Only she, greedy for Chen Jia's five taels of silver and two bolts of silk as her matchmaking fee, had gritted her teeth and gone into the Yingguo Duke's alley. Even so, before she had seen Dou Yan, she had secretly mocked Chen Jia for overreaching. Who would have thought the Duke's heir's wife would actually accept Chen Jia's horoscope card... This, this was truly the sun rising in the west!

She went off gleefully to Yuqiao Alley to report back to Chen Jia.

Chen Jia felt a wave of dizziness; it was a long moment before he came to his senses, and he hastily called for Tao Er's wife to hand out the reward.

The matchmaker departed beaming.

Chen Jia, however, went weak all over. He sat in the armchair and could not rise for quite some time.

The Song family had actually accepted his horoscope card!

Which meant that his marriage to Jiang Yan was no idle jest, but might truly come to pass.

Chen Jia's heart swelled like a sail caught by the wind. He could not tell whether it was joy or relief, and only when the Tao Er couple came to congratulate him did he come back to himself. He remembered that this house had last been whitewashed when the previous owner moved in. Many places were now stained... There was a small garden in the back, but he left early and returned late, and with no mistress to manage the inner courtyard, the kitchen women had long since turned it into a vegetable plot. There was an old wintersweet by the wall—if he cleared the vegetable plot and planted a few peonies, tree peonies, and golden chrysanthemums, it might just pass muster... And the furnishings inside: when he sold the house, everything had been sold separately, and the previous owner had left him only a few broken-legged stools, some peeling miscellaneous-wood chests, and the like. He had only just been promoted; there were superiors to be courted, subordinates to be rewarded, and the old usury loans to be repaid. He had no time to spare for buying things... The Yingguo Duke's household used nothing but red sandalwood throughout—he could not compare—but surely he could have a set of black-lacquered pine furniture made? And the painted corridor along the covered walkway, the screen wall before the gate, all needed proper attention... So many things to see to!

He could sit still no longer. He summoned Huzi in a flurry and began issuing orders: "Go out this instant and find several skilled masons in the street, and hire a few painters as well... I remember the set of furniture at Old Chen's when his family took a daughter-in-law was quite fine. Go ask who made it and engage them to make a set..."

Chen Jia issued his orders like a string of firecrackers, and Huzi's head swam. He barely managed to repeat them back, then dashed off to Tao Er: "Quick, give me some paper—I need to write down everything the master said."

Tao Er chuckled and helped him grind the ink, while secretly thinking that if this match really came off, they would be like the saying in the books: "When one man attains the Way, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"... A single guard from the Yingguo Duke's household, once released, became a constable of the capital county; his own son might at the very least become a tax-office clerk, mightn't he? He would wake from his dreams laughing.

The Chen household spun into motion like a windmill.

Dou Fan's side was no idler either.

Jewelry to be made, clothes to be sewn, dowry to be purchased—she was so busy her feet scarcely touched the ground.

Fortunately Jiang Ling was there to help. Women are born for shopping; the bustle turned to delight, and laughter rang unceasingly through Yizhi Hall.

Jiang Yan hid herself away in Bishui Pavilion, a little joyful at heart, but more than that, afraid.

She longed to see Chen Jia once, to ask him herself just why he wished to marry her. If one day he should disdain her as a remarried widow, could he please not deceive her, but tell her honestly—she would certainly tell no one, and would quietly hide herself away in a temple.

But seeing the joyful faces of her sister-in-law and Jiang Ling, she could not bring herself to mention meeting Chen Jia.

Dou Yan sensed that Jiang Yan was heavy-hearted and wanted to comfort her, but Song Han was moving house, and Song Maochun and the others had all come to help. Song Ke had washed his hands of the affair, so she could hardly fail to put in an appearance and say a few polite words. When Song Han's move was done, there was the housewarming celebration besides; Dou Yan did not attend in person, but she saw that all proprieties were observed, and was busy back and forth for two days. When she went to see Jiang Yan again, the girl had calmed down and was smiling, so she asked no further questions.

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Sisters and brothers, here is today's bonus chapter.

ps: I got back a little earlier than expected, o(∩_∩)o~

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