Chapter 474 — Inference

Jiang Yan asked Dou Yan uneasily, "Can I... can I really do that?"

"Why on earth not?" Dou Yan smoothed her hair. "Every household keeps its own small life. So long as you are at ease in it, that is enough. As for how you live it, and how it differs from others — there is no need to compare."

Jiang Yan nodded earnestly.

The mood turned a little solemn.

Jiang Ling hid a laugh behind her hand and asked Jiang Yan how many days she meant to spend at her family home.

Jiang Yan blushed and said in a small voice, "Zanzhi said he would come for me in a couple of days."

Dou Yan was taken aback.

Jiang Ling burst out laughing. "How overbearing! He grudges you even two days at your own family's house."

Jiang Yan mumbled, at a loss for what to say.

Dou Yan thought of her own month-long stay at her parents' home after the wedding, when Song Yan had chased her to the Hening Temple Alley the very next day... She smiled. "Then go back in a couple of days. You live close to the Yingzhen Estate as it is — you can come home whenever you please. No need to begrudge this one visit."

Jiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Yan had never had much to say to this cousin-in-law of his, so he simply asked Chen Jia about his official duties. "I hear Liu Yu has been riding high of late. Has that affected you at all?"

He was Song Yan's cousin-in-law now; no ordinary man would dare make trouble for him.

He answered respectfully, "Both Lord Shi and Liu Yu treat me with courtesy."

Song Yan said, "Have you ever thought of taking a post somewhere else?"

What did that mean?

Chen Jia was not quite sure.

Song Yan said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is a fine place, but its fearsome name has earned it a great many enemies. To sit as Commissioner of the Guard, a man must be the Emperor's confidant. Your rank is too low — even with my help, that seat would be hard for you to reach. What I mean is, you would do better to transfer to the Divine Machine Camp or the Five Armies Camp. There are more openings there."

Posts in the Embroidered Uniform Guard were hereditary; only those of the fourth rank and above had any chance to serve in the Emperor's presence, and only such men could leave an impression on his mind. Chen Jia had entered through a borrowed succession, and only by relentless scrambling had he risen to squad commander; he had no chance at all of ever seeing the Emperor, let alone of making the Emperor remember his name, however hard he strove to be remembered. To win the Emperor's trust, one still depended on fate and fortune.

Chen Jia knew this well enough himself.

His dearest wish, once, had been to become a Deputy Commissioner or an Assistant Commissioner of the Guard, then contrive to wangle a hereditary company command or the like, so that his sons and grandsons might benefit — with that he would have been well content.

He had never expected to reach that goal so soon.

To say he had no wish to climb higher would be a lie. Yet the thought of leaving the Guard and starting over felt to him like a great deal of bother.

Chen Jia pondered for a good while, then said, "For the time being I would rather stay where I am in the Guard. I know its workings inside and out; everything is easy to handle there. If I went to the Divine Machine Camp or the Five Armies Camp now, I would have to spend a great deal of effort on personnel matters..."

In other words, for the present he wished to give his attention to his own small household.

Song Yan was well pleased with his answer. "The Divine Machine Camp or the Five Armies Camp — either would be convenient enough. Since you do not wish to leave the Guard for now, we will speak of it later. But Shi Chuan and I are somewhat at odds at present. Keep your eyes open inside the Guard, and whatever happens, do not get mixed up in it."

Chen Jia assented respectfully, then hesitated, as though he wished to speak and yet held back.

Song Yan frowned. "If you have something to say, say it plainly. What sort of face is that?"

Chen Jia bowed his head and murmured his assent. Then, weighing his words, he said, "I have already heard of your being impeached in the great hall yesterday. I fear the matter is not so simple. It would be well for you, my lord, to mend the roof before the rain comes."

Song Yan was rather surprised to hear this, but at the memory of his first meeting with Chen Jia, his expression softened.

A servant came in and announced, "Du Wei requests an audience!"

He must have found something out.

Setting aside his prejudice, Song Yan had to admit that Chen Jia was a capable man. After a moment's thought he told him, "Come with me."

Chen Jia had not expected that though Song Yan disliked him, he did not treat him as an outsider.

He followed with a steady stride.

A short while later, Du Wei came in.

At the sight of Chen Jia he looked faintly surprised, but quickly regained his composure and said respectfully, "The censor who impeached you never once stirred from his house through the whole of the New Year. This morning, though, he suddenly went to a lamb-spine eatery in the west of the city and took lamb-spine soup with a man in a long scholar's gown. I sent men to look into the fellow's background, and found that he once served as a retainer in Elder Mu's household..."

Mu Chuan was one of the Empress's men.

Chen Jia was struck dumb.

Song Yan said haltingly, "That settles it... If it were Liang Jifen, he would have laid his plans before he moved and would never act so rashly... Only the Empress would cover every angle. If it works, she seizes the chance to have me replaced; if it fails, it still serves as a warning to me..."

Hearing this, Chen Jia thought of a possibility.

His face went white as snow; his mouth fell open, and for a long while he did not come back to himself.

Song Yan teased him, "If you regret becoming my cousin-in-law, I would advise you to start thinking of a way out this very moment."

Chen Jia thought of Jiang Yan sitting softly under the lamp, mending his clothes, and his chest tightened. "You worry too much, my lord. I have no regrets about marrying A Yan! I simply never imagined..."

Song Yan smiled faintly and took a sip of tea.

Wuyi came running in. "Young Master, Master Dou Wu from Yuqiao Alley is here."

Dou Yan?

Song Yan was rather surprised, and asked that he be shown to the study to talk.

Dou Yan knew that Chen Jia was Song Yan's cousin-in-law. Once inside the study, he let a measure of anxiety show on his face. "I have something urgent to tell you."

Song Yan took him to the warm chamber next door.

Dou Yan said in a low voice, "It was Fifth Uncle who sent me to see you. The elder says the impeachment is most likely tangled up with Muchuan, and warns you to keep a close watch on Muchuan's people, lest someone find a gap to slip through. If it truly cannot be helped, then avoiding the sharp edge and biding your time is the proper course."

Song Yan had never expected Dou Bingheng to warn him. He stared at Dou Yan in astonishment.

Seeing his uncle—a man who was always calm and composed—wear such an expression of surprise, Dou Yongjun could not help but chuckle. "Fifth Granduncle is also afraid something may happen to the family, so he specially sent me to pass the word to you."

Song Yan nodded, sighing inwardly. No wonder Dou Bingheng had risen to lead the Dou clan.

He said earnestly, "Thank Fifth Uncle for me, and tell him I will be careful."

Dou Yongjun gave a sound of assent, then said, "When Fourth Uncle heard the censor was one of Muchuan's men, he was not especially shocked. Could it be that Fourth Uncle already knew this man had ties to Muchuan?"

Song Yan said with reserve, "I only just learned of it."

That Dou Bingheng could uncover such a connection was, in all likelihood, owing to his present position and the network he had built over the years. But that Song Yan could learn of it so quickly too... that was rather thought-provoking.