Chapter 2 — The Divergence
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 3 of 4
Wei'er was their eldest son, fourteen this year. Not only was he handsome in appearance, he was clever beyond the common run and mature in his conduct, and was much liked by his elder sister Wei Wan, who two years ago had begun hinting, in and out of season, that she wished to marry her eldest daughter Caiping to Wei'er as his wife.
One was the heir of the Marquis of Jining, the other the eldest legitimate granddaughter of the Duke of Jingguo—of equal rank and station, and cousins besides. He could think of no better match. Yet every time it was raised—by his sister, by his mother, or by himself—Dou Yan had smilingly deflected it, and the matter had been left hanging in just such an ambiguous state.
Now that Dou Yan had brought up the matter of her eldest son's marriage, Wei Yanyu's sleepiness vanished entirely. She teased, "When your sister came to you and tried to bring it up, you wouldn't give her the time of day. Now that you're the one taking the initiative, you'd better be careful she doesn't play hard to get and give you a soft rebuff."
Dou Xin smiled and waited until Wei Fan's excitement had subsided before saying, "I wish to arrange a match for Wei, to take the eldest granddaughter of Guo Haiqing, Marquis of Xuanning, as his wife."
Wei Yanyu's smile froze on her face. Her lips moved, but she seemed at a loss for what to say.
How could Dou Yan fail to understand what was in her mother-in-law's and her husband's minds?
But she had her own considerations as well.
Her father-in-law had died of a sudden illness. At the time, Wei Fan was not yet twenty and had no experience managing household affairs, while her mother-in-law was gentle and pliant by nature and could not help in the slightest with matters outside the inner quarters. Everything depended on Wei Wan's guidance, and only thus did they weather the initial turmoil. Because of this, both Wei Fan and her mother-in-law liked to consult Wei Wan about everything and let her help make decisions. Over time, Wei Wan's prestige in the Wei household grew day by day, and in matters great and small, so long as she spoke, Wei Fan and her mother-in-law never disagreed, so that in the Wei household, Wei Wan's word carried more weight than Wei Fan's or her mother-in-law's.
Dou Yan's own mother had died early, and as a girl she had always felt she was living under another's roof. What she longed for most was a home of her own, so how could she tolerate Wei Wan meddling and dictating at every turn?
When she first married into the family, she understood nothing, and consequently suffered a good deal, shedding many tears in secret. It was only after she had borne two sons and a daughter in succession, taken charge of the household's provisions, and then assumed management of the family's affairs, so that the Wei household grew more prosperous with each passing year, that Wei Wan finally restrained herself somewhat.
If she were to become kin with Wei Wan, that woman would be both her son's mother-in-law and his aunt. Given her consistently domineering Xuanqing Sect ways, was her son to be held down by her for the rest of his life? And if some rift ever arose between husband and wife, would there not be no one left to uphold justice?
She would never agree to this match.
But she also knew that without a grand and honorable reason, neither her mother-in-law nor Wei Fan would approve of her choosing another bride for her son.
She had been turning this matter over in her mind all along.
It so happened that on the Double Ninth Festival, when she went to the Jingzhen Ducal Estate to view the chrysanthemums, the estate's eldest married daughter teased her: "...Sister-in-law does dote on her younger brother, and over my brother's objection, she insists on marrying Cai Ping into your family. If it were up to my father, Cai Ping would have been married into the Jingjiang Marquisate!"
Only then did she learn that the Duke of Jingzhen had such plans.