Chapter 43 — Changing Course (Bonus Update for 90 Pink Tickets)
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
Wang Xingyi's hand fell on Wang Zhibing's shoulder with the weight of a thousand catties.
A servant was peeking around the edge of the flower beds.
Wang Xingyi's expression darkened, a cold dignity settling over him. "What is it?"
The servant scurried over, trembling. "My lord, a man surnamed Du is here, claiming to be a steward of the Dou family of Zhending. Their Fifth Master shares the same examination year as you, and he has been sent by their Old Master to deliver a letter."
"Could it be Dou Zhenzhi?" Wang Zhibing said, puzzled.
Zhenzhi was the courtesy name of Dou Duo.
"It must be him," Wang Xingyi said with a cold laugh. "Did he not say that Yingxue killed his daughters-in-law? A blood feud admits no compromise under heaven—so what business could he have with us?" With that, he ordered the servant, "Bring the letter here."
The servant trotted off and returned with the letter.
Wang Xingyi glanced at it, then handed the envelope to his son.
Wang Zhibing took the letter, full of misgivings, and scanned it in a few swift passes, finishing it quickly. "Dou Zhenzhi actually wants you and their steward to go together and petition Zhao Ruifu to agree to elevate Yingxue to the status of legal wife?" He could make no sense of the situation at all, and for a long moment could not react.
Wang Xingyi gave a snort of laughter. "Now do you understand why I said what I said?"
Wang Zhibing did not.
Wang Xingyi sighed helplessly and patiently instructed his son. "If the Dou family truly did not want to elevate Yingxue, then never mind the Pang family coming to make a scene—even if Yingxue clung on and refused to leave, they could have forcibly dragged her away. The matter has dragged on until today only because the Dou family has plans of its own. When you came back and told me, I was still somewhat uncertain, but now I can guess at eight or nine parts out of ten. Most likely Dou Yuanji saw that our honored teacher places great trust in me and feared I would steal his thunder. He wanted to use the matter of Yingxue's elevation to sell me a favor. But in the end Dou Duo and the Zhao family both refused. Dou Duo not only refused—he hoped, through you, to provoke me into letting Yingxue die, pulling the firewood out from under Dou Yuanji's cauldron. But now Dou Zhenzhi has suddenly changed his mind. He shifts the blame onto the Zhao family—it is not that he refused, but that Zhao Rui refused." He mused a moment. "If I guess rightly, the East Dou and the West Dou are likely on good terms in appearance only. The reason Dou Duo changed his tune at the last moment is simply that the West Dou has only one seedling, Dou Huaiying, and he has no examination degrees to his name. Weak and isolated, seeing that I am now Governor of Gansu, they wish to ally with our family by marriage and borrow my influence to join forces against Dou Yuanji."
Wang Zhibing's gaze was full of admiration as he looked at his father, and he said in sincere submission, "Then what should we do now?"
Wang Xingyi seemed not to hear. He murmured to himself, "Could Yingxue really have killed the Zhao woman?"
Wang Zhibing was stunned.
Wang Xingyi was already speaking aloud. "Dou Zhenzhi's letter says he has twice sent men to negotiate with Zhao Ruifu about Yingxue's elevation, and both times Zhao Ruifu avoided meeting them. He asks me to meet with this Zhao Ruifu. Whether Dou Zhenzhi means to bypass Dou Yuanji and make me owe him a favor, or to show me how much effort he has spent on Yingxue's elevation, or to prove to me that the Zhao woman's death truly had to do with Yingxue, or to use my official authority to pressure Zhao Ruifu into agreeing—and incidentally to see what medicine Zhao Ruifu is hiding in his gourd?" It was as if his earlier words had been no more than a momentary slip of the tongue.