Chapter 59 — Condolences (Bonus Update for 330 Pink Votes)
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
On the third day after the encoffining, the Dou family sent word of the death to relatives and friends. All at once the Western Dou household was thronged with noise and bustle, and mourners came in an unending stream to pay their respects.
Dou Huaiying, Wang Shuying, Dou Yan, and Dou Ming, as the bereaved son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, stood before the spirit tablet to return the mourners' courtesies, while every household matter was left in Gao Sheng's hands.
Those who served tea, those who attended the mourners, those who kept the mourning accounts, even those who oversaw the striking of boards and the burning of paper offerings—all went to him for instructions. He had never handled such affairs before; he had only gained a little experience in the capital these past years attending Dou Huaiying, and being diligent in all he did, he was simply steadier and more dependable than the rest of the Western Dou. Yet after a spell of frantic busyness, he was stretched too thin to cover everything, and began to feel unequal to the task.
Dou Ji from time to time offered him a word or two of guidance, and within a few days he had grasped the knack of it, conducting matters with ever greater assurance. Some of the old stewards of the Eastern Dou saw it and praised him roundly for "being fit for great use." Only then did Gao Sheng breathe easy; and thereafter, when he looked at Dou Zhiwei, his gaze could not help but carry a certain strangeness.
And this was precisely what Dou Zhiwei intended.
During the three years of mourning she would certainly have to live at the Western Dou, and she needed a strong arm to lean on.
Two days later, Wang Zhibing and Pang Yulou came to offer their condolences.
The eldest uncle and the younger brother's wife—an odd pairing.
Wang Zhibing explained: "Nan'er's mother is with child, and since it's only the first few months and she is rather advanced in years, she cannot bear the jolting of the road. It happened that my sister-in-law had not seen my little sister for some days, and Tan'er was missing his cousin, so I brought them along with me to burn a stick of incense for the old gentleman."
Wang Tan was Pang Yulou's eldest son, a year younger than Dou Ming.
Perhaps because the two had played so well together back in Willow Leaf Alley in the capital, Wang Tan seized Dou Ming's hand the moment he entered and would not let go, crying, "Sister Ming, when are you coming home? There's no one to play with me."
Dou Ming said, "I have to observe mourning for Grandfather. When the mourning is over, I'll go to the capital to see you."
Wang Tan said, "Then hurry up and finish your mourning. When you do, I'll have Father take us all to Puji Temple to eat lamb noodles."
Dou Ming nodded again and again.
Pang Yulou gave her son a push and, pointing at Dou Yan, said, "Hurry up and greet your eldest cousin!"
Wang Tan took after the Pang side of the family, with fair skin and large, liquid eyes—prettier and more delicate than any girl.
He called Dou Yan "Sister" in a sweet, piping voice.
Dou Yan still remembered the last time she had come upon him beside the rosebushes, kneeling at Dou Ming's feet and pleading desperately: "Good sister, my elder brother has only his cousin Gao Mingzhu in his heart. Even if he marries you, he won't treat you well. I'm different. I've liked you since I was small. If you marry me, I'll treat you well all my life. Whatever you want done, I'll help you..."
Alas, Dou Ming's gaze was soft and lingering as spring water, as though it could drown a person—yet the look she bent on Wang Tan was full of calculation.
She smiled coquettishly and said, "Then I want you to say, in front of Grandmother, that you want to marry Gao Mingzhu. Do you dare?"
.
The Wang family took it that Gao Mingzhu was carrying on ambiguously between the brothers Wang Nan and Wang Tan, and that she could never again be a daughter-in-law of the Wang family.