Chapter 64 — Piercing the Veil
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 2 of 4
But Wu Shan seemed not to understand at all. He rushed to say, "No trouble at all, no trouble at all! Let me return them for you!"
Dou Yan simply smiled at him and said nothing.
Wu Shan's face flushed crimson at once, and his voice was as faint as a mosquito's: "Then—then I'll go tell Boyan." He looked utterly impatient to be off.
He had completely failed to grasp her refusal, and Dou Yan was all the more unwilling to let him get involved. Just as she was about to say something sharp to discourage him for good, Dou Huaide and Dou Yan came out side by side.
"I was wondering why you had vanished and never come back," Dou Huaide said with a laugh. "So you ran into Fourth Sister."
Dou Yan was older, and had only recently been betrothed. He had already grown suspicious earlier when he could not find the book he was looking for after searching for so long; now, seeing Wu Shan's flushed face, he vaguely understood, and could not help glancing toward Dou Yan.
Dou Yan's face was calm as still water, without the slightest abnormality.
For a moment, he began to doubt his own perception.
Wu Shan was already uneasy at heart, and Dou Huaide's remark only made him more flustered. As if to clear himself, he hurriedly said, "Fourth Sister has something to ask of us... That Pang Jixiu often uses the swimming incident as an excuse to send Fourth Sister gifts, saying they are tokens of thanks..." He was beginning to speak carelessly.
Dou Yong and Dou Yan's expressions changed at once.
Dou Yan especially, knowing full well that a single careless word could ruin Dou Chu's entire life, said quickly, "Fourth Uncle Wu, stop right there—some things must not be spoken of carelessly."
Wu Shan gave a start and immediately came to his senses, regretting that he had spoken without thinking. He did not dare look Dou Chu in the eye.
Dou Yan had no time to pay attention to such things. He said urgently, "Twelfth Uncle, please keep watch at the door." Then he asked Dou Yan in a low voice, "What exactly happened? Besides gifts, did he send anything else? Who brought the things in? Are these people reliable?"
Seeing that he had gone straight to the heart of the matter, Dou Yan could not help but breathe a long sigh of relief. She told Dou Yan everything that had happened, and finally said, "I did not accept them directly. Apart from some small items, there was nothing else. It is just that I could not very well speak of this to others..."
"I know." Dou Yan's mind worked quickly. His face dark, he said, "That Pang Jixiu is connected by marriage to your stepmother. Leave this matter alone—just pretend you know nothing, and I will deal with it."
Dou Yan, of course, had not been indulging Pang Jixiu for that reason.
She had simply not understood Pang Jixiu's intentions for a time.
It was Wu Shan's appearance that had reminded her.
Some things required not only the memories of her previous life, but also faith in the intuition of this one.
Dou Yan nodded again and again.
Dou Yan told Dou Huaide and Wu Shan to go back first, and went to see Dou Huaiying himself.
About half an hour later, Dou Huaiying, his face ashen, went with Dou Yan to the main hall and asked Dou Yan, "Where are the things?"
Dou Yan had Sujuan open the trunk.
Dou Huaiying glanced at it once, then called two servants in, and had them carry the trunk away after Dou Yan.
Only Dou Yan and two maids were left in the room, staring at one another.
Dou Huaiying paced about the room in a fury, and only after a long while did he demand of her, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Dou Yan said, "I didn't want a loud quarrel that would make a spectacle of us all."
Dou Huaiying's eyes reddened slightly; he flung his sleeve and strode toward the door.
Dou Yan called out, "Father," and said, "You mean to go talk to Mother about this, don't you? If it's Mother who speaks, she will say the thing is done, so I may as well be married to Pang Jixiu..."