Chapter 84 — Undercurrents
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
Dou Yan went off to her lessons, and Grandmother, smiling, welcomed Madam Ji inside.
Madam Ji told Hong Gu to find a few potted plants and flowers suitable for the hall and the guest rooms: "No need to fuss over rare varieties—anything that looks pretty will do!"
Hong Gu smiled and agreed.
Madam Ji drew Grandmother to the stone table beneath the grape arbor in the back courtyard and sat her down.
"I came looking for you." She told Grandmother about Old Mrs. Wu's visit. "...The Wu household is small and uncomplicated, with a modest family estate, and both Magistrate Wu and Old Mrs. Wu are honest, upright people. The rarest thing of all is that Wu Shan has been devoted to Shouyuan with such care, steadfast all these years without a single change. And Old Mrs. Wu came to ask in person, which shows real sincerity. I think this is a fine match. If you agree, I was thinking we might invite Shouyuan's aunt back to have a look at the young man, so we can settle the betrothal properly."
Grandmother's eyes had already crinkled into two slits the moment she understood why Madam Ji had come. Now that Madam Ji asked, she nodded again and again: "Of course we must bring Shouyuan's aunt back to look at the boy—she has a sharp eye and won't be wrong about people." She added, "We've watched that boy Wu Shan grow up. If Shouyuan marries him, she won't come to any harm."
"That's just what I was thinking," Ji Guan said. "But for now, don't say anything to Shouyuan. We still don't know whether her uncle will agree or not."
"I know, I know," Grandmother said, beaming. Just then she caught sight of Hong Gu directing a few of the rough-work maids as they carried in several pots of flowers, and she said quickly, "If anyone asks, I'll say you came to fetch plants."
Ji Guan said, "You and I are of one mind."
Dou Yan trusted Grandmother above all. Naturally, no one had planted any spies around her. Hearing that Madam Ji had come to take away a few potted trees, she even asked innocently, "Was that enough? If not, have them come take more."
Wu Shan, by contrast, kept constant watch on his mother, and when he learned that the Second Young Madam Yu had gone to the Second Old Madam's quarters, he was beside himself with joy. The moment his mother returned to the guest room, he was pouring tea and fetching water, pounding her legs and waving a fan, fawning over Old Mrs. Wu, until Wu Ya remarked from the side, "Unasked-for attentions spell either treachery or theft. What is my brother after from Mother now? Mother, you can't play favorites. Whatever my brother gets, I want too!"
The words set Wu Shan laughing heartily.
Old Mrs. Wu did not know whether to laugh or cry, and tapped her daughter on the middle of the forehead with one finger: "You child, what is all this racket? What do you mean, whatever your brother gets you want too? You're a grown girl—why must you always carry on like a senseless little child? When your sister-in-law comes into this house, will you talk to her this way too?"
"Once I have a sister-in-law, of course I won't talk to my brother like this!" Wu Ya pouted. "But there isn't any sister-in-law yet, is there?" The words had barely left her mouth when her eyes suddenly flew wide. "Mother, is my brother going to marry a wife?" Then she cried out loudly, "No, no! If my brother takes a wife, it has to be someone I like. Otherwise, what if she won't let me come home to visit?"
"The more you talk, the more outrageous you get!" Old Mrs. Wu gave her daughter a pretended angry swat.
Wu Ya shrank back in fright.
Everyone in the room burst out laughing.
But over in the Second Old Madam's quarters, the Second Young Madam Yu's smile was somewhat forced.