Chapter 108 — The Wei Family
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
When Lady Yuan, the wife of Duke Jing of the State of Zhang Pei, gave birth to her eldest son Zhang Yuanming, she nearly died in childbirth. Zhang Yuanming was dull by nature, and as he grew he became both simple-minded and fat. Lady Yuan found the sight of him irritating and preferred her second son, Zhang Jiming, and her youngest, Zhang Xuming. Thus, though Zhang Yuanming was already twenty-six, the Duke Jing's household had still not established an heir apparent. This left Wei Wan deeply uneasy, for beneath the splendid surface of the Duke Jing's household, dark currents churned.
Wang Qinghai was the fourth young master of the Marquess of Ting'an's household and on close terms with Wei Fan, so he naturally knew the ins and outs of the matter.
At these words he fell silent, then asked softly, "Then what do you plan to do?"
Wei Fan said, "That's why I need to hurry home and find my father!"
Wang Qinghai's spirits lifted. "You mean..."
Wei Fan's face flushed crimson in an instant. "We can't just let—let Miss Dou be jilted, can we? How would she live after that?" he stammered, his expression somewhat sheepish.
Wang Qinghai roared with laughter and clapped Wei Fan hard on the shoulder, so hard that Wei Fan staggered and nearly fell. "I knew it! Brother Wei is a man of true mettle—he won't go slinking home with his tail between his legs. Come, I'll go with you to speak to the old Marquess."
Wei Fan nodded, threw an arm around Wang Qinghai's shoulders, and the two mounted their horses and galloped off, whips flying.
In the flower hall, Dou Yan was still speaking with Chen Yanzhou: "...Have you ever considered carefully, sir, why the Dou family, in breaking off the betrothal with the Wei family, did not act in its own name but instead let the He family act for it?"
Chen Yanzhou had pondered this question as well. He said gravely, "I suspect it is because both the Sixth Master and the Seventh Master were fiercely opposed to the match, and the Fifth Master did not wish to damage the bond between brothers over it, so he tossed the matter to the He family. To the Sixth and Seventh Masters, he could say it was to make the He family back off; to the He family, he could give an explanation—offending neither side. But the greatest reason is that the Fifth Master stands at a critical juncture in his contest for a place in the Grand Secretariat, and cannot afford the slightest misstep—above all, he cannot allow his opponents to seize upon any stain on his moral conduct. The very reason the Fifth Master can contend with Wang Xingyi is that in recent years he has acted with upright propriety, championed justice and succored the needy, and has been much praised by his colleagues..."
Dou Yan nodded repeatedly and smiled. "Then we must seize this opportunity!"
"Opportunity?" Chen Yanzhou said, puzzled. "What opportunity? The matter is already out in the open. Surely the Wei family won't return the betrothal tokens to the He family? What would that make them? Selling a wife for glory—how could the Wei family ever hold up its head among the nobility again?"