Chapter 170 — Confirmation
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 2 of 4
Moreover, Dou Huaiying had no son; keeping his eldest daughter at home to take a live-in husband was perfectly defensible... Whichever path she took, it would be better than marrying into the Jining Marquisate!
He could not help smiling. "Young lady, wait for me a moment." With that, he walked straight out of the hall.
Dou Yan waited in the hall, curious.
Before long, Chen Yanzhou returned.
He wore a half-worn felt hat, his head drooping, his body hunched, dressed in a ragged cotton robe, the corners of his eyes turned down, his hands tucked into his sleeves—the very picture of a down-and-out scholar in reduced circumstances. Not a trace remained of the refined, vigorous man of a moment before!
Dou Yan was struck dumb.
Chen Yanzhou straightened up, and at once he was himself again, glowing with spirit and vigor.
"Well?" he said with a smile. "My little trick isn't bad, is it? I learned it years ago from a street performer. I guarantee no one in the Ying Duke of Zhenguo's household will recognize me. And even if they did, they would only think I had fallen on hard times after leaving the Duke's household and taken to the streets—they would never connect me with the matter of that time."
Dou Yan could not help laughing.
She asked Chen Yanzhou, "What clever plan do you have?"
Chen Yanzhou knew she had yielded. "What was your original plan, young lady?" he asked with a smile.
Since she had entrusted the matter to Chen Yanzhou, she ought to be frank with him.
Dou Yan weighed her words. "Wei Wan is greedy, and the two old women about her, Granny Jin and Granny Lü, both have her ear—and the two have long been at odds. If we can make good use of the strife between them, and spread some rumor that my horoscope clashes with Wei Fan's and the like, the matter will go twice as smoothly."
"An excellent scheme." Chen Yanzhou looked at Dou Yan with a smile, nodding again and again.
On this matter the two were of one mind without having to consult.
"I shall set out for the capital as soon as may be," Chen Yanzhou said with a smile. "In a few months the Marquis of Jining will be out of mourning, and some things must be planned well in advance." With him in the capital, he would never let the matter slip beyond control. He paused. "Only, this affair touches the women of the inner quarters. I should like to borrow someone from you, young lady."
Dou Xin said, "You mean Suxin?"
Chen Yanzhou shook his head. "I want to borrow Hong Gu."
Dou Yan was slightly taken aback.
Chen Yanzhou put it tactfully. "Only because Hong Gu is older and can talk more easily with those old women, and her plain appearance makes her easier to believe. If the one speaking looks too sharp and capable, it only invites suspicion."
To put it plainly, they were counting on Hong Gu's looking like a rustic countrywoman—those old women, who fancied themselves servants of a marquisate and a ducal household and thus far above her in experience, would be less on their guard against her, making it easier to lead them into the trap.
"Only, Aunt Cui..."
"Rest easy, miss," Chen Yanzhou said with a confident smile. "I've only asked Hong Gu to put in a few words at the crucial moment—I'm not sending her to break off the engagement."
Even if a few traces were to slip out, Wei Wan knew that if she schemed against Wei Fan this way, his love for his younger sister would make him break off the match even at the cost of his life—only then the blame for breaking the engagement would fall on her own shoulders. Either way, the goal would be reached all the same.
Dou Chi hesitated a while longer, then nodded. "Then I'll trouble you, Old Chen."
Chen Yanzhou made a few polite demurrals, then discussed the details with Dou Yan with a smile and set about preparing for the journey to the capital.