Chapter 171 — A Test
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
Wei Wan was thrown into a sudden fluster.
She asked the old wet nurse, "What else did the people from the Dou family say?"
"I couldn't tell whether the woman was honest or simply dull—it took three questions to get one answer out of her," the wet nurse said. "Even this much, she let slip by accident, and I happened to overhear it."
Wei Wan was greatly alarmed, and took the matter to her mother.
Tian shi was surprised as well. "That makes no sense—the Dou family could never fail to provide Dou Yan a dowry, and she should still have the private savings the Zhao shi left her. Why would she come all the way to the capital to demand a dowry on the very eve of her marriage?"
"That's just it—I find the whole thing very strange!" Hearing her mother say so only deepened Wei Wan's suspicions. "I think we ought to send someone to make careful inquiries..."
"Isn't that rather improper?" Tian shi hesitated. "Even if Dou Yan brings a great dowry, it has nothing to do with us..."
"Mother!" Wei Wan cut her off, a little exasperated. "Looking into Dou Zhiwei's dowry doesn't mean we intend to seize it—who wouldn't want to add flowers to brocade? If Dou Yan can bring more dowry, she'll have more to spend, and won't you be able to give her less? If she can leave some property to your grandsons and granddaughters, won't the children's lives be easier? Our family is thin in numbers, while the Dou family has many offspring. If Dou Yan stays close to her natal family, won't your son gain more people to lean on? But if she is cold and distant with her own kin, then this match will have no substance on either side—what would be the point of it?"
Tian shi was persuaded by her daughter. "Then help me look into it, will you?"
Wei Wan answered "Yes" rather dejectedly, and sent Granny Jin to investigate the matter of Dou Zhiwei.
Hong Gu returned to the brush shop uneasy at heart, and the moment she was through the door she drew Chen Yanzhou aside. "I said it just as you instructed... but if the Wei family takes it into their heads that the young lady has no dowry and turns up their noses at her, whatever will we do..."
Chen Yanzhou's face was already set before she had finished. "What kind of talk is that? So if our young lady has a dowry, the Wei family happily carries her home, and if she hasn't, they must break the engagement? If the Wei family is that sort, then better not to marry into it at all! I sent you precisely to test what sort of people the Wei family really are. A man fears choosing the wrong trade, a woman fears marrying the wrong man. Seventh Master is a man who takes no thought for anything, and Seventh Mistress even less—she is muddle-headed even about her own daughter's affairs, and there's no relying on either of them. If we don't keep our wits about us on the young lady's behalf, won't she suffer a great loss? Now that we know where the Wei family stands, we can plan our response—we can't have the young lady bear any grievance."
The speech struck home like a temple bell, and Hong Gu felt the weight of her responsibility. She volunteered to Chen Yanzhou: "Madam Wei herself is a most kindly person, and very courteous to me—it's that personal wet nurse of hers. Her eyes seem to hide needles when she looks at you. It was that wet nurse who was testing me."
"You see—one little test and it comes out!" Chen Yanzhou declared with righteous gravity. "Our young lady's future mother-in-law is a charitable sort, yet the people around her dare to test you. That shows Madam Wei doesn't keep a strict hand on her household and is easily swayed by soft words. It's the old saying: the King of Hell is easy to meet, but his little demons are hard to deal with. If our young lady marries in and wants to win her mother-in-law's favor, the first order of business will be to win over the people around Madam Wei."
Hong Gu thought Chen Yanzhou's words entirely reasonable, and nodded again and again.