Chapter 173 — As If Lost
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 3 of 4
Song Yan was in high spirits at the sight of him and invited him to taste some tea.
Yet after only a few words of pleasantry, the conversation turned to Dou Zhiwei's marriage.
Chen Yanzhou admired Dou Yan above all for his ability to judge character.
Back at the estate, when Dou Yan had taken his leave of Song Yan with the utmost care—verging, even, on reverence—Chen Yanzhou had privately thought it excessive. What came to pass afterward confirmed, point by point, Dou Yan's wisdom.
He was now convinced that keeping a certain distance from Song Yan was entirely necessary, and so he had no intention whatsoever of disclosing the purpose of his visit.
"When the Seventh Madam returned last time, the Fourth Miss's dowry was already all but prepared—they were only waiting for the son-in-law to come out of mourning before fixing the date," Chen Yanzhou said. "Aunt Cui had us come ask you, Seventh Master: is the young lady to be married from Zhending or from the capital? Whom shall we invite to serve as the woman of full fortune? What customs do the great houses of the capital observe when marrying off a daughter? Are there any additions or omissions the young lady wishes made...? On and on it goes—two quarter-hours would not suffice merely to recount it all, to say nothing of the work of carrying it out." He smiled wryly, the picture of helplessness, and sighed. "Marrying is a truly troublesome business!"
"Is that so?" Song Yan felt a sudden sense of loss.
Once Dou Yan was married, the one in her heart, the one on her lips, would be Wei Fan... Were he to go see her again—however forthright she might be, however little Wei Fan might mind—it would surely be somewhat improper.
A sense of something lost came over him at once, and his interest flagged; he thought he had best go to the Third Imperial Son-in-Law's residence after all.
Ji Yong, however, was overjoyed to learn that Chen Yanzhou had come to the capital. He asked Zixi, "Is the news reliable?"
"Reliable!" Zixi said, striking his chest. "He's staying at the Fourth Miss's stationery shop, and a couple of days ago he paid calls on several of the Dou gentlemen. We spotted him today when he went to Daxing to visit a friend."
Ji Yong was greatly intrigued. "Did you find out who this friend of Chen Yanzhou's is?"
"We did," Zixi said. "The man is surnamed Yan, given name Yun, courtesy name Chaoqing. He is a retainer of the heir of the Ying Duke's household."
Ji Yong was much surprised. "A retainer of the Duke of Ying's heir... then they must have met in Fujian..." He thought of the rumors he had heard of late concerning the Ying Duke's household and could not help musing aloud, "Do you know what Chen Yanzhou has come to the capital for?"
"Word is he's here to discuss the Fourth Miss Dou's marriage with the Seventh Master of the Dou family," Zixi said. "The Marquis of Jining comes out of mourning in another two months."
Ji Yong could not help curling his lip. "Surely Dou Yan doesn't actually mean to marry this fellow named Wei?"
Zixi broke into a sweat and hastened to say, "This match was settled when the Fourth Miss Dou was a child. If she does not marry the Marquis of Jining, whom else could she marry? Was it not precisely on this account that the Dou family declined the He family's proposal?"
Ji Yong, however, went on as though speaking to himself: "I have always felt that Dou Yan would be getting far too poor a bargain in marrying this fellow named Wei..."
Having said it, he felt thoroughly uncomfortable, as though he had seen dust settle upon the spotless front of Dou Yan's gown—and unless that dust were brushed away, a thorn would lodge forever in his heart.
He flicked at his lapel. "Come, let us go see Chen Yanzhou."