Chapter 268 — Misunderstanding
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 2 of 4
Yan Che had come alone, wearing a robe of fine blue cloth and a black Anding cap. At first glance he looked like a tutor kept by some great household, dressed most plainly, with the air of one who did not wish to be noticed.
But Chen Yanzhou's heart gave a lurch.
The more it was so, the more it showed that what Yan Che had come to say was grave indeed.
Without betraying anything in his expression, he smiled and exchanged greetings with Yan Che, then went with him to the study. They sat down, host and guest in their places, and when the servant boy had brought tea and refreshments, he ordered the boy to keep watch outside: "Do not let anyone disturb Mr. Yan and me." Only then did he lift his teacup, take a sip, and say, "What is it that made you summon me here in such haste?"
Yan Che looked warily to left and right, then listened carefully. Finding no unusual sound, he hesitated a moment, leaned in close to Chen Yanzhou's ear, and said two sentences in a low voice.
Chen Yanzhou drew in a sharp breath, his eyes round as brass bells, and said urgently, "Is this true?"
"Would I deceive you?" Yan Che said, with a faint bitter smile. "If you do not believe me, you may ask the Bie sisters who serve the lady."
"How could this be?" Chen Yanzhou rubbed his hands together and asked Yan Che, "Then what was the business with the double congratulations that night?"
Yan Che said awkwardly, "The heir instructed me to help... arrange a little something."
"How could you be so foolish!" Chen Yanzhou sprang to his feet with a thud. "Is that a thing one can arrange? Now you see the consequences? On the wedding night, since they could be in such harmony, who can ever question what passes between them afterward?" He paced the room in agitation.
If a year or two passed and Dou Yan still bore no child, would she not become the target of gossip and pointing fingers?
The pressing thing now was to determine whether this was Dou Zhiwei's doing or Song Zhi's.
If it was Dou Zhiwei's doing, then so be it. But if it was Song Zhi's... A cold gleam flashed in Chen Yanzhou's eyes.
Yan Che knew this as well as anyone.
Yet at this moment he felt himself more wronged than Dou E herself.
"The heir goes to Zhending to see the lady every few days," he could not help murmuring. "Before the marriage he also secretly went to the Huai Shu Lane to visit her. When the heir instructed me, I thought the heir and the lady... broke out in a cold sweat, and had no time to think it through. Later, when there was no sign between them, I assumed the lady was with child and began casting about for some pretext to gloss it over... only then did I reckon the days did not add up, and there was nothing unusual in the lady's diet either... Since they had already been together before, and now after the marriage they each went their own way, that was when I realized something was wrong, and had no choice but to ask you here to discuss it..."
Chen Yanzhou flew into a rage: "It is your heir who has no regard for the rules! Climbing over walls in the dead of night, and you dare lay the blame at our young lady's door! Your heir has never kept a woman in his chambers—perhaps it is he who is incapable, and so he thought up this shameful scheme, leaving our young lady now neither fish nor fowl in the eyes of the world..."