Chapter 309 — A New Addition
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
Dou Yan naturally had no idea what had happened at the Jining Hou estate. The Dou sisters of Yandao and the Dou clan were already at odds, so she simply turned a blind eye to Dou Ming's absence. Everyone played cards and chatted merrily. As the sky gradually darkened, they stayed at the Heming Temple alley for supper.
Song Yan glanced at the sky and, seeing it was not right, came in to exchange a few words with Dou Yan, left a few guards behind, and rose to take his leave.
Dou Huaiying and the others personally escorted Song Yan to the main gate. The Sixth Aunt stayed behind to keep Dou Yan company, and the rest dispersed.
Lady Han's wet nurse could not help complaining: "You're about to give birth any day now, and yet the lady still has to keep Fourth Aunt company! Even if the Fourth Son-in-Law is the honored heir of the Zhenguo Duke, there's no need for this, surely!"
"Say no more nonsense!" Lady Han hissed, scolding the wet nurse. "Fourth Aunt was raised by Mother-in-law, as good as her own flesh and blood. It was even because of this that Seventh Uncle once wanted to adopt Twelfth Uncle over to the West Dou branch. If I hear such talk from you again, you'll go straight back to Huzhou."
The wet nurse murmured her assent.
Yet Lady Han secretly found it strange.
Her mother-in-law was not a muddled woman. No matter how much she doted on Dou Yan, she would never leave her side at a time like this to keep Dou Yan company.
What on earth had happened that she did not know about?
Lady Ji was speaking to Dou Yan about Dou Huaide, anxious and angry: "...His maternal grandmother suddenly fell ill, and his aunt needed to hurry back to the old home to nurse her. I had to look after Han and could not get away, so I told him to escort his aunt back to Yixing, and to inquire after his grandmother's illness on my behalf. Who would have thought that after he returned, he would be utterly out of sorts! I feared he had suffered some shock in Yixing, so I summoned the servants and maids who had gone with him to question them. Though all of them claimed to know nothing, the accounts they gave me were all exactly the same—only some had changed the order of events, some had said a few words less, some a few words more. The more I thought, the more suspicious I grew, and I quietly had careful watch kept on your Twelfth Brother's movements. Only then did I discover that every two days he secretly sends a letter to Yixing. I dared not intercept the letters, so I sent a trusted servant ahead to the dock at Yixing, to watch the men who serve your Twelfth Brother..." Here her face suddenly turned somewhat pale, and she was silent for a long while before she ground out in a low voice, "Those letters were being sent to Lingze—to Ji Lingze!"
Had she not lived two lives, Dou Yan would surely have sided with her Sixth Aunt and sought to nip the danger in the bud.
But she knew how loving and devoted the two had been in her previous life. She truly could not bring herself to be the one who struck the mandarin ducks apart.
"Sixth Aunt, calm yourself," she said, trying to smooth things over. "Perhaps this is not what you imagine! Think back—Cousin Ji used to write to me every few days as well!" No sooner had the words left her mouth than she knew she had misspoken. She looked at Lady Ji and indeed saw a look of embarrassment. But the words were already out; to explain further would only make it worse, and more awkward still. Dou Yan had no choice but to pretend she had never known of Ji Yong's feelings and went on, "Lingze is surpassingly clever; she excels in poetry, the qin, painting, and calligraphy. And Twelfth Brother is a lively, eager scholar. When he meets someone who understands him, naturally there is no end to the conversation..."