Chapter 348 — A Visit
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
Qixia found a place where no one was around, lifted her collar, and took a look.
Everyone in the Yingzhen Ducal Manor said the Second Master was amiable and mild. She dared not utter a word, and the next morning she had to accompany Song Han to Yizhi Hall to visit Dou Yan as though nothing had happened.
"So by next summer I'll have a nephew?" Song Han wore a dark green brocade robe that set off his face like polished jade, gentle and refined.
Dou Xin nodded and took out candied orange peel for him.
His eyes lit up, and he laughed. "Candied peel from Fujian! Didn't they say a great wind had struck Fujian, so that neither winter bamboo shoots nor candied orange peel could be had in the markets?"
"A while back I took a liking to sweet-and-sour things, so your brother had some sent all the way from Fujian," Dou Yan said. She had been vomiting for two months, and Song Yan had schemed every which way to get her to eat; she had not grown thin, but she had acquired the habit of nibbling a few snacks from time to time. Seeing how heartily Song Han ate, she took an orange from the lacquered box and peeled it.
Song Han said, "Everyone says sour for a boy, spicy for a girl. Sister-in-law, you're surely carrying a boy."
The arson case at the Yingzhen Ducal Manor had long since been closed. The Shuntian and Jing'an City Garrison's conclusion was that all the thieves had been brought to justice, and Song Yan had accepted that conclusion and returned Emperor Taizong's sword. He had begun keeping regular hours on duty with the Golden Guard, and every few days he would spend two nights in the palace.
Today was again a day for Song Yan to enter the palace. He had scarcely left when Song Han arrived on his heels. Song Han was fourteen this year and already taller than Dou Yan. By rights, Dou Yan ought to have withdrawn, but Song Han behaved as though no such rule existed and walked straight into the main chamber; and Dou Yan, having plans of her own, turned a blind eye and received him in the sitting room.
"I thank the Second Master for his kind words," Dou Xin said. "Your brother and I hope for a boy as well."
If she bore a son, Song Han would become the third in line to inherit. She was most curious to see what expression Song Han would wear.
"That would be splendid." Song Han beamed, looking delighted. "Then I can do for my nephew what my brother did for me when I was small—teach him martial arts, fly kites, skate on the ice..."
Dou Yan smiled with pursed lips and chatted with Song Han about household matters.
Qixia was invited by Suxin into the tea room for a cup of tea.
"I hear your wedding day is set for the twenty-second, and today is already the twentieth—why are you still on duty in the manor?" Qixia asked Suxin curiously, cradling the steaming cup of Longjing tea.
She was afraid the others would not ask the right questions.
Suxin muttered inwardly, but her smile was as gentle as ever. "The Madam bestowed a small three-courtyard house on me. I'll be married from Yizhi Hall and set up house there. My sister, along with Ganlu and Sujuan, have all gone over to fix up the bridal chamber. I'd rather stay by the Madam's side."
Qixia could not help opening her eyes wide. "You're to be married from Yizhi Hall?"
To be married out of one's master's house—
Suxin smiled and nodded.
She had thought it somewhat improper, but the Madam wanted her married from Yizhi Hall, and the heir had agreed as well, saying that Sulan too would be married off with her bridal sedan setting out from Yizhi Hall. She did not know how to express her gratitude; she knelt properly and kowtowed three times to the heir with a resounding knock.
"Then I truly congratulate you!" Qixia could not put a name to what she felt.
Word had gone round the manor that when the Madam's chief maid married, the Madam had given her two thousand taels of silver for her dowry. She had not believed it at all, but now it seemed it was true.