Chapter 391 — Old Matters
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 4 of 4
"And because it was the old Duke of Zhenguo who had thought so little of the young woman's character that he would not let her into the mansion, Lady Jiang grew all the more confident of her ground. The Duke of Zhenguo, by contrast, seemed to feel a little guilty over the affair, and made himself small and meek before Lady Jiang. Especially after the Heir was born—when the Duke of Zhenguo was dragged down by the Earl of Guang'en, Lady Jiang was then carrying the Second Master, and she pled for the Duke of Zhenguo with her great belly before her; after that the Duke of Zhenguo was all the more obedient to Lady Jiang in every particular.
"The old Duke of Zhenguo watched and could only shake his head.
"But several attempts at persuasion came to nothing, and in the end there was no help for it: he entrusted the Ying Estate of Zhenguo to Lady Jiang, and left a few men behind for the Heir."
Dou Yan listened, dumbstruck.
He had not expected that Song Cen in his youth had done such a thing.
But what did this have to do with the rift between Song Cen and Song Yan?
Surely Song Cen would not, over one old affair, kill the wife who had shared his bed for more than ten years and the legitimate eldest son who would carry on the family line?
Was he capable of such depth of feeling?
It was far too unreasonable!
Even so, could Song Yan in his former life really have killed his father and his brother and cut off the line of the Ying Estate of Zhenguo, merely because Song Cen had caused Lady Jiang's death?
Dou Yan thought of those few maids in the Sixiang Court.
Could it be that Song Cen was by nature a lecher, who had all along been forcibly suppressing it because of Lady Jiang, until in time his mind had changed?
No, that was not right either!
By the old Duke of Zhenguo's own sound judgment, the Jiang family had always been in the habit of taking concubines freely, so Lady Jiang should hardly have minded such things. If Song Cen wished to take a beauty or two as concubines, Lady Jiang would not have stood in his way. What need had Song Cen to put on such an act?
Or was Lady Jiang unlike the rest, and having seen too much of the strife between wives and concubines, she particularly loathed the taking of concubines?
Dou Yan's head began to ache.
He had been better off not knowing; now that he knew, he only sank deeper into the old matters, and grew more bewildered still.
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Brothers and sisters, today is the Double Ninth Festival. Friends working away from home might do well to call and greet their parents.
o(n_n)o~