Chapter 400 — Resistance
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
Tomorrow was the day Jiang Ling was to be married. Today the Wu family had come to press for the bride, and Fourth Madam Jiang had been busy the whole day through. Why, instead of resting at home and stealing a few last intimate words with Jiang Ling, had she suddenly come looking for Dou Yan?
Dou Yan swallowed her surprise and received Fourth Madam Jiang in the sitting room of the main house.
Fourth Madam Jiang looked ill at ease. She held her teacup in her hands for a long while, then said abruptly, "Madam has never met anyone of the Mei family, I suppose?" And without waiting for an answer she went on, "My mother-in-law's grandfather once served as Commander-in-Chief of Yunnan. His troops were routed, and the family was confiscated and sent into exile. By then my mother-in-law had already married into the Duke of Dingguo's household, and so escaped being registered as a slave. But the misery of the women of her natal house she saw with her own eyes.
"So when my eldest uncle-in-law was convicted, my mother-in-law had arsenic prepared at once, and said to us: better to die clean than live in shame — at least one leaves a good name behind in the world.
"Now my mother-in-law is gone, and we, her daughters-in-law, admire her more than ever.
"If the Dingguo household had not its name for loyalty to the sovereign and love of the realm, if it had not its tradition of steadfast fidelity and fierce integrity, how would the Jiang family, fallen as we are, ever find shelter under another's roof and keep this last resting place of ours!" As she spoke she drew a small box of purple sandalwood from her sleeve and handed it to Dou Yan. "I beg Madam to return this to the Second Lord, and to carry a message to him as well: however little the Jiang girls may amount to, we do not give them to men as concubines!" With that she rose, made Dou Yan a slight curtsey, and walked out.
That retreating back was held perfectly straight.
Dou Yan was struck dumb, and it was some time before she understood what Fourth Madam Jiang had said.
"Fourth Aunt, wait." Clutching the sandalwood box, she hurried after her. "I hardly know what to say, but the Heir is a man you watched grow up. You must know his character, and how he has dealt with the Jiang family. Neither he nor I have the slightest intention of demeaning our two cousins. I beg Fourth Aunt to calm her anger, and let the Heir and me get to the bottom of this before we come to apologize."
"I am not blaming you." Fourth Madam Jiang's face darkened, and she gave a long sigh. "If I bore you a grudge, I would not have come today. Perhaps the Second Lord means well. But we Jiangs have our dignity, and we Jiangs have our way of living. There are things we do, and things we will not do. I ask Madam to convey my meaning to the Second Lord, and to tell him not to come again. We return to Haozhou in a few days in any case. It will save him the delay to his studies, and save the Duke any displeasure."
What more could Dou Yan say?
She could only murmur her assent and see Fourth Madam Jiang out with the utmost respect.
But the moment Fourth Madam Jiang was out the gate, her brows went up, and she asked the old woman who kept the second gate, "Has the Second Lord come back?"
The old woman came forward beaming to greet Dou Yan, and answered respectfully, "The Second Lord returned half an hour ago."
Dou Yan gave a cold laugh and went to Song Yan's study.
Because Jiang Ling was to be married the next day, he had taken a day's leave and come home early; he was in the study talking with Chen Yanzhou and Song Shize.
Seeing Dou Yan stalk in with a face like ice, Chen Yanzhou and Song Shize tactfully withdrew.
Dou Yan told Song Yan about Fourth Madam Jiang's visit.
At the hearing, Song Yan was so angry that the veins at his temples stood out.
He opened the sandalwood box. Inside lay a pair of South Sea pearl earrings, each the size of a lotus seed.