Chapter 516 — The Ancestral Hall
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
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To carry oneself as Song Han did—that in itself was a kind of sorrow.
She said this for Song Yan to hear.
Song Yan gave a cold laugh. "He brought it on himself. Who else is there to blame? If he had told me about Mother back then, would I have gone to such lengths against him? No—even if he had been too afraid at first to speak of it, and only told me after I fell out with Father and he saw that I had gained the upper hand, I would not have pursued the matter. But he chose to feed me a few scraps of half-truths to lead me astray, and when I caught him at it he offered one excuse after another. Can you honestly say he had not a single scheme of his own?"
More likely a head full of schemes.
Dou Yan smiled bitterly.
Song Yan let out a long breath and said gently, "Let us not speak of him anymore—the moment his name comes up I lose all appetite for anything. I have already spoken with Magistrate Huang of Shuntian Prefecture; tomorrow morning Father can go with the Miao family and complete the formalities. Once the ancestral hall is opened, Song Han will get out of here at once—"
And after he gets out?
Dou Yan looked at Song Yan's face, cold as frost, and wisely did not ask. She let him help her to bed and rest.
Perhaps because a great stone had at last fallen from her heart, Dou Yan slept especially soundly. By the time she opened her eyes, the sun was already high, and Song Yan was no longer at her side.
She could not help scolding, "Why did none of you wake me?"
Miao Ruosu and Qixia were staying for the time being at Yizhi Hall—and today the ancestral hall was to be opened!
The one on duty was Ruozhu. She smiled and said, "It is not that we did not wish to wake you, but the Heir Apparent said you had been toiling hard these past days and told us not to disturb you." She added, "The Duke of the Realm and the Miao family went to Shuntian Prefecture and have not yet returned. The Second Madam took her morning meal and went to Miss Qixia's rooms; the two of them have been walking and talking by the lake all morning."
No doubt both of them had much to sigh over.
Dou Yan let Ruozhu attend her through breakfast, then went to look in on Yuanheng, who was playing on a seesaw in the back courtyard with the little maids, before she made her way to the rear garden.
Miao Ruosu spotted Dou Yan from afar. She whispered a few words to Qixia; Qixia glanced this way, and the two of them came over together.
Dou Yan asked them, "What do the two of you plan to do from now on?"
The Song family was not large, yet one of them was Song Han's wife and the other his serving woman, and they had actually borne witness against him in the ancestral hall. Their reputations were ruined. She hoped to do all she could to protect them.
Miao Zhi smiled and said, "Last night the young servant at my brother's side came to see me and told me everything the Heir Apparent had said. To leave the Ying Dingzhen Duke's Manor like this is already a blessing greater than heaven could grant me; as for anything more, I would not presume to ask." Then she teased, "In the past I had nothing at all, and still I married into the Ying Dingzhen Duke's Manor. Now I have land and a house, and the protection of the Heir Apparent and his lady—could it be that I shall live worse than before?"
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Qixia, for her part, wished to return to the Cui family estate in Zhending: "The Thirteenth Master told the people there that my husband died guarding the young lady of the house, so everyone treats me with great kindness, and I have grown used to rising with the sun and resting at dusk."