Chapter 120 — The Conversation

Yan Che glanced at Song Yan, saw no objection, and said, "A censor impeached the Duke of Dingguo for slaughtering the innocent to claim false merit and for nurturing bandits to strengthen himself. Word reached us that the Emperor flew into a rage and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to escort the Duke back to the capital for trial by the Grand Court of Revision. Yet we cannot find the hand behind it. Our lady sensed something was amiss. It happened that the Fifth Master Jiang, without the knowledge of the Dowager Lady Jiang, had secretly taken a concubine who was with child and near her time, so our lady took it upon herself to hide her away. Three days ago an edict came down from the palace: the Duke of Dingguo, the Jiang Brigade Commander, and the Jiang Sub-Prefect were all to be called to account, and the Fifth Master Jiang was to be interrogated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Our lady went into the palace but could learn nothing at all, and fearing matters would only worsen, she ordered me to accompany the Young Master and hand this child over to a good friend of the Fifth Master Jiang to raise."

Song's third uncle served as a brigade commander, his fourth as a sub-prefect.

No wonder they had heard not a whisper of any of it.

Dou Yan said, "In other words, the edict has only just come down. The Duke of Yingguo is still in Fujian—so this is merely taking precautions against the storm?"

As good as saying they were worrying over nothing.

Yan Che mused, "The Emperor is a man who grows angrier the more courteously he speaks to you, and cares the less the more casually he speaks." Then, afraid Dou Yan would not follow, he put it delicately: "Our lady has always been on excellent terms with the Empress and the Empress Dowager. This time she went into the palace to plead with the Empress, but the Empress knew nothing of the affair and went out of her way to ask the Emperor. The Emperor said only that the Duke of Dingguo had been in Fujian a long while and held such power and station that envy was inevitable; that the sea winds of Fujian eat at a man, and that recalling him now would give him a chance to rest and recover for a few years..."

Among all the noble houses of dukes and ministers, the Yingzhenguo Duke's household was a little out of the ordinary.

Its founder, Song Wu, had been sworn brother to the founding Emperor, and later rose with him in arms, meeting his death on the battlefield. The posthumous son Song Wu left behind, Song Gong, was taken by the founding Emperor as his adopted son and granted the imperial surname. After the founding of the dynasty, the Emperor rewarded merit according to service, enfeoffed Song Gong as Duke of Yingguo, and—remembering that Song Wu had left but this one son—issued a special edict restoring him his original surname.

Thus the Yingzhenguo Duke's household stood unusually close to the imperial house.

When Emperor Taizong wished to depose the Crown Prince, it was the Duke of Yingguo who dissuaded him and preserved the Crown Prince.

When Emperor Renzong wished to depose the Empress and replace her with his favorite consort, Lady Wang, it was through the Duke of Yingguo that the Empress Dowager was persuaded.

When Emperor Wuzong, in his lust for war, squandered the treasury and then his own privy purse, it was the Duke of Yingguo who bore the blame. He sat ten years in the post of Commissioner of the Huai'an Salt Distribution and Transportation Office, and at last the Emperor Wuzong was free to begin building his own tomb.

One might say that before the Prince of Liao ascended the throne, every Duke of Yingguo had been the Emperor's confidant and favorite, trusted even beyond the imperial kinsmen. If the Duchess of Yingguo could go into the palace and learn nothing, one could well imagine how grave the matter was. Her former life had also proved that the Duchess's fears were entirely justified.

Yet at the thought that in her former life Song Yan had said the Jiang family had no heirs left, Dou Yan could not help asking, "Is the Tan family reliable?"

Everyone stared at Dou Yan in horror, and the ease that had been on Song Yan's face a moment before was gone.

"How do you know that?" Yan Che could not help asking, his voice drawn tight.

Dou Yan gave an awkward laugh.

She had long since resolved not to entangle herself too deeply, yet here she was, the words already out of her mouth.

She was simply too anxious for the infant in her arms!

In her former life, when Song Yan answered the Prince of Liao, he had said, "The Jiang family has no heirs left."

"After all, I am a native of Zhending," Dou Yan had no choice but to press on. "On reflection, the only ones with the means to take in this child are the Tan family of Tan Village. Just now the Duke of Dingguo's affair has only reached the stage of being called to account, and I could not help worrying, so I asked one question too many."

"Miss Dou the Fourth is not only quick-witted but far-sighted," Yan Che sighed, his tone sincere. "The one entrusted with the orphan was named by the Fifth Master Jiang himself..." The implication was that he did not know the man well either, and had his own worries.

"If the Tan family cannot be trusted, then there is no one who can!" Song Sui, who had not spoken all this while, cut Yan Che off, his tone light and his words few.

Yan Che bowed his head slightly.

Dou Yan could say nothing more. It struck her that Yan Che's every word, inside and out, had been of the Duchess of Yingguo, née Jiang, and not one of the Duke of Yingguo; so she steered the talk back to the Duke of Dingguo. "And what does the Duke of Yingguo say of the Duke of Dingguo's affair?"

Yan Che answered guardedly, "The situation is unclear as yet. Even if the Duke of Yingguo were to step forward and plead for him, he would need something concrete to go on."

Let his wife test the wind from the imperial house, and he would act as circumstance allowed.

Had she not known what happened in her former life, Dou Yan would have thought the Duke of Yingguo, Song Cen, had acted in the most natural and proper way imaginable; but judged by what came after, the Duke of Yingguo was plainly lacking in something.

The suspicions of two lifetimes churned within her, and Dou Yan could not breathe a word of them.

Those things had not happened in this life, and compared with the last, this life had already been turned upside down. In her former life at this time, for instance, Song Yan had been in Zhending while she was in the capital, and there had been no crossing of their paths at all. In this life, she had seized the initiative, saved her grandmother's life, and so remained in Zhending, where she met Song Yan; and because she had taken Chen Sishui as her adviser, she had been besieged by Song Yan in the country manor... What would come after, who dared say?

She composed her expression and said gravely, "I suspect the entrusting of the orphan is only part of your lady mother's plan. The crux is how to get the Duke of Dingguo out of danger. Might I ask what your lady mother intends?"

Yan Che glanced at Song Yan, saw him pursing his lips with no mind to speak, and said, "And what insight might Miss Dou the Fourth have?" His gaze held a hint of amusement, plainly thinking her remark rather presumptuous.

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Brothers and sisters, I'll catch the typos later.

o(n_n)o~

Still, given my current writing pace, an extra chapter is bound to be a little late...

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