Chapter 195 — Changes

Seeing the look on Wei Fan's face, Dou Yan could only sigh.

In both this life and the last, he had rarely been one to use his head.

Dou Yan had no choice but to say, "Everyone's spirits are low just now. If we try to settle on a wedding date at a time like this, I fear nothing good will come of the discussion. Fortunately, we've only agreed on a date by word of mouth and haven't sent out formal invitations yet. Better to put the wedding off for a while and wait until both families are calm again."

Indeed, his mother had summoned his elder sister home to discuss how to furnish the bridal chamber, and his sister had flown into a temper over whether to place a pair of sky-blue Ru-ware flower vases or a pair of fashionable famille-rose plum vases on the curio shelf. She had complained that the date had been set too hastily, leaving no time to prepare, and then turned on him for having agreed to meet Dou Ming at the Puji Temple—if not for that, the Wei and Dou families would long since have broken off the engagement, and she could have helped him court Wang Qingyuan of the Wang family. Now she was forced to go back on her word and sit down with the Dou family to renegotiate the date; not only was a match with the Wang family now out of the question, but all her pains to leak word of her whereabouts had been wasted...

At these thoughts, Wei Fan let out a long breath.

He did not want to break off the engagement, but with his sister forever finding fault with one thing or another, there was little he could do.

Putting the date off was probably for the best—at least it would spare him her constant fretting and carping.

Wei Fan smiled and nodded, saying, "All right."

Seeing him so carefree and guileless, Dou Yan could not help shaking her head. She wanted to advise him—something along the lines of "Rather than idling your days away, why not hire a master to teach you archery and horsemanship at home? The Emperor has always set great store by the autumn hunt; if you could place well, you might get into the Imperial Guard or the Fengtai Barracks, and your mother would no longer spend her days worrying over you"—but then she recalled how in her previous life she had urged Wei Fan to take part in the autumn hunt, only to have him mock her, saying, "My brother is at least a marquis; surely he needn't compete with men who don't even qualify as heir apparent for some petty post of squad leader or company commander in the Imperial Guard or the Banner Guard." Wei Fan had listened to his sister, and so had frittered away the better part of a lifetime in idleness.

She swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and asked Sulang to see him out.

But Sulang came back and reported, "I saw the Marquis out as far as the hanging-flower gate. I was just wondering whether to go to the kitchen and see if the midday meal was ready when I spotted the Marquis following an old serving woman back inside. I ducked behind a tree at once, and once they had gone some distance, I sent a little maid to follow. The maid says the Marquis went with that woman into the Fifth Young Lady's courtyard."

Dou Yan pressed her lips together and said nothing.

She truly believed that Wei Fan had no designs on Dou Ming—but she also truly believed that Wei Fan could never bring himself to refuse Dou Ming's tears.

Still, some things depended on one's own fate and fortune; no one else could hurry them along, however anxious they might be.

※※※※※

Back at the Locust Tree Lane residence, her Fifth Aunt was just seeing off guests at the head of her two daughters-in-law.

Dou Yan looked closely and saw that the guest being seen off was none other than the wife of Cai Bi—her Fifth Aunt's in-law relation and the mother of her tenth cousin's wife.

She stepped forward, dipped in a curtsey, and greeted her.

Mrs. Cai stepped forward and took her hand. "Oh my, Fourth Young Lady, you are far too polite." As she spoke, she looked Dou Yan up and down with a beaming smile, all warmth.

Dou Chi gave no sign of what she was thinking; she exchanged a few pleasantries with Mrs. Cai, then, together with her Fifth Aunt and her two cousins' wives, saw Mrs. Cai out.

Then Guo drew her aside and said quietly, "Mother invited Mrs. Cai over to discuss breaking off the engagement with the Wei family."

Dou Yan was startled.

Did her father know about this?

She thought of how a few days ago she had told her father she wanted to ask Wei Fan a couple of questions, and how he had advised her, saying things like "If something weighs on your mind, it's better to speak of it." How was it that in the space of a few days everything had changed so completely?

Dou Yan wanted to ask her father, but he seemed very busy, having been on night duty at the palace for several days running.

And Mrs. Cai was shuttling frequently back and forth between the Dou and Wei households.

Dou Yan soon ferreted out the news.

At first the Wei family refused to break off the engagement, so Mrs. Cai went to see Wei Wan. Wei Wan said a great deal—nothing more than: where had the Dou family been all this time? They had kept Wei Fan dangling for years, delaying his marriage; and now, after all this, to speak of breaking it off—where were the Wei family's face and dignity to go? She refused as well.

The Fifth Lady was taken aback, then gave a cold laugh and said to Mrs. Cai, "So they just want to squeeze a sum out of our Dou family, is that it? We haven't even taken them to task over the business with the Marquis of Jining, and now their family dares to put on airs with me! Since that's how it is, we'll set the matter aside for now and take it up again once everyone's temper has cooled."

Mrs. Cai smiled and agreed.

When word reached Song Yan that the Dou and Wei families would not hold the wedding for the time being and that the date was to be left undecided, he concluded that the Dou family still valued Dou Zhiwei, and could not help breathing a sigh of relief. Moreover, having heard from Dou Zhiwei that she had her own plans, he turned his mind to his own affairs.

Now that his mourning period was over, he had to secure himself an official post. That way, even if his father wanted to frame him, it would not be so easy.

The Emperor had previously mentioned the Banner Guard or the Fengtai Barracks—both fine places that the noble youths of the capital coveted. But for him, the Banner Guard's duties were too petty and vexatious, and the Fengtai Barracks required living in camp; neither suited his present circumstances. The best choice would be the Imperial Guard: it was the Emperor's own bodyguard, and yet he could slip away at any time when something required his attention.

Afraid that his father would learn his true intentions, Song Yan approached neither the Third Princess nor Gu Yu, but Wang Yuan, asking him to put in a word with the Emperor while he was in attendance—that he had completed his mourning, and had already submitted a memorial to the palace to express his gratitude for the bestowals made at the time of his mother's sacrificial rites.

The Emperor asked casually, "Has the Duke of Yingguo taken a new wife yet?"

"No," Wang Yuan said with a smile. "The Yingzhenguo Estate has only three men left in it now—I doubt there's so much as a female fly to be found."

The Emperor laughed heartily. After court was dismissed, he summoned Song Yan for an audience, and not only granted him the post of Right Commander of the Imperial Guard's Front Division, but also bestowed on him the courtesy name Yantang, saying, "Your father has only you two brothers, and your mother passed away early. Though you have not yet come of age, I shall grant you a courtesy name nonetheless. You must strive to do credit to it and uphold the name of the Yingzhenguo Estate."

When the news spread, Song Cen's face turned ashen.