Chapter 257 — Inquiries

Someone in the teahouse gave a snort of laughter and said, "The old gentleman must have come from Lingbi County, eh? Don't go listening to the nonsense the Pang family spreads. That woman Wang was nothing but a concubine raised to wife. True, she is the daughter of Wang Yousheng, but in those years Wang Yousheng was down on his luck—how could he look after his children? This Wang woman had no upbringing. Even raised to wife, she remained a person who cannot be presented in polite company. The household accounts could only be set straight if the Dou Fourth Miss stepped forward. And how old was the Dou Fourth Miss then? How could a market woman like Wang tolerate her? But the Dou Fourth Miss had been schooled in her family's traditions from childhood—how could she stoop to Wang's level? So she asked leave to study under the Dou Sixth Madam, and seldom returned to the West Dou. That is why, when the Dou Fourth Miss came of age, the Ji family sent someone to congratulate her—the Sixth Madam treated the Dou Fourth Miss as her own, and so the Ji family treated her as a young lady of their own connection. Wang schemed and schemed, never imagining that driving the Dou Fourth Miss from the house would win the girl another family to support her. And the Ji family of Yixing is no ordinary house. They have produced two imperial tutors, and even now seven or eight of their jinshi hold office in the capital. How can the Wang family, commoners that they are, compare? It is just as the saying goes: man proposes, Heaven disposes. And serve that Wang woman right for not bearing a son."

That last remark was so venomous that Tao Jun was greatly startled, and he could not help studying the speaker closely, while in his heart he turned over the matter of the Ji family of Yixing.

By his recollection, only six of the Ji family had ever entered officialdom.

The man's words were somewhat exaggerated, but not altogether wide of the mark.

So what he said was not wholly fabricated.

Could it be that he himself had erred?

The thought that had been vaguely haunting the back of his mind these many days broke free of its cocoon, and Tao Jun's heart trembled, while into his mind there suddenly rose the image of Song...

Could it be that...

No, no, no!

Impossible!

If it had to do with the heir apparent, then how had the heir apparent come to know the Dou Fourth Miss?

But if it had nothing to do with the heir apparent, then why, for no reason at all, would the Dou family stage this exchange of sisters in marriage?

Tao Jun's mind was in a turmoil.

Beside him someone whispered, "That one cursing Wang—isn't he a steward of the Lang family?"

"He's the attendant of the Lang family's Fifteenth Madam."

"So that's it!"

"Have you heard the latest? The Pang family's pawnshop took in a purple-gold laughing Buddha with a fat belly last time. And it turned out to be a fake! The Pang family lost over eight hundred taels of silver and went running to the county office crying for justice, saying the Lang family's Fifteenth Madam had cheated them."

Everyone snickered, their faces all wearing a knowing, "you know and I know" sort of ambiguity.

"You looked over your own family's tribute with your own eyes and failed to spot it—whose fault is that?" someone said. "What did the magistrate say?"

"What could the magistrate say?" the man said with a laugh. "Cash and goods are checked on the spot. You didn't notice then; now you cry foul. Never mind a young gentleman of the Zhu family passing the provincial examination—even if it were some poor household, there'd be no grounds to haul a man in for a lawsuit. The Pang family, living off the Wang family's scraps—do they really think the Zhending County yamen runs at their beck and call?"

Someone questioned him: "Could there have been a mistake? Going to the magistrate himself over a mere eight hundred taels?"

"Why would I lie to you? The Pang family isn't what it was. Ever since that Pang Kunbai was mistaken for a highwayman by the guards around the Dou family's Fourth Miss and beaten half-paralyzed, the Pang family has been dogged by bad luck—every venture they touch loses money, worse each year. Otherwise, with the old master Pang still alive, why would the three Pang brothers be fighting and squabbling to divide the household?"

"Have you heard this, then?" another put in quietly. "I hear the Pang family's married-out daughter got fed up with them forever pestering her and let it be known: the Pangs are the Pangs, and she is herself. From now on, keep her out of Pang family business..."

Everyone whispered among themselves.

Tao Jun's face went blank.

The Pang and Dou families were in-laws, and yet a Pang had been mistaken for a highwayman by the guards around the Dou family's Fourth Miss—beaten half-paralyzed, no less... Could such a misunderstanding really happen?

He could not help shuddering. Coming back to himself, he hurriedly signaled his attendant to settle the bill, and slipped quietly out of the teahouse.

A cold wind blew up, whirling withered yellow leaves against his feet; he could not help tucking both hands into his sleeves.

This was Zhending County, not the Dou estate. He refused to believe he couldn't find out what sort of person the Dou family's Fourth Miss was.

Unreconciled, Tao Jun led his attendant wandering aimlessly through the streets and lanes, until he came upon a general store that also sold tea. Presiding over it was a woman past fifty with a somewhat sharp, unkind face, idly cracking melon seeds.

He thought a moment, went in, tossed down two taels of silver, and ordered two cups of scented tea.

The old woman knew a big spender when she saw one; her eyes lit up, and she obligingly brought over two pieces of cake and a small dish of melon seeds.

Tao Jun asked her: "Would you know the way to the residence of the Dou family—His Excellency the Minister of Justice and Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall?"

The old woman gave a chuckling laugh, eyeing Tao Jun as though he were a fine slab of fat meat. "The old gentleman's come to present gifts to the Dou family, has he? A pity the Second Madam is away from home—it's the Dou family's Third Master who manages affairs now. I'll tell you this: here in Zhending County, there's nothing I don't know..."

Dou Qizhong pressed several pieces of broken silver, three or four taels' worth, into the old woman's hand.

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Dear sisters and brothers who read this, my apologies—here is the belated update for June 23rd.

I'll keep writing today's update shortly, though it may be delayed until around midnight—best to read it tomorrow morning!

o(n_n)o~

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