Chapter 268 — Misunderstanding

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In those days he had already risen to be the second steward of Jifen Pavilion, and who would not have praised him for his boundless prospects? Then, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the Third Master of the Dou family had assigned him to help the Fourth Miss of the Dou family manage a tiny shop selling brushes, ink, and paper.

Everyone knew the Third Master thought highly of him, so while offering congratulations, they pitied him all the more; those who did not know assumed he must have done something wrong, and so they either wore looks of gloating or stopped short with words unspoken, which left him thoroughly dejected for several years.

But now the Fourth Miss of the Dou family had married the heir of the Ying Duke's estate, and his backbone had straightened completely.

And what an estate it was—the Ying Duke's!

A house of high officials, its imperial favor undiminished for a hundred years!

What he managed was the property of the heir's wife of the Duke of Ying!

If he worked hard, once the Fourth Miss of the Dou family bore a legitimate son, he might even become a steward of the Ying Duke's estate!

At these thoughts, Fan Wenshu's heart grew hot, and he devoted himself all the more diligently to the shop's affairs. These past few days he had even been weighing whether to propose to Dou Yan that they find a way to acquire the neighboring shop, and in addition to the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone trade, add some exquisite little scholar's treasures, perhaps even packaged in all manner of boxes and made into gift sets for people to give as presents.

So when he suddenly heard that Chen Yanzhou's carriage was parked outside the shop, he was greatly startled and hurried out to welcome him.

He did not see Cui Min or Tian Fugui.

Fan Wenshu could not help muttering a few words to himself.

After all, they were under one roof, and though he had never spoken of it to anyone, he knew perfectly well in his heart what business Cui Min and Tian Fugui were engaged in and at whose behest. It was no proper trade; he disapproved and pretended not to know, yet he understood full well that Cui Min and Tian Fugui were Dou Zhiwei's trusted men. But he did not wish to be shut out on that account either. Hence he had always been most attentive to Chen Yanzhou.

Having rushed back and forth between the capital and Zhending for days on end, the aged Chen Yanzhou was thoroughly weary. He let Fan Wenshu help him inside: "Matters at home are more or less arranged, but there are still some things that require the Fourth Miss's decision. I feared they might not relay the message clearly, so I decided to come in person."

Surely the matter was not so simple as that?

Fan Wenshu muttered inwardly.

But he had resolved since childhood to be a proper steward and had long ago decided not to throw in his lot with Cui Min. So he smiled and said a few words about how he had put the old gentleman to trouble, and asked nothing else. Once he had settled Chen Yanzhou, he returned to his own little counting room, cramped as a peck-measure.

Chen Yanzhou washed and changed, then leaned back on the heated kang by the window to read, waiting for Yan Che. But as he read, a wave of drowsiness came over him, and he dozed off in a haze, until the servant boy called out, "Old Master Chen, Mr. Yan is here!" At that he gave a start and woke with a jolt.

The room was pitch dark.

He could not help asking, "What hour is it now?"

The servant boy answered, "Two quarters past the hour of you have just gone by."

Chen Yanzhou gave a sound of acknowledgment, sighed, and rose to straighten his collar.

He was old after all—to have dozed off at such an hour. It seemed he would likely spend his old age in the capital.

Still, with Dou Yan here, and a crowd of old friends, this was not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps he might even live to see Dou Zhiwei's child born.

Smiling, he came out of the inner room.

Yan Che had come alone, wearing a robe of fine blue cloth and a black Anding cap. At first glance he looked like a tutor kept by some great household, dressed most plainly, with the air of one who did not wish to be noticed.

But Chen Yanzhou's heart gave a lurch.

The more it was so, the more it showed that what Yan Che had come to say was grave indeed.

Without betraying anything in his expression, he smiled and exchanged greetings with Yan Che, then went with him to the study. They sat down, host and guest in their places, and when the servant boy had brought tea and refreshments, he ordered the boy to keep watch outside: "Do not let anyone disturb Mr. Yan and me." Only then did he lift his teacup, take a sip, and say, "What is it that made you summon me here in such haste?"

Yan Che looked warily to left and right, then listened carefully. Finding no unusual sound, he hesitated a moment, leaned in close to Chen Yanzhou's ear, and said two sentences in a low voice.

Chen Yanzhou drew in a sharp breath, his eyes round as brass bells, and said urgently, "Is this true?"

"Would I deceive you?" Yan Che said, with a faint bitter smile. "If you do not believe me, you may ask the Bie sisters who serve the lady."

"How could this be?" Chen Yanzhou rubbed his hands together and asked Yan Che, "Then what was the business with the double congratulations that night?"

Yan Che said awkwardly, "The heir instructed me to help... arrange a little something."

"How could you be so foolish!" Chen Yanzhou sprang to his feet with a thud. "Is that a thing one can arrange? Now you see the consequences? On the wedding night, since they could be in such harmony, who can ever question what passes between them afterward?" He paced the room in agitation.

If a year or two passed and Dou Yan still bore no child, would she not become the target of gossip and pointing fingers?

The pressing thing now was to determine whether this was Dou Zhiwei's doing or Song Zhi's.

If it was Dou Zhiwei's doing, then so be it. But if it was Song Zhi's... A cold gleam flashed in Chen Yanzhou's eyes.

Yan Che knew this as well as anyone.

Yet at this moment he felt himself more wronged than Dou E herself.

"The heir goes to Zhending to see the lady every few days," he could not help murmuring. "Before the marriage he also secretly went to the Huai Shu Lane to visit her. When the heir instructed me, I thought the heir and the lady... broke out in a cold sweat, and had no time to think it through. Later, when there was no sign between them, I assumed the lady was with child and began casting about for some pretext to gloss it over... only then did I reckon the days did not add up, and there was nothing unusual in the lady's diet either... Since they had already been together before, and now after the marriage they each went their own way, that was when I realized something was wrong, and had no choice but to ask you here to discuss it..."

Chen Yanzhou flew into a rage: "It is your heir who has no regard for the rules! Climbing over walls in the dead of night, and you dare lay the blame at our young lady's door! Your heir has never kept a woman in his chambers—perhaps it is he who is incapable, and so he thought up this shameful scheme, leaving our young lady now neither fish nor fowl in the eyes of the world..."