Chapter 294 — Claiming the Reward

Song Yan pulled out the letter and skimmed it. It was full of reproaches, and only at the very end did his father ask how matters stood now. Suddenly he thought of how Dou Yan had seized the tally in the midst of the chaos, and something stirred in his mind. He wrote back to Song Cen, saying that in the past it had all been his own fault for being so narrow-minded, carrying only Yizhi Hall in his heart and forgetting that Yizhi Hall was but a part of the Yingzhen Ducal Estate. Now, having heard his father's teachings, he had reflected deeply on his errors and resolved to shoulder the responsibilities of the Heir of the Yingzhen Ducal Estate—to exercise the Duke of Ying's authority in his father's absence. He went on to report, point by point, that he had ordered Tao Jun to repair the burned buildings within fifteen days, that he had temporarily set aside fifty thousand taels as a reward for the capture of the thieves who had broken into the estate, which the Emperor had endorsed, and that he had obtained from His Majesty's own hand three places in the Imperial Guard, and so forth—all told to Song Cen in full. Then he instructed Song Cen's courier: "Six hundred li by express, day and night without pause—put it in the Duke's hands at once."

This was truly pouring oil on the fire!

Even a seasoned strategist like Yan Che could not help wiping the sweat from his brow, let alone anyone else. Only Gu Yu, who never feared a stage too high for the drama, asked with a grin, "Brother Tianci, those men are mostly after those three Imperial Guard places, aren't they? If those three places were gone, they probably wouldn't be half so eager. Are we really just going to let those thieves off?"

"In two months, the Shuntian Jing'an City Garrison will have to give the Emperor an accounting," Song Yan said mildly. "If we keep offering a heavy reward, aren't we putting Magistrate Huang and the Earl of Donglin in a difficult spot?"

"That's true!" Gu Yu scratched his head and laughed. "The Garrison's men are already saying all the thieves have been caught. If we're still posting rewards, it's as good as accusing the Earl of Donglin and Magistrate Huang of killing innocents to claim credit. If the Emperor hears of it, they're finished." At this he opened his eyes wide. "Brother Tianci, what about the reward money? We can't just hand it over to the Shuntian Jing'an City Garrison for nothing, letting Huang Qi and Zhou Shaochuan play the good men, can we?"

"If they dare come to claim the reward, then I dare to keep offering it," Song Yan said proudly. "I've already given them a way out. If they won't take it and instead try to climb higher on the pole, they can't blame me for showing no mercy!" He added, "That way, both the lawful and the lawless will know exactly what's going on. We'll stage another little scene—have someone deliver a thief's corpse—and we'll pay out the silver according to the reward as before. When the time comes, there will be men eager to help me hunt the thieves down. Anyone who dares set his sights on the Yingzhen Ducal Estate had better be ready to be hunted for the rest of his life." He turned to Xia Lian. "Spread that word of mine."

Xia Lian answered reverently that it would be done.

When Huang Qi and the Earl of Donglin got wind of it, they breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Song Yantang may be a bit reckless, but he does know where to draw the line!" the Earl of Donglin said to Huang Qi with feeling. "I say let the Yingzhen Ducal Estate handle this reward business. Didn't the Emperor himself grant the Heir of the Duke of Ying three banners as a mark of favor?"

The implication was that since even the Emperor approved of what Song Yan had done, he should not cling stubbornly to his own views.

Huang Qi smiled bitterly.

Matters had come to this pass. What good would it do to object?

"Then let's send more men to patrol around the Yingzhen Ducal Estate," Huang Qi said. "If anyone starts quarreling over the reward, we can lend the estate a hand."

Song Yan did not much care. He instructed Zi Aifeng: "Those runners guarding the estate gates—give them one midday meal a day."

Zi Aifeng answered reverently that it would be done.

The men of the Shuntian Jing'an City Garrison cheered.

From time to time, word of the thieves came in.

Song Yan left the matter to Yan Che and Xia Lian, while he himself spent his days at home practicing calligraphy.

Dou Yan asked him, "Is it all right for you not to go to the palace?"

Song Yan said, "Aren't I helping the Shuntian Jing'an City Garrison track down the thieves?"

Dou Yan burst out laughing.

Song Yan took her hand. "Are your affairs all settled?"

Dou Yan had formally taken charge of the household affairs of the Yingzhen Ducal Estate.

"It's nothing but firewood, rice, oil, and salt," Dou Yan said. "Very simple."

Song Yan smiled faintly.

With Dou Zhiwei's intelligence, such things were perhaps truly easy for her.

He said, "It's chrysanthemum-viewing season again. If you have time this afternoon, I'll take you to the flower market at Fengtai for a stroll! Who knows, you might find a chrysanthemum you like. We'll buy it and bring it home—next year your flower beds will have a few more varieties."

Rare chrysanthemum varieties were not so easily come by. But Song Yan was in high spirits. Dou Yan, unwilling to dampen them, thought she would simply treat it as an outing to cheer him up, and agreed with a smile. The two of them, with light baggage and few attendants, went to the flower market at Fengtai.

Those flower growers were used to dealing with wealthy families. Though they did not recognize Song Yan and Dou Yan, they saw that one wore court boots of fine calfskin and the other a pair of southern pearl earrings the size of lotus seeds, and that both bore themselves with uncommon distinction. Knowing these were no ordinary folk, they attended them with great care and brought out the finest chrysanthemums they had.

To Dou Yan, however, they seemed quite ordinary—not to be compared with the flowers and plants she had left behind in Zhending. She looked them over casually and bought a few pots for amusement's sake.

Song Yan could tell none of these pleased her. He drew a flower grower aside and asked, "If plants are transplanted at this time of year, will they live?"

"That depends on what kind of plant it is," said the grower, a man of about forty with an honest, homely face. "If it's hosta or snapdragon, it doesn't matter—they're sown in autumn and bloom in spring. But morning glory or marigold won't do. Those are sown in spring and bloom in summer..."

"Ah!" Song Yan had not known there was so much learning in growing flowers, and he found the man's speech and manner refreshingly straightforward. He asked him to keep an eye out for rare plants. "My wife is very fond of tending flowers and plants. When you find some, just deliver them to the Yingzhen Ducal Estate."

The grower was astonished and overjoyed, and stammered his assent again and again.

Song Yan and Dou Yan returned to the Yingzhen Ducal Estate.

Song Cen's courier was waiting for Song Yan.

Hearing that Song Yan had returned, he went at once to Yizhi Hall to seek an audience.