Chapter 22 — The Uncle

What the uncle and the grandfather said to each other, Dou Yan had no way of knowing, but when her uncle returned, his face was very grim.

"Ruifu," his wife greeted him anxiously, "what did the senior master say?"

"What good could possibly come out of his mouth!" her uncle sneered. The corner of his eye brushed past the heated kang, and there he saw Dou Yan sitting at the far end clutching a little velvet ball, her big eyes bright as morning stars, gazing at him with curiosity. His heart gave a pang; he thought of how Dou Duo was his niece's grandfather and Dou Huaiying her father, and the bitter words that had risen to his lips were swallowed back down. Fearing his expression might frighten Dou Yan, he forced out a smile and asked his wife gently, "Have the children all had their midday meal?"

"They've all eaten." Her aunt answered, and could not help following her husband's gaze to glance back at Dou Yan. Tears at once welled in her eyes. "This child—it's as if she knows her mother is gone. She doesn't cry, doesn't fuss; whatever I feed her, she eats… And before, she was the sort who'd turn her nose up at this and refuse that… How much more will she have to suffer from here on?"

Her uncle bowed his head in sorrow and said, "I was just wanting to discuss this matter with you…"

"Then say it." Her aunt took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes. "When I married into this house, Guqiu was only five… On our wedding night, she insisted on sleeping with me, saying she liked me as her elder sister… I raised her to sixteen, and then I myself saw her off in marriage to the Dou family. She was my sister-in-law, but more like my own daughter… Her affairs—you needn't consult me. Whatever you decide is what will be. I won't say a single word against it."

"Xiao'e!" Her uncle gripped his wife's hand in gratitude. "All these years, you've worked so hard!"

"We're husband and wife," her aunt said, her ears burning. "What need is there to speak of such things?" A little embarrassed, she sat down on the kang, settled Dou Yan on her lap, and coaxed her, "Your cousins have all gone to nap. Won't you take a nap too? Only after a nap will you have the strength to play with your cousins this afternoon. Don't you want to play with them?"

Dou Chu had been waiting all this time for her uncle to return.

Now that her uncle had something to say to her aunt, if she pretended to be asleep, surely the two of them would speak all the more freely.

Dou Yan gave a slight nod and yawned.

Her aunt helped her out of her little outer jacket, drew up a quilt to wrap her in, held her close and patted her gently. Then she called her own personal maid to pour hot tea for her uncle and instructed her, "The master and I have things to discuss. Keep watch outside."

The maid answered and withdrew.

Her uncle and aunt sat side by side on the kang, and he said, "I want to bring Shouyuan here to live with us for a good long while."

Dou Yan, her eyes shut, pricked up her ears.

Her aunt raised no objection at all. "With Shouyuan here, she'll be just the right company for Zhangru."

A flicker of relief passed through her uncle's eyes, and he mused aloud, "You said last time that Shouyuan was betrothed to the son of Sister Tian's family—was there a token?"

"There was." Her aunt answered while patting Dou Yan. "A mutton-fat jade bracelet that Sister Tian brought as part of her dowry when she married."

"Guqiu has only just passed; the Dou family likely hasn't had time to sort through her things yet." Her uncle lowered his voice. "Guqiu's belongings were always managed by Old Mrs. Yu. Send a trusted maid right away to find her quietly and get Shouyuan's betrothal token into our hands."

Her aunt was startled for a moment, but asked nothing; she called a maid in and gave her instructions.

Her uncle explained, "Now that Guqiu is gone, and the match between Shouyuan and the Wei family was never formally sealed with betrothal gifts, I fear there'll be trouble when the time comes. That Dou Huaiying is a fool—let a woman look at him a few times too many and he loses all sense of north and south…" Speaking of her father, her uncle grew agitated. "He doesn't even know his own weight in ounces! To count on him to decide Shouyuan's future—better to count on him dying soon! If he were dead, at least we could step in on Shouyuan's behalf openly and honorably…"

"Keep your voice down!" her aunt said hurriedly. "Careful you don't wake the child."

Her uncle leaned over to look at Dou Yan, and seeing her eyes closed, breathed a sigh of relief. His tone gradually softened. "If Shouyuan can find a good family in the future, then this matter need never be mentioned. But if there's no suitable match, with this token in hand, the Wei family will find it none too easy to break the engagement."

Dou Yan's eyes stung.

Her mother was dead, and she had become a "fatherless daughter, eldest of the house," one of no breeding or discipline. No family of any standing would want such a girl for a daughter-in-law.

Her uncle had thought of everything for her…

And suddenly it came back to her.

When her mother and her mother-in-law had exchanged tokens, she had thought herself dreaming and paid it no mind. In truth, in her previous life she had never seen any betrothal token before her marriage; it was on her wedding night that Wei Fan produced a jade pendant and a pair of bracelets, saying they were the tokens exchanged between the two families in those years. She had assumed her father had given them to the Wei family.

Could it be that in her previous life, this jade bracelet had been in her uncle's hands?

Her heart began to pound.

Her uncle's voice came to her ear, tinged with apology: "Xiao'e, I'm thinking of selling all the ancestral property… except for those thirty mu of sacrificial land!"

"Ah!" her aunt cried out. "Wh—why would you sell the ancestral property?"

Dou Yan was badly startled and peered at her uncle through slitted eyes.

Her uncle lowered his lids and said softly, "Xiao'e, you were a sheltered young lady of good family, your ten fingers never touching the water of household chores. But since marrying me, not only have you had to wait on a mother-in-law bedridden with paralysis and raise a young sister-in-law, but bear me sons and daughters, manage the household, and in the busy farming season go out to inspect the fields… Inside and out, everything rests on you… I remember it all… I had thought to study hard and win a degree, to earn you a phoenix crown and rosy cape of rank, to let you hold your head high for once… But with Guqiu's death on us, I cannot, for the sake of my own prospects, turn my back on my only sister… No jinshi, no Hanlin; no Hanlin, no Grand Secretariat… It is I who have failed you…"

"No, no." Her aunt spoke hastily, her eyes gone red. "You treat me well—I know it. After I bore Zhangru, my mother feared you would grow to dislike me, and went out of her way to have someone buy a pretty young girl in Jiangnan for you to bring home. You said you couldn't afford to keep her, and would not take her no matter what…"

Her uncle had the discomfited look of a man whose lie has been seen through. "Well, we couldn't afford it!" he said stubbornly.

Her aunt laughed openly, and meekly agreed with him: "Yes, yes, we couldn't afford it." Yet her tears fell pattering all the while.

Dou Zhiwei's tears nearly fell as well.

Her elegant, handsome uncle stood beside her aunt, who had grown stout in middle age—not like husband and wife, but like elder brother and younger sister, and a brother and sister at least five years apart in age.

Yet her uncle had never forgotten where he came from. He always remembered her aunt's goodness, and was never willing to make her unhappy.

"What need is there to speak of such things! Biru and the others are my own flesh and blood, no matter what." Her uncle said uncomfortably, and tossed a handkerchief to her aunt. "Quick, wipe your tears."