Chapter 38 — The Ji Clan

Dou Yan lay with her chin propped on the windowsill, watching the sky slowly turn pale.

The maids who came in to help Ji shi rise were badly startled, and exclaimed in low voices, "Fourth Miss, whatever are you doing up so early?"

Ji shi, roused by the sound, quickly drew aside the plain white gauze curtain. "Shouyuan, if you were awake, why didn't you wake your Sixth Aunt?" She could not help covering her mouth to stifle a yawn as she spoke.

The night before, she and Dou Heng had talked deep into the night, settling the matter of Wang Xingyi's promotion.

Dou Heng, sound asleep until then, was startled awake as well. Blinking drowsily, he said, "Who was on watch last night? How is it that no one knew Shouyuan was awake?" Then, forcing himself to wake fully, he sat up. "At least Shouyuan is an obedient child. Had she wandered off somewhere, how would we ever answer to Seventh Brother?" He went on scolding Ji shi.

The one on night watch was the maid with almond eyes and peach-blossom cheeks called Cailan, a senior maid in Sixth Aunt's service. She herself could not think why, upon waking, Dou Yan had vanished from the green gauze cabinet where they had slept together.

"It was this slave on duty," she said, standing trembling at the head of Ji shi's bed. "This slave slept too heavily and never noticed Fourth Miss had woken."

When Sixth Uncle stayed in Sixth Aunt's chambers, it was she who served the night watch; for the most part, she was Sixth Uncle's chamber maid.

Dou Yan, turning this over in her mind, said with a grin, "I slipped out of bed very quietly—Sister Cailan never knew." Cailan, much relieved, looked at Dou Yan with eyes far gentler than the day before.

Ji shi scolded Cailan a few words and sent her off to rest.

The maids came in to help Ji shi, Dou Heng, and Dou Yan wash and dress.

"Why don't you sleep in the study these next few days?" Ji shi said. "Then I can arrange for Shouyuan's maids to keep watch at night."

Sixth Uncle was rather displeased. "I set out the day after tomorrow," he said.

Ji shi's face flushed faintly.

"Or else," said Sixth Uncle, "let Shouyuan sleep with Hui and the other boys?"

Hui was Sixth Uncle's eldest son.

"How could that do!" Ji shi objected. "Shouyuan has only just arrived, and to move her again so soon—she would be frightened."

"Then what do you propose?" Sixth Uncle was growing impatient.

Dou Yan longed to say, I am not frightened, I want a room of my own; but she could say nothing. She could only feign incomprehension and let the maids dress her.

"Then I shall go with you to the study," Sixth Aunt said quietly. "For now, let Shouyuan rest in the main chamber."

Sixth Uncle called for a maid: "Go and ask when the old gentleman of the West Branch took his leave."

The night before, the gathering at the Second Madam's had not broken up even by the time they had retired.

The maid answered and went. Another of Sixth Aunt's senior maids, named Caishe, directed the wives in laying out the morning meal. Two children with thick brows and large eyes came in, surrounded by maids and old nurses.

The elder was Hui, whose formal name was Dou Yong, nine years old this year; the younger, called Zhi by his milk name, had the formal name Dou Huaide, and was seven.

Dou Yan glanced at Dou Huaide.

In her former life, Dou Huaide had been the black sheep of the Dou clan.

While others studied, he stirred up trouble wherever he went; while others married and set up households, he ran off with the cousin from the Ji family who had married into their household; while others established their careers, he had long since taken to raising katydids in the Hanlin Academy—he was a notorious idler about the capital.

After paying his respects to his parents, Dou Huaide, ignoring his elder brother standing respectfully to one side, threw himself coquettishly into his mother's arms.

Ji shi smiled indulgently and drew her younger son away from her bosom. "You are already at your studies—no longer a little child. Mind your Fourth Sister doesn't laugh at you."

They had met the day before, and had gone together to Third Uncle's house for a meal. On the way, Dou Huaide had secretly tugged at her braid, and only desisted after a fierce glare from Dou Yong.

He paid it no mind. Crying "Fourth Sister!" at Dou Yan, he snuggled grinning into his mother's arms again.

Ji shi did not know whether to laugh or scold.

Dou Yan turned her face away.

She was thinking of her own two sons...

Meanwhile Sixth Uncle was questioning Dou Yong on his lessons. "What did the master teach yesterday?"

Dou Yong answered with great reverence: "The Master said: 'I do not grieve that men do not know me; I grieve that I do not know men.'"

"And how do you explain it?"

Dou Yong said: "That others do not know me does me no harm; but if I do not know others, then the worthy and the foolish are not distinguished, the good and the wicked not discerned, and that is enough to ruin one's affairs and one's self."

Sixth Uncle nodded in satisfaction, then looked toward Dou Huaide.

Dou Huaide obediently straightened his back.

Even so, Sixth Uncle's expression was somewhat grim. He asked in a low voice: "What did the master teach yesterday?"

"Su Mingyun, at twenty-seven, first roused himself to study books." He answered so swiftly that it was plain the words were thoroughly learned by heart.

"And how do you explain it?"

"We can wait until we are twenty-seven to study, and it will not be too late."

Sixth Uncle brought his hand down on the table with a loud smack, his face ashen.

Dou Yong lowered his head, his shoulders heaving in little jerks.

Dou Huaide looked to Ji shi as though begging for rescue.

Ji shi's face was even sterner than Dou Heng's.

Dou Huaide shrank back and answered meekly: "Su Mingyun, whose name was Su Xun, styled Lao Quan, a native of Meishan in Meizhou..."

Sixth Uncle's expression softened a little.

Just then the maid Sixth Uncle had sent earlier to make inquiries returned and reported: "They are still at it over at the Matriarch's."

Sixth Uncle was taken aback; he turned to Sixth Aunt and said, "I will go and have a look!"

"Won't you take your morning meal first?" Sixth Aunt said, but Sixth Uncle had already waved a hand and hurried out the door.

The faces of Dou Yong and Dou Huaide both relaxed; Dou Huaide fairly scrambled up onto a chair and waved to Dou Yan: "Come quick, Fourth Sister—there are chive pockets today! Our cook's chive pockets are delicious. She came with my mother from Yixing, and the ones she makes are nothing like Grandmother's or Third Aunt's—I'll bet you have never tasted the like."

Sixth Aunt was a southerner and had never taken to the kang table, so the Sixth Branch took all its meals at tables and chairs.

"Why must you carry on like a monkey, never still for a moment?" Ji shi scolded him, setting Dou Yan down on a round-backed chair before the table; then, fearing the child was not accustomed to it, she pointed out a maid to steady her.

Dou Huaide made a face at his mother.

Ji shi and Dou Yong both burst out laughing.

At the morning meal everyone observed the rule of "no speech at meals, no talk in bed," but their faces were bright with smiles and the mood was warm.

When the meal was done, the two brothers bowed respectfully to their mother and took their leave for the clan school.

Ji shi, for her part, took Dou Yan to pay her respects to the Second Matriarch.

Dou Yan gazed at the towering trees along the way and thought over what she had heard the night before.