Chapter 186 — A Sleeve's Flick (Requesting Pink Tickets)
Purple Streets of Chang'an Page 1 of 2
What exactly was he after?
.
By any reasonable reckoning, if a man could meet an opponent worthy of him like Song Yan, he ought to be scheming first of all how to deal with Song Yan. Yet his thoughts never strayed from how to humiliate that worthless Wei Fan. His old quarrel with Song Yan had been pushed to the sidelines—if they met, then they would cross swords once more; if not, once he had finished with Wei Fan, he would free his hands and settle the score with Song Yan at leisure.
When had he turned into one who bullied the soft and feared the hard?
Ji Yong lay sprawled on the bamboo couch beneath the great locust tree in his own rear garden, staring up at the dense, lush canopy, his mind wandering.
Zishang came over on tiptoe and reported in a low voice, "Young Master, a Lord Yang from the Hanlin Academy has come to call."
Lord Yang meant Yang Yunxiao.
Over the past days, as Ji Yong made ready to spread rumors about Wei Fan, he had often gone drinking with Yang Yunxiao, Chen Zhiji, and their set, growing quite close to them.
But now, hearing Yang Yunxiao's name, he waved irritably and told Zishang, "Say I have been confined by my great-grandfather. I shall pay my respects at his residence another day."
Zishang went off with a woebegone face to give Yang Yunxiao the answer.
Zixi came over.
Ji Yong's brows were knit tight, and he was thoroughly out of patience: "What is it now?"
Zixi hurriedly said, "The Dou family's Fourth Miss has come to the capital with the Dou family's Grand Matriarch—"
"What did you say?" Ji Yong was dumbfounded, and then, overjoyed, he sprang up. "Truly? Fourth Sister has come to the capital?"
Zixi could not help smiling too. "It is true. A letter has already been sent over from the Great-Aunt's side."
The two families were joined by marriage. When the Second Matriarch came to the capital, propriety dictated that Ji Yong's mother and aunt should both go to pay their respects. By the same token, when Old Master Ji came to the capital, Dou Bingheng, Dou Huaiying, and the rest had all come to inquire after him.
Ji Yong stepped down from the couch. "Come, let us go and see Fourth Sister." And without waiting for Zixi's reply, he swept out of the garden like a gust of wind.
When Han-shi received the news, she was beside herself with alarm. After thinking it over, she went to Old Master Ji's courtyard.
Old Master Ji was painting in his study.
The eagle, its feathers somewhat sparse and worn, still had a gaze sharp as ever; its talons gripped the mountain rock beneath it, and its bearing remained commanding, with all the vigor of the saying "The old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li."
After hearing his daughter-in-law's tearful complaint, Old Master Ji set down his brush. He studied his painting at some length, then said, unhurried, "You say Jianming went to see the Dou family's Fourth Miss?"
"Yes!" Han-shi wiped her tears and choked out, "The moment he heard the Dou Fourth Miss had come to the capital, he ran out—there was no stopping him. The Great-Aunt said so too: the Dou Fourth Miss has come to the capital this time, and Jianming rushing about so heedlessly—if the Wei family should take it amiss, that would be trouble indeed! At worst Jianming will be impeached by the censors, and in time everyone will forget it. But what of the Dou Fourth Miss? Old Master, this time, whatever you say, you must take him in hand. Otherwise something truly dreadful will come of it." Then she said, "You said last time that you had plans for Jianming's marriage. Might I ask which family's daughter you have in mind? Is her temper good? What sort of character has she? Jianming is of an age to marry now. If the match suits, why not hold the wedding by the end of this year?"
"No hurry about the marriage. So long as Jianming has the ability, what kind of wife could he not win?" Old Master Ji chuckled, still in the same offhand tone. "Jianming has me, his uncle, and his father watching over him. What trouble could arise? His cousin has come, and he once studied at their house—it is only natural for him to go and pay a call. Even a censor could not impeach Jianming for that. Leave this matter alone. Even if you cannot trust Jianming, surely you can trust his aunt? If there were anything amiss between Jianming and the Fourth Miss, the Great-Aunt would have come knocking at our door before ever you noticed. Do not go imagining things and catching at shadows, and ruin your own son's reputation."
Han-shi's face flushed crimson.
Old Master Ji said, "There, now. Go and attend to your own affairs with an easy mind. This matter is in my hands."
Han-shi had no choice but to withdraw.
Old Master Ji, as though nothing had happened, went on with his painting, adding a few blades of grass to the rock beneath the eagle's talons.
Ji Yong made all haste to Locust Tree Lane.
Dou Yan was speaking with Dou Huaide: "Is Lingze staying at the Han household now, or the Ji household?"
Dou Huaide said, puzzled, "How should I know?"
Dou Yan was aghast.
Compared with her former life, Ji Lingze had merely had her wedding date postponed—so why should Dou Huaide know nothing at all about her now?
Could it be that she had inadvertently altered Ji Lingze's fate, and altered it for the worse?
A cold sweat broke out over her at once, and her face went white.
Dou Huaide could make neither head nor tail of it.
Just then a little maid came in to report that Ji Yong had come to visit Ji-shi.
Dou Huaide was overjoyed and, seizing Ji Yong, asked, "Where is Cousin Lingze now?"
Ji Yong was baffled. "At the Han household, of course. Why do you ask?"
Dou Huaide quickly pointed at Dou Yan. "It is Fourth Sister who wants to know."
By then Dou Yan had collected herself. Hearing that Ji Yong had come, she thought to herself, "I was just worrying that I had no excuse to go and see Ji Yong, and here he comes knocking at the door himself." Then, indignantly, she said, "The Han family are utterly shameless. Knowing full well that Han the Sixth is at death's door, they still sent someone to press for the wedding. And Grandfather too—one moment he says he means to put them off, and the next he has agreed to the Han family's people..."
Even as he spoke, a cough sounded at the doorway.
Dou Yan and the others looked over and saw Dou Yong and his wife standing there, their faces full of embarrassment.
Ji Yong gave a cold laugh, his gaze fixed straight upon Dou Yong's wife, Han-shi.
Han-shi, red-faced, dropped a curtsy and called him "Cousin," saying, "It is our Old Madam who dotes on Sixth Brother..."
"Enough!" Ji Yong cut her off mockingly. "Your household's Old Madam is now the Dou family's Second Matriarch. Since when has that old lady had the leisure to dote on Han the Sixth?"
Han-shi's face flushed so red it looked as though blood might drip from it.
Dou Yong, meanwhile, glared at Ji Yong and said, "Jianming, don't go picking bones out of a chicken's head." He was shielding Han-shi.
Han-shi cast Dou Yong a grateful glance.
Dou Huaide hurried to smooth things over. "Cousin Ji, what brings you to visit my mother today? She's just gone over to Fifth Aunt's place—something about discussing tomorrow's outing to the White Cloud Monastery with the Dowager, I believe. She should be back before long. Do sit for a while!"
Because of the Second Dowager's arrival, the members of the sixth branch generally kept to the Huai Tree Alley residence.
Ji Yong gave a cold snort and plunked himself down without ceremony.
Dou Yan felt as though she were dreaming; none of this matched anything she knew.
Su Xin, attending nearby, saw how poor Dou Yan's color was and hurried to brew a fresh cup of hot tea.
Dou Yan drank a few mouthfuls, and her color gradually improved. She rose and addressed Ji Yong, who had just sat down. "Cousin Ji, I have something to ask you. Could we speak alone in the courtyard for a few words?"