Chapter 260 — The Ninth Day

Dou Yan instructed Suxin, "If Mr. Tao returns..."

When ordinary people meet with such a thing, they react in one of two ways. One is to rise in fury and fight to the death, so long as the shame is washed away; the other is to tremble with fear and from then on take the long way round, like a blind man eating tangyuan, knowing well enough in his heart and letting that be that.

She had to judge which choice Tao Jun would make.

Suxin smiled and answered, "Yes."

A little maid came in and announced, "Madam, the First, Sixth, and Eleventh Sister-in-Law have come to see you."

Only then did Dou Yan remember that today was the ninth day since her marriage. By custom, on this day her natal family would bring food to visit her, as a token of their concern.

"Ask them to sit in the flower hall," Dou Yan told the little maid, and while Ganlu attended her in changing into clothes fit for receiving guests, she asked Suxin, "Still no word from the heir?"

Song Yan had entered the palace on the afternoon of the twenty-seventh of the eighth month, having agreed to serve two nights' watch and then return; yet to this day he had still not come out.

Dou Yan had been terribly worried at the time.

In marrying her, Song Yan had, after all, slapped the imperial family in the face. Though he had cleverly shifted the fault onto Song Cen's head, who could guarantee the Emperor would not visit his wrath upon them?

She at once ordered Wuyi to go and find out what he could.

Wuyi returned and reported, "The palace gates are closely guarded within and without. I saw Baoliu, the page who always attends the Heir of the Earl of Guang'en, also inquiring after news of the Earl's heir, but he was stopped at the gate. Even when Baoliu invoked the title of Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard it did him no good; he had no choice but to ask to see the Commander, Lord Shao Wenji. The soldier on duty gave a cold laugh at that, said they were of the Divine Pivot Camp, and asked Baoliu whether he would like to be taken to see their own Commander, Lord Wang. Baoliu went red in the face with anger, but had to withdraw in embarrassment. Seeing all this, I feared it would shame the heir's name to step forward and ask, so I slipped round by a side alley and got ahead of Baoliu, pretending to run into him by chance. Only thus did I learn that ever since the heir entered the palace, not only the men of the Imperial Guard but even those of the Standard-Bearer Guard have not been rotated out on duty; all of them are stationed inside the palace."

Dou Yan breathed a sigh of relief and asked Wuyi, "Does the heir often encounter such things?"

Wuyi scratched his head. "I was only transferred to serve at the heir's side three years ago. I don't know how it was before, but since I have been with him, this is already the second time."

Hearing this, Dou Yan's heart clenched again.

Twice in three years — which meant this was not a usual state of affairs.

She asked Wuyi, "When was the last time?"

Wuyi said, "Just before the heir's marriage." He recalled, "That is, in the middle of the eighth month, after the Emperor returned from the summer palace."

Dou Yan realized at once.

The Emperor might be ill!

In her last life, far removed from the center of power, she had heard the news of the Emperor's illness all at once. The Prince of Liao, in his extreme filial piety, begged to return to the capital to attend upon the sickbed, and Liang Jifen rejected the petition. The Crown Prince pleaded on his behalf, and only then was the Prince of Liao permitted to return. Then came the palace coup... They were all struck dumb, scarcely daring to breathe. The whole of Fugui Ward shut its doors to visitors; scarce a soul was seen, and it was like an empty city with no one in it.

After the Prince of Liao ascended the throne, there had been rumors in Fugui Ward that the Emperor had merely caught a slight chill, that there was no grave danger at all, and that the Prince of Liao had done him to death.

Now it seemed the rumors were false.

The Emperor was already ill even now.

Might this be one of the reasons the Prince of Liao dared to seize the throne?

What illness did the Emperor have?

In her last life, the Emperor had passed away ten months after the Prince of Liao ascended the throne.

Dou Yan's brows drew tight.

Since Yan Che was Song Yan's foremost adviser, he must know something of the truth.

As for the Emperor's illness — should she wait for Song Yan to return and ask him? Or should she go to Yan Che now and inquire into the matter?

Dou Yan was still hesitating.

A servant came in and announced, "There is an officer outside, saying he is of the Divine Pivot Camp and has brought a letter for you, madam, by order of the heir."

Dou Yan said, "Quickly ask Mr. Yan to help receive the guest."

The servant answered and went out.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Yan Che came in with the letter.

Dou Yan opened it hurriedly.

It turned out to be a letter assuring her of his safety.

He said there were matters in the palace, that he might not be able to return for several days, that she was not to worry, that she should take good care of herself, and that if anything should arise she should consult with Mr. Yan, and so on.

That he could still send a letter out showed that Song Yan was quite free.

Only then did the great stone in Dou Yan's heart fall to the ground.

Seeing that Yan Che had been standing by with hands folded, waiting, she knew he was awaiting her instructions. After a moment's thought, she smiled and told him a few of the more important points from the letter.

Yan Che's expression relaxed, and he smiled and comforted Dou Yan, "It may be that the Emperor's illness has flared up again, and the Empress fears some word will leak out, so all the palace guards have been forbidden to rotate or change duty."

Dou Yan wiped her forehead.

Was it that the Yingzhen Ducal House stood too close to imperial power? Or that the Jining Marquis House stood too far from it? Even Yan Che knew of the Emperor's illness...

Over the days that followed, Dou Yan kept turning the matter over in her mind.

She had only ever heard that the Song family was illustrious, never imagining they were illustrious to such a degree.

Some things, perhaps, ought to be reassessed.

The reason Lord Zhongyi had received such a posthumous title was that he had devoted his heart and blood to instructing the Crown Prince in his studies. Since Song Yan had read under Lord Zhongyi from childhood, he ought to be quite familiar with the Crown Prince.

Dou Chiyou stood before the long table in the main hall.

Upon it was offered a pair of ruyi scepters carved from Chinese pistache wood.

They had been bestowed by the Crown Prince upon Song Yan's marriage to her.

Beyond these, the imperial house had sent down no other gifts.

What sort of man was the Crown Prince?

In her memory, the Crown Prince had always been no more than a vague designation.

In her last life, when Song Yan had drawn his bow and aimed at the Crown Prince, what had been in his heart?

Could this matter have had something to do with the Duke of Dingguo's death?

Dou Yan's thoughts were in utter disarray, and never had she longed for Song Yan's return as she did now.

It had now been nine days since their wedding, she reflected, and she could not keep herself from asking again after Song Yan's whereabouts.

Dou Yan had never kept anything from Suxin, so Suxin naturally knew what she feared — that fortune and calamity come without warning. At her words, Suxin's eyes dimmed slightly, and she said in a low voice, "Still no word."

She was silent for a moment, then went to the flower hall.

The younger branch produces the elder generation.