Chapter 90 — Uproar

Ji Yong nodded again and again, and said with a grave face, "Cousin Dou is right. A matter this grave must certainly be handed over to the authorities."

"No. No!" Wu Shan leapt up as though his tail had been set on fire, and cried sharply, "If we hand it to the authorities, are we to have Fourth Sister appear in court to testify? And the Dou family is in Zhending, the Pang family in Lingshou—if it goes to the authorities, we will have to go to Zhending to fight the case. If Fourth Sister's reputation is to be damaged by it, better to settle it privately."

Dou Huaide caught on as well, and took up Wu Shan's words: "Quite right. What does the Pang family amount to? Nouveaux riches, nothing more! We must never let that rat running through the streets ruin Fourth Sister's name!"

"It seems my two younger cousins have little experience in handling disputes of this kind." Ji Yong smiled at Dou Huaide and Wu Shan, yet his tone betrayed the superiority of a man rich in experience looking down on lesser men. "The Dou family has produced officials for generations, and Fifth Uncle Dou serves as vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel. The Pang family are commoners—on what grounds would they contend with us? Once we report to the authorities, the prefect of Zhending will certainly suppress the matter first, weigh Fifth Uncle Dou's wishes, and only then decide. Thus we may both extricate ourselves from a death case and cultivate good relations with the prefect—after all, we are within his jurisdiction, and even if we do not take him seriously, we must still give him face. As for Cousin Dou's reputation, we need only insist that the several of us were together at the time—could they then force it that Cousin Dou was carried off by robbers alone? Even if the Pang family wished to frame us, could we not rebut them?"

It sounded very reasonable.

But why did it feel, somehow, not quite right?

Dou Huaide and Wu Shan nodded, exchanged a glance, and each saw misgiving in the other's eyes. Both wanted to question him further, but Ji Yong had already waved his hand: "You will not go wrong following my lead! When the time comes, I will testify for Fourth Sister."

That was true!

Ji Yong was a juren.

With Ji Yong to testify, could Prefect Lu refuse to believe?

The two of them nodded blankly, blinded by his rank.

"Then it is settled." As he spoke, the corners of Ji Yong's mouth lifted into a pleasant curve, and he called loudly to his attendant "Wang Pu": "Take my card and report to the authorities."

Only then did Dou Huaide and Wu Shan come to their senses.

They had not yet consulted the elders about this!

"Wait!" Dou Huaide shouted, his face somewhat dark, "Cousin Ji, this matter concerns the reputation of the Dou clan. I think it would be better to speak with the elders before reporting to the authorities..."

"You will not go wrong following my lead." Even as he spoke, Ji Yong had already waved his hand; the man called Wang Pu bowed respectfully to Dou Huaide and at once withdrew, giving Dou Huaide no chance to continue. "When I lived at home I often helped my grandfather handle some domestic affairs. This concerns Fourth Sister's name and the Dou clan's reputation—I will not act rashly." Then he said in jest, "If anything really did go wrong, never mind my grandfather—my aunt would flay me alive. Set your minds at ease!"

Was that really true?

Dou Huaide and Wu Shan looked at Ji Yong doubtfully.

And Dou Fan, who had calmed down after a bout of silent complaining, looked at Ji Yong in surprise.

What did Ji Yong mean to do?

Bypassing the family elders and exposing the whole affair outright, forcing the Dou family to clean up the mess for the sake of its own face, and forcing the Pang family to swallow this bitter fruit even if they invoked Wang Xingyi—that had been her own plan. So why did Ji Yong seem to know exactly what she was thinking?

Dou Yan studied Ji Yong.

But Ji Yong turned and smiled at her.

The smile was gentle, carrying a scholar's wisdom and a child's innocent cunning, like spear and shield—strange, and yet in such harmony, unforgettable.

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On the way there we hit heavy fog and the flight was delayed; today the weather is fine, and the flight is delayed all the same... Sisters, brothers, I am finally home. Starting tomorrow I will pay off my debts... o(n_n)o~... Begging for pink votes!...

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