Chapter 268 — Misunderstanding

Yan Che's face went ashen: "What do you mean by that? Our heir is vigorous as a dragon and fierce as a tiger. Not long ago he even had a Daoist priest from Mount Longhu come to take his pulse, and the man said not only had his internal injuries healed, but his inner cultivation had advanced as well, and he even joked that when the Duke of Ding had the heir practice this inner discipline, he had meant it as no idle whim—it was to let the heir add more heirs to the Song family... Do not spout nonsense here and ruin the heir's reputation! Might it not be that this was your young lady's idea? I have long wondered: with your young lady's shrewdness and capability, and the civil and martial talents at her command, how could a mere inner-chamber woman like that Wang woman have contrived such a thing as substituting one sister for another in marriage..."

She was forced to it!

If not for your heir, we would have returned to Zhending long ago.

Who knows how carefree they might be living—why should they bother with the mess of your Ying Duke's estate!

These words reached Chen Yanzhou's lips, then were swallowed back down—such mutual recrimination was like something from a common fishwife.

Before Yan Che's voice had even died away, he realized he had misspoken.

He hurriedly fell silent.

For a while the study was dead quiet.

"Then what are we to do now?" After a long moment, Chen Yanzhou and Yan Che asked each other, as though by prior agreement.

Yan Che said, "I think we should ask Elder Chen to go inquire of the heir—after all, you are the madam's man, and it would be better coming from you!" There was another sentence he did not say: even if the heir were displeased, for the madam's sake he would likely be displeased only briefly and let it go—the damage would be relatively slight.

Chen Yanzhou was not so easily taken in. He thought to himself, If this really was the young lady's idea, would I not be aiding the tyrant in his cruelty? But before Yan Che, he would under no circumstances let slip the slightest hint.

"The two of them are still young, and they have no proper elder to guide them. In some matters you and I must bear a greater share of the burden," he said slowly. "Still, the heir is a man of his own judgment. When to go see him, and how to speak once we do—that requires careful deliberation. You cannot expect me simply to run off and appear before the heir. How did I come to know of this matter? If I tell him, does the madam know? Given how meticulous the heir is, I fear these will be the first things he considers. We had better be prudent..."

You want to stall until you've seen the madam first, isn't that it?

So his guess about the sisters exchanging marriages was not without foundation.

One way or another, they must find a way to get the Dou family's Fourth Miss into the heir's bedchamber and have her bear him a child.

Between husband and wife, only once there is a child will they settle down and live their days in peace.

"Why else would I say we must consult with Elder Chen?" Yan Che laughed. "My concern has muddled me—I had not considered any of these things. No wonder they say three cobblers together make a Zhuge Liang..."

It is not that you did not think of it—it is that you want to act in our young lady's name!

Chen Yanzhou and Yan Che laughed and hemmed and hawed, each harboring his own thoughts.

Meanwhile Dou Yan and Song Yan, the very two they had in mind, were sitting on the large kang by the window discussing the banquet for the next day.

"...Better safe than sorry. I say we hold this chrysanthemum-viewing banquet at Yizhi Hall," Dou Yan said. "That way we need not worry that Father-in-law, with his narrow sight, will think nothing can be done without the Ying Duke's garden." As she spoke, a trace of pride showed between her brows. "We may as well seize this chance to make a name for Yizhi Hall!"

Song Yan, who had barely managed to suppress the anger roused in him by his father's slighting of Dou Zhiwei, could not help laughing at this. "What fine idea have you got?"

Dou Xin said, "Why don't we have a seal carved for Yizhi Hall? From now on, whenever we invite relatives and friends to the house, we'll stamp the invitations with the Yizhi Hall seal, to set ourselves apart from the Ying Duke's estate. Of course, our banquets must have their own character too—once people come, they must find it hard to forget." This was in fact an idea from her previous life, one she had never been able to realize; now that she raised it again, the more she spoke the more spirited she became. "For instance, we've planted water radishes and little cucumbers in the small garden. When we give them to relatives and friends, we paste a paper slip bearing the Yizhi Hall seal on the outside of the bamboo basket. Or again, when we raise a pot of the Eighteen Scholars chrysanthemum to present to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager or Her Majesty the Empress, we stamp the Yizhi Hall seal on the flowerpot... In short, the aim is that whenever people hear the words 'Yizhi Hall,' they think at once: this is something fine, something no other household has; and even what other households do have cannot match Yizhi Hall's refinement, elegance, and rarity..."

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Sisters and brothers, I will keep writing apology-chapters. But I have not yet eaten dinner, and then I must tidy up a bit; at the very fastest I will begin writing two hours from now, so please look for it around noon tomorrow!

ps: The monthly ticket rankings for June are out. Although *Ninefold Purple* placed second, I feel that in terms of votes alone it has been tremendously strong... o(n_n)o~ Thank you all! I will write well, strive to add more chapters, and in July I ask you all to support *Ninefold Purple* as always. Bowing to you!

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