Chapter 375 — Dismissal
Purple Streets of Chang'an Page 1 of 2
Chen Yanzhou asked Dou Yan gently, "And what do you mean to do?"
"I mean to hold this family of ours together!" Dou Yan said, with great firmness.
.
Anyone would think the same.
Yet under the weight of the greater tide, how many ever get what they wish?
He thought of the men moaning in pain all through the courtyard, of Pang Kunbai, who still could not stand or walk; he thought of Dou Yan and Song Zhi facing each other down in the pouring rain, of the rare warmth on Song Yan's face as he steadied Dou Yan, an expression outsiders seldom saw — and suddenly his heart began to pound, and a restless excitement rose in him.
Chen Yanzhou knew it for what it was: the longing to seize a hand in the torrent of history and turn it — just as years ago, when he learned his official career was hopeless, he had burned to put his talents to use.
He smiled faintly and said softly, "I have traveled many places and seen many sights, and life in this world comes to no more than that. Madam need not worry on my account. Whatever you require, simply command me. My talents are modest, but I will bend my back to the task and not stop until death."
That last phrase comes from Zhuge Liang's Memorial on Sending Out the Troops.
Dou Yan understood his meaning without knowing why.
Yes — what did she have to fear?
Win, and you are king; lose, and you are a rebel.
If she failed, the Dingguo ducal residence would be the ruin left before her as a warning.
So she could only press forward.
What of the Prince of Liao? What of the Crown Prince?
What had they to do with her?
When she was locked in prison, it was Su Lan and Su Xin who shielded her, and Duan Bing and the others who pleaded on her behalf; when she was writhing in anguish over her past life and this one, it was Song Yan's stubbornness and ardor that set her heart beating gently again.
These were the people she ought to cherish, the people she ought to guard, the people she ought to protect with every ounce of strength she had!
She would go forward.
Through all the ages, how many heroes have died of hesitation.
She would go forward.
Just as she had done ever since her rebirth.
Onward, with unshakable resolve!
Together with these people around her who loved her, respected her, and held her dear.
Dou Yan laid a hand on her slightly rounded belly and smiled faintly at Chen Yanzhou. Her eyes, though, sparkled with joy like the morning star.
Bright and brilliant, dazzling to behold.
That Dou Yan of Zhending.
Chen Yanzhou rose, stepped back two paces, and slowly made her a bow. "Madam, I await your command."
Dou Yan laughed.
In this lonely world, one more companion means one more measure of courage.
She gestured for Chen Yanzhou to sit, and said, "These past days I have taken over the household affairs of the Yingguo ducal residence, and I have found something very strange. By rights, the Yingguo house has been honored for a hundred years; a family with such a lineage hands down not only titles and property, but deep networks of connection, and the loyal servants who sustain a family's prosperity.
"Those deep connections I saw for myself at the New Year.
"Not only the old tasseled-cap families of the capital, but ministers of the court and the garrisons stationed in every region — all sent New Year gifts to the Yingguo residence. Some of the imperial kin sent gifts of no small value.
"But loyal servants — to be honest, I have not seen a single one.
"Those about the Heir are mostly people from the Dingguo residence.
"Those about the Duke of Yingguo are mostly men promoted after Madam Jiang's death.
"I know that after Madam Jiang died, the serving women of the Yingguo household were purged, and that the break between Yizhi Hall and the Yingguo residence dragged many others down with it. But a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. There is no way the Yingguo residence should be as it is now — fresh whitewash and new paint, and not one seasoned steward able to hold the place steady!
"Take Zeng Wu, who has just come to serve at the Duke of Yingguo's side. By mere chance — a menial who followed his horse-tending father into the household — he found his way through Huang Qing, chief steward of the front courtyard, and became the Duke's personal attendant. In our Dou family such a thing would be unthinkable. We would not go back three generations, but we would watch a man closely for two or three years before daring to bring him near, and he would begin in the third rank."
That was also why, in her former life, Wang Shuying had been so overbearing, and why in this one, though she held half the assets of the Western Dou, Gao Sheng remained loyal to her father.
Chen Yanzhou was, after all, only a poor scholar, and had never given these matters much thought. Hearing Dou Yan speak of it now, he felt it too.
"I remember the first time I came to the Yingguo residence," Chen Yanzhou recalled. "Two hundred people lived there, and yet it was silent as a tomb, without a single human voice. The serving women walked with their heads high and their chests out, wearing smiles at once haughty and servile, and most of them looked at me with a touch of contempt.
"The one who brought me into the household was Yan Che.
"We met head-on a steward surnamed Li, his temples streaked with gray.
"Yan Che not only greeted him with respect, but when the steward asked about me, he made up a story and explained it to him with great patience.
"Afterward Yan Che explained to me that this Steward Li had once served the old Duke, and now had charge of instructing newly arrived servants in etiquette, and that he carried considerable authority in the Yingguo household. Then he said to me, joking, that there were many old servants like him in the Yingguo residence, and I had best keep my eyes open from now on and not cross these old fellows."
"I thought to myself at the time, I wonder whether the Duke of Yingguo will find these old servants, who once waited on the old Lord Zhenguo, an eyesore.
"And look at the Ying Zhenguo household now. Both the Heir and the Duke of Yingguo are rather unbridled, doing whatever they please... A man can even stuff a maid who once served him personally into his son's rooms. Even if the maid is spotless, how is such a thing to be explained? If word gets out, what is the Ying Zhenguo household to be taken for?"
As Chen Yanzhou spoke, something stirred in his heart, and he looked toward Dou Yan.
He saw that Dou Yan was gazing at him with shining eyes.
Both of them could not help changing countenance slightly.
Chen Yanzhou said hesitantly, "You suspect the Duke of Yingguo seized the occasion to dispose of everyone who was an eyesore to him."
"It is not a suspicion. It is a certainty," Dou Yan said. "But I once heard the Heir say that while Madam Jiang was alive, everything in the household, whether the management of the inner quarters or the ordinary affairs, was handled by Madam Jiang. She went quickly, so there must have been much she had no time to explain to the Duke of Yingguo. The Duke may not know the affairs of this house clearly, and there are bound to be fish that slipped through the net. I think we should work along two lines at once. You find a way to look into the origins of the stewards of the outer courtyard, and I will look into the histories of the serving women of the inner courtyard, and add to that these maids transferred in from the farm estates. Peel the cocoon, draw out the silk, and sooner or later we will find one or two useful threads. As for the Prince of Liao, the Heir is already on his guard and is investigating him. When we have news, we will decide what to do. For now the pressing task is to take the Ying Zhenguo household firmly in hand and run it like an iron barrel that no one can break into. Then, when the Prince of Liao rises, we can deal with the great affairs of the court with an easy mind."