Chapter 109 — Too Late (Bonus update for 1,020 pink votes)

The Marquis of Jining's face flushed a blotchy red, and though he quailed inwardly, he blustered, "To look at you, Master Chen, one would take you for a man of learning—how can you swallow every rumor whole the moment it reaches your ear? Those were years when the children were all still young, and our house had only the one precious heir in Yu-ge. Never mind a formal betrothal—his mother would not even let him go off to the Western Hills, and so our families simply drifted apart. Where do all these tales of yours come from?"

Yet he never once touched on the marriage between the Wei and Dou families.

If Chen Yanzhou had come nursing any hopes of the Wei family, by now they had sunk like a stone in the sea, not so much as a bubble rising to the surface. He did not need to feign it; his gaze was already cold and sharp as an arrow. "I fear the Marquis does not speak from his heart. For I have heard that if the He family secures the title of heir apparent for your son-in-law, you will hand over to them the betrothal token exchanged with Dou Juan's family—our family's Fifth Master, after all, is Vice Minister of Personnel!"

The Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat are merely of the fifth rank, while the Ministers of the Six Ministries are of the second. To elevate the rank of these Grand Secretaries, it was customary to have them concurrently hold a ministerial post in one of the Six Ministries, and whichever ministry a man headed, that ministry's affairs fell under his purview. But these Grand Secretaries could hardly be expected to sit in the ministries day after day, and so the Left Vice Ministers of each ministry became the ones who actually handled the business in practice.

The conferral of noble titles and honors, meanwhile, came under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Merit Records and Statistics in the Ministry of Personnel.

At these words the Marquis of Jining's heart gave a lurch, and inwardly he cursed Cai Bi up one side and down the other.

What did he mean, outsiders would never know? How had this accountant Dou Juan come to know? And if even an accountant like Dou Juan could know, then by no means could Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xuming fail to know. Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xuming had all along merely feigned brotherly affection before their father, Zhang Pei; now that Zhang Yuanming had been the first to break the rule that family scandals must not be aired abroad and had invoked outside help to petition for the title of heir apparent, he had only given Zhang Jiming and Zhang Xuming an excuse to contend openly with Zhang Yuanming for the position of heir apparent—and even Zhang Pei could say nothing against it.

Zhang Jiming had married the niece of the Marquis of Changxing, and Zhang Xuming the granddaughter of Princess Ninghuai—how could a paltry household of the Marquis of Jining compare with such connections?

If word of this got out, the loss of face for the household of the Marquis of Jining would be the least of it; if the whole scheme flew apart like a hen's eggs tumbling from the nest, would he not end up empty-handed on both counts?

He had no choice but to stiffen his neck and deny it flatly: "There is no such thing! If Master Chen does not believe me, we may go to the He family and confront them face to face!"

A marquis in all your dignity, and you would stoop to confront me, an accountant no better than a servant…

The very thought that Dou Yan had once been betrothed to such a household filled Chen Yanzhou with indignation on Dou Yan's behalf.

It was only with difficulty that he forced down the anger in his breast, put on a show of his face clearing all at once, and sighed with feeling, "I too thought it could not be so. But people tell the tale with such circumstantial detail—they even know precisely whom the He family sent to your mansion to plead their case, and what tea your household served that man—that I could not help but believe it!"

The Marquis of Jining restrained himself barely enough not to pull a handkerchief from his sleeve and mop the sweat from his brow. But Chen Yanzhou had already shifted tack, saying with sincerity and a touch of apology, "And yet, on reflection, I must own it was I who spoke without due thought. However close the eldest young master of the Jing Duke's household may be to you, he is still your son-in-law, another man's son—could he be expected to offer sacrifice to the Wei family ancestors? Naturally you must plan chiefly for the sake of the heir apparent; only if the heir apparent prospers can the household of the Marquis of Jining flourish and prosper, and only then can your honored daughter, relying on the strength of her natal family, help her husband petition for the title of heir apparent. A father-in-law assisting his son-in-law—wherever one looks, it is entirely proper and aboveboard. Even if the two young masters of the Zhang family are displeased, they have no one to blame but themselves—who told them their wives' families lacked influence! Tell me, Marquis, is that not the plain sense of it?"

Yes—if the He family wished to help Zhang Yuanming petition for the title of heir apparent, there was no way around Dou Juan. That being so, why not simply form a marriage alliance with the Dou family? Given the present circumstances, he could both win a reputation for uprightness and fidelity to his word, and intervene openly in the Zhang family's affairs. Two birds with one stone—and far less risky than dealing with the He family.

He could not help nodding. "There is sense in what you say, Master."

"It is not so much that I speak sense as that the Marquis is too close to the matter, while we bystanders see it clearly," Chen Yanzhou said modestly, dropping his earlier sharpness. "Has the Marquis ever considered carefully—the Duke of Jing is shrewd and capable; if your son-in-law were truly so worthless, why has the household of the Jing Duke to this very day never petitioned for the title of heir apparent?"

He seized the occasion to make use of certain things Dou Yan had said to him about Zhang Yuanming.

The Marquis of Jining, however, felt his heart stir.

"If this old man guesses rightly, the Duke of Jing still has your son-in-law in mind for the title of heir apparent," Chen Yanzhou said, laying the matter out for the Marquis in measured, unhurried tones. "Only he is thwarted by his lady wife and several sons and can find no fitting occasion—otherwise why drag it out so? If your son-in-law simply bides his time and does nothing, the situation may yet turn in his favor. But if he borrows the power of outsiders and forces his way into the affairs of the Jing Duke's household, the Duke of Jing will surely brook it no more than his kinsmen will accept it—some may even imitate him and, stopping at nothing, each play his own tricks, and the household of the Duke of Jing will be thrown into a hopeless tangle…"

The Marquis of Jining could sit still no longer; he leapt to his feet. "Quite so, quite so! The Duke of Jing has often told me that our son-in-law is pure and whole in his filial devotion, and that on that score alone he is fit to be heir apparent of the Jing Duke's household… It is only that Lady Yuan quarrels endlessly with His Grace and leaves him no peace, no place to hide… If His Grace shared Lady Yuan's mind, the household of the Jing Duke would long since have named an heir apparent—why would it wait until today… So long as our son-in-law does nothing, it is well; but should he dare to scheme privately for the title, then by His Grace's temper, he will never tolerate it…"

At that moment, from behind the study came the sound of a woman's soft, plaintive weeping.

Chen Yanzhou pretended not to hear.

The Marquis of Jining, for his part, bowed low to Chen Yanzhou with hands clasped in salute. "I thank you for your instruction, Master! Your great kindness is beyond words."