Chapter 346 — Good News

The nurse smiled and assented. After about the time it takes half a stick of incense to burn, she came back and said with a smile, "The one who brought the word is Gao Sheng's wife. She says that though there is no elder in the inner court of the Ying family's Defender-of-the-State mansion, the Heir is a careful man, and he waited until the child was firmly settled before sending word to the Yunqi Temple alley. When Seventh Master heard it, there was no describing his joy. He turned the house upside down hunting out armfuls of inkstones and brushes and ink, saying they were for his grandson. Which were for the first lessons, which for entering school, which for sitting the examinations — he sorted them all out neatly, and to judge by his zeal, he will not be content until the boy has come out a jinshi."

Cai-shi laughed very loudly indeed. "Then I must make good preparations and think what to prepare as congratulatory gifts."

She made a show of thinking it over for a long while, then said, "I think I shall go and look in the storehouse of my dowry. I recall that among my dowry there is a landscape by Qiu Ying of the previous dynasty. Since Seventh Uncle is using brushes and ink and paper and inkstones for his congratulatory gift, would it not be vulgar if we brought gold and silver and jewels?"

Muttering thus to her own old nurse, she went out of the warm chamber.

Wei Wan was so furious that her teeth ground audibly.

Dou Yan had only just conceived, and already the whole Dou household was dancing attendance on her. If she bore a son, they would likely strip the Dou estate bare and cart it all to her door.

That fool Dou Ming, with an eye as narrow as a needle's point — all they had wanted was for her to keep the rules, and to spite her mother-in-law she had gone and lost the child in her belly. Had it been born, half of those brushes and inkstones would have belonged to that child, would they not? And if the child were raised clever and well-mannered, perhaps the other half of the Dou fortune would have been his as well.

As the saying goes, a father dotes on his youngest son, a grandsire on his eldest grandson. Even if Dou Ming bore a boy later, Dou Yan's household had got there first; when the good things were handed out, they would go to Dou Yan's household first.

She seemed to see mountains of gold and silver slipping away between her fingers.

"Stupid beyond words!" The more Wei Wan thought, the more she felt her own family had been badly cheated, and she could not help cursing Dou Ming under her breath. "The mother is a worthless creature, and the daughter she whelped is not fit to be seen in decent company."

But the swooning Tian-shi opened her eyes and called softly, "Tingzhen!"

Wei Wan was overjoyed; forgetting all about cursing Dou Ming, she hurried to say, "How are you feeling?"

"I am fine." Seeing only two young maids standing behind the screen in the room, Tian-shi lowered her voice and said, "When the doctor arrives, I will go on feigning illness. Have someone carry me home, and the Dou family will have no way to make trouble for us. The matter can be dropped just like that."

Wei Wan was still stubborn: "Mother, the Dou family would not dare bring a lawsuit against us..."

Tian-shi waved her hand, her expression somewhat weary. "It is not a lawsuit from the Dou family that I fear. I fear your mother-in-law will again say you are meddling. Let this matter rest as it is!"

"Mother!" At the very thought that Dou Ming had made the Wei family trade pearls for fish eyes, Wei Wan could have eaten her alive. "How can we let this rest..."

"Listen to me," Tian-shi cut her off. "It was my fault to begin with, and it would be best if the matter can be smoothed over. But that girl Dou Ming is far too cunning, and it would be wrong not to discipline her. I will never again let her have her way."

Wei Wan thought for a moment and soon had an idea. "That will do nicely! Her arrogance comes only from the richness of her dowry. Take her dowry into your hands and set aside every cent of income from the properties in her name, with Steward Dou as witness. That way she can be made to be an honest wife to the Wei family, and you need not bear the reputation of seizing your daughter-in-law's dowry."

After all, once Dou Ming passed from this world, the dowry would belong to the Wei family anyway. Keeping it in trust for the time being did no harm.

Tian-shi considered this for a moment and said, "What you say makes good sense. When we return, we shall invite the master of the Dou family over to discuss the matter. If the Dou family fears I mean to swallow her dowry, then let the master of the Dou family hold it in trust on her behalf. I trust he is not one of those treacherous, greedy sorts, and will return Dou Ming's dowry to us in due course."

That remained to be seen!

Wei Wan did not agree, but not wishing to worry her mother, she said, "Then let it be after the New Year!"

By then the uproar over Dou Ming's miscarriage would have blown over, and it would be the perfect time to deal with her.

Tian-shi nodded.

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Begging for praise, begging for pink votes...

o(n_n)o~