Chapter 463 — The Sail

None of what had happened at the Wang household was known to Dou Huaiying and the others.

Dou Huaiying felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he let out a long breath of relief.

Delighted, he slung an arm around Song Yan's shoulders and said to Dou Huaide, "When we get back, fetch your father over. The two of us are going to have a proper drink."

Now that the adoption had gone through, the forms of address would have to change.

Dou Huaide must call Dou Heng "Sixth Uncle."

He remembered it well enough; it was just that Dou Huaiying had not yet grown used to it.

Dou Huaide gave an awkward laugh.

Song Yan hurried to smooth things over for him. "My honored father-in-law has misspoken," he said. "Three cups as forfeit, later."

Only then did Dou Huaiying realize his slip. "Fine, fine, fine," he said hastily. "I'll drink three cups as forfeit myself." He looked at Dou Huaide with a trace of apology in his eyes.

This was, after all, a parting from one's own parents, and Dou Huaide had harbored some resentment over it. Yet somehow this Dou Huaiying made him burst out laughing, and the gloom in his chest vanished in an instant. He no longer felt like a son given away by his parents, but rather like a young man sent to comfort an elder because his adoptive father was too pitiable for words.

"Just don't let anything slip on the day of the banquet, Father," he said, smiling. "Otherwise Fifth Uncle will never let you hear the end of it."

Dou Huaiying chuckled.

Seeing the two of them like this, Song Yan was well pleased.

And Dou Huaide now felt a flicker of admiration for Song Yan.

He was older than Song Yan, yet in conduct he fell short of Song Yan's keen observation and thoughtful consideration.

He began to look at Song Yan with a measure of respect.

And so Dou Huaide's adoption was formally settled.

Dou Huaiying sent out invitations in earnest, asking the Dou family's relatives by marriage in the capital to a banquet in the Yunqi Temple Alley residence.

Only then did Dou Ming learn that Dou Huaide had been adopted under Dou Huaiying's name.

Fury surged through her in a rush of blood, and she raised her hand and flipped the kang table over. Leaping to her feet, she cried, "I won't allow it! By what right is Dou Huaide adopted over?"

Old Zhou wanted to speak but held her tongue. To herself she thought: Back then the Seventh Master had thought of keeping you at home and taking a husband into the family, but you snatched away the Fourth Miss's match, and the Fourth Miss married into the Yingzhen Guo household. If the West Dou branch does not adopt, would it simply die out? And besides, though the Dou family has many sons, apart from Dou Huaide there really is no one suitable.

But how could she say such a thing to Dou Ming's face?

Over the past six months Dou Ming's temper had grown ever more violent. Even the Marquis was not spared an occasional barb, and the maids and old women who served in her rooms all trembled with fear, not daring to breathe. The main courtyard was silent most of the time, like an ice cave; the moment one stepped inside, a chill seized the whole body.

Dou Ming, however, only grew more convinced of her own righteousness as she thought it over. She ordered Old Zhou to ready the carriage, and set off for the Heming Temple Alley.

Dou Huaiying steeled his heart and refused to see her, sending Gao Sheng out to relay his words: "A woman follows her husband in marriage, and her son after her husband's death. Since you are already another family's daughter-in-law, you ought to be filial to your mother-in-law and serve your husband. If there is any matter hereafter, send a maid or an old woman to carry the word."

But Dou Ming was certain her father still resented her for choosing Wei Fan back then. She kicked out at Gao Xing and shouted, "They pressed me so hard, and instead of standing up for me, Father settles scores with me now. Is Dou Yan the only daughter you have? Am I not your daughter too?"

To Dou Huaiying her words were simply shrewish and rude, yet recalling Lady Ji's gentle reproach, he had to admit that he had spoiled this daughter of his.

Surely it was not too late to teach her the proper way now?

Dou Huaiying kept out of Dou Ming's sight.

Dou Ming raged there for a long while to no avail, then stormed back to the Jining Marquisate in a fury.

The serving women looked frightened, but they all came forward to greet her.

Dou Ming stared at them, her irritation mounting, when out of the corner of her eye she caught a young page slipping swiftly around a screen wall and vanishing.

She knew that page.

His name was Ruyi. He served in Wei Fan's study.

He was a bondservant born into the Wei household, eight years old this year, small and slight, but sharp as a needle.

Why had he run the moment he saw her?

Was she some man-eating monster?

They say a servant takes the side of the one he serves. Had Wei Fan been saying something to him?

A thorn seemed to lodge itself in Dou Ming's heart at once. She dismissed the maids and old women of the outer courtyard, and with Old Zhou and the others at her heels turned and went straight to Wei Fan's study.

Wei Fan was not in the study.

Ruyi came forward and reported, "The Marquis has gone out riding!"

The moment she returned, he went off riding. What was that supposed to mean?

Fire blazed in Dou Ming's heart. Her gaze, sharp and fault-finding, swept the study.

The study was immaculately tidy. The Hangzhou silk draped over the lute had been changed to sapphire blue, with golden tassels hanging from its four corners, lending it an air of luxury; in the blue-and-white porcelain vase on the desk a spray of scarlet camellias had been arranged, brightening the whole room.

Who would have thought the maids and pages of the study were so attentive!

Dou Ming gave a cold laugh, turned on her heel, and went back into the inner chambers.

She sent word to her mother in Willow Leaf Alley, telling her of the adoption.

The reply from Willow Leaf Alley was a terse note: "Noted." And that was the end of it.

Finding this very strange, she had Granny Zhou take some gifts to Willow Leaf Alley, saying they were a token of respect for Wang Xushi, and instructed Granny Zhou to sound out the situation there.

Granny Zhou returned and reported: "The old lady is quite well, only I did not see the Seventh Madam. They say she had a great quarrel with the Second Madam and, being out of sorts, is resting."

Dou Ming knew well that Wang Shuying and Pang Yulou quarreled often, so she was not suspicious. She asked Granny Zhou, "Then does Dou Yan know about the adoption?"

Granny Zhou said, "I heard that the heir of the Duke of Yingguo accompanied the master to pay his respects to the Seventh Madam."

Dou Ming was so furious that she flung the comb in her hand to the floor.

She turned it over and over in her mind, but could find no other way to stop Dou Huaide's adoption. She had no choice but to instruct Granny Zhou: "Do not breathe a word about the adoption. Since they did not see fit to tell me beforehand, they need not expect me to go back that day and add luster to their occasion."

The implication was that the Wei family need not be told either.

Granny Zhou shook her head inwardly.

Even if neither the Marquis nor his lady attended, what difference would it make to the Dou family's prestige?

People would only say that Dou Ming feared her adoptive brother would seize the share of the family fortune that ought to be hers, and that she was a thoroughly greedy woman.

Had this happened last year, she would have risked Dou Ming's anger to counsel her. But now... Dou Ming would listen to no one. The more she said, the more likely it was that even the old bonds of affection between them would be lost.

Fifth Miss, how did you come to this pass?

Granny Zhou lamented in her heart.