Chapter 84 — Undercurrents

Dou Yan went off to her lessons, and Grandmother, smiling, welcomed Madam Ji inside.

Madam Ji told Hong Gu to find a few potted plants and flowers suitable for the hall and the guest rooms: "No need to fuss over rare varieties—anything that looks pretty will do!"

Hong Gu smiled and agreed.

Madam Ji drew Grandmother to the stone table beneath the grape arbor in the back courtyard and sat her down.

"I came looking for you." She told Grandmother about Old Mrs. Wu's visit. "...The Wu household is small and uncomplicated, with a modest family estate, and both Magistrate Wu and Old Mrs. Wu are honest, upright people. The rarest thing of all is that Wu Shan has been devoted to Shouyuan with such care, steadfast all these years without a single change. And Old Mrs. Wu came to ask in person, which shows real sincerity. I think this is a fine match. If you agree, I was thinking we might invite Shouyuan's aunt back to have a look at the young man, so we can settle the betrothal properly."

Grandmother's eyes had already crinkled into two slits the moment she understood why Madam Ji had come. Now that Madam Ji asked, she nodded again and again: "Of course we must bring Shouyuan's aunt back to look at the boy—she has a sharp eye and won't be wrong about people." She added, "We've watched that boy Wu Shan grow up. If Shouyuan marries him, she won't come to any harm."

"That's just what I was thinking," Ji Guan said. "But for now, don't say anything to Shouyuan. We still don't know whether her uncle will agree or not."

"I know, I know," Grandmother said, beaming. Just then she caught sight of Hong Gu directing a few of the rough-work maids as they carried in several pots of flowers, and she said quickly, "If anyone asks, I'll say you came to fetch plants."

Ji Guan said, "You and I are of one mind."

Dou Yan trusted Grandmother above all. Naturally, no one had planted any spies around her. Hearing that Madam Ji had come to take away a few potted trees, she even asked innocently, "Was that enough? If not, have them come take more."

Wu Shan, by contrast, kept constant watch on his mother, and when he learned that the Second Young Madam Yu had gone to the Second Old Madam's quarters, he was beside himself with joy. The moment his mother returned to the guest room, he was pouring tea and fetching water, pounding her legs and waving a fan, fawning over Old Mrs. Wu, until Wu Ya remarked from the side, "Unasked-for attentions spell either treachery or theft. What is my brother after from Mother now? Mother, you can't play favorites. Whatever my brother gets, I want too!"

The words set Wu Shan laughing heartily.

Old Mrs. Wu did not know whether to laugh or cry, and tapped her daughter on the middle of the forehead with one finger: "You child, what is all this racket? What do you mean, whatever your brother gets you want too? You're a grown girl—why must you always carry on like a senseless little child? When your sister-in-law comes into this house, will you talk to her this way too?"

"Once I have a sister-in-law, of course I won't talk to my brother like this!" Wu Ya pouted. "But there isn't any sister-in-law yet, is there?" The words had barely left her mouth when her eyes suddenly flew wide. "Mother, is my brother going to marry a wife?" Then she cried out loudly, "No, no! If my brother takes a wife, it has to be someone I like. Otherwise, what if she won't let me come home to visit?"

"The more you talk, the more outrageous you get!" Old Mrs. Wu gave her daughter a pretended angry swat.

Wu Ya shrank back in fright.

Everyone in the room burst out laughing.

But over in the Second Old Madam's quarters, the Second Young Madam Yu's smile was somewhat forced.

"...You all know better than anyone what happened back then." The Second Old Madam held her hand and sighed. "As for Shouyuan's marriage, I'm afraid our Dou family cannot decide it alone. If anyone else came seeking the match, I would certainly suspect they were after Shouyuan's dowry. But since it is the Wu family asking—setting aside Magistrate Wu's character and conduct, on the strength of the friendship between our two families alone, this would be an excellent match, and I would be glad to see it made. But as things stand now, the Zhao family guards against us as though we were thieves. If we interfere in Shouyuan's marriage, I fear that when the time comes it will only..." Here the Second Old Madam shook her head in helplessness.

How could the Second Young Madam Yu not know?

But that was half the fortune of the West Dou.

If Old Mrs. Wu had not raised the matter, it would be one thing—but now it was plain that Old Mrs. Wu had set her sights on Dou Yan. Surely she had to fight for it, no matter what?

She was unwilling to give up. "Then tell me, what should I do?" She tossed the ball back into the Old Madam's court, putting on an air of great distress. "I spoke rashly before and already gave my word to Auntie... I have to make that promise come out whole, don't I?"

The Second Old Madam looked at the Second Young Madam Yu's seemingly innocent expression, and fury blazed in her heart.

She doesn't know what to do?

More likely she settled on her plan long ago.

I used to think the Wu family was rather decent—who would have guessed they were sanctimonious hypocrites too!

If you want to marry Dou Yan, you'd better weigh just how much the Wu family is worth first!

Since one family has made its move, I fear the others will soon be scheming as well.

I must find a way to plan ahead and nip this in the bud.

But if I tear off all pretense with the Second Young Madam Yu now, I'll only startle the snake in the grass and likely offend the other families too. Then, if they all rise up against me, I may not be able to put them down.

Reaching this point, the Second Old Madam drew a deep breath, and her smile grew a shade gentler. "Don't be anxious. This is a marriage negotiation—negotiation is what it's for. How could it be settled in a few rounds? Besides, Wanyuan is in the capital and the Zhao family's uncle is in the northwest, so there is all the more reason not to rush." She paused. "Fortunately, Mr. Wu is no stranger—your Seventh Granduncle knows him too. I will write to your Seventh Granduncle first, and once he agrees, we can discuss it with the Zhao family's uncle. You are both a daughter-in-law of the Dou family and a married daughter of the Wu family. As for Old Mrs. Wu, explain it to her properly, and don't offend our relatives."

This was exactly what the Second Young Madam Yu had come for.

She thanked her with delight and went to give Old Mrs. Wu her answer.

The Second Old Madam, her face dark, summoned Dou Zhen.

"Write a letter to Old Five for me." She told Dou Zhen of the Wu family's suit for Dou Zhiwei. "If he thinks the match is workable, then it won't be too late to discuss it with Old Seven."

Hearing his mother's tone, Dou Zhen gathered she did not think much of the Wu family, and could not help saying, "I find that young Wu Shan, despite his youth, is extraordinarily learned, restrained in his conduct yet quick and adaptable—a man capable of great things..."

"And what use is that?" The Second Old Madam smiled bitterly. "By the time he is capable of helping Yuanji, Yuanji and that Wang Xingyi will long since have fought to a decision."

Dou Zhen fell silent.

The Second Old Madam instructed him, "Send a trusted man to deliver the letter. If anyone asks, say the letter is for the Seventh Master in the capital. Put it inside another envelope and write Wanyuan's name on the outer one."

Dou Zhen assented.

As the Second Old Madam had expected, the Second Young Madam Yu set someone to watch the letters sent to the capital, and only when she had seen with her own eyes the envelope bearing the five characters "To be opened personally by Dou Wanyuan" did she set her heart at ease.

Meanwhile, Madam Ji entrusted a clerk from the Ji family shop to deliver a letter to Zhao Si.