Chapter 209 — A Misstep

The sky was just beginning to pale. Dou Yan stood beneath the covered walkway, yet her posture was like that of a plum tree defying the cold—proud and standing apart, always carrying a trace of aloofness, and also like the quiet, distant green hills, gazing at him in tranquil serenity.

The past spun before him like a revolving lantern, each scene surfacing in his mind one after another.

The dazzling brilliance of their first meeting, the generosity and magnanimity of their second; the helping hand that came racing through the starry night in a time of peril, the silent, gentle care that soothed like spring rain in moments of sorrow; and the dreamless sleep after a day's labor in the chrysanthemum fields, the sudden clarity of gazing at distant villages from atop a wild peach tree—all of it drifted through his heart like the breeze of this autumn morning.

Dou Zhiwei's goodness had always been like rain moistening things silently—easy to overlook in a careless moment, yet equally easy to feel in a careless moment.

Song Yan was suddenly seized with agitation.

What was Dou Yan thinking at this moment?

Had he, too, overlooked something in a careless moment?

Song Yan turned and strode toward Dou Yan.

Dou Zhiwei's face gradually grew clear in his field of vision.

The jet-black hair, the pale white face, the long brows sweeping toward the temples, and those lips red and tender as blossoms, the smiling eyes and brows—all of it gradually came alive.

"Dou Yan," he said, his eyes wide and fixed on her without blinking, "if we are fated, could we become husband and wife?"

The pale fish-belly white at the horizon had at some point turned a faint purple, as if the resplendent rays hidden behind the clouds could scarcely wait and were already baring a sliver of their edge.

Song Zhi's face, in the morning light, took on a lustrous sheen like the finest jade, and his jet-black eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky.

Dou Yan gazed at the elegant youth before her, long since stripped of his callow air, who had at some point grown a full head taller than her, and could not help but feel a moment of trance.

If they were fated, could they become husband and wife?

Surely not?

Whether in the past life or this one, they were never people of the same road.

He was destined to be the focus of everyone's gaze; even in times of adversity, he would declare his presence in some other form. She, for her part, loved to plant flowers and tend grasses, imagining herself a flowering tree, following the turning of the four seasons—sprouting in spring, growing in summer, harvesting in autumn, storing in winter.

One was a cloud atop the peak, the other a tree in the forest; they could ever only gaze at each other from afar.

Yet in the clear light of this autumn morning, beneath the youth's brilliant, expectant gaze, she could not bring herself to refuse him so bluntly.

She thought for a moment, then smiled. "If we could become husband and wife, then of course we are fated!"

Only they could probably never have such a fate!

But Song Zhi's face—

A shallow smile rippled in the depths of his eyes.

He gazed deeply at Dou Yan for a moment, said not a word, then turned and strode from the main courtyard.

Watching his steady, vigorous steps, Dou Yan felt, for no reason she could name, a touch of unease rise in her heart.

Had she said something wrong?

Dou Yan carefully replayed their exchange in her mind.

The bell and drum of Yunqi Temple announcing the dawn rang out melodiously; the air still carried the chill of mid-autumn, yet the morning glow had already quietly spread across half the sky.

Song Yan left the Dou family residence with a buoyancy he himself found somewhat inexplicable.

Duan Bing, Xia Lian, and the others, who had drunk a bowl of hot soy milk on this autumn morning—its warmth spreading from their bellies to every limb and bone—were gathered in the small alley beside the Dou residence, chatting and laughing in low voices, their expressions utterly relaxed and at ease, like old friends reunited after a long parting.

At the sound of movement, they all turned wary and looked in that direction; seeing it was Song Yan, their expressions relaxed again.

"Young Marquis!" They bowed respectfully.

Zhu Yicheng could not resist stealing a glance at Xia Lian from the corner of his eye, thinking to himself: no wonder the master said skill in arms was only a stepping stone—to gain a firm footing in a house of high officials, one must also learn to read the master's mind. Xia Lian had said the Young Marquis would not appear for a while, and sure enough, they had waited nearly half an hour.

Song Yan nodded slightly, but his gaze fell on Duan Bing and Chen Lanxu. "Since you came to the capital with the Fourth Miss, why not come sit at One Lane? Mr. Yan and I were speaking of you just a few days ago—we wondered what you had been busy with all this time."

Such courtesy was something not even the guards enjoyed—no, not even the instructors of the capital's imperial guards, nor even those centurions and chiliarchs.

Zhu Yicheng could not help but regard Duan Bing and Chen Lanxu with new respect.

Duan Bing and Chen Lanxu, overwhelmed by the favor, hastened to bow and murmur that they dared not accept such honor.

※※※※※

Though he had gone to Crane Cry Temple Lane first thing yesterday morning and drunk no small amount of wine at the Jining Marquis's residence that evening, not returning home until nearly dawn, Ji Yong had slept soundly—yet at the first stroke of the bell from the capital's bell and drum tower announcing the dawn, he woke.

After washing up briskly, he went straight to Crane Cry Temple Lane.

Dou Wenchang was discussing with the Fifth Madam the matter of the double-morning banquet to celebrate the red and drink the betrothal wine.

The previous day the Fifth Madam had been busy inquiring after Madam Wang Xu, who had fallen ill from anger, busy dealing with the two sisters-in-law of the Wang family, busy soothing Madam Ji, and worrying about what was happening on the Wei family's side, pondering whom to send to the Wei household today to take charge. She had not closed her eyes to this moment.

Hearing that Ji Yong had come, the Fifth Madam was greatly relieved.

Ji Yong had the talent of a Zhang Yi or a Su Qin; with him going along, if the Wei family wished to disown this match, it would likely not be so easy. And since Ji Yong regarded Dou Yan so highly, should anyone of the Dou family ever seek his help in the future, he would surely never refuse.

She welcomed Ji Yong warmly. "Have you broken your fast? We haven't eaten yet. Why not join us for breakfast first, and then go with Jingwei to the Jining Hou residence? There's no hurry."

Jingwei was Dou Wenchang's courtesy name.

Hearing this, he could not help but be slightly taken aback.

Ji Yong was merely an in-law, addressed as cousin only because of the closeness between the families; he was not a proper relative of the Dou clan. Those who went to drink at the recognition feast were mostly the bride's clansmen, sisters-in-law, and nephews.

But since the Fifth Madam had already spoken, he would hardly be so foolish as to jump up and say that Ji Yong's going would be inappropriate.

Ji Yong did not stand on ceremony either, and sat down to breakfast with the Fifth Madam and Dou Wenchang. The Fifth Madam kept Dou Wenchang behind to talk.