Chapter 306 — Flattery

"He truly said it," Dou Bingheng said gravely. "The Duke of Ying was present at the time and humbly tried to decline on his behalf, but His Majesty gave him a thorough dressing-down. He said things like 'When a child has grown, he should be tempered all the more, or how will he ever bear great responsibility?' and 'It is precisely because Yantang is still young that I keep him serving under my very eyes, so that if he errs it can be corrected in time. If I sent him off to Xuantong or the Two Guang provinces, beyond the reach of my whip, and those officials there are accustomed to deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth, we would know nothing at all, and Yantang would be raised into an arrogant, domineering temper — that would be the true ruin of him.'"

The Fifth Madam drew a sharp breath and said hesitantly, "What does His Majesty mean by this? A warning to the Duke of Ying? And yet he promoted our fourth son-in-law..."

Dou Bingheng did not yet know about the affair of Colonel Wang. He told the Fifth Madam about the Song family's wish to ally with the Hua family: "...It is most likely on account of the Duke of Ying's remarriage."

The Fifth Madam was dumbstruck. "Does His Majesty mean to forbid the Duke of Ying from taking a second wife? Is that not too unreasonable?"

"To see how shrewd you usually are, and now you turn muddle-headed over this!" Dou Bingheng said. "How could His Majesty concern himself with whether the Duke of Ying remarries or not? His Majesty is hinting to the Duke of Ying that the heir of the Yingzhen Duke's household is the one he favors — that the Duke of Ying had best weigh his actions more carefully!"

The Fifth Madam pondered for a good while before she grasped the twists and turns within. She could not help clicking her tongue. "Our fourth son-in-law is truly formidable! To have His Majesty spinning in circles like that!"

"Nonsense!" Dou Bingheng snapped in urgent reproof. "Is that the sort of thing one says aloud?"

The implication being that it was enough for them to know it in their hearts.

The Fifth Madam at once summoned all her energies and said, "I think there is no need to wait four days. Tomorrow I shall go to the Longhua Temple Alley house — even if there is nothing that needs doing, it will be good to go and look in."

Dou Bingheng pondered a moment, then said, "There is one other matter — discuss it with our fourth daughter. The Wang family has taken their Wang daughter back to live at her natal home for good. But we cannot have a mere steward's wife presiding over the household accounts at the Yunqi Temple Alley house forever. It would be better to choose a girl of clean family from your own natal family to serve as a concubine to our seventh brother. First, she can help manage the household affairs at Yunqi Temple Alley. Second, she can look after our seventh brother's daily needs, and if the girl has the good fortune, she might even bear a son or daughter for the seventh branch and carry on its line."

The Fifth Madam understood at once and said immediately, "Rest assured, my lord. Whatever you say, I will make certain it reaches our fourth daughter's ears."

Whether Dou Yan agreed or not was her own affair; but as for the Wang woman, they must now take a clear and unmistakable stance.

Dou Bingheng nodded in satisfaction.

When Dou Fan heard that Song Yan had returned, she could not restrain herself and ran to the gate of the Yizhi Hall to welcome him.

"Have you truly been promoted to Vice Commander of the Jinwu Guard?" she asked Song Yan urgently.

The post of Vice Commander of the Jinwu Guard was second only to the Chief Commissioner within the Guard, and because it put one in direct charge of such matters as the Guard's military pay, the reporting of military merits, and the verification of hereditary posts, no one dared treat it lightly.

Song Yan nodded with a smile.

Dou Fan could not help pressing her palms together and murmuring, "Amitabha."

That is to say, Song Zhi's stratagem had succeeded.

His Majesty had heard of the discord between Song Cen and Song Zhi.

In all the world, perhaps only Shouyuan was clever enough for this.

To perceive the great from the small.

Often, from the merest hint of a thing, she could tell what had happened.

Song Yan nodded again with a smile, and said in excellent spirits, "Should my lady not reward me for my pains? I have after all been given a higher office and had my rank advanced!"

This heir — so relaxed, even a little teasing — was someone the serving women of the Yizhi Hall had never seen before.

The whole company was struck dumb.

Yan Che hastily cleared his throat and smilingly invited everyone inside: "...This is hardly the place for talk. Besides, now that the heir has been promoted, the household ought to offer him congratulations. Pray take a seat in the main hall, heir, so that we may offer our felicitations."

Thinking of the constipated look on his father's face in the Qianqing Palace just now, Song Ji could not help letting out a long breath, and felt that the sky above his head had turned a shade clearer.

From this day forward, his father's petty, underhanded tricks could no longer wound him in the slightest!

"Very well!" He laughed and went into the hall, instructing Dou Yan, "Two silver ingots for every servant as a reward!"

The Ying Duke's household minted silver ingots in a variety of shapes: the yuanbao weighing eight mace apiece, the plum-blossom five mace, the interlocking-lozenge four mace, and then there were silver beans and gold beans at two mace each — two silver yuanbao made one tael of silver.

Everyone rejoiced.

Dou Yi's delight showed plainly on his face as he beamed and answered, "Yes."

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Sisters and brothers, here is a rough draft for now — I will hunt down the bugs later.

o(n_n)o~