Chapter 7 — Doubt

When word came that Dou Zhen had arrived, Father went out himself to welcome him in.

He carried a basket of oranges. Since it was all family, Mother and Aunt Ding did not withdraw. After the greetings were exchanged, Dou Zhen gestured at the oranges and said to Grandfather with a smile, "Eldest Brother sent these back. I brought a few along specially for you to taste." Then he fished an orange from the little basket and handed it to Dou Yan: "Shouyuan, have an orange."

Dou Yan was still somewhat dazed.

Mother gave her a nudge.

She murmured a "thank you."

Dou Zhen smiled and patted Dou Zhiwei on the head.

Grandfather said, "Come up on the kang and sit! I have some Da Hong Pao that Shenxing sent me."

Aunt Ding turned at once and went to the small tea room next door to brew the tea.

Dou Zhen did not stand on ceremony; he climbed onto the kang and sat cross-legged facing Grandfather.

Dou Yan held her orange and nestled quietly in Mother's arms, staring at Dou Zhen without blinking.

Her third uncle, dead these ten years, now stood living before her eyes — and was telling her to eat an orange!

She remembered how, back at the farm, Third Uncle would come to visit Grandmother every so often, and every time he would bring her some little thing — a fashionable handkerchief, a pretty hair flower, some rare delicacy; once he even gave her a pair of Wuxi clay dolls. Big eyes, round faces, little red jackets painted with gold, smiling and bowing with clasped hands — the farm children were wild with envy. She set the pair of dolls on the windowsill, and there they stayed until she left the farm at twelve, when they were packed away in a trunk and traveled with her from Dingxian to the capital, to remain at the Jining Hou residence.

In those days, each of Third Uncle's visits was like a ray of sunlight falling upon her, making her glow and shine.

She had never forgotten.

Dou Zhiwei's vision blurred a little; she heard Dou Zhen say with a smile, "...Eldest Brother's health worsens by the day. Lan sent word a while ago that since autumn set in, Eldest Brother has had three attacks of angina. Only the river works are unfinished, so he dares not slacken. Eldest Brother wrote that once these days are past, he means to resign his post and go home, to study the Book of Changes in earnest together with Uncle."

Grandfather laughed heartily. "Officialdom is glorious, but the paperwork is bitter. Who told him to be an official!" As he spoke, his smile thinned and his face turned grave. "His angina grows worse day by day — has he seen a physician?"

"Every famous doctor in Jiangnan has been consulted," said Dou Zhengbang. "But none has a good remedy. They all say only rest and quiet. And is Eldest Brother a man who can sit still..."

Dou Yan listened from the side, but her thoughts had already drifted far away.

Her eldest uncle was named Dou Shiyang, the eldest son of the eldest grand-uncle. He was thirty-nine years older than Father and four years younger than Grandfather. Like Grandfather, he had studied from childhood under their great-grand-uncle; they were uncle and nephew by blood, but in truth as close as brothers. He had already passed away by the time Dou Yan was old enough to remember. They said he had worked himself to death repairing river channels while serving as prefect of Yangzhou, and his deeds were carved on the bluestone tablet in the ancestral hall. In the fourth year of Jianwu, great floods struck Jiangnan and many dikes were breached; only the stretch of dike built during Eldest Uncle's tenure stood firm. His achievements were brought to light again, and the Emperor issued a special edict in his honor.

Lan was the only son Eldest Uncle had obtained at forty-three. He passed the provincial examination at twenty-one, but thereafter failed the metropolitan examination again and again. In remembrance of Eldest Uncle's merits, the Emperor granted him by hereditary favor the post of assistant magistrate of Jurong County. When he came to the capital to give thanks, the Dou clansmen there vied to feast him. Dou Yan, estranged from the Dou family on account of her stepmother, merely sent a congratulatory gift.

Should she warn Third Uncle?

But would Third Uncle listen to anything she said?

Dou Yan hesitated.

Aunt Ding came in leading two maids who carried tea and refreshments.

Mother set her down on the floor and helped Aunt Ding serve the tea and arrange the pastries.

Dou Zhen lifted his teacup, took a sip, praised it as "good tea," and then sighed with feeling: "Truly, 'those by the mountain live off the mountain, those by the water live off the water'!"

Shenxing was the courtesy name of Dou Zhiwei's second uncle, Dou Shiqi, Eldest Uncle's full younger brother — eight years younger than Dou Shiyang, four years older than Dou Zhen. He had passed the metropolitan examination at twenty-six and served as an official elsewhere ever since, retiring from the post of Jiangxi provincial administration commissioner.

Dou Yan had only heard of the man, never laid eyes on him — while she was at Zhending, he was serving abroad; by the time he retired and returned home, she had already married into the capital.

Da Hong Pao comes from Mount Wuyi. From Third Uncle's tone, he must now be serving in Fujian.

Grandfather laughed heartily at this. "'Those by the mountain live off the mountain, those by the water live off the water' — the crux is the 'live off.' How can that compare with you? We're all counting on you for our livelihood!"

Many in the Dou family served as officials abroad; even more shut themselves away to "hear nothing beyond the window, read only the books of the sages" for the examinations.

Dou Zhen managed the household affairs of both the East and West Dou branches.

At this he gave a dry, awkward laugh, his face sheepish.

Dou Yan remembered.

Third Uncle had sat the provincial examination alongside Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, and Fifth Uncle — and also alongside Sixth Uncle, Father, and his cousins Dou Wenchang, Dou Yuchang, Dou Xiuchang, and Dou Rongchang... and it seemed he had never once passed.

Seeing this, Father raised his teacup and said hurriedly, "Drink up, drink up!" Then he called out to Mother, "Third Brother rarely comes. Go tell the kitchen to prepare a few dishes to go with wine — I'll have a cup or two with Father and Third Brother."

"No need, no need." Dou Zhen glanced at Father and smiled. "Eldest Brother asked me to bring Uncle a few words. It's getting late; once I've delivered the message I must be going." He added, "The New Year is near, and I still have a mountain of affairs waiting at home!"

"That needn't cost you this little while," Grandfather said with a smile, but Father had already taken Mother by the arm. "Since Third Brother has something to say to Father, we'll go back to our rooms first." Paying no heed to Mother's surprise, he hustled her out of the Hall of Longevity. "Third Brother coming at this hour — it must be something urgent."

Mother was reassured; and having not seen Father for so long, she gazed at him with eyes soft as vines. "Very well. I shall go back and see my husband to bed early."

"Good, good, good," Father answered, glancing back toward the Hall of Longevity with an absent look.

Dou Yan followed Father's gaze.

All around was still; the snow glittered cold and broken under the moonlight, and the orange glow from Grandfather's study seemed especially warm.

Dou Yan was puzzled.

Mother noticed nothing, and chatted and laughed with Father all the way back to the main quarters.

A serving woman with graying temples came to meet them, dropping a curtsy and calling them "Seventh Master" and "Seventh Mistress."

Her manner was stern, but her eyes were gentle.

Dou Chu felt drawn to her at first sight.

Mother handed her over to the woman. "Mother Yu, you and Shouyuan will rest in the warm chamber tonight."

Mother Yu smiled and answered, "Yes."