Chapter 377 — Tracing the Roots

Every serving woman in the Duke of Ying's household had signed a deed of sale. If one ran off, she became a person without registration; once caught, even if she were beaten to death, ...

Steward Li's second grandson ran away, and yet no one ever spoke of it.

Had someone covered it up for Steward Li? Or had so many died that year that there was simply no way to trace it?

Dou Yan's expression shifted slightly.

After she took charge of the household's inner affairs, the account books of the inner quarters had been handed over to her, and through the household's expenditures over the years she could trace certain old matters of the Duke of Ying's house. But the outer quarters' accounts were kept in Song Cen's hands, so they were relatively powerless where the outer quarters were concerned, and could only find ways to verify things slowly.

"If only we could get our hands on the roster of the outer quarters' serving women!" Chen Yanzhou found it a headache as well. "At least then we would know who exactly has vanished. Pull up a radish and the mud comes with it — who knows what else we might dig up."

Dou Yan thought for a moment, then said, "I will find a way about that. But as for the tailor Li — what else did he say? He is a mere tailor, with no household registration. Who stood surety for him, that he could go south and work the boats?"

Chen Yanzhou could not help giving Dou Yan a thumbs-up. "My lady's mind is as sharp as ever!"

Dou Yan laughed. "There is no one else here. Praising me like this is no better than wearing fine robes in the dark. Let us get to the real business."

Chen Yanzhou chuckled a few times, then composed his face and said, "My lady guessed right. Two others went south with the tailor Li. One was a third-class steward in the Duke of Ying's household's reception office, surnamed He, named Yuan. His father had once been an accountant in the Duke of Ying's household and, on Madam Jiang's orders, had gone to Guangdong many times to inspect the Heir's properties. Before He Yuan formally took up his post in the reception office, he had often followed his father to Guangdong to amuse himself, and had several friends there.

"One was surnamed Li, named Xiaoli. His father died young; his grandfather had been a steward of the gatehouse, and he inherited the post, serving at the gatehouse as well. He and Steward He grew up together and were very close. On the day disaster struck the Duke of Ying's household, they had drunk too much and quietly lain down to sleep in the gatehouse, and so escaped.

"Steward Li was on very good terms with He Yuan's father. When the tailor Li came to the household to settle accounts, it too went through He Yuan's hands. The two knew each other very well.

"After He Yuan fled, the first person he sought out was also the tailor Li.

"Later, it was He Yuan who proposed going south to work the boats.

"Because he had left the household early, he knew little about Steward Li's affairs. It was only when his grandnephew fled to him that he learned something had happened to the Duke of Ying's household. He had gone into the city to inquire, but not only did he learn nothing — many of the people he had once known had died suddenly. Only then did he begin to be afraid, and to preserve a bit of his brother's bloodline, he agreed to let his nephew go south with He Yuan.

"He had also worried that someone might come looking for him, ...

"For the past few years he has kept watch on the Duke of Ying's household. He also secretly inquired about the events of that year, but found nothing.

"After He Yuan went south, he twice sent word to him through intermediaries, both times asking about the situation in the capital and how the Duke of Ying's household fared.

"The tailor Li said that He Yuan and the others actually very much wished to return to the household; they simply did not know what had become of it, and had no way back in, so they could only drift about outside. He also said that when he learned my lady needed hands in her quarters and had not continued to use people from Zhending but was choosing maids from the various estates, he was delighted, hoping these girls might find favor with my lady — that way they too would have something to hope for."

Dou Yan was greatly surprised, and looked out the window.

Outside the window the day was fine and the breeze gentle; several little maids still in their childhood topknots were kicking a shuttlecock in the courtyard.

"The business at the Daxing estate actually reached the ears of a lame man who left the household years ago and works as a tailor in Wanping. He may truly know little about the Duke of Ying's affairs, but if you tell me he has no connection at all with those people, I will not believe it." She turned her head with a smile and looked at Chen Yanzhou. "I had only meant to find one or two useful leads from them. Instead I bought the box and gave back the pearl — I underestimated them. As things stand now, you will probably have to help me look into every one of these little maids of mine whose names bear the character Fu. I gave them nearly two months to choose the girls."

Chen Yanzhou agreed with a smile.

When Song Yan returned, Dou Yan told him about Steward Li.

Song Yan showed little surprise at the news. After a moment of silence, he said, "It was chaotic that year, but not so chaotic that so many would die. That some fled is hardly strange."

So that was Song Yan's reasoning.

But why had he not pursued the matter?

Dou Yan suddenly understood.

Song Cen had wanted to frame Song Yan. Even if those serving women had not known beforehand, they certainly knew afterward. Yet not one of them stood up for him, not one sought help for him from the outside, not even one spoke out on his behalf. So when Song Cen began his slaughter of these people, he chose to stand by and watch, cold and indifferent.

At that time, he must have felt himself betrayed.

That was why he would only ever use people from the Duke of Ding's household.

Aching at heart, Dou Yan put her arms around him and said, "They were only serving women, with limited understanding. All they knew was that obeying the Duke of Ying meant safety, and when disaster came they could only flee by instinct, like birds and beasts, with no thought for anything else. Now that they have calmed down, do they not regret it? Otherwise, when Old Chen went to them, without torture and without inducement, he would never have gotten them to pour out everything about that year like beans from a bamboo tube.

"I made mistakes, and you forgave me.

"These people are even less worth your anger.

"Do not think about the past anymore.

"If any of them can be of use, we will use them for now. If not, we will pretend we never knew about this. Those who fled have no registration; they can never come into the light their whole lives. What good days can they have? You might say Heaven has punished them on your behalf."

Song Yan laughed. "Do not drag in every wild reason under the sun just to comfort me." He gripped Dou Zhiwei by the shoulders and gazed at her red lips. "When have you ever made a mistake? How is it I do not know of it? Can those people compare with you? They are not fit to carry your shoes. In all my years I have compromised only for you — what face do they have to deserve the same?"

There it was — the more she spoke, the more Song Yan's grudge deepened.

Dou Yan had no choice but to quibble. "In any case, you said this matter was mine to handle. Whatever I say, you can only agree."

Song Yan truly did not take these people to heart.

Would a tiger take a rabbit to heart?

Even if a wolf in rabbit's clothing occasionally popped up among the flock, it would only cost him a little more effort.

Had it not been that his own methods had failed to uncover the cause of his mother's death, he would not even have agreed to let Dou Yan handle the matter.