Chapter 514 — Plain Words

"I am only letting him muddle through and get a feel for it," said Song Yan. "This is what my father-in-law taught me. He said the Dou children begin learning characters as soon as they can speak, and by the time they begin formal schooling they read faster than other children. He told me not to give all my attention to official business and neglect the child's lessons."

Dou Chiyou could not help laughing.

Song Yan stroked Yuan Heng's dark hair and said, "Our Yuan Heng may not need to sit for the imperial examinations, but reading more books is always good."

On this point Dou Yan agreed.

She looked up and saw that at some point Yuan Heng had grabbed the ink stick. He was imitating the way Song Yan had ground ink a moment ago, vigorously scribbling it back and forth across the inkstone.

Ink splattered everywhere, not only staining the sheet Song Yan had just finished writing but also covering his hands and clothes.

"Yuan Heng!" She hurried down from the kang and snatched the ink stick from his hand.

Yuan Heng lifted his little face and looked at Dou Yan in bewilderment, his expression somewhat timid.

Dou Yan secretly regretted her sharpness and quickly softened her voice: "This is not a toy. Look at you, your hands are covered in ink."

Yuan Heng looked at his little hands and, as if he found it very amusing, gurgled with laughter.

Song Yan watched and laughed too, urging Dou Yan: "It's all right. The child is still small; he will understand when he is older." As he spoke he kissed Yuan Heng, not the least bit angry, and called for a young maid to bring water to wash Yuan Heng's hands and change his clothes.

On a sudden whim, Yuan Heng pressed his hand onto the xuan paper, leaving several fingerprints.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly turned and pressed his hand against Song Yan's chest.

Song Yan was wearing a gray-blue Hangzhou silk robe, and the moment Yuan Heng's hand touched the fabric, the ink soaked in swiftly and stood out very plainly.

Dou Yan was astonished.

Yuan Heng, however, looked at Song Yan somewhat smugly and said, "Chickie's feet."

Both Dou Yan and Song Yan fixed their eyes on those little dots, but could see no resemblance between a few ink spots and a chick's feet.

Yuan Heng stretched out his little finger and tapped a few more dots on Song Yan's chest, saying, "Chickie is walking."

Looking at those small ink dots trailing off into the distance, Song Yan was suddenly excited. He said to Dou Yan, "Don't you see, it really does look like a chick's footprints."

Dou Yan could not see it. She laughed for a while, then helped father and son change their clothes.

Yuan Heng still wanted to write, but Dou Yan saw that it was growing late and coaxed him to bed: "Tomorrow we will write in the sunlight, where you can see clearly."

Song Yan coaxed him too: "Papa will come home early tomorrow."

Yuan Heng cuddled and fussed in Song Yan's arms for a while before following his wet nurse back to his room.

Song Yan sat at his ease in the armchair and said with a smile, "Go on, what is it?"

Was she really that obvious?

Dou Yan gave an embarrassed laugh.

Song Yan said, "Every time you have something serious to tell me, your expression turns especially grave."

Was that so?

Dou Yan's eyes went wide.

Song Yan drew her into his arms to sit and teased, "Hurry and tell me what it is, or I'm going to bed."

Dou Yan laughed aloud and told Song Yan everything from beginning to end: how Miao Zhi had come to her, how she had gone to see Old Chen, and how she had gone to find Song Cen.

The more Song Yan listened, the more solemn his expression became, and by the time Dou Yan finished, his face was cold as frost.

Dou Chiyou felt somewhat uneasy and said hesitantly, "Do you think I went too far?"

Even so, she did not regret it.

"No!" Song Yan shook his head coldly. "This was my affair to begin with..." As he spoke, he turned and fixed his eyes on hers without blinking. "Shouyuan, if something like this happens again, let me handle it. Don't ruin your reputation."

But if he handled it, it would ruin his reputation.

For some reason, tears suddenly brimmed in Dou Yan's eyes.

(To be continued)