Chapter 11

That night, Fu Tingjun surprisingly slept soundly.

The next morning, while she wasn't exactly refreshed and energized, her complexion was rosy and smooth—a world apart from the dull pallor of recent days. This made Nanny Chen suspicious, and she kept stealing glances at her.

Let her guess!

Fu Tingjun felt pleased at heart and deliberately turned up the corners of her mouth, even her voice carrying a hint of softness.

Nanny Chen frowned repeatedly.

Fu Tingjun pretended not to notice and went to see Hanyan.

She was lying in bed resting. Seeing Fu Tingjun, she struggled to get up: "Miss!"

Fu Tingjun caught her by the shoulders: "How are you? Feeling any better?" She gently rolled up Hanyan's trouser leg to look at her wound.

It was red and swollen, quite alarming.

"It's nothing, nothing!" Hanyan, afraid she might worry, quickly pulled her trouser leg down to cover the injury. "Master Guohui said I'll be able to get out of bed in a couple of days."

Lü'e brought tea in: "Miss, I heard Nanny Chen kept watch in your room last night?"

"Never mind her." Since Hanyan was already in this state, she didn't want to drag the other two maidservants into it. "Let her do as she pleases. It's been over two months now—I figure there should be a resolution soon. We can't stay at Biyun Nunnery forever! I was too impatient these past days."

The two young maidservants were simple-minded at heart, and since Fu Tingjun was their mistress, they naturally believed her words without question.

The three chatted for a while, then Fu Tingjun went to see Master Guohui.

"I think Hanyan's wounds need some medicine!" She asked Master Guohui for trauma salve. "If there's something to replenish blood and qi to help her recover, that would be even better."

Master Guohui was silent for a moment, then got up and fetched a white porcelain bottle with green floral patterns and another with red floral patterns: "This one is for external application, this one for internal use. Apply the external one once daily, and take one pill of the internal one morning and evening."

"Master is so stingy." Fu Tingjun said, then scooped up all the white porcelain bottles with green and red floral patterns from the cabinet into her arms.

Master Guohui was taken aback by her rudeness and said, "More medicine isn't necessarily better—Hanyan's injuries aren't serious, and it's optional whether to use it or not. Ninth Miss, please don't overdo it and spoil things."

Fu Tingjun's ears grew hot.

She'd actually resorted to that man's bandit-like tactics... Truly, one takes on the color of one's company... But she had no choice—who knew if she'd need to ask him again? The more medicine she had on hand, the more bargaining chips she'd hold.

"Master, don't mind me!" She sighed. "I'm feeling out of sorts—just let me have my little tantrum!"

Master Guohui gave her a long, searching look and said no more.

Fu Tingjun went to the kitchen: "I want to make a bowl of scallion noodles myself."

The nuns couldn't know what had happened in Jingyue Hall; they only knew that Biyun Nunnery was supported by the Fu family, and the Fus were their bread and butter. Some helped knead the flour, some wiped the cutting board, some fetched the rolling pin—all very enthusiastic.

Fu Tingjun chatted with the nuns as she kneaded the dough: "...I recall the family sent grain and flour to the nunnery a while back—how is the rice jar empty?"

"Didn't we have that burglary scare recently?" A nun was boiling water for the noodles. "We only take out a little each day, so the thieves won't steal it all. Rice and flour have gotten so expensive..."

By the time the noodles were done, Fu Tingjun had learned what she wanted to know. She ate a few bites, had a young novice deliver the rest to Hanyan and Lü'e, and returned to her own room.

Nanny Chen came forward: "Ninth Miss, shall I set out the midday meal?"

"I've already eaten." Fu Tingjun cast a half-smiling, half-mocking glance at the two coarse maidservants behind her. "Didn't they tell you?" Then she slammed the door shut with a bang.

Nanny Chen looked sternly at the two coarse maidservants.

"Nanny Chen." Both wore uneasy expressions...

...

The red-lacquered window with ice-crack patterning was half propped open; the two volumes of Miscellaneous Notes brought from home sat neatly arranged on the desk by the window, the white cotton bed curtain hung from brass hooks shaped like magpies on plum blossoms, and the bluestone floor still bore traces of dampness from recent cleaning.

Clearly, while she was away, the room had been thoroughly cleaned.

Fu Tingjun curled her lips and thought with no small amount of malice—perhaps Nanny Chen had taken the opportunity to rummage through her room...

She placed one bottle each of the external and internal medicine in the cabinet, stored the rest in her trunk, then turned and sat down at the desk.

It was midday, and the bright sunlight beat down on the roof, the walls, and the silver-edged weeping willows, making everything shimmer with waves of heat. The room, shielded by the eaves and the long window, felt all the more secluded and tranquil.

The worries she had pushed aside during her busy morning all came flooding back.

Counting the time, he should have entered the city long ago.

I wonder if he managed to see Bi Bo's Wife smoothly?

What message would Mother have him bring back?

Some of the people in her household were hereditary servants of the Fu family, while a few had been bought in from the countryside. With such a large group sent to the farm estate under the pretext of an epidemic, there were bound to be worried parents or siblings who would risk their safety to visit... Who knew whether this lie would be exposed?

Yitong, Yuwei, Zheliu, Jiancao... which one of them had done such a foolish thing? It had put everyone in danger...

And Grandmother and Eldest Aunt—what were they doing right now?

Had Mother written to Father?

The more she thought, the more bewildered she became; the more she thought, the more anxious she grew. In the end, she simply went to bed to rest.

If only she had brought her qin with her when she left—when her mind was in a tangle, playing a tune would help steady her emotions.

But then again, the qin reveals the heart. She had not had much contact with Master Guohui before, and only now realized that she was a person who concealed her true depth. If she were to play a piece, perhaps all her thoughts would be laid bare to Master Guohui...

As Fu Tingjun's mind wandered aimlessly, someone tapped lightly on the window lattice to the east—"thump, thump, thump."

"Who is it?" She walked nervously to the window lattice.

"It's me!" The voice was flat and even, without the slightest rise or fall.

But to her ears, it sounded like celestial music.

She hadn't expected him to return so quickly.

"You'd better come in through the roof!" Fu Tingjun said, overjoyed. "That way Nanny Chen won't notice that the wooden bars nailed over the window have been removed and cause more trouble."

There was no sound from outside the window.

Fu Tingjun was slightly taken aback.

Surely he wasn't angry about this?

She pressed her ear to listen.

There was no sound at all.

Suddenly, someone spoke from behind her: "What are you doing?"

Fu Tingjun was startled out of her wits. She spun around quickly and saw him standing behind her. Looking up, she saw that the translucent tile on the roof had been lifted, and sunlight streamed in, forming a pillar of light that suddenly brightened the room.

Why did he always have to enter in such a terrifying manner?

She grumbled inwardly but dared not show the slightest hint of it.

She hurried to close the window, then pressed her ear to the door for a moment. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. She invited him to sit in the old-fashioned wooden armchair and offered him a cup of tea.

His face was flushed red from the sun, his temples covered in sweat. He wore a neat, clean lilac-colored short robe and a pair of straw sandals on his feet.

Fu Tingjun glanced at the straw sandals a couple of times.

He had already unceremoniously drained the cup of tea she had offered him, then handed the cup back to her: "Change it for a big bowl. I'll have another."

Fu Tingjun barely restrained herself from glaring at him: "I don't have any big bowls here."

"Then bring the teapot over." He said it without a care.

Fu Tingjun's mouth twitched, but she brought the teapot over.

He poured the tea into the small cup and downed it one cup at a time.

At least he hadn't drunk straight from the teapot—otherwise, she would have had to explain to Nanny Chen why she had suddenly discarded a perfectly good teapot.

Fu Tingjun kept telling herself to maintain basic decorum and wait until he finished his tea before asking questions...

But he set down the cup: "I didn't see Bi Bo's Wife. The Fu family said she was at Biyun Nunnery, attending to Ninth Miss, who had suffered heatstroke."

"What?" Her heart pounded like thunder, and she shot to her feet.

Nanny Fan called from outside the door: "Ninth Miss, do you have any instructions?"

The alarming news he had brought, combined with the disgust she had been hiding toward Nanny Chen and the others, caused Fu Tingjun's emotions to erupt suddenly. She flew into a rage: "I want to eat eggs—can you manage that? If you can't, then stop chattering at me from out there!"

Silence fell outside the door.

After losing her temper, Fu Tingjun calmed down considerably.

Bi Bo's Wife hadn't returned to the Fu family—so where had she gone?

Did Mother know that Bi Bo's Wife had disappeared? Did she know that she was being held at Biyun Nunnery?

She was frantic with worry: "Then did you see my mother?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she had said something wrong!

He was a man, and her mother was in the inner courtyard. In broad daylight, how could he possibly have seen her mother?

But she so desperately wanted to see her mother—perhaps Mother was just as much in the dark as she was?

Who exactly had arranged all of this?

Grandmother? Eldest Aunt?

Fu Tingjun's heart raced with anxiety.

It was a pity that her elder brother had taken his wife and children to the capital to study with their father—otherwise, she could have sought his advice!

Although he could scale walls and leap over rooftops, there was a distinction between men and women, and it would be inappropriate for him to visit her mother at night...

She pondered for a moment, then slipped a white mutton-fat jade bracelet from her wrist and placed it on the tea table: "Brave sir, I have already found out—the grain storehouse is in the cellar beneath the incense table in front of the Veda statue in the Grand Buddha Hall. I beg you to make another trip for me. Pawn this bracelet and exchange it for a set of cocoon silk clothing. Say that you are a messenger sent by my father from the capital, and request an audience with my mother directly."

He sat motionless, his gaze fixed on the jade bracelet. After a long moment, he raised his head: "Ninth Miss, your ideas don't seem to be very good at all!"

He looked at her sidelong, his face cold and expressionless, his eyes pitch-black—like a deep, ancient well.

Fu Tingjun was stunned for a long time.

What did he mean by that?

Was he mocking her for being fanciful?

Since one couldn't take the unconventional path, then one should do the opposite and strike openly and aboveboard... What was wrong with that?

"Let's not even mention that those sent home with letters are all trusted confidants, and that none of your family members know me. Consider this: your Fu family is currently under your eldest uncle's stewardship. If I were to deliver the letter, the first thing I'd have to do is pay my respects to him. If he asks about your father's situation in the capital, how am I supposed to answer?" he asked her softly.

Fu Tingjun was left speechless.

It was indeed somewhat risky, but aside from this method, she truly couldn't think of a better, more direct, or more effective approach!

"Then let me tell you about our family's situation," she said immediately. "You can fend off my eldest uncle with a few words, and when the time comes, just claim it's urgent and insist on seeing my mother. My eldest uncle wouldn't dare stop you..."

"I've always been a bit curious," he suddenly interrupted her, "with your cleverness, even if you were quarreling with your cousins, you should have been able to extricate yourself easily. How did you end up confined in Biyun Nunnery?" He gazed at her intently. "I've heard people in town say that someone in your family committed adultery and was caught in the act—everyone's been speculating whether it's true..."