Chapter 119

Fu Tingjun leaned forward slightly, her anxiety evident in her furrowed brow. "Don't rush. Start from the beginning."

Jin Yuanbao took a deep breath to steady himself and said, "Your matter is quite peculiar, and your father is a court official, so I didn't dare to call on your household directly. Instead, I first made inquiries about your mother's condition in the neighborhood. The neighbors all said they only knew that your mother had come to the capital to recuperate, but they didn't know her personally—that all the social interactions with the neighbors were handled by your sister-in-law. They also said your mother was very ill. When she first arrived, doctors were called in every few days, but lately no doctors have been summoned. However, the elderly maid attending your mother goes to the temple to burn incense on the first and fifteenth of every month..."

"How can this be?" Fu Tingjun interrupted sharply. "Wasn't it said that Mother only claimed illness to come to the capital because she couldn't bear the rumors about me?" The moment the words left her mouth, she fell silent. As the saying goes, ailments of the heart are hardest to cure. Perhaps her mother's heart was heavy because of her, and what began as a pretense became a real illness that kept her bedridden... "It's all my fault, all my fault," she murmured in self-reproach. "If not for me, how could Mother have fallen ill..." Tears slowly welled up in her eyes, but then her expression turned stern. "Since my mother is bedridden, why is it that only the elderly maid by her side goes to the temple to burn incense? What about my sister-in-law? What about my brother?"

Jin Yuanbao said, "Your father was promoted this spring to Director of the Bureau of Appointments in the Ministry of Personnel. His official duties are heavy, so he could no longer tutor your brother personally. He sent your brother to study under a very famous elderly Hanlin scholar named Chen in the capital. Your brother rises at the beginning of the mao hour (around 5 AM) every day and must walk three li to reach Scholar Chen's home, not returning until the beginning of the you hour (around 5 PM). All household affairs are managed by your sister-in-law..."

Fu Tingjun was astonished.

The Bureau of Appointments in the Ministry of Personnel handled promotions and transfers of officials by rank—a first-rate lucrative post—and the Director of that bureau was a fifth-rank official. Her father had previously been only a Reader-in-Waiting at the Hanlin Academy, a position of the fifth rank as well. To be promoted directly to Director of the Bureau of Appointments... one could truly call it a meteoric rise in officialdom.

"Even so, with Mother ill, my brother and sister-in-law cannot simply stand by and do nothing!" she said in a low, stern voice. "What happened afterward? Did you ask any of the doctors who treated my mother what illness she had?"

"I did ask." Jin Yuanbao paused, then said, "They all said it was merely a case of not acclimating to the new environment and a disharmony of the spleen and stomach. They prescribed some formulas to regulate digestion, saying she would naturally recover in time."

Her mother had been in the capital for nearly a year now, hadn't she? If it were merely a matter of not acclimating to the new environment, would her condition worsen with time?

Fu Tingjun was skeptical. "Then what about the young servant following Xiuzhu's Wife?"

Jin Yuanbao said, "Since I couldn't see your mother, I turned my attention to the household servants, hoping to find one of them who could secretly pass a message to your mother. I made inquiries about which servants had accompanied your mother from Huayin. But the neighbors said that your household's steward had complained that those who came from Huayin with your mother could neither speak the official language nor find their way around—if they got lost, people would have to be sent to look for them. So they were only assigned tasks within the inner quarters, while all outside matters were handled by the servants who had come to the capital with your father. Only Xiuzhu's Wife, who served your mother personally, occasionally went outside, but only to run small errands for your mother. I had no choice but to wait outside your household's gate. Finally, when I managed to catch Xiuzhu's Wife, she was either coming and going with other elderly maids or had a serving girl following behind her—I never found a chance to speak with her alone. So I dropped a silver bracelet into her basket. I calculated that if she showed it to your mother, your mother would surely order her to find the person who had dropped it. When she returned to Sixi Lane, I waited patiently outside the gate. Sure enough, within the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, Xiuzhu's Wife hurried out. Just as I was about to speak with her, I noticed a young servant following her..."

Judging by this account, it sounded as though her mother were being kept under surveillance.

Fu Tingjun was frightened by her own thought.

She stared wide-eyed and remained silent for a long while.

Jin Yuanbao said in a low voice, "That young servant was dressed in ordinary youth's clothing, cracking melon seeds, occasionally teasing the birds in other people's cages, and bantering with passersby. But he kept a steady distance behind Xiuzhu's Wife the whole time—even she didn't notice him... That's why I didn't dare approach."

She had originally thought that once she made contact with her mother, everything would come to light. But instead, what awaited her were more mysteries and greater confusion.

Her expression turned dejected. "You've made a round trip from Zhangye to the capital in such a short time—you must be exhausted. Go rest now!" Then she added, "How many days can you stay in Zhangye? When do you return to Jiayuguan?" Remembering that the Marquis of Yingchuan had summoned Zhao Ling and exposed his background, she told Jin Yuanbao about it frankly. "Tell me, how should we handle the Marquis of Yingchuan?"

When Jin Yuanbao heard that the Marquis of Yingchuan had learned of their background, he was greatly alarmed. But by the time Fu Tingjun finished speaking, he had already calmed down and said thoughtfully, "This is even better—we'll say we still have some unfinished business on the road, and that this trip to Xi'an Prefecture is precisely to sever all ties with the past. The Marquis of Yingchuan certainly won't blame us once he hears that."

Fu Tingjun also thought this was a good idea. She called for Zheng Sanniang and had her attend to Jin Yuanbao's rest.

Before long, Zheng Sanniang returned: "Miss, Master Jin says he'll go back to squeeze into the Commander-in-Chief's residence for the night and come over again early tomorrow morning."

Fu Tingjun's head began to ache.

Her adjoining room had originally been the inner chamber shared by Jin Yuanbao, Yang Yucheng, and the others. Now that she had moved to A Sen's quarters, she was neighbors with Jin Yuanbao and Yang Yucheng's inner chamber. Jin Yuanbao must have felt it inconvenient, so he preferred to return to the Commander-in-Chief's residence and squeeze in with the soldiers.

Their compound was so large, yet now there was no room for everyone.

Partly because she had decided to move to Nianbo Garrison after marrying Zhao Ling, and partly because this residence had been the scene of a bloody incident—and selling it while people still remembered the case would fetch a poor price—she had never considered acquiring a new property.

Fu Tingjun lifted the curtain and stepped out, calling to Jin Yuanbao, who was being escorted out by A Sen: "You can just swap rooms with Ninth Master! How can you go squeeze elsewhere when you're home? If you must squeeze, you squeeze with family."

A Sen had wanted to keep Jin Yuanbao all along but simply couldn't persuade him. Now that he saw Fu Tingjun speak up, he immediately grabbed Jin Yuanbao's arm: "See? Even Miss Fu says so!"

Jin Yuanbao's lips moved slightly, and with a faint flush of embarrassment, he answered, "Yes."

Zheng San and his wife then helped tidy up the room.

Fu Tingjun stood under the eaves, watching them come and go, her heart in a turmoil.

What should she do?

Was her mother truly ill, or feigning it?

Why was her father treating her mother this way?

Could there be some hidden circumstances behind all this?

Her brows were tightly knit when Zhao Ling returned.

Seeing Jin Yuanbao, he was taken aback. But the people inside were equally startled to see Zhao Ling. One asked, "When did you get back?" while another asked, "Why are you home so early today?" They all exchanged glances and laughed, and the atmosphere immediately grew lively.

Poor Jin Yuanbao—before he could even catch his breath, he was pulled aside by Zhao Ling for questioning.

Upon learning what had happened in the capital, he lowered his head and pondered for a long while. When he looked up again, his eyes and brows carried a resolute determination: "A Jun, I'll have someone escort you back to the capital!"

"Ah!" Fu Tingjun stared at Zhao Ling in astonishment.

Zhao Ling nodded, his expression stern as he said, "Whether or not your mother is truly ill, since word has come, you should go back and see for yourself. I'll rush over as soon as spring opens next year." As he spoke, he felt his expression was too severe, so he softened slightly and added, "Besides, if you go back first and drop a hint to Auntie, when I finally appear, she won't find it too abrupt. Isn't there a saying—a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law grows fonder with each look? Perhaps we'll even need Auntie to put in a good word for me before Uncle."

Jin Yuanbao was dumbfounded. It took him a long while to recover. He looked at Fu Tingjun, then at Zhao Ling, and stammered, "You... you two... have you already been betrothed?"

Fu Tingjun wished she could stuff a cloth into Zhao Ling's mouth, but Zhao Ling laughed openly and said, "It's still far from settled—just a thought for now!" This made Fu Tingjun's face turn crimson. She shot Zhao Ling a fierce glare and said to Jin Yuanbao, "Don't listen to his nonsense."

Jin Yuanbao smiled awkwardly.

But Zhao Ling suddenly turned serious: "There's no time to waste. It's already the ninth month—any later and the roads will freeze over. I think we should pack up and set out tomorrow. Since Yuanbao will be staying in Zhangye for the next few days anyway, anything that can't be handled in time can be left to him."

So soon!

Fu Tingjun was taken aback, and before she knew it, the words "But your birthday is in a few days" slipped out.

Zhao Ling's eyes brightened as he gazed straight at her, as if seeing through to the bottom of her heart, laying bare all the tender feelings she had hidden within.

She murmured, "It's only a few days later..."

"A Jun!" He walked over, his tall figure enveloping her like a verdant mountain screen. "The matters I needed to handle are done. Tomorrow I'll be returning to Nianbo Garrison as well... Next year, how about next year?" he coaxed her gently. "Next year, A Jun can properly celebrate my birthday for me, alright?"

His voice, like a warm current, quietly flowed through her heart, and she found herself nodding involuntarily.

They still had many more next years...

...

Dawn had just broken when Fu Tingjun's household became bustling with activity.

Zhao Ling had only given her one day. Though it was just a simple packing of trunks and saying farewell to neighbors like Madam Qi, Fu Tingjun was still run off her feet. And of all times, Xiao Shi chose this moment to visit.

Fu Tingjun cleared a path through the hall cluttered with trunks and boxes, and invited Xiao Shi to sit for tea.

Xiao Shi tactfully declined: "...I heard you're leaving today, so you must have many things to arrange. I won't add to your burden." With that, she took a cedarwood box from the maid behind her and handed it to Fu Tingjun. "I just heard from Lord Zhao that an elder in your family is unwell and you need to return to the capital to visit. There's no time to prepare anything proper—these are two century-old ginseng roots that the Marquis bestowed upon me in the past. Take them with you as a small token of my regard."

Fu Tingjun was surprised and politely refused: "No, no, no—these are far too precious. You should keep them for the Marquis's use."

"The Marquis wouldn't miss these two even if he needed them." Xiao Shi smiled and placed the box on the side table. "Go attend to your affairs. I should be on my way as well—the Marquis departs for Zhuanglang Guard in a couple of days." She turned and took her leave.