Chapter 121

The Marquis of Yingchuan's guards were highly trained—handling lodging, feeding the horses, standing watch, and serving hot water and meals with far more thoughtfulness than Zheng San had expected. There was nothing for them to manage; all they had to do was follow the guards.

In just half a month, they left the provincial military command and stopped at Ningjing County.

Zheng San first went to a silver shop to exchange Fu Tingjun's cash for bank notes, then found a caravan heading to Zhangye to deliver the clothes and shoes Fu Tingjun had made for Zhao Ling's birthday to Nianbo Station.

They had left in such a hurry that Fu Tingjun had only just cut the fabric. During the journey, she slept during the day and worked on the needlework at night after checking into inns. Though the delivery was late, it was still a token of her feelings.

Once the items were sent off, Fu Tingjun breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought of this time last year, when she had first strolled through the streets with Zhao Ling. He had given her two Hui-style headscarves, and they had run into Manager Ye... She wondered if Manager Ye had made it safely to Xi'an Prefecture.

After a night of rest, they continued on their way.

When they reached Wushan County, a heavy rain fell, and the cart carrying their trunks left deep wheel ruts in the muddy road. The next day, as they passed along a mountain path, they were surrounded by a band of bandits.

There were only twenty-odd of them, but the bandits numbered thirty to forty.

Fu Tingjun's heart raced with fear and her legs went weak, but she still held A Sen back from going down: "Wait until those guards can't hold on anymore." She regretted having dismissed the escorts.

The Marquis of Yingchuan's guards, however, showed no sign of fear. The lead guard, surnamed Jian, made a gesture, and the guards unslung crossbows from their backs, arrows flying like shooting stars toward the bandits.

The bandits at the front didn't even have time to draw their swords before they fell with anguished cries.

One of the bandits shouted in terror: "They're using military crossbows!"

Guard Jian sneered, then called out loudly: "We serve under the Marquis of Yingchuan, Commander-in-Chief of Gansu."

At that, the bandits scattered in panic like birds and beasts.

The guards didn't pursue, letting the remnants flee into the mountains.

They departed calmly.

That evening, as they rested at a postal station, the magistrate and deputy magistrate of Wushan County both came rushing over.

Guard Jian sat there with an imposing air, letting the local officials sweat profusely as they explained why bandits had appeared in Wushan County.

A Sen excitedly recounted the scene to Fu Tingjun, but she sighed inwardly, her heart aching for Zhao Ling.

He now owed the Marquis of Yingchuan such a great favor—who knew what price he would have to pay to repay it!

She resolved to part ways with these guards once they reached the capital, then have Zheng San deliver a generous gift to the Duke of Fuguo's residence as thanks. As for buying a house, she would find another way.

The rest of the journey was peaceful. When snow began to fall from the sky, they arrived at Xi'an Prefecture.

Thinking of the hardships along the way, Zheng San found an inn in a bustling area of Xi'an, rented out a quiet courtyard within it, and prepared several tables of food and drink to entertain the guards.

Xi'an was the capital of Shaanxi, so public order was naturally far better than in ordinary counties and prefectures. The guards relaxed, drinking and playing finger-guessing games with Zheng San, leaving only two on duty. Another two were assigned to escort Fu Tingjun to Willow Lane.

Master Lyu and Madam Lyu were startled to see her, grabbing her hands and asking: "What happened? Where is Ninth Master?" Their expressions were wary as they eyed the two burly, powerful-looking guards who were clearly out of the ordinary.

"Ninth Master is doing very well—he earned military merit and was promoted to centurion." Fu Tingjun quickly reassured them, then said, "...A relative in the capital is unwell, so I'm going to see her."

The Lyu couple knew that Zhao Ling had sent Jin Yuanbao to inform the relatives in the capital, so they were immediately put at ease. Learning that Zhao Ling had been promoted to centurion delighted them even more. Madam Lyu even wanted to go to Guangren Temple to fulfill a vow: "I promised the Bodhisattva I would donate twenty taels of silver for oil money."

Master Lyu, meanwhile, warmly invited the two guards inside for tea.

"No need!" The two guards stood there like door gods. "We're following orders—we'll just wait here." Their expressions were somewhat cold.

Master Lyu thought that since these were the Marquis of Yingchuan's guards, leaving them standing at the door would be discourteous to guests. He was about to press further, but Fu Tingjun, recalling how A Sen had described Guard Jian's reception of the Wushan County officials, knew that if not for the Marquis's orders, these men wouldn't give them a second glance. She spoke up before Master Lyu could: "Since you're following orders, we'll trouble you two officers then!" She added to Madam Lyu, "It's cold out—have a maid bring the two officers some hot tea to warm themselves." In this way, she maintained proper courtesy.

Seeing that Fu Tingjun had spoken, Master Lyu and Madam Lyu didn't insist further. Smiling, they welcomed her inside, and settled in Madam Lyu's inner chamber with hot tea and refreshments.

Knowing that Fu Tingjun would need to purchase a residence upon arriving in the capital, Master Lyu pondered for a moment, then said, "In that case, I'll accompany you to the capital as well, so you won't be cheated."

"How could that be?" Fu Tingjun hastily replied. "You're advanced in years, and with such wind and snow..."

"Just let him go with you!" Madam Lyu said with a smile from the side. "You young people are inexperienced—there are countless tricks to buying and selling houses. Seeing that you're from out of town, they might have one person pose as a broker and another as the owner, colluding to swindle your money; or they might repaint a house whose beams and pillars are nearly rotten and sell it to you as if it were eighty or ninety percent new; or they might take a relative's property and use it to trick you out of a deposit... With him along, you'll have an extra pair of hands to run errands. Besides, he's idle at home anyway—it'd be good for him to go to the capital and see the excitement!" Her attitude was quite sincere.

Fu Tingjun had already resolved not to trouble the Duke of Fuguo's household, and Zheng San was merely a former escort guard—competent enough for watching over the residence and protecting people, but somewhat out of his depth when dealing with government clerks and officials. She had been worrying about not having a capable person to rely on, and hearing the Lyu couple's words, she couldn't help but feel tempted. After a brief moment of thought, she smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Master Lyu!"

"Miss Fu, what are you saying?" Madam Lyu was delighted that they weren't being treated as outsiders. "We've received such great kindness from Ninth Master, and now this is merely a small effort... Miss Fu must never be so polite with us again."

Fu Tingjun readily smiled and agreed. Master Lyu then brought up the matter of selling the land: "The rent from the three shops and the income from the fields in Chang'an County are all in my hands, totaling about twelve hundred taels. I can also manage to scrape together another five hundred taels. I think it would be better to sell two hundred mu of land first—that way, it would also relieve the urgent need in the capital." His implication was that in the end, they shouldn't sell the land at all.

"You and I are of the same mind," Fu Tingjun said with a smile. "I never intended to sell. The reason I came this time is to ask you to find a few honest and reliable tenants."

Zhao Ling always felt that the money he had given her was her private savings and was unwilling to use it.

"That's easy, that's easy." Hearing that the fields wouldn't be sold, Master Lyu smiled until his eyes curved like crescents. "The tenants currently renting our fields are all very honest."

The two discussed matters of the fields for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, Fu Tingjun rose to take her leave.

The next day, Master Lyu delivered the year's earnings. Madam Lyu also accompanied her to buy some local specialties of Xi'an. After resting for two days, Master Lyu bid farewell to Madam Lyu and set off for the capital with them.

On the day of the Laba Festival, they lodged at the post station in Weinan County.

Fu Tingjun stood by the window, gazing silently at the drifting snowflakes for a long time without a word.

Zheng Sanniang came over cheerfully carrying a bowl of Laba porridge: "Miss, I made it—please have a taste!"

Fu Tingjun smiled and sat down on the heated kang, taking a few bites. Though it was as tasteless as chewing wax, she still nodded: "Mm, the flavor is quite good."

Hearing this, Zheng Sanniang smiled and wiped her hands with her apron: "Then you go ahead and eat. I'll bring some to Guard Jian and the others as well."

Fu Tingjun smiled and nodded.

As Zheng Sanniang lifted the thick cotton curtain, the sound of weeping and scolding drifted in.

"...You stinking whore, I'll teach you to steal, I'll teach you to steal!" A man shouted angrily.

"I didn't steal, I didn't steal—you threw it away and didn't want it anymore, so I picked it up..."

Fu Tingjun was startled.

The one arguing was a young woman's voice—thin and delicate, carrying a hint of stubbornness, yet it sounded very familiar to her.

Her expression changed, and she couldn't help but walk toward the door.

The scolding became clearer.

"What I threw away is still mine—who told you to pick it up here? If you picked it up, that's stealing..." The man's voice was overbearing and unreasonable, followed by several thudding sounds, as if he were kicking someone.

Strangely, there was no sound of the woman crying or begging for mercy.

Fu Tingjun followed the sound and walked over.

In the back courtyard of the post station, a small, thin man in a bright blue coarse cotton robe was kicking a woman curled up in the snow.

In the bitter cold, the woman had wrapped herself in several tattered summer garments to ward off the chill. She was gaunt as a skeleton, and the skin exposed to the air was mottled blue and purple from the cold.

"Stop!" Fu Tingjun called out with a frown. "What did she steal from you?"

The small, thin man raised his head with a face full of menace, but when he saw clearly that it was the person who had checked in that day with the name cards of the Duke of Fuguo and the Marquis of Yingchuan, he immediately lowered his head with deference, speaking with a hint of fear and trepidation: "Miss, you wouldn't know—this one is a beggar caste. She often comes to the post station to steal food. I was afraid she might bring something filthy into the kitchen, and if the honored guests got diarrhea or dysentery from eating, then I would be guilty beyond redemption. That's why I was teaching this girl a lesson..."

"You're lying—I've never set foot in the kitchen." The woman curled up in the snow murmured in her own defense, struggling to prop herself up on her elbows and lift her head.

Fu Tingjun turned to look.

Their gazes met in midair.

Fu Tingjun felt as if she had been struck by lightning, standing frozen on the spot with a face as pale as frost.

The woman's eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief: "I... am I dreaming...? Could it be that I have already died, and so I see the young miss..." As she spoke, two streams of clear tears flowed down her face. "Young miss, young miss," she crawled on her belly toward Fu Tingjun, "I have wronged you, I have wronged you..." On the snow-covered ground, a winding trail was left behind. "She entered the household following me; I taught her how to comb hair, how to dress, how to stand, how to smile... like my own younger sister. She helped me pack your trunks, and I praised her for being clever and well-behaved... Young miss..." She stretched out her bony hand, trembling as she clutched at the hem of Fu Tingjun's skirt. "It was I, I who harmed you, I who harmed you..." She prostrated herself on the ground, wailing loudly.