Chapter 124

Fu Tingjun thought of how Hanyan and Lü'e had been utterly silent when Nanny Chen and the others had forced the medicine down her throat.

They were the last ones to serve her, and among those who knew the inside story. Since she was supposed to "die of illness," how could Nanny Chen and the others have let Hanyan and Lü'e live?

She had worried about their situation before, but she had thought of how Zhao Ling, because of his mother's suffering, particularly detested the bullying of the helpless and orphaned. If Nanny Chen and the others had tried to harm Hanyan and Lü'e, Zhao Ling would surely have helped them if he had seen it. Clinging to that faint hope, she had chosen to bury her head in the sand. But now... perhaps by the time Zhao Ling arrived, Hanyan and Lü'e had already been killed by Nanny Chen. That was why he had been so furious when he saw her being force-fed the medicine, furious enough to kill Nanny Chen and the others.

That was why the masters Guo Hui and Guo Zhi had come through unscathed, and why her family had been so panicked after learning she had been rescued. As for the deaths of Nanny Chen and the others, the Fu family could only claim that Biyun Nunnery had been looted by refugees—otherwise, with so many dead, the authorities would certainly have gotten involved...

Zhao Ling, Zhao Ling... If not for him, she would have been nothing but a wronged ghost by now!

Fu Tingjun called his name softly in her heart.

He hadn't told her, probably because he was afraid she would be sad!

No matter when, he always thought of her first.

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but let tears fall.

Hanyan, Lü'e—even the dead Zheliu and Jiancao—had met such a fate simply because they served her. How unjustly they had suffered!

At this thought, Fu Tingjun ground her teeth in fury.

It was all Zuo Junjie's fault!

If not for him, how could Zheliu and the others have died? If not for him, how could Hanyan and Lü'e have been harmed?

She asked Yuwei, "Who helped you pack my trunks?"

Yuwei prostrated herself, her forehead pressed against the cold blue bricks, her body trembling like a withered leaf about to fall in the autumn wind.

She sobbed, "It was Moxiang from the First Young Madame's quarters!"

"What did you say?" Fu Tingjun couldn't believe her ears.

Moxiang from her eldest sister-in-law's quarters had originally been a little maid in her own rooms. Not only was she beautiful, but she had remarkable talent for reading and writing. What took others a whole day to memorize of a Buddhist sutra, she could recite in just an hour. Because her eldest sister-in-law spent years copying sutras, she had specially requested Moxiang from Fu Tingjun's mother and given her the name Moxiang. When she first entered the household, she had been only eight or nine years old, and Yuwei had been the one to train her. The two were as close as sisters. Moxiang later became skilled at poetry and gradually gained some literary renown in the Fu household. The servants would invite her to write wedding couplets or elegiac scrolls for festivals, weddings, and funerals. She gradually grew somewhat arrogant and would not deign to acknowledge ordinary people. Although Fu Tingjun disliked her personality, she saw that Moxiang remained consistently warm toward Yuwei. Mindful of this genuine nature, when Sixth Aunt had once scolded her, Fu Tingjun had even helped intercede on Moxiang's behalf.

Fu Tingjun flew into a rage and demanded aggressively, "How do you know it was her? If so, why didn't you say anything at the time? Do you realize that by shielding her alone, you've harmed so many people!"

"I didn't know then," Yuwei wept. "I truly didn't know then. Although we were as close as sisters, I'm not someone who can't tell right from wrong. And with such a grave matter—if things went wrong, everyone serving in the young miss's quarters would die. Even if I wanted to protect her, I couldn't just stand by and watch Zheliu and Jiancao, who had shared a room with me for years, be wrongfully accused or even lose their lives!" She sobbed uncontrollably. "I thought she was someone from the First Young Madame's quarters, and Zuo Junjie was the First Young Madame's brother, so after returning to Huayin I didn't even dare to seek her out. It was only later, when I spoke with Sister Yitong, that Yitong told me she had hanged herself—and that she was already five months pregnant when she died. Only then did I remember... For a while she had been learning painting from someone, happy every single day. The Guanyin embroidery I did for the First Young Madame was based on a painting she had drawn. She had urged me never to tell anyone, saying that the other sisters in the household were already jealous of her for writing poetry, and if they knew she was learning painting from him, they would hate her to death. I pressed her about who she was learning painting from, but she absolutely refused to say. At the time, the Eighth Young Master of the Fourth Branch was always hovering around her, so I assumed it was him and warned her that the Fourth Madame was shrewd and capable while the Eighth Young Master was weak-willed—if she had such intentions, she should have the Eighth Young Master make things official early on. Otherwise, once the Fourth Madame discovered it, the Eighth Young Master certainly wouldn't protect her, and since she served the widowed First Young Madame, even the First Madame and First Young Madame wouldn't let her off. She just curled her lips at that and said disdainfully that the Eighth Young Master could only charm the illiterate little maids—if he wanted to emulate the ancients and have her add fragrance to his study, he should first memorize the Thousand Family Poems properly."

"I knew she admired learned people, so when I heard her say that, I felt relieved and planned to question her more thoroughly in a few days. But later, first there was the young lady's coming-of-age ceremony, then the Yu family sent word that they would send someone in the summer to finalize the wedding date—we were run off our feet, and I temporarily couldn't spare the time for her... Now that I think back, that person must have been Zuo Junjie. No one else could freely come and go from the First Young Madam's rooms. And Moxiang usually just dropped by our quarters for a brief visit before leaving—only in the days before the incident did she come to see me twice at dusk, when Zheliu and I were busy gathering the young lady's airing clothes and bedding into trunks. Once, the young lady's undergarments had been brought in but not yet folded, and they were lying on the bed—she chatted with us while helping fold them. Another time, I clearly remembered closing the trunk holding your undergarments, but when I turned around, I found it open again. I just thought I was muddled from all the busywork and didn't think much of it... Her needlework was poor, but she could paint—it's obvious she was the one who tampered with things!"

Yuwei's expression was somewhat dazed.

"Then there was Sister Yitong's side—thinking I was already dead, wanting to clear the young lady's and her sisters' names, she quietly made inquiries about Zuo Junjie. She not only discovered that Moxiang's death had been suppressed by the First Young Madam, but also that Zuo Junjie's escape had been tipped off by the First Young Madam herself. Because of this, the First Madame is now very displeased with the First Young Madam. Not only did she use the excuse of natural disasters to replace everyone around the First Young Madam, she also had her move to Tingxiang Pavilion in the back garden, instructing her not to wander about the household casually, lest she startle the young ladies and young masters of the house."

Yuwei finished speaking and knocked her head heavily against the ground before Fu Tingjun: "Young lady, I know all of this is my fault. Even if I died a thousand times, ten thousand times, it wouldn't be enough to make up for the mistakes I've made. But if I died, your matter would become even harder to clarify. I need to live—I need to go to the capital, find the master and the madam, and tell them everything. Even if the master and madam say nothing, I will go keep Zheliu and the others company and beg their forgiveness..." She raised her head, her pale forehead stained crimson. "But I have no household registration and no travel permit—I fear I wouldn't get a hundred li before being seized as a runaway slave and sent to the county magistrate. So I've been lingering around this posting station, hoping some kind-hearted person would buy me as a servant and take me to the capital. But over half a year has passed—occasionally I met a few kind souls, but either they couldn't afford to take me to the capital and gave me some loose change to find my own way, or they questioned me closely about my origins and I slipped up, arousing their suspicion that I was a runaway slave. Most, however, coveted my looks. I am deeply guilty, and as long as I can see the master and madam, I fear nothing—but I'm afraid that even if I yielded to them, I'd only be deceived and become another Moxiang... Young lady,"—Fu Tingjun sat tall in her fine clothes on her fine horse; Yuwei dared not ask about Fu Tingjun's own experiences, but stared straight at her, blood from her forehead trickling down her cheeks—"let's go to the capital? I'll tell all of this to the master and madam. Once they know you've been wronged, they will surely seek justice for you. Since Zuo Junjie framed us, if he shows no decency, why should we show him any? We can frame him too..." Her expression turned fierce. "Even if I die, I'll bite Zuo Junjie twice!"

"Very well, we'll go to the capital!" Fu Tingjun rose to her feet, her expression icy, chin lifted slightly—her whole bearing suddenly turning solemn and dignified, carrying an unignorable authority. "Even if Zuo Junjie is dead, I'll dig up his corpse!"

The resolute tone made Yuwei's heart tremble.

...

The carriage rolled briskly along the post road to the capital. Fu Tingjun's face was as calm as still water, eyes closed, leaning against the large bolster, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind.

Yuwei sat obediently at the carriage door holding the sleeping Linchun, answering Zheng Sanniang's questions in a low voice, occasionally lifting her head with a somewhat bewildered look at Fu Tingjun, appearing rather ill at ease.

Zheng Sanniang noticed and covered her mouth with a quiet laugh: "Didn't you say you once served our young lady? Then you should know our young lady is a very good person—no need to be afraid. Someone like me, with no relation to the young lady at all, was still given food and a place, let alone someone like you who fled famine and came here alone!" She finished with a comforting pat on Yuwei's hand. "Set your mind at ease and serve our young lady well—she won't treat you unfairly."

Since they had fabricated a reason to be reunited, Yuwei observed the propriety of one who had come later, respectfully answering "yes" before Zheng Sanniang, lowering her eyes to conceal the bitterness beneath them.

When had she become a stranger to the Ninth Miss?

She gently patted Linchun in her arms.

The young lady... should be doing well enough now, shouldn't she?

She could stay at the post station, escorted by guards, and they had decided to take her to the capital. When Master Lyu, who seemed quite steady and composed, was summoned, he immediately broke into a warm smile upon hearing that she was an old acquaintance of the young lady. Early the next morning, not only did he provide silver and send Guard Jian with a broker to the government office to complete the deed of sale, but he also bought her several pieces of winter clothing and gave her a few taels of loose silver. Like Zheng Sanniang, he only urged her to take good care of the young lady.

Thinking of all this, she looked up and studied Fu Tingjun once more, only to meet the curious gaze of the young master called A Sen, who was sitting beside Fu Tingjun.

A Sen's face flushed, and he quickly turned away, but then immediately looked back, his eyes wide open, glaring back at her as if refusing to be outdone.

Yuwei couldn't help but purse her lips into a smile.

Then she froze slightly.

How long had it been since she last smiled?

How long had it been since she felt this lighthearted?

Sensing her vision blurring, Yuwei quickly pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

Zheng Sanniang was full of suspicion.

By all rights, this Yuwei was merely someone who had once served the young lady, yet the gentle, nimble way she drew out her handkerchief was like that of a refined young lady.

Could she too be someone who had fallen from grace?

Zheng Sanniang couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

This accursed natural disaster had destroyed perfectly good families.

Recalling how Yuwei had said she survived by scavenging scraps discarded at the post station, she said with compassion, "The road ahead is long, and the young lady has rested. You should close your eyes too." With that, she gently moved to take Linchun from Yuwei's arms.

Yuwei was frail, and holding the sturdy Linchun was indeed a strain.

She handed Linchun to Zheng Sanniang and gave her a grateful smile.

Fu Tingjun, who had kept her eyes closed as if asleep, suddenly opened them and said calmly to Zheng Sanniang, "When we reach the next post station, go and tell Master Lyu to have a physician summoned to examine Yuwei."