Chapter 128

What about the dead Zheliu and Jiancao?

What about Yuwei, who had suffered so much?

And what about Zuo Junjie, who had escaped?

And what about Eldest Cousin-in-Law, who had let Zuo Junjie go?

No, no, no!

Fu Tingjun cried out in her heart.

Some things fade with the passage of time, but others only become clearer in memory as time goes by.

She reached out and grabbed Young Mistress Fu's hand. "Sister-in-law, Zheliu and the others entered the household at eight and were assigned to my quarters at ten. Back then, my favorite thing was the peach blossom buns made by Cook Huang—snow-white, egg-sized, shaped like peaches with a mold, with a dot of red on top. When you bit into them, inside was a creamy yellow filling, different from ordinary fillings—it was mixed with goat's milk, sweet but not cloying, rich but not thick. Mother, however, feared I would ruin my teeth and wouldn't let me eat too many. Every time I thought of them, I'd drool with craving. One deep winter day, with snow blanketing everything white, Grandmother was hosting the wife of the Shaanxi Education Commissioner. I lay on the kang thinking of those peach blossom buns, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Zheliu, with her big, glossy black eyes darting about, whispered that she needed to relieve herself—but she slipped off to the kitchen and stole a plate of peach blossom buns. Because it was so cold and she feared the buns would go stale and lose their flavor, she tucked them inside her clothes, and her chest was scalded red."

"I was overjoyed and pulled Zheliu under the covers with me to eat the buns together."

"The next day, the household was in an uproar."

"The set of precious blue-and-white porcelain tableware used to entertain the Shaanxi Education Commissioner's wife that day was missing a plate."

"Eldest Aunt had Nanny Chen conduct a thorough investigation."

"In the dead of night, Zheliu and I quietly put on the wet nurse's white cotton padded jackets and placed the plate beneath Eldest Aunt's windowsill."

"And that was the end of it."

"But Zheliu and I secretly laughed about it for a long time."

"In comparison, Jiancao was a bit slow. Whenever there were arduous tasks—fetching ice from the icehouse in summer, opening the door for people in the middle of the night, or being on duty during festivals—everyone pushed them onto her. But one Mid-Autumn Festival, when Seventh Sister and I were watching the stewards hang lanterns, the ladder standing nearby suddenly toppled over. Jiancao shoved me out of the way but was struck herself and couldn't move. Even so, she grinned and forced a smile, asking if I was hurt."

"Sister-in-law," Fu Tingjun's fingertips gripping Young Mistress Fu's hand had turned white, "to others, they were nothing but insignificant maidservants, just a name on the household roster. But to me, they were playmates I spent every day with, helpers who shared my every breath. Without them, there would be no me. Others may forget, but I cannot. Others may let it go, but I cannot."

Young Mistress Fu's eyes grew moist, and Yuwei was already covering her mouth, sobbing softly.

"Sister-in-law," Fu Tingjun pleaded, "please, just let me see Mother! I only want to set Mother's mind at ease, to let her know that I'm still alive, that I haven't failed her teachings, that I have never done anything to shame the ancestors of the Fu family..."

"But..." Young Mistress Fu's expression wavered.

Seeing her soften, Fu Tingjun's heart leaped with joy, and she quickly added, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. When I see Mother, I'll only speak of pleasant things. I won't make her sad. And if Mother wants to see me, I'll make sure to come when Father isn't home."

Young Mistress Fu pressed her lips together, her expression conflicted.

Fu Tingjun looked at her and knelt down. "Sister-in-law..."

Young Mistress Fu was startled and knelt down as well. "You—get up! Get up!"

"If you don't agree, I won't get up." As Fu Tingjun spoke, tears streamed down her face. "Since we parted at Biyun Nunnery, I haven't seen Mother once. That Mother fell ill from missing me already makes me unfilial. Now, knowing full well that Mother is unwell, yet unable to tend to her at her bedside—that makes me disrespectful. Unfilial and disrespectful—how can I still have the face to live in this world..."

Young Mistress Fu grew anxious. "Get up, get up!"

But Fu Tingjun's face showed determination. "If Sister-in-law doesn't agree, I won't get up."

"You..." Young Mistress Fu sighed helplessly. "Fine, fine, I'll take you to see Mother!"

Fu Tingjun was overjoyed and rose to thank her. "Sister-in-law, your great kindness I will never forget."

Young Mistress Fu, however, shook her head with a bitter smile and cautioned her repeatedly, "You must keep the promises you've made."

Fu Tingjun nodded eagerly. "I won't make things difficult for you, Sister-in-law..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a loud "bang" came from the doorway as the door was shoved open with force.

Everyone in the room turned to look.

The bright daylight outside streamed in from behind the tall figure in the doorway, making it impossible to discern the newcomer's face—but the official-green robe hem embroidered with wave patterns and the black court boots gave away his identity.

"Father..." Fu Tingjun murmured, staring blankly as the figure walked step by step toward her.

Donggu's face peeked out from behind the door, her expression full of apology as she looked at Young Mistress Fu.

Young Mistress Fu shook her head, signaling that she needn't worry about it, then sighed inwardly and retreated softly, as if moving backward would put some distance between herself and danger.

Perhaps it was a case of "what you fear most will come to pass," for the newcomer's gaze happened to fall upon her.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm merely a low-ranking fifth-rank official in the capital. If someone comes seeking a favor, a cup of tea and two taels of silver as travel expenses is all the courtesy required. Yet you've taken my words as idle chatter and entertained guests in my home—are you trying to defy your father-in-law?" The rebuke thundered like a clap of thunder, echoing through the hall.

Young Mistress Fu's face went pale with fright. She dropped to her knees with a thud before the newcomer: "Father-in-law, forgive me! Father-in-law, forgive me!" Beyond that, she dared not utter another word.

Fu Tingjun's body swayed, and she steadied herself only by gripping the side table beside her.

She stared wide-eyed, her face filled with utter disbelief at the man before her.

Though he was past forty, her father's bearing remained as tall and straight as she remembered—fair skin, a broad forehead, a straight nose... The two of them were as if cast from the same mold; anyone who saw them would say they were blood kin.

"Father!" Fu Tingjun murmured, tears welling in her eyes.

She had grown up with her mother in her hometown of Huayin, and though she had seen her father only a handful of times, through her mother's descriptions, he stood in her heart as majestic as a mountain and as magnanimous as the sea. She could not possibly be mistaken.

But Fifth Master Fu did not so much as glance at her. He directly ordered Young Mistress Fu: "Hurry up and send her away!" As if she were a loathsome fly or mosquito, and every extra moment she lingered only added to the filth and disorder.

Fu Tingjun was stunned.

Young Mistress Fu had already taken her arm: "Miss, please come with me!"

Only then did Fu Tingjun snap back to her senses. She struggled fiercely, trying to break free from Young Mistress Fu's grip. Yuwei, who had been weeping quietly nearby, suddenly dropped to her knees before Fifth Master Fu: "Fifth Master, she is the Ninth Miss, your own flesh and blood, the Ninth Miss! We went through great hardship to find you—we have been wronged. We beg Fifth Master to seek justice for us..."

"Presumptuous!" Fifth Master Fu flew into a rage, a cold gleam flashing across his handsome features. "My daughter Quanhui passed away in the seventh month of the year before last at Biyun Nunnery in Huayin, Shaanxi. I would ask this young lady not to speak recklessly. Otherwise, do not blame me for summoning the authorities—when that happens, you will not escape the charge of 'falsely claiming kinship with an official'..."

"Falsely claiming kinship with an official?" Fu Tingjun stared fixedly at her father—the man who had once seemed to her like towering mountains and vast seas. His words pierced her heart like ten thousand arrows, causing pain that cut to her very core. "Since when did my coming to see you become falsely claiming kinship with an official?" she murmured, gazing at him.

He didn't want to know why she had come to find him, nor did he care how she had managed to locate him. He only wanted to brush her off hastily, even resorting to intimidation, as if she were an ignorant woman or an inconsequential passerby.

How could he do this?

Was he not her father?

Was he not the one who gave her life, raised her, sheltered her, and loved her?

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

"In that case, please do summon the authorities, Lord Fu!" Fu Tingjun's voice suddenly turned sharp and piercing, like an arrow cutting through the sky, aimed straight at Fifth Master Fu. "I would like to see how the authorities will judge this!"

Fifth Master Fu's figure faltered, and the look he gave her seemed to have flames dancing within it. His expression cold and stern, he demanded in a low voice: "Are you threatening me?"

"Threatening?" Fu Tingjun laughed coldly. "Lord Fu is a dignified fifth-rank official in the capital, while I am nothing but a weak woman without the strength to truss a chicken. Just moments ago, you said you would take me before the authorities. I wonder what leverage you imagine I hold over you, that in the blink of an eye I could possibly 'threaten' you? How strange this is!"

With a sharp crack, Fifth Master Fu slammed his palm onto the side table: "Outrageous! Outrageous! Is this how your mother raised you? Is this how you speak to..." He stopped mid-sentence, as if something had occurred to him, swallowing the words that were on the tip of his tongue, then continued, "...to me?"

"Oh!" Fu Tingjun stood even straighter, her gaze at Fifth Master Fu growing even more piercing. "My mother did teach me to be filial to my parents and respectful to my elders. But who are you to me? Why shouldn't I speak to you this way?"

Fifth Master Fu was at a loss for words. Humiliated and enraged, he struck Fu Tingjun across the face with a sharp slap.

Caught completely off guard, everyone in the room froze.

Fu Tingjun's cheek immediately became red and swollen.

Young Mistress Fu let out a low gasp, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared at Fifth Master Fu in horror.

Yuwei, crying, clung to Fifth Master Fu's leg: "Fifth Master, I beg you, please don't hit the young lady. We truly haven't done anything to betray the Fu family. It was Zuo Junjie—he's the one who slandered the young lady... You must believe us..."

Fifth Master Fu trembled with rage and snapped at Yuwei: "Wretched slave girl, who gave you the right to speak here? You know nothing of propriety!"

Fu Tingjun seemed to snap back to reality at that moment.

In all her years, this was the first time she had been slapped.

She touched her red and swollen cheek, her gaze burning as she stared straight at Fifth Master Fu: "Propriety? You dare speak to me of propriety?" A cold glint flashed in her eyes. "A daughter obeys her father at home, a wife obeys her husband after marriage. Since the eldest sister-in-law entered the Fu family, she became a member of the Fu household—supported by the Fu family, honored in the Fu ancestral rites. She lives as a widow, yet her personal maid is over five months pregnant. She is a daughter-in-law of the Fu family, yet she let Zuo Junjie go for the sake of the Zuo family's lineage, caring nothing for my life, and casting aside the Fu family's century-old reputation. You merely scold her lightly and let it pass. But when I traveled a thousand miles to find you, hoping you would help clear my name, you accuse me of falsely claiming kinship... If this is what you call propriety, what the Fu family calls propriety, then I say such propriety is better done away with!"