Chapter 129

Such sharp-tongued defiance, such a penchant for stirring up trouble—where was the least hint of a lady's grace from a distinguished family?

Fifth Master Fu trembled with rage.

"Fine, fine, fine! This is the fine daughter Xie has raised." He pointed at the gate and roared, "Get out! Get out of my sight this instant!"

His father's demeanor sent a chill through Fu Tingjun's fingertips.

"Rest assured, once I've seen Mother, I'll leave on my own." As she spoke, she lifted the curtain to the left chamber.

It was from this room that Young Mistress Fu had just emerged.

It was an inner chamber, with a black-lacquered canopied bed, crimson round-patterned Hangzhou silk cushions, and a rattle and a carved wooden bird left on the kang—it turned out to be Young Mistress Fu's private quarters.

Shouldn't the elders be lodged beside the main hall?

Fu Tingjun was momentarily taken aback.

Young Mistress Fu, realizing her intent, scrambled to her feet in a fluster.

Fifth Master Fu understood as well and shouted, "What do you think you're doing?" as he moved to block Fu Tingjun.

Fu Tingjun ignored him, turning and dashing out of the hall, crying out as she ran, "Mother, it's Quanhui! I've come to see you!"

Fifth Master Fu, his face as cold as frost, chased after her. Seeing his personal servant standing dumbfounded in the courtyard, he flew into a fury: "You fool, what are you standing there for? Drag her out of here at once!"

The servant jolted into action and rushed forward to seize Fu Tingjun, but Yuwei wrapped her arms around his waist to stop him. "Fifth Master, please let the young lady see the mistress! Every time she thinks of her mother, she weeps..."

A mere maidservant dared to defy him!

Fifth Master Fu was beside himself with rage. In three quick strides, he grabbed Fu Tingjun himself just as she was about to lift the curtain hanging over the door of the adjacent room. "Get out! Get out!" he bellowed, yanking her forcefully toward the gate.

Fu Tingjun's heart turned cold.

With all this commotion, her mother still hadn't shown her face.

Could it be that her mother didn't want to see her either?

No, that couldn't be... If her mother didn't want to see her, why would Xiuzhu's Wife have gone out of her way to inquire about her when Jin Yuanbao delivered her silver bracelet?

With that thought, she found her courage again.

"I'll leave once I've seen Mother," Fu Tingjun struggled, "You needn't say another word."

"This is my residence, my home," Fifth Master Fu dragged her out with force, "You have no say here."

In no time, the courtyard erupted into a chaotic din of shouts, sobs, curses, and cries.

Young Mistress Fu, born into an official family, had never witnessed such a scene in her life and was struck speechless. It was only when her wet nurse, Donggu, fearing something might happen to her, stepped forward to support her that she snapped back to her senses.

Fu Tingjun was no match for Fifth Master Fu's strength, and Yuwei was no match for the servant's brawn. Mistress and maid alike were shoved out the Fu family's front gate, one after the other.

Fu Tingjun refused to accept it and tried to push her way back in: "I'll leave as soon as I've seen Mother!"

Hearing this, Fifth Master Fu's face turned ashen as he blocked the doorway. Looking up, he spotted an official sedan chair parked before the residence of Minister Zhou of the Office of Scrutiny next door, with Zhou's sedan bearers and attendants craning their necks to gawk in their direction.

It was just the hour when officials were leaving their posts... How could he have forgotten that!

Fifth Master Fu grew even more incensed and lowered his voice: "If you're not ashamed to make a spectacle of yourself, then go ahead and make all the fuss you like."

Fu Tingjun had seen it too. She sneered, "You're the one living here without a shred of shame—what do I have to fear!"

"You—" Fifth Master Fu glared at Fu Tingjun with a look that suggested he could devour her whole.

Young Mistress Fu, fearing the situation would spiral out of control if they kept at it, hurried over and grabbed Fu Tingjun's arm. "Don't be like this! After all, you're father and daughter. If you keep quarreling like this, it will only grieve Mother-in-law!"

Fu Tingjun pressed her lips together.

Fifth Master Fu let out a cold "hmph," his aggressive stance suddenly softening a notch.

Young Mistress Fu breathed a sigh of relief and quietly urged Fu Tingjun, "Go home for now. Whatever it is, we can talk about it later!"

Seeing his daughter-in-law so meek and conciliatory, Fifth Master Fu's anger flared anew. "Later? There is no later. If she has any spine, she'll never darken my doorstep again!"

Fu Tingjun was about to fire back when Young Mistress Fu gave her arm a hard squeeze. "Let me speak with Mother-in-law..."

Her voice was low and urgent, her eyes carrying an unmistakable plea.

Fu Tingjun fell silent. After a moment, she squeezed Young Mistress Fu's hand to signal she hadn't forgotten their agreement, then called out, "Yuwei, let's go!"

Yuwei hastily acknowledged and stepped forward to support Fu Tingjun.

But Fu Tingjun shook her off, straightened her back, and walked toward the mouth of the alley without looking back.

Yuwei froze for a moment, glancing at the Fu family's gate, then at Fu Tingjun's receding figure, before sprinting after her.

Fifth Master Fu watched his daughter grow smaller in the distance, a flicker of something strange passing through his eyes.

The hushed murmurs of the Zhou family's servants drifted over.

He turned resolutely and ordered Young Mistress Fu, "Shut the gate!"

Young Mistress Fu hastily acknowledged with a "yes" and personally went to close the front gate.

Behind her came her father-in-law's gloomy voice: "You'd better not stir up trouble between you and your mother-in-law, or don't blame me for having Jiezhi divorce you."

Jiezhi was the courtesy name of her husband, Fu Tingzheng.

Young Mistress Fu couldn't help but shiver. She quickly turned around, only to see her father-in-law already striding into the main hall.

...

When Zheng San saw Fu Tingjun's swollen half of her face, he couldn't help but exclaim: "What happened to you?"

"It's nothing." Only now did Fu Tingjun show a hint of weariness. "I'm tired. Let's hurry back to the inn."

Although nearly two years had passed since they'd been together, Fu Tingjun and Zhao Ling were shrouded in mystery in every way. Zheng San, having traveled widely in the martial world, had noticed some of this, but Fu Tingjun and Zhao Ling had been genuinely good to his family. He had old acquaintances in both Xi'an Prefecture and the capital, but out of respect for Fu Tingjun and Zhao Ling, he never probed into their origins. Instead, he had deliberately drifted apart from those old friends.

He didn't ask any questions. When Yuwei helped Fu Tingjun into the carriage, he jumped onto the shaft and silently drove the carriage out of Sixi Hutong.

Inside the carriage, Yuwei gently dabbed at Fu Tingjun's face with a handkerchief. "Miss, how... how are you?" She added, "The master didn't mean it..."

Fu Tingjun winced in pain, letting out a sharp "hiss" as she turned her face away. "You don't need to speak well of him."

"Miss..." Yuwei quickly withdrew her hand. "No matter what, you're still father and daughter. You can't defy the master..."

Fu Tingjun said nothing, but her brow was set in grim determination.

Yuwei couldn't help but sigh softly.

Back at the inn, Master Lyu happened to be coming in from outside. Seeing Fu Tingjun's face, he was stunned: "What happened?" Then anger appeared on his face. "Miss Fu, you don't need to smooth things over. I just went with two stewards from the Duke of Fuguo's residence to the Shuntian Prefecture to complete the property transfer documents, and also invited several officials from the prefecture to a meal. We only just finished..."

In the capital, what standing did the Shuntian Prefecture have?

Fu Tingjun smiled, but out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Zheng San's worried expression, and a warmth rose in her heart.

"It's a family matter, so it wouldn't be appropriate to trouble the Shuntian Prefecture officials." She looked at Master Lyu gratefully. "You needn't worry either. I'll resolve this matter myself." She added with a smile, "If I truly can't resolve it, it won't be too late for you to call on the Shuntian Prefecture for help."

Hearing this, Master Lyu didn't press further. He simply instructed Zheng San to quickly find a doctor, then returned to the guest room with Fu Tingjun and handed her the completed documents one by one. "The residence is quite large. Though it's only temporary lodging, if it's not maintained, it will quickly fall into disrepair. I took the liberty of asking the stewards of the neighboring households to recommend two maids for rough work to come by every few days to clean. That way we can save on wages and also help Zheng Sanniang with the chores."

"You've thought of everything."

As they spoke, considering that they had already purchased the residence and every extra day at the inn cost money, they borrowed an almanac from the innkeeper and settled on the fourteenth of the second month for the move. Master Lyu hurried to invite a Taoist priest to check the feng shui and a Buddhist monk to consecrate the household gods. Zheng San found craftsmen to whitewash the walls and trim the flowers and trees, while Zheng Sanniang busied herself cleaning the residence and scrubbing the pots and pans. A Sen ran back and forth—now helping Master Lyu relay messages to Fu Tingjun, now helping Zheng San draw money from Fu Tingjun, now helping Zheng Sanniang look after Linchun. Everyone was busy without rest, and they managed to have everything prepared before the fourteenth of the second month. They set off two strings of firecrackers and formally moved in.

Immediately, someone sent a servant woman over with congratulations: "We are from Master Wu's household across the street. Sent by our mistress to offer congratulations..." She looked at Fu Tingjun, who was dressed as an unmarried young lady yet was clearly the head of this household, and found herself momentarily unsure how to address her.

Fu Tingjun smiled. "My surname is Fu."

The woman was quick-witted and immediately addressed her as "Miss Fu," saying: "Our master is a jinshi from the seventeenth year of the Xiping reign, currently serving as Vice Minister of Rites. He is from Zhoushan, Zhejiang. May I ask where Miss Fu is from? What brings you to take up residence in the capital?" She tactfully probed into Fu Tingjun's background.

"We came from Xi'an Prefecture," Fu Tingjun said vaguely. "We're visiting relatives in the capital. Staying at an inn was too expensive, so we bought a residence." She then instructed Zheng Sanniang to prepare a set of four gifts for the woman to take back. "Please thank your mistress on my behalf. Once we're settled, I'll invite her over for a light meal." She rewarded the woman with a pair of four-fen silver ingots.

The woman returned and reported to her mistress: "If she were a merchant, Miss Fu is too poised and refined, without the slightest hint of money-grubbing—she doesn't fit. If she were from an official family, first, no such household is known to us, and second, she was vague in her answers—that doesn't fit either. Buying a residence on Shi's Hutong—she doesn't seem to be anyone's kept mistress either..."

Madam Shi Wenbin's fiftieth birthday was approaching, and Madam Wu was fretting over what gift to send. Upon hearing this, she said dismissively, "As long as we fulfill our social obligations, that's enough. In the future, be more careful—once you've confirmed whose relatives they are, you can come report to me then."

The old woman acknowledged with a smile and withdrew.

Meanwhile, Fu Tingjun had been receiving congratulations one after another from the neighbors. Master Lyu suggested choosing an auspicious day to invite the neighboring ladies over for a simple toast, but Fu Tingjun objected: "As a woman living alone, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to host guests. Even if Ninth Master were to come, with neighbors who are Vice Ministers or Junior Overseers, they may not be willing to socialize anyway. Let's forget it—once summer is over, we'll be returning to Zhangye."

Master Lyu did not insist further.

Yet Fu Tingjun's mind was preoccupied with Sixi Lane, and she muttered to herself: "We agreed to send word to Mother, so why is there still no news..."