Chapter 137

Fu Tingjun had not expected that the emperor, though he did not remember Zhao Ling, would still remember her.

It was clear that when the emperor had saved them back then, he had done so without expecting any repayment and had not taken it to heart.

She could not help but feel ashamed.

As for the "family" the emperor had mentioned, he must have meant the Grand Empress Dowager, right?

At that time, the emperor had acted under the pretext of "cleansing the court of evil ministers"—he could hardly say that what he had his eye on was the golden throne itself, could he? So he had used the Grand Empress Dowager as his excuse.

As she pondered this, she heard Zhao Ling say, "Later, we sent out the declaration of war, but our troops were held up at Handan. Not only that, but the emperor's great general Ding Kewen was killed in battle, and the emperor's strategist Zhao Tingyi, fearing the emperor would lose heart, asked us guards to console him. Instead, the emperor talked with us about trivial household matters to comfort us. That day happened to be my shift, and he asked when we were going to get married. I thought to myself—if the emperor truly did ascend to the throne, and I had been speaking carelessly in front of him, there would be trouble later. So I simply told the emperor everything about you and me..."

"And what did the emperor say?" Fu Tingjun asked urgently.

She was afraid the emperor might misunderstand and think she had brought shame upon her family.

"The emperor said that seeing how you would rather die than submit at the City God Temple, there must have been some misunderstanding involved, and that it would be wonderful if we could find that Zuo Junjie," Zhao Ling said. "However, the emperor also said that people are scattered across the vast sea of humanity—if this Zuo Junjie could not be found, were we to remain unmarried forever? But if you wanted to return to the Fu family, it would be difficult to explain to the Yu family, and it would not be good for your reputation either. Better that he wait until he sees the Grand Empress Dowager and ask her to make the decision for us—that way, we would be properly and legitimately married." Zhao Ling smiled as he said this. "These days the emperor has been busy with matters of his ascension to the throne. Once he has some free time, I will go and ask him to issue an imperial decree..."

A marriage bestowed by the Grand Empress Dowager—that would be an immense honor.

Moreover, since the emperor knew the full story, even if people gossiped about them behind their backs in the future, they would only dare to do so in private. And Zhao Ling would not have his career hindered because of their affairs.

The thing she had worried about most had been resolved so smoothly, so naturally Fu Tingjun was delighted.

But just as the joyful smile blossomed on her face, her expression dimmed, and she lowered her eyelids.

Though an imperial bestowal of marriage was wonderful, she still wished she could at least see her mother once.

With that thought, she put on a smile again.

Whenever it concerned her, Zhao Ling always kept it in mind. He was now serving by the emperor's side and had managed to come back only with great difficulty—she should not trouble him with this matter.

But who was Zhao Ling? Though her change had been quick, he had already noticed it.

In a low, gentle voice, he asked her, "What's wrong?"

Fu Tingjun's instinct was to brush it off with some excuse, but then she thought—they had just been talking about their marriage, and if Zhao Ling misunderstood, that would not be good. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke her mind: "...If only I could see my mother once!"

Zhao Ling raised an eyebrow but did not look surprised. Instead, he was silent for a moment before saying, "How about I accompany you back for a visit?"

Would that not be pouring oil on the fire?

"I think we should wait a while," Fu Tingjun said. "If there is still no news by then, it won't be too late for you to accompany me back." Not wanting to dwell on this topic, she asked him, "Are you still serving as the emperor's bodyguard now? Did you come back on a break this time, or is it your day off?"

"I'm still serving as the emperor's bodyguard," Zhao Ling said with a smile. "I came back on a break this time. I need to return before shen zheng."

It was already wei zheng now.

Though Fu Tingjun still had many things she wanted to ask him, knowing he would be home for less than an hour, she decided to ask him in detail later—after all, Zhao Ling was already in the capital now, so there was no rush.

She quickly called for Zheng Sanniang and instructed her to prepare some of Zhao Ling's favorite dishes.

Zhao Ling stopped her, saying softly, "I've already eaten at the palace. I came back this time just to see you."

Fu Tingjun could not help but smile and said, "Can palace food compare to home cooking? Let me make some of your favorites—just have a taste."

Zhao Ling did not insist further.

Zheng Sanniang smiled, acknowledged the order, and turned to leave.

Fu Tingjun then asked about Zhao Ling's daily life: "...When you left Huguang, it was still early spring, but now it's already midsummer. Have you prepared all your seasonal clothes?"

"The emperor hasn't formally ascended the throne yet, so things aren't fully in order, and the imperial guards haven't been rotated. The close bodyguards are still those of us who followed him from his Former Residence. Because we're short-handed, apart from sleeping, we're on duty. The palace provides food and lodging, so there's no need to acquire anything for now."

Fu Tingjun took the opportunity to chide him: "You don't need anything now, but once the situation stabilizes, are you going to keep standing watch day and night like this? If you had told me earlier, I would have brought those dozen or so summer garments I made for you when I came to the capital. Clothes bought from a ready-made clothing shop can never fit as well as ones made by hand."

Zhao Ling smiled sheepishly and readily bowed his head in admission: "I won't do that again." He added, "Fortunately, Anxin is still in Zhangye. When the time comes, I'll have him bring over the things we left there."

Since he had admitted his mistake, Fu Tingjun would not dwell on it, but she resolved to find an opportunity to give Zhao Ling a proper talking-to. Though matters outside were men's affairs, if the men got into trouble out there, could the women of the inner quarters really wash their hands of it?

Zheng Sanniang entered: "The meal is prepared. Where would you like it set, miss?"

"So soon?" Fu Tingjun was quite surprised.

"I started preparing the moment Ninth Master stepped through the door," Zheng Sanniang said with a smile. "I thought Ninth Master and miss would have much to discuss, so I've been waiting in the kitchen all this while!"

Fu Tingjun's face flushed.

Zhao Ling, however, felt that Zheng Sanniang was becoming more and more capable.

Fu Tingjun then asked Zhao Ling for his opinion: "How about we have the meal in the main hall of the south wing? You've been away these days, and everyone has been thinking of you. It would be good to dine together with Master Lyu and the others."

"Fine by me!" Zhao Ling agreed readily, and went with Fu Tingjun to the main hall of the south wing.

"It's just that I'm on duty tonight, so I can't drink. I'll have to wait until my day off to drink to my heart's content!"

"Of course, your duties come first." Zhao Ling had chosen the right master this time—whenever Master Lyu thought of it, he was so pleased he couldn't see through his squinting eyes. How could he quibble over such things?

A Sen was pestering Zhao Ling with questions about this and that.

Yuwei was setting out the bowls and chopsticks.

Fu Tingjun called her over and had her kowtow to Zhao Ling.

This was the ritual of acknowledging one's master.

Yuwei had already been somewhat pleased to see Zhao Ling head straight to the main room to see Fu Tingjun upon his return, and when she saw how he deferred to Fu Tingjun in everything he said and did, her joy grew further. So she earnestly kowtowed three times to Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling, seeing that although she was a maidservant, she carried herself with poise and composure, was quite satisfied. He said a few words about "cherishing one's bonds and blessings" before taking his seat at the round table in the hall.

Everyone chatted and laughed through the meal. Seeing that it was getting late, Fu Tingjun walked Zhao Ling to the front gate: "Don't worry about matters at home. At a time like this, everyone is devoting themselves to the Emperor. Don't take that lightly either—your priority should be serving the Emperor with all your heart. If anything comes up, I'll send word to you."

Zhao Ling had come on foot, wearing an ordinary sapphire-blue cocoon silk robe, yet it could not conceal his dashing bearing.

He waved to Fu Tingjun: "I understand. Go back inside and rest! I'll come see you whenever I have time."

A neighbor's old woman saw this and asked Zheng Sanniang about Zhao Ling: "Such a handsome young gentleman—what relation is he to your household? Why haven't we seen him visiting before?"

"He's the master of our house." Fu Tingjun lived alone in such a large residence, and all sorts of rumors circulated. Zheng Sanniang had been fretting over not having a chance to help clarify things for Fu Tingjun. "He served at the Emperor's Former Residence and came to the capital with His Majesty this time. Our young miss came ahead to attend to some household matters in the capital." She added, "Since he's from the Former Residence, once the Emperor ascends the throne, our household will be holding a celebration."

Since it touched upon her own marriage, Fu Tingjun felt somewhat shy. She hadn't even told Yuwei about the betrothal decree, but Zheng Sanniang had grown up in a village, and that didn't stop her from spinning vague tales to fool others.

The old women were indeed taken aback.

They hadn't expected this household to have come from the Former Residence!

Their gaze toward Zheng Sanniang changed. Even the rough laborers sent over from the Li household became noticeably more respectful.

Yuwei then discussed with Fu Tingjun: "Since we'll be settling in the capital long-term, would you like me to call for a matchmaker to buy a few servants? It's not quite proper to keep borrowing other people's help."

If their deeds of sale aren't in your household, they won't be loyal to your household.

"Let's wait until Ninth Master's appointment is settled." Zhao Ling was only an ordinary guard for now, but with his merit of following the dragon, the Emperor would certainly assign him a position—though it remained to be seen whether he could stay in the capital. Fu Tingjun said, "First, do something for me—go to Sixi Lane and say that I'll pay a visit tomorrow morning."

Yuwei was stunned.

Fu Tingjun continued: "I've figured it out. They're prepared to drag this out with me. But I don't have that kind of patience. Tomorrow we'll go to Sixi Lane, and I'll see what he can do to me."

Zhao Ling had already returned to the capital, and they had purchased their own residence, yet their marriage was still being delayed like this—sooner or later, rumors would spread. Naturally, the sooner they married, the better. She wanted to settle this matter before Zhao Ling was fully established.

"I'll go to Sixi Lane right away." Yuwei understood and hurried off. She returned at dusk to report: "The young mistress said Fifth Master is still angry and told me to wait a few days before going over. I also mentioned that getting Fifth Master to calm down might not be so easy. Perhaps miss should speak with Fifth Master herself—after all, they're father and daughter; even when bones are broken, the sinews remain connected. No matter how great the anger, half of it dissipates once you meet face to face. The young mistress heard this and said she would inform Fifth Master and the lady of the house."

"You speak well." Fu Tingjun praised Yuwei and prepared a gift box with eight kinds of delicacies. Early the next morning, she took Yuwei to Sixi Hutong.

Sixi Hutong was quiet and still, with only the thick locust trees standing there, their branches lush and verdant.

Yuwei stepped forward and knocked on the door.

The door creaked open after just one knock, as if it had been waiting for them all along.

From inside emerged a man in his late twenties, dressed in scholarly robes. He was tall and lean, with fair skin and a cold, sullen expression that made him look somewhat gloomy.

He stood beneath the eaves of the Ruyi Gate, his icy gaze sweeping past Yuwei before settling on Fu Tingjun.