Chapter 16

She had screamed so loudly back then, yet the two of them had made no sound—either Nanny Chen had locked them up or bound them... She hoped they were unharmed!

Even if she was to marry into the renowned Yu family of Fengle Lane in Nanjing, the moment she thought of the Fu family, of being a daughter sheltered under their protection, she felt at ease. Whether it was her shrewd and capable mother-in-law, her never-before-met, brilliantly talented husband, or her many sisters-in-law with their varied temperaments, she feared none of them, because she had the Fu family, always ready to embrace her with warmth!

She handed him the two-thousand-tael banknote.

"Your mother must have had her own difficulties, too!" He hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I went several times but couldn't find your mother. It was only when Wujian heard from the maidservant who delivered meals that I learned your mother had moved into your grandmother's quarters over a month ago, accompanying your grandmother in the Buddha hall to chant sutras, praying for your swift recovery..."

Fu Tingjun pondered, struggling to sit up, and only then noticed she was wearing a clean, plain moon-white fine cotton shirt.

The seal stamped on it was from Baoqing Silver Shop.

She threw off the bright blue coarse cloth covering her and got out of bed.

"I want to go to the capital to find my father." Fu Tingjun's beautiful eyes sparkled with spirit. "I'd like to ask Ninth Master to escort me along the way—this is the payment." She added, "I know Ninth Master needs to reach Xi'an Prefecture before the Mid-Autumn Festival. I wouldn't dare hinder your important business. I only hope to stay by your side these days, and once your business is done, you can accompany me to the capital. All your room and board during this time will be on me. If that's not enough, once we reach the capital, I'll have my father compensate you!" Her tone was utterly sincere.

Wait... a physician... he had called a physician... When his companion had been injured by a tiger trap, he had only rummaged through his own cabinet for some random medicine, yet he had called a physician for her... and books...

"You mean... my mother has also been confined?" Fu Tingjun looked up, her tear-streaked face filled with shock and hope.

"But," he said slowly, "your father returned to Huayin a few days ago!"

"What?" Fu Tingjun was horrified, left speechless.

Fu Tingjun laughed even more merrily.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "My surname is Zhao!" He did not reveal his given name.

Shock—because she couldn't believe her mother's situation; hope—because she wished her mother hadn't suspected her, hadn't abandoned her.

He glanced at the banknote in Fu Tingjun's hand, raising an eyebrow at her in confusion.

At that time, the best farmland in Xi'an Prefecture cost no more than eight taels of silver per mu.

Who would accidentally ingest arsenic?

This was a silver bracelet her mother had specially ordered from a silver shop in Xi'an for her marriage.

Looking at it, a face that bore five or six parts resemblance to Fu Tingjun suddenly surfaced in his mind.

She twisted open the silver bracelet, not caring that he was present.

Fu Tingjun felt her expression must have been quite a sight.

Suddenly, he felt somewhat agitated: "That's what your mother said!" His tone was harsh.

She stared blankly at him, a strange emotion slipping through her heart, making her uneasy.

Fu Tingjun crossed her arms, feeling a chill seeping through her entire body.

But now, though she was alive, in the eyes of others she was already dead... She was no longer a daughter of the Fu family, no longer under their protection... The world was vast and open, yet she was utterly alone, like rootless duckweed, with nowhere to settle...

Could it be, as her mother had said, that she should never return to the Fu family?

Was that so?

Fu Tingjun always felt that Zhao Jiuye was unpredictable and capable of ruthless means, making him difficult to get along with. Seeing him now staring fixedly at her, her heart couldn't help but pound with unease, and her tone grew even more gentle: "I can't let my mother suffer such injustice. I must go see my father and beg him to seek justice for my mother and me..."

A bitter smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.

He saw it clearly.

As if seeing through her thoughts, he suddenly said, "The situation was unclear at the time. I didn't dare take you to Huayin city for treatment, so I had to bring you to Tongguan. Your clothes were changed by the physician's wife."

She lay on a wooden couch spread with a cool mat. The couch was old and worn, its red lacquer peeling to reveal white putty beneath; the carved patterns on the railing had long vanished, leaving only bare posts. The mat, however, was new, a verdant green, giving off the fresh scent of bamboo. The roof had several large holes through which sunlight streamed directly. In the opposite corner, a spider was spinning its web. The wooden door on the left was propped up by an old tree stump, already rotten through and letting in drafts from all sides; the wall on the right had collapsed by more than half, revealing a side view of a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha not far away.

While looking around, she changed the subject: "Where are we?"

"The Fu family has already spread the news of your death," Ninth Master said slowly. "They held a fourteen-day Taoist ceremony for you and sent word of your passing to your father and the Yu family. Your father returned to Huayin five days ago, and the Yu family arrived three days ago—your betrothed and his third uncle came. After paying respects at your grave, your father returned your betrothed's betrothal certificate to the Yu family..."

He gave a slight nod, as if unwilling to discuss the matter further. "By the way, I met your mother." He cut off her words and pulled out an object wrapped in a handkerchief from his sleeve. "She asked me to give this to you."

Seeing the silver bracelet, she immediately understood the woman's intentions.

He nodded solemnly. "From what I can tell, your mother is indeed being held under confinement!"

Accidentally ingested arsenic?

"That's impossible! Impossible!" Fu Tingjun shouted, as if only by doing so could she prove him wrong... but her expression was already filled with panic.

She felt a twinge of guilt.

Her mother knew she was still alive. Even if her father still had suspicions, he could simply bring her back and ask. Why didn't they investigate the truth? Why didn't they clear her name? And they even broke off the engagement with the Yu family!

"Wait!" Fu Tingjun's voice trembled. "You said my mother told me never to return to the Fu family again?"

That physician, upon hearing this, would probably secretly laugh at her, thinking she was some jealous wife who had knocked over the vinegar jar...

Guessing his thoughts like that seemed a bit petty!

In the sunlight, her features were striking and vivid, like a half-bloomed peony, breathtakingly beautiful.

Fu Tingjun suddenly became agitated.

Why did she give her so much silver?

Baoqing Silver Shop honored the notes regardless of who presented them, redeemable at any of their twenty-seven branches across the north and south at any time.

She was born here, raised here.

Her expression changed drastically—she remembered she had been wearing a Hangzhou silk gown, and when Nanny Chen had forced the medicinal broth down her throat, some of it had spilled onto her clothes.

Tongguan was only twenty li from Huayin; they hadn't traveled far.

It was hollow inside, and the mechanism to open it was hidden at that little oil spot.

What did her mother mean?

"This is a broken temple outside Tongguan city," he said. "We had no money for an inn, so we're resting here!"

Fu Tingjun's face was ashen.

Fu Tingjun felt ashamed.

When her mother had placed the silver bracelet in her mirror case, she had quietly told her that if she had any precious personal belongings, she could keep them inside—no one would ever think to look there.

She had never imagined that one day she wouldn't be able to return to the Fu family.

She didn't want him to misunderstand, so she quickly explained: "Nanny Chen had sent all the maidservants in Jingyue Hall away to other places. The older nurses were easy enough—they were mostly sent off to do various tasks—but I'm a bit worried about Hanyan and Lü'e..."

"Brave warrior, I haven't yet asked your surname?" Fu Tingjun gazed at him with burning intensity.

Inside were two bank drafts for one thousand taels of silver each.

He nodded slightly, somewhat lost in thought.

"So my mother knew all along that Nanny Chen would dispose of me?" She hugged her knees with a vacant stare, murmuring to herself. "Why? Why would she rather believe Zuo Junjie than trust me? Why did she say such comforting words like 'I'd rather trust the daughter I raised than the rules of the Fu family'? Why did she condemn me without even asking me a single question? And if that's the case, why send me to my uncle's? Was it so I could suffer humiliation again? Poor me, I was still wholeheartedly hoping to see her... thinking that as long as I could see her, I could wash away my wrongful accusations..." She covered her face and buried her head between her knees.

His gaze lingered on her face, as if trying to make out her features clearly, his expression serious.

"Ninth Master Zhao!" Fu Tingjun smiled slightly. "I heard someone address you as 'Ninth Master,' so I'll call you that too!"

"Your mother asked me to take you to your maternal uncle's home in Fengyuan, Weinan, and never return to the Fu family again," he said, pointing to a blue coarse-cloth bundle beside Fu Tingjun's pillow. "Inside are some changes of clothes and some gold and silver jewelry your mother gave you. Keep them safe. We'll set out at dusk." With that, he turned to leave.

His lips pressed together slightly at her words, and his gaze at her grew deep. "We left in a hurry; I didn't have time to attend to them!"

Or was it because she had been lying in bed so gracelessly and rudely in front of him?

It was a silver bracelet with a little oil spot.

Fu Tingjun's cheeks flushed slightly.

Fu Tingjun thought of what she had just heard and secretly curled her lips, then thought of Hanyan and Lü'e: "What happened to my two young maidservants?"

This kind of silver bracelet was the most common and ordinary—the streets of Huayin were full of such bracelets for sale. If there was anything different about the one her mother had asked him to bring her, it was that a magnolia flower was carved at the oil spot. To anyone else, it would seem merely a distinguishing mark, but to her eyes, it threw her into utter turmoil.

Her gaze at him was filled with both anticipation and fear.

Fu Tingjun took it over with suspicion and opened it.

"Benefactor, I beg you to save my daughter!" Under the dim lamplight, the woman was trembling just like him, her eyes brimming with tears as she pleaded, "In my next life, I will repay your kindness even if I have to serve you as a beast of burden." As she spoke, she removed all the jewels and jade from her body and pressed them into his hands, "In this life, I will erect a memorial tablet for my benefactor, praying that you live a long life, enjoy both fortune and rank, and have flourishing descendants..." Seeing him unceremoniously stash all the jewels into his bosom, the woman gave a self-deprecating bitter smile—these items were worth a fortune, enough for an ordinary person to buy land and a house and never worry about food or clothing for the rest of their lives. Her daughter had lost the protection of her family, and the one she had entrusted herself to was driven by selfish desires; he could easily take these jewels and walk away without a second thought, with no need to risk his life to save anyone... If he were more vicious, he could even sell off the daughter who had never left the house... And even if it came to light, what then? There probably wouldn't even be anyone to hold him accountable! But she truly had no other choice, so she could only grasp at straws!

Fu Tingjun slumped down onto the bed, dejected.

She spoke as if she were reproaching him for not bringing the two young maids along... But the situation had been so urgent then; it was already no small feat for him to have rescued her, let alone to also bring along two frail young girls who couldn't even defend themselves... She ought to understand that much.

He turned his head back.

The banknote trembled in Fu Tingjun's hand.

Then what about her?