Chapter 164

When Zhao Ling returned, Fu Tingjun was listening to Zheng San's report: "...They swore up and down that the man was definitely not near Tanzhe Temple."

When Yuwei had lost Zuo Junjie's trail, Fu Tingjun had already anticipated this outcome—Zuo Junjie wasn't a fool; would he really stay there waiting for her to bring people to find him? Asking those idle gangs for help was merely clutching at straws.

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.

If she had been able to hold back her gasp when she encountered Zuo Junjie that time, would the outcome have been any different?

Thinking of this, Fu Tingjun let out a long sigh.

Zhao Ling heard it as he lifted the curtain and entered: "What's the matter? Why the heavy sighs?"

Hearing his voice, joy sprang to Fu Tingjun's face: "You're back!" She shifted her body, about to get off the kang.

Zhao Ling quickly stopped her: "Don't move, don't move!" Only then did he have a moment to nod at Zheng San, who was bowing to him.

"It's nothing." Fu Tingjun clumsily got off the kang. "Old Madam Lü came to see me and said I should walk around more these days so that labor will go smoothly when the time comes." Even though they were married, she still felt a bit shy talking about such things with Zhao Ling.

Since Old Madam Lü had instructed it, Zhao Ling no longer tried to stop her. He stepped forward to support her: "No wonder everyone says this Old Madam Lü is remarkable—people who want her services have to book three months in advance. Not to mention anything else, just the fact that she comes to see you twice a month makes me feel she was worth hiring."

Fu Tingjun smiled and poured tea for Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling immediately took the cup from her hands, then helped Fu Tingjun sit back down on the kang.

"Why were you upset just now?" He sat down beside her.

Zhao Ling was so busy that he didn't even have time to accompany her to Tanzhe Temple. She hadn't originally planned to tell him, but after hearing Zheng San's report, she knew this matter couldn't be resolved without Zhao Ling's involvement. After a moment's thought, she told him the whole story in detail.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Zhao Ling grew anxious.

Fu Tingjun pouted: "You turned down the emperor's assignment for my sake. If you'd known Zuo Junjie had come to the capital, who knows what you might have done!" As she spoke, she couldn't help but cling to Zhao Ling's arm. "No matter how important my matters are, they can't compare to yours. If you ever delay your own future because of me again, making me a burden and a hindrance to you, then I won't tell you anything from now on."

Zhao Ling's heart warmed. He held the hand she had placed on his arm: "Don't worry, I know what to do."

Fu Tingjun also told Zhao Ling about her visit to Sixi Hutong: "...I have a suspicion... I always feel that this matter, the master... it's probably—" Since it was about her own father, her eyes reddened. "—probably not unrelated to him... I couldn't help but want to test it..." Before she could finish her sentence, tears had already fallen.

Zhao Ling quickly wiped her tears: "Don't cry. At worst, we'll establish our own household." Then he smiled and said, "Actually, the way we live now isn't much different from having our own household! I can't say much else, but when our wife gives birth in the future, you'll definitely know everything!" He tried to cheer her up.

Thinking of the child in her belly, Fu Tingjun indeed burst out laughing: "You and your nonsense."

Whether it was nonsense or not, as long as it made her happy, that was what mattered.

Zhao Ling laughed heartily and tapped her nose: "Cry and laugh, puppy pees..."

"You're the puppy!" Fu Tingjun swatted his hand away, which made Zhao Ling laugh even more.

The atmosphere in the room immediately brightened.

Fu Tingjun called Kou'er in to attend to Zhao Ling's washing up, and he changed into casual spring clothes.

Zhao Ling sat by the kang and talked with Fu Tingjun: "The commander of the Five Cities Military Patrol is someone who came out of our Imperial Guard. Just the other day, we had drinks together. I figure this matter can only be handled with the help of those local powers. The Five Cities Military Patrol oversees security in the capital—no one knows the capital's riffraff better than they do. I'll go to the Five Cities Military Patrol in a bit, using your report of stolen goods as an excuse, and find a way to track down Zuo Junjie."

Fu Tingjun nodded: "If anyone asks, just say you can't swallow the anger of being robbed right here in the capital..."

"That's what I was thinking too." The two discussed some small details, and Fu Tingjun gave Zhao Ling twenty taels of loose silver and two hundred taels in banknotes. Zhao Ling then left for the Five Cities Military Patrol.

Yuwei hesitated: "Do we need that much silver?"

"Favors are favors, but where money needs to be spent, it must be spent." Fu Tingjun smiled. "If this were in Huayin, that would be more than enough to bribe the county magistrate. In the capital, it might not even be enough."

Yuwei's guilt deepened.

Two hundred and twenty taels of silver—enough to buy thirty or forty servants like herself.

She held back her tears and lowered her head.

...

A little over a month later, word came from the Five Cities Military Patrol that more than ten days prior, someone had seen Zuo Junjie leave through Chaoyang Gate, and he had never been seen in the capital again.

Zhao Ling had a headache.

They were in the open, while Zuo Junjie lurked in the shadows—in the vast sea of humanity, where could they possibly find him?

Yet since he had made up his mind, he was not the sort to give up easily.

He began speaking with the idle gang members one by one.

Within a few days, everyone knew that a commander of the Imperial Guard was searching for a beggar who had stolen something from his home.

Qin Feiyu laughed and said, "How much silver is what you lost worth? I'll compensate you for it!"

Qin Feiyu was the burly man Fu Tingjun had encountered at the City God Temple in Linchun Town. After the emperor ascended the throne, he had spent some time in the Imperial Guard before being swiftly appointed as Vice General at the Datong General's Office. This time, he had returned to the capital on official business and had called together a few close friends for a gathering.

Mo Yi shouted, "Is this about how much silver it's worth? This is about face! Someone from our Imperial Guard has been robbed—if we don't get this back, won't those thugs who collect debts laugh us to death!"

Qin Feiyu shook his head disapprovingly, and Zhao Ling explained, "If it were anything else, I'd let it go. But what was lost was a gift from my wife's mother..."

The others suddenly understood and expressed their sympathy.

Mo Yi's young servant came clattering up the stairs: "Master, the mistress has arrived in the capital with the young masters and young ladies."

Hearing this, Mo Yi immediately glared at the servant: "Haven't you found a house? Or don't you know the way? Just take them home—why did you come running here?"

The servant, looking as dejected as if beaten by frost, paid his respects to the gentlemen and withdrew.

Mo Yi then cast a somewhat smug glance at Zhao Ling.

Qin Feiyu and Tao Mu suppressed their laughter and lowered their heads to take a sip of wine.

Zhao Ling, however, stood up and drank three cups in succession, smiling, "I still have matters at home and must leave first. These three cups are my apology to you brothers." He added, "Since sister-in-law has already arrived in the capital and Brother Qin is also here, why don't we go to Brother Mo's home tomorrow for a cup of wine? What do you all think?"

Before Mo Yi could speak, Qin Feiyu had already nodded: "That works perfectly!" Then he said, "Brother Mo, you're staying silent—could it be you're afraid we'll come and disturb you?" After speaking, he cast a half-smiling glance at Zhao Ling.

"No, no," Mo Yi said hastily. "Tomorrow morning, I'll be at home awaiting your honored presence."

When Zhao Ling returned home and told Fu Tingjun about it, she chided playfully, "That Mo Yi... I only feel sorry for Madam Mo, not knowing how much grief he puts her through." She suddenly felt deeply sympathetic, called Yuwei in, opened the chest, and brought out several bolts of fashionable fabric bestowed by the palace before the New Year. "I'm pregnant and won't be using these anytime soon—I might as well send them to Madam Mo."

"Don't worry about Madam Mo either," Zhao Ling said with a smile as he walked over. "When we were leaving, Qin Feiyu pulled me aside and told me that Madam Mo's aunt is Mo Yi's aunt by marriage—Madam Mo had been coming and going from the Mo household since childhood. The two grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Although Madam Mo's natal family isn't as grand as the Mo clan, they're still one of the most prominent families in Luyi. And since she has only one younger brother, her dowry is probably even more substantial than Mo Yi's entire family fortune. Besides, she chose this husband herself. Don't be fooled by how fierce Mo Yi acts outside—when he's in front of his wife, he wouldn't dare breathe too loudly. All four of his sons are legitimate heirs. Madam Mo knows his temperament well; she just indulges his antics and lets him have his way!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he saw Fu Tingjun's expression stiffen as she clutched her belly.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Ling's heart raced with panic, his expression drastically changing. "Where do you feel unwell?" He scooped her up horizontally and laid her on the kang.

Waves of pain surged through her body.

But strangely, seeing Zhao Ling drenched in sweat, Fu Tingjun suddenly thought to herself, "Good thing I found a tall and sturdy husband—if he were a frail, scholarly type, how would he ever manage to carry me?"

Yuwei began to panic as well.

Old Madam Lü had said that although the expected delivery date was the twenty-eighth of the fourth month, it was perfectly normal for it to come a few days early or a few days late.

"I—I'll go fetch Old Madam Lü." She rushed out of the inner chamber in a fluster.

Fu Tingjun hurriedly comforted Zhao Ling: "I'm fine. Isn't Old Madam Lü here? Don't panic!"

"Oh!" Zhao Ling responded, one hand tightly gripping hers while the other was never idle—now tucking in the corner of the blanket, now wiping the sweat from her forehead, now smoothing the disheveled hair at her temples—all while muttering incessantly, "Why hasn't she come yet? I told you, we should have had her stay in the warm chamber..."

"I certainly don't want anyone sleeping in our inner chamber!" Fu Tingjun said, enduring the pain and smiling as she spoke to Zhao Ling, trying to distract herself—unaware that her face had already turned as pale as paper.

"Ah-jun!" Zhao Ling called to his wife, a flicker of fear passing through his eyes, his voice trembling slightly. He wanted to go fetch the midwife but couldn't bear to leave Fu Tingjun alone. Just as he hesitated, the door curtain clattered open, and Old Madam Lü walked in—of medium height, with a sturdy build like a farm woman's.

"Move aside!" Old Madam Lü snapped at Zhao Ling. "Let me take a look!"

Zhao Ling yielded his position to Old Madam Lü and stood beside her, craning his neck to see.

Old Madam Lü glanced at Zhao Ling. "Sir, you'd best wait outside for a moment!"

"Oh!" Zhao Ling acknowledged with a grunt. He hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and said to Fu Tingjun, "Don't be afraid, I'll be right outside," before leaving the inner chamber.

Fu Tingjun's face flushed crimson with embarrassment, and she cast a sidelong glance at Old Madam Lü.

To her surprise, the usually stern Old Madam Lü had a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips, and her voice softened as she spoke: "Come now, let me take a look!"