Chapter 196

Madam Wu settled Miss Wu in the rear quarters of her own residence, assigning her own wet nurse to teach the girl proper conduct. She also dispatched one of her most trusted personal maids to attend to her, and purchased two young servant girls to learn etiquette from the senior maid, so that they might later accompany Miss Wu to the Yu household.

Miss Wu was not entirely willing in her heart, and her lessons in deportment were somewhat half-hearted.

Madam Wu noticed this and grew anxious, frequently urging her: "The young master of the Yu family has not only passed the imperial examinations with distinction, but he is also young and handsome. Though you go as a concubine, Madam Yu is barely fifty this year and in good health. If you bear the eldest son, Madam Yu will surely help raise him to adulthood. What do you have to worry about?"

But still, she would have to humble herself before others.

Miss Wu muttered inwardly, thinking that since matters had come to this point, if she were to refuse, her father and younger sister would find it difficult to gain support within the clan... She would simply consider herself dead, exchanged for her father and sister's better days. With this shift in mindset, she made only one request of Madam Wu: "If anyone in the family asks, just say I died of illness."

Madam Wu furrowed her brows slightly, pondered for a moment, then gently nodded.

Miss Wu breathed a sigh of relief and began earnestly learning proper conduct from Madam Wu's wet nurse.

Madam Wu then engaged people to make clothes for all four seasons for Miss Wu at home. But considering that her own storerooms held fine goods, and since Miss Wu was going to be a concubine, she could hardly dress like a proper wife, could she?

She sent word for the tailor's shop to bring several bolts of the latest fashionable fabrics from the capital when they came to take measurements.

The tailor's shop was somewhat renowned in the capital, located in the nearby Chunshu Hutong. Households throughout the surrounding alleys would commission work from them. As they had access to inner courtyards and served important clients, the tailor's wife came in person to take measurements.

As she measured Miss Wu, she praised her beauty: "...Anyone can see at a glance that you're from the lady's own family!"

"Now you've got it wrong." Everyone loves flattery, and since Miss Wu was indeed beautiful, Madam Wu laughed and said, "This is our master's niece."

"Oh my," the tailor's wife laughed, "No wonder I thought the young masters and misses of your household were all exceptionally handsome—they take after Master Wu." She then studied Madam Wu carefully and added, "Clearly you and the master are a match made in heaven, with the look of a well-suited couple."

The flattery sent Madam Wu into hearty laughter.

Seeing the good mood, the tailor's wife seized the opportunity to bring out a bolt of peach-red Hangzhou silk embroidered with delicate yellow butterfly-and-flower patterns: "What do you think of this one? It's this year's new design from the Jiangnan weavers. The wife of Lord Zhao next door had a little jacket made from it for their eldest young miss, and it looked absolutely stunning on her."

Madam Wu found the peach-red vibrant and the tender yellow delicate, and was already somewhat inclined. Upon hearing that Zhao Ling's daughter had also had one made, she was even more convinced.

The serving woman beside her laughed and asked, "Such lovely colors—how much is it per bolt?"

The tailor's wife smiled: "In any other household, it would naturally be expensive, but for your esteemed family, nothing is dear—only twelve taels of silver per bolt."

So expensive!

A flicker of hesitation passed across Madam Wu's brow.

The quick-witted serving woman beside her immediately interjected: "It's lovely, to be sure, but our young miss needs clothes for receiving guests. And Madam Yu is famously fond of plain elegance. Madam, perhaps we should set this aside for now—if nothing more suitable can be found, we can reconsider."

Madam Wu nodded with feigned deliberation and had the tailor's wife set it aside.

The tailor's wife, sharp-eyed as she was, understood that Madam Wu was reluctant to spend the money. Without betraying a thing, she brought out fabrics of a slightly lesser quality, and Madam Wu selected plain, quiet ones for Miss Wu's outfits, placing a deposit. As the tailor's wife packed up her things, she smiled: "Would the young miss like a few pairs of Songjiang cloth socks? The wife of Lord Zhao next door had some small clothes made for their eldest young master, and there's a bit of leftover cloth. If the young miss would like a few pairs of socks, I'll make them and deliver them together—consider it my humble tribute to the lady."

Meaning they would be given free of charge.

Madam Wu felt embarrassed and smiled: "Socks are indeed needed, but I can't have you giving them away. Just add them to the labor cost at the market rate."

The tailor's wife said many words of thanks, and in the end, Madam Wu's refusals were to no avail, and she reluctantly accepted the socks.

After they had withdrawn, Miss Wu quietly asked her attendants: "What does Lord Zhao next door do?"

The attendant smiled: "Lord Zhao is a regional commander. Both his parents have passed, so his wife manages the household." She added with a sigh, "The Zhao family's eldest young miss is only three this year, and the young master is just six months old!"

Miss Wu clicked her tongue in amazement.

She thought to herself that her own younger sister was already thirteen and had never owned a single new garment, while the Zhao children, still too young to understand anything, wore cloth costing twelve taels a bolt. Truly, people's fates were not alike...

Over on the other side, Madam Wu also remarked with a laugh: "Who would have thought Mrs. Zhao is so generous!"

The serving woman smiled and said, "After all, they are the eldest son and eldest daughter. And I've heard that Lord Zhao is well-versed in household management—back when he was in Shaanxi, he already amassed a considerable fortune."

Madam Wu thought for a moment, then said, "For this year's New Year gifts, add another ten taels of silver to the Zhao family's share... no, make it twenty taels!"

The serving woman smiled and acknowledged the order.

Meanwhile, Fu Tingjun was fretting over money at that very moment: "...Eight thousand taels of silver, to be paid in full at once, not a single tael less?"

Yuwei smiled bitterly and nodded. "The broker is waiting outside. He said that if we're short on funds at the moment, the villa two or three doors down is also for sale. Though it's about ten mu smaller than this one, and it's separated from Mount Yuming by several other villas. Not like this current property, which has a direct view of Mount Yuming from the back."

Fu Tingjun carefully recalled the scene when she had gone to view the villa. "That won't do. If it's separated by several villas, by summer the cool breeze won't reach it, and buying that property would be a waste. In that case, just send the broker away—tell him the price is too high and we can't come up with that much silver at the moment. Ask him to trouble himself further and find us another property. It doesn't matter if it's smaller, but it needs to be closer to Mount Yuming."

Yuwei hesitated. "Madam, what if we use the funds that were meant to be sent back to Xi'an first..."

Fu Tingjun shook her head. "That's for purchasing land for A Sen. Winter is almost here, and this is exactly the season when families looking to sell their fields are doing so. That matter is of greater importance. If we can't find a suitable villa this year, we can always buy one next year."

Yuwei said no more and went to the outer courtyard to relay the message.

Fu Tingjun began calculating their finances in her mind.

Zhao Ling had brought back five or six thousand taels of silver this year as well, and she had saved it all. Combined with their existing savings, everything added up to eight or nine thousand taels. Two thousand taels had been sent to Xi'an to help A Sen purchase some land, leaving six thousand taels... Jin Yuanbao's wedding was set for the twelfth of March next year, which would require a sum of silver as well. She was also thinking of acquiring a farm estate or a shop near the capital. It seemed that buying a villa to her liking would have to wait another year.

With that thought, she put the matter of the villa out of her mind and began weighing whether a farm estate or a shop would yield greater returns... Both farms and shops generated income, but farms depended on the whims of nature—in good years, one could smoothly collect the rent, but in bad years, one had to extend credit for seeds to help tenants through hard times. Shops offered steadier returns but required larger investments, and it would take ten to twenty years to recoup the principal... The best option would be to use one of their own shops to run some small business... When Yuwei returned from relaying the message to the broker and came to report, she instructed her: "Tell the people in the outer courtyard that if Uncle Jin comes, please invite him to the main hall. I have something to discuss with him."

Yuwei acknowledged the order, but a hint of hesitation showed on her face.

Fu Tingjun found this curious. "What's the matter?"

Yuwei didn't speak.

Fu Tingjun went with her into the inner chamber's side room to talk in private.

Yuwei said in a low voice, "The person who came this year to deliver silver to Fifth Master was a cousin of Sister Yitong's. He sent word to me, saying he had been entrusted by Yitong to give me something. He asked me to meet him at a restaurant called 'Zeng Ji' outside the Xizhi Gate... What do you think..."

"Yitong is very reliable," Fu Tingjun said. "As for her cousin not wanting to come to our door—either he doesn't want to invite trouble, not entering our house, pretending not to know I'm still alive, playing the ostrich and deliberately staying ignorant; or he doesn't want anyone to discover he visited our home, so that if the Fu family questions him, he can easily deny it. We needn't concern ourselves with any of that. Since he's arranged to meet you, just go." Fu Tingjun said. "I'll inform Zheng San—he'll know what to do."

Yuwei's expression relaxed at this, and she smiled. "I also felt I should go meet him. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Fu Tingjun laughed heartily. "It's just a restaurant. If we ever return to the Fu family estate in Huayin, that would be a true den of tigers and dragons!"

Yuwei smiled with renewed confidence. "I'll always follow you, madam. Wherever you go, I go."

The two chatted and laughed for a while, then Fu Tingjun had Zhenzhu relay the message to Zheng San. The next day, Yuwei rode in Zheng San's carriage to the Xizhi Gate.

They returned by midday.

Yuwei's face was very pale.

Fu Tingjun handed the infant Xi-ge to the wet nurse, set down her half-eaten meal, and went with Yuwei into the inner chamber's side room.

Before she could even ask, Yuwei said, "The eldest young mistress has passed away!"

Fu Tingjun's head buzzed, her heart felt hollow, her lips trembled, and for a long moment, she could not find words.

Yuwei said in a low voice, "Following your instructions, Sister Yitong has been telling the maidservants attending the First Young Madame whatever information she wanted to know. During the New Year, when the Grand Master returned to the ancestral home for the ancestral rites, the First Young Madame begged him to help find Zuo Junjie. Not only was she harshly rebuked by the Grand Master, but she was also scolded by the Grand Madame."

"The First Young Madame said nothing at the time. But when the Dragon Boat Festival ancestral rites came around, she made a scene in front of the entire clan, saying that since the heir had already taken a wife, she had done her duty to the ancestors of the Fu family, and begged the elder ladies to grant her permission to go to Biyun Nunnery to cultivate herself."

"Everyone was stunned at the time."

"The matriarch of the sixth branch asked the First Young Madame what was wrong, but she said nothing—she only wept and begged the matriarch to take pity on her for having kept vigil all these years in the Fu household, and allow her to go to Biyun Nunnery. The Grand Madame's face turned ashen with fury. Seeing this, the elder ladies dared not say another word, and the Dragon Boat Festival ancestral rites broke up in discord."

"Afterward, the Grand Madame and the First Madame took the First Young Madame to the main hall and demanded she explain exactly what she intended to do. The First Young Madame said she had received word that Zuo Junjie was in the hands of Young Master Yu, the eldest son of the Yu family in the capital. She claimed that everything had been caused by that Young Master Yu, who, looking down on the Fu family and wanting to break off the engagement, had lured Zuo Junjie into stirring up trouble. Since you were still alive, she asked the Grand Master to have Zuo Junjie and you confront each other in the ancestral hall to clear both Zuo Junjie's and your names."

"The Grand Madame fainted from rage."

"The First Madame had the First Young Madame carried back to her quarters, and all the maidservants attending her were sold off and replaced with new ones."

"Sister Yitong no longer dared to pass messages to the First Young Madame."

"But who could have known—on the twenty-sixth day of the ninth month, when the newlywed Tenth Young Master of the fifth branch and his bride went to the ancestral hall to perform the formal rites, they opened the doors and found the First Young Madame hanging dead from the beam."

"Now everyone in Huayin is saying that the Fu family deceives the world and steals its reputation, that they mistreated their widowed daughter-in-law and drove her to hang herself..."