Chapter 198

Upon returning home, Yuwei helped Fu Tingjun change clothes, saying with some annoyance, "Honestly, going to burn incense and we end up running into Madam Yu."

After freshening up, Fu Tingjun felt refreshed and invigorated. She took the Longjing tea that Zhenzhu offered and took a sip, saying, "We all live in the capital; running into each other face to face is only a matter of time." Then she smiled and added, "If anything, I think it's a bit late that we only ran into each other now!"

Seeing that Fu Tingjun bore no grudge while she herself couldn't let it go, Yuwei felt a bit petty by comparison and blushed, saying, "Madam, Madam Li is coming tomorrow to discuss Lord Jin's matter with you. Should I have the kitchen prepare a full banquet, or should I order a few dishes from Donglaishun Restaurant?"

Since Lady Chen Shi was Lady Shi's cousin, the Shi family still needed to consult her on some details of the wedding, so it wouldn't be appropriate for the Jin family to use her as a matchmaker. Fu Tingjun instead invited the wife of Li Yunxiang, the Left Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to serve as matchmaker for Jin Yuanbao.

These matters were usually handled by Yuwei, so Fu Tingjun never had to worry about them. Knowing that Yuwei was changing the subject, Fu Tingjun smiled and said, "You decide. Just make sure Madam Li doesn't come and find nothing to eat!"

Yuwei smiled in acknowledgment and went off to make the arrangements.

The next day, Madam Li brought Lady Shi's dowry list to show Fu Tingjun: "...I calculated it, and at minimum there are thirty-six loads. If packed a bit more loosely, we could stretch it to sixty-four loads. How is the purchase of Lord Jin's residence coming along?"

The money Jin Yuanbao and Zhao Ling had earned previously had all been spent on buying farmland, and their salaries in recent years had barely covered daily expenses and social obligations. Now that he was about to marry, Zhao Ling's thinking was that they might as well continue living at home, where they could look after each other.

Fu Tingjun was naturally agreeable to that.

Jin Yuanbao, however, was not willing. He laughed and said, "I've been eating Big Brother's food and drinking Big Brother's wine. Now that I'm about to marry, if I still insisted on staying at Big Brother's house with my whole family in tow, my face isn't that thick."

Zhao Ling disagreed: "We're brothers. Why be so particular about these things? Besides, your sister-in-law isn't the type who can't tolerate others..."

Fu Tingjun noticed that although Jin Yuanbao spoke in a teasing tone, there was a resolute look in his eyes. Knowing his mind was made up, she smiled and said, "Since Uncle Jin has made up his mind, let's go along with his wishes." Then she added with a smile, "No wonder you agreed to this match the moment you heard that the young lady of the Shi family could make over forty kinds of pickled vegetables. The young lady must be a very virtuous woman. Once you're married, you should live well together."

Jin Yuanbao quickly replied, "Of course, of course."

Seeing this, Zhao Ling could only heave a long sigh.

Fu Tingjun then asked Jin Yuanbao, "So what do you plan to do?"

Jin Yuanbao said, "I plan to rent a house and get married first. After a couple of years when I'm a bit more financially comfortable, I'll find a way to buy a small courtyard—no rush."

That evening, Fu Tingjun discussed it with Zhao Ling: "Why don't you ask Jin Yuanbao how much silver he can come up with? Then we can help out a bit and buy him a small courtyard as a wedding home."

Zhao Ling said, "A small courtyard can't cost that much! I say we just cover the whole cost for him."

Fu Tingjun shot him a glare and said, "You're a few years younger than Uncle Jin, and you've already established your household and taken charge of the family. Uncle Jin probably has the same aspirations. Otherwise, he wouldn't insist on moving out." She added, "And just because he moves out, does that make him any less your brother?"

Zhao Ling felt his wife's words made good sense and smiled, saying, "You handle these matters as you see fit! No need to ask me."

Seeing his helpless expression, Fu Tingjun burst out laughing. Both she and Jin Yuanbao had asked acquaintances to help find a suitable residence, and they had also put the word out at the brokerage houses. But although there were plenty of houses for sale, whenever they found one they wanted to buy, either something was wrong with it, or they weren't satisfied with some aspect, or it was too expensive—they simply hadn't found the right one yet.

When Madam Li asked about it, Fu Tingjun shook her head and said, "If it really doesn't work out, we'll just have to rent a place for now."

Madam Li then asked, "What kind of place are you looking to buy?"

Sensing something in the way Madam Li asked, Fu Tingjun said, "Do you happen to know of a suitable one?"

"Whether it's suitable or not, you'll have to go see it to know," Madam Li said with a smile. "One of my husband's centurions has rented a residence over on Santiao Hutong. It's a modest two-courtyard, three-room place. The owner wants to sell it, asking six hundred taels of silver. The centurion wants to buy it but has borrowed from several places and still can't scrape together the full amount. I happened to hear about it the other day and filed it away in my mind."

"That's wonderful news," Fu Tingjun said with a smile. "As soon as Jin Yuanbao comes back, I'll tell him and have him go take a look."

Madam Li left the address, and Fu Tingjun passed it on to Jin Yuanbao.

When Jin Yuanbao returned, he said, "The location is a good one, and the house is nice too—it's just a bit pricey."

Fu Tingjun asked, "How much can you put in?"

Jin Yuanbao hesitated and said, "If I put in everything I have, I won't have any savings left. And the wedding itself will still cost a good sum of silver."

"In that case," Fu Tingjun said, "I'll lend you five hundred taels of silver. Buy the house first, and after you collect the betrothal gifts and hold the banquet, pay me back part of it. The rest you can repay slowly. In the early years when your elder brother was in the capital, his salary wasn't even enough for his own expenses. These past two years he's been posted elsewhere, and he's even brought money back. You're still young—how could you let debt trouble you?"

This stirred Jin Yuanbao's spirits, and he laughed, saying, "Then I'll follow sister-in-law's advice and borrow five hundred taels from you for now."

Fu Tingjun smiled and personally opened the box, taking out a five-hundred-tael banknote to hand to him.

Jin Yuanbao first had someone claim kinship with the house owner and settled the deal at five hundred sixty taels. After the broker helped him exchange the deed at the government office, he had the house whitewashed, invited both Buddhist monks and Taoist priests to perform ceremonies, installed the household gods, and invited Fu Tingjun, Youyou, Mrs. Zhang, and other close female relatives to spend a day there. The next day he invited his colleagues.

When the Shi family heard the news, they were naturally delighted. In the end, the Shi family's young miss secretly sent word to Fu Tingjun: "Sister-in-law, please tell Lord Jin for me that I still have two or three hundred taels of private savings, and I'll slowly repay the debt then."

Fu Tingjun relayed the message to Jin Yuanbao, not forgetting to tease him: "She hasn't even entered the family yet and she's already favoring outsiders. Once she does marry in, won't she haul everything from the Shi family over to the Jin family!"

Jin Yuanbao's face turned crimson, and he couldn't say a word, yet a hint of joy showed between his brows.

A Sen, who had just returned from school, overheard this and burst out laughing beside them.

Jin Yuanbao was both anxious and annoyed.

A Sen was thoroughly delighted: "We're always left speechless by Brother Yuanbao, but this time it's Brother Yuanbao's turn to be at a loss for words. It just goes to show—thirty years west of the river, forty years east—truly, fortunes turn full circle!"

This made Fu Tingjun laugh as well.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out from outside.

"I'll go see what's happening." Jin Yuanbao hurried out of the hall as if fleeing, which drew another round of laughter from Fu Tingjun and A Sen.

A Sen then asked Fu Tingjun, "Sister-in-law, when will you start sending out the New Year gifts? Brother Yuanbao is so busy this year, and since I'm already a tongsheng scholar, let me help Zheng San deliver the New Year gifts!" As he spoke, he grinned and looked at Fu Tingjun with a fawning expression—not like someone offering to help with family matters, but rather like someone asking a favor of her.

Fu Tingjun's heart stirred at the sight, and she said, "That works! Refinement in human affairs is itself a kind of learning. You can help deliver New Year gifts to Lord Mo's household, Lord Tao's household, Lord Lin's household, and Lord Qin's household!"

A Sen was taken aback, saying, "Besides these four families, there are no others?"

Fu Tingjun laughed inwardly but kept a solemn face, saying, "These four are all your elder brother's close friends—the most important ones—so I've arranged for you to deliver to them."

The commotion outside grew louder.

Both of them felt reassured that Jin Yuanbao was handling it and paid it no mind.

A Sen let out an "Oh" with a somewhat dejected look, but he didn't leave in a hurry. He scratched his head and said hesitantly, "Then... doesn't Lord Wang's household count as one of elder brother's close friends?"

Fu Tingjun barely managed to suppress her laughter and said seriously, "I'll deliver to Lord Wang's household personally."

A Sen's eyes lit up at this, and he quickly said, "Then, when the time comes, let me accompany you, sister-in-law! When elder brother left, he told me not to be lazy, and to be sharp and help with errands if you needed anything..."

Fu Tingjun could no longer hold back—laughter began to ripple in her eyes. She was about to tease him further when Jin Yuanbao swept aside the curtain and entered.

His expression was somewhat grim, and he said in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, Lord Fu from Sixi Lane wants to see you. Zheng San and the others wouldn't let him in, so he's making a scene at the gate. From the way he's talking, it sounds like he's saying Ninth Master used some scheme that cost him his chance at promotion..."

"Cost him his chance at promotion?" Fu Tingjun furrowed her brows. "Ninth Master is merely a military officer posted outside the capital—how could he possibly reach into the Six Ministries? Besides, Lord Fu himself is an official in the Ministry of Personnel. What is he trying to do now?" At this, she began to feel somewhat irritated.

She had kept his cheating in the imperial examinations a secret to this day, and yet here he was, shameless enough to come make a scene at her doorstep.

Fu Tingjun raised an eyebrow and said, "Open the front gate wide. I'll stand at the entrance and reason with him. If he can't produce evidence, I'll be the one accusing him of slander!"

Jin Yuanbao hesitated: "This... wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it?" Fu Tingjun said coldly. "He's not a child of three or five. Since he came to make a scene at my doorstep, he intends to shame me. I might as well open the gates and settle this clearly, so he won't keep coming to our house to put on airs as an elder—otherwise, why doesn't he dare make a scene at anyone else's door? It's only because he knows I'm his daughter." She added, "It's one thing if he says things about me, but dragging Ninth Master into the mud—that I cannot let pass without setting the record straight." With that, she swept aside the curtain herself and left the hall.

Jin Yuanbao and A Sen quickly followed her out through the hanging-flower gate.

Fu Tingjun instructed Zheng San, "Open the door and let Lord Fu in."

Zheng San acknowledged with a "Yes, sir," and opened the main gate.

Fifth Master Fu was wearing a lilac-colored robe. Whether from fury or neglect, his hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot, stripped of his usual refined demeanor, looking quite bedraggled.

Seeing Fu Tingjun standing behind the door, he jumped up and pointed at her, cursing, "So you finally came out. I thought you were going to hide behind Zhao Ling like a turtle for the rest of your life? I've seen ruthless women, but never one like you. For your own selfish interests, you don't even count the kindness of your upbringing. Even a dog you've raised will bark at its master, but you—you'd be glad to see everyone in the family come to ruin..."

The alley was empty, but cracks were left in the side doors of each household.

Fu Tingjun sneered inwardly, standing as straight as a pine, calmly watching Fifth Master Fu.

Her gaze was icy and frosty, her brow carrying undisguised contempt and mockery, which made Fifth Master Fu feel quite uncomfortable, and his cursing gradually faded.

"Are you done cursing?" Fu Tingjun curled her lip in disdain and said, "If you're done, then I'd like to say a few words..."