Chapter 248

Lady Fan knew that since her husband was opposed, she could not press the matter further. She hurried into the inner chamber and, from the carved panel at the head of the bed depicting a shepherd boy playing a flute, retrieved a plain black lacquered box. She found the deed to the mountain plot and handed it to Yu Jingxiu.

Yu Jingxiu took the deed and went to the study.

Lady Fan sat on the arhat bed fanning her daughter, but her mind was in a turmoil as she thought about the deed Yu Jingxiu had taken.

When they had married, the Yu family had set aside private property worth over eight thousand taels of silver for them, bringing in an annual income of more than two thousand taels. And since she had married into a higher-ranking family, her father, fearing the Yu family would look down on her, had stretched himself to provide her dowry, which yielded another eight or nine hundred taels a year. Daily expenses were covered by the household accounts, and they each received a monthly allowance of fifty taels. Any gratuities Yu Jingxiu needed for official business were also charged to his father's accounts, so they never had to touch their own money.

Though her husband had said nothing, she understood well enough—with the Yu family in such a crisis, money must have been spent on greasing palms in every direction.

The Yu family had stood for a hundred years, wealthy and honored. Madam Yu's natal family, the Shu clan, was also a renowned great house south of the Yangtze, said to have provided a dowry of no less than ten thousand in gold. How could the household have fallen to such straits that her husband would rather sell land than let his mother know?

Or perhaps his mother was also stretched thin? And that was why her husband was too embarrassed to ask...

At the thought of this possibility, she grew restless.

Could her husband be hiding something from her?

When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain whole?

What if she were left in the dark, knowing nothing, without even a plan to respond?

As she pondered, her feather fan began to flap noisily.

Mozhuan, who had just entered carrying watermelon, let out an "Aiya!" and said hurriedly, "Young Mistress, whatever is the matter? Mind you don't startle the young lady!"

Only then did Lady Fan come back to herself. She handed the fan to a waiting maid.

Mozhuan offered the watermelon: "Watermelons sent up from Shandong—do taste one, see if it's sweet?"

Lady Fan took the watermelon but did not eat it. Instead, she dismissed the servants attending her and said in a low voice to Mozhuan, "Keep an eye out—see what the master has been up to these past few days."

Mozhuan was quite surprised and said, "Is something the matter with the master?"

Lady Fan did not hide it from her and told Mozhuan about Yu Jingxiu's intention to sell the mountain plot.

Mozhuan's heart gave a lurch.

She had always heard of wealthy families buying land and property, never of them selling it.

"I understand," she said in a grave voice to Lady Fan. "If there's any movement on the master's side, I'll come and report to you."

Lady Fan nodded.

Yet her brows furrowed of their own accord.

...

Over at Fu Tingjun's, meanwhile, there was laughter and cheerful talk.

"...Grand Secretary Shen served as Minister of Personnel for over a decade—every appointment and dismissal of officials great and small in the court passed through his hands. Now that Grand Secretary Shen has retired, the balance of power at court is bound to shift," said Seventh Brother-in-law excitedly. "Never mind anything else—take the vacancies for the Transmission Office and the Censorate. Those who used to go through Grand Secretary Shen's gate must be weeping bitter tears now."

Compared to Seventh Brother-in-law, Third Brother-in-law appeared far more composed.

He smiled and nodded, saying, "I was wondering why several vacancies this year had yet to be filled. So it was because Grand Secretary Shen had his own troubles to contend with..."

Fu Tingjun laughed at this. "So all those words of 'don't worry' from Third Brother-in-law were just for my benefit—you didn't have any confidence yourself either!"

Third Brother-in-law was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. "I can't hide anything from Ninth Sister, after all!"

Seventh Brother-in-law chimed in from the side, "Third Brother-in-law's matter should be settled soon, shouldn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Third Brother-in-law said with a smile. "With such a great upheaval at court, there's much to be done! What seems a momentous affair to us is utterly trivial in the eyes of the grand secretaries. I'm afraid this will drag on another month or two."

"That long!" Seventh Brother-in-law was deeply disappointed.

"If it's settled within a month or two, that would be good," Third Brother-in-law said with great equanimity, smiling. "And since I've nothing much to do these days—you've started some sort of 'poetry gathering,' haven't you? This is just the season for enjoying the lotus. Next time you go out, do include me!"

"Splendid!" Seventh Brother-in-law teased. "We were just short of someone to split the costs."

Everyone laughed.

Seeing that the hour was growing late, Third Brother-in-law rose to take his leave.

Fu Tingjun, thinking that Third Cousin had been staying at her place these past few days, also urged her to return: "...The full-month ceremony is done, and I can get off the kang now. Your husband can't be left alone with no one to look after him, can he? If anything comes up, I'll send a serving woman to fetch you."

Third Cousin thought Fu Tingjun's words made sense, packed up her things, and, leading Chunbing and Yuanxiao, left together with Third Brother-in-law and Seventh Brother-in-law.

Youyou asked Fu Tingjun, "When will Brother Chunbing come again?" looking quite reluctant to part.

Fu Tingjun could not help but feel curious.

Mother Tong smiled and explained, "The eldest young master of the Shen family learned to weave grasshoppers from somewhere, and the eldest young lady is absolutely delighted with them. These past few days, the eldest young lady and the second young master of the Shen family have been learning to weave grasshoppers from the eldest young master of the Shen family!"

"Is that so?" Fu Tingjun smiled and gathered her daughter into her arms, saying, "Then have you learned how to do it?"

Youyou nodded eagerly. "I couldn't do it, so the eldest cousin kept teaching me." Then she leaned close to her mother's ear and whispered, "I'll tell you secretly, but you mustn't tell anyone... Second Uncle made a mistake when reading aloud, and when the eldest cousin pointed it out to him, Second Uncle's face turned even redder than the little jacket I'm wearing."

Fu Tingjun was stunned.

No wonder A Sen had seemed a bit uncomfortable when he ran into Chunbing.

She had been puzzled as to why A Sen, who usually adored children, had paid so little attention to the two Shen children... So that was the reason!

Fu Tingjun hooked her pinky with her daughter's. "Then you mustn't tell anyone else either!"

Youyou quickly hooked pinkies with her mother and covered her mouth with her hand. "I won't tell anyone."

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but laugh.

Youyou happily threw herself into her mother's arms.

Ever since Fu Tingjun had become pregnant with Xu Ge'er, even when she occasionally held Youyou, she did so with great care.

Fu Tingjun embraced her daughter and kissed her little face, and that evening she kept Youyou to sleep in her own room.

When Xige'er learned of this, he also clamored to sleep with his mother.

Fu Tingjun simply had someone bring Xu Ge'er over as well.

Youyou and Xige'er took turns pulling Xu Ge'er's hands and touching his feet, fussing over him until he whimpered, while Youyou and Xige'er were absolutely delighted.

Fu Tingjun then held Xu Ge'er in her arms, not letting Youyou and Xige'er tease him anymore.

The two children lay sprawled across Fu Tingjun, watching Xu Ge'er sleep.

Youyou asked her mother, "When I was little, did I sleep all the time like little brother does?"

Such childish talk—they kept playing and giggling until the hour of Hai before finally falling asleep.

Fu Tingjun looked at her sleeping daughter and sons, and her heart felt full and deeply content.

The next day, after settling the children, she sat down to write a letter to Zhao Ling.

But Zhenzhu hurried in. "Madam, Third Aunt has come to visit."

Fu Tingjun was taken aback.

Third Cousin had just been here yesterday—why had she come running over again today?

She set down her brush and instructed Zhenzhu to usher Third Cousin into the inner chamber.

Zhenzhu responded with a cheerful "Yes, ma'am" and walked briskly out of the inner chamber.

Fu Tingjun didn't bother tidying up her writing materials and went out to greet her.

Third Cousin happened to lift the curtain and enter at that moment, and the two sisters met right in the main hall.

"Third Sister, please come in and sit down," Fu Tingjun said, but Third Cousin grabbed her by the wrist.

"Ninth Sister," she said, unable to hide the joy on her face, "early this morning, the Ministry of Personnel sent someone to summon your brother-in-law. They said he's been appointed to fill the vacancy of Left Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, and they asked him to go to the ministry to fill out the registration forms..."

"Really?" Fu Tingjun was both surprised and delighted. "Why so sudden? Is the news reliable?"

"Reliable, reliable," Third Cousin said hastily. "The one who came to deliver the news was a director from the Ministry of Personnel, who came in person, accompanied by a clerk, and spoke very courteously... Your brother-in-law asked me to come here and wait for you. He'll come straight here from the ministry."

Fu Tingjun nodded repeatedly and asked Third Cousin whether she had eaten breakfast yet.

"How could I possibly eat!" Third Cousin said with a dismissive laugh. "I'm just afraid this is all a dream." With that, she asked Fu Tingjun to pinch her arm. "See if it hurts?"

This made Fu Tingjun burst out laughing, and she instructed Yuwei to bring some refreshments for Third Cousin.

Third Cousin then chattered on with Fu Tingjun. "...Your brother-in-law often tells me, 'A wild goose leaves its cry behind, a man leaves his name behind'... He's always wanted to accomplish something great... He was full of ambition and ready to spread his wings, but wouldn't you know it, that year of the examination, they didn't select any Hanlin bachelors... He finally managed to secure the post of magistrate's assistant in Daxing County, but before he could even take office, his mother-in-law suddenly passed away... Although he still appears diligent as ever on the surface, I know he's been suffering inside..."

So Third Brother-in-law had once been appointed magistrate's assistant of Daxing County!

Fu Tingjun comforted Third Cousin. "Misfortune hides within fortune, and fortune hides within misfortune. Now that Third Brother-in-law has obtained the post of Left Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, his wish has been fulfilled."

Third Cousin nodded continuously and took Fu Tingjun's hand. "This is all thanks to you. If it weren't for you, how could he have gotten such a good post!" She added, "Even if he had smoothly taken office as magistrate's assistant of Daxing County back then, in three years' time, he might not have risen to the position of Left Supervising Secretary. It's just as you said—'Misfortune hides within fortune, and fortune hides within misfortune.'"

The two of them chatted until noon.

Third Brother-in-law returned from the Ministry of Personnel.

"How did it go?" Third Cousin couldn't help but rush forward to meet him.

Seeing the spring breeze on Third Brother-in-law's face, Fu Tingjun knew the matter had been settled.

Sure enough, Third Brother-in-law smiled and told Third Cousin, "The ministry told me to rest for two days before taking office." Then he stepped forward and bowed to Fu Tingjun. "It's done!" He added, "This matter was accomplished thanks to Ninth Sister's help. When Ninth Brother-in-law returns, I'll have a good drink with him!"

"Third brother-in-law is too kind!" Fu Tingjun quickly returned a blessing salute and said with a smile, "Third brother-in-law already has the qualifications for this position; I merely went along with the tide and pushed things forward."

"Ninth sister is too modest." Third brother-in-law returned the salute and said with a smile, "If it weren't for Ninth sister, how could that vacancy have been filled by me?" He then showed a hint of guilt, "And it caused Xu Ge'er to come into the world earlier than expected..."

"Children come early or late without any set rule," Fu Tingjun quickly said, "Besides, both mother and child are safe. Third brother-in-law, please don't take it to heart."

The two of them exchanged words back and forth, each becoming more polite than the last.

Third Cousin couldn't help but laugh, saying, "You two may not be tired, but I am." Then she added, "We're all family; why so much formality?" She turned to Third brother-in-law and said, "Go wash your face quickly. Today we'll have lunch at Ninth sister's place!" Then she said to Fu Tingjun, "Tell me, should we make a trip to Tanzhe Temple to inform Teacher Yao of the news?"