Chapter 259

The carriage stopped in front of the Zhao residence on Shijia Hutong. Third Cousin and her two children alighted and went straight to Fu Tingjun's inner chamber.

"I'll leave the two children in your care, Ninth Sister," she said hurriedly. "I'll leave the city at dawn tomorrow. I'll return after Grandmother's forty-nine-day mourning period is over." She then instructed the children, "You must listen to your Ninth Aunt!"

Third Cousin's new residence was on Maozi Hutong. Although it was only a two-hour journey from Shijia Hutong, it was closer to the southern part of the city, and they would need to leave through the Fucheng Gate in the west tomorrow. If she had to bring the children over before departing, it would mean taking a long detour, wasting time, and they might not reach Shilipu before noon, nor make it to the post station for the night. This would make the safety of the journey a major concern.

Chunbing respectfully replied "Yes" to his mother, but Yuanxiao could hardly contain his excitement: "Mother, can I play with Cousin Youyou?"

Both adults laughed at this, and the sadness of parting was considerably lightened.

Third Cousin smiled and said, "You can play, but you must not bully Cousin Youyou or Xige'er and Xu Ge'er. If I find out you have, I'll never bring you here to play again."

Yuanxiao quickly promised, "Mother, I'll yield to Cousin Youyou and won't fight with her over the malt sugar candy."

Everyone laughed again.

Third Cousin patted her younger son's head and instructed her eldest son, "Take care of your younger brother, and don't be mischievous."

Chunbing respectfully acknowledged the instruction.

Fu Tingjun stepped forward and put her arms around the shoulders of the two children, saying to Third Cousin with a smile, "Both are sensible children. Rest assured, Third Sister. If Third Brother-in-law misses the children, he can come and visit." She added, "When will Third Sister set out? I'll see you off then."

"It's too early," Third Cousin said. "Don't put yourself out. Between sisters, we needn't stand on such ceremony."

Fu Tingjun thought about how there were five children at home. If she went to see Third Cousin off, she wouldn't be able to return before dusk, and she truly couldn't rest easy about that.

She thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Very well then. I'll have Yuwei see you off on my behalf." Then she asked about her escort. "How about hiring some escorts from a security escort agency?"

"That was my original thought too," Third Cousin said with a smile. "But Lord Hao learned that I was returning to Huayin and spoke to the people at the Five City Military Patrol. They sent over a dozen men who will escort me back to Huayin."

"That's good." Fu Tingjun, hearing this, couldn't help but gossip. "Lord Hao—is that Lord Hao Jianfeng who once served as a Provincial Administration Commissioner in Shaanxi?" When Second Cousin was being considered for marriage, she was still at home. "I heard he holds a grudge. Eldest Uncle tried several times to get in his good graces but never succeeded. How is it that he has no ill feelings toward Third Brother-in-law?"

"I'm not entirely sure either," Third Cousin said. "But from what your brother-in-law says, Hao Jianfeng is not only capable in his work, but also very fair-minded, and he handles people and matters with great tact. If not for Grand Secretary Shen's recent troubles, he might well have had a chance to enter the Grand Secretariat after Grand Secretary Tian retired due to age."

Hao Jianfeng and Grand Secretary Shen had both served in the Ministry of Personnel, one as principal and one as deputy. They worked well together, and over time, even if they weren't of the same faction, they would be seen as such. Now that the Emperor was displeased with Grand Secretary Shen, and Grand Secretary Shen had been forced into retirement, Hao Jianfeng, as part of Grand Secretary Shen's faction and a high-ranking official of the second grade, would likely have difficult days ahead.

Fu Tingjun smiled and said, "His luck is really too bad."

Third Cousin nodded. "This shows that whether one can enter the Grand Secretariat depends on a measure of luck." There was a note of reflection in her tone.

The sisters chatted for a while longer. Third Cousin, thinking of the many household matters awaiting her, took her leave and hurried back to Maozhi Hutong.

At the ornamental gate screen, she ran into Third Brother-in-law.

Seeing that her husband had come from the main hall of the southern wing, Third Cousin greeted him with a smile: "You have guests, my lord?"

Third Brother-in-law's expression was slightly unusual at this.

Third Cousin found it strange.

Third Brother-in-law did not hide anything from her. He said, "Lord Fu just came by, asking whether we had sent word of the mourning to the Shijia Hutong residence. He also asked when you would be setting out, as he wished to travel back to Huayin together."

Third Cousin's brows furrowed slightly at this.

Third Brother-in-law continued, "I told him that as soon as we received the news, you went to Shijia Hutong to report the mourning. As for when you would set out for Huayin, since I still have matters to attend to these next few days, it would probably be a few days before we could leave, and that we would discuss the departure date with him once it was settled."

Third Cousin knew that her husband did not want her to be too close to Fifth Uncle.

That was fine. It would save them from being unable to explain themselves if something happened.

However, this meant she would likely arrive in Huayin before Fifth Uncle.

Third Cousin said thoughtfully, "If Fifth Uncle asks when the time comes, we'll say that Lord Hao was kind enough to inform the Five City Military Patrol, but they had assumed we were departing tomorrow and had already made all the arrangements, so we had no choice but to change the date at the last minute." Then she instructed Third Brother-in-Law, "Wait until I've left the city before sending someone to inform the household on Sixi Lane—they're returning home for mourning and won't be back in the capital for some time. Their belongings will need to be taken, given away, pawned, or locked in storage, and they'll also need to arrange someone to watch over the house. Even if they wanted to travel with us, they couldn't possibly be ready that quickly."

That was a good idea.

It wouldn't offend Lord Fu either.

Third Brother-in-Law smiled and agreed, though a flicker of worry passed across his brow.

Third Cousin laughed. "Now that I've married into the Shen family, I am a Shen. If you have something to say, please speak freely."

Third Brother-in-Law then went with Third Cousin to the study.

"Previously, there was some friction between Grand Madame and First Madame. Now that Grand Madame has passed, I'm afraid there may be some trouble in Huayin," Third Brother-in-Law said tactfully to his wife. "When you return, first, don't get involved in these matters. Second, try to persuade your parents—there are uncles above and elder brothers below. Even if they suffer some losses, they shouldn't fight over anything. The priority is to come out safely and smoothly. As for the money the Fu family previously borrowed from ours, you may entrust the full handling of it to your parents, but you must also make it clear to them not to bear any burden over it. If it helps them extricate themselves smoothly, it doesn't matter whether the money is recovered or not. If they feel wronged over these trivial matters, just tell them directly—see what they think would be best, and you can take out silver to help them settle everything properly. The most important thing is not to turn red-faced over money and let the neighbors laugh at us."

At her husband's words, Third Cousin was both surprised and delighted.

Surprised because her husband believed that the various uncles in her natal family would quarrel over property; delighted because her husband treated her with such sincerity—such a large sum of silver, and he was willing to let it go just like that...

A trace of unease flickered in her eyes, and she said with some confusion, "Grandmother has only just passed... Surely it won't happen that quickly?"

Though she knew her husband's insight into matters was unmatched by few, that place had raised her and nurtured her—it was her roots. In her heart, she still harbored a sliver of hope.

Third Brother-in-Law naturally understood his wife's feelings.

You cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, because you are standing right in the middle of it.

It was understandable that his wife was unwilling to believe her natal family could become like that.

But for the sake of the bigger picture, he could not help but remind her: "Even if they don't make a fuss now, after the three-year mourning period ends, it will be unavoidable."

Third Cousin fell silent.

...

The next day, Third Brother-in-Law and Seventh Brother-in-Law escorted Third Cousin out through Fucheng Gate. Around noon, they stopped at the "Yang Guan" inn in Shilipu to have their midday meal.

As they came downstairs, they happened to run into Hao Jianfeng.

He was walking in through the door, chatting and laughing with several men dressed in long cocoon silk robes, looking like scholars.

Third Brother-in-Law hurried forward to greet him, then introduced Seventh Brother-in-Law to him.

Hao Jianfeng also smilingly introduced the people around him: "...This is Scholar Zhou of the Hanlin Academy, this is Lord Zheng of the Court of Judicial Review, this is Lord Wang of the Court of the Imperial Stud..." He made a special introduction of a man around thirty with a square face and thick eyebrows: "This is Lord Jiang, Left Assistant Administrator of the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission. We're here today to see him off."

A man in his thirties at the fourth rank, and serving in the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission... He was probably no ordinary figure.

Third Brother-in-Law felt a slight tightening in his chest, yet he still stepped forward with a humble and warm smile to pay his respects.

When the others heard that he was the Left Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, they all smiled and came forward to greet him warmly. A couple of them even glanced in the direction where Third Cousin was standing.

More people walked in from outside.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

They saw Fifth Master Fu, now dressed in mourning clothes, walking in, panting for breath.

Third Cousin, Third Brother-in-Law, and Seventh Brother-in-Law were all taken aback.

Hao Jianfeng, in particular, darkened his face and looked away, pretending not to have seen Fifth Master Fu at all.

Even if these people had no business at the Ministry of Personnel, they still had to undergo merit assessments every three years. There was no one who didn't know Lord Fu, and no one who didn't know that Hao Jianfeng wasn't particularly fond of him.

In the past, these people might not have greeted him enthusiastically, but since they were bound to cross paths eventually, they would at least smile and nod to Fifth Master Fu. But ever since the Emperor had said Fifth Master Fu was "unfit for service," his official career had reached its ceiling. Now that he was returning home for mourning with no hope of reinstatement, who would risk displeasing Hao Jianfeng for his sake?

Everyone followed Hao Jianfeng's example, pretending not to see him, and only smiled and chatted with Hao Jianfeng and Third Brother-in-Law.

Third Brother-in-Law and Seventh Brother-in-Law exchanged a glance, both wearing bitter smiles.

Others could ignore Fifth Master Fu, but they could not.

The two of them begged leave of Hao Jianfeng and the others, then stepped forward to pay their respects to Fifth Master Fu.

"You've come all this way, sir?" Third Cousin's husband said with a smile. "You must be here to see my wife off, aren't you? We left in such a hurry that we didn't have time to inform you..."

As he explained, Fifth Master Fu's face darkened like a storm about to break.

He had seen clearly what Hao Jianfeng and his men were up to, and he knew exactly what was on their minds.

But with the situation stacked against him, what could he do?

Suppressing the fury burning in his chest, Fifth Master Fu said, "Didn't you say earlier that you'd wait a few days before leaving? I couldn't wait. I sent a servant this morning to inform you, but it turned out you'd already left the city at dawn. I was just thinking that our two families must have had the same idea, and we might even run into each other at Shilipu. I never expected we actually would."

More likely, he had rushed over the moment he heard they'd left the city at dawn, hadn't he?

Third Cousin's husband smiled and looked behind him. "Why isn't Brother Jiezhi here?"

Jiezhi was the courtesy name of Fu Tingjun's elder brother, Fu Tingzheng.

Fifth Master Fu seemed to want to say something but held back.

He knew Fu Tingjun was unwilling to travel with him and had been keeping watch on the activities at Hat Alley all along.

When the servant had rushed back this morning with the news, he'd immediately sensed this must be Fu Tingjun's doing. He'd had no choice but to leave Fu Tingzheng at home to pack up their belongings while he hurried over himself.

Seeing this, Third Cousin's husband grew even more certain of his suspicions.

Fifth Master Fu, however, cast a glance behind him, his gaze landing on Third Cousin, and asked, "Where's Quanhui? Why isn't she with you?"