Chapter 281

Lady Fan was quite surprised.

Yu Xiujing received a monthly allowance of fifty taels of silver, which he was free to spend as he pleased. A meal at even a decent restaurant cost no more than ten-odd taels, and he was hardly the type to squander money on wine and pleasure. Why would he suddenly be short of silver?

She asked with concern, "What do you need so much silver for?"

Yu Xiujing was somewhat evasive. "Just some everyday expenses." He added, "When traveling, the local yamen host you, so naturally there's no need to spend silver. But back in the capital, one's former classmates and colleagues inevitably want to gather—one table often becomes two or three. I'm just preparing for contingencies."

Lady Fan recalled what Madam Yu had said earlier.

Could Yu Xiujing have fallen in with bad company outside?

At this thought, anxiety crept into her heart, and she said hurriedly, "Who have you arranged to watch the fireworks at West Garden with?" The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted asking—this was not the time, and Yu Jingxiu might think she was questioning what he needed the silver for. So, without waiting for his answer, she quickly added, "We don't have that much silver in the house right now, but we do have bank notes. However, it's already late, and the silver shops have closed for the day. I'm afraid even with the notes, we won't be able to exchange them for silver."

Yu Jingxiu, however, wasn't thinking that deeply. Upon hearing there was no silver but there were bank notes, he considered for a moment and said, "Bank notes will do... Then give me two hundred taels' worth of notes!"

Lady Fan smiled in acknowledgment and went into the inner chamber.

Then came the sound of light yet measured footsteps, and a woman's voice called warmly through the curtain, "Eldest Young Madam? It's me, Lady Fei. Are you in?"

Yu Jingxiu was taken aback.

Since that day when Lady Fei had lectured him at length, he seemed not to have seen her again.

The thought flashed through his mind, and he said in a deep voice, "Come in!"

The person outside hesitated for a moment.

Yu Jingxiu frowned, his voice carrying a hint of displeasure: "If you have something to say, come in and say it."

The curtain was lifted, and Lady Fei entered, wearing a peach-pink jacket.

Peach-pink is the most vivid of colors—on most people it would look garish and cheap. But on Lady Fei, set against her snow-white complexion, it lent her an added touch of bold charm.

Yu Jingxiu couldn't help but pause.

Lady Fei greeted him with a smiling bow, her manner polite yet somewhat distant. "It's nothing important. I just came to chat with the Eldest Young Madam for a bit. Since the Eldest Young Master is here, I'll take my leave..."

Though their acquaintance was brief, in Yu Jingxiu's mind, Lady Fei was not the type to go around gossiping from door to door. Why would she suddenly come to chat with Lady Fan?

There must be something—she just didn't want him to know... As he pondered this, he noticed that one of Lady Fei's hands was kept behind her back the entire time.

He couldn't help asking, "What are you holding in your hand?"

Lady Fei's smile immediately stiffened, and she grew somewhat unnatural. "Nothing much—just some clothes and such..."

Yu Jingxiu found himself curious. Normally, with his temperament, he wouldn't pry into women's affairs, but recalling his mother's thunderous rage today, and Lady Fei's earlier advice not to always shield Lady Fan, as it would only make Madam Yu resent her more, he regarded Lady Fei with somewhat higher esteem than before. He said, "When you first entered this household, you did needlework for the Madam and the Young Madams. Is this also needlework you're doing for the Young Madam?"

A flicker of hesitation passed across Lady Fei's brow.

Suddenly, his mother's words—"the household affairs are in such a mess that people are talking"—surfaced in his mind, and an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose in his chest... Just as he was hesitating whether to let the matter drop, he saw Lady Fei purse her lips and bring out the bundle she had been hiding behind her.

Yu Jingxiu noticed that the corners of the bundle were tied together in an ingenious knot, which looked vaguely familiar. When Lady Fei opened the bundle and he saw a man's lake-green robe of Hangzhou silk, he suddenly understood.

So all this time, he had been confusing one thing for another—wearing the clothes Lady Fei had made, thinking they were Lady Fan's work.

His expression turned sour.

A sharp voice cut through the room: "Who told you to make clothes? How dare you come running in without being announced?" Then she called out loudly for Mozhuan, scolding, "The Eldest Young Master is sitting right here, and there's not a single attendant present. How are you managing as head maid?"

Lady Fei quickly said, "Mozhuan has gone to the kitchen. I didn't expect the Eldest Young Master to return at this hour..."

Those two short sentences both excused Mozhuan and defended herself.

Lady Fan grew even more resentful.

A flicker of weariness passed through Yu Jingxiu's eyes. He no longer wished to pursue who was right or wrong, or whose needlework the clothes truly were.

He said directly to Lady Fan, "I'll be very late tonight. If the inner gate is locked, I'll spend the night in the study at the outer courtyard. Have someone come early tomorrow morning to attend to my washing."

As soon as Lady Fan heard this, she hurriedly handed the bank draft to Yu Jingxiu.

Yu Jingxiu left the inner chamber without looking back.

The fireworks at the Western Garden had already begun.

Jiadao Street was a small alley in Chang'an, and along the way he repeatedly encountered pedestrians stopping to gaze up at the fireworks bursting in midair.

Yu Jingxiu heard a little girl shouting "Father, Father!" at the top of her voice: "Quick, look! Quick, look! It burst open—twice! The first time it was green, then other colors; this time it was red, then other colors..."

The child's voice was as melodious as an oriole's, and he couldn't help but follow the sound with his eyes.

There he saw a tall man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a little girl of five or six perched on his shoulders.

The little girl wore a crimson robe patterned with treasure vases, her hair black as lacquer, her face fair as jade. Young as she was, her features were remarkably delicate—especially her eyes, which were clear and bright, like spring water from a deep mountain stream, making one's heart feel purified just by looking at them.

The curtain of a nearby carriage was lifted, and a woman laughed: "Hurry and get in! What a sight you two make! She's seven years old now, not seven months."

At this, the tall man turned back and smiled at the woman—a smile both tolerant and affectionate, clearly showing how much he valued her words. He laughed: "Didn't you say she's seven this year? Next year she'll be eight, and carrying her on my shoulders will be even more inappropriate... So why not take advantage of her being only seven this year and carry her one more time..."

The woman broke into a radiant smile, brighter than the fiery pomegranate blossoms of May: "You and your smooth talk..."

The tall man pressed his lips together and smiled, while the little girl on his shoulders covered her mouth and giggled. Though they didn't look alike, their expressions were remarkably similar—anyone could tell at a glance they were father and daughter!

A boy's head poked out from the carriage, no more than four or five years old.

He grinned mischievously at the father and daughter pair and called out loudly: "Sister, is it fun?"

"Very fun," the girl replied. "You can see so far!" Then she added, "How about I get down and let Father carry you too?"

"No," the boy refused without a moment's hesitation, snuggling against the woman. "I'll ride in the carriage with Mother!"

The woman chuckled warmly, embracing the boy and saying softly: "Xige'er is such a good boy, knowing to care for his mother."

The family chatted and laughed as they passed by Yu Jingxiu, who stood there staring blankly, only coming to his senses after a long moment.

To think he'd run into Madam Fu's family?

Who would have imagined that Zhao Ling... after attending the Grand Empress Dowager's birthday banquet in the palace during the day, would still have the energy to bring his family out for an evening stroll... Though, to be fair, her daughter was truly exquisite, and her son was handsome too—both took after Madam Fu...

As this thought flashed through his mind, Yu Jingxiu felt somewhat dazed.

But Fu Tingjun and Zhao Ling hadn't noticed Yu Jingxiu at all.

Fu Tingjun gazed at the crowded thoroughfare of Chang'an Avenue ahead and couldn't help saying: "How about we just watch the fireworks from here? If we push our way in, we'll only end up looking at people!" She thought to herself that once they squeezed into the crowd, Zhao Ling would have to worry about protecting her and the children, leaving no mind for the fireworks. Better to watch from a distance. Wasn't the point of going out to have a good time? Shijia Hutong was in the east of the city, while the Western Garden was in the west—he'd been worried that she and the children couldn't see the fireworks clearly, so he insisted on bringing them out to enjoy the spectacle...

At this thought, her heart felt sweet, and her gaze toward Zhao Ling was filled with tenderness.

Zhao Ling smiled: "No worries, no worries! I had someone reserve a private room at Wangxian Tower earlier. We just need to make our way there."

Seeing how much effort he'd put into arranging this, Fu Tingjun naturally didn't object. She told Xige'er to sit properly, soothed Xu Ge'er in her arms, and after a slow, tortoise-paced journey of nearly an hour, they finally reached Wangxian Tower.

Once inside the private room, a waiter immediately brought in tea and refreshments.

Zhao Ling moved an official's armchair beneath the window, letting the children stand on it to watch the fireworks.

Fu Tingjun repeatedly cautioned Yuwei and Mother Tong and the others: "Be careful—don't let the children climb over." She saw Zhao Ling holding Youyou with one hand and gripping Xige'er's collar with the other, while she herself encircled Xu Ge'er.

A commotion sounded outside, and someone pushed open the door: "Huchen, you're here too?"

Fu Tingjun turned around instinctively and saw a stranger—a man with thick brows and large eyes, around thirty years of age.

She quickly turned her back.

Then she heard a teasing voice laugh: "I was wondering why you were so generous, insisting on inviting me to the capital to watch fireworks. Turns out it was for Zhao Ling here." The voice added, "Zhao Ling, I suppose that son of yours you mentioned is here as well?"

"You misunderstand, Daoist," Zhao Ling said with a hint of mischief in his voice. "I was merely making a wager with Brother Yang, to see if he could stir your mortal heart and persuade you to come to the capital to watch the fireworks. Little did I expect that after all these years of cultivation in the mountains, your Daoist heart would still be unsteady, and you'd let Brother Yang trick you down the mountain. That has nothing to do with me!"

Fu Tingjun, listening, couldn't help but steal a quick glance behind her out of curiosity.

She saw that the man Zhao Ling called Brother Yang was standing beside a Daoist of medium height, with snow-white hair and beard, yet his expression held a childlike innocence. At Zhao Ling's words, his beard twitched with anger, which seemed somewhat comical yet also endearing.

Could this Daoist be the renowned Daoist An of Jiugong Mountain?

As Fu Tingjun thought this, she couldn't resist taking another look.

Zhao Ling had already walked over: "Daoist An, this is my wife, Madam Fu. A-jun, this is Daoist An. And this is Brother Yang Tong, who serves under General Mo Shangmo and has accompanied him to the capital. We happened to mention it and discovered that our masters share a connection."