Chapter 297

Anxin smiled and said, "Ninth Master said we should handle the task you assigned well. So I came up with this idea."

"After a few years apart, Anxin has really improved!" Fu Tingjun praised.

Anxin rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Then go attend to your duties!" Fu Tingjun said with a smile. "Come and let me know if anything comes up."

Anxin acknowledged with a cheerful "Yes," bowed, and withdrew.

A few days later, he came to report to Fu Tingjun: "Miss Min's father was ultimately sentenced to execution by beheading, carried out after autumn. Seeing her father die like that, Miss Min wept bitterly and fell seriously ill from grief. Since the Min family had no one to take charge, Yu Jingxiu sent Chengxin to help Miss Min handle her father's funeral arrangements."

Fu Tingjun was taken aback and mused, "Since Miss Min's father has already passed away, why is the household at Needle Alley still hiring a cook—it doesn't seem like they're preparing to escort the coffin back to their hometown, but rather settling into daily life."

Anxin said, "According to what the cook said, after Miss Min's father died, Yu Jingxiu sent someone to deliver a letter to Miss Min's mother. But it turned out her mother had already passed away from worry and fear in mid-July, and her younger brother had gone missing after their mother's death. Miss Min suspects her mother and brother were harmed by members of the Min clan, so she doesn't dare return and begged Yu Jingxiu for help. Yu Jingxiu agreed to investigate the matter for Miss Min, and seeing how she had wasted away from not eating or sleeping these past days, he took it upon himself to hire a cook for her, all for the purpose of helping Miss Min recuperate properly."

Fu Tingjun frowned and said, "So it sounds like Miss Min doesn't plan to return to her hometown?"

"That seems to be her intention," Anxin said cautiously. "I've learned that Yu Jingxiu helped Miss Min place her father's coffin temporarily at the Fire God Temple outside Di'an Gate, and the temple has accepted three years' worth of incense money. Chengxin has gone to Miss Min's hometown, and from what I gather, the plan is to first give Miss Min's mother a proper burial, and once the matter of Miss Min's younger brother is clarified, they'll bring her father's coffin back to the hometown for a joint burial with her mother."

Fu Tingjun found this somewhat unsettling: "Even if Lord Min had no brothers or nephews within the five degrees of mourning, wouldn't there be someone in the Min clan to step forward and handle this? Lord Min was after all a successful jinshi graduate who brought honor to the Min family. Aren't they afraid of being criticized by their neighbors for acting this way?"

Anxin smiled and said, "I've already sent people to Miss Min's hometown to investigate this matter. We should have news within ten days to half a month."

Fu Tingjun nodded and later said privately to Yuwei, "Since Miss Min has fallen to the point of needing Yu Jingxiu's charity, it's clear this lawsuit has left her family destitute. If members of the clan harmed her mother and brother, there must be some reason, right?"

"Who can say when it comes to clan affairs," Yuwei said. "Take our own master, for example—how wronged Grand Madame was, but could our master say a single word about it? Not only could he not speak up, but he also bore the reputation of being ruthless and vindictive. Don't you think that's unjust?"

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but sigh deeply and said, "Let's see whether Anxin can uncover anything."

"Anxin doesn't need to investigate—I already know that Miss Min is no good," Yuwei said, curling her lip in disdain. "Both her parents are dead, her only brother is missing, and she can still sit comfortably in the capital. That shows how cold-hearted she is..." Her gaze shifted, and she smiled, "Though, she and that Yu Jingxiu do make quite a pair."

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but purse her lips in a smile, thinking of Zhao Ling.

Her heart immediately filled with sweetness, and she no longer wished to dwell on these messy matters. She asked about the fabric at home: "If I remember correctly, Shopkeeper Ye San sent several bolts of bright red cotton around the Dragon Boat Festival. Dig them out—I want to make a robe for Ninth Master. In a few days, Ninth Master should send a letter, and we can have someone bring it to Guizhou for him to wear during the New Year."

Yuwei smiled and acknowledged, then found the bolts of bright red cotton. Fu Tingjun dusted them with chalk, cut the fabric, and personally sewed New Year's clothing for Zhao Ling.

Before the clothing was finished, Zhao Ling's letter arrived, along with two trunks of items he had sent back.

The one delivering the items was a clerk from the Right Military Governor's Office, around thirty years old. Having spent years in government service, even a dullard becomes slick. While Yuechuan and Baoshu carried the trunks to the inner courtyard, he animatedly regaled the Zhao household servants with tales of his time in Guizhou: "...Lord Zhao executed all the captured bandits but released one alone to deliver a message to the bandit leader, saying: 'I will come to kill you tonight at the second watch.' That night at the second watch, horns blew and cannons fired, and when the bandits heard it, they all fled. The spoils of weapons and armor were countless. Now the bandits in Guizhou flee at the mere mention of Lord Zhao's name, while the common people weep with gratitude at the sound of it." His words filled Zheng San and the others with excitement and pride, and the Biluochun tea originally used to entertain the clerk was upgraded to West Lake Longjing.

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but purse her lips and smile upon hearing this.

Yuwei, who was packing the trunks, felt honored as well and consulted with her: "What should we do with the furs that Ninth Master sent back?"

"Put away that tiger skin," Fu Tingjun said with a smile. "When Ninth Master returns, we'll spread it in his study. As for the squirrel furs, let's have a fur coat made for Daoist An."

Yuwei was quite surprised and hesitated: "But what about the eldest young lady and the eldest young master..."

"The children are still young, at an age for jumping and bouncing around. Making their cotton-padded jackets a bit thicker will suffice. It's not like Daoist An, who is old and frail—when the weather turns slightly cold, he feels the chill penetrating to the bone." Fu Tingjun laughed. "When something suitable comes along later, we'll make fur garments for Youyou and the others." She then instructed her to sort through the tea, medicinal herbs, and other items Zhao Ling had sent back: "Ninth Master is in Guizhou. It wouldn't be proper not to send some Guizhou specialties during the festival season."

Yuwei smiled and acknowledged the order.

Anxin requested an audience.

Fu Tingjun had Zhenzhu bring Anxin in and said with a smile: "It's like I'm watching a play."

Anxin smiled: "It truly is a play."

Fu Tingjun chuckled, dismissed the attendants at her side, and asked him: "What's happened over there?"

"It's been investigated thoroughly," Anxin said in a low voice. "After Lord Min passed the imperial examination, he once helped his clan and neighboring village's wealthy households fight over farmland. Later, when Lord Min fell from grace, the Min family had no one left who could contend with those wealthy households. The rich man then incited a few idle ruffians from the Min clan to extort Min's mother, which is why she fell ill from anxiety and anger. Miss Min's younger brother went missing during the chaos of the Min family members helping with the mother's funeral arrangements. There are rumors circulating that Miss Min's brother was sold by traffickers. Yu Jingxiu knows about this too, and even instructed Chengxin not to tell Miss Min. In front of Miss Min, he only said that her mother had passed away from illness and that her brother had gone missing. He also entrusted Lord Jiang, the Administrative Commissioner of Shandong, to help search for Miss Min's brother."

Fu Tingjun was stunned: "He actually entrusted a colleague to help find Miss Min's brother?"

"Yes!" Anxin said. "I heard that Lord Jiang arranged for Prefect Pei of Shandong to handle the matter, and Prefect Pei is notoriously fond of gossiping..."

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but laugh: "Is there anything else?"

"That's all I've learned for now," Anxin said. "If there's anything else, I'll come report to you immediately, Madam."

Fu Tingjun nodded, but secretly pondered—with such a commotion, she wondered whether Madam Yu had caught wind of it.

...

Madam Yu, like all mothers, once her son became the top scholar in the imperial examination with a promising future ahead and had married, she let some matters slide. By the time she heard that her son was helping Miss Min search for her younger brother, it was already March of the following year.

She trembled with rage and summoned Lady Fan to interrogate her: "...Did you know about this?"

Lady Fan was completely dumbfounded.

After their quarrel over the Needle Alley matter, they had gone a full two months without speaking, and in the end, it was Yu Jingxiu who had lowered his head first. She had thought the matter had passed without a trace, never imagining that Yu Jingxiu was still in contact with the Needle Alley household.

One look at Lady Fan's expression told Madam Yu she had asked the wrong person.

Her lips quivered, and for a long while she didn't know what to say. She felt both disappointed and dejected. She waved her hand to dismiss Lady Fan, then leaned back against the large bolster pillow with a dejected expression, finding even food hard to swallow.

Mama Shu watched anxiously and ventured: "Perhaps we should summon Concubine Fei to ask?"

Madam Yu sneered: "That seed of family ruin."

Ever since Lady Fan had suffered an episode of heart pain, Madam Yu had confined Lady Fei to her room to copy Buddhist scriptures, and had Concubine Wu attend to Lady Fan during her illness. Concubine Wu was a gentle and cautious person, and over time, Lady Fan had lost her former coldness and distance toward her.

"Better than the young madam who knows nothing when asked," Mama Shu said, feeling that Lady Fei was far more decisive and straightforward than Lady Fan. "The young master occasionally exchanges a few words with Concubine Fei."

Madam Yu thought it over and gave a barely perceptible nod.

Mama Shu immediately went to summon Concubine Fei.

When Madam Yu asked about Miss Min's matter, Concubine Fei said frankly: "The young master did mention it to me..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Madam Yu's teacup smashed against her, leaving tea leaves scattered across her skirt.

"Please calm your anger, Madam." Lady Fei showed not a trace of panic, giving a helpless bitter smile. "These days Concubine Wu has been attending to the young madam during her illness, and I rarely get to see the young madam. I had no choice but to tell Concubine Wu and ask her to pass the word along to the young madam..."

She was dragging Concubine Wu into it!

A flicker of surprise passed through Madam Yu's eyes. Though she understood in her heart that Lady Fei was somewhat deflecting the blame, the fury in her heart made it impossible for her to control her emotions.

"Summon Concubine Wu," she ordered Mama Shu harshly, her temples throbbing violently.

Mama Shu dared not delay and immediately called for Concubine Wu to come in.

Concubine Wu looked utterly bewildered. "But Madam knows about this! Earlier, Madam and the Master even quarreled over it." As she spoke, she cast a puzzled glance at Lady Fei and added, "Previously, Lady Fei had tried to persuade Madam, saying that the Master was acting out of chivalry... That's why I didn't dare to speak up in front of Madam."

One was too dull, the other too quick-witted.

Madam Yu looked at the two women before her, her head splitting with pain. She could only dismiss them wearily, "You may both withdraw!"

Concubine Wu bent her knees in a salute and retreated, but Lady Fei, after completing her salute, lingered with her lips pressed together, wearing a hesitant expression.

Madam Yu felt a surge of disgust rise in her heart, and her brow grew even colder.

Suddenly, Lady Fei knelt down, gazing up at Madam Yu with sincere eyes. "Madam, please allow me to say a few words."