Chapter 310

Fu Tingjun secretly observed, but noticed nothing unusual. Just as she was wondering about it, Zhao Ling returned.

He arrived back in the capital, travel-worn, with several attendants in tow.

"Why didn't you send someone ahead to let us know?" Fu Tingjun spoke with feigned reproach, but an irrepressible smile spread across her face. She personally drew water for Zhao Ling and stood by the washbasin stand, watching him wash up, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on him.

Zhao Ling felt warmth rise in his heart at the sight.

He smiled at her, then lowered his head to wash his face.

Youyou came running in with her three younger brothers.

"Father, Father," her crisp voice chimed like a cheerful lark, "when are you returning to Tongren Prefecture?"

Zhao Ling tossed aside his towel, crouched down, and scooped up Youyou, lifting her high into the air.

Startled, Youyou let out a gasp and clutched tightly at Zhao Ling's arm.

Fu Tingjun quickly said, "Put her down now—she's nine this year, not a little girl of two or three anymore!"

Zhao Ling set Youyou down with an awkward chuckle, gently stroking her head as he laughed. "Father just got home—I haven't even found my footing yet, and you're already thinking about me going back to Guizhou?"

"No, no," Youyou waved her hands repeatedly. "Cousin Yuanxiao said that on the eighth day of the fourth month, the Buddha's birthday, there's an elephant performance in front of Baiyun Temple. My brothers and I all want to go see it." Then, as if afraid Zhao Ling wouldn't believe her, she tugged at Xige'er standing nearby. "Isn't that right, eldest brother?"

Xige'er nodded repeatedly, gazing at Zhao Ling with a mixture of awe, nervousness, shyness, and anticipation—yet without the joyful excitement a child should show upon a parent's long-awaited return.

He felt a faint sting in his heart.

Of his sons, from birth to upbringing, he had never fulfilled his duty as a father.

Thinking this, he draped his arms around Xige'er and Xu Ge'er's shoulders, asking with a smile, "Do you two want to go as well?"

"Yes, we do!" Xige'er and Xu Ge'er's eyes lit up. The youngest, Han Ge'er, still too young to fully understand, echoed his brothers in a babyish voice, "Want to go!"

Zhao Ling scooped up his youngest son and laughed. "Alright, when the time comes, Father will take you all to see the elephants."

The children cheered.

Xige'er felt his father suddenly draw much closer. The bond of kinship overcame the strangeness of two years apart, and he quickly grew familiar with Zhao Ling. "Father, Father, will you also buy us cherries to eat?"

In early April, the season's first cherries had already hit the market.

"Alright, alright, alright." Zhao Ling nodded with a genial smile, without a hint of temper, like an easygoing man.

The children grew bolder.

Xu Ge'er tugged at Zhao Ling's sleeve. "Father, I don't want cherries—I want to buy a big saber!"

Zhao Ling was taken aback, clearly not expecting his second son to make such a request. His instinct was to refuse, but then he thought of how he was never home, and how the children rarely even had the chance to go out and enjoy the bustle of the streets. Guilt outweighed reason. "The sabers sold at temple fair stalls are all cheap tricks—they can't even cut through wood. In a couple of days, I'll take you to Liangcao Hutong. There's a century-old shop there that's the best at forging blades. Even the people from the Five Armies Supervisory Office buy their weapons there. I'll have a fine saber custom-made for you."

Xu Ge'er's mouth fell open.

Beside them, Fu Tingjun let out a "pfft" of laughter.

Now it was Zhao Ling's turn to be bewildered.

"What Xu Ge'er wants isn't a real saber—it's one of those peach-wood sabers sold at the temple fair." Fu Tingjun squinted with a smile, her face full of playful mischief.

"Well..." Zhao Ling scratched his head and let out a dry chuckle.

Yuwei walked in. "Master, Mistress, the meal is ready. Where would you like it set up?"

"Set it up in the inner chamber," Fu Tingjun said, feeling her heart full just looking at Zhao Ling.

Yuwei acknowledged with a smile and brought in the kang table with two maidservants.

Zhao Ling climbed onto the kang and saw the children standing at the edge, gazing at him with eager eyes. He couldn't help but bend down with a smile and ask them, "Would you like to eat a little something with me?"

The children hesitated over whether to accept, but Fu Tingjun had already spoken: "They just had breakfast, and in another hour or so it will be time for the midday meal. If they eat now, they won't eat later." Then she said to the children, "Those of you who study with the tutor, go study; those who practice martial arts with the master, go practice. I'll speak with your tutor later and give you the afternoon off, so you can keep your father company and chat."

The children were delighted and scattered happily.

Zhao Ling's gaze toward Fu Tingjun grew somewhat heated. "Would you like to join me for a bite?"

Fu Tingjun smiled and shook her head, then raised another matter. "You've promised the children you'll take them to see the elephant performance—can you stay until the eighth day of the fourth month? Why have you only now returned to the capital to report on your duties? Will those censors impeach you over it?"

"I've already submitted a memorial to the emperor, saying I contracted dysentery on the road and would be delayed a month in returning to the capital to report on my duties," Zhao Ling said, his expression growing somewhat serious. "Actually, I took the time to make a trip to Xi'an..."

Fu Tingjun's attention was entirely fixed on the four words "contracted dysentery."

Dysentery was not easy to cure, and many people had lost their lives to it.

Her face turned pale with alarm, and she urgently pressed, "How did you come down with dysentery? How are you feeling now?"

"It was just diarrhea," Zhao Ling said quickly. "I happened to be worrying about how to make a trip to Xi'an Prefecture, so I used this as an excuse. In fact, I came from Xi'an today."

"As long as you're all right!" Fu Tingjun let out a sigh of relief, but still felt somewhat uneasy. "I'll have Zheng San summon an imperial physician to take a look at you, just to put my mind at ease."

Zhao Ling knew his own body well—there was nothing wrong at all—but to reassure Fu Tingjun, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

Only then did Fu Tingjun ask about the Xi'an matter: "...Has Feng San sent any news?" Then, with a sudden realization, she said, "Is that why you had Manager Ye come asking me every day about opening a branch store—to divert my attention?"

"That was a coincidence," Zhao Ling said with a smile. "I was afraid you'd worry, and since it was a matter of great importance, I couldn't easily send word to you, so I entrusted Manager Ye to keep an eye on you. He must have deliberately found something for you to do, to keep you from overthinking."

Fu Tingjun found it somewhat amusing and exasperating.

Zhao Ling then went ahead and told her about his trip to Xi'an Prefecture: "...Feng San sent word to me some days ago that the Marquis of Xiping has two pasturelands under his jurisdiction. In recent years, the Marquis's eldest son, Feng Tong, has been secretly dealing in horses behind the Marquis's back. All the good horses from the pastures have been sold, and now only old and sickly horses remain. Now that the Grand Coordinator is about to conduct the military administration assessment, Feng Tong has finally panicked and asked him to find a way to borrow some horses to cope with the assessment..."

Fu Tingjun was shocked. "This Feng Tong—he's far too bold!" Then she asked him, "What do you plan to do?"

"I'll see if there's an opportunity to report this matter to the Censorate," Zhao Ling said with a smile. "So I plan to stay in the capital for a few more days."

"Then be careful yourself," Fu Tingjun admonished him. "Don't drag yourself down in the process."

Zhao Ling smiled and patted her hand.

His hand, with its clearly defined knuckles, was warm and soft.

Fu Tingjun turned her hand over and gripped Zhao Ling's hand firmly.

Zhao Ling was taken aback, but a warm smile immediately welled up in his eyes.

"Nan Nan," he said, gazing at her without blinking, gently stroking her temple with his other hand, filled with boundless affection.

Fu Tingjun smiled and leaned her head against Zhao Ling's shoulder.

Zhao Ling turned his head and kissed her forehead. He wanted to ask her if she had missed him, but felt the question was somewhat unnecessary... Her actions had already given him an answer.

For a moment, a flood of mixed emotions washed over him.

Five more years—no, at most three—and he would definitely return, to properly accompany his wife, to properly accompany his children...

He couldn't help but call out "A Jun" with a sense of guilt: "It's my fault..."

But Fu Tingjun gently shook her head at him, signaling him not to speak. "I just want to lean against you like this for a while." As she spoke, she closed her eyes, a sweet smile spreading across her face.

Zhao Ling couldn't bear to go against her wishes. He sat beside her on the heated brick bed, quietly gazing at the pomegranate tree outside the window that was just beginning to sprout green buds.

...

After the meal, Zhao Ling went to the palace to submit his name card for an audience.

Before he even returned home, relatives and friends already knew he was back in the capital.

The household immediately became lively.

Zheng Sanniang was busy in the kitchen, not resting from noon until lamplight. Fu Tingjun, meanwhile, was serving tea one moment and refreshments the next, chatting with one person about their children and asking another about their elders' health, bustling about in a flurry.

Zhao Ling, however, left the room full of guests behind and went to the study with A Sen.

"...Is there still no movement from Needle Alley?" he asked with a serious expression.

"No!" A Sen said, looking troubled. "That Yu Jingxiu—I don't know what he's thinking. He hasn't been to Madam Min's fields these past days."

"Could he have grown tired of the old and taken a liking to someone new?" Zhao Ling said in a low voice. "If that's the case, we're in trouble."

A Sen scratched his head at this and said, "Then, should we still send word to the Guo family?"

Zhao Ling thought for a moment and said, "We must! Even if we can't deal with Yu Jingxiu, we still need to inform the Guo family about this."

"Yes!" A Sen said with a sigh. "That Young Master Guo—he died far too unjustly!"

But Zhao Ling had other concerns. He instructed A Sen, "Young Master Guo's father is very calculating. It's hard to say whether he'll step forward for his son once he learns the truth. If he hesitates, find a way to let him know about the rift between our two families—it might help him make up his mind."

A Sen answered with a loud "Yes," and from outside came Fu Tingjun's voice: "Ninth Master, are you in the study? Lord Qin and the others have arrived and are looking for you everywhere!"

Zhao Ling shot A Sen a meaningful glance and said in a low voice, "Don't spread this matter for now." With that, he opened the tightly shut partition door and raised his voice with a laugh: "I was trying to sneak in a few words with A Sen here to shirk my duties, but who knew you'd come looking for me so quickly."

Fu Tingjun smiled and said, "Or should I just tell them you're not at home?" She casually straightened his collar for him.

"Since I'm back, I ought to meet them at least once." Zhao Ling sighed. "I'll go greet them."

Fu Tingjun suspected nothing amiss. She exchanged a greeting with A Sen and saw Zhao Ling out through the hanging flower gate. Just as she was about to turn back to the main hall, she spotted A Sen's page boy running over at full speed.

Catching sight of Fu Tingjun, the boy hurriedly stopped and bowed respectfully.

Fu Tingjun smiled and asked, "What's the matter, in such a rush?"

The page boy was struck dumb for a long moment by the question.

Fu Tingjun found it amusing and pointed toward the study. "Is the Second Master over there?"

The page boy quickly thanked her and ran off toward the study.

A Sen was an impatient man, and the people he employed were equally impatient.

Fu Tingjun shook her head with a smile and entered the main hall.

In the study, the page boy was breathlessly reporting to A Sen: "Yu Jingxiu is going to bring that Madam Min into the household!"

A Sen sprang up excitedly: "Let's go, find Ninth Master!"