Chapter 311

Zhao Ling was listening with his head turned to the side as Qin Feiyu spoke: "...That area isn't as well laid out as this one, but it borders Shichahai Lake. Every household's backyard can channel running water into the courtyard and build a little garden in the style of Jiangnan. In my opinion, you might as well move over there too. The two of us can keep each other company."

Water was scarce in the capital, and residences with running water were typically priceless and rarely put up for sale.

Qin Feiyu had just purchased a residence near Shichahai a few days ago.

"I'm not like Brother Qin, who knows the capital like the back of his hand and can get things done wherever he goes. I'm like a country bumpkin who just came to the city—I can't even tell north from south!" Zhao Ling noticed A Sen entering, exchanged a few lighthearted remarks with Qin Feiyu, then beckoned A Sen over. "What is it?"

A Sen smiled and bowed to Qin Feiyu and the others before saying, "Manager Ye from Datong Firm heard that Brother has returned and sent over a banquet spread. Sister-in-law asked me to let you know."

Manager Ye had known that Zhao Ling had just returned home—that the couple would have things to discuss, that the children's lessons needed to be checked, and that relatives and old friends needed to be entertained—so he had said from the start that he would come to pay his respects in a few days.

Zhao Ling understood at once that A Sen had something to tell him privately, and said, "There are still two catties of fine Biluochun tea on the bottom shelf of the curio cabinet in my study. Give it to Manager Ye's men on my behalf."

The implication was that A Sen should wait for him in the study.

A Sen smiled and acknowledged the instruction.

Qin Feiyu, however, pulled A Sen aside to talk. "Haven't seen you in a while—you've grown more composed. I heard that Lord Wang wanted you to inherit his hereditary centurion position, but you politely declined. Are you planning to follow the path of the scholars and enter officialdom through the civil examinations?"

A Sen smiled. "My father is still young, so there's no rush to pass the centurion title to me. I might as well spend a few years studying and broadening my horizons."

Qin Feiyu nodded approvingly.

A Sen bowed and withdrew.

Lin Chi then asked Qin Feiyu, "What ended up happening with the Cheng family matter in the end?"

He was referring to Lord Wang's brother-in-law—the husband of Madam Wang's elder sister.

Qin Feiyu smiled and glanced around, and seeing that everyone present was one of their own, lowered his voice. "Lord Wang gave that good-for-nothing from the Cheng family a thorough beating and declared that if he ever dared to disrespect his wife again, he'd beat him every time he heard of it. And you know what? It really does take one to subdue another. That Cheng fellow has continued his drinking, gambling, and whoring these past two years, but he hasn't dared lay a hand on his wife since."

The group couldn't help but laugh.

Tao Mu then brought up a piece of capital gossip. "Something similar to Lord Wang's brother-in-law's situation happened over on Wei Family Lane. At first, the wife's family tried every kind word they could think of, but the son-in-law treated it all like wind passing his ears. Eventually, the daughter couldn't take it anymore—she said she'd rather become a nun than keep living with him. The father thought, 'All my kind words have gone to waste, and since we're going our separate ways anyway, I might as well go all out.' So he gathered a few nephews from the clan and gave the son-in-law a thorough beating. That scared the wits out of him—not only does he no longer dare to raise a hand against his wife, but when she wants a divorce, he kneels and weeps, refusing to agree. He figures, 'This is still my father-in-law and his people, and they beat me like this. If we became strangers, wouldn't I lose my life altogether...'"

Everyone laughed again.

Zhao Ling, however, took the opportunity to slip away to the study.

A Sen was waiting for him impatiently, scratching his head. When he saw Zhao Ling, he hurried over at a trot and told him about Yu Jingxiu's plan to bring Madam Min into the household.

Zhao Ling thought for a moment, then said, "The Yu family certainly won't agree to let Madam Min in—Yu Jingxiu probably knows that too. Yet he's rushing to bring her in now. There must be something fishy about this. Find a way to get to the bottom of it, and then we'll decide what to do."

A Sen gave a cheerful "Mm!" in acknowledgment. Zhao Ling returned to the main hall and continued chatting with Qin Feiyu and the others, while A Sen said goodbye to Fu Tingjun, excused himself on the pretext of having matters to attend to at home, and took his leave.

Over the next few days, Zhao Ling was busier than ever—going to the palace for an audience with the emperor, calling on colleagues, and visiting friends and relatives.

A Sen, meanwhile, came and went through Needle Maker's Lane, and before long, he had gotten to the bottom of the matter.

Without stopping for lunch, he went straight to Shi Family Lane.

Zhao Ling was at home taking his midday rest.

A Sen headed straight for the main house.

Zheng San was so flustered that sweat broke out on his forehead. He grabbed A Sen and pulled him into the eastern wing. "Wait here. I'll have Miss Yuwei announce you."

"I have urgent business," A Sen urged him. "Go announce me quickly."

"You're a father now, but you still act like a child," Zheng San muttered under his breath as he went to inform Yuwei.

Yuwei steeled herself and knocked on the door of the inner chamber.

Fu Tingjun came to answer.

Yuwei couldn't bring herself to look at Fu Tingjun. Keeping her eyes lowered, she stated her purpose in a soft voice.

Fu Tingjun simply turned around and went to call Zhao Ling.

Only then did Yuwei notice that Zhao Ling was sprawled on the large kang by the window with a book in hand, while Youyou, Xige'er, Xu Ge'er, and Han Ge'er were sleeping every which way around him and on top of the books.

She couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

She had been overthinking things... and it wasn't just her—everyone seemed to have been overthinking things a bit...

As she pondered this, she saw Zhao Ling carefully slide his arm out from under Youyou's neck and tiptoe out of the inner chamber.

"Where's A Sen?" he asked Yuwei in a hushed voice, afraid of waking the children.

Yuwei quickly pointed to the eastern wing and said, "Second Master is waiting for you there!"

Zhao Ling nodded slightly and headed to the eastern wing.

Fu Tingjun leaned against the doorway, peering outside. "Do you know what A Sen needs to see Ninth Master about?"

"I'll go serve tea and refreshments to Second Master," Yuwei said, catching the hint.

"No need," Fu Tingjun said with a smile. "I was just asking. If it's something important, Ninth Master will tell me about it later."

With this interruption, the afternoon nap was out of the question.

Yuwei smiled and brought water for Fu Tingjun to freshen up and dress.

Before long, Zhao Ling returned.

Yuwei withdrew.

Zhao Ling said to Fu Tingjun, "A Sen just told me that Madam Min is pregnant. Yu Jingxiu doesn't want his child to be born without proper status, so he wants to bring Madam Min into the household. The Yu family won't agree, and Yu Xiujing has already moved out of the Yu residence over this."

Fu Tingjun was left speechless.

This Yu Jingxiu always had a way of doing the unexpected.

Since Zhao Ling had been keeping an eye on Yu Jingxiu, he must already have plans in place.

She asked, "So what do you intend to do?"

"Originally, I thought that since Grand Secretary Yu has been close to the Marquis of Xiping these past few years, Feng Tong was bold enough that we could use the horse affair to drag Grand Secretary Yu down with him. But that would let Yu Jingxiu off too easily," Zhao Ling said thoughtfully. "So I want to wait a while. I don't believe Yu Jingxiu is a cat that doesn't steal fish. As soon as something happens at Needle Alley, we'll support the Guo family in accusing Yu Jingxiu of 'murdering the husband and seizing the wife,' and then expose Grand Secretary Yu's dealings with outside officials. Even if the Yu family has connections all over the court, no one would dare defy public opinion to speak up for Grand Secretary Yu."

As he spoke, Fu Tingjun carefully considered his words. When he finished, she hesitated and said, "You mean Yu Jingxiu's matter should come to light before Grand Secretary Yu's... Because Grand Secretary Yu's matter is too big—if his comes first, people won't pay as much attention to Yu Jingxiu's affairs."

Zhao Ling nodded with a smile. "If the Needle Alley matter comes out first, everyone will focus on what Yu Jingxiu has done. If Grand Secretary Yu's matter comes out first, people might think it's just those who hate the Yu family kicking someone when they're down, deliberately smearing Yu Jingxiu."

"Will the Guo family be willing to testify against Yu Jingxiu in court?"

"I've already sent A Sen to handle that," Zhao Ling said. "Although Grand Secretary Yu seems untouchable in the eyes of ordinary officials, I'm not without some influence now. Besides, with a heavy reward, there will always be brave men willing to step forward—and we're not wronging Yu Jingxiu!" He smiled and took Fu Tingjun's hand. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Get ready—in a couple of days, we'll take the children to see the elephant show..."

Before he could finish, Youyou's clear, melodious voice rang out from the inner chamber: "Father, Father, are we going to see the elephants now?"

Zhao Ling and Fu Tingjun turned around to see their daughter standing on the kang, rubbing her eyes, still half-asleep.

They exchanged a smile.

Zhao Ling went over and picked up Youyou. "Silly girl, it's not even the eighth day of the fourth month yet!"

"But I dreamed that Father was taking me and my little brothers to see the elephants!" Youyou giggled and hugged her father. "Xige'er ate a lot of cherries, and when we got home that night, his teeth were so sore he couldn't eat anything. Father bought Xuge'er a real big knife, and Xuge'er chopped down the date tree in the back courtyard. Master An kept praising Xuge'er, but Mother made Xuge'er kneel on the washboard..."

"You're the one who should kneel on the washboard!" Xuge'er had woken up at some point and shouted in protest.

Zhao Ling laughed heartily and pulled Xuge'er into his arms as well. "You mustn't talk back to your sister!"

"I'm not talking back to her!" Xuge'er pouted, his lips pursed so tightly you could hang an oil bottle from them. "Cousin Chunbing gives in to Sister, Cousin Yuanxiao, Eldest Brother—they all give in to Sister. If I give in to her too, she'll never learn her place, and that will cause trouble. I'm doing this for her own good." By the end, his little face was set tight, looking very serious.

Zhao Ling was taken aback.

Youyou was already stamping her foot in anger. "Mother, look at Second Brother!"

Fu Tingjun stood to the side, hiding a smile behind her lips.

Zhao Ling had no choice but to smooth things over. "Alright, alright. The sun is so nice today—let's go to the back courtyard and play on the swing!"

The children cheered and scrambled off the kang to put on their shoes.

Zhao Ling smiled and led the children to the back courtyard.

Fu Tingjun, with Yuwei, went to the kitchen to make fermented rice dumplings for Zhao Ling and the children.

From outside came a vendor's high, melodious cry: "Heart-beauty radishes... sweet and crisp heart-beauty radishes..."

Their eldest son, Xige'er, darted out from somewhere. "Mother, Mother, I want to eat heart-beauty radishes!"

Fu Tingjun smiled, wiped her hands, went back inside to fetch ten wen, and handed them to Xige'er. "Buy a few for your father, your sister, and your little brother too."

Xige'er responded with an "ay" and cheerfully went out the door.

Youyou poked her head out: "Mother, where's Eldest Brother?"

Fu Tingjun turned around and saw Xu Ge'er standing behind Youyou with a look of disdain on his face: "Eldest Brother heard someone hawking goods, so he must have gone to buy something."

Just as he finished speaking, Xige'er came running in carrying a pile of radishes.

"Sister, Second Brother," he said gleefully, "we have radishes to eat."

Xu Ge'er let out a snort.

Youyou was quite annoyed and shot Xu Ge'er a glare before stepping forward to help Xige'er take the radishes: "Why did you buy so many?"

"Not many, not many." Xige'er either didn't notice his sister and brother's odd behavior, or simply didn't sense it at all, beaming as he said, "With so many people in the family, each person gets at most half a radish."

Xu Ge'er said, "I'm not eating mine. You can have my half."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Ling came walking over from the veranda carrying Han Ge'er: "Hey! How come Xige'er disappeared, and you all ran off after him."

Xu Ge'er kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

Youyou looked at Xige'er.

But Xige'er was still all smiles, taking a tender, crisp radish and handing it to Zhao Ling: "Father, have a radish!"

Zhao Ling took the radish with a smile.

Han Ge'er then clung to his father's neck and swayed back and forth: "Father, I don't want radishes. I want a swing, I want a swing."

Fu Tingjun watched her husband and children, feeling that the spring sunshine was so bright and warm, and that life was peaceful and serene. A smile unconsciously curved at the corners of her lips, revealing a radiant, lovely grin.