Chapter 50

"We'll be leaving soon," Fu Tingjun said, handing the bundle to A Sen. "I've been indebted to Ninth Master's care throughout the journey, and I have nothing to repay with. I've made a winter coat for Ninth Master, and I hope he won't refuse it." Then she smiled at A Sen. "I didn't have time to make yours, but in two or three days, once it's done, I'll have someone bring it over from Willow Lane."

In the summer morning, the air still carried a hint of the night's coolness, a refreshing relief for those who felt like they were in a furnace once daylight arrived. One couldn't help but take a deep breath, wanting to savor that long-missed coolness.

Because he was leaving Zhao Ling, A Sen felt somewhat downcast. He took the bundle and grunted an acknowledgment.

Zhao Ling stood there quietly, his mind in a slight turmoil.

Why did she think to make him a winter coat?

Winter was still far away.

His mother used to do the same when she was alive.

In summer, she'd make winter clothes; in autumn, spring garments... There were always brand-new clothes waiting in the wardrobe for him to wear.

That kind of peaceful warmth—he hadn't felt it in many years.

Zhao Ling gazed at Fu Tingjun, his dark eyes growing even more deep and distant.

Fu Tingjun's heart trembled, and she awkwardly lowered her eyelids.

His gaze was so cold and clear, as if they had returned to the past.

Was it because she had hurriedly made him a winter coat?

Bitterness welled up in her heart.

Yes, she and he were nothing to each other—what right did she have to make him a winter coat?

That was a wife's duty.

He must be despising her inwardly but not saying it out loud...

She felt her tears about to fall.

She blinked hard, locking the moisture within her eyes.

What did his thoughts have to do with her?

He had rescued her from danger with the utmost righteousness, and she respected him like a father or elder brother, with an open and honest heart. Why should she be so timid and hesitant?

There was nothing that couldn't be spoken openly!

With this thought, she felt her body and mind lighten. She straightened her back, and the words hidden in her heart stirred, no longer able to be contained.

"Ninth Master, there are a few more things I'd like to say!" She looked up at him, her clear gaze pure and flawless, no longer carrying the confusion from before.

For some reason, Zhao Ling suddenly felt a hint of loss.

"What is it?" His voice was so gentle that even he found it strange. "Miss Fu, please speak freely."

"I asked Zheng San about it a couple of days ago," Fu Tingjun said with a calm and composed smile, her gentleness tinged with a hint of noble reserve. Set against her striking features, she carried herself with grace and dignity, like a blooming peony—even coarse clothing couldn't diminish her splendor. This was a Ninth Miss of the Fu family that Zhao Ling didn't recognize. "From what he said, the Feng Family made their fortune selling salt, and they're one of the few great merchant houses in Shaanxi, if not the entire northwest. I don't know what grievance you have with the Feng Family, Ninth Master, but since you've obtained that letter of introduction from Sixteenth Master, why not find a way to make good use of it? Perhaps it could be an opportunity for you."

"Oh?" Zhao Ling looked at her, his gaze burning, as if trying to see through her completely.

Fu Tingjun, confident in her own integrity, allowed his scrutiny.

"Shaanxi is in chaos now, not to mention the prefectures of Qingyang and Gongchang. Longxi falls under Qingyang, so the land registers and household records are likely lost or, even if not lost, probably incomplete." She spoke slowly, her gentle tone carrying a composed certainty. "You travel the rivers and lakes, Ninth Master, with these brothers by your side. Someday you'll want to return home in glory. Why not take this opportunity to join the army and seek a position? With your skills and strategy, within three to five years, even if you can't become a chiliarch or centurion, a squad leader or platoon leader would certainly be within reach. Then you could spend some silver to transfer your household registration, and from then on, the sea is wide for fish to leap and the sky is high for birds to fly—wouldn't that be carefree and joyful? Why bother locking horns with the Feng Family, fighting to the death, and wasting such good prospects?" After a moment's thought, she added, "Your great kindness to me, Ninth Master, I can never repay in this lifetime. I still have some valuables—my mother's belongings—which I've kept for protection. As for the two thousand taels in banknotes, I'm just a woman who rarely steps outside the door; they're of no use to me. Better that you take them, Ninth Master. Though it's not much, once you're in the army, it can at least help you entertain your comrades and bribe your superiors." As she spoke, thinking of the gold bars Ninth Master had spent, she pulled the two thousand taels in banknotes from the hidden seam of her sleeve and handed them to Zhao Ling. "Please accept them, Ninth Master."

Zhao Ling looked down.

Between her fair, jade-like rounded fingers were several sheets of white paper stamped with bright red seals.

His heart was in a tangle.

She was giving him banknotes!

And telling him to take advantage of the current chaos to register a new household, use Sixteenth Master's letter to get into the army and secure a position, washing clean his past...

Who did Zhao Ling think he was? Even the Feng family could do nothing against him and had to avoid his sharp edge. Did he lack those two thousand taels of silver? And what about becoming a chiliarch or centurion? Military positions were hereditary, and after a hundred years, the web of connections was intricate and complex—it was not so easy to secure an official post. Moreover, military registration was managed by the Ministry of War, while civilian registration was under the Ministry of Revenue. Without a regional governor stepping forward, switching from military to civilian registration was harder than ascending to heaven!

Every point was riddled with flaws—assumptions made by someone unfamiliar with practical affairs.

Yet Zhao Ling could not bring himself to voice any of those rebuttals.

She was a delicate young woman from the inner chambers, acting out of pure kindness. How could he quibble with her over such matters?

With that thought, the words that had seemed somewhat laughable to him suddenly became less so.

Fu Tingjun saw his gaze fall on the banknotes in her hand, and her mind turned over several times.

No man would accept a gift from a woman, least of all someone like Ninth Master—outwardly gentle but with an innate pride that ran to his very bones.

"Ninth Master!" She had a plan after a moment's thought. "You must accept these banknotes." She tried to make her voice sound heavy and helpless. "An innocent man has no crime, but possessing a jade is the crime. I am a lone woman—if no one knows, then all is well, but if anyone learns I carry two thousand taels of banknotes on me, it will only invite the covetous eyes of those with ill intentions, and my life would be in danger. It's better to lend them to you for now. When the opportunity arises, you can help me purchase some farmland to rent out, and I'll have something to rely on."

Zhao Ling smiled faintly.

She was afraid of hurting his pride, wasn't she?

His pride had always been earned through force and strategy. Others either tried ten times harder to knock him down or were afraid just to look at him. No one had ever treated him like fragile porcelain, handling him with such care—accepting his favor while still worrying he might be displeased.

At that thought, something spread across his heart like spring water.

He took the banknotes and told himself: Let her be at ease!

"Alright! When the time comes, I'll purchase farmland for you, so you'll have private money to rely on." Zhao Ling smiled as he looked at Fu Tingjun.

Fu Tingjun let out a long breath, as light as if a great stone had been lifted from her heart.

"Then it's settled." She pressed her lips into a smile, bright and radiant, carrying a hint of the slyness he had come to recognize, which lifted his spirits. "I'll be going now. If Ninth Master has nothing to do, feel free to come by Willow Lane for a visit." She spoke politely, then, as if remembering something, her expression turned serious. "Ninth Master, commoners should not contend with officials. Be careful with Steward Mo."

Zhao Ling nodded, and only after Fu Tingjun's figure, surrounded by Zheng San, his wife, and A Sen, disappeared from the small courtyard did he slowly return to the side chamber.

...

Past Guangren Temple was Willow Lane.

The moment one stepped into Willow Lane, the clamor of Guangren Temple was shut out, leaving only faint sounds in the distance, which only accentuated the tranquility and peace of Willow Lane.

Zhao Ling's residence was in the middle of Willow Lane, with only two courtyards. A small red-lacquered gate opened into a courtyard with two ancient locust trees, each as thick as an arm's embrace, one on each side. Facing south were three main rooms, with two side chambers on each flank. Behind was another courtyard with a grape trellis, beneath which stood a stone table and stone stools. There were also three main rooms there, with two side chambers on each side, and a few steps of space behind the house where several bamboo plants grew, visible from the windows.

Fu Tingjun took an instant liking to the place.

Zhao Ling's "relative" surnamed Lyu appeared kind and amiable, and was delighted by her arrival. Madam Lyu even personally helped Zheng Sanniang tidy up the room, her enthusiasm tinged with three parts of careful deference.

Fu Tingjun glanced at A Sen, who was sitting nearby devouring pastries. "What relation is this 'Aunt Lyu' to Ninth Master?"

Since Ninth Master had arranged for Miss Fu to stay here, he naturally treated her as family.

A Sen set down his pastry. Seeing Madam Lyu holding Linchun and chatting with Zheng Sanniang, who was laying out a bamboo mat for Fu Tingjun, and with no one else in the main hall, he whispered, "Ninth Master saved her. She helps him watch over the house here. They only claim to be relatives to outsiders, and the deed is registered under Master Lyu's name."

Fu Tingjun was shocked.

She had known there was something unusual about Zhao Ling's "relatives," assuming he had bribed some household to put on an act. She never imagined he was genuinely supporting these people here.

This was no simple matter.

With so much effort invested, could this be his lair?

Fu Tingjun thought this and couldn't help looking around.

The furnishings were simple, no different from any other household living in a two-courtyard residence, except for the uniform black-lacquered furniture—clean, neat, and carrying a faint air of wealth.

A Sen looked somewhat proud. "Brother Yucheng and the others know the master has another residence outside, but they don't know where it is. Only I've been here, twice, and that was three years ago."

Three years ago... Zhao Ling looked to be barely over twenty...

Fu Tingjun asked in surprise, "Then how old is Ninth Master?"

"Ninth Master is twelve years older than me." A Sen swelled with pride. "We're both born in the Year of the Rat."

That meant he was twenty-one this year.

He had arranged all this when he was only eighteen.

Fu Tingjun showed a look of surprise once again.

A Sen grew even more smug at this reaction. "This residence was purchased five years ago."

Five years ago, he had been sixteen years old...

Only one year older than she was now.

Fu Tingjun felt embarrassed.

Just then, Madam Lyu came over carrying Linchun in her arms, her face beaming with a smile. "Miss, what would you like to eat? I'll have Old Cao go to the market to buy it!"

Old Cao was the old gray-haired man who guarded the gate.

"No need, no need." Although it was all a pretense, she couldn't afford to arouse suspicion because of her carelessness... As the thought flashed through her mind, she thought of Mo Yi.

Since he was one of Sixteenth Master's men, claiming to have been ordered to look after them while in reality keeping watch over them, there was no reason he wouldn't investigate if she wanted to move in with "relatives"... Yet even so, he had still allowed her to stay at the "relatives'" house... Was it because he hadn't uncovered anything unusual about this residence? Or was it that even if he had, he was confident he could still keep them under watch?

At the thought, her heart began to pound wildly.

To be confident in keeping watch over them, he would first need to have people guarding this residence day and night... Zhao Ling had said that he might not be one of Sixteenth Master's men. If so, who was he? And where did he find the people to watch over this residence?

This was hardly something that could be accomplished with just one or two people, was it?