Chapter 63

"Ninth Master is going to Zhuanglang Wei?" Fu Tingjun tugged at the winter coat on A Sen, then stepped back a few paces, looking him up and down to see if there was anything else that needed adjusting.

She had barely slept the night before and wasn't in great spirits.

A Sen, wearing the winter coat, was sweltering, but he stood straight and proper on the stool, not daring to move an inch, afraid that a single careless motion might dirty his new clothes.

"Brother Yucheng and Brother Yuanbao thought I was asleep," he giggled. "They were whispering to each other, but I heard every word."

"You little rascal!" Fu Tingjun laughed at his antics, her mood lifting considerably.

She had A Sen take off the winter coat and heated up the iron.

"That Mo Yi admitted he's some kind of guerrilla general." A Sen lay on the table watching Fu Tingjun iron the clothes. "He also said he'd be waiting for the Master in Zhangye." Worried that Fu Tingjun might not know where Zhangye was, he added, "Brother Yuanbao said the Gansu Regional Commander's office is in Zhangye. Zhuanglang Wei is one of the garrisons under the Gansu Regional Commander's jurisdiction. If the Master is going to Zhuanglang Wei, he needs to first report to the Gansu Regional Commander's office. So Mo Yi said he'd be waiting for the Master in Zhangye. Mo Yi also said that when the time comes, with 'wine in luminous cups under moonlight,' he'd give the Master a proper welcome."

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but be taken aback. "It's that far?"

A Sen nodded and grinned. "Brother Yuanbao said it would take two to three months to get there from Xi'an Prefecture!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Ling walked in.

A Sen was so startled he jumped off the stool immediately. "Ninth Master!"

Zhao Ling smiled and said to Fu Tingjun, "So you already know!" He didn't seem upset in the least.

A Sen let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.

Ninth Master hated it when people gossiped privately, let alone when they shared his affairs with others—he had even killed over it before. But Miss Fu was different. That day when they bought over a thousand mu of land in one go at East Jiang Village, the broker had only said they were lucky: "If you'd come a few days earlier, the Jiang family wouldn't have been willing to sell. A few days later and word would have spread—if you'd attracted some big household from Xi'an Prefecture to come buy land, you might not have gotten it." Then he'd joked, "This East Jiang Village might as well be renamed Zhao Family Village now."

He'd felt proud hearing that and said, "If Miss Fu knew, she'd be happy too." Ninth Master had only grunted in response. Later, when Miss Fu asked him about it, he'd told her outright. Ninth Master had been right there and hadn't stopped him at all.

This time was the same.

Ninth Master had sharp ears. He'd told Miss Fu everything that Brothers Yucheng and Yuanbao had said privately, and Ninth Master hadn't gotten angry—he'd even smiled and chatted with Miss Fu... Could it be that Miss Fu had become one of them?

But Miss Fu didn't cook for them every day or wash their clothes like Brother Fugui's wife did. Then again, there were some things Ninth Master wouldn't let Brother Fugui's wife know either... And Miss Fu had Zheng Sanniang and Madam Lyu attending to her every day... Still, Miss Fu was really quite nice. She didn't cook every day, but the food she made was far better than what Fugui's wife or Brother Yuanbao cooked. She'd only made winter coats for him and Ninth Master, but those clothes were truly beautiful—even what the shops sold couldn't compare to how fine they looked. If Miss Fu became one of them, that would be wonderful too.

A Sen mulled this over in his mind.

He'd ask Brother Yuanbao later.

If Miss Fu wasn't one of them yet, he could vouch for her—maybe she could join...

Fu Tingjun had no idea that A Sen had churned through so many thoughts in the blink of an eye.

She put away the iron, turned around, and poured a cup of tea for Zhao Ling. "I just asked A Sen!"

Miss Fu said she asked him, rather than saying he told her... Miss Fu really was a good person... A Sen smiled at Fu Tingjun, his eyes curving into crescent moons.

"Since Mo Yi dared to come and say it, there's probably no changing it." Zhao Ling took a sip of tea. "I just wonder where Yucheng and the others have been dispatched. I won't know until I see Wu Xin tomorrow." Then he sighed. "I never expected that Mo Yi would be so fixated on me!"

Fu Tingjun sat beside him and asked, "So what does Ninth Master plan to do?"

Zhao Ling seemed about to say something but stopped himself, then quickly raised his brows and smiled. "I'll deal with whatever comes when it comes." It seemed he was hiding something.

Fu Tingjun grew suspicious and wanted to press further, but she didn't know where to begin. As she hesitated, Zhao Ling laughed and said, "Come to think of it, I haven't been out that way in several years." He spoke as if making casual conversation.

Fu Tingjun wasn't one to brush people off, so she followed his lead. "I've heard the Gansu Regional Commander's office is in Zhangye—that's beyond the pass. Since Ninth Master's assignment is all but settled, why not take advantage of these two days before departure to buy a few more winter coats and fur jackets to bring along." She added, "Fortunately, Xi'an Prefecture is the capital of Shaanxi—whatever you need, you can find it. Otherwise, it would be quite a predicament!"

Zhao Ling looked somewhat embarrassed: "I'm used to being slovenly. I wear one fur coat all winter, then when spring comes I casually buy a spring garment to change into and toss the fur coat aside. By the time the north wind blows in the eleventh month, I don't even know where the fur coat has gone, so I just buy a new one..."

He only had A Sen to attend to him, and A Sen was still a child himself, so it was no wonder he was slovenly.

Fu Tingjun pondered this and couldn't help but laugh: "Why don't you see what you need to add, and I..." She paused mid-sentence, "Better yet, let Madam Lyu handle the preparations!"

Cold sweat broke out all over her.

Good thing she'd swallowed the words "I'll prepare them for you" in time.

She wasn't his... wife, so why should she manage such matters for him?

If those words had slipped out, it would have been a laughing matter.

Her face flushed crimson.

Zhao Ling gazed intently at Fu Tingjun, and only after a long while did he pick up his teacup and take a sip, then said slowly: "When I go there, I'll inevitably have dealings with those generals and military commanders. I wonder if Madam Lyu knows what would be appropriate to prepare!"

Fu Tingjun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly shifted the topic: "In that case, besides clothing, it would be best to also bring some medicinal herbs, antiques, and gold ornaments," she recalled how her mother would pack things to send to the capital every year, "Since the journey is long, the things brought should be small and compact yet valuable, or finely crafted and uniquely styled, so they can be presented to superiors; also bring some small silver coins of one or two fen to tip colleagues' children, and if it's the superiors' children, then silver ingots of seven or eight liang... Also, several different pouches should be made to hold the tip money separately, so as not to mix them up..." Then she thought of how her Sixth Aunt would pack Sixth Uncle's luggage every time he went on his study tours, "At least three fur coats—one for visiting superiors and attending social engagements, one for everyday wear, and one for wearing at home; at least three padded jackets—two thicker ones and one thinner one, wearing the thick ones in autumn and the thin ones when the spring wind still blows cold; it's best to also make a spring garment as a spare in case something delays things and there's no time to make one; I think at least six pairs of leather boots should be made, as I've heard that place is full of wind and sand, and the roads are all gravel, which wears out boots especially quickly; also two pairs of cotton boots for wearing indoors..." As if trying to cover up her earlier slip, she chattered on at great length.

Zhao Ling said nothing, a faint smile at the corners of his mouth as he listened patiently and quietly.

A Sen, however, was dumbfounded and couldn't help but interrupt her: "Miss Fu, with this many clothes, you couldn't wear them all in a lifetime!" He looked at her with great bewilderment.

His implication was asking whether she really needed to buy so many clothes.

"This is already the bare minimum!" Fu Tingjun said. "Any less, and we'd have to make do." Fearing that Zhao Ling might think the same as A Sen, she said to Zhao Ling with a serious expression, "If this were any other place, you could simply hire a seamstress to make whatever clothes you needed. But Ninth Master is going beyond the pass, where goods are scarce and life is crude. I'm afraid that even with silver, you might not be able to buy good fabric or hire skilled needlework. Better to be prepared than sorry."

Zhao Ling nodded: "Then it's settled." He then smiled and said, "You just said a whole pile of things—never mind Madam Lyu, even someone with a good memory like me couldn't remember it all. Why don't you write out a list of what needs to be bought, and I'll have Madam Lyu follow it when making the purchases."

Fu Tingjun blushed with embarrassment.

A Sen ground ink for her, and she thought as she wrote, taking the better part of an hour, then carefully reviewed it before handing the list to Zhao Ling, who had been sitting nearby drinking tea the whole time.

Zhao Ling stuffed it into his sleeve without even looking at it and went off to Madam Lyu's place.

That evening, Madam Lyu came over with the list: "Miss Fu, three fur coats—one for visiting superiors, one for everyday wear, one for wearing at home. What's the difference?"

Fu Tingjun explained carefully: "For visiting superiors, one should be dignified but not overly luxurious—if it's too extravagant and finer than what the superior wears, it will displease him. A good Hangzhou silk outer with grey squirrel fur lining will do. For everyday wear, it depends on what's fashionable in Jiangnan. I've heard that the nobles in the palace all wear 'Suzhou style' these days. People judge others by their clothes before their character, so buying one in that style can't go wrong. As for wearing at home, comfort is what matters. It would be best to find a fox fur one—light and warm, and it won't lose its shape even after a dozen years."

Madam Lyu hadn't imagined there were such fine distinctions. She had thought that for visiting superiors, naturally the more expensive the better, for everyday wear something of lesser quality, and at home, anything would do... Good thing Ninth Master had reminded her to come ask, or she really would have botched the whole thing.

She couldn't help saying, "Miss Fu, why don't you come with me tomorrow? These are just three fur coats and I'm already at a loss. I'd be even more afraid to make decisions on my own about the gifts for the superiors."

"This..." Fu Tingjun looked troubled.

"Miss Fu," Madam Lyu took her hand, "Ninth Master is going to see Lord Wu tomorrow, and at the latest, he will be departing the day after. Please, consider it as helping me out." Her tone was quite earnest.

Indeed, Zhao Ling was about to leave for Zhangye. He had helped her so much; she might as well help him this once.

With that thought, Fu Tingjun felt a sense of sudden clarity.

"Very well then!" she said with a smile, "Tomorrow I'll go shopping with you."

Madam Lyu let out a relieved laugh and said many words of gratitude before leaving.

Not long after, Zheng Sanniang came over: "Miss, Ninth Master has given a thousand taels of silver to Zheng San, telling him to accompany you shopping tomorrow."

Fu Tingjun was quite surprised.

How could he have given a thousand taels of silver to Zheng San so quickly? It seemed as if it had been prepared in advance, just waiting for her to agree to go out with Madam Lyu tomorrow.