Chapter 64

The next day at dusk, Fu Tingjun and Madam Lyu returned to Willow Lane laden with bags and bundles.

Not only had the thousand taels of silver from Zheng San been completely spent, but the five taels Madam Lyu had brought, her own three taels, and even A Sen's single tael had all been contributed as well.

Sanfu, Shizhu, and Luwei ran out to help carry the things.

A Sen stood on the carriage shouting loudly: "Brother Sanfu, Brother Shizhu, Miss Fu bought new clothes for us too." Joy brimmed at the corners of his eyes and brows.

Sanfu, Shizhu, and Luwei all wore expressions of surprise.

Fu Tingjun was helped down from the carriage by Zheng Sanniang and explained with a smile: "I didn't know where you'd all been settled, and the weather is getting colder by the day. A few extra winter garments will always come in handy."

Sanfu grinned broadly while Shizhu scratched his head, both offering clumsy, sheepish thanks to Fu Tingjun.

Master Lyu came out holding Linchun in his arms.

The Lyu couple had lost their son in middle age, leaving their household empty of children, and they doted on Linchun especially. When Zheng Sanniang had gone out with Fu Tingjun, Master Lyu had voluntarily taken charge of looking after Linchun.

"Miss Fu has returned!" He greeted Fu Tingjun with a smile.

Madam Lyu stepped forward and patted Linchun's head, then asked Master Lyu: "What about Ninth Master? Has he come back?"

Today was the twenty-fifth of the eighth month. Zhao Ling had gone to the Military Command Office early in the morning.

"He's back, he's back!" Master Lyu said hurriedly. "He returned at noon and is right now in the room talking with Yucheng and Yuanbao!"

Fu Tingjun was taken aback upon hearing this: "They've been talking in the room the whole time?"

Master Lyu nodded.

Fu Tingjun began to feel somewhat worried.

What matter could require talking from noon all the way until dusk?

She mused thoughtfully: "Do you know where Young Master Yang and Young Master Jin have been settled?"

Master Lyu shook his head: "As soon as Ninth Master returned, he called Yucheng and Yuanbao into the study. As for what exactly is going on, we don't know yet!" Then he laughed and said, "But miss needn't worry. As soon as Ninth Master came back, he had me go to Thirteen Mountain to order a banquet, saying they wanted to celebrate. It must be something good!"

But when a shop dissolves its partnership, they also gather together!

Fu Tingjun retorted inwardly, unconvinced. After a moment's thought, she headed toward the study.

Everyone exchanged glances, but no one tried to stop her.

Entering the courtyard, Fu Tingjun heard Yang Yucheng's voice: "...This Mo Yi has gone too far!" He sounded extremely indignant.

Fu Tingjun couldn't help quickening her pace.

"Yucheng, don't act on impulse." Jin Yuanbao was also trying to persuade Yang Yucheng. "If it were me, I would make the same demand..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Yang Yucheng cut him off.

"You?" There was a hint of mockery in his voice. "We're not like you. No matter when, you remain calm and composed, never missing a calculation. When Brother Hu, who saved you from prison back then, was killed by Deng Sanmao's men, you could still greet Deng Sanmao with perfect equanimity. We can't do that. We're all reckless men—if words don't sit right, it's white blade in, red blade out..."

"Yang Yucheng!" Jin Yuanbao bellowed, followed by the sound of a chair toppling over.

The two had actually started quarreling.

Fu Tingjun's heart grew anxious.

Then she heard Zhao Ling call out "Yucheng" in a low, icy voice, saying: "You've gone too far with your words. Apologize to Yuanbao!"

A moment of stillness fell over the room.

"It was my fault!" Yang Yucheng muttered his apology.

Fu Tingjun let out a breath of relief.

Jin Yuanbao sighed: "Forget it. We've been brothers all this time—I know what kind of man you are." Then he shifted his tone. "But hearing you say that truly pains my heart." His voice grew heavy. "On a personal level, since Brother Hu was killed by Deng Sanmao, I should have fought him to the death. But on a practical level, even if I had turned against Deng Sanmao right then, with Feng Laosi ahead and Tang Daishan behind, we would have made enemies on three fronts and faced certain death. If we swallowed our anger for the moment, dealt with Feng Laosi first, intimidated Tang Daishan into submission, and then settled accounts with Deng Sanmao afterward, we'd have the certainty to wipe him out in one stroke..."

"Yuanbao, say no more." Yang Yucheng was both ashamed and embarrassed. "I was talking nonsense..."

But Jin Yuanbao had no intention of letting the matter drop, and continued: "I also know you're chivalrous and righteous. But from today onward, you are no longer Yang Yucheng the salt smuggler—you are a petty officer of Nantong Bao in Zhuanglang Guard..."

A petty officer of Zhuanglang Guard!

Fu Tingjun felt a surge of joy in her heart.

So Yang Yucheng and Zhao Ling had been stationed together!

She wondered where Jin Yuanbao, and also Sanfu, Shizhu, and the others, had been assigned.

She wondered whether she should make some noise to create an excuse to go in and ask, but she was drawn by Jin Yuanbao's next words: "Your every word and action concerns not only yourself, but also Ninth Master, who recommended you. If you truly care for Ninth Master, then you must endure a moment's anger to strive for a lifetime of standing." He added, "Don't think I'm crying wolf. That Mo Yi is merely a guerrilla general under the Marquis of Yingchuan, and his methods are already this formidable. The Marquis of Yingchuan is likely a formidable figure himself—otherwise, Sixteenth Master wouldn't have befriended him, and he wouldn't have befriended Sixteenth Master. You must not be careless."

"I know!" Yang Yucheng muttered, then said with some reluctance, "It's precisely because I know that I'm worried. Since Mo Yi has set his sights on Miss Fu, I'm afraid he won't let this go easily..."

Set his sights on her!

What did this have to do with her?

Fu Tingjun's heart pounded like a drum as she held her breath and strained her ears to listen.

"You're overthinking things," Zhao Ling said with a laugh. "Mo Yi merely asked how my family should be settled..."

But Jin Yuanbao, whom Yang Yucheng had described as always calm and composed, suddenly became agitated. He urgently called out "Ninth Master" and said, "That's not how you should look at it. Look at Mo Yi's methods—in Linchun Town, he laughed and joked with you like a friend, but after arriving in Xi'an Prefecture, once he learned you had brothers who could get things done and saw you delaying your visit to Lord Wu, he immediately turned his back on you and sought to put you to death. After you repelled the Divine Crossbow Camp and went to see Lord Wu, he came to visit you at once, revealed his identity, and told you that the reason you were assigned to Zhuanglang Guard by the Military Commissioner was because he had recommended you to the Marquis of Yingchuan—hinting that he had the power to influence your future. In forging a connection, he also sought to intimidate. He calculated that you are loyal and would bring us brothers into the army with you, and he quietly arranged all this so that you would feel grateful to him and indebted to him—that is 'favor.' Favor and intimidation used together, reading the situation and seizing the moment—if a woman like Miss Fu has caught this man's attention, how can you say we're 'overthinking things'? How is this as simple as 'asking a question'?"

Mo Yi had stepped forward to have Jin Yuanbao and the others placed together with Zhao Ling?

Fu Tingjun could hardly believe it.

But why would Mo Yi set his sights on her?

Apart from her connection to Zhao Ling, she couldn't think of what value she might hold in Mo Yi's eyes.

But in that flash of insight, like sparks struck from flint, Fu Tingjun's face suddenly lost its color.

A general in the field is beyond the reach of imperial command. The families of all military officers of the third rank and above in the court must remain in the capital—this is precisely to keep generals in the field in check. Zhao Ling had only met Sixteenth Master once, yet now he was bringing a band of brothers to seek refuge. What leverage would the Marquis of Yingchuan have over him?

Outwardly, she was his betrothed!

Fu Tingjun felt her palms grow damp.

Could Mo Yi be demanding that Zhao Ling send her to Zhangye?

"There's always a way to figure it out!" Zhao Ling's voice was faint, his tone somewhat distant, as if he had something on his mind. "Mo Yi hasn't said anything explicitly, so we'll just pretend we don't know. If he presses the matter, we'll simply say that Zhangye is a place of flying sand and howling wind, dry and short on water, and that Miss Fu isn't accustomed to living there."

She had guessed correctly!

A chill ran down Fu Tingjun's spine.

Jin Yuanbao, meanwhile, spoke in a tone of utter exasperation: "Ninth Master, you cannot deceive yourself like this. Miss Fu would rather slit her own throat to preserve her chastity when faced with bandits, yet you expect people to believe she would stay in Xi'an Prefecture because she fears the harsh wilderness of Zhangye? Even if you could say such a thing with a straight face, and even if Miss Fu could bear it, Mo Yi would never believe it!" At this point, as if sensing his own tone had grown too intense, he quickly lowered his voice and urged, "Anyway, Miss Fu has no one to rely on in Xi'an Prefecture. It would be better for her to come with us to Zhuanglang Guard..."

"Absolutely not!" Zhao Ling's tone was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation. "The land beyond the pass is no place for a woman. I'll make it clear to Mo Yi."

No, no, no—this wouldn't do.

Zhao Ling had finally found a chance to clear his name, and Mo Yi might well become his superior in the future. This matter couldn't be handled so bluntly.

Fu Tingjun raised her hand to knock on the door.

But as her fingertips touched the hard black-lacquered wood, her heart jolted, and she withdrew her hand.

Her mother was in the capital, suffering terribly over her situation—how could she stand by and do nothing?

And her father.

Had he returned before she was forced to drink the drug, or after?

If he had returned before, why hadn't he forcibly stopped it? He was the only one in the family with an official rank. Even if forcing the drug on her had been Grandmother's decision, one must respect the monk for the sake of the Buddha—surely Grandmother would have had to show some restraint.

If they had returned later, after such a thing had happened to her, why not conduct a proper investigation? Instead, they had her brother take her mother to the capital, as if the whole affair were her fault, leaving her parents to retreat in shame.

And what of Eldest Uncle?

At home, a woman obeys her father; after marriage, her husband; after her husband's death, her son. No matter how high Grandmother's standing, no matter how formidable Eldest Aunt, they were, after all, only women. Eldest Uncle had served as an official elsewhere, seen much of the world, and upon his return had taken charge of household affairs. Whatever the scheme behind her being drugged, it could not have escaped Eldest Uncle's notice. Why did he act as he did?

She wanted to wait in Xi'an Prefecture for news from the capital.

She wanted to see her mother.

She wanted to know the truth behind being drugged.

She wanted to tell her father that she was innocent.

She wanted to ask Eldest Uncle why he would rather believe the one-sided words of an outsider like Zuo Junjie than ask her even once whether the affair was true.

She even thought—once Zhao Ling had finished his own business—she might ask him to find a reliable person to escort her to the capital.

From Xi'an Prefecture to the capital was no more than a month's journey.

She would stand before her parents, stand before Eldest Uncle, and ask them face to face.

Whether she lived or died, she would get to the bottom of it.

But now, what was she to do?

If she stayed in Xi'an Prefecture, how would Zhao Ling explain it to Mo Yi?

If she went to Zhangye, what of all that grief, sorrow, confusion, resentment, and indignation that had stuck in her throat like a fishbone?

She stood blankly in the courtyard, at a complete loss.