Chapter 7

Fu Tingjun lay awake, staring at the bright moonlight filtering through the window paper coated with Korean mulberry paper.

The next day, she planned to explore the back courtyard again.

Hanyan silently drew well water, silently lit mugwort incense, and silently made the bed.

The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for her.

But she had something more important than her own life.

"Absolutely not!" Fu Tingjun objected immediately. "If Master Guohui asks, how would we explain our visit to the back courtyard?"

Hanyan sat half-perched on the small stool, looking uneasy.

Fu Tingjun sighed inwardly and instructed Lü'e: "Follow and see what's happening. If anything comes up, hurry back and report to me."

Seeing nothing unusual in the room, Nanny Liu curtsied and said with a calm expression: "It's so hot out—why hasn't Ninth Miss gone to the main hall to cool off? At least there's some cross-breeze there!"

"I'm already mired in scandal; I can hardly hide fast enough," she said, her hoarse voice like an old fiddle, tinged with sorrow. "If Nanny Chen were to learn that I was once seized by a strange man, who knows what she'd think, what complications might arise!"

At the evening meal, thirty vegetarian stuffed buns were indeed delivered.

Hanyan stared blankly at the half-basin of buns.

If Zuo Junjie had his way, she would die with eternal regret!

Nanny Liu assumed Fu Tingjun was simply upset with her and thought nothing of it. After sipping half a cup of tea, she took her leave.

Just as the two were about to speak, a commotion rose from the southeast.

Hanyan looked at Fu Tingjun's neck, as if wanting to speak but hesitating.

The more Hanyan listened, the more alarmed she grew, her face turning pale. As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up at once: "Then let's go tell Master Guohui right away!"

Hanyan was silent for nearly the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before whispering: "I... I'll do as Miss says."

Nanny Chen hummed in acknowledgment, gave Fu Tingjun a few instructions like "Ninth Miss should stay in her room and read when there's nothing to do," and hurried off with Nanny Fan.

"Ninth Miss!" Nanny Liu greeted her with a grave expression. "Master Guohui suspects that strangers have broken into the temple. She asks us to be cautious and not leave the courtyard for the next few days. She'll send a few dogs over to help guard the gate. When Ninth Miss sees them, please don't be alarmed."

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief and quickly found the gauze shirt. Turning to see the coarse cloth dress they had changed out of, they hastily stuffed it into the side cabinet before opening the door.

The room fell into dead silence.

Like a candle facing the wind.

"Didn't they say the rice vat was carried off? Is there still rice to cook?"

It was the fifteenth again—she had been here for sixty-two whole days.

The three of them relaxed their expressions.

The young nun, not knowing what was happening, looked at Nanny Liu.

"Master Guozhi said that if a young nun stole food to eat, it would only be a missing bun or a missing wheat cake—how could someone steal everything from the kitchen? She couldn't possibly eat it all! And the rice vat—fifty or sixty catties—would take two or three people to carry. How could it simply vanish without a trace?" Then she reassured her: "Master Guozhi said that Biyun Nunnery has only twenty or thirty people inside and out, with just seven or eight mu of land. Even if they searched inch by inch, they'd find the thief within four or five days—unless she could eat the rice vat itself!"

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Nanny Chen's voice sounded from outside the door: "Ninth Miss, this servant has something to report!"

Fu Tingjun stared blankly at Hanyan, only coming to her senses after a long moment. She felt a surge of indignation crawl up her spine like a small snake, sending chills through her.

How could the household guards spend the night in a nunnery? Nanny Chen was subtly asking whether they could return to the residence!

Hanyan hurried out of the inner chamber.

Lü'e muttered nervously: "Ninth Miss, nothing will happen to us, right? How could it be refugees? We're several hundred li from Qingyang and Gongchang!"

If that man truly was a refugee, Biyun Nunnery—remote, without male defenders, and with a grain storehouse—was truly a tempting piece of fat.

Fu Tingjun smiled: "Draw a bucket of well water to chill it, and tomorrow give it to those young nuns who sweep the grounds." Her smile was bitter beneath the dim lamplight.

Fu Tingjun's eyes widened in utter astonishment.

Hanyan saw it clearly, handed the palm-leaf fan to Lü'e, and rose: "Ninth Miss, let me go take a look!"

Nanny Chen frowned several times as she watched from the side. Once she couldn't help but say: "Ninth Miss, some people outside can't even get a sip of water!"

Fu Tingjun glanced at Hanyan, who understood and went to open the door.

Before long, Hanyan came out and called loudly to the young nun delivering the meal: "Our Ninth Miss says the vegetarian buns you make are delicious—please bring thirty of them."

Fu Tingjun said nothing.

"It shouldn't be, right?" Fu Tingjun said hesitantly, her tone laced with uncertainty. "If he were a refugee, why would there be only one of him? More likely he's a bandit passing through. Such people, fearing capture by the authorities, usually don't linger long in one place."

Nanny Chen appeared somewhat flustered and didn't notice that Hanyan's interjection was quite improper. "Qingyang and Gongchang are suffering from severe drought, and a large number of refugees have flooded into Shangzhou and Tongzhou. We've seen them outside Huayin city walls too. They snatch food at the sight of it. We'd better be careful." She was about to say more when Nanny Fan hurried in, gave Fu Tingjun a hasty salute, and said with an anxious expression, "Nanny Chen, Master Guohui asks you to come over for a word."

She left a few vegetarian buns at every meal to feed the dogs, hoping to get familiar with them first.

Fu Tingjun remained silent, but Lü'e couldn't help blurting out, "That's strange. Biyun Nunnery only serves two meals, morning and midday. It would make sense if a young nun was so hungry she stole something from the kitchen, but how could the entire rice vat be carried off? Surely they wouldn't be able to light a fire and cook?"

In her heart, she still didn't want to.

Hanyan, meanwhile, found a palm-leaf fan and sat on a small stool by the head of the bed, fanning her.

Lü'e acknowledged the order and left.

Hanyan was meticulous and clever—she had likely already formed her own conclusion. It was better to be frank and open with her, as she would need her help in many ways to come.

Lü'e looked at Nanny Liu with embarrassment, at a loss for what to do.

"Exactly!" Hanyan also found the matter highly suspicious. "Master Guozhi said the nunnery has strict rules and nothing like this has ever happened before. Those meals were prepared for us. Now that the things have been stolen, dinner will probably be delayed."

Hanyan smiled along beside her.

In the middle of the night, she asked Hanyan, "Are you still willing to help me deliver a letter back?"

The moment the thought arose, she immediately shook her head.

There wasn't a breath of wind, and the weather still left one drenched in sweat.

Nanny Liu thanked her and accepted the tea, asking whether Fu Tingjun had slept well, and whether she should send over some heatstroke pills given the hot weather these past few days.

This was truly a blessing in disguise.

Fu Tingjun felt her head beginning to ache again.

The three of them waited happily.

The big yellow dogs that Master Guohui had someone bring over ran back and forth in the courtyard without a moment's rest. She didn't even have a chance to step out of the courtyard gate, let alone go to the back courtyard.

Fu Tingjun and Hanyan looked at each other, both wearing expressions of pleasant surprise.

She waved her hand feebly, signaling Hanyan and Lü'e not to disturb her, and sat alone from morning until dusk.

Lü'e ran in, beaming with joy. "Ninth Miss! Ninth Miss! Nanny Chen has sent someone back to the city to report. She said Biyun Nunnery isn't safe and asked whether some household guards could be sent over."

That voice—flat, monotonous, without the slightest inflection—she would never mistake it even in her dreams.

Fu Tingjun sat by the bed while Lü'e dried her hair. At the words, she looked up at Nanny Liu, then abruptly snatched the cloth from Lü'e's hands and began drying her own hair.

Fu Tingjun felt the pain in her neck become more bearable.

She couldn't get out—but what about her mother? Why had there been no word from her all this time? Could she also be under confinement?

Fu Tingjun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Indeed, who would be willing to risk their life?

Hanyan stood there, stunned.

Seeing the two of them drifting further and further off topic, Fu Tingjun gave a soft cough and asked, "Did you find any clues?"

"No!" Hanyan shook her head. "But Master Guozhi said someone must have deliberately caused trouble."

Lü'e gave a little "ah" and trotted off to Nanny Liu.

Fu Tingjun was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"

The clear moonlight suddenly dimmed, then quickly brightened again.

The nunnery did not permit noise, and besides, Biyun Nunnery was a family shrine that did not receive pilgrims from outside.

Fu Tingjun lowered her voice and told Hanyan everything—how she had encountered a strange man in the back courtyard, how she had been coerced into taking him to the kitchen, and how she had nearly been strangled to death by him.

Fu Tingjun first showed surprise, then, as if remembering something, her expression shifted slightly as she listened carefully.

A reply came from the Fu family soon enough: "The Governor of Shaanxi has already dispatched Luo Pingyang, the Assistant Prefect of Shaanxi, to Qingyang and Gongchang to appease the refugees. Huayin is barely two hundred li from Xi'an Prefecture—how could there be vagrants? Stay there comfortably. Once the weather cools, we will naturally send for you to return to the household."

Hanyan knew this well, but she was truly afraid. She murmured, "What if that man really is a refugee? Will he come again? The nunnery is full of women—what if he has ill intentions?"

How could that be?

Hanyan glanced at her, knowing she couldn't speak, and asked, "Nanny Chen, what exactly is going on?"

Fu Tingjun stared at her for a moment, then turned and went inside.

Nanny Liu was slightly annoyed, but still said, "Just do as Ninth Miss instructs."

Fu Tingjun pointed to the small stool by the bed. "Sit!"

"That was just for cooking in the kitchen—and there's also the grain storehouse!"

Fortunately, Hanyan brought tea over. "Nanny, please have some tea!"

The windows were tightly shut, making the room stiflingly hot. A thick, moon-white cotton mosquito net hung over the black-lacquered canopy bed. In the center of the room stood a pine bathtub as tall as a person, with bathwater splashed across the surrounding blue bricks, forming puddles of varying sizes.

Mother was a sixth-rank Lady of Virtue—after Grandmother, she commanded the most respect. Who would dare to confine her?

Fu Tingjun's head ached as well. But she quickly remembered that she still had a moon-white twill stand-collar cotton shirt in her trunk, and instructed Hanyan: "...Take it out and help me change into it." She added, "In a moment, I'll pretend to give Mother Liu a cold look and refuse to speak. Surely she can't force me to talk, can she? You all just act according to the situation then."

Hanyan thought this over and found it somewhat reasonable. She said hesitantly, "Then do we still need to scout the path to the back courtyard?" There was a hint of backing out in her tone.

It truly was a case of misfortune raining down on top of a leaky roof.

Fu Tingjun turned over in bed.

Suddenly, her neck was seized by someone: "Don't make a sound!"

After about the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, she returned, drenched in sweat: "Ninth Miss, someone has stolen all the food from the kitchen. Not only that, even the rice jar has been carried away."