Chapter 89

Fu Tingjun did not notice A Sen's unusual behavior. She was deep in pleasant conversation with Madam Wang and did not part ways until the hour of Hai.

Back in her quarters, lying on the bed, she thought about Madam Feng's matter.

For being scolded and beaten after doing something wrong, she would hold her child and threaten to jump into the river, then sit on the threshold of the main hall, wailing and making a scene like a shrew—caring not whether she frightened the child, caring not about the pointing fingers of others, caring not about Lord Liu's official dignity. As long as she could win this argument, as long as she could make Lord Liu back down, she would rather abandon a loving mother's tenderness, a woman's dignity, a man's honor... A woman like this—what else would she not do? What else would she not dare to do?

The next morning, she asked Madam Wang's personal attendant: "How is Lord Liu's side?"

Madam Wang forbade the household servants from gossiping, but gossiping was a woman's nature. Madam Wang's personal attendant had been holding back for the sake of the household's honor and rules. Since Fu Tingjun was Madam Wang's honored guest and had taken the initiative to ask, she could no longer contain herself. She glanced around before speaking in a low voice: "That Concubine Feng—ever since she bore Lord Liu a son, she throws a tantrum at the slightest displeasure. And she has some vixen tricks about her. They quarrel during the day and make up by night..." Before she could finish, realizing that Fu Tingjun was still an unmarried young lady, she knew she had misspoken. An awkward expression crept onto her face, and she laughed loudly to cover her unease. "Lord Liu is a deputy general of high rank—how could he stoop to argue with Concubine Feng? Even if he were displeased, he would only reprimand her privately. How would outsiders ever see it!"

But Fu Tingjun already understood.

When her fourth uncle's concubines wanted him to buy them something, they would dress up flamboyantly to please him. If they could get him to spend a night in their chambers, their requests were usually granted. She also knew that when her fourth aunt, in a fit of anger, called her fourth uncle over to discuss matters, he would agree readily enough, but the moment he turned around and saw those concubines, he would change his mind. Clearly, this Deputy General Liu was much the same sort of man as her fourth uncle. Trying to discipline Madam Feng through him would likely be futile!

As she pondered this, A Sen came over.

"Miss," he said, looking at Fu Tingjun with nervous uncertainty, his face flushed crimson, speaking hesitantly, "I... can I really become Ninth Master's sworn younger brother?"

Fu Tingjun smiled and beckoned him over, letting him sit close beside her. "Does A Sen want to become Ninth Master's sworn younger brother?"

"Yes, yes!" A Sen said excitedly. "I... I've dreamed of it..."

"Then is Ninth Master good to you?" she asked softly.

"Good!" A Sen nodded vigorously.

Fu Tingjun put her arm around his shoulder. "Being Ninth Master's sworn younger brother won't be easy!" she said with a laugh. "Ninth Master is away in the military camp all year. You'll be at home, so you must study your books and practice calligraphy diligently, train hard in martial arts, learn how to conduct yourself with others, and manage household affairs... When you grow up, you'll also need to take care of me and Zheng San and the others..."

"Yes!" A Sen said loudly, his small fists clenched tightly. "I will definitely take good care of you all and won't let Feng bully you!" His face was full of childish innocence, yet also full of determination.

Fu Tingjun laughed and ruffled his hair. "Alright then. Today, copy 'Spring Dawn' ten times, and you must understand the meaning of every single character. I'll check on you this afternoon."

A Sen giggled, took out his brush, ink, and paper, sat up straight beside the kang table, ground his own ink, and began practicing his calligraphy.

Having left her needlework at home, Fu Tingjun sat nearby watching him write.

The two young ladies of the Wang family came over.

Seeing A Sen writing, the eldest Miss Wang's eyes lit up.

The second Miss Wang, however, ran over to the kang table: "Brother A Sen, what are you doing?"

The eldest Miss Wang pulled her sister back: "Don't disturb A Sen. He has his lessons to do." Then she asked Fu Tingjun, "Sister, are you teaching A Sen to read?"

"Just recognizing a few characters." Learning was as deep as the sea, and Fu Tingjun felt she had no qualifications to be a teacher. Seeing that the second Miss Wang was carrying a wicker basket with needlework supplies, she smiled and said, "Second Miss, have you come to learn embroidery?"

The second Miss nodded.

The eldest Miss said, "My sister said that you would teach us embroidery, so we brought everything we need to embroider." She glanced at A Sen, who was focused on his writing. "I didn't expect A Sen to have lessons in the morning. We'll come back this afternoon then!" With that, she made to take her leave.

"It's fine—we'll just keep our voices down."

With company, the atmosphere would be livelier. The two sisters weren't eager to leave, and upon hearing Fu Tingjun's words, they immediately quieted their movements. Fu Tingjun asked them in a low voice to take out the items they wanted to embroider. Seeing that the patterns had already been sketched—the eldest embroidering two lotus flowers and the second a single plum blossom branch, each with only a few strokes yet lifelike and showing considerable skill, and simple enough to suit the young sisters—she couldn't help but be a little surprised. She asked them, "Did your mother draw these?"

The two sisters nodded.

Fu Tingjun smiled and said, "It seems your mother's needlework is also excellent!"

The two sisters both smiled with a hint of pride, pressing their lips together. The second young miss whispered, "But if we embroider poorly, Mother will be unhappy, and I don't want Mother to be unhappy."

Fu Tingjun was taken aback.

Madam Wang, far from her parents, living in this unfamiliar place with her two young daughters, must also have moments of low spirits!

Fu Tingjun's gaze at the two children softened. "Let me teach you how to embroider."

The two sisters laughed with joy.

Fu Tingjun carefully explained how to guide the needle, where to switch to which stitch... The two sisters studied earnestly, and the room was filled only with the soft rustling of brush on paper.

She looked at the three rosy little faces before her, and her heart was filled with peace and tranquility.

The thought that had been lingering in her mind grew stronger and stronger.

In the afternoon, Fu Tingjun took her leave of Madam Wang. "Since Lord Liu has vented his anger at Madam Feng, she should restrain herself somewhat these days. I think I should return to Back Street early tomorrow morning."

Madam Wang was very surprised.

"How can that be!" She frowned slightly. "You are a perceptive child; some things I need not say for you to understand. Madam Feng is at the height of shame and anger right now—who knows what she might do. You should stay here with me for a few more days! Wait until Wei Shi returns before making any plans." Then she teased, "Surely you're not saying that Jingtong and Jingyi are too noisy and that's why you're rushing back to Back Street?"

"The two young misses are lively and adorable—I would be delighted to have them around, not at all bothered." Fu Tingjun waved her hand with a smile. "I'm just worried about the things at home."

Madam Wang was astonished.

"There's over a thousand taels of silver buried in the courtyard at home," Fu Tingjun said candidly. "That's Ninth Master's hard-earned money, and our family's savings. If I don't go back, I simply can't feel at ease. If anything happens, I won't be able to answer to Ninth Master when he returns."

Is money more important than people!

Madam Wang's words reached her lips but she swallowed them back.

Every family has its own difficulties. Perhaps to Fu Tingjun, that thousand taels of silver was very important.

She felt somewhat disappointed, but then thought that true kindred spirits are hard to find in this world—having someone to talk to was already good enough—and she let it go. She no longer pressed Fu Tingjun to stay. The next day, after breakfast, she personally escorted Fu Tingjun to the main gate of the General's residence.

The two young misses of the Wang family tugged at Fu Tingjun's clothes, one asking, "Will Sister come back to our house?" and the other saying, "I've only just embroidered one petal," both reluctant to see her go.

Fu Tingjun bent down and said to the two young misses with a smile, "Once I've taken care of things at home, I'll come visit your house often."

The two young misses nodded with beaming smiles.

She chatted with Madam Wang for a long while longer, then returned to Back Street with Zheng San and the others.

Spring came late to Zhangye. At this time, the sunlight was warm and the morning breeze gentle. Some households had their doors wide open, airing out quilts and padded clothes. Seeing them walking through the alley, some stood on tiptoe to watch, others nodded and smiled. Only Madam Qi called out loudly, "Where have you been? Haven't seen you for a few days!"

Fu Tingjun exchanged pleasantries with her. "I went to stay with Madam Wang for a couple of days. I missed home, so I've come back!"

"Oh, so you were visiting!" Madam Qi laughed as they stopped at their own doorstep.

A yellow copper lock hung quietly on the gate, covered in a thin layer of dust.

When the door was opened, two big black dogs and several little yellow puppies pounced forward, barking noisily.

A Sen grinned and patted the dogs on their heads. "All of you, get out of the way!"

He fed the dogs every day, so naturally they were fond of him. Whimpering, they ran to the side and looked up at him with eager eyes.

Linchun struggled to slide down from her mother's arms, toddled over to the big black dog, and threw her arms around its neck. In return, the big black dog enthusiastically "washed her face," making everyone laugh heartily.

Zhangye had heavy wind and sand; though they had only been away for two days, the house was already covered in dust everywhere.

Zheng Sanniang and the others rolled up their sleeves and began cleaning the house.

Xuemei, Madam Lu's maidservant, walked in with a smile. "Miss Fu, you've returned!"

Fu Tingjun nodded with a smile.

Xuemei said, "Our mistress would like to invite you to join her for the evening meal."

"Thank you kindly!" Fu Tingjun said politely. "I merely drank a cup of tea at your house and was chased and bitten by a mad dog. If I were to eat a meal at your house, I'd probably lose my life there. I'm timid, so I'll have to decline!" The moment her words fell, a basin of dirty water was splashed right beside Xuemei's feet. The water, carrying dust from the ground, splattered onto her white Hangzhou silk skirt with raised patterns, leaving yellow mud spots all over it.

"Ouch!" Zheng Sanniang hastily dropped the copper basin and hurried over with a rag in her hand. "Miss Xuemei, I'm truly sorry, I didn't see you standing there. I've dirtied your skirt, let me wipe it off for you!" With that, she crouched down and used the rag to wipe at the skirt. The mud spots smeared, leaving a patch of dirt-yellow on the fabric—even filthier and more conspicuous than before.

"You..." Xuemei flushed with anger and wanted to push her away, but out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Fu Tingjun watching her with a cold, contemptuous smile. Her heart clenched, and she forced down her fury. First, she snatched the hem of her skirt from Zheng Sanniang's hands. "Thank you, Sanniang. It was just an accident, no need to go to such trouble." Then she stepped back a few paces, evading Zheng Sanniang's seemingly attentive yet secretly malicious gesture, and smiled at Fu Tingjun. "Miss, Grandmother Feng has known our mistress for many years, and our mistress never imagined she would do such a thing. You should remember, miss—had it not been for our mistress sending me to plead on her behalf, how could Grandmother Feng have so easily taken the person back? Our mistress had intended to come see you after seeing Grandmother Feng off, but by the time she did, you had already left the house. She worried for days. Now, the moment she heard you had returned, she immediately ordered me to come invite you over for the evening meal, as a way of making amends to you!"