Chapter 94

The courtyard was thick with curling incense smoke. Daoist Shanning, clad in a robe embroidered with the Eight Trigrams yin-yang symbol on the back, stood before an altar laden with offerings, holding a peach-wood sword. He muttered incantations while dancing and gesturing animatedly. Two young acolytes stood solemnly on either side of the altar, one hand clutching a magic artifact, the other forming a ritual mudra. Outside the door, neighbors crowded in layers upon layers, drawn by the spectacle.

In the eastern main room, the bloodstained blue bricks had been pried up, fresh loess sprinkled over the spot, and new blue bricks laid down—no trace remained of the bloody incident that had once occurred there. But Fu Tingjun still harbored a knot in her heart. She had moved into A Sen's room, while A Sen squeezed in with Zheng San and his wife.

At this moment, Fu Tingjun was staring sternly at the cowering A Sen.

"Still trying to spin tales in front of me?" Seeing that A Sen remained silent for a long while, she gave a cold snort and said, "How did two strange men suddenly appear at Concubine Lu's house? Don't you dare tell me you knew nothing about this!"

She bit down especially hard on the words "two men."

A Sen's gaze flickered uneasily. "I... I really don't know. Everyone says Concubine Lu was carrying on with men—what does that have to do with me..."

"None of that 'carrying on' talk," Fu Tingjun said, her cheeks flushing slightly as she scolded A Sen in a low voice. "You're still young—don't ever use such crude language again." Then she continued, "That day, with such a big commotion and the whole alley full of onlookers, who would be foolish enough to climb over the wall from Concubine Lu's house at a time like that? More likely, you caught the thieves who had been with Feng Dahu, then thought of a way to dump them into Concubine Lu's courtyard. Those men, seeing how Feng Dahu ended up, feared both being seized by the authorities and sentenced to caning or exile, and even more so being resented by the Feng family for failing to protect him—they'd come after them or take their lives. So while the officials were there, they didn't dare move. The moment the officials left, they fled for their lives, naturally not caring whether anyone was watching. As long as they weren't caught red-handed, even if the authorities uncovered something, as long as they stubbornly denied it, they might still escape this mess... You calculated the two thieves' mindset and improvised this scheme on the spot—am I right or not?"

A Sen didn't dare make a sound. He hung his head before her, his toes scraping lightly against the blue bricks, betraying his inner unease.

"A Sen!" Fu Tingjun's voice was low. "Since you could come up with such a plan, you're clearly very clever. But have you considered this? You dumped two people over there at once. The ignorant masses will naturally believe it without question, but anyone with half a brain will spot the flaw—who would have two lovers at the same time..."

"Ah!" A Sen looked up in utter astonishment, staring at Fu Tingjun in surprise. "Miss..."

He had thought that Miss Fu had called him in alone to discuss this matter because she felt he had ruined a woman's reputation, that his actions were too ruthless... Miss Fu treated people with great kindness and always liked to leave others a way out when something happened... He liked Miss Fu. With him acting this way, Miss Fu would surely disapprove—he didn't want Miss Fu to dislike him... His heart had been in turmoil. But now, hearing Miss Fu's tone, it seemed she was only chiding him for not thinking things through thoroughly, for having a plan riddled with holes!

He could hardly believe his ears.

Fu Tingjun watched him, feeling both exasperated and amused.

What exasperated her was that this child, so young, had nerves as bold as the sky, setting such a trap for Concubine Lu. If someone from Concubine Lu's side had caught him in the act of dumping the men over—well, she and Concubine Lu had already burned their bridges, so that didn't matter to her. What worried her was that Concubine Lu might not find fault with her and instead take out her anger on A Sen. After all, he was just a boy of ten. If Madam Lu was determined to take his life, even if he escaped, he'd likely suffer some hardship. What amused her was that this child had been so audacious in scheming against Concubine Lu, yet before her, he was as docile as a kitten, endearing and lovable.

"Do you know you were wrong?" She deliberately put on a stern face and asked A Sen.

If A Sen couldn't tell what Fu Tingjun was getting at, he wouldn't be the clever child Fu Tingjun had taken a liking to.

"I know, I know." A Sen beamed with joy, nodding repeatedly. "Next time something like this happens, I'll just dump one person in instead," he said with a chuckle. "I thought the more, the better. When I was little, I heard people curse those wanton women, saying they were slept with by a thousand and ridden by ten thousand..."

Fu Tingjun's face darkened at the words.

A Sen shuddered, immediately falling silent, pressing his lips into a thin line. Then he lifted his little face to show Fu Tingjun—meaning, I'll listen to you, I won't use crude language anymore. Fu Tingjun's lips twitched, and it took her a long moment to suppress the laughter that threatened to burst out, though a hint of amusement still crept into her eyes, softening the expression on her face.

"And what else?" Fu Tingjun's voice also relaxed somewhat.

But A Sen, who was somewhat startled, did not notice this subtle change in her. He bit his finger and thought hard: "There's more, there's more..." He really couldn't think of what else was wrong!

Fu Tingjun snorted in dissatisfaction.

A Sen immediately straightened his back and stood obediently as she usually required: "There's more, there's more..." His eyes darted around restlessly.

"Furthermore, you took it upon yourself to change my plan. Why didn't you tell me the moment you saw me?" Fu Tingjun interrogated him. "If I hadn't noticed something amiss, were you planning to keep it from me for the rest of your life?"

"No, no." A Sen waved his hands repeatedly, but couldn't utter a single word of defense.

Just as Fu Tingjun had said, he had indeed planned to keep it from her for life. But he never expected Fu Tingjun to see through the matter so quickly.

"A Sen, I know you wanted to seek justice for me, to stand up for me and deal with Concubine Lu." Fu Tingjun said earnestly. "That Concubine Feng and I have never met before. It's only natural for her to help her blood brother. But Ninth Master and General Mo have countless connections between them. General Mo even specially arranged for Concubine Lu to learn etiquette from me. Besides being neighbors, we share a master-disciple bond. For her to help Concubine Feng scheme against us, disregarding propriety, honor, and the bond between master and disciple, is truly detestable. I'm very grateful for everything you've done for me. But this matter is of great importance. Behind Feng Dahu stands Deputy General Liu, and the Marquis of Xiping, whom even the Marquis of Yingchuan treats with deference. Since we've done this, we must make it flawless—we absolutely cannot let anyone find anything to hold against us. You acted on impulse and changed my plan without authorization. You should have told me right away. Then we could have thought together about whether there are any flaws in this matter, and if there are, whether we can patch them up in time, and if we can't patch them up, whether we can think of another way to cover it up... If you stay silent like this, and someone connects Concubine Lu's family matters with ours, we'll be put in a passive position. You should know—if I could see the flaws, others might see them too!"

His words sent a chill down A Sen's spine. He quickly said, "Miss Fu, this is all my fault. I won't keep anything from you again from now on." Just as he finished speaking, the sound of women's clamoring came from outside.

A Sen was taken aback, and Fu Tingjun said, "Go see what's going on!"

He acknowledged and went out the door.

It was Nanny Lu from next door: "Which murderous wretch is spouting slander there? I curse her to bear sons without assholes. Our family's concubine is proper and well-behaved—when the general isn't home, she doesn't step a foot outside the door. All the neighbors know that! Even if she were to take a lover, she'd need the opportunity..."

"We saw it with our own eyes, we're not making it up!" someone muttered quietly. "If the Zhao family hadn't been robbed and the authorities came to investigate, and the thief who was sneaking around feared those robbers would confess that an accomplice had escaped, and the authorities would go door to door searching—that's why he hurriedly climbed over the wall the moment the authorities left..."

A Sen was greatly shocked.

He prided himself on having a good memory—that voice sounded just like the owner of the grocery store where Zheng San often went!

But before he could listen more carefully, the voice was drowned out by the buzzing discussion of the crowd: "Exactly, exactly. Otherwise, why would those two be in such a hurry to climb the wall?"

Another person said, "What does 'taking a lover' mean? It means being sneaky and secretive, with no one knowing..."

Madam Qi's voice was especially shrill: "Nanny Lu, whether your family's concubine is having an affair—none of us have the final say. Only when General Mo returns will we know the truth. Am I right, everyone?"

"Yes, yes!" The crowd burst into laughter, carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

"You foul-mouthed bitch, I'll make you spout nonsense, I'll make you spout nonsense..." As A Sen reached the front door, he saw Nanny Lu grab Madam Qi by the hair and slap her across the face repeatedly.

A man stepped forward to break it up, and Nanny Lu stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

The Lu family's maids and serving women hurried forward to help, clawing and scratching at the man.

"My husband was just trying to mediate out of kindness, and you dare hit him!" The stout, broad-shouldered cook from Registrar Chen's household charged forward, grabbing one of the Lu family's maids like a chick and tossing her aside.

"How dare you hit one of our people!" The Lu family's serving woman charged forward without backing down...

The scene in front of Fu Tingjun's door descended into chaos, causing the two acolytes by the incense table to keep stealing glances outside.

Daoist Shanning, who was performing the ritual, furrowed his brow.

Zheng San went out and bowed all around: "Our household is inviting the Daoist to expel evil spirits. Might I ask all you ladies and madams to be so kind as to move along?"

No one paid him any heed.

Zheng San had no choice but to pull A Sen back inside and shut the door with a bang.

Daoist Shanning's brow relaxed slightly, and he focused intently on chanting his incantations.

Zheng San dragged A Sen all the way into the eastern chamber.

"Miss, as you instructed, when I went shopping yesterday, I chatted with the owner of the general store for quite a while. Today, when that Nanny Lu from the Mo family brought up those two flower thieves, the shopkeeper used what I said yesterday to refute her..."

A Sen's eyes widened as he looked from Fu Tingjun to Zheng San and back again: "Miss... Third Brother..."

Zheng San gave him a light pat on the head: "You little rascal, don't think you're all that just because you're the young master now. You still have plenty to learn!"

"I never thought I was the young master..." A Sen pouted and muttered in grievance.

Fu Tingjun and Zheng San both laughed.

"Remember this—we are family. No matter what happens, we must discuss things together and get through the hard times as one." Fu Tingjun said to A Sen with a serious tone.

A Sen straightened up solemnly: "Miss, I've got it!"

Suddenly, the front door was pounded with loud bangs: "Third Master Zheng! Third Master Zheng!"