To find out who had recommended the Eldest Master Fu for reinstatement, they could only inquire with the Young Mistress Fu. But the Young Mistress was also clueless and guessed: “It must have been Father-in-law who found someone to help. Father-in-law now works in the Ministry of Personnel!”

Yu Wei asked, “Then who recommended the Fifth Master to the Ministry of Personnel?”

“It seems it was the late Emperor’s wish.” The Young Mistress Fu perked up as she spoke, showing a proud expression. “Father-in-law was commissioned to edit and annotate the ‘Zhou Yi Commentary.’ Emperor Daizong once visited the Hanlin Academy and happened to see a few manuscript pages of Father-in-law’s annotations. He greatly admired them and appointed Father-in-law as the Director of the Personnel Selection Bureau in the Ministry of Personnel…”

Daizong was the posthumous title of the late Emperor.

For some reason, after hearing Yu Wei’s report, Fu Tingyun felt a sense of relief.

“Perhaps I was overthinking,” she smiled. “My eldest uncle’s appointment is certainly good news.”

Yu Wei nodded and hesitantly asked, “What about the matter with the Eldest Mistress?”

“When the Ninth Master is less busy, I’ll borrow Anxin from him,” Fu Tingyun said. “Even if I disregard my reputation, I still need to consider the reputation of the other Fu family sisters. I can’t drag everyone down because of the issues between me and my eldest sister-in-law—then how would we be any different from her? If my eldest uncle and aunt are fair, I’ll resolve this privately with them. If not, I’ll have to ask several of my female cousins to come forward for a public discussion. I remember that the Third, Fifth, and Seventh Cousins all married quite well. I’ll need to inquire about their husbands’ situations when the time comes.”

Yu Wei’s eyes showed a hint of delight: “The Ninth Miss thinks so thoroughly. I think I’ll go see the Young Mistress again in a few days to ask about the young ladies.” She added, “Please don’t blame the Young Mistress. She has no choice…”

“I know,” Fu Tingyun smiled. “She has her father-in-law above her, her husband below, and me, her disobedient sister-in-law, causing trouble every few days… You don’t need to speak on her behalf. I understand her difficult position.”

Yu Wei smiled awkwardly.

No matter what, the Ninth Miss needed someone from her maiden family, right? Otherwise, when it came time for the wedding, there wouldn’t even be someone to prepare the bridal bed—how lonely that would be!

As they were talking, Zheng San-niang ran in: “Miss, miss, the Ninth Master sent back four taels of silver, saying it’s a reward for the Emperor’s ascension.”

“Let’s go take a look,” Fu Tingyun said with a smile, leading Yu Wei to the hall in the south wing.

The person who delivered the silver was one of Zhao Ling’s guards. Master Lü had received him as Zhao Ling’s uncle. By the time Fu Tingyun arrived, the messenger had already left. Master Lü was examining the pair of two-tael silver ingots from all angles. Seeing Fu Tingyun enter, he quickly handed the silver to her: “Look at the quality—imperial gifts are truly different!” He added, “But these can’t be used. They should be enshrined in the ancestral hall.” Then, realizing that Zhao Ling had finally established his career, he hurriedly suggested, “Why not dedicate a special room for imperial gifts? The Ninth Master is now a close official to the Emperor. There will be many such rewards in the future.”

Fu Tingyun didn’t find anything extraordinary about the silver ingots, but hearing Master Lü’s words, she couldn’t help but smile: “Let me discuss it with the Ninth Master when he returns!”

This was an important matter that naturally required consultation with Zhao Ling.

Master Lü nodded repeatedly.

Everyone gathered around the silver ingots to admire them for quite some time before Fu Tingyun finally put them away.

Fu Tingyun temporarily set aside the Fu family matters and bought fashionable fabric to make two summer shirts for Zhao Ling, then began working on autumn clothing.

Master Lü hired a matchmaker surnamed Xia and purchased four maidservants, all around ten years old. One was named Wuyue, another Xuemei, and the other two were both named Zhaodi. Fu Tingyun renamed the round-faced Zhaodi as Zhenzhu (Pearl) and the one with curved eyes as Kou’er (Little Button), and put them all under Yu Wei to learn proper etiquette.

Seeing that Wuyue was openly clever, Fu Tingyun assigned her to serve A-Sen. Xuemei was steady and reliable, so she was assigned to Zheng San-niang to help with kitchen duties. Fu Tingyun then asked Master Lü: “A-Sen is not young anymore. I’m thinking of either finding a tutor to teach him at home or sending him to a reputable academy in the capital. We should also buy a manservant for him.”

Master Lü agreed with a smile and once again engaged Matchmaker Xia to purchase a boy about A-Sen’s age, naming him Yanqing.

A-Sen came to Fu Tingyun with a red face: “I, I can dress myself, and I can go to school on my own.”

Fu Tingyun smiled as she adjusted his pale white silk robe, saying, “Since the servants have been assigned to you, you can tell them what to do without needing to inform me. But since you’re asking, I’ll say a few words. The residence is so large that just keeping the window frames and railings clean is not easy. Now that you live separately in the small courtyard of the south wing, you’ll need to manage those affairs yourself.”

A-Sen’s eyes brightened. After speaking absent-mindedly with Fu Tingyun for a few sentences, he ran off.

Fu Tingyun asked Yu Wei to find out how A-Sen had assigned duties to Wuyue and Yanqing.

Yu Wei returned to report: “Young Master A-Sen has Wuyue in charge of laundry and cleaning the rooms, and Yanqing helps sweep the courtyard, clean the windows, and tend to the flowers and trees. As for the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, he handles those himself.”

Fu Tingyun nodded approvingly and instructed Yu Wei: “Keep an eye on A-Sen’s affairs. If you see anything amiss, guide him gently.”

Yu Wei agreed with a smile and couldn’t help but remark: “Young Master A-Sen has such a pure nature.”

Which is why we cannot let him grow crooked, Fu Tingyun thought silently.

Zheng San-niang came over: “We only have a few people in the household, and the kitchen isn’t that busy. Perhaps you should assign Xuemei other duties!”

Fu Tingyun laughed heartily and said, “Since the Ninth Master is staying in the capital, our household will inevitably host gatherings and banquets. You’ll need to manage the kitchen, worry about seasonings, salt, and tea—how could you handle it all? I fear one person won’t be enough!” She continued seriously, “Zheng San will become increasingly busy. Linchun is growing up, and whether he studies books or martial arts, you and your husband need to make a decision. In the future, you only need to manage my kitchen affairs, so you’ll have time to look after father and son.”

“Miss!” Zheng San-niang gratefully kowtowed to Fu Tingyun.

Fu Tingyun quickly gestured for Yu Wei to help her up: “I think Xuemei is a promising girl. Train her well. A-Sen’s laundry is handled by Wuyue, the inner courtyard by Yu Wei—you only need to manage your quarters.”

Zheng San-niang agreed repeatedly.

From then on, outer courtyard matters were directed to Zheng San, inner courtyard affairs to Yu Wei, kitchen matters to Zheng San-niang, and the Xi’an estate was managed by Master Lü. By mid-July, when Zhao Ling’s official duties had become more manageable and he could return home for days off, everything in the household was in perfect order, already showing the appearance of a great family.

In the evening, under the bright moon, Zhao Ling sat on the cooling bed wearing a new pale white Hangzhou silk robe, enjoying well-chilled watermelon. He was so comfortable he didn’t want to return to his palace duty.

He asked Fu Tingyun, “Have you seen your aunt?”

Zhao Ling wanted to set their wedding date soon.

Fu Tingyun was making knotwork by moonlight. Her hands paused briefly as she replied, “Why do you suddenly ask about this? Is there something urgent?”

Zhao Ling gazed at her silently without speaking. Suddenly, he put down his watermelon and grabbed the knotwork from her hands: “Stop working on this. You’ll strain your eyes.” He continued, “The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. Let’s take advantage of my day off and visit your aunt tomorrow, shall we?”

His day off coincided with the Fifth Master Fu’s day off.

If her father treated her so poorly, how would he treat Zhao Ling?

Fu Tingyun said, “You rarely get to rest at home for a day, and the weather is so hot. I was planning to make mung bean jelly for you tomorrow. Why don’t we wait for a cooler day to visit?”

“We can chill the mung bean jelly in the well, and it will be perfect for cooling off when we return in the evening,” Zhao Ling held her hand, half-tempting and half-coaxing, “I’m now a third-rank official. With the new Emperor ascending the throne, your father might not respect me, but he’ll respect my position. He surely won’t turn us away. The Emperor privately told Advisor Shi that with a hundred matters awaiting attention, having already made changes among military officials, it’s best not to disturb civil officials for now. If we miss this opportunity, we might not get another.”

A new emperor brings a new court.

People like Zhao Ling, with the merit of having followed the Emperor, naturally enjoyed favorable times, while old officials like her father had lost their previous networks. Whether they could keep their positions depended on whether they could establish relationships with the newly favored officials who had followed the Emperor. Since the Emperor had risen to power through military means, he naturally wanted to control the military officials first. His first act upon ascending the throne was to purge dissenters from the military ranks, which only made the civil officials more anxious…

Fu Tingyun remembered the barely concealed excitement in her father’s eyes when mentioning the Yu family, and had to admit that Zhao Ling’s words made sense.

“Then, then let’s go visit tomorrow!” she agreed reluctantly.

She hoped her father would be courteous to them for Zhao Ling’s sake.

Zhao Ling seemed to know her thoughts and patted her hand: “Don’t worry, I’ll be there!”

Fu Tingyun sighed silently to herself and instructed Yu Wei to prepare gifts. The next day at dawn, she got up to get ready.

Since it was the hottest period of summer, she wore only a simple white fine cotton shirt and a bright blue eight-panel Xiang skirt, but Zhao Ling was in full formal attire.

Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but tease him: “Don’t look like a nouveau riche. My father may not like that.”

Zhao Ling grinned shamelessly: “I can’t help it. This is all I have to show off.”

Fu Tingyun pressed her lips together in a smile and went with him to Four Happiness Alley.

The old locust tree in Four Happiness Alley had leaves as clean as if washed, rustling in the gentle breeze, bringing a hint of coolness.

Yu Wei went to knock on the door.

The one who answered was the same servant who had been scolded as a fool by the Fifth Master Fu. Seeing Fu Tingyun, he shuddered and forgot even the most basic etiquette, rushing anxiously back into the courtyard while shouting, “The young miss is here, the young miss is here!” as if she were a tiger.

Fu Tingyun glanced at Zhao Ling.

She saw Zhao Ling turn his face away, his shoulders shaking as if trying to suppress laughter.

Fu Tingyun’s face alternated between pale and red.

Fu Tinggui and the Fifth Master Fu hurriedly walked out one after the other. Both wore gauze caps and fine cotton robes for home wear, their faces still showing expressions of shock at hearing of her arrival.

“You still have the nerve to come back!” Fu Tinggui began harshly, while the Fifth Master Fu’s somber gaze fell on Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling smiled slightly and performed a graceful bow: “I am Zhao Ling, Commander of the Left Guard of the Yulin Guard, here to pay respects to Master Fu.”

Fu Tingyun’s eyes widened.

Was this the same Zhao Ling who had once resembled a bandit?

Fu Tinggui also widened his eyes, looking somewhat helplessly toward the Fifth Master Fu.

The Fifth Master Fu narrowed his eyes and said with a faint smile: “So it’s the newly appointed Commander Zhao. This old man has no prior acquaintance with Commander Zhao, and we belong to different spheres of civil and military. May I ask what brings Commander Zhao to seek out this old man?” He remained standing at the doorway without moving.