Fu Tinghan nodded. Seeing the teacup on the table, he’d guessed as much. To enter his room so openly—that could only be his parents. And Fu Xuan was clearly not someone who worried about such things.
He had a bit of a headache. In his memories, Princess Hongnong had been very strict with “him.” Before “he” turned fourteen, “he” had been obedient and compliant, but after fourteen, “he” suddenly developed his own ideas.
So mother and son began to struggle. His return to Luoyang was initially Princess Hongnong’s suggestion, because she’d heard Prince Donghai had stormed into Luoyang and placed the emperor under house arrest.
But he hadn’t wanted to return at the time. Of all his memories, this period was clearest—so clear he could feel “his” anger and helplessness.
Although “he” was half Sima clan by blood, “he” took no pride in this. He even told Princess Hongnong explicitly, “His Majesty cannot control the government. He should abdicate early to a worthy person. Dajin might yet be saved, and the people would suffer less displacement.”
The emperor at that time was “his” maternal grandfather, Princess Hongnong’s own father, Emperor Hui.
Mother and son had a violent quarrel over this, and then Fu Changlong angrily left, decisively returning to Luoyang.
First, he didn’t want to continue being influenced by his mother—he wanted to distance himself from her. Second, he went to Luoyang to plead for help. The famine in Chang’an had reached its extreme—people starved to death every day. He hoped the court would look westward and rescue Chang’an’s disaster victims.
Perhaps because these two thoughts were so intense, Fu Tinghan’s memories of this period were clearest, and he could best experience “his” feelings. Thus he understood what kind of character Princess Hongnong had.
Between birth mother and son, once the child grew up there were barriers with the mother, and he didn’t want her overly involved in his life. Moreover, Fu Tinghan’s feelings toward Princess Hongnong were those of a familiar stranger, so he even less appreciated anyone invading his territory.
So he was very unhappy.
He sat cross-legged silently on the wooden couch, watching Fu’an lead servants in cleaning, and when they were about to leave, he said, “Wipe everything down one more time.”
The servants looked at each other, then lowered their heads in acknowledgment, changed the water, and wiped down the entire room again.
The windows and door were wide open for ventilation. On such a cold day, Fu’an felt cold just watching, but Fu Tinghan didn’t.
After airing the room for two quarter-hours, he finally allowed Fu’an to close the windows, then said, “Have them bring in the hot water. I’m going to bathe.”
Princess Hongnong, separated from him by a courtyard, heard the activity and sent someone to inquire. When the servant didn’t report back for a long time, she frowned at Ren Hui.
Only then did Ren Hui go out, returning with her head lowered to report, “The servant who went to inquire was kept by the young master to clean the room, which is why he didn’t return for so long.”
Princess Hongnong still didn’t know her son found her distasteful, and nodded. “It seems he’s become more fastidious than before. I saw yesterday his face had no cosmetics either. Select a few servants to send to his courtyard. Such a large courtyard, with only Fu’an and no other servants—when he’s not home there’s no one to clean or air the place. Must he go through all this trouble every time he returns?”
Ren Hui didn’t dare mention that Fu Tinghan had people wipe the room twice or scald the teapot and teacup with boiling water. She smiled in acknowledgment and changed the subject. “The young master never liked such things anyway. He only applied cosmetics because he had to attend literary gatherings and couldn’t be too eccentric.”
Ren Hui selected people and personally delivered them.
Fu Tinghan had just finished bathing. Fu’an had lit a charcoal fire in the room, so it finally wasn’t so cold. But he still draped a cloak over himself—actually, cloaks weren’t very convenient for indoor use. A blanket would be most suitable.
The north had sheep’s wool, but the felt produced was quite hard. It seemed they needed to find a way to soften the wool to make good blankets. He didn’t know much about this, but the pastoral peoples on the grasslands should have some ideas. Perhaps they could offer substantial rewards to encourage innovation?
Indoor heating could also use heated floors or underfloor heating.
Underfloor heating was too expensive, and these weren’t newly built houses—they couldn’t very well dig everything up and renovate. Hmm, heated floors could be considered.
Besides heated floors, there was coal.
Charcoal was too expensive.
Never mind common people—even they sometimes had to crowd into one room to work to save charcoal. Unfortunately, the currently discovered minable coal wasn’t plentiful yet, so it had to be prioritized for industry first.
They needed to send more people out to search for coal. Once mining increased in the future, ordinary people could benefit too.
Fu Tinghan drank hot water while thinking about these miscellaneous matters in his mind, until Ren Hui called from outside twice before he came to his senses.
He nodded to Fu’an, who went out to invite Ren Hui in.
Looking at the servants Ren Hui brought, Fu Tinghan said, “Leave two people to assist Fu’an and guard the courtyard.”
Ren Hui said, “The young master is of noble status—how can you have only three servants attending you?”
“I’m just one person, and I’m not missing hands or feet. I don’t need this many people attending me.” He didn’t even want the extra two people, but he and Fu’an were out every day, and the courtyard did need someone to guard it to prevent outsiders from entering…
Fu Tinghan lowered his eyes and fell silent for a moment, then still expressed his dissatisfaction and resistance. “Have these two stay at the residence to guard the courtyard. From now on, without my approval, no one may enter casually.”
Ren Hui was taken aback, then sighed inwardly, looking toward the two servants.
They both lowered their heads in acknowledgment.
Ren Hui could see Fu Tinghan wasn’t in a good mood, but after the servants withdrew, she still tried to mediate. “Young master, the Princess has missed you very much these years. Fortunately, the master occasionally sent letters, so she knew you were safe and sound in the Central Plains.”
Though mother and son had conflicting values, Fu Tinghan also felt Princess Hongnong loved her child. Therefore, he felt somewhat guilty. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Have you just returned to Luoyang—are there any inconveniences?”
Ren Hui couldn’t help but smile. She knew it—the young master was like the Princess, both stubborn on the outside but soft inside. She quickly described in detail Princess Hongnong’s difficulties. “The Princess has been away from the capital for many years. Upon returning this time, she discovered that all the acquaintances she once knew are gone. Surrounded entirely by strangers, without even someone to talk to—young master, no matter how busy you are, you should return home for meals and keep the Princess company in conversation.”
She continued, “Most of the Princess’s private property was used to supplement the army. In May and July, to gather military provisions for the master, she even sold the gold hairpins left by the late empress. Now…”
Fu Tinghan immediately looked at Fu’an upon hearing this. “How much money do I still have?”
Fu’an: “There’s, there’s still some.”
“Tomorrow go withdraw it and give it to Mother.” Fu Tinghan thought about it and realized that the Fu Xuan couple had no employment and no property left, so he really did need to support the family. Thus he said, “From now on, take all my salary and give it to Mother. Also, for the family’s fields, houses, and shops—separate them all out and hand them over to Mother.”
After Zhao Hanzhang entered Luoyang, for those under her command whose families had previously owned property in Luoyang, she generally didn’t confiscate it to state ownership but properly returned the property deeds and land deeds.
So the Fu family’s business interests in the capital were all in Fu Tinghan’s hands, and he’d had people manage them.
As for his private property, there wasn’t any separate—it was all mixed together with Zhao Hanzhang’s and the Zhao clan’s people. Even if he wanted to give some to his parents, it would be difficult to extract a complete share.
Fu Tinghan wanted to buy them two shops so they’d have more financial flexibility, but thinking about how he had no surplus funds and seemingly couldn’t afford it, he could only let his shoulders sag. “Fu’an, sort out the account books for the family properties. It’s year’s end—the various stewards should be coming to report as well. Have them report to Mother from now on.”
Fu’an acknowledged.
—