That night, Fu Tingyun had a rare peaceful sleep.

When she awoke the next day, though she couldn’t claim to feel completely refreshed, her complexion was smooth and healthy—a stark contrast to her previous melancholy appearance. This aroused Chen Mama’s suspicion, who kept stealing glances at her.

*Go ahead and guess!*

Fu Tingyun felt pleased inside and deliberately raised the corners of her mouth, speaking with unusual gentleness.

Chen Mama frowned repeatedly.

Fu Tingyun pretended not to notice and went to Han Yan’s room.

Han Yan was resting in bed. Upon seeing Fu Tingyun, she struggled to get up. “Young Lady!”

Fu Tingyun caught her by the shoulders. “How are you? Feeling any better?” She gently lifted Han Yan’s trouser leg to examine her injury.

It was red and swollen, quite frightening to behold.

“It’s nothing, really nothing!” Afraid of worrying her mistress, Han Yan quickly pulled down her trouser leg to cover the wound. “Master Guo Hui said I’ll be able to get out of bed in a couple of days.”

Lu’E entered with tea: “Young Lady, I heard Chen Mama kept watch in your room last night?”

“Don’t mind her.” With Han Yan already in this state, Fu Tingyun didn’t want to involve her two maids any further. “Let her do as she pleases. It’s been over two months now, and I expect there should be a resolution soon—we can’t stay at Biyun Temple forever! I was too impatient before.”

The two young maids were simple-hearted and naturally believed everything their young mistress said.

After chatting for a while, Fu Tingyun went to see Master Guo Hui.

“I think Han Yan’s injuries need some medicine!” She asked Master Guo Hui for wound medicine. “And if there’s something to nourish her blood and energy to help her recover, that would be even better.”

Master Guo Hui remained silent for a moment, then rose to take out a white porcelain bottle with green flowers and another with red flowers. “This one is for external use, this one for internal. Apply the external one once daily, and take one pill from the internal one morning and evening.”

“Master is so stingy.” As she spoke, Fu Tingyun gathered all the white porcelain bottles with green and red flowers from the closed cabinet into her arms.

Master Guo Hui was shocked at her rudeness and said, “More medicine isn’t necessarily better—Han Yan’s condition isn’t serious, it would heal with or without medicine. Ninth Young Lady, please don’t be too clever for your good.”

Fu Tingyun’s ears grew hot.

She was actually imitating that person’s bandit-like behavior… truly a case of being influenced by bad company… but she had no choice. Who knew if she would need to ask for his help again? Having more medicine bottles meant having more bargaining chips.

“Please don’t blame me, Master!” She sighed. “I’m feeling upset, so please just let me make a fuss!”

Master Guo Hui gave her a long, penetrating look but said nothing more.

Fu Tingyun went to the kitchen: “I’d like to make a bowl of noodles with scallions myself.”

The nuns didn’t know what had happened in Jingyue Hall, but they knew that Biyun Temple relied on the Fu family’s patronage. The Fu family members were essentially their benefactors, so they eagerly helped—sifting flour, wiping the cutting board, fetching the rolling pin—all with great enthusiasm.

While kneading the dough, Fu Tingyun chatted with the nuns: “…I remember our family sent grain and flour to the temple some days ago, so why is the rice bin empty?”

“Weren’t there thieves recently?” The nun was boiling water to cook the noodles. “We only take out small amounts each day to prevent theft. The price of rice and flour has risen terribly…”

After finishing the noodles, Fu Tingyun had learned what she wanted to know. She ate a few bites and had a young novice deliver the rest to Han Yan and Lu’E, then returned to her room.

Chen Mama came forward to greet her: “Ninth Young Lady, shall I serve the midday meal?”

“I’ve already eaten.” Fu Tingyun gave a half-smile, glancing at the two rough servant women behind her. “Didn’t they tell you?” Then she shut the door with a loud bang.

Chen Mama gazed sternly at the two servant women.

“Chen Mama.” Both women looked extremely uneasy…

…

The red-lacquered window with crackle pattern was half-open. Two volumes of “Miscellaneous Items” that she had brought from home were neatly arranged on the window-side desk. The white cotton curtains were hooked up with auspicious brass curtain hooks, and the bluestone floor still bore traces of water from cleaning.

The room had been thoroughly cleaned in her absence.

Fu Tingyun curled her lip, maliciously thinking that Chen Mama had probably searched through her room completely…

She placed one bottle each of the external and internal medicines in the closed cabinet and stored the rest in her trunk, then turned and sat at her desk.

It was midday, and the bright sunlight made the roof, walls, and silver-edged willows shimmer with heat waves. The room, sheltered from direct light by the eaves and long windows, felt especially quiet and serene.

The worries that had been pushed aside by her busy morning now resurfaced.

By her calculations, he should have long since entered the city.

Had he managed to meet with Bobo’s family?

What message would her mother send back with him?

Some of her household servants were hereditary servants of the Fu family, while others had been bought from the countryside. That large group of people had all been sent to the country estate under the pretext of an epidemic. Surely some parents, brothers, or sisters would risk danger to visit their loved ones… would this lie be exposed?

Yi Tong, Yu Wei, Zhe Liu, Jian Cao… who had committed such a foolish act? Putting everyone in danger…

And what about her grandmother and her first aunt—what were they doing now?

Had her mother written to her father?

The more she thought, the more bewildered and anxious she became, until she finally lay down to rest.

If only she had brought her zither, she could have played to calm her emotions when her mind was in turmoil.

However, the zither reveals one’s heart. She hadn’t had much contact with Master Guo Hui before, but now she realized the master was quite perceptive. If she were to play an impromptu piece, Master Guo Hui might discover her true feelings…

As Fu Tingyun’s thoughts wandered, someone gently knocked “tock-tock-tock” on the eastern window frame.

“Who is it?” She nervously approached the window.

“It’s me!” The voice was flat and emotionless.

Yet to her ears, it sounded like celestial music.

She hadn’t expected him to return so quickly.

“You’d better come in through the roof!” Fu Tingyun exclaimed joyfully. “Otherwise, if Chen Mama discovers the wooden strips on the window have been removed, it will only create more trouble.”

There was no response from outside the window.

Fu Tingyun was slightly taken aback.

Had he gotten angry over this?

She pressed her ear to listen.

There was no sound at all.

But suddenly, someone behind her said, “What are you doing?”

Fu Tingyun jumped in fright and turned around quickly to see him standing behind her. Looking up, she saw that a roof tile had been removed, allowing sunlight to stream in, forming a column of light that suddenly brightened the room.

Why did he have to frighten her like this every time he entered?

She complained silently to herself but didn’t dare show it.

She hurriedly closed the window, listened at the door for a moment, then sighed with relief. She invited him to sit in the master chair and brought him a cup of tea.

His face was flushed red from the sun, with sweat at his temples. He wore a clean, neat lilac-colored short robe and a pair of straw sandals.

Fu Tingyun glanced at those straw sandals a couple of times.

He had already unceremoniously drained the teacup she offered, then handed it back to her: “Get a bigger bowl and pour me some more.”

Fu Tingyun restrained herself from glaring at him: “I don’t have any big bowls here.”

“Then bring the teapot over,” he said indifferently.

Fu Tingyun’s mouth twitched as she brought the teapot.

He poured tea into the small cup, drinking one cup after another.

At least he wasn’t drinking directly from the teapot, or she would have had to explain to Chen Mama why she suddenly didn’t want to use it anymore.

Fu Tingyun kept reminding herself to maintain basic courtesy and wait until he finished his tea before asking questions…

But he put down his cup and said, “I didn’t see Bobo’s family. The Fu household people said she’s at Biyun Temple attending to the Ninth Young Lady who caught summer heat.”

“What?” Her heart pounded like a drum as she jumped to her feet.

Fan Mama asked through the door: “Ninth Young Lady, do you need anything?”

The shocking news he brought, combined with her hidden disdain for Chen Mama and the others, caused Fu Tingyun’s emotions to explode. She angrily shouted: “I want eggs! Can you manage that? If not, stop chirping at me out there!”

Silence fell outside the door.

After her outburst, Fu Tingyun became much calmer.

If Bobo hadn’t returned to the Fu household, where had she gone?

Did her mother know that Bobo was missing? Did she know that her daughter was being confined at Biyun Temple?

She anxiously asked: “Then did you see my mother?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake!

He was a man, her mother was in the inner quarters, and it was broad daylight—how could he possibly have seen her mother?

But she desperately wanted to see her mother—perhaps her mother was being kept in the dark just like her?

Who had arranged all this?

Her grandmother? Her first aunt?

Fu Tingyun was anxious and flustered.

Unfortunately, her brother was in the capital studying with his wife and son, accompanying her father. Otherwise, she could have asked her brother for advice!

Although this man could leap over walls and rooftops, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to visit her mother at night due to the separation between men and women…

As she pondered, she slipped a pure white jade bracelet from her wrist and placed it on the tea table: “Brave sir, I’ve found out that the granary is in the cellar beneath the Weituo statue’s incense table in the Great Hall. I beg you to make another trip for me—pawn this bracelet for a silk robe, then claim to be a messenger sent by my father from the capital, and ask to see my mother directly.”

He sat motionless, his gaze resting on the jade bracelet before finally looking up: “Ninth Young Lady, your ideas don’t seem to be very good.”

He looked at her coldly, his face expressionless, his eyes as dark and deep as an ancient well.

Fu Tingyun was stunned for a long moment.

What did he mean by that?

Was he mocking her for her unrealistic ideas?

If they couldn’t take an unorthodox approach, then they should do the opposite and make a straightforward move… What was wrong with that?

“First, we need to consider that those who deliver family letters to hometowns are typically trusted confidants, and no one in your family knows me. Second, your First Uncle is now the head of the Fu household. If I were to deliver a message, my first duty would be to pay respects to your First Uncle. If your First Uncle inquired about your father’s situation in the capital, how should I respond?” he asked softly.

Fu Tingyun was speechless.

This approach was indeed somewhat risky, but she truly couldn’t think of a better, more direct, more effective solution!

“Then let me tell you about our family situation,” she quickly said. “You can manage a few pleasantries with my First Uncle, and when the time comes, just say the matter is urgent and insist on seeing my mother. My First Uncle wouldn’t dare stop you…”

“I’ve been wondering about something,” he suddenly interrupted her. “With your cleverness, even if you quarreled with your cousins, you should have been able to extricate yourself easily. How did you end up confined in Biyun Temple?” He gazed at her intently. “I heard people in town saying that someone in your family was caught in an adulterous affair—everyone is wondering if it’s true…”