When Zheng San went to deliver thank-you gifts to Duke Fuguo’s residence, Fu Tingyun included Zhao Ling’s name card with the gifts. However, the Duke’s household paid no attention to it. They politely expressed their thanks and told Fu Tingyun there was no need to visit in person, as all the female members of the household had gone to the palace to pay birthday respects to a Dowager Consort.
Fu Tingyun breathed a sigh of relief, thinking this arrangement was for the best. They looked down on her, and visiting would only bring discomfort.
Master Lü had also found a suitable residence and invited Fu Tingyun to take a look: “Thanks to Guard Jian’s help, a friend of his, whose master has retired and returned to his hometown, wants to sell his residence. It’s in Shijia Alley in Huanghua District in the eastern part of the city. I went to see it—the alley is perfectly straight, suitable for both carriages and sedan chairs. The neighbors are mostly officials from Jiangnan who have come to serve in the capital. The servant women coming and going all appear proper and respectable. The residence has three courtyards, is perfectly square, and contains twenty-eight rooms. Last autumn, when the family celebrated their master’s birthday, everything from the roof to the floor tiles was renovated, so it won’t need any repairs for at least ten years. The family is asking twelve thousand taels of silver, which is a bit high. I mentioned we could pay with Baoqing Tower banknotes if they leave the furniture behind, and they agreed to come down to ten thousand taels. If you find it satisfactory, I can negotiate further with them to see if they might reduce the price a bit more.”
She could afford it, but buying the residence would leave her with little ready cash, and she feared Zhao Ling might find himself short of funds for social engagements when he arrived in the capital.
Fu Tingyun hesitated.
Master Lü understood her concerns and suggested, “I think the residence is truly impressive. If necessary, we could take out a loan with interest to tide us over. I’ll go back and sell those seven hundred mu of land. The Ninth Master’s box of antiques is also worth thousands. And if we run short,” he didn’t say aloud, “once Zhao Ling and Fu Tingyun are married, we could always sell this residence and buy a smaller one.” From what he gathered from Zheng San, this residence was being purchased to give Zhao Ling face in front of Fu Tingyun’s relatives.
Having been a shopkeeper for many years, he possessed a merchant’s cunning.
“Let’s go see it first!” Fu Tingyun still preferred buying a smaller residence, but since Master Lü spoke so highly of it, there was no harm in looking.
Unexpectedly, after seeing it, she couldn’t bear to let it go.
Outside the entrance gate stood a pair of monkey-shaped mounting stones, one on each side. Past the gate was a blue brick screen wall with a large character for “Fortune” in the center, above which were carved seven or eight children in various poses—sitting, lying down, or laughing playfully—a fresh and interesting design. In front of the south wing grew an ancient locust tree, thick enough to require two people to encircle it with their arms, seemingly over a hundred years old. Its canopy spread like an umbrella, shading the entire courtyard, allowing one to imagine its lush green covering during summer. To the right in front of the main hall stood a pomegranate tree, and to the left, a crabapple tree. Under the wisteria trellis in the courtyard sat a large blue porcelain lotus-patterned vat, while behind the main building grew two date trees of uneven heights.
Inside, all the furniture was made of huanghuali wood. The inner chamber even featured a mirror with carved frames and large glass—these items alone were worth two or three thousand taels of silver, not to mention the authentic snow landscape painting by Fan Kuan hanging in the main hall, worth at least three to four hundred taels of silver.
Fu Tingyun couldn’t help asking: “They’re including all these?”
“Yes!” Master Lü said softly. “Last time I came to see the house, the doorways were hung with bright red embroidered panel curtains, and the panels were made of the finest ebony…”
Fu Tingyun was shocked: “Whose residence is this? Why are they selling?”
Master Lü smiled: “It belongs to a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, only about forty years old. He served as an official in Jiangnan for many years, specializing in criminal law. For some reason, he offended Grand Secretary Shen Shichong and was forced to retire. He urgently needs money to smooth things over. Everyone knows this, so they’ve been pressing him to lower the price, and he has no choice but to include the furnishings…”
Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but caution him: “This house is indeed a great bargain, but you should investigate thoroughly to avoid buying trouble.”
Offending the Grand Secretary was one thing—at least he was a scholar who operated according to scholarly principles. What was truly frightening was offending the eunuchs or the Tengji Guards. The former were unpredictable, and who knew what ideas they might have next, or whether buying this residence might somehow implicate them. The latter were ruthless; once you fell into their hands, they would pluck you like a goose, not letting go until they had ruined you completely. Buying such a residence would be like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth—suicidal.
“Don’t worry, Miss.. I’ll investigate thoroughly. I’d rather not buy it than invite trouble,” Master Lü assured her.
Fu Tingyun nodded.
In the end, they purchased the residence in Shijia Alley in Huanghua District for ten thousand taels of silver. The owner even threw in a pair of Ru kiln flower vases and left all the kitchenware.
Fu Tingyun asked Zheng San’s wife to prepare the house, instructing her: “We won’t be staying here regularly, so just prepare the gatehouse and the main building.”
When Zheng San’s wife returned, she was very excited: “This family is truly wealthy! They left fifteen bolts of blue summer cloth, two bolts of red summer cloth, more than ten jin of premium Longjing tea, and various other small items in the side room to the west of the main building.”
Fu Tingyun shook her head and smiled: “Then put everything away. We can use it later to make summer clothes for Zheng San, Linchun, and the others.”
Zheng San’s wife nodded repeatedly.
During the evening meal, Yu Wei returned.
She also brought good news to Fu Tingyun: “The master leaves home at the beginning of the Yin hour (3-5 am) every morning and returns at the Shen hour (3-5 pm). He takes a day off every ten days. The Fourth Young Master leaves at the exact Mao hour (5-7 am) and returns home at the You hour (5-7 pm), also resting every ten days. I’ve calculated the dates, and their day off will be in two days.”
Fu Tingyun thought for a moment and said: “Tomorrow, you’ll come with me to Sixi Alley.”
Yu Wei responded “Yes,” and said: “I’ll arrange for a carriage early tomorrow morning. Sixi Alley is on Zhengyang Gate Street in the Outer City. It would take more than two hours to walk there!”
Only officials of the fourth rank and above attended court. Her father was of the fifth rank; no wonder he had to leave so early, living so far away.
Fu Tingyun hadn’t realized they were so far apart and said, “I think we won’t need to hire a carriage. Tomorrow, let’s have Zheng San drive us there.”
She still harbored vague concerns and felt safer with someone as strong as Zheng San nearby.
Yu Wei acknowledged the instruction and went to inform Zheng San that they would need the carriage early tomorrow. After the evening meal, she rechecked the gifts they would bring tomorrow, arranging everything neatly.
Zheng San’s wife couldn’t stop praising her carefulness and asked if she was engaged, hinting at matchmaking intentions.
Yu Wei was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, thinking of how she was living under a cloud of guilt—how could she have the face to marry? She made an excuse to decline Zheng San’s wife’s offer: “Since I am Miss’s maid, I naturally must follow Miss.”
Zheng San’s wife was slightly taken aback and said: “You are an intelligent young woman, how can you think this way? I see that the Ninth Master treats Miss Fu very well, and since they aren’t married yet, he may not necessarily take concubines.”
Being from the countryside, she felt that since Zhao Ling already had children, taking concubines would just be a waste of food, not economical at all.
Yu Wei had previously feared that Fu Tingyun had been captured by refugees and suffered misfortune, perhaps becoming someone’s concubine or mistress. Though she dared not ask about Fu Tingyun’s experiences, she had observed the behavior of Fu Tingyun and those around her. She knew Fu Tingyun had been rescued by someone called the Ninth Master, and they had privately agreed to marry. Although this Ninth Master was only a minor centurion, he treated Fu Tingyun extremely well. Not only did he entrust all his property to Fu Tingyun’s management, but for this trip to the capital to visit relatives, he had gone to great lengths to borrow name cards from the Duke Fuguo and Marquis Yingchuan… Hearing Zheng San’s wife speak like this, the curiosity hidden in her heart could no longer be suppressed. Pretending to be dismissive, she tested Zheng San’s wife, hoping to learn about past events: “Whether to take concubines or not should be up to Miss, shouldn’t it?”
“Then it’s even less likely,” Zheng San’s wife laughed, feeling somewhat contemptuous of Yu Wei. Marrying into a good family but wanting to be a concubine instead? She specifically told her about Fu Tingyun’s behavior at the mill: “I suggest you give up this idea as soon as possible!”
Yu Wei was dumbfounded.
Going to a place run by men and making a big scene? Was this the Ninth Miss she knew?
She tossed and turned all night without sleep. The next day, she forced herself to be energetic as she served Fu Tingyun breakfast, then accompanied her in the carriage to Sixi Alley.
Zheng San was unfamiliar with the route and had to stop at every intersection to ask Yu Wei for directions. With all the stops and starts, it was nearly noon when they finally reached Sixi Alley.
The entrance to the alley was narrow, and the carriage couldn’t enter. Zheng San waited with the carriage while Yu Wei carried the gifts and accompanied Fu Tingyun inside.
The interior of the alley revealed a different world.
In the center of the alley stood a large locust tree, with four households living around it, forming a small courtyard.
Yu Wei pointed to one of the quadrangle dwellings facing west: “Miss, it’s that one!”
Fu Tingyun felt a surge of excitement.
She was about to see her mother. What would her mother ask her?
And her sister-in-law, whom she had met only once as a child. She only remembered her having a round face, always smiling before speaking, seemingly always cheerful. Would she recognize her?
She had never met her brother’s two children. This year they should be eight and five years old. She wondered if they were mischievous and who they resembled.
Her thoughts racing, she stood before the tightly closed gate, her hand feeling as heavy as a thousand jin.
Suddenly, the door opened with a creak.
Fu Tingyun was startled.
Did her mother know she was coming?
Looking up, she saw a woman in her early thirties coming out. She looked unfamiliar and ordinary but was neatly dressed, with an air of dignity and restraint.
Seeing Fu Tingyun, she was also greatly surprised and asked: “Whom is the young lady looking for?” Her gaze swept suspiciously over Yu Wei.
Fu Tingyun composed herself and smiled: “Is this the residence of the Fifth Master Fu from Huayin? May I ask how to address you, ma’am? I am a relative of the mistress, coming from Weinan. Please help announce my arrival.” As she spoke, she removed the silver bracelet from her wrist and handed it to the woman. “This was bestowed upon me by the mistress years ago. Please take it in to show the mistress, and she will know who I am.”
“You’ve come from Weinan?” the woman asked, a flash of vigilance in her eyes.
Fu Tingyun sensed trouble but still smiled and said: “Yes, I come from Weinan. I’m distantly related to the mistress’s family. Last time I passed through Huayin, the Old Mistress told me the mistress was ill. Now that I’m in the capital, I’ve come especially to visit,” then glancing at Yu Wei, she added, “bringing some local products from home. Please pass them to the mistress.”
The woman hesitated for a long while, only taking the bracelet, and said: “I’ll go announce the young lady’s arrival. Please wait a moment.” Then she turned and went back into the house, shutting the door with a loud “bang,” leaving Fu Tingyun and Yu Wei outside.