Since they were playing chess, how could it possibly be finished in just a moment?

Fu Tingyun pondered to herself.

Zhao Ling was about to depart for his new position in Guizhou, and Master Yan had once assisted the Emperor in “clearing the court of corrupt officials,” so he must be a person of great strategy. The claim of playing chess might be a pretext—perhaps Zhao Ling had seized this opportunity to seek Master Yan’s advice on governing Guizhou… It would be better not to disturb them.

With this thought, she smiled and instructed the young novice who had come with the message: “Go tell Lord Zhao that I’m taking this opportunity to tour the temple with Fifth Sister and her husband. If he finishes his game, he can find us later.”

The young novice smiled and left to deliver the message.

Fu Tingyun quickly apologized to Fifth Brother-in-law, saying: “That Master Yan lives in seclusion at the temple and has the temperament of an otherworldly person—whatever comes to his mind, he acts upon…”

Master Yan was someone whose official rank had been stripped by the late Emperor. Previously, people didn’t think much of it, but now that the current Emperor had ascended the throne legitimately, those close to the Emperor had become somewhat reserved when discussing Master Yan. Many people, including Fifth Brother-in-law, didn’t know who Master Yan was.

He smiled indifferently and said: “It’s fine, Ninth Brother-in-law must have found a kindred spirit.” He continued, “This is my first visit to Tanzhe Temple. I heard of its reputation while in Xi’an, and now that I’ve seen it, I feel it lives up to its name. Does Ninth Sister know what interesting places there are to see in Tanzhe Temple?”

Fu Tingyun was grateful for Fifth Brother-in-law’s thoughtfulness and smiled as she introduced Tanzhe Temple: “…There are the Upper and Lower Pagoda Courtyards, where generations of high monks are buried… The Guanyin Hall is where a princess of the previous dynasty became a nun… Behind the temple are two springs, one called Dragon Spring and one called Hong Spring. Where the two springs meet is called Dragon Pool. The water of Dragon Pool is sweet, cold, and clear, with a reputation second only to Yuming Water…”

If Fifth Brother-in-law had been merely polite before, his eyes now lit up with genuine interest in Tanzhe Temple: “Then we really should explore it properly.” As he spoke, he glanced at Fu Tingyun’s abdomen and became somewhat hesitant.

Fu Tingyun knew he was concerned about her pregnancy and worried that she might become tired from walking around. She quickly smiled and said: “I’ll just stay here and drink tea. Fifth Brother-in-law and Fifth Sister can go take a look. Tanzhe Temple is usually crowded with people, so it’s rare to have such tranquility today.”

Both Fifth Brother-in-law and Fifth Sister were tempted but hesitant.

Fu Tingyun knew they were worried about her and smiled: “I’ll just rest in the hall with Yu Wei looking after me. It’s no trouble.”

Although it was a rare opportunity, Fifth Sister looked at Fu Tingyun’s slightly protruding belly and still declined: “…Husband, you go ahead! I’ll stay here with Ninth Sister and chat about personal matters.” She added, “Tanzhe Temple is so large, with the back mountain and the pagoda courtyards—just thinking about it makes my legs ache. I won’t go.”

Since his wife felt it would be tiring, Fifth Brother-in-law didn’t insist.

Fu Tingyun had Pearl relay a message to the Guest Prefect monk to arrange for a young novice to guide Fifth Brother-in-law, while she remained with Fifth Sister and Yu Wei, drinking tea in the side hall.

The winter sunlight was gentle, but the spacious side hall was beyond its reach, making it somewhat cold inside.

Yu Wei wanted to ask a young novice to bring in a brazier.

“Let’s not bother,” Fu Tingyun smiled. “The hall is too large; even with a brazier, it wouldn’t make much difference.”

Yu Wei realized she was right and took off her fur coat: “You can put this over your knees. It will be a bit warmer this way.” Looking up and seeing Fifth Sister sitting nearby, she quickly instructed a young maid to find a padded jacket, “…for Fifth Madam to use as well.”

“There’s no need to go to such trouble,” Fifth Sister smiled. “I’m not like Ninth Sister, expecting a child.”

It was indeed a bit cold sitting there, and just drinking tea wasn’t very entertaining.

Fu Tingyun noticed the bright sunshine outside and thought for a moment before smiling: “Fifth Sister, Guanyin Hall is not far from here. It was where a princess of the previous dynasty practiced cultivation. There’s a hundred-year-old camellia tree at the entrance of the hall, and I expect it’s in bloom right now. Why don’t we go take a look?”

Hearing it wasn’t far, Fifth Sister gladly agreed.

Yu Wei supported Fu Tingyun, and they went to Guanyin Hall, which was a short distance to the east.

Perhaps because there were few visitors today, the entrance to Guanyin Hall was completely deserted. A human-height camellia tree in front of the hall was blooming with bowl-sized red flowers that weighed down the branches. Behind the tree was a patch of emerald green bamboo forest, making the red flowers look even more vibrant.

Fifth Sister looked at it with delight: “How beautiful! This is the ‘Champion Red’ variety, isn’t it?”

“That’s right,” Fu Tingyun chatted casually with Fifth Sister. “How does Sister know it’s called ‘Champion Red’? I remember when we were at home, Sister disliked tending to flowers and plants. When did you change?”

“It’s all because of your brother-in-law,” Fifth Sister laughed. “The year your brother-in-law took the provincial examination, Mother-in-law got a pot of ‘Champion Red’ camellia from somewhere, saying it would bring him luck, and asked me to take good care of it…”

The sisters’ conversation turned to Fifth Brother-in-law’s scholarly pursuits: “…I can see that Fifth Brother-in-law is refined in his speech and fond of reading. Perhaps there are too many household affairs distracting his energy?”

“Father-in-law thinks the same, which is why I have the opportunity to manage the Yao family affairs,” Fifth Sister smiled bitterly. “Your Fifth Brother-in-law is indeed a scholarly person, but he has read too many books and has a bit of a bookish air. His exam essays often take unconventional approaches, which don’t appeal to the examiners…”

“I see.”

Yu Wei and the others, seeing that the sisters were having a private conversation, tactfully walked away and stood about twenty paces from them.

Fifth Sister now spoke more directly: “But I think this is also good… The year Third Brother-in-law passed the imperial examination, before he even arrived in the capital, Third Sister’s mother-in-law was already arranging for her son to take a concubine. She said Third Sister had to serve the elders at home, manage the household, and raise the children, while Third Brother-in-law would be serving as an official away from home and needed someone to take care of him. If she hadn’t died early, Third Brother-in-law’s household would already have had someone else…”

As they were talking, there was suddenly a rustling sound from the bamboo forest behind Fu Tingyun.

She turned her head.

She saw a flash of water-green silk through the bamboo.

Fu Tingyun’s expression darkened, and she called out: “Who’s there?”

The person in the bamboo forest hesitated.

Yu Wei and the others, hearing the commotion, were already moving toward them.

The bamboo leaves swayed, and a woman wearing a lake-green silk cloak and a water-green Xiang skirt emerged with her head lowered, looking timid.

Fu Tingyun breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it wasn’t some ruffian!

Yu Wei and the others also relaxed their expressions.

The woman then curtsied to Fu Tingyun.

“Lady Zhao,” she murmured, “I didn’t mean to… I was originally offering incense in the hall, and when people came, I wanted to avoid them… Who knew… You would start talking about private matters… so I wanted to hide…”

Her words were somewhat jumbled, but Fu Tingyun understood what had happened.

Seeing that the woman before her had her black hair simply pinned up with a silver hairpin, wore no other ornaments, and though her clothes were of decent quality, they were neither new nor old and in a style from several years ago, she looked like a female relative from a fallen family. But since arriving in the capital, Fu Tingyun had never interacted with such families… Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but ask in confusion: “Do you know me?”

The woman raised her head upon hearing this.

She had delicate features and was quite pretty. But she was extremely thin, making her eyes appear particularly large, giving her a pitiful look.

She seemed familiar somehow.

Fu Tingyun smiled apologetically: “Forgive my poor memory, but I can’t recall which family you belong to…”

The woman’s face reddened at these words, and she mumbled a response.

Unfortunately, her voice was too soft, and Fu Tingyun couldn’t hear her. Seeing that she appeared very shy and reserved, Fu Tingyun smiled brightly and asked again: “You’re so quiet, sister, I couldn’t understand a word you said.”

The woman’s expression became even more embarrassed at this, but her voice was a bit louder: “My surname is Wu, I’m a relative of Lady Wu’s family…”

Fu Tingyun suddenly realized: “So you’re Miss Wu!” As soon as the words left her mouth, she remembered that Miss Wu was now Yu Jingxiu’s concubine, making the address inappropriate. She smiled and said, “Concubine Wu has also come to Tanzhe Temple to offer incense?” She couldn’t help but find it strange that someone from the Yu family would come to Tanzhe Temple at this time. It was also somewhat annoying that she kept encountering people from the Yu family at Tanzhe Temple…

Concubine Wu responded with a stuttering sound.

Fu Tingyun had no desire to interact further with people from the Yu family. She gave Fifth Sister a meaningful look, then smiled and nodded to Concubine Wu, saying: “Please continue with your activities, Concubine Wu. We’ll be going now.”

Concubine Wu’s expression froze, and her gaze fell on Fu Tingyun’s abdomen. She replied irrelevantly: “Lady Zhao, you’re… you’re pregnant again!” Her tone carried a hint of envy.

Fu Tingyun smiled and nodded.

Fifth Sister, however, felt that the woman before them seemed somewhat unstable. She stepped forward to block Fu Tingyun and pulled her backward.

Concubine Wu’s eyes, though looking at Fu Tingyun, were vacant and lifeless. Her whole person appeared somewhat dazed, as if she hadn’t noticed Fifth Sister protecting Fu Tingyun as they left. She suddenly said: “My child… is gone…” Tears immediately streamed down her face.

Fifth Sister, being an experienced household manager, immediately sensed there was a story behind this.

Her scalp tingled with unease. She signaled to Yu Wei with her eyes to protect Fu Tingyun while urgently pulling Fu Tingyun away. As they walked, she asked: “Whose concubine is she?”

Yu Wei and the others had already surrounded Fu Tingyun and Fifth Sister in the middle, even before Fifth Sister had signaled.

“She’s Yu Jingxiu’s concubine!” Remembering what Zhao Ling had told her and observing Concubine Wu’s behavior, Fu Tingyun also felt something was off about her. She followed Fifth Sister, hurrying away.

“Ah!” Fifth Sister stopped in her tracks, staring at her in astonishment with her mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

Yu Wei raised an eyebrow and turned to glare at Concubine Wu.

“The capital is such a small place,” Fu Tingyun smiled, pulling Fifth Sister along. “Besides, this Concubine Wu is a relative of Lord Wu’s family next door to mine, so it’s not surprising that I know her!”

“Then you should move somewhere else,” Fifth Sister frowned. “You’re porcelain and he’s pottery—it’s not worth getting into conflicts with him.”

Fu Tingyun knew Fifth Sister was worried that people might discover her connection to the Yu family and damage her reputation.

“Why should I be the one to move?” she laughed dismissively. “I’ve done nothing wrong, neither stealing nor robbing. If anyone should move, it should be them!”

Fifth Sister’s lips twitched, and she was about to say something when Concubine Wu’s voice came from behind: “Lady Zhao, please… please wait!”