Zhao Ling was naturally delighted when Fu Tingyun agreed. The two discussed arranging tutors for the children, besides martial arts instructors. Youyou was already six years old, and it was time to find a proper teacher for her formal education. According to Fu Tingyun’s thinking, as she was raising the children alone, it would be best to hire a Confucian scholar over sixty years old. But in Zhao Ling’s opinion, elderly scholars, especially those who had failed in the imperial examinations, were mostly rigid in their ways and would teach children to be inflexible. He thought it would be better to find someone younger.
Fu Tingyun felt somewhat discouraged.
Zhao Ling also knew this matter wasn’t easy to resolve and suggested, “Why don’t you discuss it with your third cousin one day and see if her husband has any suitable candidates?”
That seemed to be their only option.
Fu Tingyun nodded.
Zhenzhu came in to report, “Official Jin has arrived!”
Wasn’t he supposed to return to the capital secretly?
Fu Tingyun looked at Zhao Ling in confusion.
Zhao Ling explained in a low voice, “I need someone to help. Yuan Bao is meticulous and cautious, making him most suitable.” He then instructed Zhenzhu, “Let him in!”
Zhenzhu acknowledged and left.
Fu Tingyun instructed Yu Wei to inform the household staff that they must keep Zhao Ling’s return to the capital secret.
Yu Wei solemnly agreed.
Zhenzhu led Jin Yuan Bao in.
Fu Tingyun quickly invited Jin Yuan Bao to have breakfast.
“No need,” Jin Yuan Bao smiled, “I ate before coming over.” He added, “I’ve also brought several trunks.”
Fu Tingyun gave him an appreciative look.
If anyone asked about the trunks, they could say he was delivering items to the household on Zhao Ling’s behalf.
The children greeted Jin Yuan Bao one by one.
Jin Yuan Bao smiled, hugged Youyou, and said, “Our young lady has grown so tall.”
Youyou was quite proud and said, “I’m taller than Cousin Yuanxiao.”
Jin Yuan Bao chuckled and took out clay figurines, rattles, and other small toys from his pocket for Youyou, Young Master Xi, and Young Master Xu.
The children were all delighted.
Fu Tingyun knew they must have important matters to discuss, and since the children had almost finished eating, she led her daughter and sons to bid farewell to Jin Yuan Bao and went to the study in the western room to supervise Youyou’s calligraphy practice and tell stories to Young Master Xi.
About half an hour later, Jin Yuan Bao emerged from the inner chamber with a solemn expression and took his leave from Fu Tingyun.
“When are you leaving?” Fu Tingyun asked him.
“I’m leaving tonight,” Jin Yuan Bao replied. Knowing that Zhao Ling kept no secrets from Fu Tingyun about outside matters, he said, “The Ninth Master will depart in two or three days. There are still a few people he needs to meet.”
Fu Tingyun nodded, had the children say goodbye to Jin Yuan Bao, and personally escorted him to the front gate.
Zhao Ling then asked Fu Tingyun, “When will Ah-Sen return?”
Lord Wang and Lady Wang thought of Zhao Ling as Ah-Sen’s parent and hoped that Zhao Ling could preside over Ah-Sen’s wedding to their eldest daughter Jing Tong, but they hadn’t found a suitable time. Now that Zhao Ling had gone to Guizhou, such an opportunity seemed even more remote. After consulting with Zhao Ling, the two families had set the wedding date for the eighteenth day of the eleventh month this year. When the news reached Fuzhou, Lady Wang’s mother decided to come to the capital for Ah-Sen and Jing Tong’s wedding. By the time Lady Wang learned of this, her mother had already reached Yangzhou. Lady Wang was greatly surprised and took her two daughters to Tongzhou to welcome her. Remembering the estrangement between Lady Wang and her mother years ago, Fu Tingyun thought Lady Wang must be overjoyed that her mother would attend Jing Tong’s wedding. She had sent Ah-Sen along to help with errands, showing respect to both Lady Wang and her mother.
“They said the old lady would arrive in a day or two,” she smiled. “He should be back soon. However, even if he returns, with the old lady just arriving and Ah-Sen being a soon-to-be son-in-law, he likely won’t be free to leave anytime soon.”
Zhao Ling thought for a moment and said, “We’ll talk when he returns,” showing his intention to use Ah-Sen’s help.
Better to have father and son fighting together, and brothers hunting tigers together. Fu Tingyun thought it would be good if Zhao Ling could take Ah-Sen to Xi’an Prefecture. Not only were they familiar with each other, but they were also both personally involved in the grudge with the Feng family and knew the situation best. If Zhao Ling found an opportunity to deal a blow to the Yu family, there would certainly be no issues with Jin Yuan Bao and Ah-Sen.
“Then I’ll have Yuechuan tell Ah-Sen,” she pondered. “Ask him to come back when he has time.”
“Good!” Zhao Ling nodded and went to the study. “I need to write several letters.”
Fu Tingyun followed him in and helped grind ink while saying, “According to what you said, the Feng family has allied with the Marquis of Xiping. Although Wu Xin is on good terms with you, there’s still a layer of separation—you’re in the southwest, he’s in the northwest. The Marquis of Xiping is, after all, a current noble. How would he think to change his allegiance? Could there be some plot in all this?”
“What plot could there be?” Zhao Ling smiled. “If the Marquis of Xiping were truly a man of great talent and strategy, he wouldn’t have been pressured to this extent by the Marquis of Yingchuan and He Fu. As for the Feng family, they come from humble origins, like Daoist An from Mount Jiugong. No matter how skilled they are in martial arts, in people’s eyes, they’re just wandering knights of the jianghu. No matter how much Old Feng San does for the Marquis of Xiping, in the Marquis’s eyes, he’s just a more obedient and capable foot soldier than the average lackey! If everyone remains peaceful, that’s fine, but if there’s any disturbance or major upheaval, the Marquis of Xiping will certainly sacrifice pawns to save the king. It would be bad enough if the Feng family took the blame for the Marquis of Xiping, but what’s more fearful is becoming a discarded piece—generations of hard work and a carefully whitewashed reputation could vanish in an instant. Old Feng San is a clever man and has likely seen the dangers clearly, which is why he’s taking the risk to contact me. Regardless, Old Feng Four, who once had a grudge against me, died by my hand. When we were fleeing, although he acted in his interest, the fact that he let us go is undeniable. We share a certain karmic connection. If I were him, I would also make an all-out attempt.”
Fu Tingyun smiled with pursed lips. “There’s one more reason the Ninth Master hasn’t mentioned, right?”
Zhao Ling was slightly startled and smiled, “What reason?”
“The Ninth Master is known for his righteousness, honesty, and open-mindedness,” Fu Tingyun smiled. “Isn’t that one of the main reasons Old Feng San decided to reconcile with you?”
Zhao Ling was quite surprised, then showed a slightly embarrassed expression and said, “A good man gets help from many. Unlike the Feng family with their vast power, I’m just one person. To establish myself, of course, I must be trustworthy and keep my promises—that’s a basic principle of being human!”
Fu Tingyun smiled with pursed lips.
Zhao Ling pulled Fu Tingyun onto his lap: “Help me hold down the letter paper.”
Fu Tingyun sat on his knee and watched him write letters to Master Xian and several former subordinates from the Imperial Guard.
Kouer entered with tea, exclaimed “Oh!” upon seeing them, and retreated with a red face.
Fu Tingyun pouted coquettishly: “Look what you’ve done!”
Zhao Ling chuckled, set down his brush, and asked in a suggestive low voice, “What are Youyou and the others doing?”
Fu Tingyun’s face turned as red as the morning glow and murmured, “Nanny Tong is with them, playing string games in the room!”
“Then we shouldn’t be idle either.” Zhao Ling laughed playfully, put down his brush, and carried Fu Tingyun towards the side room in the west.
Fu Tingyun thought of Zhao Ling’s embarrassed look from the morning, her heart softened, and she half-resisted saying, “We haven’t even had lunch yet!”
“Who says we have to have lunch before we…” Zhao Ling said as he closed the door with his foot.
Kouer carried the tea to find Yu Wei: “The master and mistress are in the study… what should I do with this tea?”
Yu Wei smiled, picked up the teacup and took a sip, saying, “Don’t worry about the tea, go about your own business!”
Kouer was greatly relieved and ran off in a flash.
Yu Wei laughed at the sight and went to Youyou, joining Nanny Tong in playing with the children.
As noon approached, there was still no movement from the study.
Yu Wei smiled and instructed Zhenzhu: “Have Madam Zhou select dishes that the young miss and young master like and bring them over, so they won’t go hungry.”
Zhenzhu went to the kitchen with a crimson face to relay the message.
It wasn’t until after the beginning of the third afternoon watch that Fu Tingyun called Yu Wei in to attend to her.
Zheng San Niang hurriedly brought in the food that had been kept warm on the stove.
In the afternoon, Zhao Ling took the children to swing on the backyard swing, and in the evening, they retired early.
That night, Zheng San Niang returned and told Zheng San, “After so many years, the master and mistress are still so in love.” Her tone was very content.
Zheng San was indifferent and said, “They’re a couple who’ve been through hardship together!”
Zheng San Niang thought for a moment and smiled, “That’s true!” Then she glanced at Zheng San, “We are also a couple who’ve been through hardship together.”
Perhaps because of injuries sustained during their flight, Zheng San Niang never had another child after that, and they only had Linchun.
Zheng San’s face reddened slightly, and he uncomfortably coughed once, changing the subject: “That rascal Yuechuan has legs growing to his backside. It’s just a message to Ah-Sen in Tongzhou—why hasn’t he returned yet?”
Zheng San Niang covered her mouth and laughed: “The round trip to Tongzhou takes seven or eight hours. Even if Yuechuan’s legs grew to his head, he couldn’t make it back yet!” Then she sat beside Zheng San, nudged him with her elbow, and said, “Hey! What do you think about letting Linchun follow the master to Guizhou?”
Linchun was now ten years old. Although he had studied with Ah-Sen for several years, he couldn’t settle down and still only recognized a few characters. Zheng San Niang thought that since her son was six years older than Young Master Xi, he couldn’t be a personal attendant, so it might be better for him to follow Zhao Ling to Guizhou to gain experience. Later, he could either become a steward for the Zhao family or ask Zhao Ling to help him secure a position in the military.
This was precisely Zheng San’s thinking as well.
However, their family had received great kindness from Zhao Ling, and making such a request seemed somewhat presumptuous.
He gruffly said, “Let me think about it,” and went to bed with the blanket over his head.
Zheng San Niang sighed and blew out the lamp.
His wife’s words were like seeds of grass falling on his heart, growing wildly in Zheng San’s mind.
He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
After who knows how long, someone knocked on the door, softly calling “Zheng San.”
Zheng San listened carefully and realized it was Ah-Sen’s voice.
He quickly put on his clothes, felt for the key under his pillow, got off the kang bed, and opened the main door.
The sky was still full of stars, brilliant and dazzling.
Ah-Sen was breathing heavily, walking quickly inside while saying, “Hurry and have San Niang report to the Ninth Master that I’ve returned.”
Thinking of what Zhao Ling had been doing since his return, Zheng San grinned and said, “You’d better rest inside first and wait until dawn.” Then he looked behind him and, seeing no one, smiled, “Did you leave Yuechuan in Tongzhou? Did you come back alone?”
Ah-Sen nodded and said, “If the Ninth Master called me back at this time, it must be for something urgent…”
Zheng San grabbed Ah-Sen by the back of his neck and pulled him into his room, saying, “No matter how urgent, it can wait until dawn. Listen to me, you won’t go wrong.” Then he called to Zheng San Niang, “Go make something good for Ah-Sen to eat. I bet he didn’t even have time for dinner before rushing back.”
As Ah-Sen was about to say something, Zheng San Niang also smiled and said, “Just listen to my husband. Would we ever harm you?”