Madam Fan was quite surprised.

Yu Jingxiu received fifty taels of silver monthly allowance, all at his disposal. A meal at a decent restaurant would cost no more than ten taels, and he wasn’t the type who enjoyed debauchery, so how could he suddenly be short of money?

She asked with concern: “What do you need so much silver for?”

Yu Jingxiu was somewhat vague: “Just some daily expenses.” He continued, “While traveling, local government offices covered all expenses, but now that I’m back in the capital, I inevitably need to meet with fellow examination graduates and colleagues. What starts as one table often becomes two or three tables. I’m just being prepared.”

Madam Fan recalled what Madam Yu had said earlier.

Could it be that Yu Jingxiu had made some disreputable friends outside?

Thinking of this, she felt additional anxiety and hurriedly asked: “Who have you arranged to watch the fireworks with at Xiyuan?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them, feeling she shouldn’t have asked at this moment. It would make Yu Jingxiu think she was interrogating him about what he needed the money for… So before Yu Jingxiu could answer, she quickly said: “We don’t have that much silver at home right now, but we do have bank notes. However, it’s already late, and the silver shops have closed, so even with bank notes, you probably can’t exchange them for silver.”

Yu Jingxiu hadn’t thought that much into it. Hearing there were no silver taels but bank notes available, he thought for a moment and said: “Bank notes will do… then please give me bank notes worth two hundred taels!”

Madam Fan responded with a smile and entered the inner chamber.

Just then, the sound of light yet purposeful footsteps approached, and someone called out “First Madam” from beyond the curtain: “It’s Concubine Fei. Are you in your room?”

Yu Jingxiu was surprised.

Since that day when Concubine Fei had lectured him at length, he seemed to have never seen her again.

The thought flashed through his mind, and he said in a deep voice: “Come in!”

The person outside hesitated for a moment.

Yu Jingxiu frowned, his voice revealing some displeasure: “Whatever it is, come in and speak.”

The door curtain was lifted, and Concubine Fei, wearing a peach-red jacket, entered.

Peach-red is the most vibrant color, and when worn by ordinary people, it can appear vulgar. But this color on Concubine Fei, complementing her snow-white skin, added a captivating allure.

Yu Jingxiu was momentarily stunned.

Concubine Fei greeted him with a smile, her manner polite yet somewhat distant: “It’s nothing important, I just came to chat with the First Madam. Since the Master is here, I shall take my leave…”

Although they had limited interaction, in Yu Jingxiu’s mind, Concubine Fei wasn’t the type to gossip and visit others’ homes. Why would she suddenly come to chat with Madam Fan?

There must be something she didn’t want him to know… As he pondered this, he noticed that one of Concubine Fei’s hands remained behind her back.

He couldn’t help but ask: “What are you holding?”

Concubine Fei’s smile immediately became somewhat stiff, and she appeared uncomfortable: “Nothing, just some clothing and such…”

Yu Jingxiu couldn’t help but feel curious. Despite this, with his usual temperament, he wouldn’t normally inquire further into women’s matters. But remembering his mother’s thunderous anger today, and recalling Concubine Fei’s advice not to always stand in front of Madam Fan, as it might make Madam Yu dislike her, he regarded Concubine Fei more favorably than usual and asked: “On the day you entered our household, you made needlework gifts for the Madam and First Madam. Is this also needlework you’ve done for the First Madam?”

A trace of hesitation flashed across Concubine Fei’s brow.

Yu Jingxiu suddenly recalled his mother’s words about “affairs in the household being in such disarray that people are gossiping,” and an inexplicable sense of unease welled up in him… He was just wondering whether to let the matter drop without further inquiry, when he saw Concubine Fei purse her lips and take out the bundle hidden behind her back.

Yu Jingxiu noticed that the knot tying the corners together looked familiar, and when Concubine Fei opened the bundle to reveal a lake-green man’s Hangzhou silk robe, he suddenly understood.

All this time, he had been mistaken, wearing clothes made by Concubine Fei, believing they were made by Madam Fan.

His expression turned unpleasant.

A sharp voice rang out in the room: “Who told you to make these clothes? How dare you enter without announcement?” Then, calling loudly for Mozhuang, she berated: “The Master is sitting in the room, and there’s not a single servant attending him. What kind of head maid are you?”

Concubine Fei quickly said, “Miss Mozhuang went to the kitchen. I didn’t expect the Master to return at this time…”

In just two short sentences, she both exonerated Mozhuang and defended herself.

Madam Fan’s hatred intensified.

A flash of weariness appeared in Yu Jingxiu’s eyes. He didn’t want to pursue who was right or wrong, or who had made the clothes.

He said directly to Madam Fan: “I’ll be very late today. If the second gate is locked, I’ll spend the night in the study in the outer courtyard. Just send someone to attend to my washing there tomorrow morning.”

Hearing this, Madam Fan hurriedly handed the banknotes to Yu Jingxiu.

Yu Jingxiu left the inner chamber without looking back.

The fireworks at Xiyuan had already begun.

Jiadao Street was a small hutong in Chang’an. Along the way, he occasionally encountered pedestrians who stopped to look up at the fireworks exploding in the sky.

Yu Jingxiu heard a little girl loudly calling “Father,” saying: “Look, look quickly! It exploded, it exploded twice… The first time was green, then other colors, this time it’s red, then other colors…”

The child’s voice was as melodious as an oriole, and he couldn’t help but look in that direction.

He saw a tall man about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old with a five or six-year-old girl sitting on his shoulders.

The little girl wore a bright red vase-patterned jacket. Her hair was as black as lacquer, her face as white as jade. Though young, her features were very delicate, especially her eyes, which were clear and bright like deep spring water, making one’s heart feel purified.

The curtain of a nearby carriage was lifted, and a woman smiled: “Get in the carriage! What kind of propriety is this? She’s already seven years old, not seven months.”

The tall man turned to the woman and smiled, his expression both indulgent and doting, clearly valuing her words highly. He smiled and said: “Didn’t you say she’s only seven this year? Next year she’ll be eight, and it will be even less appropriate to carry her on my shoulders… Why not take advantage while she’s only seven and carry her one more time…”

Hearing this, the woman broke into a radiant smile, brighter than the fiery red pomegranate flowers of May: “You’re just making excuses…”

The tall man smiled with pursed lips, and the little girl on his shoulders covered her mouth and laughed. Though they didn’t look alike, their mannerisms were very similar, making it clear at a glance that they were almost certainly father and daughter!

A boy’s head poked out from the carriage, looking no more than four or five years old.

He grinned at the father and daughter, saying loudly: “Sister, is it fun?”

“Very fun,” the little girl answered, “You can see so far!” Then she said, “Or, I can come down, and father can carry you on his shoulders?”

“No,” the boy rejected without hesitation, nestling against the woman, “I’ll sit in the carriage with mother!”

The woman chuckled, embracing the boy, and said softly: “Xi’er is so good, knowing how to care for mama.”

The family passed by Yu Jingxiu, laughing and talking, while Yu Jingxiu stood there staring, taking a long moment to come back to his senses.

He had encountered the Fu family?

Who would have thought that Zhao Ling… after attending the Grand Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet during the day, still had the energy to take his family out for entertainment in the evening… But, to be fair, his daughter was truly exquisite, and his son was handsome too, both resembling Fu Tingyun…

The thought flashed through his mind, and Yu Jingxiu was somewhat dazed.

Fu Tingyun and Zhao Ling, however, hadn’t noticed Yu Jingxiu.

Fu Tingyun looked at the crowded Chang’an Avenue ahead and said: “Why don’t we just watch the fireworks from here? Going into the crowd, we’d only be watching people anyway!” She thought to herself that if they pushed into the crowd, Zhao Ling would have to protect her and the children, leaving him no mood to enjoy the fireworks. It would be better to observe from a distance. Going out was all about having fun. The Shi family hutong was in the east of the city, and Xiyuan was in the west. He had feared she and the children wouldn’t be able to see the fireworks clearly, so he had insisted on bringing them out to enjoy the festivities…

Thinking of this, her heart felt sweet, and her gaze toward Zhao Ling was full of tenderness.

Zhao Ling smiled: “It’s alright, it’s alright! I had someone reserve a private room at Wangxian Tower earlier. We just need to push through to get there.”

Seeing that he had put in such effort to make arrangements, Fu Tingyun naturally stopped objecting. She instructed Xi’er to sit properly, coaxed Xu’er in her arms, and they proceeded at a snail’s pace for half an hour before finally reaching Wangxian Tower.

Upon entering the private room, a waiter immediately brought in tea and snacks.

Zhao Ling moved an official’s hat chair to the window, letting the children stand on it to watch the fireworks.

Fu Tingyun repeatedly reminded Yu Wei and Nursemaid Tong: “Be careful, don’t let the children fall.” She saw Zhao Ling holding Youyou with one hand and gripping Xi’er’s collar with the other, so she encircled Xu’er with her arms.

Outside, there was a commotion, and someone pushed the door open: “Huchen, you’re here too?”

Fu Tingyun turned around and saw an unfamiliar man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, about thirty years old.

She quickly turned her back.

Then she heard a teasing voice say: “I was wondering why you were so kind as to invite me to the capital to watch fireworks. So it was for this young man Zhao Ling.” He continued, “Zhao Ling, I suppose that son you mentioned is also here?”

“Daoist Master is mistaken,” Zhao Ling’s voice carried a hint of playfulness, “I merely had a bet with Brother Yang to see if he could move your worldly heart and persuade you to come down from the mountain to watch fireworks in the capital. I didn’t expect that after so many years of cultivation in the mountains, your Daoist heart would still be unstable, allowing Brother Yang to lure you down. This has nothing to do with me!”

Listening to this, Fu Tingyun couldn’t resist her curiosity and quickly glanced behind her.

She saw that standing beside the man, Zhao Ling called Brother Yang, was a medium-height Daoist priest with snow-white hair and beard. His expression had a childlike innocence. Hearing Zhao Ling’s words, his beard quivered with anger, making him look somewhat comical yet very endearing.

Could this Daoist priest be Master An from Jiugong Mountain?

Thinking this, Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but look again.

Zhao Ling had already walked over: “Master An, this is my humble wife, Lady Fu. Tingyun, this is Master An. The other gentleman is Yang Tong, Brother Yang, who serves under General Mo of the Mo family. He is currently in the capital with General Mo. We discovered our connection to the same master’s lineage by chance.”