Just thinking about these things made Fu Tingyun’s temples throb.
Since Mama Bibo’s departure, she had been under house arrest at Biyun Temple—free to move around but unable to leave; allowed to read and write, but only through Mama Chen’s hands; permitted to converse with Master Guo Hui, but always accompanied by two rough servant women. It was as if she might sprout wings and fly away at the blink of an eye. What’s worse, after Mama Bibo left, there had been no news from home. Even the letter she had managed to entrust to Master Guo Hui for her mother had been intercepted by Mama Chen.
“Ninth Miss, we are merely following the Dowager Lady’s orders,” Mama Chen’s gaze cold with a hint of disdain. “Please don’t make things difficult for us.”
Furious and humiliated, Fu Tingyun slammed the door with a “bang,” shutting Mama Chen outside.
Lying on her bed fully clothed, thinking about the unknown chaos at home, she couldn’t help but bury her face in her pillow and cry.
Amidst her stuffy nose and dizziness, she felt confused.
Her grandmother had long retired from managing household affairs, with her eldest aunt overseeing domestic matters. Mama Chen was her eldest aunt’s most capable servant, helping her manage the keys to the family treasury. Not only did the household managers and servants treat her with great respect, but several aunts, her mother, and her aunts-by-marriage also showed her deference. Yet Mama Chen never forgot her place, treating others with kindness and humility, even earning her grandmother’s high praise. She wasn’t someone who would step on others to climb higher, so even if Fu Tingyun was awaiting punishment, that shouldn’t cause Mama Chen to disregard proper respect!
The thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly sat up.
What if she wasn’t awaiting punishment?
Mama Chen was her eldest aunt’s confidante, and her eldest aunt had her grandmother’s utmost trust. If her eldest aunt always listened to her grandmother, then Mama Chen always listened to her eldest aunt.
Could it be that Zuo Junjie had somehow convinced the family to believe his words?
Her eyelids twitched, and she could no longer sit still. She went to Mama Chen’s quarters.
“…Before you came, what did Grandmother say?” She stood straight in the middle of the room, staring intently into Mama Chen’s eyes.
Mama Chen didn’t avoid her gaze, meeting her eyes firmly: “The Dowager Lady said that the weather is hot, and the Ninth Miss has just suffered from summer heat. If you were to return now, you would inevitably be exhausted from the journey. What if you suffered from the heat again? Better to stay at the temple for a few more days and return when the weather cools. But since the temple is so remote, and it’s not appropriate for male servants to stay here long-term, she had me bring several strong women to serve the Ninth Miss.”
Such words might fool naïve young girls!
She had no patience for playing games with Mama Chen and went straight to the point: “Mama Chen, has Zuo Junjie said something…”
Before she could finish, Mama Chen interrupted in a low voice: “Ninth Miss, flies don’t bite seamless eggs. If you had conducted yourself properly, whatever Zuo Junjie said would be useless. Among the dozen young ladies in the family, the Dowager Lady favors you the most. Even if you don’t care about the Fu family’s reputation, just looking at the Dowager Lady’s white hair, a person who knows her fate and has one foot in the grave, you should behave yourself!” As she spoke, her eyes gradually reddened. “You should go back! Stay in your room properly, maintain the dignity of a young lady. If you keep talking nonsense, even at the risk of being accused of great disrespect, I will discipline you on behalf of the Dowager Lady and the First Madam.”
She never expected Mama Chen to view her this way.
Did the family elders think the same?
Her mind buzzed, and blood rushed to her head: “Mama Chen, you know what kind of person I am. How can you believe an outsider’s words…”
But Mama Chen, clearly unwilling to continue the conversation, simply opened the door: “Ninth Miss, the weather is hot. Please return to your room and rest!”
Several rough servant women were standing under the eaves, watching the drama. When the door suddenly opened, they couldn’t disperse immediately and awkwardly turned their heads, pretending to be chatting among themselves.
She didn’t want to leave like this, but she also didn’t want to argue with Mama Chen in front of those servants. She bit her lip and stood there.
“Ninth Miss!” Mama Chen turned her back. “We servants bow our heads and bend our waists wherever we go, enduring others’ contempt. But when people hear we’re from the Fu family, they look at us differently, their tone becomes softer… You may not care, but we consider it our life… We only hope for the Fu family to prosper, for the masters to become jinshi and high officials, for the young ladies to receive imperial honors and become clan matriarchs, so that we too can walk with our heads held high…”
“If you wish the Fu family well, how much more do I?” She interrupted Mama Chen in a low voice, explaining urgently, “If Mama has such thoughts, you should help me all the more.”
“Ninth Miss!” Mama Chen’s voice seemed somewhat tired. “The Dowager Lady married into the Fu family at fifteen and worked her way up from a grandson’s wife to the Dowager Lady. The First Madam has managed the household since she was twenty-seven, going from needing an abacus for calculations to being able to know figures just by hearing them. They’ve overcome countless difficulties… Rest assured, if there’s even a glimmer of hope, they won’t wrong you. Please don’t make things more difficult for them.”
The word “wrong” was emphasized heavily, clearly hinting at something else.
Ultimately, they still didn’t believe her.
She suddenly felt disheartened.
Indeed, between the First Madam and herself, whose words would be more credible to Mama Chen was obvious without thinking.
Continuing would only bring her more humiliation.
She returned to her room with heavy steps.
Han Yan and Lu’E entered side by side.
“Ninth Miss, we noticed you haven’t been sleeping well these past few days and wanted to ask the temple masters for some mung beans to make you mung bean cakes. But Fan Mama, who serves Mama Chen, wouldn’t let us out!” Both looked displeased. Lu’E lowered her head while Han Yan spoke, carefully observing her expression. “Fan Mama also said we should stop acting on impulse and stay properly in Jingyue Hall without wandering around. If we needed anything, we should tell her directly, and she would report to Mama Chen. If Mama Chen agreed, she would help us with anything, even if it meant moving heaven and earth. But if Mama Chen disagreed, we shouldn’t say she was disobedient…”
One matter followed another, and no one cared about the thoughts of two little maids.
They finally realized the severity of the situation and came to ask her about it.
Unfortunately, she was trapped in the temple unable to move, unable even to send a letter home; while Zuo Junjie was staying at the Fu residence, saying whatever he wished.
Looking at their young faces, she felt momentarily disoriented.
Han Yan and Lu’E looked at her with eyes full of expectation, as if she would surely give them an answer that would set their minds at ease.
If two little maids dared to ask her when they didn’t understand something, she, who had been carefully raised by her mother for over a decade, couldn’t be inferior to them when facing a crisis, could she?
She couldn’t just sit and wait for death, allowing Zuo Junjie to spread wild rumors and turn black into white, could she?
Something was churning in her heart.
She straightened her chest.
Since Master Guo Hui’s path had been blocked by Mama Chen, and she couldn’t count on Mama Chen’s side, she had to find a way herself.
After some thought, she told Han Yan and Lu’E the whole story from beginning to end.
The two were shocked, their faces turning as white as silk.
“Whether you believe me or not, my mother sent you to serve me because she trusts you.” she looked at them sincerely. “I hope you can help me. When you see my mother, the truth will naturally become clear.”
Her mother’s judgment proved correct, as without hesitation, the two knelt before her: “Ninth Miss, we will follow your instructions.”
Her gloomy mood of the past few days finally brightened somewhat.
“I want you to secretly deliver a message to my mother.”
Both looked surprised, and Lu’E said fearfully: “I, I don’t know the way.”
Han Yan was braver: “I have a mouth under my nose. I’ll go.”
She smiled encouragingly at Han Yan, but thinking of her current predicament, her face darkened again: “I need to go back to defend myself,” speaking the thoughts buried in her heart, determination appearing at the corners of her eyes and brows, “but I don’t know what the situation at home is like now. I’m afraid that rushing back rashly might backfire and make things worse. Tell my mother my intentions and see what she says. Then I’ll know what to do.”
Han Yan nodded repeatedly.
She whispered detailed instructions to them.
Then Han Yan and Lu’E began creating disturbances.
Sometimes they would suddenly disappear, causing the servant women to search for them; other times they would lock themselves in their room for hours, refusing to come out no matter how the servant women knocked on the door.
At such times, she would come out and scold those servants.
As time passed, everyone became exhausted from running around and complained incessantly: “…The Ninth Miss is still a miss after all. No wonder she feels frustrated with us behaving this way. I think as long as the miss and her maids don’t leave the temple, it should be fine.”
Mama Chen was cautious by nature. Though she agreed inwardly, she still said: “Just check on the Ninth Miss every hour to see what she’s doing. As for the two little maids, give them some tasks, and they won’t have time to run around.”
When she learned of this, she was secretly delighted.
However, she still hadn’t found a good way to escape—Biyun Temple had fields, gardens, and wells, making it largely self-sufficient. Every ten days, two nuns would carry bamboo baskets down the mountain to buy daily necessities like oil and salt, but otherwise, the temple gates remained tightly closed, not receiving any worshippers. Hiding in the cart going down the mountain to buy things wouldn’t work. The temple had seven or eight burly nuns responsible for night patrols and kept more than a dozen dogs that were released at night. Sneaking out in the darkness wouldn’t work either. Then she accidentally discovered an old locust tree in the back courtyard that extended beyond the wall, and suddenly saw a glimmer of hope.
She called Han Yan and Lu’E to discuss her plan: “…Han Yan, keep the servant women busy by chatting with them about household matters so they won’t order you around. Lu’E, stay in the room to assist me whenever needed. I’ll go to the back courtyard at noon to explore a possible route and will return within an hour.”
“Let me go instead,” said Han Yan. “Fan Mama and the others don’t look for us as much now.”
“We don’t know if this will work,” she shook her head. “If Mama Chen discovers it, she’ll just scold me, but if it were you, she might resort to corporal punishment. It’s better if I go.”
This led to her midday expedition to the back courtyard… where she was nearly strangled to death…
…
“How infuriating!” Fu Tingyun’s hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and she slapped the edge of the bath barrel. It wasn’t clear whether she was venting her frustration toward Zuo Junjie or toward the strange man who had nearly strangled her.
“Ninth Miss!” Han Yan and Lu’E looked at her in shock.
“It’s nothing!” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “Help me dry my hair. I want to lie down and rest!”
Mama Chen’s voice came from outside the door: “Is the Ninth Miss awake?”
Han Yan and Lu’E looked at Fu Tingyun in panic.
Her throat was hoarse, and there was a red mark on her neck. Speaking or being seen would immediately reveal what had happened. If Mama Chen asked about it, what should they do?