Fu Tingyun hadn’t noticed A-Sen’s unusual behavior. She and Madam Wang were engaged in pleasant conversation until the hour of Hai (9-11 PM).

Back in the side building, lying in bed, she thought about Madam Feng’s situation.

Being beaten and scolded for doing something wrong, then threatening to jump into the river with her child, sitting on the threshold of the second hall wailing loudly like a shrew—regardless of whether she frightened the child, regardless of others pointing fingers at her, regardless of Commander Liu’s official dignity—as long as she could win this argument, as long as she could make Commander Liu back down, she was willing to abandon a mother’s affection, a woman’s dignity, a man’s face… What wouldn’t such a woman do? What wouldn’t she dare to do?

The next morning, Fu Tingyun asked Madam Wang’s attendant: “How are things at Commander Liu’s?”

Madam Wang forbade the servants from gossiping, but gossiping was a woman’s nature. Madam Wang’s attendant had been restraining herself for the sake of her master’s dignity and rules. Now that Fu Tingyun, Madam Wang’s honored guest, was asking her directly, she could no longer hold back. She glanced around and then said in a low voice: “That Concubine Feng, ever since giving Commander Liu a son, throws tantrums at the slightest dissatisfaction. She also has some vixen’s tricks. They often quarrel during the day but reconcile by night…” Before she could finish, realizing that Fu Tingyun was still an unmarried young lady, she knew she had misspoken and displayed an awkward expression. She laughed loudly to cover her unease. “Commander Liu is a respected Deputy Commander. How could he stoop to Concubine Feng’s level? Even if he were displeased, he would only admonish her privately. How could outsiders tell!”

Fu Tingyun already understood.

Her Fourth Uncle’s concubines would dress up attractively to please him when they wanted him to buy them something. If they could get Fourth Uncle to spend a night in their rooms, usually their requests would be fulfilled. She also knew that sometimes when Fourth Aunt, in her anger, called Fourth Uncle to discuss matters, he would agree wholeheartedly, but as soon as he turned around and saw those concubines, he would change his mind. It seemed that this Deputy Commander Liu was much like her Fourth Uncle. Expecting him to restrain Madam Feng was probably unrealistic!

As she pondered this, A-Sen approached.

“Miss,” he looked at Fu Tingyun anxiously, his face flushed red, stammering, “Can I be Ninth Master’s sworn brother?”

Fu Tingyun smiled and beckoned him to sit beside her: “Does A-Sen want to be Ninth Master’s sworn brother?”

“I do, I do!” A-Sen replied excitedly, “I’ve… I’ve always dreamed of it…”

“Was Ninth Master good to you?” Fu Tingyun asked him gently.

“Yes!” A-Sen nodded vigorously.

Fu Tingyun put her arm around his shoulders: “Being Ninth Master’s sworn brother isn’t easy, you know!” She smiled, “Ninth Master is in the military camp year-round. You’re at home and must study diligently, practice martial arts, learn how to interact with people, manage household affairs… When you grow up, you’ll also need to take care of me and Zheng San and the others…”

“I will!” A-Sen said loudly, his small fists clenched tightly. “I’ll take good care of you all and not let Madam Feng bully you!” His face was full of childish determination.

Fu Tingyun smiled and patted his head: “Very well, today copy ‘Spring Dawn’ ten times, and make sure you understand the meaning of every character. I’ll check in the afternoon.”

A-Sen grinned, took out his writing implements, sat properly at the kang table, ground the ink himself, and began practicing calligraphy.

Having left her needlework at home, Fu Tingyun sat nearby watching him write.

The Wang family’s two young misses came over.

Seeing A-Sen writing, the eldest young miss’s eyes brightened.

The second young miss ran to the kang table: “Brother A-Sen, what are you doing?”

The eldest young miss pulled her sister back: “Don’t disturb A-Sen, he’s doing his lessons.” Then she asked Fu Tingyun, “Sister, do you teach A-Sen to read?”

“Just recognizing a few characters.” Learning was as deep as the sea, and Fu Tingyun didn’t consider herself qualified to be a teacher. Seeing the second young miss holding a wicker basket for needlework, she smiled, “Has the second young miss come to learn embroidery?”

The second young miss nodded.

The eldest young miss said: “My sister said that you would teach us embroidery, so we brought everything we need.” She glanced at A-Sen, who was concentrating on his writing. “I didn’t expect A-Sen to have lessons in the morning. We’ll come back in the afternoon!” With that, she prepared to leave.

“It’s fine, we’ll just keep our voices down.”

With the company, the atmosphere would be livelier. The two sisters didn’t want to leave, and hearing Fu Tingyun’s words, they immediately softened their movements. Fu Tingyun quietly asked the sisters to take out what they needed to embroider. She saw that the patterns had already been drawn—the eldest young miss was embroidering two lotus flowers, and the second young miss a branch of plum blossoms. Both designs had only a few sparse strokes yet were vivid and lifelike, showing skill. They were also simple, suitable for the young sisters. Fu Tingyun was somewhat surprised and asked them: “Did your mother draw these?”

Both sisters nodded.

Fu Tingyun smiled: “So your mother is also skilled with needlework!”

Both sisters smiled with evident pride. The second young miss whispered: “But if we don’t embroider well, Mother will be unhappy. I don’t want Mother to be unhappy.”

Fu Tingyun was taken aback.

Madam Wang, far from her parents, raising two young daughters in an unfamiliar place—she must have moments of emotional distress too!

Fu Tingyun’s gaze toward the children softened: “Sister will teach you how to embroider.”

The two sisters smiled happily.

Fu Tingyun carefully explained how to stitch, where to change stitching methods… The sisters learned attentively, and the room was filled only with the soft rustling of brush on paper.

Looking at the three rosy little faces before her, Fu Tingyun’s heart was filled with peace and tranquility.

The thought that had been lingering in her mind grew stronger.

In the afternoon, Fu Tingyun bade farewell to Madam Wang: “Since Commander Liu has vented his anger at Madam Feng, she will likely restrain herself in the coming days. I think it would be best if I return to the back street early tomorrow morning.”

Madam Wang was very surprised.

“How can that be!” Her brow furrowed slightly. “You’re a perceptive child; there are some things you should understand without me having to say them. Madam Feng is currently full of shame and anger; who knows what she might do? You should stay here a few more days! We can make plans after Wei Shi returns.” She teased, “Could it be that you find Jing Tong and Jing Yi too noisy and that’s why you’re eager to return to the back street?”

“The two young misses are lively and adorable. I can’t get enough of them, let alone dislike them,” Fu Tingyun smiled and waved her hand. “I’m worried about the things at home.”

Madam Wang was surprised.

“There are over a thousand taels of silver buried in the courtyard at home,” Fu Tingyun confided. “That’s Ninth Master’s hard-earned money and our family’s savings. If I don’t go back, I’ll be uneasy. If anything happens, I won’t be able to explain it to Ninth Master when he returns.”

Which is more important, money or people?

Madam Wang swallowed the words that came to her lips.

Each family has its difficulties; perhaps these thousand taels of silver were very important to Fu Tingyun.

She was slightly disappointed, but thinking that true friends were hard to find and that having someone to talk to was already good, she let it go. She no longer tried to keep Fu Tingyun, and the next day, after breakfast, she escorted Fu Tingyun to the main gate of the Commander’s mansion.

The Wang family’s two young misses pulled at Fu Tingyun’s clothes, one asking “Will sister come back to our house?” and the other saying “I’ve only just embroidered one petal.” They were both very reluctant to part.

Fu Tingyun bent down and smiled at the two young misses: “Once I’ve sorted out the matters at home, I’ll visit your house often.”

The two young misses nodded with smiling faces.

She talked with Madam Wang for a long while before finally returning to the back street with Zheng San and the others.

Spring in Zhangye came a bit late. It was now a time of warm sunshine and gentle morning breezes. Some households had their gates wide open, airing bedding and cotton clothes. Seeing them walking down the alley, some people stood on tiptoe to look, while others nodded and smiled. Only Mrs. Qi asked loudly: “Where have you been? Haven’t seen you for days!”

Fu Tingyun exchanged pleasantries with her: “I stayed at Madam Wang’s place for a couple of days. I missed home, so I came back!”

“Oh, so you were visiting!” Mrs. Qi smiled as they paused at their door.

The yellow brass lock hung quietly on the main door, covered with a layer of dust.

When they opened the door, two large black dogs and several small yellow dogs rushed up, barking chaotically.

A-Sen patted the dogs’ heads with a grin: “Get out of the way, all of you!”

He fed the dogs every day, so naturally they were close to him. They whimpered and moved aside, looking at him expectantly.

Lin Chun struggled to slide down from his mother’s arms and tottered over to a big black dog, hugging its neck. The dog responded with enthusiastic “face washing,” making everyone laugh heartily.

Zhangye had a lot of dust and sand. After just two days away, the house was covered in dust.

Zheng San’s wife and the others rolled up their sleeves and began cleaning the house.

Madam Lu’s maid, Snow Plum, walked in with a beaming smile: “Miss Fu, you’re back!”

Fu Tingyun smiled and nodded.

Snow Plum said: “My mistress would like to invite you over for dinner.”

“Thank you!” Fu Tingyun replied politely. “I just had a cup of tea at your house and was chased by a mad dog. If I were to eat a meal at your place, I might as well leave my life there. I’m timid, so I’ll pass!” As soon as she finished speaking, a basin of dirty water was splashed near Snow Plum’s feet. The water, mixed with dust from the ground, spattered onto her white Hangzhou silk embroidered skirt, leaving yellow mud spots.

“Oh my!” Zheng San’s wife hurriedly put down the copper basin and rushed over with a cloth in hand. “Miss Snow Plum, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you standing there. Did your skirt get dirty? Let me wipe it for you!” She squatted down and used the cloth to wipe Snow Plum’s skirt, but the mud spots spread, making the skirt even dirtier and more conspicuous with an earthy yellow patch.

“You…” Snow Plum was furious with embarrassment and wanted to push her away, but glancing at Fu Tingyun’s contemptuous face smiling coldly at her, she felt a chill in her heart. She had to suppress her anger, first snatching her skirt hem from Zheng San’s wife’s hand. “Thank you, Third Madam. It was just an accident, no need to trouble yourself.” Then she stepped back to avoid Zheng San’s wife’s seemingly attentive but harmful assistance, and smiled at Fu Tingyun. “Miss, Madam Feng, and my mistress have known each other for many years. My mistress didn’t expect her to do such things. You should remember that if it weren’t for my mistress sending me to intervene, how would Madam Feng have called off her people so easily? My mistress had intended to come see you after sending Madam Feng away, but by then you had already left home. She’s been worried for several days. Now, as soon as she heard you were back, she immediately instructed me to invite you over for dinner, as a way of apologizing!”