“You say your mistress wants to apologize to me?” Fu Tingyun asked Snow Plum coolly.

Snow Plum nodded repeatedly: “Miss Fu, my mistress is sincerely…”

“Then why didn’t she come herself?” Fu Tingyun interrupted, smiling at her.

Of course, it’s because you dared to call her crazy in front of Madam Feng!

The thought flashed through Snow Plum’s mind, but she dared not say it.

If it weren’t for the General’s sake, why would my mistress lower herself to invite you to dinner? Anyway, my mistress has shown her goodwill, and she’ll have something to report when the General returns. Whether you accept or not is your business. Why should she come rashly in person? Who knows what you might say?

She grumbled inwardly, but her face remained smiling: “My mistress originally wanted to come personally, but feared you might still have hard feelings and would be uncomfortable…”

“Snow Plum,” Fu Tingyun interrupted her again, “my wet nurse had a saying: ‘A full bottle doesn’t rattle, but a half-full one clangs.’ It means that the more capable a person is, the steadier they are in speech and action. They don’t speak carelessly, but when they do speak, they have reason and evidence, leaving no room for error. Those who know half of what heaven knows and half of what earth knows are afraid of being looked down upon, so they always want to be ahead of others, never yielding in conversation, making them very noisy. Their words don’t stand scrutiny and are full of holes. This saying, when it reached my mother, became ‘Pride brings loss, humility brings benefit.’ It means that arrogance easily attracts harm, while modesty and caution bring benefits. These two sayings convey similar meanings. However, I think you might not understand the lesson my mother taught me, but you should be able to comprehend my wet nurse’s folk saying.”

Snow Plum’s face flushed bright red.

Fu Tingyun was insinuating she lacked knowledge!

“Since your mistress wants to apologize to me, she must know she was wrong. So why worry about whether I still have hard feelings?” Fu Tingyun was intentionally teaching Snow Plum a lesson, speaking without courtesy. “According to what you say, when the old General Lian Po went to apologize to Minister Lin Xiangru, he would have had to check if Lin Xiangru had already forgiven him? If not, then he wouldn’t apologize? This shows the harm of not reading books. Even delivering a message gets distorted!”

Snow Plum’s lips trembled, her face turning purple. She lowered her head, not daring to say another word.

“Now I understand why General Mao wanted me to teach your mistress proper etiquette!” Fu Tingyun gave her a cold glance: “Take a message back to your mistress: respect for age and rank is the way of heaven and earth. Different people should speak and act differently, and not be careless in the slightest. Once a misstep occurs, it will be ridiculed. Since she wants to apologize to me, she should think carefully before acting, not like water in a half-filled bottle, speaking and acting without using her brain, sending a personal maid to speak impertinently to my face. It’s simply absurd!”

Snow Plum mumbled a response, looking like a frost-bitten eggplant.

Fu Tingyun then gave Zheng San’s wife a meaningful look.

Zheng San’s wife immediately said loudly: “Why are you still standing here? Hurry back and report to your mistress.” Then she added in a low mutter, “Really lacks upbringing,” making Snow Plum’s face alternate between green and red. Snow Plum hastily curtsied to Fu Tingyun and turned to leave in a hurry, only to kick a blue brick placed on the pathway—identical to the pathway bricks and impossible to notice without careful observation. The pain was excruciating. She cried “Aiya!” and clutched her foot, but remembering Fu Tingyun’s mocking gaze, she dared not make another sound and limped away.

Behind her came Zheng San’s wife’s raucous laughter.

“Miss, I didn’t expect you to be so eloquent.” she looked at Fu Tingyun with admiration. “You left Snow Plum without a word of retort.”

Fu Tingyun winked at her: “You were quite good too! That basin of water was splashed at just the right moment.”

Zheng San’s wife smiled bashfully, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh my!” and said worriedly, “Miss, I usually speak carelessly. If I make any mistakes, you must tell me, so I don’t get laughed at…” Her voice grew increasingly soft as she spoke, and her expression became sheepish.

Zheng San’s wife was originally a commoner who became Fu Tingyun’s servant through a coincidence. The couple had no resentment toward Fu Tingyun. Sometimes Fu Tingyun felt they weren’t her servants but rather her impoverished relatives who had come to her for shelter and helped with chores—something quite common in the Fu family.

“If you were doing something wrong, I would have told you long ago,” Fu Tingyun smiled. “So it seems you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Zheng San’s wife thought about it and realized this was true, so she put her mind at ease.

Fu Tingyun then invited her: “Come, let’s go to the kitchen! Since we’re back home today, let’s make something delicious.”

Zheng San’s wife cheerfully agreed and went to the kitchen with Fu Tingyun.

Kneading dough, rolling wrappers, chopping fillings—they made dumplings with pork and cabbage filling.

At dusk, with the kitchen doors and windows wide open, the evening breeze gently blew in. Taking the white dumplings as they bobbed in the boiling water and serving them on the table, accompanied by a plate of bright yellow bean sprouts and a dish of green water celery, the house began to fill with a happy aroma.

As twilight fell, the bright red window paper-cuts of fish—symbolizing abundance year after year—on the Korean paper-covered lattice windows remained vibrant, now also reflecting the silhouette of a child bent over writing.

Fu Tingyun tucked in the corner of her clothes and slowly put away her needlework: “Have you finished your writing for today?”

A-Sen nodded: “I wrote an extra sheet.” In the lamplight, his eyes shone with joy.

“Have Zheng San’s wife prepare water for you. Take a bath and rest early!” She walked over and patted A-Sen’s head.

A-Sen frowned: “Bath again? I just bathed yesterday.”

“You also ate braised pork yesterday. Does that mean you don’t need to eat anymore?” Fu Tingyun pretended to be displeased as she looked at him.

“No, no.” A-Sen immediately gave in. “I’ll go take a bath, all right?” He returned to the side room dejectedly.

A cloud drifted by, blocking the bright moonlight, momentarily darkening the world.

Five or six black shadows climbed over the wall and disappeared into the shadows beside the house.

The two large black dogs lying at the door of the main house suddenly raised their heads and let out low whimpers toward the shadows beside the house.

The door of the hall creaked open, and A-Sen walked out. He patted the black dog’s head: “What are you whining about? Watch the house properly!”

The black dog whimpered pitifully.

A-Sen called out loudly to Zheng San’s wife: “Is there still hot water?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Zheng San’s wife’s silhouette appeared on the window lattice. “I’m making spring clothes for Lin Chun. Have your Zheng San brother help you pour it.” Zheng San pushed open the door: “A big person like you still needs others to help pour water…”

Hearing this, A-Sen quickly waved his hands: “Brother Zheng, you go about your business. Don’t worry about me, don’t worry about me.” He darted back into the room.

Zheng San watched, smiling and muttering softly, before turning and going back inside.

From inside came Zheng San’s wife’s quiet complaint: “Ask you to do something, and you put on a stern face…”

“Why indulge a child like that?” Zheng San replied discontentedly as the dim lamplight suddenly went out. “Let’s sleep! Miss said to have me go to the street tomorrow to see if I can buy two elm saplings—I dug the holes too deep, and the first two saplings didn’t survive!”

Zheng San’s wife responded with an “mm.”

The light in the east room of the main house also went out.

A-Sen poked his head out from the east side room. Seeing the courtyard silent, he chuckled: “Anyway, Miss won’t know whether I bathed or not!” With a “la” sound, he closed the window, blew out the lamp, and went to bed.

From afar came the sound of the second watch drum.

“Beware of fire!” A long, drawn-out voice carried over, making the courtyard seem even more tranquil.

Something was thrown from the shadows beside the house, and the aroma of meat buns filled the courtyard.

The two large black dogs crouching on the steps of the main house sniffed, slowly walked over, circled a few times, whimpered softly, and then eagerly ate the meat buns.

From the shadows came a mosquito-like voice: “How many more dogs are there?”

“In the kitchen!” someone responded in an equally small voice. “They’ve already eaten the buns.”

The person fell silent.

In the bright moonlight, the two large black dogs whimpered and laid their heads on their front paws.

From the shadows came a suppressed but excited voice: “It’s done!”

Someone said: “Young Master Feng, we agreed that you get the beauty, and we get the silver. Don’t go back on your word later!”

“Damn it,” a voice said discontentedly, “Am I, Feng Dahu, short of silver? You can rest assured, I only want the beauty. Everything else is yours!”

“Of course, of course.” Greedy, flattering voices came from the shadows.

Several figures darted out from the shadows. One, particularly tall and large, headed straight for the main house, while others entered either the east or west side rooms.

Feng Dahu, excited, made his way to Fu Tingyun’s bedside in the moonlight.

The moon-white cotton gauze curtain hung quietly, exuding an elegant beauty.

Feng Dahu took a deep breath, suddenly lifted the curtain, and pounced on the black figure in the middle of the bed.

From the east room of the main house came a man’s agonized howl: “Damn it, what is this thing? Heavens! Help! Help!”

The east and west side rooms remained silent, but the lights of neighbors turned on one by one.

The man’s heart-wrenching screams echoed in the night: “I am Feng Dahu… my brother-in-law is Deputy Commander Liu of Gansu… damn it, if I die here, you’ll all have to accompany me in death… help… someone come quickly… get this beast away from me… I’ll reward you with a thousand taels of silver…” Then came even more piercing screams, mixed with tiger-like growls.

Finally, there was movement from the east and west side rooms: “Thieves! Catch the thieves!” Then two black figures were thrown into the center of the courtyard, lying motionless like dead objects.

“What happened?”

“I think I heard someone shouting something about Deputy Commander Liu of Gansu. What’s going on?”

“It’s happening at Flag Bearer Zhao’s house. They only have children less than seven feet tall and women…”

The awakened neighbors, holding candles with their clothes hastily thrown on, stood at a distance whispering, none daring to approach, let alone call for the night patrol.