Incense smoke curled through the courtyard as Taoist Master Shanning, wearing a robe embroidered with the yin-yang and eight trigrams on the back, wielded a peach wood sword and danced before an incense altar laden with offerings, muttering incantations. Two young Taoist acolytes stood solemnly on either side of the altar, one hand holding ritual implements, the other forming mystical hand signs. Outside the door, neighbors gathered in layers to watch the spectacle.

The bloodstained blue bricks in the east room of the main house had been pried up, covered with fresh yellow earth, and replaced with new blue bricks. No trace remained of the bloody incident that had occurred there, but Fu Tingyun still felt uneasy. She had moved to A-Sen’s room, while A-Sen squeezed in with Zheng San and his wife.

At this moment, Fu Tingyun was fixing A-Sen with a stern gaze as he cowered slightly.

“Still making up stories to my face?” Seeing that A-Sen remained silent for a long time, she gave a cold snort and said, “How did two strange men suddenly appear at Concubine Lu’s house? Don’t tell me you know nothing about it!”

She emphasized the word “two” with particular force.

A-Sen’s gaze flickered: “I, I don’t know. Everyone says Concubine Lu was stealing men, what does that have to do with me…”

“What’s all this talk about ‘stealing men’?” Fu Tingyun’s face reddened slightly as she softly scolded A-Sen. “You’re too young for such crude language. Don’t speak like that again.” Then she continued, “Such a big incident happened that day, with the whole alley full of onlookers—who would be foolish enough to climb over the wall from Concubine Lu’s house at that time? Most likely, you captured the thieves who came with Feng Dahu, then found a way to dump them at Concubine Lu’s house. Seeing Feng Dahu’s fate, they feared being caught by officials and punished with beating and exile, and even more feared being remembered by the Feng family for failing to protect Feng Dahu, who might find people to deal with them or take their lives. So they didn’t dare move while the officials were present, but as soon as the officials left, they immediately fled for their lives, naturally not caring if anyone was watching. As long as they weren’t caught in the act, even if officials discovered something, they could deny everything to the end and might escape from this affair… You calculated these thieves’ thoughts precisely, which is why you came up with this plan on the spot, isn’t that right?”

A-Sen didn’t dare make a sound. He lowered his head as he stood before her, his toes nervously scraping the blue bricks, betraying his unease.

“A-Sen!” Fu Tingyun’s voice deepened. “The fact that you could think of such an idea shows you’re very clever. But have you considered that by throwing two men over there at once, ignorant people would naturally believe it without question, but anyone who thinks a bit would see the flaw in this—who would have two lovers simultaneously…”

“Ah!” A-Sen looked up in shock, staring at Fu Tingyun in surprise. “Miss…”

He had thought Fu Tingyun called him in to speak privately about this matter because she felt he had ruined a woman’s reputation and acted too cruelly… Fu Tingyun was always kind to people and liked to leave them room to retreat… He liked Fu Tingyun and didn’t want her to dislike him for his actions… His heart had been anxious. But now, from her tone, it seemed she was merely reproaching him for being careless, for a plan full of holes!

He could hardly believe his ears.

Looking at him, Fu Tingyun felt both angry and amused.

She was angry that this child, so young, had such enormous audacity to set such a trap for Concubine Lu. If Concubine Lu’s people had discovered them dumping the men—she had already broken with Concubine Lu, so it wouldn’t matter, but she feared Concubine Lu would take out her anger on A-Sen if she couldn’t find fault with her. He was, after all, just a ten-year-old child. If Lu was determined to take his life, even if he escaped, he would still suffer. What amused her was that this child had such courage when scheming against Concubine Lu, yet before her, he was as docile as a kitten, endearing himself to her.

“Do you know your mistake?” She deliberately put on a stern face as she questioned A-Sen.

If A-Sen still didn’t understand Fu Tingyun’s intent, he wouldn’t be the clever child she was fond of.

“I know, I know,” A-Sen beamed, nodding repeatedly. “Next time I encounter such a situation, I’ll only throw one person over,” he chuckled. “I thought the more people, the better. When I was little, I heard people cursing those loose women, saying they slept with thousands and were ridden by tens of thousands…”

Fu Tingyun’s face darkened as she listened.

A-Sen shuddered and immediately fell silent, pressing his lips into a tight line, then raised his small face to show Fu Tingyun. The meaning was clear: I’ll listen to you and never use crude language again. Fu Tingyun’s mouth twitched slightly, and it took her a while to suppress the great laughter that threatened to burst forth if she wasn’t careful. Still, her eyes couldn’t help but reveal traces of amusement, softening her expression.

“What else?” Fu Tingyun’s voice also softened somewhat.

But the somewhat frightened A-Sen hadn’t noticed this subtle change. He bit his finger, thinking hard: “What else, what else…” He truly couldn’t think of what else he had done wrong!

Fu Tingyun gave a dissatisfied snort.

A-Sen immediately straightened his back as she usually required, standing obediently: “What else, what else…” His eyes rolled about in thought.

“Also, you took it upon yourself to change my plan. Why didn’t you tell me the first moment you saw me?” Fu Tingyun questioned him. “If I hadn’t seen through the oddity, were you planning to keep it from me forever?”

“No, no,” A-Sen waved his hands repeatedly, but couldn’t utter a word of defense.

Just as Fu Tingyun had said, he had planned to keep it from her forever. But he hadn’t expected Fu Tingyun to understand the matter so quickly.

“A-Sen, I know you wanted to speak up for me, to stand up for me by dealing with Concubine Lu,” Fu Tingyun said earnestly. “That Concubine Feng and I have never met; her helping her blood brother is understandable. But the Ninth Master and General Mo have intricate connections, and General Mo specifically had Concubine Lu learn etiquette from me. Besides being neighbors, we also have a teacher-student relationship. Her helping Concubine Feng to scheme against us disregards propriety, shame, and the master-disciple relationship, making her truly despicable. I greatly appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But this is a serious matter—Feng Dahu is backed by Deputy Commander Liu and the Marquis of Xiping, whom even Marquis Yingchuan treats with respect. Since we’ve acted, we must do it flawlessly, not letting anyone catch any mistakes. You acted on impulse, changing my plan on your own, so you should have told me quickly. Then we could have considered whether there were any flaws in what we did, if there were, whether they could be fixed in time, and if not, whether we could find another way to smooth things over… With you saying nothing, if someone had connected Concubine Lu’s affair with our household, we would have been in a passive position. Remember, if I could see through the flaws, others might too!”

These words made A-Sen’s back turn cold. He hurriedly said, “Miss Fu, it’s all my fault. I’ll never hide anything from you again.” Just as he finished speaking, a commotion of women’s voices came from outside.

A-Sen was startled, and Fu Tingyun immediately said, “Go see what’s happening!”

He acknowledged and went out.

It was the voice of Lu Mama from next door: “Which heartless wretch is spewing such vicious lies? I curse her to bear sons without anuses! Our mistress is proper and disciplined. When the General is away, she never steps beyond the outer gate, as all neighbors know! Even to steal a man, one would need the opportunity…”

“We saw it with our own eyes; we’re not making this up!” someone muttered softly. “If the Zhao house hadn’t been broken into and officials hadn’t come to investigate, those men who stole people wouldn’t have feared the thieves going back and confessing about accomplices who had escaped, causing officials to search house by house. That’s why they hurriedly climbed over the wall right after the officials left…”

A-Sen was greatly shocked.

He prided himself on his good memory, and the voice sounded exactly like the owner of the general store that Zheng San frequently visited!

But before he could listen more carefully, the voice was drowned out by the buzzing discussions of the crowd: “Yes, yes. Otherwise, why would those two be in such a hurry to climb the wall?”

Someone else said: “What does ‘stealing a man’ mean? Of course, it’s done secretly, without anyone knowing…”

Mrs. Qi’s voice was particularly shrill: “Lu Mama, whether your mistress steals men or not, what we say doesn’t count. Only when General Mo returns will it be settled. Don’t you all agree?”

“Yes, yes!” The crowd laughed, with a hint of schadenfreude at the spectacle.

“You sore-mouthed vile woman, I’ll teach you to talk nonsense, I’ll teach you…” A-Sen reached the main gate just in time to see Lu Mama grab Mrs. Qi’s hair and slap her face repeatedly.

A man stepped forward to break up the fight, causing Lu Mama to stumble, nearly falling to the ground.

The maids and servants from Lu’s household quickly came to help, scratching and clawing at the man.

“My husband was kind enough to stop the fight, and you dare to hit him!” The sturdy cook from Clerk Chen’s household at the front pounced forward, picking up one of Lu’s maids like a chicken and tossing her aside.

“You dare to hit our people!” Lu’s servants, refusing to back down, charged forward…

A commotion erupted at Fu Tingyun’s doorway, causing the two Taoist acolytes by the incense altar to repeatedly peek outside.

Taoist Master Shanning, performing the ritual, frowned slightly.

Zheng San went out and bowed to everyone: “We’re having the Taoist Master perform an exorcism, may I request that all the ladies be accommodating.”

No one listened to him.

Zheng San had no choice but to pull A-Sen back inside, closing the door with a “bang.”

Taoist Master Shanning’s expression relaxed slightly, and he concentrated on chanting his incantations.

Zheng San continued pulling A-Sen into the east wing room.

“Miss, as you instructed, I chatted at length with the general store owner yesterday while shopping. Today, when Lu Mama from the Mo household spoke about those two lechers, the store owner used what I told him yesterday to refute her…”

A-Sen’s eyes widened, looking back and forth between Fu Tingyun and Zheng San: “Miss… Brother San…”

Zheng San lightly patted his head: “You little rascal, don’t get all proud just because you’re a young master now. You still have much to learn!”

“I never thought I was a young master…” A-Sen pouted, muttering resentfully.

Fu Tingyun and Zheng San both laughed.

“Remember, we are family. Whatever happens, we must discuss and plan together, overcoming difficulties together,” Fu Tingyun earnestly instructed A-Sen.

A-Sen solemnly replied: “Miss, I’ll remember that!”

Suddenly, someone pounded loudly on the main gate: “Master Zheng San! Master Zheng San!”