On the first day of the second month, Fu Tingyun took Youyou and Xiaoer to Ten Mile Post.
Fifth Master Fu didn’t appear; only Fu Tinggui came to see off Mrs. Fu and her sons.
While they were having lunch in a private room in the main hall of Yangguang Restaurant, Fu Tingyun sat in an elegant room on the second floor, where she could see the main hall by opening the latticed window.
When she opened the window, she happened to see Fu Tinggui and Mrs. Fu with her sons walking out of the private room after finishing their meal.
Fu Tinggui walked ahead with his hands swinging, while Mrs. Fu followed behind him, holding her two sons’ hands. As he hurriedly walked toward the exit, he impatiently said, “…If Grandmother is well, come back early. Father has been in a bad mood these days, and if there’s no one managing the household, won’t everything fall into chaos!”
Mrs. Fu lowered her gaze and responded with a “yes,” appearing somewhat distracted.
Fu Tinggui stopped in dissatisfaction and was about to say something when he noticed people coming out of a nearby private room. He frowned, then turned and walked out.
It was evident that Fifth Master Fu and Fu Tinggui hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation and believed that Mrs. Fu’s return to Huayin was merely an ordinary family visit.
Fu Tingyun shook her head gently.
Zheng San ran up the stairs: “Madam, I’ve already spoken with Mrs. Fu’s maid, the one called Winter.”
Fu Tingyun nodded and walked to the other side of the elegant room. Seeing that Fu Tinggui had left, she went downstairs to the back door of Yangguang Restaurant.
Mrs. Fu’s carriage was waiting there.
Upon seeing Fu Tingyun, Mrs. Fu’s face showed some gratitude: “I’ve caused Aunt trouble.”
“Not at all,” Fu Tingyun smiled. The two nephews were staring at her curiously with wide eyes. “I originally planned to see Sister-in-law off at Yangguang, but seeing your family of four, I didn’t want to intrude.” Her gaze fell on the two nephews, “Are these the eldest son and second son?”
“That’s right.” Mrs. Fu led her two sons down from the carriage and had them kowtow to Fu Tingyun.
“No need, no need.” Fu Tingyun quickly took hold of her two nephews, “It’s dusty here, be careful not to dirty your clothes.”
Fu Tingyun was a taboo in the Fu family, and both children barely remembered her. Hearing this, they couldn’t help but look toward their mother.
Mrs. Fu, for some unknown reason, felt a pang of sadness, and tears welled up in her eyes: “You are their aunt by blood, and you’ve come so far to see us off. How can I not have them kowtow to you!” She insisted that the two children kowtow to her.
Winter had already cleverly placed two cushions on the ground.
The two children formally kowtowed three times to Fu Tingyun, calling her “Aunt.”
Years would pass before they met again, and who knew when that would be. Perhaps by then, her hair would be white, and the two children would have their own families. They might pass each other on the street without recognition… not to mention Youyou and Xiaoer, blood relatives becoming strangers.
She felt very distressed.
“Stand up now!” Fu Tingyun stroked the two children’s heads, giving the elder son a Duan inkstone and the younger son a box of Hu brushes, “Study well, and bring honor to the family in the future.” She then had Youyou and Xiaoer come to recognize their relatives.
The children called each other “cousin,” while the two adults were filled with complex emotions. It was only when Winter carefully said, “Young Mistress, if we don’t leave now, we won’t reach the inn before dark,” that Fu Tingyun and Mrs. Fu finally bade each other farewell.
Fu Tingyun personally helped the two nephews into the carriage.
Mrs. Fu waved to Fu Tingyun.
The carriage gradually left Ten Mile Post.
Mrs. Fu held her two sons, one in each arm.
The second son curiously asked, “Mother, why didn’t Aunt visit us during the New Year?”
“That’s because…” Mrs. Fu was momentarily at a loss for words.
The eldest son, seeing his mother’s troubled expression, quickly said, “Mother, when will we reach Huayin? Does Huayin have many cousins?”
“Yes!” Mrs. Fu smiled and hugged her eldest son, saying, “Your uncle’s family has two male cousins and two female cousins. You should call them First Cousin, Fourth Cousin, Second Female Cousin, and Third Female Cousin…” She took the opportunity to teach her two sons about recognizing people: “Your eldest aunt’s family has one son and one daughter, you should call them Eldest Cousin and Eldest Female Cousin…”
“Mother!” The second son jumped up, interrupting his mother’s words, “What rank are Aunt’s female cousin and male cousin?”
Mrs. Fu was somewhat surprised, thought for a moment, and said, “Your aunt and your father are siblings by blood, different from others. They don’t follow rank; you just call them Female Cousin and Male Cousin.”
The eldest son smiled and asked, “Is it the same as with Uncle’s family’s male and female cousins?”
Mrs. Fu was startled, then smiled: “Yes, yes, yes, it’s the same as with your uncle’s family’s male and female cousins; they also don’t follow rank. Youyou and Xiaoer are as closely related to you as your uncle’s family’s cousins. Do you remember that?”
The eldest son and second son quickly nodded.
Fu Tingyun, of course, didn’t know about this conversation.
She was lamenting Fu Tinggui’s belated awareness and wrote to Zhao Ling: “…How can such a person exist? He doesn’t even know what the person sleeping beside him day and night is thinking. What else can he do?”
Zhao Ling replied: “I know that you think of me day and night, that’s enough.” He also wrote, “I will return before the first day of the third month.”
Fu Tingyun blushed and spat softly, but the melancholy she had felt these days suddenly dissipated.
She smiled as she got off the kang bed, carefully put the letter in a box, and went to the storeroom with Yu Wei: “…Let’s redecorate the house… replace the central hall with the image of the True Martial Deity… order a few peonies from the flower farmers in Fengtai. If there are no peonies, peonies will do. Replace the flower vase in front of the study’s long table with blue and white porcelain, to hold peonies or peonies later…”
Fu Tingyun gave instructions to Yu Wei one by one, and seeing the bright spring sunshine, she pondered briefly and smiled, “Why don’t we go to Fengtai to order flowers?”
“Great!” Having a chance to go out, Yu Wei’s expression became somewhat excited.
Fu Tingyun decided to bring her son and daughter along, and the whole family went grandly to Fengtai.
Fengtai was full of flower-growing families. Having just entered the second month, it was already a riot of colorful blooms.
It was Youyou’s first time seeing so many different kinds of flowers. Everything was a wonder to her, and she pointed and asked what this flower was and what that grass was.
She wore a goose-yellow lined jacket, had black hair and a delicate face, spoke clearly, and her big, blinking eyes were clear and bright. Her expression was one of innocent delight, making her even more charming than the spring flowers on the branches. Whether it was the flower farmers in the fields or the assistants helping in the greenhouses, they were all willing to answer her childish yet somewhat serious questions. Even Fu Tingyun, Yu Wei, and the others learned a lot. Xiaoer, still in his bewildered state, was the opposite of his sister: he slept in the carriage and woke up when they got out. He wanted to grab everything he saw and put it in his mouth. As soon as the adults weren’t paying attention, he would grab something, frightening Madam Tong and the others so much that they didn’t dare blink.
Yu Wei smiled and said, “Madam, the young master’s hands and feet are so quick. When he grows up, he might be like the Ninth Master, with excellent martial skills!”
Fu Tingyun laughed heartily and kissed her son’s little face with a smile.
The flower farmer, seeing this, recommended a type of camellia to Fu Tingyun: “…It’s called a poinsettia. You can plant it in your yard. It blooms during the Spring Festival, which is most auspicious. By the time the young master is old enough to start school, it will probably be as thick as a wine cup. By then, the flowers will cover the branches, bringing good fortune.”
Fu Tingyun nodded with a smile: “Good things come in pairs. Let’s buy two and plant them in front of the warm pavilion window!”
Seeing that she was easy to talk to, the flower farmer also recommended magnolias: “…They bloom purple. Have you seen them before?”
Fu Tingyun and Yu Wei couldn’t help but exchange smiles: “We’ll buy them too.”
The flower farmer was overjoyed and invited Fu Tingyun to see the pomegranate trees: “…Unlike ordinary pomegranate trees, this one bears pomegranates that hang in pairs on the branches.”
Fu Tingyun was very interested… In the end, they had to hire a cart to take all the flowers they bought back home.
The carter drove the cart happily, following them to Shi Family Alley.
There was a carriage parked at the entrance of the Wu family’s house.
The pomegranate tree that Fu Tingyun bought was about half a person’s height, with lush branches and leaves extending outside the cart.
The carter tried several times to pass but couldn’t. He wanted to move the pomegranate tree inward but was afraid of crushing the branches and leaves of the two poinsettias.
He was sweating profusely, stuck there.
Zheng San turned his head and asked him, “What’s wrong?”
The carter quickly said, “I’ll carry this pomegranate tree in for you later.”
With such a big tree, do you think you can carry it?
In the end, it will still be my problem.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Zheng San jumped down from the cart shaft.
“Let me see!” he said, his gaze falling on the carriage in front of Master Wu’s house. “Why make it so complicated? Just move that carriage inward, and we can pass, right?”
The driver of the carriage parked in front of the Wu family’s door was sitting on the shaft. Hearing this, he turned his face away, pretending not to hear.
Zheng San’s brows furrowed slightly, but he still smiled and went forward to give the driver a salute: “Brother, our load is too heavy and not easy to move. Please do us a favor and move your carriage a bit.”
The driver glanced at Zheng San out of the corner of his eye.
Seeing that, although his whip-holding hand was calloused, he wore an official green Lu silk jacket and spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, he must either have some wealth or work for a distinguished family. Considering that this was Shi Family Alley, he suppressed his displeasure, jumped down from the carriage, pulled the reins, and slowly moved the carriage.
The horse whinnied uneasily a few times.
Xiaoer, who had been sleeping back, was awakened.
Being an active child, he became impatient when confined in the carriage and squirmed in Fu Tingyun’s arms.
Fu Tingyun, thinking that they were only a few steps away from home, instructed Yu Wei and carried Xiaoer out of the carriage.
Just then, with a creaking sound, the side door of the Wu family opened wide, and Mrs. Wu’s maid led several young maids escorting a woman of about forty out.
“…Although the Concubine is young and comes from a humble background, now that she’s pregnant, she doesn’t have an experienced person to guide her. Please, Bundle Mama, teach her more.” Mrs. Wu’s maid said with a smile, giving a salute to the forty-year-old woman.
The forty-year-old woman smiled and returned the salute to Mrs. Wu’s maid, saying, “The Concubine is very sensible; not only does our young mistress like her, but our mistress also praises her endlessly. That’s why she specifically sent me to give the good news to your mistress. Please inform your mistress and tell her not to worry…”
As she was speaking, she raised her eyelids, and her smile became somewhat forced, and her words suddenly stopped.
Mrs. Wu’s maid couldn’t help but follow her gaze.
“Oh!” she smiled, “That’s Mrs. Zhao who lives next door to us.” Saying this, her face immediately filled with smiles as she approached Fu Tingyun and gave her a curtsy: “Mrs. Zhao, where have you been? Why do you have a cart full of flowering trees? Would you like me to call some people to help you carry them home?”