Because of this interlude, when Fu Tingyun replied to Madam Wu, she only mentioned that Zhao Ling would soon be departing for Songjiang to pay respects to his ancestors.

Madam Wu couldn’t discern Fu Tingyun’s tone and inevitably felt uneasy. She relayed Fu Tingyun’s words verbatim to her husband and asked for his advice: “…What do you think she means? Has she forgiven us, or is she still displeased?”

Master Wu was also uncertain and, after some thought, said helplessly: “Now we can only wait and see how Master Zhao acts after returning to Songjiang.” He added, “In any case, it’s never wrong for you to get closer to Madam Zhao. A near neighbor is better than a distant relative!”

Madam Wu thought this made sense.

After Zhao Ling left for Songjiang, she visited the Zhao household every few days.

Fu Tingyun, unable to bear the disturbance, could only say tactfully: “The Emperor has only given our master a two-month leave. I will be returning to Chang’an in a few days and will come back before the new year. I wonder if Madam Wu has any local specialties she likes, so I can bring some back for you.”

“No need, no need,” Madam Wu said with a smile, waving her hand. “Whatever Shaanxi has, we in Jiangnan also have. What we have in Jiangnan, Shaanxi may not necessarily have.” After saying this, she realized her words were inappropriate and quickly asked, “When will you be departing? I’ll come see you off.”

“The autumn heat is still intense these days,” Fu Tingyun only wished she would stop coming and smiled as she told her the date. “We’ll depart after the fifteenth of the eighth month.”

Madam Wu kept this in mind and sent a gift of three hundred taels of silver on the tenth of the eighth month.

Since the marriage with the Wang family had been arranged, the two families were now considered relatives. Although Zhao Ling was not at home, Madam Wang still invited Fu Tingyun and Ah-Sen to her home for the Mid-Autumn Festival. As the new son-in-law, this would be Ah-Sen’s first formal visit to the Wang family. Fu Tingyun was busy preparing and grooming him when she saw a red lacquered gold box lined with bright red velvet, gleaming with six large silver ingots that made her squint. After a moment of surprise, she smiled and said: “Take the silver back. Tell your mistress that if she truly wishes to be thoughtful, she could send some dried fish from Jiangnan for me to take back to Chang’an as a local specialty.” Then, holding a teacup, she discussed the Mid-Autumn visit to the Wang family with Zheng San: “I’ll only bring Yu Wei and Zhenzhu with me. You and Zheng San will manage the household affairs…”

Madam Wu’s maidservant stood there, her face filled with embarrassment, unable to move forward or retreat.

Seeing this, Yu Wei smiled and took the box, pushing it into Madam Wu’s maidservant’s arms, saying: “A goose feather sent a thousand miles shows goodwill despite the light gift. Madam Wu’s gesture seems too formal. Tell Madam Wu this, and surely she won’t blame you.”

The maidservant also felt that Madam Wu’s gift was too extravagant—if the Wu family ever needed help, the Zhao family would have to reciprocate in kind, and since the two families weren’t related, it was understandable why Madam Zhao was unwilling to accept.

After a moment’s thought, she embraced the box and quietly thanked Yu Wei with a smile: “Thank you, miss, for teaching me what to say.” Then she respectfully bowed to Fu Tingyun and withdrew.

Fu Tingyun stopped her discussion, slightly furrowing her brow, and said: “This Madam Wu, I previously thought she was quite astute, but how is she now acting more and more without proper judgment?”

Yu Wei, who had just returned after escorting Madam Wu’s maidservant out of the hall and handing her over to a young servant girl, happened to hear Fu Tingyun’s words and smiled: “Concern leads to confusion! Madam Wu must be regretting her actions now!”

Fu Tingyun thought this made sense and dropped the matter, asking Yu Wei instead: “When will the jewelry from Baoqing Tower be delivered?”

Now that Zhao Ling was an official of the third rank, and she would be representing Ah-Sen’s family at the Wang manor, she had ordered some gold and gemstone jewelry from Baoqing Tower. However, time was tight, so she had asked Manager Ye to help put in a word.

“They said it would be delivered by tomorrow afternoon at the latest,” Yu Wei replied with a smile. “Shall I go to Baoqing Tower myself?”

“No need,” Fu Tingyun smiled. “Help me look at the clothes instead.”

This was something any woman would find interesting.

Yu Wei responded with a smile and a “Yes,” then went with Fu Tingyun to rummage through the wardrobes.

Meanwhile, Madam Wu was being scolded by Master Wu: “Why send silver? Couldn’t you have sent a painting or calligraphy instead? Now look, she wants you to send dried fish. What season is this? Where do you think you’ll find dried fish now?”

Paintings couldn’t compare to silver in directness and appeal.

But Madam Wu dared not say such things now and merely agreed submissively before turning to complain about Fu Tingyun: “…Of all things, why dried fish? What am I to do now?”

Dried fish was typically prepared after the Laba Festival and available in early spring. Those with longer preservation times might last until early summer, while those with shorter preservation times would be gone by late spring.

Her maidservant could only suggest: “Why not check with Madam Ji? I heard that the Ji family’s second young master had boils as a child and took medicine for half a month without improvement. Later, following the advice of Young Master Ji’s wet nurse, they applied cured meat to the boils, which healed in a few days. Since then, their family has found ways to keep cured meat and dried fish through the summer.”

Cured meat and dried fish had properties that cleared heat and detoxified.

Madam Wu had no choice but to send her maidservant to the Ji family to ask for some.

The result came back: “A few days ago, Madam Yu had a fever with mouth sores and couldn’t even open her mouth. Everything was sent to Madam Yu’s residence.”

Discouraged, Madam Wu contacted several Jiangnan-native official families in the capital, but all said they had none. As the fourteenth of the eighth month approached with no dried fish in sight, she became so anxious that she developed a fever and her voice became hoarse.

Her maidservant urgently asked: “What shall we do?”

Madam Wu gritted her teeth: “Go to the storehouse and find a few bolts of cloth made in Jiangnan, and bring a few packages of the pre-rain Dragon Well tea that the Zhejiang Textile Commissioner sent to the master recently. I’ll bring them to Madam Zhao.”

The maidservant promptly left.

Fu Tingyun was having a private conversation with Yu Wei: “…Fortunately, I gave Madam Wu a difficult task, otherwise with her visiting every few days, if I had to entertain her chitchat daily, I wouldn’t be able to get anything done.” She continued, “By the time we return from Chang’an, news from Songjiang will likely have reached the capital, and hopefully she won’t cling to me anymore.”

Yu Wei laughed heartily.

Young Master Xi toddled in: “Weiwei, eat fruit!”

He was exactly the opposite of Youyou. Youyou spoke late but in full sentences, while Xi spoke early but in fragments, and at over a year old, he still wasn’t speaking clearly. Youyou had never been picky with food, but Xi thought about eating from the moment he opened his eyes. Perhaps because of this, young Master Xi was very healthy—he hadn’t even sneezed since birth, let alone fallen ill.

Because the weather was cold, Fu Tingyun didn’t dare let young Master Xi eat fruit with his belly exposed, so he wheedled before the doting Yu Wei.

Yu Wei also dared not give cold food to young Master Xi, but seeing his greedy expression, she felt sympathetic. After some thought, she said: “Madam, Madam Mo sent some sugarcane a few days ago. Why not extract the juice and warm it in a pot for the young master to drink?”

“Does he seek out everyone, or just you?” Fu Tingyun laughed. “You spoil him too much.” But she didn’t object.

Yu Wei smiled and said: “Madam is busy with household affairs and outside concerns, with one thing after another every day, while I only need to follow you around without worrying. I have more leisure time, so I should naturally look after the young master more…”

“Alright, alright,” Fu Tingyun laughed. “You don’t need to give me so many reasons. Just don’t spoil him into becoming a pampered young master.” As she spoke, she thought of the child in her belly, “I wonder if it’s a girl or a boy? After returning from Chang’an, I’ll need to find not only a wet nurse but also buy two servant girls.”

“And buy two young servants as well,” Yu Wei smiled. “With Yanqing following the Second Master to the Wang family, we’re short of someone to run errands.”

“I’ve already discussed this with the Ninth Master,” Fu Tingyun smiled. “The Ninth Master said he took in two orphaned brothers at the border, only eight or nine years old. They can be raised at home for some time, and when they’re older, he’ll take them to the military camp. They can both establish a future and learn proper conduct.”

There was something she didn’t tell Yu Wei.

Children like these who later went to military camps, if they became capable, would become Zhao Ling’s right-hand men; if not, they would still be loyal.

This was how military families gradually formed and grew strong.

Ah-Sen was an orphan adopted by Zhao Ling.

Yu Wei didn’t think much of it, only smiling as she asked when they would arrive and whether they should partition Jin Yuanbao’s former resting place into two side rooms, one as a guest room and one for them to live in.

“Then tell Zheng San about it!” Fu Tingyun smiled. “We can partition the side rooms while we’re away in Chang’an—the two children should arrive before the beginning of winter.”

Yu Wei carried young Master Xi away to help stew sugarcane juice for him, while also discussing this matter with Zheng San. Fu Tingyun and Zhenzhu rechecked the luggage once more, then she took her children to bed early. The next morning, she rose early, and after washing up, considering the journey ahead, she dressed simply and set out with the children.

For this journey, besides the Zhao family carriage driven by Zheng San carrying Fu Tingyun, Youyou, young Master Xi, and Yu Wei, they had also borrowed three carriages from Manager Ye’s Da Tong Company. One carried Ah-Sen and Yanqing, another carried Zhenzhu, Kou’er, Madam Tong, and others, while the third carried luggage and local specialties. They also hired escort guards for protection, and Zhao Ling had borrowed ten members of the Tengji Guard from Qin Feiyu.

Zheng San’s carriage was ready early, and Fu Tingyun boarded with the children at the front gate. The Da Tong Company carriages had been waiting since before dawn, and Manager Ye, being considerate, had sent several nimble assistants who were now helping to load the luggage. Although orderly, the comings and goings inevitably created some noise. As for the Tengji Guards, led by a junior officer, though normally arrogant, they now had to be humble and helpful while carrying out Qin Feiyu’s orders to escort Zhao Ling’s family. For a time, Shi Family Alley was quite lively.

Madam Wu, seeing this scene, was momentarily stunned before smiling and approaching Fu Tingyun: “…The season isn’t right, dried fish production hasn’t started yet. After the Beginning of Winter, I’ll send word back home to bring some for you.” Then she turned and took the tea from her personal maidservant’s hands and gave it to Fu Tingyun, “These are a few catties of tea and several bolts of cloth, barely qualifying as Jiangnan specialties. Madam Zhao can take them back for relatives to taste.”

Fu Tingyun, seeing only five or six bolts of cloth and two or three catties of tea, and noting that Madam Wu had come early in the morning, smiled and let Yu Wei accept them. She made small talk with Madam Wu while waiting for the Da Tong Company carriages to finish loading.

The sound of “clip-clop, clip-clop” of horse hooves came from the alley entrance.

Everyone looked toward the sound.

They saw a black lacquered flat-topped carriage with official green curtains driving in.

Seeing the bustling, noisy scene that looked like a moving day, someone peeked out from the carriage: “What’s happening here?”

Fu Tingyun looked carefully and saw it was Shu Mama, who served Madam Yu.