She didn’t approach closely but stopped seven or eight paces away from him, frowning. “I sent a visiting card to the Zhao family. If nothing goes wrong, we’ll visit tomorrow. How much money can you still produce here?”
Fu Xuan reluctantly pulled himself from his book. “Didn’t Tinghan say everything should be frugal? Just select some appropriate gifts.”
Princess Hongnong suppressed her temper and insisted, “How much money do you still have here?”
Hearing the anger implicit in her voice, Fu Xuan finally looked up from his book, turned to look at his servant, who immediately went into the room and brought out a box, placing it on the stone table before him. Opening it, there were only two-plus strings of coins and several silver pieces the size of a pinky finger. He pushed them toward Princess Hongnong. “Just this much.”
Princess Hongnong looked at this loose change, her eyes reddening with anger. She raised her head to stare at him and asked, “With only this little money left, instead of thinking about earning more, you just hide in this back courtyard reading books?”
Fu Xuan: “…Luoyang city is no longer what it once was. The Fu family’s residence was burned clean. We’ve just returned to Luoyang and haven’t even gotten our bearings yet—where do you expect me to earn money?”
“Moreover, we no longer need to recruit soldiers and buy horses for the court, nor do we lack food or drink. Why would we still need to earn money?” Fu Xuan simply announced the decision he’d made today. “I’ve already decided to resign from office.”
This was the decision he’d made after deep consideration last night. He didn’t want to be caught between his wife and daughter-in-law, torn both ways.
Oh yes, Fu Xuan also held an official position—Investigating Censor!
However, after being trapped in Chang’an and following the Princess in recruiting soldiers and buying horses for Jin, a period spanning five or six years, he hadn’t received a single coin of salary from the court and had even depleted his family’s fortune.
In any case, he hadn’t felt even a tiny bit of the pleasure of being an official. Plus, he hadn’t wanted to be an official in the first place—if his father and wife hadn’t pressured him from both sides, forcing him, he never would have agreed to enter government service.
That’s right, this was also one of the talents Jin had sought but failed to obtain.
When Prince Zhao, Sima Lun, was in power, he asked him to serve as Chancellor’s Assistant and Minister of the Secretariat, but he refused. Then they tried to make him Grand Minister, and he did it for a while, found being an official boring, and resigned again.
So Sima Lun, trying to retain him, promoted him again to Palace Attendant and Chief Clerk of the Cavalry Command. He served for a while, then his father-in-law was beaten all the way back to Chang’an, bringing half the court with him. That’s when they discovered this son-in-law seemed quite talented, so they promoted him to Left Assistant.
At that time, seeing the court in such chaos, with his father-in-law the emperor forced to flee to Chang’an, Fu Xuan didn’t have his father’s level of loyalty and didn’t want to serve such a court. He felt that being an official in the Jin court was simply wasting his life, and he’d rather stay home reading.
So he didn’t accept his father-in-law’s imperial edict and wouldn’t take that position.
Emperor Hui thought his son-in-law considered the position too small, and with his ministers all praising him, promoted him again to Palace Attendant. This time, before he could refuse, his father and the Princess joined forces to make him agree.
Later, when power shifted in Luoyang and Emperor Hui was escorted back to Luoyang, Fu Zhi had a vague premonition and didn’t have Fu Xuan’s family return with them, instead finding an excuse to keep them in Chang’an.
Later, two more princes replaced each other in Luoyang, and each time power changed hands, the court was purged. But those killed most were imperial descendants—they killed their own family members, truly rivers of blood.
If Princess Hongnong had been in Luoyang at that time, she would most likely have been implicated and her entire family exterminated.
Later Emperor Hui was poisoned to death. His children were either imprisoned or scattered abroad. Oh yes, Princess Hongnong had several sisters—two died, and the remaining two were scattered among the common people. At this time, whether they were alive or dead, or where they might be, no one knew.
When the late emperor ascended the throne and wanted to entrust Fu Xuan and Princess Hongnong to work on his behalf, he appointed Fu Xuan as Investigating Censor.
At that point he didn’t care anymore, because in the vast Jin state, the territory the emperor actually controlled was just that small patch of land his eyes could see.
Having been an official for many years, except at the very beginning, he hadn’t received a single coin of salary afterward. Instead, he constantly contributed money, and no one took attendance—he still lived according to his own wishes.
So whether he accepted the position or not seemed irrelevant, because he couldn’t refuse his father and the Princess-wife’s loyalty and grand ambitions.
But… now he’d returned to Luoyang. Though he hadn’t gone out, he’d learned something about the current state of officialdom. He heard that Zhao Hanzhang was diligent, so officials all had to be diligent—not only rising early to go to the yamen, but working overtime at night too.
Having learned this information, Fu Xuan immediately decided to resign. Even if this court could now pay his salary, he still wouldn’t serve.
That’s right, he’d rather contribute money to be an official, as long as he had freedom, than be an official to earn money but lose his freedom!
Princess Hongnong silently looked at the prince consort who couldn’t be helped up the wall, already too lazy to argue with him further, and simply turned and left.
In the end, she still made a list and had Shi Hongtu prepare gifts, then led people to Fu Tinghan’s room to look for money.
After searching around, she found only a few sets of change clothes and several accessories—clearly a place not frequently inhabited.
Princess Hongnong frowned. “He doesn’t live at the residence?”
Ren Hui lowered her head and came forward, saying quietly, “The young master is busy with official business, so most of the time he stays at the Zhao residence.”
She explained, “I heard that much official business must be handled at the Zhao residence, so the young master has quarters there.”
Princess Hongnong fell silent for a moment, didn’t say much, and turned to leave.
Ren Hui dared not speak either.
Princess Hongnong merely paused briefly. She wasn’t particularly angry. She was a princess and had higher acceptance of such things. She valued power and position more. At worst, he had married into the wife’s family—as long as it could maintain Dajin’s rule.
If Zhao Hanzhang were merely a Zhao clan woman, she naturally wouldn’t want her son so close to his wife’s family. But what if Zhao Hanzhang was Zhao Hanzhang?
She currently held the entire Jin state’s authority in her hands—then nothing was impossible.
Princess Hongnong turned and left.
Ren Hui quickly followed, then locked the door.
Fu Tinghan didn’t return from the yamen until evening, only to discover someone had entered his room.
Fu Tinghan poured out the half-cup of unfinished tea on the table, frowning tightly as he inverted the teacup.
Fu’an was frightened and rushed out to ask, “Who was so bold as to enter the young master’s room without orders? Don’t they know the young master’s room cannot be entered casually?”
Fu Tinghan’s bedroom at the Zhao residence was like a study—it contained many confidential materials. Plus he never liked people attending him closely, so except for Fu’an and Zhao Hanzhang, no one could enter his room freely.
Even Ting He had to announce herself outside and receive permission before entering.
This habit naturally extended to the Fu residence, except there were no confidential items here.
Fu Tinghan also had a temper, and naturally wasn’t happy when his territory was violated.
But he didn’t lose his temper, just circulated his energy and endured it himself.
Fu’an was still investigating outside when Fu Tinghan had already found clothes and hung them on the screen, going out to say, “Stop asking. Go to the kitchen and have hot water brought. I’m going to bathe and change clothes. You tidy up the things in the room and scald the teapot and teacup thoroughly.”
Fu’an answered with a heavy heart, quietly saying, “The servants say it was the Princess who came.”
—