Chapter 10: The Exchange
Fu Tingyun's greatest worry in the past had merely been adjusting to life in the south after marriage. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined someone would use such vile means to frame her. Though she had fallen into such dire straits, the thought of her loving mother and doting grandmother always gave her hope that things could still be salvaged—that it wouldn’t come to utter ruin.
But now, she no longer had that certainty, that confidence.
Restless and agitated, she paced around the room.
Tingyun still remembered when she was younger, how she and her sisters loved playing in their grandmother’s quarters.
Grandmother would always watch them with a cheerful smile, ordering servants to prepare whatever they wanted to eat or fetching whatever they wished to wear from the storeroom. She never scolded them for breaking bowls or losing things. But if any of them violated the rules laid out in the Fu Family's Women's Instructions , Grandmother would never let it slide.
All the sisters had been made to kneel in punishment at some point.
Whenever they were punished, Housekeeper Li, acting on Grandmother’s orders, would lecture them: "Young mistresses dress in silks and satins, feast on delicacies, ride in carriages when they go out, and are attended by maidservants. All you’re asked to do is rise at dawn, recite the Admonitions for Women , spin and sew, and serve meals—how can you not endure that? You must understand, the Fu family stands firm because of these rules. As daughters of the Fu family, since you enjoy its protection, you must uphold its traditions. There’s no such thing as taking without giving. Whoever breaks the Fu family’s rules undermines generations of hardship—such a person is unworthy of being a Fu daughter and does not deserve the family’s shelter!"
Back then, Tingyun had been the best at needlework and studies, so she had never paid much attention to Housekeeper Li’s words.
Now, they sent a chill down her spine.
Suddenly, her nose stung, and she collided headfirst into a firm chest.
It was unmistakably a man’s chest.
How could there be a man in the room?
Her face paled in fright, and she opened her mouth to scream.
Someone clamped a hand over her lips.
"Must you be so undignified?" The voice was low, tinged with impatience.
Tingyun didn’t need to look to know who it was.
Her heart sank.
This was bad. Very bad. She had completely forgotten about him!
She hadn’t even prepared the vegetarian buns.
With a bitter smile, she hurriedly explained, "My maid sprained her ankle today, so I couldn’t inquire about the granary, and I didn’t prepare the buns either..."
The room was unlit, making it hard to see clearly. She could only tell he wore a short coarse garment and that he smelled clean, with no unpleasant odor.
His expression was unreadable as he gave a slight nod. Though his mood was indiscernible, he didn’t press further, showing no sign of blaming her for failing to deliver.
Tingyun exhaled silently in relief.
Then, abruptly, he asked, "Do you still have any of that Four-Ingredient Pill?"
She was taken aback. "No, I don’t."
His lips pressed together slightly.
She sensed his displeasure.
Realizing she had made no progress on the tasks he assigned, unease gripped her. Quickly, she offered, "Sir, may I ask what you need the medicine for? The nun Huiguo at the temple is highly skilled in medicine. I could ask her tomorrow for a suitable remedy?"
A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes, but he replied swiftly, "I have a young brother who was injured by a tiger trap."
So they were hunters.
No wonder they dressed so shabbily yet had such formidable skills!For some reason, Fu Tingyun felt a weight lift from her heart. "Rest assured, brave sir, I'll fetch some medicine for your wounds tomorrow."
He nodded and turned to leave, but after just two steps, his body stiffened. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from her sight.
Fu Tingyun was startled and looked around frantically, only to find him perched on the beam of the house.
She was about to ask what had happened when she faintly heard some movement outside.
Fu Tingyun strained her ears to listen.
But then it seemed there was no sound at all.
Just as she found this strange, she heard very light footsteps.
Surprised, she looked up at him.
He gestured for her not to look around.
The footsteps grew closer and stopped outside her door. "Ninth Miss, this servant is Housekeeper Chen."
What was she doing here?
If there was one person Fu Tingyun least wanted to see right now, it was Housekeeper Chen.
"What is it?" Her voice was cold.
"Lü'e is taking care of Hanyan, and I thought Ninth Miss might need someone to keep watch at night," Housekeeper Chen's tone was equally indifferent. "This servant once attended to the First Madam and knows the rules. While Hanyan is ill, perhaps I could keep watch for Ninth Miss instead." It wasn't a request but a statement of decision.
Fu Tingyun couldn't suppress her rising anger.
This wasn't about keeping watch—it was clearly about spying on her.
"Housekeeper Chen serves my Aunt. As a junior, how could I presume to have you attend to me?" Fu Tingyun replied with sarcasm. "There's no need to trouble yourself." She added, "It's late, and I'm tired. I'd like to rest early, so I won't keep Housekeeper Chen any longer."
There was a brief silence outside the door before the voice responded, "In that case, I'll have someone bring a cot to rest under Ninth Miss's eaves for the night."
She was determined to keep an eye on her no matter what!
"Fortunately, the weather is warm, so Housekeeper Chen needn't worry about catching cold." Fu Tingyun curled her lips and made the door latch rattle loudly, signaling her unwelcome.
Housekeeper Chen called for Housekeeper Fan to bring the cot.
There was a commotion outside.
Fu Tingyun trembled with anger.
He leaped down from the beam without making a sound.
Fu Tingyun stared at him in surprise.
He raised an eyebrow, as if mocking her for overreacting.
Indeed, even the high walls of Azure Cloud Temple and the fierce guard dogs couldn't stop him, let alone a small place like Tranquil Moon Hall.
But it still wasn't proper for him to stay in her room.
She beckoned him to follow her and went to push open the window of the eastern wing.
The window didn't budge.
She exerted more force.
Still, the window remained firmly shut.
She immediately understood.
Since Hanyan's movements had been exposed, Housekeeper Chen must have also figured out how Hanyan had left. To prevent any further trouble, she had likely ordered the window to be sealed from the outside.
Fu Tingyun frowned slightly.
The inner chamber was on the east side, with windows facing east and south. The southern window was under the eaves—exactly where Housekeeper Chen had placed her cot. The only other exit was the door to the inner chamber.
She peeked through the door crack.
Outside, two maids were whispering as they laid out bedding.
It seemed they would have to wait until they fell asleep!
She turned and shook her head at him, signaling that he couldn't leave for now.
But he pointed upward—toward the roof.Colored glass was still a novelty from the Western regions, rare and precious. Even the Fu family had only inlaid the six doors of their main hall with glass a few years prior. Ordinary households used paper coverings, leaving interiors dim even during daylight, relying on a few transparent roof tiles for illumination.
Fu Tingyun was somewhat puzzled.
He had already leapt onto the crossbeam, then tiptoed to reach the transparent tiles, gently lifting one.
Fu Tingyun was horrified.
What she considered a safe courtyard and house were as nothing to him.
What in this world could possibly stop him!
Truly, the sky was vast for birds to fly, the ocean wide for fish to leap!
Her expression stiffened.
Why not...
Biting her lip, she pondered at length. As he was about to remove all the transparent tiles, she waved at him.
Under the moonlight, he frowned but jumped down nonetheless.
"I'd like to discuss something with you, brave sir," she said, standing straight with her back to the window lattice, her face hidden in darkness, expression unreadable. "As you can see, my situation is precarious. The task you've entrusted to me may prove difficult."
"If that's the case, then let's forget it!" he replied without offense. "As long as you don't reveal my whereabouts, I won't trouble you again..."
She hadn't expected him to be so accommodating.
"No, no, no," Fu Tingyun said hurriedly, relieved yet anxious. "You misunderstand me." Then she paused and spoke softly, "Recently, I quarreled with my cousins and was punished by my grandmother, sent to Azure Cloud Temple to reflect. Thinking of how my mother must be worrying about me at home, I feel uneasy and wish to write her a letter. But the maids, following my grandmother's orders, won't let me leave Tranquil Moon Hall. My mind is divided, and my actions may not be thorough. Now that one of my maids is ill and the other tending to her, I can focus entirely on your task. Whether you need food or medicine, I'll find a way to help. But I'm truly concerned about my mother—could you deliver a letter to her for me?" She wasn't intentionally deceiving him, but with their shallow acquaintance, some things were hard to explain.
Before him, she felt as fragile as porcelain, her life at his mercy. Making such a request seemed excessive, so she could only tempt him subtly: "My father is a Hanlin Academy expositor-in-waiting, and my mother manages the household well, having acquired some property over the years. If you could assist, my mother would be immensely grateful. You and your companions could then settle down—resolving my predicament while providing a place for your men to recuperate. Wouldn't that benefit us both?"
He remained silent, gazing at her quietly.
The red light from outside fell on his face, and she noticed his eyebrows were thick and dark, his eyes deep and profound, like the darkest waters under willow shade, so deep they appeared blue, mesmerizing.
Fu Tingyun suddenly felt timid.
Perhaps she had chosen the wrong approach?
But the arrow was already on the bowstring—there was no turning back now. What use was timidity?
She took a deep breath: "I've already thought it through. With so many people in the nunnery and no leftover food in the kitchen, meals must be rationed daily. That means they fetch grain from the storehouse every day. If I monitor the nuns in the kitchen during meal times, I can find out where the storehouse is—"
"Where's the letter?" he suddenly interrupted."Ah!" The situation was too sudden, and Fu Tingyun didn't react immediately.
"I'm asking you, where is the letter?" he said unhurriedly, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.
Fu Tingyun was overjoyed but dared not show it, afraid that any carelessness might anger this unpredictable man and complicate matters. She had no mind to ponder the strange gleam in his eyes.
"Please wait a moment, warrior!" she said, then hurried to the bedside in quick strides. She retrieved paper, ink, and brush from beneath the bedboard, poured water, ground the ink, dipped the brush, and swiftly wrote a letter home before handing it to him.
"Warrior, please deliver this letter to someone called Bi Bo's family," Fu Tingyun said. "Just ask her to pass it to my mother."
He took the letter and tucked it into his robe, then lifted the translucent roof tile and climbed out before replacing it.
Fu Tingyun looked up at the pristine tile overhead and let out a long sigh, her body feeling as if it had suddenly lightened.
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Old friends have all come, and some even leave long comments for each chapter... I'm truly ashamed... I've been updating too little...
(End of chapter)
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