Escape to Your Heart

Chapter 124: Four Happiness Alley (Bonus Update Seeking Pink Tickets)

When Zheng San went to deliver gifts of gratitude to the Duke's residence, Fu Tingyun included Zhao Ling's name card with the presents. However, the Duke's household didn’t pay it any mind, politely expressing their thanks and informing Fu Tingyun that there was no need for her to visit. The women of the Duke's household had all gone to the palace to celebrate the birthday of a senior imperial consort.

Fu Tingyun breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was just as well. They clearly looked down on her, and visiting would only invite discomfort.

Meanwhile, Master Lu had found a house and invited Fu Tingyun to take a look. "Thanks to the help of Guard Jian, a friend of his had a master who retired and returned to his hometown, wanting to sell his residence. It’s located in Shi Family Alley in Huanghua Ward, east of the city. I went to see it—the alley is straight and wide enough for carriages and sedan chairs. The neighbors are all officials from Jiangnan posted in the capital, and the servants coming and going all seem well-mannered and respectable. The house has three courtyards, square in layout, with twenty-eight rooms. Last autumn, for their master’s birthday, they renovated everything from the roof to the floor tiles, so it won’t need any work for at least ten years. They initially asked for twelve thousand taels, which was a bit high. I offered bank notes from Baoqing Tower and asked them to leave the furnishings, bargaining it down to ten thousand taels. If you’re satisfied, I can try to haggle further and see if we can lower the price a bit more."

They could afford the money, but buying the house would leave them with little liquid cash, likely making it tight for Zhao Ling’s expenses and social engagements in the capital.

Fu Tingyun hesitated.

Master Lu, aware of the situation, discussed it with her. "I think the house is truly impressive. How about taking out a loan to tide us over? I’ll sell those seven hundred mu of land when I return. And Ninth Master’s chest of antiques is worth at least ten thousand taels." He didn’t voice another thought—if they still fell short, they could always sell the house and buy a smaller one after Zhao Ling and Fu Tingyun married. From Zheng San’s tone, he gathered this house was meant to give Zhao Ling face in front of Fu Tingyun’s relatives.

Having been a manager for so long, he had a merchant’s cunning.

"Let’s take a look first," Fu Tingyun said, still inclined toward a smaller house. But since Master Lu spoke so highly of it, there was no harm in seeing it.

Unexpectedly, after the visit, she found herself reluctant to pass it up.

In front of the Ruyi Gate stood a pair of monkey-shaped mounting stones. Inside, a brick screen wall bore a large character for "fortune," carved with seven or eight children in various playful poses—novel and charming. A century-old locust tree, thick enough to embrace, stood before the southern rooms, its canopy like an umbrella shading the entire courtyard. One could imagine the lush greenery in summer. To the right of the main hall was a pomegranate tree, to the left a crabapple. Under the wisteria trellis in the courtyard sat a large celadon lotus-patterned vat, and behind the main hall were two jujube trees of differing heights.

Inside, the furnishings were all of chicken-wing wood, and the inner chamber even had a mirror framed with intricate openwork carvings and large glass panels. These alone were worth two to three thousand taels, not to mention the authentic Fan Kuan painting of a snowy forest landscape hanging in the main hall, valued at no less than three to four hundred taels.

Fu Tingyun couldn’t help but ask, "Are they leaving all of this?"

"Yes," Master Lu whispered. "When I came to see the house last time, the doorways were hung with red kesi-lined curtains, and the backing boards were made of premium ebony..."Fu Tingyun was astonished. "Whose residence is this? Why is it being sold?"

Master Lu chuckled. "It belongs to a vice minister from the Ministry of Justice. He's only in his forties and served in Jiangnan for many years, specializing in criminal cases. For some reason, he offended the Grand Secretary Shen Shichong and was forced to retire. He's in urgent need of silver to smooth things over. Everyone knows this and is lowballing him, so he's throwing in the furnishings for free..."

Fu Tingyun couldn't help but caution him, "This house is indeed a steal, but you must investigate thoroughly to avoid buying trouble."

Offending the Grand Secretary was one thing—after all, as a scholar-official, he had his own code of conduct. What was truly fearsome was crossing the eunuchs or the Tengji Guard. The former were unpredictable; no one could guess their next move, and one might get implicated simply for purchasing a property. The latter were ruthless—once in their clutches, they would strip you bare, leaving you bankrupt or worse. Buying such a house was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth—a sure path to ruin.

"Don't worry, miss. I'll make careful inquiries. I'd rather not buy than invite trouble," Master Lu assured her.

Fu Tingyun gave a noncommittal hum.

In the end, the house in Shi Family Alley of Huanghua Ward was purchased for ten thousand taels of silver, with the owner throwing in a pair of Ru kiln flower vases and leaving behind all the pots, pans, and utensils.

Fu Tingyun instructed Zheng Sanniang to tidy up the house. "We won't be staying here long. Just clean up the gatehouse and main rooms."

Zheng Sanniang returned brimming with excitement. "That family was truly wealthy! In the side chamber west of the main hall, they left fifteen bolts of blue summer cloth, two bolts of red summer cloth, over ten catties of premium Longjing tea, and various other odds and ends."

Fu Tingyun shook her head with a laugh. "Well, gather it all up. We can use it to make summer clothes for Zheng San, Linchun, and the others."

Zheng Sanniang nodded eagerly.

During dinner, Yu Wei returned.

She brought good news: "The master leaves home at the beginning of the Yin hour every morning and returns at the beginning of the Shen hour. He gets one day off every ten days. The fourth young master departs at the Mao hour and comes back at the You hour, also resting every ten days. I've calculated—their next day off is in two days."

After some thought, Fu Tingyun said, "Tomorrow you'll accompany me to Four Happiness Alley."

Yu Wei assented. "Shall I hire a carriage tomorrow morning? Four Happiness Alley is on Zhengyangmen Street in the outer city—it would take over two hours to walk there!"

Only officials of the fourth rank and above attended court. Her father was a fifth-rank official, living so far away—no wonder he had to leave at the Yin hour.

Fu Tingyun hadn't realized the distance was so great. "Actually, there's no need to hire a carriage. Tomorrow Zheng San can drive us."

A vague unease lingered in her heart; having someone as strong as Zheng San around would make her feel safer.

Yu Wei acknowledged the order and informed Zheng San they'd need the carriage early the next morning. After dinner, she meticulously checked the gifts they planned to bring, arranging them neatly.

Zheng Sanniang couldn't stop praising her attentiveness and even asked if she was betrothed, hinting at matchmaking.

Yu Wei froze for a long moment before shaking her head. As someone bearing the stigma of a crime, how could she face marriage? She demurred, "Since I'm the young miss's maid, I should stay by her side."Zheng Sanniang was slightly taken aback. "Miss is such a clever and sensible person, how could she have such thoughts? I see Ninth Master treats Miss Fu very well, and they aren't even married yet—it's unlikely he'd take someone into his household."

As a country woman, she thought Zhao Ling already had heirs, so taking a concubine would just be a waste of food—utterly impractical.

Yu Wei had previously feared Fu Tingyun might have been abducted by the migrant bandits and suffered some disgrace, becoming someone's concubine or mistress. Though she didn't dare ask Fu Tingyun about her experiences, she observed the behavior of Fu Tingyun and those around her closely. She knew Fu Tingyun had been rescued by a man called Ninth Master, and the two had pledged themselves to each other. Though Ninth Master was only a lowly centurion, he treated Fu Tingyun exceedingly well—not only entrusting all his household affairs to her, but even going so far as to borrow name cards from the Duke of Fuguo and Marquis Yingchuan for this trip to the capital to visit relatives... Hearing Zheng Sanniang's words, Yu Wei's hidden curiosity could no longer be suppressed. She feigned indifference to probe Zheng Sanniang, hoping to learn more about the past: "Whether to take someone in or not—shouldn't that be up to the young mistress?"

"Then it's even more impossible," Zheng Sanniang laughed, feeling a bit of disdain for Yu Wei. Instead of marrying properly, she wanted to be a concubine? She deliberately told Yu Wei about Fu Tingyun's time at Nianbo Garrison. "I think the young lady should give up on this idea sooner rather than later!"

Yu Wei was left speechless.

Storming into a man's domain to make a scene? Was this really the same Ninth Miss she knew?

Tossing and turning all night, Yu Wei barely slept. The next morning, she forced herself to stay alert as she attended to Fu Tingyun during breakfast before accompanying her by carriage to Four Happiness Alley.

Zheng San wasn't familiar with the route, stopping at every intersection to ask Yu Wei for directions. With all the stops and starts, it was nearly noon by the time they finally arrived at Four Happiness Alley.

The entrance to the alley was rather narrow—too narrow for the carriage to pass through. Zheng San waited with the carriage while Yu Wei carried the gifts and accompanied Fu Tingyun inside.

But the alley held surprises within.

A large locust tree stood in the middle, surrounded by four households, forming a small courtyard-like space.

Yu Wei pointed to one of the west-facing courtyard homes. "Miss, that's the one!"

Fu Tingyun's heart raced.

She was about to see her mother. What would her mother ask her?

And her sister-in-law—she had only met her once as a child, remembering only her round face and cheerful demeanor, always smiling before she even spoke. Would she recognize her now?

Her elder brother's two children—she had never met them. They should be eight and five years old now. Were they mischievous? Who did they take after?

Her thoughts swirled as she stood before the tightly shut gate, her hand feeling as heavy as lead.

Suddenly, the gate creaked open.

Fu Tingyun jumped in fright.

Did Mother know I was coming?

Looking up, she saw a woman in her early thirties step out—a complete stranger. Though her features were ordinary, she was neatly dressed, with an air of quiet dignity.

Spotting Fu Tingyun, the woman was equally startled. "Who are you looking for, miss?" she asked, casting a suspicious glance at Yu Wei.Fu Tingyun steadied herself and smiled. "This must be Wu Laoye's residence of the Huayin Fu family, isn't it? May I ask how I should address you, Housekeeper? I'm a relative of the madam, coming from Weinan. Could you kindly announce my arrival?" As she spoke, she removed the silver bracelet from her wrist and handed it to the woman. "This was given to me by the madam years ago. Please take it inside to show her. She'll recognize me when she sees it."

"From Weinan?" the woman asked, a flicker of vigilance flashing in her eyes.

A sense of foreboding rose in Fu Tingyun, but she maintained her smile. "Yes, I came from Weinan. I'm distantly related to the madam's maternal family. When I passed through Huayin last time, I heard from the Dowager that the madam was ill. After arriving in the capital, I came specially to visit." She glanced at Yu Wei. "I've brought some local specialties from home. Please deliver them to the madam."

The woman hesitated for a long moment before finally accepting the bracelet. "I'll go announce your arrival, miss. Please wait here." Then she turned and entered the residence, shutting the door firmly behind her with a loud "bang," leaving Fu Tingyun and Yu Wei standing outside.

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Qidian is running an event called "Great God's Light." Everyone is welcome to participate—there are even prize draws! O(∩_∩)O~ Here's the event link.

(End of Chapter)