Chapter 126: Father
What about the deceased Zhe Liu and Jian Cao?
What about Yu Wei who suffered so much?
What about Zuo Junjie who escaped?
And what about the sister-in-law who let Zuo Junjie escape?
No, no, no!
Fu Tingyun screamed inwardly.
Some things fade with time, but others only grow sharper in memory.
She grasped Madam Fu's hand tightly. "Sister-in-law, Zhe Liu and the others entered the household at eight and were assigned to serve me at ten. Back then, my favorite snack was the Peach Blossom Buns made by the cook Huang Shi—small, egg-sized buns shaped like peaches with a dab of red on top. When you bit into them, the creamy yellow filling, sweetened with goat's milk, was rich but not cloying. Mother worried they would rot my teeth and rarely let me have them. I would drool just thinking about them. One winter, when the ground was blanketed in snow, Grandmother hosted the wife of the Shaanxi Education Commissioner. I tossed and turned in bed, craving those buns. Zhe Liu, with her bright, clever eyes, whispered that she needed to relieve herself but instead sneaked to the kitchen and stole a plate of them. Afraid they would get cold, she tucked them inside her clothes, burning her chest red.
"Overjoyed, I pulled Zhe Liu under the covers to share them.
"The next day, the household was in an uproar.
"The precious Blue and White Porcelain Dinnerware set used for the commissioner's wife was missing a plate.
"Aunt ordered Housekeeper Chen to investigate thoroughly.
"In the dead of night, Zhe Liu and I slipped into the wet nurse's white cotton jackets and left the plate on Aunt's windowsill.
"The matter was quietly dropped.
"But Zhe Liu and I giggled about it for ages.
"Jian Cao, in comparison, was a bit slow. The hardest chores—fetching ice from the cellar in summer, answering the door at midnight, or working holidays—always fell to her. Yet one Mid-Autumn Festival, when Seventh Sister and I were watching the servants hang lanterns, a ladder suddenly toppled over. Jian Cao pushed me out of the way but was pinned beneath it. Even then, she forced a smile and asked if I was hurt.
"Sister-in-law," Fu Tingyun's grip turned Madam Fu's fingertips white, "to others, they were just insignificant maids—names on a roster. But to me, they were my playmates, my allies. Without them, there would be no me. Others may forget, but I cannot. Others may let it go, but I must seek justice."
Madam Fu's eyes welled up, while Yu Wei stifled sobs behind her hands.
"Sister-in-law," Fu Tingyun pleaded, "please let me see Mother! I just want to reassure her—to let her know I'm alive, that I haven't failed her teachings, that I've never dishonored our ancestors..."
"This..." Madam Fu hesitated.
Seeing her waver, Fu Tingyun pressed eagerly, "Don't worry, I'll only say what will comfort her. And if Mother wishes to see me again, I'll come when Father isn't home."
Madam Fu pressed her lips together, torn.Fu Tingyun watched, then knelt down. "Sister-in-law..."
Madam Fu was startled and immediately knelt as well. "You... get up! Get up now!"
"If you don't agree, I won't rise," Fu Tingyun said, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. "Since we parted at Azure Cloud Temple, I haven't seen Mother again. Mother fell ill from missing me—that alone makes me an unfilial daughter. Now, knowing she's sick, I can't even attend to her bedside—this is disrespect. Being both unfilial and disrespectful, how can I face the world any longer..."
Madam Fu grew increasingly anxious. "Get up, please get up!"
But Fu Tingyun's expression hardened with resolve. "I won't rise unless you agree."
"You..." Madam Fu sighed helplessly. "Fine... I'll take you to see Mother-in-law!"
Overjoyed, Fu Tingyun stood and bowed deeply. "Sister-in-law's great kindness, I shall never forget."
Madam Fu shook her head with a bitter smile, emphasizing, "You must keep your promise."
Fu Tingyun nodded repeatedly. "I won't make things difficult for you..."
Before she could finish, a thunderous crash echoed through the room as the door was violently flung open.
All eyes turned toward the entrance.
Bright daylight streamed from behind the tall figure in the doorway, obscuring his face, but the Sea Wave Patterned Official Green Robe Hem and black Court Boots revealed his identity unmistakably.
"Father..." Fu Tingyun murmured, staring blankly as the figure strode toward her.
Dong Gu's face peeked from behind the door, her eyes filled with apology as she looked at Madam Fu.
Madam Fu shook her head slightly, signaling it wasn't her fault, then sighed inwardly as she quietly retreated backward—as if distance might spare her from impending danger.
Yet as fate would have it, the newcomer's gaze landed squarely on her.
"Didn't I make myself clear?" His voice boomed like thunder through the hall. "I'm merely a minor fifth-rank capital official. When visitors come seeking favors, serving tea and offering two taels of Courtesy Gift fulfills all propriety. Yet you treat my words as wind past your ears, entertaining guests at home—do you mean to defy your father-in-law?"
Madam Fu paled, dropping to her knees with a thud. "Forgive me, Father-in-law! Forgive me!" She dared say nothing more.
Fu Tingyun swayed, steadying herself against a nearby tea table.
Her eyes widened in disbelief at the man before her.
Though past forty, her father remained as tall and straight as she remembered—fair skin, broad forehead, straight nose... Their resemblance was striking, undeniable proof of kinship.
"Father!" Tears blurred Fu Tingyun's vision as she whispered.
Having grown up with her mother in Huayin, she'd seen her father only a handful of times. Yet through her mother's descriptions, he'd become a towering mountain, a boundless sea in her heart—she couldn't possibly mistake him.
Master Fu the Fifth didn't so much as glance at her, addressing Madam Fu instead. "See this person out immediately!" His tone suggested she was some bothersome fly or mosquito, whose presence polluted the air with each passing moment.
Fu Tingyun stood frozen.Madam Fu had already taken her by the arm: "Miss, come with me quickly!"
Only then did Fu Tingyun snap out of her daze, struggling fiercely to break free from Madam Fu's grip. Yu Wei, who had been quietly weeping nearby, suddenly knelt before Master Fu the Fifth with a thud: "Master Fu the Fifth, she is the Ninth Miss, your own flesh and blood! We've gone through so much to find you—we've been wronged. We beg you to stand up for us..."
"Outrageous!" Master Fu the Fifth erupted in fury, his handsome face darkening with severity. "My daughter Quan Hui passed away from illness at the Azure Cloud Temple in Huayin, Shaanxi, in the seventh month two years ago. I must ask you not to spread such lies. Otherwise, don't blame me for calling the authorities—you won't escape the charge of 'falsely claiming kinship with officials'..."
"Falsely claiming kinship?" Fu Tingyun stared fixedly at her father, the man who had once seemed as towering and vast as a mountain or ocean to her. His words pierced her heart like ten thousand arrows, inflicting unbearable pain. "Since when has coming to see you become 'falsely claiming kinship'?" she murmured, her gaze locked on him.
He didn’t even want to know why she had sought him out, nor did he care how she had found him. He simply wanted to dismiss her hastily, even resorting to threats as if she were some ignorant child or an insignificant stranger.
How could he be like this?
Wasn’t he her father?
Wasn’t he the one who had given her life, raised her, sheltered her, and loved her?
The greater the hope, the deeper the disappointment.
"If that's the case, then please, Lord Fu, summon the authorities!" Fu Tingyun's voice suddenly turned sharp and piercing, like an arrow cutting through the sky, aimed straight at Master Fu the Fifth. "I’d like to see how the authorities will judge this matter!"
Master Fu the Fifth stiffened, his gaze burning as if flames flickered within. His expression was icy as he demanded in a low voice, "Are you threatening me?"
"Threatening?" Fu Tingyun laughed coldly. "Lord Fu is a dignified fifth-rank capital official, while I am merely a weak woman who couldn’t even harm a chicken. Just moments ago, you spoke of taking me to the authorities. I wonder what leverage I could possibly hold over you that would suddenly make me capable of 'threatening' you? How truly strange!"
Slap! Master Fu the Fifth struck the tea table with his palm. "This is rebellion! Is this how your mother raised you? To speak to—" He seemed to catch himself mid-sentence, swallowing his words before continuing, "—to speak to me like this?"
"Oh?" Fu Tingyun straightened her posture further, her gaze growing even fiercer. "My mother did teach me to be filial to my parents and to respect my elders. But who are you to me? Why shouldn’t I speak to you this way?"
Master Fu the Fifth was left speechless, his humiliation turning to rage. Without warning, he slapped Fu Tingyun across the face.
The sudden violence left everyone in the room stunned.
Fu Tingyun’s cheek immediately reddened and swelled.
Madam Fu let out a soft gasp, covering her mouth as she stared at Master Fu the Fifth in horror.
Yu Wei, weeping, clung to Master Fu the Fifth’s leg. "Master Fu the Fifth, I beg you, don’t strike the young miss! We truly haven’t done anything to wrong the Fu family. It was Zuo Junjie—he was the one who framed her... You must believe us..."
Master Fu the Fifth trembled with fury, berating Yu Wei: "Wretched servant! Who gave you the right to speak? You know nothing of propriety!"
Fu Tingyun seemed to awaken only at this moment.This was the first time in her life she had ever been slapped.
She touched her red, swollen cheek and glared straight at Master Fu the Fifth. "Rules? You dare speak to me about rules?" Her eyes flashed with icy fury. "A woman obeys her father at home and her husband after marriage. Since my elder sister-in-law entered the Fu family, she became one of the Fu, supported by the family and honored in its ancestral rites. Yet as a widow living in seclusion, her maid was found five months pregnant! She's a Fu daughter-in-law, yet she let Zuo Junjie escape for the sake of the Zuo lineage, disregarding my life and the Fu family's century-old reputation—and all you did was give her a cursory reprimand! I traveled thousands of miles to seek your help in clearing my name, only for you to accuse me of falsely claiming official kinship... If this is what you call rules, what the Fu family calls rules—then I say such rules are better abandoned!"
※
Caught a cold today—dizzy and lightheaded. Went for a shot at noon, so only managed one chapter!
(>_<)
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