Chapter 16: Entrustment
Fu Tingyun felt her facial expression must be quite a sight.
Accidentally ingested arsenic?
Who would accidentally ingest arsenic?
If that physician heard this, he'd probably laugh inwardly, thinking she was some jealous woman from a household where the vinegar jar had been overturned...
Wait... physician... He called a physician... When his companion was injured by a tiger trap, he just rummaged through her Menthut Cabinet for some medicine, yet he called a physician for her...
She stared at him blankly, a peculiar emotion passing through her heart that made her somewhat uneasy.
Perhaps it was because she'd been lying so improperly and rudely on the bed in front of him?
Fu Tingyun pondered this as she struggled to sit up, only then noticing she was wearing a clean, moon-white cotton gown.
Her expression changed dramatically—she remembered wearing a Hangzhou silk gown before, and when Housekeeper Chen forced the medicine down her throat, some had spilled on her clothes.
As if reading her thoughts, he suddenly said, "The situation was unclear at the time. I didn't dare take you to Huayin City for treatment, so I brought you to Tong Pass instead. Your clothes were changed by the physician's wife."
Tong Pass was only twenty li from Huayin—they hadn't gone far.
Fu Tingyun's face flushed slightly red.
Suspecting him like this seemed rather petty!
She felt somewhat guilty.
Changing the subject while looking around, she asked, "Where are we?"
She lay on a daybed covered with a cool bamboo mat. The daybed was old and worn, its red lacquer peeling to reveal white primer beneath. The carved patterns on the railings had long disappeared, leaving only bare posts. The bamboo mat, however, was new—a vibrant green that carried the fresh scent of bamboo. The roof had several large holes where sunlight streamed through directly. In the opposite corner, a spider was spinning its web. The wooden door to the left was propped up by an old tree stump, already rotten beyond repair and letting drafts through everywhere. The right wall had mostly collapsed, revealing a partial view of a Sakyamuni Buddha statue not far away.
"An abandoned temple outside Tong Pass," he replied. "We couldn't afford an inn, so we're staying here."
Is that so?
Fu Tingyun thought of what she'd just heard and secretly curled her lip, then remembered Hanyan and Lü'e: "What about my two maidservants?"
When she'd screamed so loudly earlier, neither had responded—they must have been either locked up or tied up by Housekeeper Chen... She hoped they were unharmed!
At this, his lips pressed together slightly as he gazed at her with profound eyes: "We left in a hurry. I didn't have time to attend to them."
Fu Tingyun felt ashamed.
It sounded as if she were blaming him for not bringing the two maids along... Given how urgent the situation had been, it was already remarkable that he'd managed to rescue her, let alone two defenseless young girls... She understood this perfectly well.
Not wanting him to misunderstand, she quickly explained: "Housekeeper Chen had dismissed all the servants from Tranquil Moon Hall earlier. The older servants are fine—they were probably sent off on some errand. But I'm worried about Hanyan and Lü'e..."
He gave a slight nod, appearing unwilling to discuss it further. "By the way, I met your mother," he interrupted, taking a cloth-wrapped object from his sleeve. "She asked me to give this to you."
Fu Tingyun took it suspiciously and unwrapped it.
Inside was a simple silver bracelet.This silver bracelet was the most common and ordinary kind, the type sold on every street in Huayin City. If there was anything different about the one her mother had asked him to bring her, it was the magnolia flower engraved near the clasp. To others, it might seem like just a distinguishing mark, but to her, it sent her heart and mind into turmoil.
This bracelet had been specially ordered by her mother from a silver house in Xi'an Prefecture for her wedding.
It was hollow inside, and the mechanism to open it was hidden in the clasp.
When her mother placed the bracelet in her dressing case, she had whispered to her that any truly important personal belongings could be stored inside—no one would ever think to look there.
Without regard for his presence, she twisted open the bracelet.
Inside were two bank notes, each for a thousand taels.
Stamped with the seal of Baoqing Silver House.
Baoqing Silver House honored the notes regardless of who presented them, redeemable at any of their twenty-seven branches across the north and south.
At that time, the finest farmland in Xi'an Prefecture cost no more than eight taels per acre.
Why had her mother given her so much silver?
What did it mean?
The bank notes trembled in Fu Tingyun's hands.
As he watched, the face of a woman bearing five or six parts resemblance to Fu Tingyun suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Kind sir, I beg you to save my daughter!" Under the flickering lamplight, the woman had trembled just like this, her eyes brimming with tears as she pleaded with him. "In my next life, I'll serve as your ox or horse to repay your kindness." As she spoke, she stripped off all her jewels and pressed them into his hands. "In this life, I'll erect a long tablet in your honor, praying for your longevity, prosperity, and flourishing descendants..." Seeing him unceremoniously tuck all the jewels into his robe, the woman gave a self-mocking bitter smile—those items were worth a fortune, enough for an ordinary person to buy land and a house, ensuring a worry-free life. With her daughter stripped of the family's protection and her own plea born of selfish desperation, he could easily take the jewels and disappear without risking himself to save anyone... If he were truly wicked, he might even abduct and sell the sheltered girl... And if discovered? Who would even pursue the matter? But she had truly been out of options, forced to try any last resort.
Seeing the silver bracelet now, he immediately understood the woman's intentions.
A wry smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.
"Your mother asked me to take you to your uncle's home in Fengyuan, Weinan. She said you must never return to the Fu family again." He pointed to a coarse blue cloth bundle by Fu Tingyun's pillow. "There are some spare clothes and jewelry your mother left for you inside. Keep them safe. We'll depart at dusk." With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Fu Tingyun's voice quivered. "You said... my mother told me never to return to the Fu family?"
He turned back.
Her gaze held both hope and fear as she stared at him.
Suddenly irritated, he replied stiffly, "That's exactly what she said!"
Fu Tingyun's face turned ashen."So, Mother knew all along that Housekeeper Chen would deal with me?" She hugged her knees, her gaze vacant, murmuring to herself, "Why? Why would she rather believe Zuo Junjie than me? Why did she even say those comforting words like 'I'd rather trust the daughter I raised than the Fu family's rules'? Why did she condemn me without even asking me? If so, why send me to my uncle's place? To humiliate me all over again? And here I was, desperately hoping to see her... thinking that just seeing her would clear my name..." She covered her face and buried her head between her knees.
"Your mother must have had her own difficulties," he hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "I went several times but couldn't find her. It was only by chance that I overheard a maid delivering meals mention that your mother had moved to your grandmother's quarters over a month ago. She accompanies your grandmother in the prayer hall every day, chanting sutras and praying for your swift recovery..."
"You mean, my mother has also been confined?" Fu Tingyun looked up, her tear-streaked face a mix of shock and hope.
He understood perfectly.
The shock was disbelief at her mother's situation; the hope was the wish that her mother hadn't doubted her, hadn't abandoned her.
He nodded solemnly, "From what I can see, your mother has indeed been confined!"
Fu Tingyun suddenly became agitated.
She threw off the dark blue coarse cloth covering her and got out of bed.
"Sir, I haven't yet asked for your honorable name?" Fu Tingyun gazed at him intently.
He hesitated briefly before saying, "My surname is Zhao!" but didn't offer his full name.
"Ninth Master Zhao!" Fu Tingyun smiled faintly, "I just heard someone address you as 'Ninth Master,' so I'll call you that too!"
In the sunlight, her features were vivid, like a half-bloomed peony, stunningly beautiful.
He nodded slightly, momentarily dazed.
Fu Tingyun's smile grew brighter.
She handed him the two thousand taels bank note.
He glanced at the bank note in Fu Tingyun's hand, then raised an eyebrow at her in puzzlement.
"I want to go to the capital to find my father," Fu Tingyun's eyes sparkled with determination, "and I'd like to ask Ninth Master to escort me along the way. This is your payment." She added, "I know you need to reach Xi'an by the fifteenth of August. I wouldn't dare delay your important matters. I only hope to stay by your side these days and, once your business is concluded, accompany me to the capital. All your expenses during this time will be on me. If it's not enough, I'll have my father compensate you when we reach the capital!" Her tone was utterly sincere.
His gaze lingered on her face, as if trying to memorize her features, his expression serious.
Fu Tingyun always thought Ninth Master Zhao was moody and capable of ruthless actions, making him difficult to get along with. Seeing him stare at her so intently now made her uneasy, and her voice grew even more gentle, "I can't let my mother suffer like this. I must see my father and beg him to stand up for both her and me..."
"But," he said slowly, "your father returned to Huayin some days ago."
"What?" Fu Tingyun was aghast, her mouth hanging open in shock."The Fu family has already announced your death," Ninth Master Zhao said slowly, "and held a fourteen-day Taoist ritual for you. They sent obituary notices to your father and the Yu Family. Your father returned to Huayin five days ago, while the Yu Family arrived three days ago—your betrothed and his third uncle came. After paying respects at your grave, your father returned your betrothed's marriage contract to the Yu Family..."
"This can't be! Impossible!" Fu Tingyun shouted, as if only by doing so could she prove him wrong... yet panic was already evident in her expression.
Her mother clearly knew she was still alive. Even if her father still had doubts, he could have simply summoned her back for questioning to uncover the truth. Why didn't he investigate properly? Why didn't he clear her name? And why did he break off the engagement with the Yu Family?
What was she to do now?
Would she truly never return to the Fu family, just as her mother had said?
Fu Tingyun slumped onto the bed in despair.
She had never imagined a day when she couldn't return to the Fu family.
She was born there, raised there.
Even when marrying into the prestigious Yu Family of Nanjing's Fengle Ward, the mere thought of the Fu family—of being a daughter under its protection—had always brought her comfort. Whether facing her shrewd and capable mother-in-law, her unseen yet brilliant husband, or her many sisters-in-law of varying temperaments, she had never feared, because she always had the Fu family to turn to—a warm refuge she could rely on at any time.
But now, though she lived, in the eyes of the world, she was already dead... She was no longer a daughter of the Fu family, no longer under its protection... The world was vast, yet she stood alone, adrift like rootless duckweed, with nowhere to belong...
Fu Tingyun wrapped her arms around herself, feeling nothing but cold seeping into her bones.
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After reading everyone's comments about the irregular update times, I must admit—after writing for four years, I've grown accustomed to updating at 7 PM. But recently, work changes have kept me in an adjustment period, leaving me with the will but not the energy... (>_
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