Chapter 193: An Encounter
Fu Tingyun broke into a cold sweat upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "How is Grandmother now?"
"I don't know," Yu Wei shook her head. "I was so stunned when I heard the news that I rushed back to tell you without asking the Dowager..." She lowered her head uneasily.
Fu Tingyun didn't blame her and instead inquired, "When will Yi Tong's cousin return to Huayin?"
"He set off for Huayin right after meeting me," Yu Wei replied. "By now, he’s probably already left the city."
Fu Tingyun felt a pang of disappointment.
Yu Wei suggested, "Should we send word to Sister Yi Tong and ask about the Dowager’s condition?"
"That’s a good idea," Fu Tingyun agreed after a moment’s thought. "Do the Eldest Master and Wu Laoye know about this?"
"Both masters are aware," Yu Wei said. "The Eldest Master rushed back to Huayin last month and hasn’t returned to Jinhua yet, while Wu Laoye wrote a letter to his former colleague serving as a counselor in Shaanxi, asking him to help quell the rumors."
After this incident, even if the Fu family managed to suppress the rumors, their reputation would likely suffer. If anything else happened, their century-old prestige might gradually erode—wasn’t this how many long-standing families declined?
Fu Tingyun fell silent.
Yu Wei, too, was somber.
The two sat in wordless stillness.
For a moment, the room was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Then came the sound of Youyou’s hurried footsteps outside: "Mama, Mama, what are you and Yu Wei whispering about?" She lifted the curtain and peeked inside.
Fu Tingyun and Yu Wei exchanged a glance before Fu Tingyun put on a bright smile and went to embrace her daughter. "Weren’t you supposed to be eating properly with Mama Tong? What are you doing here?" she chided gently, leading her out. "Didn’t Mama Tong teach you not to speak during meals or before bed?"
"She did," Youyou admitted, lowering her head but stealing glances at her mother with wide, fluttering almond eyes. "But I wanted to know what you were doing!" she whined playfully.
Outside, Tong Shi stood awkwardly with a small bowl, her face flushed as she called out, "Madam..."
Youyou quickly tugged at her mother’s sleeve. "Mama, Mama, it’s not Mama Tong’s fault! I was the one who wanted to see you..." she said anxiously.
Feigning sternness, Fu Tingyun frowned. "Don’t do this again. When it’s time to eat, you must eat properly. Understood?"
Youyou nodded repeatedly.
With a smile, Fu Tingyun set her daughter down at the kang table where the meal was laid out.
After lunch, once the children had gone for their nap, Fu Tingyun took three incense sticks and bowed three times before the household shrine, silently praying: "Cousin-in-law, may you soon be reborn into a life with loving parents and flourishing descendants, free from actions that harm others and yourself." She also chose a date to visit Tanzhe Temple, requesting the monks to perform a three-day Taoist ritual for the deceased.
As she stepped out of the temple hall, she unexpectedly encountered Madam Wu.
"Here to offer incense as well?" Fu Tingyun was pleasantly surprised to run into an acquaintance.
Madam Wu, however, seemed unusually hesitant, unlike her usual enthusiastic self. She gestured to a strikingly pretty girl beside her, who appeared freshly of marriageable age but wore a bashful expression. "This is a distant niece of my husband’s, visiting relatives in the capital. I brought her to Tanzhe Temple to pray."It was quite common for relatives from one's hometown visiting the capital to be shown around. However, the young girl was exceptionally striking, and the way she blushed with shame at Madam Wu's words made Fu Tingyun glance at her a few more times.
"The Tanzhe Temple in the capital is grand and majestic. Though I haven't traveled much, I've never seen a Zen Monastery more imposing than Tanzhe Temple," she politely made small talk with Miss Wu. "The Guanyin Bodhisattva enshrined in the back hall is particularly efficacious, and the temple's vegetarian cuisine is unparalleled. It's definitely worth a thorough visit."
Miss Wu lowered her head, straightened her sleeves, and murmured in agreement, her shyness tinged with timidity.
Fu Tingyun found it even more peculiar.
Miss Wu appeared refined and courteous, yet she acted like a timid young bride when socializing, hesitant and fearful.
What was even stranger was Madam Wu's attitude. At this point, she should have introduced Miss Wu to her, yet Madam Wu showed no intention of doing so.
Every family has its own difficulties, so Fu Tingyun naturally didn't press the matter. She exchanged a few more pleasantries with Madam Wu and Miss Wu.
A flicker of anxiety passed through Madam Wu's eyes, as if something urgent weighed on her mind.
Fu Tingyun was perceptive enough to pick up on cues. Besides, Madam Wu had a somewhat snobbish demeanor in her dealings with others. While Fu Tingyun didn't particularly like such people, they were a dime a dozen, and she saw no reason to be openly hostile. With a smile, she bid farewell to Madam Wu.
Madam Wu exhaled deeply in relief, as if a burden had been lifted.
Introducing one's own relative to someone else as a concubine was, after all, not a matter to be proud of.
Looking up, she saw Miss Wu gazing curiously at Fu Tingyun's retreating figure and couldn't help but say, "That's Madam Zhao, who lives next door to us!" Her tone carried a clear warning not to speak out of turn.
Miss Wu, however, was startled and stammered, "Is that the Madam Zhao who buys twelve taels of silver per bolt of fabric for her daughter's jackets?"
"Yes!" Madam Wu replied absentmindedly, then lowered her voice to instruct her, "After offering incense in the Mahavira Hall, we must hurry to the Guanyin Hall. Madam Yu should arrive soon. She has a straightforward temperament and dislikes dilly-dallying. When you meet Madam Yu, be poised. Answer her questions truthfully. If she offers you a gift, politely decline once, but if she insists, accept it with thanks. Don't keep refusing—it would seem petty..."
Miss Wu quickly composed herself and nodded obediently.
Pleased by her docility, Madam Wu gave a satisfied nod, adjusted a loose strand of hair at Miss Wu's temple, and led her toward the Mahavira Hall.
So that was Madam Zhao!
Miss Wu felt dazed.
She was truly beautiful!
Standing tall and speaking confidently with Madam Wu, her laughter was like the sun—bright, dazzling, radiant... Someone like her, born into wealth, married to a prominent husband, with children and a life of comfort, probably never knew hardship, humiliation, endurance, or suffering in her entire life, did she?
At this thought, Miss Wu couldn't help but glance back.
There, she saw Madam Zhao stopped on the white marble steps outside the hall by a woman carrying a bamboo basket and wearing a headscarf, peddling sundries.Madam Zhao's attendant stepped forward with a displeased expression, looking as if she was about to scold the woman, but Madam Zhao smiled and gently pressed the attendant's shoulder, engaging in a cheerful conversation with the peddler woman. The peddler quickly retrieved a pair of tiger-head shoes from her bamboo basket, which Madam Zhao accepted with keen interest, exchanging a few more words with the woman. The peddler, visibly grateful, then pulled out a few more children's toys from her basket. Madam Zhao whispered instructions to one of her older maids, while a younger maid promptly stepped forward to take the items from the peddler. The older maid, smiling, fished out some silver fragments from her purse and handed them over.
The peddler woman hesitated for a moment before waving her hands in refusal.
Madam Zhao spoke a few more words.
The peddler, once again showing gratitude, accepted the silver and repeatedly bowed to Madam Zhao.
With a warm smile, Madam Zhao turned and descended the steps, surrounded by her maids and attendants.
For some reason, she let out a long sigh, much like Madam Wu had earlier.
Someone lightly tapped her shoulder, calling out, "Miss Cousin."
She quickly turned around.
There stood the senior maid assigned to her by Madam Wu, glaring at her. "Madam is calling for you. What are you doing, looking around like that?" the maid whispered sharply. "Anyone can tell you're from the countryside. At least try to hold yourself back." Her tone was full of disapproval.
Suddenly, the image of Madam Zhao's smiling face as she spoke to the peddler flashed through the young lady's mind...
Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, she forced a weak smile at the maid and hurried into the Mahavira Hall.
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Zheng Sanniang, noticing the downward slope ahead, supported Fu Tingyun and muttered, "What's gotten into Madam Wu? She's usually so warm and friendly with us, but this time she seemed eager to see us leave. Could it really be as Mother Huang said—that Wu Daren is about to be promoted to Minister of Rites?"
The Minister of Rites was one of the six key ministries, typically held by a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.
Fu Tingyun chuckled, "If that were the case, given Madam Wu's nature, she should be just as welcoming as ever—she’s always been one to charm everyone and avoid offending anyone."
"You're right!" Zheng Sanniang laughed.
Fu Tingyun then asked, "Did Mother Huang come to see you again? What was it about this time?"
Mother Huang was a servant from the Li household in Bensi Alley. When Fu Tingyun first moved to Shi Family Alley and was short on funds, she hired temporary help to clean the courtyard. The steward from Madam Wu's household recommended two servants from the Li family, and Mother Huang was one of them. Perhaps because they were among the first people Zheng Sanniang met in the capital, and both were honest and reliable, she had always maintained a good relationship with them.
Zheng Sanniang smiled sheepishly. "She mentioned there’s a temple fair at Baiyun Temple in a few days and asked if I wanted to go."
"If you want to go, then go!" Fu Tingyun said warmly. "Just make sure everything at home is taken care of first."
Her mistress's leniency was a point of pride for Zheng Sanniang. With a hint of pride in her expression, she replied, "I already told her—with the New Year approaching, our household is bustling with preparations. Unlike her, with Madam Li back in their hometown and Lord Li at his post, where a few pounds of meat can make their New Year, I have too much to do to go wandering around!"Yu Wei and the others couldn't help but laugh at this.
They encountered a noblewoman surrounded by maids and matrons.
Their eyes met, and both women halted in their tracks.
"Madam Zhao!" Madam Yu greeted Fu Tingyun with mixed emotions as she took in her radiant appearance.
Fu Tingyun had met Madam Yu before, but this was Madam Yu's first time seeing her in the capital. Yet Madam Yu's expression showed neither shock nor surprise—only a complex, inscrutable look of unexpected recognition.
It seemed Madam Yu had long been aware of her affairs.
Remembering what Yu Jingxiu had done to her, Fu Tingyun curled her lips slightly. With a cool "Madam Yu," she brushed past the woman without another word.
Madam Yu stood stunned, then turned and called out loudly, "Madam Zhao!"
Fu Tingyun didn't respond, striding away without looking back.
She couldn't be certain what role Madam Yu had played in framing her, but she'd maintained basic courtesy during their encounter—that was enough. As for what might come later, time would reveal many things. She'd deal with that when the time came.
With these thoughts, she turned her steps homeward.
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Votes please...(>_
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