Chapter 198: The Flowering Tree
On the first day of the second lunar month, Fu Tingyun took Youyou and Xi Ge'er to Ten Mile Inn.
Master Fu the Fifth did not appear; only Fu Tinggui came to see off Madam Fu and her children.
While they had lunch in a private room in the main hall of Yangguan Restaurant, Fu Tingyun sat in the private room on the second floor. She could see the scene in the hall by pushing open the partition screen.
When she pushed it open, she happened to see Fu Tinggui and Madam Fu with her two sons emerging from their private room after their meal.
Fu Tinggui strode ahead, while Madam Fu followed behind, holding her two sons' hands. He hurried out impatiently, saying, "...If Grandmother is fine, come back early. Father has been in a bad mood these days. Without someone managing the household, everything will fall into chaos!"
Madam Fu lowered her eyelids and replied with a distracted "Yes."
Dissatisfied, Fu Tinggui stopped in his tracks and was about to say something when he noticed someone exiting another private room nearby. Frowning, he turned and walked away.
It was clear that Master Fu the Fifth and Fu Tinggui still hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation, thinking Madam Fu’s return to Huayin was merely an ordinary family visit.
Fu Tingyun shook her head slightly.
Zheng San came clattering up the stairs: "Madam, I’ve already spoken to Dong Gu, the housekeeper who serves Madam Fu."
Fu Tingyun nodded and walked to the other side of the private room. Seeing Fu Tinggui leave, she went downstairs to the back door of Yangguan Restaurant.
Madam Fu’s carriage was waiting there.
When she saw Fu Tingyun, Madam Fu looked grateful. "You’ve gone out of your way for us, Sister-in-law."
"Not at all," Fu Tingyun smiled. Her two nephews were staring at her curiously. "I originally intended to see you off at Yangguan, but seeing your family of four together, I didn’t want to intrude." Her gaze fell on the two boys. "Are these the eldest and second Ge'er?"
"Indeed," Madam Fu said, leading her sons down from the carriage and instructing them to kowtow to Fu Tingyun.
"No need, no need," Fu Tingyun quickly helped the boys up. "The ground here is dusty—be careful not to dirty your clothes."
Fu Tingyun was a taboo subject in the Fu household, so the two children barely remembered her. Hearing this, they looked to their mother in confusion.
For some reason, Madam Fu felt a pang in her heart, her eyes glistening slightly. "You are their own aunt. You’ve come all this way to see us off—how could we not have them kowtow to you?" She insisted the children pay their respects.
Dong Gu had already cleverly placed two cushions on the ground.
The two boys kowtowed three times respectfully, calling her "Aunt."
Years would pass before they met again. By then, Fu Tingyun might be gray-haired, and the boys might be grown with families of their own—perhaps they would pass each other by as strangers. And as for Youyou and Xi Ge'er, blood relatives might become strangers too.
Her heart ached at the thought.
"Get up quickly," Fu Tingyun stroked the boys’ heads, presenting the eldest with an inkstone and the second with a box of fine Huzhou brushes. "Study hard, so you may bring honor to the family." She then had Youyou and Xi Ge'er greet their cousins.
The children cheerfully called each other "cousin," while the adults were overwhelmed with emotion. It was only when Dong Gu cautiously reminded them, "Madam, if we don’t leave now, we won’t make it to the inn in time," that Fu Tingyun and Madam Fu finally bid each other farewell with heartfelt wishes.
Fu Tingyun personally helped her nephews back into the carriage.Madam Fu waved at Fu Tingyun as the carriage gradually departed from Ten Mile Inn.
With an arm around each of her two sons, Madam Fu held them close.
The younger son, Ge'er, asked curiously, "Mother, why doesn’t Aunt visit us during the New Year?"
"Because..." Madam Fu hesitated, momentarily at a loss for words.
Seeing his mother’s troubled expression, the elder son quickly changed the subject. "Mother, when will we reach Huayin? Are there many cousins there—both paternal and maternal?"
"Yes!" Madam Fu smiled, giving her eldest a reassuring squeeze. "Your uncle’s family has two elder cousins and two elder sisters—you’ll call them Eldest Cousin, Fourth Cousin, Second Sister, and Third Sister..." She took the opportunity to teach her sons how to address their relatives. "Your eldest aunt has one son and one daughter—you’ll call them Eldest Cousin and Eldest Sister..."
"Mother!" The younger son interrupted excitedly. "Then where do Aunt’s cousins—the younger sister and brother—rank?"
Madam Fu was slightly surprised but thought for a moment before answering. "Your aunt and your father are full siblings, so it’s different. They aren’t ranked—just call them Cousin and Younger Cousin."
The elder son grinned. "Like how we call our maternal cousins?"
Madam Fu paused, then laughed. "Yes, exactly! Just like your maternal cousins, they aren’t ranked either. Youyou and Xi Ge'er are just as close as your maternal cousins. Do you understand?"
Both boys nodded eagerly.
Fu Tingyun, of course, knew nothing of this conversation.
She sighed over Fu Tinggui’s obliviousness and wrote to Zhao Ling: "...How can someone like this exist? He doesn’t even know what the person sharing his pillow thinks day and night—what else is he good for?"
Zhao Ling replied: "All I know is that you think of me day and night." He added, "I’ll definitely return before the first day of the third month."
Fu Tingyun blushed and scoffed, but the gloom of recent days suddenly lifted.
Smiling, she stepped down from the kang and carefully tucked the letter into a box before heading to the storeroom with Yu Wei. "...Let’s rearrange the house... Replace the central hall’s painting with one of the True Warrior... Order a few peonies from the flower growers in Fengtai—if peonies aren’t available, then tree peonies will do. Swap out the vase in the study for a blue-and-white one, so we can display the peonies or tree peonies..."
Fu Tingyun gave Yu Wei detailed instructions before noticing the bright spring sunshine. After a brief pause, she suggested cheerfully, "Why don’t we go to Fengtai to order the flowers ourselves?"
"Wonderful!" Rarely getting the chance for an outing, Yu Wei’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Fu Tingyun decided to bring both her son and daughter along, and the family set off in high spirits for Fengtai.
Fengtai was home to many flower growers, and even though it was only the second month, the place was already a riot of color.
Youyou, seeing so many varieties of flowers for the first time, was fascinated by everything. She pointed eagerly, asking, "What’s this flower? And that one?"She wore a goose-yellow lined jacket, with jet-black hair and delicate features. Her clear speech and sparkling, bright eyes exuded an innocent charm, more tender and lovely than spring blossoms on the branches. Whether it was the flower farmers in the fields or the helpers in the greenhouses, all were willing to answer her naive yet earnest questions. Even Fu Tingyun, Yu Wei, and the others nearby gained quite a bit of knowledge from the exchanges. In stark contrast, Xi Ge'er, still in his oblivious infancy, slept as soon as he got into the carriage and woke the moment they stepped out. He grabbed at everything in sight, stuffing whatever he seized into his mouth. The adults had to keep a constant eye on him, lest he snatch something dangerous, leaving Tong Shi and the others too nervous to even blink.
Yu Wei laughed and said, "Madam, the young master is so quick with his hands and feet. When he grows up, he might be just like Ninth Master, skilled in martial arts!"
Fu Tingyun chuckled and planted a kiss on her son’s little face.
Noticing this, the flower farmer recommended a type of camellia to Fu Tingyun: "...It's called 'First-Rank Red.' You can plant it in your courtyard—it blooms during the Spring Festival, bringing the most auspicious joy. By the time the young master reaches school age, the tree will likely be as thick as a wine cup, its branches laden with blossoms, a true symbol of prosperity."
Fu Tingyun smiled and nodded. "Good things come in pairs—let’s buy two and plant them by the window of the warm pavilion."
Encouraged by her agreeable nature, the farmer then suggested magnolias: "...They bloom in purple. Have you seen them before?"
Fu Tingyun and Yu Wei exchanged amused glances. "We’ll take those too."
Overjoyed, the farmer then invited Fu Tingyun to inspect a pomegranate tree: "...Unlike ordinary pomegranates, this one bears fruit in perfect pairs on its branches."
Fu Tingyun was thoroughly intrigued... In the end, they had to hire a cart to carry all the plants home.
The cart driver cheerfully led the way to Shi Family Alley.
A carriage was parked at the entrance of the Wu Family residence.
The pomegranate tree Fu Tingyun had bought stood about half a person’s height, its lush branches stretching beyond the cart.
The driver tried several times to pass but couldn’t. He considered adjusting the tree’s position but worried about crushing the delicate branches of the two First-Rank Reds.
Sweating profusely, he found himself stuck.
Zheng San turned to ask, "What’s the matter?"
The driver hurriedly replied, "I’ll move the pomegranate tree inside for you in a moment."
With a tree that big, can you even manage it alone? In the end, it’ll still fall on me.
The thought flashed through Zheng San’s mind as he jumped down from the cart.
"Let me see!" he said, his gaze settling on the carriage parked in front of Official Wu’s residence. "Why make it so complicated? If we just move that carriage inward a bit, we can pass easily."
The driver of the Wu Family’s carriage, sitting on the shaft, turned his face away, pretending not to hear.
Zheng San’s brow furrowed slightly, but he still approached with a polite smile and saluted the man. "Brother, our load is quite heavy and difficult to move. Would you mind shifting your carriage a bit for us?"
The driver eyed Zheng San sidelong.
Though the calluses on his hands suggested labor, Zheng San wore an official-green Lu silk lined robe and spoke with neither subservience nor arrogance—either he had some wealth of his own or served in an influential household. Remembering this was Shi Family Alley, the driver suppressed his irritation and reluctantly climbed down, tugging the reins to slowly nudge the carriage aside.
The horse whinnied uneasily a few times.
The noise roused Xi Ge'er, who had been sleeping soundly the entire journey home.He was a lively child, and being cooped up in the carriage made him restless, squirming incessantly in Fu Tingyun's arms.
Thinking they were just a short distance from home, Fu Tingyun instructed Yu Wei before carrying Xi Ge'er out of the carriage.
Just then, there was a creaking sound as the side gate of the Wu Family swung open. Madam Wu's personal housekeeper emerged, accompanied by several young maids, escorting a woman around forty years old.
"...The concubine is still young and comes from a humble background. Though she's now with child, she lacks experienced guidance. We hope Housekeeper Shu can teach her properly," said Madam Wu's personal housekeeper with a smile, giving the middle-aged woman a respectful bow.
The woman returned the courtesy and replied, "The concubine is very sensible. Not only does our young mistress like her, but even our madam speaks highly of her. That's why I was specially sent to bring the good news to Madam Wu. Please reassure her..."
Mid-sentence, she suddenly looked up, her smile stiffening as her words trailed off.
Madam Wu's housekeeper instinctively followed her gaze.
"Oh!" she exclaimed with a smile. "That's Madam Zhao who lives next door to us." Immediately putting on a warm expression, she hurried forward and curtsied to Fu Tingyun: "Madam Zhao, where have you been? Why is your carriage full of flowering trees? Shall I call some people to help you carry them home?"
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After greeting my supervisor and clocking in, I hastily ate a bowl of rice and rushed home, finally managing to finish writing before midnight... (>_
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