Chapter 217: Departing the Capital
Because of this incident, when Fu Tingyun replied to Madam Wu, she only mentioned that Zhao Ling would soon depart for Songjiang to pay respects to his ancestors.
Unable to discern Fu Tingyun’s tone, Madam Wu grew uneasy and repeated the words verbatim to Official Wu, seeking his advice:
"...What do you think she meant by that? Has she forgiven us, or is she still harboring some resentment?"
Official Wu was also uncertain. After some thought, he sighed helplessly, "For now, we can only wait and see how Lord Zhao conducts himself after returning to Songjiang." He added, "In any case, it wouldn’t hurt for you to maintain closer ties with Madam Zhao. After all, a good neighbor is better than a distant relative!"
Madam Wu found this reasoning sound.
Once Zhao Ling set off for Songjiang, she began visiting the Zhao residence frequently.
Fu Tingyun, finding these visits increasingly bothersome, had no choice but to hint tactfully, "His Majesty only granted my husband a two-month leave. I’ll be returning to Chang’an soon and will come back before the New Year. If there’s anything from the region you’d like, Madam Wu, I’d be happy to bring some back for you."
"No need, no need!" Madam Wu waved her hand with a smile. "What Shaanxi has, we already have in Jiangnan. But what Jiangnan has, Shaanxi might not." Realizing how inappropriate this sounded, she quickly amended, "When are you leaving? I’ll come to see you off."
"The autumn heat is still fierce these days," Fu Tingyun replied, hoping Madam Wu would take the hint and stop visiting. She smiled and shared the date, "We’ll set off after the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Madam Wu took note. On the tenth day of the eighth month, she sent over a courtesy gift of three hundred taels of silver.
Since the marriage alliance with the Wang family had been settled, the two households were now considered relatives. Though Zhao Ling was away, Wang Furen invited Fu Tingyun and A Sen to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at their home. This would be A Sen’s first formal visit to the Wang family as their new son-in-law, and Fu Tingyun was busy preparing his attire.
When she saw the six large silver ingots gleaming atop a crimson velvet lining inside a vermilion lacquered box, the glare made her squint. After a brief pause, she chuckled, "Please take the silver back. Tell your mistress that if she truly wishes to be thoughtful, she could send some dried fish from Jiangnan instead—I’d like to take it back to Chang’an as local gifts." She then picked up her teacup and turned to Zheng San to discuss the arrangements for the Wang family visit: "I’ll only take Yu Wei and Zhenzhu with me. You and Zheng San can manage the household affairs..."
Madam Wu’s personal housekeeper stood there, visibly awkward, unsure whether to stay or leave.
Yu Wei, noticing her discomfort, took the box and gently pressed it back into the housekeeper’s arms, saying warmly, "The gift itself may be small, but the sentiment behind it is priceless. By sending such a lavish gift, Madam Wu inadvertently creates distance. If you explain it to her this way, I’m sure she won’t blame you."
The housekeeper also felt the gift was overly extravagant—if the Wu family ever needed a reciprocal gesture from the Zhaos, the obligation would be burdensome, especially since the two families weren’t closely related. No wonder Madam Zhao was reluctant to accept it.
After a moment’s consideration, she clasped the box and whispered her thanks to Yu Wei, "Thank you for teaching me how to phrase it." Then, with a respectful bow to Fu Tingyun, she withdrew.
Fu Tingyun halted her conversation, frowning slightly. "This Madam Wu—I initially thought her quite astute. Why does she act so erratically now?"Yu Wei, who had just escorted Madam Wu's personal housekeeper out to the hall before handing her over to a maid to see her out, returned at this moment. Hearing Fu Tingyun's words, she smiled and said, "Anxiety leads to confusion! Madam Wu must be regretting her actions terribly now."
Fu Tingyun thought this made sense and let the matter drop, asking Yu Wei instead, "When will the jewelry set from Baoqing Tower be delivered?"
Since Zhao Ling was now a third-rank official and she would be attending the prince's residence as A Sen's family representative, she had ordered some gold and gemstone jewelry from Baoqing Tower. However, time was tight, so she had asked Shopkeeper Ye San to expedite the order.
"They said it would arrive by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow at the latest," Yu Wei replied with a smile. "Shall I go to Baoqing Tower to check on it?"
"No need," Fu Tingyun said with a laugh. "Help me look through my clothes instead."
This was the kind of thing any woman would be interested in.
Yu Wei cheerfully agreed and joined Fu Tingyun in rummaging through the chests.
Meanwhile, Madam Wu was being reprimanded by Wu Daren: "Why did you send silver? Couldn’t you have bought a painting or calligraphy instead? Now look what’s happened—they’ve asked you to send dried fish. What season is this? Where do you expect to find dried fish now?"
Paintings and calligraphy weren’t as straightforward or appealing as silver!
But Madam Wu didn’t dare say this aloud. She meekly agreed, though privately she grumbled about Fu Tingyun: "Of all things to ask for, why dried fish? What am I supposed to do now?"
Dried fish was typically made after the Laba Festival and available by early spring. Those with a longer shelf life might last until early summer, while those with a shorter shelf life would be gone by late spring.
Her personal housekeeper suggested, "Perhaps you could ask Madam Ji if she has any left? I heard her second son had boils as a child and didn’t improve after half a month of medicine. Then his wet nurse suggested applying cured meat to the boils, and he recovered in a few days. Since then, their family has made a point of keeping some cured meat and dried fish through the summer."
Cured meat and dried fish were believed to have heat-clearing and detoxifying properties.
Madam Wu had no choice but to send her housekeeper to the Ji family to ask.
The housekeeper returned with disappointing news: "A few days ago, Madam Yu suffered from excessive internal heat, with blisters in her mouth so severe she couldn’t even open it. The Ji family did have some dried fish left, but they sent it all to Madam Yu’s residence."
Madam Wu was disheartened. She contacted several other officials from Jiangnan in the capital, but none had any. By the 14th of the eighth month, with no dried fish in sight, she grew so anxious that she developed a sore throat.
Her housekeeper asked urgently, "What should we do?"
Madam Wu gritted her teeth. "Go to the storeroom and pick out a few bolts of Jiangnan silk. Also, take several packets of the pre-rain Longjing tea that the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner sent to the master recently. I’ll take them to Madam Zhao."
The housekeeper hurried off to comply.
Meanwhile, Fu Tingyun was whispering to Yu Wei, "Thank goodness I gave Madam Wu a difficult task. Otherwise, with her dropping by every few days, I’d be stuck listening to her gossip and wouldn’t get anything done." She added, "By the time we return from Chang’an, news from Songjiang will likely have reached the capital. She probably won’t pester me anymore then."
Yu Wei chuckled.
Just then, Xi Ge’er toddled in. "Weiwei, eat fruit!"He was the complete opposite of Youyou. Youyou started speaking late, but once she began, she spoke in full sentences. Xi Ge'er started speaking early, yet by the age of one, his speech was still unclear. Youyou had never been picky about food since infancy, while Xi Ge'er would wake up thinking about eating. Perhaps because of this, Xi Ge'er was exceptionally healthy—he hadn’t even sneezed once, let alone fallen ill.
Due to the cold weather, Fu Tingyun didn’t dare let Xi Ge'er indulge in too much fruit, so he resorted to acting spoiled in front of Yu Wei, who doted on him endlessly.
Yu Wei also didn’t dare give him anything raw or cold, but seeing Xi Ge'er’s eager expression, her heart ached. After some thought, she suggested, “Madam, a while ago, Madam Mo sent over some sugarcane. How about we extract the juice, heat it in a pot, and let the young master drink it?”
“No wonder he seeks you out and no one else,” Fu Tingyun chuckled. “You spoil him too much.” But she didn’t object.
Yu Wei smiled. “Madam has to manage household affairs while also worrying about external matters—handling one task after another every day. I, on the other hand, only need to follow you around. Without such burdens, I have more free time, so it’s only right that I take more care of the young master…”
“Alright, alright,” Fu Tingyun laughed. “No need to give me so many reasons. Just don’t let him grow into a spoiled young master.” Then, thinking of the child in her belly, she mused, “I wonder if it’ll be a girl or a boy? After returning from Chang’an, we’ll need to find a wet nurse and buy two more maids.”
“The household is also short of two young servants,” Yu Wei added. “Yan Qing followed Second Master to the Wang family, and with another child coming next year, we’ll be short on hands.”
“I’ve already discussed this with Ninth Master,” Fu Tingyun said. “He mentioned taking in two orphaned brothers at the border—only eight or nine years old—perfect for raising at home for a while. When they’re older, he’ll take them to the military camp. They can seek a future there while also learning discipline.”
There was one thing she didn’t tell Yu Wei.
If such boys grew up to be capable, they could become Zhao Ling’s right-hand men. Even if they didn’t rise to prominence, they would at least remain fiercely loyal.
This was how military families gradually expanded their influence.
A Sen, for instance, was an orphan Zhao Ling had adopted.
Yu Wei didn’t dwell on it, simply asking when they would arrive and whether they should repartition the room where Jin Yuanbao used to rest—one side as a guest room, the other for the boys.
“Then speak to Zheng San about it,” Fu Tingyun said. “It’s perfect timing to have the rooms divided while we’re away in Chang’an—the boys should arrive before the start of winter.”
Yu Wei carried Xi Ge'er off to prepare the sugarcane juice and discuss the matter with Zheng San, while Fu Tingyun and Zhenzhu went through the trunks once more. Then, she put the children to bed early and rose at dawn the next day. After freshening up and keeping her preparations simple for the journey ahead, she led the children out the door.For this trip, apart from Zheng San driving a Zhao family carriage carrying Fu Tingyun, Youyou, Xi Ge'er, and Yu Wei, they also borrowed three Datong Company carriages from Shopkeeper Ye San. One carriage carried A Sen and Yan Qing, another carried Zhenzhu, Kou'er, Tong Shi, and others, while the last was loaded with trunks and local gifts. In addition to hiring escorts from a security agency, Zhao Ling also borrowed ten Tengji Guards from Qin Feiyu to accompany them.
Zheng San's carriage was ready early, and Fu Tingyun boarded with the children at the Chuihua Gate. The Datong Company carriages had been waiting at the door before dawn, and Shopkeeper Ye San thoughtfully sent a few nimble clerks to help with loading the trunks. Though everything was orderly, the comings and goings still created some noise. As for the Tengji Guards, led by a junior officer, though they usually carried themselves with arrogance, they now had to lower their heads and assist the Zhao family with moving, as they were on Qin Feiyu's orders escorting Zhao Ling's family. For a while, Shi Family Alley was quite lively.
Madam Wu, seeing this scene, froze for a moment before stepping forward with a smile to greet Fu Tingyun: "...The season isn’t right yet for dried fish, but after the start of winter, I’ll have some sent to you." She then turned and took a bundle of tea leaves and fabric from her personal housekeeper, handing it to Fu Tingyun. "This is a few catties of tea and some fabric—just humble local specialties from the south. Take them back for your relatives to enjoy."
Seeing it was only five or six bolts of fabric and two or three catties of tea, and considering Madam Wu had come so early in the morning, Fu Tingyun smiled and had Yu Wei accept it. She exchanged pleasantries with Madam Wu while waiting for the Datong Company carriages to finish loading.
The sound of clopping hooves came from the alley entrance.
Everyone turned to look.
A black-lacquered, flat-roofed carriage with official green curtains rolled in.
Noticing the commotion of moving ahead, someone inside the carriage leaned out and asked, "What’s going on here?"
Fu Tingyun looked closely—it was Mama Shu, who served Madam Yu.
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It’s September now, and according to Qidian’s old tradition, votes will be doubled at the end of the month. Please, sisters and brothers, save some pink votes for me.
O(∩_∩)O~
Thank you all!
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(End of Chapter)
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