Chapter 249: Estrangement
Third Sister cast a glance at the furious and exasperated Master Fu the Fifth before immediately chasing after them.
"Ninth Sister, let me see you off!" She stepped forward to take Fu Tingyun's arm, only to notice the glistening tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Quan Hui..." she murmured, calling Fu Tingyun by her childhood name, and let out a long sigh.
"I'm fine," Fu Tingyun said with a smile, patting Third Sister's hand. "Now you understand why I didn’t want to see Lord Fu, don’t you?"
Third Sister remained silent.
The two walked quietly out through the festooned gate.
Zheng San brought the carriage around.
Third Sister helped Fu Tingyun into the carriage.
Yu Wei lowered the curtain.
But Third Sister raised her hand to stop it.
"Ninth Sister," she said solemnly, gazing at Fu Tingyun, "don’t be too disheartened. What’s past is past. You must look forward. Even without Fifth Uncle, you still have us sisters."
If before, Third Sister had extended her help to Fu Tingyun out of sisterly affection and sympathy for her plight—so long as it didn’t directly conflict with the Fu family—now, she was making a clear choice between Fu Tingyun and Master Fu the Fifth, driven by disgust at his actions.
Fu Tingyun met Third Sister’s gaze deeply and gave her a slight nod.
Third Sister’s lips curved into a gentle smile.
"Let’s go!" Fu Tingyun instructed Zheng San cheerfully.
Zheng San cracked the whip, and the carriage clattered out of the alley.
Third Sister watched until the carriage disappeared from sight before returning to the hall.
Master Fu the Fifth was pacing restlessly, hands clasped behind his back. When he saw Third Sister enter, his expression darkened. "You saw how she treated me—"
But before he could continue his lecture or expect her to placate him, Third Sister smiled and said, "Ninth Sister has suffered so much. It’s only natural she’d be upset. Fifth Uncle is a wise man—surely you understand." Then she smoothly changed the subject. "Fifth Uncle, a servant just informed me that my husband has been kept by Vice Minister Hao to copy memorials for public proclamation and will stay overnight at his office. Was there something you needed from him? If it’s not something you can discuss with me, perhaps you could leave a note, and I’ll pass it along when he returns."
Master Fu the Fifth had spotted Fu Tingyun’s carriage on his way back to Four Happiness Alley and followed it here. His real target had always been Fu Tingyun—he had no business with Third Older Cousin's Husband. Now, with Third Sister’s obvious dismissal and not even a polite invitation to stay for dinner, he stormed off in a huff.
The housekeeper close to Third Sister couldn’t help but worry. "Isn’t this inappropriate? After all, Wu Laoye is an elder. If Second Master finds out, he might be displeased."
"What do you know?" Third Sister snapped quietly. "Fifth Uncle cares only about climbing the ranks and making money, with no regard for anything else. That’s the quickest path to trouble—or worse. Don’t speak of this carelessly."
The housekeeper hastily agreed.
Third Sister then ordered her to grind ink. "I must write to Father... If no one can rein in Fifth Uncle, Father must take notice and prepare countermeasures early. Otherwise, he’ll ruin the Fu family’s century-old reputation."The matter was of great importance, and the personal housekeeper dared not delay, quickly fetching writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Third Sister bent over the desk to write.
Third Older Cousin's Husband returned.
Third Sister set down the brush, left the study, and attended to her husband as he changed clothes.
Noticing faint ink stains on Third Sister's fingers, Third Older Cousin's Husband smiled and said, "Didn't you say you were going with Ninth Younger Sister to look at houses? What happened? Didn't see any houses, and instead practiced calligraphy at home?"
Third Sister followed her husband's gaze and saw the ink stains on her fingers.
The matter concerning Master Fu the Fifth was, after all, not something honorable, and Third Sister hadn't originally planned to tell her husband.
She had started tracing characters at three years old and hadn't gotten ink stains on her fingers since she was eight.
Could this be fate?
From their earlier speculations, although the position of Left Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel was minor, it held boundless prospects. Her husband and Fifth Uncle served in the same court, and Fifth Uncle was an elder. An elder's words should not be opposed, but with Fifth Uncle's character... Her husband was unaware, and if he blindly obeyed just because Fifth Uncle was an elder, it might bring trouble upon him.
Thinking this, Third Sister told her husband about Master Fu the Fifth's visit: "...I had no choice but to say you weren't coming back today and sent Fifth Uncle away."
As he listened, Third Older Cousin's Husband's expression grew serious. After Third Sister finished, he pondered and said, "Ninth Younger Sister doesn't seem difficult to get along with, yet she's at odds with her own father. Your concerns are reasonable. It's best we don't get too close to Fifth Uncle."
Seeing her husband shared her thoughts, Third Sister felt even more justified in her actions and reminded him, "Should we also inform Seventh Younger Sister's husband?"
"Yes, we should," Third Older Cousin's Husband said after a moment's thought. "And Fifth Younger Sister's husband as well. As for others, if they're willing to listen, fine; if not, we won't force it."
"Mm," Third Sister agreed and called for the maids to serve dinner.
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Meanwhile, on Alley Street, Consort Wu had finished her evening meal and was sitting by the window on the large kang, lost in thought with a teacup in hand.
Zelan, who had just cleared the dishes, came in and couldn't help but glance at Consort Wu.
Ever since Consort Wu returned from the Wu Family after attending the birthday celebration of the Wu Family's Third Young Mistress, she had been sitting on the kang in a daze. What exactly had happened at the Wu Family?
As Zelan was wondering, the door burst open with a bang as Lianxin rushed in recklessly: "Madam, Madam, something terrible has happened!"
No wonder she'd been in the household for three years and still only mingled with those low-ranking maids.
Zelan looked at Lianxin's pale face and silently criticized her in her heart.
Consort Wu, startled, asked, "What's happened now?" But then she saw Zelan standing calmly by the kang and softened her tone, saying to Lianxin, "Whatever it is, speak slowly. There's no need to panic!" She added, "This is something you should learn from Miss Zelan."Her hint was already so obvious. Normally, Lianxin would have just smiled at Zelan and kept quiet. But today, not only did she not drop the subject, she even stepped forward eagerly toward Consort Wu and said urgently, "Someone from the old family home in Nanjing has arrived... It's Housekeeper Fei from Madam Yu's side... Housekeeper Fei accompanied two young ladies here... From the way Housekeeper Shu spoke, they are, they are meant to be arranged into the young master's quarters, just waiting for the young mistress to meet them before being elevated to concubines..."
Consort Wu gasped sharply.
The young mistress had given birth to a daughter, and she had already been cast into the cold palace. She had thought about the possibility of the Yu Family arranging another concubine for Yu Jingxiu. But seeing how Madam Yu and Yu Jingxiu were both preoccupied with the frail Zhen Jie'er, she had assumed this matter would wait another two or three years. She never expected it to happen so soon—and with people sent by Madam Yu from the old family home in Nanjing.
Zelan, who had been calm until now, suddenly jumped up. "How is that possible? Did you mishear? Even if the young master were to take a concubine, it should be decided by the young mistress or Madam Yu. Why would Madam Yu suddenly send people over?" Her face was full of suspicion, which displeased Lianxin. "Why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe me, go to the main courtyard and see for yourself. The two young ladies—one is surnamed Fei, from Madam Yu’s maternal family, and the other is surnamed Liu, from the third madam’s maternal family..."
Each of them had impressive backgrounds.
Listening to this, Consort Wu, for some reason, felt a strange sense of leisure, as if watching a scene unfold from an embroidered tower.
She said to Zelan, "The young master lacks heirs. Madam Yu and the third madam are anxious, so they’ve chosen people to serve him. It’s just the concern of elders—nothing to be surprised about."
"You don’t understand," Zelan said. These days, Consort Wu had been polite to her, and Zelan had gradually become less reserved, speaking more freely. "The madams may seem harmonious on the surface, but each has their own agenda. Especially the third madam. The third master has been in the old family home these past few years, and the young master often accompanies him to social gatherings. The third madam treats the young master like her own son, indulging him in everything and agreeing to all his requests. In turn, the young master is very close to her, confiding in her about everything. If he ever lacked silver and didn’t dare ask Madam Yu, he’d go to the third madam, who would give him her own savings. Once, the young master wanted to buy some kind of tripod, and the third madam gave him five thousand taels of silver in one go. Over this, Madam Yu and the third madam had a falling out. After that, Madam Yu kept a very tight rein on the young master. Everyone serving in his quarters is handpicked by Madam Yu—neither Madam Yu nor the third madam could even slip in a sweeper.
"The young master lacks heirs. Whoever bears the first son will be the Yu Family’s benefactor. Everyone understands this. How could Madam Yu allow people sent by Madam Yu or the third madam into the young master’s quarters? When the time comes, would the grandson be closer to Madam Yu, the third madam, or Madam Yu herself?"
These were the Yu Family’s secrets, known only to servants like Zelan, whose families had served the Yus for generations and who had waited on Madam Yu personally.
Consort Wu couldn’t help but ask, "Are you saying that Madam Yu and the third madam both want to win the young master’s favor, so they both indulge him?"Zelan regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. She stammered a few responses before excusing herself to check on the situation, heading toward the main courtyard.
Lianxin then asked, "Consort, should I go inquire further to see if those two cousin ladies were truly assigned to the young master's quarters?"
"No need," Consort Wu replied with a smile. "What's there to investigate? If someone notices, they might think we're being petty and jealous!" She added, "The more people, the livelier it gets. The Yu Family values propriety—my position is secure. What do you have to worry about?"
Lianxin gave an awkward chuckle.
Consort Wu instructed her, "Let's prepare the bed and rest. Those two cousin ladies are the young mistress's concern."
Lianxin acknowledged with a smile and went to order the maids to fetch water.
Consort Wu muttered under her breath, "How strange." She continued, "If Madam Yu has been so vigilant about keeping the young master away from Madam Wu and Madam San's influence, why would she so easily agree to let those two cousin ladies serve in his quarters?" After pondering for a while without reaching an answer, she shrugged it off and mused aloud, "I wonder what Madam Wu has found out? Whatever it was that made Madam Zhao seethe with anger—what could it possibly be?"
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A little earlier than yesterday—that counts as a victory for me too!
Yay...
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Monthly followers doubled—please vote with pink tickets!
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(End of chapter)
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