Chapter 283: Hitting Someone
As Fu Tingyun followed Yue Chuan out of the inner chamber, A Sen, who had heard the commotion, hurried over to meet them. "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'm here!" he said, stepping forward to support Fu Tingyun. "Youyou has a gentle nature—she wouldn't even harm a kitten or puppy, let alone a person! There must be some misunderstanding. Please don’t panic; let’s find out what happened first before jumping to conclusions."
Wang Jing Tong also caught up and took Fu Tingyun’s other arm. "Sister-in-law, I’ll go with you to see what’s going on."
Fu Tingyun nodded, her emotions settling slightly. The three of them followed Yue Chuan to the main gate.
At the entrance stood two groups. On one side were several maidservants led by Yu Wei, anxiously surrounding Youyou, who was sobbing so hard she seemed on the verge of fainting. They tried to console her with words like, "Don’t cry, it wasn’t intentional," and "Young Miss, be careful not to hurt your eyes from crying." On the other side were several matrons led by Zheng Sanniang, crowding around a boy of about seven or eight years old dressed in a sapphire-blue Hangzhou silk long gown. They chattered incessantly, saying things like, "Let Auntie see if you’re hurt," and "Where exactly did it hit you? At least let us take a look." The boy, however, remained silent, tightly covering one side of his face, his expression stubborn.
Fu Tingyun felt a slight relief.
At least there was no blood...
Beside the boy stood a slightly older lad dressed as a servant, who pointed at Youyou and shouted, "Don’t think you can bully us just because your family has more people! Our family isn’t to be trifled with either—our Laifu has already gone to call for help, and you’ll regret it when they arrive!" Despite his aggressive tone, his underlying nervousness was unmistakable.
The scene was chaotic.
Fu Tingyun felt both exasperated and amused. Raising her voice, she scolded her own servants, "What are all of you doing gathered here? Disperse at once and return to your duties!"
The servants sheepishly complied, leaving only Yu Wei and Zheng Sanniang behind as they gradually retreated indoors.
Meanwhile, Youyou, hearing her mother’s voice, immediately rushed over. "Mother, Mother, I didn’t mean to..." She clung to Fu Tingyun’s leg, weeping bitterly. "Sanniang said the birds in the locust tree were eating the fruit, so I threw a few stones to scare them away..."
The locust tree stood in front of the southern wing, just beyond which was the alleyway. Who could have guessed the stones would fly out into the alley and hit someone?
Even without Youyou’s explanation, Fu Tingyun could easily imagine how things had unfolded.
She sighed deeply, took Youyou’s hand, and said gently, "Stop crying now."
Seeing that her mother wasn’t scolding her, Youyou gradually quieted down, though she still sniffled.
Fu Tingyun then said, "But you did hit someone, and you can’t just hide and cry after causing trouble. Come with me to see the person you hurt. First, we’ll apologize, and then we’ll handle things as they should be handled."
Youyou shrank back fearfully, burying herself in Yu Wei’s arms.
Fu Tingyun motioned for Yu Wei to carry Youyou while she went to examine the injured boy.
"I’m this child’s mother," Fu Tingyun said softly, gesturing toward Youyou. "May I see where you’re hurt? Our people have already gone to fetch a physician..." As she spoke, she reached out to check the boy’s injury.
But the boy twisted away, avoiding her touch.
The servant boy behind him immediately jumped forward, blocking Fu Tingyun.
"Madam, our master is the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangzhe," he blustered, though his bravado was thin. "We’re not afraid of you... Laifu has already gone to call for reinforcements..."Fu Tingyun couldn't help but admire the little servant's solitary courage. Her voice grew even gentler: "My daughter injured your young master, and that was our fault. I sincerely apologize to your young master here! I mean no harm—I just want to first examine your young master's injury. The physician won't arrive for some time yet, and I wouldn't want his condition to worsen from delay..." She added, "You mentioned your master is the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangsu and Zhejiang—does that mean this child belongs to Lord Li's household in Bensi Alley up ahead? If so, we're practically neighbors. I'll have someone notify your household immediately. Once your master arrives, we'll handle this matter properly—we were at fault to begin with and won't shirk responsibility!"
Hearing this, the little servant seemed somewhat swayed and glanced toward the young boy.
The boy, however, behaved strangely. Upon hearing Fu Tingyun's words, he tensed up and retreated several steps until his back was against the wall.
Meanwhile, Youyou, seeing her mother humbly apologizing to the boy who remained cold and unresponsive, felt utterly distressed. She wriggled out of Yu Wei's arms and ran in front of Fu Tingyun, shielding her mother.
"It was me who hurt you! If—if you're angry, be angry at me! Don't you dare look at my mother like that!" she stammered. "If you're mad, then—then..." After a moment's thought, she declared, "Then you can poke my eyes out too! That way we'll be even!" She emphasized, "But you mustn't look at my mother that way!"
The boy's expression grew even more peculiar upon hearing this.
Fu Tingyun was both amused and exasperated. She scolded Youyou, "What nonsense are you spouting? How would blinding you heal his eyes?" She continued, "You hurt someone—have you even apologized? Hurry up and make amends!"
Pouting, Youyou said tearfully, "I heard someone cry 'ouch' outside and ran out to apologize right away. But he didn't want my apology—he wanted me to give him my eyes..." The thought of losing her eyes made her shudder with fear, and she began to cry.
At her wits' end, Fu Tingyun picked up Youyou. Remembering that Zheng Sanniang was on good terms with Mother Huang from the Li household, she instructed Yu Wei, "You and Zheng Sanniang should go inform the Li family." Then she said to the boy, "Would you like to wait at our home until your family arrives?"
The boy merely shook his head.
Just then, a commotion arose at the alley's entrance.
Everyone turned to see several maids and matrons escorting a pale-faced Madam Li, who was hurrying toward them, followed by a few burly servants.
So this child must be from the Li family!
Realizing this, Fu Tingyun handed Youyou to Yu Wei and stepped forward to greet them.
"What happened? What happened?" Madam Li rushed forward and embraced the boy. "Thirteen, don't scare me—how are you?" As she spoke, she tried to pull his hands away from his face, tears already streaming down her cheeks.
The boy turned his face away, refusing to let Madam Li see.
Fu Tingyun recounted the incident.
Madam Li nodded slightly, her desire to examine the injury growing stronger. "Thirteen, let Mother see," she urged.
But the boy stubbornly refused.
This behavior made Fu Tingyun begin to suspect something...Who would have thought that A Sen, who had been standing silently by the side, suddenly stepped forward, grabbed the child's wrist, and forcibly pulled his hand away from his face.
The fair, jade-like face bore not a single mark, let alone any injury.
"Ah!" Everyone was stunned.
"You lied to me!" Youyou immediately jumped up. "Mother, he lied to me!" She then threw herself into Fu Tingyun's arms, aggrieved.
The heavy stone in Fu Tingyun's heart finally fell away.
"It's good that nothing happened! It's good that nothing happened!" she couldn't help but say with relief.
Madam Li's face, however, turned crimson with embarrassment as she hurriedly apologized to Fu Tingyun: "This child is the youngest in our family and has been spoiled rotten." She quickly took off a mutton-fat jade bracelet from her wrist and offered it to Youyou. "It's entirely our Thirteenth's fault. This bracelet was blessed at Tanzhe Temple—please let your young lady have it to calm her nerves."
Fu Tingyun naturally declined: "Children will be children; please don’t take it to heart. In the end, it was our Youyou who was at fault for carelessly shooting small stones." She then turned to Youyou and said, "Quickly apologize to Young Master Li!"
Youyou was indignant, but she dared not disobey her mother. After glaring fiercely at Young Master Li, she reluctantly muttered, "It was my fault."
Madam Li was extremely embarrassed and quickly said, "No, no, it was our fault, our fault!" She turned to her son and urged, "Hurry, apologize to Madam Zhao and Miss Zhao!"
Young Master Li pressed his lips tightly together and refused to utter a word.
Fu Tingyun found herself disliking the child's temperament and thus had no desire to engage further with the family. Hoping to smooth things over, she smiled and said, "As long as everyone is unharmed, that’s what matters." Then, to Madam Li, she added, "You must have rushed over in a panic and are surely shaken. Why not come to our home for some tea?"
Madam Li was deeply apologetic. "We wouldn’t want to trouble Madam Zhao!" she said, grabbing her son’s wrist and whispering sternly, "Hurry and apologize to Madam Zhao and Miss Zhao!" Her voice trembled with suppressed anger.
Young Master Li lifted his eyes briefly to glance at Fu Tingyun and Youyou, then suddenly wrenched his hand free from Madam Li’s grip and bolted away in a flash.
Madam Li froze.
The maids and attendants who had accompanied her hesitated, unsure whether to stop him, while Young Master Li’s own servant, seeing his master flee, quickly followed suit.
Madam Li’s chest heaved with anger, and it took her a long moment to regain her composure.
She curtsied deeply to Fu Tingyun. "I’ve failed in teaching my son properly, making a fool of myself in front of you."
Her face was still flushed, clearly seething with frustration.
"Children can be quite willful," Fu Tingyun exchanged pleasantries with Madam Li for a while longer, but noticing the latter’s distracted air—her mind still preoccupied with her son—she soon bid her farewell, and they parted ways.
Youyou, still resentful, declared, "He’s a liar!"
Fu Tingyun’s expression darkened. "You shot stones recklessly and hit someone—is that true or not?"
Youyou immediately deflated, hanging her head as she admitted, "Yes."
"Thankfully, Young Master Li is unharmed this time. But what if you had hit his eye? Even if your own eye were struck in return, would that heal his?" Fu Tingyun seized the moment to admonish Youyou. "Think about it—even a pinprick on your hand hurts terribly. How much worse would it be to be struck in the eye? Imagine how heartbroken and miserable a person would be without their sight..."Youyou didn't dare say a word, standing properly to listen to her mother's scolding.
A Sen felt sorry for Youyou and stepped forward to intervene, but Wang Tongjing pulled him outside: "Sister-in-law is disciplining her child, don't muddy the waters here! Youyou was indeed at fault this time."
"But..." A Sen still wanted to argue when Third Sister hurried in.
"They said Youyou got into trouble," she said anxiously, skipping the pleasantries with A Sen and Wang Tongjing, "Where is she? What happened now?"
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Votes please...
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(End of chapter)
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