Chapter 7: Thieves
Fu Tingyun also had a headache. But she quickly remembered there was a moon-white twill cotton gauze blouse with a standing collar in her trunk and instructed Hanyan, "Bring it out for me to change into." She added, "Later, I'll pretend to be giving Housekeeper Liu the cold shoulder by not speaking. Surely she can't force me to talk? Just follow my lead when the time comes."
The two maids sighed in relief and hurried to find the gauze blouse. When they turned around and saw the coarse cloth dress Fu Tingyun had changed out of, they hastily stuffed it into the nearby Menthut Cabinet before opening the door.
The windows were tightly shut, making the room stiflingly hot. A black-lacquered canopy bed was draped with thick moon-white cotton gauze curtains. In the center of the room stood a pine bathtub as tall as a person, with splashed bathwater forming wet patches of varying sizes on the surrounding gray bricks.
Seeing nothing amiss in the room, Housekeeper Liu curtsied, her expression indifferent. "It's so hot today. Why didn't Ninth Miss go to the main hall to cool off? At least there's a bit of a draft there!"
Fu Tingyun sat on the edge of the bed while Lü'e dried her hair. At these words, she glanced up at Housekeeper Liu, then abruptly snatched the towel from Lü'e's hands and began drying her own hair.
Lü'e looked at Housekeeper Liu in embarrassment, flustered and unsure what to do.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Fortunately, Hanyan stepped forward with tea. "Housekeeper, please have some tea!"
Housekeeper Liu thanked her and accepted the tea, asking Fu Tingyun if she had slept well and whether she needed any heat-relieving pills due to the recent hot weather.
Fu Tingyun remained silent.
Hanyan smiled politely beside her.
Housekeeper Liu assumed Fu Tingyun was simply sulking and paid it no mind. After drinking half a cup of tea, she took her leave.
The three of them visibly relaxed.
Fu Tingyun immediately said, "Quick, open the windows—it's sweltering in here!"
Lü'e hurried to comply.
There wasn’t a hint of breeze, and the heat remained oppressive.
Meanwhile, Hanyan found a fan and sat on a small stool by the bed to fan her.
Just as the two were about to speak, a clamor arose from the southeast.
Noise was strictly forbidden in the nunnery, especially since Azure Cloud Temple was a family temple that didn’t receive outside worshippers.
At first, Fu Tingyun looked surprised, but then her expression shifted as if she had remembered something, and she listened intently.
Hanyan noticed this clearly. Handing the fan to Lü'e, she stood up and said, "Ninth Miss, I’ll go take a look."
Fu Tingyun hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Hanyan quickly left the inner chamber.
About half an incense stick’s time later, she returned, sweating profusely. "Ninth Miss, someone stole all the food from the kitchen. Not just that—they even took the rice jar."
Fu Tingyun said nothing, but Lü'e couldn’t hold back. "That’s strange. Azure Cloud Temple only serves breakfast and lunch. If some starving novice stole food from the kitchen, that would make sense, but why take the rice jar too? Could they be planning to cook for themselves?"
"Exactly!" Hanyan also found the situation bizarre. "Abbess Guo Zhi said the nunnery has strict rules, and nothing like this has ever happened before. The food was originally reserved for us, but now that it’s been stolen, dinner will likely be delayed."
"But didn’t you say the rice jar was taken? Is there even any rice left to cook?"
"That was just the jar used for daily cooking. There’s still the main rice storage!"
Seeing the two of them veering off-topic, Fu Tingyun gave a light cough and asked, "Were there any clues left behind?"
"None," Hanyan shook her head. "But Abbess Guo Zhi said someone must have done this deliberately."Fu Tingyun was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"
"Master Guo Zhi said that if a little nun were stealing food, it would just be a missing steamed bun or wheat cake—how could the entire kitchen be emptied? That's more than anyone could eat! And the rice vat—fifty or sixty catties—it would take two or three people to carry it. How could it just vanish without a trace?" Then she added reassuringly, "Master Guo Zhi said that Azure Cloud Temple only has twenty or thirty people inside and out, and the grounds are no more than seven or eight acres. Even if they had to search inch by inch, they'd find the thief in four or five days—unless she could eat the rice vat too!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Housekeeper Chen's voice sounded outside the door: "Ninth Miss, this servant has something to report!"
Fu Tingyun glanced at Hanyan, who understood and went to open the door.
"Ninth Miss!" Housekeeper Chen greeted her with a grave expression. "Master Guo Hui suspects that a stranger has entered the temple and has advised us to be cautious. For the next few days, we shouldn't leave the courtyard. She will send some dogs to help guard the gate. Please don't be alarmed when you see them later."
Fu Tingyun's eyes widened in astonishment.
Hanyan glanced at her, knowing she couldn't speak, and asked, "Housekeeper Chen, what exactly is going on?"
Housekeeper Chen seemed distracted and didn't mind Hanyan's interruption, which was against etiquette. "There's a severe drought in Qingyang and Gongchang, and a large number of refugees have flooded into Shangzhou and Tongzhou. We've even seen them outside Huayin City. They snatch food wherever they find it—we must be careful." She was about to say more when Housekeeper Fan hurried in, giving Fu Tingyun a hasty bow. "Housekeeper Chen, Master Guo Hui has asked to speak with you."
Housekeeper Chen acknowledged this with a sound and hastily instructed Fu Tingyun, "Ninth Miss, you should stay indoors and read," before leaving in a hurry with Housekeeper Fan.
The room fell into dead silence.
Hanyan looked at Fu Tingyun's neck, hesitating to speak.
Lü'e muttered nervously, "Ninth Miss, will we be alright? How could it be the Migrant Bandits? We're hundreds of miles from Qingyang and Gongchang!"
Hanyan was sharp and intelligent—she had likely already drawn her own conclusions. It would be better to be honest with her now, as they would need her help in the future.
Fu Tingyun sighed inwardly and instructed Lü'e, "Go and see what's happening. Report back to me as soon as you learn anything."
Lü'e responded with a quick "Yes!" and trotted off to Housekeeper Chen.
Fu Tingyun pointed to the small stool by the bed. "Sit."
Hanyan perched uneasily on the edge of the stool.
In a low voice, Fu Tingyun recounted everything—how she had encountered a strange man in the backyard, how he had forced her to take him to the kitchen, and how he had nearly strangled her.
The more Hanyan heard, the more frightened she became, her face growing paler. As soon as Fu Tingyun finished, she stood up immediately. "Then we must inform Guo Hui Da Shi at once!"
"No!" Fu Tingyun objected immediately. "If Master Guo Hui asks, how would we explain why we were in the backyard?"
Hanyan froze.
"I'm already mired in trouble—I should be avoiding more, not inviting it," Fu Tingyun said hoarsely, her voice like an old erhu, tinged with sorrow. "If Housekeeper Chen finds out I was held hostage by a strange man, who knows what she'll think or what complications might arise!"Hanyan was well aware, but she couldn't shake off her fear. Muttering to herself, she said, "What if that person really is one of the Migrant Bandits? Will he come back? The temple is full of women—what if he has ill intentions?"
If that person truly was a Migrant Bandit, Azure Cloud Temple, located in such a remote area with no men to defend it and a granary to boot, would be an irresistible target.
"Probably not," Fu Tingyun replied hesitantly, her tone uncertain. "If he were a Migrant Bandit, why would he be alone? More likely, he's just a rogue criminal passing through. Such people, afraid of being caught by the authorities, usually don't linger in one place for long."
Hanyan thought this made some sense and stammered, "Then... should we still go to the backyard to scout the way?" Her words carried a hint of retreat.
As if misfortunes never come singly.
Fu Tingyun felt her headache returning.
Lü'e rushed in, beaming. "Ninth Miss, Ninth Miss! Housekeeper Chen has sent someone back to the city to report. She said Azure Cloud Temple isn't safe and asked if they could send some guards over."
How could male guards stay overnight in a nunnery? Housekeeper Chen was subtly asking if they could return to the Fu residence!
Fu Tingyun and Hanyan exchanged glances, both faces lighting up with pleasant surprise.
A blessing in disguise.
Fu Tingyun even found the pain in her neck more bearable now.
The three of them waited cheerfully.
The Fu family soon replied: "The Shaanxi Governor has already dispatched Shaanxi Vice Commissioner Luo Pingyang to Qingyang and Gongchang to pacify the disaster victims. Huayin is barely two hundred li from Xi'an Prefecture—how could there be Migrant Bandits there? Stay put, and once the weather cools, we'll naturally bring you back to the residence."
Fu Tingyun stared blankly at Hanyan, taking a long moment to process this. A chill crept up her spine like a snake, leaving her trembling.
Weakly, she waved her hand, signaling Hanyan and Lü'e not to disturb her, and sat alone from dawn till dusk.
Late at night, she asked Hanyan, "Are you still willing to help me deliver a letter back home?"
Hanyan remained silent for the time it took to burn half a stick of incense before whispering, "I... I'll do as the Miss says."
Her reluctance was clear.
Of course—who would willingly risk their life?
But Fu Tingyun had something more important than her own life at stake.
The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for her.
If Zuo Junjie succeeded, she would die with everlasting regret!
The next day, she prepared to scout the backyard again.
Master Guohui had several large yellow dogs patrolling the courtyard nonstop, leaving her no chance to even step outside the gate, let alone reach the backyard.
At each meal, she saved a few vegetarian buns to feed the dogs, hoping to win them over first.
Housekeeper Chen frowned disapprovingly several times. Once, she couldn't hold back: "Ninth Miss, there are people outside who can't even get a sip of water!"
Fu Tingyun stared at her for a moment before turning and entering her room.
Soon after, Hanyan came out and loudly told the young nun delivering their meals, "Our Ninth Miss says the vegetarian buns you make are delicious. She wants thirty more."
The young nun, unsure what was happening, looked at Housekeeper Chen.
Housekeeper Chen, though displeased, said, "Do as the Ninth Miss asks."
By dinnertime, thirty vegetarian buns were indeed delivered.
Hanyan stared blankly at the half-basin of buns.Fu Tingyun smiled. "Fetch a bucket of well water to chill them, and tomorrow we'll give them to those little novice nuns sweeping the yard." Her smile under the dim lamplight was bitter beyond measure.
Hanyan silently drew the well water, silently lit the mugwort incense, silently made the bed.
Fu Tingyun lay with her eyes open, gazing at the bright moonlight filtering through the Korean paper pasted on the windows.
Another fifteenth day—she had been here exactly sixty-two days now.
She couldn’t leave, but what about her mother? Why had there been no word from her? Had she been confined as well?
The thought barely formed before she shook her head.
Impossible.
Her mother was a sixth-rank Anren—after her grandmother, no one commanded more respect. Who would dare confine her?
The clear moonlight suddenly dimmed, then brightened again.
Like a candle flickering in the wind.
Fu Tingyun turned over.
Then, abruptly, a hand clamped around her neck. "Don’t make a sound."
That voice—flat, monotonous, devoid of inflection—was one she could never mistake, even in her dreams.
※
These past two days, updates will be around midnight. You can check in the morning!
PS: Thank you all for your encouragement regarding my struggles with the book title and synopsis. Since you’ve said so, I’ll leave it as is. I’ll just focus on writing properly.
O(∩_∩)O~
The reason for delaying the story until April wasn’t to build up drafts, but because there’s been too much going on at home—I’m really quite embarrassed. That’s also why I haven’t promoted it in my previous works. The story’s still thin, updates are irregular… slipping away now…
(End of chapter)
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