Chapter 90: Biting Words
"Are you saying your family's concubine wants to apologize to me?" Fu Tingyun asked Xuemei with a faint smile.
Xuemei nodded repeatedly. "Miss Fu, our mistress is truly sincere—"
"Then why didn't she come herself?" Fu Tingyun interrupted, still smiling at her.
Of course, it's because you dared to call her insane right in front of Grandma Feng!
The thought flashed through Xuemei's mind, but she didn’t dare say it aloud.
If not for the general’s sake, why would our mistress lower herself to invite you to a meal? At any rate, her intentions have been conveyed, and the general will have an explanation when he returns. Whether you accept it or not is your business. Why risk coming in person when no one knows what you might say?
She silently grumbled to herself but maintained a pleasant expression. "Our mistress originally intended to come herself, but she feared you might still hold a grudge and felt too embarrassed—"
"Xuemei," Fu Tingyun cut her off again. "My wet nurse had a saying: 'A full bottle doesn’t clatter, but a half-full one rattles.' It means the more capable a person is, the steadier they are in speech and action, rarely speaking carelessly. But when they do speak, their words are reasoned and beyond reproach. On the other hand, those who think they know everything under heaven and half of what’s beneath it are the most afraid of being looked down upon. So they rush ahead in everything, never yielding in conversation, making a lot of noise—yet their words can’t withstand scrutiny, full of holes. When my mother heard this saying, she refined it into 'Pride invites loss, humility reaps gain.' Both convey the same idea. Though I doubt you’d understand my mother’s teachings, I thought my wet nurse’s proverb might be within your grasp."
Xuemei’s face flushed crimson.
Fu Tingyun was mocking her for being ignorant!
"If your mistress is sincere in her apology, she must already know she was wrong. Why worry about whether I still hold a grudge?" Fu Tingyun had no intention of being gentle—she meant to teach Xuemei a lesson. "By your logic, when the old General Lian Po went to apologize to Lin Xiangru, he should have first checked whether Lin Xiangru had already forgiven him? And if not, he shouldn’t have bothered?" She sighed. "This is the harm of being uneducated. Even delivering a message gets twisted!"
Xuemei’s lips trembled, her face turning purple, but she kept her head lowered and didn’t dare say another word.
"Now I finally understand why General Mo wanted me to teach your mistress proper manners!" Fu Tingyun shot her a cold glance. "Go back and tell her this: Hierarchy and propriety are the way of heaven and earth. What kind of person says what kind of words, what kind of person does what kind of deeds—there’s no room for carelessness. A single misstep invites ridicule. If she truly wishes to apologize, she should think carefully before acting. Don’t behave like a half-empty bottle, speaking and acting without thought, sending a mere maid to spout nonsense in front of me. Utterly senseless!"
Xuemei muttered an acknowledgment, wilted like frostbitten eggplant.
Fu Tingyun then gave Zheng Sanniang a meaningful glance.Zheng Sanniang immediately raised her voice, "What are you still standing here for? Hurry and report to your mistress!" After speaking, she muttered under her breath, "Truly lacking manners," causing Xuemei's face to alternate between green and red. Flustered, Xuemei hastily curtsied to Fu Tingyun before turning to leave in a hurry. But then she accidentally kicked a bluestone brick placed on the pathway—identical in color to the path's bricks and nearly invisible unless one looked closely—sending a sharp pain shooting through her foot. She let out a cry of "Aiya!" and clutched her foot, but the image of Fu Tingyun's faintly mocking gaze flashed in her mind, and she dared not make another sound. Limping, she hobbled away.
Behind her, Zheng Sanniang burst into loud laughter.
"Young Mistress, I never knew you were so sharp with words," she said, gazing at Fu Tingyun with admiration. "You left Xuemei speechless, unable to even retort."
Fu Tingyun blinked at her playfully. "You weren’t bad either! That basin of water was perfectly timed."
Zheng Sanniang chuckled sheepishly before suddenly exclaiming, "Oh no!" Her expression turned anxious. "Young Mistress, I’m usually quite blunt in my speech. If I ever say anything wrong, you... you must tell me, so I don’t end up a laughingstock..." Her voice trailed off, her face flushing with embarrassment.
Zheng Sanniang had originally been a commoner and only by chance became Fu Tingyun’s servant. Neither she nor her husband harbored any ill will toward Fu Tingyun. Sometimes, Fu Tingyun felt they weren’t her servants at all but rather down-on-their-luck relatives who had come to her for help—a situation not uncommon in the Fu family.
"If you ever did anything wrong, I would’ve told you long ago," Fu Tingyun said with a smile. "So clearly, you haven’t done anything wrong."
Zheng Sanniang thought about it and nodded, reassured.
Fu Tingyun then invited her, "Come, let’s go to the kitchen! Now that we’re home, let’s make something delicious."
Zheng Sanniang cheerfully agreed, and the two headed to the kitchen.
They kneaded dough, rolled out wrappers, and chopped filling, making pork and cabbage dumplings.
As dusk fell, the kitchen doors and windows were wide open, letting in the gentle evening breeze. They scooped the plump, white dumplings boiling in the pot onto a plate, served them with a dish of golden bean sprouts and a plate of stir-fried green water celery. The room soon filled with the warm, comforting aroma of happiness.
Night descended, and the bright red window decorations—symbolizing prosperity year after year—still glowed vividly against the Korean paper-covered lattice. Now, they also cast the shadow of a child bent over his writing.
Fu Tingyun folded the hem of her clothes and slowly tidied up her sewing. "Have you finished today’s writing practice?"
A Sen nodded. "I wrote an extra page." His eyes sparkled under the lamplight, brimming with joy.
"Let Sanniang draw you a bath. Wash up and rest early," she said, walking over to pat his head.
A Sen frowned. "Another bath? I just had one yesterday!"
"You also ate braised pork yesterday—does that mean you’ll never eat it again?" Fu Tingyun feigned displeasure.
"N-no, that’s not what I meant," A Sen quickly surrendered. "Fine, I’ll go take a bath." He trudged dejectedly back to his room.
A dark cloud drifted past, obscuring the bright moonlight and plunging the world into momentary darkness.
Five or six shadowy figures scaled the wall and vanished into the darkness beside the house.
The two large black dogs lying at the entrance of the main house suddenly raised their heads, emitting low growls toward the shadows.The door of the hall creaked open as A Sen stepped out. He patted the big black dog’s head and scolded, "What’s all the barking for? Keep a good watch on the house!"
The dog whimpered pitifully.
A Sen then called loudly for Zheng Sanniang, "Is there any hot water left?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Zheng Sanniang’s figure appeared by the window lattice. "I’m making spring clothes for Linchun. Let your brother Zheng San fetch it for you." As she spoke, Zheng San pushed the door open and grumbled, "A grown man like you still needs others to pour water for him..."
Hearing this, A Sen quickly waved his hands. "No need, no need, Brother San. Don’t trouble yourself!" With that, he darted back into his room.
Zheng San watched him go, muttering a few amused words under his breath before turning back inside.
From within the room came Zheng Sanniang’s quiet complaint, "Every time I ask you to do something, you pull a long face..."
"Why spoil the boy?" Zheng San retorted irritably. The dim lamplight suddenly went out. "Go to sleep! The young mistress said I should go to the market tomorrow to see if I can buy a couple of elm saplings—the holes I dug were too deep, and the first two saplings I planted didn’t survive."
Zheng Sanniang gave a soft "Mm" in response.
The lamp in the eastern chamber of the main house also went out.
A Sen peeked out from the eastern side room. Seeing the courtyard silent and still, he chuckled to himself, "Well, the young mistress won’t know whether I’ve bathed or not!" With a clack, he shut the window and blew out the lamp to sleep.
In the distance, the night watchman’s clapper sounded for the second watch.
"Beware of fire!" The drawn-out call drifted over, making the courtyard seem even more tranquil.
From the shadows beside the house, something was tossed out, and the aroma of meat buns filled the courtyard.
The two big black dogs crouched on the steps of the main house lifted their noses, sniffing, then slowly padded over. They circled the buns a few times, whimpering softly before eagerly devouring them.
From the shadows came a mosquito-like whisper, "What about the other dogs?"
"In the kitchen!" someone replied in the same hushed tone. "They’ve already had their buns."
The speaker fell silent again.
Under the silvery moonlight, the two black dogs whimpered, their heads drooping as they lay on their front paws.
From the shadows came a suppressed but excited voice, "It’s done!"
Another voice chimed in, "Young Master Feng, remember our deal—you get the beauty, we get the silver. Don’t go back on your word!"
"Damn it," a voice grumbled irritably. "Do I, Feng Dahu, look like a man short on silver? Don’t worry—I only want the beauty. The rest is all yours!"
"Of course, of course," came the greedy, fawning reply from the shadows.
Several figures darted out from the darkness. One particularly tall man headed straight for the main house, while the others slipped into the eastern and western side rooms.
Feng Dahu’s heart pounded with excitement as he groped his way through the moonlight to Fu Tingyun’s bedside.
The pale, moonlit cotton bed curtains hung quietly, exuding an air of serene elegance.
Feng Dahu took a deep breath, then abruptly yanked the curtains open and lunged at the shadowy figure in the center of the bed.
From the eastern chamber of the main house came a man’s agonized scream, "Damn it, what the hell is this? Heaven help me! Help! Help!"
The eastern and western side rooms remained eerily silent, but the neighboring houses’ lights flickered on one by one.The man's agonized screams tore through the night sky: "I'm Feng Dahu... my brother-in-law is Lord Liu, the Deputy Military Commander of Gansu... Damn it, if I die here, you'll all pay with your lives... Help! Someone! Someone get this beast away... I'll reward a thousand taels of silver..." Then came even more piercing shrieks, faintly mingled with a tiger-like growl.
Only then did movement stir in the east and west wing rooms: "Thieves! Catch the thieves!" Two shadowy figures were then flung into the center of the courtyard, lying motionless like dead objects.
"What happened?"
"I think I heard someone shouting about Lord Liu, the Deputy Military Commander of Gansu. What exactly is going on?"
"It's that Centurion Zhao's household—they only have women and children under seven chi tall..."
The awakened neighbors, wrapped in robes and holding candles, stood at a distance whispering among themselves. Not a single one dared approach, let alone call for the night patrol officers.
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O(∩_∩)O~
New month, pink votes ah pink votes...
(End of chapter)
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