Chapter 93: Lighthearted Conversation
Wang Furen hesitated, her words trailing off.
With Fu Tingyun still by her side, it wasn't appropriate to continue this topic any further.
Thinking this, she glanced at Fu Tingyun, only to find her staring blankly in the direction where the two men had disappeared.
Such an incident must have been truly shocking for Fu Tingyun!
Wang Furen thought to herself before softly calling out, "Miss Fu."
Fu Tingyun snapped out of her daze.
Wang Furen smiled and said, "Let’s hurry inside! After all this commotion, the house must be in complete disarray."
Remembering A Sen and Linchun still hidden in the wardrobe, Fu Tingyun quickly agreed. She then asked Qi Taitai to help invite Shanning Daozhang from Seven Stars Temple to perform a ritual ceremony at their home the next day:
"...With such an incident, I’ll have to deal with the authorities and likely won’t be able to leave."
Qi Taitai was always enthusiastic about such matters and immediately assured her, "Don’t worry, leave this to me. Others charge at least five taels of silver for a ritual ceremony, but I’ll negotiate it down to four taels at most!"
"Thank you so much, Qi Taitai," Fu Tingyun said sincerely.
Though Qi Taitai loved to chatter, she also had a warm and helpful side.
Once Fu Tingyun returned home, Zheng San promptly closed the gate.
Qi Taitai and the neighbors, however, remained in the alley, still discussing what had just happened.
Since the main hall wasn’t suitable for receiving Wang Furen, Fu Tingyun invited her to sit in A Sen’s room. She then hurried into the inner chamber, calling A Sen’s name as she opened the wardrobe on the kang.
"You’re finally back!" A Sen gasped, relieved after being cooped up for so long.
Linchun, nestled in his arms, mimicked his tone, "You’re finally back!"
Fu Tingyun was delighted and kissed Linchun’s cheek. "Good Linchun, you were so well-behaved, staying quiet in the wardrobe. Tomorrow, I’ll have your father buy you sweets."
Linchun giggled.
A Sen grinned cheekily. "I was good too! I want sweets as well."
Fu Tingyun gave him a knowing hum.
A Sen, feeling guilty, chuckled awkwardly. When he noticed Wang Furen, he scrambled off the kang like he was seeking refuge and bowed to her, greeting her respectfully.
Everyone adored affectionate children.
Wang Furen smiled warmly and rewarded A Sen with a four-fen "Top Scholar" silver sycee. "Here, buy yourself some sweets!"
"It’s neither New Year’s nor a festival—you’re too generous," Fu Tingyun protested, and A Sen also hesitated to accept.
"Take it!" Wang Furen insisted sincerely. "You listened to me and thought of me in danger—we’re practically family now, so no need for formalities." She added with a laugh, "And don’t worry about saving for me. My dowry was quite substantial, but as they say, 'Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.' Since Lord Wang’s salary isn’t much, I can’t be too extravagant. Just take it—no need to spare my expenses."
Accepting someone’s goodwill appropriately is also a form of respect.
Fu Tingyun smiled and signaled for A Sen to accept, then thanked Wang Furen on his behalf.
Zheng Sanniang served tea.
Noticing the scrapes on her palms, Fu Tingyun chided, "Didn’t I tell you to stay inside? Why did you run out?"
Originally, after Zheng San dealt with the intruders, Zheng Sanniang was supposed to hide in the wardrobe with Linchun and A Sen until dawn."I was thinking," Zheng Sanniang murmured, "since Miss Fu had our man say you spent the night at Wang Furen's place, it would seem odd if you didn't have anyone attending to you. I... I won't do this again. I'll definitely follow Miss Fu's instructions from now on!"
Wang Furen interceded, "Sanniang was just being loyal. Miss Fu, there's no need to be too harsh with her."
Fu Tingyun could only smile and shake her head.
After hiding in A Sen's room, Zheng Sanniang had a sudden idea—she asked A Sen to help her climb over the wall. She then hid by the large lion statues at the entrance of the General Military Headquarters, waiting until Fu Tingyun emerged before following the sedan chair.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Fu Tingyun asked her gently.
"No, no," Zheng Sanniang replied with a smile. "A Sen tied a handkerchief to a bench and wedged the bench against the window lattice. I climbed down using the handkerchief. When I reached the ground, I lost my footing and scraped my hand against the wall."
Wang Furen laughed upon hearing this. "Miss Fu, I truly didn't expect you to have such courage! Without waiting for Centurion Zhao to return, you took care of Feng Dahu yourself!" By the end, her tone had turned admiring.
"You flatter me, Furen," Fu Tingyun replied, also with a touch of emotion. "I just understand that no matter the circumstances, the only person one can truly rely on is oneself."
"Well said!" Wang Furen nodded, her eyes filled with approval. "Take this matter, for example. The Feng siblings were so brazen—even if you had stayed with me, Feng Yiniang would have schemed against you in every possible way. We would have been in the open, while they lurked in the shadows, making it impossible to guard against everything. If she had succeeded in her schemes, regret would have come too late. It was far better to take the initiative, set a trap, even use silver as bait to lure Feng Dahu in and ensure he could never harm you again." She chuckled. "Though I must admit, I didn't expect you'd dare to scheme against me as well."
Fu Tingyun flushed. "Please forgive me, Furen. I truly had no certainty whether Feng Dahu would take the bait, so I had no choice but to keep you in the dark as well. But I also knew that you, Furen, are a woman of remarkable courage and would surely come to my aid in times of peril. That's why I dared to act so boldly. I deserve any reproach from you—I only beg that you not be angry with me. I regard you as family..."
"Enough, enough!" Wang Furen laughed, cutting her off. "If I were truly angry, I wouldn't have accompanied you on this trip." Then, curiosity sparked in her eyes. "How did you know someone would approach my housekeeper to inquire about your whereabouts?"
Fu Tingyun replied sheepishly, "There was no special trick to it. I simply observed how Liu Fuzongbing indulged Feng Shi and figured she wouldn't let things rest. To scheme against me, she'd first need to know my movements. Since I was staying with you, she wouldn't dare ask you directly, so she'd find a way to question your housekeeper instead. So I specifically instructed the housekeeper that if anyone asked, she should say I had hidden silver at home and was worried about it, hence my return. That way, it would sound perfectly reasonable to anyone who heard."
Wang Furen nodded repeatedly. "Isn't this what Sun Tzu's Art of War calls 'know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated'?"
"Furen, if you keep praising me like this, I'll have to find a hole to hide in," Fu Tingyun said, blushing with embarrassment."Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore," Wang Furen said, her smile gradually fading. "When Feng Dahu sneaked into your room, you were actually hiding in the west chamber. What if those two dogs had gone mad and bitten you too? You ran out of the main house while Feng Dahu was tangled up with the dogs—but what if Zheng San hadn’t dealt with Feng Dahu’s accomplices in time and they saw you running out, shouting and exposing your whereabouts? What if the neighbors heard the commotion and came to your door, bumping right into you? The General Military Headquarters has a curfew—what if the guards hadn’t let you in when you went to find me at dawn? And if someone had seen you, what then?" Her expression turned serious. "Miss Fu, this was like walking on the edge of a cliff. One misstep, and you would have been shattered to pieces. Have you thought about what would happen to Centurion Zhao if something had happened to you?"
Those two dogs had been bought as part of her plan and had been starved for days. When she hid in the west chamber, she had been terrified... When she disguised herself as a woman to slip into the General Military Headquarters, just one tug of her scarf would have exposed her—she had been utterly nervous then too... She never wanted to experience such things again.
But if she hadn’t acted, what would have awaited her instead?
Weighing the options, if faced with such a situation again, she would probably still take the risk, still gamble.
Fu Tingyun lowered her head and remained silent.
Wang Furen let out a long sigh.
"Miss Fu, what am I to do with you?" Her voice carried a hint of amusement. "What I mean is, besides relying on yourself, you must learn to trust others. If you encounter such a situation again, remember to discuss it with me. I believe that with my help, at the very least, you wouldn’t have to wander alone outside the General Military Headquarters until dawn!"
"Wang Furen!" Fu Tingyun looked up in surprise, her dark eyes sparkling like morning stars, bright and radiant.
Wang Furen chuckled and patted her hand. "Do you understand now?"
A brilliant smile slowly spread across Fu Tingyun’s lips. "I understand. From now on, I’ll discuss everything with you."
Wang Furen nodded in satisfaction and called to her personal housekeeper with a smile. "Li Niang, take a bottle of wound medicine from my chest and deliver it to Liu Fuzongbing. Tell him that Centurion Zhao’s household, having only one man to help with chores while the rest are children or women, decided to keep some dogs for night patrol. Unexpectedly, last night, a thief broke in and was bitten by the dogs. Miss Fu, who was staying with me at my invitation, received the news early this morning, and we rushed together to the back street, only to discover that the one bitten was Young Master Feng. This wound medicine is a family heirloom, renowned throughout Fujian. Ask him to try it on Young Master Feng. If it works well, I’ll send word to Fujian to have more bottles delivered."
Everyone was stunned.Wang Furen smiled and said, "Silly child, if Feng Dahu dies, it would be a fight to the death for everyone. Feng Shi would turn the nail board and kick the nest—there's nothing she wouldn't do. You are porcelain, she is a clay pot—why should we stoop to her level? If we find a way to save Feng Dahu, firstly, she will have to quiet down for some time to ensure her brother's survival, giving us the chance to send word to Marquis Yingchuan. Once the Marquis knows, he will surely take our side. Only then can the real danger be eliminated. Secondly, she uses my medicine every day, thinking about how she has to endure such an unfair loss. Just the thought of it, given her temperament, must make her heart bleed. And if her heart bleeds, I think we’ll find some satisfaction in watching. Thirdly, I just took a look at Feng Dahu—his appearance, I think, is better left alive. At the very least, others will see him and remember why he ended up like this, and he himself will look at his own state and recall how he came to be this way... Isn’t that even better?"
Fu Tingyun was dumbfounded.
Wang Furen gazed at her with a smile.
"Ginger is spicier when old!" After a long pause, Fu Tingyun murmured.
Wang Furen covered her sleeve and laughed. "You flatter me, you flatter me."
"But I wonder how effective Wang Furen’s wound medicine really is?"
"Rest assured, rest assured," Wang Furen said. "There was once a man whose leg was bitten off by a fish in the sea, and it was our family’s wound medicine that helped it scab over. Though, after the scab fell off, the wound was quite revolting!" She chuckled after saying this.
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Melodrama, melodrama!
Sisters, brothers, don’t forget to cast a pink vote while reading!
O(∩_∩)O~
(End of Chapter)
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