A steaming bowl of noodles was brought to the table, their fragrant aroma rising with the swirling steam.
Fu Changjun tapped the end of his chopsticks against the wooden table until they were flat. He then wiped them thoroughly with a white cloth from end to end, before lowering his head and eating his noodles with focused attention.
The white steam grew thicker with his movements, obscuring his stern features. The sound of his slurping noodles was interrupted by the hurried approach of footsteps.
Behind Fu Changjun stood more than ten personal guards, each with a sword at their side. One of the guards stopped the newcomer a meter away, smiling and saying, “General Song, you may stand here.”
Seeing the arrival, Fu Changjun finally stopped eating, tapping his chin and saying, “Speak.”
Third Master Song and his son exchanged a look, their faces filled with confusion and anxiety, unsure of what to say. The man lying in the center of the courtyard had already begun to sob as he confessed his guilt.
“General, esteemed official, I have said everything I need to say. I was simply paid to do this, I have no personal grudge against anyone. I swear on my life that everything I have said is true, I was told to say these things! But I don’t know who told me to do it. I am just a small person.”
“Some of these rumors are half-truths… some of them are indeed things I heard from the Song family’s servants. I believed them to be true, so I dared to gossip about them with others. I didn’t intentionally want to frame anyone.”
The two Song men’s faces turned pale, and they quickly denied the accusations, “Impossible! General Fu, this man is definitely not from our Song family!”
“The Third Miss is my niece, and Madam Song is my elder brother’s wife. Although I am busy with official duties, I have not paid enough attention to Third Miss, but I would never harm her in this way. Besides, this is not just about ruining Third Miss and my elder brother’s wife’s reputations, it is about ruining the reputation of our entire Song family!”
Third Master Song swallowed hard, his trembling hand waving in the air as he tried to distance himself from the accusations.
“Someone must have a grudge against our Song family, wanting to create animosity between our family and the General, so they spread these rumors. Please, General, see through their intentions! Do not misunderstand us, we are not the kind of people who would do such a thing!”
Fu Changjun continued to eat his noodles, his head lowered. One of his guards stepped forward, drawing a scroll from his chest. The scroll contained a drawing, depicting different people whispering to each other in different locations. Several scrolls showed similar content.
Although the scenes were drawn crudely, the key details were accurate. If they wanted to investigate further, they could easily uncover the identity of the person behind this.
The soldier showed the scroll to Third Master Song for a moment, then quickly put it away.
Fu Changjun smiled and said, “You serve in the Imperial Insignia Guards, so I wonder, do you not understand the Imperial Insignia Guards well enough, or do you not understand your Song family’s servants well enough?”
The muscles on Third Master Song’s face twitched with tension, but he dared not reach out to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. He could only plead, “Today’s incident is definitely not the doing of our Song family! This man has no connection to our Song family!”
“Hmm?” Fu Changjun said, “Then what about in the past?”
Third Master Song carefully considered his words for a long time, silently berating his wife and mother a thousand times in his heart. He cautiously said, “I will return and strictly discipline the servants in our mansion! Those few troublesome servants will be expelled from the family. I will make the General satisfied!”
Fu Changjun smiled and said, “Being a servant is not easy. When something goes wrong, it’s always the servant’s fault. There’s no need to go that far, I won’t make things difficult for a few helpless servants.”
Fu Changjun pointed at the man on the ground with his chopsticks and asked, “Oh, right, do you know who beat him up?”
Third Master Song quickly glanced at the man, then turned his head back.
The man was beaten black and blue, his back curled up, and even a single glance revealed the severity of his injuries.
“Look at you, what’s with that look? It wasn’t me, I swear it wasn’t me.” Fu Changjun said to him in a mysterious tone, “It was Fifth Young Master Gu who beat him up.”
Third Master Song’s eyelids twitched, “Fifth Young Master Gu?”
Fu Changjun said, “Yes. It was a coincidence today. He was talking nonsense when he bumped into Fifth Young Master Gu. Luckily, Fifth Young Master Gu is a smart man and wouldn’t be swayed by others, so he got angry and beat him up. Otherwise, imagine the trouble if there had been a misunderstanding.”
The man on the ground sobbed, “I really didn’t know he was Fifth Young Master Gu!”
“Then do you know that the other one is Second Young Master Fan?” Fu Changjun leaned forward and asked with a smile, “Do you know that Second Young Master Fan has a close relationship with Fourth Young Master Gu?”
The man was speechless, crying, “I… I was just paid to do this… I couldn’t think about so much.”
Third Master Song also wanted to cry, “General, Duke Gu is such a prestigious in-law, even if my mother is the most foolish person, she wouldn’t…”
Fu Changjun raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, “This matter is Fifth Young Master Gu’s fault, and he has admitted it. If it were me, if someone bullied my family or my adoptive father, the He family, I wouldn’t directly confront them, I would just remember it. I hold grudges, I silently remember them in my heart. Only when the grudge is settled will I be satisfied.”
Third Master Song sniffed, bowed, and apologized. His son was still bewildered, looking at his father and calling out, “Father?”
“General Song,” Fu Changjun said, “what are you doing? Though we are both in the Imperial Insignia Guards, our duties are different. Why are you so afraid of me? Your elder brother now holds real power, your Song family doesn’t need to be afraid of me.”
“I dare not! It is thanks to General Fu’s patronage that I am where I am today!” Third Master Song said.
“Is that so?” Fu Changjun picked up his bowl, blew off the layer of lard on top, and slowly took a sip. “I didn’t come here to scare you, nor to hold you accountable. I just have a few things I want to talk to you about.”
“Yes,” Third Master Song hurriedly said. by carpreads.pages.dev
Fu Changjun said, “The Song family has many female relatives, and now the highest-ranking male in the mansion is you. Third Master Song, you are half the master of the Song family. If anything happens in the Song mansion, people will always point the finger at you.”
He turned around and smiled, “The Imperial Insignia Guards is an important position. You patrol the capital and command a large army. If you can’t even manage a few servants in your own home, how can you command others? I believe General Song has great ambitions, and you didn’t come here to just idle away your days.”
Third Master Song’s voice trembled, “Thank you for your kind words, General.”
“I have a high regard for you. I haven’t been observing you lately, I wonder if you’ve been slacking off. As a military leader, you must at least be brave and strong. We have all skilled warriors in the Imperial Insignia Guards, if you want them to listen to you, you have to have some skills yourself. Don’t you think so? Liu Lang.” Fu Changjun said.
“This subordinate is here,” the soldier said.
Fu Changjun stood up, “Go spar with General Song, and tell him how you manage subordinates.”
“Until when should we practice?” the soldier asked.
“Learning has no end ah,” Fu Changjun put on his outer robe and fastened his sword, his tone casual, “How long do you say you should practice?”
“This subordinate understands,” the soldier said, bowing.
Third Master Song almost collapsed to the ground. His son helped him up, calling out anxiously, “Father?”
Fu Changjun walked to the door, then stopped and turned back, “Young Master Song, I almost forgot. Go ask Old Madam Song a question for me. Third Miss Song hasn’t been to the He mansion for a long time, I wonder if she likes the gifts my foster father sent.”
The person addressed didn’t react for a long time, and finally, Third Master Song pushed him, and he hurriedly replied, “Yes.”
Fu Changjun nodded, “Thank you for your trouble. It’s getting late, you should go back early.”
As soon as Fu Changjun left, Third Master Song immediately grabbed his son and tried to move to the side.
The soldier stopped them, “Where is General Song going?”
Third Master Song looked like he was about to die, and said, “I just want to have a few words with my son.”
The soldier suppressed a smile, “Alright.”
Third Master Song pulled his son, who was still lost in thought, to a corner.
He rolled up his sleeves, tried to hold back, but couldn’t, and burst out, “Tell your mother, that stupid woman! Is she crazy?! Ah! Is she crazy!! How many pounds of rocks are in her head? If she wants me to go back alive, she should know what to do! How did she provoke Song Chuzhao in the first place, now she has to go and kneel down to her, even if she has to, to settle this matter!”
His son nodded.
“And!” Third Master Song raised his fist, wanting to hit someone. But looking at his son’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to do it, and finally slammed it down on the side.
“Tell your mother, when I get back, I’ll settle the score with her! She and your mother have embezzled so much from the He mansion, I want them to pay it back double. If Song Chuzhao doesn’t accept it, tell her, she’s finished!”
“And tell your grandmother, ask her, which family can I afford to offend, the He family, the Gu family, or the Fu family? I beg her to let me off! There are no secrets in the capital. Those dirty tricks she’s been doing behind the scenes, does she really think she can hide them from everyone? They just tolerated her for a while, and she’s getting bolder and bolder! Now someone is taking advantage of the situation to try to harm us! If she doesn’t clear herself, if something really happens, she won’t be able to wash herself clean. Ask her, does she want me to die, does she?!”
Young Master Song nodded repeatedly.
“Did you remember?” Third Master Song asked.
He remembered.
Third Master Song said, “Go!”
Chundong had prepared hot water for Gu Fengjian’s bath and was waiting outside the door.
She waited for a long time, but Gu Fengjian did not come out. If it weren’t for the fact that she could still hear a response when she knocked, she would have thought he had fallen asleep in the room.
After about half an hour, Gu Fengjian called her in.
He was steaming with water vapor, wearing loose white clothes, standing behind the screen. There was an unnatural flush on his face, and his eyes were also hazy. He didn’t know what he was thinking.
Chundong walked over, pushed him onto the bed, and tucked the covers around him. Gu Fengjian, as if unable to move, let her push him around, docile and innocent. Chundong laughed, “Miss, you’ve been bathing for so long, you’ve been steamed silly, haven’t you?”
Gu Fengjian closed his eyes, trying to banish all thoughts and fall asleep quickly.
Chundong watched him for a while, then laughed again.
She felt that Third Girl Song only had this kind of innocence at this time, the innocence that someone her age should have. Usually, she was too mature and composed.
Chundong blew out the lamp, preparing to go to rest, when the courtyard outside suddenly became lively.
Gu Fengjian lay still, and Chundong ran out to check. Soon, a low murmur of conversation came from outside the courtyard.
Chundong came back and reported to Gu Fengjian in the dim light, “Miss, there are a lot of things outside the courtyard, all sent by your Third Aunt.”
Gu Fengjian opened his eyes and asked, “What things?”
“I don’t know,” Chundong said, “Doesn’t Third Madam Song dislike you? Why would she suddenly send things over?”
Gu Fengjian was also puzzled, but he didn’t care, and simply said, “Don’t accept them.”
Chundong was surprised, “Ah? Don’t accept them?”
Gu Fengjian nodded, then remembered that there was no light in the room now, and said, “Don’t accept things that are delivered to your door like this.”
“Why?” Chundong glanced at the door, lowering her voice, “I think we should accept them! Wouldn’t it be a shame to let her get away with it?”
“Delivering things to you in the middle of the night…” Gu Fengjian looked at the ceiling above his bed, the heat on his face subsided, and his thoughts became clear, “Don’t accept them. I think she’ll send more things, begging you to accept them.”
Chundong was delighted, “Really? Then I’ll go and refuse them right away!”
After a while, it finally became quiet outside.
Gu Fengjian let out a long sigh and fell into a deep sleep.
Author’s Note:
Fu Changjun: Old Madam Song bullies Zhaozhao, I bully her son, fair enough :)