Chapter 91.
After meeting on the street and joining together, Fu Wei and his companions learned that Yu Ying had been to the pawnshop and might have been targeted there, hence the near robbery.
Wu, the junior constable, indignantly said, "I can’t believe that this large jurisdiction has worse public order than Yu County!"
While speaking, he looked around cautiously, worried that someone might still be watching from the shadows.
Fu Wei's concern, however, was not about the public order; he looked at Yu Ying, "Are you alright?"
Yu Ying, still shaken, said, "I reacted quickly and didn't let them succeed. Now with so many of us here, those pickpockets probably won't dare to try again."
Then she suddenly asked in confusion, "How come you all are here?"
Huo, the constable, explained, "Before going to the county office today, the official asked Mr. Fu to walk around the jurisdiction to see if there was anything worth learning for Yu County. We didn't expect to run into Madam Yu here."
Huo hadn't anticipated this, but it was actually orchestrated by Fu Wei.
Although he hadn’t heard from her about the location of her stall, he had learned from a carriage driver who had delivered a letter to Yu County about the inn where they were staying.
He guessed that the initial location of her stall wouldn’t be too far from the inn.
Fu Wei had taken a chance, and it had paid off with this unexpected encounter.
Huo then asked, "Is Madam Yu planning to return to the inn?"
Fu Wei, concerned about only Song Sanlang escorting Yu Ying back, said, "We don’t know if those pickpockets are still watching you; let us escort you back to the inn first."
Yu Ying asked, "Won’t that delay your work?"
If she were to go back only with Song Sanlang, she would probably be nervous all the way.
While their offer to escort her back was reassuring, she was worried it might interfere with their important tasks.
Fu Wei assured, "After we escort you back, we can resume our duties."
Having decided, Song Sanlang returned to the stall, and Yu Ying accompanied Fu Wei and the others back to the inn.
Back at the inn, Fu Wei asked Huo and the others to rest for a short while before heading out again.
Once back in her room, Yu Ying closed the door, walked to the table, set down the basket, and poured herself a full cup of water, drinking it in one go.
After downing two cups, she let out a deep breath, finally feeling her nerves settle.
Yu Ying pushed the basket towards Fu Wei and said, "I pawned the gold hairpin at the pawnshop and got a total of 16,800 coins."
Fu Wei glanced briefly at the basket and returned his gaze to her, "If you need to go out again today, tell me where Song Sanlang lives. I'll ask the county official to lend a carriage to pick you up."
Yu Ying thought for a moment and replied, "That will work. I'll be making face cream at Song Sanlang's place today. Since the materials for the lip rouge are less, it will be easier to do it directly at the inn."
Today's incident left Yu Ying still feeling nervous.
Moreover, with the year-end approaching, it's the peak time for thieves, so it's better to minimize outings these days.
After calming her nerves, Yu Ying took out the wrapped items from the basket to hide them. But as she lifted them, something fell out, clinking crisply as it rolled to Fu Wei's feet.
It was a small bamboo tube, typically used for sending carrier pigeon messages, just a short section.
Yu Ying and Fu Wei looked at it, momentarily stunned.
Fu Wei looked at her in surprise.
Yu Ying shook her head, indicating she didn't know how the object got into her basket.
Perhaps it was placed by the person who bumped into her earlier. The intention might not have been to steal the money, but to use the theft as a cover to plant this item in her basket.
But who could the person be?
Fu Wei bent down to pick up the bamboo tube, and with a serious expression, he opened it and extracted a small rolled-up piece of paper.
Yu Ying leaned in to see the paper as he unrolled it.
As Fu Wei read the contents of the paper, his brow gradually furrowed.
—"There are doubts surrounding the death of Wu Ling County's former Governor, Fu Ming. If you seek the truth, come to the Ting Yu Room at Ming Xiang Tea House between the first and second quarters of noon tomorrow. Do not be late."
Fu Ming was a stranger to Fu Wei, yet he knew who he was.
Fu Ming, his biological father.
After reading the message, Yu Ying looked at Fu Wei with a grave expression.
After a long silence in the room, Yu Ying finally said, "Perhaps in Lingnan, there are old subordinates or acquaintances of your biological father. It's likely that your presence at the county official's mansion has spread throughout the jurisdiction. The Fu surname is uncommon, and since your name has been set since birth, they would know of it. So upon hearing about your existence, they found you."
Fu Wei’s brows slightly furrowed.
He recalled what his friend Shen Mingcong had mentioned about trying to find the place of exile of the Fu family. Despite his efforts, he faced numerous obstacles, and even the official records only stated exile to Lingnan without specific details.
Lingnan was vast, encompassing seven counties and more than fifty districts, not to mention countless villages. Searching for someone in such a vast area was a daunting task.
The hints in these events seemed as if someone didn’t want the Fu family’s location to be known.
Lost in thought, Yu Ying softly asked him, "Are you going to go?"
Clutching the crumpled paper in his palm, Fu Wei looked up, his expression becoming calmer, "If someone wanted to target me, there are plenty of ways to do so, not through a person deceased for twenty years."
He then turned to her and sighed, "To me, my biological father is a complete stranger. Objectively speaking, I have no idea whether he was good or bad, so I can't make any presumptions."
"So, you’ve decided not to go?"
Yu Ying didn’t remember or know how those people in the message got in touch with Fu Wei, nor whether he would keep the appointment. It was all up to Fu Wei’s own decision.
Fu Wei opened his hand, staring at the wrinkled piece of paper in his palm, lost in thought for a long time.
"Although he’s like a stranger, he is the man who gave me life. If the accusations of treason against him were false, and the truth could restore his reputation and that of the Fu family, wouldn’t that be a good thing?"
In the end, he said, "I need to think about it. I'll make a decision tonight."
Yu Ying agreed, "It's always good to be cautious."
Fu Wei nodded.
Because of the message, Fu Wei spent the rest of his resting time sitting on the bed, deep in thought.
Since Fu Wei was so contemplative, he evidently harbored doubts about the matter.
Yu Ying didn’t disturb him and busied herself with preparing medicinal wine, planning to visit Song Sanlang in the afternoon.
After about half an hour of silence, Huo Yachai came to find her, pulling Fu Wei back from his deep thoughts.
When he left, his expression was back to normal, and he said to Yu Ying, “I will come to fetch you at dusk.”
Yu Ying nodded in agreement, then cautioned, “Be careful on your way as well.”
After exchanging these words of care, Fu Wei left.
After seeing off Fu Wei, Yu Ying stood under the corridor, looking up at the bright sky, and sighed.
It had been seven months since Yu Ying arrived in this era.
It felt long, yet it passed in the blink of an eye.
It seemed short, yet many things had happened.
She had just over a year left to prepare for the upcoming years of turmoil. She hoped no more troubles would arise during this time.
Yu Ying turned and entered the house, closing the door behind her. She sat on the bed and took out the sixteen liang and some more silver from her bundle, examining it closely.
According to Fu Wei's plan, they would probably look for a larger house as soon as they returned to Yuxian.
The herbal plantation in Lingshui Village was being managed by hired workers and the He family, who were paid to oversee it. It shouldn't pose any major problems, and they just had to wait for planting medicinal herbs on ten acres of hillside land in March, along with starting to grow grains.
Before March, she wouldn’t have much to do in Lingshui Village and wouldn’t need to travel back and forth often. Moving to Yuxian would be more convenient.
Most importantly, Yu Ying still wasn’t quite accustomed to rural life in this era. It was not only quiet but desolate, with mountains in plain sight harboring various wild beasts, making it too unsafe.
Moving to Yu County would have far more benefits than drawbacks.
Yu Ying gathered her thoughts, hid the silver in Fu Wei’s travel bag, and left around midday with the herbs she had soaked.
She had arranged with Song Sanlang to close the stall early today and then work on making face cream.
Arriving at the stall, the jars from the Ren Shan Medical Hall had also been delivered, waiting to be filled with the freshly made face cream.
After reaching Song Sanlang’s house, they all started making the face cream together.
The key to face cream was the medicinal herbs, so there was no concern about someone stealing the technique.
In addition to the fifty jars for the medical hall, they needed to make an extra fifty jars to sell at the stall.
Making a hundred jars of face cream was a laborious task, and they were busy until dusk to finish it all.
Chapter 91.
After meeting on the street and joining together, Fu Wei and his companions learned that Yu Ying had been to the pawnshop and might have been targeted there, hence the near robbery.
Wu, the junior constable, indignantly said, "I can’t believe that this large jurisdiction has worse public order than Yu County!"
While speaking, he looked around cautiously, worried that someone might still be watching from the shadows.
Fu Wei's concern, however, was not about the public order; he looked at Yu Ying, "Are you alright?"
Yu Ying, still shaken, said, "I reacted quickly and didn't let them succeed. Now with so many of us here, those pickpockets probably won't dare to try again."
Then she suddenly asked in confusion, "How come you all are here?"
Huo, the constable, explained, "Before going to the county office today, the official asked Mr. Fu to walk around the jurisdiction to see if there was anything worth learning for Yu County. We didn't expect to run into Madam Yu here."
Huo hadn't anticipated this, but it was actually orchestrated by Fu Wei.
Although he hadn’t heard from her about the location of her stall, he had learned from a carriage driver who had delivered a letter to Yu County about the inn where they were staying.
He guessed that the initial location of her stall wouldn’t be too far from the inn.
Fu Wei had taken a chance, and it had paid off with this unexpected encounter.
Huo then asked, "Is Madam Yu planning to return to the inn?"
Fu Wei, concerned about only Song Sanlang escorting Yu Ying back, said, "We don’t know if those pickpockets are still watching you; let us escort you back to the inn first."
Yu Ying asked, "Won’t that delay your work?"
If she were to go back only with Song Sanlang, she would probably be nervous all the way.
While their offer to escort her back was reassuring, she was worried it might interfere with their important tasks.
Fu Wei assured, "After we escort you back, we can resume our duties."
Having decided, Song Sanlang returned to the stall, and Yu Ying accompanied Fu Wei and the others back to the inn.
Back at the inn, Fu Wei asked Huo and the others to rest for a short while before heading out again.
Once back in her room, Yu Ying closed the door, walked to the table, set down the basket, and poured herself a full cup of water, drinking it in one go.
After downing two cups, she let out a deep breath, finally feeling her nerves settle.
Yu Ying pushed the basket towards Fu Wei and said, "I pawned the gold hairpin at the pawnshop and got a total of 16,800 coins."
Fu Wei glanced briefly at the basket and returned his gaze to her, "If you need to go out again today, tell me where Song Sanlang lives. I'll ask the county official to lend a carriage to pick you up."
Yu Ying thought for a moment and replied, "That will work. I'll be making face cream at Song Sanlang's place today. Since the materials for the lip rouge are less, it will be easier to do it directly at the inn."
Today's incident left Yu Ying still feeling nervous.
Moreover, with the year-end approaching, it's the peak time for thieves, so it's better to minimize outings these days.
After calming her nerves, Yu Ying took out the wrapped items from the basket to hide them. But as she lifted them, something fell out, clinking crisply as it rolled to Fu Wei's feet.
It was a small bamboo tube, typically used for sending carrier pigeon messages, just a short section.
Yu Ying and Fu Wei looked at it, momentarily stunned.
Fu Wei looked at her in surprise.
Yu Ying shook her head, indicating she didn't know how the object got into her basket.
Perhaps it was placed by the person who bumped into her earlier. The intention might not have been to steal the money, but to use the theft as a cover to plant this item in her basket.
But who could the person be?
Fu Wei bent down to pick up the bamboo tube, and with a serious expression, he opened it and extracted a small rolled-up piece of paper.
Yu Ying leaned in to see the paper as he unrolled it.
As Fu Wei read the contents of the paper, his brow gradually furrowed.
—"There are doubts surrounding the death of Wu Ling County's former Governor, Fu Ming. If you seek the truth, come to the Ting Yu Room at Ming Xiang Tea House between the first and second quarters of noon tomorrow. Do not be late."
Fu Ming was a stranger to Fu Wei, yet he knew who he was.
Fu Ming, his biological father.
After reading the message, Yu Ying looked at Fu Wei with a grave expression.
After a long silence in the room, Yu Ying finally said, "Perhaps in Lingnan, there are old subordinates or acquaintances of your biological father. It's likely that your presence at the county official's mansion has spread throughout the jurisdiction. The Fu surname is uncommon, and since your name has been set since birth, they would know of it. So upon hearing about your existence, they found you."
Fu Wei’s brows slightly furrowed.
He recalled what his friend Shen Mingcong had mentioned about trying to find the place of exile of the Fu family. Despite his efforts, he faced numerous obstacles, and even the official records only stated exile to Lingnan without specific details.
Lingnan was vast, encompassing seven counties and more than fifty districts, not to mention countless villages. Searching for someone in such a vast area was a daunting task.
The hints in these events seemed as if someone didn’t want the Fu family’s location to be known.
Lost in thought, Yu Ying softly asked him, "Are you going to go?"
Clutching the crumpled paper in his palm, Fu Wei looked up, his expression becoming calmer, "If someone wanted to target me, there are plenty of ways to do so, not through a person deceased for twenty years."
He then turned to her and sighed, "To me, my biological father is a complete stranger. Objectively speaking, I have no idea whether he was good or bad, so I can't make any presumptions."
"So, you’ve decided not to go?"
Yu Ying didn’t remember or know how those people in the message got in touch with Fu Wei, nor whether he would keep the appointment. It was all up to Fu Wei’s own decision.
Fu Wei opened his hand, staring at the wrinkled piece of paper in his palm, lost in thought for a long time.
"Although he’s like a stranger, he is the man who gave me life. If the accusations of treason against him were false, and the truth could restore his reputation and that of the Fu family, wouldn’t that be a good thing?"
In the end, he said, "I need to think about it. I'll make a decision tonight."
Yu Ying agreed, "It's always good to be cautious."
Fu Wei nodded.
Because of the message, Fu Wei spent the rest of his resting time sitting on the bed, deep in thought.
Since Fu Wei was so contemplative, he evidently harbored doubts about the matter.
Yu Ying didn’t disturb him and busied herself with preparing medicinal wine, planning to visit Song Sanlang in the afternoon.
After about half an hour of silence, Huo Yachai came to find her, pulling Fu Wei back from his deep thoughts.
When he left, his expression was back to normal, and he said to Yu Ying, “I will come to fetch you at dusk.”
Yu Ying nodded in agreement, then cautioned, “Be careful on your way as well.”
After exchanging these words of care, Fu Wei left.
After seeing off Fu Wei, Yu Ying stood under the corridor, looking up at the bright sky, and sighed.
It had been seven months since Yu Ying arrived in this era.
It felt long, yet it passed in the blink of an eye.
It seemed short, yet many things had happened.
She had just over a year left to prepare for the upcoming years of turmoil. She hoped no more troubles would arise during this time.
Yu Ying turned and entered the house, closing the door behind her. She sat on the bed and took out the sixteen liang and some more silver from her bundle, examining it closely.
According to Fu Wei's plan, they would probably look for a larger house as soon as they returned to Yuxian.
The herbal plantation in Lingshui Village was being managed by hired workers and the He family, who were paid to oversee it. It shouldn't pose any major problems, and they just had to wait for planting medicinal herbs on ten acres of hillside land in March, along with starting to grow grains.
Before March, she wouldn’t have much to do in Lingshui Village and wouldn’t need to travel back and forth often. Moving to Yuxian would be more convenient.
Most importantly, Yu Ying still wasn’t quite accustomed to rural life in this era. It was not only quiet but desolate, with mountains in plain sight harboring various wild beasts, making it too unsafe.
Moving to Yu County would have far more benefits than drawbacks.
Yu Ying gathered her thoughts, hid the silver in Fu Wei’s travel bag, and left around midday with the herbs she had soaked.
She had arranged with Song Sanlang to close the stall early today and then work on making face cream.
Arriving at the stall, the jars from the Ren Shan Medical Hall had also been delivered, waiting to be filled with the freshly made face cream.
After reaching Song Sanlang’s house, they all started making the face cream together.
The key to face cream was the medicinal herbs, so there was no concern about someone stealing the technique.
In addition to the fifty jars for the medical hall, they needed to make an extra fifty jars to sell at the stall.
Making a hundred jars of face cream was a laborious task, and they were busy until dusk to finish it all.
