Fu Xinghe obediently waited at the Fu family gate for Fu Han to return. She realized that when it came to marriage matters, Fu Han was easier to persuade than Mi Dinglan.
Mi Dinglan was in the courtyard tending to a kumquat tree. Hearing the sound, she looked up. “Master? But in the palace ”
The days when the Emperor targeted him were never easy. Whenever Fu Han returned home in such anger, it was sure to be from a disagreement with the Emperor.
Fu Han suddenly recalled blocking the Emperor at the brothel gate. Realizing that the Emperor had seen the family scandal clearly, his face darkened. “Look at what you two have done!”
Mi Dinglan looked at her daughter, questioning. Fu Xinghe gave her a compliant smile. Seeing the silent exchange of glances, Fu Han recounted everything that had happened at the brothel.
Mi Dinglan’s frown deepened, and finally, she pinched Fu Xinghe’s arm. “Are you trying to kill me with worry? I may have been anxious, but Wang Xiao is that kind of man. Do you think I’d watch you jump into a fire pit?” “Now the entire city knows. Which matchmaker would dare come after this?”
As the saying went, marrying a daughter into a high-ranking household was rare in the capital. Few could match Fu Han’s official status. Those who could dare not pursue a union with the Fu family. Everyone familiar with the family knew the daughters’ temperaments. A girl who insisted on marrying only the Emperor? No one would dare one had to look elsewhere, or beyond the capital.
Yet Mi Dinglan worried about Fu Xinghe suffering in a distant marriage. Fu Xinghe laughed. “Mother, order and hierarchy first. My elder brother hasn’t married yet.”
Mi Dinglan’s worry deepened. Her eldest son was determined to become a military officer. She had planned to arrange Fu Yunqi’s marriage after the military exams, but now, given the circumstances, the court would not allow him to secure even a minor post in the capital. Would he have to start from a lowly position on the frontier?
Fu Han watched his carefree daughter and his anxious wife. Taking a deep breath, he said firmly, “That’s enough about marriage. Mother needn’t worry for now. Next year, we’ll go to Jiangzhou.” Fu Han’s ancestral home was in Jiangzhou.
Compared to the original ending, Fu Xinghe felt that leaving the capital to live quietly was a good thing for both her and Fu Han. Yet, seeing Fu Han despondent, she couldn’t help but feel a pang.
In the eyes of others, when a new Emperor took the throne, those who chose the wrong side met their downfall.
When Fu Han was angry, he was more severe than any of Fu Xinghe’s teachers in her school days. He glared at her. “There were other ways to handle this, yet you stormed into a brothel. In that case, I have no choice but to punish you.”
Fu Xinghe felt guilty. Indeed, there had been other ways but none as effective as making a scene. She lowered her eyebrows. “Please punish me, Father.”
Mi Dinglan panicked. “This all happened because of me! I arranged a faulty match for my daughter. If the Master uses family discipline, punish me instead!”
Fu Xinghe signaled Ming Feng to stop Mi Dinglan, then followed Fu Han to the ancestral hall. “Master!” Mi Dinglan begged. “We’ve endured so many times before. One more time won’t matter!”
Fu Han said, “I’m ashamed even to hear this!” Fu family ancestors were all scholars. Kneeling on the meditation cushion, Fu Xinghe felt her own lack of education keenly.
Fu Han drew a measuring rod from beneath the altar table. It was spiked, capable of causing severe injury. “Descendants of the Fu family who misbehave: men twenty strikes, women ten.” Fu Han’s voice was stern. “Stretch out your hands.”
Fu Xinghe trembled but opened her palms and closed her eyes.
Smack, Her palms burned with sudden pain, but it was within tolerance. No blood appeared.
“This strike is to correct your misguided actions. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.”
Unlike Fu Han, who had waited outside the brothel, Fu Xinghe had rushed in herself, disregarding reputation entirely. She flattened her hands. “Yes.” She waited. No second strike came.
Looking up, she saw Fu Han had already put the rod away. “Go back and have your mother apply some healing ointment.”
“Huh?” Fu Xinghe looked at her wrists. A few red marks from handling hot water for Ming Feng, no blisters, just slight friction pain from her clothing. She ignored it.
Fu Han must have noticed, letting her merit offset her punishment. “Thanks, Father. It doesn’t hurt. If you’re still angry, continue striking. I worry for your health if you hold it in,” Fu Xinghe said with concern. Fu Han faced troubles at court from Meng Dongting and at home from his daughter. What if he got ill from anger?
Fu Han’s tone softened. “Not at all. Rise. I know you’re not afraid now, and capable too. The taller the tree, the harsher the wind. Remember, you are from the Fu family.”
Fu Xinghe’s brow twitched. She understood: he meant she should be discreet. Outside, many sought the Fu family’s weakness.
“A prime minister’s stomach can hold a boat, Father. Don’t sweat the court matters,” she said, giving a small, junior smile, clinging awkwardly to Fu Han’s arm. “Go have dinner.” Fu Han stiffened. His daughter had never spoken affectionately to him. He wasn’t used to it.
Mi Dinglan, seeing Fu Xinghe had been lightly struck, concerned, immediately put her under house arrest.
Ten days until the imperial selection of ladies, a rushed process. Meng Dongting only wanted seven or eight to be selected before the Empress Dowager returned, to stop her nagging. Funds were tight, and the schedule fast.
To prevent Fu Xinghe from causing trouble before the selection, Mi Dinglan kept a strict watch over her, ensuring she saw someone at every meal.
Fu Xinghe, bearing this undeserved punishment, was trapped in a room. She couldn’t even laugh. So this was the halo of a chosen one? He had gone to the brothel and gotten beaten; she would face house arrest instead!
Mi Dinglan looked at her expression. “You can’t even stay home for a few days. In the palace, it’ll be decades, even thousands of days. Can you endure it?”
Fu Xinghe reasoned, “I just won’t leave the house. What trouble can I cause during the selection?” Mi Dinglan said, “You dared to storm a brothel. What else won’t you do?”
Fu Xinghe muttered, “…The brothel door wasn’t even locked.” Mi Dinglan sighed. “Luckily the palace gates have guards.”
After lunch, Mi Dinglan rested. Fu Xinghe relaxed slightly, calling Ming Feng and Ming Xu. “I plan to start a business. I can’t go out much, so I’ll leave it to you.” She took out a carefully considered business plan and examined it once more.
Ancient merchants had low status but wealth and freedom. Fu Han lived frugally, often helping poor scholars. They survived on his stipend and the late Emperor’s rewards.
The tyrant Emperor would not reward Fu Han. Returning to Jiangzhou, they needed funds to secure stability. Fu Xinghe wanted her own wealth so that, once rich, she could hire a handsome actor to pretend as her husband to avoid blind or forced marriage.
Fu Xinghe’s calculations were sharp, but she lacked initial capital. The Fu family lived modestly. The original daughter valued appearances, so she often took antiques and books from her brothers to sell and begged small private funds from her mother to keep up with other noble girls in the capital.
Fu Xinghe could not emulate the original daughter; she had to find her own methods.
Her language skills were strong foreign languages but now useless. She sighed. She wished she had studied engineering.
The Grand Canal had been disrupted by the deposed crown prince. Fu Xinghe planned to buy merchant ships and open taverns along the riverbanks.
Under house arrest, she inventoried her jewelry and clothing, selling everything she could. These items did not match her taste, and she disliked wearing heavy, ornate clothing. Better to convert them into gold.
“Ming Feng, I can’t appear publicly. You’re free, with no ties to the Fu family. Can I leave this to you? Profits, you take a cut; losses, I bear.” Ming Feng froze. After the brothel incident, she expected Fu Xinghe to be wary.
Fu Xinghe sat in the grand chair, back straight, never leaning. “I said you are not a servant of the Fu family. You may leave anytime. Handle the tasks I assign. My father’s sudden appearance was not your responsibility. I will manage it myself.”
Fu Xinghe met Ming Feng’s gaze. “But next time, will you warn me?” Ming Feng felt the clear, smiling eyes carry an unexpected weight, pulling her from her drifting amnesiac state to reality. She blurted, “I will.”
Serving her mistress was not unfamiliar. Fu Xinghe reminded her, “Do not appear recklessly. Protect yourself first.”
She remembered Ming Feng seemed to be hiding something though her own memory loss made her forget from whom. Tsk. If she forgot to avoid the tyrant Emperor one day, she could end up dead.
Fu Xinghe’s eyes softened with sympathy. Ming Feng’s eyes darkened. “I will do my utmost.” Fu Xinghe smiled. “Thank you.”
The Fu family was under the Emperor’s watch. To avoid attention, Fu Xinghe relied on the highly skilled Ming Feng. Fortunately, fate had brought them together.
Fu Xinghe never left the house. Surrounded by books, she gradually learned about this era. Days passed without hardship.
Ming Feng went out to handle business, Fu Xinghe collected the profits, and when Fu Han resigned and returned home, she would be well-prepared. Until the selection list was released a thunderclap over the Fu family.
Fu Xinghe was dumbfounded. Why was she included? The Fu family had already informed the court she was frail, unable to serve the Emperor, and would be removed at the first stage.
Facing four suspicious stares, Fu Xinghe hurriedly clarified, “It wasn’t me.” Was she risking her life? She panicked briefly, then calmed. The Emperor disliked the Fu family; he wouldn’t select her to the palace for petty revenge.
Unless Meng Dongting was insane and wanted to imprison Fu Han’s daughter in the inner palace to coerce him. Fu Xinghe immediately dismissed that possibility. The tyrant Emperor was violent, not indirect.