Chapter 35: CH 35

Chapter 35 Joy and Sorrow

As soon as Chen Shi heard that, she knew that Fu Tingzhou hadn’t opened that door at all. In other words, it was not that he didn’t understand men and women, but that he didn’t like the third Miss Hong.

If it was a woman he did not like, he naturally would not care. For a person who liked someone, no matter what they did, even if they saw a leaf fall, they would think of the other.

Chen Shi didn’t believe it. If Wang Yanqing was here now, would Fu Tingzhou prepare an arrangement to play at the Lantern Festival?

Chen Shi sighed in her heart. She really couldn’t figure it out. She was just an orphaned girl with no father, no brother, no help, and she couldn’t even get her own dowry. How could such a drag be worthy of being held by Old Marquis Fu and Fu Tingzhou like a treasure?

The Old Marquis was old and liked children. Chen Shi could understand how he treated his daughter kindly, but what about Fu Tingzhou. He grew up in the capital, how many rich and beautiful people had he seen, and yet, for a mere Wang Yanqing, how could she be worthy of being treated differently?

Chen Shi’s face was pulled down, and it was obvious that she was unhappy. But when she thought about the Chinese New Year today, she held back. She smiled again and reminded: “There is no ban on the night of the Lantern Festival. It is rare that everyone can go out, and many young men, women, and newlyweds will be watching the fun on the street.”

After Chen Shi finished speaking, she stared at Fu Tingzhou eagerly, just about to make it clear that third Miss Hong would also go. At this point, even a block of wood would understand, but Fu Tingzhou was still indifferent, saying: “Mother just encountered an ambush at the beginning of the month merely giving incense. The Lantern Festival will be especially crowded, so let’s forget it.”

The maids and young ladies of the Fu family were all looking forward to hearing Fu Tingzhou’s words. Then, they were suddenly discouraged, knowing that they would not be able to go out this year. Chen Shi was a little annoyed, and there was urgency in her tone: “Are you afraid of an accident so you don’t want to go out, or are you dissatisfied with the daughter-in-law I picked for you, and are deliberately not going on purpose?”

The four young ladies were startled when they heard this, and the second Miss Fu, who was born of the main line, quickly glanced at Fu Tingzhou’s face, smiled, and tugged at Chen Shi’s sleeve: “Mother, what are you talking about? Second Brother just thinks it’s dangerous. He’s doing it for our own good…”

The other maids and young ladies also saw the opportunity to speak nicely. No one comforted her, but once someone held Chen Shi, the fire in her heart surged again, and she became more and more unforgiving: “It would be great if he really had such filial piety. I’m afraid that he doesn’t say anything, but he resents me in his heart, so he fights against me everywhere.”

“On a good day, he won’t say more than a few words.” The Madam had stayed silent, but at this moment, she spoke solemnly, “Several girls have been locked up at home for a year, and it is not easy to encounter a festival. Let them go out and be lively. If you don’t want to bother then forget it. Chen Shi will go with a couple more hands to make sure other people do not interfere with the ladies.  ”

When the Madam spoke like this, what else could Fu Tingzhou do. Fu Tingzhou could only say: “What is grandmother saying? This grandson is just worried that the thief will ambush again and hurt my mother and sisters. How could I be afraid of being inconvenienced? Grandmother can rest assured that I will arrange the guards and escort them personally this time so that no one will have a chance.”

Fu Tingzhou finally loosened his mouth. Several girls present smiled, and even Chen Shi’s face relaxed. When Fu Chang’s concubine heard this, she quickly begged Fu Chang. Fu Chang was coaxed into happiness by the beauties, and he waved his hand, so everyone went out together.

Fu Tingzhou looked at this scene coldly, feeling that this was extremely ironic. Chen Shi was right, he was really impatient to deal with the third Miss Hong, and he didn’t want to accompany her to see any lights, so he refused, but the safety factor was indeed one of his concerns. He clearly refused, but his mother and younger sisters ignored it and put pressure on their grandmother to achieve their goals.

They only had pleasure in their hearts, and they didn’t care at all about the pressure he had to bear. If it was her…

Fu Tingzhou just started and stopped quickly. He couldn’t think about Wang Yanqing anymore, and if he thought about her, he would not be able to breathe.

After Wang Yanqing disappeared, he realized that she had become so important in his life. She was everywhere in his clothing, food, housing, sitting, lying, and living. It was also after Wang Yanqing disappeared that Fu Tingzhou discovered how gentle, sensible, and considerate Qing Qing was compared to others.

She was as quiet and tolerant as water, never quarreling or taking credit, never publicizing her existence, but taking care of all aspects for him. He didn’t need to say a lot of things and Qing Qing would naturally understand. Fu Tingzhou took the lead in many ideas, and Qing Qing understood it, then she would do it according to Fu Tingzhou’s wishes.

Fu Tingzhou and Wang Yanqing had been together for so long that he naturally felt that all women in the world were like this, it was nothing special. He was like a fish living in the water, and he wasted his own resources wantonly. After he became used to it, the water of the pond suddenly dried up. He was thrown naked on the shore, increasingly unable to breathe.

They were talking about this in a lively way, and the maids in the dining room had already set up the New Year’s Eve table. A maid dressed in a pale yellow dress came in and greeted: “Madam, Marquis, the table is ready.”

Everyone got up one after another, and when the Madam stood up trembling from the Arhat bed, the maids and ladies hurried forward to help the Madam walk to the dining room. The other female relatives followed behind, laughing, and the flowers trembled.

Fu Tingzhou was at the end, watching this scene in a trance.

Compared to the families of the Wuding Marquis Mansion and the Yongping Marquis Mansion that inherited the position from the founding of the country to the present day, the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion certainly did not dare say that their number was prosperous, but after more than 20 years of settlement in the capital, the Fu family was not small. In previous years, during the holidays, uncles from the Fu family would come to pay New Year’s greetings to Old Marquis Fu. Uncles, aunties, and sisters gathered together until they couldn’t remember who was who. Fu Tingzhou disliked people’s quarrels and stayed alone with Wang Yanqing. Anyway, Old Marquis Fu favored him and no one dared to say that he did not attend. He would only show up for the banquet, but Wang Yanqing was always by his side.

Those people spoke with Madam and Chen Shi while Fu Tingzhou took Wang Yanqing to find a small cubicle alone for their recreation. The Fu brothers and sisters wanted to come over and get close to Fu Tingzhou. Fu Tingzhou would say a few words when he was in a good mood, but if he was in a bad mood, he took Wang Yanqing and left. He took it for granted that Wang Yanqing was different from others, and she belonged to him. No matter where he went, as long as he looked back, she would always be there.

But now, when Fu Tingzhou turned around, there was no trace of Wang Yanqing by his side. She was like a dream he had at dawn, as soon as the sun shone, she disappeared with the fog.

He was the only one who couldn’t let go and never forgot.

A maid beside Chen Shi noticed that the Marquis hadn’t followed, so she hurriedly came back to ask, and carefully apologized to Fu Tingzhou. She peeked at Fu Tingzhou while talking. She was the maid who delivered soup to Wang Yanqing a month ago. Now that Wang Yanqing was gone, she could finally talk to the Marquis, and she couldn’t help but be secretly delighted. However, Fu Tingzhou’s performance was very different from what she had imagined. The Marquis didn’t so much as glance at her, let alone pay attention to her proud figure. He was calm and while she didn’t know what he was thinking, he strode away without saying a word.

The maid was greatly disappointed, she looked down at her carefully matched clothes, stamped her feet angrily, and quickly caught up.

There were already many people looking for him in the dining room. When Fu Tingzhou entered the door, the others breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly greeted Fu Tingzhou and sat down. The New Year’s Eve dinner was divided into several seats. Fu Tingzhou and the Madam sat in the main seats while the rest of the young masters, ladies, and aunts had their own seats. Fu Tingzhou subconsciously wanted to go to the side, but the people on both sides let him sit on the main seat. Only then did Fu Tingzhou realize that his grandfather was dead and he was the current head of the Fu family.

Fu Tingzhou was sitting in the position of his former grandfather. After he sat down, he instinctively turned his head, as if he saw a woman with a soul of ice and snow sitting down with him, next to him. She was wearing a red skirt with white armor and fluff along the edges. The color was spotless, she was flawless to the extreme, but was contrasted by a bright color.

For a moment, her figure overlapped with a certain back he saw in the daytime, and Fu Tingzhou was waiting to get a closer look when someone else’s voice came from the side: “Move that pot of flowers away, don’t you see that it is in the way of the Marquis? Marquis, is there anything else you are dissatisfied with?”

Fu Tingzhou blinked, the woman disappeared, there was no one around him. Just some maids hurrying over and removing the potted plants by his side. Fu Tingzhou retracted his gaze and looked at the table in front of him with no appetite.

It was only after everyone came to the table that they found that there was an extra pair of chopsticks. Chen Shi was angry and raised her voice to instruct the maid to take away the pair of bowls and chopsticks. Fu Tingzhou finally couldn’t bear it anymore and asked: “Why don’t you leave it for Qing Qing?”

As soon as these words came out, the noisy lobby fell silent, and the gentle, charming, lively, and quiet women all stopped talking. After a while, someone said in a rounded manner: “Today is a big happy day. Miss Wang is not here so I am afraid that it is inappropriate to leave chopsticks out.”

“Why is it inappropriate?” Fu Tingzhou’s face was expressionless, his eyes were like cold blades, and he looked at the speaker like this, “Isn’t she a member of the Fu family?”

Fu Tingzhou was brought up by Fu Yue himself, and now he was twenty years old. He inherited the throne and enters and exits the court. He was admired and revered by everyone in the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion, and no one dared to meet his line of sight when he looked at them.

As soon as Fu Tingzhou came back, the atmosphere in the Marquis Mansion automatically became lively. Now that he had a cold face, everyone in the hall dare not breathe. Chen Shi couldn’t hold his gaze and said: “Marquis, she may have died when she fell from such a high place. There are old people at home, and you put a pair of empty bowls and chopsticks on the table. If you can recall, it is unlucky! ”

Chen Shi said the word “died” lightly, and didn’t think that falling off a cliff to death was a big deal. But Fu Tingzhou didn’t hear it, his eardrum seemed to be stabbed hard by a needle. He was in a bad mood, and his face naturally showed it: “She fell down because she was blocking an arrow for me. My mother feels unlucky, does she think it was me who deserved to die that day?”

When Chen Shi heard this, her face also sank, and she threw down her chopsticks with a bang: “It’s a big New Year, what about being dead or not? Bah bah bah, bad luck.”

Fu Tingzhou didn’t pay attention to Chen’s treatment of such a clear distinction, but today he really felt heartbroken. His gaze swept across the table, and everyone avoided his eyes. The tea drinkers drank their tea and lowered their heads. There was embarrassment on their faces, but there was no sadness.

No one thought that Wang Yanqing’s absence was a big deal. Now in the cold winter of the twelfth lunar month, the dripping water turned into ice, and her whereabouts were unknown, while they were happily enjoying the New Year’s Eve dinner here.

Many things that were ignored by Fu Tingzhou in the past now came to mind one after another. Chen Shi’s dissatisfaction, the Madam’s connivance, the gossip of the Fu family sisters in private… In the huge Marquis Mansion, except for Old Marquis Fu and him, no one treated Wang Yanqing well. How did she survive all these years?

No, even he didn’t treat her well.

Fu Tingzhou couldn’t sit any longer. He stood up forcefully, and his chair slid across the ground, making a harsh sound. Fu Tingzhou’s face was as cold as iron, and he said indifferently: “I suddenly remembered that there are still things to do in the court. I’ll leave first, grandmother, father, mother stay.”

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After he finished speaking, without waiting for everyone to react, he strode out. The maid at the door wanted to stop him, but before she could speak, Fu Tingzhou silenced her with a glance.

The door curtain was lifted, and the cold wind swept in, instantly blowing away the smoky warmth in the house. Finally, someone reacted and hurriedly saluted the Madam, Fu Chang, and Chen Shi, and chased out with Fu Tingzhou’s cloak.

When Fu Tingzhou left the table, the once lively room suddenly fell silent. Chen Shi threw her tableware and chopsticks on the table, her face ashen. Finally, the Madam knocked on her walking stick and said: “Since the Marquis has something to do, let’s have dinner first. Chen Shi, take care of the children’s meal.”

When the Madam spoke, Chen Shi reluctantly composed her face and ordered the table to be opened. Even when the maid in the back tried to make jokes, the atmosphere in the room couldn’t heat up.

The New Year’s Eve dinner, which symbolized reunion, ended in embarrassment and weirdness. After eating, the maids helped the Madam go to the warm pavilion to rest, and the others scattered in twos and threes in the room, each looking for their own pastime, waiting for the new year. Second Miss Fu snuggled up beside Chen Shi and asked in a low voice: “Mother, is Second Brother still thinking about that one?”

Chen Shi’s stomach was full of fire for a long time, and when she heard those words, she sneered coldly, pointing and scolding: “Looking like this, the poison is deep. I don’t know what kind of happiness soup that person poured into him. Isn’t she just an orphan girl, but he keeps looking for her as if he has lost his soul. It would be fine if she fell to her death, but if she survived by chance and fell into the hands of an outsider for a month, wouldn’t she tarnish the family status of our Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion?”

When Chen Shi mentioned Wang Yanqing, she didn’t have a good face and Second Miss Fu didn’t dare to answer. She rubbed the belt on her clothes, suddenly approached, and asked: “Mother, was that person Lu…”

“Shh!” Chen Shi hurriedly scolded her daughter, looked up and around, and then knocked the second Miss Fu on the head with lingering fear, “You dare to mention that name?”

Second Miss Fu was firmly beaten, but she didn’t dare to rub it, so she endured the pain and said: “Mother, I was wrong, I’m not curious. Since it is him, then is Second Brother still going to celebrate the New Year today?”

In fact, Chen Shi didn’t understand either. Her only knowledge of the court came from the Yongping Marquis Madam. Madam Marquis of Yongping was the younger sister of the Marquis of Wuding and her knowledge was stronger than that of Chen Shi, but her strength was still very limited. Thinking of what she had seen and heard after she came to the capital, Chen Shi said with emotion: “They can’t speak about what happens in the courtroom. Today you and I are enemies, and tomorrow we can become friends. How can there be any certainty?”

Chen Shi didn’t understand the specific political game, but the truth was not different. Second Miss Fu couldn’t understand what she understood, she was not interested in these things. What she thought in her heart was that the head of the residence was lacking.

Second Miss Fu quietly asked: “Second Brother is thinking about that one, what should we do after the third Miss of the Yongping Marquis Mansion enters the door?”

“What can be done, what master would not accept a concubine?” Chen Shi didn’t care about this and said, “There are a lot of sons and daughters from concubines in the Yongping Marquis’ backcourt. Before the marriage, our Marquis did not have a concubine room and any children born of a concubine, so he can be considered a clean one. The fact that the Marquis is not accepting people now is to save the Hong family’s face. After the bride has passed through the door, do you still want to keep stopping him so that no one can be added to the Marquis’ room?”

Saying that Chen Shi glanced at second Miss Fu, pinched her ear, and said, “You have reached the age of discussing proposals, so I will not avoid you with these words. You have to learn well, understand?”

Second Miss Fu hurriedly avoided Chen Shi’s hand and responded again. She rubbed her earlobes in pain, but thought in her heart, how could Second Brother not accept more people in his room in order to give the Hong family face, it was clearly because of Wang Yanqing.

In the past, Second Brother took Wang Yanqing with him wherever he went, but even his own younger sister couldn’t get in if she wanted to. Fu Tingzhou and Wang Yanqing were the people whom Old Marquis Fu valued the most, and their status in the mansion surpassed that of Fu Chang and Chen Shi. The two of them did everything together and never played with outsiders. Those brothers and sisters were both envious and jealous. No one dared to provoke Fu Tingzhou, so in the end, envy was left to Fu Tingzhou, and all the dark arrows of jealousy were shot at Wang Yanqing.

Second Miss Fu also said a lot of bad things about Wang Yanqing in private. How can a woman who has nothing to do with the Fu family live better than these serious young ladies? But in the dead of night, Miss Fu envied Wang Yanqing and Fu Tingzhou’s relationship countless times. The two of them were so good. When they got married in the future, Wang Yanqing’s life would be comfortable and smooth, right?

Even the second Miss Fu felt that Fu Tingzhou and Wang Yanqing were a couple deep down. Who knew that Wang Yanqing would actually fall of a cliff and disappear?

Second Miss Fu was surprised, Chen Shi was overjoyed, the Madam pretended to be deaf and dumb, and the Yongping Marquis Mansion was happy to see it happen. Everyone felt that this matter was solved perfectly, but Fu Tingzhou’s performance exceeded all of their expectations.

Fu Tingzhou cared more about Wang Yanqing than they thought. This month, second Miss Fu saw with her eyes that Second Brother, who had always been secretive and introverted, was looking for someone like crazy, and even ran to confront Lu Heng. Even the Wuding Marquis felt crazy if he dared to question Lu Heng.

Even more, today, just because his mother said something bad about Wang Yanqing, Fu Tingzhou put down his chopsticks and left in public. This was a New Year’s Eve dinner and Fu Tingzhou expressed such a position. In the future, where was the place for Hong Wanqing to get started?

Fu Tingzhou’s mother said that Wang Yanqing couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t Hong Wanqing suffer a complete defeat against that one?

Second Miss Fu infinitely sighed in her heart. A man who cares or does not care, he can’t deceive anyone at all. Second Miss Fu was inexplicably bothered by something and asked: “Mother, do you think Wang Yanqing is still alive?”

Chen Shi pursed her lips and didn’t speak, this was what she had always wanted to know. Chen Shi couldn’t say why, but she always felt that Wang Yanqing was not dead and was not far away. Chen Shi had an indescribable sense of foreboding, and sighed after a while: “It would be great if she just died like that. A dead person would be a dead person after all for the rest of his life, and third Miss Hong wouldn’t have to contend with a memorial tablet. What I am afraid of is that she will come back later.”

The winter wind was cold, the mountains and rivers were silent, and the majestic and solemn city of Beijing was shrouded in the night. Some people were happy and some people were sad. However, regardless of joy and sorrow, the pace of time would always move forward step by step, and soon, the New Year was approaching.

Fu Tingzhou stood in Wang Yanqing’s room, his fingers lingering over her things. No one had lived here for a month, and the place was still clean and tidy as if the owner had never left. Fu Tingzhou always suspected that she would push the door in the next moment and call him “Second Brother” with a smile. However, he waited all night, and the sound he was expecting never sounded.

Fu Tingzhou sighed for a long time. Everything here was full of their memories, and he could easily outline the picture. How Qing Qing would read a book here, how she sat in front of the couch to bandage him, how she scolded him for being playful, but then she was sitting at the table in a blink of an eye, imitating his handwriting and copying books for him.

He remembered the long times they had growing up. Old Marquis Fu raised his children like soldiers. The youth of Fu Tingzhou was not beautiful, and many memories were related to being beaten. However, because of her, those days of practicing martial arts early in the morning against the cold wind and being thrown into the mountains and forests to train on rainy nights have become lively and interesting.

He pushed open the window, stood in front of it, and watched the night for a long time.

Qing Qing, why did you want to leave?

After he asked that, he found it funny. In fact, he knew the answer, he just misjudged Qing Qing’s feelings for him.

If he had known in advance that the price of gaining political power was to lose Qing Qing, he would not have done so. However, Qing Qing no longer gave him a second chance to answer.

Fu Tingzhou stared at the night sky with extreme eyes. Looking at the night sky, the moon was hidden and the stars were sinking tonight, dark and dull. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. The rapid and loud sound of firecrackers sounded, and then countless fireworks rose into the sky, vying to bloom in the sky.

The time had come, but the first person who blessed him every year was gone.

Fu Tingzhou looked at the flame of trees and silver flowers all over the sky indifferently. Those rays of light were very beautiful, but after this moment of burning, they would fall into eternal silence. Fu Tingzhou stared at the long, ugly smoke marks, thinking to himself, where is she now?

Was she in her hometown, or some unknown town? Perhaps, at this moment, she was also looking up at the sky, watching the same piece of cosmic dust as him.

At this time, in the Lu Mansion, Wang Yanqing was wrapped in a ball of fur and was finally allowed to go out. She stopped under the porch and felt that her neck was uncomfortable. She just tugged at the collar when a voice came from beside her: “Don’t loosen it.”

Wang Yanqing sighed: “I know. I just want to say to my Second Brother, Happy New Year.”

It just so happened that a string of fireworks flew into the air at this time, and the crackling sound overwhelmed everything. Lu Heng didn’t hear it and leaned over to Wang Yanqing’s side, and asked: “What?”

Wang Yanqing got closer and whispered in Lu Heng’s ear: “Second Brother, I wish you good luck and prosperity in the present day.”

Lu Heng smiled, lowered his eyes, and looked at Wang Yanqing deeply: “Okay. This is what Qing Qing says every year on this night.”

|| Author’s Note:

Fu Tingzhou: The moon shines roundly in ancient China, some families are happy and some are sad. Several couples are in the same tent, and several are scattered in other states.

Lu Heng: Thank you, the joys and sorrows of human beings are not the same. My family is happy and your family is sad.

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