Fu Tian had Daifu tidy up the Guest Courtyard again, so Zhou Chuanqing temporarily stayed at the Fu residence.
Every morning, Zhou Chuanqing would come to the study to give him lessons, mostly combining the books Fu Tian was reading, and telling many allusions he had never heard before.
Occasionally, he would also share unofficial histories not found in books.
This storytelling style of teaching sparked Fu Tian’s interest to the greatest extent, and every class was attended with great enthusiasm.
After half a month of such lessons, Fu Tian not only could recite the books backwards, but also managed to fully understand many of the obscure and difficult parts.
In the blink of an eye, it was early April.
After several heavy rains, the weather grew warmer and warmer. The thick robes were replaced by light, flowing garments, and summer was already showing its first signs.
***
This day, while Fu Tian was as usual reading in the study in the morning, Qing Bi, Fu Youqin’s personal maid, suddenly rushed in with an anxious expression, “Young Master, Young Master! Madam fainted at the gate!”
Fu Tian was startled and immediately got up to follow her outside, “What happened?”
Qing Bi’s face was full of worry. Today, as usual, she accompanied Madam to inspect the shops. In the morning, Madam already didn’t look well.
Qing Bi had advised her to rest for a day, but there were simply too many matters lately, and Fu Youqin couldn’t set her mind at ease.
She forced herself to go out despite feeling unwell, but who would have thought that as soon as she reached the gate and was about to get on the carriage, she suddenly fainted.
Everyone was terribly frightened. Fortunately, the steward reacted quickly and had her brought back to the Main Courtyard, and hurriedly called for a doctor.
When Fu Tian arrived, the doctor was taking her pulse.
He wanted to go forward but was afraid of disturbing the doctor’s diagnosis, so he could only watch anxiously as Fu Youqin lay quietly on the bed.
Fu Youqin’s face was as pale as paper, with a hint of unhealthy yellow. In just over a month, she had grown noticeably thinner.
Fu Shuyue, having received the news, hurried over as well. Seeing the doctor, she too carefully stopped at the door and quietly asked Fu Tian, “How’s Mother?”
Fu Tian shook his head. The siblings could only wait anxiously for the doctor’s diagnosis.
After finishing the pulse, the doctor quickly wrote out a prescription on a piece of paper, “Follow my prescription and prepare three doses of medicine to take first.”
“Doctor, what’s wrong with my mother?” Fu Tian asked anxiously, letting Qing Bi go to get the medicine.
“Excessive worry and overwork have led to illness.”
The old doctor shook his head, “Madam Fu’s illness is from exhaustion. She needs to rest and recuperate properly these days.”
Fu Tian was stunned.
He recalled that recently, except for dinner when she would see them and say a few words, Fu Youqin spent all her time either inspecting the shops or estates, or checking the account books in the Great Study, truly not resting at all.
Feeling sorry for her being so tired alone, Fu Tian had offered several times to help, but at those times, Fu Youqin would always smile and pat his head, saying she’d hand things over once everything was sorted out.
Though Fu Tian wanted to help, he couldn’t resist Fu Youqin’s insistence, so he focused all his energy on his studies.
“Should we prepare some medicine to help her recover?” Fu Tian pressed his lips together.
“All medicine carries some poison.” The old doctor waved his hand, “Finish the three doses I prescribed, then rest well for a while, and don’t overwork. She’ll recover naturally.”
Fu Tian nodded and, after politely seeing the doctor out, took the medicine Qing Bi had brought back to prepare it, while Fu Shuyue stayed behind to care for Fu Youqin.
In the small kitchen, Fu Tian skillfully added firewood to the small stove. After lighting it, he poured the medicine into a clay pot, added water, and began boiling it over a high flame.
Smoke from the stove drifted out, making Fu Tian cough a few times. Qing Bi tried to take the fan from his hand, but Fu Tian avoided her.
He had done the work of boiling medicine for a long time. After his mother fell ill, they couldn’t afford good herbs, so they had to make do with the cheapest medicines to barely get by.
Even after using a dose once, they couldn’t bear to throw it away, and would boil it three times before changing to the next one.
Only those who have experienced such hardship and despair would truly understand. Even now, smelling the familiar bitter scent of Chinese medicine, Fu Tian’s nose would reflexively turn sour.
Qing Bi noticed his expression and comforted him, “Young Master, don’t worry too much. The doctor said that with some rest, Madam will be fine.”
Fu Tian forced a smile. Thinking of Fu Youqin’s recent running about, his fingers tightened on the fan. He finally handed it to Qing Bi, asking her to watch the medicine, and turned to find the steward.
***
Lately, besides Qing Bi who was always at Madam’s side, the steward spent the most time with Fu Youqin.
The steward was someone Fu Youqin had rescued from the roadside. Back then, shortly after giving birth, Fu Youqin saw Fu Ji, who had fainted from hunger by the road, and brought him home as a laborer.
Grateful for her kindness, Fu Ji had always worked diligently. The old steward, seeing his intelligence and diligence, took him as a disciple. When the old steward retired, Fu Ji took over the steward’s position.
He had always been loyal to Fu Youqin, and she trusted him deeply, handing many matters over to him.
Fu Ji was waiting outside. When he saw Fu Tian come over, he bowed slightly, his face also showing concern.
“Uncle Ji, I’d like to ask you something.”
Fu Ji smiled gently, “If you have any questions, Young Master, please ask.”
Fu Tian glanced at the inner room. This wasn’t the place to talk, so he led Fu Ji to the study.
It was still early and the study was a bit dim. Fu Ji went forward to open the window for ventilation, poured Fu Tian a cup of tea, then stood slightly bowed before him.
“Uncle Ji, please sit. It’s just the two of us, you don’t have to be so formal,” Fu Tian said.
Fu Ji shook his head and remained standing, “Young Master, please ask whatever you wish. I’m fine standing.”
Seeing he truly didn’t wish to sit, Fu Tian didn’t press him. After a moment’s thought, he spoke carefully, “I want to ask about the shops…”
“Has something happened at the shops recently?”
In the past, the shops had never been so busy. Even with a change in management, it shouldn’t have exhausted Mother like this, unless something had happened, forcing her to worry day and night.
“This…” Fu Ji looked troubled, hesitating as he looked at Fu Tian.
Seeing his hesitation, Fu Tian straightened his expression and said seriously, “I know Mother and you all still treat me as a child, but now I am the only man in the household.”
“I can’t let Mother work herself to exhaustion forever.”
“Sooner or later, I’ll have to shoulder the Fu family’s burdens. Even if you don’t tell me today, once Mother recovers, I’ll go and ask myself.”
Fu Ji sighed, looking at Fu Tian with a hint of relief. No one understood better than he how hard Madam had it.
In the past, to maintain balance in the household, she never interfered in business matters, entrusting everything to Wen Bolì. Even he, as her trusted steward, rarely participated in the business.
Who would have thought that good intentions would not be rewarded? Wen Bolì turned out to be a treacherous and ambitious man.
Although he had already been driven out, the mess he left behind still had to be cleaned up.
The Fu family’s biggest assets were the estates and farmland. The grain harvested from the estates each year had to be sold through their own rice shops.
The Fu family’s rice shops were spread throughout Nanmíng Commandery, with two just in little Sifang Town alone, not to mention other places.
After taking over the business, he and Madam first inspected each estate and shop, collected all the old account books, and recalculated everything.
It was truly shocking— even the two shops that should have been the most profitable had been losing money year after year!
But in reality, the Fu family’s estates always had good harvests. The grain was delivered batch after batch to the shops, yet the shops kept losing money. The implication was obvious.
There were termites in the shops— and it had been going on for quite some time.
Yet no one had ever discovered this before.
Perhaps Wen Bolì, being a scholar, didn’t understand business and was deceived, or perhaps he colluded with the shop managers and had been falsifying accounts all along.
It wasn’t until Fu Youqin compared the accounts from the estates with those from the shops and found they didn’t match at all that the problem was uncovered.
Since the New Emperor’s Accession, the world had grown increasingly peaceful. Although rice prices had dropped a lot, the sheer volume meant there were still huge profits.
One shop losing money could be explained, but several at once, with accounts that couldn’t be reconciled— the problem was huge.
The shops in question were the best located, and their managers had been there for over a decade.
Fu Youqin had only found mismatched accounts between the estates and the shops, but had no concrete evidence to prove the problem lay with the shops.
And if it was confirmed that the managers were embezzling, the entire staff would have to be replaced— a move that would shake everything.
That’s why Fu Youqin had been so anxious: inspecting the remaining shops by day, poring over account books at night.
The problem shops still hadn’t been resolved, and if more issues were found, this year’s business would be ruined.
“Madam didn’t want me to tell Young Master or Miss, for fear you’d worry too.”
Fu Ji looked on helplessly. In fact, he supported Fu Tian helping out. After all, this vast family business would have to be handed to him eventually.
It was just that Madam had spoiled the two children too much, and even he didn’t know if Fu Tian could shoulder the burden.
But now, it seemed the Young Master was indeed Madam’s son. Even if he had been a bit naive from being spoiled, at least he had the sense of responsibility.