Su Jinteng, though seemingly rough, was actually quite perceptive. He watched Yan Ning's expression intently, trying to decipher her meaning. "Madam's intention is exactly what I intend!"
"Oh, so you mean you want to gain an official position through military merit?"
Fukang'an casually picked up the blue-and-white porcelain covered bowl beside him, and the aroma of tea wafted out. His face was somewhat intoxicated by the tea's fragrance.
Fukang'an never showed his emotions, and Yan Ning couldn't figure out whether he was suspicious or not, so she could only keep frowning at Su Jinteng.
He bowed respectfully and said, "If the general could offer even the slightest guidance, I would be eternally grateful!"
Ignoring Yan Ning's furrowed brow, he knew that with his lowly official rank, he feared he would never have another chance to see Fukang'an after this. If he could serve alongside Fukang'an in battle, gaining the Emperor's favor would be just around the corner!
"Smack!"
Fu Kang'an's gestures as he placed the covered bowl were extremely light, yet his strength was profound. Only Fu Kang'an could produce such a crisp sound when the porcelain and the sandalwood collided.
His eyes were sharp, his eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked at Su Jinteng without saying a word.
Startled, Su Jinteng immediately stood up, bowed, and dared not look at Fukang'an again.
Yan Ning, standing beside Fukang'an, watched the two of them cautiously. She gently tugged at a corner of Fukang'an's robe, which was casually scattered on the couch, but Fukang'an remained motionless, like a stone statue.
Large beads of sweat gradually appeared on Su Jin's forehead. He moved his hand slightly, but dared not wipe them away. He let them flow into his eyes, making them sting.
Su Jinteng stood there for a while, and Zhao Xing jogged to the entrance of the hall. After catching his breath, he bowed and entered to report, "The luncheon has been prepared. Please, General, Madam, and Uncle, move in!"
Lunch?
Yan Ning's watery eyes met Fu Kang'an's deep, dark gaze, and he gently twitched the corner of his mouth.
"It should have been done a long time ago!"
He spoke very slowly, then took Yan Ning's hand and strolled forward. The Fucha family was a family that followed proper etiquette in entertaining Yan Ning's mother and brother who were stranded in the capital. If it weren't for the fact that Old Madam Fucha was ill and no one was there to guide him, he would have done so long ago.
Su Jinteng stood behind the two of them, following them with small steps.
The luncheon was held in a pavilion in the middle of a pond in the backyard. The withered lotus flowers and leaves in the pond had been cleaned up. The leaves around the pavilion, some golden and some withered, piled up together, gave a sense of vicissitude. Holding Fukang'an's hand, Yan Ning's autumn melancholy vanished in an instant.
As soon as the three of them sat down, Zhao Xing called the maids to bring up food boxes and set out the dishes. The Fucha family's meals were always excellent in color, aroma, and taste, and with the addition of the Jade Spring Wine bestowed by the Emperor, Su Jinteng stared in disbelief.
Su Jin raised the first cup of wine with both hands, rose to offer it to Fu Kang'an, and nervously began to speak, unsure of what to say. After a thousand thoughts raced through her mind, she finally blurted out, "To the General!"
Seated upright, Fukang'an, dressed in a silver-white brocade robe, was hidden among the autumn colors, exuding nobility and heroic spirit. He nodded slightly, picked up the jade porcelain wine cup in his hand, and drank it all in one gulp.
Setting down his jade porcelain wine cup, Fukang'an looked at Yan Ning, a smile overflowing in his eyes. Even his sharply defined chin softened. This caused Yan Ning, who had been staring blankly at Fukang'an, to blush and lower her head.
Under the sunlight, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, and the autumn air was crisp and refreshing, making people feel comfortable. Occasionally, a few water birds kept by the Fucha Mansion would frolic on the water despite the autumn chill.
A maid carrying a new wine pot stumbled, causing the tray in her hand to tilt and the wine pot to fall straight into the pond.
Before Yan Ning could even see what was happening, Su Jinteng had already leaped up, hooked one leg on the stone railing of the pavilion, and retrieved a pot of wine intact.
He placed the wine on the table. "What a waste that this Jade Spring Wine was used to feed those water birds!" His voice was hoarse and rough, which matched his robust physique.
Startled, the water birds that were playing in the water cried out and flew away, causing a great commotion in the pond.
Yan gazed at her brother, surprised at how agile he was despite his seemingly clumsy appearance.
Those who practice martial arts are most likely to appreciate each other, and Su Jinteng immediately filled the vacant position of Assistant Commander of the Horse Stable of the Court of Imperial Stud, a seventh-rank official, in the capital.
The maid who served the wine was not punished in any way, and Yan Ning also knew that Fu Kang'an had deliberately set up this trap to test Su Jin's copying skills.
Fukang'an did not elaborate, nor did Yan Ning say anything else.
Xi Ying's three elder brothers, although they also held official positions in the capital because of Fukang'an, were all idle posts with no opportunity for personal gain or promotion. This was because, although they were descendants of military officers, their martial arts skills were mediocre and unremarkable.
In Fukang'an's eyes, even if one wanted to curry favor, one needed to possess formidable martial arts skills. Maintaining peace in a region was not something that could be achieved simply by relying on connections and holding a high official position.
In early winter, the Fucha Mansion was filled with a desolate atmosphere.
Xiang'er's madness worsened, from mistaking a pillow for Dejia to gradually failing to recognize people altogether. She took dose after dose of the imperial physician's medicine, which only sallowed her round face.
Whenever Fukang'an saw this scene, he could only shake his head; he was powerless to do anything about it.
The reconstruction of the Fragrant Hills Palace was completed before the first snow of winter fell. Apart from attending court every day, Fukang'an spent his days at home in retirement.
As the Empress Dowager's illness worsened day by day, she had no time to attend to Yan Ning, and the Emperor repeatedly suppressed the imperial decree to summon Yan Ning to the palace.
Xiang'er still preferred to run barefoot, wearing only a pair of white silk socks, leaving her jade-like feet, which she had nurtured for several years, covered in sores from the cold.
Fukang'an, feigning illness, summoned the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, but Chief Physician Zhao still shook his head at Xiang'er's condition.
Yan Ning stayed by Xiang'er's side every day, watching over her. Whenever Yan Ning left, Rong Xi would immediately present Xiang'er with a kind of medicinal soup that a doctor from outside the city had secretly sent over.
After drinking it for several months, Xiang'er had long since become accustomed to this black, aged medicine. It was thick and nauseating.
Rongxi watched with concern as Xiang'er drank every last drop of the medicine. "Auntie, won't taking this medicine for a long time damage your health?"
Xiang'er gently shook her head. "I told the master that this kind of medicine will only disrupt my pulse and make the people in the Imperial Hospital think that my heart failure is caused by a disordered pulse!" Her lifeless eyes were empty and devoid of light.
When Yan Ning woke up in the middle of the night, she looked at Fu Kang'an, who was fast asleep and holding her tightly, and felt guilty and remorseful.
From that day on, after she went to Furong Garden to grieve for him, he only accompanied Xiang'er during the day, and would always rest at Jianguozhai when night fell.
Fukang'an had practiced martial arts for many years, and his chest was strong and powerful. This made Yan Ning feel that with him in her life, she would never feel any sense of security from the storms that might befall her again.
But Yan Ning constantly reminded herself that this was also Xiang'er's husband, not just his. In the backyard, there was also Wu Chun, a woman in name only, and Xi Ying, who lived in a remote place. And E Lan, who had once been obsessed with him, was about to return to the capital with her father.
Of all his many wives and concubines, the only one she felt guilty about was Xiang'er.
If she could do as Fukang'an suggested and have You Yuanzhi take her away, You Yuanzhi would definitely know better than Fukang'an how to cherish Xiang'er.
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