Chapter 22: Past Events
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“I just know. Don’t ask about the specifics, Fourth Brother. Anyway, this time I’m really not fooling around. You’ll know in the future.” Mingzhu gave Fu Mingzheng a look that said, “Be patient and don’t ask too much. Even if you ask, I won’t tell,” and naturally recounted her fight with Yuwen You: “I was trying hard to persuade Ban Jian to come back with me. After finally coaxing him into signing the contract, Yuwen You suddenly burst in, accusing me of adultery and fornication with him, brandishing his broken sword and shouting threats. Of course, I couldn’t let him insult our family’s reputation, let alone let him bully me for no reason. So, I fought back.”
Fu Mingzheng didn’t know whether to believe her or not. After a moment of silence, he stood up and walked out, “I don’t care if what you said is true or not, but since it’s come to this, strike while the iron is hot and go sign the contract with Ban Jian.”
“Does that mean you’ll agree to represent me in interrogating Geng Momo?” Mingzhu was overjoyed, catching up and shamelessly grabbing Fu Mingzheng’s sleeve, trying to curry favor and build rapport.
Fu Mingzheng, unusually, didn’t shake off her hand, lowered his eyes slightly, and said indifferently, “That’s for you to discuss with Mother. If anything goes wrong, you deal with it yourself. Don’t try to push it onto me.”
“No way, if it really comes to that, am I still human?” Mingzhu was very happy, completely ignoring the grotesque colors on her face.
Fu Mingzheng frowned disapprovingly, “If I were you, I’d hide away and avoid people, so as not to scare the timid ones to death and bring bad luck upon yourself.”
Mingzhu finally couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed. She had been trying so hard to please him, yet he took the opportunity to mock her. Angrily retracting her hand, she frowned and was about to leave, but then heard Fu Mingzheng say in a low voice, “While signing a contract might keep him from being coveted by others, it’s the lowest method. Keeping someone’s body is easy, but keeping their heart is troublesome. If he’s really as capable as you say, you should genuinely treat him well.”
She didn’t expect him to say such words to her. Mingzhu turned her head, only to see Fu Mingzheng had already walked far away. The sunlight shone brightly on him, but it didn’t make him appear more approachable; he remained as gloomy and solitary as ever.
Though his temperament was gloomy and solitary, he was genuinely good to her. So, no matter what others said about him, she couldn’t find fault with him. Thinking of his fate later on, Mingzhu sighed lightly, finished writing the contract, and had Su Lan take the ink with her to find Ban Jian.
Because she was afraid of Yuwen You causing trouble, Ban Jian stayed with the guards of the Xiangfu in a nearby place, under the personal care of Jiang Duo. Mingzhu didn’t dare to show her terribly disfigured face casually, so she wore a bamboo hat to cover her face and stood in the winding walkway, waiting for Su Lan to bring Ban Jian.
Ban Jian limped over, seeing her with no good intentions, and said irritably, “Troublemaker, what are you here for again?”
Mingzhu lifted the bamboo hat, brought her face close to his, and said, “I wonder who the real troublemaker is! If you hadn’t lost my treasure, how could I have gone to you? How could I have caused such a misunderstanding? Not only was I slandered, but I also ruined my reputation for your sake. Now that you’re safe, you dare to turn your face away?”
Her face was even more terrifying than yesterday, and Ban Jian was startled. He looked at her in suspicion for a moment, then burst into laughter, covering his mouth. Before Mingzhu could get angry, he touched the wound caused by Yuwen You and coughed painfully.
He was too important to the future situation. Mingzhu, hard-hearted, refused to let him off easily, “Don’t think you can escape punishment by pretending to be pitiful. Are you going to keep your word? If you don’t compensate me for my treasure, you’ll sign this contract!”
Ban Jian’s face turned red, stuttering, “I can’t decide. You should ask my master.”
His master was the temple master, a crafty and slippery old Taoist who often dealt with the powerful and wealthy. Mingzhu felt she would need to put in a lot of effort dealing with him. She decided to be tough and press Ban Jian’s fingerprint first. Just as she was about to signal Jiang Duo, Ban Jian suddenly knelt down and called out, “Master.” Then Fu Mingzheng accompanied the sophisticated temple master of the Jade Emperor Temple and Zhu Changsheng, the steward of Ying Wang, over.
Mingzhu wore an unprecedentedly ugly face and instinctively wanted to hide. But considering Ban Jian’s importance, she straightened up again, boldly showing her hideous face to the temple master.
The temple master was a cunning and sly character. He exclaimed in surprise, “Oh my, what’s going on? Miss, you didn’t look like this when you first arrived.”
Did you not know? You pretended not to know! Mingzhu smiled insincerely, “Temple Master, you are too polite. When I first arrived, of course, I didn’t look like this. This transformation in my appearance is all thanks to your secular disciple Ban Jian.”
The Temple Master was extremely surprised, “Would Ban Jian dare to be so audacious? Impossible, this child was raised by this poor daoist and is more timid than a rabbit…” He slapped Ban Jian on the head, angrily scolding: “You stinky brat, why are you not hurrying to explain?”
What happened in the temple was definitely not something that could be kept from the head of the temple master, the local bigwig. The reason for this pretense was simply that he couldn’t afford to offend both the Fu family and Yuwen You. Mingzhu didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “Ban Jian lost a very precious item of mine, which also led to a misunderstanding with Linan Wang. In order to save him, I not only disfigured myself but also tarnished my reputation for marriage. He promised to sell himself into servitude to settle the debt. I wonder what the temple master thinks about this?”
The temple master of the Jade Emperor Temple sighed and asked Ban Jian, “Is this true?”
Ban Jian was still very innocent and not good at lying. He nodded with a wilted expression. The Temple Master said, “Debts must be repaid, it’s only natural. Since it’s like this, there’s nothing much for me to say. I hope the young lady will take pity on me and offer him some guidance.”
Mingzhu was getting impatient and had prepared herself to resort to any means necessary to achieve her goal. She didn’t expect the Temple Master to be so straightforward. Unable to help but glance at Fu Mingzheng, she saw him standing by with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. She knew that this matter had been made possible largely because of him. He must have persuaded the Temple Master first, perhaps by coercion or enticement. But it didn’t matter; as long as things were accomplished, that was all that mattered. Mingzhu took the contract from Su Lan, proudly shook it in front of Ban Jian, and then signaled Su Lan to pass the ink. “Put your fingerprint here!”
Ban Jian looked at the Temple Master with tears in his eyes and said, “Master, disciple doesn’t want to…” Being a servant wasn’t a good thing.
The Temple Master interrupted him sternly, “I’ve raised you all these years, just for you to cause trouble for me? Do you have the heart to see me at this age, selling the temple to pay off your debts? Do you have the heart to see me at this old age, and still ask me to provide for you?”
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