Who is Fu Shou?

Her father, Fu Shi Zhong, was Fu Wan, a seventh-generation descendant of Fu Zhan, the Grand Minister of Agriculture during Emperor Guangwu’s reign.

Fu Wan inherited the Marquis of Buqi title from Fu Zhan.

In the first year of Yanxi, Emperor Huan married Liu Hua to Fu Wan, making her Princess Yang’an.

It’s important to know that Han dynasty marriages to princesses differed from later practices.

The husband could still hold a significant position in court and have other concubines.

Fu Shou was one such concubine’s daughter.

However, Fu Shou’s significance came not from her father’s and stepmother’s statuses, but from her own.

At the age of eleven, she entered the palace and became a consort to the then ten-year-old Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie.

By fifteen, she became Empress of the Han Dynasty.

After Cao Cao took control and ruled in the emperor’s name, various events unfolded, including the execution of General Dong Cheng due to the “Edict in the Belt” conspiracy.

Later, Fu Shou wrote a letter to her father, Fu Wan, attempting another political plot.

Interestingly, this letter was only revealed years after Fu Wan’s death and did not lead to immediate repercussions like the previous conspiracy.

However, the outcome was the same.

Fu Shou was imprisoned and died in confinement.

Her two sons and the Fu family were purged, paving the way for Cao Cao to install his daughter, Cao Jie, as Empress.

It’s challenging to connect the tragic political pawn of the late Han Dynasty with the carefree little girl Qiao Yan had just seen peeking over the wall.

She appeared innocent and carefree now.

As for why she was on the wall…

Probably she was curious about the commotion.

Understanding her identity, Qiao Yan didn’t blame the girl for peeking into someone else’s courtyard.

Following another servant from the household, Qiao Yan passed through the central door into the rear courtyard.

Compared to the desolate front courtyard, the rear courtyard was more orderly.

As Qiao Yan looked around, she noticed a small vegetable plot next to the corridor.

It appeared unplanted this year, the soil dry and clumped from lack of tilling and watering.

“When the master was healthier a couple of years ago, he enjoyed gardening here himself,” the servant explained, noticing Qiao Yan’s gaze. “But this year, spring hadn’t yet arrived when he fell seriously ill and couldn’t get up. We didn’t dare disturb this plot, so we left it as it is.”

“It’s commendable that Master Qiao took pleasure in self-sustaining farming,” Bi Lan remarked before Qiao Yan could speak.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity.

Rare indeed were those like Qiao Xuan who held high office yet had no excess wealth.

Fortunately, such a person would not live to see the decline of the Han Dynasty and could enjoy a long life.

Having lived over seventy years, perhaps this could be considered a blessing.

The early summer sunlight shone on the eaves tiles under the steeply pitched roof of the main hall, casting light on the inscription “Forever Blessed” on one of the tiles.

Adjoining this tile was another with a mother and child deer motif, still displaying the unique charm of Han culture despite some erosion on its surface.

Unfortunately, the vitality and freedom symbolized by the running deer were not carried into the house with the sunlight.

Compared to the time when Emperor Ling visited, Qiao Xuan’s condition had clearly worsened.

Even though the imperial medical office provided prescriptions and Emperor Ling, to show his benevolence, supplied all the necessary medicines from the royal stores,

it could not change the fact that at his advanced age and depleted physical state, the medicines could only prolong his suffering.

When Emperor Ling ( Liu Hong )visited, Qiao Xuan could still manage to sit up and express his final wishes, but by the time Qiao Yan arrived—

As she leaned in to check on Qiao Xuan, she saw that this frail old man, whose breathing was barely perceptible, seemed to be in a state between sleep and wakefulness.

When he sensed Qiao Yan’s approach, he slightly raised his eyelids, but her gentle call of “Grandfather” did not elicit any response from his cloudy eyes.

This lack of reaction made Qiao Yan feel a mix of emotions.

She had remained in Ji Province not just because she wanted to secure another victory against the Zhang brothers but also because she was aware that her previous actions and gains were somewhat dependent on Qiao Xuan’s influence.

However, she was unsure how to face this elder, renowned for his firmness, humility, and respect for scholars.

The Jishui sacrifice made Qiao Yan feel she had fulfilled her duty to her parents and herself, but Qiao Xuan was different.

In fact, Qiao Yan’s existence had prevented his lineage from ending completely, but not everything could be judged by her alone.

Luckily, now that he was gravely ill and in a state of confusion, he only knew that someone had come to visit him but did not recognize who it was.

Perhaps—

Perhaps, for him, this was a blessing.

Qiao Yan’s gaze fell on the sword hanging at the foot of the bed before returning to Qiao Xuan’s face.

From Bi Lan’s perspective, he saw the youngest marquis, who had earned her title through true merit, kneeling by the bedside, holding the hand of the former Grand Commandant.

Her gaze, which initially showed a sense of bewilderment and unfamiliarity towards the grandfather she had not seen for many years, finally turned into a deep sorrow.

Only the overlapping hands, one old and one young, seemed to convey a sense of the noble family’s heritage.

It was an image of one dying and one being born.

But before Bi Lan could utter a word of condolence to Qiao Yan, he heard Qiao Yan calmly say, “You all go out first. I want to be alone with my grandfather for a while.”

Bi Lan came back to his senses and replied, “I won’t stay here any longer. I was just here to deliver the imperial edict to Jizhou and need to return to the palace to report.

Now that Qiao Hou has arrived at Qiao Gong’s residence, my task is complete.”

Qiao Yan nodded in acknowledgment towards him and said, “Thank you for your effort, Changshi.”

Bi Lan was then escorted out by Cheng Li.

In this way, only “family” remained within the Qiao residence.

The elderly servant who led the way did not know why the family head’s son, Qiao Yu, had not come, and instead, it was Qiao Yan, referred to by Bi Lan as Qiao Hou, who arrived first.

But being a dutiful servant, he did not pry but instead arranged accommodations for Cheng Li, Dian Wei, Lu Yuan, and others in the guest rooms of the residence.

Including the gatekeeper and the elderly servant who led the way, there was only a young servant responsible for cooking and preparing medicine.

With the sudden arrival of several more people, there was a bit of a scramble.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan, who had been the lady of the house and managed household affairs before, found the population here uncomplicated.

After asking Qiao Yan’s opinion through the door, she took over the authority of the residence.

She roughly counted the household’s supplies and immediately sent someone to the eastern market to buy some necessities.

With a strong laborer like Dian Wei, carrying more things was easy.

Before Cheng Li could showcase his talents in Le Ping, he had already used his eloquence to chat with the gatekeeper and inquire about the residents of Yanxi Lane.

Even though they might not stay long in Luoyang, they still needed to know who their neighbors were.

According to the gatekeeper, among the nine households in Yanxi Lane, the residences of Princess Yang’an and Fuwan were indeed the largest.

However, the others, being able to live in the same lane as the princess consort and the former Grand Minister, were certainly not ordinary people.

For example, the owner of the residence next to Qiao Xuan was Liang Hu, the Minister of Selection.

The Ministry of Selection, equivalent to the personnel department during the Eastern Han dynasty, was responsible for selecting officials and awarding honors.

Liang Hu was appointed to this position because he came from the Hongdu Academy established by Liu Hong in the first year of Guanghe, making him a significant figure in the court.

A protégé of the emperor.

Opposite the Qiao Xuan residence lived Yang Xu, a clerk from the Grand Minister’s Office, hailing from the Yang clan of Mount Tai, destined to be the future “Prefect of Xuan Yu.”

From this, it was not difficult to determine the identities of the people living here.

Fu Wan served as the Chamberlain,

Liang Hu held the position of Minister of Selection,

Qiao Xuan was the Court Physician,

and Yang Xu was a clerk at the Grand Minister’s Office.

Almost all of them held civil positions, but not in the top tier of civil service.

This environment wasn’t one that Qiao Yan needed to be overly cautious in or actively cultivate relationships within.

However, there were still opportunities for leverage.

As she stepped out of Qiao Xuan’s bedroom into the courtyard, she heard Cheng Li’s report.

“Thank you, Zhongde, for your efforts,” Qiao Yan replied.

Knowing who their neighbors were undoubtedly allowed her to formulate her subsequent course of action.

But when Lu Yuan mentioned the lack of money in the household, and they would likely have to use Tian Tao’s gift, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

It was said that living in the capital was not easy, be it during the Tang Dynasty or in Luoyang.

While prices in the East Market were indeed lower than those in the West Market, they were still in the emperor’s domain, and living costs couldn’t be reduced much lower.

The thought that this was supposed to be her 300 tons of rice, yet she had to spend part of it before reaching Le Ping, made her think of ways to increase income.