TYSUF – Chapter 59 Never Forget the Sanzu’s Suffering (2)

The last time the two brothers met was still at the residence where the Old Madam lived—on the day their father passed away.

Over the past month, on the surface, Fu Tongwen had done nothing absolute, but in private he had severed all of Eldest Master Fu’s social connections and sources of income. Even Boss Huang of the Green Gang refused to meet with him. Now, the two enemies met face-to-face—bloodshot with resentment—yet still had to maintain a veneer of harmony.

“Third Brother, you look in good health.” Eldest Master Fu lifted his long robe and walked upstairs side by side with Fu Tongwen.

“The same as always,” Fu Tongwen replied with a polite smile. “I didn’t expect you to come today, Eldest Brother.”

“Are you joking with me?” Eldest Master Fu laughed heartily. “I’d say you were certain I’d come today, weren’t you?”

Fu Tongwen smiled but did not answer.

Indeed, he had calculated that his elder brother would appear tonight. This was Eldest Brother’s last chance to turn things around: to see Mother, to meet the family elders, and to seize an opportunity to denounce Fu Tongwen.

Forty-nine steps later, they reached the private room.

On the second floor there were seven private rooms, the most spacious one facing directly toward the opera stage.

Shen Xi recognized this room—it was the same one where she had confronted Boss Huang last time. Outside the door stood ten young servants, along with Fu Tongwen’s usual men, guarding the entrance.

They halted outside the room.

“You and I, as brothers, have had too many misunderstandings. Today, with Mother and the elders present, we should use the chance to untie those knots.” Eldest Master Fu smiled as he asked, “On Father’s seven-seven night, surely you don’t mean to take your brother’s life, do you?”

“How would I dare?” Fu Tongwen gestured toward the private room. “Eldest Brother, please.”

The servants pushed open the door.

After all, Eldest Master Fu had weathered storms before. His smile did not fade as he entered first.

Inside, there were many people. The Old Madam sat in the center; on either side were the six grown young masters of the Fu family, each accompanied by their wives. The young ladies were in the neighboring room. Second Madam was gravely ill, so Su Qing accompanied Second Master. When she saw Shen Xi and Fu Tongwen, she offered a faint smile and gently nodded in greeting to Shen Xi.

Eldest Master Fu frowned when he saw the maids inside and said impatiently, “All the servants out.”

The maids silently withdrew.

“Eldest Brother, if you send the maids away, who will serve us tea?” a younger master asked.

“Second Brother can stay. The rest of you go next door. Today, we older ones have serious matters to discuss.” Eldest Master Fu declared.

Those younger masters had already grown restless. They knew well that the older brothers’ conflict ran deep and didn’t wish to suffer through it in this room. With Eldest Brother’s command, they had no objection; they each saluted the Old Madam and left.

“With the maids gone, I’ll handle pouring the tea.” Su Qing rose and said softly.

“I’ll help you,” Shen Xi offered.

“No need.” Second Master smiled. “Miss Shen hasn’t married into the Fu family yet. She’s a guest—just sit and enjoy the opera.”

Outside, wind and rain raged. Rain blew into the room, dampening the floor.

Su Qing went to shut the window. To keep some ventilation, she left a crack and secured it with a gilt hook.

After leaving the window, she bolted the door, then sat down on a small stool used by the maids. Picking up her round fan from the chair, she fanned the little stove where water was boiling. Throughout, her movements were cautious and quiet—an attitude of not wanting to be entangled in the disputes of the main household.

Fu Tongwen and his elder brother exchanged smiles, silently gesturing toward the seat behind each other.

The brothers sat down—one to the east, the other to the west.

Shen Xi and Fu Tongwen shared a pair of grand armchairs, with a small tea table between them.

On the table lay a brass telescope and a pink playbill.

The Old Madam, silent until now, finally spoke: “You two are brothers by blood. You must talk properly today. Whatever grievances you have, settle them here.” She looked toward Second Master. “Tongshan is also here—he can serve as a witness.”

Second Master leaned slightly forward and replied, “We’re brothers. No need for witnesses.”

“Calling you and Miss Shen here—that was my personal intention,” the Old Madam admitted once no outsiders remained. “Within this family, the only one who can still speak to Tongwen is you, Second. And outside the family, the only one who can influence his thoughts is Miss Shen. With you two here, I can rest assured.”

“You flatter me.” Second Master responded with a smile.

Shen Xi smiled faintly, nodding as a token response.

She guessed now why Fu Tongwen’s mother had suddenly visited her apartment, gifted her a jade bracelet, and insisted she come here. All those actions had a clear purpose. Yet Fu Tongwen seldom spoke to her about the Fu family’s affairs, so she understood little and couldn’t fully grasp the intricate twists.

From what the Old Madam implied, it seemed she feared she couldn’t restrain Fu Tongwen and thus had invited her here.

No one knows a son better than his mother. The Old Madam had predicted Eldest Master would risk appearing today, and she had also foreseen Fu Tongwen making things difficult for him. Naturally, she had made early arrangements. But now, her maiden family had declined, she had lost her husband, and the son she once favored—her Eldest—had fallen into ruin. Unable to provide real support for him, she could only turn in a roundabout way to Second Master and Shen Xi, hoping the two would speak up to persuade Fu Tongwen.

Who would have thought—Second Master only humored her, while Shen Xi remained silent.

Madam Fu, having said all she could, had no choice but to sit there upright, back straight, holding on to the last of her dignity. Su Qing used a white handkerchief to cover the teapot lid, waited for the water to boil, then skillfully brewed and served the tea.

The tea was offered first to Fu Tongwen. He smiled faintly at Su Qing, nodded, but did not rush to speak.

The tea was then offered to the eldest Master Fu. He accepted it, blew at the floating tea leaves, and absentmindedly waited for Fu Tongwen to start.

When it was Fu Second Master’s turn, he didn’t take the cup but glanced at the tea table instead. Su Qing understood and set it aside.

The tea for the old madam and Shen Xi was also served. Afterward, Su Qing returned to her place to tend the glowing red coals in the brazier.

Shen Xi picked up the playbill and looked at the program under the lamplight.

The very first performance was Man Jiang Hong.

A sudden clap of thunder rang out, perfectly echoing the gong sounds from downstairs.

The young masters and old gentlemen in the theater below all took it as a good omen, laughing and cheering. Their voices carried up to the second floor, and even the neighboring private rooms joined in the calls of delight. Only in this room did an eerie silence linger.

She turned the playbill over and saw a small advertisement on the back. She hadn’t looked closely when Fu Tongwen suddenly plucked the sheet from her hand. Startled, Shen Xi raised her eyes to see him smiling—as though teasing her.

“Third Brother, let’s speak frankly.” Eldest Master Fu could not hold it in any longer. He set down his teacup, but in his haste, hot tea splashed onto his hand. He hissed in pain and shook off the scalding drops.

“What does Big Brother want me to say?” Fu Tongwen handed the playbill back to her.

“For this past month, you’ve been like a mad dog—cutting off my finances, severing my connections, even stopping me from seeing Mother. If I hadn’t risked coming here today, would you have already decided to erase me from this world?”

Fu Tongwen smiled faintly but said nothing.

The eldest grew increasingly agitated. His life was at stake—how could he remain calm? “Yes, we had different political views when we were younger, there was conflict, but not to the point of being mortal enemies, was it? Back then, you and Fourth Brother supported the Reformists, while Father and I supported the Constitutional Monarchists. In the end, it was the Monarchists who prevailed, wasn’t it? And when the Reformists were crushed, why do you think you and Fourth Brother survived? Wasn’t it because I interceded? That’s a debt you can’t forget.”

“Is that so?” Fu Tongwen finally spoke, “So Fourth Brother and I survived all thanks to Big Brother’s protection?”

“Even leaving that aside,” the eldest pressed on, “later, you began supporting the Revolutionaries, while Father and I supported President Yuan. You’ve always been like a reckless gambler, choosing the opposite side of the family. Father only wanted to protect the Fu family, that’s why he wanted to get rid of you. Everything I did was according to Father’s will. But I still helped you.” He pointed at Shen Xi and continued, “When she came to Fu residence looking for you, it was I who spoke for you along with Second Brother. Otherwise, do you think a girl with no background like her would have been allowed into your courtyard? Even if she did manage to enter, without my and Mother’s persuasion behind the scenes, the two of you would’ve likely died together long ago.”

Fu Tongwen nodded and turned to Second Master Fu: “On that matter, Second Brother, I have always remembered your kindness.”

“We’re brothers,” Second Brother replied quietly, then instructed Su Qing, “Big Brother spilled his tea, brew him a fresh cup.”

Su Qing obediently prepared a new pot.

Second Brother was deliberately easing the tension. Eldest Brother also tried to suppress the burning anxiety in his chest, falling briefly into silence.

By the time Su Qing set the fresh cup beside him, ten minutes had already passed. Ten long minutes during which the eldest struggled to think of how to break through Fu Tongwen’s resolve. He had always believed that with their mother present, Fu Tongwen would not truly dare to kill him. Even the disputes outside the hospital had been smoothed over by the combined persuasion of a few Qing Gang bosses.

But what exactly had happened in this past month to change his attitude so drastically?

Unable to guess Fu Tongwen’s thoughts, the eldest had to probe cautiously.

“Tongwen, we’re both men who want to achieve great things—our stances simply differ,” the eldest explained earnestly. “It’s just like when Second Brother and I disagreed back then—one for the republic, one for constitutional monarchy. Ideals differ, beliefs differ. Yet look at us now—aren’t Second Brother and I still close as brothers?”

When Fu Tongwen did not reply, his thoughts gradually turned to an old matter.

“I know there have always been rumors—that Fourth Brother’s opium addiction was tied to me.” The eldest leaned forward slightly, gazing sincerely at Fu Tongwen. “You and Fourth Brother were closest since childhood—that’s your sore spot…”

Shen Xi had just lifted her cup to drink.

Fourth Brother? He was saying that Fu Fourth Master’s ruin was his doing?

Even Su Qing’s hand with the fan faltered. She lowered her head, fidgeting with the round fan in her hand, staring either at the stone floor tiles or at her own shoes.

“Big Brother has finally touched on the matter that interests me,” Fu Tongwen said in a low voice.

“You can’t condemn me just on people’s gossip,” the eldest quickly argued. “Tongwen, how can you doubt your own elder brother?”

Fu Tongwen looked straight at him. “In the past, you could suppress this because Father shielded you, Mother protected you, and you still had power and influence. I wasn’t your match. But now? Do you still think you have the ability to cover it up?”

His words implied he already had solid evidence.

The eldest had done plenty of shameful things. With a guilty conscience, calmness was impossible.

At this stage, he knew he ought to confess and beg forgiveness, perhaps let Mother plead for him—that though Fourth Brother had been led astray by opium, it wasn’t him who had taken his life.

But soon he overturned that thought. Fu Tongwen and Fourth Brother had been inseparable since childhood—if he admitted it, old and new grudges would combine, and Tongwen might very well kill him on the spot…

Almost in the next breath, he dismissed that fear again. Today was the seventh-seven [a memorial date], the elders of the Fu family were all present—Tongwen wouldn’t dare disregard propriety and kill him here. Besides, surely the elders would speak on his behalf…

His back felt chilled, yet cold sweat still trickled down.

It felt like his insides were burning, like sitting on pins and needles. He only felt that his arms, his body, his thighs, even his feet—none of them were in the right place. Everything was uncomfortable, uneasy, unsettled.

Shen Xi held the teacup with both hands, motionless. Inside her heart, waves of panic surged. Then she heard Fu Tongwen beside her say:

“Big Brother, have you thought it through? How will you defend yourself? Or will you just admit it, and let Mother plead on your behalf?”

Master Fu instinctively looked toward his mother.

The Old Madam sighed deeply and said softly: “Tongwen, your mother also bears some responsibility in this matter.”

“Mother ought to understand me best. It’s better to let Big Brother speak for himself.” He cut her off.

…

Master Fu had no choice but to move his lips. No sound came out.

He forced himself, gathered strength, and finally made his decision: “What happened with Tongchuan was a mistake. After the Reformists failed, I knew you and Tongchuan would surely be targeted for revenge, so—”

“So you struck first, kidnapped Tongchuan, and tried to curry favor with your masters?”

“No, Tongwen, you must know—the fact that you supported the Reformists had already drawn too much attention. What I did was to protect you! There had to be a scapegoat. I couldn’t sacrifice you—you’re my blood brother. That left only Tongchuan.” He tried to rise, but Fu Tongwen’s gaze pinned him down; his legs turned to water, powerless. “Tongwen, how could I bear to let Fourth Brother die? It was only meant to be a lesson… That opium—you couldn’t escape it either. Tongchuan was just too idealistic…”

“No. You only wanted an excuse to get rid of my right-hand man,” Fu Tongwen fixed him with his stare. “And then bide your time to topple me. In this family, I am your greatest threat. So everyone tied to me becomes an eyesore.”

Master Fu struggled, still trying to argue: “Big Brother is still human, still has a heart. You are all my brothers—how could I think like that?”

Fu Tongwen sneered: “After you had Tongchuan kidnapped, you grew greedy. You wanted to use the chance to demand ransom silver from Father. Unfortunately, you were exposed. Father scolded you bitterly, but in order to save you, he spent more than half a year shuffling Tongchuan between six different groups of people. Only once he was sure I couldn’t trace the truth did he finally bring Tongchuan back.”

He spoke each word lightly, as if afraid of waking Tongchuan who slept beneath the earth.

Master Fu was completely speechless, with no ground left to defend himself.

On stage came the cry: “Prepare the ink!” The gongs and huqin rose in sharp rhythm.

Yue Fei’s calligraphy appeared, and the actor sang: “My hair bristles, my cap flies off, leaning against the rail, the rain just ceased—”

Shen Xi steadied her breathing with the beat of the gong, forcing her mind to stay calm.

With just a few words, Fu Tongwen had strung together all the fragments of Fourth Master in her memory.

He wasn’t finished. Picking up the monocular telescope from the table, turning it in his hand, he looked at the Old Madam: “Wasn’t Father and Mother marrying off Sixth Sister to a faraway place also just to cover up for Big Brother?”

The Old Madam’s head snapped toward him. In the old dynasty’s etiquette, even the angle of a woman’s head-turn was regulated. If her earrings shook too much, it was a breach of propriety. But now, her earrings shook wildly, as though they might fall at any moment.

Without a maid to support her, she could not stand. Clutching the arm of the grand chair, she bent low and pleaded with Fu Tongwen: “Tongwen, don’t ruin your elder brother just for the sake of the Fourth Branch.”

“Mother seems to have forgotten—there is no Fourth Branch left in the Fu family,” he said with a laugh. “They didn’t fight, didn’t scheme, and yet ended like this. If I, their Third Brother, don’t demand justice for them, who else will remember they even existed?”

The Old Madam cast a mournful glance at Second Master Fu, then at Shen Xi.

In his youth, Second Master had also yearned to serve the nation, publishing many proclamations in the papers—calls to save the country, to oppose Yuan. But Father’s scoldings and confinement smothered his passion. Now, hearing all this, indignation roiled in his chest. He avoided the Old Madam’s gaze, bowed his head to stare at his teacup, and waited for Fu Tongwen’s verdict.

Fu Tongwen handed the monocular to Shen Xi.

Then he drew the gun from his waist and set it on the tea table: “This is the gun Tongchuan used to ‘end his life.’ I have carried it for fourteen years.”

That gun had followed him day and night, reminding him that Tongchuan had not killed himself, but had been murdered.

Across the dark-patterned woven carpet, across half the private room, he and Master Fu locked eyes.

“As the Fu family’s eldest son, dying by the hands of servants would disgrace the ancestors,” Fu Tongwen declared calmly. “Today, you can end your life here—it will be considered a dignified death. After today, even that dignity will be gone.”

“You want me… to die?”

“Yes,” Fu Tongwen said. “And don’t worry about the elders questioning it. You now have neither power nor influence. No one will care how you died, or who killed you.”

Master Fu’s scalp tightened. Slowly, he rose from his seat.

The Old Madam was seized with terror. From nowhere she found strength, stumbling forward to shield Fu Tongwen: “Tongwen, you mustn’t… Tongwen… He is your own elder brother, not an outsider… Tongwen…”

Fu Tongwen seemed not to see his mother in front of him, and continued: “Don’t think of running. Right now, not even a bird could fly out of Xu Garden. There are over a hundred rifles outside, all waiting for you.”

“Tongwen!” The Old Madam collapsed to her knees before him: “Mother begs you—just spare his life!”

Fu Tongwen had long expected this scene, prepared himself to harden his heart and be branded an unfilial son. Yet at this moment, seeing his own mother kneel on the floor, tears streaming as she kowtowed, the veins in his temples throbbed violently.

He and his brother were alike—both with countless lives on their hands, both willing to sacrifice anything for their ambitions. But the greatest difference, his fatal weakness, was that Fu Tongwen still retained a shred of humanity.

“Tongwen, give your elder brother a way to live, the entire Fu family will be yours,” the Old Madam’s aged face was drenched in tears. “Mother will want nothing, everything will be yours…”

Second Master sighed inwardly and closed his eyes, refusing to interfere.

Because of the gun in Fu Tongwen’s hand, Master Fu dared not act rashly, frozen where he stood.

The Old Madam wept uncontrollably, clutching Fu Tongwen’s right leg, pressing her forehead against his knee as though kowtowing. The pain in his knee tugged at Fu Tongwen’s heart. He drew in a deep breath.

Sensing danger, Shen Xi noticed it at once. At the same time, Master Fu too saw Fu Tongwen’s moment of weakness.

A murderous gleam flashed in his eyes. He lunged: “I’ll take your life first!”

“Tongwen!” Shen Xi threw her arms around Master Fu’s waist, buying Fu Tongwen time to dodge.

Shen Xi clung to Master Fu. The Old Madam clung to Fu Tongwen. Each tried to protect the one dearest to them.

In the chaos, Fu Tongwen swung his gun and struck Master Fu’s temple. In that instant of pain, he shoved Master Fu away with all his strength. Master Fu staggered backward.

But Fu Tongwen could hold on no longer—he collapsed to the ground, clutching his shirt, face pale as death, breathing ragged.

Master Fu, murderous intent boiling over, lunged again to seize the gun.

In a flash of fire and shadow, a black figure carrying searing flames struck from behind, smashing against his head. Agonizing heat and pain exploded as burning charcoal rained down on him. Su Qing had seized the small brazier with her bare hands and dealt him a fatal blow.

“Su Qing!” Second Master cried in shock.

Master Fu screamed as the flames devoured him, clawing frantically at his burning robes.

Like one possessed, Su Qing tore the hairpin from her hair and hurled herself at the blazing figure. The golden pin stabbed deep into his chest. Her own clothes caught fire, but she seemed not to feel it. Hugging him tightly, she wrenched out the pin and drove it in again: “I’ll make you pay with your life!!”

Howling in agony, Master Fu grabbed her by the throat, slammed her to the ground, and smashed his fists into her face again and again.

Su Qing’s vision went black. She lost consciousness.

Master Fu staggered to his feet, ramming his body against the great doors. Once, twice—until with a crash they burst open.

Consumed by fire, crazed beyond reason, unable to see the way, he shrieked and flailed, trying to seize anyone in reach.

Amidst the screams and chaos, the panicked servants shoved and kicked him toward the stairs. Before he could grasp anything, the man-shaped fireball tumbled headlong down the steps.