Hua Pingyu patted his daughter’s arm. “Zhi’er, you… have been put through much hardship.”

Hua Zhi shook her head. “As a member of the Hua Family, one should naturally enjoy its prosperity and bear its responsibilities. Father, please take care of your health and look after Grandfather. For anything that requires someone to step forward, let Fourth Uncle handle it — he is better suited for these things than you are.”

“Rest assured, I won’t overextend myself.”

Hua Zhi then turned to her Fourth Uncle. “Fourth Uncle, I am sorry to trouble you.”

Hua Pingyang had always been close to this niece who was only nine years younger than him. He set aside his usual carefree and grinning manner. “I understand. You needn’t worry. Your Fourth Aunt is still with child — keep an eye on her when you have the time.”

“People can endure hardship together. It will all be fine.”

“You have always seen things more clearly than most.” Hua Pingyang smiled. “Has the estate outside the city been sealed?”

“At present, I only know that the residence in the south of the city has not been sealed.”

“Then the one outside the city won’t be sealed either. When you have the time, go and have a look. Every year I loosen the soil around that old scholar tree.”

Hua Zhi’s mind immediately flooded with many thoughts. She nodded in acknowledgment, then said a few words to the younger generation of brothers. Seeing that the people over there had finished eating and that everything to be tucked away had been put away, Hua Zhi said no more. She knelt before the elders to bid her farewell. “I pray with all my heart that you stay safe on the road. Grandfather, you have taught me — so long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn.”

Hua Yizheng helped her to her feet. “A matter of this size will not bring me down. The household is in your hands.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi led her horse to stand before the head constable. “Constable, my Grandfather is advanced in years, and the road ahead is long and arduous. I ask that you look after him along the way. The Hua Family will be sure to show its gratitude handsomely.”

Hua Zhi glanced back at the assembled members of the Hua Family. “Grandfather has not committed an unforgivable crime. The Emperor is merely angered with him for the moment. Who is to say that His Majesty will not, in time, recall his virtues? Mountains may not move, but rivers find a way. Surely there will be a moment when darkness gives way to light. Would you not agree?”

Every constable was a shrewd man, and it was plain enough what Hua Zhi’s words left unsaid. It was impossible to say they were pleased by the veiled threat, yet upon reflection, they knew it was the truth. If Lord Hua had been condemned for treason, then there would be nothing to say — not even his descendants several generations down would dare entertain hopes of a reversal, and there would be no way to tip that boat no matter what they did.

But Lord Hua was not such a case. He was merely a small spirit caught in a battle between the gods. With his rank of Senior Second Grade, having served across two reigns and having long been a trusted official of the Emperor, it was quite possible that once the Emperor’s temper cooled, he would call him to mind again. Reinstatement could happen in the blink of an eye.

He reached down and felt the gold bar at his waist, still warm from being tucked away. Tsk — and this was after the family had already been stripped of their estate!

“I take your meaning, Miss Hua. Please be at ease. Setting everything else aside, Lord Hua has spent the better part of his life in service to our great Daqing dynasty. We would not dare treat an old lord such as him with disrespect, even if we had a hundred times the gall. However, we too have our rules to follow — I hope Miss Hua will understand.”

“I would not dare put the constable in a difficult position. On behalf of the Hua Family, I offer my thanks.”

Hua Zhi turned and looked over each of her loved ones one last time, raised her hand in farewell, then mounted her horse in one swift motion and rode away — without once looking back.

Hua Pingyan, the third son of the Hua Family, murmured quietly, “No wonder Father always treated Zhi’er differently. Now I finally understand. Setting aside the matter of her being a woman — even a man of this age could not have handled things better than Zhi’er.”

Hua Pingyu’s face was heavy with guilt. “I never noticed before. I even scolded her in the past because Bailin always liked to cling to her, his elder sister.”

“There is much you never noticed. What a shame my niece was born a daughter.” Hua Pingyang glanced over at the constables preparing to set off and hoisted the bundle onto his back, then took his elderly father’s bundle and added it to his own.

The journey home went more smoothly than expected, and they arrived while the hour was still early.

Nian Qiu was waiting at the back gate. At the sound of hoofbeats, she peered through the crack in the gate, and upon confirming it was her mistress, hurried forward to help her dismount.

“Miss, representatives from those families have all arrived.”

“What was their manner? Did anyone cause a scene?”

“Second Uncle’s wife was lashing out with her words. Fourth Uncle’s wife wept without stop. Third Uncle’s wife launched straight into blaming others. The Old Madam had everyone else remain in their rooms and forbade them from coming out, leaving herself alone to deal with it all.”

Hua Zhi frowned. “Not a single person went to help Grandmother?”

Nian Qiu gave a bitter smile. “Everyone was very obedient.” Obedient to a fault, that is.

Hua Zhi was, in truth, a little exhausted. This body had never been trained, and after riding back and forth, she felt as though every bone in her had been rattled loose. Hearing Nian Qiu’s words left a sour, bitter taste in her mouth.

Compared to other great households, the inner quarters of the Hua Family were, in fact, considered relatively tranquil. Though the wives and concubines occasionally competed with one another, and the wives of each branch kept their own reckonings for their individual families, while the sisters-in-law exchanged pointed remarks every so often, in general they were all well-behaved and dutiful — the men of the Hua Family were quite content with this.

But now that the Hua Family had fallen, their shortcomings had been laid bare. Not a single one of the three branch wives was capable of stepping up to the occasion. In a situation such as this, they had dutifully hidden themselves away every last one of them — leaving Grandmother alone to face the onslaught of others’ grievances. Hua Zhi did not know what to say.

Brushing the road dust from her clothes, Hua Zhi walked briskly toward the main hall. Steward Xu was standing guard at the entrance. Upon seeing her return, he visibly exhaled with relief.

The raised voices pierced through even a closed door. “Elder Sister-in-law, tell me — how are the whole family, young and old, supposed to go on living? This is going to be the death of us all!”

“Our family is in the same situation — everything of value has been confiscated. How are we supposed to get by from now on?”

“…”

Hua Zhi had no idea how long Grandmother had been enduring this. Even the mere thought of it made her ache.

She signaled for Nian Qiu to lift the door curtain, took a deep breath, and walked inside. She first paid her respects to her grandmother, then turned to bow in greeting to the assembled elders.

The sight of her eldest granddaughter gave the Old Madam a measure of spirit. “You’ve seen them? Are they all well?”

“Your granddaughter saw them — all well. They were simply worried about the family, but were reassured once they saw me come.”

“That is good, that is good.”

Before the exchange between grandmother and granddaughter was even finished, the plump-faced Third Aunt-in-law interjected. “Where did the eldest young miss go?”

“To bring some things to the family. Did Third Aunt-in-law not send anything along? The north is terribly cold — what they were wearing is nowhere near enough.”

“I would have liked to send something, but with all the men taken away, who could have gone?”

“Third Aunt-in-law, that is quite a thing to say. Women are people too, not just men. And even if no woman could go — is there not a single capable servant in the household?” Hua Zhi parried each word without pause, and before the woman could respond, added: “Besides, what you were just saying — I heard it from outside. Fortunately, there is no one here to witness it for the moment. If those words were to reach the ears of outsiders, it would be a grave disaster for the Hua Family.”

“Don’t try to frighten me. What disaster? The disaster was not brought about by me.”

Hua Zhi reached out and felt the teacup — still warm. She picked it up and gave her grandmother a few sips to drink, not sparing the others so much as a glance, yet her words were utterly without mercy. “It is the sovereign’s will that his subjects die, and his subjects must obey. Both life and death are bestowed by His Majesty’s grace. Now that the Emperor has moved against Grandfather and the Hua Family has been stripped of their estate and sent into exile — this, too, is the Emperor’s grace. When you say it is going to be the death of you, are you laying blame at the Emperor’s feet? Or are you suggesting that having your estate confiscated has left you harbouring resentment?”