“There is one more thing,” Hua Zhi said softly. “Fourth Aunt’s due date is approaching. The midwife and everything needed for the birth should be arranged in advance, so that if labor comes early, there will be no panic.”

The Old Madam slapped her forehead. “Look at me, forgetting something this important. Cui Xiang, go and find Old Woman Liu. Give her sufficient silver and invite her to stay in the residence.”

“Yes, this servant will go at once.”

Before the confiscation, all of this would have been prepared long ago — it had never been left so late into the month. One could not fault Grandmother for forgetting; even Hua Zhi herself had only just thought of it.

Thinking that Shaoye ought to have risen by now, Hua Zhi stood and made her leave.

Out on the covered corridor, Bao Xia whispered, “Is the Old Madam trying to set up other young ladies to compete against you?”

“Grandmother is not acting out of selfishness.” She knew her own health was poor and feared she would not last much longer; while she still held her place as the family’s matriarch, she wanted to draw out two more people from the Hua Family who could help her. This intention she ought to receive with grace.

“Find a suitable time to go and tell them what they should prepare.”

“Yes.”

Inside the study, Gu Yanxi turned the silver hairpins and a few fragments of broken silver over in his hands as he listened to Chen Qing report his findings.

“The net has been fully laid. We only need to wait for them to step into it.”

“Place someone close to the Second.”

Chen Qing’s heart gave a jolt. “Shizi, he is an Imperial Prince. Placing someone beside an Imperial Prince — whatever the outcome — the moment the Emperor learns of it, you will come to no good…”

“Then the Emperor must not learn of it. Send Qu Qi.”

“Shizi…”

Gu Yanxi finally looked up at him. “Can it be that the decisions I make must first be run past you before they can be carried out?”

Chen Qing knelt to the ground yet still refused to relent. “This servant oversteps, but this concerns the Imperial Family. However much the Emperor trusts you, it cannot compare to the bond between father and son. This servant fears you will suffer the same displaced anger as Elder Master Hua.”

Chen Qing was no ordinary subordinate. He and Gu Yanxi were of the same age; his mother had been the personal handmaid of Gu Yanxi’s mother, the Imperial Consort. Being close in years, he had served at his young master’s side since childhood. After the Consort’s death, the two had endured every hardship together and had nearly lost their lives. Later, when the master rose again and earned the Emperor’s regard, Chen Qing, unwilling to become a burden, had disregarded the fact that he had passed the ideal age for martial training and, through sheer force of will, forged himself into a formidable fighter. By his own ability, he rose to become the chief steward.

Naturally, Gu Yanxi treated him differently from the others. The most trust he could extend to any person was five parts, and Chen Qing was the only one who held all five — even Shaoye fell a fraction short.

The wooden box snapped shut with a soft clap. Gu Yanxi, in the end, offered a few words of explanation. “From the fourth month until now, five Southern Border spies have been caught within the capital. Their testimonies hold up individually, but strung together there is a discernible pattern. I suspect they came to make contact with someone. The person behind it has been cautious — even the Southern Border spies themselves do not know who they were meant to meet. It was not until the Hua Family was struck a few days ago that I confirmed my suspicion.”

Chen Qing let out an involuntary breath of disbelief. “You suspect the Second Imperial Prince of colluding with the enemy?”

“His suspicion is the greatest. But moving against the He Family has disturbed the grass and startled the snake. For the near future, have everyone lie low. Qu Qi is likewise not to act rashly until I give the order.”

“Should we not first let the Emperor know?”

“There is no need.” A mocking light passed through Gu Yanxi’s eyes. “As you said yourself, they are father and son. If I report the matter before there is any evidence, the Second will at worst lose his standing in the contest for the throne — everything else will be covered up. A prince committing treason is a disgrace the Emperor cannot afford to bear, and I would absorb the full force of both their fury.”

“But presenting the evidence will earn you no reward either!”

“That depends on how the evidence is delivered. What if it were the First or the Third who handed it up?”

Chen Qing’s mind cleared at once. “This servant understands. This servant will go and notify Qu Qi immediately.”

“No hurry.” Gu Yanxi opened the wooden box again, his brow and eyes lowered in a manner that bore no trace of the dangerous edge he had carried moments before. “Have someone buy a residence in the southern part of the city, not far from the Hua Family. It need not be large — enough for Shaoye and me to live in will do. For the coming period I will be staying at the Hua estate; do not seek me out unless the matter is urgent.”

Chen Qing could not fathom what scheme his Shizi was playing at. Looking on, it rather seemed as though he was going out of his way to draw closer to the eldest young lady of the Hua Family.

“What is it?”

Chen Qing shook his head at once. “You have a residence in the southern city. It is kept in order at all times — you could move straight in.”

“Too large.” A martial arts instructor could hardly be expected to occupy a compound of several courtyards. Gu Yanxi considered what means such an instructor might have. “A single-courtyard will do, two at most. And quickly.”

“…Yes.”

Watching the box that never seemed to leave his master’s hands, Chen Qing grew ever more certain of what he suspected. A feeling of inexplicable, paternal relief welled up in him: at last — his master, already twenty-four, had finally come to his senses. The next time the Emperor raised the matter of an arranged marriage, his master would finally have a reason to refuse!

The Hua Family was far from a match of equal standing at present, but the eldest young lady of the Hua Family struck him as exceptional — far superior to the pampered daughters of noble households. On the strength of the fact alone that she was not afraid of his master, he could have wished the master would bring her home without further delay.

Once the master was married, he too could begin to consider his own lifelong affairs. With these thoughts, great blossoms of happiness bloomed in Chen Qing’s heart, and he walked away with a lightness that barely seemed to touch the ground.

Entirely unaware of how far his chief steward’s thoughts had wandered, Gu Yanxi set out for the Hua estate early the very next morning, while the sky was still barely lit.

The children of the Hua Family had been told the day before that they were to follow the martial arts instructor for exercise and to strengthen their bodies. Children of that age were generally keen on martial practice, and most wore expressions of eager anticipation. The few who would rather not be there managed to look quite enthusiastic all the same.

Hua Zhi pitied the children for having to rise so early, but she had no intention of changing the schedule. The principle that the morning hour is worth two in the evening was observed to its fullest here: officials were expected to be at their posts by the third hour of the morning, and students only a little later, during the fifth. Unless one was the sort of young master who caroused through the night, no one slept until the sun was high.

After introducing the children to Master Lu, Hua Zhi withdrew. How to win over these children, and how to make them willing to persist even through hardship — these were matters for Master Lu’s own skill to resolve. She concerned herself only with the results.

Gu Yanxi’s method was simple and direct. He let out a single measure of his natural air of authority, and the children dared not stir — they did whatever he told them, obedient beyond all expectation.

Shaoye, who had been peeking, laughed so hard she nearly toppled over. Even as she inwardly scolded the Shizi for bullying children, she found it wonderfully entertaining. The Shizi, playing the martial arts instructor to a group of little radishes — she desperately wanted to go back and act it all out for Chen Qing to see!

After Gu Yanxi performed another set of forms — commanding and magnificent from every angle — not a single child was absent the following morning.

What child does not dream of being a hero? With such a formidable example right before their eyes, they all wanted to become just as capable!

Children are also proud creatures. However much their bodies ached from head to toe, the moment they glanced sideways and saw their companions looking perfectly unbothered, they too put on a carefree front — gritting their teeth and driving themselves through every movement the instructor called out. What none of them knew was that every single one of their companions was doing exactly the same, pushing through on sheer determination.

They spurred one another on, and not one fell behind.