Hua Zhi gave Chen Shan the last bank note she had on her — two hundred taels — and told him to buy only high-quality medicinal ingredients.

Shao Yao thought it over and decided to go along as well. She worried the local pharmacy might try to pass off inferior goods on Chen Shan.

Besides, she had just had a realization: with her here, there was no need to have the medicines dispensed one dose at a time — they could simply buy a large stock of raw ingredients and be done with it.

Settling back beside the brazier, Hua Zhi noticed that her father’s teacup had run dry and stood to refill it. Hua Pingyu couldn’t bring himself to let her go to the trouble and quickly said, “I’m not thirsty — sit down, please.”

Hua Zhi sat back down and was as compliant as she had always been through all those years before.

Hua Pingyu’s heart softened. Though he was little versed in household affairs and not particularly adept at reading people’s feelings, his mind was clear enough — he could see that all those years, Zhi’er hadn’t been deliberately hiding herself. It was simply her nature: she had no appetite for standing out. When the Hua Family was at peace, she was perfectly content to be a well-behaved, proper young lady from a distinguished household — even if people took her for unremarkable.

When all was said and done, it was he, her father, who had neglected her. He had once thought that Bailin’s affection for his elder sister was simply because she indulged him — it had never occurred to him that if she hadn’t been capable enough to command Bailin’s genuine respect, that untamable, headstrong boy would never have been kept so thoroughly in line by her.

Hua Zhi opened with the very matter Hua Pingyu cared about most. “Mother is well — she doesn’t cry nearly as easily as she used to. She says she’s saving her tears for when you get back, so she can drown you in them.”

Hua Pingyu gave a rueful smile. Getting back — when would that ever be? “She has a soft nature. You keep watch over her. Are Qin Shi and He Shi behaving themselves? If they’re not, send them away. Now that the Hua Family has fallen, they may not be willing to stay.”

“If they had no children to tie them here, they might well have had other thoughts by now — but they do have children, and neither of them is heartless or cruel. For the sake of their children, they’ll hold on whether they want to or not.”

“I know you’re sharp, Zhi’er — but sometimes, a little less clarity isn’t a bad thing. Seeing through everything must be so tiring.”

“What can I do? I was born this way.” Hua Zhi dropped her gaze and smiled faintly — speaking of helplessness, yet without a trace of complaint in her expression. “Aside from life and death, nothing else truly matters. So I’ve decided to treat everything that falls short of life and death as a small thing.”

“You.” Hua Pingyu shook his head and stirred the coals with the fire tongs. “And Bailin — has he made any progress?”

“I arranged for him to take Master Mu as his teacher.”

“Mu Qing’s character is solid, and his learning is stronger than those who are only famous in name. But keep a sense of proportion — people’s hearts can change.”

Who ever said Hua Pingyu was just an impractical scholar, out of touch with the world? The corner of Hua Zhi’s mouth lifted slightly. He understood everything perfectly well. In the old days, he had had the Hua Family name to shield him — he simply hadn’t needed to force himself to do things he had no desire to do.

“Your daughter understands. For now, the Hua Family leans on Master Mu a little too heavily — but after the new year, things should improve. Maternal Grandfather has been helping to seek out a teacher, though he’s not in the capital at the moment and it will take some time before we can bring him to us.”

Hua Pingyu turned to look at her. “Your maternal grandfather…”

“Maternal Grandmother came to visit once. It was she who told me about the search for a teacher — and she brought many things we could make use of. Father, the maternal family has not cut ties with us.”

Hua Pingyu’s throat worked silently. He turned back to the brazier, eyes glinting with something — whether it was the reflection of the firelight or the brightness of relief, it was hard to say.

“Grandfather’s charge was forming factional alliances and engaging in partisan scheming. He needs to keep his distance to avoid implicating the Zhu Family and thereby confirming that charge. There is something you may not know: the moment Grandfather learned the Hua Family had been sent to Yinshan Pass, he began quietly building connections here. That the entire Hua household was able to settle in without great difficulty — it may well owe something to Grandfather’s efforts.”

“Your grandfather had already guessed as much. And yet I, his son-in-law, still doubted whether the Zhu Family would act like everyone else.” Hua Pingyu’s tone was self-deprecating. When a wall falls, people rush to push it further — he had feared the Hua Family would have no one at all to lean on. Fortunately, there was still the maternal family.

Hua Zhi steered the conversation back to Bailin. “After I set out, I had Bailin take over teaching the junior class in my place.”

“The junior class? Bailin teaching?” Hua Pingyu stared at her outright. “That’s absurd — how old is he? He hasn’t even mastered it himself. How can he instruct others? That’s leading both himself and his students astray. It would be perfectly fine to slow down a little — it won’t take long for you to be back, and the delay won’t amount to much!”

“I divided the children at home into two groups: a senior class taught by Master Mu, and a junior class that I oversee.” Hua Zhi continued to smile, mild and unhurried. “You’re underestimating Bailin. His foundations are solid. He used to enjoy his leisure, but he hadn’t neglected what he needed to learn — not a bit. And after everything the family went through, all that upheaval, he came out of it with a steadier heart. I’ve listened to him teach. There’s nothing wrong with it. He knows what he’s taken on, and he doesn’t dare be careless.”

“That’s exactly right — once responsibility settles into the heart, a person naturally rises to it.” Hua Yizheng came in bringing a chill from outside, a smile on his face. He looked at Hua Zhi with a fond point of his finger. “But you — don’t be quite so daring.”

Even so, Hua Yizheng’s heart carried a thread of anticipation. He wanted to see what would become of the Hua Family now that it was in Zhi’er’s hands. He wanted to watch the Bailin she had shaped grow into whoever he was meant to be. He wanted to see what manner of people those children in the household would become.

He believed it, too — with Zhi’er holding the helm, the Hua Family would not go under.

Hua Zhi quickly rose and went to support her grandfather to a seat by the fire. A servant brought in hot water, and she simply set the basin in front of him so he could warm his hands in it, and wash his face with the heat.

Tea cup in hand, Hua Yizheng looked on at his busy granddaughter with warmly smiling eyes. “What made you think to have Bailin teach?”

“He is the eldest male in the household. Taking on responsibility for the family’s affairs is simply his duty.” Hua Zhi dried her hands and came to sit a step below him, her expression as tranquil as still water — as though this were the most natural thing in the world.

But how could it be natural? Hua Yizheng’s smile turned bittersweet. The question itself had been wrongly framed. If there had been any other way, who would put a child not yet ten years old in front of a class to teach?

The curtain was swept aside and Hua Pingyang strode in. “I was thinking of going to meet you on the way back — but I just missed you.”

Hua Yizheng’s brow furrowed as he looked at him. “Why have you left early as well? Aren’t you worried about giving people cause to talk?”

“Father, put your mind at ease.” Hua Pingyang grinned at his niece with a thoroughly pleased expression. “Everyone in Yinshan Pass knows by now that the eldest young miss of the Hua Family has come from the capital. My superior was the one who told me to head home early.” He looked at Hua Zhi and smiled broadly. “And who isn’t saying these days that the Hua Family raised a fine daughter?”

Hua Yizheng understood at once. Yinshan Pass was a place where officials convicted of crimes were sent into exile. Spoken of from the capital, it sounded like nothing good — but those who had actually come here found that the people here had a genuine warmth to them.

Perhaps it was because most of them had been abandoned by their clans, their kin, their old friends. When someone’s family member actually came, the others didn’t merely feel envy — they would go out of their way to make things a little easier, quietly, where they could. They knew better than anyone what it meant for someone to make this journey at all. And for a young woman to travel all this way from the capital — that was an extraordinary kind of devotion, the sort that hadn’t been seen here in years.

He didn’t particularly like having the women of his family become the subject of people’s conversation over tea and idle hours. Yet Hua Yizheng also knew it was inevitable. Even he, the very first time he had laid eyes on Zhi’er, had been so astonished he couldn’t find words.

Author’s Note: This kind of chapter is actually the hardest to write — it’s so quiet and uneventful, it’s difficult to make it compelling. Those who are interested, please follow my Weibo; I’ll be putting my longer personal notes there from now on.