Early the next morning, Hua Zhi called together everyone in the Hua Family household for breakfast.

It was unusual for them to dine together — normally everyone ate separately. The members of the Hua Family all knew that whenever their eldest young miss gathered them in one place, it meant something important was about to be announced. The whole group ate with distracted minds, not knowing whether today’s news would be good or bad.

Hua Zhi set down her chopsticks, rinsed her mouth with tea, and then lifted her head. She spoke the news she had held back since the previous day.

“Hua Jing is dead.”

One after another, expressions of surprise crossed their faces. Though none of them had any fondness for that heartless eldest young miss of the first branch, she was still a member of the Hua Family by blood. To be gone just like that — it didn’t sit quite right in anyone’s heart.

Wu Shi hesitated a moment, then asked, “Has anyone come to announce the death? What should we do?”

“Song Chenghao came to report it. I will go to pay my respects.”

Wu Shi immediately objected. “How about Second Sister-in-law and I go together instead?”

Zhu Shi hadn’t yet fully worked through all the implications, but she knew that her fourth sister-in-law and her daughter were on good terms. Seeing her speak up this way, she nodded in agreement.

“It has to be me who goes.”

Wu Shi grew urgent. “You are the head of the Hua Family, that’s true, but once you show your face I’m worried that…”

Hua Zhi was half-amused, half-exasperated. These people really were treating her like some celestial fairy, weren’t they? Her face might be reasonably pretty, but it hardly reached a point where she couldn’t appear in public. “The more we conceal it, the more curious they’ll be. If they want to look, let them look.”

“Zhi’er…”

Hua Zhi produced Hua Jing’s spirit tablet. “Only I can go.”

Even the most urgent of protests died away after that. Everyone in the Hua Family understood what it meant — that spirit tablet, hand-carved by the family patriarch, father, or elder uncle. As long as the tablet remained in the Hua Family household, the person it bore would always be considered a member of the Hua Family. To return the tablet to Hua Jing — those quickest to grasp the implication already understood: their eldest young miss intended to sever all ties with Hua Jing completely, even now that she was dead.

Wu Shi’s throat tightened. Her younger son’s spirit tablet had been carved by Bolin, since he was now the eldest male in the household. Her eldest son’s had been carved by her husband. She understood better than anyone the weight that spirit tablet carried for a member of the Hua Family.

Zhi’er was not the sort of person to press her advantage relentlessly. To go this far — could it be that Hua Jing had done something else, something they didn’t know about?

“Bolin.”

Hua Bolin rose promptly. “Yes?”

“Tomorrow is the Qingming Festival. Steward Xu has already made all the necessary preparations. You will take charge of the memorial rites.”

“Yes, Elder Sister.”

Hua Zhi nodded and rose to her feet. “Nothing else. Everyone may go.”

Hua Xian looked as though she wanted to say something but held back. The Third Yiniang gave her a small shake of the head — now was not the right moment.

Hua Xian bit her lip and lowered her head.

The Third Yiniang sighed inwardly and watched Hua Zhi’s retreating figure. One look at the eldest young miss’s manner today was enough to tell that her outing would not be a simple one. Better to wait until this matter was settled before raising anything else.

“Zhi’er.” Wu Shi hurried after her.

Hua Zhi turned and waited.

Wu Shi drew her aside and lowered her voice. “Did something happen? Did Hua Jing do something harmful to the Hua Family before she died?”

“Why would Fourth Aunt think that?”

“You look nothing like someone going to pay their respects — more like someone going to desecrate a corpse.” Wu Shi gave her a sharp look. “Keep that air of yours in check. Don’t earn yourself a bad reputation out there.”

“A bad reputation is better than being seen as weak and easy to bully. Everyone will think they can come take a kick at us.” The Empress Dowager’s protection had a time limit — and by her reckoning, that time was nearly up. She genuinely didn’t mind acquiring a fearsome reputation if it bought her a little more time. Her network of connections was still not yet fully built.

Wu Shi was no match for her in an argument, so she pressed on to what she actually wanted to know. “Tell me — did Hua Jing do something before she died?”

Hua Zhi looked over at the three Hua sisters, each holding a booklet, huddled together discussing something. They were long past the hysterics of having dreamed of being teachers and been denied. They no longer lorded their talents over others. Even the relationship between the sisters had improved immeasurably from before. Girls like these — who had nearly been ruined by Hua Jing.

“Hua Jing hanged herself. She did it at the main gate of the Song Family.” Hua Zhi turned to look at Wu Shi, whose eyes had gone wide. “In fact, her original intention was to hang herself at the Hua Family gate. She just didn’t succeed.”

Wu Shi covered her mouth to hold back a gasp. In an instant she understood exactly why Zhi’er had wanted to desecrate the corpse — she wanted to do it too.

“Notify the other three branches. Close the gates and bar them. None of them need go to the Song Family to pay their respects.”

“I understand.” Wu Shi didn’t ask how it had come to pass that Hua Jing ultimately failed. She didn’t ask because she couldn’t.

Though Hua Jing’s death had been anything but honorable, the Song Family had spent many years building their standing in the capital — and with Old Master Song now holding a rank of Senior Third Grade, carriages flowed in a steady stream outside the Song Family gates.

Among the many fine and stately carriages, one particularly plain and modest vehicle stood out conspicuously. People speculated about which impoverished relative of the Song Family this must belong to, though the maids who accompanied it were all quite handsome.

Shen Qi rode on horseback beside his grandmother’s carriage. He happened to glance over at that plain carriage, and something made him look twice. When his eyes swept over the faces of the maids, his heart lurched sharply — these were the Hua Family’s maids. More than that — they were the very ones who attended personally to the eldest young miss of the Hua Family. He had seen them before.

“Qi’er?”

Old Madam Shen peered out through the raised window at her grandson. “What is it?”

Shen Qi steadied himself. “Nothing, Grandmother. What were you just saying?”

“You can drop me off here and be on your way. I’ll be going to have a chat with Old Madam Song in the inner courtyard — you needn’t wait on me. Go attend to your own affairs.”

That had originally been Shen Qi’s plan as well. He had no particular connection with the Song Family’s young masters — coming here at all was only to escort his grandmother. But now — how could he possibly leave?

“Having come all the way to the gate, there’s no reason to turn around. I’ll go in with Grandmother to offer a stick of incense.”

Old Madam Shen was thoroughly pleased. Her thoughts turned to the matter her brother from her maiden family had raised not long ago. To strengthen ties between families through marriage was certainly a fine thing — she too hoped to draw closer the bond between her natal home and her husband’s family. And yet…

The thought of that young girl from the Hua Family made Old Madam Shen sigh softly. What a pity. If only the Hua Family hadn’t fallen into ruin — a capable young woman like that would have become his Shen Family’s daughter-in-law by now.

Over at the Hua Family’s carriage, the vehicle had come to a halt. The Song Family servants sized up their guests by the quality of their conveyance, and seeing the unremarkable carriage, paid it no mind — they went off to lead other carriages to their places.

Yingchun lifted the curtain. “Young miss, we’ve arrived.”

Hua Zhi, who had been silent the entire journey, reached out to take Nanny Su’s hand as she rose, bending at the waist as she stepped out of the carriage. Standing atop the carriage step, she cast a single glance at the boisterous scene before her. The clamor outside the Song Family gate gradually fell quiet.

What it meant to have skin like snow, brows drawn as if by a brush, lips red without rouge, eyebrows dark without paint — every image of beauty described in the old books seemed to have taken flesh before them. She was dressed in plain white, white flowers adorning her hair, cool and aloof as a figure untouched by the world.

The capital was not short of beauties — every year the rankings of the city’s finest were published and discussed. But even the most beautiful face, seen often enough, became ordinary. Now, before them appeared a new face of such extraordinary quality that, measured against it, every beauty on the rankings was eclipsed.

The silence lasted only a moment before soft murmurs began rippling through the crowd. The beauty’s identity was not difficult to guess. Nanny Su had formerly accompanied Old Madam Hua on her rounds about the capital, and today there were many ladies present who recognized her. Seeing her waiting in attendance at the side of someone unfamiliar — a new face — who else could it be but the eldest young miss of the Hua Family, who had never once appeared in the capital before?

Recalling the rumors that had circulated through the city, someone quietly scoffed aloud. If she was to be called an ugly woman, then what term was left for everyone else?