Two days had passed without any sign of Gu Yanxi. Though there were times in the ordinary course of things when he might be absent for several days at a stretch, Hua Zhi found herself unusually attentive to it this time.

She had the feeling that something between them had been left unsaid that day — yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. In the end, she set it aside and went about her days as she always did. When she had a free moment and Master Zheng was also between lessons, the two of them would play a game of chess — both with the same sweeping, expansive style of play, victories shared between them.

Hua Zhi won through the occasional unexpected move; Zheng Zhi won through traps laid deep and patient. Each game left both players feeling thoroughly satisfied, and so Zheng Zhi began spending longer stretches at the Hua Family residence. Even when Hua Zhi was occupied, it didn’t matter to him. He would settle himself in the study, and his left hand and right hand could manage a round on their own — or he would revisit a game he had lost, charting new paths to turn defeat into victory, entertaining himself to his heart’s content.

Watching him, Hua Zhi found herself unexpectedly missing Peony.

Those two — they ought to get along just fine.

As if summoned by the thought, before she could dwell on it further, she heard the telltale voice from the courtyard: “Hua Hua, I’m here!”

Hua Zhi was already smiling before she could say a word. She set down what she was doing and went to meet her at the door, catching the girl who came barreling toward her. “Finally let out for some air?”

Peony was busy playing the coquette — but out of Hua Zhi’s line of sight, her eyes were darting about nimbly. They landed on Zheng Zhi. She had come with a mission today.

Zheng Zhi looked back at her. His thoughts were still half-tangled in the chess game, and his expression was faintly vacant.

Oh — he wasn’t even scared of her. Peony’s mood lifted, and she found she couldn’t quite summon any ill feeling toward him.

Hua Zhi asked Bao Xia to bring some refreshments, then drew Peony inside. Glancing back at Zheng Zhi, she made the introductions: “Cao Cao, this is the clan school’s new teacher, Master Zheng. Master Zheng, this is Peony — she’s a physician.”

“A female physician? How rare.” Zheng Zhi rose and gave a bow with his hands clasped. “Remarkable people tend to know other remarkable people. I suspect Miss Peony’s medical skills must be exceptional indeed.”

Those were words that went straight to the heart. Peony tried to hold back — and failed. She broke into a wide grin.

Zheng Zhi smiled too. One look and he had read her character entirely. With good sense, he did not linger and intrude on the two friends’ reunion. Where others might have offered a few polite pleasantries, he simply clasped his hands once more and strode out with a sweep of his sleeves — looking, it had to be said… rather dashing.

Peony ran to the door and watched him disappear from the courtyard before she turned back, clutching the doorframe with an expression of pure suffering on her face. “Why do I have the sudden urge to follow him and roam the rivers and lakes?”

Hua Zhi laughed until her eyes overflowed with mirth. Master Zheng really did have that spirit of a free wanderer — someone who lived by his own code — and when he let it show, he looked nothing like a scholar.

Peony sniffled, then dashed out and retrieved the refreshments from Liu Juan before running happily back inside. Eating as she spoke, she said, “Is Master Zheng going to stay with the Hua Family from now on?”

“Most likely. Grandfather went to considerable trouble to bring him back. They have a three-year agreement.”

Three whole years! Peony’s eyes spun as she ate.

Hua Zhi pinched her cheek. “If you have something to say, say it. No scheming!”

“Mmm-mmm-mmm…” Peony reclaimed her cheek and swallowed everything in her mouth before she could finally speak. “What’s his background? Has he married and had children? Will he bring any trouble to you?”

“Second Uncle said he was originally from the capital, but left some years ago for certain reasons. He owes Grandfather a great debt — that’s how Grandfather managed to bring him back. According to Second Uncle, he has never married. He’s exactly thirty this year.”

All of this Peony already knew. Yan had been very thorough in his investigation — even the man’s conduct during his years of wandering had been looked into. She also knew that he had not been particularly well-off during that time, yet he had found a way to travel the land regardless — never stealing, never taking by force. Sometimes he would settle in a small town for a few months and take on students, refusing any payment at all. He wasn’t just free-spirited in appearance; by all accounts, he was genuinely a man without fault.

And that, precisely, was why Yan felt so helpless. He couldn’t very well use his authority to drive a man of upstanding character out of the capital for no reason — especially now that the man had become the clan school teacher of the Hua Family. If he really did something like that, Hua Hua herself would be the first obstacle to get past.

Peony was desperately worried too. This was her future sister-in-law. If someone else got the advantage of proximity…

No — she had to come back and keep watch. She absolutely could not give Zheng Zhi the opportunity.

“Hua Hua, I’ll be back to stay with you in a few days.”

Hua Zhi poured her a cup of tea. “Finished with things at the palace?”

“More or less. And Master is still there.”

Which meant the Emperor was going to be all right. Hua Zhi tucked away the faint flicker of disappointment within her and did not ask further.

But Peony launched into a breathless account regardless. “We worked ourselves to the bone clearing out all the remnants of those elixirs from the Emperor’s body. Lucky that Yan found it when he did — any later and no one could have saved him.”

“As long as he’s well.”

“Well isn’t quite the word.” Peony set down the refreshments, suddenly unable to eat, her voice falling a little lower. “The damage to his foundations is something that cannot be undone. You should have seen the Emperor — the Empress Dowager looks younger than he does.”

Peony was quiet and downcast. She didn’t say that the Emperor had two years left at most. She was a little sad.

“Yan will likely have to continue as regent for a while longer. You don’t know this, but he actually doesn’t enjoy it at all.”

But so many people do enjoy it — and will go to any lengths to seize it, not hesitating even to kill fathers and brothers. Hua Zhi picked up a piece of cake and held it out to Peony’s lips, waiting for her to take a bite before she said softly, “Each person has their own fate…”

“Hua Hua.” Peony cut her off. “Hua Hua, don’t dislike Yan.”

“I don’t…”

Peony cut her off again, insistently. “Don’t dislike him.”

Hua Zhi was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “I don’t dislike him.”

Peony’s relief was plain to see. She lowered her head, fidgeting — picking at this, picking at that. “Yan started training in martial arts late, when his bones were already set. But to lead the Seven Lodges, he had to defeat everyone. He pushed himself relentlessly, and no one knows how many old injuries he carried before he got to where he is now. He doesn’t have the books you’ve read. He can’t compose poetry or verses. But he is truly a good person, Hua Hua. He’s good. Don’t dislike him…”

Watching Peony’s expression — one that could only be called anxious — Hua Zhi suddenly understood why Gu Yanxi had been so prickly that day. He hadn’t truly wanted to find fault with Zheng Zhi. He was on guard. He was keeping Zheng Zhi at a distance. He was, most likely, afraid that another man might come to stand closer to her than he did.

This man — who had known happiness and ease in earliest childhood, who had come face to face with the darkest cruelties of the world while still young, and who had borne countless hardships ever since — was, in this one regard, clumsy and uncertain. His anxiety had reached Peony, and made even this girl, whose composure was so vast that she’d use a falling sky as a blanket, show such a look on her face.

If she had ever doubted how sincere Gu Yanxi’s feelings for her were — in this moment, she knew with absolute clarity.

This man had placed his whole heart before her, for her to trample or to keep.

He had surrendered every last bit of initiative.