“Make fun of what?” Speak of someone and they appear — Shao Yao poked her head in from outside the door. Catching sight of Xiao Liu sniffling, she broke into a grin at once. “Oh my, has Xiao Liu just turned three years old today?”
Hua Zhi shot her an exasperated look. “Be quiet.”
Shao Yao let out a huff, ran over, and threw her arms around Hua Zhi in an act of shameless affection. “Every time it’s helping Xiao Liu, every time it’s helping Xiao Liu — Huahua, you’re not treating me well anymore.”
Hua Zhi poked her on the forehead, then said to the child, whose tears had finally dried and who now wore a faint ghost of a smile, “Go rest for a bit. Later, you and Manager Wu can borrow Chen Er and have him take you to buy some seafood that is a little uncommon and easy to transport — let us bring some back with us.”
The Sixth Prince agreed with an abashed smile and, enduring the teasing look in Sister Shao Yao’s eyes, made a quick exit.
The moment the Sixth Prince was gone, Shao Yao actually settled down. She said softly, “Huahua, don’t be too good to people from the imperial family. Most of them are greedy.”
“Who isn’t greedy? It all depends on what they’re greedy for.” Hua Zhi exhaled a soft sigh. “Bailin is the same age as him. Before, setting earlier times aside — outside of the bottom lines that could not be crossed, Bailin has lived his life with a good deal of freedom. Even when the Hua family fell into difficulty, I was there standing in front of him. The younger siblings at home all trust him and look up to him. He has never once been alone. But what about Xiao Liu? Aside from an empty shell of a title, what does he have? And accompanying that title is the threat to his very life. He has no one who will simply listen to him.”
Hua Zhi shook her head. “Whatever he may be when he is in the imperial palace, or however he may appear before others — in my presence, he has always been well-behaved and gentle. I will simply give him the response that a person beneath that surface deserves. As for everything else, it is beyond my reach, and I have no desire to spend the energy on it. If the day ever comes when he turns into something I cannot accept, he will no longer be the Xiao Liu I am willing to look after.”
Shao Yao listened quietly, and then smiled. How shrewd her Huahua was — what need was there for her to worry?
“That Xiaoshuang — are you really not giving him to me?”
“He was given to Xiao Liu.”
Shao Yao immediately erupted. “I asked for him first! Huahua, you actually didn’t give him to me and gave him to that kid instead — that is so unfair!”
“He is attending upon Xiao Liu, and the internal attendant who served him for many years died protecting him. After that, the palace never sent anyone else. And in my household, Yan Xi does not permit his guards to enter — so he has always gone about alone. That cannot be a long-term arrangement.”
Shao Yao grasped the unspoken meaning behind Huahua’s words. For a master, a personal attendant is far more than just a servant — they are a presence closer than even one’s own family. Some are trusted by their master even above blood relatives. Just as Chen Qing was to Yan Xi, the only distinction being that Chen Qing had not undergone castration.
“Are you going to have Xiaoshuang castrated?”
“No. The palace will naturally send internal attendants in due course — I am not about to create that kind of suffering for someone. Just let him serve as a personal attendant and companion for now. As for how things go between them in the future, I will leave that for the two of them to decide — I will not interfere.”
Shao Yao let out several sounds of dissatisfaction, still a little unhappy.
Hua Zhi stroked her head to soothe her ruffled feelings. “That Dashuang…”
“Her I want even less!” Shao Yao, whose feathers had just barely been smoothed down, bristled all over again.
“Who said anything about giving her to you?” Hua Zhi was both exasperated and amused, and rapped her on the head. “What is the rush — I am asking whether there is something wrong with Wu Dashuang. Your dislike of her would not stem purely from her being timid.”
Only then did Shao Yao settle down properly. “When I was treating their injuries, I noticed — compared to Xiaoshuang’s body covered in both old and new wounds, her injuries were nothing. And she was unlucky on top of that — the very day before we dealt with Cao Dahai, she had only just been violated.”
Hua Zhi could not conceal her surprise. “From what Chen Er implied, they had been captured for close to a year — and yet…”
“Just imagine how much effort Xiaoshuang put in to protect that useless one. And what about her, as the older sister — did she feel no pain seeing her younger brother covered in those wounds? She received her younger brother’s protection so readily, with not a trace of discomfort. Every time I went in there, she hid behind Xiaoshuang, and the moment she caught my eye her face went straight to that look of being wronged. It made me furious — what was she looking at me like that for? It is not as if I did anything to her. Huahua, do not take her in. Find somewhere to put her ashore from the boat and give her some silver — that is already more than what your conscience is owed.”
No wonder the dislike ran so deep. Hua Zhi’s brow furrowed faintly. Hearing it described that way, she found herself without much fondness either. There were some things for which weakness was no excuse.
“Xiaoshuang will not agree to it. He poured so much into protecting her — there is no reason he would be willing to cast her aside now that they have escaped their ordeal. Let us take her to the capital first. Keep her under close watch there. A timid person at least has one advantage — she will not cause trouble.”
“Her problem is not timidity. It is selfishness.” Shao Yao still could not bring herself to agree.
Hua Zhi smiled. “Even so, it is not my place to discard her — that is for Xiaoshuang to decide. What I need is someone useful, not an enemy.”
Fair enough, Shao Yao thought, pressing her lips together. She conceded that Huahua made sense. Human hearts were such peculiar things — there were things you could throw away yourself, but if someone else so much as touched them with a single finger, it would not do at all.
The following morning, when the faintest light was just beginning to show at the edge of the sky, Hua Zhi and her group stepped out of the inn. Seeing Wu Zheng waiting outside came as no surprise to her — she understood well enough the profit margin on this deal, and both sentiment and reason demanded that Wu Zheng take it seriously.
“Manager Wu is always so full of energy.”
“Ha ha ha — all thanks to you, Miss.” Wu Zheng cupped his hands in a bow, stole a glance at the pair of twins with their heads lowered, faces unreadable, and said, “Good people find good fortune, Miss. Wu Mou wishes you a smooth and peaceful journey home.”
“I will take Manager Wu’s kind words with me.”
Wu Zheng saw the group off all the way to the boat. Hua Zhi offered him a slight bow of the head from the prow, then stepped into the cabin.
The journey was calm and undisturbed. By the time they reached Zhenyang, it was just past midday.
Hua Zhi took one look at the dock, which appeared no different from any ordinary day, and felt her heart settle somewhat. From the look of things, the situation was not as bad as she had feared.
“Xu Ying, go and find out whether the passenger boat heading north tomorrow has had its schedule changed. We…”
“Miss Hua!” A voice called out from behind her — a familiar one. Hua Zhi turned back with a touch of resignation, and found herself looking at Jiang Huanran’s delighted face.
“What a coincidence to meet again here. Where is Miss Hua headed? My carriage is parked just outside the dock. If Miss Hua does not mind, please allow me to see you part of the way?”
“You…” Hua Zhi caught Shao Yao by the arm just as she was about to say something unpleasant. “Young Master Jiang’s kindness — I accept it in spirit. Let us part ways here.”
Jiang Huanran was hardly about to let this chance to grow closer to the eldest young lady of the Hua family slip by. The eldest young lady of the Hua family — in the capital, one could not even get near her. Yet here he was, running into her thousands of li away. This was practically a gift falling from the sky, and if he did not take a bite of it, he would be doing himself a grave disservice.
Treating the young lady’s refusal as if he had not seen it at all, Jiang Huanran grinned with a wide smile and fell into step behind her. “I happen to be heading in the same direction.”
What else could Hua Zhi say? She had no choice but to let him follow along, while at the same time keeping part of her attention on the surroundings. Something nagged at her uneasily — from what she had gathered through inquiries, that Zheng Bei was not a person who could be easily reasoned with.
They rented two carriages. Hua Zhi found an inn to stay at near the passenger dock. As for the clingy, tenacious Jiang Huanran who stuck to her side and would not be shaken off, she paid him no mind. A warm face pressed against a cold indifference cannot hold up for long.