Meanwhile, a conversation was also taking place within the inner courtyard of the Hua household.

Yang Sui’an and Hua Bailin pushed Liu Zi into the room. The moment the door was shut, they closed in on him. “Liu Zi, you’ve been with Elder Sister the whole time, haven’t you?”

Liu Zi, uncertain of what the two were after, gave a cautious nod.

“Then tell me — why does Elder Sister smell of medicine? Has she been hurt?”

Several thoughts flashed through Liu Zi’s mind in rapid succession. Hua Jiejie was a person of unyielding character. No matter how serious her injuries might be, she would never come home and say a word about them — because she knew that even if she did, there was no one who could carry any of the burden for her. If anything, she would end up having to comfort the very people she had told.

And yet he felt they ought to know. At the very least, Bailin ought to know. Hua Jiejie need not have been hurt at all — if only she had stayed within the Hua household, no one could have harmed her. But for the sake of the Hua Family, she had no choice but to go out into the world.

With that thought in mind, Liu Zi reached up and undid the fastening of his outer robe.

“Liu Zi, you…” Hua Bailin’s mind turned quickly, and a dawning understanding settled over him. He went quiet, his eyes fixed intently on Liu Zi’s movements.

The outer robe fell open. The inner garment was pulled aside at the shoulder. A pink scar stood out in plain sight.

“There are three more like this on me. Hua Jiejie was wounded in more places than I was, and her injuries were more severe.” Liu Zi looked at the two, who had gone rigid with shock, and unhurriedly gathered his garments back together and retied them. “If you are asking whether we encountered danger on this journey — yes, we did. We were surrounded at the docks by local thugs. Hundreds of them came, wave after wave. Hua Jiejie did not take a single step back.”

“When did Elder Sister… when did Elder Sister learn martial arts?” It was directed at someone, but also a question to himself. Hua Bailin could not recall the moment Elder Sister had learned self-defense, though it didn’t entirely surprise him either. After all, was that the only remarkable thing about Elder Sister?

Yang Sui’an, older by a few years, turned the matter over with greater breadth of thought. “Did Elder Sister encroach on someone’s interests? Has that source of trouble been dealt with?”

Liu Zi smiled. “You’ve probably seen her so often that you’ve forgotten — Hua Jiejie is remarkably beautiful. The men outside aren’t blind, either. Is it really so strange that someone took notice of her?”

“…”

The two brothers had not thought of it from that angle at all. Hearing Liu Zi lay it out plainly, they found it funny and yet could not help but feel a swell of pride — their Elder Sister was simply wonderful in every regard!

Only in that moment did Liu Zi fully appreciate how great a change this journey had brought about in him. Before, he had been just like Bailin — his whole world had been the people and affairs of the capital and nowhere else. But now, after barely a month away, everything felt different. He even found Bailin somewhat immature, and felt an urge to crack a whip over him and force him to grow up faster.

“Hua Jiejie didn’t want you to know. So pretend you don’t.”

“We understand.”

“I’ll head out first. Hua Jiejie should be back soon.”

Hua Bailin stood there, watching Liu Zi step over the threshold and leave, and slowly realized that something had shifted between the two of them — it was different from before. Not long ago they had been rolling around on the same bed, battling each other over a sand table. And now he seemed to have been… left behind.

Hua Bailin was not the only one who felt this way. Yang Sui’an felt it even more acutely. His hands, clasped behind his back, tightened into fists. He gave voice to something he had been deliberating over for some time. “I intend to travel for a while.”

“Travel?” Something in Hua Bailin’s hollow chest suddenly lit up like a lamp coming to life. Of course — wasn’t Liu Zi’s change the direct result of having gone out once? Elder Sister had always said that a thousand miles of travel teaches what ten thousand books cannot, and Liu Zi was the living proof standing right before him.

“Elder Cousin — take me with you.”

Yang Sui’an’s instinct was to refuse immediately. “Traveling isn’t the same as being here in the capital…”

“I want to go. If you won’t take me, I’ll go on my own!” Hua Bailin cut him off. “I don’t want to be left behind. I don’t want to keep standing still while everything moves forward. I don’t want to stay here in this comfortable capital being sheltered by Elder Sister, useless every time something happens and unable to help in any way!”

It was precisely because his own thoughts ran along the same lines that Yang Sui’an could not find a single word of opposition. They both wanted to share Elder Sister’s burdens — yet as things stood, they were still burdens to her themselves. What kind of sharing was that?

Still, “You’re still too young.”

“Being young doesn’t mean being stupid or incapable. And with you here, Elder Cousin, you’d never let me come to harm.”

“…” Yang Sui’an felt a sharp pang in his chest at the breathtaking nerve of that statement, and gave him a firm thump on the head. Exasperated, he said, “Don’t bother telling me — you need Elder Sister’s blessing.”

“Elder Sister will agree.” Hua Bailin was certain of it. The Elder Sister who had said that a thousand miles of travel teaches what ten thousand books cannot would surely agree. Whenever he had made up his mind to do something, she had never once stood in his way — she had even helped him cover for it, just as she always had.

Sounds from outside reached their ears. The two brothers exchanged a glance and stepped out together, and at once caught sight of Elder Sister and Master Lu walking side by side toward the entrance, speaking in low voices.

Hua Bailin held his words back, then murmured, “I keep feeling like I actually already have a brother-in-law.”

Yang Sui’an gave him a thump on the back and pushed him forward as he quickened his own pace. “Elder Sister.”

“You must all be hungry by now. I told you — I went to the food hall to discuss business. Of course I’d eat before coming back. Why were you still waiting for me?”

Shao Yao was leaning against the doorframe in a state of near-collapse. “If I’d dared not wait, Yanxi-ge would have thrown me out the door.”

Gu Yanxi paid her no mind. He looked down at Ah Zhi’s pale, fine-featured face, faintly shadowed with fatigue. “Go and rest. Don’t worry about us.”

“It’s still early enough. No rush. You all eat — I’ll go to the study.” Hua Zhi smiled at Gu Yanxi, then ruffled Shao Yao’s head reassuringly, and signaled the steward who had been waiting to one side to follow her.

“What is it?” She sat down in the study. “Anything to report?”

Steward Xu bent slightly at the waist. “The Fourth Branch learned that you had returned. Barely after you had gone out, they sent someone over to ask whether you might have time to visit tomorrow.”

“Since I’m home, of course I’ll go. Send someone with a reply.”

“Yes.”

Fu Dong had brought tea. Hua Zhi picked up the cup and blew gently on it. “How is Li De coming along? Can he be relied upon?”

The steward smiled. “He was trained properly in the old days. He picks things up quickly once you explain them to him. He’s a little short on experience, but there’s no urgency there — after managing affairs for a year or so, he’ll know everything he needs to.”

“For the time being, you’ll still need to keep a guiding hand on things. Gradually pass more responsibility to him.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi turned to another matter. “I’d like to find a shop space somewhere in the area around Champion Street. It needs to be sizable — ideally two floors. You know the capital well. Do you know of anything suitable in that area?”

The steward thought for a moment. “Does it need to be in that specific area?”

“Preferably so. Fu Dong will be the one overseeing it, and if it’s too far she won’t be able to manage it properly.”

Fu Dong glanced up at the young miss, warmth quietly spreading through her. She had not told the young miss about the people who had come by these past weeks, each using some pretext or another to approach her — offering generous rewards, some even willing to grant her a formal status — all to lure her away. They seemed to think that such offers would be impossible for her to refuse. What they did not know was that what the young miss gave her had never been any of those things.

What the young miss gave her was a home.

In this home lived Ying Chun, Bao Xia, and Nian Qiu. Quietly, without her quite noticing, she had come to regard the young miss as the most important family member of all.

For her, family was her life. How could she ever betray her own family?