When she appeared, the younger children bowed in delighted surprise. Hua Zhi exchanged a few words with them, asked about their studies, and then sent them back to their rooms.

Although Zeng Han had remained silent throughout, Hua Zhi could tell he was a little happy just then, so she smiled along with him and said, “In a little while I’ll have someone look through the household-born servants and find you a study companion. The clan school has a library — the collection isn’t large, but it’s more than enough for you children. If you want to borrow a book, simply register it yourself in the logbook, and when you return it, cancel the entry yourself.”

Zeng Han nodded.

“The children here are well-behaved, but you’re new, and being left out a little is unavoidable. I know you won’t come and tell me about it, but Xiao Han — don’t let yourself be wronged, and don’t bottle up your grievances either. When you’ve had enough, make them sit up and take notice all at once. You’re so clever; you know how to handle that sort of thing, don’t you?”

Zeng Han shook his head. “No one is leaving me out.”

They were simply not paying him much attention. He didn’t know them yet — wasn’t that perfectly normal?

Hua Zhi paused, then gently cupped his small face in her hand. “All right — no one is leaving you out. But can you promise me that when something does happen, you’ll come and tell me?”

“Yes.”

“And another thing — don’t read too late into the night.”

Zeng Han nodded again.

Hua Zhi washed his hands and face herself, then loosened his hair. The untied hair softened the already delicate-featured child, giving him a gentler air. Children his age who were good-looking often had an ambiguous quality about their appearance — but not Zeng Han. No one who looked at him could mistake his gender.

“The Hua Family children are not waited upon by maids. I have a great deal to attend to and won’t always be able to look after you, so there will be small things you’ll need to do for yourself going forward. Your study companion will stay by your side; he can help you tie your hair and the like. Don’t worry — he’ll be outside your door first thing tomorrow morning.”

“All right.”

He really was so well-behaved it made one’s heart ache. Hua Zhi patted his head. “Go to sleep early.”

Zeng Han watched her leave and the door slowly close, yet felt not the slightest unease. He knew she was somewhere very near, and she would not cast him aside.

When Hua Zhi returned to the front courtyard, Yanxi had already finished eating — he was already halfway through his tea. She picked up the other cup and took a few sips before turning to give instructions. “Nanny Su, pick a child of around six or seven from the household-born servants and send him to wait upon Xiao Han. The boy should be quick-witted and loyal to his charge — someone too calculating won’t do.”

From those few words alone, Nanny Su understood perfectly how her young mistress felt about the newly arrived young master. Not daring to be careless, she acknowledged the order and went at once to consult the head steward, Steward Xu.

“You are far too attentive to him.”

“Don’t tell me you’re saying I’m not attentive enough to you.” Hua Zhi shot him a sideways glance. These past few days, she didn’t know what he’d been eating — every so often there was a distinctly sour note about him.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yanxi actually nodded. “You could be a little more attentive to me.”

“Master Lu, your face has fallen to the floor.”

“Pfft—” Bao Xia, who had been serving inside the room and keeping a respectful distance from the two of them, could not suppress a laugh. She quickly dropped a curtsy, struggling to keep a straight face, and retreated out the door.

Every line of Gu Yanxi’s face was lit with amusement. This kind of easy, unhurried ease only came over him when he was with A’Zhi. Still, even that long-unused title of “Master Lu” had resurfaced — he had better not press his luck any further.

He cleared his throat lightly and turned the subject to court matters. “At the grand morning court today, Minister Zhu submitted a memorial proposing to use the old grain reserves for disaster relief and recommending that new grain be purchased from the Yan Kingdom to restock the granaries. His Majesty approved.”

Seeing that A’Zhi showed no surprise, Gu Yanxi understood at once that the idea had very likely come from her, and smiled. “After the morning court, Minister Zhu requested a private audience with His Majesty, intending to make use of the old matter of the Yan Kingdom cheating Daqing over that iron mine. His Majesty approved that as well.”

“With the national treasury empty, His Majesty will naturally agree to anything that saves silver.” Speaking of the treasury, Hua Zhi suddenly recalled something. “Yanxi, did you know the treasury now holds only nine million taels?”

“I happened to be present when Minister Zhu sought an audience with His Majesty today, and only learned of it when he mentioned it.” The smile gradually faded from Gu Yanxi’s face. The Qisu Division held great power, but its manpower had always been kept within a fixed limit — that was every successive emperor’s check upon the Qisu Division. For precisely that reason, it was impossible for them to have a hand in everything, let alone keep watch over the treasury.

“Even setting aside a portion by using the old grain in place of silver, reckoning by past years’ figures, the disaster relief expenditure should fall somewhere between six hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand taels — which is almost a tenth of the entire treasury. The disaster this year has been so severe that taxes must be remitted if the common people are to recover. And if large quantities of grain cannot be bought back from the Yan Kingdom, once an enemy learns of this weakness…” She paused. “Do you know why, even knowing all this, I still advised Grandfather to use the old grain in place of disaster relief funds?”

Gu Yanxi had always assumed this move achieved two ends at once — first, it saved relief funds; second, it prevented people from profiting by diverting the grain through unofficial channels. Could there be yet more to it than that?

Hua Zhi lowered her head and laughed softly. “Yanxi, do you know that sometimes what fills a granary is not actually grain? Are you aware that in certain granaries, there are more stones than there is grain? If the old grain is used for disaster relief right now, do you think those people will have time to plug the holes?”

She raised her head and met Yanxi’s gaze, her smile taking on a faintly mischievous tilt. “Isn’t the treasury empty? Carve out a few fat rats and there’ll be a tidy sum coming in.”

Gu Yanxi suddenly rose, stepped toward her, and drew A’Zhi gently into his arms. “It is my failing, that I have forced you to exhaust yourself scheming like this.”

Hua Zhi bit her lip, the tension going out of her body. She pressed her head against the man’s chest and gripped his robe, her voice muffled. “Yanxi — I’m frightened.”

She feared that even if she calculated everything perfectly, the outcome would still not change. She feared that ahead lay an abyss no one could escape. She feared becoming a person swept up in chaos. She feared her blood kin would die, would be wronged. She feared that Bailin would be made to suffer every hardship before he ever had the chance to show what he was made of. She feared that Yanxi would die on the battlefield. If in the end things came to such a pass, she would rather die before all of them.

“It won’t come to that. Trust me.” Gu Yanxi’s heart ached beyond bearing. What a proud spirit A’Zhi had — only if she truly could no longer hold on would she ever show such weakness.

He bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I have already set about resolving the internal threats. Without internal threats, what is there to fear from the Chaoli tribe? Our forebears were able to defeat the Chaoli Kingdom when it was at the height of its power — we can do the same.”

“In those days, the founding emperor had my ancestor at his side. Who does the current emperor have?”

“I should say rather — I have you at my side.”

Hua Zhi laughed, self-deprecating. “I would never dare compare myself to my ancestor. The gap between us is far too great.”

Gu Yanxi lifted her face and held her gaze steadily. “Are you aware that whenever I am in the capital, most of the court’s edicts are issued over my signature?”

Hua Zhi froze. The emperor was actually…

“His Majesty can no longer sustain his concentration for long. Elder Yu says it is a lingering effect of the elixir poisoning and cannot be treated. When I am not present, His Majesty can still manage on his own. But when I am, he does no more than appear at morning court — all government affairs are handled by me. The arrangements against the Chaoli tribe, in particular, are entirely in my hands. A’Zhi — I cannot bear to see you worn down by all of this, but you are the only one who can help me.”

Hua Zhi’s lips moved, yet she could not produce a single word.

With this manner of things — did His Majesty truly intend to pass the throne directly to his nephew, bypassing his own sons?