Inside a residence in the northern part of the Golden Sun City, Gu Yanxi finished reading the letter. He opened the box that had been sent along with it. The white jade mahjong tiles felt pleasant to the touch — quite a novel novelty, and he imagined it would likely find a receptive audience in the Golden Sun City.
He snapped the lid of the box shut with a solid click. Gu Yanxi’s expression went dark. Better that it found no receptive audience at all.
“Send for Wang Hai.”
Wang Hai pushed the door open and entered not long after. “My lord.”
“Bring this set of mahjong tiles to Peng Fangming. Teach them the rules of play. And — it is time to start making preparations.”
“Yes.”
The room fell quiet once more. The silence that Gu Yanxi had long been accustomed to — that silence now pressed in on him and made him uneasy. It was then he realized how far he had moved from what he used to be. He had, without any teacher, taught himself the art of longing. A single person occupied his mind and heart without ceasing — appearing at random moments, making him wonder how she fared, whether she had taken ill, what startling thing she might have done today that he did not yet know about. He worried the Emperor might make things difficult for her. He feared she might be suffering some grievance in a place where he would not know of it…
He wanted to return to the capital.
Wanted to return to the place where A’Zhi was.
Far away in the capital, Hua Zhi suddenly pressed her hand to her chest. How strange — she did not have any tendency toward palpitations, and yet her heart was fluttering now without cause. Could something have happened to Yanxi?
“What’s wrong? Are you unwell?”
Hua Zhi shook her head with a faint smile and pushed the thought down. Today was the day Madam Sun had arranged to discuss business with her. This was not the time to be thinking of these things. Later — she would ask Chen Qing later about the progress of things in the Golden Sun City.
Quietly pressing her thumb into the webbing between her index finger and thumb to steady herself, Hua Zhi said with a composed air, “Why do you call me ‘eldest young lady’ just like everyone else? It feels so stiff.”
“I quite like it, actually. Young and old alike, men and women — everyone calls you that. It is a recognition that cannot be taken lightly.” Madam Sun’s well-preserved face carried a warm and familiar smile. From the bottom of her heart she felt this girl was a credit to women everywhere. And from Hua Zhi she had also come to see — propriety and rules of conduct were always present, but when a person was truly capable, these things did not necessarily have the power to restrain them. People were drawn to strength — it was a quality that came with birth.
What a pity she had come to this understanding far too late. Her fiery temperament of earlier years had been worn down year after year, and she had become the composed and unflappable matriarch she was today — no different from the ten thousand other women in inner households throughout the land.
She stifled a quiet sigh and came to the matter at hand. “Has there been any news from Qingzhou?”
“After the New Year, I did receive one letter from Bailin, saying that progress there had been encouraging. They have simply not yet reached the standard I require, and so he did not dare send it forward just yet.”
“Which means the Sixth Prince will be returning before long?”
“That should be the case.”
Madam Sun let out a breath of relief. “I will not conceal it from you — every time the Sixth Prince leaves the capital, my heart is unsettled. Even when he is here under my very eyes, I cannot necessarily protect him. But at least then I feel somewhat more at ease.”
“You need not worry. The Sixth Prince’s safety is foremost in all our hearts as well. The Sun Family’s people are in the open; Yanxi’s people are in the shadows — protecting him to the greatest degree possible.” Hua Zhi rose and settled closer to Madam Sun, lowering her voice somewhat. “I like to plan for the worst. For those of us in our current position, the most important thing is a way to fall back on.”
Hua Zhi bowed her head, cradling her tea bowl and turning it in her palms. “I will be candid with you. Before the New Year, I quietly sent people to Xuzhou to commission a vessel — the kind that can put to sea. So — the water transport routes absolutely must be in the hands of our own people. People we can trust without question.”
Xuzhou. A clarity lit in Madam Sun’s mind. Of course — Xuzhou was the Lu Family’s stronghold. Just as the Sun Family and the Sixth Prince were bound together on a ship that could not be separated, so too were the Duke of Nation’s Peace and the Shizi — and the Shizi now stood on the Sixth Prince’s side. This avenue of retreat — it was prepared for all of them.
This girl from the Hua Family had already begun making preparations for another outcome for the Sixth Prince.
“Yesterday I received a letter from my husband. He said he harbors no desire to harm the tiger, yet must guard against the tiger’s desire to harm him. He has kept watch at the mountain pass for years, unable to return home, unable to see those he loves. He does not fear dying in service to the nation — what he fears is that after his death the Sixth Prince will have lost his most important support, and that our grandmother and grandson will be left to the mercy of others. Even he — a man so rigid and unyielding — is now thinking of finding a way out for us. I dare not imagine how deeply that man on the throne must have chilled his heart over all these years.”
She lowered her head and drank a sip of tea. Madam Sun swallowed back the sound that rose in her throat. When she raised her head, her eyes were ringed in red. “My husband dispatched a company of his personal soldiers back here. They have not yet entered the city — he asked me to consult you on how best to arrange things.”
“They haven’t shown themselves in the capital at all? How many exactly?”
“One hundred even — staying at my estate outside the city. They came in separate groups; no one is aware of it.” Madam Sun looked at her with an expression full of significance. “They have been with my husband a long time. Their skills have been personally honed by him — far beyond what ordinary soldiers can compare with.”
Many thoughts flashed through Hua Zhi’s mind. A hundred capable fighters — so many things could be done. Yet in the end she did not make a decision herself, and instead returned the question to the other. “What was the Sun Family’s original intention for them?”
“My husband trained these men for the Sixth Prince. Our original thought was simply to have them follow him. No doubt the eldest young lady has a better arrangement in mind?”
“I would like these people to remain in the shadows. Not to show their faces.”
Madam Sun raised an eyebrow. “Like the Emperor’s secret guard?”
“More or less. We need to keep some cards hidden.”
“That makes sense. We’ll do as you say — let them withdraw into the shadows.”
Seeing Madam Sun off, Hua Zhi came out of the food establishment without hurrying to make her way back.
The weather today was very fine. The sun hung high, and though blackened, unmelted snow remained along the roadside — and though the ground was wet and slippery everywhere, making it difficult to find a dry place to step — Emerald Moss Lane and Oriole Cloud Lane were still crowded with people. Watching them was enough to make one feel as though winter were nearly over, as though the spring that carried hope was just about to arrive.
Hua Zhi sat in the carriage and looked out, and felt that even her body was not quite so cold anymore.
Just get through this stretch of time and it will be all right, she told herself. Get through this stretch — when the weather warms up, she would not feel so wretched. Get through this stretch, and when the Sixth Prince was placed where he belonged, she too would have made it through to the other side.
She had dreams of returning to those leisurely days she had known before.
Though in truth she had not had a dream in a very long time. She did not even have enough time to sleep — where would she find time to dream.
“I had a feeling that carriage was yours.” With the sound of his voice came Zhu Ziwen, leaning in close — and he caught that unguarded, languid ease on Hua Zhi’s face before she could put it away, which gave him a moment of pause. His decisive, brisk-tempered cousin — and she had a manner like this too?
Hua Zhi quickly sat up, about to climb down from the carriage. Zhu Ziwen stopped her. “It’s muddy — don’t come down.”
“What brings you here, cousin?” Hua Zhi did not insist, only shifted herself a little forward. A little sunlight fell upon her, making the fine down of her face visible, and she looked all the more fair and lovely for it.
“Came along with some classmates to buy some food.” Zhu Ziwen let the curtain fall back, and turned to address the few classmates behind him. “I’ve run into my cousin by chance — I’ll have a few words with her. You all go ahead and buy what you need; I’ll join you in a moment.”
The four young scholars exchanged glances, all of them a little animated. One of them, keeping his voice low, asked, “Is she the eldest young lady of the Hua Family?”