Hua Zhi glanced toward the doorway, where the figure who had stepped away had now returned. The joy of reunion was still warm and full in her chest — yet now it was threaded through with a sharp ache.
“I was not making it up — you truly do look like Mother.” Gu Yanxi walked inside. “When you were only a few months old, many people already said you resembled Mother. Those who did not know the full story even assumed you had been born to her. Later, as the likeness only grew stronger, Mother used to tease that you must have originally intended to enter this world through her womb but failed to make it in time, so you first landed in your Yiniang’s belly — just so you could come and be her daughter. Do you remember?”
Shaoyao stayed pressed against Hua Zhi and did not move, but her head gave a small, gentle nod. She did remember. It was precisely because she remembered that she had been so overcome when Yan Xi said it.
“I just… I only miss First Auntie.”
“What a coincidence — so do I.” Gu Yanxi stepped forward. His hand rose, paused in midair for a moment, then settled on top of Shaoyao’s head. “Mother left instructions before she passed: half of her jewels and ornaments are yours, the other half reserved for a future wife. When we return, I will have everything brought out so the two of you can divide it between yourselves.”
Hua Zhi gave him a sideways look. He spoke as though he actually had a wife at present — when their relationship was still not formally settled. Was that not a bit presumptuous?
“I only want to keep a few pieces as a keepsake. Everything else should go to Hua Hua.”
“…” At this exchange, Hua Zhi lightly patted Shaoyao’s head and nudged her over to a nearby chair. She asked Bao Xia to bring warm water.
Once Shaoyao had composed herself and dried her tears, the three of them at last had time to speak of what had passed between them.
“Right now it makes little difference whether I am there or not. I may as well take advantage of this small window of freedom to come out and breathe, and the timing means the Emperor will not withhold his permission.”
Gu Yanxi naturally understood what she was referring to. Indeed — in the Emperor’s eyes, what Ah Zhi had done this time was decidedly that of someone who knew the times well.
“You cannot stay long.”
Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. Was he driving her away?
“The last time you came, you used the Hua family surname. It is not a common name, and you came from the capital — it would be easy for people to make the connection to the Hua family. If you had only visited that one time, it would be fine; others would simply think you had come for leisure. But coming at this particular critical juncture, they will certainly read more into it.” Though he ought to have been troubled, Gu Yanxi’s face broke into a smile at odds with the moment. “Our relationship has already made the rounds. Perhaps not known to all under heaven, but those who are paying attention certainly know. For your safety, it is best to keep your distance from me.”
“Have you never shown your face?”
“I have many faces.”
Having multiple appearances — so impressive, Hua Zhi thought, feeling put out. She had barely had time to warm her seat, and he was already urging her to leave!
Gu Yanxi glanced at Shaoyao. Shaoyao glared at him, but made herself useful all the same, departing with the presence of mind to pull the door shut behind her.
He moved to sit beside Ah Zhi and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. “You do not know how overjoyed I was when I saw you just now. I even thought I had been missing you so much that I had conjured an illusion. But right now in Jinyang — it is like a pot of oil being rendered over an open flame. If you so much as sneezed too hard back in the capital, I would worry. How could I bear having you simmer in this pot of oil as well?”
Hua Zhi looked at him with a sidelong gaze, letting her girlish feelings show freely. “And do you think I am any more willing to have you simmering in it?”
“I am thick-skinned enough to withstand it.” Gu Yanxi made no effort to conceal the laughter in his eyes and pressed another kiss to her palm. “Our earlier suspicions were correct — the mastermind behind Jinyang is indeed the Chaoli tribe. Jinyang may very well be their base of operations. I have already traced a partial trail of their movements, but catching them all in one sweep is still a step away from possible.”
“How far along is it now? Have you entered into cooperation with the other party?”
“I had Peng Fangming convey the message to Zheng Xing — he will not cooperate with a puppet placed on the surface.”
Hua Zhi’s elegant brow furrowed slightly. “Will they grow suspicious?”
“If someone else said it, they might. Coming from Peng Fangming, they will not. He was badly burned by the Zhu family once before; given this opportunity, anyone in his position would want to repay that injury. However, Zhu Ling is a figure on the official side of things — he cannot sign with someone like that. So who, then, would be sent in his place?”
“You want to use this to flush out the true proprietors of the gambling establishments?”
Gu Yanxi shook his head. “The true proprietors are the Chaoli tribe. The person running the gambling dens is Zeng Xianglin, the eldest son of the Zeng family. The trail of the Chaoli tribe’s movements that I found earlier was discovered precisely by following him — he is a very cautious man.”
Hua Zhi felt as though she must have spent too long on the boat and had become lightheaded — otherwise, why could she not grasp what Yan Xi was planning?
Gu Yanxi, in the rare pleasure of seeing Ah Zhi looking perplexed, watched her for a moment with a quiet smile before giving her a gentle hint. “What is the Chaoli tribe’s purpose in Jinyang?”
“To rake in silver…” Hua Zhi understood at once. “You think they will set their sights on Peng Fangming’s operation?”
“To be more precise, they will set their sights on the playing cards and mahjong. Without having witnessed it firsthand, no one can imagine how frenzied people become over playing cards and mahjong. Gambling dens are generally busiest in the evening and have little foot traffic during the day. In Jinyang the situation is slightly better — in the mornings, most places do not open at all. But the three new gambling dens Peng Fangming has opened have not once closed their doors since these two games appeared. By the time you go in the evening, if you arrive too late you cannot even get inside.”
Hua Zhi’s unease only deepened. “After the matter is resolved… what then? Are the people of Jinyang not simply leaving the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair?”
“Sacrifice one place to protect the whole nation — there is no better option than this. Since this matter has fallen upon me by fate, I will not walk away from it once it is over.”
Hua Zhi thought that she would likely never find another man as responsible as Yan Xi — speaking so dispassionately of sacrificing one place, yet turning right around and shouldering the people of that place as his own burden to carry.
Then they would carry it together. It was not such a terrible thing. Where there is a will, there is a way. When a different person sat upon the throne, when the realm was at peace, when there were no more troubles within or threats without — would the problem of one Jinyang prove so difficult to resolve?
But, “Many days without seeing each other, and you have not even offered me a bite to eat. All we do is talk of these vexing matters. Yan Xi, be honest with me — do you actually regard me as a sworn brother?”
Gu Yanxi leaned in and kissed her — thoroughly, until her lips were swollen before he finally relented, making it abundantly clear through action exactly what manner of person she was to him.
“I am hungry…” Shaoyao’s faint, half-dead voice drifted in from behind the door, accompanied by the sound of her scratching at it one stroke at a time, thoroughly demolishing the tender atmosphere between the two of them.
Smoothing a strand of hair back from her temple, Hua Zhi rose. She grabbed the man by his collar and tugged him down to her level, then pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth before slipping past him and heading toward the door.
Gu Yanxi’s eyes deepened with a smile. His Ah Zhi was simply unlike anyone else.
After the meal, Hua Zhi shared her thoughts. “Actually, I do not think there is any need to be so guarded. I am just a woman — in a man’s eyes, a woman who cannot accomplish anything of consequence. Even if I have something of a reputation, it is in the realm of commerce. My coming to Jinyang has a perfectly legitimate reason.”
Meeting Yan Xi’s gaze, Hua Zhi smiled with a sly glint in her eye. “Did you not expand the mushroom trade to Jinyang before? Is it not entirely reasonable for me to come and inspect my own business?”
“Ah Zhi…”
“I did not come here to play. If all I wanted was to play, I would not have come to Jinyang of all places.” Hua Zhi let the smile fall from her face. “The Chaoli tribe watches from the shadows, and Jinyang is a place they have been plotting around for a long time — they even have allies here. I am afraid you will come to harm. Even if I cannot be of great help to you here, at least there would be someone to discuss matters with when something comes up. And besides, I can keep you company. I want to keep you company.”
“But Jinyang is dangerous…”
“If I were in danger, would you abandon me and flee alone? I know you would not. And neither would I.”
Gu Yanxi thought that every last measure of good fortune he had in this lifetime must have been spent in finding Ah Zhi.