Hua Zhi had kept the bath to only her senior maids. When she shed her outer garments, the maids understood at once. Looking at the angry red welts from a whip and the dark bruises mottling her skin, their expressions all turned hot with indignation. Their young miss was truly at odds with that palace — not a single visit had ever left her unscathed.

“It is nothing. The blows did not land directly on bare skin. A little medicine and it will fade.” She slid into the water and, pushing past the initial sting, felt the relief wash over her. Hua Zhi let out a long breath. “A small matter. There is no need to mention it outside.”

The maids quietly acknowledged her instructions, unsurprised that she would say so. She bore everything herself. The other members of the household had no idea how much their young miss had suffered, how many wounds she had taken. There were times they wanted nothing more than to go out and shout it to the world.

She soaked until every part of her body went soft. Lying in bed, she felt as though nothing below her neck quite belonged to her anymore — and yet Hua Zhi could not fall asleep.

For some reason, even now, she had no sense of things having been settled. She could not shake a nameless feeling that something remained unfinished. This feeling nagged at her, and though her body and spirit were both completely spent, she still could not find sleep.

She sighed, and simply sat up. Ying Chun, who had been keeping watch through the night, noticed the movement and was already up — half-dressed and ready to attend to her. “Is something not well? I have been watching, and you have not been able to sleep at all.”

“My heart is weighed down. I am going outside for a breath of air.”

Hearing this, Ying Chun did not try to persuade her otherwise — just quickly fetched a cloak and wrapped her up securely. The young miss rarely troubled her maids for no reason. If she had truly come to the point of getting out of bed, she would not have done so unless she genuinely could not stay lying down.

The two of them, along with Nian Qiu who was keeping watch in the outer room, stepped out of the courtyard together. The moonlight lay cool as water, and the air was still and quiet — a clean, cold calm that was oddly comfortable. The haze in her head cleared somewhat.

“What hour is it?”

“Young miss, it is the third quarter of the xu hour.”

Still early. After a brief hesitation, Hua Zhi made her way toward the outer courtyard. The gatekeeper woman at the inner gate opened the lock without a word of question when she saw her.

“Lock up properly behind me. Just open it again when I return.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi did not go to her own courtyard in the outer wing. She found a spot outside at random and was about to sit down when Nian Qiu grabbed her arm. Ying Chun folded the blanket she had brought, laid it down neatly, then helped Hua Zhi sit.

Hua Zhi accepted this kind of care entirely as a matter of course. Having lived for more than ten years in a grand household like the Hua Family, she had always been attended to with the finest care. It was precisely for that reason that when the Hua Family fell into trouble, she had felt the obligation to be the one to carry the burden in return. Having received so many years of shelter, she owed them something back.

Thinking of her family members she had not seen in over a year, Hua Zhi suddenly understood where her restlessness was coming from. They had not yet returned. As long as they spent one more day away from the capital, there was one more day of uncertainty. Before the late Emperor was interred, Little Six would not be able to summon them back — after all, they had been banished by the late Emperor’s decree, and their return would require the right moment and the right pretext.

And what she needed to think through was exactly how to create that pretext.

“Wang Rong.”

A single quiet word, and Wang Rong appeared. Wang Rong had been sent by Yanxi to oversee the Hua Family’s security — something Hua Zhi had long since understood perfectly clearly.

He kept three paces of distance and bowed, observing propriety and not stepping closer.

“Has any news come back from Yanxi’s side?”

Wang Rong shook his head. “There is no need for a messenger. Once things are settled, the master will come riding back at full speed.”

Hua Zhi calculated the time inwardly and thought — she hoped he could make it back by the first seven days of mourning. If not… he would regret it.

She could not know what the Emperor had felt in his heart. But to Yanxi, the Emperor had been a deeply important elder — the hero who had descended upon him like salvation in his darkest hour. Not being at his side at the end was already a regret. If he could not even make it back for the first memorial rite, it would weigh on him for the rest of his life.

“Where has Jia Yang’s group reached? How many more days before they can arrive in the capital?”

“Still about ten days. The goods are heavy — the traveling is slow.” Wang Rong looked at the eldest young miss and asked, “Once the silver arrives, how should it be handled?”

Hua Zhi lowered her eyes in thought. When the late Emperor was still alive, she had planned to hide it herself, then quietly dispatch trusted people to purchase grain with every last coin. But now…

“When it arrives, go through the proper channels with the — with the Crown Prince. It is now the fourth month. If we send people to Yan Kingdom, the timing would be just right to catch their first harvest of the season. I will contribute additional silver on top of it. However much grain can be purchased, buy as much as possible. As for who goes — the candidates will likely have to come from among your people. You may deliberate among yourselves first as to who is most suited.”

She paused, then added: “When the time comes, I will ask the Crown Prince to send someone to accompany them.”

“Understood. Your servant is clear.” Wang Rong quietly let out the breath he had been holding. What he had worried about most before was whether the eldest young miss would be able to adjust her thinking — whether she might forget that the prince who had once shown weakness before him was now the Crown Prince, and would soon be an Emperor. Facing the future sovereign required keeping one’s distance. One could not allow closeness to go unchecked.

Hua Zhi sighed inwardly. She was beginning to understand Little Six’s earlier behavior in a new way. Had she not already found herself unable to treat him as she once had? Little Six was perceptive. He had long known that all of this would be among the things he would lose.

“I have always suspected that the Chaoli Tribe has people hidden in the capital still. Find a way to send word to the Seven Lodges — have them make certain to protect the Crown Prince at all times. The Empress Dowager as well — she should be warned. The inner palace… it would be best if it remained sealed off for now. In any case, it is better to keep everything as far from the Crown Prince as possible.”

“Understood.”

“There will be no shortage of people watching me closely in the coming days. Avoid all listening ears and get word to Master Chen. Tell him that not a single word about the Hua Family’s affairs can be mentioned right now. He must not rush things.”

Hua Zhi was not worried about her maternal grandfather. She was not worried about those old associates of her grandfather who had weathered decades in officialdom. The only person she was worried about was her grandfather’s disciple, Chen Dayi — that he might not be able to hold himself back. One person acting alone was manageable, but with the imperial examinations just around the corner, countless examination candidates were gathered in the capital. If someone tried to use them to force the Hua Family’s hand, even if Little Six were willing, it might well prove impossible to have the Hua Family summoned back right now.

She had to guard against anyone playing that particular move. Factional conflict among civil officials had never been a rarity.

“One more thing — has there been any recent movement from the Ling Wang residence?”

“Yes. I had planned to report to you tomorrow. The Ling Wang’s consort returned to Yangzhou two days ago — the given reason being her mother’s illness.”

At this timing…

A thought stirred in Hua Zhi’s heart. “Has Yuepin ever had any contact with her?”

Wang Rong furrowed his brow and considered for a moment. “Based on the information we received previously, it would seem not. Yuepin could not leave the palace, and the Empress Dowager disliked the Ling Wang’s consort — even when the Ling Wang came to the palace to pay his respects, he was not permitted to bring her along. By rights, the two of them should have had no opportunity to meet.”

“Investigate this matter in detail. Also, look into the Ling Wang’s consort’s movements and whereabouts during this trip to Yangzhou.”

“Yes. You may set your mind at ease — we have already sent someone to follow her.”

“And the Ling Wang himself?”

“The Ling Wang has remained at his residence throughout. News from within the household — that person’s health has taken a turn for the worse again.”

Truly the favored youngest child. Yanxi had been wading through blades and fire out there, and not a word of concern had come from the Ling Wang. Yet the moment his youngest child fell ill, he hovered by the bedside without taking a single step away. All these years, that woman had probably used the excuse of borrowing Shao Yao as her way of adding difficulty to Yanxi’s life. A person’s heart is tender by nature — it is only after being frozen over and over that it gradually turns hard.

No matter. From now on, she would be there.

She would warm him with this heart the Hua Family had nurtured so carefully and well.