Hua Zhi stopped in her tracks at once, her brows knitting together. “What did the Emperor say?”

“The Emperor did not agree. He only said that Shao Yao’s marriage is for Shao Yao herself to decide — if she looks favorably upon Wu Yong, the imperial family will naturally send her off in style; if she is unwilling, he would absolutely not issue an edict arranging the match.”

“She didn’t pour her care into him for nothing.” Hua Zhi’s heart settled. In this world, no one could stand against imperial authority — she had understood this long ago, and after these past two years the feeling was only deeper. Even if she herself was not afraid, there was an entire household behind her. You might say the monk can flee but the temple cannot.

Even now that the one sitting on that throne was her own student, she had no footing to push back against him. The Emperor was heaven; if the ruler commands a subject’s death, the subject cannot but die. These beliefs were rooted deep in the bones of everyone in this world. No matter how capable a person might be, one individual cannot stand against an entire age.

Thinking of Wu Yong himself, Hua Zhi found she had no ill feeling toward him. She had sensed something in the direction things might go back at Yinshan Pass, only at the time she had not dared to think too deeply on it — after all, Shao Yao’s appearance had been ruined at that point. But now…

“What do you think?” she asked.

Gu Yanxi was silent for a moment, then spoke as though sighing. “Yinshan Pass is too far away.”

Indeed it was — too far away. Hua Zhi’s thoughts were on that very point as well. Setting aside rank and skill, she had no worries on those fronts. But the schemes and petty cruelties of an inner household were not things that rank and skill alone could fend off. She genuinely worried that Shao Yao would be mistreated if she married so far away — by the time word reached her, it would already be too late.

The very thought of Shao Yao standing alone with no one to turn to made Hua Zhi’s nose sting. No — she could not marry that far away.

Sitting down beside Yanxi, Hua Zhi said gently, “Now that Shao Yao’s face has also recovered, why don’t we find her a household here in the capital? We needn’t look among those great families with all their rigid rules — searching among the military men might be worth considering.”

Gu Yanxi had been thinking the same. At her words he immediately drew a name register from inside his robe. “I’ve listed a few — see what you think.”

“…” Hua Zhi was gracious enough not to look too long at her not-yet-husband. He was clearly this anxious about it, yet still had to put on airs of composure. He was no ordinary man — a prince of the imperial family and a Regent both. Who could force Shao Yao into a marriage elsewhere if he refused to permit it?

Yet the list he had reluctantly drawn up truly had not a single satisfying name. “The civil officials, even with the slight thinning of talent these past years, have at least begun to recover some depth. But the military side is truly… the Great Qing has no generals left to spare. Things cannot go on this way.”

Gu Yanxi was no less displeased — every name on the list fell short of Wu Yong. Thinking it over carefully, Wu Yong had no real flaw worth finding aside from living too far away.

“Let’s ask Shao Yao herself.” Hua Zhi lifted her chin. “If she has feelings for Wu Yong, no distance is insurmountable. I can train good maids and nannies for her so that no one can bully her. I can also expand the business to Yinshan Pass, and you can station more of your people there for her to call on at any time. If Wu Yong is good to her, all the better, and we naturally won’t let him be taken advantage of either. If he treats Shao Yao poorly, beat him half to death and hand him a letter of divorce — a Regent and a Grand Tutor between us and we can’t serve as her backing?”

Gu Yanxi, who had been deeply unsettled ever since learning of this matter, was soothed by these words. Indeed — as long as Shao Yao was willing, what did the distance matter? That land was wide and open beneath an endless sky, without all the constraints placed on women here. Shao Yao’s wild temperament would actually be best suited to life out there. Once he and A’Zhi stepped back from their positions, where in the world could they not go? When the weather was fine, they could spend a few months out there each year. He’d just like to see whether Wu Yong would have the nerve to mistreat his little sister.

Hua Zhi clasped his hand and raised her voice to call to the people outside the door. “Please invite Shao Yao to come.”

Shao Yao arrived swiftly, bouncing in with a perfectly cheerful air. The moment she stepped inside and saw the two of them sitting hand in hand, she immediately covered her eyes and turned her back. “Oh, why did you call me over for this!”

“Come here — there’s something serious to discuss.”

Shao Yao shuffled backward into the room, refusing to look in their direction.

Hua Zhi let go of Yanxi’s hand and turned Shao Yao around, then lobbed a direct statement straight at her. “Wu Yong went before the Emperor to propose.”

Shao Yao looked somewhat blank. What did that have to do with her?

“He wants to marry you.”

Shao Yao looked even more blank. “Why would he want to marry me?”

“…” That was indeed a good question — Hua Zhi would also like to know why. But she also felt a certain gladness: a person proposing of their own accord was always better than family and clan telling you whom to wed. At least this man was one he himself had chosen, and if he chose this person it meant he could not possibly dislike her.

Wu Yong did not dislike Shao Yao — he even seemed to be a little fond of her, which was already better than any other man.

Having thought this through, Hua Zhi decided to have a proper conversation with Shao Yao.

“Is there anyone you feel you could entrust your life to?”

Without a moment’s thought, Shao Yao pointed at Elder Brother Yanxi.

“…” Hua Zhi conceded that this answer was entirely correct, but — “Other than him.”

Shao Yao thought about it very earnestly, then shook her head.

Hua Zhi offered a name. “What about Master Zheng?”

“No, absolutely not.” Shao Yao crossed both arms in a firm X over her chest. “When we were in the south he argued with me for half the night trying to convince me to listen to him, and ever since, whenever I hear him talk I get a headache. The moment I see him I want to run away.”

Imagining that scene, Hua Zhi felt a bit like laughing. Shao Yao’s temperament truly was not suited for the great families — too many rules and restraints. She would want to bolt within three days.

“What if the person were Wu Yong instead?”

Shao Yao thought about it. “Then I suppose Wu Yong it is.”

“Any reason?”

“Master Zheng is too clever. Before I’ve even said anything he already knows what I’m about to do, and he proceeds to come up with seven or eight contingency plans for me to choose from — choosing among them gives me such a headache. Wu Yong, by comparison, is just too dull-witted.”

“He’s dull-witted?”

“He could be schemed against by the women in his own inner household — isn’t that dull-witted?”

“…” Fair enough. Hua Zhi recalled that Wu Yong had once had a household full of concubines but no proper wife, and that it was only after that poisoning incident that he had cleared out his inner courtyard. She did not know what the situation was like now — but this was something she could ask her grandfather about. Whatever else one might say, Grandfather’s ability to read people had always been exceptional.

Hua Zhi smiled and ruffled the back of Shao Yao’s head. “The Emperor has left this decision entirely in your own hands. Think it over carefully. Whatever you decide, I will stand by your side — rest assured, I will absolutely not let you come away at a disadvantage.”

Shao Yao pressed herself against Hua Zhi and held on without saying a word. Her family was only these few people — she did not want to go anywhere. She only wanted to stay close to them, watching over them.

Yet it seemed that as the years came on, some things were simply understood on their own.

A woman is meant to marry once — it is rather like being born into a life. With good fortune you live smoothly; with poor fortune you encounter a useless man and labor hard your whole days through. But however things fall out, you never know what a person is truly like until after the marriage. No one would ever force her if she chose not to marry, but if she remained unmarried, Hua Zhi and Elder Brother Yanxi would go on worrying about her future. They were not afraid of her growing old alone — but they would be afraid they had failed to give her happiness.

So even if only for that reason, she was going to marry someone, sooner or later.