Inside the lean-to, Hua Jing sat wrapped in two quilts beside a small fire, dozing. Her head would dip, then her body would list to one side — and she would jerk herself upright again, all without ever opening her eyes. It was clear she had long since grown accustomed to this.

Hua Zhi stood at a distance, watching with cold eyes, and felt a strong urge to rush over and kick the brazier away, throw off the quilts, and drag Hua Jing to her knees in the snow to beg Grandmother’s forgiveness. But it was only an urge — she had no intention of doing anything of the sort. She would not be doing Hua Jing any favors by giving her grounds to be pitied.

“Eldest Young Lady, shall we wake her?”

Hua Zhi shook her head, turned, and left. There were still seven nights to go — this was barely anything at all.

No one could leave the mourning hall unattended. Hua Zhi sent everyone else away to sleep and settled herself cross-legged on a prayer cushion, arms wrapped around herself, keeping watch over the eternal flame. What she did not know was that, not far above her on the rooftop, Gu Yanxi was braving the cold wind and keeping her company through half a night.

Everyone was waiting for the dawn.

In the main courtyard of the Zhu residence, the Old Madam of the Zhu Family helped her husband don his court robes and said softly, “I don’t know how things are at the Hua Family right now. I had meant to go yesterday, but I thought that at that moment the Hua Family must be in absolute chaos, and if I went they would have to spare attention to receive me — so I put it aside. Today, no matter what, I must go early.”

Zhu Bowen gave an approving nod. “You go first. Today is the grand court audience and I cannot get away. Tomorrow I will request a half-day’s leave and go to offer my condolences in person. Bring a few capable hands with you — help out wherever you can.”

“I will.” The Old Madam pressed her fingertips to the corners of her eyes. “To think — one moment a person is here, and the next they are gone. The Hua Family had already fallen; she just went right along with it. So heartless of her to simply let go. Without her there to hold things together, those young ones of the Hua Family are bound to be pushed around.”

Zhu Bowen let out a slow sigh. “Others can help for a time, but not forever. The Hua Family must stand on their own feet. What I don’t know is who the Old Madam has left to run the household.”

“Surely the daughters-in-law, the wives of the Hua men — it cannot very well be…” The Old Madam paused. “You are saying she might have left the household to Zhi’er to manage?”

“Seeing is believing. One visit and you’ll know. If it truly is Zhi’er who’s been left in charge of the household, then our family will need to give her a good deal more support.”

“Even if she hadn’t been left in charge, I would still be giving support. I don’t have a heart of stone — I cannot simply stand by and watch my own daughter and grandchildren suffer hardship.”

Zhu Bowen had no wish to explain that his idea of support and hers were two different things. He simply nodded and let her words pass as his answer.

The Old Madam reckoned that the Hua Family must now need to buy nearly everything from outside. She rummaged through the storerooms and gathered a good many things, filled two large carts to the brim, and brought along two of her most capable steward-matrons.

“Mother.”

The Old Madam was just about to board the carriage when she heard the voice and looked back. It was her second son, Zhu Haodong.

“I will go with you.”

Madam Hua naturally would not refuse. She did not require her sons and daughters-in-law to support the sister who had married out, but when they showed such willingness of their own accord, she was of course glad of it.

The Hua residence blazed with light through the night.

Servants were continuously sweeping the entrance clear, keeping the path clean. Those passing in and out moved with grief held quietly in check — in their every action, there was nothing of the disheveled manner one might expect of a family that had collapsed, nothing to diminish the household’s name.

Hua Jing stood hollow-eyed outside her lean-to, a quilt draped over her shoulders, staring into the distance with an empty expression, her thoughts drifting very, very far away.

She remembered the pampered days in her parental home — remembered how her brothers, even just going out for a spring outing, would always bring back a bundle of fresh flowers for her. She remembered the ten li of red bridal procession on her wedding day. She remembered how every time she came home she had been tended to and fussed over by the whole family, how her sisters-in-law had not dared speak a word out of place to displease her. She remembered…

How could she not resent it? If only Mother had held Father back. If Father were still a second-rank official, she would still be the honored firstborn daughter of the Hua Family. The Song Family would still be deferring to her, catering to her. With her parental home to back her, her daughter could have married higher, and the support her son received would have been incomparable to anything the rest of the Song Family could offer.

And now all of it was gone. She was like a dog dragged from the water — everyone in the Song Family wanted a chance to kick her while she was down. How could she not resent it?

Mother should have understood her! She had believed Mother would surely help her — it was just one maid, and the household had hundreds of servants. One more or one less made no difference, yet that particular maid could have been a great help to her. How could Mother have refused?

Hua Jing grew ever more convinced that she had done nothing wrong. If you will not be kind to me, then I owe you no loyalty in return. That was all there was to it.

She went back into the lean-to. The coals in the brazier were nearly spent. The coldest hour of the day had already arrived — first light had not yet broken. Clutching two quilts that had almost no weight or warmth to them, Hua Jing still shook with unrelenting cold.

She would not simply admit defeat like this. Hua Jing’s eyes hardened into something fierce and vicious. As long as the Hua Family still needed to marry off their daughters, they would not dare let a single word leak out. And when the time came, she would let them learn what it meant to pick up a stone only to drop it on one’s own feet.

This behavior of Hua Jing’s was reported back to Hua Zhi by the servants. Hua Zhi could not be bothered to waste thought on Hua Jing — she was actually rather looking forward to seeing what kind of grand spectacle Hua Jing intended to make.

It was Wu Shi who showed some concern. “I’ve dealt with her these past few years, and she is not the type to accept a loss. You’ve made things so difficult for her — she will certainly hold a grudge. You should be on your guard. Your Fourth Uncle says she wasn’t always like this. No one knows when she became so completely unreasonable.”

“Live too smoothly for too long and you start to think you are the center of the universe. Once she lands face-first in the mud, she will know exactly where she stands.” Hua Zhi set the matter aside. “Today there will likely be visitors coming to offer condolences. For the elder generation, I have asked the great-aunts by marriage to help receive them. If it is the wives of various households, I will have to trouble Fourth Aunt to make the arrangements. Second Aunt’s position is too low for that; as for Mother, the households she can receive are more or less limited to the Zhu Family. The rest I will need to leave to you and Third Aunt.”

“Don’t worry, we can manage that much.” Wu Shi asked, “And if the visitors are male?”

“Leave them to Bailin.”

Wu Shi was alarmed. “Bailin is still so young — how could that work? If the visitors are of an elder generation and a young nephew is sent out to receive them, would that not invite ridicule?”

“Bailin is the oldest man in the Hua Family right now. Only he can do it.”

Wu Shi was speechless. And was that not precisely true? Who else could go, if not Bailin? Such a great Hua Family, and now it had come to this…

Wu Shi felt her nose sting. She lowered her head and pressed at the corners of her eyes. When she lifted her head again, only the faintest redness remained. “Very well. Then make sure you give Bailin clear instructions. We cannot afford for anything to go wrong.”

“He knows what to do. People rise to the occasion when they are pushed to it — things you have never learned come to you when they are suddenly in front of you. No one is born knowing everything.”

“Looking at you, I would have thought you were born knowing everything. No one knows as much as you.”

A faint pull crossed Hua Zhi’s lips. That was because she had spent an entire lifetime learning — studying from the age of three until twenty-eight, still mastering a new language in her final days. Anyone who had lived through what she had lived through would know as much.

Nian Qiu came in with quick steps. “Young Miss, Madam from the Zhu Family has arrived, along with the Second Master of the Zhu Family.”

No one had expected the Zhu Family to come this early. Wu Shi rose at once. “Go quickly to receive them. How very thoughtful of them.”

Hua Zhi’s eyes brightened, and she rallied a little. She walked out briskly.

Wu Shi moved to the doorway and watched her retreating figure, then let out a long, slow sigh. She did not know what the Hua Family would face in the days ahead. She only hoped this world would be a little kinder to Zhi’er — and not grind her down too harshly.

Author’s Note: I have seen some readers saying that a single death is taking too long to write. But my dear readers, this stretch is not simply about one death — it is also about Hua Zhi truly taking the reins of the household for the first time, and dealing with Hua Jing is not merely about revenge for the grandmother’s death. Hua Zhi also needs to use this to establish her authority and subdue the Hua Family’s distant branches. There is a great deal yet to be written into this arc, which is why it will run long. The next update will be late.