The income was somewhat better than Hua Zhi had anticipated. She had expected the cold weather to keep most people indoors, but it seemed she had underestimated people’s devotion to food — to say nothing of the fact that there were servants in this world whose sole purpose was to do the shopping.

That wealthy households would become loyal patrons of Green Moss Lane, however, was something she had not foreseen at all.

“How are the canned goods selling?”

The maidservants exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison.

“What is the situation?” Hua Zhi was slightly taken aback. She had expected them to sell quite well — the north had virtually no fresh fruit to speak of at this time of year.

“There were buyers the first two days after we opened. With the Zhu Family covering for us up front, everyone assumed it was a Zhu Family business. But then, somehow, word got out that it actually belonged to our Hua Family, and sales gradually dried up.”

So not even food from the Hua Family could be eaten now, after the Emperor’s displeasure had fallen upon them? Hua Zhi tapped the lid of her teacup. “Has anything similar to our canned goods appeared anywhere in the city?”

“At the time, I also suspected that someone might have wanted to claim the business for themselves, so I had people search the market. No canned goods were found anywhere.”

Then it was still a matter of the Hua Family’s reputation. As long as no one had set their sights on this profitable venture, things were manageable. Food, clothing, shelter, and transport — these would be indispensable in any era.

“Is there anything else? Speak up while we’re at it.”

Apart from the Old Madam being angered to death, the Hua Family had remained entirely undisturbed during this period. Closing the gates and shutting themselves away was, in its own way, a show of weakness — any person of real standing would refrain from bothering a household full of women and children, and those who might have wished to press harder for now did not dare make a move.

Bao Xia glanced at her young lady. She knew of something but was not sure whether to bring it up.

Hua Zhi caught the look. “Speak.”

Ying Chun shot Bao Xia a warning look — why bring this up and trouble the young lady unnecessarily?

Bao Xia shot back a look of her own. This involved the young lady directly, so of course she needed to know.

Turning her head, Bao Xia said crisply, “Miss, Young Master Shen Qi came to call on you. He was turned away by the Old Madam.”

Shen Qi…

Hua Zhi remembered him. He could be counted among her father’s students — her father had been particularly fond of him and often kept him close to instruct personally, so she had met him a few times.

From what she knew of him, he was not a man who turned his back on others lightly. Yet for some reason, he had not appeared throughout this entire ordeal. She had once thought she had misjudged him — but for him to come and request an audience during the very period when the Hua Family had shut its gates and shut itself away was not the behavior of someone trying to avoid trouble.

“Did he leave any message?”

“No. The Old Madam did not let him into the house at all.”

With a household full of women, of course no man could be admitted — that was obvious. Hua Zhi had no romantic feelings for Shen Qi, but she hoped he bore a genuine bond of student and teacher toward her father. At the very least, she did not want her father to think that Shen Qi had stood by and done nothing during all of this. When she had mentioned her broken engagement while at Yinshan Pass, her father had been truly hurt — he had probably never imagined that Shen Qi would do something that amounted to kicking a man when he was down.

“Bao Xia — if he comes again, go and meet him. Listen to what he has to say.”

“Yes.”

Liu Xiang announced from the doorway, “Miss, Steward Xu requests to see you.”

Steward Xu — Xu Jie — came in and immediately dropped to his knees. “I have handled this poorly, Eldest Young Lady. Please punish me.”

He looked as though he had lost a great deal of weight and grown considerably darker since she last saw him. He had poured the bulk of the Hua Family’s remaining funds into making these goods, and now they would not sell — the weight of that was not hard to imagine. Hua Zhi did not blame him. He was barely past twenty. He simply had not yet seen enough of the world.

“Get up and speak.”

“I would rather remain kneeling, young lady. I have handled things poorly — kneeling feels right to me.”

“Very well. Kneel then.” Hua Zhi agreed without fuss. “The root of this problem does not lie with you. You could kneel until your legs gave out and it would still not solve anything.”

Xu Jie was perceptive — he caught the implication immediately and, not minding at all that he had just been teased, asked eagerly, “Has Eldest Young Lady found a solution?”

“There is no need to rush. Winter is still long. If all else fails, I will have the goods transported further north — good things will always find buyers.”

“Yes, Eldest Young Lady is quite right. Our goods taste so wonderful — there is no reason they should not sell.”

Bao Xia re-steeped the young lady’s tea and cast a glance at Xu Jie. “You have your answer now. Why are you still kneeling? Does the young lady need to formally invite you to rise?”

This time Xu Jie got up without hesitation. His expression also lightened somewhat. He had truly been afraid of these goods sitting unsold on his hands. So much silver had gone into them, and the young lady had put in so much effort — if he failed to manage it properly, what a blow that would be to her. And moreover, the young lady had just taken charge of the household and was still in the process of establishing her authority.

“The new year is almost upon us. Although the Hua Family must observe mourning, the necessary preparations still need to be made. Steward Xu’s legs are giving him trouble — give him more assistance. Whatever funds are needed, draw them from Ying Chun.”

“Yes.”

After sending Xu Jie away, Hua Zhi looked at Ying Chun. “How much did the funeral expenses come to in total?”

“Not a great deal. All told, roughly two thousand six hundred taels.”

“Including the incense donation to Dazhu Temple?”

“Yes, that includes the one thousand taels. Had the Old Madam not already arranged for her coffin long ago and had it stored at the old residence, it would have been even less — we would have needed to purchase one otherwise.” At the mention of the Old Madam, all the maidservants’ expressions grew subdued. Ying Chun continued, “The condolence gifts received come to five thousand nine hundred and fifty taels. Here is the gift ledger.”

The sum far exceeded what Hua Zhi had expected. She opened the ledger — the very first name was her maternal grandfather, who had contributed a full one thousand taels.

Hua Zhi pressed her lips together and read on. The other relatives by marriage had all contributed one hundred taels each, as though it had been agreed upon in advance. Chen Sui’an alone had sent five hundred taels — it was easy to guess that the Second Aunt had used her own private savings to supplement the contribution.

Mu Qing: four hundred taels. Chen Dayi: five hundred taels. The Qin Family: eight hundred taels. Flipping further, Hua Zhi’s eyes paused.

Lu Yanxi: one thousand taels.

Shao Yao: one thousand taels.

Shao Yao was still at Yinshan Pass — this two thousand taels had clearly come entirely from Master Lu. She could not quite make out what Master Lu intended by this gesture, but that did not prevent her from recording it in her heart with gratitude.

“Miss, this Master Lu…” Ying Chun chose her words carefully. “He seems to have wealth far beyond what one would expect of a martial arts instructor.”

“He was never truly a martial arts instructor. Whatever else he may be has nothing to do with us. We have no need to inquire into it.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi closed the ledger. “I will keep this with me. Ying Chun, Nian Qiu — reconcile the accounts together, and report to me once everything checks out.”

“Yes.” The two of them were accustomed to their young lady’s methods and took their respective ledgers to opposite ends of the room to work through the figures.

“Bao Xia — send word to every branch of the household. All to gather at the west side courtyard in a quarter of an hour. I have things to say.”

“Yes.”

Pressing her aching thighs, Hua Zhi rose and slowly made her way out. A quarter of an hour — that ought to be enough time to walk to the second courtyard’s west wing.

She had barely taken a few steps out of the room when she stopped and tilted her head to listen. She had not imagined it — there was the faint but unmistakable sound of someone reading aloud.

“Is someone in the clan school?”

Liu Xiang, walking beside her, answered, “Yes, the Sixth Young Master went there early this morning with all the young masters.”

“Has Master Mu arrived?”

“This servant has not heard that Master Mu has entered the household.”