Yang Sui’an dropped heavily to his knees before Hua Zhi. “Please, Cousin — send people to bring my mother away from the Yang Family!”

He had not gone to beg his own maternal grandmother. He had come to beg Hua Zhi — one funeral had been enough for him to see clearly who was truly in charge of the Hua Family now.

If Hua Zhi were merely a woman fit only to manage inner household affairs, Yang Sui’an would not have come to her. But he knew his cousin was not that kind of woman. She had dared to bar her own aunt from the family’s gates. She had dared, in open defiance of convention, to allow women to keep vigil at the bier. She had dared to travel a thousand li to the northern lands. He trusted that such a cousin would protect those who belonged to her family — even one who had already been married out.

Everyone looked at Hua Zhi, wondering what this newly installed head of household would do.

Hua Zhi’s expression did not change in the slightest — as though none of this surprised her in the least. In truth, it genuinely did not. When a family’s backing collapsed, married-out daughters who could not hold their own ground rarely fared well — and the Second Aunt had never been someone who could hold her ground with her husband.

“Do not worry. Stand up first, and tell me the details properly.”

Yang Sui’an did not want to air his family’s disgrace before others, but right now, for his mother’s sake, he could not afford to care. “Yesterday when I returned home, my… my father was still treating my mother and me quite well. He even deflected it when grandmother said a few critical words to my mother. But this morning when I went to pay my respects to her, I found all the servants standing outside. My mother was inside weeping. When I tried to enter, the servants stopped me. I got into a struggle with them — Gui Zi helped me hold them back long enough for me to force my way in, and when I saw my mother… her clothes weren’t properly on. Her face and neck were covered in injuries. My father told her that if she could not get the Hua Family to help him make connections, he would cast her off. Cousin, my mother cannot stay in the Yang Family. These past months, they’ve been grinding her down without respite — even the kitchen staff dared to dock her food. Her health was already frail to begin with. At this rate, she won’t last much longer. Cousin, I beg you.”

As he spoke, Yang Sui’an knelt again. He cared nothing about kneeling before a woman, as long as she could bring his mother out of that pit of suffering.

“A man’s knees are not bent lightly — kneeling should be reserved for heaven, for one’s ancestors, for one’s teachers. I am not worthy of it. Get up. It goes without saying that a family home has no business standing by while a married-out daughter suffers — if we cannot even stand up for that, what future will the girls of the Hua Family ever have?”

Yang Sui’an’s eyes reddened. He had feared his cousin would tell him that a daughter married out was like water poured away — that it was not her place to interfere. But she had not said that. She was not that kind of person who shirked responsibility.

“Liu Xiang — go and fetch Bailin.”

“Yes.”

Yang Sui’an blinked, confused. Summoning the younger cousin meant…

“If I go in person, the Yang Family will simply mock the Hua Family for having no men of standing. Bailin may be young, but he is the senior-most male in the Hua Family right now — it is entirely proper for him to act as our representative. That said, there are a few things I need to ask you first.”

“Please ask, Cousin.”

“Is your mother willing to leave the Yang Family?”

Yang Sui’an bit his lip. His mother was not willing — he had tried to persuade her many times. Even now that the Hua Family had fallen, there was still a framework in place, and the family was not so heartless as to shut her out. Life there might well be livable. Yet his perpetually gentle mother refused to budge on this one matter.

Hua Zhi said gently, “She may not be as unwilling as you think. It is only that she cannot bear to leave you behind. While she is in the Yang Family, she can fight with her life to shield you and do her best to keep the worst from reaching you. But if she leaves, all of that will fall directly onto you. Have you thought about that?”

Yang Sui’an was taken aback. He had always assumed his mother’s refusal to leave was because she could not let go of his father.

“Do you want your mother to leave — even knowing that once she goes, you will have to bear what she had been bearing on your behalf?”

“Yes.” Yang Sui’an said it without the slightest hesitation. “I carry the Yang name — even for appearances alone, they would not dare do too much to me. And besides, if my mother is no longer at the Yang Family, I can simply live at the academy. The one worry is her dowry — a great deal of it has already been taken over the years.”

“Those are material things. Lose them and they’re gone. If the Hua Family cannot recover, those things would have ended up in the Yang Family’s hands eventually anyway. And if the Hua Family does recover — the Yang Family will return that dowry in full, without daring to be short a single copper coin.”

Yang Sui’an nodded vigorously.

Looking at this younger cousin of hers, Hua Zhi found herself approving of him. She was not afraid of cleaning up messes for people — she had been doing exactly that her whole previous life. But she also hoped that the person she was helping was not rotten at the core. She wanted whatever help she gave to be worth something.

Hua Bailin arrived quickly. Seeing Yang Sui’an’s condition, he was visibly startled — but he was no longer the chatty, impulsive boy he had once been. He paused at the doorway to bow respectfully to the elders in the room, then walked directly to stand before his eldest sister. “Eldest Sister.”

“The Second Aunt is being mistreated by the Yang Family. Go to Steward Xu and have him assign you men — forty sturdy household guards. Even if you have to carry her out by force, bring the Second Aunt back. Nanny Su — take a few of the more robust matrons with you.”

Nanny Su represented the late Old Madam’s authority. Even the Yang Family’s own matriarch would not dare dismiss her lightly. Understanding perfectly the eldest young lady’s intent, she responded with quiet deference, “Yes.”

“Sui’an.”

Yang Sui’an straightened his back immediately. “Yes, Cousin.”

“If the Second Aunt refuses to come willingly, use yourself as your bargaining piece. How exactly — you know yourself.”

“Yes. I know what to do.”

Hua Zhi looked at the Third Aunt. “Does this arrangement seem right to you?”

The Third Aunt’s eyes were red, but she was smiling. “The Eldest Young Lady could not have handled it better.”

“Bailin — once you walk out that door, you represent the Hua Family. Your bearing is the Hua Family’s bearing. You are the spine of every daughter the Hua Family has married out. Whether those women can hold their heads up depends on whether you have what it takes to hold things up for them. So you absolutely must not waver. Do you understand?”

Hua Bailin nodded, his eyes steady and resolved. “I understand. Eldest Sister, have no worries — I will bring the Second Aunt home.”

“Go.”

Hua Bailin turned and strode out. Yang Sui’an gave Hua Zhi a deep, formal bow, then hurried after him.

The moment the two of them left, the room fell quiet. Accustomed as they were to Old Madam’s measured, unhurried way of doing things, Hua Zhi’s swift and decisive manner had their hearts beating faster. The hands clutching their handkerchiefs tightened without their noticing — yet in their chests was a fierce, bright satisfaction.

Who ever said women were necessarily weak? Their eldest young lady was anything but.

“By the way — I have been caught up in one thing after another since I returned, and I nearly forgot. I brought a great many things back from the northern lands. I will have them sent to everyone shortly. Fourth Aunt — please deliver the shares meant for those other three households yourself.”

It was clear to Wu Shi and to everyone else by now what Hua Zhi was arranging: the matter of keeping in touch with the collateral branches would henceforth be taken up by Wu Shi.

Wu Shi agreed and naturally moved the conversation toward what concerned those branches. “Our main branch is the direct line. Previously, mother was the clan matriarch. Now that you are managing the household, that role of clan matriarch falls to you as well. By right, the wives of the collateral branches are expected to pay a formal visit. Would you like to set a time and have them all come?”

“There is no hurry. Let it wait until they bring it up themselves.” Perhaps — just perhaps — Grandfather and the others would be back before long. When that happened, the role of clan matriarch would rightly fall to a daughter-in-law of the Hua Family. Her mother was gentle and soft-natured, but when it came to succession, it was her mother’s place to carry the title. At that time, Hua Zhi could simply serve in support beside her.

Wu Shi started to say something more. Xia Shi quietly shook her head in her direction. She had figured it out by now — the eldest young lady knew exactly what she was doing. She herself had been blind before, trying to compete with her over these things. Compared to the eldest young lady, her own small calculations were simply not worth looking at. These responsibilities — she could never have carried them.