Hua Xian had held herself together for far too long. Now that she could finally let herself be still, cradled in her mother’s arms, she drifted into a drowsy half-sleep. Hua Zhi had her carried to the third maternal great-aunt’s courtyard on a palanquin.
The moment she lay down, perhaps because every scent in the room — every familiar, comforting trace of her mother — surrounded her, Hua Xian sank into sleep almost before she had fully settled.
The third maternal great-aunt’s tears fell again like a broken string of beads, endless and unstoppable. Her daughter’s suffering had not been the work of a single day. She had always assumed that the Yang Family, at least out of regard for the Hua Family’s name, would not dare mistreat Xian’er — yet now she understood that when a person was too soft, they would be mistreated no matter what.
Xian’er was foolish as well. She had never said a word on her visits home. When the late master had still been alive, surely he would not have refused to stand up for her. Thankfully the eldest young mistress was capable of shouldering the burden. Without her…
She carefully tucked the blanket around her daughter, then tiptoed out. In the outer room, the Hua Family members had not yet dispersed. Each face showed varying degrees of concern. In this moment, the third maternal great-aunt felt a sense of belonging to the Hua Family stronger than she had ever known.
Zhu Shi, her eyes swollen and red, asked quietly, “Has the younger sister-in-law fallen asleep?”
“She’s asleep. I am grateful to everyone today.”
“We did very little.” Xia Shi glanced at Hua Zhi. “It is the eldest young mistress who has the courage to act.”
The third maternal great-aunt nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Our eldest young mistress — there is no one in this family to match her.”
“Anyone in her position would have done the same.” Hua Zhi did not take the credit. “Let us not disturb Second Aunt any longer. Sui’an, I’ll show you to your room.”
“Yes.” Yang Sui’an bowed to his maternal step-grandmother and immediately followed. He knew his cousin must have questions for him.
Hua Zhi led him to the west wing. “Do you know why your father struck my aunt?”
“I know some of it.” Yang Sui’an pressed his lips together. Family shame as it was, he had no intention of concealing it from his cousin. “It should be because of the procession of scholars on the day of my maternal grandmother’s funeral. That display gave him an idea — he wanted to use the Hua Family’s connections to get close to certain people. He needs influence within scholarly circles to advance himself further.”
“Your mother refused?”
“My mother told him that the Hua Family is all women now, and the younger generation are still children — getting involved with those circles would only invite gossip. So he struck her. I suspect he wanted to beat her into submission, so that she would listen to him.” Even sitting beside the brazier, Yang Sui’an felt a chill moving through him.
“Had he ever raised his hand against my aunt before?”
“Never. He would speak cutting words, say things meant to wound her. He would stay away from my mother’s room for long stretches at a time. He would deliberately take liberties with the maids nearby. But he never struck her — I suppose he still had some fear back then.”
“Since you knew all this, why did you not come back and tell my grandfather? Do not say that my aunt is concubine-born — my grandfather has never treated any of his children lightly.”
Yang Sui’an dropped his head. “I only began to learn some of it not long before my maternal grandmother passed. Then I started investigating on my own and gradually learned more. My mother always told me she had chosen to move out of the main rooms, that she simply did not like it there. Every time I came back to see her she was so happy, without the slightest sign of strain. So I…”
Yang Sui’an curled forward over his knees — the posture of someone seeking comfort. His voice was thick with emotion. “I should have paid closer attention to my mother.”
Hua Zhi added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier and watched the black coals catch and glow, one by one. She said nothing to comfort the boy whose shoulders were shaking silently. She found herself realizing she had not entertained the thought — that children should not have to carry burdens too heavy for their age — for quite some time now. Since the Hua Family’s troubles began, she had come to understand something clearly: no one chooses to know things they were never meant to know. It is only the pressures of circumstance, one kind or another, that force a person into understanding what they would otherwise never have had to face.
It was true of Bailin. It was true of Sui’an as well.
The capital never lacked for conversation. These days the subject on everyone’s lips over tea and after meals was the eldest young mistress of the Hua Family.
First the Hua Family’s male members had been sentenced to exile, then the late Madam had passed away. People were still lamenting that such a great household would surely fall apart — and yet, before they had even finished lamenting, she had sent a boy not yet ten years old with a full retinue to boldly retrieve the family’s daughter who had been mistreated. Not the actions of someone who feared trouble. All at once, it seemed the whole capital had taken an interest in this Hua Family eldest young mistress.
Rising alongside the eldest young mistress’s reputation was Hua Bailin’s own. Such a young child — not even ten years old — yet he had handled everything with reason and restraint, advancing and retreating with precision. When he had gone up against Lord Yang himself, he had not flinched at all. Word was that when the Yang Family had surrounded them to prevent him from taking the Hua second young mistress away, he had pushed through with only a handful of people — and even many adults could not have done as well.
So this was the caliber of the younger generation raised by the Hua Family. Truly unlike anyone else’s.
Bao Xia related all of this to her young mistress in vivid and animated detail. The other maids wore expressions of shared pride. The subject of all this praise, however, was remarkably composed. She set down her brush, blew gently on the ink to dry it, and handed the paper to Bao Xia. “Take this to Fu Dong and have her try it out.”
“Young Mistress!”
“What do you want me to say? Should I praise them and say they did brilliantly?” Hua Zhi’s lips curved into something between a smile and not. “Or present myself in front of all those people and let them admire whatever beauty I supposedly possess?”
Bao Xia, who had been slow to catch on, finally remembered what her young mistress was like, and immediately put on a suitably chastened expression — an expression so perfunctory that even Ying Chun could not look at it, and gave her a push toward the door. “Go on, hurry up — stop giving the young mistress something to be annoyed about.”
Bao Xia stuck out her tongue and ran.
Hua Zhi wagged a finger at Ying Chun in mock reproach. Ying Chun smiled a coaxing smile.
Hua Zhi was glad enough to see her maids getting along with each other — she would have no patience for any scheming or rivalry among those in her own household.
Liu Xiang came in carrying a basket. “Young Mistress, it’s time to go to the clan school.”
“Mm.” She washed her hands and gave instructions as she walked. “The young mistresses are all only just learning to manage household affairs. If any of them have questions and send someone to ask you, teach them properly.”
“Other people who have just taken over a household hold tight to every bit of power they have. But you — barely settled in as head of the household and you’re already eager to hand it all back.” Ying Chun brought over her heavy cape and helped her into it. At the sight of the fiery red fox-fur trim, Hua Zhi paused for just a moment. Right — she still owed Steward Lu quite a sum of money.
“Young Mistress?”
“It’s nothing.” Hua Zhi looked down and pulled the cape snugly around herself. “Is such a small amount of power even worth holding on to? If I can bring all of them along and teach them properly, the running of this household can be handed over to them in time, and I’ll be free from the burden. Nian Qiu — remember to keep the household accounts in the old way that everyone can follow. Don’t use the system I showed you.”
Nian Qiu nodded with reluctant resignation. If only they could use the young mistress’s system — it was so much more convenient, and would save so much effort.
Before going out, Hua Zhi turned back once more to add instructions. “Keep a close eye on Second Aunt’s courtyard. Whatever provisions the other rooms receive, hers should not be short of anything. I remember the monthly allowance for household members between fourteen and fifteen used to be twenty taels — give Sui’an that same amount each month going forward. And don’t let him go without brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones — whatever Bailin has, he should have as well. Have you all got that?”
“Yes, this servant will see to it personally.”
Hua Zhi gave a nod, pulled her cape once more snugly around herself, tucked both hands into her sleeves around the hand warmer within, made every preparation, and still shivered when the wind hit her the moment she stepped outside. The sky was growing colder and colder — with a gust like that, she truly felt not the slightest inclination to take a single step further.
“Next year, the clan school needs underfloor heating. Liu Xiang, help me remember — I’m afraid I’ll forget.”
“Yes.”
Chapter 123: Leaving the Yang Family
Hua Xian’s legs felt unsteady beneath her, but this time she refused to show weakness. Step by step she walked out of the room, and at the sight of the sunlight outside, tears streamed down her face without warning.
Nanny Su gently dabbed them away, her gaze sweeping over the servants kneeling in the courtyard. Among them were not only Yang Family attendants, but also those who had come as part of Hua Xian’s dowry household. The head matron had already passed away, and the several personal maids — all of whom had come of age and been presented — were dressed more like mistresses than Hua Xian herself was. Every one of them had become Yang Qi’s kept women.
Not a single one of them had ever sent word to the Hua Family about what the second young mistress was enduring here.
Hua Bailin’s young face had gone cold, and yet he carried himself with an unmistakable air of authority. “Cousin, these servants are no longer of any use. Sell them all.”
“My cousin has reminded me well.” Yang Sui’an went back into the room and, disregarding the Yang Old Madam sitting there, found a box from the cabinet and flipped through it — every contract of indenture was accounted for, not one missing. He returned to the courtyard and said, “It seems you have all forgotten whose hands your contracts of indenture are in. Gui Zi, take these to a broker. Tell her the price is negotiable — if she can come and take them immediately, I don’t mind letting them go cheap.”
“Yes.”
“Have mercy, young master!” The group went pale. Several of them dissolved into wailing — being resold rarely led to a better lot, particularly the maids who had already been set up as kept women. They might well be sold off to some unsavory establishment.
A particularly pretty girl in green slapped herself hard across the face and prostrated herself on the ground, sobbing. “This servant forgot her place — please forgive me just this once, young master. I will never dare again!”
“Forgive you? If I forgive you, how do I make it up to the hurt my mother has endured? Qiu Yu — when you climbed into the master’s bed, did you ever think about how my mother had treated you? You forgot your place. You came from the Hua Family, and yet you did not even observe mourning when my maternal grandmother passed. What face do you have to beg my forgiveness? Gui Zi, go at once.”
“Yes.”
Nanny Su eased Hua Xian up onto the back of one of the stout matrons. Hua Bailin steadied her from the side. “Let us go.”
As they emerged from the courtyard, vague figures stood watching from all around — but not one of them stepped forward.
Outside the inner gate, Yang Qi had positioned himself with a number of servants, effectively encircling the gate. The moment he saw Hua Xian being carried out on someone’s back, his chest tightened — he had counted on his mother to hold things up.
“And what does my uncle intend by this? Surely the Yang Family is not some dragon’s lair or tiger’s den, where one may enter but never leave?” Without waiting for Yang Qi to respond, Hua Bailin smiled again. “As it happens, I have always been especially fond of dragon’s lairs and tiger’s dens. Come — I’d like to see who dares lay a hand on me.”
Yang Qi truly did not dare touch Hua Bailin. He had taken the scholar’s path himself and understood precisely how much influence the Hua Family still commanded — otherwise he would never have resorted to beating Hua Xian in the first place, trying to force her to use that influence on his behalf through connections to the Hua Family.
But what he could do was raise his hand against his own son. He stepped forward and delivered Yang Sui’an a heavy slap across the face. “Insolent wretch — what do you think you are doing? Joining forces with outsiders against your own family?”
Yang Sui’an did not know whether the man who called himself his father had used his full strength. He only felt that half his face, jaw and all, had gone numb, and something wet trickled out of his mouth. He raised his hand and wiped it — blood.
He turned and looked at his father with cold, utterly emotionless eyes.
Hua Xian, however, was nearly beside herself. She struggled off the matron’s back — Nanny Su grabbed her quickly enough to keep her from sliding to the ground — and lurched toward her son. She reached out as if to touch his face, then stopped herself, and in an instant tears streamed down her face. “Mother won’t go. Sui’an, Mother won’t go…”
“Then hurry back inside.” Yang Qi was elated, and moved at once to take Hua Xian’s arm. Hua Bailin stepped directly into his path and said sharply, “I’d like to see who dares touch my second aunt!”
The Hua Family’s servants, matrons included, surged forward as one, and fixed the Yang Family servants with fierce stares. Every one of them had trained under their martial instructor — this was as good a chance as any to see how much they had actually learned.
Yang Sui’an helped his mother to her feet and gestured for a matron to crouch down. He helped his mother onto the matron’s back and said quietly, “If you stay, then the slap I just took was for nothing. Let’s go.”
Nanny Su supported them from the side. The matron set off with her and walked straight toward the gate. Hua Bailin fell in behind them as the rear guard. The Yang Family’s servants could only follow — not one of them dared approach, Yang Qi included.
It was only when they walked out the main gate and saw the Hua Family servants waiting there to receive them that Hua Bailin finally allowed himself a fraction of relief.
By now the crowd gathered outside the Yang Family estate, both openly and in the shadows, had grown considerably. Hua Bailin caught Nanny Su’s eye.
Nanny Su gave the matron’s shoulder a light pat. The matron understood, and set Hua Xian down, then flanked her on either side as they walked toward the covered sedan chair.
The injuries covering Hua Xian’s body were far too visible. Gasps rose from every direction. Hua Xian buried her head as low as she could, so mortified she wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
No wonder the Hua Family had come in such force — so their daughter had been mistreated. And the one who had made this call… surely it was that eldest young mistress who now ran the Hua household? Backbone of steel, that one.
By this point Yang Zheng had finally received word and came hurrying out — but it was too late. He saw his grandson’s face, swollen on one side, and made an attempt at damage control. “Sui’an — this is a family matter after all. Best not to make a spectacle of it.”
Yang Sui’an had no wish to give onlookers any more to talk about. He approached his grandfather and said quietly, “Grandfather — the blow he struck me, I accept it. I can bear it. But Mother cannot bear another like it. I did not dare gamble on it. If I cannot protect my own mother, if I will not protect her, then I am unworthy to be called her son, and unworthy of all the years you have spent teaching me. Grandfather, I have only one mother. She is soft-natured and incapable, and she no longer has a flourishing family name behind her — but she is still my mother.”
Yang Sui’an knelt and pressed his forehead to the ground three times. “If you acknowledge me, I am the Yang Family’s eldest grandson. If you do not, I am still Yang Sui’an.”
Yang Qi clenched his teeth in fury. “If you leave now you need never come back. I need no such son as you — do not think to inherit a single thing from the Yang Family…”
“Yang Qi!” If Yang Zheng had not known better than to discipline his son in public, he would have beaten this fool unconscious on the spot. He did not have only this one grandson — but among all his grandsons, this was the one with the finest gifts.
“What was yours I have never wanted,” Yang Sui’an said. “From now on, I will earn everything I want through my own honest effort.” He straightened. “Grandfather, take care of yourself.”
“Sui’an.”
Yang Sui’an looked back.
“You are the Yang Family’s eldest grandson. That will never change, no matter what. This is your home. Your roots are here. Never forget that. Families inevitably have their conflicts, but family remains family — they cannot become strangers.” Yang Zheng took two steps forward, smiling with all the warmth of a kindly elder. “Come back to see your grandfather more often.”
“Yes, I will.” Yang Sui’an did not spare Yang Qi so much as a glance. The only person in this household he would carry in his heart was his grandfather — even knowing that his grandfather also had his own calculations, even knowing that his grandfather had never once spoken a word for his mother despite knowing how she was treated. The kindness he had received was still real.
He watched the procession depart, then turned and walked back. “Close the gate.”
“Father…”
Crack. Yang Zheng spun around with a slap, every trace of warmth gone from his face. “Go kneel at the ancestral hall. Don’t come out until you’ve thought things through.”
Chapter 124: What Family Means
The Hua Family’s procession had not yet reached home before the story was already spreading like wildfire through the city.
Shen Qi and the Shen Family patriarch were in the middle of a game of chess when a servant came to report. The game fell apart entirely after that.
Shen Zhui set down his piece and wiped his hands, reaching for his tea. “If from the very beginning you had made your intentions clear — that you would marry no one else — your grandmother would not have dissolved the engagement so readily.”
“Not so readily, perhaps, but she still would have.” Shen Qi smiled bitterly. “If I had known that six months of traveling would cost me so much, I never would have gone.”
Shen Zhui found it a pity as well. From the moment Hua Yizheng had fallen from power, the Hua Family had not collapsed and had not fallen into chaos. Even compounded by the sudden loss of the late Madam, the Hua Family still dared to send someone directly to the Yang Family and take back their daughter who had been mistreated. This could not be explained away with a single word like “courage.” The Hua Family young mistress who had made all of this possible was no ordinary person.
If she truly could marry into the Shen Family and become the eldest young mistress, there would be no need to fear discord in the inner household going forward. But as Shen Qi had said, even if the Hua Family had not taken the initiative to withdraw, the Shen Family would have had to do so eventually — the families were too far apart in standing now. How could they still consider a match?
Shen Qi covered his face with his hands, his heart full of defeat. It had only been half a year. He had been gone only half a year, and in that time his mentor had been sent into exile and his betrothed was gone. By the time he received word and hurried back, it was all too late. He dared not imagine what his teacher would think of him — heartless? Worse than an animal? Either way, no better than a beast.
And Hua Zhi… how would she look at him? If withdrawing from the engagement had been only a test on her part, she would probably have concluded by now that he was without feeling or loyalty.
But was he not, in fact? His grandfather’s attitude had been unmistakable. If they did not withdraw now, they would be forced to withdraw later under worse circumstances. Thinking of the beautiful young woman he had glimpsed laughing and talking easily with her maids, Shen Qi felt an even more crushing heaviness settle in his chest.
He had seen Hua Zhi a few times. After the engagement was announced, he had even coaxed Bailin into talking, learning a few things about his sister through him. He had come to know that this young woman was widely read and knowledgeable, that she excelled in chess, music, calligraphy, and painting, that she made delicious food when she felt like it, that much of what Bailin knew had been taught to him by her, that Bailin admired and loved his eldest sister more than anyone else in the world.
At the time, he had thought: this remarkable woman would one day be his wife, and what a wonderful life they would have together. He had decided then that this journey would be his last long trip away from home — once married, he would not leave his wife behind alone. Yet who could have predicted that coming home would mean facing all of this?
He should never have gone to such a remote place. Even if he had wanted to travel, he should have chosen somewhere closer.
“Grandfather, I…” Shen Qi looked up, caught his grandfather’s expression, and fell silent. He knew there was no need to say more. His grandfather would never agree.
Shen Zhui set down his teacup, his tone mild. “Consider it a matter of fate, and do not force it. Even if you wanted to pursue her now, she would not be willing. Qi’er — she is no longer merely a daughter of the Hua Family. She is the Hua Family’s head. The Hua Family cannot do without her. What we need in a wife is a daughter-in-law, not her entire household behind her.”
“Yes.” Shen Qi forced the corners of his mouth into something resembling a smile, steadied himself against the armrest, and rose. “I’m rather tired. I’ll go back to my room.”
“Go on.”
The door opened, then closed. Shen Zhui sat in the quiet for a moment, then let out a long sigh. To sit in this seat was to think always of the family first. If he were going only by personal feeling, how could he have willingly done something so ruthless? He and Hua Yizheng had known each other for decades, had been colleagues for just as long — the regard between them was no less than what he felt for Zhu Bowen. And yet now…
Shen Zhui let out another long sigh. The best he could do from here on was to help where help was possible.
Gu Yanxi had none of those reservations. The moment he heard the news, he climbed up onto the Hua Family’s roof. Chen Qing, who had climbed up alongside him, was nursing a considerable headache, and every so often had to pull his young master back under cover. It was not yet evening — anyone who looked up would see them. If the Hua Family discovered what was going on, how was the Shizi’s land steward Lu going to keep his post?
The procession made its grand return into the alley, and the Hua Family’s main gate was thrown open wide. Only after the sedan chair had been carried inside did it swing shut again.
Hua Zhi understood how much this homecoming meant to her second aunt. She had dismissed the third maternal great-aunt’s suggestion to come in through the side gate, insisting instead on entering through the main gate. She had said: “The year Second Aunt was married out, she left through the main gate, proper and dignified. Today, let her return the same way, proper and dignified. It may not be the same gate, but it is still the gate of her home.”
The third maternal great-aunt had shut herself away and cried her eyes out all over again. This was her only daughter. Knowing she had suffered, it felt as though a piece of flesh had been carved from her heart — the pain was such that she had to breathe shallowly, or it pulled and ached. But now, at last, it would be all right. Coming home made everything all right. As long as she could come home.
When Hua Xian was helped out of the sedan chair, the sight of her battered and wretched state nearly caused the third maternal great-aunt to collapse. She clutched her daughter and wept with gut-wrenching anguish. “Those wicked Yang Family people — how could they, how could they!”
Only when Hua Xian was truly held in her mother’s arms, surrounded on all sides by family, did the homecoming feel real to her. Not a visit, not a guest — home. Home, from which she need never leave again.
Looking at the white hairs at her mother’s temples, Hua Xian felt a crushing weight of guilt for being an unfilial daughter — and yet a profound sense of peace washed over her as well. She was home. She had truly come back.
“Mother — Mother!” Mother and daughter wept in each other’s arms. The other members of the Hua Family all quietly wiped at their eyes. Zhu Shi, who had always been the most soft-hearted, was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, looking hardly any better than Hua Xian herself.
Yang Sui’an quietly turned his head and rubbed his eyes, then walked over to Hua Zhi. “Cousin.”
Hua Zhi gave a small nod and, not wanting to disturb the weeping going on nearby, asked softly, “Do you still plan to go back?”
Yang Sui’an shook his head. “I am worried about my mother. Something she said earlier has left me uneasy.”
“It was the desperation of being trapped that led her to such extreme thoughts. Now that she is back here, those feelings won’t take hold — she cannot bear to leave you, and she cannot bear to leave her own mother.”
Yang Sui’an let his gaze sweep over the members of the Hua Family one by one. He had not expected all of them to come out to the front courtyard to receive her. Whatever degree of genuine feeling lay behind it, the gesture was at least enough to set his mother’s heart at ease.
“I should get back to the academy. I will have to trouble you to look after my mother.”
“We are family — there is no need for that kind of talk. This is her homecoming, not a visit. Let her spend some time at her own mother’s side, and her heart will settle. You need not worry yourself. Study hard, and come back here when the academy is on a rest day. I’ve had a room set up for you in Bailin’s courtyard — you two will share quarters going forward.”
“…Yes.” Yang Sui’an’s voice caught in his throat. He opened his eyes wide and willed the tears not to fall. He could not cry. There were enough tears from his mother — that was sufficient.
When the sound of weeping at last began to subside, Hua Zhi walked over. “Second Aunt, would it suit you to stay in the third maternal great-aunt’s courtyard from now on?”
Hua Xian had no objection whatsoever — she would have been content to share the same bed with her mother. “Zhi’er, thank you, aunt.”
Without Zhi’er’s say-so, even her own mother’s heartache would have been powerless to change anything, to say nothing of sending people to retrieve her from the Yang Family with such firm resolve. Hua Xian was grateful from the very depths of her heart.
“Daughters of the Hua Family are not water poured out and lost upon marriage. The family will do everything in its power to be a refuge and a stronghold for you.” These words were not for Hua Xian alone — they were also for the other young women of the Hua Family. Hua Xin and Hua Ling had both reached the age for betrothal discussions. Matches would be harder to arrange for them now, given the family’s circumstances, but they would have to marry eventually. Hua Zhi hoped they would all carry these words with them.
She forgot, however, that she herself was also an unmarried daughter of the Hua Family.
Wu Shi, who had always been one to push back, suddenly found her eyes going red. She hurriedly turned her head away.
Gu Yanxi lay stretched out on the Hua Family’s rooftop, looking up at the sky. He understood better than anyone what lay behind her words. Hua Zhi had not counted herself among the Hua Family’s daughters waiting to be wed — because she had no intention of marrying at all.
Chapter 125: The Reason
Hua Xian had held herself together for far too long. Now that she could finally let herself be still, cradled in her mother’s arms, she drifted into a drowsy half-sleep. Hua Zhi had her carried to the third maternal great-aunt’s courtyard on a palanquin.
The moment she lay down, perhaps because every scent in the room — every familiar, comforting trace of her mother — surrounded her, Hua Xian sank into sleep almost before she had fully settled.
The third maternal great-aunt’s tears fell again like a broken string of beads, endless and unstoppable. Her daughter’s suffering had not been the work of a single day. She had always assumed that the Yang Family, at least out of regard for the Hua Family’s name, would not dare mistreat Xian’er — yet now she understood that when a person was too soft, they would be mistreated no matter what.
Xian’er was foolish as well. She had never said a word on her visits home. When the late master had still been alive, surely he would not have refused to stand up for her. Thankfully the eldest young mistress was capable of shouldering the burden. Without her…
She carefully tucked the blanket around her daughter, then tiptoed out. In the outer room, the Hua Family members had not yet dispersed. Each face showed varying degrees of concern. In this moment, the third maternal great-aunt felt a sense of belonging to the Hua Family stronger than she had ever known.
Zhu Shi, her eyes swollen and red, asked quietly, “Has the younger sister-in-law fallen asleep?”
“She’s asleep. I am grateful to everyone today.”
“We did very little.” Xia Shi glanced at Hua Zhi. “It is the eldest young mistress who has the courage to act.”
The third maternal great-aunt nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Our eldest young mistress — there is no one in this family to match her.”
“Anyone in her position would have done the same.” Hua Zhi did not take the credit. “Let us not disturb Second Aunt any longer. Sui’an, I’ll show you to your room.”
“Yes.” Yang Sui’an bowed to his maternal step-grandmother and immediately followed. He knew his cousin must have questions for him.
Hua Zhi led him to the west wing. “Do you know why your father struck my aunt?”
“I know some of it.” Yang Sui’an pressed his lips together. Family shame as it was, he had no intention of concealing it from his cousin. “It should be because of the procession of scholars on the day of my maternal grandmother’s funeral. That display gave him an idea — he wanted to use the Hua Family’s connections to get close to certain people. He needs influence within scholarly circles to advance himself further.”
“Your mother refused?”
“My mother told him that the Hua Family is all women now, and the younger generation are still children — getting involved with those circles would only invite gossip. So he struck her. I suspect he wanted to beat her into submission, so that she would listen to him.” Even sitting beside the brazier, Yang Sui’an felt a chill moving through him.
“Had he ever raised his hand against my aunt before?”
“Never. He would speak cutting words, say things meant to wound her. He would stay away from my mother’s room for long stretches at a time. He would deliberately take liberties with the maids nearby. But he never struck her — I suppose he still had some fear back then.”
“Since you knew all this, why did you not come back and tell my grandfather? Do not say that my aunt is concubine-born — my grandfather has never treated any of his children lightly.”
Yang Sui’an dropped his head. “I only began to learn some of it not long before my maternal grandmother passed. Then I started investigating on my own and gradually learned more. My mother always told me she had chosen to move out of the main rooms, that she simply did not like it there. Every time I came back to see her she was so happy, without the slightest sign of strain. So I…”
Yang Sui’an curled forward over his knees — the posture of someone seeking comfort. His voice was thick with emotion. “I should have paid closer attention to my mother.”
Hua Zhi added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier and watched the black coals catch and glow, one by one. She said nothing to comfort the boy whose shoulders were shaking silently. She found herself realizing she had not entertained the thought — that children should not have to carry burdens too heavy for their age — for quite some time now. Since the Hua Family’s troubles began, she had come to understand something clearly: no one chooses to know things they were never meant to know. It is only the pressures of circumstance, one kind or another, that force a person into understanding what they would otherwise never have had to face.
It was true of Bailin. It was true of Sui’an as well.
The capital never lacked for conversation. These days the subject on everyone’s lips over tea and after meals was the eldest young mistress of the Hua Family.
First the Hua Family’s male members had been sentenced to exile, then the late Madam had passed away. People were still lamenting that such a great household would surely fall apart — and yet, before they had even finished lamenting, she had sent a boy not yet ten years old with a full retinue to boldly retrieve the family’s daughter who had been mistreated. Not the actions of someone who feared trouble. All at once, it seemed the whole capital had taken an interest in this Hua Family eldest young mistress.
Rising alongside the eldest young mistress’s reputation was Hua Bailin’s own. Such a young child — not even ten years old — yet he had handled everything with reason and restraint, advancing and retreating with precision. When he had gone up against Lord Yang himself, he had not flinched at all. Word was that when the Yang Family had surrounded them to prevent him from taking the Hua second young mistress away, he had pushed through with only a handful of people — and even many adults could not have done as well.
So this was the caliber of the younger generation raised by the Hua Family. Truly unlike anyone else’s.
Bao Xia related all of this to her young mistress in vivid and animated detail. The other maids wore expressions of shared pride. The subject of all this praise, however, was remarkably composed. She set down her brush, blew gently on the ink to dry it, and handed the paper to Bao Xia. “Take this to Fu Dong and have her try it out.”
“Young Mistress!”
“What do you want me to say? Should I praise them and say they did brilliantly?” Hua Zhi’s lips curved into something between a smile and not. “Or present myself in front of all those people and let them admire whatever beauty I supposedly possess?”
Bao Xia, who had been slow to catch on, finally remembered what her young mistress was like, and immediately put on a suitably chastened expression — an expression so perfunctory that even Ying Chun could not look at it, and gave her a push toward the door. “Go on, hurry up — stop giving the young mistress something to be annoyed about.”
Bao Xia stuck out her tongue and ran.
Hua Zhi wagged a finger at Ying Chun in mock reproach. Ying Chun smiled a coaxing smile.
Hua Zhi was glad enough to see her maids getting along with each other — she would have no patience for any scheming or rivalry among those in her own household.
Liu Xiang came in carrying a basket. “Young Mistress, it’s time to go to the clan school.”
“Mm.” She washed her hands and gave instructions as she walked. “The young mistresses are all only just learning to manage household affairs. If any of them have questions and send someone to ask you, teach them properly.”
“Other people who have just taken over a household hold tight to every bit of power they have. But you — barely settled in as head of the household and you’re already eager to hand it all back.” Ying Chun brought over her heavy cape and helped her into it. At the sight of the fiery red fox-fur trim, Hua Zhi paused for just a moment. Right — she still owed Steward Lu quite a sum of money.
“Young Mistress?”
“It’s nothing.” Hua Zhi looked down and pulled the cape snugly around herself. “Is such a small amount of power even worth holding on to? If I can bring all of them along and teach them properly, the running of this household can be handed over to them in time, and I’ll be free from the burden. Nian Qiu — remember to keep the household accounts in the old way that everyone can follow. Don’t use the system I showed you.”
Nian Qiu nodded with reluctant resignation. If only they could use the young mistress’s system — it was so much more convenient, and would save so much effort.
Before going out, Hua Zhi turned back once more to add instructions. “Keep a close eye on Second Aunt’s courtyard. Whatever provisions the other rooms receive, hers should not be short of anything. I remember the monthly allowance for household members between fourteen and fifteen used to be twenty taels — give Sui’an that same amount each month going forward. And don’t let him go without brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones — whatever Bailin has, he should have as well. Have you all got that?”
“Yes, this servant will see to it personally.”
Hua Zhi gave a nod, pulled her cape once more snugly around herself, tucked both hands into her sleeves around the hand warmer within, made every preparation, and still shivered when the wind hit her the moment she stepped outside. The sky was growing colder and colder — with a gust like that, she truly felt not the slightest inclination to take a single step further.
“Next year, the clan school needs underfloor heating. Liu Xiang, help me remember — I’m afraid I’ll forget.”
“Yes.”