Ying Chun counted the silver carefully, piece by piece. “Miss, this money…”

“Same as before — you keep the valuables, Nian Qiu manages the accounts. Nian Qiu, keep the public ledger the old way, and keep our private ledger the way I taught you.”

Both agreed in unison.

Hua Zhi looked around the room, walked to a large chest and stood before it. “Have a hidden compartment built underneath, just like the one at the old estate — it must show no trace from the outside.”

“Yes.”

“All right, go about your tasks. I need to think through some things. Let no one come to disturb me.”

She went into the inner room and settled herself at the writing desk. She slowly rolled up her sleeves and tied them tight, tipped a little water into the ink stone, and began grinding the ink in a slow, steady motion. Her mind had not been still for a single moment — turning over possibilities, weighing one thing against another — and then she set her brush to paper and listed out everything that needed to be done, ordering each item by urgency and importance.

It might look like she had a fair amount of silver in hand, but with such a large household to feed, clothe, and maintain each day, the expenses were not small. Without even counting what had to be sent to Grandfather’s party, just keeping her own household going would not last very long.

In the Great Qing dynasty, officials were strictly forbidden from engaging in commerce — yet in practice, few truly observed this rule. The age-old way of things was that those above set the policy and those below found their way around it.

The Hua Family had once had no shortage of profitable businesses: several gold and silver shops, teahouses, and silk establishments that had brought in considerable earnings. But those were all gone now — only heaven knew whose hands they had fallen into.

Still, such enterprises would draw too much attention for the Hua Family in its current state. What they needed most now was to keep a low profile and stay well out of the notice of the Emperor, whose anger had not yet cooled.

Her mind went to the woodland adjoining one of the estates. Hua Zhi knitted her brows. It seemed she would have to go there and see it with her own eyes — what others told her could never be fully clear. And the residence outside the city needed to be looked at as well. She was not sure what Fourth Uncle had left behind for her there. Silver or gold would be ideal, but given Fourth Uncle’s contempt for the material, that possibility was nearly out of the question.

Thinking of Fourth Uncle inevitably brought the others to mind. She wondered how far along they were on their journey. Living day after day under the same roof, one had preferences — people one liked more and liked less. Now that they were truly parted, the ones who came to her thoughts, the ones she missed, were every single one of them.

As the most talked-about household in the capital at present, the Hua Family’s seclusion behind closed doors surprised no one. A house full of women and children — what else could they do?

The capital never ran short of fresh scandal, and gradually those who had fixed their attention on the Hua Family grew fewer. No matter how great the calamity, once it no longer concerned you, it passed and was forgotten — and the Hua Family, once so celebrated for producing two Hanlin Academy scholars in a single generation, had also become a thing of the past.

Yet the Old Madam was still low in spirit. She remained listless, and far from looking better for the rest she had taken, seemed, if anything, a little worse.

“In this capital, there is never a shortage of sharp-eyed people. As many as sought to attach themselves to the Hua Family in better days, that many now wish they had never known us. If it were anyone else, one might let it pass — but Chen Zhi and Yu Zheng Yao? The Old Master spent his whole life and took only three students under his wing. Every scholar in the land envied them. Would either of them be where they are today without him? And yet — look at them. Of the three, only Da Yi has a conscience. The moment the Old Master fell into trouble, he was running about trying to help, and even suffered consequences because of it. And still, even after all that, he made no attempt to distance himself — he had his wife send silver over. I do not place great value on the money itself, old woman that I am. I simply feel that the Old Master deserved better.”

Nanny Su echoed along with the Old Madam’s words. “Who could say otherwise? The Old Master treated them so well — to say he regarded them as half-sons would not be an exaggeration. But what this old servant cannot understand is this: why did you send someone to decline the visit from Madam Chen, and tell her not to come again?”

“Precisely because they are good people that I cannot allow us to bring them harm. The Hua Family right now — whoever draws near, draws down misfortune. Da Yi has already suffered consequences. We cannot implicate him further.”

“How clearly you see things.”

A young maid appeared at the doorway to announce, “The Young Miss is here.”

“In the future, when the Young Miss comes, there is no need to announce her — she may come straight in.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi had just stepped inside when she caught that last exchange. Her heart warmed, and a smile came to her face. “Then your granddaughter must make a habit of coming more frequently.”

“The more you come, the happier Grandmother is.”

Nanny Su brought out a round stool and placed it by the bedside. Hua Zhi sat down sideways, inwardly arranging the things she intended to say.

The Old Madam patted her hand. “Whatever you have to say, say it plainly. In front of Grandmother, there is no need for all those careful considerations.”

Hua Zhi looked steadily at this old woman whose spirit had so visibly dimmed, and felt a closeness she had never quite felt before.

Within the Hua Family, those she had been closest to were Grandfather and her younger brother Bailin. With everyone else — including her own parents — the relationship had been cordial rather than intimate. She had long grown accustomed to this way of things, and had even come to feel it was the most fitting way to live within a great household like the Hua Family.

In truth, over more than a decade, those arrangements had proved entirely workable — pleasant, even. But going forward, she hoped to grow closer to her grandmother. This old woman possessed a broadness of spirit rare among people of her generation. Many others in her place might not truly have had the courage to entrust an unmarried girl with the running of the family.

“Grandmother, I wish to dissolve my betrothal to the Shen Family.”

The Old Madam was so startled that her body shifted partway upright. She had indeed hoped Zhi’er would stay — but hoping so herself and having Zhi’er be the one to raise it were entirely different matters. “Can you tell Grandmother why? As long as the Shen Family does not withdraw the betrothal, you are perfectly able to leave all of this behind. The crime does not extend to a daughter already given in marriage — you have a long-standing betrothal, and no one could say a word against you for going.”

This manner of testing was not unreasonable — but it was also precisely the reason Hua Zhi had always found it difficult to grow truly close to the family. They were all accustomed to thinking at great length, and to assuming that you were doing the same; even the simplest thing had to be said in three roundabout ways with half the meaning left out. She found it tiresome, but what needed to be said still had to be said.

“Even if the Shen Family were loyal and good-hearted enough to see me wed, Grandmother — what kind of life would I have there, entering as a woman whose family has collapsed? The Shen Family is a flourishing household. I would be the one everyone felt free to step on — the pitiable creature with no one to stand behind her.”

The Old Madam let out a small laugh. “You are hardly the sort who could be pushed around.”

Hua Zhi did not contradict this, but moved on to consider the other possibility. “It is not certain the Shen Family has no thoughts of withdrawing the betrothal themselves. A little old sentiment is not enough to make the Shen Family risk the Emperor’s displeasure by taking a wife of little value to them now. Rather than letting things drag to the point where both families part in bitterness, it is far better for me to be the one to propose the dissolution — that way, we preserve what goodwill remains. Having protected the Shen Family’s reputation, when we are the ones in need, they will not be unwilling to offer the occasional small assistance in return.”

The reasoning was clear, every point well-founded. It was evident she had thought it through with care. The Old Madam set aside that small probing intent and, taking her hand, said, “Zhi’er, do not blame Grandmother for being selfish — in truth, for the sake of the Hua Family, I did want to keep you here. These past few days, watching you, I have come to understand: you were hiding your true abilities all along. The Hua Family needs you to hold it together. Even so…”

The Old Madam’s face was full of remorse. “Zhi’er, you have come of age. To dissolve your betrothal now, with the Hua Family in its current state — finding a match as desirable as before will not be easy. A family like the Shen Family would certainly be out of the question. Do you understand what that means?”

“Then I shall simply not marry. Within the Hua Family, even at my worst I am mistress of the house. In another family’s home, I would be an outsider. Rather than toiling for the benefit of strangers, I would far sooner toil for the family that raised me — that, at least, would be something I do willingly.”

What an… audacious idea. The Old Madam was at a loss for how to respond.