After a good while, Shao Yao returned to the earlier subject. “That child’s identity may be somewhat complicated. There have been several different parties searching for him in the city these past two days. Whether the trouble concerns him or the Hua Family, he has to stay hidden and out of sight for now.”

Hua Zhi gave a slight nod. “Then he stays here for the time being. The Hua Family may actually be the safest place right now — who would think that a household of women would dare shelter someone in trouble?”

“I’ve already put Yanxi’s people on the investigation. Word should come soon. Don’t worry, Hua Zhi — I will absolutely not bring trouble to the Hua Family.”

The child’s identity had not yet been determined when Gu Yanxi returned first. He went to the palace to make his report, then came directly to the Hua Family estate the moment he was done.

Hua Zhi had the maidservants bring him hot water and a hot meal, waited for him to eat his fill and rest himself, and only then invited him to the study.

Two months apart — and now, seeing her again, Gu Yanxi felt, in a dazed sort of way, that the presence around Hua Zhi seemed somehow stronger than before. A stillness that only came from having passed through something and settled on the other side — simply sitting there without a word, it was enough to put a person’s heart at ease.

Hua Zhi rose and gave a shallow bow. “Did this trip go smoothly for you, Master Lu?”

“I returned empty-handed.”

Hua Zhi was somewhat surprised. The night at the estate had left too deep an impression on her. She had come to appreciate firsthand how capable Master Lu was, and had always assumed that once he moved, he would never miscalculate.

She did not know that this was in fact the first time Gu Yanxi had miscalculated in many years. Someone had stood right before him and slapped him hard across the face, and yet he could not even determine who that person was. The humiliation he carried inside was beyond words.

Hua Zhi turned her teacup slowly in her hands. She looked up and gave an instruction: “Bring out that tea set.”

Ying Chun lifted a complete tea set from the cabinet. It had been commissioned and made not long ago and had not yet been used.

She loved tea, and she loved this unhurried way of drinking it. Back at the old residence she would often sit with tea and a book, and Fu Dong would prepare several delicate little refreshments to accompany them, and an entire afternoon would pass in quiet, gentle ease.

In those days the only one who ever shared a few cups of her tea had been her grandfather. Serving it to a guest was a first.

Ying Chun brought in a small stove — the water in the kettle was already at a full boil. Hua Zhi moved through the steps with practiced ease and graceful poise: rinsing the cups, steeping the tea, skimming the foam, decanting, whisking — and finally, sliding a small cup of tea across to Gu Yanxi, her fair hand extended in invitation.

Gu Yanxi watched her through the entire sequence without looking away. He lifted the cup, studied the dark amber of the tea, brought it to his nose and inhaled — then took a sip. Rich and mellow.

This way of drinking tea was rather unusual — but performed by Hua Zhi, it seemed perfectly natural and entirely uncontrived.

“Several of my people gave their lives for this — and in the end what little we had uncovered was wiped out the day before I arrived…”

“Master Lu.” Hua Zhi refilled his cup and raised her eyes to meet his. “Is it appropriate for you to tell me these things?”

“If I say it is appropriate, then it is.”

Hua Zhi pushed the cup a little closer to him. As long as it did not touch on matters of state secrets, she was genuinely glad to hear about such things. The more she understood, the better her grasp of the larger situation would be — and that was precisely what she currently lacked most and could not easily remedy.

“From the time I first learned of Yan Country’s treacherous intentions to the night of New Year’s Eve when I arrived in Yan Country — barely two months had passed. Yet in that time they had already erased every last trace of evidence. Fresh farming tools were laid out on display, and a single calculation confirmed they matched exactly what that iron mine would have produced. If not for the secret intelligence I’d received beforehand, I might have begun to doubt whether the suspicion had been wrong from the start.”

“They remelted the iron arrowheads and forged them into farming tools?”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi furrowed her brow. “Someone knew of your movements and tipped off Yan Country.”

Gu Yanxi snorted coldly. “Unfortunately they cleaned everything up far too thoroughly. But their aim all along was to ensure I found no evidence — they were not concerned in the least with whether I harbored suspicions. In that regard, one might say they succeeded.”

Hua Zhi understood it perfectly in her mind. A person with this kind of reach and influence could be no ordinary figure. With a crime like treason and collaboration with a foreign enemy, without evidence no accusation could be leveled. That was precisely what the other party had intended. The only question was whether Master Lu had identified who that person was — and whether the one behind Master Lu had enough power to suppress them.

The court — let the dogs tear at each other, Hua Zhi thought, with ruthless clarity.

“And this matter, then…”

“It can only be set aside for now. But His Majesty has already grown suspicious, and in this Yan Country has also paid a price for nothing.” The frustration Gu Yanxi had carried the whole journey was soothed away in large part by those few cups of tea and this conversation. He watched the young woman before him — her head slightly bowed as she worked with the tea, a rare softness to her expression — and his voice, without his quite meaning it to, gentled as well. “Wang Rong mentioned you took in a child?”

“I wouldn’t say I took him in exactly — he climbed onto my carriage. Under those circumstances I could hardly throw him back off.” Thinking of how the child’s identity remained unknown even after several days, Hua Zhi could not help but frown slightly. She had always tried to avoid trouble, and yet trouble seemed to find her whether she willed it or not.

As though he could read what was in her mind, Gu Yanxi said, “Among all the households whose identities could elude my people for days, there are only so many. Since this matter has fallen into Shao Yao’s hands, it will not be quietly dropped — she will pursue it to the end.”

“Regardless of who it turns out to be?”

“Regardless of who.”

Hua Zhi’s lips curved in a faint smile. She pointed upward. “Even that household?”

Gu Yanxi’s expression did not change. “What makes you say that?”

Because it had already become rather obvious. With the abilities of the one behind Master Lu, if it were merely some ordinary noble house, would it truly take this long to identify? Only that place was one where no official, no matter how high their rank, would dare to make inquiries.

Hua Zhi bowed her head over her tea and said nothing.

Gu Yanxi once again marveled at how acutely perceptive Hua Zhi was. Had she not been careful to conceal this quality, and had she not been without a notable public reputation, she would surely have attracted attention long ago. Yet she had chosen to let this side of herself show in front of him — which meant she had a measure of trust in him.

At this thought, Gu Yanxi felt something quietly and thoroughly content settle within him. Whatever else might be said — in Hua Zhi’s eyes, there was at least some distinction between him and others. For now, simply being certain of that was more than enough.

“In any case, this won’t bring the sky down.”

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. The one behind Master Lu — she felt she needed to revise her estimate of that person’s position upward once more. Such composure was not something an ordinary person would possess.

She poured another cup of tea for Gu Yanxi. Her tone was sincere, yet carried no lowering of her dignity. “I hope the Hua Family can be kept clear of this matter. Whichever factions are locked in contention, the Hua Family does not even qualify as a pawn. I ask that Master Lu help make that possible.”

“Shao Yao should have already promised you the Hua Family would not be drawn in.”

“It is only when I have a word of assurance from Master Lu himself that my heart will truly be at ease.”

Gu Yanxi was immediately and thoroughly pleased by these words. The curve at the corner of his mouth deepened considerably. All the fatigue and frustration of the journey found something to settle against in this single sentence. Simply sitting here like this, facing her, sharing a pot of tea between them — without any need for her to be coy or sweet-tempered, without any need for her to become a flower placed there only to please — simply watching the slight movements of her expression, each small frown and smile, was enough to give him a sense of belonging.

A picture of home he had never thought to draw for himself — it seemed it should look exactly like this.