Hua Bailin shook his head. He did not want to bring trouble to the Hua Family, but he also lacked the heart to consign another person to death. “Is this a kind of trouble even Elder Sister cannot resolve?”

“Yes.”

Hua Bailin thought carefully for a moment. “Could we have A’Jian stay inside the room and not come out? He can wear my clothes. I’ll share half my food with him. And I’ll find an excuse to move over to Elder Sister’s courtyard — that way no one will know he’s here.”

How naive — yet Hua Zhi smiled. If there ever came a day when Bailin had severed all ties and made himself into something implacably powerful, she did not think she would recognize him. Her younger brother could be too kind — she would even permit him to be soft. But he could not be without feeling. She had once had such a person in her life, and it had left her with a deep and lasting revulsion.

“Very well. We’ll do as you say.”

Hua Bailin leapt to his feet. “I’ll go pack some things and bring them over. Elder Sister, don’t worry — I’ll look after A’Jian well.”

“There’s no rush.” Hua Zhi spoke gently. “Starting tomorrow, Elder Sister has something pressing to attend to. The clan school will need you to take charge of the lessons.”

Playing the role of junior teacher was nothing new to him, and Hua Bailin accepted it without any fuss. Still, he asked one more question: “Is Elder Sister going to be busy with the new shop?”

“Du Cheng is handling that — I only need to check in on the progress. What I need to tend to is something else.” Hua Zhi made a deliberate effort to involve Bailin in household matters and always explained things in some detail. “There is a farmstead to the east, outside the city. I want to put it to use.”

“Another workshop?”

“You might call it that. I’ve already had some preparations made out there. Bailin, you should remember this: within a clan, the main branch must certainly be strong enough to hold the branch families in check — but having one party dominate entirely is also no good. The branch families may well contain capable people. Used well, they become your strength. Bring the ones who resist to heel and they will be more devoted to you than those who were obedient from the start. One chopstick is easily snapped; a bundle of chopsticks might break the hand of anyone who tries.”

“Yes, Elder Sister. I’ll remember.” Hua Bailin listened with total attention. “Is Elder Sister going to put the branch family members to work?”

“What kind of people could I possibly put to work in our current situation? It’s an entire household of women. I only need to bring in a good deal of money and see that they live comfortably, and they’ll do as they’re told. But I must always let them know that money is not easily earned — I do not do charity that turns gratitude into resentment.”

Hua Bailin thought it over and understood. “Elder Sister’s next undertaking will bring the branch families along, and they’ll be expected to contribute people.”

“Exactly.” Hua Zhi took a sip of tea. “The household can spare almost no one as things stand. The newly purchased servants are not yet trained well enough to be of use. The only option is to draw from the branch families.”

“Can we trust the branch family members?”

“That hardly matters.” Hua Zhi pointed to her own head, and a trace of rare self-satisfaction crossed her face. “Everything important is in here. What can they do?”

Hua Bailin looked at his elder sister with pure admiration in his eyes, feeling acutely that he himself still had so very far to go. His elder sister — how could she be this capable? How did she manage it? No one could compare!

Hua Zhi patted him on the head the way you might pat a small dog, and only afterward remembered she had already resolved to treat him as a grown person — it was simply that the warmth between them in this moment felt so much like the years of closeness they had always shared.

In every such moment, Bailin would look at her with those eyes, leaving her heart aching and soft, wanting to teach him everything she knew, every skill she had, so he might have more to stand on in this world.

“It’s getting late. Go and pack your things and come over. Make good use of your time with A’Jian.”

“Yes.” Hua Bailin paused at the doorway and turned around. “Elder Sister — was it someone who was hurting A’Jian, and you saved him?”

Though it was not entirely accurate, Hua Zhi nodded. She had no objection to building up her image a little in Bailin’s eyes.

As expected, Hua Bailin immediately broke into a look of proud, radiant satisfaction, and strode out of the room with a light step.

Hua Zhi’s mood was quite good. The day had been one of extreme emotional turbulence, yet it had found its way to a decent ending.

The hour was late. A’Jian had tidied himself up and was slowly settling in to lie down when he saw Hua Bailin come in through the door lugging two large bundles. He immediately sat up and watched in astonishment.

“I spoke with Elder Sister. From now on I’m sleeping here with you — you’ll wear my clothes, I’ll share my food with you, and I’ll find a reason to move into Elder Sister’s courtyard. That way no one will know you’re here.”

But hadn’t Hua-jiejie already arranged all of that? A’Jian, who understood these things far better than Bailin, chose not to say so. He moved to get out of bed and help with the unpacking.

“Don’t move — I told Elder Sister I’d take care of you.” Hua Bailin crossed the room in a few large strides, helped him back to the headboard, and got him settled with a practiced ease.

The goodwill that came with this washed over A’Jian in a great wave, and for a moment he could barely draw breath. He took several quiet, steady breaths, and felt a smile rise from somewhere deep inside him. The things he had never received as a prince had come to him so effortlessly the moment he became a person of unknown identity — and as that thought arrived, he wanted to say something light and joking, only to find his nose stinging with inexplicable feeling.

The two of them squeezed into the same blanket, each sleeping at one end. This closeness was something A’Jian was not accustomed to, yet what he felt was far more happiness than discomfort. This was the nearest he had ever been to another person — and this nearness came from someone he had met only two hours ago. How strange it was, and yet here it was, happening to him, as real as anything.

Hua Bailin had once been averse to sharing a bed as well, but these past few months, with his younger brothers always crawling into his blankets, he had long since grown used to it. Still, A’Jian’s unease was plainly visible to him. From A’Jian’s speech and manner, it was clear he came from no ordinary background — likely entangled in some matter of grievance or danger, which was why Elder Sister had not spoken of it plainly.

He trusted that Elder Sister must have had her reasons for taking the risk of bringing A’Jian back. The most likely explanation was that A’Jian had some old connection to the Hua Family — for Elder Sister, that sort of bond was the only thing that would have made her act in a way that might bring trouble upon them.

In the darkness, the openness that always marked Hua Bailin’s face when he was with his elder sister had quietly withdrawn. This child, shaped entirely by Hua Zhi’s hand, had grown in ways that outpaced everyone’s expectations — including Hua Zhi’s own.

By the third month, the weather had warmed a little. The sun on one’s shoulders finally carried some heat.

Hua Zhi stood on the corridor and looked up at the sky for a moment, then turned and gave the order: “Go and invite the three grand-aunts-in-law to the west side courtyard.”

Ying Chun, Bao Xia, and Nian Qiu each went off separately to each household, while Liu Xiang, with Chun Xiang a step behind her, came forward to await instruction.

“Also send word to the Fourth Branch Madam and the Second Young Aunt. Have Steward Xu come listen as well.”

Chun Xiang curtsied and departed.

Stepping out of the courtyard, Hua Zhi caught sight of Master Lu standing in the sunlight dressed in close-fitted martial attire, which lent him a vitality that seemed more alive than usual.

She had known many men. One as vigorous and commanding as Gu Yanxi was rare. His was not a strength built in a training hall — it was an authority fused with noble bearing and self-possession, innate and unlearned, as though nothing in the world could make him bow his head. Yesterday’s rare bleakness from him had been, in all likelihood, one of the very few times in his life such a thing had shown.

These scattered thoughts swirled through her mind without showing a trace on her face. She dipped into a bow and turned to walk through the moon gate.

Gu Yanxi watched her figure until it had entirely disappeared, and felt a quiet pleasure rise in him — because the way she had treated him was no different from before.

This was good. He was in no hurry.