Inside the room, Hua Zhi stood with both hands clenched into fists, her chest rising and falling sharply as old hatred and new grievances surged together into her heart.

That creature — that thing that could barely even be called a person — to lose her reason and composure over something like that was beneath her. It was not worth it.

Hua Zhi closed her eyes. Only after several long, steady breaths did she stop trembling. “Nanny Su.”

Nanny Su, who had been standing silently in the corner without making a sound, stepped forward without a word. “Miss.”

“Song Chenghao’s situation will not be easy. Knowing his nature, he will not simply accept his fate — and before long he will set his sights on the Hua Family. Most likely, he’ll be the one to come and inform us of the death.” Hua Zhi gave a cold laugh. “Not every grievance can be wiped clean with a single death. As long as I am alive, there will never be a day of reconciliation between the Hua Family and Hua Jing — or any child she bore.”

Nanny Su’s eyes grew red. She had served the old Madam her entire life, and the bond between them was nothing ordinary people could compare to. Her hatred for Hua Jing — who had driven the old Madam to her death — was such that she wished she could gnaw on the woman’s flesh and drink her blood. So what her young miss felt right now, she understood in the marrow of her bones.

Hua Zhi was genuinely furious. She lifted her tea and drank a full cup in one harsh swallow before continuing. “Tell the doormen — he may come to report the death all he likes. The Hua Family will not open the gate, will not respond, and will not acknowledge him.”

Nanny Su glanced up at her. “Will that not invite criticism?”

“What is there to fear? It was not the Hua Family that drove her to her death. It was not the Hua Family that made her life unbearable. The Hua Family owes her nothing. It was she — right up to her very last breath — who still sought to drag her birth family down with her.” Hua Zhi paused. “Even so, there is somewhere I must go in person.” Her eyes were cold throughout. “I recall the Hua Family has a custom of carving one’s birth date onto a wooden memorial tablet kept in the ancestral hall. When the time comes, on the sixth day of the laying-in-state, take that tablet and…”

A flash of clarity struck her, and Hua Zhi suddenly understood. Hua Jing was the Song Family’s daughter-in-law — and she had been unwell for some time. Could she really have managed to go out on her own? Even if she had somehow found a way to leave — would no one have known where she went? And when she didn’t come back, was there not a single person in the Song household who went to look for her? Were all the Song Family people dead?

If the Song Family truly had a hand in this from the beginning…

Hua Zhi stood up. “I will go myself.”

Nanny Su looked up in surprise. Word was still circulating in the capital — first that the eldest young miss of the Hua Family was plain and unremarkable, then that she was a beauty beyond compare. There was no shortage of people hoping to catch a glimpse of her. If the young miss were to actually appear at the Song Family’s door…

“Miss, let this old servant go instead. It is a simple enough matter — even someone as lowly as me is sufficient for this.”

Hua Zhi gave a slight shake of her head. She had no intention of letting too many people know that Hua Jing had originally meant to hang herself at the Hua Family’s gate, and so she could not say plainly what needed to be done. “I need to go myself.”

Nanny Su grew anxious. “Miss, you have never liked drawing attention to yourself. There is no need to break that habit for someone so unimportant.”

“I went all the way to the northern border — what is it to show my face in the capital? There are plenty of things I dislike doing, but the things that need doing still need to be done. And people one dislikes must sometimes still be faced.” Like Song Chenghao — Hua Zhi found herself deeply repulsed at the very thought of him right now.

Her little aunt’s situation in the Yang Family — was it any less awful than Hua Jing’s? Yet with such a soft-natured character, she had persevered, because she had a son who steadfastly supported her. Song Chenghao was so many years older than Sui An. If he had truly been devoted, how could he have failed even to protect his own mother? It was likely that among those who bullied Hua Jing, he himself was one of them.

Hua Jing’s end was her just retribution. But as a son, Song Chenghao was even less deserving of life.

Liu Xiang called from outside the door: “Miss, it is time for the lessons.”

Hua Zhi did not want to bring this mood and let it affect the children. She spent a good while gathering herself before rising and heading out. Nanny Su saw her to the door, then walked briskly to the gatehouse.

As for the turmoil at the Song Family — that could be set aside. By afternoon, the person who came to the Hua Family to report the death was indeed, exactly as Hua Zhi had predicted, Song Chenghao.

Song Chenghao had not expected the Hua Family to be this unyielding — to refuse to open their gate even for something like this. As furious as he was, he had no choice but to swallow it. His grandfather had already lost patience with their branch of the family, his father did nothing but blame his mother, and the second and third branches were scheming to have them separated off. If he wanted to hold his ground within the Song Family, he would need to prove himself different from the rest. Scholarly achievement was not his path — he would have to find another way.

He had heard the Hua Family were doing business. That sugar-preserved fruit venture had been started by the Hua Family — and they had also made connections with the Yunlai Restaurant. One winter where fresh fruit was scarce had passed, and at those prices, they must have turned a handsome profit already.

He had since been paying close attention to the Hua Family’s movements, and discovered that the shop on Green Moss Lane was also theirs. Throughout the deep of winter, people had still lined up to buy things there — it was earning money no slower than the preserved fruit trade.

The Hua Family looked as though it had fallen — yet hidden within it was someone with a real talent for business. Now that his mother was gone, the grudge between them was settled. If he could mend the rift with the Hua Family and learn even a little of how they made their money, and once he had earned enough silver himself — would the Song Family still dare treat him this way?

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The resentment he had swallowed earlier eased as well. He set his offerings on the doorstep, bowed several times outside the gate with every outward show of propriety, and then left.

Inside the ancestral hall, Hua Zhi lit incense, made three bows, then stepped forward and found Hua Jing’s wooden tablet. She held the small plaque and looked up at the rows of ancestral memorial tablets before her. “Should any of our forebears encounter Hua Jing in the realm below — give her another death on my behalf. She does not deserve the Hua surname.”

It had been many years since Hua Zhi had stayed this furious over a single matter for this long. Yet from the moment she had learned of it until now, that anger remained lodged at the base of her throat — unable to rise, unable to settle.

If not for the people Mr. Lu had arranged — if Hua Jing had truly succeeded — others might well have judged her excessive, but the consequences would still have fallen on the Hua Family.

The daughters of the Hua Family would find it even harder to marry. The sons of the Hua Family would face greater difficulty taking wives in the future. Hua Jing had wanted to use her own death to exact revenge on the Hua Family — to make the Hua Family pay for her burial with their future.

Hua Zhi’s fury made her chest ache. She could not bear to imagine what state the Hua Family would be in if Hua Jing had gotten her way.

Coming out of the ancestral hall, Hua Zhi went back to her own courtyard and sat for a long while before making her way to the front. At least by outward appearance, she was composed and even-tempered again.

“Hua Hua!” The moment she stepped through the moon gate, a figure launched itself at her. Hua Zhi instinctively opened her arms — but someone else moved faster. Just as Shao Yao was about to hurl herself into Hua Zhi, Gu Yanxi caught her by the scruff of the neck and flung her aside.

Shao Yao somersaulted in midair, used the momentum to land on her feet, and glared furiously at Gu Yanxi. “Yanxi-ge!”

“Would you rather Hua Hua fly instead of you?”

Thinking back on it, she had to admit she’d gotten overexcited and used a bit too much force. Shao Yao scratched the back of her head and gave a sheepish grin, then scampered over to Hua Hua and pressed up against her affectionately, radiating contentment.

Hua Zhi patted her on the head. “You two deliberately timed your arrival to coincide with dinner, didn’t you.”

Shao Yao nodded without a moment’s hesitation. “Exactly! Hua Hua, send me dinner tonight too — the palace food is absolutely terrible.”

“…” The imperial kitchen, housing the finest chefs in all of the Great Qing dynasty, was being spoken of with such contempt. Hua Zhi decided she really ought to raise Fu Dong’s monthly wages — otherwise it would be an insult to the praise being so casually heaped on her.

From the side, Gu Yanxi added at a leisurely pace, “If it is not too much trouble, you might include me as well.”

Hua Zhi made her decision — she would raise Fu Dong’s wages immediately.