Hua Zhi behaved as though she could neither see nor hear any of it. She lifted her head to regard the high lintel of the Song Family gate, the corner of her mouth curving into a scornful arc. So this is where she hung herself. She wondered idly whether the Song Family had any plans to have the main gate taken down and replaced.

“Young miss.” The maids were a little tense, wishing they could surround their young miss completely and keep prying eyes away.

“It’s fine.” Hua Zhi was wholly unbothered. If she hadn’t wanted to make such a grand entrance, she could easily have chosen to come on the fifth or sixth day of the wake, when the stream of visitors had dwindled and there would have been no crowd to draw notice.

But she had chosen today — because she wanted the entire city to know that Hua Jing was henceforth struck from the Hua Family’s name, that Hua Jing’s descendants would have no further connection to the Hua Family whatsoever, and she wanted to make it plain before all these witnesses that the Hua Family and the Song Family were finished with each other — completely and irrevocably.

“Let’s go.”

Hua Zhi had just moved to take a step forward when she heard someone call from behind her. “Eldest Young Miss.”

The voice was faintly familiar. Hua Zhi turned — it was Shen Qi, and standing beside him was Old Madam Shen.

Hua Zhi offered a distant curtsy. Old Madam Shen gave a slight wave of her hand to indicate she need not be so formal.

The moment the words left his mouth, Shen Qi regretted them. They had once had a betrothal between them — he should not have called out to her in such a public setting. A careless moment like this could give rise to gossip.

And so — he escorted his grandmother over to her in person.

Old Madam Shen felt a quiet ache in her heart. She had not a shred of ill feeling toward this Hua Family girl — if anything, there was a faint, hidden admiration. For an unmarried young woman, she had truly done remarkably well.

“You look thinner than before. Even in mourning, you must take care of yourself.”

“Yes. Thank you for your concern.” Hua Zhi gave another slight bow. “And may you enjoy good health.”

“Good — what a good child.”

This was the first time Shen Qi had seen Hua Zhi since the Hua Family’s misfortune. It was also the first time he had ever seen her not bowing her head to conceal her capabilities. She simply stood there, her expression unhurried and serene, as though nothing in the world could intimidate her.

This Hua Zhi — she had once nearly been his. And now she could never be.

Hua Zhi suddenly turned to look at him. Caught off guard, their eyes met directly. Her gaze was so composed, so unwavering, that it only made him feel all the more ashamed of himself. A sharp pang gripped Shen Qi’s chest. The girl who used to tease her little brother, who used to snatch snacks from the maids’ hands — would he ever see that girl again?

“If you should encounter difficulties, send word to me. I will do everything in my power to help.”

Hua Zhi gave a small curtsy but did not reply. She would not. Shen Qi knew it too.

“Please, Old Madam, you go ahead.” Hua Zhi stepped aside to let Old Madam Shen pass first. Though she kept her eyes lowered, her composure was not diminished in the slightest.

Old Madam Shen sighed softly and patted her grandson’s hand before walking toward the Song Family gate. Some people — once missed, they were missed for good. Even if the Shen Family wished to turn back now, there was likely no opportunity. And besides — the Shen Family would never turn back.

The onlookers exchanged subtle glances at Shen Qi. This man had pushed away a beauty like that with his own hands. Tsk.

This eldest young miss of the Hua Family — what magnificent bearing.

More gazes settled on Hua Zhi. Beauty was in the bone, not in the skin — they all wanted to see whether this Hua Zhi was truly a beauty of that sort.

Nanny Su stepped forward to support Hua Zhi. “Young miss, it is time.”

Hua Zhi lifted her eyes once more toward the Song Family lintel. She straightened her spine, the hem of her somewhat longer cloak trailing across the ground, and walked toward the Song Family entrance beneath the gaze of the assembled crowd.

When she reached the gate and stopped, she raised her head, eyes searching for the spot that could have served as a place to hang oneself. Just as others assumed she was about to offer some rites at that very spot, she walked straight past it and through the gate. It was only then that the Song Family’s people realized — the place she had just passed was precisely where Hua Jing had hanged herself.

The crowd exchanged bewildered looks. Somehow, this eldest young miss of the Hua Family seemed a little different from what they had imagined. And wait —

Was the eldest young miss of the Hua Family not now the head of the household? Before the new year, when the second daughter-in-law of the Hua Family had been bullied by the Yang Family, it had been the eldest young miss who sent the household guards to bring her back. Could it be that the eldest young miss had come today to avenge the Hua Family’s eldest daughter of the first branch as well?

At the thought that there might be a spectacle to witness, everyone quickened their pace. This sort of excitement was not to be missed.

The official announcer was experienced in his role — his sonorous calls rang out amid the chanting of the sutras without sounding the least bit jarring, and those coming to pay their respects each wore suitably solemn expressions as they bowed and offered incense. Then came another call: “The eldest young miss of the Hua Family has arrived!”

Song Chenghao, who was receiving guests at the entrance, caught sight of Hua Zhi first. He had already been glad she had come, and now, seeing her like this — he found he could barely tear his eyes away. He strode forward quickly, staring at her without blinking.

“Cousin, you’re here.”

Most of the guests within were ladies, though a number of young men had come to accompany wives or elder female relatives. Upon hearing it announced as the eldest young miss of the Hua Family, they recalled the rumors circulating the capital, and having finally been granted the chance to see her in person, none of them was going to let it slip by. Unfortunately, Song Chenghao had positioned himself directly in front of Hua Zhi, blocking her face from view on all sides.

Fortunately, Hua Zhi moved soon enough — she simply stepped around Song Chenghao and continued inside, revealing her face for all to see with perfect clarity.

Was she an ugly woman or was she a celestial beauty? The answer was plain enough now. Cold as frost and composed as ice — was she not a celestial being?

Song Chenghao blinked in surprise, then hurried after her.

When she reached the spirit altar, a servant stepped forward holding a stick of already-lit incense. Hua Zhi did not reach for it. Yingchun reacted immediately, stepping up to take it herself — and just as the assembled guests assumed she was about to hand it to her young miss, they watched as she knelt and bowed three times with the incense in her own hands.

The color drained from the faces of the Song Family.

Song Zhengzu — dressed in immaculate finery as though he were about to become a bridegroom — suppressed his fury and said through gritted teeth, “What is the meaning of this insult to the Song Family?”

After three bows, Yingchun inserted the incense into the stand and quietly stepped back behind her young miss, keeping her eyes downcast.

Only then did Hua Zhi turn to regard the man she had called uncle for so many years. Her tone was perfectly calm. “I understand Hua Jing died by hanging.”

Song Zhengzu’s eyes flickered. “I never anticipated she would make such a decision. The Song Family treated her well in every respect — and surely the Hua Family knows well enough that Hua Jing walked sideways in our household like a crab.”

“So in Master Song’s view, Hua Jing was living such a comfortable, carefree life that she simply grew weary of it and went cheerfully to string herself up with white silk?”

People nearby had already started biting back laughter. More had taken note of the way Hua Zhi addressed him — not as uncle, but as Master Song.

She was no longer treating the Song Family as relatives?

Song Zhengzu was not a man of even temper. Being blocked by those words, his rage and humiliation were about to boil over — Song Chenghao quickly stepped in front of his father, his expression schooled into one of grief as he faced Hua Zhi. “My mother’s passing has been a great sorrow for us as well…”

“I see no sorrow in you whatsoever — not in you, not in your father, not in a single person in the Song Family. What is there to be sorrowful about? After all, the Hua Family has fallen, hasn’t it?”

Hua Zhi lifted her chin slightly, stripping away all pretense. “You said Hua Jing walked as a crab in your household before — why was that? Because she had the Hua Family behind her. When Hua Jing first married into the Song Family, your grandfather held only a Fifth Grade position. You all thought twice before offending her because of the Hua Family. You raised her to be the domineering creature she was — and the moment she lost her value to you, of course you couldn’t keep her. Who else would die if not her?”

Hua Zhi’s smile was cold. “A woman so ill they say she could not even rise from her bed — and yet she managed to hang white silk from the main lintel of a Senior Third Grade official’s residence. One has to admire the feat.”