Bao Xia abandoned every last bit of her usual propriety and manners, sprinting back at full speed. “Young miss, they are heading this way.”

From the sound of it, they were drawing close. Hua Zhi looked up. “Go back to the gate and keep watch — this time let them see you, then come running back in a panic.”

Bao Xia swallowed hard and ran out.

“When the time comes, the rest of you must also appear frightened. Do not hold down the fear inside you.”

“…Yes.”

The commotion was now almost upon them. Bao Xia came running back, and with quick thinking, she shouted as she ran: “Eldest young miss! Officers — so many officers!”

Hua Zhi knocked over the small side table holding the bottles and jars and went out to meet them. “What officers? Why would officers come to our home?”

At that very moment, the officers followed only a step behind Bao Xia and strode in. The tall man at their head, clad in full armor, raised the token in his hand. “By imperial decree, we are here to conduct a search and seizure of the household. Female members of the family are requested to withdraw.”

These were no ordinary officers. Hua Zhi’s pupils contracted sharply. These were Imperial Guards.

All four maidservants trembled with fear, yet still they did their best to stand tall, forming a circle around their young mistress and watching the roomful of men with wary eyes.

The man seemed rather to approve of their protectiveness toward their mistress. His tone softened slightly. “Please withdraw, so as not to damage Miss Hua’s reputation.”

Hua Zhi wore an expression of acute anxiety and nodded, stepping back. But then the man spoke again: “Wait.”

All four maidservants’ hearts leapt into their throats.

The man pointed to Hua Zhi’s head. “Leave behind all jewelry on your person.”

Of course — this was a seizure of assets. Asking only for her jewelry was already showing considerable leniency. The one such incident she knew of had seen every member of the family, men, women, old and young alike, allowed to leave in nothing but their undergarments, permitted to take nothing at all.

Ying Chun removed every piece of jewelry from her young mistress that could be taken off, set them to one side, then removed her own as well — both from her hair and her wrists — before immediately guiding her mistress back into the courtyard.

Fu Dong’s teeth chattered with fright, but she forced herself to gather the courage to fetch a four-legged stool from the side storeroom and help her mistress sit, all four of them forming a close circle around Hua Zhi so that not even her face was exposed.

After roughly a quarter of an hour, the men withdrew from inside. The armored man glanced at them as he left and felt a quiet admiration stir within him. You could tell a master by her servants — the Hua Family’s character truly was admirable. A pity.

Once every last one of them had gone, Bao Xia tiptoed to the door, confirmed they had truly all left, and immediately swung it shut. Then her legs gave way beneath her, and she slid down against the door and sank to the floor. She tried several times to stand but could not manage it.

Nian Qiu went over to help her up. Her own legs were unsteady too, but this was not the moment for unsteady legs.

Back inside the room, Fu Dong covered her mouth and wiped away tears at the sight of the chamber ransacked and turned completely upside down. The eyes of the others reddened as well.

This was the place where Hua Zhi had lived for more than ten years. Every corner of it had been arranged exactly as she wished. Here, she had spent fifteen years in peace and security as the eldest daughter of the Hua Family. And now, the home that had sheltered her through all fifteen of those years — it seemed the great edifice was about to come crashing down.

Hua Zhi turned and walked toward the door. She was worried about her mother, who cried at the slightest thing, and about her younger brother, who was closest to her in the household.

“Young miss, you cannot go out now…” Ying Chun wrapped her arms around her. “They have not yet left. You cannot go out.”

“I have to go check on Mother and Bailin.”

“I will go, young miss — this servant will go. You wait here for word.” Without waiting for Hua Zhi’s agreement, she wiped her face and ran off.

“Bao Chun, you go to the young master. I will go to the First Madam.” Nian Qiu said as she followed after her. Hua Zhi’s lips parted, but in the end she said nothing further that might add to their burdens.

“Ying Chun, pack the important things. I fear we will not be able to stay here much longer.” She did not speak aloud the bleaker outcome. A seizure of assets was almost always bound together with exile or execution, and the women of the family typically suffered even worse fates. Being assigned as official servants was the best one could hope for; with worse luck, being sent to a pleasure house was entirely possible.

Hua Zhi felt adrift for a moment, unsure of where to direct her efforts. In this age where imperial authority was absolute, women had no voice whatsoever. She had always kept to the household’s rules, conducting herself as a proper eldest daughter who never ventured beyond the inner gates. She had raised no objection even to a marriage arrangement decided entirely by her parents and a matchmaker. She had been content with this life — one that only appeared to lack freedom but was, in truth, secure. She had wanted no change of any kind.

But whether she wanted change or not was no longer the question. If it truly came to the worst, her grandmother would hand each woman a length of white silk — at least they would not have to walk that road alone.

Then fresh sounds arose outside the door. It was kicked open, and the man who entered let out a contemptuous laugh at the sight of Ying Chun and Fu Dong hastily trying to conceal Hua Zhi further inside the room. He called out in a raised voice: “An imperial decree has arrived. The eldest young miss of the Hua Family is requested to come to the front hall to receive it.”

First the seizure, then an imperial decree — Hua Zhi could not begin to imagine the depths of the Emperor’s fury.

This was a matter that could not be delayed. Mistress and servants moved quickly toward the front courtyard, though by the time they arrived they were among the last. Hua Zhi looked up and saw her grandmother standing at the very front — expression composed, back straight, bearing unchanged. The other members of the Hua Family, though clearly frightened, had not lost their composure either. The upbringing instilled in them from childhood had become part of their very bones.

When their grandfather was absent, their grandmother was the anchor that kept the whole family steady. As long as she stood firm, the Hua Family would not yet descend into chaos.

Hua Zhi made her way to her mother’s side — her mother who was biting her lip hard, fighting back tears — and gently took her hand to give her something to hold onto. With her other hand, she drew her younger brother Hua Bailin close beside her.

Her mother looked at her and squeezed her hand tight in return. Hua Bailin instinctively pressed himself against his elder sister’s side, unable to hide the panic in his eyes.

“The imperial decree is here. Kneel.”

From master to servant, every member of the Hua household knelt.

“Bearing the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor hereby decrees: Hua Yizheng, Academician-in-Charge of the Hanlin Academy, has neglected his duty to serve the throne and instead stirred strife between the imperial princes. His official rank is hereby stripped, and the seizure of his household is ordered. All male members of the Hua Family aged ten and above are to be exiled to the Northern Territories, with immediate effect. So it is decreed. Give thanks for this grace.”

“Long live His Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years.”

The coiling tension in Hua Zhi’s heart loosened all at once. Ten years old — thank the heavens, Bailin was still a few months short of ten!

The one who had come to read the decree was Lai Fu, the Emperor’s chief eunuch. He was known for a degree of greed in ordinary times, but was not a bad person by nature. Seeing that the Hua Family still appeared somewhat at a loss, he took it upon himself to add: “The Empress Dowager interceded in time and preserved all of you. Should the opportunity arise, you would do well to offer her your thanks in person.”

The grandmother said not a word but immediately turned toward the direction of the imperial palace and bowed low. The rest of the Hua Family followed at once, and Hua Zhi bowed with the fullest willingness.

Then her grandmother turned to Lai Fu and gave a measured courtesy bow. “Many thanks, Eunuch Lai Fu.”

Lai Fu let out a quiet inward sigh. “The Emperor has decreed that all male members aged ten and above are to depart immediately.”

The Hua matriarch drew a deep breath to steady herself, then turned to look at all the sons and grandchildren gathered before her. Her voice wavered slightly. “Aside from the third son, Pingyang, who is not present, all our sons and grandsons are here. Please — Eunuch, take your count.”

Lai Fu unrolled the silk document and called each name in turn to verify. Indeed, only the youngest son of the Hua Family, Hua Pingyang, was absent.

“Does the Old Madam know where Young Master Pingyang has gone?”

“To the country estate outside the city.”

“Many thanks for letting us know, Old Madam.” Lai Fu gave a nod to the captain of the Imperial Guards. The captain made a brief gesture to his men, and the soldiers moved with clear purpose toward every male member of the Hua Family aged ten and above.

The second son of the third branch had only just turned ten. Spoiled in ordinary times, he clung to his mother now and refused to let go. The Second Madam of the second branch wept uncontrollably, which set off every other woman who had been barely holding her tears — they all broke down weeping at once.

The Hua matriarch closed her eyes and turned away, as though she had seen none of it.

Hua Zhi held her younger brother Hua Bailin’s hand in an iron grip. A wave of relief — badly timed as it was — rose in her heart. As for her other half-brother, who was being taken away, there was nothing she could do.