The pavilion was open on all sides, and those already seated within it caught sight of Hua Zhi from a distance as she and Zheng Shi approached.
There were quite a few people present. The Wu Old Madam was seated with two of her granddaughters. The Yang Old Madam had come as well, bringing her own granddaughter. The Feng Family, Liang Family, and Cheng Family had each sent a daughter-in-law, some bringing legitimate daughters along, and those without legitimate daughters bringing nieces instead.
The target of today’s gathering was Hua Zhi, and so naturally, she was also the subject of their conversation.
The Yang Old Madam, thinking of the grievance her eldest son had suffered, could barely restrain herself from going to tear Hua Zhi apart. It came as no surprise that she wore no welcoming expression. “I had thought she would be some extraordinary creature, yet she turns out to be nothing more than this.”
The Feng and Hua Families had long been at odds, so Feng Family’s daughter-in-law, Wang Rong, heard these words and covered her mouth with a laugh. “What you say — a creature with three heads and six arms is a deity. How could she be compared to such a thing?”
These words pleased the Yang Old Madam greatly. She gave a disdainful snort. “A fair point. She is nothing more than a girl who cannot even get herself married. If not for her looks, where would all this fame have come from? It is only because the Hua Family has deep foundations — change her to any other household and see if they could withstand her causing this much trouble.”
“Truly. And speaking of this, I am furious. My son actually came to me saying he wished to marry the Hua Family’s First Young Miss — I was absolutely incensed.” The Liang Family and the Wu Family were connected by marriage and had always been close. Had the Old Madam herself not been feeling unwell, the person here today would not have been her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Shi.
Zhao Shi had initially harbored no ill feeling toward Hua Zhi, and had even thought the girl had a difficult life. But upon hearing her son express such intentions, and with certain people whispering in her ear, she had come to genuinely believe that the Hua Family intended to use marriage as a way to advance their interests — otherwise, why would Hua Zhi have made such a name for herself? Was it not to raise her own value and attract the highest bidder?
Once that prejudice took root in her mind, everything she heard about the girl seemed worse. And when she learned that Hua Zhi had driven someone out of the Hua Family after Hua Jing’s death, she became convinced the girl was utterly cold-blooded. Such a person was not one the Liang Family could afford to tangle with.
When Hua Zhi entered the pavilion, all eyes fell upon her at once — and not one of them could deny that Hua Zhi was indeed exceptionally beautiful. Dressed in mourning, her beauty only seemed more pronounced.
Yet her attire immediately displeased the Wu Old Madam. While those in mourning were indeed required to wear plain clothing, who actually showed up to someone else’s home in full mourning white? There were plenty of subdued colors to choose from besides white!
She tried to restrain herself, but could not entirely manage it. “The First Young Miss’s attire is certainly eye-catching.”
Hua Zhi behaved as if she did not understand the remark, and bowed to the assembled company. “As I am in deep mourning, I ask the Old Madam’s indulgence.”
Indulgence! She had to extend it, of course — she was the one who had sent the invitation, after all. What choice did she have? The Old Madam felt a suffocating weight pressing on her heart. She dropped her gaze and sipped her tea without looking at Hua Zhi again, apparently forgetting the formalities of hospitality.
Hua Zhi was not one to suffer discomfort for nothing. Seeing that no one had offered her a seat, she simply seated herself, then proactively raised a topic: “Madam Wu said this was a tea gathering — what did everyone wish to discuss? I hope the assembled company will not laugh at me, but I rarely go out, and am quite unfamiliar with such things.”
“Speaking of that, this younger sister is a little curious and would like to ask Elder Sister Hua to enlighten her.” The Wu Family daughter blinked with a charming and innocent expression, her round face appearing very sweet and guileless.
Had Hua Zhi not been able to see the calculation behind her eyes, she might have genuinely warmed to such a face. “I would not presume to call myself your Elder Sister — please go ahead.”
“Elder Sister has already had her coming-of-age ceremony — why have you been able to endure staying indoors all these years without going out? I have lived in the capital all along and this is actually the very first time I have seen you! I have met both of the other Hua Family misses before.”
“Is that so unusual? Some people enjoy liveliness, others prefer quiet. Some enjoy the elaborate, others the simple. Some enjoy making friends everywhere, others are content to guard their own small corner of the world. It is hardly as though I should present myself before everyone simply because others are curious about me.”
That was…that was actually quite reasonable. The Wu daughter opened her mouth, and found she had nothing to say in return.
Zheng Shi immediately smiled and came to her daughter’s rescue. “The First Young Miss truly has remarkable composure. No wonder the Hua Family’s Old Madam is so fond of you — even Hua Jing, that kind of person, never managed to get the better of you.”
Wang Rong sighed in agreement: “Speaking of Hua Jing — what a cherished treasure she had been of the Hua Family in those early years. Who could have imagined she would come to such an end?”
Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. “Could it be that the theme of today’s tea gathering is Hua Jing? In that case, this young lady must be impolite and beg her leave.”
“We are merely talking as conversation leads us. Since the First Young Miss dislikes the topic, let us change the subject.” The Wu Old Madam steered the conversation away with a light touch, then lifted her eyelids briefly and glanced at Jiang Shi, the Cheng Family’s daughter-in-law, who had been sitting quietly with her daughter without saying a word.
Jiang Shi paid no attention to the glance. Had she known today’s gathering was meant to be a tribunal against Hua Zhi, she would not have come.
The Cheng Family and the Hua Family were not of the same circle, but there was no enmity between them either. There was no reason to rush forward and trample someone so eagerly. Now that she was actually looking at Hua Zhi, she found she rather liked the young woman. Surrounded by all these people combined against her, Hua Zhi remained entirely unintimidated. If her own daughter could learn even half of that, she would never be at a disadvantage no matter which household she married into.
After several unremarkable topics drifted by, Wang Rong caught a look from the Yang Old Madam and turned to the real matter: “Normally, outsiders have no business interfering in the Hua Family’s affairs. However, it hardly seems right for a married daughter to keep living indefinitely at her own family’s home. Does the First Young Miss have anything to say on the matter?”
“That matter?” Hua Zhi looked toward Wang Rong with genuine-seeming bewilderment. “Which matter?”
“…”
The Yang Old Madam took over: “Naturally, the matter of my Yang Family’s daughter-in-law, Hua Xian. Could the First Young Miss have forgotten that the Hua Family has such a person?”
“My younger Aunt?” Hua Zhi smiled. “Old Madam, what do you mean by that? My younger Aunt has long since ceased to be the Yang Family’s daughter-in-law. The Yang Family’s First Master wrote the separation agreement with his own hand — are you saying he did not inform you when he returned?”
She actually — she openly admitted it just like that?
The Yang Old Madam flew into a fury. “Then are you telling me my son truly was seized and beaten by you, and forced to write that separation agreement under duress?”
“Old Madam, you call it seizing and beating, but where is your evidence? Or does the Yang First Master have injuries on his person? Even when a case is brought before the courts, it cannot be decided on words alone. If you wish to hold me accountable, I would ask you to produce your evidence.”
“Sophistry! As if my son would have willingly written that separation agreement and put it in your hands of his own accord!”
Hua Zhi smiled with perfect composure. “And why not? He wronged my younger Aunt first, and mistreated her thereafter. Now, having reflected on his actions and recognized his failings, he releases my younger Aunt to her freedom. The entire Hua household is grateful to him.”
If there had been anyone before who was uncertain about the Yang Old Madam’s account, Hua Zhi’s words made it clear — an explanation this extravagant left little to the imagination. She had all but directly admitted her own hand in the matter.
“You — you — you…” The Yang Old Madam pointed at her, her hand trembling, unable to produce a single coherent word after all of that. She rose from her seat and lunged toward Hua Zhi, one hand raised high in what was clearly a motion to strike.
Gasps rippled through the assembled company, yet not a single person moved to intervene.
Nian Qiu and Nanny Su stepped forward to shield their mistress, but Hua Zhi pushed them back with a turn of her hand. She remained seated and, as the hand descended, reached up and caught it firmly. Tilting her head up slightly, she met the Old Madam’s furious, hate-filled gaze. “Playing upon your age and seniority will not work on me. Old Madam — look clearly at who I am. I am not Hua Xian, whom you could knead however you pleased.”
Author’s Note: I finally managed a double update today. As of now, my son has had only a low-grade fever today and has not spiked back to a high fever. Whether the evening holds is still unknown — I hope it will not return. Also, each chapter is over two thousand characters — I usually write considerably more than that, and the PS notes are not counted. The system does not allow chapters under two thousand characters to be posted; there is a setting in the backend.