Zhu Haodong had been waiting in the outer room. The two of them left the chamber one after the other and headed straight for the second maternal uncle’s study.
A study had always been the place where serious matters were discussed — in some households, women were strictly forbidden from entering. To be received by her second uncle in this way made Hua Zhi feel a quiet contentment.
She was no fervent believer in women’s rights, but the contempt this era showed toward women was at times truly difficult to endure. Fortunately, the Hua Family was not like that, and the Zhu Family was decent enough as well — at least for now, they offered her the respect she was due.
Once the young manservant had served the tea, Zhu Haodong dismissed all the servants.
“Has the matter with the Yang Family been fully resolved?”
Hua Zhi smiled. “Second Uncle seems entirely unsurprised.”
“I have some understanding of Yang Qi’s character. If he hadn’t truly been beaten and forced to write the letter of separation, he would never have made such a clamor — not for his own pride alone.”
“And yet no one believes him.”
Indeed, no one believed him. Even up until today, Zhu Haodong himself had thought Zhi must have used some trick to obtain the letter of separation, and that Yang Qi was flinging mud at her out of wounded pride. For that reason alone, the younger men of the Zhu Family had already come to blows with the Yang Family’s men on several occasions — and among the older generation, open clashes of a more respectable nature had been no fewer.
As it turned out, everything Yang Qi had said was the truth. This niece of his truly had nothing she wouldn’t dare to do. She was so audacious that he half-wanted to send the Zhu Family’s girls to the Hua household to be raised by Zhi — if they could learn even a third of her abilities, it would be well worth it.
Zhu Haodong shifted the conversation to the progress of the soap workshop. “The Zhu Family supplied the majority of the people, with the Zhou Family contributing a smaller share; the startup funds were divided the same way. Everything else has been arranged according to your instructions. If you have time, you ought to come along and take a look.”
“I’ll leave that to you — this business I will not involve myself in. However it turns out reflects entirely on Second Uncle’s own abilities.”
Zhu Haodong was not surprised. The girl’s boldness in such matters had even earned the old patriarch’s admiration. Thinking of the situation within his own family, Zhu Haodong felt a subtle heaviness settle in his chest. His father wished to be perfectly fair with everyone, but how could perfect fairness ever truly be achieved? One son served at court, the other in commerce — and commerce was inherently seen as the lesser path. In the past he certainly would not have agreed to fold this business he had built with his own hands into the shared family holdings. But once he learned from Zhi that every enterprise she ran had been placed into her family’s communal accounts, those thoughts of his simply faded away.
He could not compare himself to Zhi — but as her elder, neither did he wish to fall too far short. So long as his elder brother harbored no other intentions, let it be shared. After all, the recipes remained in his hands.
Setting aside all these tangled thoughts, Zhu Haodong composed himself and began consulting his niece in earnest. He had seen clearly that some of her ideas and approaches were truly excellent — yet there were far too many difficulties in putting them into practice. He was not too proud to admit it, and raised each problem one by one to ask her counsel.
Hua Zhi held nothing back, explaining things as thoroughly as she could, and where something could not truly be applied, she offered alternatives drawn from what the world around them had available. The two of them fell so deeply into conversation that they lost track of time entirely — only when a knock came at the study door did they realize their mouths had gone parched, and that not a single drop of tea remained in the cups.
Zhu Haodong slapped his forehead and, without even checking who was outside, called out: “Quickly, bring some tea!”
The door was pushed open. Hua Zhi glanced over and rose at once. “Maternal Grandfather.”
Zhu Bowen paid no attention to either of them, walked over to the chair, sat down, picked up the papers from the side table, and began to read. When he had finished, a smile spread across his face. “I heard from the servants that the two of you have been at this for nearly half the day — and still not finished?”
“Matters of business always give one plenty to talk about.” Only now did Hua Zhi realize just how badly her throat had dried up. Her second uncle had a real talent for business, capable of drawing large conclusions from small examples — it had been a long time since she had met someone like that, and she had grown carried away with excitement.
A young manservant brought in a pot of tea, at just the right temperature to drink. Hua Zhi drained three cups in succession before her thirst was finally relieved.
Zhu Bowen said nothing more to either of them; he was well pleased to see Zhi willing to grow close to her maternal family.
“Your grandmother tells me you went to the Wu household?”
“Yes — I could not avoid going.”
Zhu Bowen gave a slight nod. For the Hua Family to stand firm again, Zhi could neither dodge nor retreat — people, as they always had, feared the strong and preyed upon the weak. “Wu Zhen has been making a great many moves this past year, all in order to advance one step further. It seemed he was on the verge of succeeding — but today at morning court, the leader of the Seven-Star Division shot it down. His expression was already wrong when he came down from court, and things are likely to go poorly for him now.”
So that was how it was. Thinking of the physician who had been urgently summoned in just as she was leaving, Hua Zhi felt a quiet warmth stir in her chest. Since Yanxi had dealt with Wu Zhen at morning court, he must have had sound justification — yet she did not believe there had been no private sentiment behind it. She had been sheltered by that man.
“Truly, retribution comes without fail.” Zhu Haodong looked up at his father. “Did the Seven-Star Division offer any reason?”
“Yesterday someone submitted a petition at the city magistrate’s office, laying charges against Wu Zhen — which happened to be witnessed by the leader of the Seven-Star Division. Qi Qing chose not to receive the petition, but it ended up in the hands of the Seven-Star Division. Even Qi Qing caught some of the fallout for it. Now that the matter has been formally recorded with the Seven-Star Division, Wu Zhen cannot escape it — for men of our kind, who could withstand a thorough investigation? Any hope of promotion is gone for Wu Zhen; settling this matter quietly is the most he can do to protect what he already has.”
Zhu Bowen halted and turned to her. “Zhi, did you come to see me about something?”
“Yes. In a while, I plan to make a trip to the South.”
Father and son exchanged a glance. Zhu Haodong seemed about to say something, then closed his mouth. Zhu Bowen furrowed his brow. “Which part of the South? Could you not send servants in your stead? If you trust us, the Zhu Family still has people available.”
“To the coastal areas of Jingzhou.” Since she had decided to tell her maternal grandfather, Hua Zhi spoke in full detail. “The next business I intend to pursue requires ingredients from that region — I must go and inspect them myself. There are certain things there that I have only ever seen described in miscellaneous texts; I cannot do without going in person.”
“That will not do. Jingzhou is far too distant. That area borders the Yan Kingdom and has never been peaceful. For a young woman to go there…”
“Let her speak.” Zhu Bowen cut off his son’s flood of objections. “Have you made up your mind? Is it absolutely necessary to go?”
“Yes.”
“How many people will you bring?”
“The household guards have been training in boxing and combat under Master Wu this past year, and are now capable enough. I will bring several extra along, and will also ask Master Wu to accompany us.”
“Can Master Wu be fully trusted?”
“Yes — completely.”
Zhu Bowen asked nothing further. He could see more clearly than his second son. Zhi had not laid all her cards on the table for them — if she did not have sufficient confidence, she would not have made this decision. She had dared to head north to the frontier last year; going once more to the South was hardly strange.
“Go in peace. The Hua Family I will keep an eye on.”
“You need only spare it two parts of your attention. I have been standing in front shielding them for a long time now — the Hua Family has settled into stability, and we cannot allow that to make the others complacent. The men of the Hua Family must be able to shoulder burdens; the young women must also be able to face trouble without panic. They all rely on me too much at present, and that is not a good thing. The Hua Family is not mine alone — a family’s security should never rest on a single person’s shoulders. My leaving home now is itself a test for them. If anything major arises, I will still need to ask for your help — but for smaller matters, let them solve things themselves. Even if things deteriorate back to the way they were before, it doesn’t matter. I can pull them back — consider it buying them a hard-won lesson.”
It had taken nearly a year of unceasing effort to drag the Hua Family to where it stood today — and yet she was willing to use all of that as the cost of forcing the younger generation of the Hua Family to grow. What does it mean to be a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger? What does it mean to have true audacity? This was it.