Aside from Hua Zhi, it seemed everyone else was busy rushing about without a moment’s rest. Shao Yao could only see her in the mornings; the rest of the day she was out with her veiled hat on, the exhaustion plain to see. She bore it all without a single complaint, and whenever she appeared before Hua Zhi she still wore her affectionate, spoiled manner — yet her figure had visibly grown slimmer.

Hua Zhi had been in the kitchen with Bao Xia since early morning, the two of them making light dishes to stimulate the appetite and things to beat the heat.

“The mung beans still need to be crushed a little finer.” She heard footsteps approaching and turned her head — seeing that it was Jiang Huanran, she quickened her instructions. “Make more than usual this morning and chill it in the ice basin. At noon, have Xu Ying take it along when she makes her delivery.”

“Yes. Your maidservant has it — Miss, please go rest. The kitchen is hot.”

Hua Zhi nodded and went to meet Jiang Huanran as he was coming in. “Master Jiang, are you feeling any better?”

“Much better.” Jiang Huanran had lost a great deal of weight, though his smile remained as bright and easy as ever. “Miss Hua must believe me — I am not usually this sickly.”

“Master Jiang suffered on my account.”

“Please don’t say that — I feel quite honored, in fact.”

In another era, Jiang Huanran would have been the sort of man all flower and charm on the surface but principled underneath — inclined to play willing games between equals, but not the sort to ever force anything. Rakish without being debased. Hua Zhi didn’t dislike people of this type, and after this period of acquaintance she felt even more that he was someone worth knowing. Still, in a world where men and women kept proper separation, they would likely never quite manage to be friends.

The two of them entered the main hall one after the other. Jiang Huanran caught sight of the enormous sand table that took up so much of the room and stopped. He looked at it for only a moment before pulling his mind off whatever other thoughts had been drifting there, changed direction toward the sand table, studied it for a while, then picked up the map lying nearby and began comparing.

Hua Zhi left him to it and picked up the book she had been partway through. Knowing they would be staying here for some days, she had asked Bo Fan to help find some books — but in the end it was that Xu Yangjun who had brought them over. Some were new, some old; some of the older ones had annotations in the margins. She had seen Xu Yangjun’s handwriting before and recognized it as his hand, understanding at once that these must be from his own private collection. For a man of letters, such things were treasured possessions — and she could not quite work out what had moved him to do this. Was he trying to curry favor? Looking at him, that didn’t seem to be it.

Unable to puzzle it out, Hua Zhi let it go. She would remember this kindness and find a way to repay it in due course.

“Miss Hua, I would very much like to know whose work this is.”

Hua Zhi looked up from her book at Jiang Huanran, whose expression had turned serious. That was how it was with sons of great families — however unpromising they might appear, the things they understood ran far deeper than what ordinary households could produce. They truly were born winning from the start of the race.

Setting down her book, Hua Zhi walked toward the sand table. “Does it matter very much whose work it is?”

More than whose work it was, what mattered was the existence of the sand table itself. It could model the mountains and rivers of the Great Qing Dynasty — and if the internal geography of an enemy state could be learned, could it not also be recreated in sand? Just imagining it made Jiang Huanran’s heart race and his blood run hot. The borders of the Great Qing Dynasty were far from peaceful!

His eyes burned as he looked at Hua Zhi. “It is Miss Hua’s own work.”

Not a question — a statement. Hua Zhi neither confirmed nor denied it, and only said: “We will likely be staying here for a few more days. If Master Jiang is in a hurry to return, you are welcome to leave ahead of us.”

“I’m not in a hurry. Not the slightest hurry. However long Miss Hua wishes to stay, I am happy to remain as long…”

“There is no need for that. Miss Hua has me for company — that is quite enough.”

Hua Zhi started, and turned her head toward the doorway. Gradually, a look of delight rose in her eyes.

Gu Yanxi stood at the entrance in a black robe, travel-worn and dusty. He was speaking to Jiang Huanran, but his gaze had settled on A’Zhi from the moment he entered, unwavering. “It is A’Zhi who caused Master Jiang’s trouble. Since Master Jiang is not yet recovered, please return to your room to rest. — Someone, escort Master Jiang back to his room.”

Yu Tao stepped forward and half-forcibly steered the man toward the door. Jiang Huanran was far from willing and struggled with everything he had. “Who are you? What right do you have to treat me like…”

Yu Tao simply covered his mouth and withdrew at speed. No amount of struggling on Jiang Huanran’s part did any good.

With no one irrelevant remaining in the room, Hua Zhi felt — perhaps because it had been so long — a strange shyness come over her, as though she had been pinned in place and could not move a single step. “Why… did you come so suddenly?”

Gu Yanxi walked over and gently folded her into his arms. These days he had missed her so badly that he had wanted to press her into himself — yet A’Zhi had an injury.

She had gotten hurt again!

The first time, he had been a step too late. The second time, he had sent people with her and she had still not been kept safe. He had been careless. Next time, wherever she went, he would go with her. Wherever she went, no matter where!

He settled the emotion of having missed her so greatly before responding: “While we were still in Jiangling, Shao Yao had contacted the Seven Lodges Bureau’s people there to send me word. Knowing you were injured, how could I sit still? I made arrangements for matters in the capital and came straight over. Along the way I received several of your letters one after another, and that told me you were here.”

So that was it. Hua Zhi leaned against the man’s broad chest and had absolutely no desire to move. The tension she had been carrying in her body at last fully released. These past several days had not been without pressure — the idea had been hers, and this costly, labor-intensive idea, if it didn’t achieve what she’d hoped, would be her burden to bear even with the Seven Lodges Bureau shielding things out front. She understood that clearly.

Though Yan Xi being here wouldn’t mean she could transfer that burden to him — still, somehow, her heart felt steadier.

“Did you ride day and night?”

“Day and night. Through wind and rain.” Gu Yanxi gave a quiet laugh. “Smell me — have I gone stale?”

“The smell of a man is a bit strong.” Hua Zhi permitted herself that moment of stillness, then drew herself upright. She pulled him by the hand out the door and said to Bao Xia, who was waiting outside: “Go prepare the room next to mine — make it ready. Have plenty of hot water brought in.”

“Yes.” Bao Xia smiled warmly and gave a bow toward Master Lu. Wonderful — with Master Lu here, even Miss’s spirits had lifted.

Hua Zhi brought him back to her own room. “You’ve come from that direction — I was just about to ask. Did it rain along the way?”

“On and off, and when it rained the downpours were quite heavy. After I received your letter on the road, I had them go out to scout the other areas. The fastest reports should arrive by tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

“I am a little worried. Shao Yao was afraid I’d lose sleep over it and took all the pressure onto herself, but how could I not know what was happening? At times, in my private heart, I’ve even been hoping for another heavy rain — just to alarm those people into taking it seriously.”

Hua Zhi laughed at herself and shook her head lightly. She was not a truly good-natured person. Her temper was actually quite considerable at times; she simply hid it rather well.

Gu Yanxi raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against it. “It’s fine. Shao Yao can carry this. If she were truly provoked, she could strip every official in Xiangyang of his post — no official is ever genuinely clean. It’s only a question of whether anyone bothers to look.”

“I can see that she’s been somewhat unbridled in handling this matter. That’s not a good thing for the Seven Lodges Bureau.”

“She is the exception. On ordinary days she rarely manages such things, and the rest of the Bureau operates strictly by the rules.” Gu Yanxi’s eyes held a smile. “If there were several more people like Shao Yao in the Bureau, even I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Author’s Note: Today we went far and came back late. Sorry for the late update.