It was only when she truly saw home before her eyes that Hua Zhi realized how much she had missed it — missed everyone in it — and a strange feeling welled up in her heart without warning, the bashful reluctance of one who has been long away and stands now at the threshold.

Hua Zhi privately mocked herself for being like a child not yet weaned. She turned back to look at the few people leading their horses behind her. “Xiao Liu, you should go back to the palace and check in.”

The Sixth Prince gripped his reins tighter. He did not want to go. He had not wanted to go before this trip, and after having made this journey, he wanted to go back even less.

“Once you have seen the people you need to see, you are welcome to come any time you like.”

The Sixth Prince’s eyes lit up. “I can come back?”

“Of course — unless you yourself don’t wish to.”

“I’ll come. I will absolutely come.” The words spilled out too eagerly, making his longing perfectly plain. In the midst of Shao Yao’s loud laughter, the Sixth Prince felt somewhat abashed — though he was smiling too. As long as he could come back, let her laugh.

Hua Zhi’s eyes were soft with warmth, and when her gaze shifted to Yanxi that warmth did not diminish in the slightest. He was one of the few people she treated with such gentleness. “Go tend to your business. Come for the evening meal when you’re done.”

Gu Yanxi had just opened his mouth when over on that side Shao Yao launched into a scene of theatrical jealousy: “What about me? What about me? Huahua, what about me? Am I not invited for the evening meal?”

“Do you even need to be invited?” Hua Zhi cast her a sidelong glance. “Can the doors of the Hua Family really keep you out?”

“Heh heh.” Shao Yao was satisfied. She shot Yanxi-ge a triumphant look — she was one of their own, no invitation required. Meanwhile Yanxi-ge had been formally invited!

Gu Yanxi could not be bothered to pay her any attention. “The temperature up north is actually higher than in the south. Go inside quickly — standing in the sun too long is unpleasant.”

“Mm.” Hua Zhi stepped up toward the entrance. Xu Ying had already knocked the door open, and the person inside, upon seeing that it was the eldest young mistress returning, immediately raised her voice: “Young Mistress, you’re finally back!”

Hua Zhi’s heart gave a sudden lurch. Her mind filled at once with nothing but bad memories — the last time she had returned from the north, the servant who had opened the door had worn this exact expression, and told her that the Old Madam was failing. This time, surely it was not again…

Gu Yanxi too quickened his steps and came to stand behind Hua Zhi, taking charge as though he were the host. “What has happened?”

The servant hesitated and glanced toward the eldest young mistress, unsure whether she should speak.

Hua Zhi had already steeled herself. She nodded. “Go ahead and say it.”

The servant hurriedly replied: “Yes. About half a month ago, Concubine Qiu of the Third Household stole silver from the family’s funds. When she was caught by the guards as she tried to flee, an interrogation revealed that this was not the first time. She had also learned several of the household’s recipes and passed them to her own family. Third Madam has had her confined and is waiting for your return to deal with the matter.”

Standing at the entrance, Hua Zhi did not ask for further details. She turned back and said: “This is nothing more than a family embarrassment. Go on back.”

Gu Yanxi understood that this was not the moment to linger. “Send word if anything comes up.”

“I know.”

Once inside, Hua Zhi went directly to the Third Household. Xia Shi, upon seeing her, first went blank with surprise, and then her face flooded with pure relief. Nothing truly catastrophic had happened while the eldest young mistress was away, and yet there had been an unease that never quite left. Now that she was back, Xia Shi felt as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders.

“Third Aunt.” Hua Zhi greeted her with a bow.

Xia Shi quickly raised her up and looked at her travel-worn appearance, her heart aching a little. It was hard enough to be running about outside, and now to have this sort of trouble waiting at home as well.

“It is Third Aunt’s fault for not keeping the household in order.”

“No one can guard against a thief within their own walls — a thousand precautions cannot stop a thief from within. Who could have imagined that she would hold her peace through the Hua Family’s hardest times, only to lose her nerve now that things have begun to turn around?” Hua Zhi guided her to sit down, took the cup of warm water Bao Xia brought, and drank it down in one breath. “Another cup, please.”

Two cups of water later, Hua Zhi finally felt her throat ease. She raised her head, ready to speak, and caught sight of Xia Shi wiping her eyes. Her mind turned quickly and she understood. For a woman who lived the sheltered life of the inner quarters, the hardships of traveling as Hua Zhi did were beyond imagining — yet they had not even been able to manage their own household. Xia Shi was likely blaming herself.

Saying she had not found it hard would convince no one. But truly, she had not felt it all that exhausting — perhaps because she was so used to pushing through. Apart from the soreness from riding, everything else had been bearable. Still, it was good that Xia Shi felt this way — at least it meant she would not take for granted everything Hua Zhi did.

“I only heard a few words from the gatekeeper and could not piece together the whole picture. The household’s silver has always been managed by Ying Chun and Nian Qiu, and they are both careful people. How did Concubine Qiu manage to steal from them?”

Xia Shi composed herself, cleared her throat softly, and said: “Not long after you left, Concubine Qiu came to me and said she wanted to do something to help the family. The concubines from the other households said the same. Your Fourth Aunt and I thought it was a good thing, and after some discussion we set them all to work helping tidy up the household thoroughly. Your courtyard has never been restricted from visitors either, so she could come and go openly and no one could say anything was wrong about it. The Hua Family has been united as one these days, and everyone has been getting along wonderfully — who could have suspected that she was harboring ill intent all along? First she extracted several recipes from the kitchen staff, then mapped out Ying Chun and the others’ daily routines, and over three consecutive days stole one thousand two hundred taels in bank notes from them. If it weren’t for the fact that she seemed flustered when leaving that day, and one of the guards noticed something was off and stopped her — she might well have gotten away with it.”

The root of the problem lay in the management system. It had always been this way — when Ying Chun and Nian Qiu were busy, they would sometimes go several days before reconciling the accounts, leaving the bank notes sitting in the lockbox. Because the entries had never come up wrong, she had never required them to reconcile the books every single day. That bad habit needed to change.

If daily reconciliation had been the rule from the very beginning, how could a theft spanning several consecutive days have gone undetected?

“Did anyone from her family come to visit?”

“No one did. I had people make inquiries outside — the Qiu family has recently taken a shopfront in the eastern part of the city. By the look of things, they intend to set up a food stall selling those very dishes.”

So they expected her to swallow this in silence? Hua Zhi gave a cold smile. If Concubine Qiu had come to her and asked for the recipes to help her family make a living, she would have given them willingly. But to obtain them this way — she would see to it that they did not get what they wanted.

She was about to speak when footsteps sounded outside the door. Before long, Zhu Shi and Wu Shi appeared one after the other in the doorway. Hua Zhi quickly rose and knelt in a full formal bow toward Zhu Shi.

Zhu Shi could not bear to put her daughter through all that, and pulled her up before she could fully kneel. She murmured: “You’ve grown even thinner — and you were already so thin. You must be exhausted. Hungry? Mother will go to the kitchen—”

“Mother.” Hua Zhi called to her in a soft voice, then reached out and gave a hug to her mother, who looked a little at a loss. “I’m all right. I didn’t deprive myself out there. I’m just a little sore from the riding these past few days — a couple days’ rest and I’ll be fine.”

Zhu Shi held her daughter — so thin her bones were sharp to the touch — and fought with all she had to press down the urge to weep. She choked out a strained smile: “As long as you weren’t deprived. As long as you weren’t deprived.”

Hua Zhi ached for her mother yet felt completely powerless. She could take on all the affairs of the Hua Family, but she could not stop the Hua Family’s circumstances from changing. Her mother was simple-hearted but not stupid — unable to help, she had made every effort not to be a burden to her children. As now, for instance: though tears were clearly brimming at the edges of her eyes, she still managed to smile. Compared to how she used to be, her strength was enough to make one look at her with new eyes.