Although Hua Zhi had said there was no rush, Steward Xu could not stop fretting and immediately returned to his room to mull things over.

Hua Zhi gestured for Fu Dong to come before her. “Keep an eye out for any available properties nearby as well. I’m about to head north, and if a shop hasn’t been secured before I leave, don’t halt the search. Around mid-August…”

Hua Zhi suddenly recalled Hao Yue’s warning that the Xiangyang embankments would burst in August. Unlike Yan Xi’s half-believing skepticism, she fully believed it. This was the first prophecy Hao Yue had made before everyone’s eyes — if it proved wrong, it would destroy her own reputation.

“It may be a little later — around September, the ingredients will be shipped up from the south, so we won’t have much time to spare. If a suitable premises can be found, it would be best to purchase it outright. You few can discuss it among yourselves and run the expenses through Nian Qiu’s accounts. Also, when the seafood arrives, some of it will likely still be alive — I’ve had them prepare seawater for transport. The shop will need a fairly large rear courtyard, and certain sections will need to have the floor hollowed out.”

She thought for a moment, then added, “I’ll find time to draw up a blueprint. Be flexible when the time comes — do whatever works best.”

Fu Dong committed everything firmly to memory and nodded her assent.

Gu Yanxi appeared in the doorway. Hua Zhi glanced at him, then exchanged a few more instructions with Fu Dong before dismissing her.

The senior maids, Nanny Su included, maintained a policy of hearing little and saying less whenever Gu Yanxi was present. Each time the two met, the maids would keep a watchful but discreet distance, preserving their mistress’s reputation.

After serving tea, Nanny Su took her post outside the door.

“There’s nothing so urgently pressing that it needs handling this very moment — why not rest properly first?”

“If I don’t deal with it, it just sits there. Carrying it on my mind is more exhausting.” Hua Zhi stepped out from behind the writing desk and sat down beside Yan Xi. “Look who’s talking — you’re no more at ease than I am, and here you still are.”

Their eyes met, and both laughed. It was true enough — two people equally unable to sit still.

“I’ve spoken to the Emperor about the matter at Ling County. He is very much in favor of your proposal.”

“Of course he’d agree to something that would secure his legacy for a hundred generations — as long as he doesn’t rush to act and make some decision that bleeds the people and drains the treasury.”

The smile gradually faded from Gu Yanxi’s face. Had he not used the threat of the Chao Li tribe to persuade the Emperor, that imperial uncle of his would indeed have wanted to break ground immediately. The imperial treasury was flush, and the realm wore the appearance of peace and prosperity — what he lacked was precisely one such lasting legacy to his name.

But while the Chao Li tribe remained undealt with, the project could not be touched.

“I did not report Hao Yue’s matter to the Emperor.”

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. “Keeping her for your own use?”

Gu Yanxi lightly smoothed the furrow between her brows. “She must remain within Da Qing, but she cannot fall into the hands of anyone with ulterior motives. If the Emperor were to learn of her existence, it would set off a bloody upheaval. If Hao Yue were one of our own, that would be one thing — but she is not. I do not trust her.”

Hua Zhi understood his reservations and lost any inclination to tease. Hao Yue was a ticking time bomb — one needn’t use her, but one absolutely had to keep her firmly in hand.

“And if the Emperor were to learn of her through someone else…”

“Not for the time being.”

Which meant there was still a possibility further down the road. Frankly, the safest thing was for such a person to keep her mouth shut forever — but Hua Zhi also understood why Yan Xi needed to keep her alive. Come August, if the prophecy proved true, Yan Xi would certainly want to pry more out of her. And since Hao Yue had dared to lay a scheme that drew the Seven Constellation Division in, she surely had her own cards to play. Moving against her before those cards were known was not an option.

A formidable figure, not easily dealt with, Hua Zhi thought.

“Your contribution in Ling County has been entered into the Seven Constellation Division’s records. I have not breathed a word of it to the Emperor — the timing is not right.”

Hua Zhi looked at Yan Xi, whose expression had grown grave. “What has happened?”

How was Gu Yanxi to explain that upon returning he had found the Emperor’s suspicions had grown heavier than ever — that even toward his imperial grandmother… Were he to mention the Hua Family at such a moment, it would not only fail to do them any good, it would likely draw the Emperor’s gaze back onto them. That would be anything but desirable.

He simply changed the subject. “I saw Shen Qi.”

Hua Zhi blinked. “And?”

Gu Yanxi merely looked at her, saying nothing. His expression carried what could only be described as aggrievement — a look that sat so strangely on that thoroughly masculine face that it was really something quite beyond words.

Hua Zhi covered her eyes, unable to bear looking. Honestly confessing, she said, “He happened to be at Uncle Bai’s and came along. The whole point was to hear them discuss the journey north — his being there was perfectly reasonable.”

Gu Yanxi knew perfectly well what A’Zhi’s character was — she would sooner remain alone all her life than have any further entanglement with Shen Qi. Yet the moment he had set eyes on Shen Qi, something inside him had turned so sour he had wanted to thrash the man on the spot.

Even now he felt the sourness permeating his entire being — a match, he thought, for all that pickled cabbage Fu Dong had put up.

Hua Zhi was skilled at delivering a blow but hopeless at offering comfort. Leaning toward his still-displeased face, she took the initiative and tugged lightly at his sleeve, then reached over and hooked her little finger around his. The moment she felt his finger hook tightly back around hers, she smiled and launched into the details of her arrangement with Bai Mingxia.

“At the price I’m giving him, I stand to make half — once the volume picks up, the profit will be quite considerable. That said, if he’s entangled in trouble, I’d rather forgo this particular income.”

Having been thoroughly mollified — as if immersed in honey — Gu Yanxi no longer had the slightest trace of ill temper. He considered the Bai Family’s situation and said, “Bai Mingxia’s intention is almost certainly to split off from the main family.”

“Would Elder Master Bai agree to that?”

“If he won’t agree, someone will find a way to make him agree. And besides, he suppressed Bai Mingxia for so many years — his heart is riddled with guilt over it. If a family division would let his younger son go off to live freely and without constraint, he may well consent, and may even compensate Bai Mingxia handsomely in the process.”

When she thought about it, that made sense. Put yourself in his shoes — one son had been given opportunity and standing, so wouldn’t the other deserve a more generous settlement in silver? Even if the eldest son objected, he would be overruled.

With that thought, Hua Zhi felt reassured. This venture had an eight-in-ten chance of going through.

Hua Zhi shifted the fingers hooked in his — and found them hooked more tightly still. “About this journey north…”

“I’m coming with you.”

“I can manage on my own, really — dressed as a man, careful with my words and manner, and there’d be none of this fuss.”

Gu Yanxi shook his head. “I’m coming with you.”

“But it’s a turbulent time. Can things here hold without you?”

“The Seven Constellation Division is not like the palace guards or the imperial garrison. Every single person within it is capable of operating independently. Without me, they will not fall into disarray.” Gu Yanxi shifted his hand — the hooked fingers becoming a large hand enveloping a small one. “The Chao Li tribe, great a threat as they are, cannot be resolved anytime soon. Compared to the Chao Li tribe, you are the one I’m more worried about.”

“That makes me sound like a walking disaster.”

A smile rose in Gu Yanxi’s eyes. “You don’t seek out trouble — but trouble seeks you out. Having me along puts my mind at ease.”

Hua Zhi truly had no grounds to argue. Fine, let him come — she was almost used to being accompanied everywhere at this point. “Tentatively five days from now. Can arrangements be made in time?”

“They can.”

Nanny Su coughed softly from outside. Gu Yanxi glanced at the water clock. “Are you going out tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow my cousin is being married off. It’s the first joyous occasion in the Hua Family since everything happened — and the last one remaining. If I were away from the capital, that would be one thing, but since I am here, I must attend.”

Gu Yanxi filed it away in his mind, thinking he would need to have a gift sent over on the family’s behalf. He rose, and as he did, drew Hua Zhi up alongside him. “Stop working. Go and rest.”

“Yes, yes, I’m going.”