Seeing that several groups of servants had gathered at the door waiting to report, Hua Zhi graciously rose. “I’ll go and look in on my cousin.”
The Fourth Household’s eldest daughter-in-law, Wei Shi, was filled with heartfelt gratitude toward Hua Zhi, and quickly rose to lead the way.
Hua Zhi glanced back at her mother. Zhu Shi waved her off, signaling that she should go on ahead.
Once the others had gone, the women remaining in the room fell into more animated conversation. Third Madam sighed. “First Young Miss has had such a hard time of it. You can see she’s grown even thinner after this trip.”
Thinner was putting it mildly. Zhu Shi’s smile nearly faltered. Just now she had deliberately leaned close and sniffed — Zhi’er had used something to mask the smell of medicine, though she had no idea what. She did not even know where Zhi’er had been injured. If such a fine young woman were to be left with scars, whatever would become of her?
Then her thoughts drifted to the fact that girls younger than Zhi’er were already married, and a fresh wave of grief washed over her. Her daughter should have been a bride by now, and yet…
Wu Shi gently pressed her hand and raised her voice to say, “Sister-in-law, why don’t you go and see how Bailin and Sui’an are getting on — today it falls to them to uphold the Hua Family’s face, and we can’t afford any slip-ups.”
Zhu Shi steadied herself and rose. “That’s quite right. I’ll go and check.”
While the main hall occupied itself with the details of the sending-off, Hua Zhi arrived — through an unbroken stream of thanks from Wei Shi — at the courtyard where Hua Qin lived. Unlike the main branch, where each person had her own separate courtyard, here several sisters shared a single compound. At Hua Zhi’s entrance, they all came forward to pay their respects.
Wei Shi dismissed the others and led Hua Zhi toward Hua Qin’s room. Among the young women who had been subtly kept at a distance by their maids, one of the taller girls raised her head, her eyes brimming with jealousy and resentment.
If her engagement hadn’t been broken off, her own wedding would have been at year’s end. Hua Zhi had said she would treat everyone fairly — what Hua Qin received, she would receive as well! With that sum of money as a foundation, how could her future life be anything but good?
Just you wait — she would be married off yet!
The room was decked out with joyful red and festive ornaments. Hua Qin sat on the bed in her ceremonial wedding dress, and her eyes lit up the moment she saw Hua Zhi — she rose at once. “Cousin Sister.”
“Sit back down — just looking at you makes me tired on your behalf.” When her own wedding gown had been fitted for its final try-on, she had said then that she would not put it on again until the very last moment before the ceremony. It truly was heavy — the full ensemble must have weighed a good twenty catties, and once the phoenix coronet was placed on her head, it was nearly impossible to turn her neck.
Hua Qin’s smile was radiant; her face, freshly groomed and made up, seemed all the more luminous and lovely.
Wei Shi said a few polite words and tactfully withdrew, leaving the two cousins facing each other — one perched on the dressing stool, the other seated at the bedside.
Hua Zhi had not had much occasion to spend time with this cousin — they saw each other a few times a year at most, and only exchanged a few words when seated near each other; a year might go by without so much as a single conversation if they were seated apart. At a loss now for what to say, she forced out a few rather stilted remarks. “Don’t overthink things. Just be a happy new bride. And if you’re ever treated poorly by your new family, don’t be like my little aunt — swallowing every grievance and suffering in silence. The more you endure without complaint, the more they’ll grind you down. Your maternal family has brothers, has kin — they will all stand up for you.”
Hua Qin’s eyes reddened, and she let out a small laugh. “Cousin Sister is barely a month older than me, yet the way you’re talking, it’s as if you’re an elder admonishing a youngster.”
Hua Zhi thought about it, and sure enough, she had been doing precisely the elder’s job.
Hua Qin bit her lip, leaned forward, and took her cousin’s hands in hers. Her fingertips traced the thin calluses on Hua Zhi’s palms, and a sudden sadness welled up inside her. A daughter of the Hua Family had always been pampered and cherished, even the collateral branches — let alone the eldest daughter of the main line. Yet this woman who had once been raised in every luxury now had calluses worn into her hands, while she and the others who were good for nothing still sat idle in the inner quarters.
“Having you here, Cousin Sister, gives me courage.” Hua Qin looked up, red-rimmed eyes still smiling. “What is it, really, to marry someone? He can’t very well eat me alive. If he treats me well, then well we’ll live — and if he doesn’t, I’ll have word sent to you, and you must keep your promise: come and bring me home.”
Who speaks like this on their own wedding day — Hua Zhi thought, but she was smiling. Still, knowing that Hua Qin had this kind of resolve was reassuring enough. Women who were too soft-natured only ever invited worse treatment, in every age alike — her own mother was among the rare exceptions who had been fortunate.
“I keep my word. Just settle into your life and don’t look for a way out too easily.”
“I know.” Hua Qin looked at the young woman before her — composed and gentle in expression, yet with a sharpness that never quite left her eyes. She could no longer remember what her cousin had been like before, but she was certain it had not been like this. And yet this was the cousin she truly loved.
“Cousin Sister, tell me about the outside world. I’ve never left the capital — is it the same out there as it is here?”
“The same, and yet different. The capital is full of powerful families and nobility — nowhere else can compare to that. The south is humid; on days when the sun comes out right after rain, the heat is particularly oppressive — everything feels sticky and damp…”
In a gentle voice, Hua Zhi described the world beyond the capital’s walls to this sixteen-year-old girl who was about to be married — from the south, to the north, to Yinshan Pass.
“It gets cold early there, and the wind and snow are severe. If you don’t clear the snow from the courtyard in time, you might wake to find the door stuck fast the next morning. Even water has to be made by melting snow. In other seasons it becomes very dry, with sandstorms blowing everywhere — open your mouth and you swallow a mouthful of grit. If it were a pleasant place, it would never have become a land of exile.”
Hua Qin, who had been listening with delight, began to tear up again. “Grandfather and Father — they’re living in a place like that…”
“Which is exactly why we have to find a way to bring them back.” Hua Zhi’s heart grew heavy as she thought of her family a thousand li away. She had studied the geographical records — the sandstorms at Yinshan Pass were at their worst in summer and autumn. Going there this time was likely to mean enduring real hardship.
Seeing that Hua Qin looked on the verge of weeping, Hua Zhi realized she had put her foot in it again and quickly said something else. “I’m heading north in a few days — you should write a letter and let them know about your happy news. I’m sure they’ll be overjoyed to hear it.”
North again? Hua Qin gripped her cousin’s hand. “But Cousin Sister, you’ve only just come back from the south — how can your body bear this kind of constant travel?”
“I’ll rest properly these next few days. It’s already July — I’m behind schedule as it is. If I hadn’t needed to make that trip south, I should have gone long ago. I need to see with my own eyes that they are all well, and I need to tell them with my own mouth that everything at home is fine — that Grandmother is well, that our little aunt is well, and that Hua Jing, too, is well.”
Hua Qin nodded firmly. “I understand. Everyone at home is well — they needn’t worry.”
Hua Zhi felt a faint regret that she had kept everyone at arm’s length in the past. Had she grown close to Hua Qin earlier, she might have had one more person to talk to.
She reached into her sleeve and pressed a banknote into Hua Qin’s hand. At that moment, Hua Zhi felt inexplicably like a comfortable old woman with money to spare — someone who, at the sight of a favorite younger relation, could not help stuffing her pockets with sweets and coin, for fear of her going hungry or being bullied.
“Don’t tell anyone. Keep it safe — in a critical moment it may prove invaluable.”
Hua Qin could not possibly accept it. “I’ve already been given so much…”
“Take it. Don’t worry that I won’t be able to earn more.”
Hua Qin bit her lip. In the end, she tucked the banknote away — and with it, she tucked away the warmth and care that came with it.