Hua Zhi suddenly remembered something. “Yan Xi — do you have anyone among your people who is skilled at imitating handwriting?”

“I do. You need one?”

“Grandfather and Grandmother were deeply devoted to each other. If I’m going to Yinshan Pass, is it conceivable that Grandmother would have sent not a single word?”

Gu Yanxi understood at once. “I’ll bring someone over tomorrow.”

“It would be better to keep male visitors to the Hua Family to a minimum. Let me write a letter, and include a sample of Grandmother’s handwriting — have him copy it in her style and bring it to me.”

“Very well.”

Hua Zhi turned at once and went into the study. After a moment of quiet thought, she composed the letter in her head and brushed it out in a single draft. She then retrieved another letter from the cabinet, placed both together, and handed them to Gu Yanxi. “It must be convincing enough — we can’t let Grandfather grow suspicious.”

“Don’t worry. His skill is indistinguishable from the real thing.”

Hua Zhi broke into a sudden smile. “You really do have every kind of person under your command.”

Gu Yanxi looked at the curve of her smile and could not look away. “They were selected for the Seven Constellation Division when they were at most seven years old, the youngest only four. Over so long a span of time, one is bound to acquire certain abilities. Their instructors were drawn from the previous or even earlier generations of the Seven Constellation Division — they knew best of all how to teach.”

Hua Zhi found that deeply true. Those teachers had once been their younger selves — of course they knew better than anyone what approach would yield the best results. It was no mystery that the Seven Constellation Division had endured across so many generations.

“Take Shao Yao along with you to the estate tomorrow.”

“All right. I’ll bring Xiao Liu and Bailin as well.”

Gu Yanxi suppressed the impulse to reach out and touch A’Zhi’s face. He was supposed to observe propriety — but once that boundary had been crossed even once, maintaining it would only become harder. There was not a moment that he did not want to be closer to her — closer still — as if he could somehow render her invisible to everyone else and simply carry her with him wherever he went.

After enduring his gaze for so long, Hua Zhi grew slightly self-conscious. She smoothed a strand of hair at her temple and said quietly, “Go on — it’s getting late.”

“Very well.”

You say that, yet here you stand, Hua Zhi thought, looking at this man who seemed to be wordlessly seeking indulgence. Helpless, she reached over and hooked her finger around his — anyone who knew of this would probably have her thrown into a pig basket, Hua Zhi thought.

His finger instantly hooked tightly around hers. Hua Zhi gave it a small tug. “Off you go now. Rest early.”

“You as well.” Gu Yanxi finally departed, thoroughly satisfied. Nanny Su came in carrying a lantern, a look on her face as though she wished to speak but could not bring herself to.

Hua Zhi understood her worry perfectly. She stepped out of the study, looked at her own shadow on the ground, and said, “What you and the others regard as so essential to life does not hold the same weight for me.”

“Matters touching on a woman’s virtue and reputation — how can they not hold weight?” With her young mistress having raised the subject herself, Nanny Su voiced the concern she had been carrying. “If his feelings are genuine, then all is well. But if this is no more than a passing fancy for him…”

“Then so be it. If his feelings are genuine, we are two people who love each other. If I have misjudged my man, then it is merely one not altogether pleasant passage in the course of a life. Nothing is stronger than time — whether it be love or resentment, in the face of time it amounts to very little.”

The voice grew distant. Wang Rong held his breath and stood motionless beside his chief, inwardly humbled. No wonder she was the woman who had made the chief bow to her — with a strength of spirit like that, she was simply beyond the reach of most women.

Gu Yanxi had originally intended to wait until A’Zhi had returned to her inner courtyard before leaving — he had not expected to hear this. He felt not the slightest surprise. That was A’Zhi exactly — she had a gift for commerce, yet she would never treat matters of the heart as commerce, never weigh and calculate gains and losses like goods on a scale. Love was love; loss was loss. There was an effortlessness to her that no words could fully capture, yet it seized his heart entirely — and he had absolutely no wish for anyone else to ever discover what made her so singular.

He needed to find a way to bring the Hua Family members back — and then go and formally ask for her hand. He wanted A’Zhi to be his, in every sense of the word.

Early the next morning, Hua Zhi set off for the Zhu Family’s home. As it was not a rest day, the men of the family were all absent. She shared the details of what she intended to do with her maternal grandmother, spent time with her cousins and their children, and then took her leave.

She went directly to the city gate. She had arranged early that morning to meet Shao Yao and the children from her household there.

Seeing Sui’an, she was mildly surprised. “Not at the academy today?”

“I asked the teacher for leave.” A long leave at that. Yang Sui’an glanced at Bailin and chose not to say more.

Hua Zhi was an easygoing guardian. As long as the children under her roof didn’t cross any line that truly mattered to her, she gave them considerable latitude.

“Let’s go — we need to be back before the city gates close.”

This was Hua Zhi’s first return to the estate in nearly a year. Even before she entered the courtyard, she could feel its vitality.

Xu Jie had stayed on at the estate since escorting the goods back. He had been keeping a close and devoted watch over the new varieties, monitoring how well they stored. When word came that the First Young Miss had arrived, he came sprinting out to receive her and dropped into a full bow. “This one greets First Young Miss.”

“What’s all this — get up.” Hua Zhi made a gesture to lift him, then waived the bows of those behind him as well.

Spotting Liu Jiang among them, Hua Zhi turned and said, “Liu Juan — I’m giving you a half day. Go home and pay a visit.”

“This servant thanks Miss for thinking of her.” Liu Juan was deeply grateful. On ordinary days she accompanied Fu Dong, and it was only because her mistress had remembered that she had been brought along today.

Liu Jiang had spotted his sister as well. The siblings had last seen each other at New Year’s, and seeing her now — neat and fair-complexioned — he was overcome with emotion. He bowed deeply to the First Young Miss, then ran to his sister and pulled her away with him. He had so much to ask.

Seeing them like that put Hua Zhi in good spirits. She turned to the younger ones. “All of you are free — go and amuse yourselves. Come back in an hour and a half.”

Bailin had been to the estate before. He suggested, “Shall we race?”

Yang Sui’an and Xiao Liu both had no objection. The three galloped off on horseback. Shao Yao, for her part, had no interest in going anywhere — she rather wanted to eat some lychees.

Hua Zhi lifted her skirts and walked in, exchanging teasing remarks with Xu Jie. “As dark as you’ve gotten — will your father even recognize you when you get home?”

Xu Jie grinned. “My dad said the only part of me left fit to be seen is my white teeth.”

Hua Zhi laughed. “All in the cellar?”

“Yes. I’ve been checking every day — keeping them in the ice cellar really does preserve them well. It’s been six days now, and they don’t look much different from when they first came off the boat. And unlike the flat peaches, they hold up to the cold.”

“Good.”

Hua Zhi donned a heavy cloak before going down into the cellar. The lychees stacked up like a small mountain gave her a quiet sense of satisfaction. She pulled a few out from the pile and ate them — small stones, thick flesh, sweet. Excellent.

Bao Xia came hurrying down with another large cloak and draped it over her shoulders. “Miss — you shouldn’t linger here too long.”

“I know. Xu Jie — have a basket brought up.”

“Yes.”

The workshop staff were all experienced hands. Hua Zhi directed them to shell the fruit, then use a chopstick to push out the stone from each piece. After a rinse in salted water, the lychees went into a pot of boiling water with rock sugar added.

“Cook until all the lychees are floating. Today we’re short on time, but when doing this properly, they should be soaked in salted water for about a quarter of an hour before being put in to cook.”

Liu Qi, who managed the workshop, recorded every detail with meticulous care.