But Hua Zhi did not take the credit for herself. “The Cai Family are people of their word — naturally the Hua Family had to prove worthy of the promise they kept.”
“That’s exactly right. When a young woman marries into another family, one should do everything possible to set her up well in advance. Zhi’er did the right thing — the Hua Family has always done things this way.” Hua Yizheng accepted the remark with a pleased smile. “And how is your grandmother keeping?”
“She is well, Grandfather. The wedding arrangements for Qin Meimei were managed jointly by Grandmother and several of the aunts-by-marriage.” Hua Zhi kept her expression smooth as she used one slightly less welcome matter to steer the conversation away. “As for the other girls with betrothals pending — apart from Qin Meimei, the rest have all had their engagements dissolved. Grandmother is searching for suitable matches, but it’s proving quite difficult. Marrying into the household of a second-rank official wouldn’t even count as marrying up, yet given the Hua Family’s current circumstances, marrying into a fifth or sixth-rank family can hardly be called marrying down either. No direction seems right.”
The room fell silent at once. Among the people gathered here, the older ones had already lived full lives — there would be regrets, but on the whole, they had had their time. The younger ones still had possibilities ahead of them, and should the right moment arrive, restoration could come swiftly. But for the women, once the years of their youth had passed, an entire life could be lost.
Hua Family daughters who had never once worried about their marriage prospects, now reduced to this predicament… Hua Yizheng smiled bitterly. “It is I who have brought this upon them.”
“It’s simply a case of sharing in one another’s rise and fall — there is no ‘bringing upon’ when it comes to family. Grandfather, that way of thinking is quite wrong.” Hua Zhi said it lightly, with an expression that suggested this was simply how things were, and something in the room settled with her — yes, it made no sense to enjoy wealth and honor together but scatter at the first sign of disaster. That was hardly the truer human nature.
“Grandfather, I have brought Little Aunt home.”
Hua Yizheng fixed his gaze on her steadily, waiting for her to explain, though without a great deal of surprise in his heart. Xian’er was too gentle and yielding — without the Hua Family to shelter her, and the Yang Family now so far diminished compared to before, there was no guarantee they would treat her as they always had. He only did not know how far things had progressed.
“Yang Qi wanted to use Little Aunt to extract information about the Hua Family’s private affairs. Little Aunt, though compliant by nature, still held her family in her heart and naturally refused. So Yang Qi raised his hand against her. It was not until Sui’an came to seek my help that I learned what Little Aunt had been subjected to — so I took her back.” Hua Zhi looked toward her father. “Bailin handled the matter on our behalf. He is the eldest legitimate grandson of the first branch, and now the most senior male in the household — it was most fitting for him to step forward. And he did it very well. He also led the boys of the family to escort Qin Meimei at her wedding, which brought the Hua Family considerable honor.”
The Great-Fourth Uncle added, “Qin’er’s letter mentioned that Bailin stood up for her.”
Hua Pingyu gave a restrained nod, though his throat had gone tight. That wild, unruly boy had finally grown into something.
Hua Yizheng, relieved but still anxious about his daughter, asked, “And your little aunt, how is she now?”
“She has no wish to return to the Yang Family and intends to dissolve the marriage. So I found a way to make Yang Qi write a letter of release.”
“A letter of release? He should have been far more inclined to write a letter of repudiation.”
Hua Zhi smiled. “I would not accept a letter of repudiation.”
Hua Yizheng smiled too. He had no idea what method Zhi’er had employed, but the outcome was a good one — and what more did he need to ask? With Zhi’er managing things at home, no member of the family would ever be made to suffer a loss.
Hua Zhi understood well that she could not only speak of the good things and leave out the difficult ones. She spoke of what new businesses had been established at home, of which families had been particularly kind to the Hua Family — and alongside all of that she also spoke of Little Aunt’s situation, and of how the girls’ marriage prospects remained uncertain. She did this deliberately, so that the family would be reassured: if she had only spoken of how well everything was going, they would not have believed her. The capital was a place that devoured people — especially those who had once been powerful and had since fallen.
But the things that would truly break their hearts, she did not breathe a single word of.
“A new teacher has been added to the clan school. Maternal Grandfather spent a great deal of effort to invite him — his name is Zheng Zhi, a man who has both read ten thousand books and traveled ten thousand roads. He is genuinely accomplished, and he has promised Maternal Grandfather to remain at the school for three years.”
“I recall your maternal grandfather mentioning him — he had a great deal of praise for the man. I hadn’t imagined he wouldn’t keep him for the Zhu Family’s own clan school but sent him to ours instead.” Hua Yizheng did not say thank you — with a friendship like his and Zhu Bowen’s, thanks were not needed. What the Zhu Family had done for the Hua Family since their downfall was not something a single expression of gratitude could convey.
“Yes. Maternal Grandfather knew the Hua Family needed a teacher.” Hua Zhi accepted the tea that Hua Baili handed her and took several sips. “By the time I set out, Bailin and Sui’an had already left together to travel and see the world.”
Hua Pingyu frowned. “Isn’t that a little early?”
“It was his own wish. I’ve also sent people to watch over him.”
“That’s good. A person can only become what they’re meant to become through their own choices — that’s far better than being driven and pressured by others.” Hua Yizheng asked again, “Sui’an — is he still in close contact with the maternal relatives? Did the Yang Family agree to this?”
“He rarely goes back to the Yang Family. He stays at the Hua Family most of the time, continues to attend his academy as usual, and I give him the same monthly allowance that the family has always provided to its young men.”
No one would find fault with this, nor would anyone feel that Hua Zhi had acted improperly. They could not have imagined anyone handling it better.
As if entirely unaware of how much astonishment her words had stirred, Hua Zhi continued: “Everyone has had a bit more ease financially of late, and knowing I was coming, they all prepared quite a few things. When I saw the fine weather, I simply organized the household guards into a convoy and arranged for it to travel north together with a merchant caravan. By my reckoning, it should still take about a month to arrive.”
“There was no need for all of this…” Hua Yizheng’s voice suddenly went hoarse. He had only hoped that Zhi’er would be able to keep the family members remaining in the capital from losing face entirely — yet she had clearly done so much more than that.
To allow a family that had fallen so low to go on living with dignity — Zhi’er never spoke of her own hardship, but every one of them understood how difficult it must have been. Hua Yizheng understood it better than anyone. The various branches of the clan who had once directed no small amount of grievance at him had only gradually let go of their resentment — and gradually come together as one — because of how well Zhi’er had cared for the entire household.
Hua Zhi talked without pause for half a day, and had gone through several cups of tea before she had finally satisfied everyone’s hunger for news of the family left behind. At midday, a proper banquet was laid out, and Hua Zhi fended off the others with the same reason she had given her Fourth Uncle earlier, eating only a few vegetable dishes.
The afternoon was given over to the first branch alone. Everyone else understood, and no one lingered to keep Hua Zhi from them.
Inside the study, with only her nearest family around her, Hua Zhi let herself relax the composed front she’d maintained all morning. She explained the arrangements for the convoy in more detail. “There are twenty-four carts in total. Half of them are carrying books. I know that everyone here has been trying to find books wherever possible, but Yinshan Pass is remote — its selection cannot compare to the capital’s. I know most of the family’s old collection by heart, and I gathered them accordingly. That collection is the foundation of what the Hua Family stands for. Whether we remain here for a short time or a long one, it is not something that can be neglected — especially for the younger male members of the family.”
This kind of generosity left Hua Yizheng with no room to refuse. He was not worried about his own fate — dying in a foreign land would carry its share of regrets, yes, but he had made his peace with it. Nor did he worry any longer that the family would fracture and scatter. His only fear was that the younger generation exiled here would allow their studies to deteriorate, for that would strike at the Hua Family’s very roots. And it was evident that Zhi’er had thought of exactly that.
“Two carts are loaded with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones as well — there’s no need to spare them. I’ll continue sending more in the future. The quality won’t be what you were once used to, but it’ll do for now.”