Meanwhile, Gu Yanxi had waited through half the day before finally being received by Wu Yong.

“I greet the Shizi.”

“Rise.” Gu Yanxi looked at the man still dressed in full armor and his brow furrowed. “What’s this about? Is there a battle?”

Wu Yong set his helmet aside and drained an entire pot of tea in one go before he answered. “The grasslands have been restless lately. I received word yesterday evening that you had entered the city. I’d planned to stay in the residence today and wait — but before dawn I got word of unusual movement beyond the pass.”

“I’d heard that the region has had no rain for over three months. The grassland has suffered badly, and a good many cattle and sheep have died.”

“Yes. I’ve already submitted a memorial on the matter.”

Gu Yanxi considered for a moment. “I will bring this to His Majesty’s attention when I return. Exercise your authority as you see fit for the time being.”

“That is more than I could hope for.” The visible tension left Wu Yong’s face. “I won’t deceive you — the frontier is unlikely to remain stable.”

“Has it ever been stable? We simply hold the line year after year, that’s all.”

Wu Yong was taken aback, then broke into a wry smile. That was exactly it — wasn’t that precisely what the Wu Family existed for?

Gu Yanxi withdrew a folded sheet of paper from inside his robe. “These people. Look carefully.”

Wu Yong took it and opened it, and his eyes widened — these were names that even here in Yinshan Pass carried some renown. “They have ambitions against the throne?”

“Whether they harbor treason is not yet clear. That they have schemes, however, is certain. If I told you they were working together — would you believe it?”

“Together?” Wu Yong’s expression darkened. Among those named, there were several who were known for being at each other’s throats — he’d heard no shortage of reports from his subordinates about the two sides coming to blows. Were they trying to deceive someone? “I’ll keep a close watch.”

“Good. I knew you would understand.”

Gu Yanxi lifted his teacup and took a sip. “The Hua Family shouldn’t draw too much attention. Keep that in balance.”

“Shizi, I assure you, whatever reputation the Hua Family has built here has nothing to do with me. Old Master Hua’s abilities speak for themselves — a little effort from him and the results appear almost of their own accord. You’re asking me not to use someone like that, and I’m afraid I simply can’t oblige.” Wu Yong said with a shameless grin, showing no intention whatsoever of agreeing. “With him here, I’ve had so much less to deal with — I was rather hoping things would become even easier.”

“How you make use of them is your business. When submitting memorials to the throne, don’t mention them too prominently. You know what happens when you overdo things.”

Wu Yong understood his concern well enough. He nodded. “Then I’ll just take a bit of the credit for myself.”

“So long as you have your head on straight.” Gu Yanxi looked at the man whose expression had shed its earlier heaviness. “Fully recovered?”

“All well now. That master and disciple pair are both quite capable.” Wu Yong’s eyes flickered briefly. “How is it that this time you didn’t bring the Princess along with you?”

Gu Yanxi looked at him, the gaze sharp as a blade’s edge. Just as Wu Yong felt he could no longer hold it and was about to redirect the conversation, he heard: “She will arrive in a few days.”

Wu Yong’s eyes lit up, then with elaborate casualness he moved on to something else entirely.

Gu Yanxi gave him a thoughtful look. When it came to Shao Yao’s matters, he had always deferred to her own wishes — wherever the time was and wherever she might go, she would never be without a place to belong.

As the sun sank westward, the study door finally opened once more.

Hua Baili, who had been standing at the threshold, glanced at his elder sister first, then reported: “Master Lu arrived a while ago.”

The fathers and sons all felt something complicated stirring in their chests — and yet whatever they felt, they had to receive him. If one considered the larger picture, the two of them had already been conducting a private attachment. If it became known and the name of it spread, who could say what would be said. But if the family received him now — even without a formal status settled — it was out in the open, sanctioned by the family. Outsiders would have no standing to point fingers.

Hua Pingyu pressed his lips into a firm, straight line. When had the Hua Family — a family with poetry and books in its bones — come to see such a thing? But Zhi’er was his daughter, the one who had sacrificed so much for the family’s sake. Even if he had to grit his teeth, he would stand behind her and share the weight.

Gu Yanxi had been waiting in the main hall, accompanied by one of the second branch’s Hua Family sons. When he heard footsteps approaching he went to the doorway to meet them. As Hua Yizheng and the others entered, he bowed low. “This junior pays his respects to all the elders.”

Having your partner come to meet the family was quite a strange and flustered feeling — Hua Zhi’s face felt a little warm, though she was also quietly pleased. Her smile was bright.

Hua Yizheng caught that out of the corner of his eye and sighed inwardly, his expression easing. He lifted a hand in a gesture of welcome. “No need for such ceremony. Our humble home is plain and simple — I hope Master Lu won’t find it lacking.”

“I would not dare say so.” Gu Yanxi replied with perfect composure. He who could hold his own before the Emperor now found his palms damp, his heartbeat quickened.

They took their seats — hosts on one side, guest on the other. Hua Yizheng studied this Master Lu he had encountered a few times before. Zhi’er had said his identity was complicated and could not be disclosed — so he was clearly no ordinary man. His bearing alone made it plain he was not someone accustomed to standing beneath another. Yet how had such a figure appeared in the capital without him knowing? Could he have arrived recently?

He had not wished for Zhi’er to become entangled with a man of complicated standing — yet Zhi’er’s words were also hard to argue against. A man who was not truly invested would not set aside time to share a meal every day, would not travel a thousand li by her side, would not have cultivated in her that kind of respect which had moved her.

Part of what made them willing to give their blessing came from another consideration as well: for Zhi’er to find a man who suited her again, after all of this — it would be difficult. She was too capable. Even a man who took her as his wife might do so for the sake of her ability, and not for the person she was. Men who could stand as her equal were few, and fewer still were those who could tolerate being overshadowed by a wife of greater ability — it rarely made for a harmonious marriage.

And yet here was a man who neither obstructed Zhi’er from being the one in charge, nor lacked the ability to stand beside her as an equal. For that alone, they were obliged to weigh things with great care.

Hua Yizheng sighed once more inwardly and said: “Zhi’er tells us you have looked after the Hua Family in many ways. Old as I am, I thank you for it.”

“I have done nothing. It is A’Zhi who is capable — if anything, it is A’Zhi who has helped me greatly.”

Those listening all allowed themselves to relax a little. Not trading on past favors or using them as leverage — good. What they had feared was precisely that he might use his help to the Hua Family as grounds to look down on Zhi’er.

Hua Pingyu spoke up without warning: “Master Lu — are the elders in your family at ease with your involvement with the Hua Family?”

“Please, call me Yanxi.” Gu Yanxi was neither subservient nor arrogant. “Both my parents have passed. My conduct is not something I need to account for to them.”

His parents were gone. Hua Pingyu exchanged a glance with his father. That meant they need not worry about his family looking down on Zhi’er from some superior position — in a way, that simplified things.

The atmosphere was undeniably awkward. Both sides felt the strain. Hua Zhi least of all — she simply rose to her feet. “I’ll go check on the kitchen.”

With Hua Zhi gone, the room fell into a silence where one could have heard a pin drop. In the end, it was Gu Yanxi who broke it. “My sincerity toward A’Zhi is something heaven and earth can bear witness to. I cherish her and I respect her — and I will not overstep the bounds of propriety in ways that would harm her reputation. Please trust me.”

His candid, forthright manner was disarming. Hua Yizheng regarded the young man at the lower seat — the scar on his face made his features look rather stern, but at the moment they had all walked through the door, the very first thing he had looked at was Zhi’er. The softness in that instant could not be feigned. And it was plain he felt the tension of facing them — if he did not care about their opinion of him, why would he feel tense at all?

Setting aside the reservations in his heart, this man was not lacking.