Hua Zhi’s injuries had been healing for nearly half a month, and she was already much better. Boiling water and throwing together a bowl of noodles was not something Shao Yao would stop her from.

She set the water to boil and prepared the noodles in an unhurried, practiced way, adding one dish after another. Before long, a steaming bowl laden with toppings was ready. Gu Yanxi’s gaze had followed that one figure the entire time — his mind emptied of all scheming, of matters of state, of the Chaoli Tribe, of everything. There was only her.

“Come and eat.”

The bowl of noodles was heaped to the brim. Gu Yanxi left not a single drop of the broth.

Hua Zhi led him to the room her father and Fourth Uncle shared and borrowed her father’s bed, tidied things up, and sent him to sleep — never mind that he had only just finished eating. She was quite certain this man was already so exhausted that he would fall asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

Gu Yanxi was in every way compliant. Told to sleep, he simply stripped off his outer robe, kicked off his shoes, and got into bed. Then he gazed at Hua Zhi with wide, earnest eyes.

Hua Zhi came to sit at the bedside and adjusted the quilt around him gently. “Sleep now.”

Gu Yanxi took her hand and pressed it against his cheek, rubbing against it softly. He did not let go. He closed his eyes just like that, and in no more than a few breaths, his breathing had grown long and steady.

Hua Zhi waited another quarter of an hour, making certain he was deep in sleep, before she carefully withdrew her hand. She looked at the man who, in sleep, had softened completely — the dark circles beneath his eyes were quite visible at this close range. She thought to herself that she truly had developed a genuine fondness for this man now. He was strong enough, and disciplined enough. He knew what he wanted and worked toward it with purpose. He was loyal — no matter how disappointed he became, he never harbored treacherous thoughts, only pressed his grief down into the depths of his heart.

She pulled the quilt gently up around him, rose, and left the room. She did not want to be the one who caused him grief — but what was she to do? The very person he served with such loyalty was the Emperor, and it was the Emperor’s son who had nearly torn the Hua Family out by the roots.

Gu Yanxi woke to a darkening sky. Outside, there were voices speaking softly — none of them A’Zhi’s, so he did not listen closely. He allowed himself to lie idle for a moment.

Thinking over how A’Zhi had treated him that day, Gu Yanxi smiled to himself. A’Zhi was the type who responded to gentleness and resisted force. If he showed a moment of vulnerability now and then, perhaps he might be in for some pleasant surprises.

The door was pushed open softly, and Shao Yao tiptoed in. Seeing that he was already awake, she dropped that furtive manner of hers and bounded over to sit on the edge of the bed. “How is the second one doing?”

“Confined.”

Shao Yao ground her teeth. “That’s all?”

Gu Yanxi said nothing, sitting up to get out of bed. “Where is A’Zhi?”

“Teaching Zeng Han to write. Yanxi Gege — the Second Prince has already gone so far out of bounds. Why is there still mercy being shown? Just because he is a prince?”

Gu Yanxi rose and walked toward the door. If he were to say anything about this, it should be said to A’Zhi first.

Hua Zhi had just come out of a room and met him. She was not surprised to see him awake — he had in fact already slept longer than she had expected.

“Are you hungry? I set aside a meal for you.”

“Not yet.” Gu Yanxi walked over to her. Hm — her complexion was better.

Hua Zhi did not press him. She turned and led him back inside. Shao Yao moved to follow, and was stopped by a single light glance. Yanxi Gege was truly too hateful! Having just come back, why still needed to be so exclusive!

And that Wu Yong — he had gone home so early today. She hadn’t played nearly enough!

Inside the room, the two of them sat facing each other. Hua Zhi asked nothing. But Gu Yanxi could not simply leave it unsaid. “I came under orders this time.”

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. “I might have mistakenly thought you came bearing commendations.”

“You know it would not be so easy.” Gu Yanxi recounted all that had happened in the capital in detail. When he finished, he said, “A’Zhi — nothing outweighs the matter of the Chaoli Tribe. You have read the histories thoroughly enough to know that period which came so close to utter annihilation for the Central Plains.”

By the time he finished speaking, Hua Zhi’s expression had already darkened. Those hundred years — in all of the five thousand years of a civilization that had endured repeated conquest by foreign peoples, there had been nothing like that darkness. The Han people were a vast people. No matter which people conquered them, in the end those conquerors would be assimilated — drawn to the brilliance of a culture they did not possess, they treated it as something precious once they had it, and would never have dreamed of destroying it.

But the Chaoli Tribe was different. Having taken the Central Plains, they made the Central Plains people into slaves. They treated that civilization as filth. They recognized only what their own people believed in. The hundred years under Chaoli rule were a hundred years of darkness without end for the people of the Central Plains. Countless classical texts were destroyed. Countless scholars were put to death. For survival, they set down their brushes, hid their books, and became slaves to the Chaoli Tribe — yet in secret, they gathered their strength, slowly and quietly. And from that gathering came what eventually made possible the founding Emperor’s rallying cry, the counsel of the military strategist Hua Jingyan, and in time the Daqing Dynasty as it stood today.

Nothing outweighs the matter of the Chaoli Tribe — that was true. And yet — “Yanxi, have you forgotten? To drive out the enemy, you must first pacify within. The adult princes have all taken up posts at court. Once war breaks out, they will inevitably be given responsibilities — grain supply, command of troops. Are you at ease with that?”

Hua Zhi rested her cheek on her hand and looked at him with a slight tilt of her head. “If you were to lead troops into the field, and those men were your rearguard — could you trust them with your back?”

No. He could not.

Without any need for further thought, the answer was already settled in Gu Yanxi’s mind. Those princes — not a single one of them could he trust with his back.

“You are right. You must pacify within before driving out the enemy.”

Seeing that he had taken it in, Hua Zhi said no more. She had her own worries. Yanxi was too obviously the Emperor’s most valued and trusted man — anyone could see it. If the day came when he was truly ordered to lead troops to war, would those princes who resented him see it as an opportunity to strike from behind? They would not stop to think: if this man were gone, would the Daqing Dynasty still be able to hold back the Chaoli invasion? They saw only the small advantage right in front of them.

She truly placed no trust in those people.

“As for the First Prince — over the past few days, once Jia Yang was well enough to be on his feet, I noticed he had nothing to do, so I had him go along and keep watch. I told him: if anything comes to light, report to you directly. Imperial matters are not something I, a common citizen, would dare to put my hand into.”

Gu Yanxi raised an eyebrow. “What made you think to investigate him?”

“I didn’t think much of it. It’s just that regarding what happened here a little while ago — others might not know the full picture, but the First Prince might not be so uninformed. I wanted to see how he would react.” Hua Zhi tipped the overturned cup right-side up and poured the tea. “I keep feeling that the First Prince may still be holding some card in reserve — one card, played well, that could completely change his fortunes.”

“What makes you feel that?”

“He didn’t take the opportunity to pile on when the Second Prince’s trouble came to light. And in this whole affair, he kept himself remarkably clean. From what I know, the relationship between those brothers could not be described as cordial.”

Gu Yanxi held A’Zhi’s gaze for a long moment. “After entering the city, I had already passed down the order. Jia Yang should already have joined up with the others by now.”

“All the better.” Hua Zhi had nothing but a feeling about the First Prince — no reason, no evidence at all. She simply felt that in a situation like this, the First Prince should have been jumping at the chance to stamp down on the Second Prince with both feet. She would not flatter herself that a man’s character could be reformed just because he had been sent into exile.