Gu Yanxi and Wu Yong discussed deployment matters at length, while Hua Zhi listened without speaking.

Even standing on the shoulders of giants, she couldn’t become a general overnight. It all sounded comprehensible enough, but understanding something and being able to do it were two entirely different things.

Once the discussions were settled, Wu Yong took his leave, and Hua Yi Zheng, having received a new assignment, also went off to tend to his duties. The room fell quiet.

“This morning I asked Shaoyao, and she said returning to the capital now is still a bit of a strain for you.” Gu Yanxi rose and came to sit beside A’Zhi. “Even so, I hope you’ll come back with me. Leaving you here — I can’t be at ease.”

During those days when he’d had no choice but to return alone, he had been worried every single moment, afraid that something might happen to her in some place beyond his reach. When the Emperor granted him permission to head north again, he had almost wished he knew how to fly so he could appear before A’Zhi in the blink of an eye.

This return would mean not coming back for quite some time, and there was no way he could feel comfortable leaving her here regardless — especially since she would need to return to the capital eventually. The customs of Bingzhou were rough and fierce; how could he not worry?

“It is time to go back.” Hua Zhi smiled. At home in the capital, there was no one but children and women of the household — she worried about them too.

“Then we leave tomorrow?”

“Agreed.”

The smile in Gu Yanxi’s eyes deepened, and his tone grew gentler. “I’m thinking of having Chenqing draw out some of Haoyue’s words — to see whether she has anything to say about the current situation. Since she’s skilled in divination, she ought to be able to foresee something.”

A thought stirred in Hua Zhi’s heart. She asked, “You trust her now?”

“No — I trust you more. And I already have a plan in mind.” Gu Yanxi lifted the teacup and placed it in A’Zhi’s hands. “I won’t sit and wait for them to come to our doorstep. The best defense is offense. Once the reinforcements and Wu Yong’s forces have had time to integrate, and Wu Xing is ready, I’ll strike first — eliminate the tribes on the steppe before they have the chance to threaten the Great Qing from both flanks. A’Zhi?”

Hua Zhi couldn’t suppress her smile, her eyes bright with genuine joy.

She offered no explanation, but walked to the writing desk and pulled a slip of paper from beneath a stack of books, handing it to the man who had followed her over.

Puzzled, Gu Yanxi unfolded it. Reading the three lines written there, he couldn’t hold back his own laughter. What did it mean to share the same heart without words? This — this was it.

How fortunate he was.

Hua Zhi turned her head and watched him, her heart thudding steadily. It was as though she were watching the seed of love take root, seeing it grow, and then seeing it bloom. This feeling of watching herself fall — it was truly wondrous.

She thought: she had finally come to know the taste of love. A love deeper than mere liking, deeper than fondness. Right here. Right now. Right in front of her.

It was this man — this man named Gu Yanxi.

“Gu Yanxi.”

“Hm?” Hearing A’Zhi call his full name, Gu Yanxi instinctively looked up.

“Nothing. I just wanted to call your name.” Hua Zhi clasped her hands behind her back, lifted her chin, and walked away — that smug little expression of hers made it rather hard for Gu Yanxi to keep a straight face, yet his heart was filled to the brim with sweetness.

Then, all at once, he stilled. It felt as though he had suddenly understood what that call of his name meant. He wanted to respond, but didn’t know how. In his urgency, he stepped quickly forward, closed the distance between them, and held her tightly — only like this could he feel certain that the invisible veil that had always existed between them was truly, finally, gone. That this person truly carried him in her heart.

When A’Zhi’s arms wrapped around his waist, his joy only deepened. A’Zhi had never been one for concealment — this was her most direct answer.

“A’Zhi, A’Zhi, A’Zhi…”

Gu Yanxi called her name, one after another. Hua Zhi answered, one after another. A sudden shyness came over her, and yet she didn’t want to hide from it at all. Her face only turned pink, but her heart quietly settled.

Shaoyao was pressed against the door, peering through the crack for quite some time, quietly indignant. They’ve been hugging this long, and they’re still hugging — every last advantage is being taken of my Hua Hua!

“Aren’t they done talking yet?” Hua Pingyu strolled over. Shaoyao startled, quickly straightened up, and planted herself in front of the door, calling out loudly, “Still talking! Were you looking for Hua Hua, sir?”

“Nothing urgent. Let her be.”

Just as he said it, the door creaked open. Shaoyao shot Yanxi-ge a glare, elbowed him aside, and took up her spot beside Hua Hua.

“Father.” Hua Zhi felt an inexplicable flicker of embarrassment — like someone who’d been caught sneaking around in a secret romance — though fortunately her composure was thick enough that not a trace of it showed on her face.

“Finished?”

“Mm, actually, I was just about to say something to you.” Hua Zhi shifted the subject smoothly. “I’m planning to head back tomorrow.”

Hua Pingyu opened his mouth, then paused before letting out something like a sigh. “Can your body hold up over such a long journey?”

“I’m nearly well, and Shaoyao will be with me. You needn’t worry.”

“Good, that’s good. Let me write a letter — you can carry it back to your mother.”

“There’s no rush. You should also let the others know.”

Hua Pingyu nodded. As he turned to leave, he glanced at Gu Yanxi. Knowing that Zhi’er was returning with him, he felt both reassured and uneasy at once. One man can see most clearly whether another man is sincere — and Gu Yanxi’s sincerity toward Zhi’er was tenfold, a hundredfold. What he feared was that the two of them might one day be parted through some unavoidable circumstance.

Word that Hua Zhi was returning to the capital spread through the household, and it was only then that everyone seemed to realize their eldest young miss was truly leaving. The chill that had settled over the past several days visibly shifted. Hua Zhi appeared to feel nothing of it — she accepted every letter of farewell that was handed to her, received every visitor who came to say goodbye with equal courtesy. She looked, on the surface, exactly as she always had.

Fourth Uncle Hua Pingyang looked at his niece’s calm expression and sighed. “Why must you be like this? Can’t you let people remember only your good graces?”

“Because I can’t allow the Hua Family to become my Hua Family.” Hua Zhi smiled. “I thought Fourth Uncle understood.”

Hua Pingyang did understand. He knew this was what was best for the family. But it made his heart ache all the more for this niece of his, who had calculated every heart around her so precisely. Those who see too clearly are often also the ones most easily hurt.

“Fourth Uncle, tell Grandfather on my behalf that I truly don’t mind. This isn’t meant to comfort you — if I genuinely minded, I wouldn’t have acted the way I did. To be honest, it’s also because my feelings toward them were never that deep to begin with. But if Bolin ever dared to treat me this way, just watch what I’d do to him.”

Hua Pingyang broke into a rueful laugh, tapped her forehead lightly, and let it go. He believed her. She wasn’t one to compete for the top position or to seek out the spotlight — she had always kept her distance from those cousins of hers. Blood relation was the only thing tying them together, and to speak of deep affection would be too much. Still — harm had been done, there was no question of that.

Hua Pingyang lowered his gaze. No matter. I’m only nine years her senior. I’ll raise my son well, push Bolin to make something of himself, and be the backbone she can lean on for the rest of her life — that much I can do.

“Fourth Uncle, you’ll need to keep a close eye on things here. The Great Qing is not at peace right now, and no one knows what may yet come.” Hua Zhi’s tone shifted. “Whether the Hua Family settles in the inner city or the outer city after the division — that’s for you all to decide. I’ve overstepped a little, I know, but try to understand me — I’ve been the one making decisions at home in the capital for so long, it’s become second nature.”

“Mother has stepped back entirely?”

Hua Zhi lied without so much as a flicker on her face. “Not entirely. Grandmother is the steadying force of the Hua Family — but all external matters, she has handed fully to me.”

“That’s as it should be. Mother can manage the household well enough, but external affairs — that would truly be beyond her.”

“Fourth Uncle, I will be reporting this when I get back.”

Hua Pingyang shot her a look, but seeing her grinning away, he couldn’t help smiling himself.