Hua Zhi smiled. “And you think entering the Feng household this way will free you from that weight? Hua Yan — should I believe what you’re saying and call you naive, or should I tell you that I’m not so easy to fool?”

“I’m not trying to fool you!”

“The Hua Family may no longer have its former splendor, but since I took charge of this household, I don’t believe I’ve slighted any of you in the slightest. Whatever the daughters of the main branch have, you have as well. You say you just want somewhere to live — has the Hua Family made it impossible for you to live?”

Hua Yan pressed her lips together. “I want to marry. I want children of my own. Even if the way I enter his household isn’t honorable, as long as I can keep Feng Changyü’s heart, what does it matter if I’m a concubine?”

Hua Zhi had no idea where she found the confidence to believe she could hold onto a man notoriously known for moving from one woman’s bed to another, nor did she care to argue that point. She simply asked, “Do you know that the Feng Family are the Hua Family’s political enemies?”

This was no secret in the capital — it was common knowledge. How could Hua Yan not know? She lowered her head and said nothing. That silence was answer enough.

So she did know. Hua Zhi asked again, “Before you acted, did you consider that this would bring shame upon the Hua Family? That it would taint the reputations of the Hua Family daughters?”

Hua Yan had known. She had even acted with a degree of malice, wanting to destroy that so-called reputation. But words like that she would never speak aloud. She kept her head down and said nothing.

“Has the Hua Family ever demeaned you?”

“Has the Hua Family ever wronged you?”

“Has the Hua Family ever forced you to do anything against your will?”

Hua Zhi fell silent and watched her steadily, waiting for an answer.

Unable to endure that quiet, wordless pressure, Hua Kai finally raised her head and forced out two words in a low voice: “It has not.”

Just as she braced herself for Hua Zhi’s rebuke, she heard instead: “Then the Hua Family has nothing to reproach itself for. You are willing to become a concubine — then go.”

The words she had most wanted to hear — and yet, for reasons she could not explain, Hua Yan felt uneasy. Hua Zhi was being too agreeable today. That wasn’t like her.

“Hold out your right hand.”

Hua Yan didn’t understand why, but she complied and extended her hand.

Baoxia stepped forward and rolled back her sleeve. The red birthmark on her wrist was still there, untouched.

Hua Zhi gave a small nod, then turned and spoke over her shoulder: “Go and inform the Feng Family’s people to come and collect her.”

“Yes.”

Hua Yan’s face lit up with joy. She seized Hua Zhi’s hand. “Elder Cousin, you said before that every daughter who leaves the Hua Family would receive…”

Hua Yan’s face flushed red, shame making it difficult for her to go on.

Hearing those words, Hua Zhi immediately understood what she was after. She considered it for a moment — if a sum of money was all it took to drive this troublesome element out of the Hua Family, it was worth it. But she couldn’t resist asking one more question. “I can give you the money as a safeguard. But the consequence is that afterward you must sever all ties with the Hua Family. Whatever happens to you, you may never set foot in the Hua Family’s doors again. Do you agree?”

The flush drained slowly from Hua Yan’s face. Her hands trembled. She bit down on her lips.

Without her maternal home… without her maternal home…

But what could the Hua Family do for her now? Nothing at all. Just look at Hua Qin — not only could her family offer no help, she was constantly carting things back from her husband’s household. That was all well and fine for now, but if it continued, how would Hua Qin ever establish herself in her husband’s family?

Thinking of it that way — did it really make any difference whether she had a maternal home to return to or not?

She twisted her handkerchief in her hands, dropped her gaze, and said, “I agree.”

“Good. Bring paper and ink.”

Liu Xiang went out and quickly returned with a complete set of writing tools — brush, ink, paper, and inkstone — and rolled back her sleeves to pour water and grind the ink.

Hua Zhi picked up the brush, considered briefly, then wrote in one flowing motion. When she had finished, she read it through once, turned it over, and pushed it across to Hua Yan.

Hua Yan read it, her face draining to a bloodless white. “Elder Cousin — are you expelling me from the family entirely?”

“The Hua Family has not wronged you, so there is naturally no reason to let you drag us down. In all the years of our family’s history, there has never been a daughter who became a concubine. I will not be the one to let that record break under my watch.”

Hua Zhi’s smile was cold as ice. She rose and walked to the doorway, then looked back at her. “Hua Yan. Take care of yourself.”

Everyone from the Hua Family was gathered in the courtyard, and with the door left open, they had heard every word of the exchange inside. Hua Yan’s mother was already weeping uncontrollably, held upright only by the support of her sisters-in-law.

The old matriarch managed a faint smile. “The eldest young miss did the right thing. From this day forward, Hua Yan’s honor or disgrace has nothing to do with the Hua Family.”

Hua Zhi guided her toward the exit. “Before I came, I had already sent someone to bring my maternal grandmother and Nanny Li. Whatever daughter leaves this family — even if she goes as a concubine — she leaves with a clean name. The Hua Family will not bear a drop of that filth.”

Nanny Li had quite a reputation in the capital. She was a senior attendant who had once served beside the Empress Dowager herself, and having no family of her own after leaving palace service, she had settled permanently in the capital. Aristocratic households favored engaging women of such standing to educate and refine their daughters, and Nanny Li was much sought after — the Zhu Family alone had retained her services for three years.

Over the years she had accumulated a considerable fortune, and she no longer accepted new engagements. But Hua Zhi, determined to wash away every last trace of this scandal, had pleaded with her maternal grandmother to go and persuade her to come.

In certain matters, nannies of this sort carried a great deal of authority — and Nanny Li most of all. For one thing, she had served the Empress Dowager for many years and had received generous gifts upon her departure from the palace; for another, it was the nature of her character: she knew well every underhanded trick of the inner court and back palace, and yet what she taught young ladies was how to guard against such schemes and conduct themselves with uprightness. A woman like that, when she spoke, carried genuine weight.

The old matriarch watched her — back only since last night, already with everything prepared — and couldn’t help but sigh again. The Hua Family was fortunate, truly fortunate, to have someone so bold and capable at its helm.

Just as they entered the main receiving hall, Liu Xiang came hurrying after them and presented the thin slip of paper with both hands. Hua Yan’s signature and fingerprint were already there. Hua Zhi noted the timing and smiled — she truly hadn’t hesitated at all. In Hua Yan’s eyes, the Hua Family had clearly become nothing more than a burden.

She gestured for Liu Xiang to pass it around for all the Fourth Branch’s members to see. Those who were already grieving grieved more deeply; those who were already angry grew angrier still.

Mortified by the scandal that had unfolded in their branch, the Fourth Branch’s members could barely lift their heads. Hua Zhi behaved as though she felt nothing of the sort and began speaking of the events at Yinshan Pass. Compared to those accounts, Hua Yan’s matter amounted to nothing at all, and in no time the atmosphere in the room had eased.

Wu Shi bent her head over her tea, concealing the upward curve at the corner of her mouth.

Moments later, the gatekeeper came to announce that the elder Madam Zhu had arrived. Hua Zhi went out first to meet her, dropping into a deep curtsy while still some distance away.

The old madam pulled her upright and tapped her on the forehead with a look of mock reproach. “You little wretch — you come back and instead of coming to see me first, you put me to work running errands for you.”

“A capable person must be made good use of!” Hua Zhi glanced toward the person standing behind her grandmother and immediately knew who it must be from the way she carried herself alone. She inclined her head in a respectful bow. “Thank you for your trouble, Nanny Li.”

Nanny Li returned the courtesy. As she straightened, she took a longer look at this young woman whose name in the capital was anything but conventional. Whatever else one might say about her, those eyes were clear and forthright.

By then the old matriarch of the Fourth Branch had also come out to greet them, and amid the polite exchange of courtesies, everyone made their way into the receiving hall.

Hua Zhi glanced back. Baoxia understood at once and turned to go and bring Hua Yan. The eldest young miss had always been like this — swift and decisive. Whatever needed to be done today would not be left until tomorrow, and certainly not a disagreeable business like this.

[Afterword: Three chapters today. The comment section keeps eating my replies — that’s my spiritual sustenance you’re taking!]