Hua Rong returned to her own room and buried herself under her blankets to cry out a long, hard sob. It was not that she had no worries about her own future — she had plenty. There had been a time when she feared that the Old Mistress would send them all out as marriage ties to bring the family advantages; when she later learned that would not be the case, she had feared being badly matched. Given the Hua Family’s current circumstances, if her in-laws wanted to exert pressure over her, she would have had no way to resist. Yet she had never imagined that her own mother would want to send her to be another man’s replacement wife.

A replacement wife, though still a proper first wife, would have to pay respects at the altar of the original wife for the rest of her life. There would always be someone above her head — someone she could not contend with, because that person was dead. Any mother who truly loved her daughter would rather marry her daughter to a man of lower standing than put her through that kind of suffering. And she was a Hua Family daughter, no less.

How could Mother… how could she be so utterly without tenderness toward her?

Word of this soon reached Wu Shi’s ears. Not wishing to distract Hua Zhi, Wu Shi mustered every bit of her ability and gave the full measure of her effort to managing the inner household — never mind if someone might say she was overreaching. Yet while she had heard what happened, knowing how to handle it required careful thought. Concubine Qin was after all a person of the First Branch, and even though the First Branch’s mistress took no active hand in things, the face of the First Branch still had to be considered.

“Is Hua Zhi still in the front courtyard?”

“Yes.”

Wu Shi thought for a moment. “If I remember correctly, a woman came to see Concubine Qin — was it four or five days ago?”

“Yes.” Nanny Song brought over a cup of tea and set it down gently. “She said she was from Concubine Qin’s family.”

The Qin family? Wu Shi raised the teacup and took a sip. If that was the case, she must inform Hua Zhi about this. The Qin family had largely had little to do with the Hua Family in later years, but they had come to support the household when the Old Mistress passed. Concubine Qin’s family, while only distantly related to the Qin family proper, were connected nonetheless — and if this was something the Qin family had orchestrated…

Wu Shi could not sit still. She locked the ledgers in their box and went out.

Hua Zhi was listening to Nian Qiu report on how many shares had been given out and the total expenses involved. When she saw her Fourth Aunt coming, she signaled Nian Qiu to stop. “Fourth Aunt, is something the matter?”

“There is something I need to speak with you about.” Wu Shi noticed Hua Ling as well, which did not surprise her — who in the household didn’t know that this girl had been following the young mistress around lately.

Hua Ling stood and curtsied. “Elder Sister, I’ll go check on the storeroom.”

Watching her go, Wu Shi smiled. “You are bringing yourself a helper?”

“If she wishes to learn, I will teach her.”

“Someone is going to say you’re showing favoritism.”

“If the others wish to learn, I will teach them too — I am hardly going to go and invite them myself.” Hua Zhi kneaded her aching, swollen wrist. “Is there something you cannot decide on your own?”

Wu Shi weighed her words and said, “It concerns Hua Rong. Concubine Qin intends to send Hua Rong to the Xie family as a replacement wife. Hua Rong appears to be unwilling, and a conflict arose between them — Concubine Qin struck her across the face.”

Hua Zhi understood her Fourth Aunt’s purpose in coming at once, yet for her own part this was a matter with nothing to deliberate over. “Since when is the marriage of a Hua Family daughter left to a mere concubine to decide? Can she go above my mother’s head, or mine, for that matter? As for the Qin family — I’ll have someone go and ask.”

Wu Shi was taken aback. “Ask them directly?”

“Why not?” Hua Zhi smiled. “Even if they were truly the ones behind this, they will swear to the last that it had nothing to do with them. Once the Qin family disavows any involvement, this becomes purely a matter for the Hua Family — and who would then dare force my hand?”

That reasoning was perfectly sound, but which family ever conducted itself quite so… so openly? Still, Wu Shi found it immensely satisfying. She had been weighing this and weighing that, and all her deliberating had produced results far inferior to what Hua Zhi’s straightforward approach would yield.

“That said, there is no need to rush. Let us wait for Concubine Qin to bring it up herself.”

“Very well.”

But Concubine Qin did not come. Instead, the following day, it was Hua Rong who came to Hua Zhi.

The swelling in her face had gone down, yet her expression still carried some fatigue. Hua Ling had the good sense to excuse herself.

“Elder Sister, I…” Hua Rong kept her head down, twisting her handkerchief so hard it was nearly wrung into a rope, and still she did not know how to put into words what was pressing on her heart. She respected her elder sister, but reverence and awe had always been intertwined; she was also afraid of her. Concubine Qin was still her own mother, and she feared that one wrong step might make the woman’s days difficult. She feared that her first mother might think less of her and become less attentive to her marriage prospects. She feared that Elder Sister might come to dislike Concubine Qin and, by extension, come to dislike her…

She had too many fears, and the more she feared, the less she knew what to do. The very act of coming to sit before Elder Sister had already spent every last drop of her courage.

Hua Zhi set aside everything in her hands and waited patiently.

Under that quiet, patient attention, Hua Rong did not hold out long. It was as though the waiting itself pressed a little more courage out of her. She began to speak in halting, stumbling words, making her purpose known. “I am only twelve this year. Above me there are still three elder sisters. Even going in order, it would not yet be my turn. Elder Sister, could I — is it possible that I could refrain from considering marriage arrangements for the time being?”

It felt as though she had climbed over a great mountain. Hua Rong’s chest rose and fell rapidly, her heart suspended high, awaiting the words that would decide her fate. She had not been able to bring herself to speak too plainly; she thought that if only Elder Sister agreed that she need not discuss marriage for now, that would be enough to close Concubine Qin’s mouth — even if her mother still wanted to press this Xie family match through, she would not dare go against Elder Sister.

“Because matters are still unsettled, and because we are still in the mourning period, I have not yet spoken of this to any of you.”

Meeting Hua Rong’s anxious gaze, Hua Zhi spoke in a gentle tone, as though she truly knew nothing of what Concubine Qin had done. “I have already asked the Zhu and Cai families to help look into suitable matches. They may not be from great noble houses, but they will certainly be of clean and honest character. The Hua Family did not need to use the marriages of daughters to seek advantages for the family before, and it will not need to going forward. You may set your hearts at ease.”

Hua Rong’s heart began to pound wildly. She pressed her hand to her chest. So while none of them had known anything about it, Elder Sister had already been making plans on their behalf?

“There is no need to think too much. If only to be able to answer to your father, I would never be careless with your marriage.”

Hua Rong covered her eyes, trying to stop her tears from flowing quite so eagerly, but this gesture only made her look more undone than before. She felt a relief in her heart and yet, inexplicably, she felt even more overcome with sadness.

Hua Zhi offered no words of comfort. Putting herself in the other’s place — anything said now would only fall wide of the mark. Sometimes, silence was its own form of comfort.

After some time, Hua Rong finally grew calm again. Her eyes were red and puffy, yet as though washed clean by that rain of tears, they were bright and clear. Even her whole spirit seemed restored after having cried it out.

Having made such a spectacle of herself, Hua Rong found herself feeling even closer to Elder Sister than before. What she had not dared say earlier, she dared to say now. “Elder Sister, may I come and learn about running a business with Third Sister?”

“What has brought this on so suddenly?”

“It isn’t sudden at all.” Hua Rong tucked back a loose strand of hair. “Actually, several months ago, Second Sister, Third Sister, and I spoke about this together. We all want to learn more — maybe then we would be able to help with the family’s affairs.”

She looked a little embarrassed. “But Elder Sister is always so busy. If Third Sister hadn’t already gotten what she wished for, I wouldn’t have dared bring it up.”

Hua Zhi leaned her head on her hand and considered this for a moment. “Bring Second Sister along as well. I’ll have Ying Chun teach all of you, and afterward the preserved fruit business will be handed over to you to manage.”