Lin Shuang relayed every word of the Elder Madam Qin’s message to the eldest young miss without omitting a single detail, and Hua Zhi came to understand the Qin family’s stance well enough.

This matter likely had nothing to do with the Qin family’s main branch, yet the Qin family’s reluctance to have much contact with the Hua Family was made abundantly clear.

Since her grandmother’s passing, the Qin and Hua families had almost no dealings with one another. The one exception was when she had sent an invitation upon the opening of the vegetarian restaurant, and the Qin family had shown face by attending — yet even after that, they continued to maintain a certain distance. In other words, the Qin family had no intention of widening that distance, but neither did they wish to grow any closer.

So Elder Madam Qin had sent her a reply, yet not a single polite word of invitation to visit when she had the time, let alone any inquiry into the Hua Family’s affairs. It could not be called heartless — it was simply sensible enough. A family like this was one that could go far.

Hua Zhi harbored no ill feelings, only the knowledge that she felt no warmth toward them either. She supposed a small trade deal like hers was beneath their notice — then they could each go their separate ways.

Striking the Qin family from the mental list she kept, Hua Zhi felt more than a little regret. She had thought that while the Qin family was not as close as the Zhu family, they ought to at least be better than most others — yet it turned out they were hardly better than strangers.

She looked up and, finding no sign of her head steward, asked, “Ying Chun isn’t back yet?”

“Not yet.” Bao Xia pouted. “Miss, you only ever think of Ying Chun — I’m perfectly capable of handling things for you too.”

“Fine, fine, you’re the most capable one. Go let each household know that we’ll all be dining together this evening.”

Bao Xia answered with a resounding “yes” and went off to make the arrangements at once.

Hua Zhi shook her head with an amused smile. A year had passed, and while it might be an exaggeration to say everyone had been reborn, the changes were plain to see. Hua Ling and her sisters no longer squabbled over empty titles; each household still had its grievances but none that would upset the larger picture; the children had grown up at an age when they should not yet have needed to, forced by circumstance into a sense of responsibility; even the servants had grown far more capable and were no longer mere puppets on strings. Things were getting better and better.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Ying Chun — who had gone to the Sun household — had been kept back by Madam Sun.

Madam Sun treated Ying Chun without ceremony, tasting both items right in front of her. A pensive look crossed her mind, though her expression revealed nothing. Instead, she began asking after the Hua Family. “I’ve been hearing all manner of troubles these past days — how is that young miss?”

“Yes, thank you for your concern, Madam. The third young miss is well now.”

“Good, that is good.” Madam Sun did not mention that she had herself been halfway there that day, only turning back after receiving word that the matter had already been resolved and the Hua Family had not come out the worse for it. It was not that she had no regard for her own household’s position — but she could not have simply stood by and watched a daughter of the Hua Family be wronged.

“Does the eldest young miss know of Little Sixth’s situation?”

Ying Chun lowered her eyes. Unlike the others in the household, she knew Xiao Liu’s true identity, and so she answered with extra caution. “In response to Madam’s inquiry, our young master and the young master cousin, as well as Young Master Xiao Liu, all wrote to our miss together. This servant only knows that they are currently in the south.”

“Xiangyang?”

Ying Chun quickly weighed the matter in her mind and confirmed it — this was something that need not be concealed.

Madam Sun gave a nod and pressed no further. If in the past she had harbored some worries, the passing weeks had forced her to admit that her grandson — noble in birth yet entirely without power or protection — was faring very well in the Hua Family. It was a kind of well-being she could not quite put into words; she simply felt there was nothing about it that was not good.

In the past, how could she have dared imagine letting an imperial prince go out and roam the world freely? Just worrying about whether he might bump himself or be bullied inside the palace had been enough to exhaust her completely. Yet now that he had truly gone off to travel mountain and sea, layer upon layer of her anxieties seemed to have lifted.

Just as the Hua Family’s eldest young miss had written in her letter — releasing one’s hold might not be a failure, but a kind of fulfillment. At least for Little Sixth, it was.

She motioned for her personal attendant to see Ying Chun out herself, and as Madam Sun gazed at that large basket of goods, her thoughts traveled further still.

These past two days, the talk all across the capital was of the Hua Family’s basket of goods — offered at a price, yet essentially a gift. Anyone who had tasted them was planning to bring such a basket into the examination halls. Ever since the imperial examinations had existed, candidates sitting the autumn provincial exams had racked their brains devising ways to provision themselves for nine days and seven nights, and by the final days, most of what they had brought was nearly impossible to eat. But the Hua Family’s few items could keep for a long time and actually tasted decent — and they covered all the essentials, with staples, meat, and fruit together. Nothing could have been more thoughtful.

Though the use of the word “selling” framed the whole affair as a transaction, who in their heart did not feel a debt of gratitude? Whether or not the Wei family truly intended to hold that scholarly gathering, the eldest young miss had already played a move ahead.

But to send over such a large, generously filled basket…

“Madam.” The attendant who had seen Ying Chun out returned with quick steps.

“Well?”

The attendant smiled. “That Ying Chun has a very tight mouth — she only said she had another household to visit, and this old servant could not get a single other word out of her. Only when she was boarding her carriage did I notice there were two more baskets inside, though they were no match for the one sent to you — smaller by quite a bit.”

“She let you see them on purpose.” Madam Sun laughed at herself, already forming a vague idea in her mind. That young miss was clever — would she not know that the most fitting destination for something like this was the military? During a march, if every soldier could carry a small pouch of it, they could hold out for several days.

Running her fingers along the porcelain-white jar, Madam Sun turned it over in her thoughts. Was the girl hoping to get this into her husband’s hands through her, so that he could then memorialize the Emperor?

But why would she not present it to the Emperor herself? The Hua Family currently carried the stigma of being convicted officials — yet if they were to be credited with this contribution…

No, that was not right!

Madam Sun rose and began pacing back and forth. If this Emperor were the ambitious, vigorous ruler of his younger years, presenting such an item would indeed have earned a great merit. But that was not the case now. The Emperor was aging and had harbored long-standing suspicions toward the Hua Family for years. This credit could go to anyone — but it could not go to the Hua Family. The Hua Family were convicted officials. How could a reward even be given? To clear their sins with this one merit and let the Hua Family’s people return? No — this single contribution was far too little to offset that transgression, and it would only put the Emperor in an awkward position; he might well be so embarrassed as to turn to anger instead…

That young miss had seen through all of this, which was why she was willing to take the roundabout path just to keep the Hua Family out of it. Given that, why didn’t she simply keep it all to herself? Why go to all this trouble for no benefit? What reason compelled her to do it this way?

Madam Sun pinched off a piece of the dried meat, put it in her mouth, and chewed it slowly. If that young miss wanted no credit yet still wanted this thing to reach the military, who would ultimately benefit? The army. And to take an even broader view — the nation of Daqing.

The dried rations used by the military had long been a source of grievance among soldiers. The hard, cold flatbreads that scratched the throat were painful to chew for any length of time; those with poor teeth had to let them soak in the mouth to soften before they could be swallowed — and yet the silver spent on these rations was never a small sum. These dried meat strips were costly too, but they were a genuine product. And then there were those fried dough pieces — so much better than what the military called rations.

Thinking of her husband spending a lifetime in the army gnawing on those hard flatbreads, Madam Sun’s heart ached for him. She wiped her hands and went inside to write a letter at once, having a trusted attendant ride post-haste to deliver it to her husband along with that large, well-stocked basket.

As for how to handle this matter — in the end, that would depend on what her husband decided.