The hour was late, so the two of them ate first before returning to the study to continue the earlier conversation.

“If the silver truly was earned by them, why go to the trouble of re-smelting it? Silver does not need to look a certain way before it can be spent — would that not be doing unnecessary work?”

“For the Chaoli clan, silver that has not been smelted into the form of their official currency is not truly theirs. It is the same reason why the wolf totem would expose their identities, yet they still find every means to keep it close. In this matter, they have always maintained a peculiar insistence — if one wishes to speak well of it, one might call it faith.” Gu Yanxi’s brow suddenly furrowed. “Their income source must be quite substantial. The returns must be considerable.”

“I rather think they would not smelt all of it into official silver. For silver that needs to be put into circulation quickly, there would be no need to recast it into the Chaoli Kingdom form.”

The two exchanged a glance. Gu Yanxi nodded. “I will have someone follow this thread further.”

Hua Zhi rested her chin in her hand and looked at him. “To have me handle the trade in Yuzhou — are you certain you can make that decision?”

“I can. His Majesty has entrusted this matter entirely to me.”

“I cannot take on Yuzhou alone. A strong dragon cannot suppress a local serpent — I would need to distribute some of the benefit to the local powers there.”

Gu Yanxi leaned slightly toward her. “On the matter of trade, you need not answer to anyone. Do as you see fit. I believe no one is better suited for this than you.”

“That goes without saying.” The flattery had smoothed her ruffled feathers, and the smile on her face began pressing to surface. She gave a light cough. “I will need to think about what sort of trade to establish in Yuzhou.”

“Would expanding your current ventures into Yuzhou not work?”

“I have only one Fu Dong, which can support only one restaurant. The mushroom trade is already meant to spread to the surrounding areas, so going to Yuzhou first makes sense. The seafood venture requires more consideration. Preserved foods could work — but that is a business I intend only to supply wholesale in the future, leaving the retail to Uncle Bai. As for the food stalls in Green Moss Lane and Oriole Cloud Lane…”

What Hua Zhi most wanted to pursue was still the food business. The prices looked modest, but the profit margins were frightening. The trouble was — “I doubt Yuzhou has two such lanes for me to stumble upon.”

“I will have someone look into it. If something suitable can be found, we can discuss it then.”

That would be ideal. Hua Zhi nodded. “Even so, that kind of business is a bit low-profile. It may not carry enough weight for your purposes. To flush them out, we will need to find a trade that can command a grander stage.”

“I leave all arrangements to you.” Gu Yanxi’s expression was gentle, the warmth in his smile seeming to rise from somewhere deep within him. The corners of his mouth had barely curved upward, yet everything about him radiated happiness — none of the cold severity he showed to others anywhere to be seen.

Looking at Yanxi like this, something softened in Hua Zhi’s chest. She thought: if the problem that Hua Qin faced were to arise between her and Yanxi, it would not even be a problem. She trusted Yanxi — and Yanxi would never give her cause for unease over such a matter.

She picked up her tea and took a shallow sip, then looked up. “Does Yanxi have anyone attending him?”

The smile at the corners of Gu Yanxi’s mouth bloomed fully open. Hua Zhi was taken aback for a moment — and then she understood. Yanxi had been waiting all along. Waiting for her to come to know him. Waiting for her to ask what she wished to know.

“I’m sorry…” Hua Zhi said quietly. She was sorry. She had been too busy — too busy to give it much thought, too busy to know him better, too busy even to deepen the bond between them. She had simply stood in place and let him draw near, passively receiving what he offered and then deflecting a little of it back. It was not a one-sided warmth — yet she had acted as though she were so… so indifferent.

And yet — she had clearly, undeniably developed feelings.

That was why a brief separation left her inexplicably self-conscious upon reunion. That was why, when he was not before her eyes, the smallest things could call up thoughts of him. That was why another person’s trouble in love would make her apply it to herself.

This feeling had never been Yanxi’s alone to carry.

The sudden apology was something Gu Yanxi understood at once, clearly and completely. He wanted to laugh — yet his chest was filled to the brim with something bittersweet. This person — she had finally begun to face him squarely. To face what lay between them.

“You never need to say thank you or I’m sorry to me. A’Zhi, you have not wronged me.” Gu Yanxi took hold of her hand, and one by one, he gently opened the fingers she had curled into a fist.

Hua Zhi felt as though her heart, too, were being opened in just the same way — and then he was placed inside, and it slowly, gently closed around him.

“You do not need to tell me you are fond of me for me to know that you are. You have always shown far more than you have said. If you were not fond of me, you would never have allowed me to come this close. With your nature, you would not have given me even the chance to meet with you — but I am very glad right now. Gladder than I have ever been.”

Their gazes held. Gu Yanxi’s voice carried something like a sigh: “Your heart holds every member of the Hua family, and one business venture after another. I am squeezed into a corner, occupying only a tiny patch of space. There were times I nearly wanted to cover your eyes and stop your ears so you could see none of it — but rather than that kind of self-deception, I chose to believe that one day you would find me there, waiting.”

Gu Yanxi smiled. “And now — I have waited long enough.”

“You do not only occupy a small patch of space.” Though she was flustered beyond measure, her face inexplicably flushed and burning as though it might start giving off steam, Hua Zhi held her ground and did not look away. “The businesses will find their footing. In time they will no longer need me to oversee every detail. The people of the Hua family will come home one day, and slowly they will no longer weigh so heavily on my heart. When that time comes, most of the space inside it will be yours.”

Gu Yanxi had not known that heartfelt words could be this beautiful. The corners of his mouth pulled wide and would not be reined in. He pressed A’Zhi’s hand against his own chest. “What am I to do — I want to carve out my heart and give it to you. Only then would it be fair.”

“Carve it out to see whether it is red or black, then put it back?” Hua Zhi withdrew her hand, using the motion of smoothing her hair as cover to drop her gaze and escape the mortifyingly awkward moment. She tried to steer the conversation back to where it had been, but for a moment could not remember what they had been talking about.

Right — “The trade in Yuzhou…”

“I have no concubines.” The words cut across hers. Hua Zhi instinctively looked up — and however she looked at it, the man appeared to be smiling like a cat who had gotten into the cream.

Gu Yanxi lifted the teacup and offered it to her lips, watching her drink two sips before continuing. “The Prince of Ling and several of the grown imperial princes attempted to arrange women for my household. I had every one of them thrown out. Whether in my capacity as Shizi or as the head of the Qisu Division, it was never appropriate for me to keep concubines.”

It was almost as though she had always known it would be this way. Hua Zhi felt no surprise — only a small flicker of curiosity. “Does your imperial uncle not dote on you greatly? Did he not arrange anything?”

“He is the Emperor first, and my uncle second.” Which was why, for these past two years, he had spoken of arranging a marriage for him but never insisted when refused. The Emperor was the one who most wished to see him remain unattached. A head of the Qisu Division with no ties and no entanglements was what best served the imperial family’s interests.

Hua Zhi curled her fingers around his. She felt a faint ache for him. She, too, had known the absence of family bonds — she understood what it was to have parents living yet feel no different from an orphan.