Hua Yizheng rapped the table, causing Hua Pingyang to swallow back the words that had been rising to his lips.

Hua Yichen and the others exchanged glances and rose one after another to take their leave. Hua Yizheng made no move to keep them— with the doors closed they were all family, but family still had its degrees of closeness.

Hua Pingyang saw the others out of the room, signaled Chen Shan to stand guard at the door, then turned and closed it behind him.

With only their own people present, there was no need to hold anything back. Hua Pingyang had not even sat down before he asked, “What is Zhi’er’s situation like right now? Has the Emperor… made things difficult for her?”

Gu Yanxi replied carefully, setting aside the weightier matters. “The Emperor wishes to make use of her.”

“Wishing to make use of her doesn’t mean he can’t also make things difficult for her. Without the Emperor’s tacit approval, would the Wei family have dared touch the scholarly gathering?” Hua Pingyang gave a cold scoff. “And what’s even more laughable is that they sent Zhi’er an invitation— what was that supposed to accomplish? To let Zhi’er watch while the Wei family trampled on the Hua family? If the Emperor had had even one measure of protective intent, things would never have developed as they did.”

“Pingyang.” Hua Yizheng cut him off— though the fact that he only did so after Hua Pingyang had finished speaking already made his own sentiments clear. He had endured the family’s conviction and exile. He had endured the fact that the family had suffered on his account. To serve beside a ruler was to accept that thunder and rain alike were a sovereign’s grace— he had endured all of that. But Zhi’er was a woman of the inner household. Now that she had already been granted a special pardon, for a sovereign of the realm to turn around and make things difficult for a young woman— how was that to be explained?

Loyalty would not easily be shaken. But the heart could grow cold. The blood could run chill.

He dared not even imagine how much effort it must have cost Zhi’er in that treacherous capital— how much ingenuity she had needed to protect the Hua family, how much thought she had had to put into protecting herself beneath the scrutinizing eyes of the great clans and the Emperor’s cold gaze.

Looking at the young man standing straight-backed in the hall below, unable to direct his resentment at the Emperor, Hua Yizheng could not help but let some of that feeling fall elsewhere. “It has always been known that the Young Lord is favored by His Majesty. Has there never been occasion to speak on Zhi’er’s behalf and shield her a little?”

“Not even a favored crown prince, let alone a favored young lord, can outweigh one’s reputation before posterity.” Gu Yanxi raised his head and met Hua Yizheng’s complicated gaze without flinching or evasion. “A’Zhi says that the current situation is not necessarily a bad thing for her. The Hua family has been convicted for over a year now— people have come and gone, and tea has already gone cold. Sooner or later, someone would have been unable to resist reaching toward the Hua family. Now that the Emperor wants to make use of her, anyone else who wants to move against the Hua family will have to think several times before doing so. And as for the Emperor’s task— to her it is no more than conducting a few larger ventures. She can manage it.”

He paused, then added: “Some things cannot be accomplished overnight. I ask that you give me a little time.”

Hua Yizheng studied him for a long moment and did not press him on what he intended to do. Whatever it was, it could not be working against the Gu family itself. As long as it was not that, there was nothing else he could not do. They were at the front together with the soldiers, defending against the enemy. His granddaughter was at the rear, keeping the family members safe. Whoever moved against his granddaughter was severing the Hua family’s lifeline— was he supposed to bind his own hands and feet and deliver himself to them?

He asked about more of the capital’s affairs, and Gu Yanxi answered them one by one. Finally he said, “The remnants of the Zhaoli Tribe are still concealed within the Great Qing. Before they are torn out by the roots, they will likely not make any large moves. But these people must be found. Wu Yong excels in offense— whatever skill has been passed down through the Wu family across the generations, he has largely mastered it. Dealing with the outer tribes presents little problem for him, and even a direct confrontation with the Zhaoli Tribe would be a fair match. But he is not skilled in defense. This is where the Old Master must supplement him. We must guard against the Zhaoli Tribe using Yinshan Pass as their point of breakthrough.”

When it came to this matter, Hua Yizheng set aside his private feelings entirely. “The Hua family will exert every last effort.”

“Do not underestimate the role of the sand table. Work in coordination with the soldiers on drills, and memorize as much of the terrain within a hundred li of Yinshan Pass as possible— the further the better. No matter where the battlefield may be, you must have it clear in your mind. The Old Master knows well that this determines whether the sand table will go on to become a standard fixture in the army. If it does, the Hua family will be recorded in the annals of history.”

“This is Zhi’er’s achievement. I am not one to take what is not mine— nor will I ever allow others to claim it as their own.”

Gu Yanxi’s expression softened somewhat. Whatever might be said of the rest of the Hua family, Hua Yizheng was genuinely on A’Zhi’s side.

“When will you return to the capital?”

“I need to make a trip outside the pass. I will come again when the time comes— anything you wish to send back can be prepared in advance.”

Hua Yizheng nodded and asked no further questions. In truth, the fact that Gu Yanxi had explained his plans at all had already surprised him somewhat.

Hua Pingyu, who had been silent throughout, suddenly spoke. “Does the Emperor know about your relationship with Zhi’er? And does he disapprove?”

The room fell abruptly still. Under the scrutiny of those present, Gu Yanxi quirked the corner of his mouth. “Yes. The Emperor knows. And he disapproves. But so what? However much he opposes it, he will not casually arrange a match for me— I would not comply, for one thing. And beyond that, he also needs to keep a hold on me in order to make A’Zhi compliant. If I were to marry someone else, I would lose my usefulness.”

And so his imperial uncle, however furious he might be, had never so much as raised the subject of arranging his marriage. If you stripped all of it bare, every apparent favor and every apparent distinction shown to him began to look like a joke.

The atmosphere grew heavy and strained. It seemed as though someone sighed— but no one could quite tell who.

To serve beside a ruler was to walk beside a tiger. This was true for every subject, without exception. No one could ever be truly special.

Hua Pingyang wiped his face and steered the conversation elsewhere. By the time Gu Yanxi left the Hua family’s residence, the sun had climbed to its zenith.

Hua Pingyang saw him out the door. Looking at the tall, slender young man standing in the moonlight, he said warmly, “However capable Zhi’er may be, she is still a young woman. Look after her in your daily life— don’t let her come out the worse for things.”

“I will.” Aside from the Emperor, no one could lay a hand on A’Zhi while he was watching. The only person he was guarding against now was that one individual. Thinking of A’Zhi remaining alone in the capital, Gu Yanxi pressed his thin lips into a flat line. He needed to finish his business quickly and return to the capital as soon as possible.

Not to dwell on Gu Yanxi’s eagerness to return— Hua Zhi, for her part, had waited some time after Zeng Han had taken Little Six away before Yu Weiwei finally arrived. The round-faced girl with the sweet appearance, the moment she saw her, immediately began making excuses. “I said I would come in the morning. I never said at what time. You can’t blame me for not keeping my word.”

Hua Zhi burst out laughing. Looking at that face, she could somehow make out a few hints of Bailin’s expression. That boy, on occasions when he did not want to go to the clan school and she drove him to go, always wore precisely this kind of wheedling, coaxing look. The ones who were indulged, it seemed, all had a manner like this.

Seeing her smile, the slight guilt Yu Weiwei had felt about arriving late melted away. But she had always been a clever girl and would never hand others a reason to talk. As soon as they had boarded the carriage, she explained herself. “My grandmother went out visiting friends today and absolutely insisted I accompany her. As a junior member of the family, how could I refuse? So I had no choice but to accompany her first.”

“She was taking you to look at a prospective match, wasn’t she.”

Hua Zhi offered this casually without expecting a reply, then turned to look over when no answer came. She saw Yu Weiwei wearing a pensive, distracted expression and could not help raising an eyebrow. So it was true after all?

Yu Weiwei snapped back to herself and suppressed whatever was on her mind. Mustering a bit of enthusiasm, she asked, “Did you bring money?”

“I brought some.”

“Just what you had yesterday won’t be enough.”

Hua Zhi smiled faintly and said nothing, but the confidence in her expression made it plain enough that money was not something she lacked.

Yu Weiwei’s interest was genuinely piqued now. She leaned in and asked, “How much did you bring?”

“Just a few banknotes. You said it was for casual entertainment— I imagine it should be sufficient.”