“Old Madam, the eldest young miss has arrived.”
With a flurry of quiet movements from the outer room, Hua Zhi was attended by the Zhu Family’s maids, who helped her change into a pair of indoor shoes and relieved her of her heavy outer cloak, draping around her shoulders a padded cape that had clearly been warmed in advance.
Knowing this was her grandmother’s way of looking after her sensitivity to cold, Hua Zhi felt a warmth bloom in her chest. Some people become family not because the bond of blood runs close, but because of thoughtfulness and care.
The curtain between the outer and inner rooms was drawn aside. The two faces that came into view made Hua Zhi’s smile rise without her even noticing. “Grandmother. Mother.”
“Come in quickly — I had a brazier brought in for you. The days when the snow melts are far colder than when it falls.” Most grand households in the capital had underfloor heating installed, but that was never quite enough for Hua Zhi, who even at home kept a hand warmer clutched to her at all times. An extra brazier was not the least bit excessive.
Zhi Niang added two more pieces of coal to the brazier, while a maid hurried forward with hot tea, and dish after dish of fruits and refreshments were brought in. Hua Zhi smiled contentedly and let her grandmother direct the maids and serving women in fussing over her — this was the particular way older generations showed their love, and all she needed to do was accept it.
Zhu Shi was accustomed to saying whatever she liked in her mother’s presence. She spoke up at once: “Mother, when I first came back, you did not make this much fuss over me.”
The Old Madam gave her a helpless look and jabbed a finger at her. “And what — you intend to compete with your own daughter for the top spot?”
“You are simply too partial.” Zhu Shi offered this mildly defiant remark in a soft voice, then took hold of her daughter’s hand to find it, once again, ice-cold. She immediately pulled her toward the brazier. “How can you not dress more warmly? What did Lin Shuang say? Was it not settled that Ziwen would bring me back? It is not far at all — why would you come all this way in this cold to collect me?”
Hua Zhi replied in her gentle, warm manner, “Bailin is not home, so of course it had to be me. It is nearly year-end — I would have had to make a trip over anyway to deliver the New Year gifts. I may as well bring you home while I am here.”
Zhu Shi, though she did not involve herself in household affairs, knew enough to understand what the year-end season entailed. She nodded — early, perhaps, but manageable all the same.
The Old Madam sat to one side, smiling as she watched mother and daughter talk. In earlier years she had worried that as her daughter aged, if her son-in-law should develop other interests, life might become difficult to bear. Now she felt no such worry at all. Even if the Hua Family should rise again in the future, with a pair of children like these, no one would dare mistreat her daughter.
With her mother settled, Hua Zhi turned her attention to her grandmother, whose pallor not even rouge and powder could fully conceal. She had been brought directly here upon entering the Zhu Family residence, and had expected to find her grandmother resting in bed — but instead she sat waiting, composed and neatly turned out.
A moment’s thought was enough to understand her grandmother’s intention. She had no desire to leverage her illness as a point of pressure. If Hua Zhi were to insist on demanding an explanation from Zhu Shan, her grandmother would stand on her side.
But Hua Zhi had never intended to make trouble for Zhu Shan. The one who had allowed this small matter to ferment and grow into what it had become was, from the very beginning, the First Madam.
“Grandmother, may I have a word with both the First and Second Madam?”
The Old Madam paused. This was not the response she had anticipated.
Zhu Shi assumed her daughter meant to stand up for her, and took hold of her hand. “Mother is perfectly fine. It was only a child saying something thoughtless — I am far too old to be quarreling with a child over it.”
“The problem does not lie with my cousin.” Hua Zhi looked toward her grandmother. “Some things, rather than being left to fester inside, are better spoken plainly and honestly. When people spend their time guessing at one another, they will never arrive at the same understanding. Since we are all in the same boat, it is best we row in the same direction — would you not agree?”
The Old Madam considered this, then gave a slow, measured nod. “You are right. There is no sense in one’s own people pulling against each other. Zhi Niang — go and tidy the room next door, have a brazier brought in, and send someone to fetch those two troublesome daughters-in-law of mine.”
“Yes.” Zhi Niang cast a grateful glance toward the eldest young miss. She knew better than anyone how much the Old Madam had suffered these past days. If the problem could be resolved, the Old Madam’s illness would lift along with it.
The Old Madam held her granddaughter’s soft, delicate hand and stroked it, letting out a long sigh. “Just now I was telling your mother not to let you worry about things on my end — and here we are, barely a breath later, and you are already worrying.”
“You have worried over me so many times — is it not right that I should worry over you in return?” Knowing the old woman’s heart was heavy, Hua Zhi steered the conversation elsewhere. “I had asked you to keep an eye out for suitable matches for my sisters — have you found anyone promising?”
The Old Madam perked up at once. “I had planned to tell you after the new year since there are only a few days left. But I truly have found a few good prospects — nothing in the way of the grandest of households, but all from scholarly, cultivated families. That sort of match suits the Hua Family’s daughters best. After the new year, I will take you to have a look.”
Hua Zhi wholeheartedly agreed. Whatever the Hua Family’s current circumstances, in the hearts of scholars and students they remained the exemplar of a family of letters. A daughter of the Hua Family married into such a household would never be looked down upon — and as for family standing, she trusted that none the Old Madam had selected would fall short.
“Please tell me those families’ names. I will have someone look into their backgrounds.”
That was certainly the more thorough approach. The Old Madam proceeded to name several families and individuals. Hua Zhi committed each to memory, then drew out further details about what her grandmother already knew of their situations — until Zhi Niang stepped in to announce: “Both Madams have arrived.”
Hua Zhi rose to her feet, and with a manner that brooked no refusal, helped the Old Madam to the bedside. “You only need to rest. Everything can be sorted — it is nothing to worry about.”
The Old Madam gave her hand a pat and allowed herself to stop pretending.
Zhu Shi followed, moving to her side. “Go and handle your business. I will stay here.”
Hua Zhi acknowledged this and, drawing her cape closer, went to the adjoining room.
Listening to the door of the neighboring room open, Zhu Shi sat on the edge of the bed, brimming with pride. “My daughter is truly capable.”
“The most capable thing you have done in your entire life is give birth to Zhi’er and Bailin.”
Being teased by her own mother did not bother Zhu Shi in the least — after all, she herself thought so too.
In the adjoining room, the two anxious sisters-in-law were startled to find that it was Hua Zhi who came through the door. They had expected to be summoned for a scolding by the Old Madam, and had prepared a full array of apologies — none of which were of any use now.
Watching the maid pull the door shut, the First Madam thought of her daughter’s recent behavior and hesitantly opened her mouth. “Zhi’er, you…”
“I do not hold Zhu Shan’s disrespect toward my mother against her. Though she acted impulsively, the reason for it lies with you.” Hua Zhi offered both women a proper curtsy, then took a seat at the lower end of the room. Uncertain of what to make of the situation, the two could only follow her lead and sit.
“I have asked my grandmother for this opportunity to speak openly with both of you. What I say may not be pleasant to hear — you may even find it embarrassing — but I trust neither of you truly wishes to see the Zhu Family thrown into turmoil, brothers estranged, the household in chaos. Even if only for the sake of your own children, please bear with me and speak frankly.”
The two sisters-in-law, who were ordinarily never on the same side, exchanged a glance. Neither knew quite whether to respond, and neither moved. Though neither felt she was in the wrong, the fact that they had both incurred the displeasure of the household’s elders was undeniable — and that they could not afford to ignore.