Back in her own courtyard, Hua Zhi dismissed the attendants and kept only Yingchun behind. “Did you find out?”
“Yes.” Yingchun replied in a low voice. “The people in the Old Madam’s rooms all keep their lips very tightly sealed. I had to draw out conversation for quite a while before I managed to learn from one of the junior maids that the Old Madam has been coughing very severely of late. Every day, Nanny Su takes certain things to the small kitchen and stands watch while they are burned. I have arranged for one of the junior maids to keep watch, and to let me know the moment any refuse is cleared from the Old Madam’s rooms — then I will go and sift through it to see if there are handkerchiefs or the like.”
“Be discreet about it.”
“Yes, I would not dare let the Old Madam find out.”
“Grandmother already knows. It is the others I am guarding against.” Hua Zhi motioned for her to withdraw. She sat there for a while, truly unable to settle her heart, and in the end simply moved to the writing desk and practiced calligraphy for a good long while.
They say one’s handwriting reveals one’s character. She had never quite believed that. She had practiced herself a script of exceptionally delicate, refined regular script, and this was the hand she used when others were watching — just as her manner in public appeared perfectly well-behaved and compliant. Only her grandfather knew what her private handwriting actually looked like: aggressive, wild, and utterly unrestrained.
Having vented her feelings through the writing brush, the gloom in her heart had largely dispersed. Hua Zhi then called for water to be brought in.
Yingchun, as she had done countless times before, gathered what needed to be burned and was about to take it away — then heard her young mistress say, “Keep it.”
“Yes, miss.”
“Has Nanny Lin returned?”
“Yes, she came and reported in earlier. She said the medicines have all been brought back, and the Old Madam of the Zhu Family had her bring extra. I saw you were busy and did not let her interrupt.”
“Where are the medicines?”
“Fudong has them.”
“Have her prepare the prescription and personally deliver it to Grandmother.”
“Yes.”
“And go to the back gate and tell them to keep their eyes sharp — the moment Shaoyao arrives, bring her directly to me.”
“Don’t worry, Shaoyao is easy to recognize.” Nianqiu wrapped a cloth around her young mistress’s hands and gently dried them. “Does the young miss intend to have Shaoyao examine the Old Madam?”
“I trust Doctor Chu’s diagnosis. But for someone who could follow a person of such high standing at such a young age, Shaoyao’s skill must not be ordinary. Perhaps she will have other methods.” Hua Zhi rose and walked to the corridor outside, watching the overcast sky. Rain was coming.
After one autumn rain, the weather turned abruptly colder. Without warning, four children in the household fell ill at once. Even after Doctor Chu’s visit, Hua Zhi felt no great sense of relief. In a world where even a common cold could claim a life, she dared not be the least bit careless.
After attending to her grandmother and seeing to her medicine, Hua Zhi made her decision known: “I would like to invite a martial arts instructor to come to the household. The Hua Family may have upheld a tradition of letters and scholarship for generations, but having strong, healthy bodies is also a worthy pursuit — it means fewer illnesses.”
“The idea is sound enough, but we have a whole household of women. It is not a matter of inviting just anyone. Even for Master Mu, I would not have been comfortable having him come here if his character were not known to be reliable.”
“I will ask my maternal grandfather for help with this. A person who has passed his scrutiny cannot be too far wrong.”
The Old Madam still felt reluctant at heart — thinking of the reputation of all the women in the Hua Family, she was unwilling to add another strange man to the household. Yet her granddaughter’s proposal was not without reason.
“And the household guards are truly rather lax in their abilities. I intend to select some of them to train as well — at the very least, when I travel to the northern territories, they must not become a liability.”
The objection the Old Madam had been about to raise died on her lips. If the journey to the northern territories was truly to happen, those accompanying her would need to be capable enough to protect Zhi’er along the way.
“Then I will trouble our in-law.”
Liu Xiang came in from outside, leaned close, and said a few words in Yingchun’s ear. Yingchun gave a small nod, walked over, and spoke quietly: “Miss, Bao Xia has returned, and Shaoyao is with her.”
At last. Hua Zhi gave an instruction: “Go meet them for me — bring Shaoyao here.”
“Yes.”
“Zhi’er, if she is your friend… Grandmother is not feeling well and would rather not receive visitors. You go and look after her yourself.”
“She is a physician.” Hua Zhi said nothing more. Between the two of them regarding the Old Madam’s condition, a tacit, unspoken understanding had formed — neither brought it up directly, yet both knew the other’s heart.
Before long, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Hua Zhi stood waiting at the doorway. Shaoyao was dressed exactly as she had been before. She stepped inside and removed her veil hat — though she had no wish to frighten anyone, she was mindful of the basic proprieties. This was her friend’s grandmother, and she could not be furtive and evasive in a way that would make a poor impression, even knowing that removing the hat might only cause the woman to find her more unsettling.
A soft, startled sound escaped one of the junior maids in the room. The Old Madam was also taken aback, but her expression settled quickly back to its usual composure. Nanny Su, who had likewise been startled, caught her mistress’s eye and quietly ushered the unnecessary servants out of the room.
“Grandmother, this is Shaoyao — the friend I made at the estate.” Hua Zhi spoke as if she had heard nothing, drawing Shaoyao’s hand warmly and making the introductions. “Shaoyao, this is my grandmother. I have asked you here because I would like you to examine her.”
Shaoyao was fond of exactly this quality in Hua Zhi — this directness, this refusal to hedge or conceal. The matter was entirely straightforward. To dance around it, calculating every word as though it were something to be ashamed of — that was something her friend simply did not do. Her friend was simply different from other people.
Shaoyao was privately pleased by the thought. She patted her own chest and declared, “Leave it to me.”
The Old Madam understood somewhat, now, why this disfigured young woman had earned her granddaughter’s esteem. In families like theirs, a character like this was a rare thing.
She did not distrust this unknown female physician simply because of who she was. She extended her wrist toward her with a welcoming smile, kind and gentle as a grandmother should be. “Then I shall trouble the physician to have a look.”
Shaoyao was more attuned to the emotions of others than most. Seeing that the smile was genuine, her own heart warmed a little. She settled onto the round stool beside the bed and began a careful, attentive examination of the pulse.
Watching Shaoyao’s expression grow increasingly grave, Hua Zhi could already sense things were not good. She pressed gently but deliberately on Shaoyao’s back. Shaoyao glanced back at her, and her expression slowly eased. After a while, she said: “Old Madam, it seems you injured your constitution some years ago?”
The Old Madam was startled — she had never connected her current illness to what had happened so many years before. “There was indeed such an incident. I was careless myself — when I was eight months along, I had a fall and lost the child. It took two years of recovery before my body was truly restored. Does that have a bearing on this?”
“The root cause remains in the body. A trigger brought it out again.” Shaoyao paused. “Might I look at the prescription you have been using?”
Hua Zhi took over smoothly: “The prescription is with Fudong — she will bring it to you shortly. Grandmother’s illness — is it easy to treat?”
Not whether it could be treated, but whether it was easy to treat. Shaoyao, mindful of the hint her friend had given earlier, chose her words to leave room for hope. “Some ailments are rooted in the heart, not the body. When the heart is at peace, illness finds no foothold. Old Madam, your liver energy is stagnated — evidently, too many worries and too much sorrow over these years have led to this. As long as the Old Madam can set down the burdens of the heart, and medicine is used to regulate the body, health will follow. Every medicine in this world heals the body — none can cure an ailing heart. My hope is that the Old Madam will try to take a broader view of things.”
How dearly she wished she could let go — but decades of habit had shaped her disposition, and that was not something changed in an instant. The Old Madam smiled, a somewhat bitter curve to her lips. “I will do my best.”