The weight in Xiao Liu’s chest was almost unbearable. If he left at a moment like this, he would feel himself to be a deserter — the kind no honorable person could respect.
“You think this is a pleasure trip? In the bitter cold of midwinter you’ll be riding hard on horseback. Once you reach Qingzhou you must turn around and get back as quickly as possible with the results. And that’s the best-case scenario. If things don’t go smoothly, you’ll be stuck waiting there until the anxiety drives you half mad.” Gu Yan Xi spoke in a slow, even tone — less like offering comfort, more like issuing a warning.
Xiao Liu, somehow, felt steadier for it. He nodded. “I’ll move as fast as I can.”
“Convincing the Emperor to let you leave the capital — that depends on your own ability.”
“Father will agree. He desperately wants a large inflow of silver.”
That was true enough. Hua Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. “I suppose we all hold that particular weakness of his now. Let’s hope it stays effective for a good long while.”
Just then Yingchun led several maids in, arranging tea, fruits, pastries, and various refreshments across the table until it was full. The atmosphere of a casual tea gathering settled over the room, and Hua Zhi felt her whole body relax.
They had been inside for quite a while now, and the warmth had finally returned to her body. She untied her cloak and handed it to Liu Xiang. “It’s the New Year — no need to keep spinning like a top. When you have the time, sit around a fire, eat and drink, laugh and joke. That is what New Year is supposed to feel like.”
All the maids smiled and answered in bright, cheerful unison.
Xiao Liu lowered his head and smiled as well. What was home? This — this was home. Even the maids here put him at ease. For him, the New Year was only just beginning.
From the third day onward, the season of back-and-forth New Year visits began. Hua Zhi went to the Qin Family, and the moment she saw Old Master Qin, she knew exactly where the family stood.
Looking at his younger sister’s granddaughter, the old master felt no small measure of tender concern. He gestured for her to sit closer, then said with a light smile, “This is likely to be a stormy year.”
“It is only weather, in the end — it will pass.” Hua Zhi smiled gently. “Whether it is the Hua Family or the Qin Family, neither of us is a sapling that blows away in the wind.”
“Well said. How is the Shizi’s health?”
“He is well.”
Old Master Qin suddenly laughed. “After the Hua Family’s troubles, when you stepped out to support the household, I found myself thinking back at some length to what you had been like before — and realized I could barely remember. At that time, your two younger sisters were the ones with a reputation throughout the capital. The eldest daughter of the Hua Family had been seen by few people in all of the capital — there were even rumors that your looks were plain. And yet you endured it without any fuss, paid it not the slightest mind, and simply lived your days as you always had. Your grandmother would shake her head over you every time she mentioned it. Who could have imagined that in the end, you would prove to be the most steadfast of all.”
“I am not as remarkable as you make me sound. I simply forced myself to keep moving forward — that’s all. My mother could not bear the burden of responsibility, so as her daughter I had to help shoulder some of it.”
Old Master Qin shook his head, choosing not to argue the point. Looking back at everything she had accomplished over the past year, one could see that her every action had been linked in a seamless chain. The people she had chosen as business partners appeared to hold no great power — and yet each came from solid, established families with sound character. She maintained a fitting distance from scholars and the literati — using herself as a kind of signpost, ever reminding them of the Hua Family’s existence, without ever wearing out her welcome.
The Emperor had taken an interest in her ability to generate wealth, so she had constructed the Seventh Division — turning a crisis into not merely a solution but an additional layer of protection for herself. Because of that protection, she could now sit here in calm and security, rather than being dragged before the Emperor to answer for her defiance. Then there was the Shizi of the Seven Stars Agency, who had given his heart to her — she was no longer an ordinary person, and even stripped of the Hua name, no one would dare look down on her.
For a woman to have climbed to this position — where her influence was quietly but unmistakably taking shape — was extraordinarily rare. Given a little more time, what she might achieve would likely far exceed what had already been accomplished.
“The Qin Family’s influence has waned over the years, but we have put down roots in this capital for generations, and there is still some weight behind our name. Whenever you have need of it, simply say the word.”
“I will not stand on ceremony with you, Grand Uncle — when the day comes that I ask, I hope you will not refuse.”
“We are of the same branch. Have no doubt.”
Hua Zhi rose and offered a formal bow. For the Qin Family to give such a pledge made their position clear.
“I should like to pay my respects to Grand Aunt — where might she be?”
“She returned to her maiden family on the second and has not yet come back. We are family — no need to stand on such ceremony.” Old Master Qin shifted to another topic, and Hua Zhi followed his lead without pressing further.
With people waiting at home, she took her leave after the midday meal and headed back.
When she entered the room, Yan Xi and Xiao Liu were in the middle of some conversation. At the sight of her, both their faces broke into smiles with a certain resemblance to each other — and Xiao Liu’s smile barely concealed a flicker of excitement.
“Have you both had your afternoon rest?”
“I’ve been sleeping long enough as it is, day after day.” Gu Yan Xi braced himself and shifted upward. The wound was hidden beneath his clothes; to look at him from the outside, one would never know he was injured.
Hua Zhi tucked a folded quilt behind him so he would lie more comfortably, then picked out the key points of her visit to the Qin Family and shared them.
Gu Yan Xi was half-listening to her lips move and thinking, not inopportunely, of how soft they had felt — his mind drifting. “The Qin Family currently holds no real power. Their decline is inevitable. But if the double-harvest grain can be cultivated, there will be room to shift things around.”
“That is a matter for the second half of the year at the earliest.” Hua Zhi rose and went to the writing desk, rolling back her sleeves to pour water and grind ink. She was fairly confident about the double-harvest rice — in later times, planting two harvests a year was common practice throughout the southern regions. There was no reason it couldn’t be done here.
Seeing what she was doing, Xiao Liu went over and took over the ink-grinding, watching as Elder Sister Hua spread open a large sheet of paper and began drawing a map of relationships and alliances.
Most trustworthy were the Zhu, Lu, and Sun Families — the nature of each family’s background made betrayal virtually impossible. Then came the Qin Family, who had finally seen reason. After that, the Cai Family by marriage; the Jiang Family and General Zhou, with whom she had built ties through business dealings, were also dependable to some degree. Beyond these, all her other connections were too shallow.
Setting down her brush, Hua Zhi frowned. It looked impressive on paper — but the closer she examined it, the more she saw how thin it truly was. It was nowhere near enough.
She still needed to weave that net. If something unfavorable came her way, she only needed these people to nudge the court’s mood, intentionally or not, and things might turn in a better direction.
It was time to throw herself back into commerce.
But what business to pursue, and how — that still needed careful thought. She could not let the Emperor think that this money-spinner of his was simply funneling everything into her own pockets.
“A’Zhi?”
Hua Zhi returned to the present, picked up the sheet of paper, and carried it over to the bed for him to see.
“Clear and precise — the Seven Stars Agency ought to take…” Gu Yan Xi broke off. Whether the Seven Stars Agency would still be his to command was yet to be determined.
Hua Zhi said nothing to acknowledge it, and leaned in close, head touching his. “Only this handful of families we can draw on. It’s too few.”
“It’s no small feat. After all, everything you have been working toward amounts to barely a full year. Don’t rush.” Gu Yan Xi sighed. “And you’ve still managed to find several families — I, as the Shizi, shut away in the estate for years, and the head of the Seven Stars Agency, who never cultivated allies — beyond the Lu Family I have essentially no connections of my own. Compared to me, you have already done far better.”
“Doing better than you brings me no satisfaction whatsoever.” Hua Zhi passed the sheet to Xiao Liu. “You memorize this too — there’s no telling when it might prove useful.”
Xiao Liu obediently agreed, without mentioning that he had already committed it all to memory while she was writing it. He simply went ahead and memorized it all over again, carefully and thoroughly.