The arrival of the imperial envoy set the entire Hua household on edge once more. In their eyes, every visit from an imperial envoy had brought calamity upon the Hua Family — from the raid and confiscation of their home to the hardships inflicted upon the eldest young miss. It had always been thus.
Although the eldest young miss had already sent word that there was no need for anyone to go out, not a single person could set their heart at ease. Maidservants and nannies were sent to the inner gate in wave after wave.
The atmosphere in the front courtyard, however, could only be described as calm and pleasant. Lai Fu was one of their own, and the news he brought was good. Everyone felt at ease.
“That move of yours was brilliantly played. This old servant has always followed at His Majesty’s side, and watching him, it seemed to me that he was a little taken aback by you. These past few days he hasn’t been all that angry — quite the contrary, he seems unable to fathom why you reacted so strongly. Now that you’ve offered him this way out, the matter should pass.”
“How are things on Haoyue’s end?”
Lai Fu took a sip of tea. “Noble Consort Yue once mentioned her wish to have Miss Shaoyao serve as an attendant physician, but His Majesty refused, and instead brought up Miss Shaoyao’s status as a Commandery Princess. She seemed rather displeased at the time.”
Shaoyao let out a couple of disdainful huffs. “She has some nerve. Does she not know that I am far better with poison than with medicine?”
“Very few people are aware of that. Her making such a request was nothing more than leveraging her knowledge of our sibling bond to probe what His Majesty’s current attitude toward us might be.” Gu Yanxi sat up slightly. “Or perhaps she has taken notice of Shaoyao’s straightforward nature, hoping to lure her into making a mistake so she can hold it over her as leverage against me.”
Hua Zhi smiled. “She has underestimated Shaoyao. Shaoyao never loses her head when it truly matters.”
Having lived through what she had, how many people could genuinely go on without a care in the world? Shaoyao was not so much reckless as she was candid. It was precisely this quality that His Majesty favored in her — such people were the rarest of rarities in the imperial family. Yet she possessed every measure of shrewdness and wariness that she ought to have. Otherwise, Yanxi would never have allowed her to remain in the palace.
Watching Shaoyao beam with delight at being praised, Hua Zhi asked, “Haoyue is favored and now carries a child. How have the other palaces reacted?”
Lai Fu smiled. “Outwardly, nothing but congratulations. As for behind closed doors — this old servant has heard that one of the Noble Consorts smashed an entire room full of things.”
“And Noble Consort Xu?”
“Just the other day, Noble Consort Xu paid a visit to the Rulan Palace. From what this old servant learned, Xu Guifei returned quite furious and flew into a tremendous rage.”
Gu Yanxi raised his eyes. “You once said that the Rulan Palace is no longer within our grasp.”
Lai Fu set down his teacup, and the ease fell away from his entire bearing as he looked over.
“Xu Guifei has always been calculating. Why was she unable to restrain herself this time?”
Hua Zhi followed that train of thought. “You suspect the two of them are in league? Why? By standing, they are natural adversaries. Haoyue is with child — is this not precisely how Xu Guifei ought to react?”
“Xu Guifei has been in the palace for many years and understands better than anyone that a newborn prince poses no threat whatsoever to the Fourth Prince. Even if His Majesty dotes on a late-born son, he could never install the child as Crown Prince. If he were so careless in this matter, he would not have dragged his feet on the question of establishing an heir for so many years. Moreover, who can even say whether what Haoyue carries is male or female? Given the people inside that palace, whether she can safely deliver at all is another question entirely. Xu Guifei is not without understanding of this — she need only sit back and bide her time. There is absolutely no reason for her to enter the fray herself.”
Hua Zhi nodded thoughtfully. “And yet she entered the fray herself. So — she knows there are people around her who belong to others, and she did it deliberately as a performance for those eyes. But I cannot think of any reason for her and Haoyue to join forces.”
“I will have someone look into it.” Gu Yanxi looked toward Lai Fu. “You cannot get anyone placed inside the Rulan Palace?”
“I have tried twice already. It has not worked. She requests people directly from His Majesty and selects them herself. It does not pass through this old servant’s hands.”
It had never occurred to Gu Yanxi that Haoyue, who had once played at being mysterious, could become such a troublesome adversary once she turned against them. His Imperial Uncle was already growing somewhat muddled of late, and with someone whispering and stirring discord in his ear, the very thought was a headache.
“Keep a close watch on Haoyue. And do not let her catch hold of any handle on you. I know your record well — even if that day were truly to come, you need not submit to her coercion.”
Lai Fu rose and gave a deep bow. The greatest reason he had chosen to follow the Shizi was precisely that the Shizi would never discard someone once they had served their purpose. Only by following the Shizi did he have any hope of a good end.
“This old servant cannot linger. I shall return to the palace now. Please take good care of your health.”
“I am grateful for your concern.”
Hua Zhi rose and took a bundle from Yingchun’s hands. “The servants have prepared some food, all wrapped up nicely and still warm. Please eat some on your way, Gonggong. Inside there are also some medicines Shaoyao prepared — please take good care of them, for you never know when they may be of use. It is the New Year season. Wishing you a Happy New Year.”
As the chief steward most trusted by His Majesty, Lai Fu had received many gifts over the years, yet never had he received anything that made it so impossible to refuse. The thing His Majesty could not fathom, he suddenly understood — the quality that had made the Shizi cast everything aside to love the eldest young miss was most likely this warmth of hers, a warmth that was never contrived, yet could be felt simply by being near her. For people like themselves, money and power were not lacking. What was lacking — was exactly this human touch.
“This old servant thanks the eldest young miss. May the eldest young miss find all things going smoothly.”
“I take your kind words as a blessing.”
Nanny Su saw him to the door. The steward Xu, who had been waiting outside, received him with the utmost deference and escorted him to the carriage, walking alongside it all the way to the outer gate and watching until it had departed before turning back.
Inside the carriage, Lai Fu lowered the curtain over the window and opened the bundle, which was warm to the touch. He unwrapped the oilpaper package layer by layer to reveal the plump, white steamed buns within. The Hua Family’s steamed buns were different from any other — they sliced each bun nearly in half and filled the center with thick slices of braised pork belly and sauce. They looked extraordinarily appetizing.
Lai Fu took a large bite. His mouth flooded with flavor, and all at once the tip of his nose stung. It had been a very long time since anyone had treated him as a person. Had he not almost forgotten it himself?
Hua Zhi went to the rear courtyard to comfort the family members who had been frightened. Gu Yanxi looked toward Xiao Liu. “Have you learned anything from this?”
Xiao Liu’s expression was blank.
Gu Yanxi felt no disappointment. Even he himself had only begun to change after coming to know Ah Zhi.
“Do you think Ah Zhi prepared that bundle in order to win someone’s loyalty?”
Xiao Liu pressed his lips together. He had indeed thought that, and though he himself was not above winning people’s loyalty, he could not manage to put his heart into it the way Hua Jiejie — the way Shifu — did.
“No. She is not.” Gu Yanxi rested his head in his hand and gazed up at the canopy above. “She treats Lai Fu as one of her own people. And this person who is one of her own had to make this journey in the dead of winter. She simply felt that it was hard on him. She had no sense of entitlement about it — no notion that others helping her is something owed. She merely thought that at this hour Lai Fu probably had not eaten, so she prepared something to fill his stomach. Then she asked Shaoyao for some medicines, giving him a few more means of protecting himself.”
Gu Yanxi smiled. “We do things like this sometimes as well. Only your Shifu never does so with any thought of bestowing a favor. Learn from her. Treating people with sincerity will not always earn you the same sincerity in return — but it will never do you any harm.”
“Yes.”