Zhu Ziwen walked toward Fan Ziming.
Fan Ziming was about to offer an explanation when Zhu Ziwen’s fist connected with his face before he could get a single word out, sending him stumbling backward until he fell to the ground.
“Brother Zhu…”
The other classmates hurried to restrain Zhu Ziwen. One of them hesitated, then — in the spirit of fellowship — went and helped Fan Ziming to his feet.
Zhu Ziwen shook off the hands holding him back and flexed his aching fist. “My cousin is right. I was blind — blind in both eyes and in my heart — to have called someone like you a friend.”
“Brother Zhu, I simply couldn’t help myself…”
“How is Miss Rong? And what of your little sister in the blue jacket?” Watching Fan Ziming’s eyes go wide, Zhu Ziwen gave a cold smile. “The people you cannot help yourself over are quite numerous. Do not ever place my cousin in their number. Even to mention you and my cousin in the same breath makes me feel I have dirtied her. If I hear of this again, do not expect me to hold back.”
Fan Ziming’s background was respectable enough — one did not simply fall in with Zhu Ziwen otherwise. But compared to a Minister of Revenue who held real authority, he still fell short. The fear was beginning to settle in now. His father had arranged for him to cultivate his association with Zhu Ziwen in order to draw closer to the Zhu Family. If his father ever learned that he had not only bungled the matter but made an enemy in the process…
He dared not let the thought go further. He scrambled after Zhu Ziwen’s retreating figure. The remaining classmates looked at one another, minds still reeling. They thought of their companion waiting back at the lodgings, guarding a jar of wine while expecting them to return with food, and they cast a glance toward the alley at the rear. Perhaps they ought to go buy something to bring back, get thoroughly drunk, and wake the next morning having forgotten the whole of this day ever happened.
The afternoon’s pleasure ruined, Hua Zhi had no interest in going anywhere else. She went straight home.
“Has Shao Yao returned?”
“Not yet.” Ying Chun wrapped a warm cloth around her mistress’s hands to drive out the cold.
Two days now. Hua Zhi was beginning to worry. The old physician had already prepared the medicinal ointment, but before it could be applied, Shao Yao’s wounds still required treatment. Since the Emperor had forbidden the old physician from leaving the palace, Shao Yao had no choice but to go inside, and there had been no word since.
She hoped as much of the scarring as possible could be removed. The world always judged by appearances first — only then would Shao Yao’s life have any chance of truly flourishing.
Rumor had cycled through one version and then another, and the current wave had landed once again upon the First Young Lady. The story of how she had reduced the young man who had publicly declared his feelings to speechless silence spread throughout the capital, even reaching the innermost depths of the palace.
Hao Yue set down the dossier she had read through several times already and, supported by a palace maid, rose to her feet and walked about the room. Hua Zhi’s existence appeared to present no obvious anomaly — she was betrothed to the Shen Family just as she had been in the previous life, and just as before, the Hua Family had run into trouble after the wedding date was set. It was also from this point that Hua Zhi had begun to change — stepping forward from among the women of the household, casting off her disguise of her own accord, and working herself to exhaustion for the Hua Family ever since.
And yet Hua Zhi had been the one to dissolve the engagement with Shen Qi on her own initiative. In the previous life, it had been the Shen Family who had broken off the betrothal with the Hua Family at around this same time.
What she found most incomprehensible of all was that the Hua Family’s men had not died — and that it was Hua Zhi who had saved them. Hao Yue could not help but turn the thought over once more: could Hua Zhi be the same as her?
If that were truly the case, then she absolutely could not be allowed to remain.
The head start she held was growing slimmer by the day, while Hua Zhi — she did not know from which point she had come back — even if she had lived only a single day longer than herself in the previous life, every advantage lay on Hua Zhi’s side. When she considered it this way, her greatest threat turned out to be Hua Zhi after all.
“Go and tell him that Hua Zhi cannot be permitted to remain. He must act quickly.”
“Yes.”
She picked up the dossier again and fixed her gaze on the final few lines, her brow faintly furrowed. To speak to an admirer with such utter ruthlessness — even though she herself had also returned from a previous life, she privately acknowledged she could not have brought herself to say such words. This Hua Zhi bore no resemblance whatsoever to the one she had known before. Or perhaps she had let her imagination carry her astray?
If Hua Zhi was not who she suspected, then what explained this complete transformation from the person she had been?
“My Lady.” A female official entered carrying a basket. “The Empress Dowager… would not receive your servant. Yuxiang said that from now on the palace of Fushou would no longer admit your servant, and that she should not call there again.”
For one brief instant, Hao Yue’s face contorted — the old devout hypocrite!
“Keep going every day regardless. Even if the basket is empty, it does not matter. As long as the Emperor is aware of it, that is enough.”
“Yes.”
Once the first lunar month came to a close, good news arrived in rapid succession. The Lu Family and the Sun Family had made a show of applying pressure on overland transport routes and then let go with ease, securing the water routes for themselves as they had wished. Just as with the salt tax, the Emperor carved the water and overland transport systems out separately into their own department, called the Ministry of Transport.
The Cai Family had identified two suitable matches. One of them was the Yuan Family that Madam Zhu had also been looking into. Hua Zhi was not, in the end, entirely without partiality — the Yuan Family, which both sides had agreed was an excellent choice, she set aside for Second Sister. The other three families, once their backgrounds had been thoroughly investigated, were allocated to the collateral branches. As for what came after, she would not involve herself — with several senior aunts by marriage handling matters, they would be far more seasoned in these affairs than she.
Hua Zhi accompanied her maternal grandmother on a visit to the Yuan Family. It happened to be a fortunate coincidence: the household’s patriarch counted himself something of a half-student of her grandfather’s and had even attended the Hua Family’s literary discussion gatherings in the past. He raised not a single objection to the match. The mistress of the house seemed from all appearances to be a woman without a scheming nature, which meant Second Sister was unlikely to face a difficult life once she married in.
With Second Sister’s marriage now settled, Hua Zhi arranged to meet with Madam Yu.
“The spring examinations are in the fourth month. What thoughts does Madam Xia have regarding the timing?”
“I naturally wish for it to be as soon as possible. If he is fortunate enough to pass, remaining in the capital would be easy enough, and the timing of the wedding would pose no difficulty. But should he be assigned to a post outside the capital, everything becomes complicated.” Madam Yu sighed. “I have every confidence in my son’s scholarship, yet his temperament is such that unless he remains in the Hanlin Academy, he is bound to get himself into trouble. And yet his grandfather hopes that Xia Sheng will be posted to a local position so that he can be tempered through experience in the provinces — easier said than done.”
“If the Hanlin Academy were still under the Hua Family’s direction, then simply serving as a Hanlin scholar would be quite sufficient. But that is no longer the case, and entering under the current circumstances would not be appropriate. Elder Master Yu has served as an official for many years — his judgment will not be mistaken.”
“The reasoning is sound, but what mother can bear to watch her son go far away and suffer hardship in some distant place?” Madam Yu shook her head, then turned to the matter at hand. “Has the Yuan Family set a wedding date?”
Hua Zhi smiled. “It happens to be a rather fitting coincidence — the young man of the Yuan Family and Young Master Yu are candidates of the same examination cohort, and he will also be sitting for the fourth-month spring examinations. Which means both families face almost identical circumstances. I mentioned Third Sister to them, and they suggested both sisters marry at the same time. It was a kindness, but I had no choice but to decline. This is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion — each girl ought to have her own proper celebration.”
Madam Yu deeply admired this quality in Hua Zhi — her fierce protectiveness of her sisters. Given the Hua Family’s present circumstances, two sisters marrying at the same time would not have been considered shameful, yet Hua Zhi still refused to let them share even their good day by halves. This head of household carried herself with generosity.
“In that case, the wedding date can only be pushed somewhat earlier. Will the Yuan Family object?”
“I have already discussed it with them, and they have no objections. By convention, there are nearly two months between the posting of the examination results and the assignment of official positions. If we move briskly, we should be able to see both weddings through.”
Hua Zhi was genuinely pleased that both families turned out to be reasonable people — which in itself spoke to their character and suggested they were unlikely to be difficult mothers-in-law. For a young bride, that was a great piece of fortune.
Author’s note: Three updates today. I’ve revised it repeatedly but still feel the plot threads aren’t sitting quite right. I’ll take another look tomorrow. My head is spinning.