It had not been a long separation — a little over a month — but Shaoyao, understanding the situation well, made herself scarce and gave the two of them space.
Yet Gu Yanxi showed not the slightest inclination to make use of the opportunity. Instead, he had a small, sheltered corner of the courtyard prepared — somewhere tucked out of the wind but well bathed in sunlight — and set out fragrant tea, pastries, small pillows and cushions. Then he took Hua Zhi by the hand and brought her outside to sit in the warm sunshine.
Hua Zhi rested her chin in her hand and watched Yan Xi, who seemed to soften all over in the sunlight. “Have you been spending most of your time here since arriving?”
“Yes. I am an unfamiliar face — better to show myself as little as possible.”
“Jinyang is not a small city, and yet they have managed things to this degree. Honestly, if this same effort were directed toward something else, who knows what remarkable things could be accomplished.” She accepted the hand warmer that Bao Xia passed to her, and the warmth of it settled over her with such comfort that a sense of contentment rose in her unbidden — finally, the feeling that the coldest part of the year had truly passed.
Watching Ah Zhi like this, Gu Yanxi’s eyes were filled with softness. Ah Zhi was not, at heart, a person who wished to be burdened with constant toil. That much had been clear from all those years when not even the reputation of being an ugly, unsellable girl could drive her beyond her own doors. She simply liked living quietly within her own small world, with nothing more taxing to worry about each day than what new delicacy to try her hand at. He could well imagine the kind of life she had lived in those earlier years, and it was precisely because he could that he understood how much she resented the endless scheming and busyness that now filled her days.
Others might have three parts of talent yet strive to display ten; she had ten parts yet begrudged spending even one.
“I heard from Chen Qing that the farm growing the mushrooms is outside the city, with a storefront opened within the city itself.”
“Yes. The city shop is mostly for receiving orders. After some effort at the beginning to introduce the product to various households, their managing stewards and senior servants have since come on their own to place orders. Each day, the mushrooms are brought into the city and then delivered in the required quantities to each household. The shop manager goes out to the farm directly to collect the goods.”
“No retail sales in the shop?”
“None.”
Hua Zhi raised a thumb in approval. “A premium-only operation — a clever scheme. The prices must be quite steep.”
“Twice what they fetch in the capital.”
Quite costly indeed — though of course, when the season came, mushrooms could be gathered from the hills for free, and the common people would bring them to market to sell in small quantities. Everyone could eat them eventually. By dealing only with wealthy households and restaurants, orders came in concentrated batches and the whole business was far less troublesome.
Gu Yanxi smoothed her hair gently. “I have purchased the residence behind this one as well. Its main gate opens onto a different lane. Move over there.”
“Is there a particular reason?”
“Once you are moving about outside, you will naturally attract attention. Even people from before who recognize you may come to call. Living in two separate places is also a precaution. We both came from the capital, and your surname is Hua — it would be easy for people to connect it to our identities.”
Hua Zhi rubbed her face. “I made a misstep last time.”
“How could you have known then that you would need to come again.” Gu Yanxi smiled. “The only pity is that I cannot accompany you when you go out.”
“Being able to have this much together already makes me very happy — it feels leisurely, like going back to the old days.” Hua Zhi leaned over the small table, indulging in a pleasant daydream. “If every day could pass like this, that would be perfect.”
“A little longer — once everything has settled, it can be.”
“Who knows how much longer that will take.”
Gu Yanxi wanted to say it would be soon, but the words reached the edge and would not come out. For everything to truly settle, it could only happen once Xiao Liu ascended the throne — and Xiao Liu ascending the throne meant that his Imperial Uncle would have passed away. He wanted this to be over, yet he also hoped his Imperial Uncle would live many more years. But while his Imperial Uncle lived, none of this could end. There was no way to have both.
Gazing at Ah Zhi lying there in a languid sprawl, Gu Yanxi changed the subject. “Are you going to leave Bailin in Qingzhou indefinitely?”
“I have made no demands of him — whether he returns or stays there is entirely his own decision to make. He is eleven now; it is time he learned to decide things for himself. There is no matter of life or death involved in any case, so whichever way he chooses is fine.”
“Once the handover in Qingzhou is complete, he could be sent to Xuzhou. That is Lu family territory — there would be nothing to worry about there.”
Hua Zhi was still concerned at heart. She thought it over and decided she would write Bailin a letter upon her return.
Gu Yanxi leaned across the small table and pressed his forehead to hers, eyes bright with warmth. “That Yu Weiwei married not long ago. Do you wish to see her?”
She considered for a moment, then shook her head. “I am not sure yet — let me see how things go.”
“Understood.” Gu Yanxi asked again, “Can we leave setting the date for the trip to Yinshan Pass until later this year?”
“Why?”
Hua Zhi’s eyes blinked in his direction, her long lashes like two small fans, fluttering and flickering against the softness of Gu Yanxi’s heart, making him reach out and gently brush against her eyes. “I do not know when the business here in Jinyang will be resolved. You once said you would set out heading north in the fourth month — I am afraid I may not be back in time.”
“I can make the trip alone. You just need to send a few more people with me.”
“That will not do. I want to go with you.”
Hua Zhi’s eyes went round and round in thought. “Then I suppose I shall magnanimously accommodate your schedule — but not too late, mind you. I still intend to make another trip in the second half of the year.”
“Agreed.”
Over by the corridor, Shaoyao stood with her forehead resting against a pillar, watching the two of them behave exactly like a pair of children, and felt a flicker of wistfulness. Hmph. She would act just like that with Hua Hua someday.
The sun was so generous, and the peace in her heart so settled, that Hua Zhi began to drift toward sleep.
“Go inside to sleep — do not catch a chill.” As he spoke, Gu Yanxi made to pull her to her feet and usher her indoors.
“I do not want to.” Every inch of Hua Zhi expressed her protest. “It is so comfortable out here.”
Gu Yanxi had never been capable of refusing Ah Zhi. If she was comfortable here, then here she would sleep. He sent Bao Xia to fetch a quilt, calculated where the sun would reach as it moved westward to find the spot with the most sunlight, and then simply scooped Ah Zhi up in his arms, carried her over, and settled himself down. He shifted until he found a comfortable position, then began to pat her back. “Sleep.”
Hua Zhi reveled in Yan Xi’s absolute, principled-free compliance. She buried her face into the man’s chest and closed her eyes in pure contentment, her breathing lengthening into the steady rhythm of sleep even before Bao Xia returned with the quilt.
Once the young lady was well and truly bundled under the blanket, Bao Xia could not help grumbling softly, “Please do not indulge the young lady in everything — she can be quite willful at times.”
Gazing down at the face before him, every detail rendered with perfect clarity, Gu Yanxi felt something in him turn impossibly soft. “Ah Zhi has a willful side?”
“Do not let her capable manner fool you — she is more willful than most young ladies I have known.” Though she said it in those terms, Bao Xia was smiling with great warmth. “In the cold of winter, she would sneak off when no one was looking and make all sorts of strange concoctions using ice — and they were delicious, of course. But a young lady’s constitution is not suited to such things. In summer, when she found the heat unbearable, she would quietly trim an inch off the sleeves and trouser legs of her undergarments. I never dared hang those clothes anywhere someone might see them.”
That lively, spirited version of Ah Zhi — he had never been there to witness it. Gu Yanxi was filled with a quiet, aching regret. A person’s inner world is so closely bound to their circumstances, and to their years. Even when all things had changed and all storms had passed, it was likely that Ah Zhi would never be able to recover the lightness she had felt in those days.
Looking at the face before him — more beautiful still in sleep, brows and eyes like an exquisite painting — Gu Yanxi leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. One day, I will bring you back to those carefree years.