Hua Zhi was lost in thought and said nothing. Yü Weiwei was perceptive enough to read the room, and simply poured herself some tea without interrupting.

After a moment, Hua Zhi raised her head. “Your mother knows nothing of this, I take it?”

“About my father sending me this contract?” Yü Weiwei nodded. “She knows nothing — and not only of this matter. She is kept in the dark about everything else as well. My father and I have both been concealing things from her. She places too much trust in her own family, and especially in Zeng Xiangling.”

Hua Zhi was not surprised. “Find an opportunity to ask your father about anything concerning Zeng Xiangling — anything he found unusual is fair game.”

Yü Weiwei agreed, then hesitated before asking, “Hua Ling, do you… have a grievance with my eldest cousin?”

“There are things I cannot explain to you at present. Once it is all over you will understand the whole of it. But rest easy — it is nothing personal. He and I have never met. There is no grudge between us.”

“That is a relief.” Yü Weiwei exhaled from the bottom of her heart. “He is nothing good, but I was worried he had done something to wrong you.”

“Your husband…”

“Qi Qiu — just call him Qi Qiu. The very thought of him being my husband turns my stomach.”

Hua Zhi laughed despite herself. “Very well — Qi Qiu. You still need to keep him under control, and stay on your guard. Do not give him any opportunity to move against you.”

“I know. When he returns this time I will lock him up again and not allow anyone contact with him.” Yü Weiwei lifted her chin slightly. “It is just a bad name, is it not? I will bear it myself. What is there to fear? I would like to see whether Zeng Xiangling is shameless enough to come knocking on my door on his behalf again.”

She still wore the pallor of illness on her face, yet the vitality blazing forth from Yü Weiwei in that moment made her vivid and alive. The fearlessness in her eyes reminded Hua Zhi of herself. Both their vulnerabilities lay in their loved ones, and both were willing to throw themselves headlong into danger for the sake of those they loved — and that was why, from the very first, this young woman had struck Hua Zhi as someone different from the others.

After walking Yü Weiwei to the door, Hua Zhi shifted and leaned sideways. Gu Yanxi stood steady and let her rest against him.

“Does she remind you of someone?”

Gu Yanxi drew her arm through his as they walked back. “Not remotely. You built the Hua family back up by yourself, step by step. Had she not met you, she could only have swallowed her humiliation and endured — and who knows when, if ever, an opportunity to turn her circumstances around might have come. Perhaps it never would have.”

Words like these, spoken from a beloved’s lips, carried their own particular sweetness. Hua Zhi glanced up at him from the corner of her eye and did not argue the point.

“The silver mine contract is already in our hands. What do you intend to do with it?”

“Wait. We do not move against Zeng Xiangling until he has taken the bait.”

Hua Zhi considered this and understood — moving on the silver mine was one of the final steps. Before that, Zeng Xiangling needed to dangle something enticing enough to draw Peng Fangming fully in.

“What do you suppose Qi Qiu’s background might be?” Hua Zhi hugged her hand warmer and settled beside the brazier to continue her deliberations. “At this point I find myself suspecting everyone even slightly questionable of being a Chaoli tribesperson.”

Gu Yanxi took the tea Bao Xia had brought, skimmed off the froth, and set it beside A’Zhi. “Even if he is not, he cannot be without connection to them. Zeng Xiangling trusts him greatly — otherwise he would not have placed him in the Yü household.”

“Is it possible he is simply Zeng Xiangling’s man, rather than one of the Chaoli?”

“It is not outside the realm of possibility. Their backgrounds show not a trace of suspicion, so all one can do is wait for them to slip up.” Gu Yanxi narrowed his eyes slightly. “It will not be long.”

“Master.” Wang Hai lifted the curtain and came in. “The signing has taken place over there. Zeng Xiangling did indeed go in person — he brought two people with him, one being a trusted aide of Zhu Ling, and the other Qi Qiu.”

“Zhu Ling truly manages to involve himself in everything.” The contempt was written plainly on his face, and Gu Yanxi did not trouble himself to conceal it.

Hua Zhi looked toward Wang Hai. “How was the agreement structured?”

“The two sides’ gambling establishments are to be merged. Zeng Xiangling will introduce card games and mahjong at his own establishments. The Peng family will receive three-tenths of the net profits from all gambling houses combined; Zhu Ling will receive two-tenths; Zeng Xiangling three-tenths; and the remaining two-tenths will be divided among several other families.”

Hua Zhi quickly ran the calculations in her mind. “Peng Fangming has come out ahead. Although the new games are his contribution, his total number of gambling houses does not match Zeng Xiangling’s — and moreover, Zeng Xiangling’s establishments were hardly doing poor business to begin with. Once the novelty of the card games and mahjong fades, business on that side will inevitably recover. The arrangement as it stands effectively means these few families have the entire gambling industry of Jinyang City in their grasp. Do you know how the profits were previously divided among them?”

Wang Hai had naturally investigated, and answered promptly. “Two-tenths to Zhu Ling, three-tenths to Zeng Xiangling, and five-tenths distributed among the other families.”

“At the current scale of the gambling establishments, three-tenths of the profits is an enormous sum.” Hua Zhi frowned, thinking through the methods powerful families employed. “Zeng Xiangling has taken the more troublesome road. If he were to unite the others to drive the Peng family out of Jinyang and seize their gambling establishments outright, the Peng family would have little recourse.”

“So there is still something he is after — and he is after it in no small way.” Gu Yanxi looked up and instructed, “Send word to Peng Fangming: find a way to press Zeng Xiangling into making his move sooner.”

“Yes, Master.”

Hua Zhi stayed home and rested for only a single day before spending more than half her time again at the other household. The more one played, the less one lost, and everyone there still quite enjoyed her company. Connection between people did not always require the support of money — sometimes it was simply a matter of feeling, and the feeling toward Hua Zhi was genuinely favorable: she did not stir up trouble, she spoke little, and she did not gossip about others. A person like this was genuinely difficult to dislike.

“Miss Hua, you came a little later today. Oh — Weiwei is here.”

Hua Zhi had barely stepped down from the carriage when Madam Lv came out from inside. She smiled at the news. “I went out to the estate for a bit — and it is still early, is it not?”

“Someone from my family’s home came to deliver a message.” Madam Lv climbed into her own carriage and waved her handkerchief in farewell. “Enjoy yourself.”

“Take care on your way.”

The room was lively and full. Hua Zhi swept a glance around — all familiar faces.

“A’Ling, you’re here!” Yü Weiwei called out. “Come quickly and help me draw a tile.”

Hua Zhi walked over and looked. There was indeed only one tile left to draw. She first took a look at Yü Weiwei’s hand, drew the tile, peeked at it for herself, then placed it at the outermost edge of the row.

Yü Weiwei slapped the table with a great laugh and swept all the tiles face-down in one go. “A’Ling, your hand is truly blessed — I won back everything I lost and then some with this single round.”

Wang Yü looked it over and clicked her tongue. “With only one tile left you still managed to be the one to draw it. What rotten luck for us.”

“Never mind the chatter — pay up!”

After collecting her winnings, Yü Weiwei counted her tokens with the air of someone besotted with money, then stood up with a satisfied look and pulled Shao Yao into the seat. “I need to speak with A’Ling for a bit. Ling Niang, take my place for a few rounds.”

Shao Yao’s heart sank, but she kept a shy smile on her face and dutifully settled in to arrange and sort the tiles — clearly not for the first time.

In the bustle of a lively room, murmuring between two people blended right in. The two moved to the resting area nearby and sat with their heads together like the best of friends sharing secrets.