“What makes you any different from the people you despise?” Gu Yanxi removed his own cloak and draped it over A’Zhi’s shoulders, then looked down at the man kneeling on the ground, his expression contorted. “If you had the guts to truly go against the officials you despised and turn everything on its head, I might still respect you as a man of mettle. But you have done nothing but find a reason to convince yourself, and used it to become an executioner with a clean conscience.”

“Easy for the head of the Seven Constellation Bureau to say — you stand at the side of those officials just the same, cast from the same mold. Go against the court ministers and turn everything upside down? Ha! What a fine joke. If I truly tried that, I would be riddled with arrows before I even got close. You need not look so indignant — in all of Daqing, the Seven Constellation Bureau is the only thing of any use. Everyone else is dead weight. With Daqing’s current national strength, if the Zhaoli Tribe marched in, it would only be a matter of time. I’ll be watching — watching to see whether they can still hold their power then, still stand in their high places and enjoy every privilege. I’ll be watching!”

Gu Yanxi felt it a fraction too late. Zeng Xiangling had kept the hairpin Yu Weiwei had driven into his neck clutched in his hand all this time. With a speed beyond what should have been possible, he drove it straight into the right side of his own neck, into the artery — and then dragged it outward in a sharp cut. The blood vessel opened. Blood sprayed.

Shao Yao rushed forward, examined him, and could only shake her head at Yanxi-ge. This man had no intention of living. At the rate he was bleeding, she could not stop it. He would be dead from blood loss before long. All she could do was slow it slightly.

Hua Zhi touched her face. When she drew her fingertips away, they were red with blood — still warm. Something inside her chest grew unbearably heavy.

Zeng Xiangling had once been the cherished pride of his family, a young man full of spirited confidence who had wanted to bring his clan even greater glory. But that version of him, the one who could never have imagined it would end like this — the fall from the heights of heaven to the depths of the earth. That was all it was.

Hua Zhi crouched down beside him. She looked at the man whose gaze was already beginning to scatter, and asked: “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Zeng Xiangling’s eyes slowly gathered focus. He looked at the woman whose face was composed but whose eyes were brimming with sorrow, for a long moment. “I hear Miss Hua is a woman of business.”

“I am.”

“As it happens, so am I. I would like to make a deal with Miss Hua.”

“Go ahead.”

“You keep my family safe and unharmed. In return, I’ll tell you where the silver is.”

Hua Zhi glanced up at Yanxi, then gave a firm nod. “Deal.”

Zeng Xiangling smiled. This time the warmth in his smile was genuine — like the last bright flare before a candle goes out. Even his voice found a measure of strength. “My silver is hidden at the horse grounds. Theirs is at Pengkou. I spent considerable effort but could only find out this much — the exact location, I do not know.”

“Good. I will ensure your family comes to no harm.”

“I believe you, Miss Hua.” Zeng Xiangling turned his face away, looking up at the blue expanse of sky, and murmured quietly to himself: “Finally — I don’t have to keep living. How good. In the next life, I don’t want to be a person again…”

Not a person — then he would not have to understand what it meant to be powerless. Not a person — then he would not know what it was to have his heart torn apart. Not a person — then he would not have to despise himself.

Not a person again…

Not a person…

Shao Yao watched the light fade from his eyes, pressed her fingers to his wrist, and looked up. “He’s gone.”

Hua Zhi looked at his face, at the way he had died with his eyes open, for a long, quiet moment. Then she raised her hand and passed it gently over his eyes. She held it there for a breath, then slowly drew it away. His eyes stayed closed.

“Collective punishment is the most inhumane charge in all the laws that exist. The crimes Zeng Xiangling committed deserve a death a thousand times over. But his crimes should be borne by him alone. What fault have his family members? To behead the innocent — how is that any different from Zeng Xiangling himself?”

Just as with her own Hua Family — because of her grandfather’s actions, the consequences had spread so far and so wide. A child barely past ten years of age, dragged out of warmth and shelter and cast into bitter cold. What sin had an innocent child ever committed?

Gu Yanxi took her hand and drew her away from the carnage. “What he revealed is very useful. I will have him credited with a final contribution, so that his family is not made to suffer.”

Hua Zhi gripped his sleeve and bowed her head. “I acted willfully.”

“If you hadn’t agreed to him, I would have found that strange.” His A’Zhi had the softest heart in all the world. “A’Zhi, you will need to stay a few more days.”

Hua Zhi looked up.

Gu Yanxi’s expression carried a trace of helplessness. “What Zeng Xiangling did was far too abrupt — it is as though he ripped the lid off Jinyang in one motion. I was not sufficiently prepared. Jinyang needs someone to help stabilize it, and I must make haste to Pengkou.”

“But I am only a woman. I have no formal authority — no one will listen to me.”

Gu Yanxi placed the command token that represented the head of the Seven Constellation Bureau into her palm. “Don’t underestimate yourself. A’Zhi — you will do this better than anyone.”

“All right. I understand.” Hua Zhi pressed her lips together and gave a nod. This was the best opportunity they would have. With Zeng Xiangling brought down, Zhu Ling could not escape. This was the perfect moment for a thorough sweep. Mahjong and playing cards were only newly arrived — expecting people to abandon gambling entirely was impossible, but there was a better way: redirect rather than suppress. Let gambling become recreation. Change the nature of it, and the mindset would change too.

Gu Yanxi smiled and touched the back of her neck in a subtle, affectionate gesture. “There have been people watching Zeng Xiangling’s every move. This time he acted on a large scale — the Zhaoli Tribe’s hiding place has been found. Wang Hai has taken men there. Hopefully this time we can clean things out more thoroughly, but there may be those who slip through the net. That’s why I must move quickly — I cannot let the Zhaoli Tribe receive word and relocate beforehand.”

“What about the Qingliu Camp?”

“I’ve already sent word to General Lu. He’ll arrive before long. A contribution this significant, I cannot claim alone — but the military cannot enter the city. They can only remain outside the walls as a show of force. And a general has no civil authority, so all decisions will still rest with you.”

Hua Zhi thought for a moment. “When you speak to General Lu, ask him to select a hundred elite soldiers for me. Take all of the Seven Constellation Bureau’s people with you — including Shao Yao.”

“That won’t do…”

“It must.” Hua Zhi cut him off. “You are going to Pengkou against the Zhaoli Tribe. There is a store of silver there — and no telling how many of them are keeping watch over it. You must go with enough people.”

Gu Yanxi knew A’Zhi was right. Even so — “Shao Yao stays.”

Hua Zhi drew Shao Yao, who had been nearby with her ears perked up, to her side. “The medicinal powder you threw earlier — how was it different from the previous formula?”

“Three times the potency.”

“Three times the potency, and the Zhaoli tribesmen still didn’t fall — but they slowed down. Their reactions lagged.” Hua Zhi looked steadily at Yanxi. “With Shao Yao along, it is equivalent to diminishing the Zhaoli Tribe’s fighting strength. She must go.”

“A’Zhi, Jinyang is not without its dangers still. How can your side be left without someone?”

“Yu Mu and Jia Yang will stay.”

“That is not enough. Leave four more.” Gu Yanxi, for the first time in A’Zhi’s presence, refused to yield a single inch. When lives were at stake, he could not afford to let her have her way.

Hua Zhi blinked, and when she spoke again, her tone softened: “The army will surround the city. Anyone with any sense will not dare make a reckless move. And this is Jinyang, Daqing’s lesser capital — we are on our own ground, among our own people. You, however, are not. If you do not agree, I will have no choice but to accompany you to Pengkou.”

Gu Yanxi found himself torn between exasperation and laughter. To get him to agree, A’Zhi had deployed both gentle persuasion and strategic pressure?

And yet he also had to admit that she was right. Furthermore, A’Zhi had never been the sort of soft target anyone could push around — anyone foolish enough to cross her would likely find themselves on the losing end without knowing quite how it happened.

When he thought of it that way, he felt considerably more at ease. He nodded. “All right. Your way.”