Hua Zhi turned to Lu Peiyu. “We will need the General’s cooperation in this matter.”

“Five days from now I will withdraw my men from the horse enclosure.”

Hua Zhi looked to Jia Yang, who nodded. “That works. We will be ready by then at the latest.”

“Very well.” Hua Zhi looked around at the gathered faces. “Our immediate problem is how to move the silver out of the city without attracting attention.”

“As it happens, I have a few ideas about that.” Zhu Ling spoke up of his own accord. “The Chaoli tribe had specially built a kind of cart for transporting silver out of the city. They wrapped the wheels in a certain material and then bound them in layer after layer of cloth. Even a full cart of silver would make no sound at all while moving. I know exactly where those carts are kept.”

Hua Zhi was delighted to hear it. “Then we need only wait for the silver to arrive.”

The very next morning, those bringing their silver came. The Peng Family was first.

Peng Fangming directed his men to carry the chests in and stack them neatly in order. When he saw Hua Zhi approaching, he hurried forward to meet her. “First Young Lady.”

“Young Master Peng has been most considerate.”

“As it should be.” Peng Fangming stole a glance at the young woman before him. What all the families were talking about most, in private, was this young lady. An event of such enormous magnitude had been brought under control by a woman, and without stirring even the slightest unrest. Only now were they coming to understand that a woman’s capabilities, when fully exercised, could be capable of this.

“I guessed that the young lady might prefer cash silver, so yesterday I arranged with the moneychangers to convert some — added to what the household had on hand, we have managed to put it all together. Most of the silver at home came from the gambling establishments, so it is largely loose silver. I hope that is acceptable to the young lady?”

“That is fine. Silver is silver.” Hua Zhi gave a small incline of her head. “Young Master Peng has indeed been very thoughtful. As he says — I would rather have cash silver than banknotes. Gold would be even better, of course.”

Peng Fangming heard the message between those words, and smiled. “Understood. I believe the other families will all come prepared with cash silver.”

Those who had not originally planned on it would now need to go back and make new arrangements.

Hua Zhi bent in a silent bow of thanks. Silver took up so much space — but that was not something she could be the one to say.

When Peng Fangming left, Hua Zhi went forward and opened one of the chests to look inside. It was a chest of loose silver. “Silver cannot be sent to the yamen anymore — too conspicuous. Go find Magistrate Zhu and have him point out a location to receive it.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi turned. “Jia Yang, I will need you to handle the verification yourself. You need to have a general sense of the total in your head. Once the people are in place, move half of it out.”

“Yes. This subordinate understands.”

When word spread that Hua Zhi did not want banknotes, the various families were displeased but had no choice but to make new arrangements. It was fortunate that the money changer proprietors were their own people, and the reserves ran deep enough — otherwise there would truly have been no way to exchange so much silver.

Jinyang city remained under lockdown, yet that day it took on a certain lively air. Carts and carriages of every sort, loaded with silver, wound in a connected stream toward a residence in the western part of the city. The horse enclosure was in the west; leaving through that gate was the most convenient.

There was too much silver. Jia Yang alone could not keep up, and Hua Zhi first sent Bao Xia to help — and then, inevitably, had to step in herself. It was while she was crouched before one of the chests with her sleeves tied back that Chen Qing arrived, leading the Shizi’s men.

Chen Qing hurried forward to help. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of her dirtied hem, and his heart felt the pang of it. At court, the great and mighty were still contending bitterly over who would take control of Jinyang. How many of them could imagine that his master was already chasing the enemy a thousand li away? Who could have imagined that the First Young Lady — a woman — had single-handedly shouldered every burden Jinyang had to offer: eating poorly, sleeping little, with barely a handful of attendants, yet still having to roll up her sleeves and do the work herself?

“How is it you who came?” Seeing clearly who it was, Hua Zhi smiled. She set her hand down, rose, and walked to one side to note down a figure. She needed to keep her own tally of how much silver was being quietly moved out.

“With the former head of the Seven Lodges Bureau holding things steady in the capital, the old man alone is worth a hundred others.” Chen Qing straightened and led the thirty people who had come with him in a uniform bow. “We pay our respects to the First Young Lady.”

“No need for formalities.” Hua Zhi gave a light gesture to invite them to rise. “You arrived faster than I expected — which is good. Hurry and lend a hand. Half the silver here I need moved out. The details you can get from Jia Yang afterward.”

Everyone dispersed to their work. Chen Qing noticed Bao Xia working on the other side of the room — and then, looking around again, realized that of all the people in the room, there were only these two, mistress and maid.

“Where are the people my master left for you? How is it that you are still doing this yourself?”

“He took most of them with him. Yu Mu followed later to carry a message, and Jia Yang alone has been stretched to the point of splitting himself in two.” Hua Zhi took out a handkerchief intending to wipe her hands, only to find it so dirty it could have made her hands worse, and set it aside. She wiped her hands carelessly on her clothes. “How are things in the capital?”

“Before this subordinate left the capital, news of Jinyang had just arrived. Many eyes were fixed with envy on it. The Emperor’s position is not yet clear; all sides have been making moves privately.”

“Who do you think it will fall to?”

Chen Qing shook his head. “This subordinate spent the entire journey thinking and could not determine who has the greater likelihood. It seems equally unsurprising no matter who receives it.”

“Has the Emperor shown any recent inclination toward any particular party?”

“None.” Chen Qing hesitated a moment, then lowered his voice. “The Emperor has not been appearing in public frequently of late?”

Hua Zhi’s attention sharpened. “His health has declined?”

“When this subordinate was in the capital and went to the palace to deliver my master’s letter, I saw the Emperor once. He appeared to be in excellent spirits.”

“Then why…”

Chen Qing’s voice dropped even lower. “This subordinate made some inquiries. The Emperor has been staying exclusively at Yuepin’s Rulan Palace, and has not visited any of the other consorts.”

Hao Yue was suspect — of that Hua Zhi was certain. What she did not know was where exactly the problem lay. Surely it could not be that Hao Yue’s aim was to prevent any other child from being born in the palace — that was not something a person of her standing would need to trouble herself over, and the odds of it were low besides. As for the Emperor being bewitched by Hao Yue’s beauty — that was also unlikely. What beauties had the Emperor not seen over his lifetime? A man who had lived this long would not be ensnared by Hao Yue’s level of looks. She was pleasant enough in appearance, but fell short of truly exceptional — a noticeable distance from breathtaking. Could it be that she was coaxing the Emperor into issuing a decree naming her child as successor? But whether the child was even a boy or a girl was still unknown…

No matter how she turned it over, it did not add up.

Hua Zhi picked up her cold tea and drank a mouthful. “Are there no objections from the other ladies of the palace? By custom, a consort with child is not supposed to serve the Emperor, is she?”

“The Emperor made an exception for Yuepin. Not even the Empress Dowager’s censure could change his mind.”

The matter circled back to the same question: what possible reason could make the Emperor treat Hao Yue so differently from all the others? Hua Zhi looked up. “Has Hao Yue shown any unusual behavior?”

“She has been the very picture of propriety.” Chen Qing gave a rueful smile. “It is not only my people watching her — Eunuch Lai Fu is doing the same. But Yuepin has made it plain she dislikes Lai Fu, and the Emperor has accordingly stopped allowing him to attend inside the palace. He has no way of knowing what is truly happening in Rulan Palace. Oh — there is something else you should know: the divine physician Yu has left the palace.”

“Left the palace? The Emperor gave his permission?”

“It was the Emperor himself who had him leave, though he is not permitted to leave the capital. This subordinate brought him to the Shizi’s residence, where he has sufficient medicinal materials at his disposal.”