Ying Chun was waiting at the door and drew close to her young lady, murmuring in a low voice: “The Old Madam is coughing badly.”

Hua Zhi glanced around. “Where is Grass Grass?”

“This servant saw her just a moment ago… There she is.”

Shaoye came out of the room carrying a bowl, walking quickly yet steadily, and brought it straight to Hua Zhi. “Give this to your grandmother to drink.”

The water in the bowl was a pale green, and Shaoye’s fingertips were tinged green as well. Hua Zhi took it and asked, “For the cough?”

“Mm. It won’t treat the root of it, but she can’t just go on coughing like this.” So when she had sent for the medicinal supplies, she had specifically requested several herbs for cough relief. “I’ve set some out to dry. Once they’re dried I’ll grind them into powder — she can steep them as a daily tea. It will spare her some suffering.”

“Good. Thank you.”

“Hehe, no trouble — I love making medicine.”

Hua Zhi carried the bowl inside. Seeing her grandmother’s face flushed red from coughing, she said nothing and simply went to her side, bringing the bowl to her lips.

Nanny Su had heard the exchange outside as well, and quickly moved to support the Old Madam from the other side.

She drank between coughs, stopping and starting, until the bowl was empty. After a few lighter coughs, the spell gradually subsided.

Glancing at Shaoye, who was peering in at the doorway, the Old Madam wiped the corner of her mouth and smiled faintly. “Slightly bitter, but there is a sweetness that comes after. It is not unpleasant.”

Shaoye smiled to herself outside the door and trotted off to sort through her medicinal stores. Unpleasant — of course not. These had been gathered from deep in the mountains, nurtured from seeds she had kept and grown herself. You could search every apothecary in the city and not find them.

Hua Zhi watched Shaoye’s retreating figure and smiled. “She is a good soul.”

“You were once a good soul too.”

“But never so full of life.” Hua Zhi knew perfectly well what kind of impression she had given before — not much different from a block of wood.

The Old Madam laughed despite herself. At least she had self-awareness. “Did they go home in a temper?”

“I did not let them get the better of me.”

“Good. You are the one running this household. Even if they had something to offer, they have no right to step above you — and as it happens, they have nothing to offer. If the talented daughters of the capital all come at that level, we had better not go looking among them when it is time for the Hua Family sons to take wives.”

Hua Zhi saw that her grandmother’s color had improved somewhat, and felt her own heart ease. “You are painting the whole boat with a single stroke. Not every accomplished young lady is versed in the Analects and the Spring and Autumn Annals — their strengths lie in poetry and lyric verse. If you asked Second Sister and Third Sister to compose a poem, they would certainly not disappoint you.”

“Do not try to coax this old woman. Can anyone produce fine poetry without a proper foundation? That I believe of you — perhaps.”

“You would truly be disappointed there. I cannot write poetry.”

The Old Madam tapped her lightly on the forehead, not believing a word of it. She had seemed like a block of wood before, showing nothing — and yet what was there she did not know?

Thinking of those two granddaughters who had always appeared so accomplished, the Old Madam’s smile faded. She sighed. “I had hoped to find someone to help share your burden. It seems that will continue to fall to you alone.”

“I have actually thought of something.”

“Then say it quickly — what is it?”

Fu Dong led a maid in to deliver several small plates of pastries, then withdrew without a sound.

Hua Zhi pushed the dish toward her grandmother. “Honey has been added. It is good for a cough.”

Though she had little appetite, the Old Madam took a small piece and placed it in her mouth. Soft and yielding, carrying a gentle sweetness, the pastry was wonderfully pleasant on the palate. She ate several pieces before setting down her chopsticks.

Making a mental note to send a serving every day from now on, Hua Zhi turned to her proposal. “I would like to have Bolin serve as the teacher for the younger class whenever I am away.”

The Old Madam stared. “Bolin? Whoever heard of a teacher so young.”

“When I divided the children into classes, Master Mu and I tested all of them. Bolin scored the highest, which shows that even during the period when the clan school was closed, he did not let his studies lapse. Letting him teach the younger class is not without its benefits — to teach others, one must first fully understand the material oneself. Teaching it again is simply reinforcing it once more, so what he learns will be more firmly fixed in his memory, and his foundation will be the sounder for it.”

“But he is still a student himself. If he goes off to teach others, will he not be neglecting his own learning?”

“That brings me to my second proposal. I would like Bolin to formally take Master Mu as his teacher.”

To formally take a teacher meant entering his discipline. As far as she knew, Master Mu had not yet accepted any students. “Master Mu’s learning is something even Grandfather praised highly. Had he not lost the desire to continue sitting for the examinations, he would long since have placed at the top of the rolls. But what puts my mind even more at ease is his character. In my estimation, character matters more than learning.”

A man praised by the late master of the family was not to be doubted. The Old Madam held Master Mu — who had chosen to come and teach at the clan school even after the Hua Family’s fall — in the highest regard, and had not the slightest objection to having her eldest grandson enter his tutelage. But even so: “Once he has taken a teacher, would he not need to devote even more time to his studies?”

“After the formal acceptance, Bolin need not confine himself to the schoolroom alone. Even if he misses a morning lesson, he can seek out his own teacher to make it up — I trust Master Mu would not refuse.”

Put that way, it did seem to hold. The Old Madam gave a small nod. “Taking a teacher is a solemn matter. Properly speaking, I ought to see to it myself — but the household is now in your hands, and Master Mu speaks highly of you as well. Go and discuss it with him yourself. When it comes to affairs you manage, Grandmother can rest easy.”

“Yes.”

Hua Zhi had always been one to act the moment she had decided. At midday, over a shared meal with Bolin, she laid out her plan.

When Hua Bolin first heard he was to be put in charge of teaching the younger boys, he was briefly exhilarated — and then shook his head vigorously. “Elder Sister, I can’t go and be a teacher right now. It absolutely won’t work.”

“The younger class is studying material you have already learned. Why can it not work? Or do you mean to say you have not actually learned it?”

“I have — but how could I possibly be a teacher…”

Hua Zhi knew her brother well. He was bold, and he had an interest in teaching. But he was afraid his own level would not measure up — that he would not teach it well.

She sipped her tea and, without warning, shifted the subject entirely. “Once Fourth Aunt has delivered her child, I intend to make a trip to the Northern Territories.”

“To the Northern Territories?” Hua Bolin’s voice shot up. “Elder Sister, you cannot — it is so far, and you are a woman; how can you go all that way? Absolutely not!”

“I am a woman, and yet am I not already teaching?” Hua Zhi’s brow came together. “Bolin — I have taught you to be calm when things arise. What kind of manner is this?”

Hua Bolin pressed hard to suppress the urgency rising within him and made himself take several deep, deliberate breaths. Then he stated his opposition firmly. “Elder Sister, I refuse to allow you to go. By the time Fourth Aunt has delivered, it will already be the eleventh month. Cold enough to kill.”

The more Hua Bolin thought about it, the more convinced he became that if Elder Sister went out there she would perish. The fear was so overwhelming that his voice began to break. “Elder Sister, let me go. Send me — I am a man, and I am not afraid!”

“How old do you think you are, speaking so boldly about being a man.” Hua Zhi pressed her handkerchief firmly against the corners of his eyes. “I will not be going alone. You must trust in your elder sister’s ability.”

“But Elder Sister, you are also only so old…” The small young man, who had been holding himself together, came undone precisely because of his sister’s reassurance, and tears began to fall. “Elder Sister, I don’t want you to go!”

“It is not as frightening out there as you imagine. The Great Qing is still a time of relative peace. I will follow the official roads the whole way — nothing will happen.”

Hua Bolin only wept. He was truly terrified — more frightened than he had been even when he learned that Father had been sent into exile.