By the time Hua Zhi woke, it was only just light. She made a few quick arrangements and led Shao Yao back to her own courtyard. After breakfast she pressed Shao Yao back into bed, then hurried herself off to the front courtyard.

Sleep could be made up later. Lessons could not stop.

Gu Yanxi could see her exhaustion at a glance but found little he could properly say about it. Even though he had not been at the Hua residence the previous night, he could guess well enough that her evening had not been easy. The Hua Family’s capable members were far too capable — and those who were not were genuinely helpless — and the numbers between the two were strikingly unequal.

Hua Zhi noticed him looking at her and assumed he was wondering why Shao Yao had not come. She offered an explanation, “Shao Yao wore herself out last night. I’ve had her sleep a little longer.”

Gu Yanxi gave a nod, choosing not to mention that he had not in fact been thinking of Shao Yao at all.

Hua Zhi dipped into a curtsy toward Gu Yanxi. “Thank you, Master Lu.”

What she was thanking him for she left unspoken, but how could Gu Yanxi not understand. He made a light gesture as though to raise her up. “The eldest young miss need not be so formal. It was merely a small favor.”

But your small favor was to me like warmth in a snowstorm, Hua Zhi said to herself. From that night in the rain when he had saved her life to now — from Master Lu himself to Shao Yao and then to their master — when she counted carefully, she had lost track of how many times she had been indebted to them. Even if they turned out to be villains, if the day came when she was called upon to repay them, she feared she would have no choice but to aid the wicked. She could only hope her luck wouldn’t run that poorly.

She watched Hua Zhi enter the clan school, then Gu Yanxi smoothed his sleeve and departed with unhurried ease.

The Hua Family seemed no different from the day before. Everything breathed an air of calm — those who were to study were studying, those who were to train were training, those who were to tend to their appearance were doing so. The only change was that the sound of an infant’s cries had joined the sounds of Wu Shi’s courtyard.

Wu Shi sat with her head bound, watching the baby in the wet nurse’s arms. Her spirits were still poor — surviving a brush with death had not come without its cost.

Nanny Song brought the chicken broth over, cooled to just the right temperature. Wu Shi drank half a bowl and then pushed it away. It was too rich and cloying.

“Even if it doesn’t taste good you should drink a little more. You must restore what you’ve lost during your confinement, or you’ll suffer greatly for it later.”

Wu Shi forced down a few more sips. “Next time skim off more of the fat. It’s too greasy — I really can’t manage it.”

Nanny Song had no choice but to set the bowl aside.

“Where is Zhi’er? What is she busy with?”

“She’s gone to the clan school. This servant made some inquiries — last night the eldest young miss and Miss Shao Yao both slept in the Old Madam’s courtyard. They only came out at daybreak, and neither of them looked to be in particularly good shape.”

Wu Shi gave a wry laugh. “Even I was shaken as badly as I was by that thunder — to say nothing of the Old Madam. I can only imagine what sort of night she had. Yet apparently there’s no one who could be of any real help, and tired as she is, she was still up and off to the clan school first thing this morning.”

Wu Shi let out a quiet sigh. When the Hua Family had been at the height of its power, one could not see the cracks. A household with two Hanlin Academy scholars — that was a distinction no other family in the entire capital could claim, and no one could rival their prestige. But the moment they fell from grace, the flaws became plain. One word summed it up: imposing on the outside, hollow within.

Strip away every shred of glory, remove the men who had stood at the front and shielded them from the wind and frost — and the women of the Hua Family turned out to be this feeble and shortsighted, so utterly lacking in substance.

That was true of the three sisters-in-law above her — and it was true of herself as well. Whether in their natal homes or after marrying into the Hua Family, they had all lived far too comfortably, and in doing so had lost the capacity to face adversity. What she could not fathom was this: Zhi’er, who had even less experience and exposure to the world than any of them — where had all her ability come from?

Still, whatever her own worth amounted to, once she was out of confinement she would have to lend a hand with the household’s affairs. To let a junior carry an entire family on her shoulders while she sat by waiting to benefit from it — that was not something she was capable of.

When the door was pushed open she paid it no mind, until a single cry of “Daughter” reached her ears and she spun toward it, her eyes going red at once.

“Mother…”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry — you’ll hurt your eyes.” And yet Wu Shi herself was crying openly. “How are you? The person who came with the message spoke so vaguely that I didn’t dare press for details. Everything went smoothly, I hope?”

“Your daughter nearly didn’t get to see you again.” Wu Shi buried herself in her mother’s arms and wept without restraint. The terror of surviving that close brush with death seemed only now to make itself felt. Even now she could scarcely believe she had truly made it through.

“What happened? What is this? And the baby — the baby is all right?”

Nanny Song stood to the side, dabbing her eyes, and recounted what had happened that day. Wu Shi’s mother listened with a stream of prayers to Amitabha on her lips, grateful that she had set aside her reservations and come in person. Her daughter had been so frightened, and she hadn’t known.

“Why didn’t you send someone to tell me? I might not have been able to help with anything else, but couldn’t I have at least come to give you some courage?”

Wu Shi shook her head gently. “Since I had already severed ties with my natal family, there was no reason to trouble them again. And besides, with the situation as it was yesterday — even if I had managed to send word out, you likely would not have been able to get in.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Old Madam had also fallen ill. The eldest young miss had all four of the side gates locked shut, and permitted no one to enter or leave.”

Wu Shi’s mother was momentarily uncertain whether to first ask about her in-law’s illness or about the eldest young miss.

Wu Shi wiped her tears and quietly recounted what had been happening in the Hua household over this stretch of time — including how Hua Zhi had pulled her back from the brink the previous day.

Wu Shi’s mother was silent for a long while, then exhaled a long, slow breath. “I know what your three sisters-in-law are like. I had originally feared that the whole mess would end up falling on your shoulders — but the eldest always takes precedence over the younger, and there would have been no proper basis for skipping over them to let you manage the household. I had been worried the whole time that you’d have a hard time of it with a child on the way. And yet, somehow, things have turned out like this.”

She asked again, as if needing to be sure, “She truly has been the one running everything?”

“More true than anything. And I don’t just mean you — everyone in this house was startled by her.” Wu Shi rested lightly against her mother’s shoulder. “Keep this to yourself when you hear it. Zhi’er isn’t one who likes to draw attention — she has no interest in empty reputation.”

“I know. I won’t say a word of it, not even to your sister-in-law.” Her mother stroked her daughter’s face. “Don’t resent your sister-in-law. She is a wife of the Wu Family — in her heart, no one comes before her husband and children. Not you, an already-married younger sister-in-law, and not even her own blood kin. They all come second.”

“I don’t resent her. That she thinks of the Wu Family’s interests is something I’m glad of. Compared to how other branches of the family have responded, my sister-in-law has already been generous with her face.”

Her mother sighed and stayed to keep her daughter company for a while, then went to pay her respects to the Old Madam before leaving without staying for a meal. She still had to keep the Wu Family’s affairs in mind. She had come in an inconspicuous carriage and left the same way, deliberately avoiding the crowds.

When the report reached Hua Zhi, she merely gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment, then had Fu Dong prepare some light but nourishing dishes to be sent to her fourth aunt. She herself snatched a short nap — she was genuinely too tired to go on.

After the afternoon class let out, Ying Chun came to report, “Young miss, the Second Young Madam’s people have arrived. Following your instructions, they were taken directly to the Third姨娘’s quarters.”

“Was the Third姨娘crying or smiling when they came?”

“Crying, young miss. This servant has the impression that the Second Young Madam hasn’t been faring very well in her husband’s household.”