“That was to be expected. With Second Aunt’s temperament and no natal family to back her up, she’ll always be on the receiving end.” A natal family was the backbone of a married woman, but being as dependent on hers as Second Aunt was to that degree — that was rare indeed.

“Still, the Second Young Madam has kept her heart turned toward home. She sent silver back — a portion went to the Third姨娘, but she also brought a share for the Old Madam.”

Hua Zhi listened and thought of her eldest aunt — that sharp, status-conscious woman. Even the second daughter, who had never been particularly valued, knew enough to think of the family’s difficulties in their time of need. What of her, the one who had received all the affection and indulgence? Did she intend to cut all ties with the Hua Family entirely?

Most of the silver ultimately made its way to Hua Zhi. She had Nian Qiu record the Third姨娘’s portion separately. She didn’t care about the amount — what she cared about was the intention behind it. She would repay it a hundredfold, a thousandfold, when the time came.

The baby’s unexpectedly early arrival had prompted Hua Zhi to move up the date of her departure for the northern territories. The later it grew, the colder it would be, and she had no desire to suffer through more of it than she had to.

“Bao Xia, go to Doctor Chu on my behalf. Ask him to prepare a larger supply of medicines. We’ll collect them in ten days.”

“Yes, miss.”

“Fu Dong — how are those people progressing? Are they ready to be considered trained?”

“Most of them are, but this servant feels that a few still need more seasoning.”

“In eight days, whether the timing is favorable or not, the snack street is opening.” Hua Zhi looked at her most introverted senior maid. “Fu Dong — while the snack street is nominally under Chen Liang’s management, you need to hold it clearly in your own mind. From now on, everything connected to food falls within your domain. You are the one overseeing it all from behind the scenes. Do you understand?”

Fu Dong bit her lower lip red and said in a small voice, “This servant… this servant will do everything she can, but she does not know much about business management…”

“Managing and running the business is not what I need from you. What I need is for you to train enough apprentices and to genuinely know them — not to be ignorant of everything beyond the food itself.” Seeing Fu Dong’s eyes going damp with that pitiful look of hers, Hua Zhi softened her tone. “I know you’d like nothing better than to spend all twelve hours of the day in the kitchen. I promise I will let you have your wish — but this work is something only you can oversee.”

“…Yes, this servant will do her best.”

“Bao Xia.”

“Yes, young miss.”

“I have rented a shop from my maternal grandmother — it’s on North Yang Street. Take some people and get it properly fitted out. The presentation must be done well, and as refined as you can make it. If you’re unsure, go and consult Fourth Aunt — she has a talent for this sort of thing. Once the weather grows colder, the canned goods from the estate can go on sale there.”

Bao Xia dropped to her knees with a sharp crack. “Young miss, please take this servant with you.”

Ying Chun also knelt. “Young miss, no matter what — please take at least one of us. Bao Xia has the most stamina. If you take her, we’ll all be much easier in our minds.”

Every maid inside and outside the room dropped to her knees in turn until the floor was a sea of bowed figures.

Hua Zhi felt a faint headache coming on. She wasn’t sure how to persuade her maids that bringing them along would only slow her down — however good their physical foundations, not one of them could withstand a long-distance journey on horseback.

“Why is Bao Xia supposed to be the one with the most stamina? That’s obviously me.”

The room fell still. It seemed even breathing paused for a beat. Then every pair of eyes lit up and turned toward Shao Yao, who stood there with a dish in one hand, unhurriedly feeding herself pieces of cake with the other.

Something stirred in Hua Zhi’s heart — and then she shook her head. “If you were just going for a few days you could come along easily enough. But this trip will take at least twenty days there and back. What if your master needs to find you?”

That was no problem at all. Shao Yao bolted for the door. “I’ll go ask him.”

Shao Yao found Gu Yanxi sitting idly beneath a tree, playing with a leaf. Not far from him, six Hua Family servants were holding a horse stance so long they were beginning to wobble.

Shao Yao cast them a pitying glance. To fall into the Shizi’s hands — what rotten luck.

“What do you want?” He plucked a cake from her dish and broke off a piece to eat with unhurried composure, seemingly oblivious to Shao Yao’s small motion of inching the dish behind her back.

Deciding she was no match for the Shizi and the cakes would inevitably be lost anyway, Shao Yao picked up the last two pieces and bit into each one before setting the dish back down with satisfaction. Only then did she speak. “Is there likely to be anything important happening soon?”

“Why?”

Shao Yao came out with it plainly. “Huahua is going on a long trip. I want to go with her.”

“To the northern territories? I thought that was to wait until the eleventh month.” He paused and then murmured as if to himself, “Ah, but the baby has already come. Moving it earlier isn’t unreasonable.”

“Yanxi, I want to go.”

“No one’s stopping you.”

Shao Yao gave a happy little bounce. “Then I’ll go tell Huahua.”

“Wait.”

Shao Yao eyed him warily. “You can’t take it back.”

“When are you setting out?”

“Ten days, maybe two weeks — Huahua said something about collecting medicines in ten days… hold on, I can make medicines too. Why didn’t Huahua come to me?” Shao Yao took off at a run.

Gu Yanxi raised an eyebrow. Once again, he found himself thinking that Hua Zhi’s care for Shao Yao was entirely genuine.

Unaware that she had just been silently credited with kindness, Hua Zhi was busy coaxing a displeased Shao Yao. “Doctor Chu is particularly skilled when it comes to treating frostbite. The frostbite remedy he makes is very effective — and besides, I placed the order with him before I had even met you.”

“You could just have me make it for you now.”

“These medicines don’t need you to make them yourself.” Hua Zhi took out a handkerchief and brushed the cake crumbs from Shao Yao’s hands. “If you have the time, make me something to strengthen and nourish the body instead. My grandfather is getting on in years — the northern territories aren’t a forgiving place, and I’ve always worried he won’t be able to bear the conditions.”

Shao Yao brightened at that and said cheerfully that it was no trouble at all.

“Ying Chun, go through our household medicines and take stock of what we have. Draw up a list for Cao Cao, and make do with what we have on hand. We don’t have the extra funds right now to go buying expensive ingredients.”

“Yes.”

Shao Yao agreed with a smile, though privately she thought: you may not have the funds, but I do. I have a whole garden of medicinal herbs and a storeroom piled high with more. And if that’s still not enough, I can ask the Shizi — there won’t be any shortage.

Once the date of departure had been settled, Hua Zhi went to see her grandmother.

The Old Madam looked at her. “You’ve truly decided to go yourself? Are you prepared?”

“Yes.”

In the Old Madam’s heart, her husband and sons ultimately won out. She nodded. “Very well then. Going early means coming back early — you might even avoid the heavy snowfall. How many people are you planning to bring?”

“Six, plus Shao Yao will be coming with me. As for the branch families — would you please speak to them, Grandmother? Have them prepare whatever they want sent. It can’t be too much — there are only so many of us, and we can’t carry a great deal.”

“All right. I’ll take care of it.”

When word spread that Hua Zhi was going to the northern territories, the whole Hua Family sprang into motion. Even so, few truly believed that a young woman raised entirely within the inner chambers would make a journey that far — yet the events of recent months had gradually built some measure of trust in Hua Zhi among the various branches of the family. Those who had given up on finding their people had already resigned themselves — but what if she actually found them?

It was precisely because everyone was thinking the same thing that what was prepared vastly exceeded what Hua Zhi could possibly carry. The Old Madam’s declaration that only one-tenth of it could be taken sent each branch scrambling into yet another round of deliberation.