Hua Zhi had word sent to her grandfather, and when Wu Yong arrived she went along as well.
Everyone in the Hua household followed Hua Zhi’s lead without question these days. Hua Yizheng did not even pause to consider the impropriety of a man and woman meeting alone — after exchanging a few words with Wu Yong he found a pretext and withdrew. Using the rules used to confine women of inner households to constrain Zhi’er — that would be the greatest insult to her.
Wu Yong was somewhat surprised but adapted well. He smiled. “The young miss looks considerably thinner than before.”
“A minor illness — a little rest and it’ll pass.” Hua Zhi took a small sip of her medicinal tea, her disdain perfectly concealed behind a composed expression. Wherever she went these days this sort of tea was waiting for her — even in the palace it was the same. What more could she say.
“I hear General Wu has gone before the Emperor to seek Shao Yao’s hand in marriage.”
“The young miss is always forthright, so I too shall not beat around the bush.” Wu Yong’s expression turned earnest. “My heart is utterly sincere. I ask that the young miss might put in a kind word on my behalf.”
“What you should be thinking about is how to first pass my scrutiny.”
Wu Yong was briefly taken aback. “Ah — I had actually forgotten that the young miss is already the Regent’s intended.”
Hua Zhi did not bother to dispute the title, only saying, “General Wu’s taste is rather different from most people’s.”
“Food and beauty are natural desires — I am no exception. Yet even the most beautiful face grows ordinary with familiarity, while the pleasures of being with Shao Yao are something no one else can offer. I will not conceal it from the young miss: I am truly weary of inner household scheming — even sleep has been fitful. Please believe me when I say this decision was made after a great deal of deliberation. I want to ride freely with Shao Yao, to spar when at leisure or compete on a strategy board — simply imagining such days makes a person feel alive.”
“That is fair enough.” Hua Zhi nodded. “So marry Shao Yao as the principal wife, then bring a few beautiful concubines in through the side gate, and all is settled.”
That was not something Wu Yong had ever thought of doing, yet he had never once entertained the idea of a household with a wife but no concubines either. But from the tone of the young miss’s words…
He considered for a moment. “If I were to promise to take no concubines — would this matter be possible?”
“I can only say this: if you make that promise, I will not stand in the way. Whether or not this match is made lies in Shao Yao’s hands alone. If she has no feeling for you, no one can compel her; if she agrees, no one will stop her either.” Hua Zhi slid the lid of her cup gently. “General Wu should also have a clear sense in his own heart of what consequences would follow if he promises something he cannot keep. Do not assume that because the distance is great we would be helpless. The notion of a daughter married out being like water spilled from a basin — that will never apply to Shao Yao. I am at any time willing to take that water back. So General Wu, please do not make a rash decision. Better to think it through clearly before giving your word.”
Wu Yong rose to his feet and gave a formal, respectful bow. “Seeking the hand of the commandery princess is a decision I made after thorough deliberation, with full consideration of every consequence. I am also fully aware that given the Regent’s devotion to her protection, if I were to mistreat her I would come to no good end. But… I find myself thinking of her often. The days I spent in her company were my happiest — even her jibes brought me a kind of gladness. For a time I was perpetually thinking of what excuse I could find to make a trip to the capital, just to catch a single glimpse. I suppose that feeling is what one calls being fond of someone — I believe it must be. Shao Yao is not fair to look at; one might even say she is plainer than most. Yet her eyes are the brightest I have ever seen — you can read her happiness and her displeasure in them at a glance. I will not trouble the young miss to laugh at me for saying this: I want to cherish her, and I want to cherish this feeling of being fond of a person — something that does not come easily to people like us.”
Even with a thousand objections ready, Hua Zhi could not help but be moved by this man’s earnest expression and these words. This was not a world where people were free — they were accustomed to matches arranged by parents and brokered by matchmakers. Some people went their whole lives not knowing what it was to be fond of someone. Between husband and wife, mutual courtesy was observed; whatever affection a man showed to one favored concubine was considered the full measure of caring he could offer.
Yet Wu Yong had laid this fondness bare and examined it in the open. She had to admit: this was indeed a feeling worth cherishing.
And so she offered the most sincere reply she could give. “I will speak with Shao Yao properly.”
Wu Yong gave a long, respectful bow and took his leave.
“A little more reassured now?” Hua Yizheng walked in from outside, a smile on his face. He had come to understand why the younger members of the household deferred to Zhi’er so completely — her protection was never mere words, but something solid and real in every action.
Hua Zhi rose, and did not sit again until her grandfather had taken his seat. “My impression of him has never been poor. Does Grandfather think highly of him?”
“Two years working alongside him gives you some measure of a person. Among the military men of his generation he is the only one with any real ability to speak of. What is rare is that he also has something of a chivalrous spirit. Not all of the officials exiled to Yinshan Pass were truly guilty — some were framed, some wrongly accused. Openly and quietly he provided a degree of protection. Without it, some of those people could never have survived in those conditions. In my view, that speaks to a very fine character.”
Hua Zhi nodded. Indeed so — how a person behaves toward those who are weaker is what most clearly reveals his true nature.
“Since you say he is good, he cannot be far wrong. The only real issue is that he lives rather too far away.”
This was simply the truth, and Hua Yizheng had nothing to add. Married that far away, the chance to come home even a few times in a lifetime seemed a remote hope — and Wu Yong was not like other garrison commanders. Yinshan Pass was the Wu family’s own territory, guarded generation after generation with no permission to enter the capital without imperial summons. Other commanders at least had some chance of returning to the capital.
This was not something the Hua Family had any power to change, and Hua Yizheng chose not to go on fretting over it. He turned instead to Zhi’er’s own wedding. “Whatever servants you wish to take with you, just mark them in the register — no need to hold back. And the businesses you have built up these past two years can be taken along as part of your dowry as well. All of that belongs to you.”
“All I want to take are the food hall and the mushroom business. The mushroom trade was a joint venture with Yanxi from the start, and Shao Yao has a share in it too — when Shao Yao marries, I intend to give that business to her. The food hall will need Fu Dong to manage it overall; the ideas behind it are still mine. Everything else I will leave with the Hua Family.”
Hua Yizheng disagreed. “The Hua Family’s shops and businesses have all come back. Some will need to be rebuilt from the ground up, so there have been losses — but things will gradually improve, and the Hua Family’s foundation is still solidly there. The Emperor has also been showering gifts down on various pretexts. There is no reason to be holding onto your things.”
“In two years I built all of this up from nothing — and I still have so many years ahead. Are you worried I won’t be able to live well? Besides, Yanxi’s savings are no small thing either — the late Emperor gave him half of the private treasury. And I made it clear from the beginning that the businesses within the household would go into the common funds, with each branch of the family having their share. You can’t ask me to go back on my word.”
“The reasoning is all on your side.” Hua Yizheng sighed helplessly. Even so, he did not ultimately agree to take everything back — he had the most profitable properties on Li Yun Lane and Green Moss Lane, along with their staff, added directly into the dowry. When the various branches of the Hua Family heard, none of them raised any objection. These had been built up entirely by the young miss’s own hand — even if one coveted them, one had to consider whose property one was coveting.