Old Madam’s gaze swept over the wives assembled before her. “Fourth daughter-in-law, stay. The rest of you, go.”

Third Madam, Xia Shi, felt a faint flicker of dissatisfaction, but she did not dare disobey Old Madam. She followed behind Zhu Shi and withdrew. Zhu Shi did not forget to pull the door shut behind them, then stationed herself personally at the entrance and asked everyone else to move further away.

She was not well-versed in the intricacies of managing a household, but before she had left, her daughter had told her: when it came to matters in the inner quarters, if she did not know how to handle something and Lin Nanny was not by her side, she should follow Fourth Aunt’s lead. Her daughter’s capable and steady ways spoke for themselves. If she simply followed suit, she could not go wrong.

Third Madam, Xia Shi, sidled up beside her and lowered her voice. “Even Sister-in-law has been sent out. Mother really does show favoritism.”

“Fourth sister-in-law is more capable than I am. Keeping her is more useful than keeping me.”

Xia Shi was struck speechless. Why were there people in this world who could admit to being less capable with such breezy ease?

Inside the room, Old Madam’s breathing came in short, labored gasps. Nanny Su brought over a cup of tea. “Please, rinse your mouth first.”

Her mouth tasted of iron, and Old Madam would have liked to rinse it out. But the darkness swimming at the edges of her vision told her that things were turning for the worse. She bit down on the tip of her tongue, forcing her scattering consciousness back together, and spoke directly to her fourth daughter-in-law: “Suspend classes at the clan school. Send both the literary and martial arts tutors away from the residence. The Hua family is to keep its doors firmly shut — aside from basic provisions, no one is to come or go. Hai Tang, you must hold this family together. By whatever means necessary, hold on until Zhi’er returns.”

She had delivered this unbroken stream of instructions, and when it was done, her chest was heaving violently, her labored breathing rough and rasping like a bellows being worked at great speed.

Her gaze was so earnest and intent that Wu Shi nodded without thinking, with all the force she could muster. The Hua family had always maintained harmonious relations between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, and watching this spirited, energetic old woman reduced to a bundle of dried kindling in so short a time cut her deeply.

“The burden of the Hua family is too great — only Zhi’er can bear it. Hai Tang, you must help her well. She said she would bring the Hua family’s men back. Perhaps — perhaps she truly can do it. You must help her well.”

These words, spoken like the final instructions of someone preparing for death, brought the household’s elder servants to such wracking sobs they could barely stand. Wu Shi’s own tears fell steadily, and she could not find a single word to say — she only gripped Old Madam’s hand and nodded, over and over.

Old Madam’s gaze gradually lost its focus. She murmured with a faint, self-deprecating note, “What use have I been, in the end…”

“Mother…” Wu Shi’s hand trembled as she pressed it beneath Old Madam’s nose, and only after confirming breath was still there did she sink down to the floor. “Why is Physician Chu not here yet? Send someone to hurry him along!”

Bao Xia came in at a swift pace bearing the medicine. Ordinarily it would have been Fu Dong who brought it, along with a small dish of something to take away the bitter taste of the medicine afterward. But she had already heard from one of the other maids what had happened in Old Madam’s room, and her loathing for the First Mistress of the household ran so deep that she had, on instinct, tucked Fu Dong safely out of sight.

Wu Shi glanced back. “Is this the medicine Old Madam has been taking?”

Nanny Su was quick to answer. “Yes — it is Shao Yao’s prescription. Old Madam has improved a great deal on it.”

Wu Shi understood what she was implying. She nodded. “Help Mother sit up.”

But the medicine would not go in. Wu Shi hardened herself and even tried to pry her teeth open — it made no difference. However much went in, that much came back out again. Old Madam had lost all ability to swallow.

Wu Shi pressed her hand over her eyes for a moment before composing herself, then helped Nanny Su change Old Madam’s clothes at the collar, which had been dampened by what had come back out.

“Physician Chu is here!” Chen Nanny called out in a voice quite unlike her usual one.

Wu Shi immediately stepped aside. “Physician Chu, please, look at my mother at once.”

Chu Shitang took one look at the scene before him and set aside all ceremony. When he took hold of the frail wrist to read the pulse, the shock nearly knocked him off his feet; his brows knitted tightly together. “How can this be — when I came just a few days ago to read her pulse, she had improved substantially!”

One does not air a family’s dirty linen in public. Wu Shi could only say vaguely: “Old Madam suffered a distress. Physician Chu, she…”

Chu Shitang looked down at Hua Old Madam lying in the bed, her face the color of yellowed paper, and let out a quiet sigh. He had passed through many great households, received rewards and suffered hardships, and had lived long enough to gain some measure of insight. Yet the only person who had ever won his genuine admiration was Old Master Hua.

Whether it was being casually put to a few questions when he happened to have a book in hand, or exchanging a few idle words on the road as though they were old friends — every encounter had left a strong impression. It was as if in his mind, the rigid stratification between classes was not so clear-cut, even though he himself was a senior official of the second rank at the top of the scale.

What he admired was that man’s ease with himself.

And now, the man he admired had been sent into exile, and the woman who had shared his life for all these years lay here with death at her door.

He sighed deeply. Chu Shitang looked toward Wu Shi. “This old physician can only do what is humanly possible and leave the rest to Heaven.”

Wu Shi held herself upright by sheer will alone and did not crumple to the floor. To think it had come to this.

“Is the young woman called Shao Yao someone you could summon?”

Wu Shi gave a wretched smile. “She is not in the capital.”

Chu Shitang silently noted the ill timing, then bent over the table and wrote out a prescription. “Go and obtain the medicine — quickly.”

Bao Xia, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke. “This servant ventures to ask for a glance at the prescription. Shao Yao left a considerable supply of medicinal ingredients here; as long as they are not too rare, we most likely have them.”

Chu Shitang handed it directly to her. “Was it she who wrote the prescription Old Madam has been taking? May I see it?”

“Yes. This servant will go and fetch it.”

Comparing his prescription against Shao Yao’s, Chu Shitang considered carefully and then amended two of the ingredients in his own. “Are these available?”

Bao Xia looked them over and nodded. “Yes — we have all of them.”

“Good. I will have my medicine boy go with you to prepare the medicine.”

Bao Xia did not mention that it had always been Fu Dong who measured and weighed the ingredients, or that it had always been she herself who prepared them. She simply acknowledged it and led the medicine boy to the side courtyard, where the medicines were kept — that had been Shao Yao’s workspace for preparing her remedies while she was still here.

Chu Shitang administered a set of silver needles to Old Madam — nine in total, each one placed in the head.

This needling technique had been passed down through the Chu family for generations. But no practitioner in the family had ever used it lightly, for this method in truth did nothing more than call forth the body’s own remaining reserves of vitality. Even if it saved someone’s life, it would shorten their remaining years.

What he had said earlier had not been leaving himself room to retreat. Old Madam truly faced a perilous crossing; there was a very real possibility she would not make it through. But he had to exhaust every option before he could look Old Master Hua in the face.

Everyone in the room held their breath as softly as they could, afraid to disturb Physician Chu’s work. Nanny Su wept in silence, not a sound escaping her.

Wu Shi went out to make some arrangements.

Shortly afterward, Master Mu the literary tutor, and the martial arts instructor Wang Rong who had been assigned here by Gu Yanxi, were both informed that they were to leave the residence immediately and need not return for the time being. Master Mu, though puzzled, asked nothing further. Wang Rong, however, kept his wits sharp; he positioned himself unobtrusively in a few spots and had pieced together a reasonably full picture of events before long.

Thinking of how differently his master treated the Hua family’s eldest young miss, he did not dare delay. He immediately released a carrier pigeon to send word to his master, and out of an abundance of caution against unforeseen developments, found it necessary to become an uninvited guest on the rooftop — hiding himself there for several consecutive days.

From his vantage above, he watched the Hua family thrown into chaos. He watched bowl after bowl of medicine carried in, and wet clothes wrung out and carried back out by weeping hands. He watched the Hua family shift from an upward-striving determination to a rudderless, directionless despair. He felt the Hua family was on the verge of collapse — a collapse that came from somewhere deep within.

He sent his master another letter.

Gu Yanxi did not breathe a word of it to Hua Zhi. He only used the excuse that he had pressing business to attend to in the capital, and the two of them were once again riding together.

Hua Zhi sensed his urgency. She asked nothing. Her thighs chafed until they were swollen and raw and still she did not make a sound; at night she applied medicine to them, and the following morning she was back on the road again.

She still did not know anything.