She had barely set down one worry when Zhu Shi came to her door seeking her counsel.

“Bailin is already fourteen. Whenever relatives and old friends come to call, they always find ways, direct or subtle, to raise the matter of his marriage. I’ve been looking for a suitable girl too, but good girls aren’t something you just stumble across—especially for a family like ours, where everything has to be weighed carefully. One consideration cannot be given more weight than another. Something like this can’t be settled in less than a year and a half.”

Zhu Shi let out a long sigh. Before the Hua Family had been restored, she had worried that her children’s marriages would be difficult to arrange. Now that the Hua Family had surpassed its former glory, she worried instead about a daughter-in-law with ulterior motives coming in and disrupting the family’s peace. Truly, worries never ended.

Hua Zhi listened to her mother’s concerns with patient compliance. If not for the reminder, she would have forgotten that Bailin was already fourteen—in Daqing, already of age to be betrothed. Sons of noble houses had precious little freedom in this matter, especially the eldest legitimate grandson. Families typically settled these things early, and given the Hua Family’s present standing, Bailin had probably been watched by any number of interested parties.

But he was only fourteen. If they waited two or three years before the actual wedding, he would only be sixteen or seventeen.

“Zhi’er, do you have any thoughts on the matter?”

Returning to herself, Hua Zhi looked at her mother—whose complexion was rosy and whose face showed no trace of worry. “What do Grandfather and Father say regarding Bailin’s marriage?”

Zhu Shi smiled. “Your father-in-law has not involved himself in the matter. Your father only said to choose well, and if I truly couldn’t make up my mind, to come ask you. So here I am.”

Hua Zhi didn’t quite know what to say—how could her father just take it for granted that an already-married daughter would manage her own family’s affairs? Yet that profound and weighty trust left her genuinely touched all the same. She thought for a moment and then asked, “And what about Bailin? Does he have any thoughts?”

“What thoughts could he possibly have? Betrothals are matters of parental arrangement and a matchmaker’s word—you can’t very well let him decide on his own.” Thinking of her daughter’s own unconventional path in marriage, she tapped her lightly on the forehead. “You’re the unusual one.”

Hua Zhi offered no argument, agreeing with everything and sending her mother off in a satisfied mood.

“Send someone to wait at the academy gate and invite Bailin over.”

Ying Chun complied and immediately went to make the arrangements.

Hua Bailin came to the Prince’s Manor often enough, but being summoned by his elder sister was a first. Thinking something had happened, he rode over at full speed. Despite the bitter cold, the icy wind blowing head-on, his back was still damp with sweat. It was only when he saw that his elder sister was unharmed that he let out a breath of relief.

“What’s all the rushing about?” Hua Zhi rose as if to come forward, but Hua Bailin quickly waved her back, conscientiously going to stand near the brazier to warm off the cold, unwilling to carry the chill over to his elder sister.

The maids had already brought hot water and tea. Hua Zhi took his cue and sat back down, watching them bustle with a smile as she said, “Mother came by today.”

Hua Bailin looked up.

“About your marriage.” Looking at her younger brother, who seemed unsurprised, Hua Zhi knew he had probably already known. “Happy to let the family arrange it?”

“I have no one I care for, nor have I ever had any particular thoughts on the matter. In any case, Mother and Elder Sister would never make me marry someone unreasonable.”

That was absolutely impossible—Hua Zhi did have that much confidence. But still, “That’s the person you’ll spend your entire life walking beside. You truly have no requirements whatsoever?”

Hua Bailin downed a full bowl of ginger soup in one go, and only when he felt warmth return to his body did he walk over and take a seat below his elder sister. He looked up at her, traces of her former ease now returning to her features. “If she can be even half as capable as Elder Sister, that’s enough.”

Hua Zhi shot him a look, but then could not help but smile. “Should I say your standards are too high or too low? Finding someone as capable at business as me is no easy thing—and finding someone whose looks are even half of mine… well, could they be called presentable?”

Being half as talented as you would put her well above most people, Hua Bailin thought to himself. He saw no need to expose his elder sister’s feigned modesty, and simply smiled. “In any case, I trust Elder Sister to make her assessment for me. I have faith in your eye.”

Hua Zhi had never intended to wash her hands of the matter—even if it attracted gossip, she was going to be involved. This was her one and only blood brother, and they had always been close. If she couldn’t find someone truly suited to his heart, she would be thinking about it every single day.

But finding someone truly right was no easy thing at all. There were only so many people in the capital to consider, and after turning them all over in her mind, she had still not found anyone satisfactory by year’s end.

“Princess Consort, a young lady from the Bai Family has come to deliver New Year’s gifts.”

“Elder Uncle Bai’s daughter?”