The Prince’s manor was not heavily fortified, yet it was common knowledge that it was exceedingly difficult to enter. Apart from close friends and family, the Regent and Wang Fei rarely received outside guests — yet today, the entrance to the manor could be described as a scene of bustling traffic.

The He Le Commandery Princess, personally bestowed that title by the Emperor, was to be wed afar tomorrow. Given her unusual circumstances, today was the occasion of her trousseau-gifting ceremony.

Hua Zhi reviewed the dowry one final time, and only after confirming that nothing had been overlooked did she turn and give a pat to Shao Yao, who had been clinging to her side all the while with her thoughts clearly wandering somewhere else. “Wu Yong was so afraid you’d bolt at the last minute that he scaled the manor walls several nights in a row. You had better not actually come out with an ‘I’m not getting married’ when the big day arrives.”

Shao Yao blinked. Scaled the walls?

“He got knocked down by the guards.” Hua Zhi’s own expression was somewhat lost for words. Shao Yao was unreliable enough as it was, and now this Wu Yong didn’t seem to be much better — thinking about what sort of life these two would make together… she dared not imagine.

As an elder sister who had long played the role of a mother, and now as a sister-in-law doing the same, Hua Zhi felt she had an inexhaustible well of worrying to draw from. She let out a sigh, gestured for the others to leave, helped Shao Yao sit up properly, and asked, “If you truly do not wish to be married, it is not too late to have second thoughts now.”

Shao Yao had no spine apparently, and flopped back against Hua Zhi’s shoulder without saying a word.

Was she unwilling? Not exactly — she simply did not want to leave home, did not want to leave the two people dearest to her. Yet when it came to being willing, there was a resistance in her heart too. She feared that after marriage, everything would change. She had spent these years watching and had come to understand well what it felt like to lose the freedom to make one’s own choices.

Hua Zhi patted her gently, resting her head against hers. “Do you know why I never made things difficult for Wu Yong?”

“You think he’s good.”

“There are many people I think are good. But he is the only one I was willing to give you to.” Hua Zhi stroked her face. “When he set his heart on marrying you, he did not yet know your face had healed. Under those circumstances, he was still willing to marry you — which shows that it was you as a person he valued, valued to the point where even your disfigured appearance could be overlooked. Men like that are rare. You’ve found one against all odds, and I could not bear to let you pass him by.”

Hua Zhi smiled, the tenderness in her expression making Shao Yao’s eyes grow hot. “Your nature is wild and free. Not only would any household in the capital feel constraining to you — even living here in this manor, I have felt that we were holding you back. But Yinshan Pass is different. The steppe tribes have suffered grievous losses and have been pushed deep into the grasslands — they will not recover in thirty to fifty years. That vast expanse of grassland beyond the pass is your land to roam freely. You can be as untamed as you like there. No one can restrain you. I and Yanxi — even the Emperor — are your foundation. You need only live however you please, entirely on your own terms. Whether or not you bring Wu Yong along depends entirely on your mood. Think about it — is there not at least a little part of you that looks forward to a life like that?”

Shao Yao pressed her lips together and clung to Hua Zhi’s arm with even greater reluctance. She was looking forward to it — yet she was also all the more reluctant to leave. She was unwilling to leave this place that she had lived in for so many years, yet had only truly felt like home these past few months. She was unwilling to leave the sister-in-law who attended to her every need, large and small, and ensured she had not a care in the world.

But she was going to be married all the same.

“I won’t run.”

“Then I should have someone send Wu Yong a message — no need to scale the walls again tonight.” Hua Zhi pulled her to her feet. “I have guests to attend to. Go keep Grandmother company for a while — she will be reluctant to part as well.”

With Shao Yao coaxed away, Hua Zhi spread her arms and let the maids bustle about dressing her in her ceremonial robes. “What is the situation?”

“The Prince is personally keeping watch in the front courtyard — no one dares send lavish gifts.” Yingchun crouched down to attend to the hem, speaking as she worked. “On the ladies’ side, there is nothing to worry about either. The First Madam of the Lu Family is very capable.”

Since Shao Yao had grown up under Wang Fei’s care and was no different from her own daughter, and had later always remained close to her elder brother, Hua Zhi had invited the elders of the Lu Family to assist with receiving guests today — a perfectly reasonable arrangement by any measure.

The reception hall was filled with warm laughter and pleasant conversation, and fragrance drifted through the air. Yet everyone kept an eye on the doorway, and when the curtain was drawn aside, all eyes turned in that direction at once. Seeing the person they had been waiting for, they rose hurriedly to greet her.

“Please, no need to stand.” Hua Zhi stepped forward quickly to help her mother up, then helped steady the few other most esteemed ladies as well.

The First Madam of the Lu Family covered her mouth with a laugh. “There is no use trying to coax it out of me — I shall simply ask on everyone’s behalf: does Wang Fei have any intention of taking on more students?”

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. There had been quite a few people with such thoughts of late. To be a classmate of the Son of Heaven was a remarkable honor indeed, and it placed one naturally closer to the Emperor than others could ever be. No wonder so many had set their hearts on it.

A pity, then. “I have no plans to take on any more students.”

The assembled ladies exchanged uncertain glances. They had imagined that the Grand Tutor might decline, but none had expected the refusal to be quite so unequivocal. Her life was still so long ahead of her — was she truly resolved not to take on a single one?

“Serving the Emperor goes without saying — it is my duty and I give it my full dedication. As for my young apprentice, he is gifted with exceptional natural talent, yet even I must draw upon my grandfather’s wisdom to guide him properly. How could I take on more students and divide my attention?”

Whatever thoughts any of them may have privately harbored, at that moment the room was filled with voices of agreement. Regardless of anything else, taking on no one at all was preferable to taking on the daughter of one family and disrupting the delicate balance among them — a consideration which someone as shrewd as Wang Fei had surely seen through long ago.

All present had come to give gifts, and there was some warmth of acquaintance between each of them and the household, so Hua Zhi received them all with a smile. The guests, knowing when to take their leave, sat for a brief while before excusing themselves. Even the Hua Family stayed only long enough for the First Madam to remain behind.

Zhu Shi stroked her daughter’s slender arm, but had little in the way of unsaid things to share. They saw each other nearly every day, or at the very least came and went to each other’s homes every few days — each knew well enough how the other was faring. There was worry, of course, but it was the kind that could not properly be spoken aloud.

“Have you truly not changed your mind?”

Hua Zhi was not the least bit surprised. She smiled and shook her head. “The departure is tomorrow. How could I possibly change course now?”

Zhu Shi gave her a reproachful look. “Your health has only just begun to recover somewhat — why must you make this journey? There is no rule anywhere that says a sister-in-law must travel a thousand li to escort a bride.”

“I am her friend first, and her sister-in-law after. As her friend, I hope for her happiness. As her elder sister-in-law, I need to be certain that she will be happy.” Hua Zhi supported her mother’s arm as they left the reception hall and walked toward the inner quarters. “She is marrying far away in the north, and I will in all likelihood spend the rest of my life in the capital. The only thing I can do is lay a solid foundation for her at the very start — to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that she will have no cause for worry and that she will have the confidence to face whatever comes her way without having to swallow her pride and submit to circumstances. And all of that requires me to go in person, to arrange things myself, to see them with my own eyes before I can set my mind at ease.”

“Even girls’ own families don’t go to these lengths.” Zhu Shi muttered, but said no more in the end. She knew her daughter’s mind was made up and nothing would change it. She was simply a woman with narrow concerns: she only wanted her daughter to properly tend to her health and soon give her a child or two as her mainstay. Things beyond that, she could not think so far ahead.

“Are you truly taking Bolin along?”

“It is not that I am taking him — he carries an imperial mandate, and even I must defer to that.” Hua Zhi smiled. “It is well enough this way. Let him go and see where Father was once exiled. Even if he has not suffered those hardships himself, he ought at least to know what they were.”

Zhu Shi let out a long sigh and at last said no more. So be it, so be it — with the Prince accompanying them, and no need to gallop at full speed as in the old days, surely there would be no hardship to speak of. What was the point of saying so much?