After her grandmother's passing, Hua Zhi had to observe the deepest mourning period, abstaining from meat for one hundred days.
Fu Dong tried every way to make the meals more appetizing. Though Hua Zhi could barely taste anything, she forced herself to eat more. During the rest period, she managed to sleep for half an hour.
But she hadn't expected to feel even more exhausted after sleeping.
Ying Chun watched her young mistress struggling to keep her eyes open and felt heartache. She couldn't help but advise, "Everything outside has been arranged. Please rest a while longer."
Hua Zhi shook her head, slipped on her shoes and got out of bed. If she lay down again, she wouldn't be able to get up tonight.
"Has anyone been looking for me?"
"Fourth Aunt came by earlier. Seeing you were asleep, she told us servants not to disturb you."
"Did she say what it was about?"
"No." Ying Chun helped her sit down and began removing her trousers. "Let me apply the medicine for you."
Actually, the medicine had already been applied once before the meal. But the sight of the mangled flesh had terrified the maids so much that if Hua Zhi hadn't reminded them the medicine was hard to come by, they would have poured the entire bottle directly onto the wound.
After reapplying the medicine and draping the White Cloak over her shoulders again, Hua Zhi went to the front courtyard.
The entire Hua residence was brightly lit, bustling yet orderly wherever she passed, everything appearing well-organized.
Fourth Aunt was directing servants to clear snow from the pathways. Seeing Hua Zhi, she hurried over. Noticing how the young girl's pale face looked even more bloodless against her white mourning clothes, she frowned and said in a hoarse voice, "I can handle things for now. You should go back and rest properly. When it's time to move the coffin late tonight, you won't get another chance to rest."
Hua Zhi actually appreciated the Hua family's current state. No one had time to dwell on trivial matters - young and old alike were doing their utmost for grandmother's funeral arrangements, displaying unprecedented unity.
If the Hua family could maintain this state, she was confident she could help the family thrive and go far.
"I've already rested for a while and feel better. Fourth Aunt, you should take Berlin back to rest for half the night and return when it's time to move the coffin."
Wu Shi shook her head. "It wouldn't be proper for me, the youngest daughter-in-law, to rest while my three sisters-in-law keep vigil. It would look bad if word got out. As the head of household, you must be fair in such matters - this is how disputes begin."
"Of course I won't neglect them. The vigil lasts seven days - we can't all go without rest for that long. No one could endure it. Let's rest in two-hour shifts."
Considering this reasonable, Wu Shi nodded in agreement.
Hua Zhi entered the room, her gaze sweeping over her mother and two aunts before settling on Second Aunt, who had the weakest constitution among the four sisters-in-law.
"Second Aunt, please return to your room and rest for two hours. You must come back after two hours." Hua Zhi looked at her mother and Third Aunt. "When Second Aunt and Fourth Aunt return, you and Third Aunt can rest for two hours."
No one objected.
"Berlin, you all should take turns resting too. You arrange the schedule."
"Yes, Elder Sister."
After making detailed arrangements, the room soon emptied, leaving only a few people keeping vigil.
Hua Zhi trimmed the lamp wick and, under the horrified gazes of Hua Xin and others, sat on the bedside. She touched her grandmother's already stiff, cold fingers, then pulled the burial quilt higher as if tending to someone who had merely fallen asleep.
For a long time afterward, she simply sat there. No one knew what she was thinking, and no one dared disturb her.
Hua Zhi was different from them - from this night onward, Hua Xin felt this conviction deep in her heart.Although the coffin would be moved at yinshi (3-5 am), the monks had already begun their rituals at choushi (1-3 am).
To perform the moving ceremony, the monks naturally had to enter the inner courtyard.
Hua Zhi ordered all female family members, including maidservants, to retreat to the rear courtyard. As the head of household, she had to remain behind to oversee the proceedings.
Madam Zhu clung desperately to her hand, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head repeatedly.
Hua Zhi gently pried her hand loose and placed it in Fourth Aunt's grasp. "Close the gates. No one enters or leaves without my order."
The four sturdy matrons who had accompanied her to the Song residence responded with vigorous assent. Now that the eldest young mistress was taking charge, they were overjoyed to have earned her trust.
Of course, this was no time for joy.
As the gates slowly closed, those left inside watched through the narrowing gap as Hua Zhi's slender figure receded into the distance. Someone began to sob quietly - their reputations might be preserved, but what of Hua Zhi? What of the Hua family's eldest daughter?
Hua Zhi was not alone. Her four chief maidservants, led by Ying Chun, had stubbornly refused to withdraw, following closely behind her. Su Momo and other elderly servants from the old madam's quarters formed a protective circle around her, offering what shelter they could. Moreover, Hua Bolin stood before his elder sister with his younger brothers like protective cubs guarding their food, though their height wasn't sufficient to block others' view.
In this moment, everyone had to acknowledge that the Hua family stood united.
The sound of wooden fish instruments approached from afar as forty-nine monks, led by Banruo, entered the inner residence through the second gate and proceeded to the old madam's courtyard.
Eight monks followed Banruo into the old madam's chamber while the others seated themselves orderly in the courtyard. Sanskrit chants rose amid the rhythm of wooden fish.
At Steward Xu's signal, Hua Zhi led her brothers inside to kneel. Steward Xu handed each of them a straw cushion to kneel upon, which offered some relief from the bone-chilling cold.
All extraneous items had been cleared from the room. With reverent expressions, Xu Jie and others transferred the old madam from her bed to the funeral bier made of wooden planks. Nine monks sat surrounding the bier. Hua Zhi couldn't understand their chanting, but faintly discerned how their voices blended with those of the forty monks outside.
The ceremony continued until yinshi third quarter (4:30 am) before the transfer was finally completed.
Hua Zhi rose with Ying Chun's support. She first paid her respects to Master Banruo, then instructed Steward Xu to escort the monks to their rest. Moving to the right side of the mourning hall, she summoned Su Momo and directed: "Hang a curtain here. The second younger sister and others will keep vigil here."
Su Momo had never heard of female family members keeping vigil in the mourning hall. She opened her mouth to advise against it, but ultimately said nothing and went to make preparations. Just because it hadn't been done before didn't mean it couldn't be done now - the Daqing dynasty's rites didn't prohibit women from keeping vigil in the mourning hall.
Not only was a curtain hung, but straw was spread on the ground, covered with mats, and old quilts placed atop them. Knowing women's delicate constitutions, Hua Zhi had no intention of making them suffer as she had Hua Jing.
Thinking of Hua Jing, Hua Zhi set aside her current tasks and walked outside.
Snow continued to drift down, accumulating nearly two inches thick on the rooftops. The alleyway at the entrance had been cleared repeatedly, and the area before Hua Jing's shed was spotless. However, all the cleared snow had been piled around the shed, meaning Hua Jing was surrounded not only by ice and snow, but also by what amounted to a frozen cabinet.
"Whose idea was this? Not bad."Su Momo glared resentfully at the shed, not without a hint of satisfaction as she said, "This was Sixth Young Master's idea. Late last night, he had people secretly dig out quite a large area behind that shed and pour water into it. Once the water froze and some snowflakes settled on top, no one could tell anything was amiss."
It seemed there was more than one ice cellar. Hua Zhi wasn't the least bit surprised that this scheme came from Berlin. Before the Hua family's downfall, the mischief caused by all the other young masters of the Hua family combined hadn't amounted to as much as what he alone had done.
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