In the room, Hua Zhi clenched her fists tightly, her chest heaving violently as old and new grievances surged in her heart.
That thing—that creature not even worthy of being called human—wasn't worth losing her composure over!
Hua Zhi closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths before her trembling subsided. "Su Momo."
Su Momo, who had been standing silently in the corner, stepped forward quietly. "Miss."
"Song Chenghao won't be in a good situation. Given his nature, he won't accept his fate quietly and might set his sights on the Hua family. I suspect he'll be the one to deliver the funeral announcement." Hua Zhi sneered. "Not all grievances can be resolved by death. Between the Hua family and Hua Jing—and her children—there will never be reconciliation as long as I live."
Su Momo's eyes reddened. Having served Old Madam her entire life, her bond was far deeper than most. She loathed Hua Jing, who had caused Old Madam's death, to the point of wishing she could "eat her flesh and drink her blood." Thus, she profoundly understood her young mistress's feelings.
Too agitated to contain herself, Hua Zhi gulped down a full cup of tea before continuing. "Inform the gatekeepers: let him deliver his news, but the Hua family will not open the gates, receive him, or acknowledge him."
Su Momo glanced up at her young mistress. "Might this invite criticism?"
"Why fear it? It wasn't our Hua family who drove her to death, made her life unbearable, or owed her anything. It was she who, even in death, sought to burden her maternal family. However... I must go there once." Ice filled Hua Zhi's eyes. "I recall the Hua family custom of engraving birth dates on wooden tablets kept in the ancestral hall. Later, I'll retrieve them. On the sixth day of the vigil, you will take that thing—"
Suddenly, a realization struck her. Hua Jing was a daughter-in-law of the Song family. She had been ill for some time—could she have left home on her own? Even if she had managed it, was it possible no one knew where she went? That no one searched for her when she didn't return? Had the entire Song family perished?
If the Song family had any involvement in this...
Hua Zhi stood up. "I'll go myself."
Su Momo looked up in surprise. Rumors in the capital swirled—some claiming the Hua family's eldest young lady was hideous, others that she was celestial in beauty. Countless people longed to catch a glimpse of her. If the young mistress were to appear at the Song residence...
"Miss, let this old servant go. It's a trivial matter, and someone as insignificant as me would suffice."
Hua Zhi shook her head slightly. She had no intention of letting too many people learn that Hua Jing had intended to hang herself at the Hua family residence, so she couldn't explain fully. "I need to go."
Su Momo grew anxious. "Miss, you've always disliked public appearances. There's no need to break your habit for someone so unimportant."
"I've been to the northern borders—showing my face in the capital is nothing. There are many things I dislike, but what must be done, must be done. Just as there are people I dislike but must occasionally meet." Like Song Chenghao, whom she currently found utterly repulsive.
Her aunt's situation in the Yang family was no better than Hua Jing's. Yet, despite her timid nature, she endured—because she had a son who supported her. Song Chenghao was much older than Sui'an. If he had any conscience, how could he fail to protect his own mother? Most likely, he was among those who bullied Hua Jing.
Hua Jing's fate was retribution. But as a son, Song Chenghao was even less deserving of life.
Liu Xiang reminded her from outside the door, "Miss, it's time for your lesson."Hua Zhi didn't want her emotions to affect the children. After struggling to compose herself for a while, she finally rose and walked out. Su Momo saw her to the door before hurrying to the gatehouse.
Leaving aside the chaos in the Song family, by the afternoon, as Hua Zhi had anticipated, it was Song Chenghao who came to the Hua family to announce the funeral arrangements.
Song Chenghao hadn't expected the Hua family to be so unyielding, refusing to open their doors even for such a matter. But no matter how resentful or angry he felt, he had to swallow his pride. His grandfather was already displeased with their branch of the family, his father only knew how to blame his mother, and the second and third branches were scheming to push them out. If he wanted to secure his footing in the Song family, he had to demonstrate his uniqueness. Academic pursuits weren't his forte—he needed to find another path.
He had heard that the Hua family was engaged in business. The canned syrup venture had been started by them, and they had even formed connections with Yunlai Restaurant. After a winter when fruits were scarce, they had likely already reaped substantial profits at those prices.
Later, he paid close attention to the Hua family's activities and discovered that the business in Green Moss Alley also belonged to them. That alley, where people still queued to buy things even in the depths of winter, generated money just as quickly as the canned syrup!
Though the Hua family appeared to have fallen, they still harbored a skilled business mind. Now that his mother was gone, the enmity with the Hua family was over. If he could reconcile with them and learn a thing or two about making money, would the Song family still dare to treat him this way once he had amassed a fortune?
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made, and the anger he had swallowed began to dissipate. He placed the offerings on the doorstep, bowed several times outside the gate, and only left after putting on a convincing display.
In the ancestral hall, Hua Zhi lit three sticks of incense, bowed three times, and then stepped forward to retrieve Hua Jing's memorial tablet. Staring at the small plaque, she addressed the rows of ancestral tablets: "If any of you ancestors encounter Hua Jing in the afterlife, beat her until she dies again. She does not deserve the Hua surname."
It had been many years since Hua Zhi had been so infuriated by a single event. Yet today, from the moment she received the news, this anger had lodged in her throat, neither rising nor subsiding.
If Hua Jing had succeeded—without the intervention of Lu Xiansheng's arrangements—others might have deemed her actions excessive, but the consequences would have fallen squarely on the Hua family.
The Hua family's daughters would have found it even harder to marry, and its sons would have struggled to find wives. Hua Jing had used her death to exact revenge on the family, intending to bury them with her!
Hua Zhi's chest ached with fury. She couldn't imagine the depths to which the Hua family would have sunk if Hua Jing had gotten her way.
After leaving the ancestral hall, Hua Zhi returned to her courtyard and remained there for some time before heading to the front hall. At least outwardly, she now appeared calm and composed.
"Hua Hua!" The moment she stepped through the moon gate, a figure came flying toward her. Instinctively, Hua Zhi spread her arms, but someone moved faster. Just as Shaoyao was about to crash into her, she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and flung aside.
Shaoyao somersaulted in mid-air, using the momentum to land steadily, and glared furiously at Gu Yanxi. "Yan Ge!"
"Should A Zhi be the one flying, or you?"
Realizing that she had indeed been overly excited and used too much force, Shaoyao rubbed her head and giggled foolishly, sidling up to Hua Hua and nuzzling against her, her face radiant with happiness.
Hua Zhi patted her head. "You two deliberately timed your arrival for mealtime, didn't you?"
Shaoyao nodded without hesitation. "Exactly! Hua Hua, please send my dinner over too. The food in the palace is absolutely terrible.""..." The imperial kitchen, which gathered the finest chefs of the Daqing Dynasty, was being looked down upon like this. Hua Zhi felt she should increase Fu Dong's monthly allowance again, otherwise it would be unworthy of the praise Cao Cao had given.
Gu Yanxi leisurely chimed in from the side, "If it's not too troublesome, send some to me as well."
Hua Zhi decided then and there that she would increase Fu Dong's monthly allowance when she got back.
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