On the day of leaving the northern lands, Bai Mingxia met the Hua family steward waiting outside the city. Hua Zhi had not come to see him off.
Shen Qi’s disappointment was all too obvious, and Bai Mingxia could only shake his head. As far as he knew, when the Hua family had called off the engagement, the Shen family had agreed without the slightest hesitation. If they had known it would come to this, why had they been so eager back then?
Given the temperament of the eldest Hua daughter—who remembered both kindness and grudges—if Shen Qi had stood by her and weathered the hardships together, their happiness would have been assured. After all, Bai Mingxia had only shown her some consideration out of regard for Pingyang, and now she had made such a promise in return.
What a pity.
Tightening the reins and turning his horse around, Bai Mingxia looked back at the towering city walls. He thought of his mother’s hesitant silence and his father’s wordless demeanor when he departed, and his heart ached with bitterness. It was his father who had first taught him to read and write, who had instilled in him the principles of "loyalty in speech and sincerity in action." He had lived by those teachings, yet the one who had taught him seemed to have forgotten them.
The more he brooded, the more disheartened he felt. Without a word to Shen Qi, Bai Mingxia spurred his horse and galloped ahead.
Shen Qi, too, set aside his disappointment and urged his horse to follow. This time, he was going to seek forgiveness.
Under ordinary circumstances, Hua Zhi would have seen them off, especially since they were going to visit members of her family. But today was different—today was the opening of the Food Studio.
She had forgone the flashy promotional tactics of later generations and had not chosen an overly grandiose name. She simply hung up the signboard for the Food Studio, letting people know that such a place existed.
For the opening banquet, Hua Zhi had only sent invitations to the Lu family, the Sun family, the Zhu family, and the Qin family.
The Lu family were her partners, the Zhu family her maternal relatives, the Sun family were the Sixth Prince’s maternal relatives, and the Qin family were her grandmother’s natal family. Among the many noble families in the capital, these were the ones who had so far openly shown goodwill toward the Hua family.
With Du Cheng handling the front-of-house affairs, Hua Zhi did not involve herself. After a brief inspection, she headed to the kitchen.
In the tidy, well-lit kitchen, nearly ten people were working in an orderly manner. Fu Dong, her head bent, was arranging steamed dishes on plates. Only when she finished did she look up and notice her young mistress standing nearby. She quickly curtsied in greeting.
Hua Zhi helped her up and, without asking how the preparations were going, simply said, “Have you settled in?”
Fu Dong nodded vigorously, her eyes shining brightly, her joy written all over her face.
This spacious kitchen, which she had arranged entirely herself, the dishes she was free to prepare as she pleased—as her young mistress had promised—and the assurance that it would earn her a great deal of silver… aside from the slight regret of not being able to serve her young mistress directly, she was truly overjoyed.
“If anything comes up, you can always talk to Du Cheng or come back and tell me. Don’t feel pressured—it’s just a business venture. If it succeeds, that’s wonderful; if it doesn’t, it’s no big deal. I have plenty of ideas up my sleeve.”
Hua Zhi smiled, her voice gentle. The four head maids had grown up with her. Though they were master and servant, she regarded them more as family. Even her own family had not spent as much time with her as they had.
Among the four, Fu Dong was the one she worried about the most. The others could hold their own and would never be taken advantage of if sent out on their own. But not Fu Dong—if she encountered the wrong kind of person, she would be bullied relentlessly.Although the girls had all expressed their wish to follow her rather than marry, she herself had found a partner—it made no sense to let them live out their lives without flavor. Nor did she want to marry them off to servants. When the time was right, she would return their contracts of servitude to them, ensuring their children wouldn’t be destined to serve others. Then she would find them reliable families to marry into. With her around, they would never suffer losses.
Bao Xia hurried in. “Miss, Old Madam Sun is here.”
“So early?” Hua Zhi was surprised and walked out as she asked, “Has A Jian arrived yet?”
“Not yet.”
The Sixth Prince had set out from the Heir Apparent Residence, dressed in a well-fitted new outfit, riding steadily on his horse. Even his hair was neatly tied up, giving him a spirited appearance.
Gu Yanxi walked by his side; today, his role was that of the Sixth Prince’s personal guard.
“Brother Yanxi, why did Sister Hua… invite the Sun family?”
“The Hua and Sun families have a long-standing connection. They only broke it off before because both were high-ranking officials, but now is the perfect time to rekindle it.” Gu Yanxi gave the surface reason, not telling Little Six that A Zhi intended to secure official approval through the Sun family. After all, Little Six was the Sun family’s only remaining heir. If they disapproved of him staying with the Hua family, A Zhi wouldn’t insist on keeping him—she always thought ahead.
If the Sun family refused to associate with the Hua family now that they had fallen from grace… Little Six might not even be allowed to step through the Hua family’s gates.
Hearing this explanation, the Sixth Prince set aside his worries and cheerfully shared his joy with the Heir. “Yesterday, Sister Hua combined the two classes at the Clan School for a joint lesson.”
Gu Yanxi looked at him.
The Sixth Prince’s eyes sparkled with youthful vitality. “Sister Hua told us about the sea. She said there are countries on the other side of the ocean, but they look different from us and speak different languages. Brother Yanxi, have you ever seen them?”
“No.” The ships of the Daqing Dynasty couldn’t sail that far.
“Sister Hua also said that if we ever meet them, we shouldn’t treat them as monsters, because we’re just as different in their eyes as they are in ours.”
That sounded exactly like something A Zhi would say. Watching the hopeful expression on Little Six’s face, Gu Yanxi couldn’t help but think that the imperial study should add such a course—to let those princes understand how vast the world is and stop fixating on that one position.
But he couldn’t find a teacher for it.
“Sister Hua said that when it’s time for sowing, she’ll take us to the estate so we can learn where our food comes from. Oh, and she also asked us to visit the market and record the prices of everything sold there…”
Gu Yanxi didn’t interrupt, listening as Little Six chattered on about what “Sister Hua” had said or done. It warmed his heart to hear it. The children A Zhi taught had a different spirit—like Berlin, like the youngsters at the Hua Clan School who seemed completely unaffected by the Hua family’s downfall and exile.
Meanwhile, in a private room on the second floor of the dining hall, Hua Zhi met Old Madam Sun.
The title “Old Madam” stuck in Hua Zhi’s throat—the woman before her looked far too young, appearing more like a beautiful lady.
So she simply addressed her as “Madam Sun” and performed a junior’s greeting.
It was a test—to gauge the Sun family’s attitude toward the Hua family.Madam Sun accepted her greeting, then personally stepped forward to help her up and led her to sit beside her. With a sigh and a smile, she said, "I had thought I would never again be able to interact so freely with someone from the Hua family in this lifetime. I was quite astonished when I received your invitation. Did you arrange this place?"
Hua Zhi's smile immediately reached her eyes, her tone and expression full of the deference a junior shows to an elder. "Yes, it's a place dedicated to food. I have a greedy palate, so I enjoy dabbling in these things."
"Anything done with excellence is commendable." Madam Sun looked at this young woman who was rumored in the capital to be quite remarkable. At this moment, there was no trace of that formidable reputation—but if her true nature were easily discernible, she could not have remained hidden for so many years.
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