By the time they left the Zhu Family residence, the sky had already darkened. Zhu Ziwen had been tasked with escorting his cousin back home. As soon as the gate opened, he spotted someone waiting outside—a familiar face.
Recalling his grandmother’s discreet instructions before they departed, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Without needing further explanation, he understood what his grandmother had wanted him to observe. Was this the kind of man who thought he could just swoop in and carry off their family’s young lady?
“Why are you here?” Hua Zhi asked with a light laugh as she stepped forward.
“I came to pick you up.”
Zhu Ziwen stared blankly at his cousin’s smiling face. Having experienced romance himself, he knew exactly what caused a strong-willed person to soften. His cousin’s unconscious reaction spoke volumes.
He glanced at the man again. Though the man’s face bore a scar, it didn’t make him unattractive. On the contrary, he carried an imposing presence. Yet this very man looked at his cousin with such gentleness in his eyes—if that wasn’t affection, what could it be?
“Cousin, you can head back now. We’re still within the city walls, nothing will happen.”
Zhu Ziwen shook his head. “I’ll see you home.”
Hua Zhi didn’t object further. The two men flanked the carriage as it made its way through the streets back to the Hua family residence. Zhu Ziwen didn’t linger and immediately returned home, unsurprised to find his grandfather, grandmother, father, and second uncle all waiting.
Without waiting to be questioned, he volunteered the information: “That man came to pick her up.”
“The one with the scar on his face?”
“Yes.”
The old lady pressed urgently, “What did you think of him?”
“I dare not make any judgments,” Zhu Ziwen replied with a smile as he took a seat. “But it seems he’s quite attentive. When entering and climbing the steps, he even bent down to lift her skirt hem for her. One wouldn’t go to such lengths without genuine care.”
After a pause, Zhu Ziwen added, “It’s not that one couldn’t do such things, but rather that most wouldn’t think to do them. At least I’ve never considered doing that for anyone. Merely reminding someone to be careful already counts as being considerate.”
The old lady’s expression softened slightly, though she still appeared somewhat worried.
Meanwhile, Zhu Haodong caught something else. “That man entered the Hua residence?”
“Yes.”
“At this hour!” Zhu Haodong glared angrily at his nephew. “Why didn’t you stop him?”
“Uncle, I wanted to, but Cousin told me he still had matters to discuss with Lu Xiansheng. What could I do? Block his entry? I wouldn’t dare delay Cousin’s affairs! If I caused any delay, wouldn’t you all beat me?”
His reasoning made sense, yet Zhu Haodong still felt uneasy. He turned to his father. “Father, what do you think…”
“Zhi Er doesn’t need us meddling in her affairs. We should just keep an eye out. She has a strong mind of her own—we don’t need to tell her what she can or cannot do.” The old master looked at his wife. “Zhi Er isn’t one to easily let people get close to her. It seems the person she mentioned must be this Lu Xiansheng.”
The old lady nodded. “I thought so too. Still, to have accompanied her twice on her journey north shows considerable dedication. It’s just… why does he have to be disfigured? Even if our Zhu Family wanted to promote him in the future, we wouldn’t be able to!”
“Enough,” the old master said. “Perhaps he has his own connections and doesn’t need us. When he truly requires our help, we’ll do our best.” The old master thought of Zhi Er’s sources of information. If they came from this Lu Xiansheng, it suggested that even if he wasn’t an official, he might not be entirely without status. Only this would make sense.
Moreover, what standards did Zhi Er have? How could she possibly fancy an ordinary person? This man must have exceptional qualities to have earned her special regard."Dong'er, pay more attention to your business dealings. Keep the accounts clean and don't be greedy - such unseemly behavior won't pass muster with me."
"Yes, Father."
"And you, eldest son, rein in your schemes. I can see Zhi Er has long seen right through you. Don't bring your official tricks into family matters - I understand those games better than you do."
Zhu Haocheng's face flushed red with embarrassment. He couldn't help defending himself: "I harbor no ulterior motives toward Zhi Er! Shouldn't an uncle protect his own niece? What kind of person do you take me for?"
"Don't fool yourself with such words." The old man's eyebrows shot up. "The only reason I don't oppose this marriage alliance is because Berlin is a good man and the Hua family has upright principles. Even your sister, with her temperament, never suffered after marrying into their family - they certainly won't mistreat Shan'er. Stop scheming! To put it bluntly, if Shan'er marries into the Hua family, she becomes one of them. No matter how great the benefits, they won't transfer to the Zhu family. If you persist in such calculations, we might as well call off this marriage to avoid creating enemies."
While Zhu Haocheng endured the scolding with bowed head, Zhu Haodong felt secretly pleased. He had been disgusted when he first noticed his elder brother's schemes. If not for seeing how genuinely protective he was of Zhi Er - even turning a blind eye when Ziwen got into fights defending her - he would have confronted his brother already. One shouldn't be so shameless!
Only when he caught his mother's meaningful glance did he leisurely intervene: "Shan'er is eldest brother's daughter. As a father, it's natural to overthink things and occasionally go astray. Please calm down, Father - it hasn't come to that. Zhi Er is so perceptive - if eldest brother truly had ill intentions, wouldn't she have noticed? Don't you agree?"
Zhu Ziwen also spoke up for his father: "As the family eldest son, it's normal for Father to consider things more carefully. You'd actually be worried if he didn't think at all, Grandfather."
The old man snorted but said nothing more. His anger had made him forget Ziwen was present - one shouldn't humiliate a father before his son.
While scolding sessions continued here, the atmosphere elsewhere was particularly warm. Hua Zhi served Yan Xi rice while remarking, "You knew I'd be eating at the Zhu family's - why didn't you have dinner first? They'd never let me return alone after dark."
"It's different." Yan Xi accepted the bowl, adoring this domestic married life. His eyes softened with smile. "Their sending is their sending, my fetching is my fetching - they're different."
Hua Zhi didn't argue, simply scooping half a bowl of mushroom soup to sip slowly alongside him.
"Haoyue sent word this morning - she needs matching birth dates to identify the right person. Following your suggestion yesterday, Chen Qing gave her the false birth date of the Fourth Prince. She knew it was wrong, but didn't detect the Fifth and Sixth Princes' dates. She understood this was our test and cooperated quite amiably."
Hua Zhi felt this confirmed her suspicions. What kind of person would know the Fourth Prince's birth date? Either an elder or someone very close to him - certainly no one of lower status. By process of elimination, the most likely candidate would be his bedmate.
"What was the result? Did she perform the calculation immediately?"
"She did it right then. Setting aside all the mystical jargon, the gist was: the Fourth Prince faces a fatal calamity with no solution; the Fifth Prince will suffer bloodshed; and Little Six... would die young.""Bang!" Hua Zhi slammed the soup bowl down with such force that the broth splashed out. "Did she ever foresee that she wouldn't live long?"
Gu Yanxi swiftly moved her hand away from the bowl. "Just take it as casual talk, no need to get angry."
Hua Zhi took two deep breaths. She couldn't explain to Yanxi why these things couldn't be taken lightly - how the Fourth Prince might have truly died, the Fifth Prince been injured, and Little Six... might have really been lost.
PS: Third update, making up for yesterday's.
OpenNovel