"Have we now gained official approval?"
Hua Zhi's smiling words broke the silence inside the carriage. She squinted slightly, corners of her mouth lifted, her disheveled appearance unexpectedly revealing a sense of relief.
"A Zhi..."
"I had already prepared myself for execution." Hua Zhi pushed herself up, and Gu Yanxi hurried forward to support her. She leaned into the man's embrace—nowhere else felt as safe as this place.
"The outcome is much better than I expected."
Gu Yanxi looked down, gently smoothing her slightly disheveled hair, his voice hoarse as he said, "But this is absolutely not the right time to construct the canal. If it succeeds, the Emperor will gain eternal fame while you'll bear the infamy. If it fails, he will truly exile the entire Hua family. A Zhi, he's capable of doing it."
"I know it's difficult, but I survived. As long as I'm alive, anything is possible. We'll find a way."
Gu Yanxi pressed his lips into a tight line. He was angry, but more than anger, he felt sorrow. He had done so much, all for the sake of Hua Zhi alone. The Emperor clearly knew this, yet showed no mercy.
"He mentioned the canal project once before and never brought it up again. I thought he had given up on it. I never expected his obsession to run so deep. I should have been more vigilant."
Hua Zhi shook her head gently. "It wouldn't have mattered. You can't persuade an emperor who's willing to bear the reputation of a tyrant just for eternal glory. Yan Xi, don't trap yourself in a dead end. As long as I'm alive, I can turn this situation around. You know how good I am at making money."
"But this isn't something money can solve, A Zhi. The problems you mentioned in the imperial study weren't exaggerated in the slightest. This simply isn't the right time for major water conservancy projects. The funds needed to dig a canal are far beyond what any individual can bear." Gu Yanxi's anxiety made his words come faster. It wasn't that he didn't trust A Zhi or recognize her ability to generate wealth, but a task that should require a nation's resources was being placed on one person's shoulders—enough to crush anyone.
"Yan Xi, trust me." Hua Zhi sat up and met the man's gaze. "Trust me."
Hua Zhi's calmness affected Gu Yanxi. He closed his eyes briefly, then embraced her again, nuzzling her head as he nodded. "I trust you."
They fell silent. Hua Zhi was truly exhausted, drifting in and out of sleep. Gu Yanxi couldn't bear to disturb her, his mind racing as he considered what he could do in this matter and where to begin, until the carriage came to a stop.
Shaoyao lifted the curtain, shooting an angry glance at Yan Ge before noticing the sleeping Hua Hua. She snorted softly, secured the curtain to the side, and jumped down from the carriage first to knock on the side gate.
The door opened at the first knock. Bao Xia stood guard there, her eyes red and swollen. Seeing Shaoyao, she assumed she had come looking for the young lady. Fighting back tears, she was about to say the young lady wasn't home when she saw Lu Xiansheng behind her, carrying the young lady and approaching quickly. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She wanted to scream and cry, but instead clamped a hand over her mouth, opened the door wide, and trotted after them, tears streaming silently down her face.
At this hour, the Clan school had already dismissed, and the guards' training had concluded, making the front courtyard particularly quiet. In the main hall, several senior maids and the Fourth Madam sat together, all with red, swollen eyes, none speaking. They were waiting.
Waiting for the Eldest Young Lady to return, or waiting for the worst possible outcome."It's getting dark." Wu Shi spoke hoarsely as she looked at the fading light outside the door.
"Miss said we should only send someone to find the Sixth Young Master if she didn't return today, and there's still plenty of time left today." As Ying Chun spoke, tears streamed down her face again. Just thinking about their miss suffering unknown treatment in some unknown place made her panic and heartbroken.
She couldn't understand why so many wicked people in the world could live well, while their miss, who was so good, had to meet such an end.
Nian Qiu suddenly asked, "Is that some sound I hear?"
"No... wait, there is sound, coming this way." They exchanged glances, jumped up and ran outside, then saw Lu Xiansheng carrying their miss toward them.
The heart that had been clenched tight all afternoon finally settled back in place. Ying Chun wiped her tears and hurried ahead to the room where their miss rested. By the time Gu Yanxi carried her in, the bed had already been prepared.
He gently laid her on the bed, but despite his careful movements, Hua Zhi, who hadn't been sleeping soundly, woke up. She grasped Yan Xi's hand, her dark eyes fixed on him.
Gu Yanxi knelt by the bedside, holding her hand and kissing it. "I have to go back."
Hua Zhi initially wanted to advise Yan Xi not to confront the Emperor directly after returning, but after reconsidering, she gave up the thought. Let him make some trouble—it might prevent the Emperor from bullying him to death. After all, the Emperor had no one more capable than Yan Xi by his side and wouldn't take his life.
She withdrew her hand. "Do what you can."
"Alright." Gu Yanxi leaned close to her ear and whispered, "My life is yours. No one can take it away."
Hua Zhi's eyes curved into happy crescents.
Gu Yanxi couldn't resist kissing her forehead. "Drink some soup before sleeping. I'll come back after I finish my work."
"Alright."
Without a word, Fu Dong went to the kitchen. Soup was always kept ready in the small kitchen, and there was some warming on the stove right now.
Gu Yanxi didn't want to leave at all, but he knew he had to return. Standing up, he took one more look at A Zhi, then walked directly to Shaoyao. "You stay and take care of A Zhi. No need to return."
Shaoyao immediately lost all her temper, her eyes brightening. But she still knew the rules, pulling Yan Ge outside and whispering, "What about the palace..."
"Nothing will happen to him before his legacy is settled." Gu Yanxi glanced toward the room. "I'll handle things back there. A Zhi was frightened and probably won't sleep well. Make sure you watch over her properly."
"Don't worry, I won't leave her side for a moment." Shaoyao suddenly reached out and grabbed Gu Yanxi's sleeve. "Yan Ge, you... be careful."
Looking at her face, old and new resentments surged within Gu Yanxi. The Gu family name—he could do without it.
Watching Yan Ge leave, Shaoyao entered the room. Carrying her medicine chest, she sat by the bedside, pouted, then simply took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed, lying close beside Hua Hua.
Hua Zhi wasn't feeling well, but she indulged her, even groping for her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Tears unexpectedly rolled down Shaoyao's cheeks. She had been truly terrified. Hearing Hua Hua speak those words to the Emperor, she thought Hua Hua would surely lose her life. She'd lost count of how many times Hua Hua had been in danger. Why did her Hua Hua have to suffer so many disasters! Hua Hua should be more wicked—only wicked people live long lives.
"The soup is here." Some maid called out, and the several maids quickly made way. Ying Chun wanted to step forward and help their miss sit up, but with Miss Shaoyao in that position, she didn't know how to approach.It was Shaoyao who conscientiously sat up, wiped her face with her sleeve, and helped Hua Hua lean against her. Seeing this, Fu Dong hurried over and began feeding the cooled broth spoonful by spoonful into the young lady’s mouth.
Hua Zhi didn’t feel hungry and stopped drinking after finishing half a bowl. Shaoyao promptly and skillfully began tending to her wounds, but before she could finish, Hua Zhi had already drifted into a hazy sleep.
Shaoyao shooed everyone else out, then sat at the head of the bed with her knees drawn to her chest, keeping watch.
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