Chapter 6: The Women of the Hua Family
Hua Pingyu patted his daughter's arm, "Zhi Er, you... have endured much hardship."
Hua Zhi shook her head, "As a member of the Hua family, I should be able to enjoy prosperity and bear responsibilities alike. Father, please take care of your health and look after Grandfather. Let Fourth Uncle handle any matters that require public appearances—he is more skilled in these areas than you are."
"Don't worry, I won't push myself beyond my limits."
Hua Zhi then turned to her fourth uncle, "Fourth Uncle, I'm afraid this will be hard on you."
Hua Pingyang, who had always been close to this niece only nine years his junior, set aside his usual playful demeanor. "I understand. You needn't worry. Your Fourth Aunt is still with child—please keep an eye on her when you can."
"People have always been able to endure hardships together. Everything will be fine."
"You've always seen things more clearly than most." Hua Pingyang smiled. "Has the estate outside the city been sealed off?"
"So far, I only know that the residence in the southern part of the city hasn't been sealed."
"Then the one outside the city won't be sealed either. When you have time, go and check on it. I always loosen the soil around that large locust tree every year."
Hua Zhi instantly thought of many things and nodded in agreement. After giving a few instructions to her younger brothers of the same generation, she noticed that the others had finished eating and stored away what needed to be kept. Without further ado, she knelt before her elders to bid them farewell. "I pray for your safety on this journey. Grandfather, you taught me: As long as the Green Mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood."
Hua Yizheng helped her up. "This matter won't break me. I leave the family in your hands."
"Yes."
Hua Zhi led her horse to the head officer. "Sir, my grandfather is advanced in years. The journey ahead is long and arduous—I beg you to show him some consideration. The Hua family will surely repay your kindness generously."
Hua Zhi glanced back at the Hua family members. "My grandfather has not committed an unforgivable crime. The Emperor is momentarily angered with him, but who's to say He won't recall his merits later? When mountains don't move, waters still flow—there may yet be a turn of fortune. Don't you agree?"
The officers, all shrewd individuals, naturally grasped the unspoken implications in Hua Zhi's words. While they couldn't be pleased by the thinly veiled threat, upon reflection, they recognized its truth. If Lord Hua had committed treason, there would be no question—his descendants for generations would never rise again, and no amount of scheming could change that.
But Lord Hua's case was different. He was merely a casualty in a conflict among higher powers. As a second-rank official who had served two reigns and was a trusted veteran of the Emperor, it was entirely possible that once the Emperor's anger subsided, he would be recalled to service in the blink of an eye.
The officer touched the gold bar that had just warmed his waist. Tsk, and this was during a house confiscation!
"I understand what you mean, Miss Hua. Rest assured, if nothing else, Lord Hua has served our Great Qing Dynasty for most of his life. We wouldn't dare to treat him disrespectfully even if we had a hundred guts. However, we too have our rules—I hope you can understand that."
"I would not dare to make things difficult for you, sir. On behalf of the Hua family, I thank you."
Hua Zhi turned and looked at each of her family members one by one. She waved her hand, then nimbly mounted her horse and rode away without looking back even once.
Hua Pingyan, the third son of the Hua family, murmured, "No wonder Father has always treated Zhi Er specially. Only now do I understand. Not to mention women, even male descendants her age couldn't have done better than Zhi Er."
Hua Pingyu looked remorseful. "I never noticed before. I even scolded her because Berlin always clung to his Elder Sister.""There are many things you haven't noticed. It's a pity my eldest niece was born a woman." Hua Pingyang noticed the officials preparing to depart, so he shouldered his bundle and took the one from his elderly father's hands as well, carrying both.
The journey was smoother than expected, and they arrived home earlier than anticipated.
Nian Qiu was waiting at the back door. Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, she cracked the door open to look and, confirming it was her young mistress, hurried over to help her dismount.
"Young mistress, people from those families have come."
"What were their attitudes? Did they cause any trouble?"
"Second Uncle's wife spoke with biting sarcasm, Fourth Uncle's wife kept crying, and Third Uncle's wife directly started blaming. The Old Madam ordered everyone else to stay inside and not come out, so she's dealing with them alone."
Hua Zhi frowned, "Wasn't there even one person who went to help Grandmother?"
Nian Qiu smiled bitterly, "Everyone was very obedient." Too obedient, in fact.
Hua Zhi was actually quite tired. This body hadn't been exercised much, and the round trip on horseback had nearly shaken her apart. Hearing Nian Qiu's words left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Compared to other noble households, the Hua family's inner quarters were relatively peaceful. Although there were conflicts between wives and concubines at times, and the daughters-in-law of various branches had their own calculations for their small families, with sisters-in-law often exchanging veiled barbs, overall they were all relatively dutiful and obedient—something the Hua men were quite satisfied with.
But now that the Hua family had fallen, their shortcomings were exposed. None of the three daughters-in-law could handle such situations. In the current circumstances, they obediently stayed away, leaving Grandmother alone to face others' accusations, making Hua Zhi not know what to say.
Brushing off the dust from her journey, Hua Zhi quickly walked toward the main hall. Steward Xu was guarding the entrance and visibly relaxed when he saw her return.
A raised voice penetrated through the door, "Sister-in-law, tell me, how are we supposed to survive from now on? This is going to be the death of us!"
"My family is in the same situation. All our valuables have been confiscated. How are we supposed to live from now on?"
"..."
Hua Zhi didn't know how much of this Grandmother had been listening to recently, but just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.
Signaling Nian Qiu to lift the door curtain, Hua Zhi took a deep breath and entered. She first paid respects to her grandmother, then bowed to all the elders present.
Seeing her eldest granddaughter, the Old Madam perked up a little, "Did you see them? Are they all well?"
"I saw them, Granddaughter. They're all fine, just worried about the family. But they felt relieved when they saw me."
"That's good, that's good."
Before the grandmother and granddaughter could finish speaking, the plump Third Uncle's wife asked, "Where has the eldest young lady been?"
"I went to deliver some things to our family members. Third Uncle's wife, didn't you send anyone with supplies? The north is bitterly cold, and the clothes they're wearing aren't nearly enough."
"I would have liked to, but all the men have been taken away. Who could have gone?"
"Third Uncle's wife, what are you saying? Men aren't the only people in this world—women are people too. Even if women can't go, aren't there capable servants in the household?" Hua Zhi retorted one sentence after another, not giving her a chance to speak before adding, "I overheard what you said outside. It's fortunate no outsiders have visited recently. If outsiders had heard that, it would mean great disaster for the Hua family."
"Don't try to scare me! What great disaster? I'm not the one who brought disaster upon us!"Hua Zhi touched the teacup and found it still warm. She lifted it to feed her grandmother a few sips, not even glancing at the others as she spoke with unflinching directness, "If the sovereign demands a subject's death, the subject has no choice but to die. Both life and death are bestowed by the sovereign's grace. Now that the Emperor has punished Grandfather, with the Hua family confiscated and exiled—this too is the Emperor's benevolence. When you claim we are driving you to your deaths, are you implying resentment toward the Emperor? Or do you harbor discontent over the family's confiscation?"
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