Chapter 352: Disgusting Matters

Hua Zhi chuckled, "Do you think that entering the Feng family in this manner will be stress-free? Hua Yan, should I believe your words that you are naive, or should I tell you that I am not so easily deceived?"

"I didn’t lie to you!" Hua Yan’s voice rose in protest, but it lacked the conviction to cut through the air of disdain thickening between them.

“The Hua family may not be basking in the glory days of old, but since I took the reins, I don’t recall leaving any of you out in the cold. Every single legitimate daughter has been treated fairly, including you. Yet here you are, claiming you’re desperate for a place to stay. Pray tell, has the Hua family failed so miserably that you’re now homeless and destitute?”

Hua Yan pressed her lips together, a hint of rebellion sparking in her eyes. “I just want to marry, to have children of my own. Even if my entry isn’t respectable, as long as Feng Changyu is by my side, even as a mere concubine, so what? What’s wrong with that?”

Hua Zhi stared at her, incredulous. The sheer audacity of this delusion left her almost speechless. How Hua Yan managed to pin all her hopes on a man with a reputation as sordid as Feng Changyu’s—someone whose bed was practically a revolving door—was beyond her comprehension. But arguing was futile, so she settled for the truth.

“Are you even aware that the Feng family has been a sworn political adversary of the Hua family for years?” Her words were a blade wrapped in silk, cutting deep without effort.

Hua Yan dropped her gaze, her defiance dissolving under the weight of reality she’d chosen to ignore. This wasn’t news to her—everyone in the capital knew of the animosity between the two families. But knowing and caring were evidently two very different things.

She knew.

Hua Zhi leaned in, her voice laced with a deceptive calm that cut deeper than a blade. "Before you acted so... boldly, did it ever cross your mind that your choices would drag the Hua family name through the mud? Did you ever pause to think about the stain you'd leave on the reputation of the Hua family's daughters?"

Hua Yan knew the truth. She had meant for it to unfold this way. Malice had fueled her actions, and she wore her guilt like a silent armor. Bowing her head, she kept her lips sealed.

"Tell me," Hua Zhi continued, her tone a venomous sweetness, "has the Hua family ever treated you with disdain? Ever shown you anything less than respect?"

She didn’t wait for an answer, her words slicing through the silence like a whip. "Has the Hua family ever wronged you? Forced you into something distasteful or beneath your station?"

The room held its breath. Hua Zhi’s calm gaze bore down on her, waiting for an answer. Hua Yan could feel the pressure clawing at her, stripping her of her fragile resolve. Finally, she lifted her head and whispered, almost inaudibly, "Never."

There it was—an admission. But just as Hua Yan braced herself for the tirade she thought would come, Hua Zhi delivered a sentence that hung in the air, dripping with poison: "Then, the Hua family has no debts to you. If you’re so determined to sell yourself short, by all means, go ahead. Be a concubine."

The words should have brought relief, but instead, they tightened like a noose around Hua Yan’s heart. Something about Hua Zhi’s uncharacteristic leniency felt... wrong. This wasn’t the fierce, unyielding woman she knew. It was too quiet, too calm—a storm hiding behind still waters.

"Extend your right hand," Hua Zhi ordered, her tone deceptively light but firm enough to leave no room for question.

Hua Yan blinked in confusion but did as she was told, holding out her hand. Bao Xia stepped forward, her expression unreadable as she wordlessly rolled up Hua Yan’s sleeve. The crimson imprint on her skin—a mark of untouched virtue—was exposed to the room. The truth was undeniable now.

[TN: 守宫砂 (shǒugōngshā): This is a legendary red mark applied to a virgin bride's arm or shoulder in ancient China. It was believed that the mark would fade if the woman lost her virginity. It was a symbol of purity and fidelity.]

Hua Zhi nodded and instructed, "Go inform the Feng family's people to come and take her away."

"Yes."

Overjoyed, Hua Yan grabbed Hua Zhi's hand, "Cousin, you said before that any daughters who marry out of the Hua family..."

Hua Yan blushed and felt too ashamed to continue.

Hearing her words, Hua Zhi knew what she was hinting at. After some thought, if she could drive this troublemaker out of the Hua family with a sum of money, it would be worth it.

However, she couldn't help but ask, "I can provide you with the money, but if the consequence is that you must cut ties with the Hua family and never set foot in the Hua family again, no matter what happens, would you agree?"

The flush on Huayan's face gradually faded, her hand trembling, and her lips tightly clenched.

Without her natal family... without her natal family...

But what could the Hua family do for her now?

Nothing. They couldn't help her in any way.

Just like Hua Qin, not only could the natal family not help, but she was seen bringing things back from her marital home every day. In the short term, it was fine, but if it continued, how would Hua Qin establish herself in her marital home?

With this thought in mind, would there be any difference whether she had a natal family behind her or not?

She twisted her handkerchief, lowering her gaze. "I agree."

"Very well, get paper and ink ready."

Liu Xiang briskly left and returned in no time, armed with an entire set of writing materials, her sleeves rolled up as she set to work grinding the ink with deliberate care.

Hua Zhi, poised and calm, took the pen in hand. She lingered for a fleeting moment as if savoring the weight of her thoughts, then let the tip of the brush glide across the paper with decisive strokes. Her gaze flicked over the finished document with an air of casual dominance before sliding it across the table toward Hua Yan, her expression unreadable but sharp.

Hua Yan’s face drained of color as she scanned the words, her voice trembling. "Cousin, is this your way of throwing me out of the family?"

With a frosty smile that barely veiled her disdain, Hua Zhi replied, her tone polished yet laced with venom. "The Hua family carries no shame on your account, nor does it intend to shoulder your weight. For generations, no daughter of the Hua family has stooped to the level of a concubine. To tarnish that legacy now, under my watch? Not a chance."

She rose with a calculated elegance, her movements precise and deliberate. Strolling toward the door, she paused just long enough to glance back, her icy smile twisting into something sharper. "Hua Yan, I’d suggest you take care of yourself—no one else will."

The whole courtyard could hear the conversation going on inside the house, thanks to the door being carelessly left ajar. Hua Yan’s mother was already a mess, reduced to tears and barely standing without her sisters-in-law holding her up.

The old lady, of course, managed to force a smile, though it was about as genuine as a politician’s handshake. "The eldest granddaughter has done the right thing," she said, her words dripping with a venomous sweetness, "From this point on, she has absolutely no more connection with the Hua family."

With the grace of someone who'd learned to smile through clenched teeth, Hua Zhi helped the old lady out of the house. "Before I even came here, I’d already arranged for my maternal grandmother and Li Mama to be invited. After all, even if a Hua family daughter ends up as a concubine, it’ll be done properly. You can rest easy knowing that all the filth stays far away from the Hua family."

And then, there was Li Mama, a rather famous figure in the capital. She was an elderly woman who had been let go from serving the Empress Dowager, only to find herself abandoned in the city, like a relic no one knew quite what to do with. But, of course, wealthy families lined up to bring her in—because who wouldn’t want someone with that kind of history teaching their daughters? Li Mama had been with the Zhu family for three years. It wasn’t exactly a difficult gig when your reputation preceded you.

These "mamas" had a certain power, a quiet authority, and Li Mama had it in spades. Having served the Empress Dowager for years, she'd earned herself quite the reward when she left the palace. Besides, her personality was the real draw. She knew all the backdoor dealings and underhanded tricks from the palace, but, instead of getting her hands dirty, she taught the younger generation how to maneuver through the muck with integrity. Her words? They carried weight.

The old lady, impressed despite herself, couldn’t help but note how Hua Zhi had managed everything so effortlessly, despite having only just returned the day before. There was no hesitation, no hint of delay. She couldn't help but sigh, a little too loudly, wondering how the Hua family had come to have someone who was actually willing to get their hands dirty and act decisively.

Inside the flower hall, Liu Xiang rushed over, handing a thin piece of paper. Hua Yan had already signed it and left her thumbprint, the whole process wrapped up in record time. Hua Zhi smiled to herself. From the looks of it, Hua Yan must’ve considered the Hua family nothing but a burden at this point.

She waved Liu Xiang over, practically ordering him to show the Fourth Branch members each thing, one by one, and you could practically feel the tension in the air—sadness thickening, anger boiling to the surface.

Thanks to that little "shameful incident," the Fourth Branch folks were utterly humiliated, unable to even lift their heads. But Hua Zhi? She spoke of the whole Yingshan Pass fiasco as if it were just another casual afternoon—flipping the mood faster than anyone could blink.

Wu Shi, meanwhile, was sipping her tea, trying so hard to suppress that smirk, but not quite succeeding.

Before things could get too heavy, the gatekeeper announced the arrival of Elder Madam Zhu, and Hua Zhi was quick to put on her best act, bowing with all the respect she could muster.

The old lady, with a cheeky grin, pulled her up. "You, girl—come back to the city and don't even bother to check on me? You had me running around, searching for you?"

Hua Zhi shot back with that oh-so-charming smile, "Busy people have a lot to do!" She cast a quick glance at the entourage behind her grandmother and, with that practiced grace, tilted her body just enough to acknowledge their silent power. "Thank you, Li Mama," she added, voice sweet as honey but with a sharp edge, like a blade wrapped in velvet.

Li Mama, without missing a beat, returned the gesture, but not without a look—oh, that look. Her eyes, sharp and calculating, gave Hua Zhi the kind of glance only those who knew the capital's ins and outs could muster. No words needed to be said; her gaze said it all.

And just as the tension in the room reached its peak, the old matron of the Fourth Branch made her entrance, dutifully paying her respects. All of them filed into the Flower Hall, exchanging the usual pleasantries. But Hua Zhi? She understood the game and wasn’t about to play it any longer than necessary. Turning to lead Hua Yan, she knew exactly what had to be done today—no delays, no waiting around. Especially when it came to matters as dirty as this one. Why wait until tomorrow to deal with something so utterly revolting?