Chapter 208 Subsequent Strategy

Hua Xian looked at the divorce decree handed to her by Hua Zhi in disbelief, trembling as she held it in her hands, tears streaming down her face.

The family that had burdened her for half a lifetime had finally completely drifted away from her.

Even Elder Third Concubine, her eyes now red, dared not ask how the eldest granddaughter had obtained this divorce decree. She was not ignorant and clueless to the ways of the world to have entered the Hua family. Having followed the old master for many years, she understood the implications of when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. If the Yang family dared to lay a hand on Xian'er, they would not let her go easily without stripping some skin off the Huazhi family.

She did not know the price the Hua family had paid to give Xian'er her freedom back.

Hua Xian was at a loss for words, "Huazhi, I... I..."

"I will have Fourth Aunt arrange another courtyard for you. From now on, you are still a member of the Hua family, with no ties to the Yang family."

"I-I can stay here..."

"Thank you, eldest granddaughter, for your consideration for Xian'er." Elder Third Concubine interrupted her daughter, her voice slightly trembling. "Thanks to you, or else Xian'er might have truly been dragged to her death by the Yang family."

"Let's not talk about these family matters. I have things to attend to, so I will take my leave. Fourth Aunt will prepare the new courtyard for you, and you can discuss any ideas with her."

Hua Zhi bowed slightly and took her leave.

Hua Xian was still in a state of disbelief, pinching herself pitifully and calling out, "Mother..."

Elder Third Concubine glared at her, but her smile weakened the power behind that glare. With this major issue resolved, she felt like all her wishes had been fulfilled.

"Why can't you come here anytime you want? Having your own courtyard is when you truly return to the Hua family. That will be completely your own territory, not just attached to mine. From now on, An'an will also have a place to truly call his own."

"I have already caused a lot of trouble for the Hua family. I feel it wouldn't be right to make any more demands..."

Elder Third Concubine opened her mouth to say more but thought better of it. That was just how she was - she couldn't change. As long as she could stay by her side peacefully, that was better than anything else. She lived day by day, and if she was gone one day, An'an would still be there. The fact that things had come to this point already filled her with contentment.

The sky had darkened, and usually by this time, Hua Zhi would have returned to the back courtyard, with both gates locked. But today was different - after being busy for so long, none of them had even had dinner yet.

The side room was filled with a table full of dishes, mostly vegetarian.

Shao Yao buried her head in her food for a while before suddenly looking up and saying, "Huahua, who replaced Fu Dong?"

"I thought you wouldn't care." Hua Zhi smiled and served her with the communal chopsticks, also giving Gu Yanxi some. "There's a little girl who's been following Fudong for four or five years. She's not as creative as Fu Dong, but she's learned a few of Fu Dong's skills, so she can still cook for me."

"No wonder it tastes almost the same, but it's still not as good as Fu Dong's."

Hua Zhi understood what she meant. With the same ingredients, the same process, and the same heat, the taste could still be different. It could be said that they hadn't put their heart into it, or it could be said that some people were naturally more attuned to a particular dish, and the taste they made was just different. Fu Dong belonged to the latter category.

Having solved a major problem and also gotten one over on someone, Hua Zhi was in the mood to make tea.

Every time Gu Yanxi saw her with her eyes lowered, looking gentle and submissive, he had the urge to pick up a brush and draw her. Even though he had just seen Ah Zhi's ruthless side not long ago, he didn't feel any contradiction seeing her like this now.

No matter which side, he felt that it should be like this. Ah Zhi should be ruthless to her enemies and extremely gentle to her own people.

"Teach me this method of frying tea."

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow and pushed the cup towards him, "You have time for this?"

"Your tea leaves are running low."

It was true. Hua Zhi sighed as she looked at the few jars. "Now that we're starting to prepare, we won't be able to drink spring tea. It's not bad to be able to drink the new autumn tea. Choose a few people, and I'll have Ying Chun teach them."

"Alright."

*

Meanwhile, the Yang family was in a commotion.

As soon as Yang Qi returned home, he went straight to his parents' courtyard, shouting loudly about his aches and pains, his voice hoarse. Old Madam Yang was so distressed that she kept asking what had happened.

In the Yang family, the old lady always favored the eldest son.

Yang Zheng frowned without saying a word.

"Hua Zhi, that Hua Zhi from the Hua family had people kidnap me today and beat me up. She even forced me to take poison and write a divorce decree!" Thinking of his pitiful state at the time, Yang Qi's face twisted in hatred.

"That murderous Hua Zhi, I'll tear her apart!" The old lady slapped the armrest of her chair, then quickly turned to pamper her son. "Where are you hurt? Let me see. Husband, quickly write a note and have someone invite a physician."

Yang Zheng, after all, also felt sorry for his son, and got up to take a note. But when Yang Qi lifted up his shirt, there wasn't even a mark on his fair skin.

Where was the injury?

Yang Zheng's face immediately darkened. "Yang Qi, is this your injury?"

"Right, my stomach is churning with pain." As he spoke, Yang Qi looked down, and his eyes widened.

How could this be?

How could it be?!

With such a powerful punch to the stomach, he was still in pain, but there wasn't a single mark?

He pressed down in disbelief, and the pain made him cry out.

"Qi'er..." The old lady believed him immediately upon seeing him like this. She started to wipe her eyes and turned to Yang Zheng. "Husband, no matter how ill-behaved Qi'er is, he wouldn't lie about something like this to deceive you. Think about it, what good would he get from doing this? That Hua Zhi, based on the rumors, is not someone to be trifled with. A dog that bites doesn't bark. She's a viper. Is there anything strange about her doing something like this?"

Yang Zheng looked at his son, "Did you write the divorce decree?"

"Yes, I did." Seeing his father's displeased expression, Yang Qi quickly defended himself. "If I didn't write them, she would keep feeding me poison, and I would have died there!"

"She doesn't have the guts to kill you."

"But she can make my life a living hell!" Yang Qi retorted stubbornly. He wanted to say that it wasn't you who was in pain, if you were treated this way, you would probably be even worse off, but he dared not!

He dared not, no matter how angry he was!

He knew very well who he owed his carefree life to.

Yang Zheng eventually had the steward take his name card to invite a physician. But no matter how the physician took his pulse, the result was the same, "The pulse is deep and floating. Young Master needs to be more restrained, as excessive indulgence harms the body."

"..."

Yang Zheng politely dismissed the physician and glared at his son, "What else do you have to say?"

Yang Qi finally understood. No wonder Hua Zhi had dared to treat him like that and then let him return. No wonder she had been so bold!

She had planned everything beforehand!

"Whether you believe me or not, Father, I've written the divorce decree. From now on, Hua Xian and the Yang family will have nothing to do with each other."

——— Author's Note:

(The next chapter will be a bit late.)

Let me explain the term "gu nǎinai". It's not just a term of seniority. In ancient times, any married daughter would be addressed as "gu nǎinai" by her natal family. If you're interested, you can go and do some research.

Also, regarding the business transactions in the story, I could have used a lot more words to describe them. That was my initial plan. However, I decided to omit those details when I was writing. All that information was easily found online, and I didn't think it was necessary to go into great detail.

In Hua Zhi's position, she was the one giving orders, so she didn't need to do everything herself. Too much detail would make the writing less refined and drag on.

Actually... how convenient it would have been to pad out the word count!

(Covering my face, what am I regretting?)