Blossom in Adversity

C110. Mourning (4).

Chapter 110: Mourning (4)

Hua Zhi instructed the servants to prepare several cushions and gestured for Bai Lin to look after his younger brothers. Carrying a few cushions, she entered the room where the others were seated.

"Sister." The others stood up when they saw her.

"Please, sit." Passing a cushion to each of them, Hua Zhi sat on an empty cushion nearby and added some charcoal to the brazier. "It's good to rest while we're not performing mourning rites. Kneeling for too long can be strenuous, and we don't want to fall ill."

The others nodded. They seldom had contact with their eldest sister and had even looked down on her a bit. Now, in this close proximity, they were unsure how to connect with her.

As the warmth from the cushion spread through her body, Hua Xin looked at Hua Zhi opposite her, feeling a sudden peace in her heart.

It was good to have an older sister who could handle things. At least, it made them aware of what they should do and how. Hua Zhi did not flaunt her authority or try to intimidate them. In fact, she seemed to be protecting them as much as possible.

No matter what others thought, Hua Xin would eventually come to respect her elder sister, she thought.

Hua Rong was Hua Zhi's half-sister and, feeling closer to Hua Zhi than Hua Ling and Hua Xin, she moved closer to Hua Zhi and asked softly, "Do we have to stay here the whole time?"

Hua Zhi looked at her. "Don't want to?"

"No." Hua Rong glanced up at her, then lowered her gaze. "If male guests arrive..."

"There is no distinction between men and women in the mourning hall. Just remember that you are all grandchildren of our grandmother. It doesn't matter who the guests are; our duty is to be dutiful grandchildren."

"Okay." Hua Rong felt a bit reluctant. She had approached her eldest sister hoping for approval, not to be scolded.

"These days are not easy. I cannot stay here all the time. Help each other and do what you can handle."

"Yes, eldest sister."

Hua Zhi didn't expect to win them over with just a few words. For now, she just needed them to be well-behaved for the next few days. Hearing some commotion outside, she lifted the curtain to see and hurried out to attend to the visitors.

Hua Xian was being supported by her eldest son, crying uncontrollably with a haggard look. To an outsider, she might appear to be the legitimate eldest daughter of the Hua family.

Hua Zhi bowed from a distance, feeling a sense of relief. Her grandmother had always been kind, loving the eldest daughter but never mistreating the other illegitimate daughters. She provided everything she could, arranged for lessons, and prepared elaborate dowries for their marriages, fulfilling her duties as a legitimate mother.

It was fortunate that there was no favoritism, and the kindness was remembered.

Hua Xian had only one eldest son, Yang Sui'an, who was just fourteen but very mature. He knelt beside his mother and respectfully bowed and offered incense.

After she had cried for a while, Hua Zhi approached and softly said, "Aunt, your health is important. Grandmother will be delighted to know that you have come."

Hua Xian looked up, tears streaming down her face as she gazed at her niece, feeling a pang of bitterness. Her maternal family had already fallen, but now with grandmother passing away, what would become of the vast Hua family?!

She resented her husband's family for their lack of compassion. Whenever there were benefits to be had, they would urge her to return home, but when the Hua family faced difficulties, they would confine her there. This time, they even threatened her with divorce if she came back. But this was her maternal family, the place where she was born and raised.

With her legitimate mother passing away, how could she not return?

Thinking of this, Hua Xian's tears flowed more fiercely. Human emotions were fickle; whose heart was not made of flesh after all!

Hua Zhi signaled for Suyun Mama to assist. "Escort Second Aunt to Aunt's Concubine Mother's room."

"Yes."

Hua Zhi looked at Yang Sui'an, unsure of his intentions, and asked, "Cousin, what are you..."

"I am here to mourn for Grandmother, so I will not go inside."

After a moment of contemplation, Hua Zhi gestured for him to follow. Taking him to a quiet corridor, she asked, "Is the Yang family opposed to Second Aunt's return?"

Yang Sui'an did not know the current situation in the Hua family and hesitated to respond to his cousin's question. He simply mumbled, "It's what should be done."

Hua Zhi understood everything. She smiled inwardly and made a mental note against the Yang family. "Sui'an, watch and see if the Yang family will be ahead of us or if the Hua family will prevail. When the time comes for your father to pay respects at my grandmother's gravesite, he won't even be allowed near the Hua family's ancestral tomb."

Yang Sui'an felt ashamed and did not defend his father. The facts were clear, and as a son-in-law of the Hua family, he should have come as soon as he received the news of the funeral. Instead, he not only failed to come himself but also prevented his wife from coming.

If he hadn't caused a scene, his mother might still be locked up at home, unable to leave.

His father had never treated his mother this way when his maternal grandmother was alive, and even as his son, he felt embarrassed by his father's callousness.

"Sui'an, I will remember this."

Yang Sui'an looked up at his cousin.

Hua Zhi gazed at the mourning hall, listening to the chanting inside. Without explaining further, she simply said, "Go."

As Yang Sui'an walked away, he glanced back and saw that his cousin had turned away. He understood her message, but he pretended not to, knowing that the Yang family was his own family, and he couldn't betray them.

Hua Zhi quietly processed all her emotions before returning to the mourning hall. Apart from her second aunt who had come for the funeral, the only other visitors were from the Zhu family. Hua Zhi's heart sank, but she maintained her composure, closed her eyes, and chanted the death mantra along with the chant of the wooden fish.

A respectful voice rang out, "Mr. Lu is here to offer his condolences."

Hua Zhi's eyes snapped open as she looked at the man walking in from the main gate. Clad in a white robe, his tall and imposing figure was accentuated by his solemn expression, and the scar on his face added a touch of coldness.

Taking the incense, he bowed three times, and Hua Zhi led her siblings to bow respectfully to the ground.

Suppressing the urge to help her up, Gu Yanxi spoke in a deep voice, "Please rise."

As everyone stood up, Hua Zhi bowed to Gu Yanxi once again. "Thank you, Mr. Lu."

Thank you for concealing the truth and for bringing me back so quickly. Thank you for sending someone to look after the Hua family in my absence.

Thank you.

Gu Yanxi nodded and accepted her gratitude. "Have my condolences."

"Thank you."

The two locked eyes for a moment before Gu Yanxi turned and left, arriving and departing swiftly.

He was of royal blood, the Shizi, raised personally by the emperor as a quasi-son, yet his face bore scars of his own making.

His official status was one he often forgot, and he sometimes even forgot who he truly was. But his real face remained hidden in the shadows, recognized by few. Having not seen his biological father for many years, his only close companion was a half-sister who had lost her memory. Despite his immense power, he had nothing of his own.

But now, everything was different.