Blossom In Adversity - Vol. 2

C372. Variables.

Chapter 372: Variables

Hua Zhi felt a sudden clarity wash over her, as if the turmoil in her heart had been swept away by the news. Sure, she'd always known Yanxi was held in high regard, but hearing whispers of him being molded for something more—something bigger—was a revelation on a whole new level.

“Doesn’t the prince feel... envious?” she asked, testing the waters.

Gu Yanxi’s lips curled into a cold, knowing smirk. “Only Lai Fu knows the full scope of things. People might suspect, but who’d dare question the emperor outright? As for me,” he paused, his tone sharp, “the royal family’s always been wary of the Seven Stars Bureau. They see the mask, and they scatter like startled birds.”

And why wouldn’t they? Hua Zhi thought. The Bureau’s very existence was a blade dangling over the heads of the prince and his consorts—a constant, silent threat. She could see why they’d be unnerved, but that didn’t stop her from cutting to the heart of the matter.

“Will you take that position?” she asked bluntly.

“No.” The answer came fast, crisp, and final. “Look at the imperial uncle—has his life ever looked enviable to you? Sure, the prince might drool over the title, but the officials? They’d spend their lives blinding him, silencing him, keeping him locked up in a gilded cage. Every move would be watched, every word measured. You’d have to sleep with one eye open, year after year, until the paranoia eats you alive. Where’s the appeal in that?”

Hua Zhi lowered her gaze, her thoughts swirling. The man before her, dressed in his usual dark attire, seemed to embody the very storm that was their reality. She gently pushed him back, and Yanxi, ever intuitive, understood. He shifted away, choosing a spot just close enough but distant enough.

Some things were better left unsaid.

Sensing the weight of their conversation, Hua Zhi pivoted. “Any news from Hao Yue?”

Yanxi’s eyes lingered on her for a beat longer than necessary, his voice steady but carrying a faint undercurrent of something unreadable. “The Hua family’s male line has been wiped out. The women and children are barely surviving, hidden in a corner of Yujing under the Zhu family’s protection. The nation’s scholars are furious. Hao Yue says this autumn will bring a reckoning—students will rise, demanding justice for your family. And,” his voice sharpened slightly, “it’ll be the nail in the coffin for the second prince. He’ll lose any chance he ever had.”

Indeed!

Hua Zhi tightened her fists, her gaze sharp and icy. If it weren’t for her connection with Yan Xi—if they hadn’t faced the trials of Yingshan Pass together, if not for her own resolve and Yan Xi’s perfectly timed intervention—her family would have been wiped out, plain and simple.

“Ah Zhi.”

She lifted her eyes to meet his.

“She doesn’t know who you are,” Gu Yanxi said with a wry smile. “Chen Qing may have led her, but she still hasn’t pieced it together. She lumps you in with the rest of the Hua women. If her so-called foresight is real, then you, Ah Zhi, are the anomaly. Either an oversight in her vision—or the wildcard.”

The wildcard of the entire Daqing Dynasty.

“If being the wildcard means keeping the Hua family safe, then I’ll gladly take the role,” Hua Zhi said, her voice steady. She was ready to step into that light, to be the game-changer Daqing needed, so long as it kept her out of the crossfire in these turbulent times. “What do you think about the upcoming autumn exams?”

Gu Yanxi’s expression showed he’d already been mulling it over. “Wenzi has kept his moves against the Hua family subtle, but during the autumn exams, when all the scholars gather, any small provocation could snowball into a crisis for your family. I’ll be watching closely to make sure no one stirs the pot. Also, as is tradition, many scholars will likely send congratulatory letters to the Hua family, even though there are no male members participating this year. It could be out of respect—or something else entirely. Have you thought about how to handle that?”