Episode 2: Gu Yanxi leads the team to raid the Hua family

Qi Ruhai said that Gu Yanxi had been managing the Northern Army for many years and now had a large number of troops under his control. He coveted the imperial capital and wanted to seek the position of crown prince. He presented the secret letters between Gu Yanxi and the traitor as evidence.

After reading the secret letters, Gu Chengtao asked who was the mastermind behind the private forging case. Qi Ruhai said it was Gu Yanxi. Gu Chengtao gave an order and had Qi Ruhai beaten.

After Hua Zhi got home, Lin Wan called her over and made her kneel down in front of the four ladies. She scolded her for being neglected since childhood and sneaking out to become a crow on the eve of Jiaotong University.

She never read the female precepts and spent all day studying numerology and business, which made Lin Wan very dissatisfied, so she punished her to copy the female precepts a hundred times in the ancestral hall. The fourth lady gave Hua Zhi the bronze crow, and the fourth master Hua Pingyang also specially sent Hua Zhi food and knee pads.

The fight lasted until dawn, until Qi Ruhai died. Gu Chengtao lamented that no one in the Seven Stars Division could be trusted now. He was the one who taught Gu Yanxi’s calligraphy, so he knew Qi Ruhai was framing Gu Yanxi as soon as he saw the handwriting.

Gu Yanxi had been held in the arms of the late emperor and the empress since he was a child and was treated as a treasure. King Hui and King Xian were not as good as him. In order to dispel Gu Chengtao’s doubts, Gu Yanxi destroyed his own face, picked up Qi Ruhai’s mask, and said that he was willing to leave the north forever and join the Seven Stars Division to be driven by Gu Chengtao.

Early in the morning, Gu Yanxi, wearing a mask, led people to raid the Hua family. The Queen Mother granted amnesty and exempted women and children from crime. The mansion was in chaos. A maid bumped into Yuan Qi, the deputy director of the Seventh House, and he drew his sword to kill her. At the critical moment, Gu Yanxi stopped him with his sword.

Facing the changes at home, Hua Zhi ran to the library to pack up her drawings and bronzes. Gu Yanxi found her and took her drawings to look at them. Unexpectedly, the blood on his face dripped onto the drawings. Hua Zhi handed him a handkerchief to wipe the wound.

After the house was searched, the Seven Susi took away all the males over ten years old in the Hua family, while the females were allowed to leave on their own. Before leaving, Gu Yanxi specially left two cars and two horses for them. The maids and servants scrambled to grab property for survival. The third wife took an abacus and a silver note to sell her body.

The second wife looked for a long-life lock and a heart box for her son. The fourth wife stroked the kite sent by the fourth master and burst into tears. The first wife locked herself in the empty house like a lost soul. Hua Zhi came to the library again, took Hua Yizheng’s manuscript, and asked Yingchun, Xia Fu, Dong Miqiu and other four maids to pick up the books on the ground.

The first wife thought her husband had met with an accident, so she tried to hang herself, but she couldn’t even tie the knot properly. Hua Zhi scolded her and told her to live for herself and not always depend on others.

The second wife advised the first wife to think more about the children and not to be foolish. One car was filled with books, one car was filled with young ladies, and Lin Wan walked with other female relatives. Although there were many people around who laughed at her, Lin Wan did not lose her aura at all and held her head high.

Shen Qi was counting the betrothal gifts excitedly at home, completely unaware of what was happening in the court. After Shen Zhongxing returned home tremblingly, he threw the engagement note into the brazier and warned Shen Qi not to mention the Hua family again in the future. He also ordered that anyone who dared to reveal the slightest bit about Shen Qi and Hua Zhi’s engagement would be beaten to death.

Before arriving at the house outside the city, it started to rain. Lin Wan and her whole family left the city in the eyes of everyone without being humble or overbearing. Shen Qi saw Hua Zhi in the crowd, but never shouted.

The house outside the city was given by the Empress Dowager and was called Zihuang Ju. The old lady often came here to escape the summer heat when she was young. However, because no one had lived in the other places for many years, it was full of cobwebs, which inevitably made the ladies feel conflicted.