Blossoms in Adversity 惜花芷 Episode 2

Qi Ruhai said that Gu Yanxi had been running the Northern Army for many years, and now he had a lot of troops in his hands. He coveted the imperial capital and wanted to be the heir apparent. He offered Gu Yanxi's secret letters between him and the rebels as evidence. After Gu Chengtao read the secret letter, he asked the person behind the private casting case. Qi Ruhai said it was Gu Yanxi, but Gu Chengtao ordered someone to beat Qi Ruhai.

After Huazhi arrived home, she was summoned by Lin Wan, who made her kneel down in front of the four ladies and scolded her for neglecting discipline since she was a child and even sneaking out to be a crow on the eve of Jiaotong University. Lin Wan was very dissatisfied because she never read the female precepts and spent all her time studying magic and merchant ways, so she punished her by going to the ancestral hall to copy the female precepts a hundred times. The fourth lady brought Tongwu to Huazhi, and the fourth master Hua Pingyang also specially gave Huazhi food and knee pads.

The beating continued until dawn, until Qi Ruhai breathed his last. Gu Chengtao lamented that no one in Qisu Division could be trusted now. Gu Yanxi's calligraphy was taught by him personally, so he knew Qi Ruhai was framing Gu Yanxi as soon as he saw the handwriting. Gu Yanxi was held in the arms of the late emperor and the empress as a treasure since childhood, and King Hui and Xian were not as good as him. In order to dispel Gu Chengtao's doubts, Gu Yanxi disfigured herself, picked up Qi Ruhai's mask, and said that she was willing to leave the Northland forever and enter the country. Qisu Division was driven by Gu Chengtao.

Early in the morning, Gu Yanxi, who was wearing a mask, led people to raid Hua's house. The Queen Mother granted a special pardon to the women and children. The house was in chaos. A maid bumped into Yuan Qi, the deputy director of the Qisu Division. He drew his sword and wanted to kill her. At the critical moment, Gu Yanxi stopped him with his sword. Faced with a change at home, Huazhi ran to the library to pack up her drawings and bronzes. Gu Yanxi found her and looked at her drawings. Unexpectedly, the blood on her face dripped on the drawings. Huazhi handed him a handkerchief to wipe the wound.

After searching the house, Qisu Si took away all the men over ten years old in the Hua family, while the women could leave on their own. Before leaving, Gu Yanxi specially left two cars and two horses for them. The maids and servants scrambled for property in order to survive. The third lady brought an abacus and silver notes to sell her body. The second lady found a longevity lock box for her son. The fourth lady stroked the kite sent by the fourth master and burst into tears. The eldest lady seemed to have lost her soul. Lock yourself in an empty room. Hua Zhi came to the library again, took Hua Yizheng's manuscript, and asked the four maids Yingchun, Xia, Fudong and Miqiu to pack up the books on the ground.

The eldest lady thought something had happened to her husband, so she hanged herself to die. As a result, she couldn't even tie the knot properly. Hua Zhi scolded her to wake her up and tell her to live for herself and not always rely on others. The second lady advised the eldest lady to think more about the children and not to be confused. One car was filled with books, and the other was filled with young ladies who had not left the palace. Lin Wan was walking with other female relatives. Although there were many people around watching the joke, 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.