Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Mother, we can't let Jinzhi go! Prince Ding'an is plotting a rebellion. Father has already left, so we should take this opportunity to sever ties with Prince Ding'an's mansion. Otherwise, it would be a crime that would implicate nine generations of our family!" Hua Yemin, the eldest son of Old Madam Hua, advised.

"Of course I know that, but judging from the prince's attitude today, it seems things won't end well if Jinzhi doesn't go!"

“Then let’s leave. Does the Hua family have to be tied to the Ding’an Prince’s Mansion? I don’t think his so-called great cause has any future. Last time, he still failed and fled back in a sorry state despite having such a good opportunity. Now he has none of the advantages of the time, place, and people. He still wants to confront the imperial army head-on. I think he’s just delusional.”

"Shut up! How can you say just anything?" Madam Hua slammed her cup down on the table, scolding her outspoken son.

"Isn't this my own home? I wouldn't say anything if we were outside," Hua Yemin muttered, somewhat unconvinced.

"Do you know the saying 'walls have ears'? How do you know that no one outside the Hua family can hear what you're saying?" Madam Hua scolded in a low voice, her eyes unconsciously glancing towards the direction outside the house as she spoke.

Seeing that his mother was truly angry, and also worried that the Prince of Ding'an would send people to monitor things in the mansion, Hua Yemin stopped arguing.

Madam Hua turned her gaze to Hua Jinzhi, who had remained silent, and asked him...

"Jinzhi, the prince wants you. What do you think about this?"

"Grandmother, I'm still thinking about it. Please give me some time so I can think about this carefully," Hua Jinzhi said, looking up at her grandmother.

“Jinzhi, you don’t need to think about this anymore. I’m your father, and you have to listen to me. I don’t agree to you going. It’s a pit of fire, and I can’t just watch you lead the whole family into it.”

“Father, I know what you’re worried about, but since the Prince has brought it up, he won’t change his mind easily. Putting aside what will happen in the future, we’re still on the Prince’s territory. If he’s really angry, he can crush us as easily as crushing a chick. So Father, we can’t be careless with this choice; we must be cautious.”

Hua Jinzhi shared her thoughts with her father, hoping to calm his somewhat irritable temper. Mainly, she was afraid that her father's attitude would reach the prince's ears, and that the prince, in a fit of anger, might secretly kill her father.

Hearing his son's words, Hua Yemin finally realized the gravity of the situation and shut up, though he paced restlessly around the room. One choice was immediate death, the other was the potential death of the whole family—no matter which choice you made, you couldn't escape death!

"Disperse, everyone. Go back to your own courtyards and keep your mouths shut! Jinzhi, help your grandmother back!"

"Yes," everyone responded in unison.

Hua Jinzhi helped her grandmother, and the two slowly walked back to the courtyard where the old lady Hua lived. Neither of them spoke a word along the way, just walking quietly.

Under the dim light, the grandfather and grandson sat facing each other, using writing instead of language. Once a sheet of paper was full, they would place it on the oil lamp and burn it to ashes, leaving no trace.

After the Prince of Ding'an left, everything that happened in the Hua Mansion, every word spoken by everyone, including their expressions, was relayed to Zhou Ji in great detail.

When he heard Hua Yemin's words, he was so angry that he smashed his cup on the spot. He immediately wanted to send someone to retrieve Hua Yemin's head. But remembering what Hua Jinzhi had said, he swallowed his anger.

'I'll let you live a few more months. When things are done, I will personally send you off,' Zhou Ji thought darkly.

The next day, Zhou Ji appeared at the Hua residence again as promised, followed by two carts laden with gifts. However, this time the Hua family's gatekeeper did not make him wait outside. Instead, he respectfully welcomed him inside while sending someone to run in and deliver the message.

Seeing the attitude of the servants in the Hua family, Zhou Ji was very satisfied. He knew that the Hua family would definitely agree to let Hua Jinzhi come to his side.

Zhou Ji was respectfully invited by the Hua family members who came out to greet him to sit down in the flower hall.

"Madam, how have your discussions gone? Have you agreed to let Jinzhi come to my side?"

"This is because His Highness values ​​and promotes him, and the entire Hua family is grateful to His Highness. However, that child is still young and inexperienced. If he does anything wrong, we hope His Highness will forgive him for the sake of his grandfather." Old Madam Hua greeted Zhou Ji very politely.

"Madam, you are overthinking it. I have watched Jinzhi grow up. In my eyes, he is like my nephew. As for the talk of tolerance, it is only right and proper." A smile appeared in Zhou Ji's narrow eyes.

"Jinzhi, hurry up and kowtow to thank the Prince for his great favor," Madam Hua reminded her grandson.

"Yes, Jinzhi kowtows to thank Your Highness for your great kindness. From now on, this humble subject will do everything in his power to assist Your Highness, even at the cost of his life." After saying this, Hua Jinzhi kowtowed several times heavily.

The head slammed against the floor tiles with a dull thud, making everyone in the Hua family's hearts clench. But Zhou Ji found the sound unusually pleasing and pleasant; it was the sound of loyalty to him.

"Your Highness, I have another request."

"Please speak, Madam. I will grant your request as long as it is within my power," Zhou Ji said, his mood extremely pleasant. Hua Jinzhi had been personally taught by his grandfather since childhood, and Zhou Ji had once read his policy essays. They were absolutely brilliant. If it weren't for the fact that his grandfather was his advisor, he would surely have been the youngest Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) since the founding of the Great Huai Dynasty.

"Your Highness, Jinzhi is still young. I wish he could come home to live every day, instead of living in the Prince's mansion like his grandfather did." Madam Hua's request was simple: she just wanted to see her grandson every day.

This request isn't unreasonable, but Mr. Hua was assassinated, and he still hasn't found out who did it. However, it's inextricably linked to that girl from the Wang family in Jinling. If he allows Hua Jinzhi to continue her daily interactions between home and the Wang residence, he fears another assassin might target her.

However, upon further reflection, I realized that we were on my own turf, and it would be too embarrassing to voice my concerns. If I couldn't even protect a single person on my own turf, what great cause could I possibly be talking about?

After a moment's thought, Zhou Ji nodded in agreement to Madam Hua's request, but he did have conditions.

“It’s understandable that the old lady is worried about Jinzhi because she is young. But I will assign a few guards to protect Jinzhi closely. I hope the old lady will not mind.”

"I understand Your Highness's concerns and thank you for your care and protection of Jinzhi."

From then on, another member of the Hua family entered the Prince of Ding'an's residence, succeeding Mr. Hua and becoming the Prince of Ding'an's most trusted advisor. However, this is a story for later; how could the Prince of Ding'an possibly trust Hua Jinzhi before he demonstrated his talent and loyalty?

The Hua family mansion, which had become deserted after Mr. Hua's death, became lively again in the southern province. Every day, people would send visiting cards to the Hua family mansion, either wanting to pay their respects to a certain master or lady of the Hua family, or wanting to invite the young masters and ladies of the Hua family to go out.

The Hua family had no goodwill towards these two-faced people. They still remembered how those people behaved when the news of the old master's death came back and the prince didn't treat them with any special courtesy. Now that the prince was valuing the Hua family again, they all wiped their faces and fawned over him again. They were truly shameless opportunists.