I share the same sentiment as you.

In the famous Qingming Pavilion of Yizhou, Gu Fei sat by the window of a second-floor private room, resting her chin on one hand. Her gaze drifted aimlessly toward the street below, while a cup of steaming tea sat forgotten at her side.

Mo Yuhua picked up the teapot, poured a splash into a teacup to rinse it, discarded the water, and then filled the cup to the brim. The room was deathly silent; they were completely alone.

Once the tea was finished, Mo Yuhua reached into his robe and produced a gold-red invitation embossed with the double-happiness character. He pushed it toward Gu Fei and said, "The twenty-fifth of the tenth lunar month is an auspicious day."

Gu Fei glanced at him, plucked the invitation with two fingers, and curled her lip in a mocking smile. "The Gu family of the past is gone, and you are now the head of the Little Mo family. I honestly didn't expect you to keep your word regarding this marriage."

Mo Yuhua shook his head. He took a sip of tea and looked at her with an expression Gu Fei could not decipher. "There are some things, A-Fei, that you will never understand. Even if I do not care for Gu Wanting, and even if the Gu family no longer holds its former glory, the pact was made by my father. I will fulfill my promise and take Gu Wanting as my wife."

Gu Fei’s expression sharpened. After a moment of contemplation, she asked, "Do you care for her?"

Mo Yuhua shook his head again. "I do not care for any woman, but this is a mission deeply embedded in my family’s marrow. I exist only for the sake of the Little Mo family."

Gu Fei let out a scoff, her features twisted with sharp, biting disdain. "Stupid. Blindly filial, blindly loyal. A family’s prosperity cannot be determined by a single marriage. If the family head is incompetent and the heirs are listless, even the Great Mo family of Dajing will eventually collapse."

She was so angry that, seeing Mo Yuhua’s detached, indifferent attitude, a surge of uncontrollable sorrow and indignation rose within her. In her heart of hearts, she did not want Mo Yuhua to follow this path.

Yet, Mo Yuhua only smiled faintly. He refilled his cup and replied with effortless ease, "In this world, some people must always make sacrifices so that others may find peace."

The meaning behind his words was unfathomable, leaving Gu Fei momentarily stunned, unable to collect her thoughts for a long time.

Mo Yuhua leaned forward, patted the back of Gu Fei’s hand—where faint blue veins were visible—and continued, "A-Fei, don’t worry about me. Gu Wanting believes she cannot bear children, and with the Gu family’s diminished influence, she will certainly not dare to be overbearing in the future."

Gu Fei snapped back to reality. She lowered her eyes, pulled her hand away with cold indifference, and said sharply, "That is your affair, not mine."

Mo Yuhua laughed. He did not point out her sharp tongue and soft heart, nor did he mention that he knew she had struggled with the decision to acknowledge him before. He did not take offense. "I know. It has nothing to do with you."

Gu Fei looked annoyed. She turned her head away, refusing to look at him, and spoke with even fiercer intent, "Don’t think this is over. The Gu family is already in my hands, and I will eventually bring the Little Mo family under my control as well."

Hearing this, Mo Yuhua frowned. He traced the rim of his teacup with his thumb and thought for a moment. "There is no need for such trouble. If you wish, A-Fei, you are welcome to intervene in the Little Mo family’s business affairs."

Gu Fei lifted her chin, her expression haughty. "I don’t want to intervene. I want to swallow the Little Mo family whole."

Mo Yuhua’s frown deepened. He had invited Gu Fei today precisely to address this; he did not want the Little Mo family to fall into such a state. While he was willing to indulge, pamper, and protect Gu Fei, he did not want her influence to reach the core of his family. The Little Mo family was his only bottom line.

He pondered for a long time, and the room fell into silence once more. The tea on the table gradually cooled, losing its warmth.

"I know, to an extent, what you are trying to do. If," he paused, his handsome, jade-like face turning toward Gu Fei, his refined eyes darkening, "if I were to share your goal—to replace the Great Mo family of Dajing—would there be any room for negotiation?"

He could not discern her true bottom line, so he laid his own lowest threshold out in the open, waiting to see how she would choose. Gu Fei remained silent, her pale pink lips pressed together. She looked back at him with deep, unreadable eyes, saying nothing.

Mo Yuhua continued, "You cannot take on the Great Mo family alone. Because of the Mo Geyi incident, you are already in the public eye. If I stand behind you as your shadow, I could feign submission to infiltrate the Mo family. Wouldn't that give you a better chance of success?"

Gu Fei’s eyes flickered. She had expected Mo Yuhua to say many things, but never this. For a moment, she could not judge whether he was sincere.

Seeming to sense her hesitation, Mo Yuhua sighed. He reached into his sleeve and said, "I know you do not trust people easily these days. That is why I drafted a commercial contract yesterday. If you agree, sign your name and press your thumbprint, and we shall form an alliance."

He pushed the contract toward her. Gu Fei hesitated for a moment before suspiciously opening it.

On the simple sheet of paper, a few points were listed in black and white. Ultimately, it stated that the Little Mo family would do everything in its power to assist her in overturning the Great Mo family, and should they break their word, all assets of the Little Mo family would belong to Gu Fei.

Gu Fei read it over several times. Now, she couldn't fathom his true intentions—was this genuine, or merely a stalling tactic?

Seeing her skeptical gaze, Mo Yuhua gave a wry smile and poured her a fresh cup of hot tea. "A-Fei, have you really reached the point where you cannot trust even me?"

Could the bonds of their childhood truly not withstand the passage of ten years?

He swallowed the last sentence before it could leave his throat. Looking into her clear, black-and-white eyes, he could not imagine how she had survived after the brutal carving of flesh from her legs, escaped from Dajing, and then risen so quickly to fight back.

With pupils larger than most, dark and silent as ink, Gu Fei slowly pushed the contract back to him. "I will not sign it," she said, word for word.

In an instant, Mo Yuhua’s face turned pale. An unbearable pain surfaced in his eyes, and he felt as if he had fallen into a frozen valley.

Gu Fei curled the corners of her mouth, taking in his reaction. "If it is you, I am willing to believe once. So, Brother Yuhua, do not let me down."

Her voice trailed off, long and ethereal, sounding almost unreal. Yet, Mo Yuhua felt as if he had been pulled from that frozen valley into the scorching sun; a surge of intense warmth flooded his body.

"Re... really?" His voice was unsteady.

Gu Fei’s almond-shaped eyes curved like new moons. For the first time, a warm, genuine smile reached her eyes. She picked up her teacup and took a small sip, squinting like a cat basking in the sun, looking remarkably languid. "Naturally, I mean it. I have always remembered how you treated me when we were young, Brother Yuhua."

She had called him "Brother Yuhua" twice in a row, as if the past had been wiped clean, and she were once again that simple, lovely girl from ten years ago. Yet, only she knew how much of her words were true and how much were false.

As clever as Mo Yuhua was, he knew what this meant, but he refused to delve deeper. As long as he could protect the Little Mo family and avoid being Gu Fei’s enemy, the fact that she was willing to call him brother was enough to make him overjoyed.

The atmosphere improved, and the two chatted for a while about their childhood, both of them speaking with smiles. The contract on the table was accidentally stained by tea, the ink blurring into murky circles until the words were obscured, rendering the paper useless.

Following this, alongside the six shops and the ink kiln from the Gu family, Gu Fei had temporarily formed an alliance with the Little Mo family. Combined with the two shops Mo Yuhua had previously shared with her and the Xuanzhu Workshop managed by Ziyuan, Gu Fei now controlled nine shops selling ink.

If others knew, they would be astonished. Even the Little Mo family, the leader in Yizhou, only owned about fifteen shops in the region. Gu Fei had gathered nine with almost no effort.

For these nine shops, she kept the Xuanzhu Workshop as it was, focusing on exquisite ink, and strictly limited production to fifteen sets a month. Often, customers could be seen outside the shop, money in hand, yet unable to buy any ink.

For the other eight shops, Gu Fei had her own plans. She renamed them all "Hua Jian Ci" (Poetry Amidst Flowers) and even coaxed the old scholar Feng into writing the calligraphy for the plaques.

She renovated the largest shop, turning it into a two-story building. The first floor displayed her unique ink products, while the second floor was reserved for scholars and literati to compose poetry. She sent out invitations to Yizhou’s young talent, hosting poetry gatherings every ten days or so.

Over time, this shop became a gathering place for the refined, and naturally, the sales of ink soared. The other seven shops also had their own specialties: some sold only colored ink, some featured luxurious ink sets, and others produced regional inks like the Yizhou-style ink.

This unique way of doing business became common knowledge in Yizhou in a short time. Everyone knew that if you wanted to buy ink to your liking, you would find it at Hua Jian Ci.

Gu Fei did not replace the master ink-makers or the staff; they continued as they always had, though she made changes to the ink recipes. Since her own reputation was poor and she was ill-suited to appear in public, and Ziyuan was busy managing the Xuanzhu Workshop, she found herself lacking people to use.

In desperation, she purchased another residence in the city, where Ziyuan could secretly visit when she had time. The shopkeepers of each Hua Jian Ci remained, and Gu Fei promised that whoever performed the best would be promoted to the general manager of all branches. Seeing a prospect for advancement, the eight shopkeepers became diligent, sending their daily accounts to the residence with great enthusiasm.

Ziyuan remained in the shadows, having others deliver the account books, which she would review and approve before reporting back to Gu Fei every fortnight.

Thus, no one knew who the owner of the suddenly prominent Hua Jian Ci was. After the Linlang Pavilion, the owner of Hua Jian Ci became the second most mysterious figure in Yizhou.