An isolated field, fertile soil but thin water. An isolated island, the fifth-watch hour is cold.

The Tang dynasty’s successful examination graduate once wrote, “Along the fetid seashore are many ghost markets; the island dwellers have no hometown, no village” — on the vast sea, on a remote and desolate island, there is no place for one to dwell long, especially when across the water the ten thousand households glow with lantern light for their evening feasts, while the island has nothing but the silent sea wind from all four directions.

One is destined to return.

“Is what Brother Wang asks on his own behalf, or on behalf of those under his command?”

“I am asking on behalf of my brothers.”

“Brother Wang can ask on their behalf, yet I cannot give a blanket answer on behalf of the common people.” Pei Shaohuai did not play at vagueness with Wang Chu. He continued: “Evil is in the end still evil. Even with ten thousand reasons and causes, it cannot be dissolved into the sea as if it had never been… Some wrongdoings cannot be turned a blind eye to. Otherwise, with everyone following the example in the future, what peace would remain in this land?”

Wang Chu bowed his head and fell silent. The several creases between his brows deepened. His hands rested on the stone table, gripping the wine cup tightly, unable to lift it for a long while.

He had read and understood the law — even if he did not understand the principle, he knew it. Pei Shaohuai’s words left him with no counter-argument.

“Prefect, truly not even a sliver of a chance?”

“Minor offenses may be forgiven; grave offenses are difficult to pardon.” Pei Shaohuai said, “If a man simply went out to sea to seek a living, and upon returning the clan, hometown, and neighbors are still willing to acknowledge him and take him in — his place in the clan genealogy still held, his name still on the household register — this official will not meddle.” Such situations were in practice difficult to manage anyway.

He paused, then continued, “But should any person bring a written complaint to the yamen naming someone in a case of homicide or violating another’s honor, once verified, I as this official cannot leave it unaddressed. As for the question of earning merit to atone for crimes and redeeming oneself through contributions — that will be handled entirely according to Da Qing’s statutes, whatever the law prescribes.”

Wang Chu’s face still carried lines of worry, but he lifted his wine cup and drained it in one swallow: “I understand — I will not make things difficult for you, my lord. Here, I thank you on behalf of my brothers for your exceptional generosity.”

Tonight the sea had no mist; the full moon was especially bright, and even the sea breeze felt light and gentle.

Wang Chu laughed with a note of bitterness in it, saying, “Born at the wrong time, toyed with by fate — if you had come a step earlier, my lord, or if I had been born ten years later, then even through all the disappointments and repeated failures of the imperial examinations, I would surely not have ended up going to sea as a bandit, and today would not need to sit on this desolate sea island drinking with you, talking of matters of life and death.”

Between them, the talk ought to be of books and poetry — not life and death.

“‘Life in this world rarely goes as one wishes; tomorrow I shall loosen my hair and go drifting in a small boat’ — the same discontent, and yet the Immortal Poet went drifting in his small boat, while I took to piracy and plunder.” Wang Chu laughed at himself.

Pei Shaohuai only drank a cup along with him, smiled, and said nothing in response. Beneath the heavens, how many disappointed scholars were there — far too many who maintained their integrity in a thatched hut with nothing but cold water to drink. In his heart Pei Shaohuai thought privately: Wang Chu’s turning to piracy at sea was surely not solely a matter of bad luck and having no other recourse.

The serious business concluded, Pei Shaohuai had no wish to linger and rose to take his leave: “This official will take the silver back with him — thank you, Brother Wang, for your kind gesture.”

He clasped his hands in farewell: “We shall meet again on shore.”

“Until we meet again.”

Those who read the situation and adapted in time were not Wang Chu alone.

Shuang’an Prefecture’s outer harbor opened with great force — those towering embankments and broad harbor basins could not possibly be intended merely for fishing boats to berth. A “minor local prefect” who dared openly build docks and construct a sea harbor while the Provincial Administration Commission showed no sign whatsoever of trying to stop him — this meant Shuang’an Prefecture’s prefect had something to back him up, and it also meant that “opening the seas” was the court’s intention.

The smaller clans and minor families who had long submitted to the great families’ command and obeyed their every instruction began secretly laying their own groundwork. No one wished to be the innocent “fish in the pond” caught in someone else’s disaster.

One after another, they made private overtures of goodwill to the prefectural yamen through the Qi, Bao, and Chen families, giving Pei Shaohuai yet another bargaining chip in his hand.

By the time autumn harvest arrived in the ninth month, new grain came to market, stabilizing rice prices throughout southern Fujian — everything was proceeding exactly as Pei Shaohuai had planned.

Quanzhou Prefecture had sent over several invitations — whether for official visits or private meetings, all of them were declined by Pei Shaohuai, who simply avoided them entirely.

That venomous snake had been sealed in its den by Yan Chengzhao; the rats outside had thus lost their strategist, and Xie Jia, troubled and without a plan, had no choice but to dress in plain clothes, lie in wait on the road, and intercept Pei Shaohuai.

Sheltered by the carriage, the common alley appeared quiet.

Having clearly come to seek a peace settlement, Xie Jia still seemed to think he held cards in his hand, and spoke with continued bluster: “What does it matter if rice prices fall and the harbor is built? With no road to carry goods and no goods to trade, the sea merchants are drinking the northwest wind — even the grandest harbor will stand empty and abandoned. Such will be the situation for the first year, and there will be a second and a third, without end… Prefect Pei, the arm cannot twist the thigh.”

“What you mean is — if I step back one step, you would be willing to release the goods?”

“As long as you do not interfere with the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Commission’s dealings, and release my son — this Shuang’an Prefecture, open the seas as you please; those Xun Island pirates, kill them as you please — all as you wish. We shall leave each other in peace.” Xie Jia said.

Pei Shaohuai burst out laughing, his clear, bright laughter reverberating back and forth through the alley.

“Prefect Xie’s words are like the waves on the sea,” Pei Shaohuai said contemptuously. “All blown out of thin air.”

He demanded, “You have done so many despicable things to the common people of southern Fujian, and you still want to ‘leave each other in peace’?” There was no such door. He continued, “You should know — the reason the Southern Brocade Guard has not yet moved, the reason your head is still attached to your neck, is that your mouth still has things that can be extracted. You still have your uses.”

Let alone Xie Jia coming to seek peace — even if the Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Forward Military Commander came together, Pei Shaohuai would not yield a single step.

“Are you not afraid of having no goods to trade?” Hoarding goods and refusing to sell was the last bargaining chip Xie Jia and the great families held.

Pei Shaohuai sneered, “Prefect Xie, please feel free to play whatever hand you have — this official shall watch with great interest.”

Xie Jia saw that Pei Shaohuai would bend neither to soft nor hard approaches, and watched him turning to leave. His eyes fixed on that retreating figure, he grew somewhat flustered, and called out: “Children are always innocent — can Prefect Pei truly not even spare a child?”

Pei Shaohuai answered with his back still turned: “And are the common people not innocent? Are their children not children? For these words to come from your mouth — how supremely laughable.”

There were still many matters at the yamen, and Pei Shaohuai had no wish to be entangled further. He boarded his carriage.

As he departed, Pei Shaohuai lifted the carriage window curtain with his folding fan and added one last remark: “Pardon my frankness — compared to remaining at Prefect Xie’s side, your son locked in a prison cell is likely considerably safer.”

“The crime Prefect Xie has committed is one that warrants the extermination of nine familial clans… Having been born from a transaction of power and lust, a beast’s desire — why should you come and play the loving father before me now?” The words and the sound of carriage wheels went off together, departing with unhurried ease.

Xie Jia was a thoroughly contemptible wretch.

In the ninth month, Lin Yuan arrived at Shuang’an Prefecture ahead of the fleet.

Upon receiving the news, Pei Shaohuai hurried out of the city to welcome his elder cousin’s arrival. On the carriage ride back to the city, the two cousins chatted freely.

Lin Yuan’s appearance bore a six or seven-part resemblance to his father, Lin Shiyun, even down to his build. His temperament, however, differed from Lin Shiyun’s — not as meticulous and sharp-witted, but with a greater measure of bold openheartedness and nerve.

The other cousin, Lin Yao, who was far away in the northern frontier conducting trade with the Tatars, was tall and slender, and had not inherited his father’s build, but had inherited his father’s temperament — exceptionally thorough and careful in all his dealings.

The moment he arrived back at the residence and met little Nan and little Feng, Lin Yuan busied himself with producing two large boxes of gold bars, pushing them toward Pei Shaohuai and saying, “The journey was hurried from start to finish, and as an elder I had no time to pick out a proper gift for little Guan’er and little Ci’er. I’m no good at choosing things either — thinking it over, I decided silver and gold would be best. Don’t think too little of it, cousin.”

Pei Shaohuai tried to decline; Lin Yuan promptly pressed the boxes directly into little Nan and little Feng’s arms. The two little ones puffed out their chests and strained to hug the two large boxes of gold bars, eyes full of bewilderment — this heavy — could they be bricks?

Little Nan asked curiously, “Father, does Yi’er have one of these?”

Lin Yuan was momentarily taken aback. He asked Pei Shaohuai, “Has cousin had another little one? How did I not hear of it — I must have been negligent.”

Pei Shaohuai was both amused and exasperated, and quickly explained the situation clearly.

Lin Yuan let out a prolonged “oh,” felt he had been careless, and was a little embarrassed: “As neighbors, we ought to send a gift for them as well.” And so he produced yet another box.

Little Nan and little Feng were delighted and immediately carried this box of gold bars over to the Yan residence to find Yi’er.

After the evening meal, Pei Shaohuai and his cousin sat in the front study to discuss matters.

“The first fleet has already set out from Taicang Prefecture’s docks — it should arrive at Shuang’an Prefecture in just a few days. What do you plan to do with this first batch of cotton cloth?” Lin Yuan asked.

Pei Shaohuai had asked his third elder sister to set aside a hundred thousand bolts of cotton cloth; his second elder sister had sent a full hundred and fifty thousand bolts — the first batch alone was fifty thousand.

“For this first batch, I will need to trouble my cousin to act on my behalf and sell them off.” Pei Shaohuai had worked it all out in his head long since — otherwise he would not have asked Lin Yuan to send them in two separate batches. “What price does my cousin intend to charge?”

“Three times the going rate.”

“Three times?” Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised. After a quick mental calculation he said, “Cotton cloth sold to foreign countries overseas can fetch five or six times the price… If someone buys it at three times the going rate and then deducts the costs of the sea voyage, the profit margin left over is rather thin — I’m afraid it won’t be easy to sell.”

Pei Shaohuai said, “Cousin need not worry — go ahead and name that price boldly, there will be buyers.” A sly smile. “And there are still a hundred thousand bolts of cotton cloth coming in the next shipment, are there not?”

Building bridges, roads, and the harbor was spending silver like water; the eight hundred thousand taels in the prefectural yamen were nearly depleted — it was time to properly “generate revenue.”

Five days later, in the early morning, the morning mist had not yet lifted.

A half-grown boy who had gone to the mouth of the Jiulong River at dawn to catch shrimp came charging back into the city, and went straight to the clan elder’s home.

“Elder! Elder! Dozens of large ships have moored in Shuang’an Bay — they say they’ve brought a great deal of cloth from Hejian Prefecture! Go and have a look, quickly!”

Elder Qi had just lifted his bowl of white congee, without having managed to eat a single bite, and set it back down. He asked, “Is this truly so?”

“It’s true — we saw a lot of cloth being unloaded, being sold right there at the dock!” Another boy confirmed.

And so Elder Qi “charged out” too, rushing after them — if this was true, there would be no need to worry about having no goods to buy this year. Cotton cloth was no match for silk, but it was still very much in demand.

Not only Elder Qi made his way to the Shuang’an Prefecture docks — all the minor families who had not yet acquired goods for the year came as well.

But half a day later, they left again, disappointed — the cloth was of excellent quality, tightly woven and fine, with vivid and vibrant dyes, but the asking price was too high, fully double the price of cotton cloth from Songjiang Prefecture.

Too little profit — they had no choice but to return first and discuss.

With nowhere else to turn, the Qi, Chen, and Bao clan elders could only seek out Pei Shaohuai again, asking the Prefect to offer guidance, or to step forward and negotiate the price with the capital’s cloth merchants on their behalf.

Pei Shaohuai offered guidance, but he was not willing to come forward and negotiate — the price had been quietly set by himself. How was he to negotiate? Negotiate with himself?

He said, “Buying the cotton cloth this year may seem like earning no silver — a wasted effort. In truth, once the cloth merchants see a profit, they will bring even more cloth the following year. After a few years, this will settle into a stable new source of goods — and business is a long-term venture.”

“What you say makes sense, my lord.” Elder Qi and the others still hesitated: “But the price of this cotton cloth is truly high — it is almost the asking price of ordinary silk.”

Elder Chen added: “Besides, the three of our families’ combined silver reserves cannot absorb this entire batch of cloth at once.”

Pei Shaohuai suggested, “The northern winds of the twelfth month are still a long way off — there is no urgent need to purchase the cloth within these next few days. Why not put out some word first?”

“What word would you have us spread, my lord?”

“Say that Shuang’an Prefecture, in order to broaden its sources of goods, is prepared to purchase these tens of thousands of bolts of cotton cloth, and is presently raising funds.”

The three clan elders did not understand what Pei Shaohuai had in his gourd, but spreading some word cost them nothing and brought no harm or loss — so they did as instructed for the time being.

In the days that followed, the three clan elders hosted the capital’s cloth merchants at dinner in succession; the lanterns in the restaurants burned all through the night, and the wine cups brimmed with endless talk of business, creating the appearance that a deal was on the verge of being concluded.