Coming out of Zhang Xiangu’s room, Zhù Ying stood in the central courtyard. Moonlight spilled across the ground, making the entire yard look like a small pond. A man of letters faced with such a scene would certainly have produced a fine piece of writing. Unfortunately, the one standing here was Zhù Ying — barely literate — and her mind was occupied with only one thing: what to do next?

Zhù Ying had always been a person of her own mind, only she rarely argued openly with anyone, so even Zhang Xiangu had no idea what she was truly thinking and assumed she was a “well-behaved” child. Leaving Zhū Family Village had been Zhù Ying’s long-held desire.

In fact, she clearly remembered the first time she had the thought of leaving Zhū Family Village — she had been four years old, mocked again by the village children: “Outsiders, come to beg from us, have you!” and “His mother is a dirty woman, disgusting! Don’t go near him!” She had fumed and said to Zhang Xiangu, unable to contain herself: “Let’s go. We don’t need to put up with them here. We can beg elsewhere — just not from their households!”

Zhang Xiangu flatly refused and slapped her on the back several times, scolding while hitting: “Are you out of your mind? A person away from home is worth nothing! Our home is right here. Where would you go? Wherever you end up, you’ll still be an outsider — and you’d have to suffer all over again from the beginning!” Zhū Shenhan felt the same way. He was already familiar with this place, and without some extraordinary reason, who would willingly uproot themselves from home?

When she was young, Zhù Ying would share her thoughts with her parents once or twice. But each time she shared her true feelings, she was called “strange” and “talking nonsense” and was beaten for it. After a few such incidents, she stopped telling them anything at all. Yet her own resolve grew ever firmer — looking at how her parents lived their lives was enough to know that they were no model for her to follow. Since her parents offered nothing worth emulating, Zhù Ying grew freely according to her own inner compass, all while appearing on the surface to be an obedient child.

The older she grew and the more she experienced, the more determined she became to leave Zhū Family Village entirely for the county seat — even if she still had to leap about as a spirit medium and suffer ill-treatment there, it would be far better than living as an outsider in a place where clans of the same surname clustered together and anyone could trample on you whenever they pleased. Besides, she had no intention of being shackled to the life of a spirit medium forever! What trade could she not learn to support herself?

She also carried another burden in her heart: she was a girl, yet Zhang Xiangu had been concealing this and passing her off as a boy. Zhang Xiangu reminded her every single day as though some ghost were hounding her from behind: You’re a boy, remember you’re a boy! You must never let anyone know you’re a girl! Something terrible will happen! Half of Zhang Xiangu’s unease and superstitious fretfulness came precisely from this.

She could not simply abandon Zhang Xiangu! That one time, after Zhang Xiangu had beaten her, she had dug out a bit of her hidden savings, bought a few bones with scraps of meat still on them, boiled them up, stripped the meat off for Zhù Ying to eat, and gnawed on the bones herself with a crunching sound. No sensible person could afford to dwell on that memory — think about it too long and you’d go mad.

Zhù Ying resolved to drag her mother out of that wretched place.

Leaving Zhū Family Village and reaching the county seat — that was the first step.

Then came household registration. The year she had gone to the county temple fair, she had overheard people saying that it was common practice for the authorities to periodically allow people to voluntarily register their households. If she could save enough for a settling fund and first rent a room in the county seat, then when the time came she could register her household, have the bright red official seal stamped on it, with her name written out plainly as a girl. She considered herself no worse than anyone else, and would save money faster than most. With her two hands and her many skills, she could surely accumulate a modest little livelihood, support her family, and escape the scorn of the villagers. Then the three of them could make an honest living — wouldn’t that be good?

But now, well — one thing after another had gone awry, and although she had indeed ended up registered in the county seat, it had come out all wrong…

After staring at the moon for a while, Zhù Ying returned to her own room, dug out the household registration slip written on hemp paper — the one Yu Ping had newly arranged for her — and pressed her fingers to her temple as she stared at the two characters meaning “adolescent male.”

A blank sheet of paper is easy to paint: paint a dragon, it’s a dragon; paint a phoenix, it’s a phoenix. But if a painting of a five-clawed golden dragon already exists and you insist on transforming it into a seven-colored phoenix — you’d need an immortal to pull that off!

Zhù Ying jabbed at the words “adolescent male” once, twice — on the third jab, she made up her mind: she would wait until there was news of Zhū Shenhan, then probe Madam Yu’s attitude. If she could make it clear that she was a girl and thus an unsuitable match for Huajie, that would be ideal. Everyone could still live in this town and look out for one another. If that conversation went badly, the three of them would leave this county seat, abandon this ridiculous “adolescent male” registration, and go to a neighboring county — start fresh, register anew! What land is there that cannot sustain its people? Had she not survived perfectly well until now?

First thing tomorrow — she’d ask Yu Ping to help find out more about her father Zhū Shenhan’s whereabouts! The old scoundrel couldn’t possibly have run off to the ends of the earth, could he?

Zhù Ying then dug out a simple pouch and from it took a small piece of silver. Since she was four or five years old she had helped her parents with their spirit-medium work — fortune-telling, divination. She was pretty, and often received a little extra on top of the usual. She also knew a jumble of miscellaneous crafts and had earned odd bits of coin, managing to save up a modest sum. Most of it she had just given to Zhang Xiangu; she had kept back only the smallest amount.

Still — it was enough to buy some roast goose, pig’s trotters, a jar of wine, and two boxes of rouge, rounding out four kinds of gifts for a visit to Yu Ping’s home.

Having laid her plans, Zhù Ying tucked the silver back into the pouch, blew out the lamp, removed her clothes, and went to sleep.

— ……

The next day, Zhù Ying had not yet had a chance to step out the door when Yu Ping, who had just arranged a “good deed,” could no longer help himself and came over carrying several boxes of cakes to visit his aunt.

When he arrived, his aunt Madam Yu was telling Zhù Ying a story; Zhang Xiangu sat holding an awl, working on a shoe sole; Huajie was quietly writing down household expenses nearby — all gathered together in one place. Zhang Xiangu watched her daughter and was itching to pull her aside right then and ask: “Last night you still hadn’t told me — where did you save up that silver from?!”

Zhang Xiangu herself performed spirit-medium rites and sold charm water to dispel others’ misfortunes; she was talkative and capable. But even with years of effort to support the family, she hadn’t saved much beyond that. She feared her daughter had strayed into something disreputable, and the worry was eating her alive. That was her daughter, after all!

Yu Ping arrived with a smile on his face. He greeted Zhang Xiangu and the others, then addressed Zhù Ying specifically: “Sanlang, are you getting used to things here? When I was your age I couldn’t sit still for a moment — I had to run outside, and I got many a beating from the family for it! I’m truly sorry to have kept you cooped up in here day after day. Bear with it a little longer; once you start going to school in a few days, you’ll have some relief from the boredom. I’m grateful to you for this — truly, truly grateful.”

Zhù Ying said: “I can sit still. I’m not bored.”

Madam Yu asked her nephew: “You’re not on duty today? Why are you here at this hour? Is something the matter?”

Zhang Xiangu was desperately hoping, with every fiber of her being, that Yu Ping was there because of something — and that the something would by some wonderful stroke of luck turn out to be Zhū Shenhan’s return. But then Yu Ping said: “I’m not on duty today. I came to see my aunt — is that not allowed?”

Madam Yu said: “It’s allowed.”

The group exchanged idle chatter — nothing but meaningless small talk, not a single word of substance. Even Xiao Ya found it odd: what is this official gentleman doing here, idly passing the time?

Yu Ping, seeing that Zhang Xiangu and her child had both changed into new clothes — nothing too flamboyant, but fresh and neat — and that they looked far more spirited and presentable than they had back in the village, felt even more convinced that suppressing news of Zhū Shenhan had truly been a great good deed on his part!

Seeing his cheerful mood, Zhang Xiangu could not hold her tongue. She put on a pleasant expression and asked him whether there was any news of Zhū Shenhan. Yu Ping’s face immediately took on a less comfortable look, and he said with effort: “How could word come so quickly? They’re still looking.”

Madam Yu said: “Just as long as you keep it in mind — does your wife know you’ve come to my place?”

Yu Ping quickly seized on his aunt’s words: “I’ve come to see my aunt, not gone anywhere else — what does it matter whether she knows?”

“Heh,” Madam Yu let out a little laugh. “Xiao Ya, go and tell the mistress that I’ve kept the official gentleman here to keep me company, and ask her to come join us for the meal.”

Yu Ping jumped to his feet: “Never mind, never mind — I’ll head home right now.”

This drew another great laugh from Madam Yu: “Don’t run about — walk slowly, it shows dignity.” She personally saw Yu Ping out the door, then turned around and had Xiao Ya close it. She said to Zhang Xiangu: “Sister, that boy has probably run into some tricky official business and come here to unwind. Don’t be anxious — once he’s through this busy stretch, I’ll ask him.”

Zhang Xiangu could only praise Madam Yu for truly knowing how to handle things gracefully, and pressed no further. Zhù Ying, for her part, settled her heart to wait until Madam Yu’s mentioned official business was resolved.

Madam Yu continued feeding Zhù Ying and Zhang Xiangu with good food and tea, occasionally teaching Zhù Ying the ways of life in the county seat, without a trace of anxiety — she was at that moment in the most pleasant days she’d had in many months.

Three days later, a runner who had gone with Yu Ping to the village that day came hammering urgently at the door: “Madam, it’s terrible! Your official gentleman Yu has gotten himself into trouble!”

Zhù Ying, who was staying in the front courtyard, was the first to go open the door. “Come in and have some tea — tell it slowly.”

The runner slipped into the courtyard and said: “There’s no time for slow! — Oh! Madam!”

Madam Yu came walking briskly over to ask: “What’s happened?” Huajie, with great presence of mind, had already brought over a teapot.

The runner tilted the teapot and poured half a pot of cold tea down his throat, then said: “It’s that blasted imperial envoy! He’s stationed himself at the prefectural seat, yet he sent his chaos rolling down to us here! Someone Yu the official had set straight a year or two back ran off to complain before him, and a handful of paupers filed complaints against several well-known clerks at the yamen. The envoy heard it all and declared that ‘minor officials are contemptible,’ seized a dozen or more men from several counties — men just like Yu the official — and decreed that… that having them brought to the prefectural seat for punishment would fail to awe the local rabble; so he had them stripped of rank, flogged twenty heavy strokes right in front of their own county yamen gates, then placed in cangues and sent under escort to the imperial envoy’s headquarters! Madam, hurry and pack Official Yu’s traveling bags!”

Madam Yu blanched with shock: “Is there any way you could possibly…”

“If I had the means, I’d have done something myself — and then let you know in passing! Even Official Yu’s father-in-law, upon hearing the news, took Official Yu’s wife back to his own home — he’s useless to us! Official Yu’s maternal uncle was also seized and beaten! Nobody’s any use to us!”

Madam Yu asked: “Is there truly not even the smallest bit of influence that can be brought to bear? He’s still a member of this county yamen — couldn’t the county magistrate at least protect his own people somewhat? Won’t the imperial envoy leave the locals even a shred of dignity?”

“Ha! He’s a stone-faced King of Hell — not a word can be said against him! Word is, over at the prefectural seat he arrested an entire family for cursing people, along with the mediums who performed the rites — threw them all in prison! They’re being brought before him and flogged every single day! And among them is a spirit-medium surnamed Zhū, who’s confessed to being from around our parts. The county magistrate said no such person is registered here, and the envoy is furious, demanding an explanation from the county magistrate!”

The messenger delivered his report, then pulled the door open and ran: “I’ve still got to go report back at the yamen.”

The wind sent the open door banging against the door frame. Zhù Ying latched it from the inside, turned around intending to ask Madam Yu for her thoughts — and found that every single person in the house, mistress and servants alike, was staring straight at her.

Well, well.

Madam Yu said: “Sanlang, come here — let’s put our heads together.”