Madam Yu had only one thought: I must save my nephew!
She had weathered too many hardships in her life to be undone by one more. Madam Yu had no time to weep; she quickly made up her mind. Her gaze settled on Zhù Ying.
Taking stock of the whole household, be it nominal son-in-law or genuine son-in-law, there was on paper only this one male figure! Zhù Ying knew next to nothing about lawsuits, and all the business of calling in favors and working connections would have to be managed by Madam Yu herself — yet in many matters it remained far more convenient to have a man appear in front of people.
By the time Madam Yu opened her mouth to call for Zhù Ying, she had already run through her calculations once over in her mind. She called both Zhù Ying and her mother to the rear main room to sit down and discuss the matter. Her opening words were: “It’s all fate! Right now we’ve all fallen into trouble, and we must find a way through this crisis before anything else. Sister — don’t you agree?”
Zhang Xiangu, though an ignorant spirit-medium with no understanding of government affairs, still had common sense. She was naturally proud and stubborn, yet even she could not keep a wailing note out of her voice: “That wretch! How could he go and commit a capital crime at a moment like this~!” Wait until your daughter has a secure footing before you go and get yourself killed, won’t you!
Zhù Ying frowned, and without waiting for Madam Yu to speak, she said: “Mother, stop crying for now. We need to deal with the matter at hand.”
Zhang Xiangu said: “What blasted matter is there to deal with~! How is any of this supposed to be handled!” She truly had no idea!
Madam Yu thought to herself: She only pushes herself forward in small matters; when a real crisis comes, she has not the slightest plan — she’s likely of little use here.
Setting Zhang Xiangu aside, Madam Yu lowered her voice and asked Zhù Ying: “Sanlang, what do you see as the way forward?”
Zhù Ying turned the question back: “What’s Godmother’s own thinking?”
Madam Yu held up two fingers and said: “There are two matters pressing on us now. First, your cousin-brother; second, your father. Both are caught up at the prefectural seat, so I’m afraid we’ll have to make a trip there. The prefectural seat — are you familiar with it?”
Zhang Xiangu said: “Who goes there for no reason at all? I don’t even know which way its gates face! Madam, isn’t your household connected to the official world? Do you really need to ask us?”
Madam Yu gave a bitter smile: “Ours may be called an official household, but our connections over several generations have been in the county seat. The prefectural seat? That’s entirely outside our sphere. Still, when I was young I did go there a few times and saw something of the world. ‘Familiar’ would be too generous a word. There’s no choice — we’ll have to grit our teeth and go. Huajie is originally from the prefectural seat; after her parents died and the family fortune fell, her maternal uncle brought her to the county, and then when her uncle died too, she came into my household as a daughter-in-law. She has no connections there anymore. We only know roughly where things are.”
Zhang Xiangu felt a slight lightening in her heart: “Then… we go?” Then fresh worry set in. Getting from the county seat to the prefectural seat — food, clothing, lodgings, transport, every item costs money. And when they got there and tried to do something about Zhū Shenhan’s case, that would cost money again — money their household simply did not have! Without several tens or even a hundred strings of cash, what good would going do? They’d just be wasting travel money to cry in front of the prison walls.
But if they did nothing, life for herself and her daughter would likely grow even more difficult.
Zhang Xiangu fretted and tangled it all up, and in the end had only one thing to say: “We take it one step at a time?”
So she had no plan either? Madam Yu felt a touch of relief and said to Zhù Ying: “What does Sanlang say?”
Zhù Ying said: “Godmother, speak plainly.”
Madam Yu said: “My plan is to leave this house here, sell off some other things, raise some money, and go to the prefectural seat. Will you come?”
Zhù Ying nodded: “I’ll come.” Zhū Shenhan was locked up in prison — to learn anything, she’d have to go to the prefectural seat anyway. There was also no longer time for Zhù Ying to register a new household, and no Yu Ping anymore to help her sort through all the official documents.
Time was pressing. She could only carry on under her current male household registration and go to the prefectural seat!
Zhang Xiangu also rushed to say: “Whatever Madam arranges.”
Madam Yu wasted no time: “Good then. My connections in the county seat won’t all have been swept up. We’ll have Huajie and your mother pack the luggage at home while you come with me — we’ll go see your cousin-brother first, bring him food and things he needs, then call on some senior figures, gather information and seek advice. Since he’s being escorted to the prefectural seat, we’ll also head there ourselves. Both cases stem from this imperial envoy, so we might as well handle them together — inquire at the envoy’s headquarters.”
She also explained to Zhù Ying that however many people an imperial envoy brought with him on an assignment, he would still need to use some local staff once he arrived — cooks, coarse-labor servants, that sort of thing — and all of them were potential sources of information.
Zhù Ying accompanied Madam Yu out the door. They first stopped at an apothecary for some medicinal salves, then picked up food and wine from a cook shop. The prison looked like a chaotic mess from the outside, but Madam Yu called to the gatekeeper, addressing him as “Brother Zhang,” and he replied, “Oh, you’ve come. What a situation this is. The county magistrate just left — hurry in and see for yourself.”
Zhù Ying supported Madam Yu as they went in. Madam Yu said: “Do you see now? That’s how it is. Don’t underestimate the likes of us. The officials despise minor clerks — they’d never bother to look closely at what goes on inside these walls.”
Yu Ping’s cell was darker and damper and smelled of mildew, but was otherwise tolerable — it had a bed and a quilt. Yu Ping was lying face-down on the thin quilt; he turned his head at the sound of the lock being opened, and upon seeing Madam Yu his face immediately brightened: “Aunt!”
Madam Yu said with great tenderness: “You’ve suffered, haven’t you? What was it all for? They didn’t explain it clearly. Tell me plainly so I can hear it, and if you have any ideas tell me those too so I can act on them. Your wife went back to her parents’ home — I haven’t seen her yet. I came to you first. Can I get into your house? I’ll go pack some clothes for you.” All this while she was preparing to apply medicine to his injuries.
Yu Ping said: “Aunt is the most reliable one! Aunt, don’t panic. It’s only twenty strokes across the back — I can still sit up! The ones who were struck on the buttocks and thighs can’t even sit. Ha! Sanlang came too? Good brother! Just keep helping your Godmother — when I get out, I won’t forget you. My family has served in this county yamen since my great-great-grandfather — count how many years that is. How long can one county magistrate serve here? Three years? Five? Ten at the most! And the imperial envoy goes without saying — staying several months at the prefectural seat already counts as a long assignment. When the next magistrate comes, people will still be needed to do things, and I’ll simply come back…”
Zhù Ying listened quietly and said nothing. Madam Yu finished applying medicine to her nephew, then scolded: “Stop boasting and tell me — what do we do now?”
Yu Ping said: “If Aunt isn’t at ease, hire a carriage and follow me to the prefectural seat. With injuries like these, even if the envoy lets me go, I won’t be able to move easily — I’ll need a family member at my side during my recovery. When I get before the envoy, I’ll have my own say. These matters — without a superior’s official seal, how could I, a mere clerk, have managed them on my own? Ha! Sanlang, there’s a household full of women here — you’ll need to take more responsibility.”
Zhù Ying said: “Leave it to me.”
Yu Ping still had the leisure to ask her: “How is it your words have grown so few? Back in Zhū Family Village you talked a lot and made sense — one thing after another. What’s the matter? Frightened by this prison? That won’t do! When I get back I intend to find you a post in the yamen too, get you a salary of grain and money, so you have some livelihood.”
“Good.”
Yu Ping said: “Aunt, how is it your son-in-law is so shy?”
Madam Yu said: “Keep quiet for a moment! Settle your own affairs first before talking about him!”
Yu Ping said without a care: “What does it matter?” Then he asked Zhù Ying why she had talked so much before and now talked so little.
“Talking takes effort. Back then there were things that needed doing, so I talked more.”
This made Yu Ping laugh.
Madam Yu said: “Stop being unruly. I’m going to take care of things now — do you have any message for your wife?”
“No need! When I get back, I’ll settle accounts with her then! I have a private seal here — take it, Aunt, and go to Old Dong’s place on the east side of town. I have a sum of money there. Take it and use it.”
Madam Yu said: “All right, having more funds when we go to the prefectural seat is always better. There is one more matter — the messenger said the envoy arrested this young man’s father, but you said before you didn’t know about it. What’s really going on?”
Yu Ping shifted, pulling at his back wound, and winced in pain: “Ah — it’s possible that — ah — the paperwork arrived too late and crossed with me. What’s the situation? Is it really a witchcraft case?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Aunt, look at the state I’m in.”
Madam Yu said: “Very well then. Do you have any ideas?”
Yu Ping thought for a moment and said: “A case serious enough to move an imperial envoy cannot be a small matter. There must be more than one accused — the others, seeing that he’s a stranger from elsewhere with no registered household or connections, have likely all pushed everything onto him, making him the scapegoat. That’s entirely possible! Sanlang, you must convey this to your father in those words — tell him above all not to confess. Furthermore, Sanlang, do not rashly acknowledge your kinship with your father. You are Sanlang of the Zhù household now, not of the Zhū family, and your household papers are all in order — nothing can implicate you. Once you acknowledge the connection, you’ll be seized too, and then who will go to rescue your father? Won’t your mother be left with no one to depend on?”
Zhù Ying said: “Understood.”
Madam Yu said: “Rest and recover well — we’ll go prepare.”
Yu Ping still had instructions: “The county magistrate will also need to go see the envoy to explain why Zhū Shenhan had no household registration! I expect he’ll most likely have us all escorted together — it could be within the next day or two. If Aunt is heading to the prefectural seat, go quickly, and let your carriage follow behind his convoy — that way you’ll avoid highway robbers on the road.”
Madam Yu said: “Good! And who’s handling the travel permits right now? We’ll need them to check into an inn at the prefectural seat.”
“Zhang Cheng.”
……
Time was pressing. Once out of the prison gate, Madam Yu immediately took Zhù Ying to Dong’s house to collect the money, then went to Yu Ping’s good friend Zhang Cheng to obtain travel documents for everyone in the party. Madam Yu’s given name turned out to be Yu Miaomiao; Zhang Xiangu’s name was unknown to anyone and was simply written down as Zhang Danian; and Zhù Ying at last learned that Huajie’s surname was Xu, and that she had a proper formal name — Xu Guanqun.
Yu Miaomiao said: “Huajie’s is a woman’s given name — you know it, but don’t spread it around.”
Two carriages and one large blue mule were hired. They stopped briefly to look at Yu Ping’s house — which was already sealed. Zhù Ying accompanied Yu Miaomiao all the way, and also stopped at a tailor’s shop to pick up two sets of men’s clothing before returning home.
Huajie and Zhang Xiangu had already packed all the luggage. Zhù Ying and her mother had very few possessions — two cloth bundles and two bed rolls sufficed. Huajie, however, beyond her bed roll had also packed three large trunks and two big bamboo hampers. Yu Miaomiao assigned duties — one of the farmhands would stay to watch the house; the other farmhand and Xiao Ya would both go with them to the prefectural seat.
She now sent the house-watching farmhand ahead: “Go watch the county yamen — the moment the county magistrate sets out, we follow!”
She also arranged the vehicles: Zhù Ying would ride the blue mule; the luggage and trunks would go on one large cart with the farmhand driving it; the women would ride in the more comfortable carriage.
Early the next morning the farmhand reported: “The official’s party has set off!”
Yu Miaomiao hurried to lead their group and caught up with the county magistrate’s convoy. The magistrate rode on horseback, followed by several prison wagons; Yu Ping was seated in one of them, looking in reasonably good spirits.
The prison wagons moved slowly. There were two nights to spend at post stations along the road. The county yamen runners had something of a rivalry among themselves, but at a time like this they were all decent enough — once the magistrate had settled in for the night, no one bothered to prevent Yu Miaomiao from taking Zhù Ying to visit Yu Ping. In the large hampers Huajie had packed, she had brought along rice, flour, vegetables, and meat; borrowing the post station’s cooking fire, she prepared a most proper and satisfying meal and brought it for Yu Ping to eat.
Yu Miaomiao also distributed money to the escorting runners, who accepted it with cheerful smiles and made a point of greeting her warmly. Yu Ping, with his characteristic ease, continued explaining to Zhù Ying more about the workings of the yamen — he said that Zhù Ying spoke far less now than when they first met, while he himself spoke far more than he had then. He talked half the night and refused to stop. Yu Miaomiao told him to rest and he wouldn’t listen; Zhù Ying, for her part, found it all genuinely absorbing to hear.
Everything went smoothly. By midmorning on the third day, the party arrived at the prefectural seat. Once the county magistrate had taken his people into the yamen, Zhù Ying turned her mount and went with Yu Miaomiao to ask around for a larger inn where they could lodge, planning to visit Yu Ping in prison a little later.
Huajie was a native of the prefectural seat and still faintly remembered where the larger inns were. As the group made their way along, they were scrutinized by all manner of eyes. Huajie grew slightly uneasy, and Zhang Xiangu reassured her: “We’re strangers — they’re just looking out of curiosity.”
When they reached the place, the establishment was still an inn just as before. Zhù Ying went in ahead to book rooms from the innkeeper. The inn’s front entrance was a dining hall; lodging was upstairs and in the rear courtyard. The people inside the inn couldn’t help staring at them too. Zhù Ying positioned herself in front of the women and asked: “Is it a habit in the prefectural seat to stare at strangers?”
The innkeeper smiled: “Young master — has someone in your household gotten caught up in the official case? Because of the imperial envoy? Did some member of your household get accused of accepting bribes for fixing lawsuits? Or falsifying documents to seize others’ land? Bullying men and molesting women? Something along those lines? Let me inform you, young master — the envoy had three such men beaten to death the day before yesterday…”
Yu Miaomiao was greatly shocked: “How could he execute people without going through sentencing, without reporting to the ministry for final review? Even a death sentence has to wait for the Autumn Assizes, doesn’t it?”
The innkeeper shook his head with a mysterious air and said no more. Yu Miaomiao was alarmed and frightened. Sharp-minded as she was among women, she no longer knew what to do. Zhang Xiangu’s heart also lurched with fear, but she felt she had to be strong since Zhù Ying and Huajie were both young — so she called out first: “Let’s settle in first!”
That one exclamation brought Yu Miaomiao back to herself. She said to the innkeeper: “Reserve us a courtyard — the best available. And please lead us there.”
The innkeeper smiled and bowed: “Madam, this way.”
Once in the small courtyard, Yu Miaomiao asked the innkeeper to be seated: “Let them unload the carriage and get settled — I have some things I’d like to consult you on. Have a table of good food and wine brought out. Sanlang, you keep the innkeeper company over drinks.”
The innkeeper said: “I wouldn’t presume to sit — whatever the Madam wishes to know, I’ll stand here and answer.”
Yu Miaomiao had wine and food brought out regardless. Zhù Ying became the host, sitting across from the innkeeper — while Yu Miaomiao, Zhang Xiangu, and the others did not come to the table but sat in nearby chairs. Yu Miaomiao asked the question that weighed on her most: “How could this have happened so suddenly? How could an imperial envoy strike so savagely? Killing people without going through the ministry?”
The innkeeper poured wine for both Zhù Ying and himself, raised his cup toward Zhù Ying in a small salute, made a sound with his lips as he drank it down, and said: “Since this Madam knows so much of proper procedure, then surely she knows — haven’t there been cases in official households of people being beaten to death inside a prison? Were those people ever officially sentenced? Were they ever subjected to the Autumn Assizes? Didn’t they just die for nothing? Every action has its consequence — yin and yang!”
Yu Miaomiao asked: “Were all those who were seized beaten to death?”
The innkeeper said: “Not all of them, no. But the origin of this case is a bit troublesome. Madam may know that wealthy households sometimes buy a substitute to die in place of a son who has committed a capital crime — a swap, one for another. The problem is the substitute was transported to the capital and had already reached the execution grounds before someone spotted the switch. So the imperial envoy was dispatched to investigate…”
As it happened, Yu Ping had the misfortune of being caught up in this: the envoy had come specifically to pursue these dark schemes of the clerks and minor officials. In the envoy’s own words, he was investigating this entire category of “vermin” — not targeting any single case alone, but looking to correct the general conduct of affairs.
Zhù Ying suddenly said: “Then does he really have the heart to bother with a witchcraft case?”
The innkeeper said: “Young master knows about that too? He hadn’t intended to — but it fell into his hands after he arrived! A witchcraft case of great consequence — how could he not take it up? It involves someone famous here who is now an official in the capital — a member of Chancellor Chen’s household, no less.”
Zhang Xiangu’s face turned green at this.
The innkeeper, seeing they had no more questions, was not one to linger over the food and wine. He rose and said: “Madam, please rest well. If anything is needed, simply tell one of the boys.”
Was there anything a serving boy could manage that Yu Miaomiao needed? She had no interest in eating or drinking either. She stood up and said: “We can’t just sit here doing nothing! Sanlang, bring your money and come with me — we’ll go look around and get our bearings.”
“Right.”
Yu Miaomiao mounted the blue mule, with Zhù Ying leading the mule for her. They had barely reached the front of the imperial envoy’s headquarters when Yu Miaomiao slipped from the mule — and Zhù Ying barely caught her in time!
“Godmother?”
Yu Miaomiao said in a faint voice: “It’s over.”
Zhù Ying followed her gaze, and saw a row of people wearing heavy cangues lined up in front of the headquarters, every one of them with fresh blood streaming down both legs, every one of them moaning without cease.
The cangues were the heavy kind — made of hardwood and sheathed in iron; the lightest weighed several dozen catties, the heaviest over a hundred. After a flogging, being made to stand under such a weight for days — this was a death sentence in all but name. A trick born in the shadows of the official world, now turned upon these very clerks who had mastered every dark art it held!
Yu Miaomiao said in a low voice: “What kind of King of Hell is this imperial envoy!”
The ordinary citizens watching from the sidelines pointed and muttered at the wretched state of these clerks, then launched with relish into a recounting of the evil deeds each of them had committed. From time to time came a comment: “Retribution! A reckoning in this very lifetime! That they live to see their retribution — now that is truly satisfying!”
Yu Miaomiao’s heart sank lower with every step. Zhù Ying gripped her firmly: “Let’s go back and think further — we’re drawing too much attention standing here.”