In the minds of idle men at present, any gathering of women — whatever its purpose — had a tinge of frivolous entertainment about it. Frivolous was at least something tolerable; some of the more dissolute types, on glimpsing a gathering of women, would even have rather improper thoughts.

But these idle men did not know that there was another group of people watching this same gathering of women with equal attention, and with grave expressions on their faces.

The first was Zhù Ying, who was determined to see this done properly. The second was Zheng Xi, who likewise had no desire to see the Court of Judicial Review embarrass itself. Then there was Wang Yunhe and the group around him — including various officials of the Prefecture of the Capital and the counties under its jurisdiction — because they were about to do the same themselves. Wang Yunhe’s memorial had already been approved, and the Council of State Secretaries had deliberated and issued the ruling: workable. The Prefecture of the Capital and its subordinate counties were to trial the arrangement first.

Since this was selecting prison guards and not an official position, there was no need to trouble the Ministry of Personnel. Zhù Ying had informally invited Director Yin, and Director Yin showed some interest, but declined outwardly. Zhù Ying invited him once more, and he declined again. Zhù Ying did not invite him a third time — which left Director Yin feeling somewhat frustrated and a touch displeased.

Zhù Ying had never had any intention of having him preside over the affair. His reluctance was exactly what she had hoped for. She had timed it deliberately, withdrawing just as he was on the verge of accepting.

Instead, she invited Hu Lian, a well-known colleague from the Court — since Old Wang had retired and the senior investigator was away on assignment, Hu Lian and Zhù Ying had become the closest of colleagues within the Court. She also invited a Court of Judicial Review Chief Justice, though the Chief Justice considered himself a proper gentleman who had no business with this sort of thing, and he did not come. Zhù Ying finally pulled in that classmate of hers, Bao, who had recently been promoted to evaluation official, to fill out the numbers — making a panel of three examiners in all. She filed the report, and both the Chief Justice and Zheng Xi approved it.

What Zhù Ying had not expected was that Zheng Xi inserted himself and borrowed Pei Qing to go along and observe. Seeing the two of them leave, Leng Yun decided he also wanted in on the entertainment and tagged along.

Since the venue was borrowed from the Prefecture of the Capital, Wang Yunhe had every right to declare he was attending as an observer. Fan Shaoji came too, and He Jing too — all familiar faces. Familiar faces also included the county magistrate of Wannian County and the county magistrate of Chang’an County. Other county magistrates such as the one from Xinfeng County greatly regretted being too far away to come and show their faces before Wang Yunhe.

Among the people with Wang Yunhe, however, there was one Zhù Ying did not recognize. She noted his position, went over to greet everyone, then asked Wang Yunhe: “I wonder who this gentleman might be?”

“Hmm, you should actually thank him…”

The man said: “Stop. Stop. Stop.”

Zhù Ying studied him. Lean, a beautifully groomed beard trimmed with great style, clearly a handsome man in his younger days — and with a slightly arrogant air. She looked him over once more, then said respectfully: “Greetings, Senior Scholar Liu.”

Wang Yunhe laughed: “She figured it out herself — I didn’t say a word. Not a word.”

Liu Songnian gave a single sniff.

When they arrived at the venue, Wang Yunhe’s people had already arranged everything. Wang Yunhe had changed out of his court robes and was dressed in plain clothes; the people around him had done the same.

By pure coincidence, Zheng Xi’s group had all changed into plain clothes as well. For a moment the scene was a riot of colors. Among them was the always flamboyant Leng Yun — his golden crown set with a large red gemstone, the brim studded with a row of pearls, and all the objects at his waist delicately crafted. Zheng Xi was somewhat more restrained, but still sported a gold hairpin, jade pendant, fine leather belt, and silk shoes. Wang Yunhe was simple: a silk robe and a black headband. Since none of them were in court attire, they were unconstrained by color, and so all manner of shades appeared — blue, green, red, gray — with woven and embroidered patterns of flowers and birds, insects and fish, and good-luck characters.

Zheng Xi also knew Liu Songnian and greeted him.

They all said: “We are only here to watch — carry on with your important business.”

Hu Lian’s expression had taken on a slightly greenish tinge; Evaluation Official Bao had even less experience with high-ranking officials and could barely manage a sentence. Only Zhù Ying, familiar with both leading figures, could respond with composure, asking how they wished to observe.

Wang Yunhe pointed at his own clothes and said: “Look at me — I’m like this. I’ll just sit to the side and watch!” Zheng Xi felt the same.

The Prefecture’s runners were eager to make a good impression and had already arranged chairs in a row along the side. Zhù Ying hesitated slightly: if I sit in the main position and the two of them sit on either side of me, who exactly is in charge here?

She had no choice but to press on and say: “Today we’re beginning with identity verification. The examination itself hasn’t started yet.”

Wang Yunhe said: “No matter — I’m here to watch from the very beginning.”

Zhù Ying could only tell those below to begin.

She had anticipated that those applying for guard positions would outnumber those applying for the warden position, since the requirements were lower, and there was no shortage of people in the capital with low social standing and meager income. These included clerks’ families, people of all kinds of trades, small merchants and peddlers, recently freed servants, landless people scraping by on odd jobs, and so on.

But she had not expected this many. When women came to apply, those coming alone were few — most came with companions, parents, brothers, husbands, sometimes a whole family. Others had simply come along at a friend’s urging, or were pulled over at a moment’s notice by a girlfriend who had inexplicably decided to try, and they all came along to see what it was about. Those registered were in the hundreds; including accompanying family members there were over a thousand milling about. This in turn drew even more curious onlookers, and before long street vendors had come out to sell snacks.

The one table Zhù Ying had originally prepared for receiving name cards, verifying identities, and distributing numbered tokens was nowhere near sufficient.

Two more tables had to be hastily added, and three lines formed. The runners maintained order and forbade accompanying family members from queuing — only the applicants themselves could line up. Since today was just about issuing numbered tokens and the women could not leave yet, Zhù Ying needed to assess today’s numbers before deciding how to proceed. Large numbers called for one approach; smaller numbers for another.

Seeing the large turnout, Zhù Ying’s confidence hardened. She had people direct those who had received tokens to a side room where Huajie and several nuns were waiting to take their pulses one by one and check for any illness. Those with illness had their tokens taken back and the number recorded as vacant. The nuns and Huajie, being kind-hearted, would also explain treatment methods for those they turned away, which only added to the pile of people and made the crowd look even larger.

Zhù Ying told the recording clerk: “Don’t panic — just record them one by one. Don’t look at how many people are behind them.”

By noon, over a hundred people had registered. Wang Yunhe and Zheng Xi both said: “I hadn’t expected so many.” This was not a case of pointing to someone from someone else’s family and saying, here, let this person take this appointment and draw a salary. This was a genuine public notice stating that selection and examination would be held. And yet even with all that, there were this many people — it surprised all of them.

Just before noon, the Minister of Punishments Shi arrived, having changed into plain clothes.

Minister Shi had originally simply sent a department director to observe, since the Ministry of Punishments also had a prison, and if the trial run at the Court of Judicial Review was successful, the Ministry of Punishments would need to do the same. In the middle of things he heard the other two were going, and on an impulse decided to join in. Minister Rites Zhong Yi did not want to come, since this had nothing directly to do with him — but the Court of Judicial Review had sent a formal notice requesting the Ministry of Rites to send a representative to supervise the official examination. So Zhong Yi decided he would come and have a look at the guard selection too.

Everyone reshuffled seating arrangements again. Wang Yunhe invited everyone to eat lunch at the Prefecture, and then they would continue in the afternoon.

Zhù Ying had assumed that by the afternoon the high-ranking officials would all return to their proper duties. But they decided they wanted to keep watching. The two Ministers Shi and Zhong had arrived late and hadn’t seen the morning’s activities yet.

In the afternoon, identity verification continued. But the numbers kept growing, which struck Zhù Ying as wrong, so she said to Young Tao: “Go find out why there are more people now.”

Young Tao came back and said: “Some of them can’t afford a doctor. They heard there’s a free examination here and they’ve all come…”

Zhù Ying was speechless. She said: “From now on, the pulse-taking needs to be moved to the very end.”

In the middle of it all, a small incident occurred. One young girl had come without her parents’ written consent. The person doing the verification tried to send her away, and she refused to leave, which caused a small commotion.

Zhù Ying sent someone to ask about it and was told: “She is nineteen years old. Both parents are deceased. So there is no written consent.”

Zhù Ying said: “Ask where she is from. The magistrate of the Capital Prefecture is right here — if it’s confirmed she truly has no parents, give her a token.”

After a moment the word came back: “She is a native of Chang’an County in the Capital Prefecture. Her father ran a martial arts school, a man named Che Meng, who died two years ago.” Che Meng was a name Zhù Ying actually knew. She was thoroughly familiar with all manner of people in the capital. Che Meng had run a martial arts school, and because of the nature of his profession, he had had a slight connection to certain organizations. “Martial arts school” was really just a few rooms — the kind of place that taught students some basic boxing and staff work.

She did not point this out, however, but asked Chang’an County to verify the man’s existence. Chang’an County leaped into action, sent people to check at once, and in a moment reported back: “This person indeed existed, and the young woman is nineteen years old this year.” The recorded age and description were also checked against the records. So Miss Che was given a token as well.

Over the course of the day, several hundred people had registered. Zhù Ying said: “Tomorrow we will issue tokens for another day. The day after tomorrow, the examination itself begins.”

The next day, only Wang Yunhe came by for a brief look. The other officials did not return. Zhù Ying had also formed a clearer picture in her mind: issuing the tokens had become somewhat chaotic, the scene had grown a little large, and although the word had spread about the female guards, if any theft or stampedes occurred, that too could become a headache. A different arrangement would be needed in the future.

On the third day, the formal examination began. Some had only just heard the news, and were half-convinced but half-doubtful. Those who wanted to register at this late stage were turned away. Others hoping to slip in for a free medical consultation also tried to push their way in. Zhù Ying gave orders to refuse them all. At that point the Prefecture’s runners were no longer polite — wielding their staffs, they maintained order until the scene finally calmed down.

And then Wang Yunhe, Zheng Xi, and the rest came back again. Ministers Shi and Zhong also wanted to see this in action.

……

Zhù Ying had barely managed one day of ease before she had to deal with her superiors again.

She had prepared some simple examination tasks and arranged paper through the night, asking each person to write their own name on the paper. This paper would serve as both the scoring sheet and the examination paper. This was itself a round of assessment — those who could not write their name would not be eliminated, but a clerk would write for them, and they would receive no points for this first item.

She then divided the candidates into groups of ten. But she discovered that some people who had received tokens had not come today. She told the clerical official: “Check the names carefully and record them.”

Zheng Xi asked from the side: “How many people are there?”

Zhù Ying said: “Over the two days, a total of seven hundred sixty-three registered.”

Zheng Xi said: “That would be one in a hundred.”

Zhù Ying thought: not quite! Today more than four hundred didn’t show — they were the ones who had come yesterday just to get Huajie and the nuns to take their pulse for free! And those who came out of curiosity and lost their nerve when it got serious. If it weren’t slightly inconvenient to get a consent form, a note, and guarantors together, three thousand people could easily have shown up. The ones here today are just under three hundred. Picking eight from three hundred — that’s less than one in forty.

But she would never say anything so self-undermining. She only said: “The initial screening will cut those who are unsuitable, so the number entering the actual examination won’t be this large.”

The senior officials nodded — they were familiar with this from the imperial examinations.

The first item was the written test. Failure to score points did not result in elimination, since very few women at that time were educated. The lower the social background of the applicant, the poorer the household, the less likely education was — this could not simply be demanded.

Zhù Ying roughly divided the groups: two hundred eighty-four people, not quite twenty-nine groups, with the four extra distributed among other groups.

Then came the second item.

Running. Some hesitated to show their stride, some were simply shy, some could not run — all were given scores ranging from one to five points. Each person held their scoring sheet and ran from start to finish, the entire group running together. Those who arrived at the finish line handed their scoring sheets to the clerical official waiting at the end, who recorded their arrival order on the sheet. Points were awarded by ranking order.

Wang Yunhe asked: “Why calculate scores? Why not just assign grades?”

Zhù Ying said: “It’s more convenient for the calculation.” She had been doing arithmetic for several years now and found clear numerical scores more intuitive than terms like “upper, middle, lower.”

After that came carrying heavy weights — also scored. Then throwing — also scored.

Some candidates began to look visibly unsettled when writing their names, since they genuinely couldn’t. But Zhù Ying would not let them leave — they still had to complete the full course. Some, finishing dead last in the run, were so upset they wept. Some, tense with nerves while throwing the weight, nearly dropped it on their own foot, going pale with fright. Zhù Ying sent none of them away.

Pei Qing asked: “Why not eliminate them?”

Zhù Ying said: “This is just one item. Everything going smoothly tells you nothing. Someone who can stand back up after a beating — that is genuinely remarkable.”

Wang Yunhe asked Liu Songnian quietly: “What do you think?”

Liu Songnian said: “She has the same stench as you.”

Because there were so many people, only these two items could be covered on the first day.

At the end of the day, the scoring sheets were collected, each candidate went home, and they were to come back tomorrow to continue.

The observing officials had no objections to her design — one very large reason being that she was selecting prison guards. Otherwise, gathering this many women together in one place would have been improper to begin with.

Zheng Xi said: “Tomorrow, make sure things move along.”

Zhù Ying said: “Tomorrow should be close to a result.”

They all had court the next morning, and would come by after attending to their proper affairs — just as today. Zhù Ying would do the same: report to the Court of Judicial Review, quickly handle the miscellaneous affairs, then come over.

With that, everyone returned home.

Zhù Ying came home to find Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da dancing again. While she had been busy with the Court’s affairs, she had not forgotten her parents — her memorial requesting honorary titles for them had also been approved. The process had run into no obstacles at all. She was their child and held an official position. Anyone who tried to block her request would have her hammering at the main hall door of whatever ministry was responsible.

Zhù Ying said: “That will do — we still need to have the robes made!”

Zhang Xiangu said: “I already spoke with Sister Jin — she said she had assumed we had other plans and hadn’t raised it. The tailor will be the same one we’ve always used, and you don’t need to worry about my jewelry!” She had her own small savings too!

Zhù Ying said: “There are still some pearls from the old days — go ahead and use them. If you keep pearls too long without wearing them, they’ll go bad.”

Zhang Xiangu said: “Huajie should have new things too. She’s a young woman — it’s not right for her to keep going without while an old woman like me…”

Zhù Ying said: “And have a couple of good hairpins made for Father too.”

Zhù Da’s smile had not stopped, and he said: “Yes, yes! Oh, I’m going to be an honored senior now! Oh, my…” As he laughed, he asked: “Shouldn’t our household have more than just Du Dajie to help out? With just her, it’s hard to manage everything.”

Zhang Xiangu said: “There you go again! Do you want to show off again? Don’t pretend this is for Ying’s sake — you know what Ying is like. This is purely for your own face, with no care for your wife and child!”

Zhù Da muttered: “It’s not just me — the neighbors think it’s a bit odd too.”

Zhù Ying asked: “Who?”

Zhù Da said: “The neighbors too. They say our household is too frugal. I know they mean tight-fisted. Now that you’re this impressive, with no boy servant following you around, it does look a bit…”

Zhù Ying asked again: “And what did Father say?”

“I said: not used to it. Also worried about reliability. And then there’s the matter of relatives coming to trouble us.”

“Good. Keep saying that. Once I’m done with the work at hand, I’ll see to this.”

Zhang Xiangu also scolded: “As if she isn’t busy enough already — you want to pile more on her?”

On the other side, Huajie was reassuring Du Dajie: “Dry Father doesn’t mean anything against you — he was just fending off people outside. Sigh, you know how this family is. There’s only one income here, and Zhù Ying won’t bend the rules or accept favors. To outsiders, it probably looks a little shabby.” Du Dajie said: “Mistress, I understand all of it.” Someone like Zhù Da was everywhere in the world — and she had no reason to be bothered by him. Though she was a servant doing rough work, she was sharp enough to see clearly: the one who ran this household was Little Magistrate Zhù. Even the Madam and the Mistress were more reliable at managing the house than this elder. The elder was not entirely reliable — but still a better man than her uncle. Well — neither here nor there, it would all muddle along. Tell her to work, she would work. When the elder made a fuss, she would pretend not to hear. By her observation, the whole family thought the same. This wasn’t something that could be said aloud.

Zhù Ying stepped in to stop Zhang Xiangu: “Father’s words aren’t without reason — Mother, think about it. Gan Da is not a talkative man, is he? If he’s willing to advise me, he likely has a good reason. It’s just that I’ve been busy and it slipped.”

With some effort the household finally quieted down, and Zhù Ying was at last able to rest.

……

On the final day of the examination, Zhù Ying arrived at the site first, scanned all the scoring sheets from beginning to end, then dragged out a recording clerk: “Why are two of these ranked the same?”

Ties in ranking were not unheard of — it happened with simultaneous arrivals in the run, though rarely. Zhù Ying remembered them all.

She pointed to one particular sheet and said: “This one clearly came in last — how is it that the ranking has been crossed out and changed?”

Two hundred thirty-six, rewritten as thirty-six — did they think she was blind?

The clerk said: “It was… she ran to the very end, and she cried so hard. She looked so pitiable.”

Over to the side, Zheng Xi and the others found this entertaining. Minister Shi, who was not acquainted with Zhù Ying, asked: “Are you certain about this?”

Zhù Ying said: “In reply to the Minister — I remember some of them fairly well. Number two hundred thirty-six — I spoke with her. Two hundred thirty-six: five chi two cun tall, thin build, wearing a red upper garment and a striped skirt, blue cloth shoes, a red flower on the left side of her hair, two silver hairpins on the right.”

Minister Shi stared with wide eyes.

The clerk’s back was entirely soaked through with sweat.

Zheng Xi felt a quiet satisfaction and said: “Dismiss whoever cheated.”

Zhù Ying said: “My Lord, this doesn’t really count as cheating. She cried — she didn’t do anything else. The problem was with our own person here who was soft-hearted.”

Zheng Xi was not annoyed, and said: “Restore the original score.” Then frowned at the clerk, who was dismissed, and another brought in to replace him.

Zhù Ying checked through the scoring sheets and found several with calculation errors, all of which she corrected one by one. Throughout the entire process she paid no attention to who was crying or not — only the scores mattered. Any instance of favoritism she caught resulted in a penalty for the clerk responsible. The clerks did not dare breathe.

Then came today’s examination items. Each candidate came in, received their scoring sheet, and fifty-two were eliminated right there — they had given up, leaving two hundred thirty-two people. So she divided them into twenty-three groups anew.

First, without a word of warning, she had them all locked in a small dark room for half a day, and scored them based on the degree to which they cried and made a fuss. After the dark room, another few dozen dropped out, leaving under a hundred.

Then she had them recite passages. They were to recite the simplified official documents Liu Songnian had written. If someone could read them, the requirement for memorization was loosened. If someone could actually recite them, the requirement for reading and writing was loosened. If someone could both read and write and recite a great deal, they scored highly.

The magistrate of Wannian County could not help asking: “Why are we back to recitation?”

Zhù Ying said: “To see if their determination is firm.”

Lock them in a dark room first, then have them recite passages — and you say you’re testing determination? The magistrate of Wannian County said: “That seems awfully harsh.”

“If I’m not hard on them now, there will be people far harsher than me waiting for them later. By the time they want to leave, it will be too late.”

Minister Shi thought to himself: if the Ministry of Punishments were to set up a women’s ward, there would be no need to be this strict. He had observed for two days now and found that the women Zhù Ying had selected could run and jump, could do physical work, were healthy, and were literate. It was almost as if, for the first time, he had noticed that women could handle a job — though his own household had at least eight or ten sturdy female servants who cooked and washed every day.

But she was not finished. After recitation came answering questions. Since there were so many senior officials present, Zhù Ying could not well say the offensive things she had wanted to — to test their tolerance for unpleasant talk. Instead she asked pointed questions: “What will you do if people talk badly about you for being a guard?” “What will you do if your conduct is suspected?” “What will you do if a female prisoner tries to bribe you?” “What will you do if someone harasses you in the office?”

Then came the scoring. Among those with higher scores, Zhù Ying weighed the unspoken criteria against the official items, and selected twenty-four, telling the others to go home while having their consent forms and similar materials archived.

Evaluation Official Bao asked: “Why twenty-four?”

Zhù Ying said: “One more round — any with unclear speech, any who are hopelessly clumsy or timid, or who fall apart at the sight of a superior — none of that can be accepted. And if any of you have questions, you may ask them too.”

Outside, there were those who felt relieved, and some who were crying and cursing. Zhù Ying paid none of them any mind, continuing step by step.

She took the twenty-four to look at the Prefecture’s morgue, and scored them again. This round was particularly interesting — throughout all the previous tests, no matter what it was, people at least completed each task before dropping out. But now, at the sight of white cloth covering a body — even before the cloth was lifted — four people turned and ran.

In the end, after all the items were completed, only twenty remained.

Coming out of the morgue, Wang Yunhe asked: “The dark room was one thing — prison cells do tend to be dim. But why the corpse viewing?”

Zhù Ying said: “There’s no guarantee that no one will die in custody. How can a guard be afraid of such things? Better to find out now than to have them frightened later and cause trouble mid-stream.”

And besides — if they can’t look at a bloody body, how do I train them for anything? The day will come when I want to take them along on arrests. If they can’t hold up, what grounds do I have to expand the female corps further? Female coroners, female constables — that’s the next stage of planning. I can’t be scrambling to find people at the last minute; they have to be raised from scratch. These ones start as guards, and when things are running, the veterans will train the new ones.

Last of all came the panel interview.

Zhong Yi shook his head and said: “A few miscellaneous positions and all this fuss.”

Zheng Xi, though he also felt the affair had been somewhat overdone and some items excessively demanding, said: “It’s unavoidable when something is first being established. Items can be added or removed in the future. They will all be carrying official passes to enter the palace precinct — being thorough is appropriate.”

Zhong Yi said nothing more.

Zhù Ying first went over all the Court of Judicial Review’s rules for guards and said: “Those who can accept these terms, stay. Those who cannot, leave. You have all made it to the final round — those who are leaving will each receive one hundred cash.”

The women looked at one another. All twenty stayed.

Wang Yunhe and the magistrate of Wannian County, having listened, felt that Zhù Ying’s rules were thoughtful and well-conceived, though the prohibition on face powder and cosmetics seemed a touch too strict — they mentally erased that one from her rules, and began composing their own notes based on what they had seen over the past two days.

Then came the final test.

Just a series of questions, beginning pleasantly enough: “Name, home county.”

The first person to enter said: “Fu, from the capital.” Zhù Ying said: “It’s you?”

It was Fu Xiaoniangzi. Zhù Ying had spotted her already and had said nothing. Fu Xiaoniangzi had been equally tactful and had not approached to introduce herself. Now that Zhù Ying had acknowledged her, she said: “It is indeed I.”

Her written and recitation scores had both been strong, and Zhù Ying had thought she might try for the warden examination. Fu Xiaoniangzi smiled bitterly: “With the greatest respect, my Lord — I have a son who is ill. I cannot afford to lose a single day. The sooner I find some income, the sooner I can see that he is better taken care of.”

The magistrate of Wannian County also remembered her: “Ah, it’s her!”

Wang Yunhe asked: “What’s the situation?”

The magistrate of Wannian County explained in a low voice: “She’s a widow — her husband was a compulsive gambler who died not long ago. It was an accident, and when they found the body we examined it. At the time, Magistrate Zhù was also present.” He thought back: when the husband died, Zhù Ying had immediately told him to investigate whether the wife had murdered him. This Magistrate Zhù who the people of the capital say is soft-hearted — her heart doesn’t look that soft to me.

Among the audience, some were moved to want to put in a kind word for Fu Xiaoniangzi at the end. A widow like this with a small child — that alone was enough to deserve sympathy.

The final selection of eight included five who were married and three who were single. Among the married ones was the widow Fu Xiaoniangzi. Among the unmarried ones was that young woman whose parents had died, the martial arts school owner’s daughter, Miss Che. Zhù Ying recorded their names and announced the list.

Not everyone had a sorrowful story — for instance, Miss Gan, who clearly seemed close to Miss Che and, as it turned out, was her best friend. She came from a harmonious family who fully supported her, and simply felt that she was no less capable than anyone else and wanted to try something. Her parents came personally to see her off. Then there was Young Tao’s wife, Mrs. Wu — her own father also served at the Court of Judicial Review. Hers was a family that had done this kind of work for generations, and her father personally brought her, while her mother said: “Whatever babies you have, I’ll look after them. You just go and do your duty!”

The other twelve women were deeply disappointed. Some wept aloud. Others knelt down to plead their case: “There is truly no one else in my family! I beg you, please! I can do any labor! I’ll endure any hardship! I don’t even need pay — just room and board! Otherwise…”

Zhù Ying’s expression remained unmoved throughout. She told an attendant: “Bring money — to cover their travel.”

The magistrate of Wannian County could not bear it. He said: “They are all frail women — did you need to be quite so… Sanlang, you have a heart of stone.”

Zhù Ying said: “My heart is not stone.”

The magistrate of Wannian County was left thoroughly winded.

Zhù Ying wrote down the final list of names, presented it to Zheng Xi, and thanked Wang Yunhe for the use of his venue. Wang Yunhe said: “It’s nothing — I’ve benefited from this too.”

Zhù Ying said: “First time doing this, and it still has its rough edges. The pulse-taking and health check should have been placed at the very end. It wasted all of the nun’s and Dajie’s effort for nothing.” In the end she had pulled in the entire Cihui Nunnery to help.

Wang Yunhe smiled: “They worked hard.”

“The items were also a little too demanding. I kept thinking — I can’t afford any problems. Better to weed out now every risk I can think of than to have things go wrong after they’ve already been officially registered and started their duties.”

Wang Yunhe said: “You’re doing this for the first time — being strict is correct.”

Zhù Ying then said, as if in passing: “Capital Prefecture, my deep thanks for all the help. Those records,” she gestured at the consent forms and scoring sheets being sealed and archived, “whenever you need them, just send a note.”

Liu Songnian, hearing this, gave another cold sniff: “Exactly the same stench as Wang Yunhe.”

Minister Shi laughed: “You two are ‘pine and crane in their longevity’ — then what does that make her?”

Zhù Ying saw him pointing at her and thought: What does that have to do with you anyway? She controlled her expression and did not let it show on her face.

Zheng Xi had finished reviewing the final list. He said: “What stench? The season’s turning — I need to change my incense.” Leng Yun knew what Liu Songnian had meant, but he had to give Zheng Xi face. Pei Qing likewise. Leng Yun said: “Mm — I recently blended a new variety at home. I thought it came out quite nicely. I’ll have some sent to your residence.” Pei Qing made a show of asking for the formula as well. The Court of Judicial Review displayed a picture of perfect harmony.

Zhong Yi looked at Zhù Ying and felt a great deal of emotion stirring in him. He knew Zhù Ying’s background and thought: I missed it at the time — and let Zheng Xi get there first. On an impulse he said: “Talented young people ought to hold their predecessors as their model!”

Zhù Ying responded with great politeness, hands clasped at her sides: “Yes.” Not one word more. She was in a good mood today and was not going to quibble with these old men.

Wang Yunhe heard that people outside were still crying, and sent someone to look. He came back and said: “Still lingering and won’t leave.”

Wang Yunhe said: “Sanlang, keep those archives for me.”

“Yes.”

Wang Yunhe then sent someone out to say: “The presiding examiner today has recommended you to the Capital Prefecture. In a fortnight, the Capital Prefecture will hold its own guard selection here. You need not go through the identity verification process again — come directly to receive your numbered tokens. Be patient and prepare yourselves at home. You may all go now.”

The magistrate of Chang’an County and the magistrate of Wannian County, seeing Wang Yunhe’s arrangements, thought: the people who made it to the end but weren’t taken by Zhù Ying were still not bad. Wang Yunhe wouldn’t need as many as she did — eight to ten, perhaps? And he wouldn’t need them to examine a corpse! As long as they could manage a dark room, there would be a great many more who qualified. The two of them composed their expressions and prepared to ask Zhù Ying for the rankings list. Good enough to work with!

Zhù Ying agreed to this as well, then added: “Have more money brought — give each of them another two hundred cash.”

Fu Xiaoniangzi and the others were pleased, then heard about the money, and thought they were being dismissed and sent home. Fu Xiaoniangzi asked with a trembling voice: “My… my Lord — was it not said that we had been accepted? Why are we being given money?”

Zhù Ying said: “Aren’t you all going home? You’ve been accepted together — this is a good occasion. Surely you want to gather and celebrate? You borrowed someone’s clothes to come for the examination — don’t you want to go thank them?”

Fu Xiaoniangzi and the others were at a loss for words.

Zhù Ying continued: “You have three days. Sort out your affairs at home. You’ve just heard the rules of the Court of Judicial Review. In three days, come to learn the protocols, register your name in the gate records, receive your official pass, and be measured for new uniforms.”

Fu Xiaoniangzi and the others cried out in joy: “Yes!”

Zhù Ying looked at this group of women — all of similar height, except that Fu Xiaoniangzi was a little thin and Miss Che was a little taller. In their uniforms, they would look just about right. Mm, that was good.

The senior officials who had watched it all thought: the style of this is a little sharp.

……

That evening, Zhù Ying went to Zheng Xi’s residence.

Zheng Xi said to Lu Chao: “Go get a box of the incense we just blended the other day. Bring it back for him. Don’t let people say he smells strange.”

Zhù Ying received it and said: “I don’t know how to use incense. What is this? How do you use it?”

Zheng Xi felt deeply embarrassed: “Don’t say you’re my person!”

“All right!”

Zheng Xi was left thoroughly exasperated.

Lu Chao smiled and explained to Zhù Ying: “Like this — just a little, lit up, and a whole room is fragrant. Or put it in a coal basin to perfume clothing…”

“Don’t listen to him!” Zheng Xi said.

Zhù Ying tucked away the box and said: “My Lord, when I get home I’ll write up a full account of this selection. There were also things that could have been done better. I’ll note them all down for improvements next time.”

Zheng Xi said: “Going forward, don’t be too harsh!” But then he also said: “That said, the Court of Judicial Review is not the same as those other offices — a degree of strictness is appropriate. The people you selected today actually looked quite capable — all of them seem like they can get things done. That’s very good. Don’t go selecting those who are all show and no substance…”

Zhù Ying stood and absorbed a full earful of instruction before dutifully departing Zheng Xi’s residence.

She returned home to find Huajie and the others had already come back long ago and prepared dinner, waiting for her. They were celebrating her accomplishment of a great matter!

Zhù Da said: “What a spectacle! Impressive!”

Zhang Xiangu said: “I was outside and saw you — you were talking to a whole group of important officials!”

Neither of them mentioned that there were people outside cursing the examiner as a heartless wretch for locking people in a small dark room — and making them look at a corpse, no less! It was guards they were hiring — the job is to watch over living people, so why make them look at dead ones?!

Huajie asked: “Was it too ostentatious?”

Zhù Ying said: “I’m just about to go back and write a memorial about it, aren’t I?”

All three cried out: “Another one?”

Zhù Ying said: “We finished the business — don’t I owe His Majesty an account?”

Her report was straightforward. First, the reason: since this was the first time doing something like this, broad public notice was needed to ensure awareness. Now that everyone knew about it, future announcements would only need a simple posting and people would understand the nature of the process. There would be no more families coming in groups to apply.

Then she described the examination items — since “people generally believe women to be weak,” it was necessary to select those with strong will and fortitude. And since these were people intended for use in a prison, they needed to be tough and resilient. The warden examination was a written test, to be conducted jointly with a Ministry of Personnel department director, with the Ministry of Rites invited to supervise. There would be nothing as chaotic as this.

Finally, that all of this was due to the emperor’s brilliance. And look — not a single incident of trampling, not a single fight, and everyone went away in good cheer.

Attached was the name list and basic information for all those accepted this round.

She finished writing, and by then Huajie had brought the late-night snack to the table. Zhù Ying came out of the “study” to eat, and while eating, listened to Huajie’s casual chatter. Huajie first told a few small funny stories from around the capital, and once Zhù Ying had finished eating, she asked quietly: “This kind of selection — could it offend people? Before, everyone said your heart was soft, but now quite a few people are saying your heart has hardened. For some reason.”

Zhù Ying laughed: “So what? Being excessively soft-hearted is not a good reputation to have, and I’m not living my life for the sake of other people’s easy conversation.”

Huajie said with a mix of envy and relief: “That’s true — anyone who manages things can’t afford to be a pushover.”

Zhù Ying said: “Yes.”

Huajie worried a little: “Being an official will always bring people trying to tear you down.”

Zhù Ying said: “Ha! When I was doing my shaman act people cursed me even more — and I didn’t even have to offend them. Just for being of low station, anyone could take a bad mood out on me — some passing ruffian could call me a little rat and a thieving bastard. So I refused to go down that path, and it killed them inside. Ha!”

Huajie felt tender and proud all at once: “That’s right! You’re the best!”

“Heh.”

Huajie jumped to collect the bowls: “You have an early morning ahead. Oh — I’m going to Cihui Nunnery tomorrow. Fu Xiaoniangzi should be at ease now — and little one can get some better medicine.”

“How is he doing?”

“Beaten down, just has to be nurtured back. Children’s illness can go two ways — children have strong vitality, and small injuries heal remarkably fast. But if the damage is too severe, complications can linger and be carried all the way to adulthood, even to death. We’re doing our best to help him flourish.”

“Mm. He has a good mother.”

Huajie said: “I both admire her and worry for her. When Mother and I were managing the household back home, I heard so many unpleasant remarks — ‘women have long hair and short minds,’ that sort of thing. And that was just our own family’s business. Now that she’s an official and a clerk — it’ll be worse, won’t it? Zhù Ying, how do you deal with people like that?”

This time Zhù Ying was genuinely puzzled: “Who said I couldn’t do it? Are they blind? Or just jealous.”

Huajie finally burst out laughing: “Zhù Ying! Zhù Ying!”

“What? What is it?”

Zhang Xiangu, hearing the laughter from the main room, also came out: “What happened? What happened?”

Zhù Ying said: “Nothing — Dajie told me a joke, I didn’t laugh, and she laughed first. Very strange.”

Huajie laughed: “That’s right, that’s right, I’m the strange one. Go get some rest. Tomorrow I’ll tell Fu Xiaoniangzi not to take fools’ nonsense to heart.”

“That’s how it is.”

Zhù Ying said this, then took out the incense Zheng Xi had given her: “This — I’m not quite sure about it.”

Huajie said: “What a fine thing this is! Since it was given to you, I’ll perfume your clothes with it first. Tomorrow when he gets a whiff of it he’ll know you took his gift to heart.”

……

The next day Zhù Ying went to report for duty, just as before — first handling the miscellaneous affairs of the Court. Because she had personally supervised this year’s harvest, she had secured a larger sum for the public fund, and from now until next year’s harvest, the Court’s resources would be more than sufficient. Even after adding subsidies for the ten new people, there was a large sum left over.

Zhù Ying calculated: this fund of grain and money, if set aside in reserve or lent out — fair-rate loans at market prices, requiring merchants to provide collateral, repayable in months or a year with interest — she would only charge half the going rate of the moneylenders. That was still a significant sum. And she would not pocket any of this interest herself; she knew that some account managers did exactly this, so-called “setting a chicken to hatch eggs.” Handle it well, and one year’s management of public funds could yield enough profit to put half a townhouse in your own pocket. Push a bit harder and you could have a full small residence.

But from what Zhù Ying had seen, those who went too far with it — there were plenty of those. In the Court of Judicial Review’s case files, almost every day there were officials who had overreached. Some were exiled; some were sentenced to penal servitude. A few who had been too greedy and had bungled a major matter — even if the amounts weren’t enormous, if they had caused harm to an important affair — had been beheaded. And then there were some who had gone too far and then hanged or drowned themselves. Then to recover the embezzled funds, the families had been stripped of everything.

Some of their superiors had been dragged down along with them.

So she carefully selected her cases — any loan she made had to have collateral, something she herself recognized and knew the value of, to ensure the Court of Judicial Review would not take a loss. Otherwise the Court could not remain as well-provisioned as it was under her.

This winter, they could add an extra coal subsidy for everyone, Zhù Ying thought.

Writing and calculating her way through the numbers, Hu Lian sidled over: “What’s this, Magistrate Zhù, our household finance minister?”

“What nonsense are you talking? You really don’t waste your family name — your mouth opens and out comes rubbish.”

“Aren’t you our Ministry of Finance? The moment you open your abacus…” Hu Lian had learned from experience.

Zhù Ying said: “Is your coal for winter going to be enough?”

“Oh! A coal subsidy? Little Zhù, you’re the best!” Hu Lian gave her a thumbs-up. “Ah, let me go tell the others!”

“Don’t! It hasn’t been approved yet!”

“Oh come on! You give them the big piece, who’s going to disagree? All anyone asks from their superior is to not be too greedy, to share a little of the meat when there’s meat to eat — just let us have some soup! We’d be grateful! What we fear is the kind who pockets everything and still squeezes their subordinates dry, makes them work themselves to the bone while they’re poor and exhausted, and calls the office spotlessly clean! Ptui! Eight generations of bad karma, that’s what! Ah — thank heavens for our Court of Judicial Review! Lord Zheng is good! Lords Leng and Pei are both good! And Little Zhù, you’re the best!”

Zhù Ying hugged her own arms and rubbed them: “You’re making my skin crawl! Get out!”

Hu Lian grinned and retreated.

Zhù Ying said: “Oh — wait. Any records sent over from the Capital Prefecture today? Get them handled quickly!”

“Of course! I’ll bring them once they’re approved!”

Zhù Ying said: “Move faster. The Prefecture goes out of its way to make things easy for us — it’s not just two nice words that keep that going. We have to make things easy for them too.”

“Got it~~~”

Zhù Ying’s good standing with the Capital Prefecture and its subordinate counties was not built by playing the good student in front of Wang Yunhe. Case records from the Prefecture and its counties that needed the Court’s review and approval — Zhù Ying always gave them priority. The Court of Judicial Review now ran at high efficiency, and would not simply sit on documents for no reason. But there was “review” and there was “review.” Some reviewers would scrawl “rejected” without a single explanation, leaving the people below to go back and forth endlessly and never pass — which impacted the local officials’ evaluations. Others, like Zhù Ying with the Capital Prefecture’s documents, would carefully note what needed to be changed, or would go and find the other signatories herself, which saved the Prefecture the trouble of re-submitting for additional signatures.

That was why the magistrate of Wannian County, once familiar with her, could speak bluntly to her, and could also let her look at case files.

Only one simple review had come in from the Prefecture that day. The several deputies signed their names, and it was done the same day.

Zhù Ying signed off, and Zheng Xi returned from court as well. He said: “Same as usual.”

Everyone dispersed. Zhù Ying, cradling a stack of documents, went once more to see Zheng Xi. Zheng Xi said: “What is it now?”

Zhù Ying said: “These are official business — please see them first.” Zheng Xi reviewed several items of incoming and outgoing correspondence, all of which Zhù Ying had already organized. He went through them quickly and signed his approvals. Then he came to the coal subsidy Zhù Ying had proposed. Zheng Xi said: “Where did you conjure this money from? Five ghost magic?”

Zhù Ying smiled: “No such thing! Didn’t I just flush out a fat rat?”

Zheng Xi approved it.

Zhù Ying then brought out the budget for the female wardens and guards. Zheng Xi approved that too. Then, with a grave expression, he said: “Simply having these people appointed is not enough — they must be well-managed and must not cause any problems. You stirred up quite a scene this time. Keep your head down from now on! For the rest of this year, no more incidents! And as for them — also no incidents. If there are, I am holding you responsible!”

Only then did Zhù Ying produce the memorial. She said: “Take a look at this.”

Zheng Xi read it and said: “This holds together.” Then he pointed out several areas and told her to write them more humbly — to include self-criticism, to reflect on what she had learned, to convey that she had previously not understood and now better grasped the difficulty of governing the realm, and to sincerely flatter the emperor.

Zhù Ying was always a dutiful student. She made the revisions on the spot. Zheng Xi, satisfied, said: “Once it’s submitted, quietly and properly manage that corps of women for me!”

“Yes.”