Zhang Xiangu was not entirely pleased about it. Zhù Da was not entirely pleased either. Both of them had been immersed in the joy of having their own new house soon, and had very much wanted the whole family to have a proper drink together on New Year’s Eve. Zhang Xiangu had even told Nanny Du to join them at the table.
“Sitting alone in the gatehouse is lonely, is it not?” Zhang Xiangu said.
Nanny Du, having spent enough time with this family to understand their natures, knew Zhang Xiangu was not merely being polite. She still said, “Think of it as my wanting a rest.”
Zhang Xiangu said, “Oh — that is right, I never thought to give you any days off.”
Nanny Du said, “Madam, that is not what I meant.”
Zhang Xiangu cheered back up: “Good! Once we have the new house — Old Three says she wants to hire a proper cook. Then you two can take turns, and actually get a couple of days off to rest…”
Zhù Da also said, “There are quite a few days of holiday coming up — New Year, then the Lantern Festival. If Old Three can be home a few more days, we can discuss the new house properly. When should we start? What kind do we want?”
Hua Jie was quietly calculating the family’s budget: her savings and Zhang Xiangu’s combined would still fall short for the house Zhù Ying described. Zhù Da had personal savings, and by Hua Jie’s quiet observation, when all of it was added together, it was not much either. Zhù Ying probably still had some set aside — but pooling everything together, it should be just enough.
Each person had their own calculations, all of them looking forward to Zhù Ying coming home for dinner so they could talk. When Zhù Ying returned and said she was on night duty, Zhang Xiangu was deflated. “Why is it your turn again? Surely it has rotated to someone else by now?”
Zhang Xiangu said, “Exactly! You have only just come back — why must you be on duty again? Why?”
“I scheduled it myself,” Zhù Ying said. “We want to have a good New Year, and so does everyone else. Besides, throughout the year, no one in the Court has caused me any real trouble — standing one night of watch is nothing.”
Zhang Xiangu was a little disappointed. “I cannot argue with you. Let me check the kitchen and see what there is. We will have your father take things over to you when the time comes. This year we cannot ask Brother Jin to deliver it again.”
Zhù Ying smiled. “I have already made arrangements.” She was experienced now — both the New Year’s Eve banquet and the next morning’s breakfast were prepared in advance. She had also set aside red envelopes for the clerks pulling duty with her.
Zhù Da, who had been disappointed too, suddenly found the prospect interesting. “Even if things are prepared outside, we should still bring something along ourselves! I will take them over! Goodness — the imperial city…”
Hua Jie gave the smallest of quiet coughs; Nanny Du also saw it clearly. This elder gentleman was excited about using his son’s official duties as an excuse to go and get a look at the imperial city — he had been wanting to see it.
Zhang Xiangu did not scold him this time — she was curious herself. Zhang Xiangu held a certain pride in her heart: My daughter, a court official, working in the imperial city. She wanted to see the imperial city too, though she was a little reluctant to say so. Now that Zhù Da had spoken, she also said, “If there is a lot to carry, I will come along too. On the first day of the New Year we can come to collect you, and do a bit of sightseeing on the way!”
The two of them were no longer annoyed about the night duty. They began imagining a great procession of officials arriving to pay their New Year’s respects — if they went early enough on the first morning, might they witness something of the splendor?
Zhù Ying let them enjoy their daydream.
Before New Year’s Eve arrived, the Zhù household was already busy. This year, with Nanny Du also helping, Zhang Xiangu stewed lamb leg, simmered chicken broth, braised meat, and prepared a row of large earthenware pots for storing dishes. That way throughout the New Year period, whenever anyone wanted something, they only needed to ladle out a bowl and heat it. Aspic and other cold dishes that went well with drinking required no heating at all. Melon seeds, pastries, and other snacks needed even less attention.
Good wine was also brought out — two large crocks.
Simply close the door and eat and drink as one pleased.
On New Year’s Eve itself, the restaurant delivered the banquet Zhù Ying had ordered in advance. Two tables for home; two to take along. Zhang Xiangu said, “How can the two of us ever finish all this?” Zhù Ying said, “Put it away — when I come home tomorrow we continue eating.”
Unexpectedly, Jin Liang arrived on this very day and said, “I will see you there again this year.”
He had also brought food. Zhang Xiangu entrusted Zhù Ying to Jin Liang’s care. “You have been thinking of her again. We also want to see her off — and have a look at the scenery while we are at it.”
Jin Liang was blunt. “It is only a wall. What is there to see? You cannot even go in. You stand outside and watch a few Imperial Guards hold the gate. And it is cold.”
Zhù Da and Zhang Xiangu still wanted to go and look. Zhù Ying said, “Their cart is already hired — let us go together.”
Jin Liang was at a loss. “Fine, suit yourselves.”
Hua Jie did not particularly want to go — the last time she had walked near the imperial city she had encountered something unpleasant — and said she would stay home in case someone came to pay their respects. Zhang Xiangu hesitated; Hua Jie said, “I saw it last time.” Zhang Xiangu stopped insisting.
Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da sat in the hired cart, chattering cheerfully. The closer they drew to the imperial city, the more their imaginations ran wild. Zhù Da said, “I wonder what rank an official must be to attend the palace banquet. When will Old Three get there?” Zhang Xiangu said, “Just sixth rank — probably still a few years yet.”
The carter heard all of this and could not help smiling. These capital officials were something else — and their family members were even more entertaining.
Before long they arrived. Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da could not go in, of course. The two of them stood on tiptoe trying to peer inside. Someone nearby said, “If you want to look, look properly. Tiptoe or no tiptoe, you will still see the same amount.”
“Ah Yue?” Jin Liang spotted Wen Yue and was startled. “What are you doing here?”
“Today was my turn on duty.”
With Wen Yue here, arrangements were quickly made to bring the things Zhù Ying had sent inside. The three of them agreed to meet up before paying their New Year’s respects at the Zheng household, and go together.
Jin Liang said, “Your household’s visiting cards — let me send them again this year. You, as always, have no servants…”
Zhang Xiangu said, “She will have some soon!”
Jin Liang said bluntly, “Always saying soon — how much has been delayed for want of a helper? A good thing she thought to hire Nanny Du, at least — otherwise, Madam…”
Zhang Xiangu said, “It really is happening! We are planning to build a new house. The servants’ rooms — we have already thought out where they will go.”
Hearing that Zhù Ying was going to build a house, Jin Liang and Wen Yue both offered congratulations. “At last — a proper home in the capital!”
They also asked why build rather than buy. Buying a suitable house and doing modest renovations would be far quicker and simpler; building from the ground up took time and energy. Zhù Ying said, “We are short on money.”
Both men were speechless. Zhù Ying continued, “How many years has it been since I came to the capital? And what rank am I? For an official my age in all of the capital, having one’s own courtyard at this point is already a fine achievement. We are all poor — we had better calculate carefully.”
Jin Liang said, “Say the word if you need help.”
“Rest assured — I will not let you off lightly.”
Wen Yue said to Jin Liang, “This is the best way for Sanlang.”
“Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-Law,” Jin Liang said, “let us go back. Are all the visiting cards prepared? I will take them along, and on my way I will deliver them for you.” Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da took a few more long looks at the vermillion palace walls and the gleaming Imperial Guards before, with a touch of reluctance, turning to leave.
——
Wen Yue personally escorted Zhù Ying inside. She said, “Are you coming tonight? I have ordered a banquet — no wine.”
Wen Yue laughed. “I will come! But I have to do my rounds first and eat a few bites with the men.”
“Do not stand on ceremony if you are busy.”
“Do you not know how it is? If I am there, they cannot eat at ease.”
The two settled the arrangements. Wen Yue went first to put on a bit of a show for his men, then came to gather at the Court of Judicial Review.
Zhù Ying, following the lessons of experience, had dispatched clerks in advance to invite colleagues from the various offices to come and share a meal. This year, the colleagues on duty with her were not Old Huang and Old Guan, but rather Old Wu’s son, Xiao Wu, and another young man who watched over the storeroom, Xiao Huang. When they returned from their errand, both reported back: “Everyone agreed to come — they all said: thank you for thinking of us.”
“You two will also have your own table,” Zhù Ying said. “Invite your friends as well.”
Xiao Wu laughed. “That is truly our Chief Zhù! Old Constable always said, taking night duty with Chief Zhù was the most comfortable thing imaginable.”
“Back then I was short on funds,” Zhù Ying said. “I could not exactly give him anything very nice to eat.”
“The old constable said it was very good.”
Come evening, those who had done well at the Court this year and those who had not done so well all arrived. As before, Zhù Ying and the others put the serving official from the Ministry of Personnel at the head of the table. The colleague she had come to know from their shared dinner in previous years, Official Tián, was no longer at the Ministry of Personnel — he had apparently secured an outside posting. Even the Official Yīn she knew had changed shifts and was not present tonight.
The Official Xià said, “Clerk Zhù — with such bright prospects — why bother taking tonight’s duty shift at all?”
Zhù Ying laughed. “Useful or not, when my turn comes I come. If I arranged to avoid it, that would be too obvious.”
Official Xià laughed, and said, “Clerk Zhù — young and promising — the future is boundless.”
“Your kind words — I dare not be complacent. Please.”
She could sense that the tone was slightly cooler than previous years’ gatherings. Connecting it with what Official Xià had just said, it seemed as though people no longer quite placed her in the same category as themselves. She understood: it probably had to do with her recent higher profile. The perceptive noses of official circles were particularly keen — they were quick to sort people into “the same kind” or “not the same kind.”
Background was one way of drawing circles. Career trajectory was another. And there were factors of temperament and interest as well. Think of a nine-square grid — across and down, any number of sorting methods. Whether to actually acknowledge someone as kin depended on the occasion.
When facing commoners, all officials were kin. When facing local officials, all capital officials were kin. When facing those who came up through hereditary privilege, those who had passed examinations were kin. And when facing those of brighter prospects, those who had settled into comfortable mediocrity were kin.
When she first arrived at the Court of Judicial Review, even the Left Rectifier and Old Wang — then still merely evaluating officials — had not seen her as kin. Yet circumstances had gradually thrown them together, and the relationship had warmed. The situation now was much the same: these people held no ill will toward her, but there was no longer the same easy intimacy. In official circles, “career prospects” was the greatest sorting factor. Think of a glass of water mixed with mud and pebbles — stir it, and the layers settle naturally, each stratum keeping to its own.
She would need to adjust how she formed connections with people going forward — redraw the circles.
For now, however, she simply behaved as though she had noticed nothing, keeping up the natural air of someone still fresh and new, chatting with these “senior colleagues” in exactly the same manner as before. Not a trace of the arrogance of someone who had gotten somewhere. She asked as many questions about life in the capital, even bringing up Tián — someone she actually knew. Under the management of a spirit-medium who knew how to warm an atmosphere, the mood rekindled, and Official Xià and the others found a trace of familiar kinship with her once more.
Official Xià said, “Him? He went out to a posting to make money!”
Speaking broadly, most capital officials of modest rank still lived quite difficult lives. Postings outside the capital were different — there were many lucrative opportunities.
“This is the second time I have heard of an outside posting,” Zhù Ying said.
“There are plenty of people heading out! Who are you talking about?” said Official Xià.
“Young Master Chen,” Zhù Ying said.
“Ah — serving as a local official, and with powerful people at his back in the capital, an outside posting is not a bad deal. As long as he can transfer back eventually. Build up his record, climb higher afterward — no one can find fault with it. And when those above need to use him, they will have confidence, saying he knows the hardship of ordinary people.”
They all laughed at this. They also talked about “having powerful backing,” and someone half-tipsily teased Zhù Ying. She said, “Please — that is his father.”
Official Xià said, “You are not so bad yourself! You practically run half the Court of Judicial Review now — that is also good money.”
Zhù Ying said, “I would not dare say such a thing. Handling a little more business, the income is a bit better. But if I want the income to last, I cannot be excessive — it has to benefit everyone proportionally. The moment restraint kicks in, the days get tighter. So I have no choice but to burn incense every day and pray to the Bodhisattva not to let me get too impatient.”
Official Xià and the others all laughed: “People say you are a plain-spoken, honest person — and they are right, you truly are straightforward.”
While they were talking, Wen Yue also arrived. They welcomed him; Wen Yue sat down and looked around, saying, “Good — no wine.”
Official Xià asked, “Why?”
“A couple years back, some of the Imperial Guard drank on duty during New Year’s Eve,” Zhù Ying said. “It was Commissioner Shī who happened upon it.”
This year’s New Year’s Eve duty passed more quietly than previous years’. Zhù Ying and Wen Yue, when they handed over their shift the next morning, found that they had grown a little closer than before. Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da came to collect Zhù Ying, and exchanged New Year’s greetings with Wen Yue.
On the way home, Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da were both beaming. “Those palace gates were quite something — let us put up a gate arch like that for our own house…”
Zhù Ying said, “We would need a craftsman to draw up the plans first. Once we have the workers lined up, we can tell them what we want and see what is feasible and what the style is like.”
“If it cannot be built, we find someone else to build it,” Zhù Da said.
Zhù Ying said, “It is not quite that simple. Take the flagpole — ordinary households are not permitted to erect one. And there are rules about the number of structural bays, and so on.”
Zhù Da suddenly remembered: rank had its degrees and its rules.
Back home, Hua Jie pointed to a pile of visiting cards. “Early this morning, many people slipped cards under the door. This stack is from the Court of Judicial Review; this stack from other offices; this stack from fellow townspeople; this stack from neighbors; this stack from merchants…”
Zhù Ying looked through them. She had sent cards to all the officials she knew above a certain rank; they had also sent cards to her. In her mind she made a quick count — pulling out a few she had not sent to but who had sent to her, she immediately wrote out several cards and asked Nanny Du to make a quick delivery round. As for the merchants’ cards — she did not need to respond.
This New Year was genuinely different from the period before she had taken charge of the Court’s routine affairs. More cards received, more gifts arriving. Zhang Xiangu watched Hua Jie recording each one in the household accounts, and said, “We really do need a few helpers now.”
On the sixth day, everyone went together to the Zheng household. Among the sixth-rank and below at the Court of Judicial Review, Zhù Ying had now naturally become the one who led the group. Zheng Xi, as in previous years, offered a few words of reassurance and encouragement, invited everyone to a meal, and then the gathering dispersed.
This year, Zhù Ying’s New Year visit to the Zheng household was different from previous years. She not only participated in the “inner circle” gathering of Zheng Xi’s close associates — and this time no one teased her to kowtow for New Year money — but also, together with the “Five Heroes of Dragon Boat Festival,” she had a separate private meeting with Zheng Xi.
Zheng Xi was relaxed at this time, and asked how everyone had spent the holiday, and how Zhù Ying’s duty shift had gone. She said, “All went well — Ah Yue was on duty on New Year’s Eve as well.”
Of the others present, Zhù Ying remained the least acquainted with Lǐn Zhèn and Jiāng Zhí; she said little to them, and they seemed to be quite familiar with each other.
Zheng Xi, observing that even his own people had split into smaller factions, gave a rueful twist of his lips. Zhèng Yì noticed and laughed. “What are you laughing at?” Zheng Xi said. Zhèng Yì said, “Whatever you laugh at, I laugh at.”
The cousins fell into banter. At that moment, Gǎn Zé came in and said, “The young mistress and young master wish to bid you farewell before departing.”
“Bring them in,” Zheng Xi said.
Everyone rose except the two Zheng cousins. Zheng Xi said, “Why are you all standing?”
“I should greet the young mistress,” Wen Yue said. Zhù Ying said, “Even Ah Yue is standing — if I stay seated, he would have to crane his neck to look up at me. That won’t do.”
“You do nothing but talk,” Zheng Xi said.
Having settled that, he said to the two children now entering, “Come — greet your uncles and elders.”
Zhèng Yì said with a laugh, “Where did these uncles come from?”
The two children bowed first to him, calling him “Thirteenth Uncle.”
Zheng Xi said, “You all sit down.” Only then did everyone take their seats.
Zhèng Yì introduced the others. Lǐn Zhèn and Jiāng Zhí were slightly older, approaching their thirties. Wen Yue, Shào Shūxīn, and Zhèng Yì were all about the same age — twenty-five. Zhù Ying was the youngest — and by age, she should rightly be last.
Zhù Ying noticed that Zheng Xi’s two children were both very fine-looking — pale and rosy-cheeked, the kind of children who had never known hardship. They did not appear dull, and there was a composed ease about them that was entirely unlike the sharp-eyed cleverness of children from modest households, yet somehow resembled Zheng Xi.
The little girl already had the look of a young lady about her; the boy was still in the shape of a child. Zhèng Yì introduced them: the girl was called Zhèng Lín; the boy was called Zhèng Chuān.
Zhù Ying began mentally reviewing what she had brought. She had no idea — for all the six-odd years she had known Zheng Xi, this was the first time she had ever seen his children. The New Year — was she expected to give them something? She looked around; the others had not moved. She quietly reached into her pocket and felt for the small gold and silver coins she had just received from the Zheng household. She hesitated — should she give them to these children?
This was truly unexpected! For five or six years she had never laid eyes on Zheng Xi’s children. When preparing gifts for Zheng Xi, she had listed the sorts of things one might give to children in the capital — gold locks, bracelets, and the like — generally charged to a general account. But who would ever carry gifts for their superior’s children around with them? There was simply no occasion to encounter them. She did have a few medicinal candy pellets and malt candy with her — just those.
Zheng Xi saw it and said, “How petty. You did not hesitate a moment when winning money off me — what is the difference now?”
Zhù Ying, pouch and all, gave both the boy and girl the gold and silver coins, saying, “Do not wrong an honest person!”
Lǐn Zhèn and Jiāng Zhí were no fools. They too had been brought in to meet these two children for the first time today, and normally also handled the gifts as a single collective list sent to the Zheng household. They had all noticed the problem. Fortunately, the ornaments they wore on their persons were considerably finer than Zhù Ying’s — reaching up and removing a few things, they could manage something that was not too embarrassing. Shào Shūxīn, who had a talent for acquiring wealth, also kept valuable items on his person at all times.
Zhèng Yì and Wen Yue had both been close with these children for a long time and watched the scene with amusement.
In the end, Zhù Ying did not take out the medicine candy pellets. Instead she found a few small toys — bamboo dragonflies and grasshoppers she had woven herself, vibrantly green. “Woven on a whim,” she said. “If you like the look of them, enjoy them for a moment; if not, toss them aside.”
The two children took them. The small boy pinched at the little tail-like strip of bamboo extending from the grasshopper’s end — clearly the extra tab looked out of place and should be removed. He gave it a pull. The grasshopper’s wings and antennae all moved at once. He was slightly startled — then quickly composed himself, slipped the grasshopper into his sleeve, and let the corner of his mouth turn up.
“You have no proper occupation,” Zheng Xi said.
“This is a skill that could earn one a living,” Zhù Ying said.
“You are at it again!” Zheng Xi said. Then he asked the children about their escort for the journey, and when they would be back. Zhèng Lín said, “Nanny Li and Nanny Zhang are going with us. I am taking A’Song and A’Liáng; my brother has A’Yuè and A’Xiāng. Outside, the gate has arranged the carriages and attendants.”
Zheng Xi told the children to take care on the road and to convey his regards to their maternal grandparents.
Zhèng Lín said, “Yes.” This girl spoke little, but she did not put on an artificially stiff and formal manner — she spoke when it was appropriate to speak, and did not sustain a fixed smile like a mask. A well-bred young lady, but not rigid.
She bid her father farewell, and remembered to gesture to her brother as well, so that both of them bid the “uncles” goodbye together.
The boy was visibly less reserved, and followed his sister’s lead in bidding the “Five Heroes of Dragon Boat Festival” farewell.
Zheng Xi watched them go with a fond smile, then pointed at Zhù Ying and said, “From now on, at New Year, just have them come and see you — that way I can get a return on my money!”
Zhù Ying said, “Never mind — I will go to the Old Marquess next and squeeze out a little more money…”
Everyone laughed. Even the less familiar Lǐn Zhèn said, “Take me along.” Jiāng Zhí also laughed. “I am still young — I have every right to ask for New Year money.”
——
Zhù Ying always kept her word, and having let herself spend a little at the Zheng household on the children, she returned two days later with Jin Liang and the others to squeeze money out of the place.
At such times, the Old Marquess was happy to hand out money for the entertainment of it, and there were also people of high martial skill, or those with particular talents, who took this opportunity to earn a little. Zhù Ying was short on money and exercised some restraint in winning, never showing off her dice skills.
The Old Marquess and the Marchioness saw her only a few times a year, mostly when her name came up in conversation. But at New Year visits, when they saw her in person, they were invariably glad to see her. Zhù Ying took their money without any hesitation, and kept a running mental tally of what it would contribute toward the house.
Winning the archery target: That takes care of the kitchen.
Offering the Marchioness New Year’s greetings: That covers the west wing.
Winning at finger-guessing against Jin Liang and Táng Shàn: That pays for the stable.
She passed the day in very high spirits.
Coming home, dinner was already prepared and waiting. Zhù Ying went to her room to change clothes. Zhang Xiangu followed her in. “You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“They wouldn’t dare let me.”
Zhang Xiangu laughed. “Then we close the door and drink at home! What are you doing?”
“Made a little more,” Zhù Ying said, taking the gold and silver out of her pockets as she changed.
“Hmm? Is that right?” Zhang Xiangu suddenly had a thought. “At New Year, should we not be sending gifts to those above us? Have I ever seen return gifts? And such a quantity?”
“I get return gifts every year,” Zhù Ying said.
“You had better not damage your relationship with your superiors for the sake of a little short-term gain.”
Hua Jie thought: Ah Niang, is your clarity coming a little late?
She said, “Ah Niang, Xiao Zhù knows what she is doing — you can set your mind at ease.”
“How…”
Zhù Ying thought: Naturally, because I made quite enough for him throughout the year that he can afford to return me a fraction of it at New Year — and that is what a generous and considerate superior does.
“He is not a fool,” she said. “Even if I wanted more, if he was unwilling to give it, I could not take it. And I could hardly rob him. So you can rest easy.”
That seemed right enough. Zhang Xiangu stopped worrying.
Hua Jie waited until Zhù Ying had changed clothes and finished counting the money and sorted the gold and silver away, and said, “Adding all of this in, we should be about enough. The days ahead will be tight — but there is no need to worry. Once the New Year is past, your salary comes in again. The furniture we had made — all of it can be taken to the new place. Servants can be hired gradually…”
Zhang Xiangu said, “Let us have our own place first — servants can wait! We are all still fit enough.”
Zhù Ying said, “I still have one more approach. You two should keep an ear out for something — when I was at the banquet, I thought I heard that Constable Gǎn’s wife was expecting.”
Hua Jie was pleased for Gǎn Zé. “Then I should go and check on her.”
Zhang Xiangu, her attention happily diverted, went off to call Nanny Du to set the table.
Hua Jie had not forgotten the house. She asked Zhù Ying, “What is your actual plan? Labor in the capital is expensive. Materials are expensive too. Once the house is built we will have practically nothing left. Furniture is one thing — but you still need to keep ready cash for daily socializing.
If servants are needed, that is another expense. The largest outlay is the initial purchase price for bonded servants. The current rent on this place is not something you can expect to save on either. Keeping one decent cook, one maid, one doorman, and one manservant for a year costs about the same as the rent here.
If you hire rather than buy, the upfront bonding fee does not apply — but monthly expenses are higher than for those you own outright.
Buy, or hire? Or do you already have it figured out?”
Zhù Ying said, “Reliable people — for now there are really only so many kinds. Either one’s own clan — and where would I find a reliable clan? Or bonded servants, with the deed in hand, bound for life, to the ends of the earth and beyond generations. But you know my situation — once things are discovered, what would happen to my bonded servants and private property? Better to hire — but I am not entirely at ease with that either. So I wanted a separate house: kept apart, yet still useful for work.”
“I understand.”
“In the end, it comes down to trusted people recommended by acquaintances. So I will talk with Constable Gǎn, Wen Yue, and the others, and see if they have any suggestions.”
“Hmm. If there is someone reliable, it would also be good to add one more general helper. If the house is further away, a horse must be kept, and perhaps another animal as well. What are you doing?”
“I need to write a note. When I was on duty the other night — I still felt that night watching could be hard going. I am planning that for the major holidays when people are on night duty, the Court will provide a decent banquet prepared that very day, two tables worth, to be paid for out of public funds.”
Hua Jie said, “Does the Court of Judicial Review have that kind of money?”
“As long as I am here!” Zhù Ying said. “The Court’s income is quite good. I plan to add a shop to the Court’s holdings in the spring to collect rent. I had originally considered a trading house, but if any unscrupulous person rented it and used the Court of Judicial Review’s name to intimidate others, that would be very bad. A shop is better — it sits right there in plain view for anyone to see.” Collecting rent without engaging in trade oneself was permitted.
Hua Jie said, “You always think of everything.”
Zhù Ying said with a grin, “Not exactly. Once the shop is acquired, doesn’t it need some fixing up? That gives me another reason to get to know timber merchants and stone merchants…”
Then her house construction materials could be bought at a favorable price.
“You sly thing!”
——
Zhù Ying always managed her affairs well — and beyond extracting money from her superior, she also intended to extract workers from Wang Yunhe.
Once the New Year holiday ended, Zhù Ying spent a few days back at the Court of Judicial Review helping her colleagues settle back into the rhythm of things, and then the Lantern Festival was upon them. This time Zhù Ying did not schedule herself for duty — it was Hu Lian’s turn, in proper rotation.
He laughed. “Lucky me!”
The Left Rectifier said, “Old Hu — you can’t stand the festival crowds, and you are still pleased?”
Hu Lian said, “My beard is plenty long already — the lantern festival crowds mean nothing to me. But little Zhù — she might spot a lovely young lady strolling out! You have not been on Lantern Festival duty once in all the years I have known you…”
Zhù Ying said, “Do not wrong an honest person! I take the Lantern Festival off to go and look at lanterns!”
Everyone laughed.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Zhù Ying went to the Metropolitan Prefecture Office to find Wang Yunhe — in the morning, not right at dawn, out of consideration for him.
Wang Yunhe said, “You never visit without reason. You must have business!”
“I do!”
“Some case for the Metropolitan Prefecture?”
“None for now — please do not curse us. It is something else.” Zhù Ying explained her plan to build a house and her need for craftsmen: a plot of land somewhat further out, a two-courtyard layout, and she wanted buildings with second floors. A separate side yard as well. Built solid, with many rooms — for an official of the sixth rank, quite a fine residence, suitable for the next ten or twenty years until she had the means for something grander.
She would pay the craftsmen the full market rate — no shortcuts.
Wang Yunhe listened. Nothing was extravagant: no three-courtyard compound with gardens. For someone with capital connections and a head for managing things, a sixth-rank official newly arrived — it was actually quite achievable. He could not say she had embezzled anything to afford it.
She also explained: “I want to start with a master craftsman to draw the plans, and then secure skilled workers. Wait until spring planting is done before breaking ground.”
Wang Yunhe said, “Not bad — you have thought about the farmers’ livelihood.”
“Farmers are only free to come to the city for odd jobs in the slack season. Otherwise, it is only the city’s regular hired workers — and they raise their prices during planting season,” Zhù Ying explained.
Wang Yunhe, thoroughly at a loss for words, said, “Fine — there are some who can draw plans.”
The finest master builders rarely bothered with a two-courtyard commission — the best designers worked on palace halls and the great residences of the nobility. A two-courtyard house would be considered beneath them, and their fees were steep. On the other hand, cheaper craftsmen were of uncertain quality. Building a house was a major undertaking — if something went wrong, the cost of undoing and redoing it would be enormous. Zhù Ying herself had no expertise in this area.
Wang Yunhe had a staff member look through the capital’s registry of craftsmen on file, and pointed to one name: “This one — Fù Lóng.” Looking at the dates and age recorded on the register, Zhù Ying estimated that the man would be in his seventies this year — a person of deep experience.
Wang Yunhe told a page, “Write a card and have someone take it to escort Fù Lóng to Sanlang’s house to discuss things.”
Zhù Ying was pleased. “Thank you, sir.”
Wang Yunhe said with a teasing smile, “It is a favor — and it will need to be returned.”
“Done!”
It was still the Lantern Festival, however, and she was reluctant to drag an old man to her house on a holiday. She told the official messenger, “The house is in no hurry to build. Give him a couple of days — on the twentieth of the first month, have him come to my place.”
“Yes,” said the messenger.
With the craftsman for the plans secured, Zhù Ying left the Metropolitan Prefecture and did not immediately go home, but went first to look over her newly acquired land. She had been intent on finding a haunted or inauspicious property — because those were cheap. There had been one such haunted house, but it was a little too small for the two-courtyard-plus-side-yard layout she had in mind. She had reluctantly passed it by.
As it happened, the Court of Judicial Review had no shortage of homicide case files. She went back through the recent capital homicide cases, with special attention to the most gruesome ones. The tricky part was that some properties, though the deaths had been bloody, were still occupied — the residents were simply too poor to be frightened off by a ghost, and had no desire to sell.
Eventually, she found a case involving a property dispute between neighbors that offered an opening.
Two adjacent households, separated by a two-foot-wide gap — too narrow to be called a lane. One household, while renovating, had encroached a foot into the gap. The neighbor was unhappy, and retaliated by building up his own wall to loom over it, and also moved his side another foot inward into the gap — so the two walls were now pressed flush against each other. During the construction, the later builder showed no consideration whatsoever: broken bricks, rubble, and mud falling into the neighbor’s courtyard was routine, and what was particularly maddening was that his workers had trampled and damaged the neighbor’s newly built wall top.
The neighbor, unable to endure it, began stealing construction materials — not to sell, but to dump into the drainage ditch. Before long, each side was targeting the other more and more aggressively, until, even before the wall was finished, each side had called in a crowd of friends and family, and a brawl broke out in front of both houses. Once tempers were up, who remembered what it had started over? People looked for ways to flank each other — one side tried to scale the shared wall between the two properties to come at the other from the rear. The fighting spread inside both houses as well. At the height of the violence, even the hired help had forgotten what they were originally fighting for. In the end, someone was killed. A major lawsuit impossible to simply settle.
The Metropolitan Prefecture had long since cleared the streets of major thugs and troublemakers — yet who could have anticipated a dispute of this magnitude arising from a wall?
Both sides had deaths to answer for, money to pay — and beyond that, one side wanted to sell and move away, while the other was determined to interfere with any sale and force the first side to remain stuck there alongside them. And the first side did the same right back. They were deadlocked.
The property had been put up for sale at various prices, but without success — anyone who was interested, upon seeing the place in person, invariably shook their head and walked away.
Those who were poor enough not to fear ghosts did exist. But the prospect of living cheek-by-jowl for the rest of one’s days with a neighbor like that — that was something else entirely.
Zhù Ying did not find this obstacle daunting. She found the two households separately, purchased each property without letting either know the buyer was the same person, so that each believed they had managed to conclude a deal — and both were oblivious that the buyer was one and the same. She told each household separately: “Quietly move out over the New Year holiday.”
Each family thought: You are welcome to deal with a Court of Judicial Review official as your neighbor — let us see if they drag you off to prison!
When Zhù Ying returned to inspect, both households had packed up and nearly vacated. She thought: This is mine now.