A newly appointed County Magistrate who, within two months of taking office, had publicly bested the Governor — and the Governor had been entirely unable to do anything about it. This would, without question, cause severe damage to the Governor’s prestige, leading everyone who observed it to think even less of this Governor than they had before.

It was not that Governor Lu didn’t want to thoroughly defeat this thorn-in-his-side Zhù Ying, but when the court’s official communication arrived remitting Fulu County’s overdue taxes, his mind went completely blank for a moment.

At this point, Governor Lu understood that this person was not to be trifled with. A dignified Governor continuing to pick a quarrel with a mere County Magistrate would only elevate the County Magistrate’s status and lower his own. Open confrontation was out of the question, and covert action was even less something to display openly. He would wait for the right moment — wait for Zhù Ying to run into trouble — and then he could make his move.

For now, it was best to truly “not concern himself with it.”

It must be said that a Governor’s restraint was indeed somewhat superior to that of ordinary people. Governor Lu composed himself and smiled: “Not bad — she turns out to be someone who gets things done. I have long worried about how Fulu County’s overdue taxes would ever be settled, and she has come up with a scheme like this on her very first posting. It has also relieved the hearts and minds of Fulu County’s people. Very good, very good. Lü Er — at year’s end, remind me to give her a good commendation.”

Lü Er bowed his head: “Yes.”

Those who heard these words all knew perfectly well that Governor Lu could not possibly have wholly let go of the matter, but they also heard clearly that the Governor had no intention, for the present, of making further trouble for County Magistrate Zhù. Everyone took note of what they saw: in this first exchange of blows between the young County Magistrate and the Governor, it was the Governor who had lost.

What happened next depended on County Magistrate Zhù.

……

County Magistrate Zhù had not the slightest inclination to continue sparring with Governor Lu.

Zhù Ying had come to be a County Magistrate, to do real work, and to accumulate merit for promotion. Everything else was incidental.

When the official communication arrived from the Governor’s office, she picked up her brush and crossed out the line about overdue taxes.

The County Secretary, Magistrate Mo, standing to the side, said quietly: “Your Honor, this… might not sit too well…”

Zhù Ying said: “The overdue taxes are gone. Fine — in that case, draft a reply to him separately. Write that Fulu County no longer has any overdue taxes, and that His Excellency the Governor need no longer worry about this matter.”

County Secretary Mo wiped a cold sweat from his heart and drafted a reply in extremely polite language, then carefully presented it to Zhù Ying for her review, half-afraid this young, high-spirited County Magistrate would complain that he had been too deferential toward the Governor. Good heavens! How would he dare give the Governor’s office a cold look? His heart was firm with resolve, yet when he raised his brush, every word came out obsequious.

To his surprise, Zhù Ying was not in the least bit critical. “Very good — very polite. Use this as the template for all future correspondence going forward. There’s no need to go out of your way to provoke people. Oh, and this evening I’m treating everyone to a meal right here in the yamen. Everyone is invited!”

County Secretary Mo, seeing that she didn’t seem difficult to approach after all, gathered his courage and asked: “Then shall this official go inform them? Who are to be invited? And… should they be told what occasion it is for?”

Zhù Ying said: “I’ve been here for over two months now — isn’t it time I had everyone over for a meal? Everyone in the county yamen, officials and staff alike, are all invited. Oh, and do also inform the local ‘elders’ — I’ll be inviting them too. As for the occasion — they’ll know when they arrive.”

“Yes.” County Secretary Mo got no concrete information, and found himself worrying all over again. The last time County Magistrate Zhù had hosted a banquet, she had used the occasion — following the beating of Lei Bao and his son — to carve a sizable chunk of flesh from everyone in the county. This time…

Who knows who would be the unlucky one.

And yet no one dared say they weren’t coming. Not only would they come — they would come with grateful smiles on their faces. The new County Magistrate was a ruthless character who kept her word absolutely. The cangues at the yamen entrance were still stained with blood to this day, and her constabulary answered her orders without exception.

County Secretary Mo went to find the County Deputy Guan, told him what was happening, and the County Deputy said: “What are you afraid of? Our accounts have already been submitted. The Magistrate wants to get things done — if she said she won’t dig up old debts, she won’t dig them up. Just be respectful and deferential going forward, and that’ll be that.”

“I won’t deny it — my heart is a little frightened.”

The County Deputy laughed: “What is there to be frightened of? She wants to get things done; she can’t afford to offend everyone! She has established her authority, and we get to ride along on her coattails — isn’t that rather nice? At least we can worry a little less.”

The two split up and went to notify the officials, staff, and “elders” respectively. The officials and staff were also not sure what to expect — they too had spent over a month not paying particular attention to the new County Magistrate, and only once she started cracking down had they gotten their act together and presented themselves before her with proper deference. Then the County Magistrate had stopped paying attention to them, focusing instead on adding and removing yamen staff, while dealing out justice to powerful clans and local ruffians across the county.

Was it their turn now?

Fulu County’s minor officials came trembling with anxiety to the yamen.

They arrived to find themselves among kindred spirits. The registered officials beyond County Magistrate, Deputy, and Secretary also included two County Captains. Beyond that the yamen staff comprised an Administrator, a Population Registrar’s Assistant, Account Scribes, a Law Registrar’s Assistant, a Warden, an Interrogator, a Market Superintendent, a Granary Superintendent, a Messenger, a Clerk, and others, each numbering a few persons. Then there were the Erudite and the Assistant Instructor.

Taken all together, they numbered several dozen.

Their tables were positioned toward the front.

Behind them was yet another group of half-anxious, half-resigned “elders.” The “elders” all harbored a certain grudge.

At the mere sound of Zhù Ying’s name, Lei Bao felt a sharp ache in his backside, and muttered under his breath to Old Gu: “You said — listen first. He hosted us last time, and we handed over people, handed over land, and even moved right under his eye to live. Now he’s hosting us again! Is he treating us like chives, cutting us down one crop after another?!”

Old Gu said sternly: “Don’t carry your bitterness into your words!”

Old Gu’s words were firm, but inwardly he had no foundation to stand on either. He too was afraid that this young County Magistrate truly intended to push further and further. Now that they had already moved to the county seat, any attempt at resistance would require them to first find a way to escape — and how would they escape? The County Magistrate had dozens upon dozens of men at her disposal, all perfectly obedient by now, all thoroughly addicted to arresting people and administering beatings.

Everyone filed in according to the order provided by the yamen, and once seated, they were still uneasy — shifting and craning their necks to look around. Some quietly asked people they knew if they had any idea what the County Magistrate had up her sleeve this time. Others privately cursed the County Deputy and County Secretary for being utterly heartless — not a single hint dropped!

It was into this atmosphere of apprehension that Zhù Ying appeared.

Everyone rose together to bow, Zhù Ying settled into the head seat and said: “All sit.”

Once everyone was seated, she said: “Xiao Wu.”

Xiao Wu, with just a trace of quiet pride, straightened his back and announced in a loud voice: “The Magistrate has had the accumulated overdue taxes of Fulu County remitted!” He had spent an entire day practicing this phrase in the Fulu dialect — the pronunciation was still slightly off in one or two places, but at least the locals could understand it.

At this moment, who had any attention to spare for whether the pronunciation was precisely right?

If that was the news, then this genuinely was something the County Magistrate had accomplished — and something worthy of summoning everyone together to display. People were all willing to celebrate it! For how many years had these overdue taxes hung over them, never personally burdensome yet always troubling? Every official’s performance review and chances for promotion had been affected. And the wealthy families had also worried that county officials might knock on their doors periodically to squeeze them for compensation.

Now that was over — one major matter settled!

The County Deputy rose first, lifted his cup, and toasted Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying did not drink alcohol, and raised her teacup in reply, draining it. Old Gu needed no prompting — he rose as the second to lift his cup: “We thank Your Honor for lifting this burden from the hearts of the entire county.”

This too called for a toast.

Finally the County Secretary rose for his turn, lifting his cup in a gesture of declared loyalty: “From the moment Your Honor arrived, you accomplished this great thing for us. From now on we are all Your Honor’s — following Your Honor will never lead us wrong.”

Zhù Ying drank another stomach-full of tea.

The three of them had set the mood. Whether official, commoner, or staff, everyone rose to declare their loyalty. Zhù Ying stood and pressed both hands gently downward — and the scene fell quiet.

Zhù Ying said: “These past days have been hard on everyone. For the situation we have today, all of you deserve credit. I thank you all first.”

She also raised her cup, and everyone drank along.

Zhù Ying said: “The past is turned over.”

The crowd burst into approval: “Good!”

Zhù Ying said: “How good our lives are going forward is now up to all of us. We start fresh and live well. When lives are good, hostility dissolves. When people have more and have more to lose, they grow cautious — and won’t so easily resort to bravado and fighting. As long as I am here, I will live every day well together with all of you. Only better from here on!”

“Good!”

“As for what comes next, I hold it all in my mind — I hope you will all support me.”

The County Deputy, Old Gu, and others quickly said: “We shall follow your orders!”

Some of the constables who couldn’t read much, flushed with a few cups of wine, called out loudly: “Whatever the Magistrate needs done, just give the word — we’ll go through fire and water!”

Zhù Ying said: “When autumn harvest is over, taxes must be collected — and from now on, no more arrears. Furthermore, those two birds are not something that can be used again and again. Rare things have value; the court is not running a poultry farm. Use them sparingly. If every county in the whole prefecture sent them in turn, what would it look like?”

Everyone laughed, thinking: the County Magistrate is a truly shrewd person.

The County Deputy put on quite a performance, even shedding tears: “Your Honor — Your Honor! The white pheasants — the auspicious omens — you presented them to the court, and by rights you should have gained far more for yourself, yet you used them to remit our county’s overdue taxes…” He choked up and could say no more.

The County Deputy’s words were somewhat theatrical, but they were also the truth, and heads nodded around the table.

Zhù Ying could not accept this framing, though, and had to say: “It was heaven’s mercy that these two white pheasants actually existed. This was an opportunity given by heaven — an opportunity for Fulu County to begin again from the start. An opportunity given by heaven, put to use for the benefit of the elders and the people, is a very worthwhile exchange.”

The crowd agreed, with some saying: “Heaven showed its mercy and sent us Your Honor. The white pheasants were merely incidental.” Others said that Zhù Ying’s manner of “cherishing the people as her own children” would surely bring her “glory for ten thousand generations.”

Widow Chang looked left and right, not particularly fond of the sight of these men, a few cups of wine in, losing all sense of direction and blustering flattery with loose tongues. She was somewhat astonished to have received an invitation at all. Fulu County might be remote and border on the lands of the獠 people, but certain proprieties were still observed. For a banquet such as this, women were not supposed to be seated at the table. Yet this time she had suddenly been given a place, and she had taken the courage to come — even if the invitation was a mistake, she wanted to at least take her seat.

And nothing happened. Zhù Ying treated her the same as all the other “elders” — she had been given her own seat, and the same food and wine were served.

Watching Zhù Ying, who seemed entirely unaffected by drink, she came to a certain private conclusion. She also rose, and said to those around her: “Your Honor plans for our long-term benefit, and we should be grateful. As for these white pheasants — going forward, should we perhaps refrain from catching them? Whenever Your Honor has need, a single word from you and we will find them again.”

This proposal was very sound, and quickly won unanimous agreement from everyone present.

Zhù Ying raised her cup briefly in her direction and then said: “As long as you trust me, we handle matters one by one. Have no fear that good things will cease to come.”

“Good!”

The mood that evening was particularly warm and expansive.

For the “elders,” this meant they could start sleeping soundly at night. For the county’s officials and staff, their good days were only just beginning.

……

The County Deputy’s performance at the banquet was not entirely an act put on for flattery. When he had given the County Secretary his bold lecture, he had been somewhat shaky even as the words left his mouth. Over these past few years, he had pocketed no small amount skimming from the official lands and similar sources.

Now that Zhù Ying had personally taken hold of the entire county’s revenues, the County Deputy was deeply ill at ease. Any County Magistrate who wasn’t foolish would find that he’d been skimming considerably. And the County Magistrate had gone out of her way to say “past offenses not pursued” — which meant he needed to find ways to “redeem himself through merit” elsewhere. He felt that only by having made something clearly beneficial happen for the new County Magistrate could he receive the amnesty with a clear conscience.

The next morning, the County Deputy arrived at the yamen early as usual. Based on these past few days of experience, County Magistrate Zhù was an extremely low-maintenance superior — she assigned only necessary tasks and never invented things to do just to display her authority. The pair of large cangues at the yamen entrance had already made her authority and dignity abundantly clear. Unless something particular arose, the County Magistrate would not wander about intimidating people; she had her own business to attend to.

He arrived at the yamen to find Xiao Wu already looking for him: “Senior Official Guan — the Magistrate says she wants everyone to gather in the courtyard.”

The County Deputy asked hurriedly: “What for?”

Xiao Wu grinned: “Good news.”

The County Deputy’s Mandarin was dreadful, and Xiao Wu’s Fulu dialect was barely functional. He had drilled only that one line before coming to find the County Deputy — the County Deputy tried asking other things, and the two of them had to resort to gestures.

After a great deal of gesticulation, the County Deputy gave up: “Fine — I’ll go tell the others. Can people actually understand what you’re saying?”

Xiao Wu could now understand quite a bit of everyday Fulu dialect, but couldn’t speak it fluently. His entire contribution consisted of “the Magistrate says she wants everyone to gather in the courtyard.” Any follow-up question got a response in Mandarin, which the others couldn’t understand very well either.

The County Deputy’s Fulu dialect was fluent, but since he didn’t know what specifically was happening, being pressed with questions by colleagues left him with a splitting headache.

Both men were sweating profusely by the time they finally got everyone assembled.

It was fortunate that the county school’s Erudite, though his Mandarin was also nothing to be proud of, could understand it well enough to translate for the others. They collectively arrived at the conclusion of “it’s not bad news,” and everyone waited with a slightly nervous anticipation.

When Zhù Ying came out, her first words were: “Today I finally get to see everyone together.”

At those words, everyone who was standing — whatever wine they’d drunk the night before — immediately sobered up! They all worried she was about to settle old scores. “Past offenses not pursued” — so what? Superiors could unsay what they’d said, swallow their own words, at any time!

In the midst of the collective unease, the County Deputy — who by rank stood in the front row — felt a fist thud into his back from the Erudite behind him, and stumbled forward. Seeing no better option, the County Deputy said with a pained expression: “This official was not yet familiar with Your Honor’s habits, and did not dare to disturb you.”

Zhù Ying said: “What is that supposed to mean? It’s not as though I did much, or gave any of you any welcoming gifts — I didn’t really have grounds to disturb you either.”

Dead silence below, with only the newly recruited constables and scribes — those who had no “old debts” with Zhù Ying — standing without particular concern. Everyone waited for what she would say next.

Since no one around her could speak the local dialect well, and most of those below could barely understand Mandarin — only the County Deputy and a few others understanding it properly, the County Captain and Erudite able to follow it roughly, while the clerks and constables could barely understand it at all — Zhù Ying had no choice but to say everything herself.

She also said: “Now that the old accounts are settled, I can finally meet with everyone properly. Collect the taxes and grain in full — no private retention, no extortion from the common people — and I will see that you are rewarded accordingly. Xiao Wu!”

Xiao Wu held up a large sheet of official announcement paper and stood before the County Deputy. The County Deputy and the other literate officials glanced it over and were all astonished: “This… Your Honor!”

Zhù Ying said: “Read it aloud.”

The County Deputy’s voice carried a slight tremble as he read the text that Zhù Ying had written. The content, boiled down to a single line: everyone’s good days have come — the County Magistrate is paying everyone a supplement.

This was something Zhù Ying had done countless times. At the Court of Judicial Review she had arranged rank-based supplementary payments for everyone there — now she was simply returning to what she knew. The only differences were that Fulu County was not yet as prosperous as the Court of Judicial Review, so the amounts were smaller, and the local products and needs differed from the capital’s. There was no novel difficulty.

Xiao Wu happily sorted through the announcement sheets as the County Deputy read, thinking: I’ve always heard Father and Elder Sister and Brother-in-law come home saying some new good thing had happened again — now it’s my turn!

Then another thought crept in, and he grew a little worried: Fulu County is poor. Will Magistrate Zhù actually be able to sustain paying out like this? Is she even living within her own means?

While he was going back and forth, Zhù Ying had already finished laying everything out plainly.

Zhù Ying said: “Fulu County is poor, and none of your lives are comfortable. When you want to improve things at home, you’ve had no choice but to figure out your own methods. And what methods could you use? Only the small leverage you had in your hands. What you gained wasn’t worth talking about in polite company, yet the amounts were small, and you had to be smug in person while being cursed behind your backs. That concern is no longer yours to carry.”

There were already some in the crowd moved by this.

Then Zhù Ying shifted her tone: “However, once you take my money, you cannot go on squeezing oil from the bitter dregs of the poor. If I catch wind of it, there will be no leniency.”

“Yes!”

“From now on, after morning roll call every day, everyone comes to gather here. I will personally assign the day’s tasks.”

“Yes!”

Zhù Ying understood perfectly well that for the majority of these people, accepting her supplement was more profitable than extorting commoners and merchants on their own. But for the more “capable” few — those forbidden from earning their black-market income — it would genuinely represent a loss. Zhù Ying had no intention of coddling those people either. She still needed the occasional person to volunteer themselves as an example for disciplinary purposes. As long as most people could manage adequately, she would be satisfied. There was no such thing as a once-and-for-all solution — there would always be someone who needed a periodic thrashing.

At the conclusion of her address, Zhù Ying said: “Pull yourselves together and settle this year’s accounts properly. Do a good job of it!”

“Yes!”

The announcement sheet listed not only tiered compensation levels, but also the specific dates on which various supplementary payments would be distributed — some annually, some quarterly, some monthly, and some contingent on specific events. Anyone reading it could see these were concrete commitments, not empty promises.

Zhù Ying had no intention of playing games with them. She was now overseeing the entire county’s revenues personally, with no one to report to — it was entirely convenient.

The officials and staff dispersed in high spirits. Some thought: things will be comfortable at home now. Others thought: I take a little from the yamen, what’s the harm in quietly taking a little extra on the side? As long as you don’t find out…

……

Once the announcement was done, Zhù Ying retained the County Deputy, Qi Tai, and several others to discuss what came next: tax collection, water conservancy, construction work, and next year’s budget.

The autumn harvest in the south came early, and the tax grain reached the capital early as well. Zhù Ying had not arrived in Fulu County until the beginning of the sixth month, so she had wisely declined to insert herself mid-stream into that year’s various county economic plans — as long as things continued running normally for the year, that was sufficient. She first assembled her team and brought people together, focusing her governance priorities on the following year.

With the overdue taxes cleared, this year’s tax quota would certainly be met in full. This would not look impressive on the surface of the official record, but in the several letters she had already written to the Council of State, the quiet work she had done behind the scenes would certainly be known to those who needed to know. She felt this was not a bad outcome.

A County Magistrate’s term was only three years. This year had already gone as it had — the next year was where it mattered.

Rather than accelerating her extraction from the land to compensate for lost time, Zhù Ying was willing to share a portion of the county revenues that as the principal local official she could legitimately retain — distributing it among the staff below her, so that everyone would work properly. Those who took her money and still didn’t work properly would serve as her disciplinary achievements. Either way, she came out ahead.

After the autumn harvest, ordinary commoners still could not rest — even if they weren’t farming, there was still labor to be done. After the harvest, as was customary, the corvée levies would be mobilized: taking advantage of the low-water season to carry out maintenance on irrigation works and similar projects. Being able to levy corvée after the autumn harvest was already the mark of a considerate official. Some people went so far as to conscript labor in the middle of the busy farming season to do completely inexplicable things — such as repairing official residences.

Repairing official residences was at least legitimate business. Some officials simply summoned the people to carry out purely private work.

Zhù Ying’s plan was to wait until after the autumn harvest, then levy one able-bodied man per household and carry out dredging and deepening work on several of the county’s main irrigation channels.

The County Deputy said: “This sort of thing has been done in previous years too — we can proceed as we always have. And now there are over a thousand more registered households, so there will be more manpower available.”

Zhù Ying shook her head: “More than a thousand additional households — do their fields not require irrigation? Those channels will need dredging too. After things have settled, I intend to go out to the countryside and have a look in person.”

“Ah — yes.”

Zhù Ying added: “Also, the price of meat in the county seat has gone up five wen, rice has gone up two wen, and vegetables have gotten more expensive as well.”

“Ah?”

Zhù Ying said: “There are also roads to be repaired.”

Zhù Ying’s hope was to eventually renovate all the roads and channels throughout the county into a network — only then would her governance truly be able to reach everywhere. Where roads existed, policies could reach. Once channels of communication were dense, the exchange of dialects would improve as well. The suppression of unrest could move faster.

Moving several dozen wealthy households to the county seat had meant their families, servants, and all their dependents together were capable of driving up the price of vegetables in the county seat considerably.

Zhù Ying’s plan was to first widen several roads leading to the townships that produced the most grain and vegetables, so that these goods could be transported to the county seat more conveniently. This would both help stabilize prices and strengthen connections with the various townships.

Fulu County also bordered the lands of the獠 people, and there were occasional minor skirmishes along the frontier. Furthermore, there were still several villages within the county nursing generational feuds — in the event of large-scale armed clashes, she wanted to be able to arrive on the scene as quickly as possible to suppress them.

The County Deputy hesitated and said: “I am afraid… the manpower might be a bit… stretched.”

He could see that the new County Magistrate was single-mindedly intent on producing achievements — but at this rate, manpower would become strained. He didn’t dare say so too loudly, afraid of provoking his superior.

Zhù Ying simply pretended not to notice the County Deputy’s troubled expression: “That’s precisely why we need a plan — two years, three years, even five years, done bit by bit.”

When she had arrived, she had written her plans down with execution dates. When she was in the capital she had accompanied Wang Yunhe on visits to agricultural and water conservancy sites, and Wang Yunhe had explained a great deal to her — including the principle of never “craving great accomplishments at a stroke,” “overworking the people,” or “acting with reckless haste.”

Whenever impatience seized her, she would take out those written notes and read them, which could press down that restless impulse in her chest and bring her back to an honest refusal to push or rush the people.

The water conservancy work for this winter was absolutely necessary. As for the roads — she would begin with just two, starting in areas with good water access that didn’t require major work, because in those areas the winter labor force would certainly be plentiful.

The County Deputy looked this over and said: “This official will spare no effort.”

Zhù Ying said: “Then start with one thing.”

“I await Your Honor’s command.”

“Supervise the tax collection alongside me. I remitted the overdue taxes and gave the people a chance to breathe — not to fatten up greedy scoundrels! From this day forward, every coin and every grain of rice they owe is stolen from my pocket! Thieving hands must be severed! Bandit heads must be cut off! Take my generosity and use it against me — such ungrateful things, I will see to it that they never need to eat again!”

The County Deputy shuddered and bent himself even lower: “Your Honor is absolutely right.”

“You may go and prepare.”

“Yes.”

——

After dismissing the County Deputy, Zhù Ying had Xiao Wu go invite Old Zhao over, quietly, without alerting anyone else.

Xiao Wu took Zhù Ying’s calling card and went to call in person — a gesture that was both formally appropriate and unlikely to result in misunderstandings due to the language barrier.

Old Zhao was the first of the local gentry to receive Zhù Ying’s calling card. He felt a flutter of excitement and a flutter of apprehension, dressed himself neatly, and after a stretch of mutual gesturing with Xiao Wu that produced no clear results, resigned himself to mounting a horse and riding to the yamen to see the County Magistrate.

Zhù Ying received Old Zhao in the small flower hall, personally standing at the top of the steps to wait. Old Zhao hurried up with a bow and Zhù Ying caught him by the arm: “Old Zhao is a person of years — no need for such ceremony.”

The two of them — host and guest — entered the small flower hall. Old Zhao looked around. The room was genuinely sparse — bamboo furniture throughout, not a single precious object on display. Only a few pots of flowers not yet past their bloom looked rather charming.

Tea was served, and Zhù Ying said: “Old Zhao, are you finding it comfortable to live in the county seat?”

“Quite well, quite well — though I see less of the countryside scenery, the neighbors on all sides are people I can have a conversation with, just a little noisier than before.”

Zhù Ying said: “A bit of noise is a good thing. There will be more lively things to come, and you’d miss them if you weren’t in the county seat.”

“Then this old one will wait and see.” Old Zhao also smiled: “I wonder what Your Honor has summoned this old one for?”

“Summoned is too strong a word — I happen to have something to consult you about.”

“Not at all — Your Honor, please ask whatever you wish.”

“Mm — the Zhao Su who found the white pheasants — do you know him? I know you two aren’t from the same branch of the clan, but you share the same county and the same surname. Have you had dealings with him?”

Old Zhao quickly said: “That young man — this old one does know him. His grandfather and my family nearly merged our clan branches! It fell through in the end. His family is a bit out of the way, and his father, for the sake of peace on the family estate, took a wife who is the sister of a 獠 chieftain — the son she bore is him. That child has a somewhat unusual temperament.”

Zhù Ying nodded slowly and asked a few more questions about Zhao Su’s family situation, then said: “I see.”

She finished her questions with Old Zhao, then had someone bring out a pair of vases she’d brought from the capital as a gift. Old Zhao protested that he couldn’t possibly accept. Zhù Ying said: “I have no fondness for these things myself — they’d just collect dust sitting here.”

Old Zhao hugged the box with the vases and said with some concern: “Your Honor — you are young and accomplished, and this year Fulu County under your governance has been a blessing. Please… do not go stirring up the獠 people. At least not now. That…”

Zhù Ying said: “I have my own plans. The cautionary lesson is not far off — why would I court trouble needlessly?”

Old Zhao took a deep breath: “That is a relief, that is a relief. Your Honor is a person who always keeps their word.”

Zhù Ying said: “That is certainly so. What we have spoken of today — please, Old Zhao, do not repeat it to a third person.”

“I would not dare.”

“Then I won’t see you out. Please.”

She raised her hand and ushered Old Zhao out.

Zhù Ying, having been made County Magistrate of Fulu County, could not possibly ignore the獠 people — but now was not the time. She first had to collect the autumn taxes and get them into storage. The portion due for remittance had to be set aside; the remainder was what the county could keep. The portion for remittance also broke into several categories — the court, the prefecture, and the subprefecture all depended on the tax grain collected from below for their sustenance.

Since this subprefecture was so remote, the standard procedure was for the county to consolidate and send to the prefecture, and the prefecture then to consolidate and send to the subprefecture, with the subprefecture making unified arrangements. A portion went, following court directives, to feed nearby garrison troops and similar recipients in place; another portion was stored as the day-to-day supply for the subprefecture and prefecture. Because the distance to the capital was so great, this subprefecture’s grain was not necessarily transported all the way there — depending on the circumstances, in some years it was sent north, in others it was stored in a large granary near a city in the south with convenient land and water transportation, to be held in reserve for emergencies.

Zhù Ying measured out the grain to exactly the minimum required threshold and had it transported to the prefectural city personally, handing it over at the prefecture. The prefecture’s superior official was most insistent in urging her to stay: “Little Zhù — come with me to the subprefectural capital!”

Zhù Ying said: “Is there some particular protocol for that? I’m young, and I’m poor at talking and handling affairs — I might say something wrong and cause trouble for you.”

No, no — I want you precisely because you are a great big trouble!

Every time the grain was delivered, it was a headache-inducing ordeal! The other prefectures were all right — they had proper sitting prefects. He was only a deputy in temporary charge. Even the minor functionaries who managed the granaries dared to make things difficult for him! Zhù Ying was different — County Magistrate Zhù’s reputation was now known throughout the subprefecture’s entire officialdom!

With Zhù Ying present, the harassment they would face would certainly be much reduced.

Zhù Ying understood perfectly well what her superior wanted, but she was not very keen on taking up the task. Her superior hadn’t exactly treated her particularly well, and she had no desire to make enemies on his behalf for nothing. The superior, left with no choice, laid the full truth on the table: “Even the king of hell is easy to meet — it’s his little demons that are hard to deal with.”

Zhù Ying asked: “Is the king of hell truly easy to meet?”

The superior coughed twice, looking as though he might faint, and said: “Difficult, difficult — it’s all difficult.”

Zhù Ying said: “Oh! Is that what this is about?! What difficulty could there be in this? The way I see it — if he won’t accept the grain, then I won’t give it! I’ll personally escort the grain due to the court all the way to the capital myself!”

“That — that — that —”

Zhù Ying said: “The moment you bring me along, whether or not someone is offended, someone is going to be offended. What is there to scruple about? Worst case, I’ll string whoever gives you trouble up on the granary and let them swing a while.”

The superior said: “How could that be done?”

“Fine then — I’ll come with you.”

“Never mind, never mind — I’ll go myself.”

Zhù Ying said: “Having heard all this, I really had better go in person — and I want to get a receipt in their own hand, otherwise I’m afraid there will be tangles later.”

She escorted the grain carts, brought her superior along, and went straight to the subprefectural capital in one go. Every county and prefecture in the subprefecture was converging on the city with grain. At night, the lanterns and torches were spectacular to behold.

Receiving grain into the granaries was extremely sensitive to weather — if an untimely rain came, there could be losses, and those would fall back on the individual counties to make up. This was precisely when the grain-receiving officials would demand bribes — both for the quality and weight of the grain, and for one’s position in the queue. Some people might find themselves waiting twice as long as others, while latecomers’ grain was already in storage. The waiting ate up time, food for men and fodder for horses, and the constant anxiety about the grain deteriorating — it was truly a form of torture.

Ask why, and the answer was always: that’s the order on the list.

As the saying goes, a petty functionary of the present beats a high official of the past. Zhù Ying had bribed her way through the ninth-rank officials of the subprefecture and prefecture when she first arrived in the area — precisely to ward off this kind of situation. When it actually came to pass, even a ninth-rank official could grind a fifth-rank one to death. Unfortunately, she and Governor Lu were on bad terms now, so whatever she said at this point was too late.

Zhù Ying arrived at the outskirts of the subprefectural capital, parked the grain carts, and went ahead herself with gifts, starting from Governor Lu and working her way down in turn. Nothing expensive — all local products — but her manner was extremely courteous. Governor Lu received her and asked how the harvest had gone this year.

Zhù Ying said: “Thanks to Your Excellency’s concern — with your oversight, Fulu County’s harvest this year has been tolerable, and there are no more overdue taxes.”

Governor Lu said: “The young are truly remarkable! And the grain?”

“It’s outside the city. This official, seeing that the line of grain carts was quite long, came first to pay respects to the superior.”

“Oh — then you’ll be waiting quite a number of days. The harvest was good this year and the granary seems to be short of space.”

Zhù Ying said: “Your Excellency needn’t worry. As long as what the subprefecture keeps for itself is adequate, why must the portion for the court go into the subprefectural storage at all? Simply redirect it northward from here — that saves the trouble of storage. As long as you approve it, this official will escort the grain to the capital right now. And if there are any others here still waiting — this official can escort their grain up to the capital as well.”

Governor Lu said: “Nonsense! How could that be done?”

“How could it not? Don’t worry, Your Excellency — a subordinate’s duty is to keep superiors from suffering inconvenience. This official will go make preparations at once. I bid you farewell.”

Governor Lu was so infuriated he gave a shudder, and immediately dispatched someone to summon the grain-receiving official.

The grain-receiving official had landed himself in terrible misfortune. This was the one time of year when his power was at its peak, and accepting certain perquisites at this time was something everyone tacitly understood and permitted — and after pocketing the gains, he also distributed shares upward and downward. Who knew what had gotten into the Governor this year!

Governor Lu himself felt wronged. He knew perfectly well there would be all sorts of small irregularities in the granary — and he hadn’t planned to use any of them to trouble Zhù Ying. He had already decided to ignore this little scoundrel! But the grain-receiving official had blocked her, and Zhù Ying had come to probe him.

This creature was slippery as a ghost. Knowing she had already made an enemy of him, whenever she encountered anything, she would lay the blame on his doorstep. This little scoundrel — she had gotten auspicious omens presented, she had locked ruffians in cangues — who knew what this little scoundrel would do next? Escorting grain to the capital was not beyond her at all!

In a fit of anger, Governor Lu questioned the grain-receiving official on charges of abuse of authority, had him arrested, and dispatched him to the capital to face charges without delay.

A new grain-receiving official was appointed in his place, and Zhù Ying’s grain went through without a hitch. She obtained a properly issued receipt and then bid farewell to Governor Lu, dragged her superior along, and headed back.

The superior finally resigned himself — let these two fight it out however they pleased. He no longer sought any promotion. As long as he could muddle through to the end of his term, he would be content — even a lateral transfer, or being demoted to a county magistrate post, would be better than this!

……

Zhù Ying understood perfectly well the awkward position her superior was in, but she had no intention of being overly considerate of him. She already had one Governor Lu to deal with — why would she want to take on a superior who was being squeezed by Governor Lu as well? It would be like serving as a maidservant to a concubine — she didn’t even want to be a maidservant to the principal wife.

Zhù Ying blew her flute all the way back to Fulu County.

Once she crossed into Fulu’s jurisdiction, small children gleaning leftover grain in the fields called out to her: “Young Master!”

“Yes~”

Entering Fulu County always made Zhù Ying feel at ease in her whole body. By this time in the capital, one would have been wearing layered clothing — here in Fulu County she still wore relatively thin garments, only needing to add a light outer robe in the mornings and evenings.

Returning to the county seat, the County Deputy and the others were already waiting at the city gate.

Zhù Ying said: “What’s this? You all knew I’d be back with good news?”

The County Deputy said: “G-good news?”

Zhù Ying blinked: “Don’t you remember what I said? We’ve paid what was owed above — now what’s left is for us to live on!”

Time to distribute the supplements!

The sincerity with which they welcomed her back increased by twelve full measures.

The County Magistrate’s word is her bond!

Zhù Ying had some head for accounts herself, with Qi Tai below handling the bookkeeping with tremendous skill — though his interpersonal abilities were something less than human — and a few other scribes whom Zhù Ying had to personally keep in line. So Fulu County’s accounts were something Zhù Ying knew with great clarity. Set aside enough for the budget, and distribute the supplements.

The county seat came alive yet again. Officials and staff had received extra income, and most of them had higher earnings than when they had been scraping together side money on their own. They took their cash and grain, went to buy wine and meat, bought jewelry for their wives and new clothes for their children — the shopkeepers also turned a profit.

Smiling faces grew more numerous.

Amid all this happiness, Zhù Ying was making preparations for something else — while the weather was not yet too cold, she would make one more inspection tour, this time going all the way to the place Old Zhao had mentioned: the home of his near-relation Zhao Su.