“If you want to go, then go.” Zhao Niangzi looked at her son and said.

Zhù Ying had offered all three a chance to reconsider precisely because of this Zhao Niangzi. Zhao Feng and his son were visibly eager for an official career — that much was plain at a glance. Yet why had Zhao Feng married a “獠” chieftain’s sister? He must have wanted something in return — which meant he couldn’t afford to dismiss his wife’s opinion. And why had the chieftain’s sister been able to marry Zhao Feng without her brother’s opposition? The chieftain must also have had his own considerations.

As long as that was the case, Zhao Niangzi would ultimately not be able to stop her son, and the Zhao father and son would still have to consult Zhao Niangzi one more time. The situation required a step that let everyone save face.

Zhao Niangzi had her own reservations, yet she knew that blocking him was not a solution. She said: “If you go and are wronged, don’t come crying back to me!”

Zhao Su bowed his head respectfully.

Zhao Feng said: “Madam, have you truly agreed? If you’re not at ease with it, we can talk it through with her again!”

“What more is there to talk through? Both of you have been ready to fly over there since last night!” Zhao Niangzi said bluntly. “Sigh — if that’s the way of it, go ahead. That woman brought her own father and mother along. Can I really stop my son from going?”

Zhao Feng gave a discreet cough and addressed his son in a deliberate tone: “You see — the County Magistrate’s heart is full of sincerity. We are giving you our word to let you go.”

“Yes.”

Zhao Niangzi said: “Have them pack your things properly. It’s winter — bring plenty of warm clothes.”

“Yes.”

Zhao Feng said: “I’ll arrange your lodging.”

Zhao Niangzi said: “Don’t go relying on other people for help!”

“I understand.”

Zhao Niangzi reached out and straightened the collar of her son’s robe: “That County Magistrate is one person full of schemes. She doesn’t look like someone rough and domineering, though. Not looking weak-willed and soft-hearted is probably not an act. A little soft-heartedness is fine — you go there and won’t be bullied by her. She’s an intelligent person, so she won’t be likely to do anything foolish.”

She went on giving advice at length, then told Zhao Su when he reached the county seat: “If you’re mistreated, don’t just bear it! What are you afraid of them for?! She’s some official who may or may not amount to anything — don’t let people push you around for the sake of some moon reflected in the water.”

Zhao Su said: “Yes.”

Zhao Niangzi finally bit her lip and said: “Go to sleep!” She was the first to go into the inner room. Zhao Su bowed once more to his father before returning to his own room.

Zhao Su washed and lay on the bed, turning this way and that, unable to sleep. He was willing to go to the county seat. What young man didn’t harbor some ambition to roam the world and make his mark? Yet his background would inevitably meet with resistance, and he would have to handle it carefully…

The next morning, the Zhao household began packing Zhao Su’s belongings for the move to the county seat — clothing and bedding, books and daily necessities, plus three or four manservants and two page boys. Zhao Niangzi also gave him one older female servant and one maidservant, feeling that male servants were less attentive than female ones, and insisting he take them. Zhao Feng, for his part, admonished his son: “You’re going there to study — do not indulge yourself in ** pleasures. The county seat has many women, and also women of pleasure. You must absolutely not let yourself be tempted by them!”

Zhao Su looked at his father with patient resignation. Zhao Feng said: “I’m telling you — caution upon caution! For young men, loyalty, filial piety, humaneness, and righteousness — most of the time it all comes undone over a single word: desire. If you can restrain yourself on that front, you’ll have accomplished half your life’s work already. Just look at me!”

Zhao Su listened to his father’s lectures without a word, then asked for another horse before he left — which he felt was fair compensation for sitting through two rounds of admonishment.

On Zhù Ying’s side, the Western Township engineering survey was now complete. With work below starting to conscript laborers and begin operations, she led her full party and set off to return to the county seat.

Zhao Feng and his wife still claimed, very matter-of-factly, that he was “unwell” and she needed to “care for her husband.” But they sent their son along with Zhù Ying in broad daylight and with full fanfare.

Zhù Ying’s companions — Old Zhao, Old Gu, and the others — thought: No matter how much you’ve lorded over us, relying on the獠 people and throwing your weight around — you’re still handing over a “hostage” to live in the county seat under their eye, just like the rest of us.

Zhù Ying kept her usual composed expression. She said to the Zhao couple: “With his person traveling alongside me, he will be perfectly safe. I will also make arrangements for him to study when we arrive.”

Behind her, Zhù Da and Zhang Xiangu were still nursing the faint remnants of yesterday’s wine, muttering to each other that this liquor had a truly powerful kick and they would have to be more careful in future.

Zhao Feng delivered his parting words with great earnestness: “My boy is in Your Honor’s hands!”

Zhù Ying said: “Have no worry.”

And with that, the whole party set off on the road back.

——

Zhao Su received a special treatment: he rode half a horse-length behind Zhù Ying, with the County Deputy on one side and himself on the other, which set him visibly apart from the rest.

It was a rather novel experience. Because of his maternal heritage, Zhao Su had always been regarded with a particular quality of attention — not exactly discrimination, but a certain “differentness.” That “differentness” never included any kind of special favor; there was always a faint, implicit wariness instead.

Before they had even left the Western Township, Zhao Su weighed his words and offered Zhù Ying some introduction to the area. Where the newly opened fields were, where the old channels ran, the people of the Western Township living conditions were generally quite austere due to the difficult terrain. Western Township people had dealings with his mother’s side of the family as well — mostly trading goods for goods, sometimes using gold and silver, and his uncle’s side also accepted copper coins.

Zhù Ying said: “You all seem to get along peacefully.”

The County Deputy said: “They couldn’t get along and still arrange a marriage, could they? Just look at how harmonious their family is.”

When he had been County Deputy managing Fulu County, the two families had already been linked by marriage. Both sides relied on each other, and the County Deputy had been entirely unable to do anything about them.

Zhù Ying said: “Marriage is the joining of two families’ goodwill.”

They talked in this light, casual way, and before long they had left the Western Township. Then it was the “elders'” turn to hold forth. They all wanted to see how the channel work was coming along. If there were problems, with everyone present outdoors they could immediately file a complaint with the County Magistrate and put forward new requests. If things were going well, they could also flatter the County Magistrate, leave a good impression, and set up a foothold for future requests.

The two rows of large cangues had proved tremendously effective. The workers in every township visited had been diligent. When Zhù Ying had set off with them, she had made an agreement: as long as the current project was completed properly, barring an emergency requiring urgent response, there would be no further corvée this year. Next year’s corvée would be discussed next year. And she had promised that unless the yamen leaked or a wall caved in, she would not conscript rural labor to serve in the county seat. If the yamen had anything that needed doing, it could wait until next year.

Zhao Su’s eyes carried a note of assessment as they traveled. The Western Township and the area around it were territory he had traversed frequently, and he was fairly familiar with the local geography. People’s faces rarely showed the slightly relaxed expression he was seeing now. The fields were already fully harvested, yet people seemed unhurried.

Zhao Su guessed this was perhaps connected to the clearing of the overdue taxes and the absence of excessive conscription.

Along the way, the gentry families they passed all invited Zhù Ying and her party to stay a night at their estates — a stark contrast to the first inspection tour when she had met with nothing but trifling matters. During the summer tour, she hadn’t even come across Zhao Feng and his son, who at that time had claimed to be away visiting the wife’s side of the family. And it wasn’t just Zhao Feng — most of the county’s gentry had simply not appeared for that entire first tour either.

More than half of the thirteen townships had now been covered, and Zhù Ying was reasonably satisfied. In the course of traveling she also spotted several places where the channel work had veered slightly off course and corrected them on the spot: “If you build it crooked, how will it connect with the next section? I’ll send someone out to check again in a few days!”

Zhao Su followed in silence, watching Zhù Ying attending to the many small and tedious tasks that — if he was honest — did not resemble the work of a county magistrate at all, but more like an estate manager. His father, sometimes, didn’t personally handle things to this level of detail. Zhù Ying had to ask about all of them. One day, passing through a village, Zhù Ying still remembered from the summer that there had been a rogue in this village who had stolen a neighbor’s chicken, and asked the family whether they had suffered any retaliation from the rogue since.

The victim said: “That thief has a guilty conscience — he wouldn’t dare.”

Zhù Ying said: “Good.” She then asked the household about this year’s harvest, whether the township had imposed any new levies, whether they knew about the remission of county overdue taxes — that henceforth this item was not to be collected — and so on.

The household answered each question. “Only for the new channel work, each household gave a few sheng of rice as provisions.”

Zhù Ying asked further about the exact number of sheng, and how long the project lasted, and learned it was unpolished rice — one household, two sheng — before saying: “Was this two sheng collected separately?”

“Ah — it was. We can manage that.”

Zhù Ying frowned slightly and asked: “That’s not quite enough, is it?”

“We mix in some dried vegetables and beans and a bit of unpolished rice — that’s about right!”

Zhù Ying said: “That’ll do then.”

After finishing with them, they were invited to stay the night at a local gentry home. That evening after dinner, Zhù Ying called in the township headman and others: “Why was there an additional two sheng of grain collected?” This sort of village-level corvée wouldn’t come with government-issued provisions — workers brought their own. If they were bringing their own provisions, why was grain being separately collected?

The headman explained: “All the able-bodied men who should have been conscripted were conscripted. Having each family come separately to cook and deliver meals was inefficient, so a few women from certain households were brought in to do the cooking centrally. You can’t have people working for nothing, so that’s where the two sheng came from. It’s done this way everywhere.”

“And the firewood?”

“Thanks to Your Honor’s generosity — in a few days people can go cut some. More than enough.”

Zhù Ying nodded and asked no further. She understood: these projects ultimately had to fall on these people’s shoulders. They were willing to build the channels, and a small amount of additional petty exploitation was unavoidable. As long as it didn’t go too far — a little skimming was simply a fact of life.

Zhao Su thought to himself: “Soft-hearted” might not be the right word — painstakingly attentive was more accurate.

The next morning, Zhù Ying finished breakfast and suddenly said: “You all take it slow. Old Guan, Master Qi — let’s ride!” She also called on Xiao Wu, Tong Li, and several young constables, and finally beckoned Zhao Su to join them.

She left the main group, with the carts following Zhang Xiangu and the others at a slower pace, while Zhù Ying’s group galloped ahead on horseback to the neighboring township’s worksite.

By the time they arrived, the sun was already well up. The worksite was bustling with people. Working a channel through mountain terrain and hills was different from flat plains — on flat ground the main work was digging earth, but on hilly terrain there were also stones to haul, tree roots to clear, and constant vigilance about footing on slippery ground and the stability of hillsides — one wrong design or engineering flaw, and a heavy rain could send an entire slope sliding, taking the channel with it. The work was hot and busy, yet carried a cautious quality throughout.

Zhao Su thought: A’Ma was right this time — the County Magistrate does have quite a few schemes.

This surprise inspection revealed the worksite’s flaws right away. She rode up to an old man — white-haired, clothes patched and frayed with holes, still trembling as he helped hoist a basket of stones. Zhù Ying jumped down from her horse and asked: “Uncle, why have you come here?”

The old man lifted his face to look at her. His eyes were slightly clouded: “Building the channel — of course I’d come.”

Zhù Ying said: “How old are you?”

“Se-seventy.”

“Any family at home?”

“No — no one. Just me.”

“That isn’t right,” Zhù Ying said. “You shouldn’t be out here building this channel.”

A seventy-year-old laboring on a worksite — if he died there, it would reflect badly on her. She wasn’t going to take that kind of loss. She had originally set the age limit at under sixty when organizing the labor. She hadn’t conscripted anyone over sixty. How had a seventy-year-old ended up here?

And besides — the man had no one at home. He was a solitary elder with no family. That sort of person should not have been sent to work either.

The two had exchanged only a few words when a sturdily built man in a relatively tidy outfit came over: “Who are you?!”

Zhù Ying narrowed her eyes: “You seem to have a lot of free time.”

The man looked at her clothing — the fine quality rarely seen in the countryside — and then at the several people behind her in official uniforms. He quickly hid the riding crop he was holding behind his back: “Magi-magistrate?”

Zhù Ying said: “Are you the headman? I don’t recall meeting you before.”

“Our village is large — there’s more than one of us. I’m just here to over-oversee the work.”

Zhù Ying didn’t make any immediate accusations. She asked: “Has this man committed a crime?”

She didn’t want to jump to conclusions and say they were deliberately mistreating an old man. “Elder” simply referred to age, not to virtue — there were plenty of young people who caused trouble and made enemies, and ended up old and destitute without anyone to care for them. Zhù Ying had no grounds to demand that others look after such a person. So she asked first.

The man said: “Ah? Committed a crime? What crime?”

“He has no one helping him, so I assumed he must have offended someone.”

The man smiled ingratiatingly: “Your Honor is not fully aware — our village is poor. When news of the channel work came, young and old all turned out, anyone who could work.”

Zhù Ying said: “Let’s go take a look at the village.” She pointed to the old man: “Uncle, don’t work anymore — let’s go home together.”

The headman wiped sweat off with his sleeve, and in his fumbling, the riding crop fell to the ground. He hurriedly bent to pick it up. Zhù Ying walked away slowly with her hands behind her back. Xiao Wu led the horse and followed. Zhao Su found it strange — by rights the County Magistrate wouldn’t know where the village was, yet Zhù Ying moved as though she did — turning left, turning right, moving past trees that blocked the view, and then walking into a village settlement.

The headman at the village entrance called out loud ahead: “Uncle! Uncle! The Magistrate has come!”

Zhù Ying still walked at her measured pace. The village was one she hadn’t visited before — with so many villages in the county, it was inevitable that one or two would be missed. A village elder came trotting out from inside, several cook fires already sending smoke skyward throughout the village. The elder bowed low to the ground: “Your Honor.”

Zhù Ying looked at him — somewhere around forty, comfortably settled in the village while the old man labored at the worksite. She asked: “Village head? Headman?”

“Yes.”

“How many people in your household?”

“Se-seven. Seven.”

“How many of them are out on the worksite?”

“Tw-tw-one…”

Zhù Ying followed the smoke to a large house — by Zhu Family Village standards, it would have been the kind of grand establishment where someone like Yu Miaomiao would have lived. Inside, several women were tending two large cooking pots. Under the eaves, a clean and neatly dressed middle-aged woman sat in the sun watching the others work.

At the sight of Zhù Ying’s arrival, the women glanced over and all stopped what they were doing. Zhù Ying walked up to the large pot and looked in — it held beans cooked with wild vegetables and a murky trace of unpolished rice, barely distinguishable. Food and side dish all in one.

She asked: “This is for the workers at the site?”

“Yes — yes.”

“Where does the grain come from? Is this what each household contributed?”

“Yes…”

Zhù Ying lifted the ladle and tasted a mouthful — no oil, no salt, and slightly gritty. She frowned, swallowed the mouthful, and said to the village head: “You’ve done a fine job.”

The village head’s legs gave and he dropped to his knees.

Zhù Ying said: “I haven’t come to ransack your house — what are you afraid of?” She then bowed slightly to the woman seated under the eaves who had come rushing over: “Sorry to trouble you.” Then she took her people and left the courtyard.

Zhao Su thought: She’s remarkably courteous — nothing at all like the terrifying reputation.

Zhù Ying wandered slowly through the village. The village head, his sons and nephews, and a number of villagers either followed, gathered to watch, or clustered around corners pointing and whispering. Some muttered things under their breath. No one dared speak loudly. Zhù Ying asked the old man: “Uncle, where do you live?”

The old man said: “Up — up ahead.”

He was, at least, not pushed out to the edge of the village or up on a hillside like the Zhù family had once been — this village itself was spread out along a small hillside. His house was a half-collapsed thatched cottage sandwiched between two proper plank houses on either side. The neighboring houses had stone foundations topped with wood — not anything to brag about, but at least they looked like homes.

Zhù Ying glanced at the house: “Is he of your clan?”

“He is.” She asked: “Why was no child adopted to carry on the line?”

“Who — who would agree to that? At this age, if someone just digs a hole for him when he goes, that’s more than enough.”

The village head edged forward with a bow: “The — the clan will take care of things.”

Zhù Ying said: “I’ve passed through many places, and you are the first I’ve seen put an old man to work like this. You have truly opened my eyes.” What a way to operate — work a man into the ground while he was alive, then think a burial was a kindness.

By now the sun was near noon. The village entrance filled with noise — Old Zhao and the others had caught up from behind.

Zhù Ying didn’t move from where she stood, and had Xiao Wu call them over. She said to Old Gu: “You’re here?” Pointed back over her shoulder: “Take a look.”

A whole group of gentry gathered together was formidable. The village head was sweating through his clothes. Zhù Ying asked the County Deputy: “I remitted the overdue taxes and put an end to extra levies — how have the people below actually been handling things?”

The County Deputy slapped his chest: “Not one of them would dare disobey!”

Zhù Ying said: “Good then, Master Qi — you may begin.”

Qi Tai had exactly one use: accounts.

The village head’s books were a complete shambles. Qi Tai gave them a withering look: “This isn’t accounts.”

If it could even be called that, they were a hopelessly rotten mess.

The village head’s whole family prostrated themselves until their foreheads broke the skin. Zhù Ying said: “Help the old man up. You — four sons, quite impressive. You’re impressive, and your mother has to kowtow on your behalf.”

She could see at a glance that this village head was a man of consequence. One old mother, one wife, four sons — any family with four sons in a village could walk with a swagger.

Zhù Ying’s expression tightened: “Twenty.”

The villagers hadn’t yet processed what that meant when Xiao Wu shouted loudly: “Twenty strokes of the rod!” The constables stepped forward, pressed the village head down, and administered twenty strokes.

When the twenty strokes were done, Zhù Ying did not remove him from his post — she had simply come to understand that Wang Yunhe, who had served all the way to the position of Capital Prefect while remaining upright and energetic, was genuinely remarkable. A person who handled these kinds of things day in and day out for years would have every last shred of idealism ground out of them, their belief in the common good worn away.

She pointed at the village head: “How did I specify the conscription? Your own family is at home at ease, while others do the work for you!”

The village head’s old mother tearfully pleaded: “Your Honor, blame this old woman instead — my grandson is studying for the examinations!”

Zhù Ying looked at the village head’s sons. Two of them obviously didn’t look like they were the studying type — their hands gave it away. She looked at the other two, and one of them did have a slightly bookish quality. She asked this one: “Have you studied?”

The boy was nervous and stumbled: “Ye-yes.”

“Do you know what a ‘dove staff’ is?”

The boy opened his mouth, his mind gone blank with nerves. Zhù Ying said: “Zhao Su — would you explain it to him?”

Zhao Su said: “According to the Hou Han Shu: ‘In the mid-autumn month, counties and districts shall conduct household surveys. For those who have reached seventy, the king’s staff shall be presented, and congee shall be provided. For those who have reached eighty or ninety, additional gifts shall be given with ceremony. The king’s staff is nine chi in length, ornamented at the tip with a dove-bird carving.’ This is an expression of respect and esteem for the elderly.”

Zhù Ying pointed at the old man and asked the village head: “He is your clansman? How old is he? Clanspeople have a duty of mutual assistance. He is an old man with no family — you had him hauling stones? You disgraceful creature!”

Having said her piece, she still arranged for the village head to continue in his post, and told his youngest son: “Since you study, help your father keep the accounts properly!” Then she went on to explain, slowly and clearly, that elderly people of seventy had entitlements — exemption from taxes and corvée service. Those who reached eighty had one son or grandson freed from corvée to attend to them. For those who reached ninety, two.

When she finished, Zhù Ying let out a long sigh: “Let’s go.”

What had happened today was infuriating even to her. But replacing one village head was useless — whoever came next would either need to be someone who also had several powerful sons and could hold the village together, or someone extraordinarily sharp and resourceful. Anyone with those qualities would have already been pulled into the county seat by Zhù Ying to help there.

In the end, this fellow would have to keep doing the job. All she could do was give him a beating and hope it kept him careful for a while.

Zhao Su witnessed all of this and thought: Respecting the elderly and honoring virtue — yes, that is indeed the manner a court official of a civilization should have.

……

Zhù Ying continued inspecting more worksites, some by surprise, some on the regular schedule. Wherever there were mistakes she corrected them. Most cases were like the punished village head — stopped before anything truly serious had developed. Zhù Ying showed no mercy, administering beatings all the way back. Those who were guilty showed no particular emotion on her face — she remained calm throughout, eating and sleeping without any sign of disturbance. For those who had done well, she paid out her own money to reward the village heads and headmen.

When the weather turned cold, she returned to the county seat.

Zhao Su rode behind her on horseback, with a measure of curiosity in his heart. Having traveled the whole way, he had seen changes in the townships — it was true that a capable official could bring new life to every corner. He had been to the county seat before, and was curious to see what it was like now.

Before they even reached the city, people in the fields called out greetings to Zhù Ying — some calling “Your Honor,” some calling “Young Master,” some calling “Great Official.” Zhù Ying returned their greetings with either a nod or a wave.

At the city gate, the city guards smiled and came out to welcome her: “Your Honor is back!”

Zhao Su looked at those guards’ expressions — not pure flattery, but something that seemed like genuine, heartfelt gladness. The party entered the city, and passing residents also said cheerfully: “Back, back!”

Once inside the city, Zhù Ying said to the “elders” behind her: “Thank you all for accompanying me the whole way. You may now return home to rest. Once the county school selection is finished and I have time, I’ll have you all over for a meal.”

Old Gu and the others said: “We who were born and raised here have never actually traveled every corner of our own county. Following Your Honor this time, we finally saw our own homeland.”

Everyone laughed at that, a rare moment of harmony. The county seat residents, unaccustomed to seeing these people strolling and chatting so amiably in the streets, all watched with curiosity.

The “elders” were in rather good spirits. Throughout this journey, the somewhat preferential treatment toward the Zhao father and son had left them slightly sour. But Zhù Ying had dealt with the erring village head the same way she’d dealt with everyone else — twenty strokes of the rod, no cangue time, no harsh prolonged treatment, and she had also rewarded those who had done their duty faithfully. This showed she was not a cruel official.

A non-cruel official was good!

If she were truly cruel, there would be nothing to be done about it. A County Magistrate represented the court — you couldn’t actually rebel.

Everyone went home contentedly. Old Zhao even asked Zhao Su: “Young man, would you like to come to my house?”

Zhao Su said: “Thank you for the kind thought. My father has already made arrangements.”

Old Zhao let the matter go.

Zhù Ying, hearing their exchange, said: “Settle in first and spend some time on your books — no need to rush around paying calls on relatives.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying watched him leave, then said to Xiao Wu and Tong Bo: “You two — follow Zhao Su and have a look. If everything’s fine, come back. If there are any minor disputes, help him smooth them over.”

“The son of a獠 woman” was already a sensitive topic — the last thing anyone needed was for the young man to arrive and immediately face trouble.

The Zhao family had a three-courtyard house in the county seat — by the county seat’s standards it was a refined and well-appointed property. He would occupy the main building. The front courtyard was for receiving guests. The male servants slept in the long room beside the stable, and the female servants had small rooms near the kitchen in the rear courtyard. Unloading the carts and arranging the luggage drew the neighbors out to watch.

Someone said in a low voice: “The 獠 boy is here.”

Zhao Su had already gone inside the house and didn’t hear — but Xiao Wu and Tong Bo called out loudly: “Hold your tongue! This is the young gentleman the County Magistrate herself has singled out — a proper scholar! What ‘獠’ and what not ‘獠’?” And their outburst was heard by the people inside Zhao Su’s new home.

Thinking they’d done a great favor, these two hadn’t bothered to knock on the door and take credit — instead they trotted straight back to the yamen to report to Zhù Ying for praise.

Zhao Su slowly walked out, gestured for his servants to open the main gate, stepped to the doorway and looked out — and saw only the backs of two people in official uniforms trotting away.

……

Xiao Wu and Tong Bo returned to the yamen to find Zhù Ying had already changed her clothes and was attending to some business. The official documents were not particularly numerous; the more urgent ones had been sent out continuously for her to review and bring back. The ones of lower urgency had all piled up here. The yamen scribes had done a preliminary sorting, and Zhù Ying went through them one by one, correcting whatever they had handled insufficiently.

Then there were letters to write. She had many letters to write — to Zheng Xi, Wang Yunhe, Chen Meng, Pei Qing, and others in the capital, describing her experiences in Fulu County, various local customs, the style of the houses, the water conservancy systems which were quite different from those in the capital region, and also local products and the like.

She asked Chen Yuan for guidance on certain matters.

In her letter to Wang Yunhe she made a point of mentioning Chen Meng.

On the journey to her posting, Zhù Ying had met Chen Meng twice, and Chen Meng had shared some of his experiences with her.

This time, she specifically referenced something Chen Meng had once said: “In those kinds of places, the tax revenues are small and the population sparse — there must be a reason for it, and it doesn’t mean the people elsewhere are foolish and wouldn’t know to come enjoy such fine lands.” She reflected that Chen Meng had been entirely right. She also mentioned her own difficult necessity of working with certain flawed individuals — she had no choice but to use them, which meant she could only work harder herself, reining them in periodically, in the hope of eventually shaping them into something decent. And so on.

In the letters to Pei Qing and others, she recounted a few cases from the local area that were equal parts absurd and amusing — like suspects who didn’t know to cover their tracks after committing a crime.

The letter to Zheng Xi was especially long. To this person, there was room for idle chatter — the letter simply had to be the thickest of all, asking after his household’s chickens, ducks, and cats down to the finest detail. She inquired after Zheng Lin and Zheng Chuan, told some funny stories about the language barrier, and described local specialty foods. She recounted the entertaining sparring match with Governor Lu. And she wrote about the auspicious pheasant affair.

Finally, she wrote to Liu Songnian — very courteously requesting a selection of essays. They needn’t be the most recent; but she asked Liu Songnian to curate them. She intended to have the county school students in Fulu County copy them out and study from them — to immerse them in the finest compositions in the realm. Pieces that Liu Songnian himself considered poorly executed need not be included.

She had just finished reviewing several official documents when Xiao Wu and Tong Bo returned.

The two of them came before Zhù Ying and reported: “All taken care of!”

Xiao Wu added emphatically: “We scolded the people gossiping behind his back — without alerting Young Master Zhao to a thing!”

Zhù Ying said: “Good. Both of you take two days off.”

“Thank you, Your Honor!” They said in very loud voices.

Xiao Wu went back to his room, changed clothes, but still didn’t rest. Zhù Ying hadn’t rested, so he pushed himself to come back out and attend. Returning to the front hall, he saw Zhù Ying had finished reviewing the documents and was now writing letters. Xiao Wu watched, inwardly admiring her: No wonder the Magistrate is the Magistrate and I’m just a constable.

He gave a quiet yawn and thought: I forgot to ask Cao Chang to save some hot water for a foot soak.

Cao Chang was in the rear courtyard helping Zhù Da and Zhang Xiangu settle their things. On this tour of the countryside, without deliberately accepting anything, they had still received dried vegetables, dried fruit, fresh fruit, and the like as tokens of gratitude from rural folk.

Village people wanting to thank the County Magistrate would make her a pair of shoes or socks, or send her a sack of newly harvested grain as a gesture of appreciation. These had to be accepted. They brought it all back loaded on a cart and put it on display for the county seat residents to see. Once the displaying was done, it still had to be brought into the yamen and arranged according to the household’s instructions.

Zhù Da and Zhang Xiangu had found this journey far more pleasant than the summer one. They had been attended upon and seen the harvest. Zhang Xiangu sorted the clothes while saying: “Oh my — harvest is over and done with, so why does everyone still look so gaunt, necks all sinew and bone? Shouldn’t they be eating their fill now and putting on some weight? Old Third isn’t even taking much grain from them…”

Huajie listened to Zhang Xiangu’s stream of commentary — how things were different from back home, how a certain family’s food had tasted good, how the dried fruit should be steamed before giving some to Zhù Ying — and smiled, quietly helping to organize things without adding to the conversation. She knew perfectly well that Zhang Xiangu didn’t need anyone to respond. She just needed someone to listen. In her mind she was already planning: winter clothing, charcoal for the winter…

The yamen would need charcoal braziers for the winter too. By the customs of home, even well-off families like Yu Miaomiao’s could not burn charcoal freely in winter — usually just one or two rooms where people slept would have a small supply prepared. Women of the family might have a hand warmer or foot warmer at most. Rural folk had no such luxury.

It was only in the capital that things had been genuinely comfortable.

Fulu County was further south and not as cold, but both Huajie and Zhù Ying felt that their parents were aging, and with the local climate being damp, warmth in winter could not be skimped on. Huajie ran the mental calculations — her own needs, Qi Taitai’s daughter and the others included — and arrived at a final figure to give Zhù Ying, so Zhù Ying could allocate accordingly.

While the two of them were organizing, Qi’s little daughter came by again. Her father had gone with Zhù Ying and the others on the trip, and she had been sick with worry at the yamen the whole time. Now that Qi Tai was back, she asked him: “What did you do the whole way, Father?”

“Me? I followed the Magistrate.”

“Just followed?”

“Of course not — I also calculated some accounts.”

“What else?”

Qi Tai looked at her strangely: “What else would I need to do?”

Qi’s little daughter had no energy to argue with Qi Tai, and said: “There’s hot water over there — go wash your face. I’m going to see A’Niang!” She had to go make up for whatever social graces her father had failed to perform!

Zhang Xiangu, seeing Qi’s little daughter, waved her over: “I was just looking for you! Come here! These dried fruits — the flavor is excellent! Here!” She scooped up a large handful and pressed them into Qi’s little daughter’s hands. Qi’s little daughter cradled them, warmth rising in her chest. Zhang Xiangu then went on at length about how to best eat the various new foods they’d brought back.

Qi’s little daughter steadied herself for a good while before saying: “I’ll go get dinner ready — let’s eat.”

——

Once back in the county seat, Zhù Ying decided to settle in for the winter.

She personally went out to look at the charcoal-making situation — a low hill just outside the county seat. She inspected the charcoal kilns for safety, checked them over thoroughly, and then went back into the town. The charcoal was being fired around the clock, day and night.

Zhù Ying also ordered: “Fire up a bit extra — I have a use for it.”

As the charcoal was produced it began to be distributed. The County Deputy wanted the yamen to get first pick, and Zhù Ying said: “Take half first. Other people’s households also need charcoal. Everyone takes half first, and when the second batch is done they can come get the rest. That way no one goes cold.”

Once that was settled, Huajie came to find her: “With some breathing room now, I can get back to my proper work before spring planting. All this time off my hands.”

Zhù Ying said with genuine remorse: “I’ve held you up from your work.”

Huajie’s proper work was medicine. This past half-year she had been running errands and managing the household for her. Huajie said: “There you go again. Are we family or aren’t we? When I first arrived here I couldn’t understand what anyone said, no one could understand me, I couldn’t have held a proper consultation — now that I can follow conversations, the timing is perfect.”

Zhù Ying said: “Your tongue is still stiff — shall I help loosen it up?”

“Hmph!”

“Truly — make a list of common symptoms and the language you’d need for them: phrases, individual words, whatever — and we’ll go over how to say it in the local dialect.”

Huajie smiled: “All right! Oh, I wish I were as quick as you — I’m so slow, can’t even learn to talk properly.”

“Isn’t what you’re saying right now ‘talking’?”

“Go on with you!” Huajie gave her a tap. “A few medicines ran out on the road — I’ll go buy some, and when I’m back we’ll go over those ‘words’ you mentioned.”

“Fine.” Zhù Ying thought: Back in the capital this would have been hard to arrange, but now I could actually set up a small apothecary for you.

The apothecary had no concrete plan yet when the winter solstice arrived. The winter solstice was an extremely important festival — in the capital the Emperor offered sacrifices to heaven, and in the county seat the County Magistrate had to assemble her staff to observe it. On this day of the winter solstice, Zhù Ying distributed cash, grain, winter clothing material, and charcoal to everyone.

She also sent a portion to Zhao Su’s household with a message: “Your parents are not here. If anything is inconvenient, just come to me.”

In Fulu County, Zhao Su was truly a wealthy young gentleman — his household lacked for nothing. He had been keeping to himself more and more, not going out, staying home to study. He absolutely had to pass the county school examination himself. He had no wish to be looked down upon, or to have Zhù Ying make a special exception for him alone. What made him different from everyone else? Everyone knew perfectly well.

After the winter solstice, the county school official examination began.

Zhù Ying had previously recruited female guards and a female deputy in the capital — she modeled the process on the female guards’ selection: several examination categories, each receiving a grade, a composite score tallied at the end, and the top forty chosen. If someone showed exceptional brilliance in a single area, exceptions could be made.

Beyond the standard Five Classics examination subjects, she specifically instructed the Erudite: “The Six Arts are also to be tested.”

Zhù Ying had expected, based on the female guards’ recruitment in the capital, that the number of male applicants would far exceed it. She had made thorough preparations — yet the number of candidates who actually showed up was fewer than even the capital’s female guard applicants. Zhù Ying asked the Erudite: “Is there so little scholarly culture in Fulu County?”

The Erudite said: “Indeed, not much. The literary tradition here is weak.”

This forsaken place — how many decades had it been since a child here had “gotten somewhere” through studying? Who would trouble to support a child’s education for nothing? Raising a proper scholar was enormously costly. Ordinary families simply couldn’t afford it. Families who could afford it still had to see whether the child was cut out for studying. In Fulu County, the pool was essentially just the families of those “elders” who had been half-coerced by Zhù Ying into moving to the county seat — with occasional commoners of moderate means as a smattering, and even those families had to steel themselves.

Merely being literate was not enough. A county school examination required years of proper study, enough to have some command of the classics and histories. Children just starting their primers, or those who weren’t progressing, simply wouldn’t put their names forward.

And besides — how many people lived in the capital’s jurisdiction? How many lived in Fulu County?

Fewer candidates for the Fulu County school than for the capital’s female guard recruitment was entirely normal.

Zhù Ying let out a sigh: “Then let’s begin.”

The examination lasted three days in all. The “Six Arts” were by definition specified subjects; beyond those were the Five Classics, mathematics, and law.

Withdrawal during the exam was rare — a few who decided of their own accord not to continue still had to sit out the full sessions to the end. Their fathers and grandfathers were all watching outside, and walking out midway would mean a beating at home.

Zhù Ying took note: Lei Bao’s son Lei Guang had also come to take the examination. The son of the first village head she’d beaten had also come. Zhao Su’s desk was positioned just behind Old Gu’s grandson.

For the written portion of the examination, Zhù Ying ordered: “Write your name in the column to the right.”

She intended to implement name-sealing!

When this order was announced, county seat residents who had originally only come to watch the archery portion were caught up by curiosity — they stretched their necks to wait for the results of the written examination too!

After the examination papers were submitted, Zhù Ying had Xiao Wu seal and bind the papers, and then spent several days working with County Deputy Guan, the Erudite, and the Assistant Instructor — with Qi Tai also called in to calculate the scores — before the final forty were selected.

When the seals were broken, Zhù Ying looked at the list and let out a sigh. Zhao Su was on the list, ranked fifth. Old Gu’s grandson, Gu Tong, was also on the list — ranked first. Lei Guang was at the very tail end of the list. The village head’s son had not made the cut.

She had supervised the examination and memorized the candidates’ faces — even without knowing them, she recognized the vast majority of them by their fathers, grandfathers, maternal uncles, and the like.

Zhù Ying braced herself and announced the results: “I have one thing to say — please listen carefully, all students! Today, with sealed names, I did not know whose papers I was reading — I read only your answers! Pass or fail — each of you knows in your own heart! From this day forward, the school rules for rewards, punishments, promotions, and expulsions will all follow the established regulations. Today, school quarters will be assigned. Once settled, you may go home and report to your parents. Return in half a month to begin classes. Dismissed.”

Those who had passed were naturally delighted. Those who had not could say nothing.

Zhù Ying walked back to the yamen with her hands behind her back, then sat down to write another letter to Wang Yunhe.

Meanwhile, Zhao Su pressed his lips together, working hard to hold back a smile. He bowed with his fellow “classmates,” took his leave, and went home to write a letter to his parents: I passed! He then recounted the examination in detail.

Zhao Niangzi read the letter and said to Zhao Feng: “I want to go to the county seat and see our son.”

Zhao Feng said: “I’ll come with you.”

Zhao Niangzi said: “Stay home.”

“All right.”

And so Zhao Niangzi arranged her luggage, brought five carts and a dozen or so people, and set off with great fanfare for the county seat. Four days of travel brought her to the city gate, where she looked up at it and said: “It has a new look.”

She didn’t ride in a carriage — she preferred horseback — and was making her way along the main street when, without warning, a person fell from an upstairs window and landed with a heavy thud right in front of her horse.

The horse reared with a startled whinny. Zhao Niangzi gripped the reins hard with both hands: “Hah!”