The celebrations in the mountain settlement continued, but Su Mingluan’s joy had already begun to fade. She was turning over the things Zhù Ying had said to her.

She could understand part of what Zhù Ying meant, yet the mountains were not like the lowlands. After the festivities ended, Su Mingluan returned to her room, gazed at the imperial edict, the silver seal, and the official robes laid out on the table, and spent half the night thinking before she finally fell asleep.

The next morning everyone rose early. The Asu clan needed to offer sacrifices to the late chieftain, informing the ancestors of the imperial bestowal so that the spirit of the departed might be comforted. Zhù Ying had also brought Zhao Su’s belongings and intended to place them before the grave as well, so she accompanied the group. They walked the mountain path once more. The Asu clan had no custom of burning paper offerings or written prayers — a shaman presided over the rite of communing with the spirits, and Su Mingluan stood before the tomb and spoke.

Zhù Ying watched the faces of the Asu clan members carefully. Every face bore grief. Su Mingluan’s third elder brother, even while weeping, could still seize someone to pour out his longing for his late father and urge Su Mingluan not to grieve too deeply. The eldest brother simply stood silently at her side, jaw set, grieving inwardly. It was easy to read from their faces just how close or distant each person’s relationship with Su Mingluan now was, and whether their hearts were at peace.

When Su Mingluan finished speaking, Zhù Ying laid before the grave all the things Zhao Su had entrusted to her. Madam Asu wept over her late husband once more, and with that, the formal activities of this mountain visit came to an end.

They returned to the settlement well past noon. By the time they finished eating, the sun was already slanting west — setting out down the mountain that day would have been too rushed. Su Mingluan invited them to stay one more night, and Zhù Ying readily agreed.

After the evening meal, Zhù Ying returned to her room, and Su Mingluan followed close behind. Zhù Ying set down the small knife and bamboo strips she had been working with and asked, “Do you have something to say?”

Su Mingluan nodded, sat down across from Zhù Ying, and said, “Adoptive Father, I have been thinking all this time about what you said the day before yesterday. I think it is best, for now, not to act on it.”

“Oh?” Zhù Ying did not press her, and said slowly, “If you have thought it through, that is fine.”

Su Mingluan could not help but explain: “The ways of the settlement are somewhat different from the lowlands. Adoptive Father means well for me — you want the people of the settlement to each fulfill their proper duties and to act swiftly. But up here, there is no written language, and no one reads. It cannot be governed the way things are governed in the lowlands.”

Zhù Ying said, “As the population grows and affairs multiply, it will become very strenuous to manage with things as they are. Otherwise, you will have no choice but to keep splitting off new settlements. How much those splinter settlements will listen to you is hard to say. If you do not draw all your people together so that they move as your arm moves, the territory you can govern will only ever be this much.”

Su Mingluan said, “I understand. I also want to — but not right now.”

Zhù Ying nodded. “Take it slowly. Forcing growth before it is ready will never work. But there is the trouble that stirred up after your eldest brother’s passing — you need to manage that carefully.”

“I have other ways of managing it. Adoptive Father — those imperially enfeoffed by the court within the Asu clan, for now, can only be me alone.”

Zhù Ying understood at once. “I see.”

Su Mingluan said, “I will govern the Asu clan and Asu County well!”

Zhù Ying said, “I have never doubted that.”

Su Mingluan smiled. “It is all thanks to Adoptive Father’s cultivation.”

“It is because the seed was good. Grass seed cannot grow into rice. Very well — let us leave it at this for now. Neither of us should rush; steadiness is what matters most.”

Su Mingluan studied her face intently, but she could read nothing from Zhù Ying’s expression. She lowered her head. “Yes.”

“I will be setting out tomorrow. We will be somewhat farther apart from now on — but let us not let our hearts grow distant.”

“Of course!” Su Mingluan said immediately. “Once my little sister is a bit older, I still want to send her down the mountain to learn some skills from Adoptive Father as well.”

“Good.”

Su Mingluan also asked, “Adoptive Father, which authority does my county fall under?”

Zhù Ying smiled. “You know what ‘loose-rein’ governance is — so you should know that neither the Southern Prefecture nor the circuit can govern you too closely. For now, you stand on your own. You may submit memorials directly to the court, and you may also request that the court bestow an imperial title on your mother and a posthumous honor on your father. If there is anything that needs to be coordinated, you can come to me.”

Su Mingluan smiled with relief. “Without Adoptive Father nearby, my heart is always uneasy. Now that I know you are still in the Southern Prefecture, I feel truly at ease.”

Su Mingluan had many things weighing on her heart, and there was no single person she could tell everything to — she could only share a little with one person, a little with another. The most difficult parts within her could not be spoken to anyone. Toward Zhù Ying she felt gratitude and admiration, yet her own calculations she could not lay out in full. She thought: Adoptive Father is good, but in the end, I must rely on myself. She is a good person — but not everyone at court will be like her. I must not speak of this. I must not speak of it.

Zhù Ying could see that she had things weighing on her, but she did not press. Su Mingluan had only just taken charge — she certainly had no shortage of troubles. Still, Su Mingluan’s ability to govern Asu County was not in question. She said, “Be at peace. With a thousand threads tangling at once, the most important thing is to keep your own heart steady. Eat well, sleep well, rest properly — only then will you have the energy to get things done.”

“Yes.”

One thing that had troubled Su Mingluan like an old wound was the court. She worried that the court might install some “deputy” in her family — if that deputy received an imperial bestowal and it turned out to be one of her brothers, the flavor of the whole arrangement would immediately sour. It was rather like an emperor designating a crown prince: it was how things worked, yet it was very difficult not to feel suspicious and uneasy about it. Zhù Ying had promised not to let that happen, so she was at ease. As long as Zhù Ying did not scheme against her, she had nothing to fear within her own household. She smiled, told Zhù Ying to also rest early, and withdrew with a light step.

The next day was overcast. Su Mingluan had prepared many gifts for Zhù Ying to take away. Zhù Ying said, “There is no need for ceremony between us — can your household afford all this?”

Su Mingluan said, “It is fine.”

“Then I will accept them.” Zhù Ying stopped being polite and said her farewells to Madam Asu as well, saying, “Once I have settled in at the Southern Prefecture and the New Year celebrations come around, I hope Elder Sister-in-law will come and be my guest.”

Madam Asu said, “As long as I can still get around.”

Zhù Ying also said farewell to the eldest nephew and the others, telling him, “Rouse yourself — things are not as bad as they seem.” She had also wanted to arrange something for this eldest nephew. The Asu clan should be the “model of goodwill” she was shaping — and being a model meant striving for general satisfaction if at all possible. If that proved impossible, then swift and decisive action could follow.

Before that point, she would give Su Mingluan a little time, and she herself needed to return to the Southern Prefecture first and set things in order.

The situation in the Southern Prefecture was going to be considerably more troublesome than it had been when she first arrived at Fulu County.

This time Su Mingluan led several of her brothers to personally escort Zhù Ying, Zhao Niangzi, and the others down the mountain. She also gave gifts to the prefecture officials in Zhù Ying’s traveling party. After several years of living in the county seat, Su Mingluan had picked up at least some of the lowland world’s unwritten rules.

The party stopped for another night along the way. Once they entered Fulu County’s territory, both processions halted. Zhù Ying said, “Let us begin.”

Su Mingluan said, “Very well.”

The boundary between Fulu County and the mountain settlements had previously been rather vague — a customary “sphere of influence” that placed roughly everything west of West Township and into the mountains as Asu clan territory. Exactly where it began sometimes shifted: sometimes from a great ancient tree at the foot of the mountains, sometimes from a particular stretch of forest. More recently, there had also been talk of the trade post, though the trade post lay closer to West Township.

Now the two of them were to erect a boundary marker, fixing permanently the territories of Fulu County and Asu County, so that everything related to the boundary could henceforth be clearly defined.

The marker was set at the foot of the mountain, where the road entering the hills first became rough and winding. A great stone stele was erected by the road, with the names of both counties carved on its front and back faces. They slaughtered a chicken, scattered its blood on the ground and over the stele, and only then did the ceremony conclude. Su Mingluan watched Zhù Ying enter the territory of West Township, then turned back.

Once Zhù Ying entered Fulu County, she was surrounded and followed by onlookers all along the road into the county seat.

Back in the county seat, Zhang Xiangu and the others had spent the past few days bidding farewell to familiar faces. Over five years, they had whiled away much time in the teahouses, and found many pleasures among the market stalls. The attitude of the local gentry had sometimes made them uncomfortable, but they had also received not a little fawning from the gentry. Watching this county gradually become better, becoming familiar — and now having to leave — the joy of their daughter’s promotion, felt again upon returning to Fulu County, was now tinged with a note of sadness and reluctance.

The county’s townspeople urged them once more to stay. Zhù Ying said, “You all know Deputy Magistrate Mo — he will take good care of everyone.”

Deputy Magistrate Mo quickly made a sweeping bow all around. “If I do poorly, fellow townspeople, you are welcome to lodge a complaint against me at the prefecture.”

The officials from the prefecture couldn’t help but snicker inwardly.

During the days Zhù Ying had been in the mountains, Zhang Xiangu and the others had already begun packing up some of the yamen’s belongings. The large pieces of bamboo furniture were bulky and cheap — new pieces had already been ordered for the prefecture, so all the old ones were left behind. Only small valuables and miscellaneous items were packed into boxes. Over five years, the household had accumulated quite a few odds and ends. Zhang Xiangu, ever practical, noticed the yamen at the prefecture still needed a few brooms, so she took the county yamen’s brooms along with her.

Hou Wu, Xiao Wu, and the others were far less burdened — they rolled up a few garments and bedding, and they were done. Xiao Jiang and her maidservant were also less fussy than Zhang Xiangu. Both carried a single bundle each; Xiao Jiang had an extra rattan trunk holding her coroner’s tools, and Jiang Zhou had a cloth bag containing her stationery and a few dog-eared notebooks of handwritten notes.

Once everyone had packed, Zhù Ying gave one last instruction to Tong Li and Tong Bo to help Magistrate Mo manage well. Both men promised through tears.

Only then did the whole household set out toward the Southern Prefecture.

The people of Fulu County escorted her all the way to Sicheng County’s territory, where the people of Sicheng County took over the escort, and both counties sent people all the way to the Southern Prefecture. Zhù Ying had Gu Tong go ahead and book a banquet to host all these well-wishers.

And so the transfer of her official duties was at last concluded.

Gu Tong bustled up and down; his maternal uncle had been pushing the work crew hard, and in the days while Zhù Ying was away, he had finished supervising the construction of the prefecture yamen’s furniture. Now that Zhù Ying had returned, his uncle’s workers were hauling the furniture into the yamen. Gu Tong himself stood at the back gate to check everything in.

Huajie held an account book and counted the items with him, tallying the money. Each room, each piece of furniture, each price — right down to the small bamboo stools and chairs scattered about the courtyard, some worth only a few copper coins, some worth a dozen or so. For each piece brought in, Huajie made a mark and noted the price beside it.

When they reached the large pieces, Huajie frowned. “This is wrong!”

Gu Tong asked anxiously, “Elder Sister, what is it?”

Huajie said, “The few beds ordered just now for Ding Gui and the others were one hundred coins each — simple workmanship. This bed for Little Zhù here is nearly as good as a wooden bed, with carved posts at the top, yet it is also listed at one hundred coins? Don’t take advantage of the craftsmen like this.”

Gu Tong broke out in a cold sweat — he had been too busy counting quantities to notice. “Uncle! How did this happen?”

His uncle rubbed his hands. “Ah, well, this…”

Huajie said, “We need to settle accounts properly with the craftsmen. Du Dajie, please ask Xiang An to come over.”

Du Dajie agreed and ran to the front yamen to fetch Xiang An. Along the way, Xiang An asked Du Dajie what the matter was. Du Dajie said, “Elder Sister says the furniture prices are off.” Xiang An said, “Elder Sister’s accounts are always meticulous — how could she be unsure about a few pieces of furniture? What does she need me for?”

When she arrived, she understood: it was a matter of pricing. As a merchant from the county seat who was often out and about, she had some sense of prices for bamboo goods in the prefecture city. “The small pieces are priced about right. The large pieces have been undercharged — the labor alone warrants more. These were made to custom measurements on a rush order, not ready-made small items from a shop. This piece alone should be at least five hundred coins.”

Huajie said, “Let us go by that price for now. We will go pay the shop owner in a moment.”

Gu Tong’s uncle said, “Elder Sister, how did this go the way it did…”

Gu Tong quickly smoothed things over for his uncle. “Our teacher has always been like this — she never takes advantage of these small things. Uncle, don’t think along those lines. Where are the things I ordered?”

Gu Tong’s uncle said, “Those can’t be installed yet. Wait until these pieces are all moved in and the inner quarters are settled — then we can let the workers in.”

Huajie asked, “What things?”

Gu Tong smiled. “Something wonderful! Elder Sister, Xiang Third Sister — could you first have Ding Gui and a few of the white-clad attendants carry the furniture into the rooms? I’ll go bring the men over!”

He dragged his uncle and they sprinted out. Along the way he grumbled under his breath: “Uncle, things went a bit wrong, didn’t they?”

“You young rascal — getting ideas above your station? Talking back to your own uncle. Your grandfather is still at the guild hall. Let’s go argue it out in front of him.”

“I wouldn’t dare. Uncle — dear Uncle — where are the things I ordered? Get them loaded up quickly and I’ll make it up to you.”

His uncle shot him a look. “There! Just up ahead.”

The two arrived at the shop, called the proprietor and his assistants, and had them cart two loads of items to the back quarters. Xiao Huang took one look at it all and said, “What is all this for?”

Gu Tong grinned. “I saw something splendid in our teacher’s Beijing residence and thought to install one here too. Look!”

The group crowded around to see. “I know a swing frame — but what are all these great thick mao bamboo poles for?”

“Plum blossom stakes!”

Zhù Ying spent the daytime in the front yamen poring over dossiers and studying maps and local gazetteers. When she returned to the back quarters for dinner that evening, the place had been completely transformed.

The back quarters comprised two courtyards. The first had a gate connecting to the front yamen, kept closed under normal circumstances. The front hall served as an everyday reception room. Zhù Ying had set up an inner study here, and Gu Tong had installed the plum blossom stakes in this courtyard’s open space, adding an archery target and the like for good measure. Qi-father-and-daughter, Gu Tong, and Xiao Wu lodged in the rooms along the east side of this courtyard. The west side housed Xiang An and Xiang Le, along with several guest rooms.

The second courtyard was for the Zhù family’s private use.

This place was more spacious than the county yamen — almost as comfortable as the residence back in the capital. The main building had five rooms wide and three bays deep, and though it was only a single story, there were quite a few rooms. The central hall, the east chambers for sleeping, the west chambers serving as a study and sitting area — all done in solid, well-crafted green bamboo furniture, hung with gauze curtains in a clear green shade. Zhang Xiangu and the elder couple occupied the west wing; Xiao Jiang took the east wing. Extending further outward were the men’s servants’ quarters, stabling, kitchen, firewood storage, and so forth. Zhang Xiangu set up the stone and the hammer in her own courtyard and arranged for the two of them to stay in the side rooms.

From behind the main building, a gate led through to a small garden. The space was not large, nor the plantings lush, but there was a patch of open ground, where Gu Tong had placed the swing frame.

At last, the Zhù family’s dwelling could properly be called a “prefecture residence.”

Gu Tong said, “The servants are still too few. We need at least one gardener. And a cook, a kitchen girl too…” By the standards of a country squire’s grandson, the teacher’s life was far too plain — not befitting a fifth-rank official.

Zhù Ying said, “No rush.”

Zhang Xiangu happily urged her to go change and come eat. Zhù Ying changed and came out. Everyone gathered in the front hall for the meal. This was considered the first settled evening together, so they all ate as one — as always in the Zhù household, men and women at the same big table, no separation. The servants had their own table.

Xiao Wu stretched his leg to walk toward Hou Wu’s table, but Hou Wu laughed and gave him a small push forward, nudging Xiao Wu over to the main table. Xiao Wu sat down to Zhù Ying’s left beside Gu Tong.

Zhù Ying said, “We are finally settled! From now on, this is where we live. Has everyone seen their own room?”

Gu Tong said, “Yes! I didn’t expect bamboo furniture to be this nice. It’s actually more spacious here than in Fulu.” His manservant echoed him from the servants’ table. Coming here was even better than being back home — even the manservant got his own bamboo bed rather than sleeping on the floor. And not only a bed, but a new bed-curtain, so at least he wouldn’t be bitten by mosquitoes. His old curtain had been a hand-me-down from the masters, with two holes in it that even after patching still seemed to let mosquitoes through.

Zhù Ying said, “Good. Take a couple of days’ rest before getting back to work.”

Everyone who had been running about for days cheered.

Gu Tong thought: Rest? We just got here — no work at all?

He paid close attention, and after dinner, once Zhang Xiangu and the women rose to go to the back quarters, he could not follow them there, so he stayed close behind Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying noticed, stopped, and asked, “Something on your mind?”

Gu Tong said, “Teacher, do you really mean to rest?”

Zhù Ying said, “Come and talk.”

The first courtyard of the back quarters also had five rooms. The central room was where they had just eaten; to the left was a study Zhù Ying kept mainly for appearances. The lodgings of Xiao Wu and Gu Tong were in the east section beyond this first courtyard. Xiao Wu looked back and saw Gu Tong had not come over, so he did an about-face and followed quietly. Over on the other side, Xiao Qi-Niangzi saw both young men had stayed behind, and gave her father a little push.

Hou Wu was picking his teeth, having had every intention of a good rest, but seeing the situation, he followed along too. Ding Gui and the others were not as well-behaved as Cao Chang — all four of them came over as well.

Hammer kept his eye on Zhù Ying, said a word to Zhang Xiangu, then dragged Stone along to move the candles and arrange chairs. Seeing that Zhù Ying did not drive him away, he was delighted, and pulled Stone over to stand to one side, looking around at the room.

His and Stone’s little side room had a bed, a table, and a bookshelf. His books were not many — some copied primers with character learning songs, a few simple textbooks. Hammer could not yet read very much, but he liked the furnishings in this room very much.

Over in the back, Zhang Xiangu said, “Oh? What is happening? What is going on? Why is everyone running to the front again? Are we not resting?”

Zhù Da said, “Why not go and see for yourself?”

The two of them headed forward as well, and Huajie and the others followed along. After the meal, nearly everyone had gathered again in the outer study.

Zhù Ying was taken aback. “What on earth?”

Gu Tong was equally puzzled. “Is something the matter?” That can’t be right — he had been busy all day inside and out, could there be something he didn’t know about?

Zhù Da said bluntly, “What are all of you doing in here?”

After a few exchanges, they realized each person had stayed simply because they had seen the others staying.

Gu Tong said, “I wanted to ask the teacher some questions about my studies.”

Zhang Xiangu said, “Goodness, look at this fuss! Huajie, let us go rest — they have proper business to discuss.”

Zhù Ying said, “It has come to this, so there is nothing more to say. Very well, I am off to bed myself. Ah-Tong, whatever it is, tell me tomorrow. Rest, everyone — rest. For the next few days, we stay in the yamen and rest. If there is business, I will assign it.”

Once everyone had dispersed, Zhù Ying walked back to the inner quarters with Zhang Xiangu and the others, hands clasped behind her back.

Hammer was waiting at the gate to Zhang Xiangu’s courtyard. Seeing her return, he followed her inside, lit the lamps and candles, and seeing her sit down at the writing desk in the west chamber, he stood on tiptoe and came over to grind ink for her. Zhù Ying said, “Young fellow — no need. Let me ask you: how are your characters coming along?”

Hammer said, “I can recognize all the characters in the learning songs.”

“Do you understand what they mean?”

“There are still some I don’t understand — but I have memorized them all. When will you teach me to read more books?”

Zhù Ying said, “You’re still too young for that! Reading those things too early is not good.” All that business about ruler and minister and father and son — what if the boy read himself dim-witted? Better to let it wait.

Hammer went out with his head down and dragged Stone along to fetch water for Zhù Ying. Du Dajie said, “You can leave it — I already have water heating.” The household had grown somewhat, but Du Dajie’s added duties now amounted to simply cleaning a larger set of rooms. On ordinary days, Yu Gui and the others, having taken on yamen-runner posts, ate at the front yamen. The yamen provided meals.

Zhù Ying went to bed early that night, but over in Gu Tong’s room, sleep was out of the question — he tossed and turned, making a well-crafted bamboo bed creak and groan.

That night, many people slept poorly.

The Registrar of Merit, surnamed Wang, had barely returned when Magistrate Guo of Nanping County came to fetch him. Arriving at Magistrate Guo’s place, he found Magistrate Guo pacing in anxious circles. Magistrate Guo demanded, “Well? Well?”

He was the most worried of them all. As county magistrate, with the prefecture yamen on the same street, right under the eyes of his superior — the difficulty of his days could hardly be overstated. In previous years, it had been a bit easier because it was only a deputy filling the role, but now there was a proper, direct superior. Magistrate Guo was more anxious than anyone.

Wang the Registrar of Merit said, “This is serious! Even more than we had heard!”

Magistrate Guo said, “How so?”

Wang the Registrar said, “From Sicheng County all the way to Fulu County — people came out to welcome her and see her off the whole way, and in great numbers! Men, women, old, young — all classes, rich and poor. There were even people who followed all the way here. Didn’t you notice?”

“Both counties are her old subordinates, benefiting from her favor in rising to prominence. Of course they would welcome and escort her properly.”

Wang the Registrar shook his head. “From what I could see, it was not arranged by those below — it was entirely spontaneous, all of it. Our new Prefect, young as she is, truly does have something to her.”

“Did we even need to say that? Haven’t we already looked into her beforehand? Besides, what kind of person was Prefect-Governor Lu back in the day? And even he had no way to deal with her. It’s just that no one expected she would end up becoming our superior!”

“That is true…” In the past, however capable Zhù Ying had been, what had that to do with them? Even if Zhù Ying had toppled Sicheng County, what could she do to the officials here in the prefecture city? The more capable she was, the faster she rose, and the more directly she would be transferred away!

Magistrate Guo said, “Stop just saying ‘that’s true’ — say something useful.”

Wang the Registrar said, “Stop circling, you’re making me dizzy. Just do as we discussed before! The transfer is done and the Registrar of Households and Registrar of Granaries have been replaced — what else can be done? You don’t still have any wrongful imprisonments, do you?”

“None — they’re all released!” Magistrate Guo said. “It wasn’t like there were many serious cases to begin with. She came from the Court of Judicial Review — the moment I heard who it was, didn’t I close out the cases overnight?”

Wang the Registrar said, “I had a look around Fulu County seat. I saw the literacy stele, and they were also talking about winter wheat. Think about it — her achievements over the years in Fulu County all came from a handful of things: the Lao peoples, winter wheat, literacy steles, and judicial decisions. You have taken care of the judicial cases; the Lao peoples, we cannot easily touch. So: winter wheat and the literacy stele. The wheat is already being planted — I saw it looks quite good. Just follow her orders: however much she says to plant, issue the orders to plant that much. And put up the literacy steles properly. She favors certain things — just match what she favors. I also need to go reorganize the female clerks in our county.”

Magistrate Guo started complaining again about the former superior who had been promoted to Prefect of Yiyang: “He just kept using us to manage his own affairs and never gave us much time to prepare for our own situations! Now we have to scramble!”

The time left for them to deal with Zhù Ying had only been so much. Prefect Qiu at the time had not known he was leaving, and had focused primarily on revenue and grain. That had been the most important matter — the rest had mostly been left unattended.

The two talked a while longer, with Magistrate Guo continually asking Wang the Registrar. Wang the Registrar said, “You always ask me — now let me ask you: what have you noticed?”

Magistrate Guo said, “She came here, and she also went to the foundling home…”

“That’s not mine to manage — that was left by the one who’s already gone.”

Magistrate Guo asked, “This new Prefect of ours — does she have any particular preferences?”

“Not really.”

“Don’t deceive me!”

“Truly not! Even her furniture is bamboo, and she uses ceramic tableware rather than gold or silver. Oh — the clothing and accessories seem rather refined, but the elder gentleman and elder lady are both quite casual about things. That is not a direction you can exploit; they use goods from the capital. Let’s see if there are any other expenditures…”

Magistrate Guo said, “It won’t work. She was having furniture made — I sent someone to the furniture shop to pay for it. And you know what? Everyone in that household, top to bottom, is sharp as tacks — they said the figures were wrong! The price was too low. Someone in that household actually knew the going rate! They went and paid the shop themselves, and the shopkeeper nearly gave me away!”

“Hmm — her household has few servants. Not many female attendants, either.”

“I can see that — I’m looking into it, but I don’t know what sort she prefers. Old Wang, these past few days, have you noticed anything about this Prefect of ours that…”

“Hmm?”

“…can’t be said to others. Or perhaps something that is… well, you know what I mean.”

Wang the Registrar tilted his head and thought, then said, “There is one thing — though within a couple of days you’ll be able to see it for yourself without me saying so. She went and put a lame woman in the back quarters and said she was a supplementary female staff member.”

“So that is her preference!”

Wang the Registrar said, “That young woman is indeed quite good-looking. Oh — while we were away these past few days, has any court bulletin come? About the new Marshal — any news? Is there any word yet on who it might be?”

“Not yet. And no news on the Fulu County Magistrate either. Whether there is or isn’t — what does it matter? When have we ever been fully staffed here?”

The two talked deep into the night. Beyond them, Wang the Registrar of Merit’s counterpart Li also had close friends and trusted confidants; each and every one was guessing and estimating, determined to get along well with this new superior.

Early the next morning, Gu Tong dragged himself up with two dark circles under his eyes, intending to position himself at the inner gate and wait for Zhù Ying to come out so he could ask his questions — this time he would not let a crowd follow and interfere again.

He had barely left his room when he stopped in his tracks. Zhù Ying was already sitting atop the highest plum blossom stake, one leg hanging down, the other drawn up before her, elbow resting on her knee — the picture of someone deep in thought.

Gu Tong ran to the base of the stakes and stood there looking up. “Teacher?”

Zhù Ying looked down. “Has everyone been happy about my promotion?”

“Very happy! Congratulations, Teacher, on finally being able to spread your wings and put your ambitions into practice! But why do we need to rest now? There are so many things still to be done — by the look of it, the end of the sixth month is coming, and you also need to go see the Military Governor…”

Zhù Ying said, “Ah — now the truly difficult part has only just begun.”

“Oh?”

Zhù Ying was taking stock of the people she could trust and put to use. She said slowly, “Prefect — it sounds grander than County Magistrate. Yet right now, I have no territory directly under my own hand.”

Gu Tong opened his mouth. “How can that be?”

Zhù Ying said, “The Southern Prefecture has four counties: Nanping, Hedong, Sicheng, and Fulu. Right now, which one is mine? The only things I can directly administer are a bit of the public-service farmland outside the prefecture city.” That was why Governor Lu had been so intent on bringing his subordinates to heel back in the day — inattention, and those below would slip right out from under you.

Gu Tong stood looking up at her, dumbstruck. This was something he had not anticipated.

Zhù Ying leaned forward and peered down at him. Xiang Le and Xiang An, brother and sister, were already dressed and heading in this direction, talking as they walked. “Young Master Gu setting up these plum blossom stakes was truly thoughtful of him — I’d like to have a try too myself… Oh? Prefect?!”

Zhù Ying leaped down from the stake. “Yes, it’s me. Get yourselves ready — time for breakfast.”

The siblings also held supplementary clerical posts in the prefecture yamen, though they often dined together with the Zhù household.

After breakfast, Zhù Ying changed and went to the front yamen.

From Wang the Registrar of Merit on down, every official and clerk still in post had arrived in impeccably neat order. Wang the Registrar of Merit paid particular attention and sure enough, he saw that Xiao Jiang and her maidservant did not enter through the front gate — they came around from the back and joined the small cluster of the prefecture’s own female staff to stand and receive instructions.

Zhù Ying sat high above them all, and with one glance she caught Wang the Registrar of Merit’s little maneuver. Then she looked over the prefecture’s female staff — quite a patchy lot. The few female prison wardens looked nothing like proper serving staff. Among those who worked in a yamen, there was a particular quality about them — more or less strong, one way or another — and so back in the capital, the old bailiff had taken one look at her entourage and asked whether they had come to arrest him, rather than mistaking the yamen runners for household servants or attendants. An experienced person could get within eight or nine points of the truth at a glance. Zhù Ying would sometimes change into old clothes and squat along the market road or roadside, partly to hear whatever news was circulating, and partly to dilute the official air about her — so that when she needed a disguise, it would be at least somewhat less obvious.

These few women were tall and short, dark-skinned and fair, pretty and plain, old and young — all over the map. None of them carried that particular air about them; several had the look of old hands who had been at this a long time. If her guesses were right, every one of them had some connection to someone. Either the wife of a certain clerk, or a relative of some official. That the Southern Prefecture had managed to assemble even this many was something of a feat.

They, in turn, were eyeing Xiao Jiang with a look of appraisal.

Wang the Registrar of Merit glanced once and turned back. He stepped forward and said, “Prefect, all of the Southern Prefecture’s staff are present. We await your instructions.”

Zhù Ying had already announced her rules after completing the formal transfer. Now she was assigning the day’s work. She said, “Each to your duties. Apply yourselves. No slacking.”

Everyone answered in unison.

Zhù Ying saw that Wang the Registrar of Merit had not moved and asked, “Is there anything else?”

Wang the Registrar of Merit said, “There are a few matters…” What he reported were all small and trivial things. The largest among them was merely that Zhù Ying had dismissed thirteen people from the Southern Prefecture, and the resulting vacancies needed to be filled.

Zhù Ying filled eight of them: the Xiang siblings, Hou Wu, Ding Gui, Xiao Huang, Xiao Liu, and Niu Jin. Jiang Zhou was counted among the female staff. Xiao Jiang held a Daoist certificate and was treated as a contracted external coroner — not included in these vacancies.

That left five positions still unfilled.

Zhù Ying said, “Post the notice. You conduct the assessment. Once people have been selected, bring them to me.”

“Yes. This subordinate will see to it immediately.”

After Wang the Registrar of Merit left, Zhù Ying sent Xiao Wu and Qi Tai each to their respective tasks and then asked them, “Are you managing all right?”

Xiao Wu smiled. “This subordinate will go do another inspection of the stores. Prefect, should we also build a few new storehouses? We now have an entire prefecture’s worth of oranges to sell! And more wheat to come.”

Zhù Ying said, “What do you mean, an entire prefecture’s worth of oranges? Go do your proper work. New storehouses won’t be built right now.” She still needed to work with Qi Tai to draw up a proper plan — given the Southern Prefecture’s current finances, population, and available labor, she needed to figure out how to allocate manpower most effectively.

Xiao Wu had a few clerical staff under him as well, plus some guards watching over the storehouses. She wasn’t worried about Xiao Wu being unable to manage those men. Her greater concern was that Xiao Wu was too clever, and his cleverness had a quality of someone who had never actually studied. She said, “Wait.”

Xiao Wu stood still obediently. Zhù Ying said, “Ah-Tong — quiz him on his studies every day!”

Xiao Wu was stunned. “Prefect? You want this subordinate to study?”

“Yes. From now on, you must hand in two pages of written work every day. Like this — start with the characters from the literacy stele! Your calligraphy needs work too! Ah-Tong, you live near him — supervise him in the evenings.”

“Yes.”

Xiao Wu was chased off to his duty room with a long face.

Zhù Ying, rather than rushing to have Qi Tai come and go over the accounts, instead had Gu Tong draft an official communication to Hedong County, summoning the county magistrate Wang there to the Southern Prefecture for a meeting. If it were possible, Zhù Ying would actually have preferred to personally go and tour each of the subordinate counties — but first, she needed to meet every one of her subordinate county magistrates.

The county magistrate of Hedong County, Magistrate Wang, had been encountered before at the Military Governor’s offices, and he had been the one to proactively ask her for winter wheat seeds. Zhù Ying’s impression of him was rather favorable. When she had come to take up her post, she had not required the county magistrates to come out and welcome her, and Magistrate Wang had been straightforward about it — no official had reason to leave the county without orders, so he genuinely had not come. Unlike former Fulu County Magistrate Wang, who had dared to take up long-term residence in the prefecture city for years.

Gu Tong drafted the document, Zhù Ying reviewed it, said, “This will do — send it out.”

“Yes.”

Gu Tong waited for Zhù Ying to affix her seal, sealed the official document, and handed it to Ding Gui to take to the post station. When Ding Gui returned from the post station, he had a court bulletin in hand: “Prefect, today’s court bulletin has arrived.”

“Today’s court bulletin” referred to a bulletin that had arrived at the Southern Prefecture today — the actual bulletin had been issued from the capital and relayed station by station to local offices and then distributed down the hierarchy. Given the Southern Prefecture’s location and the speed of bulletin delivery, by the time it arrived it was already news from roughly ten days ago.

Zhù Ying first read through the contents. Most were routine, but one item caught her attention: the newly appointed Marshal for the Southern Prefecture was already on the road.

The Marshal — her deputy — was soon to arrive.

The bulletin described it simply, giving only a name. The Southern Prefecture was not a place of great importance, nor was the arriving person someone of note, and Zhù Ying had no impression of this person whatsoever. She knew only that this individual was being transferred down from the north — calculating the distance, if they had set out on the day the bulletin was issued, this person would not reach the Southern Prefecture until the end of the seventh month.