Zhù Ying finished reading “today’s court bulletin,” then said without any change in expression, “Have the bulletin distributed.”

The bulletins for the counties below also went through the prefecture city as their relay point; likewise, the news that reached her had been passed along from the circuit city. At the same time, the relevant officials within the prefecture yamen also had the right to know about relevant news.

Ding Gui took the bulletin, made a respectful bow, and said, “Yes.”

The new Marshal had not yet arrived, but since the appointment had already been issued, he too was entitled to a copy of the bulletin. Along with the other deputy officials who were entitled to the same, one copy for each.

Zhù Ying casually handed the extra copy to Gu Tong. “Have a look.”

Gu Tong read the bulletin carefully, word by word. When he reached the entry about the newly appointed Marshal of the Southern Prefecture — Zhang Jiong — his hand gave a small tremor. He glanced at Zhù Ying and said cautiously, “Teacher, a new Marshal is coming.”

“Yes.”

“So then…”

Zhù Ying said, “It is impossible for the court not to send a Marshal here. There can be no prefecture without a Marshal, even if there is no Prefect!”

“Hm?” Gu Tong was still thinking this over. Zhù Ying did not explain further — she let him puzzle it out on his own.

Zhù Ying set the bulletin aside, picked up a dossier she had been reading, and walked into the inner room of the signing chamber. On the wall there hung a large map. Comparing the records in her hand with the map on the wall, she mentally sketched out a new picture of the territory. All official archives and records shared a common flaw — they lagged behind. Comprehensive, yes, but always two paces behind reality. Maps were no exception. For Fulu County and Sicheng County, Zhù Ying had the most current data; for Nanping County and Hedong County, she was working with information that was five or ten years old.

The court’s standardized updates came every five or ten years — census figures at the Ministry of Revenue, for instance, were updated every ten years, and if someone was feeling lazy, every twenty. An entire generation could pass.

Zhù Ying was slowly looking through everything when Xiao Wu came running in from outside as though chased by a ghost. “P-p-p-prefect!”

Gu Tong set down the bulletin. “What is it?”

Xiao Wu said, “Something is wrong! Where is the Prefect? Oh — you’re right here! Quickly, let the Prefect see the court bulletin! You’re already reading it?”

Zhù Ying called from the inner room, “What is it?”

Xiao Wu rushed in. “Prefect, we are getting a new Prefect — no wait, a new Marshal is coming!”

Gu Tong followed him in. “Teacher already knew — the bulletin comes here first.”

“Oh, oh.” Xiao Wu answered repeatedly and stood to one side, waiting for Zhù Ying’s instructions. A new deputy official was coming — surely there was something they needed to prepare?

Zhù Ying looked at the two of them and said, “Why are you just standing there?”

She picked up the old dossier she had been reading and drifted back to the desk, dropped it on the table, and asked Xiao Wu, “Are your tasks done? Did you finish inspecting the stores?”

“What? Oh! This subordinate will go at once!” Xiao Wu said hastily. “But — the new Marshal?”

“The person isn’t even here yet. Go do your work. Don’t think that because things looked acceptable during the transfer, you can slack off. We are in the rainy season now — be diligent. You are newly serving as Registrar of Granaries, and there is still much to learn. Be humble — watch, listen, and think.”

“Yes, this subordinate will go now.” Xiao Wu grabbed the bulletin and ran off.

Gu Tong watched Xiao Wu disappear into the distance, then turned to Zhù Ying. “Teacher, are we really not going to deal with this new Marshal Zhang at all?”

“Well, of course we cannot simply ignore it,” Zhù Ying said with a slight smile. “Though we do not yet know what sort of person he is, a little preparation never hurts.”

Gu Tong thought: Then why didn’t you tell Xiao Wu? Or is it…

Zhù Ying said, “Go pull the Southern Prefecture’s accounts — not the household register or grain ledgers, but the register of prefectural assets.”

“Yes.” Gu Tong thought it strange as he went to find Qi Tai. The teacher had just been reading the maps, not the asset register!

What Zhù Ying was actually thinking was: she needed people.

Truth be told, Xiao Wu was not particularly well-suited for the role of Granary Registrar right from the start. The Granary Registrar’s responsibilities were not simply overseeing the storehouses, as the title might suggest. Beyond the storehouses, the Registrar also oversaw public-service facilities, weights and measures, the kitchens, tax and rent collection, land management, and the markets. By Xiao Wu’s abilities, managing the storehouses alone was about as well as he could manage — perhaps weights and measures at a stretch. For the rest, the fellow would inevitably skim a little and do a few other things on the side.

But Xiao Wu was fairly loyal to her, she understood him well enough, and — more importantly — she knew Xiao Wu’s entire extended family for five generations and all his ancestral line for eight. She would not be caught off guard by some unforeseen move from a subordinate official she didn’t know well.

Qi Tai would actually be better suited to managing the things under Xiao Wu’s charge. But Qi Tai, as Registrar of Households, had household registration as his primary duty. People were the foundation of everything, and that had to be either personally managed or entrusted to someone she trusted. Zhù Ying had given this task to Qi Tai. Yet Qi Tai, too, could not fully competently manage all of it. The Registrar of Households oversaw several additional matters, including travel permits, roads, and agricultural fields.

If only there were two people like Qi Tai, things would be so much easier!

But there were not, so Zhù Ying had to arrange things as they stood and then make adjustments within the scope of each person’s duties. For instance, the tax and rent collection under Xiao Wu’s charge was delegated to Qi Tai, while the travel permits under Qi Tai’s charge were handed over to Xiao Wu.

Qi Tai arrived quickly, and Zhù Ying asked, “Have you seen the court bulletin?”

Qi Tai said, “Is the Prefect referring to the new Marshal? This subordinate is going over the accounts — I have also brought over the tax ledgers from Xiao Wu. Even though we went through them once during the transfer, time was rather short then; going through them carefully again now would make sure the new Marshal finds nothing to criticize.”

Zhù Ying said, “What would he have to criticize?”

“Ah?”

“Come — let us go look at some rooms.”

“Oh?” Qi Tai uttered another sound of puzzlement.

Zhù Ying said, “I recall that the Southern Prefecture yamen has several properties. Aside from the ones where people like the Registrar of Merit are living, there should be five vacant ones. Let us go take a look and see whether they need repairs, and how much labor and materials and money that would require.”

Qi Tai said, “Alright. Is the Prefect thinking of…”

“When Marshal Zhang arrives, he will need a place to live, won’t he?”

Qi Tai suddenly understood. “Of course we should prepare! This subordinate had nearly forgotten the matter entirely.”

As with the capital’s various offices, local government offices often held some properties of their own, with public-service farmland being a given. In addition, many places with the means to do so kept a few residential properties — some confiscated from criminals, some set up from the beginning for a proper purpose.

This purpose was entirely legitimate: officials coming from elsewhere to take up their posts had to have somewhere to live. Unlike local clerks, whose families were in the area and who could rent rooms even if they did not live in the city, officials by regulation were all from other places, and accommodation had to be provided. The main official need not worry — they lived in the back quarters. But what about the other officials? Many places also prepared lodgings of this kind.

Once this practice was established, many local governments would take advantage of the opening to acquire a few more properties under this pretext, just as Zhù Ying had done at the Court of Judicial Review — collecting rent. Some places even had shops.

When Zhù Ying first arrived at Fulu County, the reason Registrar Guan and the others had been able to move and vacate rooms so quickly was precisely because this kind of housing existed among the county yamen’s assets. These properties were generally close to the yamen and in reasonably good locations — a kind of official perquisite.

During the transfer, Zhù Ying had noticed the prefecture yamen also had a number of such properties. Xiao Wu and Qi Tai were technically entitled to live in them, but one was a bachelor and the other had a household of only three including a maidservant. With Xiao Qi-Niangzi unwilling to leave her father, they had all just been borrowing rooms within the yamen compound. Qi Tai had not thought about this particular matter and so had simply not brought it up.

Beyond those, there were also the duty rooms for yamen runners and sleeping quarters for the white-clad attendants — all of which had arrangements.

The Southern Prefecture did not have many such properties. For a prefecture yamen situated in a malarial, miasmic region, the total roster of official staff only came to ten. Subtract the Prefect, and that left the Marshal, the six Registrars, and two Academicians. Everyone else was clerical staff and various runners.

Zhù Ying and Qi Tai both returned to the back quarters to change into plain clothes. Zhù Ying said, “Go fetch the keys.”

She then brought Gu Tong, Xiang An, Xiang Le, and Qi Tai — a party of five — and went to inspect each property one by one, address by address.

Gu Tong said, “Teacher, your consideration is truly remarkable.” Where would you find a superior who prepared things so thoroughly for a subordinate? Subordinates flattering superiors was the established order of things; it was the rare fool who couldn’t even manage that well.

Zhù Ying said, “Take note of this: when new people enter officialdom, their rank is always low and the work they do is always supporting and supplementary. None of those tasks are anything but trivial and tangled. When such work is done well, no one notices your effort; when it is done poorly, people feel the inconvenience and start to grumble and curse. A principal official who does not understand these things will easily become lazy, will easily lose touch with the situation on the ground, and will easily be exploited from above and below. Affairs will go wrong as a result.”

“Yes.” Gu Tong said, feeling at his waist for his notepad, pulling out a rolled slip of white paper, taking out his brush, and hastily writing a few notes.

At the first property, they found the gate locked and silence within. Weeds grew along the top of the walls and some of the bricks had crumbled. Qi Tai, reminded of this, had brought the keys and now opened the lock. Inside, the courtyard was overgrown with wild grass, and only a few people appeared to be associated with this property.

Two courtyards, three rooms across the facade, with side rooms, a secondary courtyard in the back, the living quarters in the rear, the reception area in front, and a large tree in the central courtyard.

Zhù Ying shook her head and they moved on to the next. Halfway there, Xiao Wu arrived with two Granary Registrar assistants, who were civil clerks. The keys had originally been under their management. The moment the keys had been taken, both men had rushed to tell Xiao Wu, goading him into coming.

Xiao Wu said, “Prefect?! What are you doing here?”

Zhù Ying said, “Keep pretending you didn’t know.”

Xiao Wu rushed up at a trot and said, “If you are here for something, you should have called me along too.”

Zhù Ying said, “You are not needed yet.”

“Oh?”

Zhù Ying said to Qi Tai, “Make a note. The main beams and pillars are sound; the wall plaster needs to be redone; the windows and doors need replacements, some number of them; labor required, this and that. Add a twenty-percent buffer for unforeseen circumstances.”

She then asked Xiao Wu, “Can you calculate that?”

Xiao Wu said, “This subordinate can learn — and if not, they can do it.” He gestured with his chin toward the two Granary Registrar assistants. The two assistants had never imagined that their goading of their superior into showing up would result in the superior pulling them into the direct line of the Prefect’s gaze.

Zhù Ying extended one finger and tapped Xiao Wu on the forehead. “You! Ah-Tong — double his homework assignment. Since he says he wants to learn, let him take on one more subject: arithmetic.”

Xiao Wu’s face turned a sickly green but he stubbornly trailed after Zhù Ying, saying, “Academician Qi has his own pile of work to manage.”

Gu Tong pulled him aside and said, “What is the matter with you? You were used as someone else’s weapon, weren’t you? How many days has it been since the teacher dismissed the old Granary Registrar? You haven’t even sorted out your own subordinates yet and you already dare to bring them out and use them? You used to talk about official affairs in a way that made perfect sense, even explained things to me — how is it that when it’s your own turn you don’t stop and think a bit more? Make good use of tonight for learning arithmetic! You need to know at least a little so the people below you can’t pull the wool over your eyes. Just remember: you were sent here by the teacher — or do you think you’re the kind the teacher would want to leave in the cold?”

“I — that’s not what I meant.”

The two of them fell behind quite a bit, whispering between themselves. The two Granary Registrar assistants carefully followed just behind and to the side of Zhù Ying, neither too close to the front nor too far to the rear, both feeling somewhat ill at ease.

Gu Tong finished talking with Xiao Wu, and the two caught up. Xiao Wu sidled up again. “Prefect, this subordinate will study hard when I get back.”

Zhù Ying said, “If you want to follow, follow.”

Xiao Wu tagged along behind her like a dog who had done something wrong. At the second property, things were in much better condition — it had been the former Registrar of Households’ residence. The Registrar of Households and the Registrar of Granaries had been found to have made errors, and Zhù Ying had replaced them with Xiao Wu and Qi Tai. This was not prescience on her part — she had actually been one of the subordinate officials under this prefecture and so had some prior knowledge of the situation here. The third property was the recovered residence of the former Registrar of Granaries — also a two-courtyard house with a secondary courtyard attached.

Though small they looked, because this was the prefecture city, a two-courtyard compound was more valuable here than its equivalent in a county seat. Because the property had been reclaimed rather abruptly, there was some minor damage; Zhù Ying had Qi Tai record all of it.

At the fourth property, things became interesting — someone was living inside! According to the records, this place was supposed to be vacant. Xiao Wu’s face changed again. The two Granary Registrar assistants quietly started backing away.

All the old habits from Xiao Wu’s days as a yamen runner surged back up. He stepped forward and delivered a kick to the gate. “Who is inside? Come out!”

The old instincts from his days working as a yamen runner surged right back. He stepped forward and gave the gate a solid kick. “Who’s in there? Come out!”

The person inside had an even bigger temper. A voice shouted back, “What mongrel shows up here making trouble?!”

The gate swung open, revealing a middle-aged man in a black silk jacket — one glance and Xiao Wu could tell this was a senior household manager of some kind. Xiao Wu declared loudly, “Who is your master? Who gave you permission to live here?”

“Ha! What kind of rabble are you, thinking my master is someone you can just come and see? Your sort.”

The two traded insults for a round, and then Zhù Ying watched patiently as Xiao Wu finally caught on, and said with a deadpan face, “I am sending people to take back this property right now!”

“I’m renting it — on what grounds can you take it?”

Xiao Wu shot his hand back and grabbed the two Granary Registrar assistants by the collars, yanking them forward. “Explain! What is going on here?!”

The manager recognized the Granary Registrar assistants and gave a start. “Oh dear — how on earth has this come to pass? My apologies, I failed to recognize this young official as…”

Xiao Wu ground his teeth. “Very good, you two.”

Zhù Ying said, “Enough. We will ask about this in detail when we return. Let us see the next property.”

The next property was no surprise — it had also been rented out. Zhù Ying said, “Interesting. Tell me — that top property up ahead, did someone die there? Is there a haunting? A particularly fierce one?”

Otherwise how could it possibly have been the only one left unrented?

Xiao Wu said, “The rent collected all these years must not have gone into the prefecture’s accounts either! Prefect, this subordinate will go investigate this immediately…”

Zhù Ying said, “We will discuss it when we return.”

The party returned to the yamen, attracting quiet observation from people both inside and outside as they came back.

The two tenants of the rented properties had also arrived and were kneeling before the hall. “Prefect, we did genuinely rent through a middleman.”

Zhù Ying had them present their lease agreements. Each was signed on a yearly basis, and this year’s rent had already been paid. Zhù Ying said, “Take them.”

The two men shook in terror, only to see several yamen runners lunge forward — and pin down the two Granary Registrar assistants. Zhù Ying said, “Put them in jail for now. The accounts can be gone over at leisure. Once the full investigation is done, we will settle the matter with them all at once. As for you — the rooms you rented are prefecture property and cannot be kept. The rent will be returned to you; you have five days to find new lodgings and move out.”

The refund of rent would naturally come out of the Granary Registrar assistants’ own households. Zhù Ying also sent people to place the households of the Registrar of Households assistants under watch, preventing them from moving assets or valuables.

The two Granary Registrar assistants cried out that they had been wronged, saying, “The former Registrar ordered all of this — he took the larger cut! He oversaw the land, the public-service facilities, and so on, and he also diverted and lent out money and grain from the stores, and cut timber from the mountains to sell below. He was our superior — we dared not disobey!”

Zhù Ying asked Xiao Wu, “How long have I been in the Southern Prefecture?”

“Nearly — nearly — nearly one month,” Xiao Wu answered, then shouted at the Granary Registrar assistants, “You’ve been here the better part of a month — are you dead? You couldn’t report it? Couldn’t bring it to your superior?”

Zhù Ying said, “Well then, now we will also need to recruit two more Granary Registrar assistants.”

After disposing of this matter, Zhù Ying kept Xiao Wu back and asked, “What do you make of this?”

Xiao Wu said, “It was this subordinate’s negligence — I will conduct a full survey of the properties right away!”

“Treating each symptom as it appears and moving from one crisis to the next — what kind of approach is that?”

“Yes, yes.”

“You may go.”

“Yes, yes.”

At this point Gu Tong was needed, and without anyone calling on him he stepped forward of his own accord, following Xiao Wu out and pulling him into an empty duty room. “Don’t you have something to teach me? Start with what the superior cares about most, then try to win favor in other smaller ways. The teacher’s first priority cannot possibly be a few dilapidated rooms rented to strangers. You are new here, and the teacher knows it — would she blame you for this? Get yourself focused on the major matters that need to be done first, that is the sensible approach. And study tonight — I’ll add more arithmetic for you. The grain stores, buildings, and so on are all physical things — there is either something there or there isn’t. Go examine those first.”

Xiao Wu said rather fearfully, “Being an official is truly hard!”

Gu Tong thought: So this is what it means when someone is elevated before they are ready, virtue not yet matching position. Hateful that others without sufficient virtue are elevated alongside the same. Teacher truly has it difficult.

But aloud he said, “Now go back, and I will help you catch up on some arithmetic. As for the things that can be written down and calculated, like checking grain stores and buildings — they are concrete objects; there either is something there or there is not. Focus on those first.”

“Right, right, I’ll do that now. Those Granary Registrar assistants — when they were around, things got done, at least. Without them, it will be even harder to manage.”

Gu Tong said, “These are things you should tell the teacher yourself. The teacher trusts you — if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have put you in this role. Think about how far away the capital is from the Southern Prefecture. Your appointment was prepared in the capital before you even left — the teacher arranged for it long in advance! And doesn’t that show how valued you are?”

Xiao Wu was immediately convinced. “You’re right, you’re right — let’s start learning!”

“Do your proper work first.”

“Right, right.” Xiao Wu was in a bit of a fluster — those who learn things only on paper tend to be just like this once they step onto the battlefield. You can read about others doing the job as much as you like, but when it is your own turn, you will still lose your footing.

He steadied himself, went to Zhù Ying, and explained his difficulty. Zhù Ying smiled. “But isn’t it right there in front of you? You still have four people — tell them: whoever performs best, you will recommend for promotion.”

By all the saints — that’s a trick I could have thought of! I could have thought of it! Isn’t it just dangling a carrot? Xiao Wu was overwhelmed with regret — how could he have forgotten? He took his leave at once and went off to inspect the storehouses.

Gu Tong watched him hurry away, then noticed what seemed like someone peering from behind a pillar, and shook his head. He went in and asked Zhù Ying, “Teacher — about that property: are we still repairing it? My uncle has been here a while, and I can find people to handle this. This time it definitely won’t be like with the furniture!”

“Go through Academician Qi. Look over the register of craftsmen — this is public business and will be deducted from this year’s corvée labor.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying said, “Come — let us go inspect the duty rooms and the rest as well. Since we are at it, we might as well see it through to the end.”

“It is time for the noon meal.”

“Then isn’t that even better? Let us see what everyone is eating.”

Zhù Ying was still in plain clothes as she slipped quietly with Gu Tong into the dining hall for a look. The prefecture yamen’s kitchen had a general commissary and a private stove; the quality of the dishes was strikingly inconsistent. The same stir-fried greens — when prepared for the Prefect, they were vivid green and tender; when given to the yamen runners, somehow they always came out looking brownish and slimy. The one advantage was that it filled the stomach.

The yamen runners did not complain. On paper they each drew a daily stipend of about a peck or so of grain, and having the yamen provide meals was an act of goodwill added at some point by some kind-hearted earlier official. Having something to eat was good enough. Even though the cook skimmed off a portion and the buyer for supplies also took his cut, there was still enough to fill a belly at this one meal — saving the household a bit of grain for the day.

The cook’s skimming was not too excessive; the buyer’s profits were somewhat more generous. Xiao Wu was suddenly anxious again — this was technically within his jurisdiction as well. Right now he had his hands full trying to manage everything at once.

Zhù Ying said, “Do your proper work. The rest can come later.”

“Yes.”

With a casual word or two she improved the yamen runners’ meals somewhat, without increasing the prefecture yamen’s expenditure, while still giving the yamen runners a tangible benefit. Xiao Wu said, “Prefect, you have been busy these many days. We were supposed to take a rest, and now because of this subordinate’s incompetence, you have had to deal with this as well.”

“Hmm? I was resting, wasn’t I?” Zhù Ying said, genuinely puzzled. She had stayed right here in the yamen and had not gone about stirring up trouble at all.

She casually instructed Xiang Le to take charge of the kitchen arrangement in the meantime, until a proper replacement was found. Then she went to inspect the duty rooms and gave orders for a budget to be approved: replace the broken tables, chairs, and the like with new ones, and have the leaking spots patched up by a set deadline. After giving those instructions, she did not eat with the yamen runners after all — if she stayed, these people would certainly not be able to eat in peace.

Zhù Ying had said she was going to “rest for a few days,” yet from the outside she appeared to be a rather busy prefect. They all said new officials come in with three blazes of fire — she had first burned the Registrar of Households and the Registrar of Granaries. What was she going to do next?

“Three blazes of fire?” Zhù Ying smiled. “For a new official, the whole first year is one of getting nothing done.”

That evening, in the outer study, Gu Tong, Qi Tai, and Xiao Wu were all present, and Xiao Wu had come with something he had heard outside to report to her.

Qi Tai said in surprise, “And the Prefect still considers this getting nothing done? Asu County, and everything here in our prefecture already in order, and the accounts so much better than other places for the transfer — when we were in Fulu County, those accounts were a complete disaster, entirely dependent on you recovering the back taxes. If not for that, they would have been far worse!”

Gu Tong said, “Yes — a breath of fresh air!”

“That was all fruit from trees planted earlier. We have not yet done a single thing here.”

For a new official, the whole first year was about understanding the situation and getting subordinates in order.

Gu Tong smiled. “But something has been done! The repairs of the residences are already being arranged — and this time they will definitely be done right! The subordinates say you truly love the people like your own children, and treasure your staff. Teacher, throughout the prefecture — the civil clerks and yamen runners alike — everyone inside has their hearts set on you.”

Zhù Ying asked, “Simply because they eat a little better than before, live a little better than before, draw a stipend a little higher than before? When you add it up, does it come to roughly double?”

Qi Tai said, “Is that not enough? Back when I was at the Ministry of Revenue, if someone could double my pay, I would do whatever they asked.”

Zhù Ying said, “What if someone offered five times? Ten times? Not to everyone — just one or two carefully selected individuals. Could that buy them over?”

The faces of all three changed color. Zhù Ying said, “Doing good is difficult; doing harm is far too easy.”

Gu Tong said earnestly, “People do have a conscience. Most also know what is good for them. If someone stirs up trouble meaning to harm someone, there are always others who will protect the good person.”

Qi Tai and Xiao Wu both nodded seriously.

Zhù Ying said, “That is true. Well then — after Magistrate Wang arrives, I will go with him to Hedong County for a look. Academician Qi, Xiao Wu, you two will stay here. Ah-Tong, Xiang Le — come with me.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying said, “Xiao Wu — learning is not done in a single day, but it must be pursued. Do not let your duties suffer either. If you want to shine in public, you must first toil in private. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Academician Qi, I will not need to remind you much — just keep going over the accounts, the more detailed the better. And Xiao Wu, keep an eye on things for Academician Qi.”

“Yes!” Xiao Wu answered with enthusiasm.

Zhù Ying said, “That will do.”

She said “a few days’ rest” — and truly meant only “a few days.” The moment Magistrate Wang arrived, she was busy again.

Magistrate Wang arrived at the prefecture yamen with a cluster of small blisters at the corner of his mouth, having ridden hard to get there. It was the middle of the afternoon. He was somewhat worried that the Prefect might not be in a clear state of mind at this hour.

In Magistrate Wang’s experience, the best time to discuss official business with an official was in the morning. By noon, some officials had already started drinking, and in the afternoon they were foggy and befuddled, unable to deal with anything serious — unless you happened to have a superior who was frightening enough to shock someone sober.

On arrival at the posthouse, he first sent someone to present his calling card, dispatched packets of gratuities, and had someone carry a generous gift over to the prefecture yamen. He was a straightforward man, but not a fool — gifts for one’s superior were not something to cut corners on.

Zhù Ying was in the back quarters telling Zhang Xiangu, “I need to go on an inspection tour.”

Zhang Xiangu counted the days in her head and asked, “How long will you be away?”

“Around twenty days, give or take.”

“That long? That’s almost enough for a round trip to the circuit city.”

“Well, I need to take a look at the counties below — if I don’t see things for myself, I won’t know what to do.”

“Ah, yes, so it makes sense. We will be fine at home! Don’t worry about us!” Zhang Xiangu promised readily. “Everything at home is almost sorted! In a couple of days I’ll plant a potted flower! Oh — and when you get back, our new cellar will be ready too, so this year’s oranges will have somewhere to go!”

“How did you all get so preoccupied with oranges?”

“Oranges are wonderful.”

“There are even better things.”

Zhang Xiangu was delighted. “Really?”

“Yes.”

She was thinking about it — planting the idle land of the entire prefecture with oranges? It was not out of the question, but she also wanted something else. Otherwise, if the orange trees fell ill or yields suddenly dropped, everyone would be impoverished at once. It would be best if each of the four counties had its own specialty product beyond grain — perhaps something grown like oranges, or perhaps a handicraft. Each product primarily associated with one county, with the other three counties producing it in smaller amounts supplementing the main producer. That way, even if the primary output suffered a setback, there would still be something else to fill the gap. Having a few extra skills was never a bad thing.

If heaven was unkind and all four products were ruined at once, then she could count herself truly unlucky.

Beyond the four counties of the Southern Prefecture, she also thought about Asu County. Asu County’s output was modest across the board — mountain land was always more prone to poverty than flatland. She made a mental note of this as well.

She said to Zhang Xiangu, “I will leave old Hou at home. He is one of our oldest people and everyone trusts him. I’ll also leave Gu Tong — he can handle anything that comes up outside, and I have already told him that if there is something he needs men for, he can go to the guild hall to find them. Gu Tong’s maternal uncle is there.”

Zhang Xiangu said, “What could possibly happen? The weather is so hot — we don’t even feel like going out. We will just rest and wait for you to come back.”

“Good.”

Huajie asked, “Your income is a good deal more than it used to be — what are you planning to do with it? I think, since we have no use for it in business here, why not — when the chance arises — send it to the capital and have Young Master Wen or Elder Sister Jin place it in some land for us?”

Zhù Ying said, “There is no one heading north right now — let it sit for a bit, and keep half.”

“Oh?”

“Setting aside Lord Leng the Military Governor — the young lady of Lord Zheng’s household is probably at the age where money is needed.” Zheng Chuan was already a young lad; Zheng Lin was even older, and her wedding was right around the corner. The Zheng household was surely not going to keep her at home for life — if the wedding was not next year, then the year after. A proper gift would need to be saved up for her too.

Huajie said, “I have noted it. When you go up to the circuit city, pick something up there as well.”

“Alright.”

They also helped Zhù Ying pack her travel things, and kept at it until it was thoroughly dark before each retired.

The next day, Magistrate Wang dressed neatly and came to call on his superior.

Zhù Ying had once been his younger colleague, and was now his superior. He was the most natural of all the people involved. He exchanged a proper greeting with Zhù Ying, who returned a half-bow, and invited him to sit. A yamen runner came to serve tea.

Zhù Ying said, “The weather is scorching — it must have been a tiring journey.”

“Not at all, Prefect. It is only right that this subordinate should come and pay respects.”

Zhù Ying said, “How was the road?”

“Fine. The crops along the roadside looked quite healthy.” He said, “I just don’t know — how exactly does one go about planting this winter wheat of yours?”

Zhù Ying smiled. “You still have not forgotten about that. I was just about to bring it up. How about this — would you be willing to come with me to take a look at Hedong County?”

Magistrate Wang was taken aback, then said, “Alright.” When your superior wants to visit your jurisdiction, you cannot refuse. Because refusing would have no effect.

He said, “This subordinate will go back and make preparations.”

“No need for all that fuss. We can go together. You brought quite a number of people with you — I still need to speak with them — so let us just travel lightly and comfortably, taking our time to look around.”

Magistrate Wang could not very well object, and agreed. Zhù Ying said, “I’m not going to eat you alive. They are in such a rush to clear old cases that in the scramble they made mistakes. Well, I suppose I should first go and address those wrongful imprisonments, and then we can discuss the rest. Fortunately, autumn harvest and wheat planting are still a while off.”

Magistrate Wang quickly said, “Prefect, do please take a good long look at my county.”

“Of course. Take a day’s rest, and we set out tomorrow?”

“As the Prefect orders.”

Zhù Ying assembled the officials and clerks of the prefecture yamen and announced that she would be going to Hedong County.

Wang the Registrar of Merit said, “If the Prefect is going on inspection, how shall matters in the yamen be handled in the meantime? If something urgent arises, what should be done? Whom will the Prefect be taking? We would like to know so we may prepare accordingly.”

Zhù Ying said, “We do not need many people. I will take Xiang An, Xiang Le, Ding Gui, and Xiao Liu — four — plus ten yamen runners. You all remain here at the prefecture. Any urgent official communications and court bulletins, have the Registrar of Granaries send them to me right away. Non-urgent matters can wait. Everyone, mind your own duties.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying also said, “Registrar of Households and Registrar of Granaries — the repair works on the residences and so on: keep an eye on things. I will be reviewing these when I return.”

“Yes.”

With assignments made, Zhù Ying mounted her horse, brought her party, and rode out together with Magistrate Wang toward Hedong County.

Wang the Registrar of Merit and the others came out of the city to see them off. Magistrate Guo of Nanping County had caught wind of it too and came along. The two men’s parting words were full of reluctance. Magistrate Guo said, “Prefect — the moment you leave, this subordinate feels lost. Even if you just sit in the prefecture city and do nothing — just your presence here is a comfort, a sense of support, of something to rely on.”

Wang the Registrar of Merit said, “Indeed — without a principal official, there is no backbone to the place.”

Zhù Ying said with a laugh to the two of them, “I have served under others, and now I am someone else’s superior — and there is still my own superior above me. I know how it feels from both sides. Loosen up a bit.”

The two men hurriedly said they would not dare, but found a certain comfort in those words. A superior who knows how things feel on every level — such a person might actually be possible to get along with. Neither Magistrate Guo nor Wang the Registrar of Merit had any real desire to openly clash with their superior; if there was fighting to be done, you had to have someone else to push to the front as a target. All things being equal, if the superior was reasonably decent, you just listened to them! Both men smiled.

Zhù Ying rode alongside Magistrate Wang. They were still in Nanping County, and Magistrate Wang said with genuine feeling, “Nanping County is really lovely!”

“Lovely in what way?”

“The terrain is good, the land is good.” He said it sincerely.

“That it is, and the location is good too.” Zhù Ying agreed.

Nanping County had “south” in its name, yet among the four counties of the Southern Prefecture it sat farthest to the north. It was the oldest county in the prefecture, and the very name “Southern Prefecture” derived from it. The other three counties had all spread southward from it. Though it had its share of hill land, it had more flatland than the other counties, while Sicheng County had more flatland than Fulu County as well, and was thus more convenient for someone like Huang the Twelfth to concentrate landholdings.

Hedong County lay between the two — it had some hill land but was better off than Fulu County. Its population figures tracked accordingly, as fertile and prosperous places always had higher populations while barren and poor places had fewer people.

The two rode along talking, and Zhù Ying asked, “Do you have any sense of how many undocumented households there are in your county?”

Magistrate Wang blinked. “Whatever this subordinate is able to manage has been managed; what I cannot reach — that I simply don’t know. Trying to uncover hidden households is difficult. The Prefect has done it herself, so…”

He started to say something in the middle and thought better of it — Zhù Ying’s skill at rooting out hidden households was genuinely formidable.

Zhù Ying smiled. “No rush. I don’t even know exactly how many hidden households Fulu County still has now — just a rough estimate. But they certainly exist. A person who goes their whole life without ever setting foot in the county seat — why would they ever register themselves and take on corvée labor? Think along those lines, and you will figure out how to uncover hidden households.”

“Yes, yes.” Magistrate Wang nodded repeatedly. “I should have sought the Prefect’s advice much sooner — if only there had been an opportunity back then, things would have gone a good deal more smoothly. Prefect — about the winter wheat…”

“Is your grain and revenue in deficit?”

Magistrate Wang’s heart gave a lurch, and his face fell. “Who doesn’t have some? This subordinate’s predecessor fell ill and died within half a year of arrival. By the time I came, he had already been dead for half a year. When I took over, the accounts were a complete mess. I’ve been working them off these past few years — still paying it back.”

Zhù Ying looked Magistrate Wang over. His clothing and accessories, while perhaps provincial, were not exactly frugal. Silk garments, gold and silver accessories — while paying off a deficit, he had apparently not been depriving himself too harshly.

She had looked over Magistrate Wang’s official record and knew something of his father and grandfather. He held a hereditary post — a paternal grandfather had been an official. But his father and grandfather had died early, leaving him without any strong backing, and he had eventually been placed here. Looking at his annual performance evaluations over the years — all of them mid-range, cycling between “satisfactory” and “below satisfactory,” never once reaching “above satisfactory.”

It would seem that back in the day, Governor Lu had not been particularly impressed with him, yet he had at least been willing to put in the work — he had made the grade, just barely.

Zhù Ying said, “Yes — those deficits one inherits can be a real headache.”

“This subordinate is too slow-witted — never thought of the auspicious omen approach! Send it up one more time and it stops being worth anything.”

The two talked as they rode. Zhù Ying had herself been a county magistrate, and the things she said were very much in tune with Magistrate Wang’s sensibilities. Before they even reached Hedong County, she had learned everything about Magistrate Wang. He had ability, but not a great deal of it; his redeeming quality was that his heart seemed to be in a reasonably decent place. His greatest wish right now was to successfully grow winter wheat — if he could manage that, it would get him promoted and transferred out.

“A malarial and miasmic region — that reputation is well earned!” he said. “With nowhere better to go, I just have to stay here. I haven’t been able to see my elderly mother, wife, and children for years!”

He had also brought a concubine along to his post, as was the norm — a sensible person generally did not bring their proper family to a place like this. He was quite impressed that Zhù Ying had actually brought her parents along, and in his words there was a trace of disapproval: “People of that age — really, they ought to be living somewhere comfortable for their declining years.”

Zhù Ying smiled and said nothing in response.

On arriving at Hedong County, Zhù Ying did not stay at the posthouse but instead said, “I have heard that there is an old temple in Hedong, with a White-Robed Bodhisattva enshrined within who is said to be quite efficacious. Would it be convenient to take up lodging there?”

Magistrate Wang said, “Of course! Of course!”

The Guanyin temple in Hedong County was fairly well-known, somewhat larger than most, with plenty of guest rooms. Zhù Ying selected two courtyards — one for herself, the other for the yamen runners.

She settled in there first, and together with Magistrate Wang took a look around the county seat and its immediate surroundings. The next day, she and Magistrate Wang went out to the nearby villages for a further look. Hedong County was somewhat smaller in area than Fulu County, and Zhù Ying moved quickly, like a rider on a passing horse.

After only a couple of days of looking, Zhù Ying said, “I have a rough sense of the situation here. I suddenly had a dream last night, and I feel I should observe a few days of quiet vegetarian retreat. All the business at the prefecture has been giving me a headache — this is a perfect chance for some stillness and recovery.”

Magistrate Wang said, “Very good, very good.”

From that day forward, Zhù Ying remained in the rear courtyard of the Guanyin temple in “quiet retreat.” The yamen runners were free to come and go as they pleased, occasionally wandering around Hedong County and buying a few things. Ding Gui attended to Zhù Ying’s personal needs in her quarters, carrying in three meals a day and carrying out the remains along with the dishes afterward. All washing and bathing water he brought in and took out.

Magistrate Wang was preoccupied and went once a day to check on her, but never once saw Zhù Ying emerge. Ding Gui would pass along the message: “The Prefect is in retreat and said to come see her in a few days.”

Magistrate Wang had no choice but to return to the county yamen. The public order in Hedong County during these days was especially good.

What he did not know was that Zhù Ying was no longer inside the Guanyin temple at all. That very afternoon, she had slipped out the back with Xiang Le, Xiang An, and Xiao Liu, all in patched clothing. They hastily purchased a mule and a donkey cart, and before the city gates closed for the night, they had already left Hedong County behind.

Once out of the city, Xiao Liu asked, “Prefect, where are we going? It will be dark soon — we need to find a place to stay.”

Zhù Ying said, “I noticed a roadside inn when we came through. Let us head there first.”

The party arrived at the inn and asked for lodging. A single room was given to Zhù Ying; Xiao Liu would sleep on the floor of Zhù Ying’s room to be at her call. Xiang Le and Xiang An shared a room. Zhù Ying said, “Do not worry about me — just go to sleep. In the morning, get the animals sorted and ask the innkeeper for food and water. We have a road to travel.”

Xiao Liu fetched water and stood in Zhù Ying’s room; he gave a start when he saw her draw her blade and begin swinging it. He clutched the wash basin tightly and stared. “Prefect?”

Zhù Ying sheathed the blade swiftly. “If I don’t keep practicing, my hands will get rusty.”

The next day, the party set out with some dried provisions, water, and a bit of pickled vegetables. Xiang An and the other two were worried about Zhù Ying enduring hardship, but she seemed more at ease than any of them. Zhù Ying said, “Do not worry about me — look after yourselves. Remember: you two are my younger siblings, same surname, fifth-degree kinship removed. Xiao Liu is my cousin on my mother’s side. We are small traders out to see whether there is any business to be had.”

Xiang Le said, “For more credibility, a small trader with empty hands ought to be someone who has just sold off their goods and is heading home, or someone going out to collect local goods.”

Zhù Ying said, “I have it figured out.”

She produced a small box from her bag, opened it, unwrapped the small paper packet inside — and inside were dense rows of embroidery needles.

Xiang An said, “Needles — now there’s a good trade.”

They left the main road and took the smaller paths. Zhù Ying acquired a peddler’s shoulder pole from one village they passed, and also bought some miscellaneous handmade items from the villagers. She threw the pole onto the donkey cart. Xiang Le and Xiao Liu took turns driving the cart, and Xiang An rode the mule alongside.

At the next town, Zhù Ying bought a few local snacks and handicrafts, filling up the peddler’s pole. She bought a length of cloth from the town’s fabric shop, cut a slender bamboo pole by the road, and wrote on the cloth: “Oracle Speaks — All Answers True.” She raised the cloth on the bamboo pole — a pennant banner, just like that.

The three watched in astonishment. Here was an official of considerable rank — and she could do this?

Xiang Le said cautiously, “Are we going from village to village through Hedong County the way you did through Fulu?”

Zhù Ying said, “First let us move through Hedong, then slip quietly into Nanping.”

“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? If I arrive in Nanping with a full procession, do you think they will let me see the real state of things? They will have it all arranged for me before I get there. Even if I do not move against them, I still need to see things for myself — I need to have the lay of the land in my own head! Quickly now! Open for business! Open for business! I told the family I would be out for twenty days in total — we need to be back on time, and let’s not have people at home worrying.”