“Marvelous!” Grand Justice Dou turned through the case documents and uttered a soft exclamation of admiration.

Completed cases requiring review from every region had to be reported to the Court of Judicial Review; sentences of exile or above for ordinary people at the local level fell within this scope. Zhù Ying therefore submitted the gambling cases and the rest together to the Court, and waited for their approval before the exile sentences could be carried out. Documents of this kind moved at a fairly ordinary pace, and by the time they reached Grand Justice Dou, everyone in Southern Prefecture — gambling-den owner, gamblers and all — had already received a hundred strokes of the plank.

A simple review of an exile sentence did not require the Grand Justice to personally decide anything; those below merely needed to verify the records, then compile a batch of cases to report to the Grand Justice. However, even after Grand Justice Dou’s “tidying,” a great many mid-to-lower-level staff at the Court of Judicial Review still thought fondly of the time when Zhù Ying had been there. Seeing it was a case she had adjudicated, they first read it through carefully, found it very good, and deliberately placed it somewhere prominent for Grand Justice Dou to see.

Grand Justice Dou, in glancing over the gambling cases, was not paying them much attention — he was about to set them down when he caught the latter half, and the admiring comment slipped out. He suddenly realized the name “Zhù Ying” was rather familiar, and called over to Old Huang, who was pouring tea: “I recall that this Prefect Zhù was formerly at the Court of Judicial Review — is she the one I’m thinking of?”

Old Huang’s ears pricked up. “If Your Excellency means the Prefect of Southern Prefecture, then yes — she was promoted from County Magistrate of Fulu. She passed through the capital some time ago, which is why this servant remembers her.”

Grand Justice Dou nodded. “So it really is her! A capable person indeed!” If only the Court of Judicial Review could produce another one like her.

As he mused, he approved the case file and passed it to the Ministry of Justice for final review, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

Old Huang bowed with a curved back and backed out of the room, thinking to himself: I wonder how the young Prefect Zhù is getting on these days.

Zhù Ying, as it happened, was pressing sugarcane.

The memorial Su Mingluan had submitted found no grounds for the court to refuse it, and approval came quickly. Both the Emperor and the Grand Council felt it was a good thing. Though the court yearned for everyone to be completely under its command — as smoothly responsive as one’s own arm — the two members of the Grand Council kept their heads. What Zhù Ying could see, they had also perceived: the court could not achieve direct and effective governance over Asu County. Under these circumstances, Su Mingluan’s willingness to have her subordinate officials accept imperial appointments was already a step forward.

The rescript arrived at Southern Prefecture and was forwarded to Su Mingluan by Zhù Ying. Wang Yunhe also wrote Zhù Ying a short personal letter on the Emperor’s behalf, urging her to keep up the good work and manage things well. The second half of the letter was Wang Yunhe speaking for himself: manage well, do not move rashly.

After reading it, Zhù Ying traveled to Asu County in person to deliver the imperial appointment to Su Mingluan. Following the structure of the mountain-below government offices, Su Mingluan had reconstituted her own system of subordinate officials: a deputy chief, officials corresponding to the “Six Ministries,” and in addition a “garrison” section. Her personal guard was separately listed, retaining the character of the mountain stronghold. The shaman office was also given a distinct department, rather than being subordinated to a minor branch under some official’s jurisdiction as it was for Buddhist and Daoist matters below the mountain.

Zhù Ying brought Su Zhe back up to the stronghold and personally delivered the imperial document. All within the stronghold who were aligned with Su Mingluan were pleased. Zhù Ying also noted that a portion of those present looked rather dejected — evidently they were those who had been sidelined.

Su Zhe, seeing her mother again, was in high spirits, laughing and chatting as she told her about life below the mountain. How A’Weng would sometimes squat on top of the plum-blossom training stakes and sometimes sway in the swing. How Flower Auntie was always very busy, but she liked her very much. And how the Great-grandpa and Great-grandma both liked to dance, in a style different from what the stronghold danced. Then she giggled and said, “A’Weng is so funny — he’s a bit silly. Can’t talk well, just sits there with me.”

Su Mingluan was quite taken aback — she could not imagine Zhù Ying being a person of few words, much less one who would simply sit in companionable silence with a small girl.

Having entrusted her daughter to someone else, and seeing that her daughter was far more cheerful than she had been at the stronghold, Su Mingluan suppressed her questions.

Zhù Ying returned to the prefectural city after completing this important matter. By now the harvest below the mountain was finished and the grain was being dried, while the tax collection had not yet begun — she had just the right window to do some research on sugarcane.

She had bought autumn sugarcane, which would be harvested the following year. She had left it stored for quite a while already; in another two months, new sugarcane for this year would be coming onto the market. She had spent money on old stock rather too early.

Taking advantage of the fact that she had already distributed various tasks to others, she found herself temporarily at leisure and began to investigate sugar-making. Small localities produced a bit of brown sugar — or really, anything with even a trace of sweetness was valuable. Having seen the great world of the capital, she knew that the finest sugar was white and pure, so that became the primary direction of her research.

Before getting her hands dirty, she bought another large blank notebook and began keeping records. Based on her experience researching winter wheat cultivation, this method was very effective: it recorded every problem encountered at each step, allowing future work to avoid those mistakes, while also facilitating analysis and conclusions.

With the notebook ready, she set to work. She went through the whole process herself from start to finish, and the result made her furrow her brow slightly. Having seen better, she could tell that this batch — by both color and taste — was not very good. Zhù Ying rubbed her nose; producing this result on her first attempt was still not bad, but compared to what she had eaten and seen before, it fell far short. And it was a bit sticky.

Zhù Ying crouched by the large wok and sank into thought.

Zhang Xiangu was pleased that her daughter could rest for a stretch. In previous years this had always been Zhù Ying’s busiest season; now that she could be at leisure and putter about, Zhang Xiangu was happy too. Seeing Zhù Ying crouching motionless, Zhang Xiangu wiped her hands on her apron and said, “What’s the matter? Before, we could barely taste anything like this! Now just the smell is sweet! I think it’s fine.”

Zhù Ying thought: At this rate, I can’t sell it at a good price!

With this level of production, it was no better than what other places made. To earn more money she would need to plant on a large scale — but that was not possible! Farmland had to be kept for crops; food output had to come first. Growing sugarcane on top of that and then processing it would be very difficult.

She had a few ideas about the stuff. Chewing cane was not as intensely sweet as drinking cane juice, and cane juice was not as intensely sweet as sugar — the drier it got, the sweeter it became. And from what she had tasted, the whiter it was, the sweeter it seemed. In any case, judging by appearance alone, she had already established her evaluation standard: white and dry. What she had made now fell short on both counts. She would have to ask craftsmen — she learned things quickly, but some kinds of experience had to come from artisans.

She said, “This batch — divide it up among yourselves to eat. If you don’t want it all, share it with the neighbors. Don’t just let it spoil.” Even sugar of this quality had not been easy to taste when she was young. There were plenty of poor people in Southern Prefecture too — might as well share it.

She would need to buy more sugarcane.

Zhù Ying placed a piece of broken sugar in a bowl and sat slowly watching it. Zhang Xiangu, seeing her daughter like this, began to think she might as well go deal with official business.

Xiang An came in from outside, clutching a letter: “Your Excellency, a letter has arrived.”

Zhang Xiangu quickly took the bowl away: “Go do your proper work!”

Zhù Ying wiped her hands, walked out of the kitchen, and casually plucked the letter from Xiang An’s hand. “A letter this time of year?”

Something was off about this. If it were someone from the capital, they would typically send a personal messenger or slip the letter in with official documents — the origin would be clearly identifiable, and Xiang An would simply report the sender’s name. And Leng Yun was in the departmental capital, not far from the prefectural city; he would simply state his own name directly.

She opened the letter and looked — now she knew who had sent it.

After Zhù Ying had later returned to the capital and then headed south again, she had traveled for a stretch with the former Grand Councillor Chen Lan. In the capital Chen Lan had offered her considerable guidance and introduced her to many “fellow townspeople” and old acquaintances of his. Later, when Zhù Ying established meeting halls for her fellow townspeople outside Southern Prefecture, her first stop beyond the department was anchored on Chen Lan’s old acquaintances, fellow townspeople, and connections with the Zheng household. These people had all given her some measure of assistance, or at least had not thrown obstacles in the path of her meeting hall.

Today’s letter was from a fellow townsman, Prefect Chen. Prefect Chen shared a surname with Chen Lan but was not from the same clan; as fellow townspeople, however, outsiders assumed they were the same family. Those “fellow townspeople” like Zhù Ying knew that the people surnamed Chen in their home region comprised three separate branches, each with its own genealogy and generational seniority system.

Prefect Chen and Zhù Ying had maintained an occasional correspondence over the years — in the circumstances of everyone having left their native land and being separated by hundreds of li, this counted as a close connection. He had also given some support to Zhù Ying’s fellow-townsman meeting hall, and Zhù Ying had sent him tangerines and mountain goods through the hall; he would reciprocate with gifts in return.

Previously it had been Zhù Ying who relied on his prestige. This letter was Prefect Chen seeking a favor from Zhù Ying.

His letter first praised Zhù Ying for her “distinguished achievements at a young age,” specifically citing two: pacifying the distant Yi peoples, and encouraging agriculture. Within the encouragement of agriculture, winter wheat had been a particularly outstanding feature. Prefect Chen also wanted to try planting winter wheat and was writing to seek advice and assistance.

Indeed — Zhù Ying had been the first to make a great public case that winter wheat could be grown in the south, and while she had been cleverly perceptive, others were not entirely slow-witted either. Once they saw her doing it, their minds began turning. Prefect Chen was one such person; he reasoned that his own territory was slightly further north than Southern Prefecture, and further north than Fulu County — would it not be even easier to grow winter wheat? He had also heard through certain channels that the Ministry of Revenue was pushing this initiative forward, and that Zhù Ying had apparently cleared a key threshold because of it and received her crimson official robes.

Prefect Chen wanted to do this too. First, it would benefit the people — a merit for the present age, a blessing for posterity. Second, it would be of great assistance to his own record and prospects for promotion. Third, since the court and the Emperor valued it, he could also please his superiors. Since Grand Councillor Chen had retired, those at the very top of the court were no longer “their people” — he still had to work hard at currying favor with others.

Prefect Chen was also acquainted with Chen Meng; since Chen Meng was stationed further north, if Prefect Chen wanted to obtain more seed grain, he need not simply wait for the Ministry of Revenue’s allocations through Xian Jing, nor dig into his own pocket, nor wait for Zhù Ying’s supplies to gradually increase — he could negotiate directly with Chen Meng.

The sole issue was that the climate and conditions in north and south differed. Prefect Chen had considered this as well: northern planting experience might not suit the south. Southern Prefecture was in the south, and though several hundred li away, it was still a closer reference point.

So Prefect Chen had come to ask a favor. He wanted Zhù Ying to give him a method for planting — if she could provide an experienced old farmer, that would be even better; if there were also a few hundred bushels of “seed grain grown in the south,” that would be ideal. However, Prefect Chen was not asking for something for nothing: he also kindly reminded Zhù Ying that seed grain could degrade over generations and that she would do well to pay attention to seed selection.

Zhù Ying took the letter back to the front study and read it through carefully. Prefect Chen bore her no ill will, and she was genuinely keen to see winter wheat spread more widely — and thinking of Xian Jing, she was all the more willing to help Prefect Chen with this. But Prefect Chen’s request deserved careful thought.

She did not rush to write a reply. Instead she said to Xiang An, “How is your martial sister?”

Xiang An’s heart gave a small jolt. “My martial sister has had a minor illness.”

Zhù Ying nodded. There was a faint smell of medicine about Xiang An; Xiang Le was fine, the family members were all fine — the person close enough to Xiang An for the smell to linger was, within Southern Prefecture, countable on one hand. Unless there was someone she did not know about, the answer was written on Xiang An herself.

Zhù Ying said, “If she is not better yet, you may mention it to A’Jie.”

Xiang An said, “Yes.”

Zhù Ying puzzled again over the letter. Whether for skilled farmers or for seed grain, she could provide both, but careful selection would be required. The farmer could not have a boastful temperament, and Prefect Chen’s side would need to treat these farmers well. She weighed her words and wrote a carefully indirect letter, then called for Gu Tong.

Gu Tong was at that moment with Peng Sishi studying engineering work, and his mind was still a bit foggy when he was summoned. Zhù Ying asked him, “Has your family’s land been planted on the two-crop rice-and-wheat rotation already?”

He said, “The wheat isn’t in season yet.”

Then he corrected himself: “Yes, it’s all been planted, with adequate fertilization, and the yield has been quite good.”

Zhù Ying asked further, “Who are the best hands? Find two suitable ones — I have a use for them.”

Gu Tong said, “I have them! I have them! Is it for planting here in the prefectural city?”

“It’s for the prefectural city, but not this prefecture.”

Zhù Ying calculated the amount of seed grain needed and felt the quantity was not a problem. A private exchange between two prefects — it could be a matter of some consequence or very little; a modest amount of seed grain should be fine. She had Gu Tong go home and select two farmers willing to make a long journey. From the yamen she also picked several white-duty runners; all would travel under Ding Gui’s lead and be sent to Prefect Chen. She would also have a fair copy made of her winter wheat planting notes to give to Prefect Chen — that task too fell to Gu Tong.

With these assignments given, tax collection from the counties below had also reached its final stage. Quick workers like the Guan and Mo county magistrates had sent people ahead to give notice: they would be arriving in the prefectural city in a couple of days with the year’s tax grain, and would Zhù Ying please have the granaries ready.

Zhù Ying had no choice but to set aside the sugarcane matter for the moment and attend to this instead. It was also vital to the prefectural office’s prosperity for the coming year — Qi Tai, Little Wu, and Chief Secretary Zhang had all been closely concerned with it from early on, with Chief Secretary Zhang having already requested a table of distribution ratios between the prefectural office and the counties below and noted this task in his book.

This year’s harvest was good. The prefectural granaries were ready; Nanping County, being close, was the first to begin delivering grain to the prefectural office, the kernels plump and full. Magistrates Mo, Guan, and the others arrived in turn; Magistrate Wang arrived last, but with tidy figures.

Everyone gathered first at the prefectural office to give a clear summary of this year’s main tasks. For the grain delivery to the department, Zhù Ying would be leading the convoy in her proper capacity — and all four of them were entirely at ease! When she had been only a county magistrate, she had already been quite formidable. This time, delivering the grain tribute was bound to go very smoothly!

Their guess proved correct. Zhù Ying’s grain delivery went fairly smoothly. Once the grain was handed over, they did not immediately leave but went to call on Leng Yun at the prefectural Governor’s office.

The weather had gradually lost some of its heat. Leng Yun was dressed more tidily now than in summer. Seeing Zhù Ying, he said, “Just the right time!”

Zhù Ying said, “It’s always this time of year when I come to deliver grain and report on affairs. Isn’t it always the right time?”

“I don’t mean that! Come quick and look at these two — they’re at each other’s throats.”

Zhù Ying was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Leng Yun said with a pained expression, “Right at the crucial moment, these two have started a quarrel!” He gestured to the other of his advisors — a Mister Wang — to explain. The usual pattern was that either Adviser Xue or Adviser Dong was at Leng Yun’s side; today neither was present.

Mister Wang also wore a suffering expression and said, “The two Advisers have quarreled over the question of who should oversee the grain and taxes. Grain-and-tax matters should by rights be Adviser Dong’s concern — he is an expert in accounts. Litigation and criminal matters are Adviser Xue’s domain — he is skilled in catching criminals and adjudicating cases. Recently Adviser Xue has also shown considerable interest in the grain-and-tax matters. We assumed there was some tacit understanding between the two senior advisers. But then…”

Zhù Ying had already anticipated this. Adviser Xue had been far too interested in the winter wheat initiative — presumably because Adviser Dong had received an official post while Adviser Xue had not.

Zhù Ying said, “Did the Governor not sit down and talk things through with both of them?”

Leng Yun threw up both hands. “What is there to talk through? And now they’re blaming me?! It’s such a trivial matter. You tell me — what should be done?”

Zhù Ying said, “This involves the people at the Governor’s side; only the Governor can make the decision. You must come up with the approach.”

She had made up her mind not to get involved. Criminal matters were originally Adviser Xue’s strong suit, but it was Adviser Dong who had happened upon the Huang Twelve case — and through it, had fortunately received an official post. Who could one appeal to about that? Had they not agreed on that arrangement at the time?

Leng Yun said, “I can’t just leave it now — the grain taxes have been collected, and the deputy governor will be delivering the grain to the capital. After that comes the planting of winter wheat! If these two start squabbling, that won’t do at all!” Although grain and taxes were Adviser Dong’s domain, if Adviser Xue were to drop everything and refuse to cooperate, he too would be in difficulty.

Zhù Ying spread both hands: “The Governor’s own people — it shouldn’t be left to others to manage. Why not talk to him directly yourself?”

“Talk about what? Ah, if there’s truly no other way, I suppose I’ll just have to send him back to the capital!”

“Tsk—”

“Right?” Leng Yun made a face of profound weariness. “He really does know how to make trouble.”

Zhù Ying was all the more determined not to get entangled in this. She said, “That would be a last resort. If there’s a chance of reasoning with him, do try.”

Adviser Dong had an official post and was already over sixty; Adviser Xue was only around forty. Going by age alone, Adviser Xue had the longer future ahead of him. But if Adviser Xue was too aggressive and too fixated on official rank, he might not be able to devote himself wholeheartedly to serving Leng Yun — and how to weigh that was not a decision she could make for Leng Yun. She did not know the background of these men — they had all been assigned by the Leng household — and they had no special connection to her. What business was it of hers to speak out of turn?

“They are both here to serve you and take your lead.” Zhù Ying said. She did not want the faintest trace of blame to land on her.

Leng Yun thought for a moment, then said, “Very well, I’ll think it through myself.”

Zhù Ying said, “If in the end the Governor cannot bring them to reconciliation and wishes to send someone away, please part on good terms and without leaving resentment behind.”

Leng Yun curled his lip. “As if I’d be afraid of him.”

Zhù Ying said nothing more.

Leng Yun still would not let her off, saying, “Next comes the winter wheat, doesn’t it?”

Zhù Ying said, “Yes.” She gave Leng Yun a fresh account of the slightly adjusted Southern Prefecture plan. Leng Yun could not recall all the specifics, and said, “It seems a bit different from what you told me last time.”

Zhù Ying said, “Yes. In the time since this subordinate arrived in Southern Prefecture, there have been some changes — minor ones. By current projections, the full areas of Fulu County and Sicheng County, and the greater part of Nanping County and Hedong County, should be achievable this year.”

Leng Yun asked curiously, “Why has it moved so fast all of a sudden?”

Because you and the others kept pressing! Zhù Ying said, “Sicheng County dealt with Huang Twelve last year, which made a great many things easier.” The land Huang’s family had accumulated through enclosure, though distributed, was in a continuous stretch and comparatively easy to manage. And now that the obstruction of Huang Twelve was gone, the water management infrastructure could be planned on a unified basis as well.

Magistrate Guo had become far more cooperative for some reason, and Magistrate Wang was also showing real drive.

Leng Yun said, “I wish I could handle a few more like that! Then everyone would have achievements to show, and none of this would be so tedious.”

Zhù Ying commiserated: “Indeed…” Eliminating powerful local magnates and registering hidden lands sounded simple but in practice was difficult: easy to exploit for ulterior motives, easy to be deceived in, and easy to have accusations made against you.

After this exchange with Leng Yun, Zhù Ying sensed that staying longer was unwise. Under the pretext of needing to return and arrange the winter wheat planting, she quickly led the county magistrates back to Southern Prefecture, even cutting short the customary shopping stop in the departmental capital.

Back in Southern Prefecture, Zhù Ying issued a firm directive to all four county magistrates: rest for a few days, then get ready for the winter wheat — it must be done well!

She herself began with Huajie and Zhang Xiangu to prepare gifts to send to the capital. The season was getting late; arriving in the capital with a great deal of cargo would mean reaching there by the twelfth month at the earliest. This year she was a prefect, so the gifts to various households would have to be somewhat more generous. In addition, there were the things she had set aside early for Zheng Lin’s wedding — though she did not know whether the girl had gotten engaged yet, to whom, or when she would marry. Better to prepare in advance: if not this year, then next, and keep accumulating for her.

She also busied herself writing letters. Maintaining good relations with the capital was just as important as achieving results in Southern Prefecture. This year she was especially writing a letter to Chen Lan’s household, planning to have the delivery team make a detour to bring him an extra share of gifts — now that she finally had more money and more people.

In the letter to Zhao Su, she wrote a few extra lines entrusting him with household matters. She asked him to keep the things prepared for Zheng Lin and, whenever he heard that Zheng Lin was about to become engaged or married, to send them along at an appropriate moment. She also wrote down various other instructions and had not forgotten certain “friends from humble days,” asking Zhao Su to time the distribution of some goods to Cao Chang and others around New Year’s.

This year there were an especially large number of letters to write — Zhù Ying spent an entire day before finishing them all. She dispatched a team led by Xiao Huang and Xiao Liu, and also allowed Little Wu and others to take packages home.

She timed the departure carefully — setting off slightly after the teams transporting grain and taxes to the court, clipping along behind them. This way she could benefit from the size and safety of the large official convoy without competing with it for road space.

That convoy had barely set off before Magistrate Guo came seeking an audience.

At this point the winter wheat had not yet been planted, and the construction work had barely broken ground. Zhù Ying said, “Is there something?”

Magistrate Guo smiled apologetically and said, “I’d like to borrow someone from the Prefect.”

Zhù Ying said, “Who?”

Magistrate Guo said, “Well — the Lady Jiang in the prefectural office.”

“Oh?”

Magistrate Guo said, “A case was just reported from below — a death. The deceased is a woman, and a newlywed at that. The husband’s family and the wife’s family are each insisting on a different account, and it’s an uproar. Nanping County has no woman as coroner; in the past they would find a midwife or the like. Seeing that Your Excellency has a fully equipped staff here, I thought about it when I got back: having a female coroner is genuinely more convenient. It costs almost nothing — just a bit of food through the year. Females in this line of work have always been rare; finding one now at short notice is out of the question. So I am asking for Your Excellency’s help.”

Zhù Ying said, “I understand. This isn’t difficult at all — but, oh — you plan to hire a female coroner?”

“The trouble is I cannot find one.”

“Hmm. Find two quick-witted women and have them learn from Xiao Jiang. I’ll approve this.”

Magistrate Guo said, “That would be wonderful! Thank you, Your Excellency! But this current case…”

“Niu Jin — please go and ask Xiao Jiang to come.”

Niu Jin answered and went, having already learned his way around: “Xiao Jiang” from Zhù Ying’s lips meant Lady Jiang; “Xiao Jiang” from others’ lips meant Jiang Zhou. He ran to the mortuary, stood at the door, and called out: “Lady Jiang, Your Excellency requests your presence.”

Xiao Jiang came out and asked, “What is it?”

Niu Jin said, “There is a case.”

“One moment.”

Since moving out of the prefectural office she had been subject to far fewer idle whispers. Correspondingly, because of the nature of the coroner’s profession, more people than before avoided her. Day to day, she even kept Jiang Zhou from coming around to see her too often. Hearing the summons, she locked her door and followed Niu Jin to the document office.

Magistrate Guo, seeing her arrive, felt a twinge of regret: What a shame — she’s quite a beauty.

Zhù Ying had already given Xiao Jiang a brief account and was asking her to accompany Magistrate Guo: “Take Jiang Zhou along. Oh, and Magistrate Guo — does the county office have female prison guards? If you can spare a couple, send them along to start learning from today. Xiao Jiang — are you willing to teach?”

Xiao Jiang smiled. “As long as they dare to learn.”

Magistrate Guo said, “There’s no time this round — the person has already died; any more delay and the body will start to decompose.”

Xiao Jiang composed her expression. “Then let us go.”

“But — you don’t need to prepare?”

“Your Excellency orders the horses and escort, I pack my tools, and then we call Little Zhou and go.”

Zhù Ying said, “Go and request vehicles and horses.”

“Yes.”

After Xiao Jiang’s party left, Zhù Ying asked Xiang Le, “How is your martial sister?” Over these past few days Xiang An, though given permission to be away, was consistently absent from her position at Zhù Ying’s side. Xiang An and Xiang Le were both quiet, punctual people; if not for something exceptional, they would never be absent from their guard duties.

Xiang Le said, “Da’niang looked her over and said her constitution was a little depleted from before; then Master died, and she was exhausted on top of that. She was held together by sheer willpower, and once she was settled and that will relaxed, she fell ill. Da’niang was kind and gave her quite a lot of good medicine. These past two days she has already improved somewhat.”

Zhù Ying said, “Good. Tell Xiang An not to wear herself out either.”

“Yes.”

Xiang Le was moved in her heart but said nothing of it, only staying close at Zhù Ying’s heels — then watched as Zhù Ying went back to pressing sugarcane juice, and went to lend her strength.

Huajie heard that Zhù Ying was in the kitchen and came to see what she was up to. Widow Lin said to her, “Men ought not to come into the kitchen.” Huajie told her, “This one just comes and goes. Look at Qiao’er — her father is in the kitchen every single day.”

Zhù Ying said, “That’s right.” She held her brush and recorded each step of her sugar-making attempts. In the midst of writing, she asked Huajie, “Do you have a notebook?”

“What?”

“Your prescriptions! Since the Academy Physician’s explanations don’t hold up, shouldn’t you be recording your tried-and-tested remedies and spreading them?”

Zhù Ying had been using this method since planting winter wheat in Fulu County. In making sugar, though she did not need to invent the method from scratch, she planned to first work through it by hand until she understood how it worked, and then find sugar-craft artisans to refine the technique — and this too needed to be recorded. Both were similar endeavors. Why should Huajie’s medical knowledge not be written down?

She gestured toward the kitchen doorway. “What are you doing lurking there? If you want to watch, come in properly.”

Su Zhe and two small girls jumped through the doorframe: “A’Weng! What are you doing?”

“Making sugar.”

“The same as last time? A little sweet, but not really sweet.” Su Zhe, being from the stronghold, ate better than the poor people below the mountain — she had tasted better refined sugar.

Zhù Ying said, “Wait — I will definitely make something better. A’Jie — think about it?”

Huajie said, “I have kept some notes too, but isn’t it too early to circulate them?”

“Never mind that — record them first, record them clearly. Isn’t it better than letting people spout nonsense about it, saying you don’t care about pain? You keep records. As long as something works, I will compile them into a book for you. What a laugh — any piece of rambling doggerel poetry dares to be printed and given to people, so why can’t life-saving medicine be printed? This is a meritorious act.” Zhù Ying said this as a matter of course.

As she spoke, she also thought of Xiao Jiang. “Oh — Xiao Jiang can record her findings from examining female bodies too.”

She ladled out a bowl of cane juice and handed it to Su Zhe: “Here — this is tasty.” She casually divided portions for the two small maid-girls as well.

Huajie said, “All right — I’ll go and organize my notes. I had hoped the Academy Physician might give me more guidance.”

“There probably is some value there,” Zhù Ying said fairly. “They have studied medicine for many years and do have a grasp of certain principles. You just use your own judgment in weighing what to take.”

The two of them kept talking as they worked. Zhù Ying tried filtering, but found that using the method for filtering wine did not work well for cane juice. In the end she said, “Forget it — I’ll just offer a reward!”

Huajie laughed. “You’re giving up?”

Zhù Ying said, “Keep all the equipment — pressing cane juice to drink at home is perfectly fine too! I’m not a sugar merchant. That’s enough for now! Let me write a couple more notice boards — that’ll cover the prize money.”

Huajie laughed heartily.

Zhù Ying went out and posted a reward notice: first, for artisans; second, challenging those artisans to try producing better sugar. The new sugarcane would be coming onto the market soon — this was the cheapest time of year to buy it. If not now, when?

After posting the reward, she had Gu Tong take her notebook and go with the sugar-craft artisans to keep records. Gu Tong studied the headings in her notebook carefully, went home and copied out a slip of paper, and noted down the method.

Meanwhile Ding Gui had returned from Prefect Chen’s, bringing back a letter of thanks and also having Ding Gui deliver quite a few local specialties. Zhù Ying said to Ding Gui, “Take them to the back for A’Jie to sort. Did Prefect Chen say anything else?”

Ding Gui said, “He kept saying thank you…”

Boom boom boom!

Ding Gui fell silent and turned to look outside. Not that there was anything to see — what had sounded was the drum at the gate of the yamen! Someone was beating the complaint drum!

This was not right. Ordinary people did not often come to file complaints. Petitioning happened most often when a new official first took office — the people placed some hope in the new arrival and were more inclined to bring their grievances. At other times, bringing a complaint required enormous expenditure of effort, hardly worth it unless truly necessary. People would rather endure than complain.

By now, Southern Prefecture should have already passed that period. What sort of case could it be? Or was it a case of unjust judgment from one of the counties below?

Ding Gui said, “Prefect Chen kept expressing thanks, and said that if Your Excellency had any need of him, he could certainly be called upon again. Your Excellency — shall I go out and see what’s happening there?”

Zhù Ying nodded. He ran off and came back after a while, with a peculiar look on his face. “Your Excellency, someone is crying out a grievance… at the gate, calling on the Chief Secretary to decide the matter. The Chief Secretary has already gone out to see.”

“Is it someone poor?”

Ding Gui suppressed a smile. “Yes.”

Zhù Ying said, “Then leave it to the Chief Secretary for now. Don’t ask about it, don’t interfere — go and quietly listen in.”

Ding Gui said, “The plaintiff has already shouted out the reason.”

“Oh?”

“He says his neighbor — a wealthy man — forcibly demolished his house. The whole affair is a bit peculiar. The wealthy man’s daughter has been bewitched by a fox spirit, and the wealthy man wants to catch this fox spirit. The fox spirit fled — and apparently fled into this poor man’s house. But there is no fox spirit in his house! The wealthy man doesn’t believe him and wants to force his way in…”

Zhù Ying said, “Now this is interesting. Where are they from?”

“Right here in Nanping County.”

“Go and listen some more.”

“Yes.”

Ding Gui slipped quietly outside. He removed his hat, blended into the crowd, and watched the Chief Secretary.

Chief Secretary Zhang’s expression was grave. He held the petition and was nearly ready to hit the plaintiff with it. The Master does not speak of the strange, the violent, the disordered, or the supernatural — quite right. If you made a straw effigy to curse someone, that was sorcery, and the law might put your whole family to death. In folk stories, an upright judge or wise minister might dream of an aggrieved spirit coming to him with clues, and wake up to solve the case. Yes — from Emperor to slave, bowing to gods and praying to Buddhas was common; even Emperors’ births were attended by auspicious signs! Officials even donated rooms to serve as temples! But if an official adjudicating a case declared: “This was done by a fox spirit” — once that was unearthed, his career was finished.

Chief Secretary Zhang said, “Bring the defendant!”

Both plaintiff and defendant were from Nanping County; Chief Secretary Zhang ordered both Magistrate Guo and the defendant to be summoned. The person sent to get Magistrate Guo came back saying, “Your Excellency, Magistrate Guo is also investigating a case — a death, no less.”

A death took absolute precedence. Chief Secretary Zhang had no choice but to issue the order for the defendant to be brought alone. As both plaintiff and defendant lived in the countryside, they could not be brought in that same day; Chief Secretary Zhang at least had some breathing room.

The next morning, the prefectural office’s usual morning assembly ended with two people who did not immediately disperse — both waiting to speak with Zhù Ying. One was Xiao Jiang, reporting the results of her examination. The other was Chief Secretary Zhang, who wanted to brief Zhù Ying in advance.

Chief Secretary Zhang entered the document office first, described the events of the previous day, and added, “The plaintiff is illiterate and has not yet filed a formal petition; the legal clerk is drafting one for him as a supplement. Someone has already been sent to summon the defendant.”

Zhù Ying said, “The Chief Secretary go ahead and investigate.”

Chief Secretary Zhang wanted to clarify that he was of course adjudicating impartially and not simply taking sides with the poor — but then felt there was no point saying it, and walked out with a mouthful of bitter medicine.

Then Xiao Jiang came in and said to Zhù Ying, “Your Excellency, I have returned.”

“How did it go?”

“It is a suicide. And… it does not appear that anyone forced her into it.”

“Oh?”

Xiao Jiang hesitated a moment, then said, “I can tell. Though the wife’s family and the husband’s family are quarreling, when they mention the deceased, their tone is still fairly respectful. The husband’s expression is also decent. I privately inquired a little and heard nothing negative about the husband’s family.”

“Understood. You have worked hard — rest now. Once you have a few apprentices, you’ll have it easier.”

Xiao Jiang smiled as well. Zhù Ying asked, “Do you keep a notebook?”