The date for enrolling students at the Academy of Learning was set for winter. By that time the winter wheat would also be planted and all the localities would have settled into their quiet season. At that point students meeting the requirements from all four counties would be summoned to the prefectural city for an examination; once the list was confirmed, they could arrive after New Year’s to begin the new academic term.

For this reason, Jing Gang would not need to go lecture at the Academy immediately. He could still carry out his plan to visit relatives, call on old friends, and bring his wife and children to pay respects at his family’s ancestral graves. Also because there was a little time, the elderly Jing parents got the idea of having him take the opportunity to discipline his younger brother — and if he could help his brother with his studies so that he could re-enter the Academy on his own merits, the family’s face could be restored.

Old Man Jing said, “Since Your Excellency was gracious enough to offer, why make him take the examination at all?”

The implication being: why not just let Jing Wu back into the Academy directly? Jing Gang, hearing this, had a splitting headache. He had been abasing himself and worrying himself sick, and now his own father was still saying things like this, as if none of what Jing Gang had told him had sunk in at all.

Jing Gang said, “To keep people from saying the Academy also accepts ignorant wastrel sons.”

He’d had his belly full of trouble, and here was his own father still talking like this. Jing Gang said, “Otherwise, you can all pack your things and come with me to my posting. If you keep living in the hometown, sooner or later you’ll get arrested and beheaded.”

Old Man Jing was about to say more when Lady Jing cut him off sharply: “Your bones are too light again! What gives you the right to be coddled? Because you’re an honorable elder? That’s out of consideration for the eldest! If you were more capable than eldest, you’d have become an official yourself years ago, and I wouldn’t have had to wait for my son to give me my title! I’m still waiting for my children!”

Old Man Jing muttered, “Taking the examination is fine — just as a formality — is that so wrong?”

Jing Gang said earnestly, “Everyone pack your luggage. After New Year’s come with me to my posting.” He turned and walked out with a flick of his sleeve.

Old Man Jing grumbled to his wife, “What’s gotten into this child? Making that face at his own father.”

Lady Jing said, “If you’ve got the energy to lecture eldest, why not go and manage Fifth! You go do it!”

Old Man Jing said with a pained expression, “He won’t listen to me.”

“Then why do you keep picking on eldest?!” Lady Jing erupted in fury. “All my wealth and honor comes from my son — whoever bullies him, I will fight them to the death!”

Old Man Jing was also displeased; it wasn’t as though he had to press his eldest to do anything drastic. In conversation it had come around to the Academy of Learning, and he had simply muttered a couple of complaints — purely as the petulant gesture of a spouse whose husband has been away with a mistress and finally returned home, who makes a show of pique: “You still know the way home, do you?” It was not a serious matter at all, but the eldest had reacted as though he’d committed some crime. Dropping a small complaint, and the husband turning on his heel and walking out — that would try anyone’s patience!

He stopped bothering with his son too. The old couple had their little quarrel.

Meanwhile, the beaten Jing Wu was hiding in his room nursing his injuries. He had no desire whatsoever to sit for the Academy examination — what was there to go back to? He would just be managed all over again. Jing Wu’s wife sat watching him, also at a loss. The whole family was wrapped in gloom.

Jing Gang walked out the door and had to put on the composed, measured demeanor of a wise official once again. He went first to call on his teacher. The Academy teacher from Jing Gang’s student days had long since been transferred away; the person he was calling on was the private tutor from his childhood. The old teacher’s hair was completely white, but fortunately was still alive and was presently living in retirement at home.

Teacher and student exchanged pleasantries. The teacher accepted the gifts from his gifted student with a smile and happily made tea and chatted. This old teacher had a relatively poor household himself; having a student like this come to call was a pleasure. The fact that he had produced such a student made his little school considerably more popular than those of others.

“I can’t teach anymore — my second son is watching over things.” The teacher said; his eldest son had died young, and now his second son managed the household.

Jing Gang came here for two reasons: first to call on his teacher, and second to find out more information. He had been away from home for years. When his family members narrated things, their emotions colored the story, and there was always some partiality — it was better to ask someone else.

The old teacher was happy to chat, and told him about two officials of particularly distinctive character at the prefectural office.

“The Prefect arrived first. Young, yes — but with definite convictions, standing upright!” The old teacher’s evaluation of Zhù Ying was fairly positive. Since her arrival, the conduct of officials and clerks had been transformed. That alone could not be attributed to anyone else.

The Chief Secretary also earned his praise: “Very much protecting the poor.”

Jing Gang asked more closely about the two officials’ deeds. Having heard the full account, he thought: This Chief Secretary knows how to play a clever game.

He saw through the Chief Secretary’s ploy at a glance. If he himself had been in that position, he might not have come up with that method on the spot — but once he observed it he could understand it.

As for Zhù Ying: everything she did seemed trivial and troublesome in isolation, yet the combined result was to have all of Southern Prefecture in her grasp. That capability he simply did not have, and could only concede the point.

Walking out of his teacher’s home, he made up his mind: his family members still needed to be kept on a tight leash for a while longer!

He then made calls on various relatives and friends, his second stop being his maternal uncle’s house.

Upon arriving, he found his uncle had fallen ill!

His uncle lay in bed; Jing Gang went to the bedside and took hold of his hand. The uncle opened his eyes, saw it was him, and the tears came streaming: “Eldest — you’ve come back. Good, good!”

His aunt and cousins stood nearby also weeping. Jing Gang asked, “What happened?”

His aunt said, “Now that you’re back, no one will dare bully us anymore! That new Chief Secretary is too cruel!”

Jing Gang’s aunt was a country petty landowner’s wife who had read very little. She said whatever came into her head, and even the uncle could not hold her back. After hearing it all, Jing Gang understood: compared to Prefect Zhù, Chief Secretary Zhang was the one with a truly heavy hand. The uncle’s matter was something that could have gone either way. Chief Secretary Zhang had judged it on the harsh end. Prefect Zhù had at least had his father sit to one side at the hearing; Chief Secretary Zhang had nearly had the uncle’s whole family arrested and paraded through the streets.

It could not be said that the uncle’s conduct had been entirely above board — judged fairly, the outcome need not have been so severe.

Jing Gang comforted his uncle for a while, then decided he had no desire to go see Chief Secretary Zhang. Putting himself through humiliation once before the most powerful one and weeping it out — that was enough. Doing it before every official in turn would mean having no dignity left whatsoever. The Prefect could clearly keep the Chief Secretary in check — better to entrust the family to the Prefect!

Over the following days, he called on childhood playmates, classmates from his youth, and the like. The evaluations he heard were much the same: some who could not quite see through things said only what they themselves felt: “The Chief Secretary is really too much of a bully! Prefect Zhù, though not easy to deal with either, still reasons with you and still shows some consideration for people.” Those who could see things a little more clearly said, “The Chief Secretary is angling to show off. Ordinarily he’s not as approachable as the Prefect. That the Prefect has public spirit — I’ll grant that. The Chief Secretary — we’ll wait and see.”

After filling both ears with this, Jing Gang went to call on Zhù Ying at the prefectural office once more.

In broad daylight, this time Zhù Ying received him in the document office. Host and guest were seated; Zhù Ying asked with a smile, “After so many years away, can you still recognize your way around?”

Jing Gang said, “The roads are still the same roads, but some of the shop signs I no longer recognize. Once outside the city, everything is even more unfamiliar. I see they have planted winter wheat — quite a novelty! In my own district they also grow wheat, but as far back as I can remember, no one in Southern Prefecture has ever planted wheat. Now that this is done, Southern Prefecture need not worry about food.”

He said this with a trace of envy. It was not easy for a local official to distinguish himself; promoting winter wheat was evidently a great achievement. He took pains to praise Zhù Ying’s concern for the welfare of the people, and calculated roughly: “At this rate, even with inexperienced hands, the yield per mu could increase by at least seventy or eighty percent. A truly meritorious act — a blessing for the present age and for all generations to come!”

After his round of praise, Jing Gang stayed firmly in his seat — he had plenty to say. He talked from his own time as a student at the Academy, then about how difficult it was for people from small places to make their way in the world. From difficulties with Mandarin pronunciation, to how students from prosperous cities had broad experience and knowledge while he himself had felt like a country bumpkin — and so on. In the end he spoke with some genuine feeling: “For a Prefect to care so much about the Academy of Learning — this is truly Southern Prefecture’s good fortune.”

“It’s not as though we were born with one less eye or one fewer mouth,” Zhù Ying said. “Smart people are everywhere; some have just been held back. The most I can do is try to make the road a little less steep for them.”

“Southern Prefecture is fortunate.” Jing Gang said. He also praised Zhù Ying for having put Southern Prefecture “in a completely new state,” then said, “Southern Prefecture is remote. When I first took office, working in a county in Yiyang Prefecture, and then later transferred elsewhere, people did not even know Southern Prefecture existed. Whenever you mentioned it, you were one head shorter than everyone else from the start…”

Zhù Ying listened patiently, expressing occasional agreement, and unobtrusively guided the conversation: “Now that you have finally achieved some success and are governing yourself, so many things become more convenient.”

“There are still areas where I fall short — and with no one to teach me, I have had to grope my way forward.”

“By the time your son is grown, you will have someone to teach him.” Zhù Ying adeptly shifted the topic to his family affairs, then asked about the kinship ties and reputations of local gentry in Nanping County. What Jing Gang said naturally bore the coloring of his own opinions; Zhù Ying made a first note of everything and would cross-reference with other sources afterward.

Jing Gang also obliquely mentioned the second Zhang in the earlier two-Zhang case — Zhang the wealthy man’s younger brother had been a fellow student of Jing Gang’s. When Jing Gang mentioned visiting teachers and friends, this fellow student had been very grateful to Zhù Ying for standing up for the Zhang family.

Zhù Ying said, “I cannot know everything. I simply adjudicate cases based on what I can see.”

“Still, you preserved his dignity. Everyone says the affair with the gambling turned into the gambling affair, and he was cleared of that.”

Zhù Ying said, “He shouldn’t be so grateful to me at all. What he had going there was hidden fields. You know this — the court is always at war of wits with things like that. If he had reported it himself early on, nothing would have happened. Even when I first arrived, if he had reported it voluntarily, he would not have had to pay nearly so much back-tax. Once it was brought to light openly — well, the law is the law.”

“Quite right.” Jing Gang wrestled with the implications of that remark and quickly changed the subject. “Still, with Your Excellency here, everything can be settled by the rules — there is something to rely on, and no need to panic. The Chief Secretary is decisive, and judging cases quickly and at his own discretion, the local people are a bit unsettled.”

Zhù Ying said, “The Chief Secretary knows what he is doing.”

“I fear he knows a little too well.” Jing Gang said.

The two had talked for quite a long time when finally Chief Secretary Zhang came to see Zhù Ying. Jing Gang and the Chief Secretary exchanged greetings. Zhù Ying invited the Chief Secretary to sit; the Chief Secretary also glanced at Jing Gang. Jing Gang rose and said, “Since you two Excellencies have the fox spirit case to discuss, this subordinate will not intrude.”

The Chief Secretary had come precisely on account of this case. People in Nanping County had already been spreading rumors that he was deliberately trying to humiliate the Fang family because the Fangs had money. Most of those spreading these rumors were not necessarily standing up for the Fangs — many of them had been stung by the Chief Secretary’s “always siding with the poor” approach, and their gossip about him grew more outlandish by the day.

Jing Gang said he was leaving, but at the door he turned and added, “Forgive my presumption — but this case, I fear…”

The Chief Secretary politely asked, “Elder Brother Jing, do you perhaps have some clue?”

Jing Gang shook his head: “No clue. But in my view, it cannot be a ‘fox spirit.’ Most likely it is a human being playing tricks. This case must not be allowed to drag on — every day it drags, the ‘fox spirit’ story spreads another day. Simple-minded people cannot tell clearly, and in the end, even when the case is solved, these kinds of rumors will fill the land. Whatever happens next, no one can attribute anything to a ‘fox spirit’ — even if it were truly one, one could not admit it. Once one admission is made, the prevailing customs are ruined.”

This was the truth. Chief Secretary Zhang knew it all too well. He also suspected this “fox spirit” was a human being — not only human, but male. Yet he had nowhere to begin. Speaking of it out of nowhere, he was afraid not only of the Fang family but of whether the Prefect here would let him pass. That was precisely why he had come today — to discuss the case, hoping to be given more people to expand the search.

Sure enough, Zhù Ying said, “There is truth in that.”

Chief Secretary Zhang hurried to say, “This subordinate thinks the same. The investigation is underway — there are already some leads.”

Jing Gang smiled, then said, “When the case is made clear, it will surely open everyone’s eyes. When I come to seek guidance then, I hope the Chief Secretary will kindly enlighten me.”

The Chief Secretary gave nothing away: “Of course, of course.”

After Jing Gang left, the Chief Secretary asked Zhù Ying to lend him more people. Zhù Ying said, “You need more people?”

The Chief Secretary kept a straight face and said, “This subordinate suspects there is a secret lover hiding in that young woman’s room! She didn’t come out to eat her meals — she ate in her room — and her appetite increased greatly. Her mother and sister-in-law moved in with her and the appetite returned to normal, but she became fretful and agitated. If there were a man in the room, this would all make sense. A man has a larger appetite; when her mother was there he could not meet with her, so she became irritable; once her mother left, everything returned to normal. Would a real ‘fox spirit’ lack even that little bit of food?”

“Not bad at all.” Zhù Ying thought the same. She also suspected the maid must be an accomplice — how could the mistress and servant, living together around the clock, keep a secret like this? Unless every time they met, the maid was chased away or knocked unconscious. Over such a long period — what if something went wrong one day? It was impossible that not a single mishap had occurred. The maid had to know.

“The maidservant definitely knows! Let this subordinate request a few more people from Your Excellency and have that maidservant brought here for questioning under duress!” The Chief Secretary had seen through it all, and had not the slightest delicate concern for the girl. First, Miss Fang’s secret liaison was, in the Chief Secretary’s view, wrong. Second, the maidservant also daring to help conceal the matter made him feel even more offended. Third, beating a maidservant required no inner conflict whatsoever.

Zhù Ying said, “She should certainly be brought in for questioning.”

This was as good as agreement. The Chief Secretary wasted no time; he borrowed Xiang An and went to make the arrest. Xiang An returned that same day with both the mistress and the maid in custody and reported to Zhù Ying, “Your Excellency, two have been brought in.”

Zhù Ying said, “Two?”

“Yes — including Miss Fang herself. The Chief Secretary said it was to prevent arresting the maid from alarming the mistress.”

Zhù Ying said, “This will cause trouble.”

Xiang An did not understand. Zhù Ying said, “If he has arrested their daughter, the parents will not be at peace. If he had arrested only the maid, it would not have been so alarming.”

And that was exactly right!

Xiang An had barely returned when, moments later, the Fang family’s parents came with their son and servants to cry out at the prefectural gate: “If it’s about paying reparations for the house, we have paid. We are the victims here when it comes to the fox spirit — how can the yamen arrest our daughter? Chief Secretary! How can the Chief Secretary do this? Heaven, open your eyes!”

Someone had also stirred them up to file a complaint, and the petition reached Zhù Ying’s hands.

Zhù Ying had only just finished speaking with Xiang An when the fire was already spreading to her own door.

The Fang family formally submitted a petition — somehow someone’s hand had moved very swiftly, for the long document was written by the time it reached Zhù Ying, the ink barely dry.

Zhù Ying summoned the Chief Secretary. He had heard the commotion outside and rushed in, cupping his hands: “Your Excellency — give me two more days.”

Zhù Ying said, “You didn’t say you were taking the young woman too.”

The Chief Secretary said, “Since mistress and maid are co-conspirators, of course both should be taken. If they are held separately, the mistress being distressed might take her own life — which would be troublesome. Kept together, they watch out for each other and she will be calmer.”

“Kept together, they shore each other up — and then neither talks?”

The Chief Secretary said, “Question them separately. In any case, the suspects cannot leave the official’s sight.”

Zhù Ying said, “Very well. Xiang An, keep a close watch on Miss Fang — do not let anything happen to her. Chief Secretary, hurry up with the interrogation.”

The petition she withheld. It all came down to whether the Chief Secretary could get anything out of them. In this case, the Chief Secretary’s reasoning was correct — but under these circumstances, there was a good chance neither of the girls would end up well. The only way forward now was to capture the “fox spirit” quickly and investigate the truth, so that what followed could be decided accordingly.

As evening came on, Zhù Ying went home for dinner. Zhang Xiangu and Huajie both asked her, “Was the fox spirit caught?”

“The Chief Secretary is handling it.”

Zhang Xiangu cursed the “fox spirit”: “The spineless creature! Making a woman take all the blame!”

Huajie also said, “What ‘fox spirit’? Not an ounce of responsibility.”

Zhang Xiangu urged Zhù Ying, “Don’t just watch from the side — go catch that wretched ‘fox spirit’! It’s been days — all this spreading around, how is the young woman going to face people afterward?”

Huajie hesitantly asked, “Is it really a ‘fox spirit’?”

Su Zhe also asked “A’Weng” to catch the fox spirit.

Zhù Ying said, “Let us wait and see what the Chief Secretary can do.”

The women at home were all unsettled. The next morning they rose early, waiting to see whether the Chief Secretary would catch the fox spirit.

But the Chief Secretary had worked through half the night, had the maidservant beaten nearly to pieces — even her fingers were broken in the vise. The maidservant’s mouth was tight as a clam, and in the end she even began cursing the Chief Secretary: “You cruel official! You only know how to bully decent people!”

The Chief Secretary was furious enough to tear her apart. Had the duty legal clerk not intervened, the maid would likely have been beaten to death.

And to make matters worse, Jing Gang came calling again. He was there as the representative of the local gentry, bringing a petition to Zhù Ying: “Your Excellency, the affair has caused a great stir — if it is not resolved quickly, I fear…”

Zhù Ying said, “They have such warm hearts for their neighbors.”

Jing Gang smiled ruefully. “They are all neighbors from the same parts. None of them has ever seen anything like this, and now the matter has dragged on for days. This subordinate will say something that cannot be said outside: the Chief Secretary gave them a hard time previously, and they are very afraid the Chief Secretary’s old habits will surface again.”

Zhù Ying said, “Give the Chief Secretary a few more days; he…”

As the two were speaking, the noise outside the gates swelled. Someone cried out in alarm: “A death! Someone is dead!”

Zhù Ying and Jing Gang went out together to look. A woman with a bloodied temple was surrounded by a crowd. Zhù Ying recognized her as Miss Fang’s mother. The crowd in front of the prefectural office was murmuring; the Fang family knelt before Zhù Ying, begging her to take charge.

Zhù Ying quickly had people attend to the injured woman and invited Huajie over to look at her — at least there was no need to call Xiao Jiang this time. The Fang family begged her to take charge, and said, “We would rather give our daughter to the ‘fox spirit’ — we will never have anything to do with this office again.”

Zhù Ying said, “There is no need for such words. A tale of demons and ghosts is baseless to begin with. You are simply too worried about your daughter, which is why you are saying this. The child — please take her back. Keep her well, have the mother and daughter together for comfort, and don’t leave her alone with outsiders again.”

She spoke earnestly and then ordered the release of both the mistress and the maid.

Inside the yamen, the Chief Secretary also knew what was happening outside. He was furiously thinking that the wealthy families had seized on this opportunity, using the mouth of an official who had served away from the area as their spokesperson, then blocked the yamen gate to pull the Prefect out. This was aimed squarely at him!

Give him a few more days and he would absolutely uncover the truth! But the crowd outside the prefectural gate had already gathered, all demanding an explanation. The rumor had also shifted: it was now being said that “the Chief Secretary was abusing his public position, taking a decent family’s daughter into custody — who knows what for.”

The Chief Secretary had no choice but to temporarily release the two young women.

The people outside watched the maidservant emerge beaten nearly raw, and Miss Fang frightened out of her wits — everyone sighed: this Chief Secretary really was cruel!

The Fang family kowtowed repeatedly, calling Zhù Ying “a clear-eyed judge.”

Zhù Ying quickly had people help them up, then arranged for them to be settled in the courier station. She also suspected there must be someone behind all this fanning of flames. Things had moved far too fast! She and the Chief Secretary clearly already had some “popular resentment” — but even the Chief Secretary had only been forceful for a short spell, not nearly enough to create this kind of wildfire.

She was not about to let herself be put on a pyre by this crowd. She quickly “saw off” those who were trying to praise her, then announced: “All of you disperse. The prefectural office will give the people an accounting. Anyone attempting to stir up trouble here — I will deal with them without mercy!”

The crowd uttered assurances, and the people gradually dispersed.

Zhù Ying went back inside. The Chief Secretary was waiting in her document office. Seeing her, he said, “Your Excellency — I was so close.”

Zhù Ying said, “I know.”

“Those local villains! Beating them was right!”

“Old Zhang — catch your breath; getting sick helps no one.” She handed Chief Secretary Zhang the Fang family’s petition. “You need not file this.”

“Your Excellency!”

Zhù Ying said, “I think the same as the Chief Secretary — it was a man, and the maidservant knew. But circumstances forced our hand; for now we must retreat to advance. Chief Secretary, stay calm. As long as it is a fox, we can always catch it by the tail.”

The Chief Secretary said heavily, “This subordinate is ashamed.”

Zhù Ying said, “Rest a while — perhaps inspiration will come.”

The Chief Secretary nodded solemnly, cupped his hands, tucked the petition into his sleeve, and said, “This subordinate requests a few days’ leave.”

Zhù Ying said, “Running away now?”

“I need to think it through carefully.”

“If you put it that way — all right.”

After the Chief Secretary left, Zhù Ying immediately instructed Xiang An and Xiang Le: “The two of you go together, right now, to the Fang family. Do not alarm them — stake them out. Move quickly! If the two are still together, listen to what they say. If the maid has been sent away, you may need to split up. Hmm — Xiang An alone may not be safe; call Hou Wu too. The two of you go one way, he goes another. Keep the maid under tight watch as well. If anyone makes contact with them secretly, or is seen loitering near their residence — arrest that person immediately!”

Xiang Le said, “He has probably already fled, hasn’t he?”

Zhù Ying said, “No matter if he has — listen to what they say. There may be something to learn. This affair caused such a stir today. As long as he hasn’t gone far, word will reach him soon that Miss Fang has returned home — he may come back to get information. In something this significant in a person’s life, it cannot simply vanish like smoke in the wind.”

Xiang Le went to call Hou Wu; Xiang An went to say farewell to her martial sister. Her martial sister, hearing she was going on duty, said, “I’ve got nothing to do here and it’s quite boring. Let me go along.”

Xiang An said, “This is official duty.”

“I won’t cause trouble for you.”

Xiang An said, “I know what you’re capable of, Martial Sister. This time it is surveillance.”

“I’ll pretend I’m a cat — light on my feet, quiet as can be. No barking like a dog.” Her martial sister was highly recommending herself, thinking she owed Xiang An many debts of gratitude and would find a way to help no matter what.

Xiang An said, “Let me ask Your Excellency first then.”

Xiang Le and Hou Wu were already dressed and ready. Xiang An had still not finished preparing, but instead went and told Zhù Ying about her martial sister. Zhù Ying said, “Bring her here and let me see her skills.”

Xiang Le was about to say something about her younger sister. Zhù Ying said, “It was my oversight — if it can be helped, having two big men lurking outside a young woman’s room gives the wrong impression. Having these two along can help remove that suspicion. Better than giving others something to seize on.”

Shortly, Xiang An brought her martial sister to the rear courtyard. Xiang An’s martial sister’s family name was Hu; she was not tall, her appearance was unremarkable, her skin slightly dark, and she lacked the swaying grace of most women. She was dressed in plain cloth, in practical short-hemmed clothing; her hair was tied up very neatly. She had no ornaments on her person, only two pouched bags hanging from her waist, and in her hand she held a staff the height of her eyebrows.

She bowed formally on seeing Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying said, “Please rise — I have been hearing Third Lady speak of you for so long without getting to meet you. I’m afraid I must trouble you today.”

Martial Sister Hu said, “I wouldn’t presume.”

Zhù Ying then asked about her skills. Martial Sister Hu looked into the courtyard, took in the plum-blossom training stakes, and wasted no time — she launched herself up and leaped onto the highest stake!

Zhù Ying watched her dash and leap across the stakes, performing a staff routine, the staff humming through the air. She nodded slowly. Martial Sister Hu lightly descended, and said with clasped hands, “Your Excellency.”

Zhù Ying said, “Excellent. I thank you for accompanying Third Lady — please take every precaution.” She had already made up her mind: Martial Sister Hu’s skills were genuinely enviable! One had to practice every day without interruption and have some natural talent to achieve this. And Martial Sister Hu currently had no family and no property, and needed to find a livelihood — so who did it matter whom she worked for? Zhù Ying decided then and there: once Martial Sister Hu returned, she would discuss whether she could be hired!

She said, “You get ready too. Whatever Martial Sister Hu needs, Third Lady take her to A’Jie.”

The four of them set out quietly and without delay. None were particularly striking in appearance — Martial Sister Hu least of all. They drew no attention. Xiang An knew the way; the group quickly caught up with the Fang family’s returning carriage. The male members rode horses, the women sat in the carriage, and the beaten maidservant was carried on a flat cart.

They followed the whole way to the Fang family estate. At a short distance from the estate, they hid the horses and continued on foot. At the estate, Miss Fang was returned to her small pavilion under strict watch, with her mother now living alongside her. The maid was thrown into the firewood shed.

The four split into two teams: the two men watched the firewood shed while Martial Sister Hu had her younger martial sister stay below to keep watch, and she herself lightly vaulted to the upper floor, hiding behind a pillar. The evening light had faded; she was nearly indistinguishable from the darkness. She could hear the mother inside asking the daughter, “My child — what exactly happened?”

The daughter said, “The fox spirit said we were fated together — that marrying him would bring great wealth. With all this uproar now, I don’t know where he has gone.”

No matter how she was questioned, that was always the answer.

The mother, injured and without the strength to press further, had to leave it for now.

Meanwhile, Hou Wu and Xiang Le were watching the maidservant. During this time, only one older woman came to bring a bowl of thin gruel to feed her, saying, “How did you get beaten like this?” The maid smiled with difficulty. “How would I know?” The woman fed her while asking about the fox spirit, and the maid said, “Every time a gust of wind came, I would faint.”

The four took turns, now and then sneaking food from the Fang kitchen. There was no movement at either post. On the third day, Miss Fang made a scene again, demanding to see the maidservant. The family refused, and she threatened to hang herself. Martial Sister Hu thought: Could the maid actually be the fox spirit?

The family patriarch flew into a rage: “Don’t mind her! Let her hang herself! I should never have…”

The family persuaded him to calm down: “Things are already like this. There is no point in regret. Better to ask gently and find out what happened, so we can know what to do.”

The Fang family patriarch had been in a fury earlier; now that the daughter was home, he had calmed down somewhat. “A pack of scoundrels — they had me make a fool of myself at the prefecture and then sat watching that demon judge laugh at me!” The more he thought about it, the more regret he felt. He was now forcing the daughter to talk.

The daughter simply refused. The Fang patriarch struck her face in anger; Miss Fang covered her cheek in shock: “Father — you hit me?!”

He had never once raised his hand against her before! Miss Fang dissolved in weeping.

Xiang An and Martial Sister Hu pressed against the roof watching this long drama until it finally quieted. The daughter held to her original account. Meanwhile, Xiang Le and Hou Wu had a development on their end: the maidservant, having been thrown in the firewood shed for days and insisting she knew nothing, was finally expelled. Her family took her home; too poor to afford a doctor, they patched her up with thin gruel. On the third night at home, Xiang Le was asleep in the haystack outside her house and Hou Wu was half-dozing in watch when Hou Wu suddenly snapped wide awake and shook Xiang Le: “Move!”

Xiang Le said, “What?!”

The two watched as a cyan-clad figure flashed swiftly below the maid’s window — moving with remarkable speed. Hou Wu murmured, “Someone who knows martial arts.” By the moonlight he looked: a shadow, with no tail on the shadow. A person — so he was not afraid.

The two quietly slid from the haystack. The figure heard the sounds and turned warily, looking back. In the moonlight there was nothing to see. He lightly knocked on the window. A female voice from inside said, “Who’s there?”

The figure was a young man. His voice was even quite pleasant: “It’s me.”

The window inside was pushed open.

Hou Wu and Xiang Le, using the sounds of the two’s exchange as cover, moved a little closer. Their voices were very low — only by moving close enough could the words be barely made out. The maid said, “You heartless thief! You left me trapped there! Sob, sob…”

“Keep it down! Don’t wake everyone!”

The two fell quieter again. Hou Wu and Xiang Le could no longer hear, and could only watch two shadows gradually merge into one. After a while, the cyan-clad figure seemed to have said something, though they could not tell what.

“You only care about the young mistress?” The maid’s voice rose slightly again. “With your fox spirit stirring things up, how could I stay? Of course I was thrown out.”

The man reassured her with a few words, and the maid’s voice dropped again. The two watchers were quite astonished: The maid was in on it too? She really knew how to lie!

After another stretch, the maid struggled and pushed the man away to leave. Hou Wu and Xiang Le pressed themselves flat to the ground; they could not make out the two faces clearly. The voices could now be heard: the man said, “You still have to find a way to get back there. However you manage it — kowtowing, begging, even just working as a fire-tender — as long as you can pass messages to the young mistress, so she knows I’m still here. We can think through the next steps.”

“So in your heart there’s only her, is there? What about me? Am I the fire-tender?”

“Sigh — wasn’t this what we agreed on? You help me win the young mistress. Her family is extremely wealthy, and her dowry will certainly be substantial. Once she becomes my wife, the dowry is mine too. When that time comes, the whole estate — I will share it with you.”

“She loves you so much!”

“You are the only one in my heart. If I don’t coax her properly, how will I have any good days? And I can’t bear to see you living in this hovel in worn-out clothes. Once I have money, I’ll do big business — the estate will grow, and she will have to listen to me too! All of this — isn’t it for you? I happened to be born poor, but I want you to live well…”

The two went back and forth a while longer; the maid’s breathing grew ragged, and the man urged her to rest. “The medicine I gave you — remember to take one pill a day. Good for the body.”

The maid pushed the man to leave.

Hou Wu pointed to the maid, then to Xiang Le, then pointed to the man, then to himself. Xiang Le shook his head, indicating that he would follow the man. The two argued for a moment — in the end Xiang Le followed the man. Several times he nearly revealed himself; at last he saw the man enter a house, crouched motionless nearby, and when daylight gradually came, stretched his limbs and first met up with Hou Wu.

Nothing had happened on the maid’s end. Xiang Le told Hou Wu what he had seen the night before. Hou Wu said, “His background is probably not entirely clean either — most likely a thief of some kind. Don’t get too close; find out his background discreetly and ask Your Excellency to send people to arrest him!”

The two agreed on their plan. Pretending to be passersby asking for a drink of water, they exchanged words with a village woman and gave her a few coins. Casually gesturing at the house where the man had disappeared, they asked, “That house over there looks a bit strange. No neighbors nearby — what does that person do?”

The village woman said, “Oh, that’s no good person.”

They pressed for more, and she said, “He used to be a street performer — at temple fairs he would play gods, and on slow days he would perform outside temples for money. He has a sweet mouth and a handsome face. Though good-looking, he refuses honest work — lazy and greedy, prone to stealing, also knows how to swindle people with fortune-telling. Just recently he was spending lavishly — must have stolen from someone or swindled someone. You’d do best to steer clear of him.”

Xiang Le quickly said, “Thank you, could we get a name? So we can steer clear if we hear it.”

“Goes by Jin Yuanbao. He doesn’t like the name and wants to be called Jin Yulang.”

Xiang Le said, “Many thanks.”

The two walked away. Hou Wu said, “I’ll stay here to keep watch so he doesn’t slip away; you go find your martial sister and younger sister, and all go to the prefecture for reinforcements.”

Xiang Le went around to the Fang estate, made a few soft birdcalls; Xiang An and Martial Sister Hu answered, and the group gathered at one spot. After hearing the full account, Martial Sister Hu said, “That young mistress — last night she clutched a hairpin and cried for half an hour. When someone came in, she hid the hairpin under her pillow.”

Xiang Le said, “Surely there’s a story there! Let’s go!”

The three retrieved their hidden horses and headed back to the prefectural city.

Zhù Ying had spent these few days quite peacefully. Zhang Xiangu, upon learning there had been a commotion at the prefectural office, no longer brought up the “fox spirit.” No one had been there to bother her. Chief Secretary Zhang, however, fell ill and lay in bed for several days; Li Sifa and others who came to call on him were all turned away with excuses.

Until Xiang Le came to him at the prefectural office: “Chief Secretary — Your Excellency says please return to the office quickly. Oh — and dress smartly.”

The Chief Secretary asked, “What is it?”

“Catching the fox spirit. Shh—”

Zhù Ying mustered her trusted constables. This time she did not borrow men from the garrison commander; she openly announced that she and the Chief Secretary were going out to inspect the winter wheat planting. By the calculation of days, the winter wheat should be fully planted by now — an inspection was perfectly timely.

The two walked along until they reached the Fang family estate; Magistrate Guo was hurrying along behind them trying to catch up. He was about to say something when Zhù Ying’s group quickly peeled off several people, following Hou Wu’s directions to surround the isolated house from all sides!

Magistrate Guo was shocked. “Your Excellency? What has happened? Has another major case broken out?” This would be the third recent case in Nanping County — what had the county done to deserve this?

Shortly, a man came out of the house, and the sight stopped everyone for a moment — this person was quite handsome. Tall and straight, fair-skinned, with eyes that seemed to carry affection for everyone. Quite a striking man.

He clasped his hands. “Gentlemen — what is all this?”

His voice was even rather pleasing to hear!

Hou Wu asked, “Jin Yuanbao?”

Jin Yuanbao’s smile stiffened slightly; a trace of exasperation crossed his face, but he made it look quite endearing — enough to inspire a pang of sympathy: “Indeed.”

Xiang Le stepped forward with a smile: “You heartless thief! You left me trapped there — of course I was thrown out.”

He was repeating precisely the words the maidservant had spoken the night before. Jin Yuanbao was startled. “Friend, what does that mean?”

“Take him.” Zhù Ying said.

Jin Yuanbao did not dodge or evade, but said, “There must be some misunderstanding here.”

Niu Jin stepped forward and seized his arm!

Zhù Ying said, “Search.”

Ding Gui and the others encircled the house; Hou Wu personally led the search party inside. Shortly, they brought out a large bundle of odds and ends: girls’ undergarments, handkerchiefs, embroidered cloths, hairpins and jewelry. In addition there were several men’s silk robes — even a pair of silk socks, made with considerable care.

Watching the increasingly plentiful items being brought out, Jin Yuanbao’s shoulders gave a sudden twitch. Somehow he shook free of Niu Jin — spun around, darted left, vaulted right, using eaves and footholds — and scrambled toward the rooftop. The constables below could only watch and fret: they did not have those skills.

A sharp sound cut the air. Jin Yuanbao dropped to the ground. Martial Sister Hu walked silently forward, picked up a small pellet nearby, and placed it back in the pouch at her waist.

She’s the one! Zhù Ying thought. I’ll pay her twice the cook’s wages if I must — no, a full string of cash a month! All board and lodging included!

Amid the astonished stares of the crowd, Zhù Ying said, “Chief Secretary — this is your prisoner. Oh yes — also please invite the victim party to attend. Don’t forget to fetch the maid as well.”

The Chief Secretary felt a thousand emotions mixed together, and clasped his hands: “I will comply.”

The group then “invited” the entire Fang family along with the maidservant to the prefectural office. Along the road, the mistress and maid did not know what had happened, and the constables’ mouths were sealed tighter than a clamshell.

Arriving at the prefectural office, Zhù Ying kept a precaution in mind — worried that the two girls might come to a bad end if the Chief Secretary judged them, she used the Fang family’s petition as grounds to seat herself as presiding judge, with the Chief Secretary present. The two girls were placed temporarily in a side room, and the Fang family patriarch was made to stand at the side of the hall to listen.

Word of the matter had spread, and since the winter wheat was now planted and people had time on their hands, quite a crowd gathered to watch.

Jin Yuanbao was brought before the hall. Zhù Ying said nothing further — she simply had him given twenty strokes of the heavy board first. Once the beating was done, she asked, “Where did this stolen plunder come from?!”

Jin Yuanbao said, “From telling fortunes for a family — the master rewarded me.”

“Which family?”

“I… don’t remember…”

“Beat him.”

Zhù Ying had no mercy in beating Jin Yuanbao. He made up a name; when no such person could be found, he was beaten again.

Seeing she had every intention of beating him to death, Jin Yuanbao finally broke: “It — it was Miss Fang who gave it to me!”

The Fang patriarch, who had been seething the whole time, erupted: “Nonsense!”

Zhù Ying said, “Beat him.”

Jin Yuanbao said, “It’s true! It’s true!”

“Our house is strictly kept — how would a rat like you ever get inside?” The Fang patriarch was furious. “Your Excellency, don’t listen to his lies…”

Jin Yuanbao was also frantic: “It’s really true! I first got together with her maidservant Xiao Huan, and Xiao Huan introduced me to…”

Zhù Ying said, “Close the doors and question him slowly.”

The Fang patriarch’s old face burned scarlet with urgency!

Jin Yuanbao had already uncorked everything: “I was often out and about, and one day at the market, Xiao Huan tucked a handkerchief into my hand and then looked at me with those eyes. I couldn’t help getting together with her. Later she said I had not a room to my name, not a patch of land, no trade to speak of — no way to support anyone. She said her mistress had quite a bit of her own money, and that the young lady was lonely in her spring boudoir. If I were to spend a night with her, it would also help me save some money to get by on. I didn’t dare — but they invited me to a feast, and unfortunately I drank too much wine, and then…”

“Jin Yulang—” Miss Fang’s screaming voice erupted.

Jiang Zhou, having been quietly ordered to do so, had already discreetly escorted both mistress and maidservant to a spot behind the screen to hear Jin Yuanbao’s confession.