Huajie listened to what Zhù Ying had to say and felt she had a foundation to stand on. Though she knew that what lay ahead would certainly be difficult, was there anything Zhù Ying undertook that was not difficult? Since Zhù Ying had said it, Huajie believed it.

She thought to herself that on the grand scale she could be of little real help, and so resolved to do well what she herself was able to do. Teaching medicine was her own dream; caring well for Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da was something she was glad to do. Both served Zhù Ying’s interests as well. She set these two things as her immediate goals.

She watched Zhù Ying finish the chicken soup and then gnaw her way through half a chicken before collecting the ceramic jar and saying: “I am heading back — you get some rest too.”

Zhù Ying, wiping her mouth, said: “Alright.”

Watching Huajie leave and pull the door shut behind her, Zhù Ying shifted her gaze back to the table. Two sheets of paper lay there — the right one was covered in dense writing: words such as “prefectural establishment,” “estate,” “merchants,” “women,” “loose administration,” “grain stores,” “able-bodied soldiers,” “students,” “literacy,” and the like. On the left sheet, only two characters had been written at the very top: “order.” Below them was nothing but blankness.

Zhù Ying sighed, placed both sheets of paper on the brazier and set them alight, watching as they burned to a soft whitish ash. She replaced the lid on the brazier to smother the fire, rose from her chair, and went to bed.

Winter nights were naturally quiet, and the estate had few people — she could hear the sound of her own footsteps echoing through the empty courtyard. Moonlight lay spread like water across the ground.

The next day, the market opened.

For so many people and goods to converge simultaneously in the mountain winter had previously been very difficult to achieve. Setting aside questions of trust between the various parties, security alone had been nearly impossible to guarantee. Everyone had listened to wolf howls for half the night yet woke that morning with energy to spare — entirely because the camp was secure.

Zhù Ying presided over the opening of the market. By this point the market already had an established routine, and Zhù Ying left Xiang Le to oversee its operations while she herself was needed to meet with the leaders of each family group.

Su Mingluan, Lang Kunwu, Shanque’s father-in-law, Lu Guo, and Xijin — all five had come in person rather than sending representatives. Each had their own views and intended to lay them out clearly before Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying had her own plans as well. She intended to formally establish a formal covenant with each tribe — now that Wuzhou had been set up, the five counties would not all follow the court’s legal codes, and she needed to establish her own rules of conduct. And since none of these people had a written language, the drafting would largely fall to her. She was glad to do this work — it was both her area of strength and her interest.

She opened by saying: “Wuzhou has been established. The mountain territories are now the business of those of us gathered here, and the lowlands consist of Fulu, Nanping, and Sicheng counties — different rules apply inside the mountains and out. None of you have objections to this, I trust?”

As she spoke she looked at Lang Kunwu, Lu Guo, and Xijin — those three had not gone up to the capital with her. Whatever Chou Wen had conveyed on the way back would have been distorted by the telling, and Lu Guo and Xijin’s sons’ grasp of the language in the capital had been limited, making them more observers than participants.

The three — Lang Kunwu and the others — nodded and each said: “Of course!”

Zhù Ying said: “For now, we — those gathered here — will decide the affairs of Wuzhou’s five counties. Everyone is welcome to speak their thoughts, and we will deliberate together.”

Everyone agreed.

Su Mingluan spoke first: “It is my godfather who has brought all of us together. These several families have not sat down and talked properly with one another in many years. I trust my godfather — may my godfather please speak first.”

She was confident that Zhù Ying would not allow her to be at a disadvantage. Though she also did not particularly seek to take advantage of others — mainly because trying rarely yielded much. Zhù Ying always thought things through with great thoroughness. It made sense to let her speak first; the substance of it would most likely be sound, and for any points she was dissatisfied with, she could argue them out afterward — it was best to save one’s energy for where it truly mattered.

Zhù Ying said: “When the counties were established, certain agreements were already made that each party would follow its own customs. That remains unchanged. What I want to address now is this — once agreements are made, all parties must abide by them.”

Everyone agreed again.

Zhù Ying said: “There is one further matter. The various tribes have no written language, and what is passed down by word of mouth can inevitably be distorted — even in one’s own memory, things can become unclear over time. So I propose that we erect a stone stele and carve the agreements into it. Whenever there is a dispute over the wording, a look at the stele will settle the matter at once. In addition to the stele, I will have copies made for each family to keep.”

No one raised any objection.

Zhù Ying added: “With the exception of County Magistrate Su, none of the other four of you can read. To prevent any of you from being at a disadvantage in future disputes due to illiteracy, you really should learn. What do you say?”

No one objected to this either.

Zhù Ying then raised the matter of the barbarian school: “The barbarian school takes forty students and the medical school twenty. Each county submits names — six per family for the barbarian school, two per family for the medical school.”

Lang Kunwu frowned slightly and said: “Godfather, those numbers don’t quite add up, do they?” He could count — six times five was thirty, and he could work that out; there was clearly a shortfall.

Su Mingluan had already noticed the discrepancy as well. She thought: could my godfather be planning to designate the Suoning clan and the Yigan clan as counties as well? Are these places being held for them?

Her guess was close to the mark, but Zhù Ying’s plan was not fixed specifically on those two families. She said: “Each county also has scattered residents. Take Asu County, for example — beyond those under your direct governance, are there not others of your people living independently? We cannot simply overlook those who live scattered about just because there are fewer of them. What a waste that would be.”

These were people! And people meant resources!

Su Mingluan and the others now understood the reasoning, but raised a further question: “Will they be split off from the counties into their own?”

“None of you have schools in your respective counties yet, am I right? As far as I know, it is the shamans or the headmen and elders who teach orally, and even they are largely illiterate. Once you have literate people in your counties, they can each return to open a small school locally, and then handle their own county’s affairs themselves.” Zhù Ying said.

Su Mingluan, once she understood this, agreed immediately. She had long had this intention herself, but the handful of people who had studied with her at Fulu County were still not skilled enough to manage things independently, and their learning was not deep enough — a “school” in her county had therefore been reluctantly shelved.

As for Shanque’s father-in-law and the others, they thought: as long as I can send children to study at the school my lord runs, what comes after can be considered later.

With the preamble established, Zhù Ying also confirmed the details of the barbarian school, asking them to submit their lists of names before the market trading concluded — to which they all agreed. One trip to the capital had been worth more than anything she could have said; this was especially true for Shanque’s father-in-law, who was now ready to hand his children over to Zhù Ying without hesitation.

Zhù Ying once again recruited students for Huajie: “Daughters are also welcome — I have a female medical doctor here who teaches people to heal.”

The status of physicians in the mountains differed somewhat from that in the lowlands — among the mountain communities, a physician’s standing was higher. Lang Kunwu and the others thought that Zhù Ying was finding playmates for Su Zhe, but also concluded that this was not a bad deal for themselves, so they all said: “Agreed.”

Zhù Ying said: “When the covenant was drafted, certain matters were left unspecified — for example, this market. How many disputes have arisen over these past months? Who was found in the right, and who in the wrong? When new situations arise, one cannot simply look the other way. So we need to make small revisions — there cannot be no basis for appeal when matters need to be settled.”

Everyone expressed understanding.

Next, Zhù Ying recited entirely from memory the agreements previously concluded with each tribe separately. The present revision of the Covenant was an elaboration and revision built upon that foundation.

The first article, opening the covenant and stating its origins: it was a set of “norms” established by Zhù Ying to govern the five counties going forward, to be observed by all tribes once they entered the mountains. The principle of the Covenant was that it existed to maintain the peaceful order of the five counties, and to serve as the basis for resolving disputes.

Zhù Ying said: “I will add this line: ‘The law is for the use of people, not to cut the foot to fit the shoe, and therefore the covenant is drawn according to actual circumstances.’ The meaning is: a man buys a new pair of shoes; the shoes are too small and do not fit his feet; in order to wear them, he cuts away a piece of flesh from his foot.”

Lang Kunwu laughed heartily: “Is there such a fool?”

Zhù Ying said: “I have here a complete copy of the Legal Code. If you want to save effort, you are welcome to copy it out.”

Lang Kunwu’s laughter stopped, for he had suddenly thought of Chou Wen. He looked warily around the room and thought: fortunately, I did not bring him.

Next, Zhù Ying specified the geographic scope to which this Covenant applied: on the eastern line, from the north of Talang County running south to the boundary between Asu County and the former Nanfu; on the northern line, the great river; on the western line, as far as certain areas of the Flower Sash tribe’s territory, passing through that long and treacherous mountain valley and continuing thirty li further — the boundary between Zhù Ying’s estate and the Yigan clan’s territory.

The southern line was the southern border of Asu County. Asu County’s boundaries were somewhat unusual — somewhat further south, legend had it there was a sea, but few people had ever gone there, and no one could say clearly what lay to the south. Even Su Mingluan and the others had never been to the coast. Such was the current state of the mountain regions — borders vague, governance vague. But when Zhù Ying drew the map, she swept her brush boldly and assumed there was sea to the south, placing Asu County as extending all the way to the great sea — after all, she had written it down. Su Mingluan expressed satisfaction.

Su Mingluan was already doing her best to expand southward, but with limited success. For one thing, the area she already governed was already not small and was already becoming difficult to manage. For another, her population was not large — scattered into the mountains, it was like a few sesame seeds fallen from a flatbread, too thin to matter. But she had claimed it on paper first!

Everyone within this geographic scope was required to observe this Covenant. Within the scope there were also scattered residents of other families, but they could not use the argument “we are not your people, we do not follow your law” as a defense.

The first article would also include a closing oath: “I solemnly swear to uphold the Covenant — may he who breaks this oath be struck down by lightning and thunder.”

And with that, the first article was passed.

Zhù Ying could not conjure a Covenant out of nothing — she had to use the structure of the Legal Code she had memorized as a rough framework. When the court compiled a legal code, it was entirely normal for a chief editor overseeing dozens or even hundreds of learned scholars to work for years — completing one in a few months was considered efficient, or the matter was simply not that complex. Here there was only Zhù Ying, the only one who had read through a complete legal code; only she and Su Mingluan could read at all. What could realistically be produced?

A Covenant was also far broader in scope than a legal code. To pin down every detail so tightly that a group of illiterate people could memorize it all in full would be impossible — and would defeat the entire purpose of establishing a Covenant. It could only be a provisional framework, with details to be added as problems emerged over time.

The second article continued with subsidiary rules.

The headmen still remembered certain formulations from their earlier agreements with Zhù Ying — such as the previously agreed provisions on “which party’s jurisdiction applies when a person from one side breaks the law.”

Since all five counties now belonged to Wuzhou, Zhù Ying’s position was still: “By territory.”

She had expected this point to pass easily. But Xijin immediately said: “My lord, does that mean that once my people enter someone else’s territory, they are no longer under my jurisdiction?”

Zhù Ying heard in his words a view that did not regard the five counties as a single whole — that in his eyes, only his own people counted as “his own.” She replied: “Equally, if someone from another county breaks the law in your territory, you have jurisdiction over them.”

Xijin said: “That is not the point!”

“Then what is the point?” Zhù Ying asked patiently.

Xijin pointed at Su Mingluan and said: “Her! She has lured away many of my people! Including slaves!”

Su Mingluan said: “What do you mean, lured away?!”

Xijin said: “Do you dare say there are no people from other families living in your territory?”

Su Mingluan said: “Where? Who? Sheep in the mountains have no master — whichever pasture they graze in, they belong to that pasture! My land is lush and well-watered, the sheep like to come here, and I am certainly not going to feed them for nothing. Naturally they belong to me then!”

Xijin said: “Are people sheep?! Those are my people! Hmph — Lu Guo, don’t tell me none of your people have gone over to her either?”

Lu Guo coughed twice and said: “This matter does need to be clarified. If my people go to your territory in the future, you must return them to me.”

Lang Kunwu said: “Who can tell which person belongs to whom?”

Zhù Ying had been speaking in the Flower Sash tribe’s language — the Brocade tribe’s tongue — using neither the Qixia language nor the Liji speech. When Lang Kunwu replied, he spoke in his own Liji speech. Su Mingluan generally spoke in the Qixia language, but when the Qixia language’s vocabulary was insufficient, she would simply use the official language. Lang Kunwu could not very well reprove her for this, but Shanque’s father-in-law said: “Do not speak in that language we cannot understand, and secretly criticize us while we sit here!”

The room was filled with a cacophony of different languages, an argument in full swing.

Zhù Ying gradually sorted out the meaning. Just as her estate had attracted nearly four hundred permanent households, people were also running away to Asu County.

The stone city here had an extremely low tax rate; breaking new farmland was nearly tax-free, and labor corvée was not heavy — mostly patrols and watchkeeping. It was also safe. People were willing to come.

Asu County, under Su Mingluan’s governance, had more and more grain, and people no longer frequently went hungry. She was the first to stop using human sacrifices, so people’s lives were also more secure. In recent years, life had gradually become a little more comfortable — which might still seem “barbarian” by lowland standards, but compared to the other mountain groups, it was very good indeed. Asu County’s people increasingly deferred to Su Mingluan, which was the only reason she as a woman could hold her position steady.

And for this reason, people from nearby “poorer places” and “places of oppression” were inclined to flee to Asu County. Su Mingluan accepted them all — some were settled into new small hamlets, and the more useful among them were taken into the main settlement to put their abilities to use.

Talang County had come under Zhù Ying’s influence somewhat earlier than the other three families, and while Lang Kunwu’s gains were not as great as Su Mingluan’s, he too had seen some encouraging signs — with people running his way as well. But some of them, fearing that he might capture them and return them to Xijin or Shanque’s father-in-law, would flee instead to Asu County. Those running from Lu Guo’s territory went to Lang Kunwu.

Many of these people had previously not even lived in what could be called proper dwellings — some slaves had slept in sheep pens or horse stalls with only three walls. Some had lived in earthen pits. Some slaves had been kept in wooden stocks to ensure they would not run, while others had broken free of their stocks in a bid to flee.

In Su Mingluan’s territory, slaves were rarely killed on a whim; she had even put some of them to work managing the fields and tea gardens. Most of the income, of course, still went to her — but a slave who worked hard could receive a small amount of compensation. Given any opportunity, who would not want to go to a richer place? Especially since Su Mingluan pretended not to notice when people ran to her territory. As long as they were in Asu County — hunting, farming, working — she would not make any special effort to capture and return them. She needed the people.

Xijin accused Su Mingluan of lawless behavior and demanded a mutual non-harboring agreement for runaway slaves.

Lu Guo was a man of few words and a soft voice, but it was evident that he too was not satisfied. Some of his people had run to Asu County as well — though Su Mingluan had, in two instances, actually returned people to him. After that, slaves learned to be cleverer about it, and stopped going to Asu County. They went to Talang County instead.

Lu Guo also summoned the nerve to say to Zhù Ying: “People are going to Talang County as well.”

Zhù Ying thought: No wonder Lang Kunwu is not trading insults with Su Mingluan.

She said: “Let us all settle down! Listen to what I have to say. You claim these are your people — what is your proof? You cannot simply point at a person in someone else’s territory and declare them yours. So what is needed? A household register.”

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “We have almost no literate people! We tried to learn the lowland system of writing down names, but before we even finished, all the people had already fled!”

Zhù Ying laughed: “It will not come to that. Why do they run? Is it not always the same few reasons? Hunger and cold are the whip — they drive people to run. You demand she return your people, but she has no household register of her own and does not know who is who — what does she have to return them with? To return them to you, she would have to spend effort tracking them down — what have you done for her in exchange? Yet since you have raised the matter, it cannot be left unaddressed.”

Lang Kunwu added a flattering remark: “And what is my godfather’s proposal?”

“This matter — my feeling is that it should be tabled for the moment. Magistrate Su, do not be quick to insist you owe nothing; County Commissioner Jin, do not be quick to assert it is all her scheming. What is really needed is for your side to give your people fewer lashes and more food. That is the sensible approach.”

Xijin muttered: “I am not about to feed idlers! The better fed they are, the more energy they will have for running away!”

Zhù Ying said: “From now on, I will spend half my time each month here, going through each county one by one. Do not be angry for now — let us look together at how each county can improve people’s livelihoods. Life in the mountains is harder than in the lowlands to begin with, and if our own people quarrel among themselves, it will only get harder still. Let us first look at how to grow more grain.”

She managed, with some difficulty, to calm Xijin down. On the other side, Su Mingluan and Lang Kunwu both held their tongues — Lang Kunwu was not particularly inclined to stand up for his uncle anyway.

Zhù Ying could see that the Covenant stele was going to face some complications. She once again urged each county to quickly select capable people for the barbarian school to help establish proper records — to which all five immediately agreed.

The second article temporarily set aside the clause on “mutual return of runaway slaves” and restated the principle governing criminal jurisdiction.

Next, Zhù Ying needed to codify the system of punishments.

This was absolutely necessary. In the lowlands, there were five categories: flogging, beating with a heavy stick, penal servitude, exile, and death. In the mountains, the variety was far greater — beheading and bloodletting aside, there were also: burying alive, cutting in half at the waist, severing hands and feet, gouging out eyes, cutting off ears, noses, and tongues… and so on, with no fixed set of punishments — only habitual practices, or the whim of a given headman. In short, every form of mutilation mentioned in historical records as something to be abolished was here in full and vivid practice.

Zhù Ying wished to abolish the most egregious forms of corporal punishment.

On this point the headmen began to object. They said: “This is what we have always done.”

Su Mingluan said: “Abolishing everything — that may not be appropriate. Burial alive and cutting in half can be abolished; after all, beheading is also killing. But some punishments exist precisely for their deterrent effect, to make people afraid to offend again. There is also the matter of repayment in kind: if someone has crippled another person’s hand or foot, I should be able to cripple theirs in return. I cannot let him receive twenty strokes of the rod and go home and recover — then he comes back as able-bodied as before! Give him a chance? The person he crippled will be disabled for life. What kind of justice is that?”

This argument could not be entirely refuted even if it were brought before the court.

Zhù Ying had no choice but to compromise with them and said: “Injuries to another person’s body may be punished in kind; otherwise, corporal punishment may not be applied. Is that acceptable?”

The headmen reluctantly agreed.

After that dispute was resolved, it was time for lunch.

After the midday meal, Zhù Ying had just settled down to rest when Xijin came shouting in the courtyard: “My lord!”

Zhù Ying opened her eyes and walked out of the inner quarters with calm and unhurried steps: “What is it?”

Xijin’s eyes were round as copper bells, and he said loudly: “My lord — just because we have put on these clothes and become Wuzhou people, does that mean our property and our slaves are no longer ours?” Spittle flew in the sunlight, briefly catching the light in all colors.

Zhù Ying neatly stepped clear of it and asked: “What makes you say that?”

Xijin sneered coldly: “Ask her!”

By this time, people who had been taking their midday rest had come out of their respective rooms, all watching to see how Zhù Ying would handle this.

Zhù Ying followed the direction of Xijin’s pointing finger and saw Su Mingluan, who was watching Xijin with an expression of cold indifference.

Zhù Ying asked: “What happened?”

The Old Lady Lang and the Old Lady Lang were both standing in the doorways of their respective courtyards, peering into the center of the compound. Zhù Ying sighed and said: “Let us talk in the study.”

In the study, Zhù Ying said: “County Commissioner Jin, you speak first.”

Xijin gave a cold snort. Zhù Ying said: “Since you are unwilling to speak, Magistrate Su, you begin.”

Xijin said: “She…”

Su Mingluan said: “I will speak. I said that now we are all Wuzhou people.”

Xijin spat on the ground and said: “Is that what you said?”

Lang Kunwu said: “Uncle, what exactly did she say? Tell us! Do you expect my godfather and everyone else to sit here and listen to you hurl insults?”

Xijin turned to berate his nephew, and the Old Lady Lang flew into a rage: “If you cannot speak properly, get out! If someone beats you to death, don’t come crying to me!”

Zhù Ying rapped on the table: “I will ask. You will answer. County Commissioner Jin, when you and Magistrate Su met, who spoke first? Just say whether it was you or her.”

Xijin, who was not accustomed to being handled this way, said furiously: “You are all on her side.”

The Old Lady Lang stood up in anger, seized her brother by the collar, and pushed him down into a chair: “My lord, I told him to go speak properly with the Asu family. He went — it must have been him who spoke first.”

Zhù Ying then asked Su Mingluan: “Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“What was the first thing said?” Zhù Ying asked Su Mingluan.

Su Mingluan bit her lip and said: “He said I had taken in his people.”

Xijin came alive: “Heaven is watching! Dare you say it is not so?”

Zhù Ying did not spare him a glance and continued to ask Su Mingluan: “And the second thing?”

She asked one sentence at a time, requiring word-for-word recounting until the full picture emerged. Xijin had confronted Su Mingluan, saying there had been an earlier agreement to return runaway people. Su Mingluan was far better at arguing than he was — and she needed people; Asu County was no longer in a position where “there are not enough sacrificial victims, so we use our own people.” She wanted people.

The two went back and forth, and within just a few exchanges, Su Mingluan had come out with: “That was before. Now we are all Wuzhou people.”

Xijin had exploded — how was it that his people used to be his, but now that they were Wuzhou people, his slaves had somehow become someone else’s?

Zhù Ying looked at Su Mingluan without a word. Su Mingluan also knew that this line could be said to anyone — but not in front of Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying had been thinking about this issue just moments before, and it was giving her a slight headache. She too needed people! She would wager that somewhere in her own estate, among the scattered settlers, there were also runaway slaves from the various families. How was that to be accounted for? There was no record to check against. But she could not openly take Su Mingluan’s side, because the others were watching — and she herself still had her estate to manage and had no intention of abandoning the effort to continue expanding the loose-administration territories.

All of this would be thrown into enormous uncertainty by one sentence: “now that they wear these clothes and are Wuzhou people, does that mean their property and slaves are no longer theirs.”

She looked at Su Mingluan once more.

Zhù Ying deliberated for a moment and said: “Let us set it out in the covenant after all. Every family has slaves — if we all lure away each other’s people, we will only end up fighting one another again. Let this matter be handled together with the establishment of the household registers.”

Lang Kunwu said: “Please elaborate.”

Zhù Ying said: “Two provisions: first, with proof, runaway slaves must be returned. Second, if a person has lived in a given locality for a full five years and has been entered into the local household register, they are considered a local resident and may not be claimed back.”

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “What is the basis for that? Someone who belongs to another person belongs to that person — and after five years, that is no longer the case?”

Zhù Ying asked: “If a sheep arrives at your home and someone raises it for a time, and then someone comes to claim it is theirs, do you return it?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Even after five years?”

“Yes!”

Zhù Ying asked: “Do you ask that person to repay five years’ worth of grass for the sheep? Do you demand payment for five years’ worth of labor for tending it?”

Shanque’s father-in-law wanted to say grandly that he would not, but felt that was also not quite right.

Zhù Ying said: “If this sheep had been living wild in the mountains on its own since it was a lamb and someone comes to find you, how would you know whether the sheep was wild-born?”

Shanque’s father-in-law frowned deeply.

Zhù Ying said: “Well?”

Xijin cut in: “People are not sheep! And five years is too short!”

Zhù Ying ignored him and asked Shanque’s father-in-law: “Well?”

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “Five years is indeed a bit short. A child who grows to five years old can only just tend sheep.”

They fell into discussion. Zhù Ying had deliberately said five years. After some back and forth, the time limit was extended to seven years. Seven years — only if one had been registered in the household register and not been discovered within that time could one be considered a local resident. Lu Guo said quietly: “So… how do we verify the marks?” His people were known for marking their property.

Zhù Ying said: “Use handprints on the household registers… You see — that is exactly why hands cannot be casually chopped off, is it not?”

This was the result — all parties accepted it with more or less reluctance. Lang Kunwu felt a small pang of regret but concluded things were not too bad for his side. Glancing at Su Mingluan and seeing her expression was not pleasant, he felt a little better.

Xijin also found this workable enough. His settlement had next to no one who could write — but taking a handprint was simple! He decided: as soon as he got back, he would press handprints from everyone in the settlement! He only bitterly regretted those who had already run away and would now be very hard to track down.

Zhù Ying said: “So this clause — shall we consider it agreed upon?”

The Covenant might only manage to settle one clause at a time, and even this one could not be said to fully satisfy her.

All five said: “Yes.”

Xijin was a little dissatisfied but his mood had not actually darkened. He thought: what use is a pleasant face? At least you cannot take advantage of my people anymore.

He was in fact rather pleased, because if it were not for Wuzhou — for Zhù Ying standing here as a presence — matters like this would have come to blows already. His family was less able to fight and would have come off worse.

The main provisions of the second article were thus established — the clause on “mutual return.” Because of the provision that “a person who has resided in a locality for a full seven years and been entered into the household register shall become a commoner of that locality,” this clause would not long afterward come to be widely known as the “slave liberation law.” At this moment, however, Xijin and the others still considered it quite reasonable. Seven years was long enough to track someone down — after seven years it was simply no longer worth the effort. A person’s most productive working years were not long, and a slave’s life span was even shorter.

Zhù Ying used the momentum to add the abolition of human sacrifice and certain forms of corporal punishment as the third article, including the deletion of the provision on hand-severing. This time Su Mingluan raised no objection either.

Zhù Ying did not continue discussing further clauses with them. All the parties were in a somewhat fraught state of mind — it was not a good time for serious deliberation.

She said: “That will do for today. Arguing things out is how we get them clear — it is still better than coming to blows. Tonight I will be the host; there is also something I need everyone’s help with.”

The Old Lady Lang hurriedly asked: “What matter is that?”

Zhù Ying said: “Last night everyone heard it, I imagine. There are quite a few wolves, and from what I hear, wild boars are also around. Newly broken farmland cannot be left to be rooted up by wild boars — and wolves can injure people and savage livestock, so the wolves need to be dealt with.”

Lang Kunwu said: “There are many wolves in the mountains. The Stone City is newly built and sparsely populated — the wolves are not afraid. More people and it will sort itself out.”

Zhù Ying said: “The traders still need to conduct their business, and they need to come here — not want to go to your family’s place, and then another family refuses to go along. So the only option is to clear the area.”

No one objected to this; all agreed, each saying they had brought several dozen to a hundred able-bodied men — all good hunters.

Zhù Ying said: “Wonderful! Let us have a good meal and a good rest today, and talk more about this tomorrow.”

A matter had finally come to a resolution — though none of the parties could say it was entirely as they had hoped, at least a consensus had been reached, and people dispersed.

Su Mingluan chose to stay behind.

Zhù Ying looked at her and smiled: “What is it this time?”

Su Mingluan said: “Godfather, I truly am short of people. If those from the lowlands still have even a mouthful to eat, they will not enter the mountains. I give mountain people who cannot survive a chance at life — is that wrong? A waste like Xijin should long since have…”

She felt her approach was the best possible — no one objected except Xijin, nothing was wrong with it. She did not even want Xijin’s current territory, because she truly could not manage it. But people — some she could certainly have.

Zhù Ying said: “I understand what you mean. But do you quite understand mine? Can you guess why I do not bring mountain folk out of the mountains?”

Su Mingluan’s face went slightly pale. She said quietly: “My godfather’s heart is always generous in all things. But I — I am not as generous as my godfather. I am a woman, and I must answer to the people of my settlement. Matters that cannot show results quickly, matters that cannot make the people of the settlement feel satisfied — even if they hold the highest virtue and will benefit countless generations, in the immediate moment they cannot be done. I must be able to hold onto the present. My settlement’s people gather around me now because I deliver benefit to them.”

Zhù Ying said: “I dislike this manner of dealing with slaves — but such are the customs… You could rent people from Lu Guo. So many people, so much payment — that is better than having them simply run away, is it not? And when another family’s slaves come to you, do not think that since they are someone else’s you can work them as you please and use them up within a few years. Take a longer view — do you understand?”

Su Mingluan’s eyes brightened slightly: “Yes.”

She then earnestly apologized to Zhù Ying: “I caused my godfather trouble. If I had not said those wrong words, my godfather would certainly not be in such a difficult position right now.”

Zhù Ying shook her head gently: “It is nothing much. If I were to say right now that all of you, just like those in the lowlands, should take examinations to become officials, and that you may not casually kill slaves, and that killing a servant must be reported to the authorities… you might accept it, but the others would likely rise up in arms again.”

Su Mingluan said seriously: “If it were to be exactly like the lowlands, where women cannot become county magistrates — then I would rise up in arms together with them.”

Zhù Ying said: “This is Wuzhou. It is different from other places.”

Su Mingluan said: “Can that provision be written in as well?”

Zhù Ying smiled: “Has it not already been written?”

“Then let it be carved into the stone stele, written into the Covenant — daughters the same as sons, and if they are capable, the court cannot interfere in our succession.”

“Of course! The fourth article has it.” Zhù Ying said. Half good, half not ideal — but this was how things would have to stand for now.

With that reassurance, Su Mingluan went off contentedly to prepare for the evening banquet and tomorrow’s wolf hunt.

The Old Lady Lang then came, dragging Xijin with her.

As soon as the Old Lady Lang entered, she pushed Xijin down and said to Zhù Ying herself: “My lord, this wretch has been dim-witted since childhood! Foolish as anything! Please do not let him upset you — when in doubt, just give him a good beating, and that will set him straight.”

Zhù Ying said: “I am not upset. He could not speak properly, so I simply did not talk with him — I talked with those who could be spoken to clearly.”

The Old Lady Lang laughed awkwardly.

Zhù Ying said: “Please sit.”

Once both had sat down, Zhù Ying said: “I know what is on your minds — you think I will favor Magistrate Su.”

Both of them laughed awkwardly again. Zhù Ying said: “In your hearts you also know that she is inclined toward me. And yet since you first came to know me, have I ever treated you poorly?”

The Old Lady Lang said at once: “Certainly not!” Xijin also nodded.

Zhù Ying said: “Then is that not enough? When things are spoken openly, all is well.”

The Old Lady Lang murmured her assent.

Zhù Ying then asked their views on several matters — for instance, the question of slavery, which they could not yet come around on in the short term. Zhù Ying weighed the situation and grudgingly acknowledged reality. She said to Xijin: “Do not feel you have been wronged. Your settlement still has copper, and other products as well. When you prosper, people will want to come to you — and will you accept them or not?”

Xijin said with some embarrassment: “Do I dare dream such a dream?”

Zhù Ying said: “Why not? Am I not doing quite well?”

Xijin said: “Then I shall wait and depend on my lord.”

Zhù Ying smiled: “I will certainly come to your settlement.”

That evening, everyone dined together as though nothing had happened. The next morning, Zhù Ying gathered everyone again to discuss something she had been considering for a long time — precisely demarcating the territories.

The Covenant’s first article had defined the scope of the five counties of Wuzhou. Now, she wished to use this opportunity to fix her own domain as well.

Before they set out, she produced a map and, pressing her forefinger on it in a circle, said: “Let us see how this area has been cleared. Has anyone cleared this nearby region?”

She had delineated a patch of territory for herself — roughly an oblique elongated shape, somewhat closer to the territories of the Yigan clan chief and Xijin’s family, with its southern tip touching the border between Lu Guo’s territory and Asu County. The northern end was a great mountain range, beyond which lay a great river — the same range that backed the Talang family’s settlement. Past the river, the opposite bank was an entirely different world — territory under the regular administration of the court.

The mountain valley leading to the Yigan clan chief’s territory cut right through the middle of the domain, with Zhù Ying’s “estate” positioned behind the valley and extending slightly onto a flat area of the small plain.

All five shook their heads.

This patch of land had been carefully chosen by Zhù Ying — she naturally knew that such places were no-man’s land claimed by none of them. It could not be said the land was of poor quality and thus unclaimed; it was simply that the mountains held little fertile ground. Moreover, this particular stretch connected to the Yigan clan chief’s territory, with a small section of flatland quite suitable for breaking new farmland.

Once she had established the land as her own, she planned to build another gate behind the mountain valley to guard her estate.

Zhù Ying took her brush and circled this area, wrote the character “Zhù,” then casually drew in the boundaries of each party’s territory and said: “Does each person manage the section facing their own home, or do we do it together?”

This touched on a small private desire each of them had — the road cleared toward one’s own home would bring more peace to that stretch. There was a moment of hesitation.

Zhù Ying smiled and said: “Then let us do it section by section! Today, first clear the area around the estate, then the section in the direction of Yongzhi. Rest assured — everything will be cleared in turn. And County Commissioner Jin as well — you cannot, after the Yongzhi direction has been cleared, simply send no more men.”

Xijin quickly said: “Of course not!”

Zhù Ying casually added the characters for Yongzhi to the map, then with a few more strokes added the names of each county as well.