The requirements for printing books with carved wooden blocks were fairly high. It was not merely a matter of craftsmanship — the carvers also had to be literate, and literate in a great many characters, not simply someone who had just barely learned to read. Wuzhou City was, after all, a city, and artisans were relatively plentiful; but certain rarer trades remained difficult to come by — such as the sugar-making from before, and now the wood-block carving.

As Assistant Magistrate Peng had said, hand-copying books was still the most common method of learning in Wuzhou at present. The books Zhù Ying had procured from the National Academy were so rare precisely for that reason. Even Wang Yunhe’s essays had been passed along by students copying them by hand.

Assistant Magistrate Peng received his orders and walked out of the signing room, where he ran into Chou Wen, Su Deng, and Huajie coming toward him. They exchanged greetings.

The three of them took one look at who was gathered and guessed that Zhù Ying was summoning them about the tribal school.

Indeed, the moment Zhù Ying saw the three arrive, she said quite naturally: “You’re all here? The tribal school buildings have been handed over and completed — let’s go take a look.”

All three said: “Yes.”

The tribal school was something Zhù Ying had planned out long before. She had been away for several months and had not supervised the construction herself, so progress had been a little slow, but now it was finished. The school had been funded through Xiao Wu’s office, built under Assistant Magistrate Peng’s administration, and Magistrate Wang was in charge of overseeing “schools” as an official matter — so all three of them had been summoned partway through and would view the tribal school together.

Assistant Magistrate Peng personally brought the keys and came to open the door: “My Lord, please have a look — it has been built in the style of the prefectural school.”

There was a lecture hall, and several subject classrooms. Assistant Magistrate Peng said: “We weren’t sure how the tribal school would divide its subjects, so we left the signs off for now.”

He then pointed out the teachers’ offices and living quarters, the dining hall, dormitories, kitchen, storerooms, stables, and the like. Assistant Magistrate Peng specifically led Huajie to see the medical section. Huajie’s quarters were separated from Chou Wen’s and the others’ by a small courtyard — somewhat secluded and quiet. The female dormitory was separated from the male dormitory; the female dormitory was a small courtyard with a gatehouse and a large lock. There was also a small well in the courtyard for bathing and washing. Zhù Ying found this quite satisfactory.

Xiao Wu was rather pleased with himself, since the female quarters had been his idea.

Magistrate Wang then said: “All that’s needed now are a few servants, but I wonder how My Lord intends to arrange the staff assignments?”

Zhù Ying said: “The same as the state school.”

“Yes.”

The group made another circuit and saw that the furniture inside was nearly all in place, with the fresh smell of new wood and new lacquer everywhere, though curtains and hangings had yet to be put up. They looked at the dormitories and dining hall as well, and found there was no problem accommodating several dozen students.

Zhù Ying nodded: “Very good. Once the register of tribal students arrives, prepare for the school opening.”

Everyone said in unison: “Yes.”

Zhù Ying then said to Chou Wen: “I have a student here right now who I’d like to leave in your care.”

Chou Wen quickly asked who it was.

Zhù Ying said: “Shitou.”

“Him? Isn’t he at the residence…”

“He is originally a child of the Meng tribe — he can attend this tribal school. He learns slowly, so place him here with the new students to go through the material again from the beginning. I expect he’s close in age to most of the incoming students; let him room in the dormitory with them. Manage him the same way you manage everyone else. If he doesn’t study well, tell me.”

Chou Wen said: “Yes.” He knew that Shitou was of his own tribe, but the boy didn’t seem to be from Talang Stockade, since he himself had no memory of him. His wolf-brother had once asked whether he knew anything of Shitou and Chuizi’s origins — clearly none of them knew each other. He had actually felt a little envious of this child. The boy’s natural gifts were truly nothing to speak of, yet somehow his luck made up for it.

From Chou Wen’s brief acquaintance with Shitou, the boy was indeed unable to keep up with the lessons of Zhù Ying’s other students — no wonder he would need to start over with the new cohort.

Su Deng was also one of Zhù Ying’s students, and asked: “Teacher, is it the Shitou from home?” He had heard Shitou’s full name mentioned — Zhù Zhe had come home and said quite a bit about Shitou behind his back, finding the boy too stupid and wondering how he had ever gotten into the study room.

Zhù Ying said: “Yes. In school, no one is to mention where anyone comes from — everyone is to be treated equally. Reward what deserves reward, punish what deserves punishment. If one student is given ten strokes for a certain offense, another student receives ten strokes for the same offense — no favoritism whatsoever. Knowledge doesn’t just migrate into someone’s head because of their status. I will personally conduct spot tests.”

Su Deng answered loudly: “Yes!”

The group toured once more. Now they simply awaited the counties sending their tribal students, and then the school could open. It was the eleventh month — if early enough, students could have a month of classes to settle in, then go home for the New Year holiday to ease their homesickness, and return after the twentieth of the first month next year.

Chou Wen, Su Deng, and Huajie all felt a small surge of excitement — this was the beginning of their careers.

Zhù Ying asked about their teaching materials and the like; everyone said: “They are compiled and ready — we can teach for a year with no problem.”

Zhù Ying nodded, then asked about supplies needed — paper, brushes, and similar items. Xiao Wu said: “All disbursed monthly, following the state school’s precedent. If more is needed, the doctor must write an official document, and once it’s approved by the higher authority, we’ll issue as needed.”

Zhù Ying said: “Which higher authority? Who exactly?”

“Heh heh heh heh…”

After a full inspection and general satisfaction, Zhù Ying said: “Even though it’s called the ‘tribal school,’ it is still a school, and proper regulations must be observed — curfew rules must definitely be established. Who holds the keys, who conducts the rounds — all of this needs to be made more specific.”

Magistrate Wang said: “Just take a copy of the current official school’s regulations — they’re more or less the same everywhere. In the end, it’s all about cultivating talented people.”

Zhù Ying said: “Alright. That will do for today.” She glanced at Huajie, who was still gazing toward the female quarters, and everyone shared a smile. Magistrate Wang and the others each went off to attend to something, while Chou Wen and Su Deng still wanted to see their own rooms. So Assistant Magistrate Peng distributed the keys to the various people, stationed a runner at the tribal school’s main gate to wait for them to come out before locking the main door again.

Zhù Ying and Huajie went to look at the female quarters, inspecting every corner inside and out. Huajie had never been inside any school before and couldn’t find a single fault; she simply said: “It’s quite nice. Actually, my room there is more than I need — I won’t be living there either.”

Zhù Ying said: “Since there are female quarters, the students will be living here, and you may inevitably need to stay overnight on occasion to accompany them. Even if you don’t stay the night, resting there at midday would be good.”

“I’ll do as you say,” Huajie said with a smile, then thought of something and asked: “You want Shitou to come live at the tribal school?”

Zhù Ying said: “Yes. He’ll study for a year, and after that year — no matter how well or poorly he has done — I will establish a household registration for him and set him on his own. Looking at him studying texts, I think he’s not going to get very far. At the very least he’ll learn a few more characters. Going through it all again from the beginning — if he still can’t manage it, I certainly have no third chance to give him. If he can’t study, he can go farm. I’ll set up a household registration for him in Sicheng County and give him a plot of land. When we confiscated Huang Shi’er’s property back then, people like him each received a few acres of land. He’ll also receive the benefit of the tax reductions that were in effect in those years. After one more year of school, he’ll be a year older — with some property to his name, he can get by. I won’t give him too much, because he wouldn’t be able to hold onto it — we can’t let someone scheme and harm him.”

Seeing how carefully Zhù Ying had thought it through, Huajie said: “I should have thought of this earlier.”

Zhù Ying said: “Don’t say that. He’s already grown this big — does he still need you thinking on his behalf? What were you doing when you were his age? We were inattentive at first — let’s acknowledge that oversight, and now we’re making it right. If even that still doesn’t work, we couldn’t vouch for ourselves either, let alone vouch for him.”

“Hmm. It’s not so good for his adoptive grandfather to be too idle either — I worry he might fall into a low mood.”

“Doesn’t he go out walking around town? Let him go.”

“Even so, you can’t have him out from morning to night with no home to come back to — what if he runs into a swindler?”

Zhù Ying looked around the female quarters and said: “I’ll ask him if he wants to grow flowers. Isn’t there a garden in the back residence? Plant them on the lower slopes, then on the upper ones. Find him something to occupy his time.”

“Good.”

The two chatted a few more moments before turning back from the tribal school to the Governor’s Residence.

The small classroom in the Governor’s Residence still held its afternoon sessions. The young students noticed nothing amiss and continued studying Chu Long Persuades the Queen Dowager of Zhao — this piece required explaining a little about “the Warring States period” to them as well. And there were the new characters in the lesson — a single passage typically took several days to get through.

Zhù Ying glanced at Zhù Shi. Today he was not squirming about behind his desk, but his mind was wandering — learning seemed to be a torment to him.

Zhù Ying paid no mind. She finished the lesson, assigned homework, and let them each return home. Finally she called to Zhù Lian: “Chuizi, you no longer need to look after Shitou’s lessons.”

Shitou stopped halfway out and turned back around, looking somewhat overjoyed — but he didn’t dare ask Zhù Ying about it.

Zhù Lian said: “He…”

Zhù Ying said: “The current lessons are too difficult for him. In a day or two I’ll arrange for him to start over from the beginning.”

Zhù Lian broke into a smile and also let out a breath of relief — having been told to teach Zhù Shi, he simply hadn’t been able to manage it.

Shitou’s smile vanished and his face went slightly greenish: “From — from the beginning? Another round of suffering?”

Zhù Ying said: “Gather your things. In a couple of days when the tribal school opens, take your bedding and a change of clothes and go there. The students there are about your age — you’ll be able to play together. They are all newly arrived from various stockades and are starting from learning to speak Mandarin. You have already been studying for several years ahead of them — this time you should surely be able to keep up.”

Shitou looked somewhat bewildered but dared not oppose Zhù Ying. He lowered his voice and said: “Yes.”

Zhù Lian was in quite good spirits. He went back to the room and said to Shitou: “This is a good thing! They haven’t even learned to speak yet, while you can already write quite a few characters — this time you’re sure to succeed. Your book pages are curling at the edges; first press them flat under a stool.”

Shitou suddenly went outside. Zhù Lian called: “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to find Grandfather.” He didn’t want to go to school.

But he was stopped at the inner gate by Hou Wu. Shitou said: “Uncle Hou, it’s me.”

Hou Wu said: “I can see that.”

“I want to find Grandfather.”

Hou Wu smiled and said: “That won’t do — if you want someone inside, have the people in there pass a message.”

“Why?”

Hou Wu looked him up and down: “How old are you now? A big young man like you barging into someone’s back courtyard? Have you no sense of propriety?”

Hou Wu’s seniority in this household was considerable, and Shitou couldn’t argue with him. He called from the gate: “Grandfather.”

Zhù Da inside the room didn’t answer, pacing back and forth and saying to Zhang Xiangu: “Should I actually plant some flowers?”

“In the dead of winter — what would you plant?”

“Would it be alright if I just dug the holes first?”

Zhang Xiangu gave him a push toward the door: “Playing dead when you’re only napping — you’d have our Third Child be the villain?”

“Third Child said not to interfere.”

“Third Child just came by and said she’s sending him to school — that’s probably what this is about.”

“Then let Jiang Shi ask him.”

Jiang Shi was in the courtyard and had heard everything. In these past few days she had shifted from anxiety to calm. Hearing Zhù Da ask her to go and ask, she truly went to the gate and asked Shitou: “Young Master, what is it?”

Shitou said: “Jiang Shi, I want to see Grandfather.”

“You’re grown up now, you can’t come in,” Jiang Shi said. “Is there something you’d like me to tell the Old Master?”

Shitou said: “Then please tell Grandfather for me — I don’t want to go to school outside.”

Jiang Shi ran back and told Zhù Da, who said: “Tell him to study properly and stop thinking about other things.”

Jiang Shi ran back to convey the message. Shitou felt deeply aggrieved — he hadn’t expected even Zhù Da to refuse to help him. He thumped back to his room and flung himself onto the bed, pulling the quilt up over his head.

Zhù Lian lifted a corner of the quilt: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Shitou pulled the quilt back over himself, and by dinnertime he was still drooping listlessly.

At dinner he saw Zhù Da and sidled up to him: “Grandfather, I don’t want to go to school.”

Zhù Da said: “What kind of talk is that for a child — how can you not go to school?”

“Grandfather didn’t used to say that.”

“That was then! How old are you now?” Zhù Da put on a stern face. “At your size, shouldn’t you be thinking about how you’ll get on in life?”

The little girls across from them burst out laughing. Shitou glared at them irritably. He didn’t understand why these days had become so disagreeable. Everything he disliked came one after another; not a single thing he liked appeared.

Zhù Ying noticed his expression and paid no attention. In another two days the tribal students from each county would arrive, and Shitou would be going to school. Once there, Chou Wen would be keeping watch. Chou Wen had one outstanding quality — he was deeply devoted to the education and civilization of the mountain peoples. His sole purpose was to watch students attend class, which made him better suited to this than Zhù Ying herself.

She told Shitou not to come to the study room the next day but to pack his things instead.

And the tribal students, as expected, began arriving one by one.

The day before, Zhù Ying had already received word from the mountains: Lang Kunwu, Shanque’s father-in-law, and Xi Jin were each bringing tribal school students down. The three groups were traveling together and had sent ahead a combined count of their numbers to make reception at the foot of the mountain easier. Together the three groups brought eighteen tribal students. For the medical track, they had indeed brought along a few girls — six girls in total.

Among these, Lang Kunwu’s son A’Fa was the youngest, age five this year, and came with two small male attendants aged eight or nine. Shanque’s father-in-law and Xi Jin had each brought one of their sons. Shanque’s father-in-law brought a younger son named Lin Feng; Xi Jin brought not the son who had gone to the capital, but a slightly younger one named Jin Yu — both were around twelve or thirteen years old. Each had also brought a number of young people with them, all ranging in age from about twelve to thirteen. This was much as Zhù Ying had anticipated.

In cases like this, students chosen were generally neither too old nor too young. Too old and they had families and livelihoods making it inconvenient to leave; too young and they still needed looking after. At twelve or thirteen, they were energetic with working minds, yet not so young as to cause worry. By the time they finished studying, they would have just come of age and could go back and contribute.

On Zhù Ying’s end, she ordered the guesthouse to be readied, and commanded a final cleaning of the tribal school. From among the female servants she selected four to be assigned to the tribal school in two shifts for sweeping and tending the female quarters. From among the male servants she picked two to guard the main gate, and selected a few orderlies for sweeping and similar duties. Everything awaited the students’ arrival and move-in.

Zhù Ying also told Zhù Zhe to be prepared — she was to appear the next day representing Su Mingluan.

Zhù Zhe said: “But our family’s students haven’t arrived yet.”

Zhù Ying said: “Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

“Am I going to the tribal school the same as Shitou?” Zhù Zhe’s eyes went wide.

Zhù Ying said: “How did you know he was going to the tribal school?”

“He kept saying he didn’t want to go — so naturally you were making him go.”

Zhù Ying laughed: “The tribal school is still at the character-learning and language stage; you don’t need that. Stay with me for now and learn. Later, if you feel you should go and audit some classes, you can do that.”

“Wonderful!” Zhù Zhe said with a smile.

The next day, the three groups arrived together and Zhù Ying received them at the Governor’s Residence.

All three wore smiles. Zhù Ying said: “Things are going to be livelier now! Come, let me make some introductions.”

Except for Su Deng and Lang Kunwu and Shanque’s father-in-law exchanging polite but insincere smiles, Chou Wen and Huajie were both genuinely happy. Shanque’s father-in-law looked at Xiao Jiang and asked: “Who is this?”

Zhù Ying said: “This is the female deputy administrator of the prefecture, surnamed Jiang. If the female students ever have any matter and can’t find Doctor Zhū at the moment, they can go to her.”

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “My Lord is very thorough.”

The accompanying officials — Magistrate Wang and the others — heard Chou Wen’s translation and thought: No wonder she brought in another woman — there was this purpose all along. Our Lord takes the tributary territories very seriously! What a pity that tributary territories are only tributary territories and can’t be immediately converted into registered households.

All of Wuzhou prefecture was still in its formative stages. Qi Tai was compiling new household registers, and the framework for the tributary counties had only two sparse volumes that could barely be called a record — practically empty enough to race horses through. Magistrate Wang had heard something of this. Because he had heard that all tributary officials of any named rank had files in the Governor’s Residence, he — as the Registrar, who was supposed to know all official information by routine — had gone to retrieve them with no success, receiving only the officials’ personal information.

Magistrate Wang lamented this. He placed his hopes in Zhù Ying spending more time at her mountain estate, so that the “tributary” situation might be converted to registered households sooner — though he also knew this was unlikely.

After a round of pleasantries, Su Deng first greeted Zhù Zhe: “Little sister!”

This successfully obliged Lang Kunwu and the others to acknowledge Zhù Zhe as well, and Zhù Zhe with great ease said: “You are my A’Ma’s foster brother and her adoptive father’s adopted son — I should call you Uncle too.” Her uncles were useless, not a single one capable of outshining her mother — they were particularly adorable in their uselessness.

Lang Kunwu couldn’t very well quarrel with a small girl, so he gave a vague assent, while also calling his son A’Fa forward: “Call her elder sister.”

Zhù Ying said: “Let’s go look at the tribal school first — we shouldn’t keep the students waiting outside too long.”

The new tribal school had been built neatly and handsomely. Xi Jin said: “It’s better than my house!”

Zhù Ying said: “Because everything looks new?”

They gathered in the main lecture hall, where Zhù Ying gave a brief address, summarizing her welcome and explaining that learning would be very useful in helping them manage their own people, and urging everyone to study with peace of mind.

Then Chou Wen, Su Deng, and Huajie each spoke. Chou Wen and Su Deng managed fine — both were capable of making grand arguments. Su Deng even drew on his own example. He bowed toward Zhù Ying: “My Lord is my teacher. Back in those days, we…” — and went on at length, to the effect that they had come down from the mountains, learned things, gone back up, and managed their stockades, and look at Asu County now, how well it was developing!

He smiled on the surface, while cursing Lang Kunwu in his heart for those long legs of his — having actually gotten ahead of Asu County! And bringing a little cub, a child of only five, surely with the intention of lodging him in Teacher’s house as well.

Huajie had never spoken in a setting like this before. She went red from her neck down to her ankles. Zhù Ying gave her an encouraging nod, and she summoned her courage: “You women can do many things too…”

Zhù Ying translated for her: “A gentleman is not a vessel — do not give up on yourself… You are all gentlemen; there is no fixed thing you must do or must not do.”

Chou Wen listened and felt that somehow something about this was slightly off.

After the speeches came the sorting into classes and assignment of rooms. Since everyone’s Mandarin was extremely weak and their calligraphy foundation was nonexistent, they would not be divided by subject yet — just Class A and Class B — and would first study language and writing.

Zhù Ying ordered that the prepared supplies be distributed to everyone. She did not require tribal students to wear the standard scholarly blue-green robes, but she had provided identity tablets, paper, brushes, bedding, and washing supplies — one set per person. Once distributed, everyone would go to the dormitory corresponding to the number on their identity tablet.

The tablet numbers were unique. Since there was no writing system in the mountains, and fifty-odd people arriving all at once had no names fitting the customs of the lowlands, for now the tablet numbers were used to identify them. The female quarters were designated as Courtyard A, with tablet numbers beginning with “A,” and the male quarters were labeled B. After that, sorting followed the phonetic order of name sounds.

Zhù Zhe asked: “Grandfather, our family’s students include girls who aren’t in the medical track — where do they stay?”

Zhù Ying said: “In Courtyard A — aren’t there still empty rooms there? They’ve all been kept available.”

Distribution complete, they watched everyone move into the dormitories. Zhù Ying then invited everyone to the dining hall for a meal. The seating was separated by gender. She sat at the head together with Lang Kunwu and the others, while the students sat divided below. The tribal school’s food was acceptable — meat and vegetables were set, and one could refill the staple food freely, but everything had to be eaten. Zhù Ying intended to draw on a small portion of the annual tribute from each county to supplement the expenses here.

Lang Kunwu and the others all found it quite novel.

Everyone took a midday meal together, then Zhù Ying and her group returned to the Governor’s Residence. Lang Kunwu and the others went back to the guesthouse while Chou Wen and the others stayed at the school to settle the students in. The students, freshly arrived, were still in the excitement of something new — they ran around the school exploring and introducing themselves to new friends.

Returning to the Governor’s Residence, Zhù Ying found that the household had already eaten. She gave the order to have Shitou’s belongings readied — he would be sent to the tribal school the next day. There were also a number of merchants from various ethnic groups living in Wuzhou City. Zhù Ying had Chou Wen put out word in familiar circles that people could also register to attend. In the end, three more people were found, making four together with Shitou — enough to share a room. These four would arrive the next day, which would also give Chou Wen’s energy to spare a bit more for Shitou.

Shitou was gloomy. Seeing no way to reverse his fate, he could only drag himself back to his room.

Zhù Ying had made up her mind to send him off to school properly and would not let Zhù Da see him again. At this point Lang Kunwu and the others had rested, and came together to the Governor’s Residence to pay their respects. Zhù Ying had Zhù Zhe brought out as well to meet Lang Kunwu together.

When they arrived, Shanque’s father-in-law and Xi Jin had come too. Their sons were still in the tribal school; but A’Fa had been brought along by Lang Kunwu.

Zhù Ying asked: “Have you been comfortable?”

Lang Kunwu said: “Very comfortable.”

After some pleasantries, Lang Kunwu followed the thread of “comfortable or not” to say that Zhù Ying’s place was the most reassuring to him. He also praised his “niece” Zhù Zhe: “Adoptive Father has taught her so well! My A’Fa is still young — there is no one on the mountain who can read or write, and I’d like to entrust him to Adoptive Father. Would that be acceptable?”

Shanque’s father-in-law and Xi Jin both cursed him inwardly for his cunning. And cursing aside, both of them then glanced sideways at Zhù Ying waiting for her reply, to see whether she truly showed a strong favoritism toward the Asu family.

Zhù Ying said: “The child is still small — I don’t have a nursemaid here.”

“I brought one!” Lang Kunwu had come prepared for everything. Lang Kunwu’s mother had made sure he had everything ready. “Once here, he’ll do entirely as Adoptive Father says.”

Zhù Ying said: “Very well.”

Zhù Zhe puffed out her cheeks. A’Fa made a pig-snout face at her, which made her eyes go wide with indignation. Zhù Ying then said to Shanque’s father-in-law and Xi Jin: “Did you see the small school next to the tribal school? The plan was originally for the small school to teach speaking and writing, while the tribal school teaches subjects proper. It’s just getting started right now.”

Well — what they actually wanted was to have their children raised in the Governor’s Residence. Who would want a school? They could think about that when the children were older.

Both of them gave vague, hedging nods.

Suddenly, outside came a few lines of conversation that were somewhat discordant with the atmosphere. “Discordant” because what was being said inside was mostly adult talk, while the voices outside were not adult voices.

Zhù Ying’s pupils contracted slightly. She heard one voice say: “Aren’t those people now no longer materials set aside for bloodletting? And you’re still in there joking around with them!” It was Shitou’s voice.

A young maidservant said: “What business is it of yours what the chieftains do?”

Everyone inside heard this. Zhù Zhe’s little face flared with anger. But Shanque’s father-in-law suddenly smiled and called out loudly: “Who’s out there?”

He stretched a bit and looked outside: “Ah? Isn’t that young Master Shitou?”

Shitou currently lived in Gu Tong’s former quarters, which were in the front courtyard — relatively close to the main hall. Zhù Zhe’s younger maidservant was waiting outside; the older maidservant had entered the study — for such occasions, the older one was steadier. Yet who could have predicted that the younger one would cause a stir outside?

The two of them already had bad blood between them. The young maidservant, seeing Shitou, had said: “You’re finally leaving! You don’t belong here!” Shitou was already in a sulky mood — how could he endure such a thing? The two launched into an exchange of insults, each picking at old wounds. Shitou was slow to react, but the battles he had fought over the years had brought him to a level of practiced skill when it came to bickering with small girls.

How many things in this world go the same way: the leaders are getting along just fine, only for someone below them with a blunt, outspoken tongue to give everything away.

Shanque’s father-in-law glanced again at A’Fa — this was his own grandson! Though Zhù Ying’s reputation was trustworthy, it was nonetheless better to pull Shitou over for a word.

He knew Shitou — knew the boy was from the Liji people and a bit simple-minded. Asking him about affairs of the Governor’s Residence, the boy would know nothing, would only say things like “My Lord and Auntie don’t live in the same place,” “My Lord doesn’t live with anyone — she lives alone,” “Grandfather and Grandmother live together,” “My Lord just reads books and practices martial arts, nothing else.”

Shanque’s father-in-law called Shitou by name. Once Shitou was summoned, he said: “How did you end up bickering with a little girl? Getting bullied?”

Shitou had seen Shanque’s father-in-law during the trip to the capital and knew he was also a Liji man. His sense of grievance intensified, and he gave a nod.

Shanque’s father-in-law said half-jokingly: “Then would you like to come home with me?”

Zhù Shi thought about it seriously for a moment and didn’t quite figure it out, but he nodded anyway, then darted a glance at Zhù Ying.

Shanque’s father-in-law, half genuinely, said to Zhù Ying: “My Lord, has this child been down the mountain for seven years now?”

Seven years.

Zhù Ying did not change her expression: “You would have to produce evidence, you know. If you can prove he is a Liji man, I’ll release him.”

Shanque’s father-in-law, for some reason, followed through and asked: “Truly?”

Zhù Ying nodded.

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “Good. I’ll go back and search. There is also Chuizi here.”

“Produce the evidence.” Zhù Ying gave the same answer, without the slightest sign of anger.

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “Good! My Lord is decisive!”

Shanque’s father-in-law was a man of his word. That same day he turned around and set off. Shitou might not have grasped the seriousness of this, but Shanque’s father-in-law knew exactly what he was about. On the return journey, he had already extracted some of Shitou’s personal information — his approximate age, what his family’s stockade had looked like, roughly when he had come down the mountain, and so on. As for Chuizi, that boy’s mouth was as tight as a clamshell, and even Shitou didn’t know much about him.

One thing Shanque’s father-in-law had already been doing since returning from Zhù Family Village was collecting accounts of all the people he could find — taking their handprints, one by one — to ensure no population loss among his own people.

Shitou’s information was now known. And as a chieftain of the Liji, he would be far better positioned to find Shitou’s family than any lowlander like Zhù Ying.

Once Shanque’s father-in-law departed, Lang Kunwu appeared visibly awkward. That same day he did not leave A’Fa at the Governor’s Residence but took him back to the guesthouse to rest, with the excuse of spending a few more days with his son.

Zhù Ying pretended not to notice, and swiftly issued an order: “Direct all counties to send examination candidates to the state school for testing. Deadline: three days.”

Inside the Governor’s Residence, the atmosphere was very oppressive.

Zhù Da was in his room cursing loudly: “Ungrateful wretch!”

Zhang Xiangu and the others were also not in good spirits. This Shitou — how could he want to leave?

Shitou was sulking. He buried himself under his quilt again, and no matter how Zhù Lian talked to him, he at most let out a grunt or two. Zhù Lian’s eyes were blazing: “If you want to go, go yourself.”

“Then I’ll go!” Shitou flung back the quilt and made to jump up.

Zhù Lian said: “It’s past curfew. They’ll put you in jail and starve you.”

Shitou sat back down on the edge of the bed, his face dark.

Zhù Lian could not fathom it: “Why are you like this? Going to school is a good thing. Come with me quickly — let’s go ask My Lord to leave you here. Have you forgotten Grandfather?”

Shitou turned his face away: “Hmph!”

This life was impossible to live!

Zhù Lian said: “Do as you please and go back then!”

At dinner, Shitou had a face like a thundercloud, and everyone pretended not to notice. The young maidservant who had been across from him was also absent.

Shitou ate his dinner, went back to the wing room, kicked off his shoes, and burrowed into his quilt with his eyes shut tight. After a while, footsteps approached. He screwed his eyes shut: Whoever calls me, I won’t pay them any mind! You’re all treating me badly, so I won’t care about any of you! Is it Grandfather? Doesn’t sound like it… Chuizi?

Chuizi came back to the room, slowly soaked his feet, picked up a book and read for a while. He blew out the lamp and went to sleep.

The next day, Zhù Ying held no class — because a letter had also arrived from Su Mingluan’s side. She had brought her uncle Lu Guo with her, and together the two families had arrived with a whole batch of tribal students!

Su Mingluan’s group had a very distinctive character — nearly half of them were women. Among the tribal students she brought, three were girls. She greeted Zhù Ying and said: “I’ve caused more trouble for Adoptive Father again.”

Zhù Ying said: “What kind of talk is that? Come inside and say it.”

Su Mingluan’s lines of communication with Wuzhou were extremely efficient. She had originally planned to bring her people at this time; then on the road she received a message sent by her daughter, and hurried her pace, arriving in one go.

She said: “That little maidservant can’t stay at Adoptive Father’s place any longer! For all this time and still hasn’t learned to hold her tongue!”

Zhù Ying said: “She speaks her mind — they’ve always bickered like this.”

Su Mingluan always spoke directly to Zhù Ying: “I have no margin for error, and no margin to shield others’ errors. I’m taking that little maidservant back with me!”

Zhù Ying said: “Very well. Little sister is looking more and more capable.”

Su Mingluan gave a faint smile, and then said: “About Elder Brother…”

“The memorial has been submitted. At the earliest, before year’s end; at the latest, after the New Year. The room is already being tidied for him. When he arrives, I’ll discuss with him how to handle his children’s education. Keeping little sister here with me, I can teach her certain things, but the tribal school is where…”

Su Mingluan listened carefully. Yes — the tribal school had all sorts of connections, and the two options were truly difficult to choose between.

Zhù Ying said: “Think it over more — there’s still time.”

“Yes.”

“As for Shitou…”

Zhù Ying said: “My word is my word.”

Her word being her word was entirely true. She turned and went to find Huajie: “Add up all of Shitou’s expenses over these years into an account.”

Huajie was startled: “What are you going to do?”

Zhù Ying said: “Whoever comes to take him needs to know what I’ve spent, and so does he.”

Huajie said: “How has things come to this? Why is this Lin County Magistrate doing this?”

Zhù Ying said: “The public compact. He is testing me — seeing whether I can be trusted. People’s minds change easily; after the trip to the capital, his doubts actually increased. As long as he finds the evidence, Shitou cannot be withheld from him. Do you remember that year when Father was implicated in a witchcraft case and we had to go rescue him?”

Huajie nodded.

Zhù Ying said: “Mother said that if it were more than twenty guans, she could only watch Father die. So tell me — what price must I set for Shitou?”

Huajie fell silent.

Zhù Ying said: “Follow the slope down gracefully. A boy that big says he wants to ‘go home’ — what else can be done? Also prepare some bright red silk, a few wicker baskets, and some wooden trunks.”

“What?”

“And a few mules.”

Huajie said: “What in the world are you planning?”

Zhù Ying said: “You’d have Shitou go back with nothing but the clothes on his back? What would we keep the bedding for — to make ourselves pine after him? Let him take his personal things when he goes. Once the things are put down, send someone to bring the mules back.”

“Alright.”

“Prepare a double set.”

“Surely not Chuizi too — he isn’t…”

“What if he’s willing? Let him go back too. If he’s not willing, at least give him some things to fall back on. Once he’s a little older and the dust has settled, if he wants to come back, we’ll discuss it then.”

“Alright.”

Zhù Ying went back to the front office. Everyone in the yamen was walking on eggshells, each one craning their necks and staying out of the way, not daring to breathe too loudly. But Zhù Ying remained as she always was. She even found time to have Qi Tai prepare a blank household registration document for Shitou — the document listed Wuzhou as the place of origin, with the specific county left blank, and the name and other details also left empty. A formal registration as a free citizen.

Amidst all this tension, it seemed Shanque’s father-in-law had taken the matter in earnest as well. Three days later, he arrived at the Governor’s Residence bringing several people with him.

The atmosphere in the Governor’s Residence was most peculiar. Shanque’s father-in-law was blunt and breezy, Zhù Ying was open and composed, and Lang Kunwu, Su Mingluan, and the others all wore faint half-smiles.

Zhù Ying behaved as if nothing were the matter, receiving them as she normally would in the Governor’s Residence.

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “My Lord, I have brought witnesses.”

Zhù Ying said: “Have you? Please bring them up to meet me.”

The moment the person stepped forward, Zhù Ying knew Shitou was leaving for good. The man looked just like a larger version of Shitou — except that his face was darker and his expression more severe, and his clothing was in the Meng tribal style. What Zhù Ying had originally worried about was that Shitou might have been a slave — but the visitor was not raising the question of status. He had come as a blood relative.

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “His elder sister and brother-in-law’s family went into the mountains to gather lingzhi mushrooms and were never seen again.”

Zhù Ying asked the man’s name, where he lived, when the people had gone missing. She asked the name of his nephew, then the names of his sister and brother-in-law, and what identifying marks the nephew had.

After a string of questions, she suddenly circled back to something she had asked earlier.

Finally she said: “Bring Shitou up.”

Shitou, who had been sulking for several days, looked limp and deflated — but he had been well-nourished over the years, round-cheeked and fair-skinned, and looked considerably better off than this possible uncle of his.

The two looked at each other, and both froze. Then came the checking of identifying marks on the body. Zhù Ying didn’t put much stock in that — what mark couldn’t be faked? But these two faces…

Shitou’s uncle clutched Shitou and wept aloud. Shitou was in a daze, not knowing what to say, standing stiffly for a while, and then slowly brought both arms up to embrace his uncle. Shitou’s uncle wept even louder.

Zhù Ying said: “This one is confirmed. What about the other one?”

Shitou’s family was not in the main stockade but in a small one under Shanque’s father-in-law’s territory. People in large stockades were generally less vulnerable to attack from outsiders; small stockades were easier to prey upon. Zhù Ying estimated that Chuizi was in a similar situation.

But unlike the case of Shitou, Shanque’s father-in-law could not produce a larger version of Chuizi. He did not press the point, simply asking: “My Lord — may I truly take my people?”

Zhù Ying said: “Is he your slave?”

“Not at all.”

“Then he cannot be handed over to you — he must be handed over to his own family.” Zhù Ying said with a smile, and had Qi Tai bring out the household registration document, into which she now wrote. She opened a new household for Shitou, filled in his original surname, and wrote Dun County as his place of origin. Then she handed the document to Shitou.

Shitou’s mind was buzzing. He took the document in a daze. Shitou’s uncle was a direct and forthright man. He bowed to Zhù Ying: “You are a good person.”

Zhù Ying said: “One moment.”

Shanque’s father-in-law thought: Here it comes. He asked: “What is it?”

Zhù Ying had Ding Gui bring out the account sheet Huajie had tallied, and read it out item by item. The cost of raising one Shitou for these years had been considerably greater than the original value of one Zhù Da in his better years. Every line was read aloud, so that everyone in the yamen could hear it clearly. Chou Wen, being the tribal school’s doctor-scholar and also a guest in attendance, softly translated as it was read.

One sentence translated, and Shitou’s uncle’s face went one shade paler. He looked at his nephew — indeed, the boy had been raised fair and plump, and dressed like the child of a chieftain’s household. The uncle’s heart was in a flutter, and he stood rooted to the spot.

Zhù Ying picked up the paper and held it over a brazier. She watched it burn entirely to ash before saying: “All of this, I will take on myself. Bring it out.”

Then came Shitou’s luggage — his bedding, clothes, the writing implements he had used, and a dressing case, all brought forward. Zhù Ying said: “These are things he has used. I imagine your family may not have everything stocked up right away — take all of these along for him. Reunion of flesh and blood is a happy thing; consider this my wedding gift.” Two mules were loaded with the luggage — both mules decorated with red silk, and the bundles tied with red silk as well. A third mule was for Shitou to ride, together with his uncle. They were sent off, and from the Governor’s Residence a long string of firecrackers was set off, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

Among the examination candidates who had come were students from both Fulu County and Sicheng County. People craned their necks to look, pointed, and asked each other what was going on. Students from Fulu County who had been involved in the old case whispered about Shitou’s origins. Students from Sicheng County spoke about things from their own county. Some said that flesh and blood had at last been reunited — a happy thing. Others felt a twinge of regret — what could the mountains offer that compared to the Governor’s Residence?

As for all of this — the Governor’s Residence remained calm. Zhù Ying watched until they turned the street corner, then came back inside to discuss matters with everyone.

Zhù Ying said to Shanque’s father-in-law: “I’ve delivered the person to you properly — and he is no slave.”

Shanque’s father-in-law said: “Of course!”

Zhù Ying said: “Our previous public compact — does this count as its terms being honored?”

“Of course!”