Zhao Su allowed himself a small smile.

In dealing with Shang Peiji, he had employed certain methods — some of them not entirely above board, it had to be admitted. Having received Zhù Ying’s approval, Zhao Su felt reassured.

Zhao Su took the opportunity to seek guidance on the practical workings of official life. Even the most intelligent person, unfamiliar with the rules of the game, will come to grief through ignorance. But Zhù Ying had confidence in Zhao Su — from the very beginning, his head had always been more than equal to the task.

Zhù Ying also asked him what intelligence he had gleaned from the Ministry of Personnel, and then told him that information from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Finance was not necessarily reliable, and that he should also expect to be cleaning up the messes left by his predecessor. She further told Zhao Su, “Customs differ every ten li. Do not assume that what you have seen and experienced in Fulu County is normal everywhere. Before I came south, I was intent on doing things — I loaded several cartsful of farming implements, and by the time I reached Fulu County there was hardly a thing I could use. Get there, see what the place is like, and then act.”

Zhao Su took careful note of all of this. He asked in particular about the relationship between a county magistrate and his superiors, and how to maintain a courteous distance.

The two of them talked, and no one came to interrupt. After arriving in Wuzhou, Zhao Feng and Zhao Niangzi found that the officials of the Prefect’s residence had gone out of their way to honor the Qi family and give them face, which dissolved the last of Zhao Niangzi’s small displeasure. Here she also saw her nephew Su Feihu and his son and others, and her mood grew more and more cheerful.

Qi Tai was a man who worried about everything yet never quite worried about the right things. Consequently, Zhang Xiangu and the others took over managing affairs on the Qi family’s behalf. Once Zhang Xiangu began moving, the chattering crowd multiplied accordingly. Huajie was caught up in the bustle as well. The Zhù household was busily preparing a wedding gift for Zhao Su and an additional portion of dowry goods for Instructor Qi’s daughter.

With Zhao Su needing to visit family, marry, and then report to his post within his allotted time, the schedule was extremely tight. Instructor Qi’s daughter’s heart was full of apprehension. She had long been worried about her own marriage situation; even with the best of intentions, Qi Tai was not much good at managing practical affairs. She had thought she was prepared, but now that a wedding was actually at hand, she found that ten years of preparation suddenly seemed like nothing at all.

She had thought she had assembled a dowry — but now that the moment came, she discovered how much was still missing. In a truly well-off family, for instance, the major items were not just new clothes and bedding and a few pieces of jewelry; the substantial pieces were fields and land, and maidservants as part of the bridal party. Land was almost out of the question — there was only a small plot of two acres in the capital. The household servants had come through a connection of the Gu family. And then there were the guests — with Zhù Ying’s standing, the Prefect’s residence would naturally send many people, but the wedding invitations needed to be prepared by the Qi family themselves, didn’t they?

Instructor Qi’s daughter drew up the guest list herself, then prepared the invitations and had her father write them out. There was also all the purchasing to be done — she was swamped from morning till night.

Other brides in her position would by this point be nervous and shy; Instructor Qi’s daughter had allowed herself one brief moment of shyness when the Zhao family came to propose, and then there was no more time for any of that.

Land was out of the question. Instructor Qi’s daughter divided the family assets into two portions: one to be left with Qi Tai to sustain his life at the Prefect’s residence — this portion she entrusted to Huajie’s care — and one to constitute her own dowry. The female house servants she did not want to take along, for then there would be no one left to look after Qi Tai. But that also meant she would have no servants attending her at her own wedding — she would need to hire people on the spot.

Amid all this chaos, it was the Prefect’s residence that stepped in and untangled the knot.

Huajie called her into her own room and handed her a small lacquered box. “Eldest Lady has already given you a supplemental gift,” said Instructor Qi’s daughter.

“This is from Xiao Zhù, asked me to pass it along,” said Huajie. “Take it.”

Instructor Qi’s daughter accepted it graciously. Huajie then said, “There is one more thing — it is your personal matter, and yet we have known each other long enough that I will say an extra word. You will need a companion who can travel with you.”

“But my father…”

“There will always be people looking after him here at the residence,” said Huajie. “The Zhao family are not unreasonable people — but you are the one going into their household. You need someone you can speak your heart to.”

Only then did Instructor Qi’s daughter make up her mind to arrange for her own former maidservant to accompany her. This maidservant had come through a connection of the Gu family and was also from Fulu; the Zhao family too were Fulu people. The place Zhao Su was heading to take up his post was not impossibly far; the Zhao family’s household servants were all from Fulu as well. Without much hesitation, the maidservant willingly agreed to travel with Instructor Qi’s daughter.

With her companion secured, Instructor Qi’s daughter finally opened the box. It was light as a feather in her hands; inside was only a single sheet of paper — a property deed. The dowry land that Zhù Ying had arranged for her was not in the capital. The plot was located near land that the Xiang family had recently purchased.

Their birth characters were submitted for the opinion of a fortune-teller whom Wu Ren knew through her contact with that nun. The date was confirmed quickly. At the Prefect’s residence, Huajie acted as host for the bride’s side of the banquet. Zhao Su borrowed the use of the post station; the groom’s party stayed there, and on the appointed day departed from the post station to collect the bride. After receiving the new bride, they did not return to the post station but proceeded directly to Fulu.

As the matchmaker for the groom’s family, Zhù Ying also had to accompany the party back to Fulu.

The wedding banquet was held in Fulu County’s town, and the Zhao family set out a flowing-water feast of endless courses. Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhao Su had a wedding invitation sent to Shang Peiji as well, and Shang Peiji came.

Zhao Feng smiled warmly as he welcomed him. “Magistrate, many thanks for coming!”

Shang Peiji clasped his hands. “Congratulations, congratulations.” He also sincerely offered his felicitations to Zhao Su, warmly urging him on and wishing him a brilliant future.

Zhao Su’s cheeks flushed faintly pink. “Thank you.”

Shang Peiji enjoyed talking with Zhao Su, because Zhao Su’s Mandarin was excellent; the Mandarin of the other people of Fulu County was decidedly not. At first, the locals had all strained to speak Mandarin when they saw him, but once they were a little acquainted, one by one their true colors emerged and they slipped into the local dialect at lightning speed — not a word of which he could understand.

And now, here came Gu Weng. Before the feast had even begun, Gu Weng arrived, already flushed as if drunk, and opened his mouth to babble at him in an unbroken stream of local dialect. Judging by the reactions of those around them, it seemed to have been flattering words — but Shang Peiji had not understood a single character. Then came Zhao Weng, who began with two sentences that still had some semblance of Mandarin: “He and I share the same clan name…” — and within a few syllables, the sounds had slid all the way from “near-Mandarin” into pure local dialect.

But that was not the worst of it.

Outside, the sound of wedding music swelled even louder.

Everyone in the Zhao household cheerfully turned to look outside; Shang Peiji looked too, and saw the scene outside was extremely lively — but it was not yet the auspicious hour for the bride’s entrance!

Tong Li came forward and said, “Magistrate, there is someone outside you ought to meet — otherwise it would be impolite.”

“Has the Prefect not already arrived in the rear hall?” said Shang Peiji. “Surely it is not Magistrate Qi himself personally escorting the bride?”

“Not at all — it’s just that this particular person is someone you cannot afford to bypass.”

Deeply puzzled, Shang Peiji followed Tong Li’s guidance outside, where he saw Zhao Feng and Zhao Niangzi conversing with a lovely woman dressed in men’s clothing. What on earth is going on?!

And this elegant beauty was actually wearing an official’s uniform! And surrounded by a great many other women also dressed in men’s clothing! This was not right at all!

“This is Su Magistrate, of Asu County!” said Tong Li.

Su Mingluan finished offering her congratulations and was asking Zhao Niangzi, “I hear Adoptive Father is here — I must go pay my respects.”

Zhao Feng lowered his voice to make the introduction. Tong Li told her this was the new county magistrate of the area.

Su Mingluan clasped her hands toward Shang Peiji and said with a smile, “Thank you for gracing my cousin’s wedding with your presence.”

She had been speaking in the Qixia language from the moment she walked in; Shang Peiji choked slightly, and could only read her intention from her expression and gestures. He returned the courtesy: “Congratulations, congratulations.”

Throughout the entire wedding, Shang Peiji was in a daze. Out of ten sentences spoken, he could follow perhaps one or two — and those were ones the gentry had kindly chosen to deliver in Mandarin especially for him. Shang Peiji told himself: The spread of culture and literacy in this region must be accelerated. The Prefect has done no more than lay a foundation — whether it can be maintained depends on those who come after, like me.

Full of grand thoughts, he ate little of the wine, and yet he found that many of the local gentry had once again gathered around Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying, across the crowd, also noticed Shang Peiji; she gave him a distant nod, said something to those around her, and immediately two more local gentlemen walked over to find Shang Peiji and engage him in conversation.

Shang Peiji was awash in a tide of mingled feelings: The Prefect is an able official, but is constrained by her origins. She may be used as an instrument — but she could never be entrusted with the overall direction of things. What a pity… If I am to realize my aspirations, in the end I must rely on myself.

Zhù Ying understood that Shang Peiji was bound to have some opinions about her — so let him have them. She continued chatting and laughing with Zhao Feng, Su Mingluan, and the others, while keeping an eye on Xiao Wu, who was darting about in a way that did not befit the occasion. This fellow had somehow struck a rather “triumphant homecoming” air at someone else’s wedding.

Zhù Ying called him to one side. “What are you doing?”

“Heh heh,” said Xiao Wu. “Young Master Zhao is getting married — I’m happy for him! Young Master Zhao has both a new bride and a new county magistrateship, both in his own hands to command — what a joyous occasion!”

“Envious?”

“A — a little. That — um…”

Zhù Ying smiled but said nothing. Having Xiao Wu always trailing along at her side was not going to be good for him either. This man was not quite the same as Qi Tai; it was time to let him leave and make his own way. A man like Xiao Wu making him a county magistrate might not be wise — he would do better as a county assistant magistrate or similar deputy post.

Xiao Wu trotted along behind her in a much-subdued manner, no longer cutting a lively figure at the wedding.

After Zhao Su’s wedding, Zhù Ying returned to Wuzhou City. The fifth month was half over; Zhao Su needed to set out for his post, and Zhù Ying also had to make another trip into the mountains to escort her parents further up to the retreat for the summer. Around the eighth month she would bring them back down; by then, Wuzhou City would have become livable again.

This time going back into the mountains, no more admonishing letters arrived from Shang Peiji.

Shang Peiji was busy setting his Fulu County in order. He had issued an order that land in the county was not permitted to be planted illegally with sugarcane. If one wanted to plant sugarcane, that was acceptable — but only on newly reclaimed land; one could not abandon existing arable land, and one could not let farmland go fallow for the sake of sugarcane.

The county gentry murmured their agreement — yet every one of them was waiting anxiously for news from outside. In the capital, surely word had arrived by now?

…—

Eldest Son Xiang had been in the capital for some time, and the guild hall’s business was growing by the day. That day he first tallied the guild hall’s finances, then counted up his own personal profits, and thought to himself that he would soon be able to acquire another plot of land. He had younger brothers and sisters as well as a son, and had to think ahead for the whole family clan. Merchants had no future — in this day and age, no matter how wealthy you were, you could never be another Lü Buwei. Better to buy land; that was the solid and reliable choice.

Eldest Son Xiang also harbored a tiny thread of personal ambition: Xiang Yu had moved into the Prefect’s residence, and given the Prefect’s generosity toward people, as long as Xiang Yu showed a little promise, the Prefect would not treat him poorly.

Buy land! Transform the family’s identity from merchant to farmer, then to scholar, as soon as possible.

Eldest Son Xiang, having mentally projected two generations into the future, returned to himself to find he had been holding a letter forwarded from Wuzhou for quite some time already. He quickly sorted the bundled items it had come with and distributed them — previously most of the packages were for Zhao Su, but now that Zhao Su had gone to his post, the bulk were for several merchants and students in the capital.

One of the senders in this batch was rather unusual — Fulu County Magistrate Shang Peiji.

Eldest Son Xiang did not dare to treat this lightly and personally delivered the items to Vice Minister Cai’s residence. The doormen there were reasonably courteous; though they did not invite him in, they offered him a cup of tea.

Eldest Son Xiang departed from the Vice Minister’s residence and returned to the guild hall, where he saw a face that had no business being there. “What are you doing here?”

The man was also from Fulu County and known to Eldest Son Xiang — but he should have been in Fulu right now. “Urgent letter!” the man said.

Eldest Son Xiang opened the letter and read it, then had someone take the man away to rest. “You stay a couple of days before heading back with a reply.”

The letter was from the Fulu County gentry. Eldest Son Xiang read it carefully and judged the plan sound. That same evening he issued an order: “Going forward, put a temporary hold on accepting orders for refined sugar.”

The manager was startled. “Such good business — why would we not do it?”

“Because it is others who have permitted us to do it!” said Eldest Son Xiang. “The new county magistrate who has arrived is making things so difficult that our sugar mills can barely operate. Get the carriage ready — I am going to call on Lan Daren.”

“Lan Daren” was Lan De. At Eldest Son Xiang’s current standing he could not yet access Lan Xing directly; Lan De’s small private residence outside the palace was, however, a door he could knock on.

The two spoke together in low voices, and Lan De said dubiously, “I don’t believe it. The Wuzhou Prefect — what sort of person is she? How could some small fry turn everything upside down?”

“It won’t turn everything upside down,” said Eldest Son Xiang. “But the harm is real. You may not know…”

“What is supplied to the palace cannot be cut short!” said Lan De. “Hey, you—”

“Let me speak plainly with you, Daren,” said Eldest Son Xiang. “This is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Kill the goose and where will the eggs come from? Even if we are willing to suffer through this ourselves, we still need to let people know of our difficulties.” He pressed a packet of gold and silver into Lan De’s hands.

Lan De thought it over. “That shouldn’t be difficult.”

The two spoke a little more, and Eldest Son Xiang rose and took his leave.

…

From the capital to Fulu County was two thousand seven hundred li all told; an ordinary round trip required over three months even under the best conditions — no illness, no bad weather, no damaged roads, no other mishaps along the way.

After Vice Minister Cai’s letter was sent, Shang Peiji would not receive the news for over a month, close to two. In the intervening time, the Wuzhou guild hall first stalled for time, claiming they did not dare to dispatch another trade convoy and wanted to see which way the wind was blowing. After five days of back-and-forth, they reluctantly accepted the task.

Being a trade convoy rather than a dedicated courier, they traveled slowly under the weight of goods.

The volume of sugar coming out of the Wuzhou guild hall diminished day by day; and the ditty “big name, small results, squander the whole foundation” had spread throughout half of the capital and even into the imperial palace. Not a single word of a reply from Shang Peiji had made it back yet, but Madam Cai — living in the capital — had already begun to hear her husband’s new reputation.

Madam Cai was under twenty, well-read and worldly, and she knew perfectly well this was not good. She hurried to seek Vice Minister Cai’s help.

“There is no need for you to rush about,” said Vice Minister Cai. “Leaping up and down — all it does is ensure people know who Shang Peiji is. Right now, who even knows who he is? If you jump out to defend him, that’s when people will remember him. I have already written him a letter telling him not to stir up trouble. As long as things settle down, once this posting is finished, we’ll arrange a transfer to somewhere else.”

Madam Cai was full of worry. “The place is so far away — how did bad things get to the capital so quickly? Could it be that someone is working against him behind the scenes?”

“Women should not meddle in things they don’t understand! I am aware of this matter — now go home and stay there quietly.”

Madam Cai did not dare to argue back, yet still felt certain something was wrong. Since she could not challenge her honorary uncle to his face, she left the Vice Minister’s residence and said, “Have the guild hall’s manager come to our house.”

The principal, Eldest Son Xiang, was a Fulu County man, and her husband was precisely the Fulu County Magistrate. Without getting the person over and asking in detail, she could not put her mind at rest.

Vice Minister Cai, meanwhile, though he considered his niece to be meddling unnecessarily, still composed a second letter, which he sent directly to Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying was the Prefect of Wuzhou; any matter in Fulu County was naturally her affair. In his letter, Vice Minister Cai was extremely courteous, asking Zhù Ying to “guide” the “young man” Shang Peiji on his behalf.

The Wuzhou guild hall conveyed this letter considerably faster. It was sent later, but arrived three days ahead of the letter to Shang Peiji.

Zhù Ying unfolded and read it, then asked Ding Gui: “This ‘big name, small results, squander the whole foundation’ — how is it I have never heard of this? Is there such a saying in Wuzhou?”

Ding Gui bowed. “There is! But it is just idle street talk, not worth troubling you with.”

“Is that so?” said Zhù Ying. “Summon the Grain Inspector. Let us go to Fulu. I want to see for myself just how he has squandered the foundation.”

“But… you are about to depart, and both the Tax Official and the Grain Inspector are pressing matters of this autumn’s tax revenues…”

“Hmm, then send the Assistant Tax Official and the Assistant Grain Inspector to Fulu to look over the accounts.”

“Yes.”

…

Shang Peiji was anxious and sweating over this autumn’s grain deliveries. Other counties had apparently all sent theirs to the prefectural city already, and his was lagging behind — not because he was unwilling or the people were unwilling, but because some of his storage facilities had deteriorated and there was simply no place to put things.

He was in the middle of this anxiety when officials dispatched from the Prefect’s residence arrived to audit his accounts.

Shang Peiji was furious. “I am only two days behind the others, and the deadline has not yet passed — why this overbearing pressure?”

The men from the Prefect’s residence were if anything even more unyielding than he was. “We are not examining this year’s grain and provisions — we have questions about previous years. The Prefect received a letter saying you have squandered the whole foundation. She simply sent us to take a look.”

“Are you implying I have been embezzling?” Shang Peiji demanded.

“It is what people are saying.”

Tong Li and the others feigned concern and advised him: “Magistrate, what harm is there in letting them look? Our accounts are perfectly transparent.”

The accounts were clear, yes — but what was being examined was not merely the accounts alone. It was the “foundation.” Once a full inventory was taken, it emerged that Magistrate Mo had left behind a considerable storehouse when he departed; Shang Peiji had spent half of it in just a few months. That was problematic. For a three-year term of office, spending half of the reserves in the first year meant that by the third year the county would genuinely be in deficit.

The Assistant Tax Official and the Assistant Grain Inspector took their tally and departed. Three days later, the Prefect’s residence sent someone to urge delivery of the autumn grain, with instructions that the county magistrate need not come in person — the county assistant magistrate was to escort it.

Along with this message came a single sheet of paper bearing only two characters, sent to Shang Peiji: yield and comply.