The next day, Zhù Ying came back from court and settled in her room. She had barely opened a book and read two pages when she saw the Bureau of Guest Reception director and the two assistant directors of the Bureau of Guest Reception arrive together.

Zhù Ying smiled: “Sit.”

The Bureau of Guest Reception director sat down carefully and then, even more carefully, asked Zhù Ying: “Autumn has already arrived. There is a good chance that during this year’s New Year celebrations foreign nations will come to offer congratulations — might your lordship have any arrangements for us to prepare in advance? These past two years, foreign nations have come regularly to present tribute. They arrive in winter and leave in spring. Your lordship came in early summer, so you haven’t had the chance to encounter this yet.”

“Let’s distribute some money.”

“Pardon?”

“The Court of State Ceremonial is not poor. But looking at it, only the senior officials seem to be well-off. That’s not right. It is the people below who do the work — we cannot let them feel cold.”

The Court of State Ceremonial’s accounts were mainly under Director Wang’s purview. Wang himself was not particularly adept at managing finances — the details were handled by the clerks under him. But the Bureau of Guest Reception was a little different: it had its own grounds outside the Court of State Ceremonial — the Hall of Foreign Nations — with a larger staff and its own small treasury. Zhù Ying was not touching the Court of State Ceremonial’s main funds, but she intended to start working from the Bureau of Guest Reception and the Hall of Foreign Nations. First, the Hall of Foreign Nations needed allocated funds — and it certainly had its own small treasury. Zhù Ying had worked it out in one calculation.

The Bureau of Guest Reception director felt as if he could hear a raised plank finally coming down and landing on his own body — smack — a little painful, but at long last it had come down. Zhù Ying did not waste words with him: “Today’s business stays here — it doesn’t go up. Xiao Huang, go and invite Registrar Qi over.”