Xu Sijin grinned. “I want to ask you for Lin Bo!”

“Lin Bo?” Xu Lingyi said in astonishment. “How did you think of him?”

Lin Bo and Zhao Ying had once been Xu Lingyi’s most trusted personal servants — their sharpness, capability, and unswerving loyalty went without saying. After they had been given their freedom, one had gone to manage the Xu family’s overseas trading house in Guangzhou, and the other managed the trading house in Ningbo, and both had done extraordinarily well. Zhao Ying in particular — bold and meticulous — had now grown into one of the most prominent figures in Ningbo, a man whom even the Prefect of Ningbo treated with considerable deference.

“At the time the Emperor was not in favor of me following Ouyang Ming to pursue and suppress the Doyan forces. Only after the Empress Dowager personally intervened did the Emperor reluctantly agree — which shows that in the Emperor’s eyes, I am too young and not yet fit to shoulder great responsibilities.” Xu Sijin’s smile gradually faded. “By a stroke of fortune, I captured the Doyan leader, and when the Emperor met me, he laughed and called me ‘lucky,’ saying I was his ‘fortunate general.'”

The Emperor had said this in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and Xu Lingyi had been present.

The remark had drawn a round of laughter from the entire court.

Xu Lingyi gave a small nod.

“Regardless of whether the Emperor said that sincerely, or whether he was wary of a tree that stands out being felled by the wind, by all rights the Emperor should not have sent me to serve as Military Commissioner of Guizhou — throughout the entire Great Zhou dynasty, counting the Commissioner General of Waterway Transport, there are only twenty-one Military Commissioners in all. Even if I kept my head bowed, others would still keep their eyes on me.” Xu Sijin said with a grave expression. “After seeing Lord Gong off, I paid a visit to Prince Yong’s residence. From what Prince Yong implied, the reason I was able to take this Military Commissioner’s post was entirely due to a single word from Princess Jiandu…”

Xu Lingyi knew the full story behind these events better than Xu Sijin did, but he was very curious to hear how his son would tell it.

“Isn’t that an exaggeration?” Xu Lingyi said with some skepticism. “This is a matter of national affairs!”

“The Grand Secretaries wanted to contend with the Board of War over the Military Commissioner’s post, and the Emperor was aware of it,” Xu Sijin continued. “Later, when the Board of War’s faction gained the upper hand, the Emperor became displeased. Just at that moment, Princess Jiandu felt I had been wronged and went to speak to the Empress about it. The Emperor heard about it and on a sudden impulse decreed that I would become Military Commissioner of Gansu, while appointing the Fujian Regional Commander-General favored by the Grand Secretaries as Military Commissioner of Sichuan. When one looks at it this way, it was also a maneuver by the Emperor to maintain balance and hold competing factions in check.”

Xu Lingyi looked at Xu Sijin in astonishment.

His son had truly grown up. He was no longer the child who had made him worry constantly, whom he had not dared let out of his sight for a single moment.

Having Xu Sijin speak with him as one would speak with a colleague felt both unfamiliar and somehow refreshing.

“And you think you can just go around speculating about the Emperor’s intentions?” He gave his son a gentle rebuke, but his tone carried not a trace of anger — only a measure of quiet pride.

Xu Sijin could hear it perfectly well. He grinned and changed the subject with a shameless ease. “A truly good advisor is a rare find — I won’t press my luck on that front. I’ll first find a few people who can handle official documents and make do for the time being. What’s most urgent right now is finding someone to help oversee the silver mines — I’m young, and being both a noble and an imperial relative means that when I first arrive in Guizhou, the older, more entrenched military men with years of seniority won’t submit to my authority easily. If I want to solidify my position as Military Commissioner, I’ll have no choice but to make an example of a few people. If I were personally watching over those silver mines every day, those men would inevitably follow the trail back to Prince Yong, and that would cause real trouble. Lin Bo has done well these past years in Guangzhou, yet he’s still more cautious and careful than Zhao Ying — putting him in charge of the silver mines for me would be the ideal choice.”

Whether Lin Bo or Zhao Ying managed the Guangzhou and Ningbo trading houses, or sat idle on a country estate, was entirely at Xu Lingyi’s word. But what truly interested Xu Lingyi was what Xu Sijin had said about “making an example of a few people.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “In that case, it sounds like you’ve already thought through your plans for Guizhou?”

“Not entirely.” Xu Sijin cracked his knuckles one by one with a restless, eager air, like someone ready to square up against an opponent. “But one thing is certain — no one is going to ride roughshod over me.” He then added, “This is my first posting. If I make a mess of it, my reputation will be set in stone, and everything I try to do after that will be ten times harder.”

Seeing that his son had a clear sense of the overall direction, Xu Lingyi gave a quiet, approving nod and asked no more. He smiled and said, “Your Fourth Brother now manages the household’s financial affairs. Lin Bo is the steward of the Guangzhou trading house, and the Guangzhou trading house accounts for a tenth of the family’s annual income. If you want to take Lin Bo away, go speak with your Fourth Brother first.”

This was to show respect for Xu Sizhun as the eldest son and heir.

Xu Sijin laughed heartily. “Before I came here, I stopped by Fourth Brother’s quarters first. He said that whatever I have my eye on, as long as you agree, I’m free to take it. He also gave me four thousand taels of silver — said that once I get to my post, I shouldn’t be scraping money from my subordinates, because it looks too unsavory and people will think little of you for it.” He then leaned in with an ingratiating grin and nudged Xu Lingyi with his elbow. “Father, you’ve led troops yourself — four thousand taels of silver is like a drizzle of rain to those commanders and vice-commissioners who’ve seen real battle. Fourth Brother only gets so much income in a year, and he’s already given me all four thousand taels. You’re still the Marquis of Yongping — surely you can spare a bit of private money too? Otherwise Mother will scold me again for spending recklessly. You know how she is — when she sets her mind to something, she’ll see it through. She might even send Wan Daxian down to Guizhou to audit my accounts for the sake of this. I’m a senior official of a province now — if my subordinates see that even when I’m this old, my mother can audit my accounts whenever she pleases, treating me like an unweaned child, where does my dignity go? How am I supposed to govern those under me…”

“Stop your scaremongering. I don’t believe for a moment that with your sharp wits, you came back empty-handed while others were buying land and property from fighting wars. Rest assured, your mother and I won’t want a single coin from you — keep it all to honor your grandmother. You needn’t pretend poverty to me.” Before Xu Lingyi had finished speaking, he was already struggling to suppress his laughter. “As for your mother, she’s always measured in what she does. She would never send Wan Daxian to audit your accounts. And even if she did, others would only say it shows you are dutiful and respectful in your devotion to family — who would dare laugh at you? If you planned it well, you might even earn a reputation for filial piety…”

His mother had always kept a tight rein on him when it came to money. He had managed to save up a little private reserve, and he didn’t want his mother to know — but of course that meant he couldn’t admit to it in front of his father either. Although his father wouldn’t volunteer the information, if his mother ever asked directly, his father would certainly not conceal it, and given his mother’s sharp mind, telling his father was effectively the same as telling his mother.

“Father, how can you say that!” Xu Sijin feigned outrage and stamped his foot — though it was true that he had planned to invite impeachment by a censor if his mother sent Wan Daxian to audit his accounts, thus turning it around into a display of filial piety. “With money, of course I’d honor you and Mother first, as well as Grandmother.” All his little schemes had been seen through by his father at a glance — it was better to get to Guizhou as soon as possible. Life there might be hard, but at least it was beyond the Emperor’s reach…

“All right, all right!” Xu Lingyi knew his son’s mind perfectly well — Shiyiniang’s strictness with money was to prevent him from falling into the habits of those idle scions who kept opera singers and patronized gambling dens. “Since Lin Bo is going with you to Guizhou, it’s only fitting that the Guangzhou trading house set aside ten thousand taels of silver a year for your use!”

“Father!” Xu Sijin was overjoyed beyond expectation, and lavished his father with flattery. “You treat me so well!” Then, noticing his father’s calm and composed expression, a thought struck him and he smiled as he asked, “Had you planned all of this out already?”

Xu Lingyi said nothing. Instead, his expression turned solemn, and he fixed his son with a stern, piercing gaze. “The family has no expectation of you sending money back. But you must still prove yourself worthy. You must never exploit the common people for personal gain. Be an official who truly benefits the people you govern, so that when people speak of you, they may not sing your praises, but at least no one will point a finger and curse our Xu family’s ancestors.”

Xu Sijin quickly composed himself and responded with solemn, respectful sincerity. “Father, rest assured — I will never bring shame upon the Xu family, and I will never do anything that harms the common people.” He paused, then added one more line: “Nor will I let anyone point a finger and curse you by name.” He said this last part with just a flash of mischief in his eyes.

“Everything that comes out of your mouth turns flippant!” Xu Lingyi said with an exasperated smile. “Your mother and I are both people of careful disposition — how on earth did we produce a son like you!”

“It’s precisely because you and Mother are both so careful and serious that Guanyin Bodhisattva sent me to you!” Xu Sijin and his father laughed together, and he rose to take his leave. “I’m going to get Lin Bo from Elder Brother!”

Xu Lingyi smiled and nodded.

Shiyiniang lifted the curtain and walked in.

Xu Sijin quickly shot his father a meaningful look, then patted the small pouch of coins at his waist, silently signaling his father not to mention his private savings to Shiyiniang.

Xu Lingyi smiled and gave a slight nod.

Shiyiniang looked at the two of them with puzzled suspicion. “What are you two keeping secret from me?”

The corner of Xu Sijin’s mouth twitched as he was about to speak, but Xu Lingyi had already gotten in before him. “Hasn’t he just come back with great military merit? And he’s been enfeoffed as Viscount of Wujin and appointed Military Commissioner of Guizhou — he’ll naturally need to pay visits to relatives and friends. He wanted to prepare generous gifts and asked me to chip in for the extra expense. I agreed and told him to go discuss it with Zhun Ge’er.”

This kind of social calling was already covered by the household’s established conventions. Xu Sijin had always been generous with his spending, and Shiyiniang had no reason to suspect anything, so she smiled and said, “Whatever you want to send, just make out a list — Mother will contribute the silver for it.”

Xu Sijin was filled with genuine admiration and shot his father a look of reverence, then quickly wrapped an arm around his mother’s shoulders. “Mother, keep your private savings to buy yourself flowers! This time I’m going to squeeze Father properly.” Then, with a look of eager impatience, he said, “I still need to go find Fourth Brother.” He paused as if remembering something, and a shadow passed over his face, his voice dropping a few notes. “I won’t be back for the midday meal — I want to go pay my respects at the graves of Huang Xiaomao and Liu Erwu.”

Shiyiniang was very glad to hear it. She said at once, “Burn some paper money on my behalf as well.” Then she told Hupo to weigh out ten taels of silver.

When paying respects to the departed, each person’s offering had to come from their own means — that was how it was done properly.

Xu Sijin quietly took the silver, bowed to his parents, and went to Xu Sizhun’s quarters.

Shiyiniang then turned to Xu Lingyi. “Grandmother called me over just now and specifically asked about Jin Ge’er’s marriage. She said she wants me to submit a court request today — she intends to go to the palace herself to ask the Empress Dowager for the special imperial decree. Second Sister-in-law and I tried to reason with her every way we could, but she simply would not listen. My lord, perhaps you should go speak to her?”

Due to her health, the Grand Lady had been exempted from the first-of-the-month court audiences back during the reign of the late Emperor. It had been several years since the Grand Lady had entered the palace, and on a few occasions the Empress Dowager, missing the Grand Lady, had quietly come to the Xu Mansion to visit her in person.

The two of them went together to the Grand Lady’s quarters.

—