Those gathered here were all consummate political survivors — every last one. Hearing the harmony in the notes, one could easily divine the melody. Who among them would not understand what Yu Mu and Jia Yang had meant? Their gazes toward Hua Zhi grew more contained, and in their minds they all began quietly calculating.
Only Lu Xinming — who had just moments ago accused Hua Zhi and thought to use the situation to shift the tide in his favor — now found himself unable to advance or retreat. He did not know who she was. He also believed it entirely impractical for a woman to hold official power. Yet the moment that seal token representing the absolute authority of the Seven Lodges Bureau passed into her hands, she was the one who spoke here.
Lu Xinming had many faults in character, but one virtue he could claim: he knew when to bend with the wind. It was that quality which had led him to protect himself so completely once he realized something was amiss in Jinyang — and with a particularly acute sense of danger, he had steered clear of all of it. In the name of self-preservation, he had even willingly ceded authority and allowed himself to be sidelined, outwardly stripped of power. He was willing to sacrifice whatever it took to keep himself safe.
If not for the fact that the person who had just entered had, with no preamble whatsoever, felled an adviser he valued — he would not have muddled his thinking and clashed with a superior. Several thoughts turned over in his mind in an instant. In practice, it took no more than a heartbeat. He bent with admirable good sense at the waist. “This official was disrespectful. It is only that this adviser has served at this official’s side for many years — something close to a family member. To be told so suddenly that he is a Chaoli remnant… this official is truly unable to believe it.”
Both Yu Mu and Jia Yang showed traces of surprise on their faces — this was not the development they had expected. Hua Zhi, however, was not the least bit surprised.
She had once analyzed Lu Xinming at length with Yanxi. She did not believe he had noticed nothing wrong with Jinyang. As for the crimes of Zhu Ling and Zeng Xianglin — that others had been unaware could perhaps be explained. But Lu Xinming, as a fifth-rank Deputy Commissioner, could not possibly have been blind to it all.
Either he had also taken a cut of the profits — or he had chosen to keep his eyes willfully shut. Or perhaps both.
Looking at the man before her, head bowed, expression meek and yielding, Hua Zhi leaned toward the latter. This was, at bottom, a clever man — a clever man who knew exactly what was most advantageous to himself.
She settled into the seat of authority. Bao Xia handed her a cup of tea, and she drank it down in one breath, at last feeling her parched throat cease its burning. She gestured to Bao Xia to pour another.
“I can assure Commissioner Lu with certainty — that adviser of yours is a Chaoli tribesperson.”
Lu Xinming looked up in disbelief, his face a portrait of anguished indignation.
Hua Zhi had not anticipated catching a performance of such caliber here. The acting was impressively convincing. She gave a slight nod. “Please be seated, Commissioner Lu. I will speak with everyone about the situation in Jinyang.”
Lu Xinming sat, and the tightness in his chest eased along with it. From the look of things, this matter was not going to be traced back to him.
She drained another cup of tea. Hua Zhi’s gaze drifted across the assembled faces in a light, unhurried sweep. “Zeng Xianglin is dead.”
The very first words out of her mouth were enough to set the hearts of Jinyang’s officials lurching in their chests — quite a few of those present had had dealings of mutual benefit with Zeng Xianglin.
Yu Mu and Jia Yang exchanged a glance, and their minds grew clear. She had said ‘dead’ — not ‘executed.’ It seemed Miss Hua intended to resolve the troubles of the Zeng family at the source.
“Thirty-seven Chaoli remnants — all captured.” Turning her tea cup in her hands, Hua Zhi looked at the man on the floor, still bound hand and foot with a gag in his mouth, and continued: “For years, the Chaoli Tribe’s Strategist applied a method of shearing without killing the sheep to turn Jinyang into a gambling city — concentrating the wealth of the entire city for his own use. As officials of Jinyang, your incompetence was an indulgence of their schemes. More than that — no small number of you actively participated and profited.”
When word spread that thirty-seven Chaoli tribespeople had been inside Jinyang, every official’s face went dark. For officials who lived on nothing but their stipends, their families would starve — and reaching out a hand for more was simply what one did. But if that hand reached in the wrong direction…
“All Jinyang officials are to be stripped of rank and will serve from their current standing as commoners pending further orders.”
The officials — former officials — stared at one another. A complete dismissal of all of them?
“You understand better than I do how serious this matter is. If you cannot render meritorious service and make amends for your offenses, everyone goes to prison. Make the effort to distinguish yourselves — to walk away with your whole skins intact would be your good fortune.”
Hua Zhi paused and let them sit with the implications. She wanted to conserve her energy. She was starving.
The first to declare himself was Lu Xinming, who had an exceptional talent for knowing which way the wind blew. “Miss — what do you need us to do?”
“I am not a ‘Miss’ in the official sense. ‘Miss Hua’ will do.”
“Yes, Miss Hua.”
Hua Zhi glanced at him. In practical affairs, it truly did help to have a subordinate like this — one who knew how to set the tone. No wonder the outwardly eager and agreeable ones always seemed to fare better in life than those who worked hard but said nothing.
“I intend to take advantage of Jinyang’s lockdown to conduct a census of the population — with neighbors serving as witnesses to one another. The other matter concerns the storefronts — I want every storefront and its current owner recorded in a ledger. Going forward, all property transactions in Jinyang must be documented in triplicate: one copy for the buyer, one for the seller, and one retained by the authorities. Each change of ownership will carry a transaction fee of one tael of silver. Both of these things take time, but I hope you can complete them as quickly as possible.”
She paused briefly to give everyone a moment to absorb this, then continued: “Seal all the gambling houses. Conduct an accounting of the gambling funds. Additionally, I want to meet with the heads of every family in Jinyang — I trust you can summon them for me.”
Without Zhu Ling to lead the way, everyone present looked to Lu Xinming.
Lu Xinming had not had this much of everyone’s attention in a long while. Even knowing full well that he was being pushed forward as the one to stick out his neck, he felt his spirits lift, and he even straightened his back a little. He cupped his fists. “When would Miss Hua like to meet them? This official — this one will make the arrangements.”
“As soon as possible.”
“Yes.” Lu Xinming asked again: “And the silver collected from the property transaction fees — what is to be done with it?”
“Record it, and we will discuss later whether it is to serve as supplementary income for the officials or for other purposes.”
“Yes.”
Hua Zhi inconspicuously pressed a hand against her stomach, which was beginning to ache quietly. “As I understand it, Jinyang has not seen a lockdown in years. The movement today must have been no small shock to the common people. All of you — take care in how you conduct yourselves. Do not give rise to panic among the populace. Reassuring the people comes first; addressing the offenses comes second. If anyone uses this as an opportunity to pursue private advantage, I will not treat it lightly!”
Everyone answered in unison.
“I will leave the other matters to your own judgment — each of you should continue overseeing whatever you were previously responsible for.”
“Yes.” These were people who needed to earn their way back into good standing. The entire group of former officials wasted no time and left swiftly, not one of them daring to drag their feet. Losing their posts was one thing — but if they were also thrown in prison, who knew whether they would ever come out?
Once everyone had cleared out, Hua Zhi lifted her head immediately. “Is there anything to eat?”
Yu Mu blinked, then immediately understood. “Yes — yes, there is. This subordinate will go and fetch it.”
As he left, Yu Mu took the man on the ground with him. Bao Xia quickly followed — her mistress needed something easy to eat, soft-textured, and with a broth if possible.
“Jia Yang — go and question that man. Not just anyone is capable of serving as an adviser to someone like Lu Xinming.”
Jia Yang looked surprised. “You believe he is the Strategist?”
Hua Zhi shook her head. “I think not. His conduct does not suggest someone capable of laying a plan this vast. And given the regard the Chaoli Tribe holds for their Strategist, they would never agree to place him in the heart of Daqing’s territory. But if he was able to win Lu Xinming’s confidence to the degree he did, he must have some measure of intelligence. Go and dig — see if you can extract anything useful.”
“Yes.”