What sort of adoptive father?
Zhù Ying wondered inwardly. Some adoptive parents were honored for life; others were used and discarded.
Adopted sons were not all alike either. Some were like children born into the household, others like children born of one’s own blood.
Zhù Ying swiftly ran through her relationship with Zhao Su in her mind, and could not help suspecting this young man had some secret she didn’t yet know. The first time Zhao Su had appeared before her, it was with the capable, assured air of someone who placed two white pheasants in front of her and then refused her thanks.
But after that, he had behaved in ways hardly distinguishable from most wealthy young men in Fulu County. The slight differences between him and the others could easily be explained by his mixed heritage.
Now, out of nowhere, he wanted to take her as his adoptive father?
It wasn’t that it was impossible to take on an adopted son—eunuchs had people lining up to become their adopted sons, and some adopted dozens or even hundreds. But Zhao Su had given no particular indication of this before, and Zhù Ying was certain she had never implied any such thing. If it were a matter of her character and reputation—what she had accomplished in Fulu County over this past year had indeed earned her much goodwill—but enough for someone to want to call her “father”? Not quite there yet.
So this young man was either a fool or harboring very particular ambitions.
Zhù Ying got up, walked over to him, and asked: “Do you know what you’re saying?”
——
Zhao Su had thought this through carefully. It was not an impulsive decision—he had been observing Zhù Ying for a long time. When a new county magistrate arrived in the county, anyone capable of providing shelter over one’s head would naturally be watched closely. Even if it had been another Magistrate Wang, they would have had to keep the man well-managed until he could be politely seen off to rest comfortably in the prefectural city.
Zhù Ying had not left Fulu County. Instead, she had walked every corner of it, and the Zhao family, like everyone else, had initially kept its distance. It was not until she moved against Lei Guang and cleaned up the county town that Zhao Su, with a somewhat detached, spectator’s attitude, sent in two white pheasants.
He was of mixed blood—a foot in both worlds—and he had read enough to know what white pheasants signified. “Striking down local thugs and powerful clans” and “offering up an auspicious omen” were two deeply contradictory things. He wanted to know: having received the white pheasants, what would the county magistrate do next?
And then he heard that the overdue rents had been written off. After that, more things unfolded, until Zhù Ying said he “had a plan in mind”—and Zhao Su made up his mind. He needed to take this person as his adoptive father.
He had expected it wouldn’t go easily. That much he had anticipated.
He said: “I know my own mind clearly. In the customs of these parts, when a person’s reverence for someone exceeds what one feels for a teacher or an elder, the heart naturally wishes to call that person ‘adoptive parent.'”
What he did not know was that Zhù Ying was someone who kept far more thoughts locked inside than she ever spoke aloud. The next line after “has a plan in mind” was “quite an ambitious plan, and yet still putting on an act in front of me.” After she had gone one full round through the county, the Zhao family—father and son both—must have known the full picture, and yet Zhao Su had still come in with that presentation of white pheasants, keeping his background vague and unexplained. By the second time Zhù Ying toured all thirteen townships and saw him again for the second time, she had already perceived that he was not nearly as straightforward as he appeared.
Zhù Ying said: “What is there to admire about me? The things I want to accomplish—not a single one has been done yet.”
Zhao Su tilted his head back, eyes fixed unblinkingly on her, and said: “Once they are accomplished, it won’t be my turn to bow before you anymore. I believe you will certainly make it happen.”
Zhù Ying said: “Get up and speak properly.”
Zhao Su did not insist on staying kneeling; he was quite obedient and stood up. His gaze still did not waver from Zhù Ying’s face but looked at her directly and earnestly: “My origins have given me both advantages and disadvantages. Having always prided myself on lacking nothing in wit and talent, I have been struggling in a net for twenty years.”
Zhù Ying thought: then you have remarkable patience. She said nothing, and looked at Zhao Su with the same calm. Zhao Su had no certainty inside, but continued speaking anyway: “You are the first person I have ever seen who has opened a crack in that net. You are certain to accomplish a great many things, and I am willing to serve as your faithful instrument.”
With that, he stopped. He had run out of words. Saying any more would not sound like him, and it might not convince this “adoptive father” of his.
Zhù Ying did not bring up his parents, did not ask what he could do, and did not ask the specifics of his terms. Instead she said: “I am opening a crack for all the students, opening a crack for the whole county.”
Zhao Su said: “I am different from them. In your eyes we may look the same, but in the eyes of others we are still not the same. And I don’t want to be the same as everyone else. A man of standing cannot fade into obscurity.”
He treated this exchange as an examination. As long as he hadn’t been turned away from the examination hall, he counted himself as still having a chance. Some people filled every line of their answer sheet; others submitted it blank. The final result: the one who submitted it blank was accepted; the one who filled every line was rejected. He was different—he had half an answer sheet that didn’t need to be filled in to earn him marks.
Zhù Ying said: “Go away and think on it carefully, then come speak with me again.”
Zhao Su would not go. He said: “I only came after thinking on it carefully.”
Zhù Ying said: “Go and bring your parents here.”
Zhao Su said: “Yes.” He took three steps back, then turned and went to fetch his parents.
Xiao Wu and Cao Chang had listened to the whole exchange and were left dumbstruck. Cao Chang had come in anxiously preoccupied with his own small concern, but after Zhao Su had said all that, he had no mental space left for himself—his mind was entirely consumed by a single thought: the nerve of this person to dream so boldly!
Xiao Wu also felt like biting his fingers. He asked Zhù Ying cautiously: “Your Ex—Excellency, you’re going to…”
Zhù Ying glanced at him: “Going to what?”
“This—this—this… the family… ” He floundered through several words and then caught himself—when had Zhù Ying ever needed to apply to anyone before doing something? She did it and then gave notice afterward, and that was the end of it. When had a true head of a household ever asked anyone else’s permission?
Still, Xiao Wu felt vaguely that something was off, and even forgot about his own situation entirely.
Before long, all three members of the Zhao family arrived. Zhao Feng’s heart was pounding, Zhao Niangzi’s face was serious, and the son Zhao Su was calmer than his parents. All three came and paid their respects to Zhù Ying. Zhao Niangzi no longer carried the easy confidence she had shown in their previous encounters.
Zhù Ying had them sit down, and without opening her mouth first, it was Zhao Feng who spoke first, clasping his hands: “Your Excellency, this humble one is willing to offer this child to Your Excellency as an adopted son to be at your service.”
Zhao Niangzi said: “I’ve been running back and forth for over twenty years and I’m tired of it. Hereafter, whatever tasks you assign him—whether liaising with the people up the mountain or anything else—just let him go do it. I won’t involve myself anymore.”
Zhù Ying looked at Zhao Su and asked: “Do you know the constraints the imperial court places on officials serving away from their home regions?”
“Assessments, subordinate postings, inspecting censors.”
Zhù Ying said: “Under imperial court regulations—to prevent officials posted away from home from colluding with local powerful families, showing favoritism in cases, oppressing the people, or pursuing private vendettas—officials may not serve in their home regions, may not form family ties with locals while in post, may not take wives from the local area, may not take concubines locally, may not arrange marriages between their children and local gentry families. In short, they are forbidden from forming any close ties locally.”
Taking on a properly recognized adopted son—not the kind kept around as a household servant or bodyguard—touched on this matter. But in lands considered border regions, special circumstances sometimes allowed these rules to be eased somewhat. The court was also rather fond of instances of “distant peoples coming to pay tribute” or “barbarian peoples submitting to imperial officials,” and as long as there was no suspicion of colluding in rebellion, an ordinary civil official doing this was relatively safe. Zhao Su’s maternal uncle was, after all, a legitimate chieftain, and Zhao Su himself held a dual identity that allowed this to just barely skirt the edges of “forming local ties while in post.”
Zhù Ying had not outright refused also because of this. But she did not speak of “barbarian peoples” explicitly. Instead she said: “Your aptitude was always there, but you never entered the county school. The reason—I understand it in my heart, and it was not your fault. Someone failed you, and failed this entire region’s people. To remedy the shortcoming left by those who came before, I will today make an exception. Let us speak plainly—whatever comes afterward, there need be no cause for regret on either side.”
Which was to say: she accepted Zhao Su.
Who had first proposed it hardly mattered now. Though Zhù Ying suspected it was Zhao Su’s idea, his parents had agreed to it—and especially Zhao Niangzi’s agreement meant that Zhù Ying now had a connection to the Qixia people.
Since taking up her post, she had drawn up a running account of the challenges of governing Fulu County. There were several difficulties in governing this place:
First, the language barrier—not meaning that she herself didn’t know the local tongue, which she could learn, but that the local people’s language was mutually incomprehensible with the official language, which impeded the imperial court’s ability to govern. From this flowed many other problems. Most people, lacking common language, could not study well; with no other path open to them, they could not enter official service; unable to enter official service, they had no foothold in the imperial system; with weak ties to the system, their loyalty to the court was thin, making it easy for them to “resist imperial civilization.”
Second, the harsh natural environment—not just that outsiders arriving in the region were prone to illness and could die of it, but even locals living there long-term were only somewhat adapted to the “malarial miasma,” not entirely immune.
Third, poverty. This was visible at a glance—the local products were not especially abundant.
Fourth, low population. Nominally an upper-tier county, but the actual population was nowhere near what the designation implied. Zhù Ying had conducted a census upon arrival, and even now the gap was not entirely closed, though it was less glaring.
Fifth, an unfriendly farming environment. Weeds grew faster and wilder than seedlings, and good land had to be built up generation by generation through human effort. Local people were few. Because of this, the county was not only poor but prone to hunger. And if the county office continued levying taxes at the original rates, it drove people to abandon their fields and flee, or to become unregistered residents—which made the population even smaller.
Sixth, local customs. The character of an out-of-the-way place carried some of the qualities that those in more refined regions tended to look down upon.
Seventh, too far from prosperous regions, and travel and communication were inconvenient.
All of these were connected to the so-called Liao people.
To govern Fulu County well, one could not simply make empty declarations about “benefiting the people” and wait for the Liao people to see the light and come present themselves of their own accord. One had to actively engage with the Liao people—people the court had always looked down upon. The court as a whole had very little experience dealing with the Liao people and very limited knowledge of them. Zhù Ying would wager that the court didn’t even know how many different tribes existed among the Liao—not even the meaning of “Qixia,” which signified “beautiful jade,” was known to many people in Fulu County itself.
Many people, under the banner of “those not of our kind harbor different hearts,” were insincere and liked to use underhanded means. This only deepened the divide between the two sides; in an atmosphere of mutual harassment without any stability, people became even less willing to come to Fulu County, and those already there became even more inclined to leave for other places.
Although Zhù Ying had now opened things up, how far it would develop from here and whether it would be disrupted along the way depended on more sustained contact with the Qixia people.
She also had one lingering question: ever since she had arrived in Fulu County, she had not heard of any major conflict between the Qixia—or the Liao people broadly—and the county. Minor brawls and isolated trafficking incidents didn’t count.
Could things really be so peaceful? That seemed unlikely. One of the prefectural governors from several generations back had burned quite a few of the people’s leaders alive—the current chieftain might well have come to power because his own father had been burned to death in that event. Could they have simply swallowed that?
And where were Fulu County’s garrison troops?
The chieftain came down the mountain and made an oath with her for thirty head of oxen and thirty horses?
And during that oath-taking, there had been an assassination attempt.
Something had happened among the Qixia—or among the Liao people more broadly. Because the mountain roads were difficult and the languages incompatible, none of it had reached the people below the mountains.
Zhù Ying decided to involve herself in this matter. If she handled it well, the credit would be hers—and she was willing to take it.
——
The Zhao family, all three of them, received her consent and were pleased.
Zhao Feng beamed with delight: “This humble one will go prepare the celebratory banquet for tomorrow at once!”
Zhao Niangzi had agreed only after forming a new opinion of Zhù Ying, and she said: “Don’t you people down the mountain usually like to pick an auspicious date? Find a good day first, and then prepare properly.” She was not at all opposed to having the tenant farmers work a bit harder to come serve at the estate and put together a somewhat grander ceremony.
Zhao Su felt joy rising within him. He both deeply despised being called “son of a Liao woman”—hating it whenever anyone used the word “Liao” in reference to him, detesting anyone who mentioned his uncle’s people—and disliked the way others, because of his uncle’s status, treated him with a combination of calculation and polite distance. If someone else had told him “the county magistrate is accepting you as an adopted son because you are the son of a Liao woman,” he would have felt profoundly displeased.
But since the one saying it was Zhù Ying, he found he was not angry at all.
Zhao Feng only wanted to seal things as quickly as possible. Though his son was being accepted as an adopted son partly because of the advantage of “being the son of a Liao woman,” the son was still his—a son of the Zhao family!
He said: “Why choose another day when this day is already before us? There’s still the matter of spring planting to manage. Your Excellency, this humble one will go prepare right now! My dear wife, come help. Your Excellency, please excuse this humble one.” He spoke with a smile in his voice throughout.
Zhù Ying said: “Thank you for the trouble.”
Zhao Feng, worried that late-night preparations might disturb Zhù Ying and the others’ rest, kept away from the guest quarters and used only the servants on the other side of the house. They worked through the night setting up the front hall. Half the estate blazed with lanterns, yet not even a dog was allowed to bark.
The next morning, Zhù Ying rose early, and breakfast was already prepared. The servants who had been up half the night yawning prepared to sweep and clean the courtyard again.
Zhao Feng had done his best, but guests were few—only Registrar Mo and the others who had come along. Zhù Ying was invited to sit in the place of honor, then Zhao Su came to bow to her and offer tea—no wine this time; no one dared serve it to her again.
Zhù Ying also unhooked a jade pendant from her waist and gave it to Zhao Su. The pendant was part of what Zheng Xi had packed and sent from the capital. What Zheng Xi gave Zhù Ying might not be the finest that the capital had to offer, but it was respectable—and arriving in Fulu County, it was absolutely considered top-quality. Zhao Su, who had seen some fine objects in his time, took it in hand and knew at once that it was of considerable worth.
He gave his thanks with a bow.
Registrar Mo and the others all came to offer congratulations, mouths full of auspicious words, but hearts cursing: Zhao Feng, you crafty, shameless man! Exploiting our magistrate’s good nature, daring to trick her!
At this moment he had completely forgotten Zhù Ying’s shrewd calculation and ruthless capability that had been on display since she first arrived in Fulu County—his mind only held her image going out to clear wasteland, plant crops, and rent draft oxen.
Zhao Feng also accepted their congratulations with a trace of smugness.
The celebration drinking stretched into the afternoon, and Zhù Ying stayed one more day at the Zhao household.
Because of spring planting, Zhao Feng woke from his wine in the afternoon and listened to a progress report on the planting. Zhao Su, for his part, came with every justification to the guest quarters “to attend on his adoptive father.” The “duty of a son” was performed with every right and propriety, and he had not come unprepared.
Zhù Ying was reviewing official documents.
Xiao Wu was grinding ink, and Cao Chang was preparing their things for the journey tomorrow. Zhao Su waited for a pause when Zhù Ying was dipping her brush and stepped forward to call out: “Adoptive Father.”
Zhù Ying said: “You’re here? Are you going to stay home and oversee the spring planting for the household, or come back to the county town with me?”
Zhao Su said: “Of course I shall accompany Adoptive Father back. I have been helping my father manage household affairs since I was fifteen.”
Zhù Ying said: “Mm. Let me finish these two lines and then I’ll talk with you properly.”
Zhao Su answered: “Yes.”
Zhù Ying did not conceal the document from him. Its contents concerned spring planting—a directive to transfer two draft oxen to a place called Dayang Dam. The general plan for spring planting was proceeding according to her original layout, but there were always adjustments needed along the way. Without adjustments things would still work out, but whoever got the short end would just have to bear it. Since she had the capacity and the means, she sorted it out.
As she accepted the hand towel Cao Chang handed her and wiped her hands, she said: “The county school holiday isn’t over yet. You still have time to think properly about the road ahead.”
Zhao Su said: “I will do as Adoptive Father says.”
Zhù Ying said: “You are a person with ideas of your own. Can you really have no thoughts about your own path?”
Zhao Su said: “I used to have ideas. But if one’s knowledge is limited, one’s ideas are just foolish notions. I have lived in Fulu County for twenty years. To suddenly fill in twenty years’ worth of learning in an instant is impossible. Adoptive Father has wide experience and great learning—you will not lead me astray.”
“None of you want to change your field of study, so there’s nothing else to be said. Then just this one thing: go back and keep reading your books. Get all Five Classics memorized word for word. Don’t trust in that notion of ‘not seeking full comprehension’—the person who said that didn’t have to sit examinations.”
“Yes.”
Zhù Ying let the ink dry on the document and sealed it, telling Xiao Wu: “Take this out and have it sent quickly.”
“Yes.”
Zhù Ying said: “Sit—let’s have a talk.”
Zhao Su sat down. Zhù Ying said: “Let’s dispense with pleasantries between the two of us. On the topic of examinations—why do people attach such importance to them? Only because of ‘those who excel at learning should enter official service.’ But official service isn’t something one can only reach through examinations. There are also hereditary positions, recommendations, promotion from the ranks of clerks—all of these count as legitimate paths. And there are those who obtain posts through unusual arts or crafts, or through bribery. These numbers are no fewer than those who pass through examinations. Once you enter official service, you’ll realize—you never know what strange and monstrous figures you’ll encounter. The waters are deep. Plunging in recklessly means choking. Unless there’s no choice, it’s best to prepare carefully.”
“Yes.”
Zhù Ying said: “Your fellow students also don’t want to change fields?”
Zhao Su said: “With you here, and since you take a personal interest in the county school, naturally…”
Zhù Ying said: “It’s not as easy as that. Just memorizing books isn’t enough.”
“But…”
“Come back and I’ll show you something.”
Zhao Su said: “Yes. I also have something I’d like to show you.”
“Oh?”
Zhao Su produced a crudely sketched map. On it were mountain ranges and waterways Zhù Ying had never seen, marked with “Qixia.” A large river ran across it, with “Jili” marked on the opposite bank, along with several other names that were clearly phonetic transcriptions.
Zhù Ying looked at the map—it was truly “rough.” It was made of a few lines enclosing irregular patches of area, east and west, their proportions entirely out of scale.
But it was sufficient for Zhao Su to explain certain matters: “People say there are ‘Liao peoples,’ but in truth there are over a dozen different groups. My uncle’s people are the ‘Qixia’—meaning the people of beautiful jade. ‘Jili’ means courageous…”
Through his explanation, the Liao peoples proved to be numerous and varied. Some had no name for themselves and simply called themselves descendants of a mountain god, or children of the sun. At least three groups had origin myths claiming their ancestors had leapt from the belly of a fish, and these three groups did not recognize each other as being of the same kind.
When the “people below the mountains” needed to distinguish between them, they would use certain features to label them—”White Liao,” “Black Liao,” “Shaven-headed Liao,” and so on. In truth, none of these groups called themselves “Liao.”
“The lands of the Liao peoples are largely mountainous; outsiders seldom penetrate them, and their extent is unknown. If one were to combine all the Liao territories into one, it would be no smaller than three prefectures. But the roads are rough and nearly impassable, the languages incomprehensible. Some merchants do pass through—and once a merchant opens a trade route, they tend to keep to that single road.”
He spoke of population as well: there was no precise count of Liao peoples. And the Liao peoples as a group were not entirely uncivilized—they had chiefs, administrators, and slaves; they wove a distinctive type of cloth, usually dyed blue or black; they crafted silver ornaments. Some among them farmed, though with lower yields than even Fulu County.
Among the farming communities, a portion were descended from generations of people who had fled taxation, escaped warfare, or been captured and carried into the mountains from the lowlands. Some of them knew a little writing and spoke both languages, and had taught some chiefs or clever individuals in the tribes a little of the lowland tongue. Many merchants had some connection to this. But as the years passed, the descendants of most had become entirely “Liao-ized”—not only had they lost their literacy, but even their original language was forgotten.
Moreover, shamans and diviners held very high status—they practiced divination and doubled as healers.
Furthermore, the various Liao groups also warred against each other constantly. Not only between different tribes—even within groups that recognized each other as the same people, different strongholds and different factions fought fiercely. Most people going into battle showed absolutely no fear of death, because the victor gained slaves. And on the list of ideal sacrificial offerings at ceremonies, human beings ranked among the finest. Slaves, being the lowest of the low, were sacrificed in great numbers; but if you could offer someone of high standing from the enemy side—ideally a chief—the gods and ancestors were sure to bless you.
This information was partly useful to Zhù Ying and partly not. It touched on nothing of the specific details—the map was barely more accurate than something drawn with a bare foot—and didn’t address the central question: what had happened among the Liao peoples? Why were they seeking contact with her? And why had they arranged for the chieftain’s daughter to live in the county town for so long?
Xiao Wu, perceptive as always, handed Zhao Su a bowl of tea: “Young master, have some tea.”
Zhao Su used the moment of drinking tea to collect his thoughts, then continued: “As for my uncle’s family specifically—the title of ‘chieftain’ was probably coined by someone from below the mountains who glimpsed their ways and spread the term. On the mountain, he is called ‘head of the family,’ but ‘family’ there doesn’t entirely correspond to what we mean by ‘clan.’ My uncle’s branch is not the entirety of the Qixia—it is the Asu family.”
“Asu” meant wolf. But no one below the mountains much cared about this. When Zhao Niangzi married Zhao Feng, his side thought her family name was Su. The “Su” in Zhao Su’s name came from this.
Xiao Wu and Cao Chang were both so absorbed in listening that they didn’t notice when Hou Wu had appeared, leaning against the doorframe with his blade, listening as well. Hou Wu had done well that day; he still refused to take a post as an official clerk, saying his mouth never knew when to keep quiet. Zhù Ying had therefore raised his food and board allowance, and Hou Wu accepted this happily.
Catching sight of him, Zhù Ying said to Zhao Su: “Recognize his voice and his face. In the future, when you hear him saying bad things about you behind your back, you mustn’t hold it against him—he says bad things behind everyone’s back. He specializes in saying whatever people least want to hear.”
Xiao Wu and Cao Chang both covered their mouths, laughing. Zhao Su’s expression didn’t change: “Understood.”
Zhù Ying said: “Go and pack up. We leave tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Zhao Su deliberately left the map behind.
Zhù Ying picked it up, dropped it into the brush-rinse water, and said: “Be careful in what you do.”
Zhao Su dipped his head slightly: “Yes.”
——
The moment Zhao Su left, Hou Wu said: “Your Excellency, is my mouth really that bad?”
Zhù Ying said: “How did you end up at my side?”
Hou Wu went quiet. Xiao Wu and Cao Chang burst out laughing again. Xiao Wu said: “What Zhao young master told us—it was all so new and fascinating! I never knew any of that before.”
Zhù Ying said: “And you think that’s the fascinating part?”
“Isn’t it?” Xiao Wu asked curiously.
Zhù Ying said: “The fascinating part—he hasn’t told us yet.”
Hou Wu said: “That young master’s scheming is too deep, too sly—no good! He talks but doesn’t tell everything. If you question him later, he’ll definitely say he already told you. And if you don’t ask, how would he know what you want to know? Taking Your Excellency as adoptive father—there’s definitely something he’s after. If not an official position, then it must be for his family’s influence. Something has definitely gone wrong in his uncle’s household—something big…”
Zhù Ying said: “It’s lucky he didn’t turn back just now.”
Hou Wu said: “Did I guess right? I was just guessing!”
Cao Chang said in astonishment: “Hou old uncle, you’re that perceptive?”
Hou Wu said modestly: “I’ve eaten a few more decades’ worth of rice than you, and I’ve seen this kind of thing before. There was that year I followed along on the campaign to pacify the northern border…”
Zhù Ying listened to Hou Wu tell his story without interrupting. A good story was always better than talking behind people’s backs. She carefully reviewed what Zhao Su had said and found it not entirely without value. At a minimum she now had an overview of the situation, and a sense that the Liao peoples were far more complex than she had imagined. But if they could be divided into over a dozen distinct groups, their numbers could not be too small. Small numbers would not produce the kind of reputation they had in the stories told about them. Population! That was the key.
Also—the territory was vast, apparently nearly three prefectures in size. There must be places within the mountains suitable for habitation; otherwise there wouldn’t be so many people. If only roads could be opened… but that was a massive undertaking, beyond the capacity of a single county or even a single prefecture. And even with roads, mountain roads were hard going, and governance would require many experienced officials—dozens, even hundreds just for one county; how many would three prefectures need? The court’s reach could never firmly grip all of that territory.
That left only loose governance.
Zhù Ying stood there thinking through it all. Gradually Hou Wu’s story faded off, and Zhù Ying said: “Why have you stopped? I’m listening.”
Hou Wu resumed his story, and Zhù Ying continued thinking her own thoughts, gradually finding her reflections and what Hou Wu was saying beginning to correspond. Hou Wu was now describing the old campaigns against the northern peoples—the work had involved far more than battlefield fighting.
In those days, the traitor Gong Lie was still alive. Hou Wu said: “Though Gong Lie was a rebel and a traitor, he did have some ability—it’s just that his methods were too vicious and underhanded!”
Gong Lie’s approach was simple enough: beyond fighting, he used provocation, helping the weak strike down the strong. If one group was strong and another weak, he would support the weaker side against the stronger, then once the strong group had been weakened, turn around to prop up the formerly strong side against the formerly weak. Beyond that, if a strong tribe had two princes, he would inflame hostilities between them to cause a split. Brothers splitting was easier to heal—they at least had reason to reconcile. Far better to stir up discord between the king and his general, since those two had no blood tie and were far more likely to come to blows and never make peace again.
Large tribes broken into two or three smaller ones became much easier to manage.
Beyond that, bribing the Liao upper classes with gold and silk to make them sink into luxury.
And so on and so forth.
Hou Wu had spent several years in the border army, and some of these methods had required the border forces to cooperate in their execution, so Hou Wu knew a portion of them. One of his eyes had been ruined during an operation to raid and then frame one tribe’s attack on another tribe.
Xiao Wu and Cao Chang both exclaimed: “Hou old uncle, you’re incredible!”
Hou Wu chuckled, as though he himself had been the one devising the strategies.
——
The next day, Zhù Ying set out with her group—not heading straight back to the county town, but bringing along the traded cattle and horses, distributing them village by village along the road.
By the time they reached the county town, ten oxen and eight horses remained. Xiao Wu, ever quick on his feet, told everyone he encountered: “They’ve already been distributed along the way—those people are all using them now, and everyone says they’re excellent! If anyone wants to rent, better hurry!”
Zhù Ying glanced at him, and he made a particularly fawning smile, hoping Zhù Ying would shield him—she had let slip while drunk that he had been pestering local girls in the county while also looking down on them for not comparing favorably to the girls of the capital. He was terrified that news of this would spread and he’d get beaten.
Zhù Ying had no time to deal with him just then. She handed the cattle and horses over to Deputy Magistrate Guan first to distribute according to the plan, then had Zhao Su return to the Zhao residence to settle in, arranging for him to meet Zhù Ying’s mother and father the following day. Zhao Su departed without a fuss, while the rear quarters were still unaware that a storm was about to descend upon them.
The two elders were still looking forward to their daughter coming home, entirely unaware that they had gained a “grandson.”
As always, Zhang Xiangu told her daughter to hurry and change her clothes, eat, rest—don’t rush to deal with official matters. Zhù Ying said: “Those aren’t urgent. But there’s something I need to tell you both.”
“What?!” Both hearts leapt into their throats. Whenever Zhù Ying used that tone of voice, nothing small ever followed. Zhang Xiangu stared at her daughter with sharp wariness: “Are you about to cause trouble again?”
Zhù Ying said: “Just this—the son of Zhao Feng’s family in West Township. I have already taken him in as an adopted son.”
Their daughter had become someone’s father?
Zhù Zhu was so tense, and the word “adopted son” arrived so suddenly, that he couldn’t catch his breath—he tipped backward with a thud, and went limp, unconscious. Everyone rushed about in a flurry; Hua Jie rubbed his chest, patted his back, pressed his philtrum, and splashed cold water on him, until finally the man was brought back to consciousness.
Hua Jie helped Zhù Zhu sit upright and gave Zhù Ying a reproachful look. Zhù Ying spread both hands and said: “Not writing home first—that was my fault.” If she had written a letter, the two of them would probably have charged in to demand an explanation.
She said: “We are in Fulu County. We have to deal with the Qixia people up in those mountains—just like this time with the cattle and horses, it benefits us too. Zhao Su’s uncle is the chieftain of the people in the mountains. He wanted to take me as his adoptive father, and I had no choice but to graciously accept.”
Zhù Zhu was still gasping, was about to say something, then saw Aunt Du come in carrying a new pot of tea, and quickly closed his mouth and settled for: “You’re impossible…”
He could get no further than that. To become a “grandfather” just like this—he still couldn’t take it in.
Zhang Xiangu, after years of being startled by her daughter’s decisions, had grown almost accustomed to it. She said: “Fine then. How do we treat him?”
Zhù Ying said: “He has his own home and won’t be coming here often. You just need to meet him, say a word or two, and that’s enough.”
Neither parent had any remedy, and both agreed.
After all the arrangements, the next day still produced a small surprise.
When Zhao Su first arrived, things went well enough.
He had some composure, and when he saw Zhù Ying pressing the two elders down firmly into their seats—the bamboo chairs letting out soft creaking sounds—he did not let his surprise show. Bamboo furniture was very cheap; Zhù Ying’s clothing was elegant, but her furnishings were still the old kind, and had never been replaced.
Zhao Su’s official speech was already quite polished, and the two elders could understand him perfectly. They exchanged a few words of greeting. The couple found the young man looking scholarly and refined, and took a small liking to him. One said: “Stay and eat before you go.” The other added: “Yes! I’ve got pig trotters braising!”
The pig trotters were made from Aunt Jin’s secret recipe, no less.
But the rear quarters had not prepared for a guest to stay for dinner!
Zhù Ying had also not intended for Zhao Su to spend too much time with her parents—her parents were, compared to Zhao Su, decidedly straightforward souls. She had planned to take Zhao Su to the front quarters for a meal, invite Deputy Magistrate Guan and Gu Weng to sit with them, and that would be a proper reception for Zhao Su without being overly casual.
So Zhù Ying quickly said: “You two elders, perhaps save it for another time. I’ve invited Deputy Magistrate Guan and Gu Weng to join us—we’re eating in the front quarters.”
Zhù Zhu’s face showed a trace of disappointment, and Zhao Su said: “Whenever A’Weng is free, I’ll come back to keep you company.”
Zhù Zhu said: “Oh, all right then.”
Fortunately, an urgent document arrived for the front quarters just then, and Xiao Wu was calling from outside—rescuing Zhù Ying from her predicament.
——
Zhù Ying led Zhao Su toward the front quarters and asked Xiao Wu: “What’s the matter?”
“From the capital. A document from the Court of Judicial Review.”
“Oh?”
Zhù Ying took it, opened it, and found that the convicts she had “ordered” had set out and were on their way. They were all skilled craftsmen—not a single troublesome scholar in the lot. Convicts traveled slowly; the documents arrived ahead of them, giving her advance notice to prepare for their reception. A list of the individual convicts was appended.
Zhù Ying flipped through several pages—exactly the craftsmen she was most short of: stonemasons, carpenters, farmers convicted in a village brawl resulting in death, a veterinarian, and so on.
With a stonemason, she could now begin the literacy steles project—a major undertaking. There had been no time to get anything ready during the spring planting season, as most of the county’s stonemasons had gone off to help with the farming. The convict stonemason, on the other hand, had no fields to tend and could start working right away.
A veterinarian was also a rare talent. This particular veterinarian had terrible luck. He was a good practitioner—but only for treating animals. One day, a neighbor fell seriously ill with an acute condition and begged him to take a look. He explained he was only a veterinarian, but the neighbor kept pleading. Saving a life was worth more than building a seven-story pagoda—the symptoms looked somewhat familiar to him, and so he prescribed a remedy.
And then he killed the patient. The neighbor’s family then would not let the matter drop and accused him of using sorcery to harm a person.
Once the charge of sorcery or witchcraft became attached to a case, the sentence typically started at execution. Some officials investigated before killing; others, at the first hint of suspicion, found a pretext and killed outright. Fortunately, the official who handled the case was the Prefect Dou whom Zhù Ying had previously met, and he found that the reasoning didn’t hold together—what business did a veterinarian have treating people? And if he was willing to try, the family must have agreed. There had to be more to it. He also summoned a coroner, physicians, and others to examine the body and inspect the medicine residue.
The final conclusion was: the medicine had been correctly prescribed, and the veterinarian’s skills were to be affirmed. The problem was that he had always treated animals, and so his dosages were large and powerful. After the illness had been cured, the strength of the medicine itself struck—and the patient died. Still, the veterinarian had agreed to treat a human patient, and the patient had died, so a sentence had to be handed down.
The death penalty was therefore commuted to exile. The Court of Judicial Review was about to send people to Zhù Ying, and saw no reason to reduce his sentence further, so he was sent along.
Zhù Ying counted heads: this batch was nearly twenty people—not so many as to require a great deal of new accommodation. With people in short supply right now, repairing the old garrison compound would only create more chaos. At the very least it had to wait until after spring planting. She decided at once: when these people arrived, they would first be sorted by sex and housed in the county jail. The jail was certainly sturdier than the already-crumbling old garrison compound!
She had Xiao Wu file the document in the signing room, then said to Zhao Su: “Let’s go eat with Deputy Magistrate Guan and the others first.”
Zhao Su said: “Yes.”
When the two of them appeared together in the front quarters, Gu Weng’s feelings were a complex tangle—the Zhao family man had married a Liao woman, and now their son had taken the county magistrate as his adoptive father, and somehow this path had actually worked out for them! Was there no justice in this world?!