The fifth branch wife of the Jing family went on and on, while beside her Jing the Fifth stood there as though someone had cut out his tongue — thoroughly unimpressive.

Zhù Ying, before she was about to act, was always very patient. She listened quietly, without the faintest trace of impatience. Elder Jing was the first to lose face, and he cut off his daughter-in-law: “Before the Prefect, stop chattering! Say what needs to be said and be done with it. What is the point of abusing people just like that?”

“Who is abusing anyone?” A voice cut in from outside.

All three of the Jing family looked toward the door. They recognized the face: Wang the Registrar of Merit had walked in from outside. After entering, he gave a slight start: he is looking more and more like Lord Leng the Military Governor lately.

Lord Leng — not “the Military Governor.” Zhù Ying was lounging lightly against the back of her chair, face wearing an expression of languid ease, every gesture carrying a hint of carelessness. It was the leisurely air of a young man of good family, that attitude of “this is nothing to bother with.”

Wang the Registrar of Merit pressed his hands together in salute. Zhù Ying said, “What brings you here?”

Wang the Registrar of Merit said, “We have done an initial screening of candidates for the new staff positions the Prefect wants filled — a few likely candidates from decent families. This subordinate has drafted a few test questions and asks the Prefect to review them. Once the Prefect approves the final version, we will take them and administer the examination. Those who pass can then be put to use, so as to avoid carelessly hiring people who cannot maintain their integrity and then generating further complications.” He produced a rolled paper from his sleeve. Ding Gui received it and stood behind Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying said, “Good that you came — I happen to have a matter to take up with you. The schools — those are under the Registrar of Merit’s jurisdiction, are they not?”

“Yes.”

The Registrar of Merit’s official duties placed at the fore the evaluation, leave, and selection of officials and clerks, and additionally included sacrificial rites, good omens, Daoist and Buddhist affairs, schools, correspondence, medicine, furnishings and decorations, and similar matters. One could say this official wielded authority and carried heavy responsibilities. A particularly able one could even engage in small confrontations with the principal official, and might even reach down into the subordinate counties. Nominally, the principal official had the right to oversee all affairs, but the principal official was only one person; those of somewhat lesser ability would be outmaneuvered by the people below who each specialized in their particular domains.

Zhù Ying said “schools” because Jing the Fifth was a student at the prefectural school. The academicians at the official school reported to Wang the Registrar of Merit.

Zhù Ying said, “Registrar Li — come in.”

Wang the Registrar of Merit looked again, and Registrar Li had also arrived early and was lingering at the door, saying he had an old case under review — exactly the same strategy as his own. Wang the Registrar of Merit curled his lip slightly.

Zhù Ying said, “The thief has been questioned — this is indeed a theft. There are still some things to be clarified. Jing Gang is one of the rare capable men this prefecture has produced, and he is serving as an official elsewhere. Your family has also suffered the theft — bringing you before the court would look bad. So let us sort it out here.”

Wang the Registrar of Merit and Registrar Li continued to feel reassured. Elder Jing rose unsteadily and made a deep bow: “This subordinate is most grateful for the Prefect’s consideration.”

Zhù Ying said, “Young wife — you keep insisting these jewels and garments are yours, but you need evidence before I can authorize you to sign and take the stolen property away. A list you write yourself cannot be taken as valid — the yamen will not accept a self-generated list.”

The fifth branch wife was taken aback and asked, “Prefect, these are official-quality items — how many of those can there be?”

“Many.” Zhù Ying explained patiently to her. Clothing, food, housing, transport — all were governed by rank. The higher the rank, the rarer the goods. Jing Gang was only a from-sixth-rank official; the accessories available to him were not of the highest order. Even if they were “official-quality,” there were plenty of people of his rank, and plenty of wives of his rank among the noblewomen. Items that were “official quality” were actually quite common for ranks below the fifth. “Among official-quality items, that is. There are quite a lot of them.”

Wang the Registrar of Merit said, “Even if they are not hers, that does not mean they are necessarily yours. They could be someone else’s!”

The fifth branch wife glared at her husband. “Are you still not going to say something?”

Jing the Fifth finally rose with a deep bow, his face flushed red. “Prefect, they are indeed things this student gave to Jiao Jiao.”

The fifth branch wife repeated: “Evidence?”

Elder Jing involuntarily cleared his throat twice. Wang the Registrar of Merit felt a small, private satisfaction: Serves you right for reaching your hand into the female prison to put one over on me!

Wang the Registrar of Merit was thoroughly aggrieved. There had been an opportunity for a small, quiet negotiation with the new prefect, a quiet acknowledgment between them — but now someone had managed to hand a weapon right to his superior’s hand. Infuriating!

Registrar Li was also deeply unhappy. Jiao Jiao was the female prison warden — connected, of course, to him as Registrar of Justice, whose duties centered on arrest, crime-breaking, and adjudication. He found both Jiao Jiao and Jing the Fifth utterly loathsome. He spoke up: “How do you prove that Jing the Fifth and Jiao Jiao have a relationship?”

Zhù Ying recognized that tone the moment she heard it — Registrar Li was an old hand. This was a technique from interrogation — “drawing out” a witness — and quite a crude application of it. But it worked on the fifth branch wife.

She bent down and, from the layered sole of her shoe, drew out a small paper packet — to the astonished stares of all the men in the room. She opened the packet to reveal a lock of black hair and a piece of paper.

Ding Gui’s face contorted briefly in a grimace; clenching his jaw, he stepped forward and received this “evidence,” and with a woebegone expression held it up to show Zhù Ying — unable to place the shoe-trodden item directly in Zhù Ying’s hands, he could only hold it out himself.

Zhù Ying glanced at the lock of hair — lustrous black, fine and soft, most likely from a woman. Then she looked at the note. The opening line was a letter of thanks to Jing the Fifth for giving her a phoenix hairpin; using this as a pretext, the sender had written to Jing the Fifth. The contents were sickeningly sentimental — it was clearly Jiao Jiao’s own handwriting, expressing in effusive terms her attachment to him.

“Keep it,” Zhù Ying said. “Registrar Li — have someone bring the stolen goods. Have her sign for them and take them.”

Registrar Li acknowledged this and went out to give the instructions. The Jing family of three called out their thanks in turn. Zhù Ying said, “Catching thieves and recovering stolen goods is simply what the yamen is supposed to do.”

Soon the stolen goods were all brought in. Zhù Ying said, “Verify them, sign the receipt, make a file, and let them take everything.”

Registrar Li said, “Yes.”

As the Jing couple went to look over the jewelry and sign the receipt, Zhù Ying said to Elder Jing, “Your household has been able to raise a man of Jing Gang’s caliber — surely the family’s instruction is not lacking. How is it that with the youngest son you have been so permissive? Take him home and discipline him properly.”

“Yes.”

Over to the side, the young couple had already begun another quarrel. The fifth branch wife said under her breath, “My things. You dare touch them again, just you try.”

Jing the Fifth, silent all this while, finally produced one sentence: “What’s in my household — I do what I like. Since when are they yours?”

“Sister-in-law sent them to me.”

“That is my family’s sister-in-law,” Jing the Fifth muttered.

Zhù Ying pressed the index and middle fingers of both hands to her temples and made a few gentle circles. Then she said aloud: “Registrar of Merit.”

Wang the Registrar of Merit rose. “Present.”

Zhù Ying said, “Jing the Fifth’s character is not yet formed. As of today, he is to be expelled from the prefectural school. He is to be returned to his father’s care for strict discipline!”

Elder Jing, who had been preparing to offer thanks and cultivate the relationship, and the Jing couple in the middle of their squabble, all froze when they heard this, as though struck by lightning. Elder Jing was the first to come to his senses, and wanted to plead leniency: “Prefect, given that he is still young…”

The fifth branch wife immediately said, “Prefect! It is that shameless woman who has been seducing other women’s husbands! Why are you not punishing that shameless woman, but punishing us instead?”

Zhù Ying pointed at the fifth branch wife as well: “You too — be careful. What did you mean by treading another person’s hair beneath your foot? Be more circumspect in future, and do not repeat this offense. If you continue to escalate, I will have you charged with the practice of sympathetic magic!”

The fifth branch wife, had she pulled a stick figure pricked with the woman’s hair out of her clothing, would have had to be condemned then and there before the assembled crowd. Sympathetic magic and love spells — both were offenses. Written clearly in the law, absurd and laughable though they were, they were still in the written statutes.

Zhù Ying’s statement here was a warning. Elder Jing was badly frightened. Registrar Li privately admired the maneuver. The fifth branch wife was rendered speechless. She wanted to say something but could not. Sympathetic magic was not something desirable — she was well enough aware of that. Yet she was genuinely not able to stomach things as they stood. Without seeing that shameless woman’s wretched downfall, this breath she had been holding would never be expelled.

Even the happiness of getting her jewelry back vanished completely.

Wang the Registrar of Merit and Registrar Li were both unwilling to have the yamen’s internal business made public, and even less willing to be ordered about by the fifth branch wife. Jiao Jiao, the female prison warden, was someone they had heard things about before. She was not particularly impressive in their eyes, but regardless of all that, she was still yamen staff! Unless it was time to push her out as a sacrificial offering, even if she were to be removed from her post, it would be an internal yamen matter behind closed doors.

Wang the Registrar of Merit thought coldly: leaving aside everything else, what Jing the Fifth did was also not the sort of thing a scholar ought to do. Simply for the matter of stealing from his wife to give to another — expelling him from school could not be called unjustified. This woman, to have a husband like this, was also to be pitied. Being this fierce and combative was understandable, actually — no wonder the husband was looking for somewhere to breathe. A fierce wife at home, anyone would go find somewhere else to let off pressure.

Wang the Registrar of Merit said coolly, “Elder, is your daughter-in-law giving instructions to the prefecture yamen?”

Registrar Li said, “Prefect, since they have so requested — shall we open court proceedings?”

Zhù Ying thought to herself: that is also a sharp blow. A formal hearing — the Jing couple were the injured parties, but they were people without official rank or title. (“Rank or title” here meaning an imperially conferred official rank or lady’s title.) If the yamen were serious about it, the Jing family could not send a household manager to appear on Jing the Fifth’s behalf in court, as had happened to Huang the Twelfth at the Fulu County yamen long ago. At that point there would be no shield and no hired muscle anymore.

Zhù Ying said, “Enough. Let it end here. Elder — take them home and see to their discipline. See the guests out.”

Elder Jing wanted to make a scene, wanted to pull rank and play the elder. In the end he rose and spoke words of entreaty: “Surely the child should be given a chance to reform himself?”

Zhù Ying said, “Hear the session!”

The yamen runners surged forward and restrained the Jing couple. Before the two had even understood what was happening, the fifth branch wife cried, “Prefect — Prefect, what is happening?!”

Elder Jing had not been treated like this in years. Everyone always dealt with him with courtesy; now this young little prefect had started off speaking pleasantly enough, and had suddenly turned his face and taken his son’s schooling away, and was now about to have his family hauled before the court. He could not quite untangle his own thoughts in time and said, “Prefect, since it is my failing in guiding the children, and since you want to hear the session — I will accompany them into the hall. You need not show me special courtesies; I need not be given a chair either; I will stand and listen.”

Zhù Ying said to Elder Jing, “Oh, you are a titled elder — a seat is your due. You need not remind me that the world contains a Jing Gang. He — I will memorialize against him. If one cannot manage one’s own household, one should not go out into the world bringing disgrace on others. He should come home and properly attend to his parents and properly instruct this ‘still a child’ younger brother.”

Elder Jing was suddenly wide awake. He hurried and knelt down, tears streaming: “It is this old man who has been foolish! Please, Prefect, have mercy! This I will straightaway take this unfilial son home and discipline him properly! We will never dare trouble the Prefect again! Prefect, please show mercy!”

“Hear the session.” Zhù Ying said.

Spoiled into this state!

Wang the Registrar of Merit and Registrar Li exchanged a glance. Their own intervention had been meant only to intimidate — not to actually act. Seeing things develop to this point, each said a quiet word of counsel: “Prefect, Jing Gang is this prefecture’s only…”

“Has the Southern Prefecture run out of people?” Zhù Ying pointed at Wang the Registrar of Merit. “In a few days, you and I will go together to overhaul the prefectural school! If someone who steals from his wife can get into the prefectural school, what kinds of things are being kept in there?”

She really did call the court to session. The prefecture yamen had been put through one round of discipline already, and the yamen runners no longer dared to slack — they took their staffs of office and formed two columns in the main hall. By the time the fifth branch wife realized the gravity of the situation, she called out: “Prefect, we — we acknowledge our wrongdoing!”

“You are acknowledging wrongdoing in what? The facts are in evidence — what is there for you to acknowledge?”

The fifth branch wife shuddered and dared not say another word.

The newly arrived prefect, after the round of settling the prefecture yamen’s internal affairs, was now holding her first public case! Those who were curious had been peering in from outside the gates. The prefecture yamen was grander in size than a county yamen, and since Zhù Ying was new, the local people were not yet familiar with her conduct, and were not quite bold enough to just walk in freely.

There was considerable noise coming from inside. Zhù Ying still gave Elder Jing a seat. Elder Jing sat as if the chair had teeth biting into him. Registrar Li, seeing Zhù Ying’s expression was perfectly composed, brought the thief, Jiao Jiao, and the Jing couple out for confrontation in the normal way.

The fifth branch wife, the moment she saw Jiao Jiao, stretched out both claws wanting to tear her apart. The yamen runners didn’t dare lay hands on her either; they stuck their staffs between the two women to keep them apart. Zhù Ying said to Registrar Li, “This is unseemly — we still need to recruit a few proper female staff members.”

Registrar Li looked — while the fifth branch wife was fierce, she was after all a gentry family woman, and being physically restrained by male yamen runners was truly not appropriate. He too felt this to be the case and said, “Yes.”

The confrontation that followed was quite straightforward. Jiao Jiao kept saying, “I don’t know.” But the witness testimony and physical evidence were both present, and most especially there was her own letter in her own handwriting.

The fifth branch wife, seeing Jiao Jiao still looking so composed, while her own husband had already lost one of his statuses, and she herself was on the floor before a crowd of onlookers, utterly wretched — the hatred surged up again. She lunged forward once more. Jiao Jiao’s tears came on command, weeping piteously.

The court fell into confusion again. Zhù Ying, utterly fed up, said, “Twenty strokes of the plank.”

Administering the plank meant stripping clothing. Wang the Registrar of Merit and Registrar Li both went pale and rushed forward urgently to remonstrate. The fifth branch wife became as if dosed with a muting drug — not another word. Jiao Jiao went on weeping softly. Zhù Ying looked at her — this one was putting on an act. She said, “Twenty strokes of the plank.”

Jiao Jiao too was frightened into silence right then, huddling down into herself. Wang and Li each managed a perfunctory word or two of counsel; the fifth branch wife, for her part, was actually hoping Jiao Jiao would get those twenty strokes — yet she too dared not say a word now.

Zhù Ying took the opportunity to leave both women unbeaten, and ruled: the jewelry was to be returned to the Jing family; Jing the Fifth was stripped of his schooling; Elder Jing was to take him home for discipline. Elder Jing felt inward fury but could only weep outwardly. He quavered out his thanks, almost kneeling, and was caught by the collar by Xiang Le, who pulled him upright: “Elder, stand properly.”

Zhù Ying then sentenced the thief according to statute — a term of penal servitude. Then she turned to Jiao Jiao: “Whatever position brought you into this yamen, you will leave it by the same route. This yamen cannot keep you.”

Jiao Jiao prostrated herself, a great stone lifting from her heart. She had thought the Prefect would not treat her much better than the other three — she had feared being sent back to her original place of residence and handed over to her uncle to be “married off.” To be merely dismissed — this was an unexpected blessing. The fine jewelry had been recovered, but she still had money. The prefecture city — even if they didn’t chase her out, she could not stay. The Jing family had taken a loss like this — they would not let her be!

The thing to do now was to collect her valuables as quickly as possible and run! Head for the circuit city again — she had money this time, and had seen more of the world; she should make it safely. A larger city was always safer than a small village, and certainly safer than being near her uncle.

She gave one bow and ran. She didn’t even bother with the house; she gathered her valuables from her room, changed into rough clothing, and left the city on foot.

Out in front of the yamen, three men were lined up side by side. Their outer clothing stripped, they were pressed down on the long bench and beaten.

Zhù Ying walked slowly out to the front of the yamen gate, facing the gathered onlookers — commoners, gentry, officials, and clerks alike — and said: “I have received the Emperor’s grace and the court’s mandate, and I come to govern this region. I shall maintain the peace of this region. I will not tolerate any lawbreaker — whoever it may be! Dragons, coil yourselves; tigers, lie down! Whoever extends their claws into this prefecture yamen, I will cut them off! The people have grievances — come freely and report them!”

A cheer rose from the crowd!

The beatings concluded; communications were dispatched to the Court of Judicial Review. Those to be exiled were exiled; those who needed to be taken home by their fathers were taken home by their fathers.

Zhù Ying turned back to the main hall and summoned all the prefecture yamen’s staff. The yamen runners, after that blade in the night, were thoroughly respectful — all standing in orderly silence. Wang the Registrar of Merit and the others were like a flock of little quails, lined up neatly and tidily. Wang the Registrar of Merit first made a formal apology; Registrar Li followed with an apology for negligent oversight. It was not entirely that they wanted to apologize — more that they feared that if they did not, this little prefect would stir up more trouble.

Zhù Ying said, “People are not saints — the occasional oversight will happen. But how is it that a dangerous criminal could walk right into this prefecture yamen? This must never happen again! I am going to overhaul the entire prefecture yamen’s order of operations! From now on, identification tokens will be strictly managed; no one who is not yamen staff may enter or leave! All entries and exits must be recorded. Anyone who brings an unauthorized person inside: twenty strokes of the plank, dismissed! And I will have them reimburse every year’s worth of meals they ate here!”

Everyone answered: “Yes.”

Zhù Ying also said, “Registrar of Justice assistant — how dare he deceive his superior! He has been in this prefecture for many years; there may well be other matters he has concealed. We already did one round of checking; such things still managed to go undetected — it is clear we must go through it all again! This time, I will do it myself! Seal the files!”

Wang the Registrar of Merit looked devastated!

Gu Tong’s mouth fell open wide.

The Registrar of Works and the Registrar of Soldiers looked at the Registrar of Justice and the Registrar of Merit with sympathy, thinking: I had known all along — getting a Prefect this young must have been for a reason! Young in age, but old in method!

Registrar of Justice, Registrar of Merit… had their authority taken away.