A notebook?

Of course she had one. Since they had just been discussing the new-bride hanging case, Xiao Jiang did not ask what kind of notebook. She drew one from the document bag hanging at her waist and said, “I do.”

She held it with both hands and placed it on Zhù Ying’s desk.

Zhù Ying picked it up and looked through it. The handwriting was quite delicate. Inside were records of various bodies Xiao Jiang had examined. The most recent was a copy of the inquest form from the blood-hanging case; the original had been completed and handed over to Nanping County — this was her own backup copy. It served both as a record should anyone investigate later, and as material for her own future reflection or teaching apprentices.

Before the blood-hanging case was the “inquest form” for Jiao Jiao. Though Jiao Jiao had later regained consciousness, Xiao Jiang had still carefully recorded what she had observed at the time. She had written a note: namely, that a person said to be a “corpse” is not necessarily truly dead — there may still be a chance of life. After this she had also written several terms: “birth in the coffin,” and the like.

Zhù Ying leafed through the entire notebook and said, “This is already fairly detailed. Besides the inquest form, you’ve also written some general notes on injuries?”

“Yes.” All of these could be useful in adjudicating cases. Although treating the living fell under the physician’s domain, when it related to a case, the coroner was sometimes asked to take a look as well.

Zhù Ying said, “It is not enough.”

“I respectfully ask for Your Excellency’s guidance.”

“Now that you are going to take on apprentices, this alone will not do — you must synthesize what you have learned yourself. Especially the specific characteristics of female corpses.”

At present, Xiao Jiang was involved in relatively few cases, and meaningful conclusions required a large body of practical experience. Everything had to be recorded. Huajie was different — there were many living patients in the world; if she were willing, she could see ten patients in a single day. But where could one find ten people who had died by violent means for Xiao Jiang to study?

Fortunately Xiao Jiang had already been recording extensively — with perseverance, the day would come when her notes could be compiled into a book.

Hearing this, Xiao Jiang said, “I have some of that too.” Several methods of examining bodies she had heard from Zhù Ying — all duly recorded.

She reached into her bag and pulled out another notebook, in which she had kept her study notes. Some things she had learned from the coroner she apprenticed under, others were things Zhù Ying had told her, and a further portion were her own conclusions from experience. The entries were somewhat scattered, however — she could read her own notes, but others would need to guess at the gaps.

Zhù Ying leafed through it quickly and said, “Good — keep going in this vein.” It was still far too early to compile a book, and she said nothing to Xiao Jiang about this for now. For a person like Xiao Jiang, a different approach was needed than with Huajie. With Huajie, one could describe plans spanning ten or twenty years — Huajie would understand, remember, but not think about it obsessively every day. Xiao Jiang was not a person who would listen to a long vision cast into the future, so there was no point in mentioning it.

She gave Xiao Jiang a day off and asked her to go rest. Xiao Jiang took it as a routine inquiry about the case, with a brief moment of concern for her work, gave a small curtsey, took both notebooks back, and left. Seeing that there was nothing more, she took her leave and walked out, immediately coming face to face with Xiang An in the corridor. Xiang An was holding a letter and said, “Lady Jiang.”

“Third Lady. I have already finished reporting my assignment.” Xiao Jiang said, and then left the document office.

Xiang An looked considerably more relaxed. Zhù Ying said, “Your martial sister is better?”

Xiang An smiled. “Yes. She can get out of bed now. I’d like her to rest a few more days before looking for work.”

Zhù Ying said, “Good — since things have come to this point, better to rest thoroughly so the illness doesn’t recur.”

“Yes.” Xiang An handed the letter in her hand to Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying took it and looked — it was from another semi-familiar acquaintance. This was a prefectural governor with whom Zhù Ying had crossed paths twice and exchanged several letters; he had close relations with the Zheng household, if not quite a member of Zheng Hou’s faction, at least someone who could sit down to a meal at the Zheng residence. The letter’s content was similar to Prefect Chen’s — his wheat seed was ready, he had already planted once, but the results were not very satisfactory. He had come to learn from her.

Zhù Ying also wrote a reply, agreed to share her notes, and after weighing the distances, also sent two reasonably experienced old farmers to help him. The farmers were drawn from Fulu County — Magistrate Mo would pull two people from the corvee labor draft and send them over as official business.

To all appearances, she seemed not to have the other cases in mind at all, and no one found this surprising. With a Sifa official set up, plus the Chief Secretary and the county magistrates below, a Prefect was simply not supposed to be personally handling every minor detail. To do so would actually invite suspicion of grabbing power and mistrusting subordinates. Even if she cared about the cases, at the outset she could not simply take over.

Only Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da, having heard of the “fox spirit,” found their old memories stirring, and the case preoccupied them greatly.

At dinner, Zhang Xiangu asked at the table, “Has the fox spirit been caught yet?”

Zhù Ying said, “The Chief Secretary is handling the case; the investigation hasn’t finished yet. There’s examination, questioning, inquiry, tracking, and so on — each step depends on the situation. The arrest comes last, and even then there’s the interrogation afterward. And the case is not aimed at the fox spirit — it’s aimed at the forcible demolition of someone’s house. The fox spirit comes after that.”

“A case within a case?” Huajie asked with interest.

“More or less.”

No one asked about Magistrate Guo’s new-bride hanging case — word from the inner household had been a bit more restricted. Su Zhe took a keen interest in the “fox spirit” and asked, “A’Weng, if the fox spirit is caught, may I see it?”

Zhù Ying smiled. “Of course — as long as one is caught.” She did not actually hold much hope for this. She still believed there must be a human being behind it. She trusted in the wisdom of the ancients: if fox spirits truly existed, the court would never have allowed them to go unmanaged. And a fake “fox spirit” was probably not very capable — otherwise the court would not have failed to include it on the sacrificial calendar.

Su Zhe was delighted and ate another half-bowl of rice.

Zhù Ying said she was not paying attention, but still knew some of the progress.

The first thread came from Jiang Zhou. She had accompanied Xiao Jiang to one examination and had already learned some principles of adjudication herself. She wanted to get involved in every case she heard about. She applied to Zhù Ying for leave, asking permission to look into the matter privately, because she felt something about it was not right.

“Time off?” Zhù Ying smiled, looking at this young woman who had grown up, remembering her own first request for time off at the Court of Judicial Review.

She said, “You already have your regular leave — you can also save it up and use it in one go. First go let the legal clerk know.”

“Yes.”

All officials had leave days, but Jiang Zhou usually never needed hers — she was always enthusiastic about going out on official business and standing duty. Since arriving in Southern Prefecture, she had accumulated a few days of unused leave. Jiang Zhou ran off to find the legal clerk, who asked, “How many days do you want?”

“Pardon?”

The legal clerk, because of Jiang Zhou’s close relationship with Xiao Jiang — and because Xiao Jiang had certain ties to the inner household — was patient: “The Chief Secretary is currently hearing a case and may need female prison guards. Don’t take too many days.”

Jiang Zhou gritted her teeth and took three days, vowing to return at the end of three days. She went home, packed her bag while explaining her plan to Xiao Jiang. Xiao Jiang said, “You went straight to Your Excellency?”

“Yes.”

Xiao Jiang sighed. “Your Excellency is right — you should have told the legal clerk first, since he is your immediate superior. And going alone may not be safe.”

Jiang Zhou said, “I’ll first ask around among people from Nanping County. When I’m ready to go, I’ll find a female prison guard from their county office to travel with me. I’ll still be wearing my uniform; ordinary bandits won’t dare trouble me.”

Xiao Jiang said, “Go then.”

She spent her three days of leave staking out the Nanping County yamen, and learned that the families of the deceased woman — her husband’s family and her own — were old acquaintances. The two families were from neighboring villages, and their circumstances were similar: not too poor and not too wealthy, the kind of household where the daughters did not need to work in the fields, still had a maid to wash clothes and sweep, though during the busy harvest season they were expected to help with cooking and their own needlework. During harvest, the family could even hire a few day laborers.

There was nothing unusual in the days before and after the incident. Being nervous before a wedding was perfectly normal. Jiang Zhou planned to have a good talk with the new bride’s maid.

The second thread came from Chief Secretary Zhang’s fox spirit case. With the parties all in the prefectural city, the Chief Secretary used mostly people from the prefectural office; there were those who reported back to Zhù Ying quietly. This case Zhù Ying knew about in rather more detail than the hanging case.

The defendant was quite well-off, but having no official rank, dared not act too arrogantly now. An aging man in his fifties came with two household servants and one son, riding in a carriage to the prefectural office, where he described his family’s misfortune to Chief Secretary Zhang.

The old man’s name was Fang. He was fifty years old, with two sons and one daughter. The Fang household was considerably better off than the two families involved in the hanging case. His sons had been sent to school, and his daughter was pampered and indulged, living alone in a small upstairs pavilion with a maid. She was sixteen years old that year, in the midst of being matched for marriage. Everything had been going well — the young woman had grown up pretty and lively, and finding her a good match was no problem. But from springtime onward, for some inexplicable reason, strange things began happening in the household.

At night there were sounds coming from the daughter’s room. The household dogs would bark at night initially, but eventually stopped. Yet the daughter grew listless by the day, sleeping in her room throughout the daytime. The family found it strange; the mother, being sharp, felt something was wrong and summoned the maid to question her. But the maid said, “Nothing has happened in the night.”

The mother remained uneasy. She secretly went with her daughter-in-law to keep watch outside the small pavilion at night — and saw nothing whatsoever. The daughter’s condition, meanwhile, grew stranger by the day: first she had no energy during the daytime and refused to come out for meals, eating everything in her room; then her appetite increased greatly.

With something peculiar going on in the household, the family did not want it widely known and quietly watched the situation themselves. The daughter’s mother moved into the small pavilion for two days with her daughter-in-law and two maids to stay alongside the girl, but beyond the fact that the daughter was not in good spirits — alternately lethargic and irritable — nothing else seemed amiss. Young girls sometimes had difficult moods; nothing particularly alarming. Better to hurry up and find her a husband.

After the women left the pavilion, they instructed the maid to take good care of the young lady. Once they were gone, the young Miss Fang’s enormous appetite returned.

Old Man Fang said, “Your Excellency, doesn’t this seem wrong? The appetite alone is suspicious! I deeply suspected some demon or spirit was at work but did not dare to alarm anyone. Taking advantage of the autumn harvest when there were hired workers around, I kept them in the house. That night I suddenly surrounded the pavilion with them! But inside there was a light burning!”

Who burns a lamp at night for no reason? Through the window paper, they saw the shadow of a man! This was outrageous!

The entire party shouted and charged. Old Man Fang led his two sons into the pavilion — only to see a man’s shadow leap out through the window, land lightly on top of the wall, and slide down to the other side. As he fled, he called back: “I am a fox spirit, fated to be with this young lady, and so I have lingered here. Foolish mortal — for your rudeness, I shall bring misfortune down upon you!”

What utter nonsense!

Old Man Fang immediately had his sons take the hired workers with clubs and lanterns to give chase!

It was troublesome carrying lanterns for the pursuers, and the pursued ran clumsily without a light. One ran, a whole crowd chased, and somehow the two parties cooperated perfectly: the one did not get very far, and the group didn’t catch him. He was seen running into a nearby poor family’s house. At that point, who had the courtesy to knock on the door? The whole mob scrambled over the walls — the poor family’s walls were not sturdy anyway and gave way — and they simply demolished the wall and pushed in to catch the “fox spirit.”

The commotion from all this was enormous, and everyone came to know of it.

Old Man Fang knocked his head to the ground: “Your Excellency! This person is truly wronged! This subordinate is genuinely innocent!”

Chief Secretary Zhang clearly did not believe in any “fox spirit” either; he also suspected there was a human being behind it all, and therefore ordered the constables to “search for footprints” rather than to search for a fox. He then had the poor family’s house surrounded. The house was small — barely five and a half rooms in all — and even the root cellar was pried open. Not only was there no fox, there was not even a dog the family could afford to keep. The ground had only some chicken and duck claw prints. When a burrow was dug up, all they found was a nest of mice!

They weren’t after a rat spirit!

Chief Secretary Zhang concluded that this could not be the work of a “fox spirit,” judged that the wealthy household owed the poor one reparations for the house, and then focused his attention on the “fox spirit.”

As an experienced former county magistrate, Chief Secretary Zhang’s common-sense reasoning told him this matter required questioning the wealthy household’s daughter. Summoning an unmarried young woman to the court seemed improper; the wealthy household also declined on the grounds that their daughter had been bewitched by the fox spirit and was not in her right mind. Chief Secretary Zhang therefore dispatched two female constables to question the girl. He had originally wanted to call on Jiang Zhou, who was one of the few literate women among the female constables, but Jiang Zhou was on leave, so he sent two others. They were still on their way to question her and had not returned yet.

Zhù Ying nodded. When Chief Secretary Zhang put his mind to things properly, his approach was methodical. But in this situation, she suspected this “fox spirit” had probably already fled. Of course, all of this was merely her speculation — she had not been on the scene at the time, and the footprints and other clues had likely been completely destroyed by now. Going there herself at this point would yield nothing from the tracks. So the Chief Secretary’s thinking was correct: approach the matter through the young woman.

Zhù Ying said to Li Sifa, “Keep a close eye on how the case develops.”

Li Sifa said, “Yes.” Unable to restrain himself, he also asked Zhù Ying, “In Your Excellency’s view, this case…?”

Zhù Ying said, “Let the investigation proceed first.” She then had Xiang Le summon Qi Tai and Little Wu — it was time to start preparing for the wheat planting.

The wheat-planting plans had been made very early and had gone through several rounds of adjustment; now that implementation was underway, things were going comparatively smoothly. It was the end of the ninth month — just the right time.

Because of this important matter, Magistrate Guo had to temporarily set aside the new-bride hanging case. He had made inquiries over several days and heard nothing suspicious. Xiao Jiang’s inquest form had been completed — cause of death: hanging. But the wife’s family refused to accept it, and so did the husband’s family. One side had lost a perfectly good daughter and was not at peace; the other had just taken a new bride who then hanged herself in their house, and they were even less at peace. The two families came to blows outside the county yamen.

Magistrate Guo had no choice but to have the legal clerk temporarily take over the case and continue the investigation, while holding the new husband in temporary detention.

At the same time, Jiang Zhou returned from leave bringing back a clue — though whether it truly counted as one was uncertain: the new bride had not wanted to marry the new husband.

Zhù Ying said, “How did you find that out?”

Jiang Zhou said, “They couldn’t get anything out of her through indirect questioning. So I went to the bride’s home village and found the woman who gossiped the most and asked her.” Such people had one useful quality: even in a jumble of rumor and gossip, there was usually a grain of truth.

Zhù Ying said, “Understood. Since there is no other news for the moment, set it aside for now. Settle your mind and come back to your duties.”

Jiang Zhou was unwilling, but still answered, “Yes.”

Zhù Ying felt some regret. The legal clerk within the prefecture was a clerical position with several allotted slots. Seeing how dedicated Jiang Zhou was, having her as a legal clerk might be better than those who were merely going through the motions — and a locally placed female officer who could directly investigate cases would be a good thing to have. Unfortunately, Jiang Zhou was only half-familiar with the law, and could not yet write the documents, so there was no way to make her a legal clerk right now.

This step was very difficult to take. In normal households — wealthy or otherwise — a daughter who was literate and capable of such work would not readily be accepted by her family going out to do this kind of job. Girls from poorer backgrounds struggled even to learn to read. In local government offices at every level, there were plenty of clerks who were illiterate or semi-blind. If a female clerk could not perform outstandingly, she would find it very hard to establish herself.

Zhù Ying walked out of the prefectural office with her hands behind her back and strolled to the edge of the market, looking up at the literacy stele.

After a long while, shouts rang out from behind her. Both Zhù Ying and Xiang Le grew alert. Ding Gui came running up: “Your Excellency, there is news from the courier station.”

Zhù Ying said, “Let’s talk inside.”

At this moment, someone nearby had spotted her, and the whispers spread. “The rumor is true after all — the Prefect really does make unofficial rounds?”

Ding Gui and Xiang Le flanked her left and right. Ding Gui said quietly, “Your Excellency — the news from the courier station: Jing Gang has returned.”

Jing Gang — the man against whom Zhù Ying had filed an impeachment memorial. Since the memorial had been submitted and the court had sent no reply rebuking her for falsely accusing a good man, things had probably not been going well for Jing Gang.

Zhù Ying, finding herself recognized, bought a cartful of sugarcane from the market while paying for it, and said as she counted out the money, “Let him come then. What about the messenger? Have you dismissed him?”

“Not yet, Your Excellency — I feared you might have more to ask and kept him waiting.”

Trailing a cartload of sugarcane, the group returned to the prefectural office.

The courier who had come was a postal runner. Seeing Zhù Ying, he said, “This person comes on the orders of our station master to report to Your Excellency that the eldest son of the Jing household has returned.”

Jing Gang was a man of some reputation in Nanping County. When he had arrived at the courier station and announced his identity, the station master knew at once who he was. After feeding his horse and arranging accommodations, Jing Gang had not stayed, but only taken some tea and said he would rest briefly before moving on.

The postal runner said, “Our head said it looked as though he was hurrying home, so he sent this person to bring word to Your Excellency.”

“I understand. It’s getting late — stay for a meal before you go. Tell your station master he has been thoughtful.” As for Jing Gang: he had not come to see her, so she had even less reason to go see him.

The prefectural office food was good. The postal runner patted his satisfyingly full belly and walked back to the courier station.

Zhù Ying remained unmoved. That evening, after the whole household had finished dinner, the constable on duty in the front yamen suddenly came knocking at the back courtyard door. The night watch had been rotated — it was Hou Wu’s turn to mind the front gatehouse. He had not yet gone to sleep, and answered in his outer garments and slippered feet: “What is it?”

“The eldest son Jing has submitted a calling card requesting an audience!”

Hou Wu’s eyes went wide. “At this hour?” He looked up at the sky again to confirm — pitch dark! Hou Wu confirmed once more: this was not a nighttime delivery of gifts under cover of darkness. This was someone actually requesting an audience after dark?

“No mistake — he came right at the start of the evening curfew.”

Hou Wu took the calling card, then asked, “Just him alone?”

“Yes, just him alone. He brought gifts too.”

Hou Wu said, “The person may enter — the gifts may not. That is Your Excellency’s rule: unless Your Excellency approves, no one’s things may enter this office.”

“I know. The things have been held back. Old Uncle Hou, hurry and take the card inside before Your Excellency turns in for the night.”

“Since when does Your Excellency go to sleep this early — do you think you know her less well than I do? Wait here.”

Zhù Ying was at that moment in her study. The winter wheat planting was progressing at an acceptable pace; she checked the progress each day. Besides that she spent time reading — she had not learned to read any later than others, but her early circumstances had been too poor to read widely, so she was constantly catching up. Books brought back from the capital, aside from what was given to the Academy of Learning, she read herself too. Now that she had more money, she sometimes sent people to the departmental capital to buy books. For anything she wanted that could not be found locally, she wrote directly to Leng Yun and asked him for it. If Leng Yun did not have it, she compiled a batch and found a way to get them from the capital. She also kept up her calligraphy — it was one of her weaker subjects.

Hou Wu knocked on the door; Xiang Le opened it. “What is it?”

Hou Wu said, “Jing Gang’s calling card — requesting to see Your Excellency.”

Zhù Ying heard from inside, set down the brush in her hand, and said, “Now?”

“Yes.”

Zhù Ying said, “Please show him in.”

Hou Wu ran back quickly, first calling Ding Gui and the others to attend in the study, then ran to escort Jing Gang in.

Xiang Le went back to her post behind Zhù Ying. Hou Wu escorted the guest in and then retreated to the gatehouse. He came out to find Ding Gui holding a tray with two cups of tea, and said, “The guest hasn’t arrived yet.”

Ding Gui stepped to one side, ready to bring in the tea once Jing Gang arrived.

Ding Gui had not imagined that simply stopping for a moment like this, he would then go a very long time without being able to enter the study — Jing Gang and Zhù Ying had a thorough exchange inside.

Jing Gang appeared to be about the same age as Chief Secretary Zhang, and his bearing was somewhat similar — though he lacked the Chief Secretary’s official air. He was fair-skinned, slightly below average height, but still presented a dignified appearance — entirely different from his brother Jing Wulang. Jing Gang also quickly took stock of the room and of Zhù Ying.

The room was the standard inner-courtyard first-room layout — the central room was for receiving guests. An inner study had been made of the inner room, well-lit with several candles, the furnishings all bamboo: faded pale green, with a slight gleam — evidently in use for some time. Several large bamboo bookshelves along the walls were filled with books. Two scrolls of calligraphy hung on the walls; in the bright light of the study, one could make out that the colophon on one of them bore the name Liu Songnian.

The greatest literary figure under heaven! Jing Gang’s heart sank.

Zhù Ying sat before the two pieces of calligraphy — a young Prefect of startling youth. She had not grown a beard, which made her look even younger, almost like the young son of some great household. She was dressed casually, in a plain silk garment, without a formal cap.

Jing Gang bowed first. “I call upon the Prefect. I come late at night — please forgive the intrusion.”

Zhù Ying said, “Not at all — please be seated.”

They had exchanged only that one line, and before Zhù Ying had time to call for tea or to ask his purpose — Jing Gang suddenly burst into tears!

He wept in great heaving sobs, crying out in bitter anguish. Niu Jin nearby was wondering whether he was about to have a heart attack, and whether Da’niang ought to be called — or whether they had better run to find Lady Jiang before it was too late.

Jing Gang did not only weep — he knelt! “Prefect! What shame — what utter shame! I cannot face the village elders! My younger brother has committed such a grave error! It is all because I failed to discipline him properly — that he should be so lacking in all propriety! Our father and mother are elderly, their energy failing, and they cannot manage him. It is still my fault!”

His crying reached its peak and he collapsed to the floor, legs kicking repeatedly. He was nearly rolling —

No, he actually did then truly roll on the floor, going half a roll to the left and half a roll to the right. Xiang Le stared in open-mouthed astonishment.

Jing Gang did not stop talking as he rolled: “When this subordinate left home, the villagers took pride in this subordinate — and now, with what my younger brother has done, he has brought shame to our hometown, ruined its good name!”

Zhù Ying drew a deep breath, strode forward, and took hold of him to help him up. “Why put yourself through this?” As she spoke, she herself became affected, saying, “As soon as I arrived in Southern Prefecture I heard your fine reputation. It is not easy for a place like Southern Prefecture to produce someone of your talents! The few who can support one another from their native place are scarce enough; and now to have something like this happen in the family — it is very painful, isn’t it?”

Xiang Le was dumbstruck. She watched Zhù Ying wearing a similar expression of anguish: “Working hard in an official post away from home, struggling for the family — and then suddenly to hear news like this. And your parents are getting on in years — how could you not be worried? Yet your shoulders bear the court’s charge, and you must govern your territory well so as not to fail the imperial grace. You cannot simply leave at a moment’s notice. These past days must have been truly agonizing for you. If you need to cry, cry here — once you step outside, you must still be the pillar of your family, and you cannot let others see you troubled.”

Jing Gang fell silent. Then went quiet again. Then did not cry anymore. Then lay on the floor, and rolled two more half-rolls. Zhù Ying had spoken every line he had prepared to say!

His dignity, finally, could take no more — he could not continue lying on the floor. He sniffled, pushed himself up to remain seated on the ground, raised his sleeve to wipe his tears, and Zhù Ying said, “Is anyone outside? Bring water.”

Ding Gui, keeping close watch on the room, was in a state of complete bewilderment. Their family of minor clerks, with older relatives who had seen many nobles and dignitaries over the years — in lucky moments, even the early awkwardness of many high officials before they rose to prominence — but Ding Gui himself was too young to have seen any of it.

Today I’ve finally seen everything!

Ding Gui took a deep breath, set the tea aside, and went to fetch fresh tea.

Meanwhile, Niu Jin and the others fetched water, towels, dust-whisks — and at last Jing Gang was cleaned up.

Jing Gang had knelt with complete thoroughness. Having finished crying and composing himself, once he was tidied, he sat back in the chair, took a sip of tea to clear his throat, and when he spoke again he was perfectly composed: “This subordinate is truly ashamed — it is entirely because this subordinate failed in discipline. In the future, this subordinate will find ways to make the younger brother understand certain things. What kind of place is a government yamen — does he think he can just stick his nose in? And being so young and irresponsible — what a disgraceful scandal!”

Zhù Ying knew his display might not mean he truly bore no resentment, and said, “He is not so young anymore.”

“Quite right — if he doesn’t change now, it will be too late.”

Zhù Ying said, “And not particularly ambitious either. Fortunately his ambitions were modest — the trouble he caused was not too great. If he had more drive, the trouble would be beyond your power to smooth over.”

Jing Gang nodded repeatedly, still not entirely convinced in his heart. But a man under another’s eaves had no choice but to bow his head.

If he could, who would not want to place a bit of influence inside the prefectural office? Besides, this was his hometown — he had ties here of a thousand kinds, how could he avoid them? And a female prison guard was not such a weighty matter. As for failing in his studies and keeping a concubine — that truly deserved a beating!

And that wasn’t worth an impeachment memorial?

But he had been impeached, and the Ministry of Personnel had sent a document of censure. The document arrived at the height of the autumn harvest; Jing Gang was terrified and hurriedly wrote a memorial of self-accusation. Once the harvest was done, he applied to his superior for leave and galloped home like a man racing against death. He went home first — his parents, brother, and sister-in-law all cried to him about the wrongs they had suffered.

At first hearing, Jing Gang’s inner resentment had stirred. But then he thought about it: this attitude in his family was not acceptable. He then inquired closely into what Zhù Ying had done during this time. Hearing his father say, “She just likes filling the jail — over one case of buying land, she arrested a good fifty people! Called them gamblers!”

“Wait!” Jing Gang heard something off. “Tell me carefully — the whole story, beginning to end. If you can’t explain it clearly, I’ll ask someone else.”

Once the matter was made clear to him, Jing Gang immediately decided: he was going to go kneel and cry right now!

He had come home in the first place to apologize to Zhù Ying and reassure her, while also dealing with his family. He too served as a local official and of course understood the mentality: genuine warmth toward people from one’s own hometown was real, and so was the resentment of anyone interfering with one’s territory. Zhù Ying’s methods were beyond him; if he did not kneel now, was he going to wait for this Prefect to reduce the Jing family to nothing?

So he had come. He had knelt. He had wept.

“This is your hometown; nine generations of kin and friends are here — how could you avoid these entanglements? Local great families standing as guarantors is common. A female prison guard is not such a weighty matter. But failing in one’s studies and keeping a concubine — that truly deserved a beating!” Zhù Ying said slowly.

Jing Gang’s skin broke out in goosebumps, and he involuntarily rose to his feet, both arms hanging at his sides. This time he was convinced — at least he was willing to be obedient before Zhù Ying.

Whether convinced or not depends on the person. There was no point talking about a dragon not being able to overcome a local snake when facing a true dragon. Before a true dragon, every snake was worthless.

Jing Gang said, “All due to my former lax discipline! This time I have come back precisely to deal with family matters.”

Zhù Ying said, “Every family has its troublesome characters. As long as you keep a clear head about it. He was the one who made the mistake, and he has already been punished. From now on, you teach him properly. If he cannot become a talent, at least let him become a decent human being. He’s married now, yet still burdens his father in court and makes his elder brother rush back from a thousand li away — that is simply not right.”

“Yes, yes.”

Zhù Ying said, “I understand your meaning. You too are a local official in charge of governing the people — when you first arrive somewhere, who doesn’t want to accomplish something real? Entangling yourself with these things all day — what’s the point? You’ve been away from home for many years, haven’t you? Now that you’re back for a visit, have a proper rest. In my eyes, this page was turned long ago.”

“Your Excellency is magnanimous.”

Zhù Ying made a gesture of dismissal. Jing Gang rose promptly and took his leave. Zhù Ying walked him to the door and had Hou Wu see him out properly.

Hou Wu, having been in the gatehouse the whole time, had seen none of this spectacle. He walked off with a normal expression. The moment they were gone, several figures darted out from all corners — even Xiang An had heard the news and came to press herself against the door frame. Everyone marveled: “This Elder Brother Jing — what a talent!”

Zhù Ying said, “Haven’t you had your fill of staring? Now go do whatever you were doing!”

Gu Tong said, “Teacher — a person of the eighth rank rolling around is one thing, but a sixth-rank official — how does he also…”

Zhù Ying gave him a sidelong glance.

Little Wu asked carefully, “He put himself through such humiliation in front of you — won’t he hold a grudge?”

Zhù Ying said, “What is there to fear from him?”

Little Wu fell silent as well. True — there was nothing to fear.

Jing Gang walked out of the prefectural office and drew a deep breath of cool autumn night air. A constable came running out after him, saying, “Your Excellency says it is already past curfew and the patrols may stop you — please take this.”

He was given a pass, so the night watch would not detain him.

Jing Gang arrived home to find his family in lively discussion. Jing Gang’s head ached immediately. “All of you be quiet!”

The elder son who served as an official had spoken. Even his father and mother fell silent and asked, “What did she say?”

Jing Gang said, “Tomorrow all of you come with me to the prefectural office to apologize.”

“What?!” Jing Wu let out a strange cry.

Jing Gang, recalling his own performance just now, felt his old shame turning to anger, and slapped the table. “How dare you cry out?! Everything was arranged for you at home, and you ruined it all! Our father is elderly — what kind of a person summons an old father to court? What kind of a brother makes his elder brother gallop back from a thousand li away?”

Old Lady Jing asked, “Then the Academy of Learning…”

“I have no intention of going!”

“Someone like this is fit to go to the Academy of Learning?”

The brothers’ voices came out at the same moment; after speaking, Jing Wu turned his head away in sulky anger. Jing Gang was also half-dead with exasperation: “I was far too indulgent with you! A thorough thrashing long ago would have corrected you long ago!” As he spoke, he reached for a board to beat his younger brother. Jing Wu dodged around the room: “You only know how to throw your official weight around at home.”

Jing Gang’s heart was full of bitterness. Zhù Ying was right — there were few enough people from Southern Prefecture who made their way in the world; he himself had never studied under any distinguished teachers, and truly had few helpers. Yet here was his brother bringing him trouble!

Old Lady Jing called out: “Hold Fifth down! You good-for-nothing — the whole family suffers because of you! Fifth Daughter-in-law, you talk to him.”

Fifth Daughter-in-law did not quite dare to speak. These past days she had been treated like a guilty party in the family too — everyone saying that if she had not made such a scene, the affair with Jiao Jiao would never have come to light, and losing a few pieces of jewelry to pay for peace would have been the end of it.

Jing Gang let out a long sigh, deflated, and said, “Fifth Daughter-in-law, please take him back to their room and rest.” He sent all the others away, leaving only himself and his wife with his parents, and said, “Father — whatever I am today, the family provided for me.”

“It is your own hard work.”

Jing Gang smiled bitterly. “Yes — hard work. In school, on the street, even throughout the city — who did not say good things of me? At my age now, I have already reached the sixth rank. Father and Mother have both received honorific titles.” His parents nodded.

Jing Gang said, “And yet it is only the sixth rank! The Prefect — not yet thirty, already the fifth rank. Between her and me — it is heaven and earth.”

“But it’s only three grades…”

Jing Gang truly wept. “It’s not just three grades! I’ve never told you before — it wasn’t necessary. Now I must be clear. Six grades. Ah…”

Seeing her husband struggling to speak, Jing Daughter-in-law said, “Moving from the sixth rank to the fifth is an immense barrier. Many people stagnate at the full sixth rank their whole lives, and never receive the crimson robe. This Prefect does indeed have exceptional qualities. My husband need not be discouraged — great talent matures late, and sweetness follows bitterness.”

Jing Gang shook his head, and advised his parents, “For now we must comply with the prefectural office’s management.”

Seeing their eldest son — the one they had always relied upon — in tears, Old Man Jing and his wife deflated, saying, “All right, all right — don’t carry on like this. We’ll do whatever you say.”

Jing Gang said, “Tomorrow, no matter what, Fifth must apologize — there may still be a chance to turn things around. Do not ask Your Excellency for any more favors. Do not bring up the Academy of Learning — when I can raise it I will raise it myself. When I cannot, do not court humiliation.”

Old Man Jing said, “In the past the prefectural office was always very courteous toward us.”

“That was telling us not to make trouble for them — not that they were afraid of us. A new official has just taken post, precisely the time to establish her authority. We gave her no face, yet still expected her to honor us? When you’ve done wrong, you must admit it. Otherwise, if I leave and you’re still here, and Fifth says something rude again or does something wrong — there won’t even be time to save you!”

One by one his words landed, and Old Man Jing became worried about his household. “Should we — go somewhere and lay low for a while?”

“No need. She has her own important things to do now and has no time to keep settling accounts with our family. Just as long as our family stops making trouble.”

“All right, we’ll listen to you.” Old Man Jing said.

Jing Gang then proceeded to deal with his younger brother — this was the most urgent task in his return. The court’s censure: he had already submitted a memorial of self-accusation, and ordinarily this would not result in dismissal. But if his brother was not managed now and truly did something fatal, it would implicate his parents and the entire family.

However, Jing Wu had always been the most spoiled, youngest child in the family. Spoiled too long — managing him now would be very difficult.

Jing Gang did not waste words with him. Under cover of night he had the man tied up and gave him twenty strokes of the board. After this thrashing Jing Wu was still making a fuss, so Jing Gang threw him into the firewood shed and locked him up.

The next morning, he had him pulled out and given another twenty strokes, not allowing his parents to plead for mercy. Only then did Jing Wu understand his elder brother was serious, and suddenly knew fear: “Brother — Brother, I was wrong!”

Jing Gang said, “Where were you wrong?”

“I shouldn’t have with Jiao Jiao…”

“You still don’t understand! Give him more…”

“Stop! Stop!”

Jing Gang moved close to his brother’s face. “You read books but learned nothing about how to be a person! You don’t even know who can be provoked and who cannot, much less know when to properly admit your mistakes and bow your head!” He gave his brother another thorough dressing-down, then took the whole family to call upon Zhù Ying once more.

This time it looked far more proper than the night before. Gifts in order, the whole family neatly dressed, all submitting calling cards.

Zhù Ying had finished assigning the morning’s affairs and formally received them. Ordinarily, Zhù Ying would receive official guests in the front yamen while Zhang Xiangu received the women in the inner household. But the entire Jing family first came together to pay respects to Zhù Ying.

Xiang Le observed with astonishment that the elder brother Jing, who had been rolling on the floor the night before, was today sitting there in a very proper manner chatting pleasantries with the Prefect, his whole family following his lead.

Jing Daughter-in-law was a very steady woman. She said, “Your Excellency’s compassion was what kept you from pursuing the matter.”

Zhù Ying replied very graciously, “Fifth Daughter-in-law says the stolen jewelry was all given by Daughter-in-law — why would Daughter-in-law give such valuable things to a young newly-married woman? Was it not out of consideration for her husband, and for the family’s sake?”

Jing Daughter-in-law had only meant to use a woman’s soft words to ease the atmosphere, but Zhù Ying had spoken straight to her heart. She offered polite remarks in reply — clearly very gratified.

Old Man Jing said, “Quite right! The family got this little animal a wife and settled him in life — the purpose was to put him on the right path. And this is what he does!”

Zhù Ying said, “Human beings have five relationships: ruler and minister, parent and child, siblings, husband and wife, teacher and student. As honorable parent and brother, you have exerted your authority over him for twenty years, and Fifth still has deficiencies. You would have Fifth Daughter-in-law, as a wife in a position of lesser authority, manage and correct him as his superior? In just a few years of marriage? Your reasoning is wrong — you should not be shirking your own responsibilities.”

Fifth Daughter-in-law burst into quiet sobs.

Zhù Ying also addressed Old Man Jing: “You as the mother are even more admirable — if he had any filial feeling toward you, he would not make you worry so. It is out of consideration for all three of you that I am not pursuing this further. This page has been turned.”

Jing Gang hurried to express his thanks.

Zhù Ying asked, “How much longer can you stay in Southern Prefecture?”

Jing Gang said promptly, “The autumn harvest is done and there is nothing major in the county. It is a good time to stay a few more days and use up my leave — pay respects at graves, call on teachers and friends.”

“Will you not visit the Academy of Learning?”

“I would hate to disturb them.”

“Not at all — I have been meaning to put the Academy in order, and would like you to come with me and give the students a talk. You know what Southern Prefecture is like; we are genuinely short of learned people to give guidance. As it happens, the Academy still has a few vacancies. Each county may select and send students to take the examination. Fifth, being a Nanping County student, may sit the examination too. I am saying he may sit for it — not that I am placing him directly. You may help him with his studies and try.”

Old Man Jing said happily, “We are most grateful for Your Excellency’s generous indulgence.”

Jing Gang’s mouth tasted bitter: Fifth could actually pass the examination?

And now he himself was being dragged to the Academy to give a lecture. Jing Gang felt thoroughly exhausted.