“Mumble mumble mutter mutter @#¥…”

Zhù Ying turned at the sound. She saw Leng Yun muttering to himself. Leng Yun had also come for the Zheng household’s wedding banquet; Zhù Ying had brought Su Mingluan and the others along to eat and drink, and encountering him, she naturally went over to say hello.

Leng Yun was broad-minded about things, and also because he had already vacated his post, the business of Zhù Ying taking three counties of the former Nanfu and quietly turning the subordinate counties into Wuzhou didn’t bother him. It hadn’t been his corner being dug out — it was Bian Xing’s. He chatted pleasantly with Su Mingluan and the others; when Shanque’s father-in-law needed a translation, he listened patiently while Chowen interpreted, then said a few words back to Shanque’s father-in-law.

In the middle of their conversation, Zhù Shenhan and Zheng Yan had put on an impromptu sideshow for the wedding. Leng Yun, who knew perfectly well how important a good wife was, heard Zhù Shenhan’s words and couldn’t suppress it any longer — he pressed his lips together and muttered a few oaths.

Zhù Ying said: “Let me go have a look. My lord, please keep an eye on little sister and the others.”

Leng Yun glanced at Su Mingluan: “The woman’s a fully grown person — is she going anywhere? I’m here. Go deal with your matter.”

Zhù Ying walked quickly to Zhù Shenhan’s side and said quietly: “We came to attend a wedding banquet — nothing else matters.”

Zhù Shenhan stared with wide eyes: “Really? Nothing else?”

Zhù Ying said: “Nothing. Whatever needs to be said, we’ll say it when we’re home. It’s fine.”

Zheng Yan, having opened his mouth and stirred up trouble yet again, rubbed his nose and didn’t dare to ramble further. By way of cover, he poured Zhù Shenhan a cup of wine: “Drink! Drink!” Zhù Shenhan was in no mood to eat or drink. Zhù Ying, seeing this, had Xiang Le see him home first and instructed Xiang Le: “Stay home and keep him company.”

Xiang Le accepted the order and left.

Zhù Ying said to Zheng Xi: “On such a happy occasion, I wouldn’t want to dampen the spirits.”

The Zheng Marquis’s household, taking extra care of Zhù Ying, also sent a full banquet table over to the Zhù residence. Zhù Ying then pulled Lu Chao aside and asked him to find a maid to go into the women’s area and pass word to Huajie. Lu Chao said: “Consider it done.” Inside, when Huajie heard, she told Zhang Xiangu: “Adoptive father had a bit too much to drink and has gone home ahead of us.” Though Zhang Xiangu was a little worried, she didn’t let it interrupt the meal. She was still able to chat with the other ladies at the table.

She was very careful, afraid that some slip of hers might humiliate her daughter, so she spoke as little as possible and kept a smile on her face, just listening. And as she listened, she felt something wasn’t quite right. The host family was busy; the guests, borrowing the host’s happy occasion, were using the gathering to exchange news and cultivate connections. And somehow the conversation turned to Zhù Ying. The woman speaking was someone with fairly well-connected sources of information, and she offered Bian Xing’s story as a tidbit of gossip: “Thought he was going to have someone over a barrel, and that very Prefect Zhù turned the tables on him. Now when Prefect Bian Xing takes up his post, he’ll find the cupboards are bare — probably going to faint from shock.”

Zhang Xiangu thought: Was there such a thing? Why haven’t I heard about this?

Someone asked her, and she replied: “What my child gets up to outside — I neither understand it nor ask about it.”

After the banquet, Zhù Ying saw Su Mingluan and the others sent back to the Hall of the Four Tributaries, then collected Zhang Xiangu and headed home. Zhang Xiangu sat in the carriage, a slight flush on her face, and did not say a word. Zhù Ying said: “Father went home ahead.”

Zhang Xiangu nodded, still silent.

When they got back, she didn’t go to see Zhù Shenhan. She planned to have a talk with her daughter first and followed her to her room. She got there and saw Zhù Shenhan already sitting in the main seat of the front hall. Zhang Xiangu said: “You dead weight — what are you doing here scaring people?”

Zhù Shenhan said: “Something important!”

Huajie coughed lightly: “Du Elder Sister, go heat up the sobering broth.”

Du Elder Sister said: “It’s been keeping warm in the kitchen — just needs a moment.”

She was thus dispatched. Huajie intended to speak on Zhang Xiangu’s behalf about what she had overheard at the banquet. But Zhù Shenhan got in first and asked Zhù Ying: “No one’s been here trying to arrange a match for you, have they?”

Zhang Xiangu forgot what she had been going to ask, and hurried to say: “A match? For whom? Who? What does he want?”

Zhù Ying said: “No one. It was just a moment ago…” She gave a brief account.

Zhang Xiangu heard her out, and her face lit up with sudden understanding: “That’s what to say, then! That’s what we’ll say from now on.” The four of them aligned their story. Huajie went to check on Du Elder Sister and the sobering broth; by the time the two of them came in carrying a couple of bowls, Zhang Xiangu suddenly slapped her knee: “Oh, Sanlang — what’s this about Prefect Bian Xing?”

Zhù Shenhan was drinking his sobering broth and asked: “What Prefect Bian Xing?”

Zhù Ying offhandedly mentioned: “Prefect Leng Yun has come back, and Duan Lin recommended one of his relatives to take the posting.”

“Hmph!” Zhù Shenhan said. “Wishful thinking!”

The moment anyone of the surname Duan was brought up, the two of them became agitated. Zhù Ying said: “It didn’t work on me, did it?”

Zhang Xiangu said: “Still bad! That Duan fellow really is a troublesome sort.”

Zhù Ying said: “The wedding wine’s been drunk, and nothing else is pressing. Let’s rest a couple of days, pack up our things, handle our remaining business, and head back. Is there anything you want to take with you?”

Zhang Xiangu had invented the idea of taking capital belongings back to Wuzhou as an excuse, and now that she was back in the capital she no longer cared about it. She said: “I’ll have another look.”

Zhù Ying said: “Anything too bulky — leave it. We can replace it in Wuzhou. Just bring a few things you’re fond of.”

Nothing more that night.

……

The next day, Zhù Ying set to work again. The Zheng household’s wedding banquet ran for three days, and Zhù Ying attended again. Today she didn’t bring Zhang Xiangu or Zhù Shenhan — Zhù Shenhan was too nervous to go back after yesterday, and Zhang Xiangu stayed home to look over what she might want to bring along. Her housewifely instincts had come back; she found this and that appealing, especially the many quilts in the house — she felt all the new ones should be brought along, concerned they’d molder away if left behind.

Huajie watched her inventory and thought: These have been here for ten years already…

She also looked around the house — this residence nominally called Zhù’s, though they had not lived here very long. And yet, at the moment of leaving, she felt an unexpected pang of reluctance. Going to Wuzhou — most likely they’d be settled there permanently, and who knew when they might come back.

While the house was being sorted, Zhù Ying went to the Zheng household to offer an apology on behalf of Zhù Shenhan for disrupting the guests the previous day.

Zheng Xi said: “What disruption? That was Zheng Yan’s fault!”

Zhù Ying said: “What a coincidence.”

Zheng Xi had just finished scolding Zheng Yan and was asking questions of his own: “What did your father mean, exactly?”

Zhù Ying said: “My lord knows our family’s background.”

“That makes things rather difficult — ” Zheng Xi mused.

Zhù Ying said: “Fortunately it’s not desperately urgent. I’ll have another talk with them. If all else fails — a person doesn’t die from having no wife. It’s just a bit more work on my own.”

Zheng Xi thought about it and agreed — truly no great rush. Still one wife short. Not being able to take a wife didn’t prevent having children; any number of accomplished young men waited patiently to build their careers first, then married well in their mid-thirties — officially a first marriage, yet with a houseful of concubine-born children already grown up.

Zheng Xi said: “Very well.”

Zhù Ying said: “I seem to hear someone calling for you outside — you’d better see.”

Zheng Xi walked out of the study with her, and sure enough someone had come looking for him — Lan Xing had come to attend the wedding banquet.

Lan Xing, being a eunuch, drew no cold looks from anyone; quite the contrary, many people went out of their way to make conversation with him. Liu Songnian was not present today, so he was relatively at ease. He even exchanged a joke with Zheng Xi — something about Zheng Xi soon being a grandfather. Zheng Xi smiled: “May your words prove auspicious.”

An attendant brought tea and refreshments, and a dish of wedding candy was set out as well. Lan Xing pinched one piece, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth. His eyes narrowed slightly. He said nothing.

Lan Xing had also brought gifts — not inferior to those from anyone else: solid gold and silver, pearls and jade and fine silk, real and substantial presents. Zheng Xi invited him to take his seat, and also asked Zheng Yi to sit and drink with him. After a couple of rounds of tables, Zheng Xi wanted to keep him a while longer. Lan Xing said: “I still need to return to the palace.”

Zheng Xi did not press him further. As Lan Xing was leaving, he said: “Bian Xing has had his imperial audience and will be heading south soon.”

Zheng Xi nodded.

……

Bian Xing was heading south, but Zhù Ying still had sugar to sell!

She knew how hard it was to buy property in the capital — not only was the price steep, but the capital’s wards were much more strictly delineated and managed than in Nanfu. She therefore took a residence near her own home ward in the name of the Wuzhou Prefect’s Office, a three-courtyard compound — the front for receiving guests and conducting business; the middle for habitation; the rear for storing goods and the like. She hung out the sign “Wuzhou Guild Hall,” and following the model already tried and tested with the Fulu Guild Hall, ran it as a combined inn, teahouse, restaurant, and small-scale goods depot.

She also arranged a long-term rental of a warehouse outside the city from her old friend Shao Shuxin.

Taking advantage of the stir around Zheng Lin’s wedding, she funneled the crowds toward this location while distributing candy.

She herself lived in no great commercial part of the capital, so property prices were somewhat cheaper. But the neighbors were people of modest means, which made it a perfectly suitable place to sell such goods.

She left Xiang Elder Brother in charge here; the Wuzhou Guild Hall in the capital would be in his hands for now. The route from Wuzhou to the capital had been traveled enough times to be well familiar. In the future, for unofficial correspondence — letters not carried in official dispatches — this route could serve as a courier channel alongside the goods. Zhù Ying planned to establish a letter-carrying route in Wuzhou as well, running two round trips a year, twice yearly, collecting all the private letters from across the prefecture to be sent to the capital along with the goods.

She had everything planned out and handed off to Xiang Elder Brother for the time being to manage the capital Guild Hall. The capital was different from other places, so the rotation here was not annually but every three years.

Then came a rest day. Zhù Ying had Zhao Su invite Ran and Zhang to her home for a meal — looking in on their studies.

Ran and Zhang arrived transformed since their days at the prefectural school. There was a slight difference about their bearing — something more nimble in their faces. Though still in the standard robes of scholars, they had acquired some of this year’s fashionable small ornaments, and their clothes held a faint scent of incense.

Students from remote areas always went through a brief adjustment period upon arriving in the capital; Zhù Ying said nothing about them having strayed from simple ways. She only asked about their studies, about whether they had settled comfortably in the capital and the like. She had already asked about these two students’ grades when she had called on Yue Huan. Among the sponsored students, their scores at the Imperial Academy were not top-tier; between the two of them they ranked around average or slightly below among the sponsored cohort. But the sponsored cohort had among them some students who owed their places to family connections — those students had contributed the bottom tier of the entire Academy.

Ran and Zhang were glad to see someone from their hometown and both said: “Thanks to Zhao brother’s guidance, we weren’t as lost as those others.”

Zhao Su smiled: “What do you mean? We’re all Wuzhou people.”

Ran asked in surprise: “Wuzhou?”

Zhao Su smiled and explained: “Yes, Wuzhou. Our adoptive father petitioned the court to combine Fulu, Nanping, and Sicheng counties with the five subordinate counties of Asu, Talang, Tian’en, Yongzhi, and Dun into Wuzhou. His Majesty approved, naming our adoptive father as Wuzhou prefect. This was settled just a few days ago — you wouldn’t have heard yet in the Academy.”

Ran and Zhang hurried to congratulate Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying said: “Going forward, when you write your place of origin, it’s no longer Nanfu — you write Wuzhou.”

“Yes.”

Ran was first to speak: “Just as one would expect of my lord! When we mention this to classmates, everyone admires my lord greatly — and they’re grateful. Without my lord’s proposal, those of us who were sponsored would have remained buried in the countryside our whole lives.”

Zhù Ying said: “That’s too strong a claim. You were already county school students — how would you have been buried?”

Zhang chimed in: “It would have stopped at county school students! There would have been no chance to see the wider world.”

The two went on at some length in their flattery. Zhù Ying neither approved nor corrected them, and the meal ended with both of them pleasantly warm from the wine. After they left, Zhù Ying asked Zhao Su: “Was what they said true?”

Zhao Su said: “Why does my adoptive father say this all of a sudden? Of course it’s true! Are the court’s assembled ministers fools? Would they commend our adoptive father for nothing?”

“Too much praise makes a person prone to dismissing others, overestimating oneself, closing one’s ears to advice and to unpleasant truths — and to becoming complacent. That way, trouble follows.”

Zhao Su said: “Then our adoptive father needn’t worry — what they said is real.”

Zhù Ying nodded and asked: “People from remote areas at the Imperial Academy — is the number still few?”

Zhao Su solemnly nodded: “Yes! Among them, southerners are fewer still than northerners.”

Zhù Ying said: “I understand.” If that was how things stood at the Imperial Academy, the distribution of officials across the empire should look much the same. The sponsored students saying a good word about her was not enough. If she could also win a larger share of access to official service for people from remote regions — especially these so-called “miasma-ridden” southern lands — and fight for a greater right to hold office…

She was still thinking when the door was knocked.

Hou Wu’s large voice announced: “My lord! That heavenly envoy is here again!”

……

Lan De stepped smiling over the threshold, standing inside the gatehouse: “Goodness, today I haven’t come to deliver any edict.”

He wore an ordinary set of casual clothes, with a plain black gauze cap on his head. Dressed this way, he seemed even further from the look of a palace eunuch.

Lan De raised his hand to stroke his chin in a beard-stroking gesture, watching Zhù Ying walk out. Zhù Ying was a Senior Fourth Grade prefect; Lan De was only a minor head among the palace attendants, with an actual rank of Proper Eighth Grade. When carrying out assignments, the title of “heavenly envoy” lent him a degree of authority. Without an assignment, he had to keep a lower profile.

There had been times in the past when his thinking hadn’t been so flexible, and Lan Xing had given him a dressing down. He was now a seasoned operator. Seeing Zhù Ying, he gave a long bow first: “My respects, Prefect Zhù.”

Zhù Ying returned a half-bow and said: “Not on duty today? Please come in.” The tone was very familiar.

Lan De smiled: “That’s right — just came out for a stroll.”

Host and guest sat down. Lan De said: “My adoptive father brought home quite a lot of wedding candy from Lord Zheng’s household — the flavors were wonderful. The young ones all love it.”

Zhù Ying said: “That’s good.”

Lan De said: “Even the palace kitchens can’t produce anything quite so fine.”

Zhù Ying said: “The palace has better — the palace serves honey. What fine thing can’t the palace produce, for all those nobles to enjoy? And then there are those who serve without reward.”

Lan De said: “True — as long as the honored ones ask for it, what luxury can’t be obtained? But beyond all those noble people, there are some who toil without any kind of sweetness. My lord is a person of rank — you don’t know how bitter the lives of us servants in the palace are.”

Zhù Ying said: “Who doesn’t rise from the bottom? Take the communal meals — what does a Ninth Grade official eat versus a First Grade official? If you want to lead people well, you can’t let those beneath you live too poorly.”

Lan De said: “My lord shows us consideration. If only the palace could also enjoy my lord’s fine sugar.”

Zhù Ying shook her head repeatedly: “Furnishing food to the palace? I wouldn’t dare touch that lightly.”

Lan De said: “Ah, but my lord doesn’t know — everything the palace uses comes from outside. Either the various directorates make it themselves, or it’s sent as tribute from the regions. Even what’s made in-house uses ingredients sent as tribute. Now, the matter I want to discuss — it’s on that very subject. What if the palace were to purchase from you?”

“Requisitioned purchase?” Zhù Ying said.

Lan De smiled: “I wouldn’t dare. Not a requisitioned purchase — I’m coming to you directly, not going through the merchants. If I approached merchants, they’d be frightened to death. You have a connection with Lord Zheng, and my adoptive father knows Lord Zheng’s household well. Let’s not stand on ceremony — shall we?”

Zhù Ying asked: “You truly want a tribute item?”

Lan De said: “How could it not be tribute? It wasn’t on our initiative — the palace needs sugar, His Majesty has seen the quality and says it’s also cheap, and isn’t that showing consideration for the people?”

Zhù Ying thought: Every last one of you has your eye on squeezing something out of me, haven’t you? There’s something good — make sure the palace gets first access, and the palace’s little people get to benefit as well.

And she had just been discussing with the Grand Council how she needed to bring sugar prices down! Right now the sugar she was producing was all raw capital — and the palace was already claiming that capital from her!

From the Fulu tangerines onward, she had been guarding against tribute and palace purchases, and she still hadn’t managed to escape it. But if the palace came to her demanding tribute sugar, she had to give it. Looking at Lan De’s crafty expression, the odds that he was acting entirely on his own initiative were quite low. Refuse, and her affairs would become very hard to accomplish.

Zhù Ying asked: “How much? You came here, so you must have a figure in mind. If the tribute amount fills up all my production, nothing else can proceed.”

If they dared ask for too much, she’d need to go back and work something out with Dou Peng again — though this sugar might not end up in Dou Peng’s hands, if right from the start too much of the production couldn’t be used to recoup investment, her taxes would need to go down further still!

And if they pushed her too hard, she’d shut all the sugar workshops down entirely — nobody gets any. There was no reason she should do all the work only to have this group take all the sweetness, leaving the common people still unable to afford it.

Lan De, still smiling, said: “Of course we wouldn’t ask for too much from you! I won’t pretend otherwise — the current annual tribute of granulated sugar to the palace is a certain number of stones. We only want that same amount. As for those lump candies — ah, and the sugar towers too — those we will purchase. The price…”

Zhù Ying said: “I’ll give you the lowest. Go ask around the market, see what a one-foot-tall sugar tower fetches. Then see what I offer you. In the south I charge five strings of cash; I’ll give you four. Report the markup however you choose. It’s all made of sugar, but the craftsmanship is different — the palace naturally can’t have the same as what’s sold outside; larger and more refined, more labor-intensive. You understand.”

The tribute sugar quantity was just barely within what she could absorb. She held to her thinking: granulated sugar and the like had to be protected; volume and price were both things she would press down hard on. Other high-priced elaborate items — fine. As for corruption within the palace inflating costs and leading to more tax demands — that was truly beyond her power to address right now.

She’d deal with it when the time came, Zhù Ying thought. If it came to it, she still had one final move.

Lan De said: “Goodness, you’re considerate of me.”

Zhù Ying said: “Not at all. We both have people above us giving orders.”

Lan De rubbed his hands: “To be perfectly honest — I’m under strict orders from above! Could you come down just a little more?”

Zhù Ying negotiated with him: three strings and six hundred coins settled it. Lan De managed to pare off fifty coins per unit at the end. Beyond the sugar towers, there were candy pieces and stick candies; Lan De drove a hard bargain, pressing them down to around seventy percent of the capital market price — which was fair and counted as a favorable internal rate for Zhù Ying.

After the deal was done, Lan De felt most satisfied. He found Zhù Ying very agreeable and, just before leaving, added an extra assurance: “As long as you deliver what the palace needs, we won’t stand in the way of anything else.”

Zhù Ying said: “I still need to go find Secretary Dou — to reduce some levies. You and Senior Director Lan shouldn’t stand back and do nothing in front of His Majesty on that front.”

Lan De smiled: “But of course.”

Zhù Ying gave him another red envelope, then wrapped up a packet of candy pieces for him to take for personal use, and sent him on his way.

……

The Zheng Marquis’s household was still holding its wedding festivities. Zhù Ying ran directly to the imperial city and went straight to find Dou Peng to reason with him — you’re calculating the sugar tax right? Fine, then first subtract from your calculation the sugar I’m offering as tribute!

Dou Peng had no choice but to swallow his frustration. He couldn’t very well say “don’t give it to the Emperor as tribute!” And if he said “the tribute is your problem, I’m not reducing my tax,” this woman in front of him would never let it go.

Dou Peng fumed inwardly: “These eunuchs!”

Zhù Ying thought: You attended the Zheng household’s banquet too, and that big eunuch Lan Xing got a full table with you — I didn’t see you spitting in his face. And this affair is undoubtedly being instigated by eunuchs and palace people, but His Majesty has certainly given his tacit approval. Neither of us dares to go say it to His Majesty’s face, so stop raving at nothing.

Dou Peng said: “Since you can manage things, hurry up and get the granulated sugar production up! Raise the price slightly, to make up for the tribute.”

Zhù Ying said: “The Ministry of Revenue truly is a place of wonder. Former Deputy Minister Xian was the same — the moment you step into this Ministry, even your arithmetic becomes sharper.”

Dou Peng said: “Off with you, off with you!” He still needed to figure out how to scratch a bit more tax out of somewhere else. Everyone knew the reason: palace expenditures invariably climbed toward the end of a reign. He couldn’t help but grab Zhù Ying’s sleeve and air his grievances: “The palace doesn’t generate revenue of its own. They say there’s the inner treasury and the inner storehouses, yet in emergencies doesn’t the Ministry of Revenue end up covering things? I don’t know what those directorates and supervisorates are doing — they have so much farmland, gardens, forests, and rivers under them yet can’t manage them properly to generate income…”

His job as Minister of Revenue meant he had already withstood many demands from the palace.

Zhù Ying let him go on at length and remained entirely unmoved, pressing Dou Peng until he agreed to cut sixty percent of her sugar tax. He had originally wanted to cut half; she had wanted three-quarters; in the end they split the difference at sixty percent.

Zhù Ying said: “I’m going to go press them on the official seal right now — once it’s ready, we draw up a formal agreement. Your stamp and my stamp!” Every year, each region’s taxes were agreed upon with the court — this was an important metric for official evaluations and needed to be documented and filed, to prevent the Ministry of Revenue from claiming at year end that she’d come up short.

Dou Peng laughed helplessly: “Here we both are, court officials of the realm, haggling away like merchants.”

Zhù Ying said: “That’s exactly what this work is. If we don’t manage money and grain, who does?”

Dou Peng said: “True enough.”

Zhù Ying said: “I’m going to press them on the seal!”

As Vice-minister Yin had said, matters proceeded quickly on her behalf. Not only were the documents relating to her own Wuzhou Prefect’s position ready, but the seals for the other members of her office had been cast simultaneously. She collected the seals, went first to finalize the formal filing with Dou Peng, then went around to all relevant offices putting the new Wuzhou seals into use.

She stopped by the Ministry of Personnel and found Vice-minister Yin: “Brother Yin.”

Vice-minister Yin laughed: “More business?”

Zhù Ying said: “One task, one person — I’ve settled on you. I won’t be able to go myself for a couple more days. Could you also send out a few official dispatches? It would be a favor.” As she spoke, she produced the new seal.

Vice-minister Yin said: “Oh! The seals for Chief Administrator Zhang and the others are actually ready? Will these be sent along with the official documents?”

Zhù Ying said: “Yes. I also have an official communiqué — please send that along too.”

“Of course.”

Her relationship with Vice-minister Yin went beyond shared meals. Every batch of gifts she’d sent to the capital had included something for him. Not extravagant by any standard, but not negligible either; combined with the personal connection, things got done more easily.

The appointments for Zhang Jiong and the others were issued by the court and dispatched via relay together with the new official seals — and these would travel quickly. Zhù Ying carried her own seal with her; she was already Wuzhou’s prefect, and next she needed to issue orders to the prefecture.

It was now the eighth month. By the time she set out and arrived in Wuzhou, it would be mid-tenth month at the earliest, by which time the autumn harvest would already be done and most areas would have dispatched their grain-transport delegations to the capital! She was traveling with Su Mingluan and the others, which made it impossible to ride ahead quickly on her own, so she needed to arrange things in advance — Zhang Jiong must have the autumn harvest, grain collection, transport, and dispatch to the capital all prepared and ready.

Zhang Jiong had been promoted from county magistrate and had never handled such matters before. He needed guidance.

Then there was the newness of Wuzhou itself — many things were being built from scratch, and she needed to get everything sorted. Xiang Elder Brother had been brought to the capital and wouldn’t be returning soon; the sugar workshops needed coverage too. At the very least, let Xiang An manage it concurrently…

And then there was Hedong County’s Magistrate Wang. Speaking charitably, everyone else had been taken along by her, leaving Magistrate Wang alone — she couldn’t let him end up in a difficult situation. Speaking less charitably, if Magistrate Wang bore resentment over it…

So she particularly asked Vice-minister Yin: “Please send Magistrate Wang’s new appointment to him sooner. We have a connection — don’t leave him in limbo too long.”

Vice-minister Yin teased her: “Noted.”

Zhù Ying asked Vice-minister Yin whether this was the year Prefect Lu was personally coming to the capital. Vice-minister Yin said: “Yes.”

Zhù Ying thought: Good — let Gu Tong make his own way for a few months first. Whether a thoroughbred or a packhorse is known once you take it for a run. If he can stand on his own, Prefect Lu comes back to a good face too. If there are some difficulties, at least when Prefect Lu gets back there’ll be someone to lean on.

Zhù Ying went back and forth attending to many things — she needed to bring home her parents’ new investiture documents, and she still needed to confirm the tribute sugar arrangements with the palace: it had never been done before, so she needed to find out when it was to be delivered, to which office, and what the handover procedures entailed. Adding this tribute sugar business delayed her departure until the end of the eighth month.

When she set out from the capital again, both Zheng Xi and his son came to see her off. The Zheng Marquis household also packed several crates of various items for her.

Zhù Ying said: “I can barely carry everything as it is.”

Zheng Xi said: “Stop grumbling. Take it. Go and do your work well.”

“Yes.”

Surprisingly, Zheng Lin and her new husband — Guangning Commandery Prince — had come as newlyweds to see her off for part of the way. Guangning Commandery Prince was an ordinary-looking young man: not especially handsome, but with regular features, a slightly taller build, and an appearance of reasonable health. Said to be one year older than Zheng Lin; but Zhù Ying thought he looked somewhat guileless.

Zheng Lin gave a small bow first; Guangning Commandery Prince then followed with a half-bow. As Zhù Ying returned the courtesy, she had a clear impression in her heart.

Zheng Lin said: “Third elder brother, safe travels.”

Zhù Ying returned her bow as well and said: “If there’s anything from the south you want, just write and ask.”

Xian Jing and others also came to see her off. Zhù Ying said her farewells one by one.

Glancing over, she spotted Deputy Director among those behind her. Deputy Director had survived another Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review — yet he himself still could not advance past Senior Fifth Grade. Watching Wuzhou being established and the former marshal being promoted straight past the hardest threshold for officials, his eyes had gone quite red — if I’d known, I would have gone south with young Zhù too.

Yet if someone truly told him to go, he’d want to stay in the capital.

And so, saying goodbye to Zhù Ying, his tone came out twisted like a length of silk crammed into the corner of a trunk — crumpled and slippery at the same time.

On the other side, Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Shenhan were saying their extended farewells to Jin Liang, Wen Yue, and their families. Zhù Ying came over and said her own goodbyes. To Jin Liang she said: “Have you really made plans for his son?”

Jin Liang said: “I know you have it in mind. The boy is still too unsettled.”

Zhù Ying said: “As you think best.”

They all urged her to set out promptly or she’d miss the next stopping point. Zhang Xiangu said: “What’s a few more steps anyway? We don’t know when we’ll see each other again after this — let’s say a bit more.”

They talked a while more, truly got into the carriage and left. Two li down the road, Zhang Xiangu was already urging Zhù Ying: “Let’s go faster! We can’t let that surnamed-change get ahead of us!”

……

Bian Xing had left ten days ahead of them.

Bian Xing’s spirits had ridden a tremendous rollercoaster!

He had come back to the capital from a local posting and wanted to secure a capital post. But he wasn’t seated at this capital dining table, so he couldn’t order what he wanted — he just had to wait his turn. And local officials had term limits, so he couldn’t go back to his old post either. During this time Duan Lin had offered him a suggestion, and he had thought it over — not ideal, but not terrible.

Prefectures were ranked in three tiers: superior, medium, and lower. Wuzhou fell outside these three tiers entirely, being a subordinate prefecture, with a completely different standard for rank, evaluation, and so on from a regular prefecture.

Bian Xing had previously been a prefect; this time he was going further afield but his rank was going up. Getting a rank promotion was not a bad deal. Going far away was stifling, but he’d read in the official gazette that the southern regions were pushing the two-season rice and wheat cycle and had already entered the harvest period. And if he kept Zhù Ying under his thumb, he’d always have somewhere to vent his temper when things weren’t going his way.

Perfect.

Then, before the ink was dry on his prefect’s appointment, he heard while preparations for departure were still underway that Nanfu was gone!

Zhù Ying had taken three counties and left. One Hedong County remained; one county each was drawn from Yiyang and two other prefectures to form a new “Southern Nanfu” prefecture for him. He was still managing three prefectures, but he’d lost three counties overall! And Zhù Ying had gotten away!

He had had no particular grudge against Zhù Ying and no real feud with the Zheng Marquis’s household before this.

If it had been purely a matter of Duan Lin’s maneuvering — fine, let the opportunity slip. But this woman had no right to take three counties along with her when she left!

From the moment he learned of “Wuzhou,” Bian Xing had genuinely come to despise Zhù Ying.

The appointment had already been issued; Bian Xing was in no position to pick and choose postings or refuse to report to his assignment. He had no choice but to prepare properly. He went to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel to obtain local reference materials, but someone had been inordinately efficient there and had already transferred all the three-county records and the old Nanfu files to Wuzhou, leaving him only the records for “the current three prefectures.”

He went through the Hedong County overview carefully and thought to himself: This County Magistrate Wang — he’s from Nanfu, isn’t he?

He had gone through everything. Bian Xing didn’t dither — he left his wife and his younger children in the capital to manage the household, and set out with his eldest son and daughter-in-law to take up his post. This eldest daughter-in-law was Duan Lin’s daughter.

All along the road, Bian Xing had firmly made up his mind: move quickly, arrive first, then summon all the prefectural and county officials for an initial meeting, keep Magistrate Wang behind for a careful interrogation, and proceed from there.

He urged the party on: “Keep moving! If we’re too late, we’ll miss the autumn grain shipments.”

Bian Xing pressed forward at speed but still couldn’t make it. He was taking the overland route; his chief administrator was escorting the grain by water — they had missed each other entirely. Bian Xing thought: Well, then if today’s tax revenue proves inadequate, it won’t be my fault.

He arrived at the prefecture seat, had the relevant officials verify his appointment document and seal, and officially moved into the prefect’s office. The moment he stepped inside, his heart sank halfway. Every predecessor had been a disaster — Leng Yun especially had been a spectacular disaster. That pampered scion had literally dug several large holes in the prefect’s office grounds and carried the shrubbery away with him.

The office clerk said in a low voice: “Prefect Leng said those few flowering trees were beautiful, so he had them dug up and took them along!”

Bian Xing drew a long breath: “Issue notices! All prefectural and county officials are to report to the prefect’s office.”

The clerk said: “Yes.”

The dispatch went out, and within days everyone had assembled. His eldest daughter-in-law, the Duan clan’s daughter, and his concubines had put the rear compound in reasonable order.

Bian Xing sat settled in the front main hall and had his son Bian Zhi read out the names, official titles, and positions one by one; as each name was called, that official stepped forward to be recognized. They had placed Magistrate Wang’s name at the end. Bian Zhi read it once — no answer. Twice — still no answer.

Yiyang Prefect Qiu, in his own mind: Is this young man a fool? There are only this many people here — everyone’s been named! The ones not answering are the ones who didn’t show up, obviously. Can’t you count to see who’s missing?

No, actually — three were missing.

The current prefecture was short two county magistrates, and one prefect — the New Southern prefect hadn’t been decided yet either.

Bian Zhi called louder and louder and finally realized something was off. He asked: “Didn’t Hedong’s magistrate come?”

Nobody answered. In normal circumstances his direct superior the prefect would have spoken; but the New Southern prefect didn’t exist yet either.

Bian Zhi asked: “Does anyone know what’s happened with Hedong’s magistrate?”

Prefect Qiu said: “He was transferred. Right after Prefect’s appointment arrived.”

Bian Xing’s face went smooth and dark as still water. He filed that debt under Zhù Ying’s account.

……

Zhù Ying was in good spirits. She met up with Zhang Jiong.

She was traveling by water, and the boat was packed full when she set out — full still. Zhang Xiangu had claimed to be taking capital belongings back to Wuzhou, and half the boat was now filled with furniture she’d decided she actually did want. After she boarded, the journey went smoothly at first; but the further south they went, the warmer the weather became. Then, gradually, the river began filling with grain-transport boats. They were traveling against the current, and their speed noticeably slowed.

By this point they were only halfway. A few days further on, Zhù Lian came running excitedly into the cabin and said: “My lord! Those are our Wuzhou ships!” The grain transport boats all flew flags; Zhù Lian could read and recognized the leading row as Wuzhou’s.

The person in charge of the escort was none other than Zhang Jiong.

Xiang Le went to the bow and called out loudly, asking whether the ship ahead was Chief Administrator Zhang’s.

Someone from Zhang Jiong’s side called back: “It is. Who is ahead?”

“Prefect Zhù’s vessel is here.”

The two parties pulled together. Zhù Ying said: “Bring the ships alongside — let’s back up a bit first so we don’t block the river channel.”

A gangplank was laid across. A large red figure made its swaying way onto Zhù Ying’s ship and prostrated itself on the deck the moment it arrived: “This official greets my lord!”

He was forty! And he’d been promoted!

He had originally thought he’d need another ten or twenty years of waiting. If fortune was with him, he might get a crimson robe eventually; if not, he might have to grind away until he was nearly sixty. And then somehow, inexplicably, he’d been promoted!

He looked back on what he’d done: followed orders and kept the house!

Having a good superior was truly such a relief!

Though his rank was only Senior Fifth Grade, Lower Class. Though as a chief administrator he held the lowest rank of any chief administrator in the land. But he had it!

Behind him, another official in green robes prostrated himself: “My lord!”

Well now! Magistrate Wang!

Zhù Ying helped them both up: “Come — let’s sit down and talk.”

Zhang Jiong proved his competence immediately: “All the prefecture’s affairs have been properly managed. The autumn harvest was done; when I set out, winter wheat sowing had already begun. All the lower counties are in order as well. The notice arrived late — the prefect’s office hasn’t been renovated yet. But there’s plenty of time after sowing! The blueprints are already drawn up. My lord’s orders have been received; I’ve dispatched people to attend to the Fulu Guild Hall in the prefecture city.”

The Fulu Guild Hall was still in the city. This was something that might be used against them. Zhù Ying had also dropped a hint about it. Zhang Jiong said: “Xiang San Niangzi came up with the plan — temporarily took down the sign and arranged for someone to hold the business in trust, saying they’d taken over the operation…”

One item after another, all neatly arranged.

Magistrate Wang also said: “I have cleared up everything in Hedong County!”

Zhù Ying said: “Very good. Prefect Bian and I just have a small misunderstanding.”

Magistrate Wang understood perfectly.

He had learned the news about Wuzhou back in Nanfu, where the notice came down and called all the county officials together. Zhang Jiong announced: Wuzhou is being established; everyone in the office gets promoted one rank; the prefect is still the original Prefect Zhù — the whole room broke into cheers. The county magistrates were also pleased; working under Zhù Ying was more agreeable than working under anyone else.

Only he! When Wuzhou was established — he wasn’t in it. Left for some unknown incoming prefect.

Then Zhang Jiong announced his own appointment, and only then did Magistrate Wang breathe again. After that, Zhang Jiong took him aside and told him: the division was the court’s tactic; his transfer was Zhù Ying’s doing. He was told to clean up Hedong County before leaving.

Magistrate Wang could only be satisfied with this.

The three talked for a while. Zhù Ying said to Zhang Jiong: “Do you know what to say when you go to the capital?”

“Please instruct me.”

“Wuzhou is newly established. This year’s taxes and revenues are not our concern; just turn in the accounts for the old Nanfu. Use this document — I negotiated it with the Ministry of Revenue. Don’t commit to anything else. If anything comes up, push it all back to me. I’ll go argue it out with Secretary Dou myself next year.”

“When your servant set out, the old Nanfu accounts were already prepared. Hedong County’s I copied as well; the grain went to the prefecture city for dispatch.”

“Good.”

The three finished discussing. The gangplank was removed, and each party went on its way.