Zhù Ying stepped out of the tea stall. Suddenly her forehead felt a chill. She tilted her face upward and felt it again — snow was falling.
Zhù Ying smiled, thinking of the way Xiang Yu and the others had looked when they saw snow for the first time. She turned to the tea stall proprietor and said, “Head inside — no need to see us off.”
The proprietor still waited until she and her party turned the corner, and a while longer after that, before returning to the tea stall. He lowered his head, brushing and patting, then swept the fine specks of snow from his shoulders, shut the windows tight, and let down the door curtain. He lit the oil lamp and began to tidy up for the evening meal.
Zhù Ying’s party headed back to the Zhù household. She planned to go and beg a meal at Liu Songnian’s home tonight. She brought Zhù Lian, Zhao Zhen, and the others with her, to pay their respects to the Foremost Literary Figure Under Heaven. A man of his kind, who had nothing to worry about in the way of food or clothing — with snow falling, a beautiful scene — there was bound to be quite a refined setup. Sponging off him: guaranteed to be worthwhile!
At Liu Songnian’s estate, the place was quieter than the Zheng estate but not by much. Among the Prefects who had come to the capital there were a fair number of scholars, and quite a few had come to Liu Songnian’s door out of admiration. But Liu Songnian had sent a small page boy to stand at the gate, saying, “He will not receive guests today.” Guests shook their heads in disappointment and left one after another. Liu Songnian had a bit of the eccentric recluse about him — waiting was completely useless. If you came back the next day and he had gone off to morning court, he might even resent you for nearly freezing to death on his doorstep and bringing bad luck.
Some guests who turned away saw Zhù Ying and her party, and though they did not know her, they took her for a fellow traveler and kindly warned her, “The Master is not receiving guests today.”
Zhao Zhen and the others all looked toward Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying thanked the man and still went ahead to the gate, only to hear that same small page boy deliver the one line: “He will not receive guests today.” She said regretfully to everyone, “Then let’s go home and eat — we’ll make a pot of warm soup.”
They turned the horses around. At the entrance to the ward they ran into Yue Miaojun returning from office — he was still at the Imperial Academy. The Emperor, it seemed, was not worried about him turning the Academy into his own domain.
People exchanged greetings; some were acquaintances of his, some were not. Zhù Ying gave him a salute as well. Yue Miaojun recognized her and said in surprise, “Turned back?”
“The Master is not receiving guests.” Zhù Ying imitated the small page boy’s tone, chin tilting up slightly.
Yue Miaojun laughed. “That I know. Come with me.”
He invited Zhù Ying to his home for a visit — nothing in particular, it was simply that Zhù Ying had also sent him gifts a couple of days earlier. Every winter, when grain deliveries from the various regions arrived in the capital, there were always people in the capital circulating: presenting tribute to the Emperor, sending gifts to officials, each person weighing their priorities. The palace, the Ministry of Personnel, and similar offices were the foremost concern; the Imperial Academy was far less conspicuous. Relative to others, what Zhù Ying sent was somewhat better.
The two of them had interacted often, and the regard was mutual.
So Zhù Ying brought her people into the Yue household. Yue Miaojun said, “Da Lang! Come out and greet the guest!”
His son was already running out to meet his father. Hearing this, he quickened his pace. Seeing that Zhù Ying was also someone he knew, he hastened forward to bow deeply. Zhù Ying returned a half-bow, and then heard Yue Miaojun say, “You keep Sanlang company. Sanlang, I’ll change my clothes; then we’ll go to my uncle’s home.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Yue Miaojun came back quickly. Zhù Ying had only just gotten to the point of hearing that Yue Da Lang had taken up his first official post this year — still a new appointee, barely a junior seventh-rank position — when Yue Miaojun arrived and Yue Da Lang fell silent. Yue Miaojun said, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” and brought Zhù Ying to Liu Songnian’s estate.
The two households were neighbors. They did not leave through the main gate, but instead passed through a side door set into the wall on their side, which opened onto a small alley. Walking a few steps along the alley brought them to Liu Songnian’s side door. Yue Miaojun’s page boy knocked; a voice from inside called, “Who is it?”
“Me.” Yue Miaojun said.
The door opened from inside. The person there recognized Yue Miaojun and asked, “And who might the guest be?”
“Tell my uncle — the Phoenix has arrived.” Yue Miaojun said with a laugh, glancing back at Zhù Ying. The person inside looked past him and said, “Oh! So it truly is! Just a moment — I’ll go right away!”
Zhù Ying was a little surprised; Yue Miaojun acted as though it were perfectly natural. Among those who called at Liu Songnian’s door, Zhù Ying was something of an anomaly — she was neither a renowned scholar nor from a classical learning background; her literary talents were also merely adequate; she was not a scion of some great family, nor was she like the wealthy men who came bearing money in exchange for a piece of writing. And yet she could enter the Liu household. Later, as the name of Wuzhou spread, Yue Miaojun and the younger generation had jokingly called her the “Phoenix,” and Liu Songnian had tacitly accepted the appellation.
They waited outside a little longer, then someone came to say, “Please come in.”
Two people holding lanterns led the way, with another servant holding an umbrella, and they were guided to a waterside pavilion. The door and windows of the pavilion were tightly shut. They knocked and went in, only to discover that the window on the opposite side of the door was still open.
Not far from the window: one large clay pot, one small brazier, and a jug of wine on a table beside them. Liu Songnian was staring at the clay pot. The pot gave off the fragrant smell of braised meat. Liu Songnian rubbed his fingers together: “You’re here? Sit.”
Zhù Ying and Yue Miaojun sat to his left and right respectively. Zhù Ying looked around to her left and right: “Hmm, only one pair of chopsticks?”
“I eat, you watch.” Liu Songnian said.
Zhù Ying said, “Fine — better than watching you drink tea and stare at the snow and read your own fortunes.”
She had thought he might put on a banquet or something, but braised meat was even better.
Liu Songnian looked at her: “Powder-faced and slick-headed.”
Zhù Ying said, “Oily? Then I’ll have to wash my hair tonight — I was wondering why I felt uncomfortable.”
Yue Miaojun could not suppress a “pfft.” Liu Songnian shot him a look, and Yue Miaojun quickly lowered his head. Liu Songnian swept a glance over their attendants, noticed a few in the blue robes of scholars, said nothing, then looked at Zhù Lian a moment longer: “You brought him again?”
“Yes. I can see he’s diligent and puts in real effort — I took him as a student.”
Zhù Ying beckoned to Zhù Lian. Zhù Lian stepped forward and gave Liu Songnian a deep bow. Liu Songnian said, “Teaching without discrimination — you’re not wrong there. And those others, who are they?”
“Students from the prefecture school — they’re about to exceed the age limit. Wuzhou is remote and lacking in resources; sending tribute scholars is not yet feasible. I brought these few to broaden their horizons. When they go back, they can inspire the others.”
Liu Songnian made a sound of acknowledgment. He had seen plenty of awestruck, admiring gazes from students throughout the realm; for those from remote places, he had a little more patience. He said, “Don’t just study books.”
Zhao Zhen and the others’ voices trembled; they could not quite form proper sentences and only managed, “Yes — yes — yes — yes —” Not in unison, but in disjointed fragments all jumbled together.
Liu Songnian patiently waited for them to finish their stammering, then told a servant to take them to eat: “We have things to discuss here.”
Everyone bowed properly and withdrew. Liu Songnian, in full grand-master fashion, prepared to wait until they had left before — and then suddenly noticed something was off in the looks on their faces. He turned sharply around, only to find that Zhù Ying was neatly folding the rough cloth napkin, wrapping it around the pot’s lid handle, and lifting the lid.
Liu Songnian showed nothing on his face. He picked up his chopsticks and swept a glance at the servant. The attendants bolted out of the room at speed.
“Not as good as that boy Zhao Su.” Liu Songnian’s assessment was measured. His chopsticks came down with a decisive strike!
Clang! They hit the lid of the pot.
Zhù Ying sniffed. “The smell is good — it’s done.”
Liu Songnian said savagely, “Even so — there are no chopsticks for you — what are you doing?”
Zhù Ying had drawn the short blade from her waist. Zheng Xi had given her three blades in all: the long one was nearly half her height; the short one could be carried into the palace without constituting a threat to the Emperor’s life; the one she was using now was this one, a foot in length. She speared a large chunk of meat, bone and all, laid it on a plate, and began to carve off the tender, well-stewed meat from the bone, saying at the same time, “Well then — into the food we go.”
Yue Miaojun found the whole thing entertaining. Normally no one acted this way around Liu Songnian, but Liu Songnian was not quite reacting as though he were truly angry — on the contrary: “Uncle is in his element.”
Liu Songnian shouted, “Both of you — get out.”
Getting out was out of the question. Yue Miaojun followed Zhù Ying’s lead, poured a warmed cup of wine, and handed it with both hands reverently to Liu Songnian.
Liu Songnian held chopsticks in one hand, wine in the other, and asked, “You have something?”
Zhù Ying speared another large chunk of meat. “You’re really not giving me any to eat?”
The servant, reading the room, went to fetch cups and bowls, brought another jar of wine, and added some baked flatbreads and other things. All of them steaming.
Liu Songnian said, “No wine for him!”
Zhù Ying said, “I brought you something good.” Her other hand produced a small box from within her robe.
“What is it?”
“The finest red lingzhi mushroom from the mountains — once harvested, it goes straight to the headman. This year the choicest two stalks went to the palace as tribute. This is all you’re getting.” She had not put it in the gift register sent the day before; she had brought it herself today.
Yue Miaojun sat beside them eating meat and drinking wine, with the quiet joy of someone sneaking a treat. Liu Songnian glanced at it and said, “What do I want this for? It should go to the ones who are partial to these things.”
“I have it covered.” Zhù Ying said.
Liu Songnian made another sound of displeasure. Zhù Ying cut the meat into large pieces and said, “Still as fragrant as ever.” She wiped the blade on a flatbread, then cleaned it with the cloth napkin, rolled a few pieces of meat up in the flatbread, and ate without ceremony. Halfway through she helped herself to a bowl of broth and ate with that as well.
She had always been a fast eater; her appetite was even a little larger than that of Liu Songnian’s, an old man. Liu Songnian picked up the ladle and served himself some broth too: “Did you come here just to steal my food?”
Yue Miaojun continued eating unhurriedly.
The clay pot was large enough for everyone.
The two of them — mainly two of them — scrambled through half a pot of meat before the pace of eating finally slowed. Outside, the snow had grown heavier, falling in soft cascades. The small brazier crackled and snapped. The clay pot bubbled and rolled with rich broth.
Liu Songnian said, “Why did you come?”
“To the capital, of course — waiting for the various ministries to pick on my shortcomings.”
Liu Songnian gave a cold smile. “Who would dare pick on your shortcomings? Are they not afraid of getting beaten?”
“That wouldn’t do — I’m quite easygoing.”
Yue Miaojun waited while they traded meaningless pleasantries for a good while without touching on any real matter, and thought to himself: She has come a thousand li and more; even calling on uncle, there’s not a word of real business to be said? Could it be she’s holding back because of me? If so, why doesn’t uncle send me away?
Zhù Ying had come today simply to beg a meal. Eating was the real business.
Liu Songnian took a sip of wine. “Then get on well with them, and don’t bother with the others. One after another — like monkeys, can’t hold still! If you act like a monkey yourself, you can’t complain when others treat you like one. Dressed-up monkeys, the lot of them — hmph!”
Zhù Ying said, “Monkeys couldn’t leap as high as me.”
Liu Songnian spat out a mouthful of wine: “Don’t do that to the monkeys.”
“Fair enough.”
Zhù Ying deftly reached over and put the lid back on the pot, smiling: “The monkeys in the Wuzhou mountains — I’ve kept them all in fine shape. The monkeys don’t touch my crops; I don’t give the monkeys trouble. You didn’t know? The mountains there are wonderfully cool — perfect for escaping the summer heat. In the middle of summer, nights are cold enough you have to pull the covers tight.”
“What do you think I don’t know? I was exploring and climbing mountains when you hadn’t even been born yet!”
Liu Songnian removed the lid, dropped a handful of tofu-skin strips cut into ribbons into the clay pot, and said, “That was one year — cold rain filled the river; I was stranded on a boat, the night was long and there was nothing to do, and the boatman braised meat for me.”
“Something hot to eat on a cold day — that’s a fine thing.”
The two of them ate their way through the entire pot, and at last both were satisfied.
The snow had grown quite heavy. Liu Songnian said, “Just stay the night, and go with me in the morning.”
Zhù Ying said, “I didn’t bring a change of clothes.”
Liu Songnian looked her over and said, “Just court red, isn’t it? I have an old one.”
Zhù Ying said, “Fine then.”
She spent that night at Liu Songnian’s estate. The guest room was refined without being extravagant; an ancient pine stood in the courtyard — clearly worth a great deal just to look at. Zhù Ying lay down and was asleep immediately. First thing the next morning she rose, the snow still not having stopped. She had nothing like an oilskin rain garment; she used whatever Liu’s household could provide.
Zhao Zhen and the others had been too excited to sleep well all night. In the morning when they dragged themselves up, they still felt the urge to crowd near Liu Songnian. But the Liu household was busy with preparations for morning court and had no time for them. The four rubbed their noses and went to ask Zhù Ying’s instructions instead. Zhù Ying said, “Take A’Lian home with you. Xiao Wu, take them to the Imperial Academy area and pass word to Zhang Sheng and the others: when the holiday comes, I’ll treat them to dinner.”
“Yes.”
……
The snow lightened a bit. Zhù Ying took Liu Songnian’s carriage — no need to ride a horse through the snow — and they went to the Imperial City together. Liu Songnian’s estate was not far from the Imperial City, and they arrived shortly. Inside the palace gate, all snow-protection garments had to be removed; some of the elder, more eminent officials received the service of a small eunuch holding an umbrella. Zhù Ying stepped back, letting Liu Songnian go to the front of the queue with a large yellow oilskin umbrella held over his head.
Because of the snow, fewer people exchanged pleasantries — everyone wanted to get inside as quickly as possible. Today, everyone had the right to enter the hall; enter the hall and there would be no snow to stand in! Among them, some officials even lost their footing on the slippery ground of the palace, falling and ending up covered in snow. These were people who commanded respect from all sides outside these walls; and yet in their humbler moments they were no different from ordinary people.
Before long, the group had entered the hall to await the Emperor. Occasionally people struck up conversation to warm relations. Zhù Ying brushed the snow from her clothes; Chen Meng came over to speak with her, asking quietly, “How did it go?”
Zhù Ying said, “If I didn’t get beaten, I suppose it counts as passing.”
“Da Lang, this person is —” Then: “Oh my — Zhù Sanlang.”
“Elder Jia.”
Zhù Ying clasped her hands at the newcomer. This person had been something of a protégé of Chen Yuan’s and had been introduced to Zhù Ying by Chen Yuan himself.
Prefect Jia said “remarkable talent, remarkable youth” and took a good look at Zhù Ying: “Still just as spirited!”
Today’s wait was somewhat longer. After court was held, the main business was reports from the various ministries. Zhù Ying and the others listened; when it was announced that they were dismissed, they filed out. Zhù Ying still intended to look in at the Court of Dependencies first, to see if the young ones had been playing in the snow — she worried they might catch cold. She had barely stepped out of the great hall when she heard someone say, “Prefect Zhù?”
Zhù Ying looked at an unfamiliar old man and asked, “And you are?”
“This old one is Cai Hou.”
“Ah — the Vice Minister.” Zhù Ying’s voice cooled slightly. Her gaze fixed steadily on him.
Vice Minister Cai remained composed. He asked, “Zichang — might we have a word?”
Zhù Ying’s expression softened a fraction. She nodded.
“Then at my residence?”
Zhù Ying glanced back into the hall. “Don’t you need to stay? With the heavy snow, there may be disaster relief to deal with — the Ministry of Works should be busy.”
Cai Hou said, “No matter — this is already the third snowfall; preparations were made well in advance.”
“Please lead the way.”
The two walked out side by side without speaking as they went. Once out of the Imperial City, Cai Hou had a carriage, and he also invited Zhù Ying to ride. Zhù Ying did not decline, and stepped up onto the carriage. Inside Cai Hou’s carriage there was also a warming brazier. The two sat down, the curtain was lowered, and the light inside grew dim.
Cai Hou said, “Zichang — you are a hero in youth, enough to make one deeply envious. When I was your age, I was still a man in shabby green. Just the day before yesterday I mentioned you to the Zheng Marquis, and even he said — someone of your caliber is rare even to him.”
Zhù Ying said, “You flatter me.”
“Not at all, not at all — these are all true words! Not everyone can be as capable as Zichang — the others fall far short.”
Zhù Ying said, “You have spent decades at His Majesty’s side, and have seen how many dazzling individuals — what am I compared to them? I only hope people will find fewer faults with me, and that will be enough.”
“Why would Zichang say that?”
Zhù Ying said, “Do you truly not know?”
Cai Hou said earnestly, “Zichang — let us speak plainly so that there may not be any misunderstanding.”
Zhù Ying said, “I am glad. I have no wish for any misunderstanding with the Vice Minister either.”
Cai Hou’s residence was not far, and they arrived shortly.
Vice Minister Cai said, “Please.”
“After you.”
The two entered the Cai household and took seats in the main hall. Servants of the Cai household moved about: warm towels were brought, then foot-warmers, then tea, and then refreshments. The Cai household’s spread of tea things and food was a full table’s worth — not only sweet pastries and cakes, but also meat and savory dishes, all steaming.
The two each picked at a few things with their chopsticks before slowly turning to the real matter. Cai Hou said, “Zichang has been away from the capital so long — coming back for winter so suddenly, are you still finding it comfortable?”
“Quite all right. The south’s winter is cold and damp.”
The two talked about winter, which led naturally to the south, and naturally came around to the “misunderstanding.”
Cai Hou said, “My letter to Zichang had no ulterior motive. If I gave offense, I ask for your indulgence.”
Zhù Ying also set down her chopsticks and said to Cai Hou, “It seems I was mistaken. Vice Minister — please have your niece come. Let us settle the accounts together. Bring that trusted steward of hers as well. There is certainly more to this than meets the eye.”
“Oh?!”
Zhù Ying nodded and then said no more. Cai Hou thought for a moment, made a gesture toward outside, and Madam Cai came quickly. She was wearing no jewelry; her eyes were red and swollen, as though she had been weeping. Judging by her bearing, she was a woman of propriety — all the proper courtesies were perfectly observed; she did not presume to sit. After performing her bow, she apologized to Zhù Ying: “A servant of my household was disrespectful to my lord — the fault is mine.”
Zhù Ying asked, “And the person who caused the scene at the guild hall yesterday?”
Madam Cai said softly, “Cai Fu is still at the Wuzhou guild hall — they will not release him.”
Yesterday, Madam Cai had sent Cai Fu over, expecting a quick reply. Instead, she had waited until it was snowing with no sign of the man. She sent someone to inquire and found — of all things — that he had been tied to a tree by the Prefect of Wuzhou. She knew things had gone wrong, and she rushed to her uncle’s home for help. By the time Cai Hou knew about it, curfew had already set in.
Zhù Ying said to Ding Gui, “Go — bring the person here. Call Xiang Da Lang as well.”
Ding Gui assented and darted out. While he was fetching people, Zhù Ying said to Cai Hou, “Let us look at the accounts first.”
“Accounts?”
Zhù Ying nodded and handed over the sheaf of documents she had taken from Xiang Da. Cai Hou’s composure slipped slightly. This kind of thing existed in every household — to claim complete ignorance would be an insult to his decades of experience. But to have someone bring it right to one’s face and raise it directly was also a sign that Zhù Ying had a rather blunt approach to things. The servant having been disrespectful to a Prefect — that was the niece’s fault; the beating she deserved, the apology she owed — there was nothing to dispute. To come to someone’s home and use such a lofty moral pretext to lay out a charge of wrongdoing — it was not that it was improper exactly, just that it was not quite the done thing among people of their station. It had the flavor of righteous pretense tearing away the mask — a touch too confrontational.
Zhù Ying said, “Which of these did the Madam handle herself, and which were done under her name by servants?”
Well said — that was giving him a way out!
Cai Hou immediately barked at his niece: “Why aren’t you coming over here to explain yourself!”
Madam Cai took the documents and looked them over. She nearly fainted. She said quietly, “At first, it was — ” At first, it was her wet nurse’s son wanting to start a business. Given his origins, naturally there were those who sought the patronage of a former mistress. Madam Cai happened to have this connection and let Cai Fu carry her card to the Wuzhou guild hall.
Madam Cai knew about the Wuzhou guild hall because, when Shang Peiji was first chosen for the post and came to Fulu as County Magistrate, Xiang Da had immediately gone to pay a visit to the Shang household. The incense had drawn out a ghost!
With this connection, the wet nurse’s son had something to offer in return; one thing led to another, and once others caught wind of it, Madam Cai found herself with this extra source of income. She was a branch of the family, and both her father and brothers had official careers far inferior to Cai Hou’s, with much less property. Her husband was a thousand li away serving as an official, and she was left in the capital to manage everything — including various financial obligations to relations and connections above and below, who all needed to be kept fed with money. Her husband’s family was not poor, but they were not extravagantly wealthy either. A wife had to open new channels of income.
The Wuzhou guild hall had always been tactful, and she had come to regard the whole arrangement as ordinary.
However, she now looked through the documents and found a number of contracts she had no recollection of at all. “These are not mine!”
Zhù Ying nodded. “I thought as much. You handle your own dealings, and naturally the people below you will follow your example and do the same.”
Cai Hou inwardly felt his niece was not reading the situation properly — the ladder had been set up for her: admit that a servant did it, accept a scolding for failing to supervise properly, offer a generous gift, and this page could be turned. But by going on with this admission, there would be no end to it.
Zhù Ying shifted tack. “Please have the Madam step out.”
Madam Cai glanced timidly at Cai Hou; Cai Hou gave a slight nod. Madam Cai bowed her head and walked out.
Cai Hou said, “My apologies.”
Zhù Ying spoke sincerely: “It seems I was the one who misjudged — I had thought the Vice Minister was directing Shang Peiji.”
“Why would Zichang say such a thing?”
“Has he not said anything about me to you?”
“Mmm —”
“Do you think he wrote to only you? His learning is remarkable — it is truly a pity he was not born with eight hands to match the breadth of his knowledge.” Zhù Ying said coolly.
Zhù Ying produced a sheaf of papers. “I truly cannot fathom it — I have not wronged the Vice Minister in any way, so why would the Vice Minister treat me like this? Since it was his own initiative, I shall settle accounts with him. Oh — he also wrote me a letter.”
Saying this, she placed the top sheaf of papers in front of Cai Hou. What had Shang Peiji written to Cai Hou? And what had he written to Zhù Ying? Cai Hou felt a cold sweat rising, and glanced at the letter. The sweat truly came — Shang Peiji’s handwriting. The first page’s first several lines praised the governance of Wuzhou in quite flattering terms; Cai Hou was just beginning to relax when the second half of the page turned, and the pen changed direction — and he began listing the deficiencies.
Zhù Ying placed the next sheaf in front of him: what appeared to be an account ledger. Cai Hou could also read these numbers. It showed the original cash and grain in Fulu County’s official treasury, the working capital funds, and the current remaining balance.
“When I first came to Fulu, the county still had outstanding overdue grain taxes. The emergency grain reserves built up against disaster and famine were not easy to accumulate. In less than a year, the Vice Minister’s nephew-in-law has only this much left.”
Zhù Ying tapped the letters, then the grain reserves she had been able to set aside: “Biting the hand that feeds you — that’s not good, is it.”
Cai Hou turned his face and furiously cursed Shang Peiji at length: “Ignorant young fool! Arrogant and unhinged! What a useless wretch! A man of mere book learning is worth nothing!” Since Cai Hou was not himself from a scholarly background, he felt no guilt at all in denouncing an “impractical pedant.”
Zhù Ying produced another sheet. Cai Hou looked again — on it were some directives Shang Peiji had issued targeting the merchants of Fulu County. Zhù Ying tapped the papers, then the contracts: “Fouling one’s own nest will not do.”
“What a beast! Truly outrageous!” Cai Hou exclaimed.
Zhù Ying said, “When I was at the Court of Review, I saw many cases where both parties’ inability to speak frankly had allowed things to grow into great disasters. By speaking clearly with the Vice Minister today and clearing up the misunderstanding, we can avoid that.”
“Exactly so.”
Zhù Ying said, “His scholarship is sound enough; as for governing the nation — let us set that aside for now. He is still an official under my jurisdiction in Wuzhou, and I cannot condone his behavior. As for the Madam — that is a family matter of yours; I shall not interfere.”
Cai Hou hesitated a moment, then said, “Very well.”
At this point, Ding Gui had brought Cai Fu along. This fellow had been tied to a tree, and Madam Cai had not been able to spirit him away. Through the night as the snow fell, Xiang Da had deliberated at length, deciding that Zhù Ying was not a cruel person, and had not untied him, but had put up screens around him and lit a charcoal brazier for him — at least he had not frozen to death.
Arriving at the Cai household, he kowtowed before Zhù Ying and Cai Hou begging for mercy. But Zhù Ying neither struck nor punished him further, only requiring him to go through the accounts.
Zhù Ying was not trying to settle these accounts in exhaustive detail. She knew perfectly well that Shang Peiji must have sent Cai Hou substantial gifts — heavy ones. Expecting Cai Hou to disgorge those was not realistic, but it was quite reasonable to expect Shang Peiji to disgorge a portion. She said, “Once the recovered money and assets are returned, we can all have a peaceful New Year. The disturbances at the Wuzhou guild hall — I will handle them. The sugar prices in the capital — I will bring them down.”
She and Cai Hou would from now on be no more than cordial acquaintances.
Well! They hadn’t even known each other before!
Zhù Ying gave a slight bow to Cai Hou. “I will take my leave.” She gathered all the papers from the table and took them with her.
……——
Coming out of the Cai household, Zhù Ying went again to the Court of Dependencies to look in on the young ones. Their etiquette was coming along well, and the acquaintance from the Ministry of Rites praised them as clever.
Zhù Ying said happily, “Then they can play for a while! Oh — heat up hot water and ginger broth and have it standing by. Where’s the physician? Have one on call.”
Lang Rui let out a shout of delight and plunged into a snowdrift!
Children, once no one was holding them back, were no longer seized by any notion that they absolutely had to be living in the snow right this moment. Before long they all came back in. Zhù Ying watched them change into dry clothes and drink hot ginger broth before leaving the Court of Dependencies.
She needed to prepare — tomorrow it would be her turn to settle accounts with the Ministry of Personnel. The accounts with the Ministry of Finance had been squared away on the very day she arrived in the capital. The taxes had been paid and the goods brought up to the capital had been delivered.
The heir of the High-Yang Prince had originally been at the Ministry of Personnel, but then temporarily stepped away due to the passing of his grandmother, the old Dowager Consort. Her acquaintance Director Yin had also been transferred elsewhere; the other familiar face, Director Xia, was still there.
The Ministry of Personnel’s review, aside from examining the year’s governance of Wuzhou — which primarily assessed the Prefect and those of equivalent rank — also had to evaluate another matter: the officials serving under the jurisdiction. Ordinary officials had no all-seeing eyes or ears, and their ratings and rankings were entirely determined by the Prefect’s office. Zhù Ying’s assessments for the others were slightly varied in their specifics, but favorable reviews predominated. Her evaluation of Deputy Prefect Zhang was particularly fine.
The Ministry of Personnel was accustomed to this — in general, their own officials also tended to reach for the brush and write nothing but praise.
For Shang Peiji alone, Zhù Ying opened with “all theory, no practice” and concluded with “damaging the people’s livelihood,” recommending the Ministry give him a lower evaluation.
Director Xia said, “Well! My eyes have been opened. Not even a ‘medium-low’?”
“With a medium-tier rating, he could still serve as a local administrator. That won’t do — at least not yet. Without having reflected on his mistakes, one can never allow someone like that to govern the people. Otherwise both you and I become responsible parties.”
Director Xia asked in surprise, “Is it truly that serious?”
“At the very least, not in a poor place. There are no reserves — a poor area cannot survive being squandered. People will starve. Since I have seen it, I may as well do a small act of kindness.”
Director Xia thought it over. Zhù Ying had always been reliable in her work, so he picked up his brush and added a passage. Writing as he spoke: “But then Fulu County will be without a County Magistrate again.”
“Please, please — find someone else, and not another bookish impractical scholar.”
“Why don’t you find someone yourself?”
“Let me think about it — do you have anyone to recommend?”
“Two thousand seven hundred li away?”
“Then I’d better take care of it myself.”
The two of them quickly settled all the remaining matters, and Zhù Ying left the Ministry of Personnel.