Zhù Ying took Meng Hong’s calling card. It was still sent in Meng Hong’s own name; nothing on it involved his principal, the Wei Prince. She laughed softly and said to Little Wu: “Put the card away. Where is Ding Gui?”

Little Wu said: “He is helping Little Liu look after the livestock over there. Shall I call him here?”

“Tell him to come to the study.”

“Yes!”

Little Wu ran off to fetch Ding Gui. The two of them passed the large vat in the corner of the front courtyard; Little Wu veered aside and said to Ding Gui: “Wash your hands and dust off your clothes — what sort of state is that?”

Ding Gui hastened to do so, and asked nervously: “Elder Brother, what is going on? Why are they calling for me?”

Little Wu said: “How would I know what it is? Why so many questions? Hurry up.”

The two ran to the study. Zhù Ying was looking over Zhù Lian’s schoolwork; even in the capital, Zhù Lian’s practice was resumed after the holiday period, and Zhù Ying had now set him to studying arithmetic and various other subjects, while also beginning to read some texts on law.

Seeing the two cousins arrive, Zhù Ying said to Zhù Lian: “Go memorize this passage carefully. Off you go.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Lian carried his book back to his room. Little Wu and Ding Gui stepped forward together; Little Wu spoke first: “My lord, Ah Gui is here.”

Zhù Ying said: “The two of you carry out a handover. Little Wu, begin transferring your responsibilities to Ah Gui, and in the meantime think carefully about the Wuzhou affairs — write down anything that was not properly arranged before we left.”

The journey was long; there and back amounted to nearly half a year. Before departing Wuzhou, Zhù Ying had already had those traveling with her hand over their responsibilities once. But for Little Wu, she had to prompt him once more. This was necessary. “Teaching the apprentice starves the master” — everyone had their small tricks of the trade and was reluctant to reveal them until the last possible moment.

Little Wu understood the situation well, for he had long been told she would find him a posting closer to the capital when they left Wuzhou. He unconsciously smiled, then quickly suppressed it and began to feel uneasy. Ding Gui also felt a touch of happiness but looked carefully at his cousin, worried the older one would be displeased.

Zhù Ying said: “What are you standing there staring for? Move quickly — in a few days there won’t be time for this. Why haven’t you gone yet?”

Little Wu answered in a hurry: “Yes!” and dragged Ding Gui off at a run.

Ding Gui, jogging along, said: “Elder Brother, slow down. What happened? Did you make a mistake?”

Little Wu said: “Pah! Can’t you ever wish me something good? Come here — let me teach you.”

Ever since Little Wu was promoted, Ding Gui had come to serve at Zhù Ying’s side, and as cousins Little Wu had taught the younger one many small tricks behind the scenes — more attentively than he had ever been with Xiao Huang and the others. Things like the preferences of household members, the household’s routines, his own experiences following Zhù Ying, and especially the rule that Zhù Ying disliked subordinates who overstepped — he had explained all of this in far more detail than he ever had with Xiao Huang and the rest.

Now Little Wu was rattled himself, and repeated what he had once said: “Follow my lord’s rules, and you will have a future. Don’t always keep your eyes on the small scraps right in front of you. If you overstep and my lord has to deal with you, then you are finished. My lord has always been fair — as long as you don’t step out of line, he will treat you very well.”

Ding Gui said: “Elder Brother, don’t frighten me — what is happening to you?”

“Go! I have a few more things to tell you. Any calling cards that come in must be kept carefully…”

The two cousins chattered off to carry out their handover. Zhù Ying, for her part, made fresh plans in her mind for what handover she needed to carry out back in Wuzhou — or rather, how to arrange Wuzhou. The new prefect was someone she had no power to place; the emperor and the Council of State would only ask her opinion, but would not let her decide. So while she still had two years, she had to get everything else in Wuzhou in order.

Some things she had to take care of right now, while still in the capital. Wuzhou was indeed too far away — which was both advantageous and disadvantageous.

First: officials and clerks.

The prefect’s yamen in Wuzhou currently had vacant posts, as did the various counties. Many officials in the yamen had been in their positions for several years already; if the incoming prefect wished to use that as a pretext to replace them with his own people, there was a ready-made excuse. She needed to fill the vacancies before leaving, and to proactively reassign anyone likely to be displaced.

Little Wu’s vacancy had opened up a granary manager position; she estimated that after she left, Qi Tai would probably not be able to stay on in the Wuzhou prefectural yamen either. She and Qi Tai had worked closely enough over the years that she planned to negotiate with the court no matter where she went, to take him with her.

Beyond this there were the female officials — foremost among them Xiao Jiang, whose own preference would need to be consulted when she returned. Then there was Huajie, who was with the school for minority peoples and therefore safer than Xiao Jiang.

There were also various vacant clerk positions within the yamen.

The Chief Clerk and Commander-in-Chief were both from the allied minority households — that was not a concern. Deputy Prefect Zhang had plans of his own; she need not worry too much about him, and it was not yet appropriate to tell him too early that she might be transferred. But the personnel adjustments she had made were all people familiar to Deputy Prefect Zhang, who could strike a balance with any new prefect.

If the new prefect was capable, they could cooperate; if the new prefect was foolish, they could keep him in check — buying time for a response.

All of these were things within her power to arrange, and all needed to be reported to the court here. For now she had only seen Little Wu off and settled on Hang Qin, while marking out a general candidate pool for Fulu County’s magistrate. When collecting the appointment documents, she needed to notify the Ministry of Personnel; if Prefect Lu was willing, and one prefect willing to give and the other willing to receive, then an official communication to the Ministry of Personnel that had already been consulted would make it happen.

The new granary manager and household administrator vacancies also needed to be raised with the Ministry of Personnel; these could be replaced gradually over the next two years. Replacing too many at once was not the worry — the worry was misjudging people — so it was better to watch carefully over two years before making each change.

So the present priority was the Ministry of Personnel.

As for the Wei Prince, as for Meng Hong — all of that could wait.

—

This was what Zhù Ying thought, and what she did. While waiting for the appointment documents, she continued making social calls in the capital. She brought Su Zhe and the others around the market and then to the Cihuei Temple; before darkness fell, she took them to Yue Huan’s residence.

Neither Yue Huan nor his son had yet returned from their office. Yue Huan’s wife came out herself to receive her: “Little Lord Zhù, are you looking for…?” She stretched out a finger and pointed in the direction of Liu Songnian’s house next door.

Zhù Ying smiled. “I am simply here to see Master Yue. I have a favor to ask, and hope that Madam will speak a word on my behalf.”

Yue Huan’s wife said: “Affairs outside the household — I a woman have never meddled, and I would not know where to begin.”

Zhù Ying said: “I am asking for textbooks.”

Yue Huan’s wife smiled. “Does that require any speaking on my behalf? Send Master Yue a card and he will forward them.”

Zhù Ying said: “This time it is different. These children come from the school for minority peoples. Previously I taught them some language and writing; they have not yet started reading the classics and histories. So I must ask Master Yue how they should be taught. I hope Madam will help me — please, I beg you.”

Though Yue Huan’s wife rarely saw Zhù Ying, she had an excellent impression of her and smiled. “You are far too polite. This is a good thing, and I am happy to help.”

Before long Yue Huan returned from the Imperial Academy. At the Academy the students were kept in for lessons, but he himself came home every day. Stepping through the door and seeing a room full of people of varying heights, he pulled back the right foot he had just put over the threshold, drew his whole body back outside the doorstep, and stood just outside: “What is all this?”

Zhù Ying and Yue Huan’s wife and the others all rose to welcome him. Yue Huan laughed and said: “Oh, it’s Third Fellow! Ah? These few must be the young guests from the south, yes?”

“Yes. Come — pay your respects to Master Yue.”

The young ones had changed into capital-style clothing and performed their bows properly. Yue Huan, in his capacity as a teacher and with his mission of education, felt his heart swell with warmth. He said benevolently: “Good, good! Please be seated, everyone. Madam, see to our young guests; Third Fellow, wait just a moment.”

He went to the back and quickly returned in informal clothing, laughing as he said: “You grow younger every year. Before it was bringing a Zhao Su — now what? You want them to come to the capital to study as well?”

Zhù Ying said: “What I want to discuss today is also a matter of study — only not coming to the capital, but asking you for more books to take back for them to read.”

“Oh, what books do you want?”

Zhù Ying said: “That is exactly what I wish to discuss with you. Their spoken language is adequate; the classics and histories they have not yet seriously studied. How should they go about reading them? Given their ages, Ah Fa is still manageable, but the others are already quite grown. Having them go back to the very beginning with children’s primers would not be appropriate.”

Yue Huan said: “Have no fear — just have them memorize first! I will select the best annotated edition of each of the Five Classics; you take those back. As for the histories, they can be read gradually.”

“Very good. Many thanks.”

Yue Huan was enthusiastic and first asked Lang Rui: “How old are you? What have you studied?”

Lang Rui replied: “Six — seven years old. I can already sing all of the literacy songs!” Some characters he had not committed entirely to memory, but he did not say that.

Given that he had been studying for only a short time, Yue Huan was quite pleased and did not ask how many characters he could write.

Mindful that Su Zhe was the only girl, Yue Huan asked her similar questions.

Su Zhe said: “I am a few years older than Ah Fa, and I started learning lessons with A’Weng earlier, so I know a bit more than him. A’Weng is currently having me read Xunzi’s ‘Exhortation to Study.'”

Yue Huan was startled. “Girls truly have a gift for language — your official speech is excellent!” Then, as if offering an explanation to Zhù Ying, he said: “My daughters spoke earlier than my sons.”

Zhù Ying said: “I can’t speak to that. But my younger sister is indeed diligent, and she is doing well.”

“Are you teaching her the entire book, or just this one piece? And why start with Xunzi?”

“Just this one piece first.”

“Still, start with the classics — and do not study them piecemeal. Read entire books. If you have energy to spare, then read others. All learning should form a coherent whole; taken in fragments and out of context, it is easy to go in the wrong direction entirely. Study in a muddle and it will be applied in a muddle.”

Zhù Ying nodded, listening at length as Yue Huan spoke on the art of guiding students. Until Yue Huan promised: “I will draw up the book list today.”

Only then did Zhù Ying say with satisfaction: “I’ll leave it in your hands!”

Yue Huan also wanted to keep everyone for dinner. Zhù Ying said: “With pleasure.”

She did not mention Liu Songnian before Yue Huan, nor did she say anything to Su Zhe and the others about him. Instead, during the meal she brought up: “I have the students in the school for minority peoples hold several competitions a year — archery on horseback.”

“Excellent! That has the spirit of antiquity!” Yue Huan said. “It is a pity that my son’s archery is rather poor.”

Zhù Ying said: “What you say there is not quite right, Master — ‘when in all things one must contend, it is in archery.’ Even in the school for minority peoples there are clumsy hands.”

“Indeed, indeed.” Yue Huan laughed.

It was a good meal. Yue Huan’s household had a distinctly regional palate. The five young ones found they were eating yet another region’s cuisine. Lin Feng said: “I want to try this when I go back. I haven’t eaten the wheat we grow.”

Yue Huan’s wife said: “Flour makes very good eating.”

Zhù Ying said: “They are used to eating rice.”

The heads of households always had the finest polished rice, and had long since developed many delicious preparations. New wheat? What was that? When the village first harvested new wheat it was boiled like rice or steamed — the texture was hard and unpleasant, and after that he would not touch it again.

Yue Huan’s wife said: “What a shame — there are so many ways to prepare flour, and quite a few of them are popular in the capital.”

And so conversation turned to food. Zhù Ying said: “Tomorrow I will take them out to eat.”

The young ones cheered.

It was a satisfying meal all round. Yue Huan worried about Zhù Ying and the curfew; Zhù Ying said: “No need to worry — I have a pass.” In the capital she had little else, but passes to break the night curfew she had in abundance.

—

After delivering Su Zhe and the others to the Court of Foreign Affairs and returning home, Zhù Ying found that Little Wu and Ding Gui had not yet returned. Little Wu had played a small trick — afraid that speaking at the Zhù residence might be overheard by Xiao Liu and the others, which would be awkward, he had used the pretext of a family matter to take his cousin out for a quiet private conversation.

Xiao Huang had pulled open the door, while Xiao Liu had gone off to help the traveling attendants from Wuzhou feed the horses.

Zhao Zhen came forward with a calling card: “My lord, a card from the household of Deputy Envoy Luo.”

Zhù Ying took the card and looked it over. “Luo Sheng? He sent this personally?”

“Yes.”

On the card was Luo Sheng’s own handwriting, very modest in its phrasing, and full of apologies for having neglected Zhù Ying when she had previously called at his residence. He invited her to a banquet at his home the following evening.

Zhù Ying thought to herself: I certainly must go.

“Send a reply card to his residence first thing tomorrow morning, saying I will attend.”

At the morning court the next day both of them would be present and could exchange a glance; cards going back and forth was the polite thing to do.

The next morning at dawn, Zhù Ying and Chen Meng and others were waiting outside the palace walls to attend court when Luo Sheng pushed through to her side: “Third Fellow. Big Fellow is here too?”

Chen Meng and Luo Sheng were old acquaintances and laughed. “It seems he was looking for Third Fellow.”

Luo Sheng said: “Don’t tease — it is indeed Third Fellow I am looking for.”

Chen Meng, assuming the matter concerned the Court of Foreign Affairs, pulled aside a companion and stepped back, leaving this small patch of ground to the two of them. Luo Sheng breathed easier and said: “Third Fellow, did you see the card? Can you come tonight?”

“I saw it — I had someone send a reply to your residence first thing this morning.”

Luo Sheng said happily: “Then I will wait for you!”

Zhù Ying had absolutely no idea what he was so happy about.

It was another day of dashing about everywhere. She took the young ones to eat small flour snacks in the wards in the morning, then went out to the market again in the afternoon to eat more. Before dark she delivered them to the Court of Foreign Affairs, then went to Luo Sheng’s residence for the banquet.

The Luo household had produced two generations of imperial consorts’ husbands. Luo Sheng’s amiable, steady nature had done nothing to diminish the household’s grandeur. Two princesses, each with her own residence; Luo Sheng, as a Court of Foreign Affairs minister, should by rights have had his own establishment, yet he had moved from one princess’s residence to another.

At any rate, the marriage with Princess Yongping was workable; he also kept no separate establishment outside. Within the princess’s residence, however, the consort’s husband was inevitably overshadowed by the princess. For instance, when a guest came calling for the consort’s husband, they were placed last in the queue. Zhù Ying had sent her card in for Luo Sheng, so when she had not caught him previously, Luo Sheng was at that moment having to accompany his wife to receive guests.

By the time the most hectic period had passed and the household was tallying gifts and invitations and the accounts were presented to him, Luo Sheng recognized her name, and her gifts were also decent — and so all of this had followed.

Zhù Ying did not know this backstory. She prepared carefully, put herself in respectable order — not shabby, and not competing in luxury — and arrived with her people at Princess Yongping’s residence.

The gate attendants, hearing she had come to see the consort’s husband, had a barely perceptible look of surprise. Given Princess Yongping’s great favor with the emperor, most who called at this residence came on account of the princess herself.

Aside from that, Princess Yongping’s residence was the most splendid Zhù Ying had ever seen — more richly magnificent even than the former Prince Dai’s residence, now the Gaoyang Prince’s household, which had been run for several generations. Luo Sheng came out to receive her, saying as he walked: “Come, this way.” He took the lead smoothly and naturally, without hesitation — the practiced ease of long habit.

As they walked he said: “The last time Third Fellow came in person, I was unable to see you — I truly deserved a beating for that.”

“Not at all — the New Year is busy for everyone. Nobody escapes it — it is chaos all round.”

Walking and talking, by Zhù Ying’s estimate the princess’s residence was even larger than the Gaoyang Prince’s household. After a good while they arrived at a waterside pavilion where many candles burned bright. The meal had been laid out; from outside the pavilion came the sound of strings and woodwinds. Zhù Ying glanced toward the source — the ice on the water had been removed, a boat was moored on the lake, lit up from within, and musicians played aboard it, the music floating over the water with a pleasing, distinctive effect.

Zhù Ying said: “How elegant and charming.”

“One year my mother said the music was too noisy and had it moved outside. It has been done this way ever since.”

Zhù Ying said: “The princess has refined taste.”

She had barely mentioned the princess when a maid dressed in gold and silver, with a few small eunuchs in tow — the eunuchs carrying food boxes — came in and curtsied. “Consort’s Husband, the princess heard there was a guest with the consort’s husband and also sent over several dishes. They won the emperor’s praise when sent to the palace.”

Zhù Ying and Luo Sheng both thanked her together. The maid and eunuchs looked at her with curious eyes, thinking: the consort’s husband has finally made a useful acquaintance. The maid lingered only briefly, curtsied again, and the group withdrew the way they had come.

Luo Sheng offered Zhù Ying more dishes; she tasted them — they were genuinely delicious! Having eaten, one had to praise the princess’s filial devotion to the emperor.

Luo Sheng said: “Under heaven, no son or daughter does not care for their parents. By the way — your honored mother did not come?”

“The journey is too far and she is getting on in years. Better not to move her if possible.”

Luo Sheng felt a deep kinship with this. “One old, one young — it is the most wearing kind of life.” Then, unexpectedly, he hesitated.

Zhù Ying helpfully gave him a questioning look. Luo Sheng, with a trace of embarrassment, said: “I heard — that you have particularly fine lingzhi mushrooms in your territory?”

He was clearly very out of practice at soliciting favors; his face flushed slightly.

Zhù Ying said: “Yes — both the red and purple varieties. The best specimens each year go first to the palace. The rest tend to be somewhat smaller or not quite as fine in appearance. But for medicinal use it makes little difference, and they are very suitable for the elderly and for women. The Long Princess is in the prime of her years and should take more. I still have some on hand — if you don’t mind, I’ll have them sent over tomorrow?”

Luo Sheng said repeatedly: “Thank you, thank you.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, and looking at Zhù Ying’s utterly unconcerned expression, he felt a trace of discomfiture. It was not deliberate, but Zhù Ying had presented lingzhi to the emperor, and her household’s gift list to his residence had also included lingzhi. His residence had passed some along to the neighboring residence of his mother Princess Anren, and the princess had rather liked them and mentioned offhandedly: “Send someone to ask him to bring a few more.” Luo Sheng heard her say it so casually and felt his scalp go numb; he volunteered to handle the matter himself, saying he had just the occasion to see Zhù Ying.

Looking at this straightforward man, Zhù Ying felt slightly amused, but she did not stand on ceremony over such things. Whatever concerned the Rui and other peoples would sooner or later need to trouble Luo Sheng again; a gift was a gift.

She did not raise the lingzhi again, nor give him any strange look, nor pry into affairs of the princess’s residence or the palace. She simply caught up with Luo Sheng — the two had worked together on the Tian Bi case ten years ago.

Recalling those days, Luo Sheng was pleased. “Third Fellow even taught me a few things.”

“One could hardly call it teaching.”

“Oh, but it was — truly was. Others have told me things as well, but none so frankly as you.”

Luo Sheng said this, and gradually it became a true memory. Speaking of the Tian Bi case in earnest, Zhù Ying had spoken frankly with him; she had not fobbed him off. It seemed he had been treated before as an ornamental figure who needed only to be managed.

Host and guest parted in good spirits. Luo Sheng personally saw Zhù Ying out to the gate. Zhù Ying said: “Please stay here.”

Luo Sheng said: “Let me walk a few more steps — it aids digestion.”

Zhù Ying smiled, stepped up onto the mounting block and onto her horse, and from a distance saw a procession of lanterns and torches approaching. Luo Sheng was about to turn back when he also saw them: “Oh?”

Zhù Ying stepped down from her horse again. “Shall I make way?”

Luo Sheng peered further and said: “This person—”

It was his own mother, Princess Anren — the woman who had required Wang Yunhe personally to intervene before she would behave herself. Zhù Ying made a gesture, and Hu Shijie led her people to move the horses some distance away and clear the space.

Princess Anren’s carriage came straight on. She pulled back the curtain and asked: “Who is in front?”

From behind her, a lavishly dressed face appeared: “Never mind who it is — we simply—oh?”

Luo Sheng hurried forward to greet his mother and his maternal aunt. The other occupant of the carriage was Princess Ande — the matchmaker who had arranged his marriage. He was rather afraid his aunt might say something without thinking — such as mentioning that they had once made an enemy of the Duan family.

Zhù Ying was obliged to wait a while longer. Princess Ande, hearing it was Zhù Ying, thought for a moment and said: “Oh! I know who you are! You are—”

Luo Sheng said: “It is him — the Prefect of Wuzhou.” He was slightly worried about what his aunt might say.

Princess Anren said: “Oh, you’re here? I don’t recall you coming before.”

Princess Ande laughed: “I haven’t seen you either — why only to Elder Sister’s place?”

It was not in fact Princess Anren’s residence; Princess Anren’s residence was next door, reached by going through Princess Yongping’s residence.

Zhù Ying said: “Of course it is because I served with the Court of Foreign Affairs in earlier years, and found its minister to be amiable and reliable and worth knowing. In recent years I have always been rushing about without a free moment; this year I have at last been able to fulfill that wish.” She could hardly say openly that she had not been able to afford a generous enough gift…

Princess Anren’s smile turned to puzzlement. “Hmm?”

Luo Sheng quickly said: “Ten years ago — the Tian Bi case. His Majesty sent me outside the capital that time; actually, he was the main one handling it. He has always been sharp and capable.”

“Oh—” Princess Anren was pleased.

Princess Ande said: “Which occasion was that?”

“An official who was murdered and impersonated by his own servants and concubine while on the road. He—” Princess Anren pointed at Zhù Ying — “had met the man before and recognized the impostor at a glance on the road.”

The two princesses fell to chatting at the gate, until even Princess Yongping came out from inside the residence. Zhù Ying said: “The first month wind is still fierce, Highness. Do go inside and keep warm. I will not be keeping you company — hearing the story of what I once did is rather embarrassing.”

Luo Sheng quickly said: “Yes — you go on home too; it is cold outside.” He was very much afraid his mother might ask for a piece of lingzhi then and there. Not that they couldn’t afford it, not that it was wrong to ask, only that saying such a thing in such a setting would be rather awkward.

—

Returning home from the princess’s residence, Zhù Ying personally selected two fine stalks of lingzhi and told Little Wu: “Send these to the Deputy Envoy Luo’s residence first thing tomorrow morning.”

She herself had to go to the Ministry of Personnel the next day to collect the appointment documents.

After the morning court session, the Ministry of Personnel had the documents ready — two in all, plus various other papers, all with the proper seals and procedures completed.

“Many thanks,” said Zhù Ying.

Assistant Director Xia said: “Wait — aren’t you also getting the Fulu County magistrate? And the household administrator?”

Zhù Ying said: “Can you find suitable ones right now?”

Assistant Director Xia said: “Then find them yourself! I have too many idle people here, and my superiors are already scrutinizing me. I was counting on you to bring your own.”

Selecting and assigning officials was the Ministry of Personnel’s responsibility; leaving posts vacant for long periods was a failing of the ministry. Zhù Ying said: “I cannot settle on them just this instant either.”

“Then I’ll just pick someone and fill the posts.”

“Please don’t! Patch these two up for now! The household administrator post — it was just vacated; there is no rush. If you put someone in and they fall ill on the road, I still cannot use them. Wuzhou is somewhat remote, and people are reluctant to go. You put a name down at random, and you will get complaints too. Let us do this — I will be setting out in a few days; if I meet the right person along the way, I will send you a document. You help me make the transfer. The further south we go, the shorter a journey they will have to make, and the more suited they will be to the climate. I guarantee it will not exceed the fourth month.”

“The fourth month…”

Zhù Ying bowed deeply. “I beg you—”

“All right.”

Zhù Ying said: “Many thanks. Oh — do you have the records of officials awaiting appointment from nearby prefectures, or the service histories of officials from neighboring counties? Could I borrow a look? I beg you.”

“Fine — keep in mind when choosing, you cannot pick someone from the local area.”

“Does Wuzhou have so many officials here waiting for a posting? Of course it will be from another prefecture. Though my territory does have some mixed-governance counties, and there might be one or two from allied minority counties mixed in.”

“That would not be a problem. Come with me; I’ll find them for you — you can only look here though.”

“Much obliged.”

That left only notifying Little Wu and Hang Qin.

Returning home, Little Wu came to report that he had already delivered the lingzhi: “I told them it was what the consort’s husband had asked for. Your card was delivered too. The princess’s household — the rules are strict! Far stricter than the Marquis’s household.”

Zhù Ying said: “Stop dwelling on that. Here — take this.”

She placed the various documents on Little Wu’s shoulder; he clutched them with a reversal of his hand and crouched on the floor to open them, trembling. “It really is! This is — which place is this…”

Not knowing the geography, he did not know what this place was.

Zhù Ying also handed him an envelope. “Read it carefully — who is your superior, who are your subordinates, what is the local climate, what are the local products — it is all inside.”

Little Wu changed from crouching to kneeling, kowtowing first, then accepting the envelope with both hands: “I thank my lord — my lord’s profound and lasting grace; the whole family is grateful beyond words. The list of Wuzhou affairs is already written; let me go and get it.”

He turned to fetch the several pages he had written and handed them over. Zhù Ying said: “What is the hurry? You still have to complete your handover with the court. Go home and share the good news first.”

“Yes.”

—

Zhù Ying sent Ding Gui off as well to help his cousin, while she herself took Xiao Huang, Hu Shijie, and others straight to the Imperial Academy to find Hang Qin.

Hang Qin was copying out his lessons. When he heard Yue Huan calling him, he felt nervous: Could it be that I did poorly on the periodic examination?

Anxiously he went before Yue Huan, who had a face full of smiles. He asked first: “The last time you said you were willing to serve the court whenever called, and wherever needed, regardless of hardship — did you mean it?”

“Yes!”

Yue Huan said: “Then pack up — no more classes. Your appointment document has come.”

Hang Qin asked blankly: “The appointment document? Am I not to study anymore?”

Yue Huan said: “You great fool — with a prefect watching, and you react like this? He won’t want you!”

“How could that be?” A somewhat familiar voice sounded; Hang Qin looked toward it — it was the prefect who had said she was a former subordinate of Prefect Lu.

Zhù Ying said: “Deputy County Magistrate of Fulu County — want it or not, you are getting it.”

“Fulu?” Hang Qin jolted. “Fulu oranges? Sugar?”

“Yes.”

Yue Huan could no longer watch this. He said sharply: “What manner of behavior is this? Will you not pay your respects to the prefect?”

Hang Qin snapped to his senses and prostrated himself hurriedly.

Zhù Ying helped him up. “Please rise. Bid your teacher farewell, and we will go see Prefect Lu.”

Everything was already arranged for Hang Qin — refuse, not become an official? Impossible. He had been recommended all the way to the Imperial Academy; did he come for the fine atmosphere of study in the capital? He still had to aim for an official career.

Hang Qin quickly followed Zhù Ying out of the Imperial Academy. Yue Huan permitted him to keep his temporary lodgings there. Zhù Ying had horses readied; they rode side by side, and she said: “I will be heading south soon and can take you part of the way. You should first go home to share the good news, then come back.”

“Yes.”

“It happens that you are a student chosen by Prefect Lu. I trust his eye. Do not let me down or cause Prefect Lu to lose face.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

After talking for a while, Hang Qin came back to himself. His words loosened up too: “When my lord came to the Imperial Academy before, this student was still thinking how wonderful it would be to learn more from someone like you — I never imagined it would actually… actually… it is truly… please guide me well, my lord.”

“Of course. Here we are — Prefect Lu is home today.”

Prefect Lu was also preparing to leave. The capital was muddied water; Tang Prince? By seniority the Zhao Prince should come first; counting from the late Crown Prince it would be the imperial great-grandson. To support the Tang Prince was pure speculation, and he was posted externally besides. Better to go early.

Prefect Lu was checking over the books he planned to take with him. A gate attendant came to report: “My lord, a guest — it is that one from last time…”

The Dai person? Prefect Lu’s face fell. Then hearing it was Zhù Ying, he relaxed slightly: “Her? What is it now?”

“She has brought a young student to see you and requests your guidance.”

Prefect Lu stumbled: “Guidance? She? Requesting me?!”

—