In any government office, wherever even a little extra space could be spared, the superior’s office and the subordinate’s offices would never be placed too close together — and between one subordinate and another, the same held true. Nor would they be too far apart either — always at a distance that was neither intimate nor separate, a fitting arrangement that mirrored the nature of their relationships.

It was exactly this way between Zhù Ying and Luo Sheng and Shen Ying. So when Zhù Ying caught sight of Director Wang and Assistant Director Ruan, she stopped in time and smoothly turned, walking out of the Court of State Ceremonial.

All along the way, officials and clerks kept pausing to bow to her, and she would smile and nod in return. To only the first two she encountered did she say: “You all just go about your business — don’t mind me, I’m just looking around and learning the layout.”

She knew that what subordinates hated most was a superior who dispensed no actual benefits yet went wandering about all over the place, keeping everyone in a state of nervous, stiff-backed readiness. She had only just arrived, and without any hold over finances or anyone’s promotions, wandering around would only earn her resentment. So she walked out slowly and stood on the steps, taking in the scenery of the imperial city again.

The imperial city’s layout was just as it had always been. Whenever a floor tile or some such thing sustained damage, it would not be long before it was replaced with new — thoughts of time-worn ruin were simply not to be found here. The people of the imperial city came and went; those in crimson and purple were older, those in blue and green younger. The crimson-and-purple-clad moved with unhurried ease; the blue-and-green-clad walked at a brisk, hurrying pace.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zhù Ying noticed a group of people not far away. Instinct told her they were looking at her.

Probably pointing and whispering about her, she thought.

Back in the day, she and Left, Wang, and the others, including Yang Sixth, had stood in the imperial city just like this, watching officials come and go — they would tell her about the various officials’ backgrounds. She would observe each person’s gait and speculate about their circumstances: whether they had argued with their wife the night before, whether they had an old ailment from their younger years that still bothered them, and so on.

Those three back then were not necessarily without their own schemes, yet their sincerity still ran deeper than that of the exalted colleagues she had today. They may not have known all the inner secrets of the capital’s great families either, but they shared what they knew with her all the same. She still remembered — they had said that the Shen family was at best second or third-rate, trailing at the tail-end, nothing like the true noble clans of the capital.

Old Wang had long since passed away. Yang Sixth and the Left Assistant Director had come to her home for dinner just a few days ago; the hair on both their heads had whitened considerably, yet neither had yet managed to put on a scarlet robe.

She was now a Deputy Chief of the Court of State Ceremonial, and her every move attracted eyes — it was hardly fitting to make a special trip to the Court of Judicial Review to find the Left Assistant Director. Besides, the Court of Judicial Review had its own new chief and deputy chiefs now; she had no wish to cause trouble for the Left Assistant Director.

Zhù Ying stood outside for a while, then slowly made her way back to her own room. Though several shelves stood empty, all the other furnishings were already in place. On the desk there was even a small booklet; she opened it and found it contained notes on the duties and general overview of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Zhù Ying sat at the desk, spread out paper and brush, and as she read through the booklet, made some annotations. When she was nearly through it, the errand clerk Qiao San who had been sent to find a basket returned. He was carrying a new basket lined with a straw mat inside, its size roughly as she had described.

Zhù Ying smiled: “You managed to find one — well done.”

Qiao San said with a smile: “Whatever your lordship instructs, I can only do my best.” He looked around, and placed the basket on a chair not far from Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying rose and examined the basket. “Not bad,” she said.

Qiao San smiled again: “Does your lordship still wish to look at the old archives?”

Zhù Ying picked up the basket and appraised it with an apparently casual air: “Let us go and have a look then.”

“This way, please, my lord.”

The Court of State Ceremonial had its own place for storing archives, with a clerk on duty there. He rushed forward to bow, then eagerly asked: “What does your lordship wish to see?”

Zhù Ying looked the place over and asked: “Are all the old archives here?”

“Yes. All here.”

The archive storage was far smaller than that of the Court of Judicial Review — even more modest than the registry where household registers were kept in Wuzhou. But from the founding of the present dynasty onward, every document of the Court of State Ceremonial was stored here. There were few enough people at the fifth rank and above — the “crimson and purple nobility” — that even counting the foreign nations, the total was not large. Two rooms: one holding old registers of funerary rites from this dynasty; the other holding records of the investiture of foreign states, reception of foreign guests, and their customs and practices. Outside of those two was a duty room for the archive clerk.

Zhù Ying said: “Bring out the foreign nations’ dossiers for me to look at.”

“Which nation does your lordship wish to see? The foreign nations’ dossiers vary in volume. For larger neighboring powers, there are more written records. For those farther away, there are fewer. And some nations have no writing of their own — there are only a few accounts from oral reports.”

Zhù Ying said: “Then start with those that have the most.”

“Yes.”

The most voluminous were those of the Western Territories. Zhù Ying watched the archive clerk pull a large pile of old files from the first shelf, then carry them to a side area to register their count. Zhù Ying strolled inside, looking at the shelves upon shelves of materials, arranged by nation in order.

After surveying it all, the archive clerk had finished registering the volume count. Qiao San dusted off the old files and gathered them carefully in his arms.

Zhù Ying said: “Let us go back.”

“Yes.”

The two walked back toward Zhù Ying’s room. Along the covered walkway, they caught a glimpse of Director Wang and Assistant Director Ruan walking in another direction, speaking in low voices.

……

Director Wang and Assistant Director Ruan were both in rather poor spirits. The two of them had something of a distaste for Shen Ying. The selection of officials for appointment — if one’s appearance was even slightly below par, one’s career prospects tended to suffer. In the Court of State Ceremonial this was even more the case: dealing with foreign nations, and also presiding over funerary occasions, made being too homely unacceptable — unless one had powerful backing.

Neither Director Wang nor Assistant Director Ruan was a handsome man. Both around thirty, serving as assistant directors in the Court of State Ceremonial — they held a slight advantage in terms of background and were not inferior to their peers in ability.

The two came from noble families of the capital with whom Zhù Ying was not very familiar. Zhù Ying’s understanding of the capital’s great clans had been formed during her time at the Court of Judicial Review — great clans, in her experience, meant families that required extra caution when cases involved them. Both the Wang and the Ruan families appeared on that list. Beyond that, she knew little of their inner secrets.

The Wang family bearing the same surname as Wang Yunhe shared nothing else in common. This Wang traced its lineage to the founding meritorious ministers of the dynasty, though Director Wang’s blood connection to the main line had grown rather distant. The Ruan family was even more interesting — it bore the same surname as the maternal family of the founding Empress.

With such origins, the way these two viewed Shen Ying was not quite the same as an ordinary subordinate looking at a superior.

The two of them brought with them a hint of perfunctory performance toward Zhù Ying as well. Having dealt with her, they went to see Shen Ying and informed him of Zhù Ying’s intention to arrange for clerk placements. Unexpectedly, Shen Ying made no comment either way. Assistant Director Ruan muttered a curse about his luck.

Director Wang said: “If he were capable of handling things, it wouldn’t have come to this. Hmph! Just watch the newly arrived one.”

Assistant Director Ruan said: “He certainly keeps his composure.”

“How could he not keep his composure? Didn’t you hear what the families said? Back when he was at the Court of Judicial Review, he was remarkably capable. Just wait — if the younger one doesn’t vie with the older, and the older doesn’t put the younger in his place, it won’t be settled!”

“That was back when Lord Zheng of the capital served as the chief of the Court of Judicial Review — he was Zheng’s man. Our lucky newcomer today is not the kind of figure that the seventh of the Zheng clan was.”

Director Wang said: “He still wants to insert his own people too. Strange — and it was the Prince Consort who proposed it first.”

Assistant Director Ruan said: “Let’s wait and see.”

These two were unaware of the old grievance between Zhù Ying and Shen Ying from twenty years ago. Yet by instinct and experience, they assumed that Shen and Zhù must inevitably come into conflict. Though not of one mind themselves, they had no wish for their superiors to be of one mind either. With Shen old and Zhù young, Shen holding little power and Zhù holding more, they naturally tilted slightly toward Shen Ying’s side.

The two were murmuring to each other when Director Wang spotted Zhù Ying first and nudged Assistant Director Ruan. Ruan looked up and also saw Zhù Ying. Both immediately fell silent and bowed from a distance. Zhù Ying gave a slight nod, and went back to her room with Qiao San to continue reviewing the old archives.

After reviewing the archives for a while, it was time for the communal meal.

Luo Sheng was thoughtful enough to have Shen Ying and Zhù Ying both dine with him. The Court of State Ceremonial’s meals were quite good — a table full of dishes was set before Zhù Ying, and the flavors were fine as well. She tasted a few things: not much worse than what she had eaten at Princess Yongping’s residence. Zhù Ying’s expression remained placid; across from her, Shen Ying wore a look of complete indifference.

Luo Sheng asked Zhù Ying in a friendly tone: “How is it?”

Zhù Ying said: “Very good.”

Luo Sheng told Zhù Ying: “If anything doesn’t suit you, just say so to them.”

Zhù Ying said: “All right.”

Luo Sheng did not speak of official business over the meal. Shen Ying sat in silence and said nothing; Zhù Ying exchanged a few words with Luo Sheng. In Luo Sheng’s eyes, the Court of State Ceremonial had nothing particular to be done — he genuinely could not see how he was supposed to make anything of it, as his mother kept urging him. Watching Zhù Ying chat with him about the differences between southern and northern cuisine and such things, he thought to himself: Zhù Zǐzhāng is a capable person — and since he is not anxious, it must mean things are fine as they are.

And so he was content to chat idly with Zhù Ying, speaking of sweets — vexed that his son ate candy and then refused to eat his meals, and that his teeth had gone bad from it and ached.

Zhù Ying said: “Baby teeth going bad is not much of a problem — they fall out and grow back. Just be careful after the permanent teeth come in.”

Luo Sheng noted this down very seriously.

After lunch, it was time for the midday rest. Even if Confucius disliked sleeping in the daytime, once summer came, not resting at noon left one with no energy. Zhù Ying’s bedding had not been brought over, so she did not sleep and continued reading the old archives instead.

After the rest period, Assistant Director Ruan came to Zhù Ying’s room and asked politely: “My lord mentioned earlier that you had several useful people — might I ask who they are and where they are to be placed?”

Zhù Ying said: “Ah! They are all people of the capital, who went with me to Wuzhou — I found them easy to work with.”

Assistant Director Ruan said: “New clothes may be better, but for people, there is nothing like the familiar.”

Zhù Ying smiled: “There are advantages to both — but one cannot simply forget the tried and true.”

She had prepared the list in advance, and quickly gave the names of Ding Gui and the other three. Since the Bureau of Guest Reception was under her oversight, she would place Ding Gui and Xiao Liu in the Bureau of Guest Reception. She planned to notify the Bureau of Guest Reception director the next day to assign one of them to the Hall of Foreign Nations. Xiao Huang she intended to keep close at hand, together with Qiao San, to run errands in her own room. Niu Jin she would hand over to Qi Tai.

Assistant Director Ruan noted it all down and thought to himself: Isn’t Registrar Qi someone he brought along as well? It seems she doesn’t quite trust him either.

He withdrew.

No sooner had Ruan left than Director Wang arrived. Behind him came a clerk carrying some things.

He first made a small apology: “Earlier there were many people and much talking — certain things weren’t appropriate to bring up then, so I had to brush your lordship off with trivialities. This is for your lordship.”

Zhù Ying regarded him with a quizzical look. The clerk presented what he was carrying, and Director Wang explained: “Your lordship knows, surely? Word has it that back when you were at the Court of Judicial Review, everyone there was prosperous. Our Court of State Ceremonial is fairly well-off too.”

Beyond what the court officially distributed to a deputy chief — seasonal fabric allowances and the like — each office also had its own supplementary payments by various means. The best-off by far had been the Court of Judicial Review in those days, for Zhù Ying had genuinely been willing to distribute money to her subordinates. The Court of State Ceremonial was not bad either — they may not have been as attentive and meticulous with those below them, but they could always extract some choice goods from foreign merchants, foreign envoys, and overseas traders, enough to make offerings to the chief and deputy chiefs, and those were certainly not scarce. Then there were the public-interest funds and the like — to judge by the quality of the food alone, the Court of State Ceremonial was not poor.

The Court of State Ceremonial also paid monthly supplements. Zhù Ying had only just taken up her post, not at the start of the month, yet Director Wang had given her a full month’s share. Wang watched carefully, waiting for Zhù Ying’s comment.

Zhù Ying said nothing at all, only that he had gone to trouble.

Until the end of the working day, the entire Court of State Ceremonial remained calm and uneventful.

……

Zhù Ying returned home after work. Ding Gui and the others were craning their necks waiting for her. They came running from far off to take her horse.

Zhù Ying said: “Never mind — you don’t need to do these things anymore.”

Ding Gui knew she must have arrangements for them, but still put on a show of alarm: “Is my lord done with us?”

Zhù Ying saw through his performance and did not engage, simply walking straight to the small reception room before saying: “Tomorrow morning, come early and wait for word. Someone will take you to the imperial city.”

Ding Gui and the others were overjoyed and gave their thanks. Zhù Ying said: “All of you — work properly! Anyone who gets into trouble will not be spared by me either!”

Ding Gui laughed and said: “We wouldn’t dare bring shame on my lord!”

Xiao Huang said: “Not just not bringing shame — we have to bring credit to my lord.”

Zhù Ying said: “All of you behave! I have no free hand at the moment — for now just keep quiet and play dumb, don’t touch anything, just go and lie low. Understood?”

All four answered together: “Yes!”

“All right — let’s have a meal together.”

Zhù Ying sat at one table with Qi Tai, Zhù Lian and the others; Ding Gui and the other four sat at another — one household ate a meal together. Zhù Ying asked Zhù Lian if he had gone out to play today, and Zhù Lian smiled and said: “I went out for a look — compared to the old days, not much has changed.” Zhù Ying asked: “Did you take money when you went out?”

“I took five hundred cash.”

Zhù Ying said nothing more.

The next day, she attended court formally. Xian Jing was as good as his word, setting out early to come and find her. Seeing Zhù Ying properly attired and ready, he said: “Very good indeed! A new look!”

Zhù Ying smiled: “Old wine in a new bottle.”

Xian Jing laughed: “Well, that may not be so certain.”

The two chatted idly along the way. Xian Jing asked: “How is the Court of State Ceremonial?”

Zhù Ying said: “I haven’t quite gotten a feel for it yet. The archives are fewer than I expected, though.”

Xian Jing asked: “And the people?”

Zhù Ying said: “Dealing with people is never easy, no matter the time. I have always traded sincerity for sincerity. Those who treat me well, I treat well in return. Those who do not treat me well — I still treat them a little better first.”

Xian Jing said: “Shen Ying too?”

Zhù Ying said: “The same for everyone. On my end, the matter has passed. On his end, it seems it hasn’t quite passed yet.”

Xian Jing said: “That’s right! That man — he can’t hold his ground, yet he wants to appear as though he has deep schemes; and then he is petty-minded. Neither one thing nor the other.”

“When I first met him, he had a look of perfect composure. Fate has a way with people.”

Xian Jing gave a dismissive twist of his mouth — very much in the manner of Liu Songnian — and said: “Fate has no leisure to toy with him. Fate paid him no attention when he was born — it just gave him that sort of mind.”

To this, Zhù Ying offered no comment.

The two reached the imperial city and encountered more acquaintances — Zheng Xi, Duan Lin, Luo Sheng, Dou Peng, and Wang Yunhe arrived somewhat later. Those who recognized Zhù Ying all said: “You’re back?”

Zhù Ying introduced Senior Sister Hu and the others to Lu Chao and company, then spoke with Zheng Xi and the others. She maintained the minimum courtesy toward Duan Lin as well, and from the crowd also found Shen Ying.

When the time came to line up and enter, she took her place right behind Shen Ying. Shen Ying felt as though a needle were being pressed into his back. Yet Zhù Ying’s conduct was such that he could find no fault with it.

The Court of State Ceremonial presently had no business to report. After sitting out the morning court session and the Emperor asking “Any further matters?”, the three of them said nothing and let another morning court pass them by. Back at the Court of State Ceremonial, there was no morning meeting either — after returning, each went about their own habits: those who idled, idled; those who found their own diversions, diverted themselves; those who reviewed old archives, reviewed old archives.

Waves of cicada calls came through the windows. Luo Sheng did not find them irritating. Shen Ying disliked these clamorous sounds, and a clerk outside was put to work catching cicadas with sticky poles. Zhù Ying’s four newly arrived clerks had none of them been placed in the Bureau of Rites. Niu Jin and Xiao Liu eyed the Bureau of Rites’ people catching cicadas and hatched a whispered scheme: “I saw it with my own eyes — once they catch them they bring them to the kitchen, fry them in oil, and sprinkle on fine salt. Absolutely delicious. Let’s catch some too…”

They also enlisted Niu Jin from Qi Tai’s side, and all three ran over to Zhù Ying’s corner to catch some cicadas as well. Afraid that Zhù Ying would scold them for being mischievous, they first plucked off half a wing from one cicada and tossed it to the tabby cat to play with, then ran back out.

Before long, the sound of cicadas outside Zhù Ying’s window had thinned considerably.

……——

Zhù Ying saw this and let it pass with a smile. She had been browsing the old archives and had begun to find a pattern in them. The time available was not enough for her to understand all the interconnections among the capital’s great clans, but she could make out some of the methods the Court of State Ceremonial employed.

The Bureau of Rites managed funeral rites. Whether the eulogy was well written and the funeral ceremonies were grand — that was the visible surface of things. On returning, they also had to write a report for the archives and inform the Secretariat and the Emperor. The art of writing those reports was considerable. For instance, one could mention in passing the merits of the deceased, and then describe the pitiable condition of the surviving family — and so it might be possible to obtain an official post for a son or grandson who had none.

Writing that a minister went to offer condolences, and that the son of such-and-such an official was overcome with grief and thereby lost his composure — that was one way of writing. Writing nothing of the kind was another. Writing that the various sons quarreled before their father’s spirit tablet over the inheritance of title and estate — that was yet another.

It all depended on what the Court of State Ceremonial wished to do.

The Bureau of Guest Reception’s inner workings were even more complicated. Not all foreign nations maintained a permanent envoy in the capital, but some foreign merchants did take up long-term residence. The Bureau of Guest Reception’s archives noted the identities of both types, but among the “merchants” were also some who maintained close ties with their home nations — even operating as the commercial ventures of certain foreign nobles. Using these merchants to send signals to foreign nations was something the Court of State Ceremonial also did.

Browsing back several decades, Zhù Ying found that archives from thirty years ago would include a few lines such as “through a certain foreign merchant, conveyed a certain matter to a certain nation on behalf of the court” — but in the past ten years such phrasing had disappeared, replaced simply by “informed a certain nation of a certain matter.”

She was unaware that Princess An’ren had already been pressing Luo Sheng, and that Luo Sheng had shouldered the matter. But she shared with Princess An’ren a certain alignment of minds. She was just about ready to take care of some small matters.

After work, Zhù Ying returned home, where Xiang An came to meet her: “My lord, someone has come from Wuzhou.”

Zhù Ying smiled: “Oh? That quickly? I calculated they wouldn’t arrive for at least another half a month.”

The one who had come from Wuzhou was also an acquaintance of Zhù Ying’s — the daughter and son-in-law of an Elder Wang, a young couple who had been chosen by public consensus among the Wuzhou fellow-townspeople to succeed Xiang Da Lang’s role. The three counties had argued over this for quite a while; since both families were from Fulu County, the people of Sicheng and Nanping counties inevitably had some complaints, and Fulu County had to yield in other matters before claiming this particular lodge for themselves.

Coming along with them was another person — Su Jiaming. She had been put forward by the outer five counties to go to the capital together. She had not worn her tribe’s attire but had changed into the ordinary clothes common in Wuzhou, looking for all the world like a young woman from the south. She was of the generation of Su Mingluan’s nieces. Having studied at the Tribal Academy previously, she was now fifteen years old. By virtue of the connection through Su Mingluan, those of Su Jiaming’s generation all called Zhù Ying “A’Weng.”

All three showed warm recognition when they saw Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying said: “You came early.”

Wang Niangzi said: “The old master of the house and Scholar Zhū both wrote letters — so we dared not linger on the road.”

Zhù Ying asked Su Jiaming: “And you? You’re not continuing your studies — is there something the matter at home?”

Su Jiaming smiled: “Studying is for doing something with it afterward — starting to do things now is fine too. My aunt said, going to the capital for a visit and opening one’s eyes is good. If one stays away too long without knowing what goes on in the capital, one’s thinking gets dull. She asked me to come and have a look on my younger sister’s behalf.”

Nearby, Zhù Yin collected the letters. Zhù Ying then asked how they were lodging. Wang Niangzi was using the pretext of accompanying her husband to the capital for academic study and staying at the fellow-townspeople’s lodge. Su Jiaming would follow Zhù Ying’s arrangement.

Zhù Ying asked: “Did your younger sister tell you what cover to use?” — the two of them were each referring to a different “younger sister,” one meaning Su Mingluan and one meaning Su Zhe.

Su Jiaming said with a bright smile: “Auntie said, using the county’s name makes the road easier but causes trouble on arrival; she’d rather have the trouble on the road.”

Zhù Ying said: “Very well.”

She kept the three for dinner. After the meal, she sent Xiang An to see Wang Niangzi and her husband back to the lodge; Su Jiaming would first stay at her residence. Zhù Yin led people to prepare a guest room, arranging lodging for Su Jiaming and her four attendants.

That evening, Zhù Ying sat down to read through the letters first.

In the letter from home, both Zhù Da and Zhang Xiangu could not write in small brushwork — a single page held twenty or thirty characters, but they had written a thick stack. First they said the letter Zhù Ying had asked Xiang Da Lang to bring them had arrived, and knowing Zhù Ying had a new residence to live in, they could set their minds somewhat at ease. Zhang Xiangu wrote: “Didn’t stay in the old house more than a few days — what a pity. If you’re selling the house, take good care of the two trees in the old place.”

Zhù Ying rubbed her chin. The two flowering trees planted in front of the bedroom in the old home had grown for more than ten years now and were already full and flourishing — it truly was a little hard to part with them. She had no plans to sell the old home — she would leave it as it was for now; when circumstances allowed, she could try transplanting the trees to the country estate.

Reading further down, it said they were both living at the country estate, not coming down from the mountain even in summer, planning to go down for a walk in the autumn, and intending to spend the new year on the mountain too. It also described their daily life at the estate — the number of people there had grown a little. The estate manager was gradually settling into the role, though people were whispering behind his back that he was not quite up to Xiang Le’s standard.

Zhù Da also wrote “There’s a good deal of money and provisions in our family stores, I’m keeping an eye on it all for you” and “I’ve written down everything you said in your letter.” The letter Zhù Ying had asked Xiang Da Lang to carry had said that Zhù Da had poor health and it was not convenient for him to move — that was why he had remained in Wuzhou, and since Zhù Ying was no longer the prefect of Wuzhou, a country estate had been set up.

Having read that one, she moved on to the letter from Huajie. Huajie wrote in detail, finding that the “governance structure” of the country estate was reasonably stable. Sorceress Ren had confirmed she would assist Huajie. Zhù Qingjun’s studies were progressing quickly. Her description of the new prefect was difficult to put in a few words: “The new prefect has just arrived, and is gradually ceasing to summon female officials and female clerks to morning meetings. At banquets he calls for female entertainers instead.”

The new prefect had not yet expressed any views on the prefecture’s administrative affairs. He occasionally summoned a few officials to speak with them and also reviewed old archives and the like.

The more Zhù Ying read, the more the way things were described in this letter felt familiar to her.

Xiao Jiang had also written Zhù Ying a short letter, in which she obliquely mentioned that the new prefect was a man with ideas of his own. He had brought trusted subordinates when he took up the post, and had inserted the two of them into the prefectural offices upon arrival.

Then she read Su Mingluan’s letter. This one Zhù Ying did not read quickly — it was written in the phonetic transcription system, using written character pronunciations to spell out the sounds of the Qixia language. Read carefully it was quite interesting. The new prefect’s arrival in Wuzhou was known to the outer five counties, but they had not gone ahead to wait at the prefectural residence. The new prefect had instead sent an aide to contact Su Feihu and the others — Su Feihu had not caught on, but Lin Miao understood: the new prefect wanted a show, hoping the outer five counties would “take the initiative” to come down the mountain and express their welcome.

A performance.

Su Mingluan said they had also cooperated and put on a scene. The new prefect had a dignified appearance, yet his manner was insufferably arrogant. He had not the makings of someone fit to be a father to others, yet had contracted the disease of going around acting like everyone’s father.

Upon learning of the “adoptive parent” matter, he had expressed tremendous interest in the idea of taking in adopted sons and daughters.

Su Mingluan wrote plainly at the end: He looks down on us tribal peoples — especially on me, a woman.

Su Mingluan and the others had always disliked being called “tribal peoples.” That she had actually written the word in her letter suggested the problem was somewhat serious.

郎锟铻 and the others had also written letters — spelling their own language with the phonetic system came very naturally to them. The complaints were much the same as Su Mingluan’s. The letter from the Mountain Sparrow Yue was somewhat different — he asked directly: This prefect is very unlike you, my lord — can we treat him differently accordingly?

Zhù Ying smiled, and did not write back just yet. Instead she called Su Jiaming over: “Did you meet the new prefect?”

Su Jiaming said: “He had already arrived before we set out. What a grand display of official authority! Nothing at all like A’Weng!”

“Tell me in detail.”

Su Jiaming’s account was much the same as Su Mingluan’s. Letters could not say too much, but one’s mouth could pour out any amount of complaints. “My younger sister doesn’t stay in his residence anymore either. He’s also sent more people to keep watch over the Tribal Academy — saying it’s to prevent the students from fighting with the regular school students. Cowardly! He also said he wants to separate the male and female students — what great divide between men and women, how aggravating!”

Zhù Ying asked her about a few more details, which Su Jiaming answered in full. Zhù Ying said: “You wanted to come to the capital — you wanted to come yourself, didn’t you? You were feeling uncomfortable staying at the academy?”

Su Jiaming hedged and hummed for a moment, then finally nodded.

Zhù Ying said: “Understood. What else did your younger sister ask you to do?”

“To listen to A’Weng.”

Zhù Ying said: “Good. As it happens, I have something for you to do.”

Su Jiaming was delighted: “What is it? I’ll definitely do it well!”

Zhù Ying said: “No hurry — first you need to go to the Wuzhou lodge, with your people, doing business. You are a southerner, trading northern goods, specifically acquiring goods from the west and north. Don’t go out of your way to pry into anything — I’ll give you a list. When you encounter merchants of these nationalities, pay attention. Keep a particular eye out for any among them who are running about all over the place, being overly active.”

Su Jiaming memorized it all.

Zhù Ying also gave her one of her own calling cards: “If you ever run into danger, take this, find any official of the capital prefecture, or go to a county office or the capital prefecture office to take shelter.”

Su Jiaming took the card in hand and said: “Yes.”

“Go and rest.”

“All right! A’Weng, if I find out anything, how do I tell you? Come directly?”

She saw the air of secrecy about what Zhù Ying had been telling her, and so she asked.

Zhù Ying said: “If you have information, contact Zhù Yin. If it is truly urgent, you may come here directly.”

“Yes!”

Su Jiaming left in high spirits.

Zhù Ying did not rest yet — she picked up her brush and began writing replies.

First to the family at home: she told them she was well and not to worry, that the things at home that concerned them she would keep in mind. She also wrote that the cat had gotten a bit fatter and did nothing but sleep all day. The new superior was also quite easy to get along with — all in all, everything was fine. In the letter to Huajie she added extra words of advice: if things became difficult, return to the country estate.

Having been a prefect herself, she knew what a prefect was capable of doing. The ranks of Huajie and the others were too low — they could not win an arm-wrestling match with him. And Wuzhou could not afford for her own people to be the ones to stir up trouble. If something happened, Huajie could join forces with the local gentry of Wuzhou — and especially could ask Su Mingluan’s opinion.

In the reply to Xiao Jiang, she wrote: in due course, submit your books to the court as well.

This was Zhù Ying’s plan. To the court, an increase in the variety of books and texts was a symbol of a “prosperous and enlightened age.”

The letter to Su Mingluan was written without ceremony: I taught you for more than ten years — can it be that you have no methods of your own?

The reply to the Mountain Sparrow Yue’s father and the others was simply: As it should be.

When the letters were done, seeing there was still a little time left, she called Zhù Lian over and asked him about his studies at the Yue family. Zhù Ying had placed him with the Yue family of Yue Huan to study — the Yue family treated Zhù Lian well. She checked over Zhù Lian’s notes and completed work before letting him go to rest.

Then she herself took out the Western Territories language notes and went over them once more before she was finally able to rest.

……

Zhù Ying’s various moves were entirely unknown to those outside. Su Jiaming was a young girl, not particularly tall either; dressed in male clothing she was even more inconspicuous. No one in the capital recognized her — they took her for a southern merchant. Since the Wuzhou lodge had been established, a number of other places had gradually followed suit, each setting up their own lodge. Besides traveling scholars, the lodges received more and more merchants.

Northern people found all southern people looked the same; southern people found all northern people looked the same — and the greater the distance, the harder it was to tell them apart. Su Jiaming mixed through the eastern and western markets right up until the Mid-Autumn Festival, delivering three reports to Zhù Ying during that period. Ding Gui had also found her another interpreter to serve as tutor, studying a different foreign language.

By the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival, most people in the capital had changed into lined clothing. The foreign merchants residing there had also put away their summer garments. The eastern and western markets only opened in the afternoon, and they were in no rush. There was plenty of time after rising to get ready.

That morning, with breakfast fires only just lit in the homes of several foreign merchants, their doors were knocked upon. Opening up, they found unfamiliar young men at each door, delivering calling cards.

Opening the cards, they saw these were invitations in the name of the Bureau of Guest Reception, asking them to “come for tea.” The Bureau of Guest Reception would from time to time inquire after the movements of foreign merchants, and inviting important guests for tea was not particularly unusual — the venue was even set at the Hall of Foreign Nations, and except for the timing being a bit tight, set for this very noon with barely any notice, nothing seemed suspicious.

The foreign merchants knew their own identities carried a certain blemish. They were merely trading under the banner of official envoys to enjoy the tax benefits. In truth, some of them had come with the diplomatic delegations but remained even after the envoys had returned home.

And so they all arrived obediently at the Hall of Foreign Nations on time.

At the gate of the Hall of Foreign Nations, they encountered an assistant director of the Bureau of Guest Reception, whose expression was very peculiar — as though someone had a knife pressed to the small of his back. Yet looking carefully, there was no one behind him. At this point the foreign merchants also noticed something: though they varied in appearance — some with dark reddish complexions, some with high-bridged noses and deep-set eyes — their identities were all rather similar. Each of them had some connection with their home nation and occasionally passed along information.

Cat recognizes cat, dog recognizes dog — even by smell alone they could tell what each other was about.

The assistant director of the Bureau of Guest Reception led them one by one into a guest hall. It was quite spacious. Inside stood a young official in scarlet robes, smiling, with a languid tabby cat draped over his arm, looking utterly at ease.

The assistant director came forward to introduce: “This is Deputy Chief Zhù.”

The foreign merchants hastened to pay their respects.

Zhù Ying said: “No need for ceremony — please, be seated.”

They sat. Tea was poured. Everyone knew this was not about drinking tea. The foreign merchants were just searching for an opening line when Zhù Ying spoke first, complimenting everyone on their fluent official speech: “I had actually gone to the trouble of preparing an interpreter.”

The assistant director of the Bureau of Guest Reception smiled along — he had just been intercepted by Zhù Ying moments ago at the Hall of Foreign Nations, with no time to react at all, and had had his venue commandeered and his “guests” summoned before he could do anything.

Zhù Ying had already struck up conversation with the foreign merchants. She said to a merchant with a high-bridged nose and deep-set eyes: “Your official speech is excellent — you must have been in the capital for quite a few years by now?”

The merchant caught the implied meaning — this was the standard method of extracting a payment. Long residence meant he could no longer be classified as part of a “diplomatic delegation.” He was about to say something suitable about offering a “token of respect,” but Zhù Ying had already turned to question someone with a dark reddish complexion. She seemed quite familiar with these merchants and even knew what goods they dealt in.

She also asked after their trade, even remarking that somewhere in the imperial city she had caught the scent of a certain fragrance — which was, apparently, one particular merchant’s business. That merchant quickly said: “I still have some — I would be honored for your lordship to appraise it.”

Zhù Ying said: “I know nothing about such things.”

“They say peerless blades belong to heroes — fine incense deserves to go to one who truly knows incense. Your lordship can tell it apart; that means there is a connection between you and it.” The foreign merchant thought he had grasped the meaning.

The high-nosed, deep-eyed merchant was no less skilled at flattery: “Thanks to the patronage of your lordship and the others, we live very well — far better than in our homelands.”

Zhù Ying said: “That is all due to His Majesty’s sage virtue.”

The foreign merchants all said that it was so.

Zhù Ying said: “Since you all find what I say reasonable, let us henceforth simply give thanks to His Majesty, and not go about praising others unnecessarily.”

She smiled and swept her gaze across everyone. Caught in her gaze, smooth as water, the foreign merchants felt a lurch in their hearts and a prickling of sweat on their backs. Zhù Ying stroked the cat and continued: “Let me be a little clearer. If any of you are after wealth, then pursue it honestly. If anyone does more than is necessary, I am afraid that will not be good — for others or for yourselves. People have their likes and dislikes, but passing judgment on noble persons is not the business of merchants.”

The foreign merchants hardly dared breathe. They had been known to gossip behind closed doors about a prince or two, and some had put in a good word for a certain royal. They just did not know how this deputy chief had found out.

Zhù Ying stopped there and left it at that. The remaining time was spent simply drinking tea.

The assistant director of the Bureau of Guest Reception felt himself more like a meek little daughter-in-law. He cast a surreptitious glare at the tabby cat, who lay in a thoroughly oblivious half-sleep: You’ve got it easy!

The foreign merchants were in no mood to drink tea. Zhù Ying released them shortly.

And so, throughout the capital, talk of things like “a certain foreigner” or “a certain foreign nation considers a certain prince gracious and courteous” or “even barbarian peoples think such-and-such a royal is fine” — all of it went quiet.

The entire Court of State Ceremonial was as though it had turned invisible.