Yang Jing’s residence was a short distance from Xian Jing’s house. Xian Jing gripped the saddle and mounted his horse, and his party set off toward the Yang mansion.

Upon arriving at the Yang mansion, it suddenly became apparent — because Xian Jing had previously been sleeping in the palace on duty and today was his day off in rotation, Yang Jing did not have this day off. He was not at home.

Xian Jing had made the trip for nothing.

The servants of the Xian household stood to one side with their hands hanging down, heads lowered, exchanging glances among themselves. They thought inwardly: how dreadful — it turns out he wished to call upon Sacrificial Wine Yang, not for anything else!

They had assumed that Xian Jing, being a Chief Minister, would certainly know that today was not a holiday, and that if he came to Yang Jing’s home it must be because he had some confident purpose — perhaps for some entirely different matter?

Little did they know that Xian Jing had simply forgotten for the moment.

The Yang mansion’s steward bowed and invited Xian Jing inside to be served tea. Xian Jing let out a sigh. “He must be occupied with official duties at this hour. I won’t linger. Tell him I came — tomorrow after court disperses…”

As he spoke, Xian Jing felt a sense of listlessness come over him. Rushing about day after day — what was I so anxious about? I could simply sit quietly here in Yang Jing’s home and wait for him to return — what would be wrong with that?

Thinking this, Xian Jing changed his mind, walked straight into the main hall, sat down, and began drinking tea, his mind gradually growing calm.

The Yang household’s staff dared not let him simply wait like this, and a page boy had already gone sprinting off to summon Yang Jing.

The capital city was sizable, and by the time Yang Jing was found and had made his way home, the afternoon was already half spent.

Xian Jing had somehow managed to sit quietly and steadily in the Yang mansion for half a day — this struck Yang Jing as rather surprising. Having no time to change his clothes first, he went directly to exchange greetings with Xian Jing. He also noticed with curiosity that Xian Jing actually appeared considerably more relaxed than he had at morning court.

Yang Jing’s mood improved a little. He could not bear to see Xian Jing wearing that expression of a long-suffering wife who hasn’t had time to cook despite it being well past dinnertime.

The two men exchanged greetings and host and guest sat down. Yang Jing first offered a polite apology for having left Xian Jing alone in his home, and Xian Jing replied that he had come unannounced and it was his own fault.

The pleasantries completed, Yang Jing asked, “I wonder what has brought the Chief Minister here today?”

Both men were scholars, yet neither had the leisure for leisurely literary exchanges these days. Yang Jing guessed at what Xian Jing had come for.

Xian Jing made no pretense of his purpose. “His Majesty has newly ascended the throne. As I have been entrusted with the position of Chief Minister, I ought to select worthy persons for the state.”

Yang Jing said, “That is the Chief Minister’s duty.”

Xian Jing then stated his purpose directly. “Among the Imperial Academy, are there young men of sharp ambition and drive?”

Yang Jing cast his eyes down to the floor for a moment, then raised them again. “There are.”

“Oh?” Xian Jing was a little pleased. “That is excellent!”

Yang Jing said quietly, “Of course it is good — I selected them through the ten-day and monthly examinations, ranking them to choose.”

“A strict teacher indeed.”

“The list has been compiled and submitted to the Ministry of Personnel.”

“What? The list has already been submitted?”

Yang Jing asked as if he didn’t already know the answer: “That’s right. In selecting talent for the state, those who are selected should of course be submitted to the Ministry of Personnel to be assigned official posts as appropriate! Otherwise, what would be the point? Why bother with examinations at all? Why study at all?”

Xian Jing’s expression stiffened.

Yang Jing said, “After teaching them for so long, how could it do to keep them permanently confined to the academy?”

Xian Jing’s face twitched, and he murmured, “Indeed, they cannot always be confined to the academy. What is the state of these students’ coursework and moral conduct?”

“I selected them personally,” Yang Jing said calmly. He did have such a list in hand, but it had not yet been passed to Chen Meng. That was, however, only a matter of time — this list had been compiled after careful examination, and he intended to recommend them upward.

Xian Jing said, “Very good, very good.”

Yang Jing also took the opportunity to ask, “Speaking of students — the Chief Minister is himself a great master of learning. Are your household’s young members to be kept at home for you to personally instruct them?”

At Xian Jing’s rank, he was entitled to have his descendants admitted to the Imperial Academy through the merit-shadow privilege, yet Yang Jing had not seen any of Xian Jing’s descendants at the Imperial Academy — hence his question.

Xian Jing quickly said, “The eldest has already received an official appointment. The younger ones’ coursework is not yet fully mastered.” The Imperial Academy was not a place for beginners; it accepted only students who already had a certain foundation, so even those admitted through privilege generally had to study at home first, develop a basic grounding, and then be sent along.

Yang Jing nodded. “That makes sense then.” He glanced at the sky and saw it was growing late, and invited Xian Jing to stay for dinner.

Xian Jing rose to take his leave. “No, I am already too much of an imposition today.”

Yang Jing rose to see him off, and when they reached the main gate, they happened upon another group arriving for a visit. The person at their head was someone both men recognized — a young woman whose dress was neither wholly male nor wholly female. When she was still a few steps from the Yang mansion’s gate, she dismounted with a neat, practiced motion. The attendants following behind also leapt from their horses, and one of them came forward to take her reins and lead the horse to the hitching stone.

Su Zhe!

Su Zhe was a fairly recognizable figure in the capital city.

When she had first arrived in the capital, she had been young, and at that time she had still been dressed in the manner of a young girl. Whether in her own tribe’s colors or in the new attire that Zhù Ying had arranged for her after she entered the capital, it was almost entirely women’s dress — whether garments or ornaments, even someone unfamiliar with her tribe’s customs could tell at a glance she was a girl.

But at some point, gradually, details of men’s dress began to creep into her attire. Zhù Ying paid no mind, and sheltered by Zhù Ying, Su Zhe grew increasingly at ease. From the time she began visiting Liu Songnian when he opened his official residence, she had frequently come and gone dressed in men’s attire. Traveling north with the retinue, she simply hadn’t brought any women’s clothing at all.

After returning, she made no deliberate effort to pass as a young man, but having grown accustomed to a certain tidiness of dress, she rarely wore dangling hairpins or hanging tassels. Her hair knot was tied very tightly, she fastened a men’s-style belt, and even wore a short sword at her waist. The fabric and embroidery of her clothes, however, were the types fashionable among women. The result was an incongruous mix of styles.

Xian Jing was a little surprised. “Su Zhe?”

Su Zhe saw him and was mildly startled. “Chief Minister Xian?” She cupped her hands in a salute toward Xian Jing, leaving him with no idea how to respond.

If it were for modesty’s sake, he ought to return a half-salute — but this salute Su Zhe had given… it was clearly a man’s salute! How was one to return it? Xian Jing was quite unexpectedly stuck on this point.

It was Yang Jing who was completely unsurprised, and asked Su Zhe, “You have free time today?”

Su Zhe smiled. “Indeed I do. And there is also something I want to ask your guidance on — that topic you discussed with me last time, I turned it over in my mind again at home, and then asked A’Weng, and he said he didn’t understand it either, so he told me to come ask you again.”

Xian Jing asked with curiosity, “What is the matter?”

Su Zhe made no attempt to conceal it from him. “It concerns teaching students. The official schools in the lowland counties are passable enough, but within our mountains, up to now, A’Weng has done little more than coax a few literacy songs out of Chief Minister Liu. That is quite insufficient — for those who wish to learn more, there is no way to connect with the learning from the lowlands. A’Weng says I should apply myself and not neglect my hometown just because I’ve arrived in the capital, and he told me to come seek guidance from Teacher Yang.”

“I see.” Xian Jing suddenly remembered — Su Zhe’s family had a county. To call her a local lord in her own right was truly apt — she was even a complete and fully-formed lord of the ancient Zhou-style enfeoffment, the kind who could govern land and preside over the people.

Yang Jing said to Xian Jing, “This child is excellent — she knows to civilize and educate the common people, has substance in what she says, and has not forgotten her roots.”

Su Zhe smiled. “Please don’t praise me — I am doing nothing more than following A’Weng’s example from back in those days, continuing what he did, one step at a time.”

Yang Jing said, “Learning from the virtuous and seeking to emulate them — how could that not be praiseworthy? Am I not also doing the things that my teacher once did?”

Zhù Ying herself was busy, and Su Zhe’s career path had more setbacks than others. She was unwilling to let Su Zhe simply sit idle at home growing stale, and had personally brought Su Zhe before Yang Jing, entrusted her with due solemnity, and from then on let Su Zhe call upon him on her own.

Yang Jing had spent several decades at home pursuing scholarship and teaching. Su Zhe made a point of coming to him for guidance — asking about this: for people who have already learned basic literacy, what should they study next to gain something practical?

Su Zhe was a perceptive young woman. In her own estimation, having every last headman and commoner and bondservant in the Asu County learn to read was impossible, but establishing two or three reasonably adequate schools, ensuring that every generation in the county had people who could read, do arithmetic, and communicate with the outside world — this was achievable and necessary.

Su Zhe had been one of the staff members of Liu Songnian’s official residence when he first opened it. Whether she was a figurehead or not, she was still a person who had come out of Chief Minister Liu Songnian’s official residence. Yang Jing was a proper disciple that Liu Songnian had recommended. Reckoning from Liu Songnian, one was a “former subordinate” and the other was a “personal disciple” — together termed “disciples and former subordinates” — and the two could grudgingly be counted as roughly “equals.”

Since the two already had this connection, whenever Yang Jing went to the Ministry of Revenue for funds, Zhù Ying never hesitated. Zhù Ying smilingly brought her “granddaughter” to the Yang mansion, and by both sentiment and reason, Yang Jing was quite willing to offer Su Zhe a pointer or two.

Seeing that Xian Jing and Su Zhe were on the verge of striking up a conversation right at the main gate, Xian Jing said, “You two talk.”

He departed hastily.

Yang Jing and Su Zhe each saw him off a step or two, watching until he turned the corner of the lane before withdrawing their gazes.

Su Zhe smiled brightly. “Teacher! I know you are busy, but please, that book you promised to write for me — don’t forget it! Chief Minister Liu has already written one for A’Weng — the two of us absolutely cannot fall behind those two.”

Yang Jing was caught between laughter and helplessness.

Su Zhe hummed a little tune as she made her way back to Zhù Ying’s residence.

Today had been quite fruitful.

Her conversation with Yang Jing had gone fairly well — Yang Jing agreed to write a portion of manuscript. Just like Liu Songnian, such “great Confucian scholars” were not only buried in the Five Classics; their accomplishments in other areas were also considerable. Yang Jing was very capable in arithmetic and the like, and also had a certain talent for overall coordination and management.

Having run into Xian Jing at the Yang mansion today — though she had no idea what Xian Jing had gone there for — Su Zhe felt this was something she should mention to Zhù Ying.

Outside the gate of the Zhù residence, there were also the carriages and horses of several visitors. Su Zhe leapt from her horse, and her attendants led the horses into the residence. Su Zhe pulled up the hem of her robe and walked in quickly, coming face to face with Zhù Biao.

The two exchanged greetings, and Zhù Biao said, “Imperial Consort Luo’s husband has come to pay a visit — the master is seeing him now. A letter from home has also arrived — there is one from your family too.”

Su Zhe said with delight, “Really?! Then I’ll go change my clothes first — once the consort’s husband has left, tell me and I’ll find A’Weng to get the letter!”

“Alright.”

Su Zhe quickly changed her clothes, walked to the outer window of the hall, and the attendants gestured to her with hand signals. She suppressed a couple of quiet laughs and gestured back. Inside, the conversation had reached its conclusion. Luo Sheng finally stated his purpose: “Regarding the renovation of the palace chambers — I must ask you to help press for it.”

“The works are not under my jurisdiction — it would not be proper for me to intervene in that. You would do better to seek out Chief Minister Zheng. If you mean the Ministry of Revenue’s allocation of funds for the works, the Ministry of Revenue will absolutely not obstruct that.”

Luo Sheng had grown up rarely needing to seek favors from others; when he did ask, it was from figures like the Emperor. Today, having come to solicit Zhù Ying’s help, he was already quite uncomfortable, but for the sake of his family, he had no choice but to steel himself and come.

The purpose was simple enough: to get the Empress Dowager’s palace chambers renovated as quickly as possible, have Empress Dowager Mu move to new quarters, and then put the central palace chambers in order so that Luo Yi could formally move into the central palace and have the ceremony performed. Married for seven years, Luo Yi was sixteen years old this year, and had three concubine-born sons. As things stood, the Empress was still residing in the former Eastern Palace, while the Emperor had already moved into his new chambers.

Until this construction was completed, Emperor and Empress would continue to live apart. The thought of it left the household of the Princess of Anren vexed beyond measure.

By Princess of Anren’s reckoning, she wished she could immediately force the relevant bureaus to have this matter of relocating the palace chambers resolved. Luo Sheng, afraid she would stir up more trouble, had no choice but to come forward himself.

With the matter settled to his satisfaction, Luo Sheng bid his farewell in relief.

Zhù Ying saw him out, then turned around to see Su Zhe standing beneath the eaves with a smile, waiting.

Su Zhe had been smiling, intending to ask for her letter from home, but as Zhù Ying drew near, she suddenly asked, “A’Weng, what’s the matter? Is the consort’s husband’s errand a difficult one to handle?”

Zhù Ying said, “What makes you ask that?”

Su Zhe studied her face carefully. “Something odd — I have a feeling your expression isn’t quite right, though I can’t say exactly what’s off.”

Zhù Ying said, “Come with me.”

The two walked to the study, and Zhù Ying took out the letter that Su Mingluan had written to Su Zhe. Su Zhe accepted the letter, still feeling that something about Zhù Ying seemed off, yet observing her words and manner, everything appeared the same as usual.

It was not until she returned to her room and unsealed the letter that she discovered the matter could be grave or minor — Su Mingluan’s letter stated that at the country estate, Zhù Da had been gravely ill the previous winter but had since recovered. This could not be concealed, and she had written to report it. His health after recovery was not what it had been before, but he was still alive. What the next winter would bring, however, was uncertain.