The four of them had no interest in continuing the conversation and each returned to their own place. Chen Meng had a mind full of thoughts, and kept a watchful eye on Zheng Xi — and caught the moment when Zheng Xi looked at Zhù Ying’s departing figure with a faint, bemused smile in his eyes.

Chen Meng gave an involuntary shudder. What is he scheming now?

Zhù Ying suddenly turned her head, and her gaze met Zheng Xi’s. Zheng Xi gave a small nod; Zhù Ying, not understanding the reason, also gave a small nod, and made her unhurried way back to the Ministry of Revenue.

Zheng Xi withdrew his gaze, stepped back to his office, and began the day’s work, leaving Chen Meng looking half-enlightened and half-baffled.

Zhù Ying kept Yang Jing’s situation in mind, though her face showed nothing, and she maintained her usual steady pace. This matter with Yang Jing — she could not afford to stand by much longer. Even with the Court of Judicial Review and the Capital Prefecture jointly handling the case, Zhù Ying still intended to conduct a quiet investigation of her own. She did not understand the scholarly quarrels among men of letters, but she could certainly look into how the man had died.

She thought over the people she could call upon and what needed to be done, and after the workday ended and she returned home, she summoned Zhù Qingtian: “The matter of the National Academy student who hanged himself — have there been any developments?”

Zhù Qingtian had been working on this for several days, and answered: “The student was twenty-three years old, from a poor family, not yet married. He had no page-boy or servant to attend to him either. His classmates and teachers noticed he had not come to class, went looking, and that was how he was found. The coroner from the Capital Prefecture filled out the death report as death by hanging, not staged. He had few friends — he had neither the money for social engagements, nor was the school of thought he studied well-regarded at the academy.”

She spoke while watching Zhù Ying’s expression. When Zhù Ying was in Wuzhou, she had taught some people how to investigate and judge cases, but Zhù Qingtian was too young then and had not had the benefit of direct instruction. Her skills came partly from Huajie and Xiao Jiang, and partly from bits and pieces she had picked up here and there without knowing the sources. She was a little apprehensive, worried she might not have done well enough.

Zhù Ying asked only one thing: “And?”

Zhù Qingtian said: “There is one thing that seems a little odd. Under ordinary circumstances, one would not air one’s dirty laundry — if something happened at the National Academy, the National Academy itself should handle it. But this matter spread outside the National Academy within half a day, causing enough of a stir to alarm the Capital Prefecture. Someone must have been fanning the flames behind the scenes. There were just too many people involved and too many mouths to track down who was doing the spreading. Madam — is there a traitor within the National Academy?”

Zhù Ying said: “The National Academy is not a single household in the first place — what traitor is there to speak of? Where is the body?”

“It was initially kept at a temple. He was not a native of the capital and had no relatives here either. The National Academy supplied the cost of the coffin and paid the temple a sum to hold the body, waiting for word to reach his home and his family to come and receive the remains. Today a decree came down, and the Capital Prefecture got ahead of things and transferred the body into their own custody. The Court of Judicial Review was a step behind and is now quite put out about it.”

Zhù Ying asked further: “What is being said in the capital?”

Zhù Qingtian’s face showed a look of difficulty: “Some say Master Yang gave the student no path to live by and drove him to his death. Others say the student was the one who couldn’t see clearly. Others say the Capital Prefecture is covering for Master Yang, and the student is very pitiable.”

Zhù Ying said: “Understood. When you have finished eating, come with me.”

“Yes.”

After dinner, Zhù Ying changed clothes, took Zhù Qingtian and Elder Sister Hu with her, and headed out. Lin Feng and the others also wanted to follow.

Zhù Ying said: “This matter requires secrecy — fewer people the better. You all stay home and do your coursework.” Without further argument she assigned each of them a thick stack of work. Lin Feng’s face went white as chalk.

Zhù Ying, Zhù Qingtian, and Elder Sister Hu set out, all three dressed in dark clothing, and rode on horseback toward the Capital Prefecture. She did not seek out Yao Zhen, but instead made for the home of the Capital Prefecture’s coroner, Yang.

She had a relationship with the Capital Prefecture’s coroners spanning thirty years. The elder Yang had died, and she had summoned the younger Yang to the Court of Judicial Review. The coroner currently in charge at the Capital Prefecture was the elder Yang’s apprentice. The younger Yang’s son — the elder Yang’s grandson — was now apprenticed to this “martial uncle” and served at the Capital Prefecture as well.

Zhù Qingtian stepped forward and knocked at the door. From inside came the voice of an old woman: “Who is it?”

Zhù Ying said: “It is I.”

The old woman inside thought the voice sounded familiar, her wariness loosening. She pulled open the door: “This late at night, what… oh my!”

This was the younger Yang coroner’s mother, who knew Zhù Ying as well. She quickly moved to perform a full bow, but Zhù Ying steadied her and said: “You look well still. Is Little Yang at home?”

“He is, he is! Madam, how is it you have come without sending word?” She then called loudly into the courtyard.

Zhù Ying said: “I need Little Yang to come with me on an errand.”

Little Yang came hurrying out, offered a deep bow, and then said: “I do not know what Madam’s instructions may be — I will prepare at once.”

“No need to prepare anything. Just bring yourself.”

Little Yang asked no questions, said yes, and told his mother and wife at home: “Keep the door shut and wait for me to come back.” He tightened his belt and followed Zhù Ying out.

Called “Little Yang” he may have been, but his son was already married, and Little Yang himself had a two-inch beard.

Zhù Ying asked him: “The student from the National Academy who hanged himself — can you get access to the body?”

Little Yang quickly said: “I can! I examined it this very afternoon. Madam wants to look? My boy is right now at the Capital Prefecture — I won’t keep it from you, Madam, but this afternoon the Capital Prefecture was blocking us at the Court of Judicial Review from getting a look. I was planning to slip over at night for a quiet look myself. I left my boy there to help receive us.”

Zhù Ying laughed: “A fortunate coincidence. Let us go together.”

“Yes.”

Little Yang knew the way well and slipped in through a side entrance. The guards and attendants of the Capital Prefecture all knew him well too. One attendant said: “Old Uncle, you could just walk in on your own — how is it you’ve brought others with you?”

Little Yang said quietly: “Have a look at who this is.”

This attendant was young and not one of Zhù Ying’s old acquaintances, but having been through the tenures of Zheng Xi and Chen Meng as Capital Prefect, the Capital Prefecture’s staff knew Zhù Ying very well indeed.

Zhù Qingtian was in no way hesitant, and offered the man a handful of coins: “Hard work in such cold weather. May this be for a cup of warm wine, with Madam’s compliments. We are here to look in on a familiar face. Nothing more.”

The sum was generous. The attendant’s mouth spread into a grin, then he made an effort to compose it: “I couldn’t possibly accept such kindness in good conscience — Madam is no stranger here, you know this place better than I do. I only ask that you not disturb the others.” He pocketed the coins and smiled ear to ear.

Little Yang said: “Then just lead us along — I am here to look in on my boy.”

The attendant took his money and smilingly said: “This way, please,” chattering away as they walked about how the younger Yang and his apprentice had already made arrangements for just this purpose.

Before long, they could see the younger Yang. He was standing in front of a room, peering about, holding a lantern. The night was cold and the light was dim, lending an eerie chill to the scene. The attendant refused to go any further and said: “Just over there — when you are done, let Little Yang see you out. I will wait at that doorway and escort you out.” He turned and trotted away without looking back, as though a ghost were chasing him.

The body had been placed in a secluded room. The first time Zhù Ying had entered this room, the Capital Prefect had been Wang Yunhe; after that she had rarely come.

The younger Yang and his apprentice came forward again to pay their respects. Zhù Ying said: “No need for ceremony at this hour. What does the body look like?”

The younger Yang said: “Inside, Madam, if you please.”

Once inside, he burned a paper offering, then handed incense to Zhù Ying, who lit it and examined the body together with Little Yang. The deceased was very young. He was no longer quite fresh, but the cold weather had kept the body from decomposing significantly. The younger Yang held the lamp for her. Zhù Ying examined the body carefully. She could see this was a young man who had lived frugally — his clothes were not fine, having been issued by the National Academy as a stipend. He had put a little oil in his hair, which showed he was a man who cared about his appearance. Zhù Ying examined his hands, and the ligature marks around his neck. His hands were calloused; there were no other injuries on the body. Every mark and sign indicated that he had hanged himself.

Little Yang also looked him over, let out a long breath, and said with a smile to the younger Yang: “He hanged himself of his own accord. Prefect Yao can rest easy.”

The coroners were all quite relieved. This meant they had not misread the case, and Little Yang did not need to worry about his son being held responsible. All that remained was for Pei Tan and Yao Zhen to finish their wrangling, after which Little Yang would perform a formal second examination as a formality — and beyond that it would no longer concern the coroners.

If not for how gloomy the place was, they would have been leaping for joy.

Little Yang said to Zhù Ying: “What do you make of it, Madam?”

“Let us go.”

“Yes!”

Zhù Qingtian produced money again for the younger Yang. The younger Yang tried to decline, saying: “My father is here too…” Little Yang immediately cuffed him on the head, and then said to Zhù Ying: “Madam, this…”

“Take it,” Zhù Ying said, and walked out first.

Outside the Capital Prefecture, Zhù Ying did not go straight home but instead paid a visit to Yang Jing’s residence.

Several horses were tied outside the Yang residence gate. Zhù Qingtian stepped forward to knock on the door. A face appeared at the gate and, upon seeing them, quickly swung the door open: “Madam Zhù!”

Zhù Ying asked: “Who else has come?”

“Lord Wang and Lord Yue.”

Zhù Ying said: “I need to see Master Yang at once — please hurry.”

“Yes.”

In short order, she was seated in a square arrangement with Yang, Wang, and Yue — four in all. Yang Jing’s face showed a look of despondency: “It was kind of you to come, Zizhang — but I made an error of judgment, and I fear I shall let you down.”

Zhù Ying said: “Leave those words for later. Right now you are still the Directorate Rector — come with me now and take me to see the dormitories.”

Wang Shuliang said: “What is it? Is there something suspicious about the student’s death?”

Yue Huan’s eyes brightened as well, and he looked at her with a faint note of expectation.

Zhù Ying shook her head: “Better to see it first before saying anything.”

Yang Jing pulled himself together a little: “Very well, I will take you. Only… is someone truly trying to frame us with a murder?”

Zhù Ying said: “Hard to say.”

Yue Huan and Wang Shuliang also wanted to come along, and so all four went to the dormitories together. Since there had been a death, the dormitory room in question and several of the rooms nearby had been temporarily locked, and the students had been moved to other lodgings. Yang Jing called for the dormitory supervisor to open the door. Zhù Ying said: “Bring lights. Everyone else, stay outside.”

Yang Jing said: “Heaven knows how many people have already been in and out.”

There had been no thought for anything else during the rescue — people had come rushing in all together, lifting the body down with many hands, someone going for a physician, someone else going for the teachers, everything in utter disorder.

Zhù Ying looked down, and indeed…

She then swept her gaze about and asked: “Has anything in this room been moved? Is there anyone who knows what belongings he had, and whether anything is missing?”

The dormitory supervisor said in a low voice: “That I cannot say for certain. He did not have much to begin with. I gathered his bedding and belongings together and placed them in that small room over there, to be returned to his family when someone comes to collect the remains.”

Zhù Ying examined the room first. With so many people having come and gone, it was completely impossible to tell whether there had been any intrusion at the time. She also fetched a ladder, climbed up to the roof beam, and by torchlight made a careful inspection. The marks were all perfectly consistent with a hanging. The chair that had been kicked over was still there, and the footprint matched. By her own assessment, this was a suicide.

She then asked to see the deceased’s belongings. There were only the ordinary possessions of a poor scholar, most of them of little monetary value — only a hat and a jade pendant were of any greater worth. That was perfectly normal for someone his age: saving a little money to buy something cherished was not unusual. Of course it was possible they had been given to him, but they were not valuable enough to have purchased a life.

Zhù Ying paid closer attention to the papers, books, and letters — all entirely consistent with an aggrieved and passionate young man.

“Where is the letter he left?”

Yang Jing said: “The Capital Prefecture took it. I read it at the time — it was undoubtedly written in his own hand.”

Among the items were two calling cards. Zhù Ying singled them out and asked: “Are these from his classmates?”

Yang Jing said: “They are.”

His voice was somewhat strained. He added: “Three young men with strong ideas, only…”

Yue Huan said: “Only their ideas were wildly impractical nonsense! Hmph — if they were right, Xian and Huo and their kind would long since have been celebrated ministers!

He then felt that was not quite right and added: “The late Counsellor-in-Chief Wang was nothing like them.”

Wang Shuliang smiled bitterly: “Do not take offense — my father greatly respected Liu Shibo in his lifetime. Why, now that neither of them are in the capital, does it come to this… people who should be working in common cause have ended up in sharp opposition, and now another life has been wasted.”

Yue Huan asked Zhù Ying: “Now that you have had a look around — what are your thoughts?”

Zhù Ying said: “Look into these two living students — their daily associations, who they spend time with — and see whether someone has been egging them on or instigating them.”

Yang Jing said: “Zizhang, speak plainly with me. He killed himself, did he not?”

Yue Huan and Wang Shuliang both looked at Zhù Ying. Yue Huan made repeated meaningful gestures. Yang Jing said: “What are you pulling those faces for?” Yue Huan’s old face went red.

Zhù Ying said: “It is not as though there is no solution.”

Yue Huan’s spirits lifted: “What solution?”

“I still need to think it through. For now, everyone just hold steady. Today, let us leave it at this. Lock the door properly — let us go.”

Leaving the dormitory, Zhù Ying did not continue walking alongside the others. Yue Huan, however, came after her. Zhù Ying looked at him in surprise: “What is it?”

Yue Huan with a stern face said: “Tell me plainly — was it or was it not a suicide? So we can prepare accordingly.”

“Someone most likely put the idea in his head.”

“Then it was suicide. The letter he left is genuine too, is it not? Never mind someone putting the idea in his head — he read the works of the sages. He is not a child. It was his own choice. Abandoning his parents is a failure of filial piety, implicating his teacher in injustice is a failure of righteousness — someone put the idea in his head, and yet he chose it himself! He read the classics to no purpose! What solution are you planning? Do not tell me you are going to find someone and make him confess to having been instructed to set this up as a plot!”

Zhù Ying looked at Yue Huan in surprise. A cold wind swept past; the lantern swayed.

Yue Huan said: “This morning, I…”

He had just come from Zheng Xi, who had spoken very lightly of a certain scheme and guaranteed it could be done. If Zheng Xi were to act, the blame would land squarely on Xian Jing and his people. To use one life as ammunition to hit back at Xian’s faction — for Zheng Xi, that was a very worthwhile trade.

But Zheng Xi had said it was not easy for him to do personally, since academic disputes were involved, so he needed someone who understood such things to compose a plausible account for the dead man to speak through. If Yue Huan was willing to help, that would do — though ideally Yang Jing could be the one to craft the content, making it airtight, so that no one would notice the seams. After all, Xian Jing and his people were watching closely, and Pei Tan was also a man of learning.

Yue Huan had been in a foul mood all day! He also accepted small gifts, and recommended friends and family for positions — that was simply the way things were done! But causing a man’s death through scheming — that he could not bring himself to do.

When Zhù Ying arrived, he had held out hope. He had sincerely hoped that Zhù Ying would uncover evidence that someone had truly plotted against the student, with Yang Jing as the target. But by the time they were in the dormitory just now, his heart had gone cold.

He was a man of letters, not particularly deep in his scheming, yet on this matter he could see things well enough. Everyone present could be trusted, and given Zhù Ying’s position and character, if there had been something to find, she would have said so already. If she said nothing, it was suicide — and a suicide whose farewell letter described the cause of death plainly enough.

Which meant Yang Jing had driven a student to his death.

Yang Jing could weather almost anything else, but he could not withstand the accusation of having driven a student to his death. He was a proud man, and a man who cared deeply for his students.

Yue Huan said: “We do not want you to do anything like that. I cannot bring myself to such things. He cannot bring himself either. You and the father of Second Son are not the same kind of person. In the past, some things have been a matter of going along with the world, dimming one’s own light. Now, do not dirty your hands.”

Zhù Ying said: “You do not know me very well…”

Yue Huan said: “Walk the proper path, straight and open! Do not become intoxicated with your own righteousness!”

Zhù Ying laughed: “What is the matter with you? What are you imagining now? I will inform the Capital Prefecture and the Court of Judicial Review about those two other students, and look on the bright side — what if someone truly was working behind the scenes? Words can kill, you know!”

Yue Huan gave a serious warning: “Do not play any tricks! Before he left the capital, Liu Shibo told me: if you take any clever shortcuts, have me tell you to keep yourself in line.”

Zhù Ying opened her mouth.

Yue Huan sneezed: “Go home.”

The next morning after court, Zhù Ying summoned Zhao Zhen, who belonged to the Court of Judicial Review, and had him find a way to tip off Pei Tan. Over at Yao Zhen’s Capital Prefecture, she had the Capital Prefecture’s own attendants make a report to Yao Zhen. She herself had Zhù Qingtian go and investigate those two living students.

With three channels in motion at once, the reports that came back several days later amounted to this: the other two students were also men with no prospects.

All three came from modest backgrounds. Once the path was wrong and no teacher looked favorably upon them, entering official service would be very difficult. Their families were not prosperous, and all the family’s hopes rested on them. If they could not secure official posts, even supporting themselves and their families would prove difficult. Though the hardships of a minor official were a different breed of hardship from those of ordinary people, measured against those around them, they counted as hard-pressed enough.

The three of them had several friends outside the academy as well. Following the thread outward, those friends were all cut from the same cloth — the impact of “unable to become an official in this lifetime” upon them was something a person eating today and worrying about tomorrow tomorrow could not have imagined.

Their scholarship unrecognized, at odds with Yang Jing’s views; their careers hopeless; their families sliding toward poverty. Two blows falling together, a moment of despair.

The conclusion: a young man who saw no future ahead, and took his own life.

Court then began to argue again about Yang Jing’s responsibility. Yue Huan held that this matter could not be laid at Yang Jing’s door. If the National Academy did not select you, it had not blocked other paths for you either. Abandoning your parents was a failure of filial piety; implicating your teacher in controversy was a failure of righteousness — in any case, the student himself was the problem. Twenty-odd years old and already bent on becoming an official, with no thought for studying properly. His thinking was not sound.

Many people held much the same view.

Becoming an official — how difficult could it be, really?

The opposing side was led by Huo Yu, who held that Yang Jing bore an inescapable responsibility. The country had placed carefully selected talent in his hands to educate, and he had had one of them killed. So much for a great teacher!

The words “great teacher” made Yue Huan’s brows clench sharply!

This was the very thing!

An ordinary official encountering such a situation could only call it bad luck and move on — but Yang Jing could not clear this particular hurdle. For decades in his home region he had taught students and run a school; even after becoming an official, he regarded the identity of “teacher” more heavily than that of “official.”

The two sides clashed at court.

For several consecutive days, court was extremely lively. Zheng Xi only spoke a few words in support of Yue Huan; since neither Yue nor Yang gave him any signal in return, he stopped intervening. Yang Jing’s management of the National Academy was not Zheng Xi’s first choice for an outcome. Yang Jing leaned more toward Wang Yunhe’s line — and though he was not close to Xian Jing, his fundamental principles were certainly at odds with Zheng Xi’s.

Why do something flawed for Yang Jing’s sake?

Better to just watch them fight.

Zheng Xi glanced at the young Emperor and, sure enough, the Emperor was growing somewhat impatient as well.

At exactly that moment, Yang Jing stepped out of the ranks, knelt before the Emperor with perfect composure, removed his official hat with both hands and placed it on the ground, and bowed his head to the floor: “Your Majesty — with a student’s life lost on my watch, and given that a teacher cannot be absolved of responsibility, this minister can no longer hold his head up in the National Academy.”

He was resigning!

Yue Huan spoke up to urge him to stay. Wang Shuliang also said: “What principle is there that a single mistake means one can never be employed again?”

Among the senior ministers at court — who had not made errors? Rise and fall, rise and fall — and still they were among the foremost in the realm?

Zhù Ying also could not remain still. She stepped forward and submitted to the Emperor: “Recommending students for official appointment is not in any case the primary function of the National Academy. To recommend is a personal favor; not to recommend is the public good. Though I am unrefined, I have never heard that entering the National Academy means one is guaranteed an official post!”

Chen Meng stepped forward: “To leave able and talented men behind in the countryside uncollected is a failure of the Counsellors-in-Chief! But this man had already been admitted to the National Academy — I honestly cannot understand what more he could have wanted.”

Xian Jing said: “All of this stems from divergent interpretations of the classics. I request that the court establish a definitive commentary on the Six Classics, to set the proper standard.”

Zhù Ying looked at him in surprise. This remark from Xian Jing showed a level of skill that surpassed expectations. The student had died because his views conflicted with Yang Jing’s — so establish a standard, and have everyone follow it henceforth. Then whoever presided over this undertaking would determine the direction of all future students’ learning and the ideas they carried with them into official life.

Redrafting the classical commentaries was a vast undertaking, and would also provide an opportunity to bring forward certain people.

Once this proposal was made, it had a flavor almost worthy of a student of Wang Yunhe.

Zheng Xi proposed recommending Yue Huan. Chen Meng proposed Wang Shuliang. Zhù Ying, steeling herself, said: “The Rector Yang is Liu the Counsellor-in-Chief’s finest student — should he not be included?”

Arguments ran back and forth and came to no conclusion. The Emperor said: “Let us defer this for further deliberation.”

He held back Yang Jing’s resignation memorial without granting it, but also made no other arrangements for Yang Jing. Yang Jing, however, was very much of his own mind — from that day forward he closed his doors, went neither to the National Academy nor to morning court.

Court’s focus had already shifted away from him. The Emperor and the Counsellors-in-Chief were considering the question of “redefining the classics.”

Zhù Ying went to the Yang residence twice, and both times was turned away at the door. She sent Su Zhe to call on him and pay her respects, and Su Zhe was also refused admittance. Both of them were downcast.

At that point, Wang Shuliang appeared at Zhù Ying’s door.

Zhù Ying hurried out to receive him. Wang Shuliang wore a fur-lined robe; it was the twelfth month now, and he was dressed very thickly. Zhù Ying was dressed slightly more lightly, which made her figure appear especially tall and slender. Wang Shuliang’s eyes brightened for a moment, then he caught sight of Su Zhe standing behind Zhù Ying, and his lips pressed together tightly.

Zhù Ying came forward to meet him: “What wind has blown you our way?”

Wang Shuliang glanced at Su Zhe again. Su Zhe greeted him openly and with courtesy.

Wang Shuliang said: “I have something to say to you privately.”

“This way, please.”

The two of them went to a small sitting room. A charcoal brazier was placed at Wang Shuliang’s feet. He stamped his feet a little and said: “Is that Su Zhe?”

“It is.”

“I am in charge of the Court of Diplomatic Reception, and I know that her mother is the chieftain of the Qixia tribe, and that she is the heir apparent.”

“Correct.”

“But she has an uncle, and his line has not died out. Su Sheng has also come to the capital, has he not? According to the rites and the formal system, even if her mother holds the position by exceptional authority, it should revert to the main line.”

Zhù Ying said: “That matter was settled twenty years ago with a ruling in favour of following the local customs.”

Wang Shuliang said: “I heard about the events of that time from my father. I understand your reasoning. But there are those who may not understand it so well, and someone has brought an inquiry to the Court of Diplomatic Reception. I cannot conceal it, and I cannot say it is in compliance with the ritual system and formal codes. Zizhang, you need to have a plan.”

“Who is it?”

Wang Shuliang said: “You will know in time. In any case, you cannot keep not addressing this. Today whoever asks, you can tell them not to inquire — but the matter is still there, unresolved. After the pacification policy, the aim is also ritual instruction and civilizing influence. They will, in the end, come under that influence.”

“I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

Wang Shuliang was curious about how she would handle it, but did not press her further, only saying quietly: “Truly an eventful season!”

“You are mistaken — it is winter now.”

Wang Shuliang laughed: “Oh, very well, I should be heading back.”

He had come without warning and departed without lingering, leaving Zhù Ying with a large thorny problem on her hands. She had a fairly good guess as to who would make the move, and that very evening she summoned Su Sheng, Su Zhe, Lin Feng, Lu Danqing, Jin Yu, and Lang Rui to appear before her.