Su Zhe stuffed a very large red envelope into Hao Dafang’s hands. Hao Dafang accepted it with a smile and thanked her.

The red envelope did not go unrewarded. Hao Dafang leaked a bit of news in return: “Even though the seal has been placed on official business these past few days, His Majesty has not been idle. He hasn’t been in the inner palace during the daytime either — he’s been summoning the duty Prime Ministers to discuss matters. From what I can gather, it has something to do with the Ministry of Finance.”

Zhù Ying asked, “Oh? What sort of matter?”

“Something about land annexation, it seems. Minister Zhù…” He began to hem and haw.

“What is it?”

Hao Dafang stepped closer cautiously and asked in a low voice, “Is it really true that people will no longer be permitted to acquire family property?”

From his expression, Zhù Ying immediately pieced together most of the cause and effect. Imperial attendants kept their lips tightly sealed as a rule, and the fact that Hao Dafang had a relationship with her was not the reason he would share affairs from the Emperor’s side — the real reason was “acquiring family property.”

Hao Dafang had risen alongside the Emperor’s own ascent, and he was still young. Only in the past few years had he grown comfortable financially. He was nothing like Lan Xing and Lan De, the father and son pair who had been accumulating wealth for decades, nor like Du Shi’en, who had only recently stepped down after managing affairs for a prince for several decades before going on to manage palace matters.

Hao Dafang was at the point in his life where he was most eager about “acquiring family property.”

Zhù Ying had only recently delivered the relatively accurate new data to the Emperor. The Emperor was a young man, also in high spirits, and was naturally going to study it closely. The registers she had given him were too tangled for him to sort through on his own — he would have to consult people who understood them — and in the end the matter would still have to pass through the Grand Council Secretariat.

What they were discussing was precisely the subject that stabbed at Hao Dafang’s heart.

What made it worse was that “suppressing annexation” was not something that could be resolved quickly. Drawing up a comprehensive national plan would take a great deal of time. To produce a sound plan, the Emperor would have to repeatedly summon different people for consultation.

With Hao Dafang being jabbed at every day like this, he had begun developing worry lines on his face.

Zhù Ying said, “A prosperous nation and a strong people — how could the court possibly want the people to remain poor? Where did you hear such talk? Or perhaps you have misunderstood?”

Hao Dafang’s anxiety remained unabated. “Please, Minister, don’t speak such empty words to me. His Majesty’s discussions with the Prime Ministers do seem to point in that direction.”

Zhù Ying said, “Do the Prime Ministers not have their own lives to live? What they are contemplating is surely something far more far-reaching — it is you who should stop jumping to conclusions.”

Hao Dafang looked thoughtful. Zhù Ying shook her head inwardly.

Hao Dafang quickly put on a smile and said, “The Minister is right. I had better go back and report. “

Zhù Ying saw him to the gate. Hao Dafang said, “Minister, please stop here — tomorrow we will all be waiting for you inside the palace.”

Zhù Ying smiled and said, “Very well.”

Turning back into the residence, the faces of everyone in the household were lit with smiles. How could they not have been worried about Zhù Ying? Before, they had kept quiet because Zhù Ying was composed. Then when the Emperor came, they assumed the whole affair had blown over — and then, unexpectedly, her noble rank had been stripped! Everyone in the household had been seething with indignation.

But now it was all well — the house arrest order had been lifted, and she was to attend the New Year’s court audience. This was her formal return to the court!

Zhù Yin said, “Oh my! I must hurry and sort out the clothes for tomorrow! Let me go find Li Dama — and steam another tray of rice cakes on the stove. We can bring them piping hot in the morning.”

The New Year’s court audience lasted a very long time, and those with experience would have a small bite to eat in between. People generally prepared something odorless but filling.

Li Dama was busy at the stove, with large steamer baskets on every burner. Hearing Zhù Yin’s words, she and her daughter both brightened: “This is truly wonderful news! Oh my, but all these things I’ve been preparing…”

Su Zhe walked over: “My A’Weng can’t possibly eat it all at the palace — the palace banquet isn’t that good anyway — she’ll still want to eat when she comes home, so you just keep on preparing. Besides, we’ll be hosting guests for the New Year!”

Li Dama began to panic: “Who are we hosting? What kind of dishes are needed?” During Zhù Ying’s house arrest, she had focused all her energy on preparing food for the household’s own New Year celebration. The Zhù household style was generous and filling — no need for too much refinement. The meal the Emperor had eaten there had led him to sigh that it was “too simple.”

Now there were guests to host — what she had prepared wouldn’t look presentable enough.

Li Dama was in a terrible fluster.

“My cooking is decent enough — but if only someone had told me earlier… Well, I’ll put the rich broth on to simmer right now!”

……

The main gate swung open with a thunderous bang!

A group of people poured out of the Zhù household, taking advantage of what remained of New Year’s Eve to rush out and do some shopping.

Zhù Ying herself was pulled in front of a mirror by Su Zhe, Lu Danqing, and others. Su Zhe spoke with the air of someone much older than her years: “Thank goodness new clothes were made in time — it simply won’t do to not wear something new for the New Year!”

Even during the period of house arrest and quiet reflection, everyone in the household had had new clothes made — especially Zhù Ying. The clothes she’d been wearing before had been stained with blood, and once washed, they no longer looked as fresh. They had all assumed she would not be returning to court so soon, and Zhù Ying had thought the whole thing too much trouble, but she had relented under Su Zhe and the others’ insistence — and now those clothes had finally found their use.

Su Zhe, Lu Danqing, Senior Sister Hu, Zhù Yin, and others crowded around Zhù Ying, holding various accessories up against her: “This looks lovely!” “No, no — this color clashes with the purple, try the other one. The fashions of the capital are different from back home.” “That gold knife is too small — use the larger one.” “If it’s too long she won’t be allowed to bring it into the palace.”

Zhù Ying stood there for a while, watching them fuss on without end. She finally said, “You take your time discussing.”

As she stepped aside, Su Zhe called out from behind her, “If you leave, how are we supposed to dress you?”

Zhù Ying opened her tablet pouch and pulled out three tablets: “Anything will do. Oh — this one is dirty. Do we have a new one?”

Zhù Yin quickly said, “We do!”

After the tablet pouch had gotten dirty, Zhù Ying had stopped going to court and had simply set it aside, forgotten — it was no longer fit to take out. Zhù Yin went to find a new pouch. Zhù Ying noticed a basin of water nearby and plunged the bloodstained bamboo tablet into it to scrub it clean. But the stains would not come out.

Zhù Yin returned with a new tablet pouch. Seeing the situation, she asked, “We have plenty of tablets — shall I just fetch new ones?”

“Bring three. These two have also gotten stained.”

Senior Sister Hu said, “I’ll get them!”

Zhù Ying left that matter to her and went on to inspect her ivory tablet. Su Zhe took advantage of a moment when Zhù Ying was distracted and quietly slipped the old bamboo tablets into her own sleeve.

The next morning, the two dependable guards accompanied Zhù Ying to the palace.

Along the way, many people recognized Zhù Ying. Some avoided her with barely concealed anger; others wore expressions of warmth and closeness; still others greeted her with smiles; some even tried to edge their way over to make conversation. The attitudes were a thousand different shapes.

Gu Tong and Zhao Su spotted Zhù Ying as well, and both came running over: “Adoptive father / Teacher!” Zhao Zhen and others were slightly further away, but having heard the rumors, they were also making their way over.

Gu Tong and Zhao Su were overjoyed: “You really came, as we hoped!”

Lin Feng puffed out his chest: “Of course! His Majesty sent a personal envoy to summon her!”

Zhù Ying thought to herself: I’ve already submitted a New Year’s memorial to the Emperor, and I sent him New Year’s gifts as well.

Yue Huan, surrounded by several refined-looking men, also made his way over: “Zi Zhang!”

After a round of greetings, the older gentlemen turned out to be friends of Yue Huan’s generation. He made a point of introducing the younger ones: “These are all old Yang’s students — they were just assigned their posts last year.”

The young men looked at Zhù Ying with emotion in their eyes and bowed respectfully. Zhù Ying said, “Admirable. Since Master Yang thought highly enough of you to take you on, make sure you don’t let him down — don’t give people reason to say his judgment of men was poor.”

The young men answered earnestly that they would not.

Yue Huan said with a sigh, “That’s just your nature, and that’s just your face — you can be genuinely angry and then your words turn gentle again just like that. It’s awfully hard to establish authority that way!”

Zhù Ying said, “What’s past is past. Curing a child’s night terrors doesn’t count for much by way of authority.”

Yue Huan had only just raised his hand when Zheng Yi, Zheng Shen, and others also came to speak with them. Zheng Yi said, “This is wonderful — now for the New Year we can all be merry together again! Don’t anyone fight me for this — I absolutely must set aside a day for a private banquet for Sanlang.”

Yue Huan feigned nonchalance and lowered his hand again, saying, “Don’t fight me for it — I got here first!”

Zheng Yi said, “Of course, of course — you go first.”

The merriment cooled slightly when Chen Meng and his son arrived — when a Prime Minister came over, others made space. Chen Meng was delighted: “Wonderful! Now I won’t be lonely anymore.”

Xian Jing and his group had not gone over. Several other men had gathered around Xian Jing instead. One middle-aged, scholarly-looking official said in a low voice, “Though Huo Yu is detestable, having suffered such misfortune, one cannot help but feel a kind of sorrow — as the saying goes, when the rabbit dies, the fox grieves.”

Another, somewhat younger official said, “Perhaps His Majesty did it to protect Huo Yu? Zhù is so ruthless — had the Censor-in-Chief remained in the capital, he might well have fallen to her hand. Besides, the Censor-in-Chief has real practical ability in local governance, with a good track record. Being sent out may not be a bad thing.”

Xian Jing gave a small cough: “Silence — it’s beginning.”

The procession was forming.

Everyone returned to their places, each carrying their own thoughts. Zhù Ying had been stripped of her noble rank — on the surface she had suffered a great loss, been punished. And yet her return had come so swiftly! What was His Majesty’s intention?

Zhù Ying paid no attention to these glances. She followed the crowd into the palace and spent the day going through the motions. Zheng Xi, Chen Meng, and the others chatted and laughed with her at ease, as if the events of before had never occurred.

After receiving the palace banquet, everyone went home. Because she had been under punishment during the period of house arrest, she had not been invited to dinners at various households, nor had she extended any invitations herself — she had only planned to gather with her own people. But apart from Zheng Yi, Chen Meng and others had openly invited her to a meal in front of everyone, and Zhù Ying simply invited them all to dine together at her home.

That day, however, everything proceeded according to the original plan — Zhao Su and the others came rushing to the Zhù household to celebrate.

Gu Tong was the first to leap forward, raising a wine cup: “Today is doubly joyous — not only are we celebrating the New Year, but our Teacher has also returned to the court!”

Everyone cheered in chorus.

Dining at Zhù Ying’s was never stiff or constrained, and before long everyone was in animated conversation. Gu Tong spoke of Gu Yu: “Well done! That surname-Huo fellow was running amok in pursuit of a good name — now that his false face has been stripped away, there aren’t many people outside who feel sorry for him.”

Xiang Yu said, “Zhao-gongzi was the brilliant one. I still have much to learn.”

Zhù Ying looked toward Zhao Su, who answered frankly, “Just some underhanded methods not worth mentioning — reminding the National Academy students to watch out for people looking to retaliate. Minister Yue is also a perceptive man; he called Yang Sacrificial Wine’s students to his own residence, which had the effect of putting their names on record and making it easier to protect them.”

He put it delicately, but Zhù Ying understood clearly. Newly appointed officials whose recommender had just left the capital were the most anxious and frightened — and the most filled with resentment toward whoever had left them without backing.

These men had certainly done well in their studies! Among Zhù Ying’s own group, doctrinal debate was a weak point — but not for these men. Yang Jing’s reputation in scholarly circles had actually been quite good before these past two years, when it had begun to deteriorate slightly. Yang Jing’s departure from the capital had angered more than just Zhù Ying. What Zhao Su had done was simply pour oil on a fire that was already burning.

This was also why, when Zhù Ying had struck someone in open court, the scholarly world had not closed ranks in a unified condemnation — thanks to Zhao Su and Xiang Yu’s work. They had quietly dressed Zhù Ying in a “guardian of righteousness” label, framing her as someone who had struck out of righteous indignation at the sight of a villain disturbing the court and driving out men of principle. In other words: defending the gentleman-scholars.

This reduced to the absolute minimum the number of people who looked at Zhù Ying with disapproval.

Zhao Su and Xiang Yu had done all this, yet neither claimed any credit — they simply sat with everyone else, drinking the New Year wine. From that point on, Zhù Ying’s social visits were too numerous to recount.

……——

When the holiday was over, Zhù Ying returned to the Ministry of Finance to a warm welcome. The ministry was still relatively relaxed at this point — the revenue collected last year had hardly been touched, and no new matters had yet arisen. It was a comfortable, well-provisioned time. This was not the moment when Zhù Ying would be driving them hard.

The Ministry of Finance was pervaded by a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

But Zhù Ying was summoned by the Emperor for a consultation.

When Zhù Ying appeared before the Emperor, he looked her over again and saw nothing on her face but composure. He spoke first: “You truly have the bearing of a Prime Minister!”

Zhù Ying said, “Your Majesty flatters me.”

The Emperor dispensed with pleasantries: “Now that the New Year is past, shouldn’t we start getting down to proper business?”

Zhù Ying said, “What does Your Majesty have in mind?”

The Emperor gestured toward the stack of registers beside him. He had summoned the Prime Ministers to seek their counsel but had not yet handed everything over to them to act on — he wanted to speak with Zhù Ying again first before relinquishing it.

His sense of Zhù Ying was that she had not turned over those registers without already having some thoughts of her own. In his estimation, Zhù Ying was reliable and capable — and she would not let private interests harm the public good.

He said, “Everyone talks about suppressing land annexation. Those who did it well in the past mostly relied on capable local officials, and even then it was only in one place at one time. Chief Minister Wang accomplished something during his tenure — the places he personally oversaw were manageable enough, but once he stepped back, the old abuses had not yet been eliminated before new disorder took hold. What is your own view?”

“I have one idea, though I am not certain it will work.”

“Go ahead.”

“Prohibit the buying and selling of farmland.”

“That…”

“My thought is this: farmland is tied to taxation and conscription. Fix the current tallies of acreage and population as they stand. From that point forward, any newly reclaimed land or increase in population — that can be freely bought, sold, or moved. Those who wish to have more would need to first fully deliver what is owed on what they already hold.”

The Emperor thought for a moment and asked, “Why not simply prohibit the buying and selling of all farmland? If someone wants more land, let them go and open up wasteland!”

“Opening up wasteland is very hard,” Zhù Ying said. “Some places do not have enough wasteland available to reclaim. Permitting the buying and selling of newly reclaimed land is, in effect, a concession — the court and the gentry are like the two sides of a hand, both grown from the same limb, and yet they face opposite directions. To cut through it all at once would certainly provoke a great deal of opposition. At that point it would become chaos — chaos from top to bottom.”

The Emperor listened attentively and said, “Would this be sufficient, then?”

Zhù Ying shook her head. “It is only a stopgap measure.”

The Emperor said, “What?”

Zhù Ying said, “When I was young, I also wanted permanent solutions, but I came to realize it was simply not possible. People have private desires — and I don’t mean only those in the halls of power. I mean ordinary commoners and gentry. Who doesn’t want to prosper? Who doesn’t want their descendants to multiply and flourish? If you have descendants, you want to leave them an inheritance. The more you think about it, the more troubling it becomes. Later on, I discussed this with the late Chief Minister Wang.”

“What did he say?”

“That a permanent solution is impossible — but then again, are we not here? So we simply keep at it without stopping. Consider, Your Majesty — throughout the dynasties, which wise ruler or sage minister did not wish to resolve this problem? And how many actually succeeded? Every workable method has been tried repeatedly. Doing nothing fails. Administering harsh remedies risks killing the patient.

So I believe Chief Minister Wang’s way of thinking may be the one closest to reality — it was a pity that in its implementation, the right people could not be found.”

The Emperor said, “Chief Minister Wang… Let me think it over.”

Zhù Ying took her leave.

The Emperor thought it over for a full month, and in that time did not appear to arrive at any answer. Zhù Ying was not anxious — for a matter of such consequence and such wide reach, a decision made on the spur of the moment would cause far greater upheaval. A little care was no bad thing.

The Emperor was not satisfied. He was still young and wanted to build something worth leaving behind. After a month of containing himself, he finally summoned the Prime Ministers and assigned them the task: “Gentlemen, discuss this among yourselves — how should it be done?”

Zhù Ying’s new data clearly showed that the situation of land annexation had grown significantly worse since the last survey!

Zheng Xi said, “How has it deteriorated so quickly? Things were fine ten years ago.”

Xian Jing said, with barely concealed irritation, “That is because ten years ago and twenty years ago, when the court issued orders to survey and inspect, the figures that came up from below were not necessarily accurate.”

Dou Peng and Chen Meng both said, “That’s right. When local villages reported to the county there would be a slight discrepancy; when the county reported to the prefecture, another slight discrepancy; and when the prefecture reported to the court, another discrepancy still.”

And this is precisely why grass-roots officials are so important.

Discrepancy upon discrepancy, and the court nestled comfortably on its beautiful figures while the situation below had long since grown unfavorable. The high court ministers who had worked their way up from below knew something of it — but they all shared the mindset of “I didn’t do anything that outrageous in my time below; the overall picture can’t be too bad.” Until the accumulated abuses grew too heavy to ignore and could no longer go without correction.

For such matters to be accurately reported from below required an exceptionally good climate — clear-sighted rulers and virtuous ministers — for the figures to be relatively honest. Otherwise, even someone like Wang Yunhe could only make things better in the places he personally oversaw; elsewhere he could only rely on “intimidation.”

Otherwise, one had to do it as Zhù Ying did — treating her subordinates like draft animals, sending Ministry of Finance personnel to personally investigate on the ground. And one had to keep a firm grip on those subordinates so they could not deceive her in turn.

The cost of that approach was not small either. For everyone she had dispatched on such a mission, Zhù Ying had had to pry promotion opportunities from the Ministry of Personnel to offer them in return. Dou Peng suspected that Zhù Ying also had some other means of cross-verification — because even those people were not entirely trustworthy. Or perhaps the already unflattering data Zhù Ying held had itself been further embellished by those below.

Zheng Xi had never served in local administration, but he had written many reports for the Court of Judicial Review over many years — once reminded of this, he too fell silent.

The Emperor said, “This is a matter of great importance. Gentlemen, apply yourselves well. Before a plan is finalized, keep it confidential.”

That was a reasonable thing to say, and the Prime Ministers all agreed.

……

Stepping out of the great hall, Dou Peng suddenly felt a wave of desire to retire. He was tired — he wanted to step down and rest.

The other three were discussing calling Zhù Ying over to ask for her input, but he did not say a word. When Zheng Xi asked him about it, he said, “Oh? Call her in to say a few things — that’s fine.”

So Zhù Ying was hauled out of the Ministry of Finance and brought over.

She told the Grand Council Secretariat the same things she had told the Emperor, and added one more remark: “Conditions vary from place to place — a uniform approach won’t do. It will need to be very carefully considered.”

The court had always assessed different regions at different tax rates — some higher, some lower. All of this would need to be recalculated with precision.

Zheng Xi and Xian Jing each harbored their own private agendas and withheld judgment on Zhù Ying’s proposal.

Chen Meng said, “I’m afraid it won’t work. Don’t you know the tactics they use below? The moment you open even a small gap, they’ll tear down the entire wall.”

The other three nodded.

Zhù Ying said, “The gap is already open — it gives them a place to breathe. As for anyone who wants to tear down walls, they cannot blame me for tearing down their bones in return.”

Chen Meng shuddered.

Zhù Ying added, “Of course, all of this requires a formal court decree. If that still proves insufficient, then consider this unsaid. The court and the local gentry are like the two sides of a hand — both grown on the same hand, yet facing opposite directions. Would you not agree?”

Zheng Xi said, “A matter of such far-reaching policy cannot be decided in an instant. It requires further deliberation.”

Zhù Ying gave a slight bow and said no more.

Afterward, the members of the Grand Council Secretariat met frequently for consultation. Zhù Ying was not in any hurry — she simply handled the work on her desk. With Yang Jing gone, the new appointment for the head of the National Academy had not yet been decided. Yue Huan and Xian Jing were diametrically opposed on the matter and argued until their faces turned red.

The National Academy was in some disarray — not only were people anxious and unsettled, but even their funding for provisions and grain had been held up.

One day, Zhao Su brought over an official document: “The National Academy is asking for funds again.”

Zhù Ying said, “The ten-day period isn’t even over yet — what’s the hurry? Peach Branch—”

The budget had been drawn up at the end of the previous year, and the funds had already been allocated. But the timing of disbursement was at Zhù Ying’s discretion. She was releasing it in ten-day installments, watching and waiting to see how the National Academy changed and what happened with the new head appointment.

Zhao Su understood she was standing up for Yang Jing, and said, “Quite right! The funds aren’t being withheld beyond their due. This lot — if they had any sense, they’d know who to be angry at! Huo Yu got off far too easily. Let me go back and have A’Yu remind them some more…”

Zhù Ying said, “I simply don’t trust that these people can make proper use of these funds. Every amount I release must be watched carefully. If they misuse a single allocation — hm!”

Zhao Su laughed, “Understood!”

“What’s so funny?” Ye Deng came hurrying over. “Come on — we need to disburse funds.”

Zhù Ying and Zhao Su both looked at him: “What funds?”

Ye Deng said: “An Imperial Prince has passed away.”

When the Emperor lost a son, the Ministry of Finance had to contribute a portion toward the funeral expenses as well.

Zhù Ying asked, “Which prince?”

“I heard — the second son.”

“Oh my!” Zhù Ying said. This was not good news at all.