By this time of year, the sun turned fierce very early in the morning. Zhù Ying, wearing a broad bamboo hat, crouched on the ridge and reached out to pull up a handful of rice stalks. They were still green, just barely beginning to show the faintest tinge of yellow. The ears were not large, but reasonably full. Farming in the mountains was not easy — this particular field had only been cleared about ten-odd years ago — and that it could be cultivated to this standard was the result of enormous effort.

Wuzhou, setting aside any comparison to the north, was poorer land even compared to Jiyuan Prefecture. Zhù Ying stared at the rice in a daze.

After crouching for a while, her feet began to tingle. She bounced to her feet, shaking out each leg and stretching her limbs. Not far away, someone called out in a loud voice: “Who are you?”

Zhù Ying removed her bamboo hat. Several farmers recognized her. “My Lord?” They came rushing up, about to kneel.

Zhù Ying said, “I came out for a walk. All of you go on with what you were doing — no need to mind me.”

The eldest among them smiled. “Things aren’t too busy right now.”

Zhù Ying took the opportunity to sit and chat with them, asking about the harvest. She learned that compared to when the land had first been cleared, each mu of field now yielded a few dozen jin more per year across the full harvest. As for exactly how much more: “That depends on the plot. The good ones are up by eighty or ninety jin, the poorer ones by forty or fifty — it all comes down to fertilizer and water…”

Gathering fertilizer up in the mountains was no easy task either, and the yields could never quite match those on the flatlands below.

Zhù Ying listened patiently. The small group had been talking for a while when someone in the distance began calling her name, their voice carrying across the whole hillside. The old farmer braced his palms on his knees and rose. “My Lord, it’s Lady Jiang looking for you.”

Zhù Ying sprang up from the ground, shook out her feet, and looked in the direction of the voice. Jiang Zhou had not come alone — another person trailed behind her: Zhou Wei.

Zhù Ying said to the old farmer, “Then I’ll be off.”

“Right.”

Several farmers clustered around her to see her off. Zhù Ying walked a few steps with them, then suddenly asked, “Is the area around here safe? Are there bandits or wild animals?”

One quick-tongued young man replied, “Mountain bandits don’t dare come near here. There’s the occasional petty thief — swiping some grain or vegetables — but we’ve caught them a few times and given them a beating, and that’s been the end of it. In winter there are wolves howling up in the mountains, but they don’t come down toward us much. Our villa — our town — is really quite well-situated.”

Zhù Ying smiled. “Still, go out in groups.”

“Yes!”

Zhù Ying waved goodbye to them and strode off toward Jiang Zhou and the others.

As she drew close, Jiang Zhou was the first to grumble: “You’ve gone out by yourself again — you gave us such a fright.” Her complexion was still dark, and her stride was still quick and nimble.

Zhou Wei said, “A letter has come — from your student, Young Official Zhù. Madam and Master Zhao both say it’s rather important.”

Zhou Wei had been at the villa for some days now. Because she had just arrived, and because she came from a background as a female guard, Jiang and the other Teng woman had taken her in to live with them for the time being.

For one thing, their previous responsibilities were of a similar nature, and in all likelihood Zhou Wei would eventually be serving as a warden of some sort. Someone who had come from the Court of Judicial Review was certain to know more than anyone from a smaller locality, so getting acquainted early would make things easier down the road.

For another, Zhù Ying had considered that Zhou Wei was a person from the capital, and having arrived suddenly in the mountains, she could not understand a word of any of the local languages — let alone the various tribal tongues — and even the local dialect was opaque to her. Better to have her follow Jiang Zhou for now and first learn to communicate. The work could wait.

So Zhou Wei had not yet been assigned any duties, and simply followed Jiang Zhou everywhere. She had always had a bold and lively personality. Since arriving at the villa, her sharp edges had gradually softened and her mood had grown noticeably better — she was becoming more and more animated. If Jiang Zhou said the first half of a sentence, Zhou Wei would supply the second. The two of them often seemed to be performing a two-person act.

Zhù Ying said, “Understood. I’m heading back now.”

Jiang Zhou kept chattering away: “Sister Hu has come out looking for you too. Zhù Yin also came out. The two of us just happened to find you first.”

Zhou Wei said, “Let’s head back and talk there — it’s so hot out here. A rest and some lunch would do us all good.”

With the two of them taking turns urging her on, Zhù Ying was herded back into the settlement. Along the way, she encountered a peddler with a carrying pole, surrounded by a cluster of children. The villa had workshops of its own whose output was smaller and slightly more expensive than those in Jiyuan Prefecture, though comparable in quality. Still, since the mountain roads were so difficult, some peddlers chose to stock up here and then travel even deeper into the mountains to sell their wares.

Less profit but less distance — this peddler had chosen the easier road.

He said cheerfully to the children, “Don’t keep following me — I’ve got to leave the settlement now. I need to make it to a village over that way before dark.”

Several children were still eyeing the peddler’s load with longing. It was piled with all manner of things — just looking at it was a pleasure in itself. But two of the children quickly spotted Zhù Ying and surrounded her at once: “My Lord!”

Zhù Ying said, “Come, come with me.”

The children followed, the peddler mopped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, gave her a grateful smile, put on his bamboo hat, and strode off quickly with his load.

Zhù Ying led the children to a small food stall, bought a pack of sweets, and distributed one to each child. She pulled Jiang Zhou and Zhou Wei along and made her escape back to the residence. Experience told her that if she lingered even a moment longer, another wave of small children would descend on her demanding sweets, and she would never make it home.

Back at the residence, she arrived just in time for the midday meal. Zhù Ying called everyone together to eat. Su Zhe had already returned home with Su Mingluan. Lu Danqing, Lin Feng, and the others had been away from their families for a long time and also needed to go home for a while before deciding on their next steps. So it was only Zhao Su still staying here, and he had not yet had a chance to bring his wife and children over.

Zhù Da was not able to get up easily and still ate in his room. Zhang Xiangu preferred to eat with her daughter but felt sorry leaving her husband alone, so she ate the midday meal with her daughter and the evening meal with her husband.

At midday, the household was fairly well assembled, including Xiao Jiang and the other women. Zhù Ying asked Xiao Jiang: “And your children?”

Xiao Jiang smiled. “They’re having their meal at the school.”

“Their studies coming along all right?”

“Quite well.” Xiao Jiang spoke modestly, but her expression was noticeably pleased.

At the table, Zhang Xiangu mentioned: “There’s a letter from Chuizi.” Huajie immediately asked: “You’re all back now — will he be coming back soon too?”

Zhù Ying said, “That’s not certain yet. Wuzhou needs talented people, but it may not be able to accommodate quite so many.”

Zhao Su was paying close attention but affected an air of casual indifference. “The state government of Wuzhou has positions for the deputy governor and similar posts rotating among the counties by turns — all of them already filled. Being a tributary state is different from being part of the regular administrative system, which means it may not be possible to enforce orders uniformly. As for what comes next…”

Zhù Ying said, “Once the conferral arrives, I’ll talk with them.”

The older members of the household, seeing the two of them discussing affairs of state, held back and didn’t interject. Once Zhao Su seemed to have finished his thought, Zhang Xiangu said, “Eat first — the food is getting cold. We’ll read Chuizi’s letter after the meal.”

Zhù Ying said, “Don’t worry about him. As long as he can hold on through this stretch, everything will be fine.”

The letter from Zhù Lian had come in response to one Zhù Ying had sent him through the Association House channels shortly after arriving in Wuzhou — telling him to settle his mind and do his current work well. She would arrange everything. At the very least, he could count on returning to Wuzhou to help her. Over the next ten or twenty years, she intended to expand her territory, and she would need seasoned and capable hands.

This reply from Zhù Lian was in response to that letter.

The midday meal was quickly finished. Seeing that Zhang Xiangu was anxious, Zhù Ying opened the letter then and there and smiled as she read it. “He’s doing well.”

In the letter, Zhù Lian wrote that the news had traveled slowly — he hadn’t known at first. He’d only learned what had happened when the prefectural governor summoned him in to probe him. But no matter what, Zhù Ying was his teacher. Once he knew she had arrived safely in Wuzhou, he had been at ease. Not long before, he had received another piece of news through the prefectural governor — that Zhù Ying had been officially confirmed in her appointment — and he was happy for her.

He then wrote that since she had made arrangements, he would do his current work well and wait for her further word.

Huajie smiled and said, “He’s always been a sensible child. He had a lot on his mind when he was young, but his nature was never bad.”

Zhang Xiangu finally relaxed and went to look in on Zhù Da.

Zhù Ying said, “Everyone may go, then. There’s still a good deal to be done this afternoon.”

Everyone dispersed. Zhao Su stayed behind. Lately he had been staying inside the residence every day, going through the old records. Not only had Zhù Ying made no moves, but neither had he — yet he knew that the timing of Zhù Ying’s actions was directly tied to how thoroughly they had absorbed the situation of this “villa.” The sooner they fully understood it, the sooner they could take it in hand. Based on his impressions from the past few days: as a “villa,” this place was well managed. But as a “county,” there was much to find fault with. It was not Huajie’s fault for lacking diligence, nor was it Xiang Le or Xiang An undermining things — it was simply that the two functions were clearly different in nature.

The former placed more weight on personal sentiment; the latter gave greater weight to law and regulations, especially given the need to interact with the court going forward.

Zhao Su was dealing with another kind of difficulty as well. Previously he had worked in the Ministry of Revenue, where at a glance he was reckoning figures for the whole realm — what a colossal scale. Now, having dropped three levels at a stroke, he was looking at data for a single remote tributary county, and he couldn’t help finding his mind slow to make the adjustment.

For instance, when Zhù Ying proposed leveling out the roads within the county and the subject of conscripted labor and provisions came up, Zhao Su had nearly made calculations as if he were “allocating from central reserves.” Then when he considered that all of Wuzhou probably needed a general overhaul of its road system, he immediately realized that the scale of labor and materials that plan would require was entirely beyond what was available.

Today, because of Zhù Lian’s letter and the discussion of Wuzhou “talent” and governance, Zhao Su wanted to raise the matter with Zhù Ying one more time: “I fear we must first settle the county before touching the rest of Wuzhou. The people you have on hand are still not quite enough. Relying on a single county to exercise authority over the other five is — well, Little Sister probably isn’t a problem. The others are less certain. The Prefectural Governor’s office has no fixed seat of government; its officials all rotate by turns, and all those positions have only ever been nominal — none of them have actually performed substantive duties.”

Zhù Ying said, “Since I now have a county of my own, the rotation must include me as well. Since a Prefectural Governor has been formally conferred, Wuzhou must have unified governance — everything must be reorganized from the ground up.”

Zhao Su said, “I fear that will be harder to achieve than getting them to collectively nominate you as Governor. A governorship is giving away the court’s generosity at the court’s expense. Obedience means binding their own hands. A seat on the rotation means losing the opportunity that turn would have given them. These things are not matters that can be resolved through ‘discussion.’

Furthermore, as you expand and establish more counties in new territories, the number of counties eligible to rotate will grow, and that may not be a good thing. If it remains a rotating arrangement, even with two or three prefectures, even if you become a Military Commissioner, the forces you can actually command will be limited, and the title will be hollow.

The current Wuzhou is, in essence, still a system of ‘enfeoffment.’ For any new territory you acquire, please use a combination of recommendation and examination — do not create more enfeoffed family holdings. Even if a family has rendered great service, give their sons the chance to win honors through their own efforts rather than simply handing them a county outright. To do otherwise is to undermine your own position. Beyond that, you must strengthen your own base of power. Otherwise you’ll just be serving as a strategist for others, doing all the work for other people’s benefit.”

Zhù Ying nodded. “Why else do you think I’m building a school?”

Zhao Su said, “Forgive me for speaking frankly, but the students coming out of the county school are probably not yet quite ready.”

Zhù Ying said, “Then we’ll bring them along ourselves. Ability is trained through doing. Those trained directly under one’s own guidance are the most useful.”

Zhao Su asked, “And what about Zhù Lian and the others?”

Zhù Ying said, “That depends on how the situation develops. We’ll have to see what course the court takes before deciding when he should come back.”

Zhao Su said, “I see. I’ll get back to the old records, then. This villa is your root — until things here are put in order, nothing else can be discussed.”

“Off you go.”

……

Everything Zhao Su said was correct, and Zhù Ying had thought of all of it. She could also see clearly that Zhao Su had ambitions of his own. He had aspirations; in Wuzhou there was opportunity for him, but also constraints — and Wuzhou was not his territory. Still, his opposition to “enfeoffment” had hit on the essential point. For now, the most pressing task was governing Zhù County well.

In the afternoon, she did not go out again, but stayed home and read through the old records herself. Zhù Ying had a healthy appetite, and Zhang Xiangu, afraid she might go hungry, came in after a while carrying all manner of food, urging her to take a rest: “Sitting like that all day will ruin your health — have something to eat.”

Zhù Ying simply went along with the suggestion, and together with Huajie and the others sat and had some refreshments and a chat.

It was not idle chatter, however. Casually and in passing, she asked about the people in the household: “I’ve noticed a few children who seem to belong to our family. How many people have married?”

Huajie said with a smile, “Men marrying, women wedding — what could be more ordinary? They sing their songs, or a young man hunts a sheep and claims a piece of land, and brings it to the girl he loves. The girl sees he’s steady and dependable and is willing to make a life with him, and so a family is formed.”

From the time of the “Stone City” settlement until now had been over ten years. The young people who had been young then had grown to the age for marriage. In the customs of the mountain communities, if two people were mutually interested there was opportunity — and over more than a decade, a fair number of stable families had formed and produced offspring, and the numbers were not small.

Huajie had kept some of these households on at the residence to continue working. Zhù County had no slaves; the people had previously all been tenants under Zhù Ying’s name in the old villa arrangement, and with the population growing, it was perfectly natural for some to be released to pursue other livelihoods.

Huajie said, “Now that the county has been formally established, will there be a new set of rules?”

Zhù Ying nodded. “Count it as labor service.”

“Very well. Xiao Wu.”

Wu Ren said, “I’ve taken note of everything. I’ll speak with Third Sister Xiang and Master Zhao tomorrow.”

Zhù Ying said, “Those who came with me from before also had it hard — their settling-down must also be arranged.”

In her mind, Zhù Ying was thinking: anyone who wished to marry should be given a private room of their own, along with a few household goods to start a home with, and helped to get married. The ten years away from the north had been difficult for everyone.

What had begun as a casual conversation over refreshments gradually turned into an arrangement of practical affairs — no one at the table quite noticed when the shift happened. Each spoke in turn and all grew absorbed.

Because Zhou Wei was present, they were speaking in the official tongue. Those present all had a passable command of it, and Zhou Wei, for once, found herself understanding everything. She ventured to speak: “My Lord, now that the county has been established, should the official positions for the women here be formalized? So that we would be proper, recognized officials of Zhù County?”

All these years, it had been Huajie managing the general affairs and the school, Xiao Jiang and the other Jiang woman handling criminal cases and the prison, and first the Xiang siblings and then Wu Ren overseeing the storerooms and the collecting of rent. Defense had first been under Hou Wu’s charge and was now under Zhù Qingjun. All of them were Zhù Ying’s own people.

Zhù Ying said, “Of course. But many people helped in the early days, and all of them will need a proper arrangement first. Which means the rest of you will have to wait a little.”

In the early days when the villa had been short of people, besides Xiang An and Xiang Le who had come to help, they had also used a few assistant managers. Later, when Huajie and the others moved to the villa, three managers had stayed on to assist, and they too would need to be given a proper place. Beyond that, Zhù Wen and Zhù Yin, who had stayed at Zhù Ying’s side throughout, both had some ability and needed positions as well. Whether one had a court-conferred appointment or not was a matter of obvious consequence. What had previously been arrangements where senior and junior posts worked in partnership with little difference between them would now, with only one appointment per position per county, show a very clear divide between the primary and secondary roles.

Then there were Zhao Su, Xiang An, Xiang Le, and others, whose own ranks were already fairly elevated — they would take up several of the higher positions, and this was already something of a condescension on their part to accept.

Huajie said, “All right.”

She had spoken, and the two Jiang women followed: “We’ll follow your lead.” Wu Ren nodded after them.

Zhù Qingjun was out on patrol. Zhou Wei looked left, then right, and then — unable to help herself — spoke up again. Her expression was something to behold. Zhù Ying laughed: “Everyone will have an arrangement!”

This made Zhou Wei roll her eyes at Zhù Ying in exasperation, and Huajie laughed even more loudly.

Zhù Ying said, “My word is good.” And at that very moment she designated Jiang Zhou as the warden of Zhù County’s prison.

Jiang Zhou said, “Me?”

“Yes. Don’t look at her — she has something else I have in mind for her. The women’s prison for all of Wuzhou also needs someone.”

Only then did Jiang Zhou break into a smile. Huajie said, “Congratulations.”

With this, what came next was rather obvious. The Zhù County positions would be filled by those with less seniority. The higher positions that would come “in the future” would go to those of greater seniority. The most senior, like Huajie, and Zhù Ying herself shared an unspoken understanding — Huajie would not be jostling for a position at a time like this.

Zhou Wei too relaxed.

The rest was arranged along similar lines.

Huajie said, “All these people who have worked so hard for so many years — at last there is something to show for it.”

Zhù Ying said, “I have one more thought: as the undertaking grows larger, if there are those who are no longer suited to their responsibilities but whose seniority is considerable — if they are willing to step aside and yield to someone more capable, I will set aside some provisions for them, as a form of retirement.”

Huajie said, “That way, they won’t have labored in vain. Good.”

Before long, the matter had been settled. Just then, Xiang An and Xiang Le arrived with Xiang Yu. Xiang An and Xiang Le had their own residence within the settlement. Xiang Le’s son was already not small, and he had not brought him along — he wanted the boy to finish his studies with the better teachers down below the mountain before making any further decisions. Xiang Yu, however, had buried himself in the villa and was living with his aunt and uncle.

Zhù Ying asked, “You’ve come with something to say?”

Xiang Yu said, “Yes, My Lord. I went down the mountain to visit my mother, and I ran into some of the people from the county. They all miss you very much, and they’d like to congratulate you on receiving the conferral. They also want to ask what your plans are going forward — they’d like to come up the mountain to pay their respects. I didn’t know what your wishes were.”

Zhù Ying said, “I miss them all very much too. But tell them there’s no hurry. When the time is right, I’ll invite them all to come and have a meal.”

The three of them exchanged looks. “Yes.”

Zhù Ying said, “Good that you’ve come. You have no particular grudge or grievance with the Yigan family, so I’d like you to go on my behalf and visit the Yigan Cave Master. I’ll arrange a guide and interpreter for you.”

“Yes.”

The Yigan clan had no written language, so there was no question of a formal letter. There were a few sheets of paper on which Zhù Ying dictated and Xiang Yu transcribed — essentially a draft for him to use. He would memorize it on the road and present it in person to the Yigan Cave Master when the time came.

The content was straightforward. Zhù Ying expressed her hope for peaceful coexistence with the Yigan Cave Master. If the Cave Master was willing, she would also petition for him to be appointed a county magistrate. The Yigan clan had in recent years been secretly trying to cultivate winter wheat, but they were watched closely on this side and could never get good seed stock. They had abducted a few skilled farmers, and a joint force from the five counties had gone to retrieve them. The Yigan clan still practiced certain of their older customs, including animal sacrifice in their sky-worship rituals. The five Wuzhou counties had only reformed these practices a few years ago, but being provoked by the Yigan clan had caused some of them to revert to the old ways.

Zhù Ying’s demand was that both sides stop the practice of human sacrifice, and live in peace. If the Yigan Cave Master was willing, Zhù Ying could also visit his territory to see if there were any means of livelihood there that could be developed. The Cave Master could send his brightest young people to her — she would teach them to read, do arithmetic, and more, to help the Cave Master manage his settlement better.

As for the matter of winter wheat cultivation, she could help with that too — it was something she knew well. She could also help the Cave Master turn the unproductive slaves into relatively motivated tenant farmers.

The proposal was so eminently reasonable that Xiang Yu, memorizing his lines, was moved almost to tears: “Our Lord truly has the heart of a compassionate mother!”

What an idiot I’ve been! Anyone this compassionate is definitely a woman!

Xiang Yu even began to think Zhù Ying was being somewhat soft. Now that she had returned, how could she possibly fail to defeat the Yigan clan?

He packed up his things, took the interpreter, and was about to set off with the generous gifts Zhù Ying had prepared.

Zhù Ying said, “Wait — let me have Qingjun send some people along with you.”

Sister Hu said, “I’ll go with him. Now that My Lord has safely returned home, I can breathe easy. This is a good opportunity to get out for a bit with Young Master Xiang.”

Zhù Qingjun could not leave her post. Sister Hu felt gratitude for the help the Xiang family had given in the past, so she set off to escort Xiang Yu to the Yigan settlement.

……

Xiang Yu felt rather pleased with himself. From a merchant’s perspective, this deal was a profitable one. From the perspective of a man of learning, abolishing human sacrifice was a mark of civilization. And on top of that, there was the encouragement of agriculture, and the prospect of the Yigan Cave Master receiving a proper official standing.

Xiang Yu’s estimation was that the greatest obstacle might be the somewhat deep-rooted resentment between the parties, which would require some persuading.

As it turned out, it took three days of travel to reach the Yigan clan’s new main settlement. When he was brought before the Yigan Cave Master, the old man listened to his entire proposal — and erupted in fury: “You’ve come to deceive me again?”

Xiang Yu was stunned. “I have come with complete sincerity!”

The Yigan Cave Master’s original main settlement had not been in this location. His former home had been no more than two li from the “Zhù Family Estate.” The reason he had been forced to relocate was precisely because, out of goodwill, he had agreed to let Zhù Ying set up a market there for trade years ago.

And how had that ended? He had lost a fine piece of land and been forced to retreat deeper into the mountains.

He did not believe them.

Not only did he not believe them — the young men of the settlement were incensed and wanted to sacrifice Xiang Yu to the heavens. It was only thanks to Sister Hu’s short blade, which could cleave iron as if it were mud, and her sling shot with unerring precision, that she and some of the strong, trained young people under Zhù Qingjun’s command managed to form a defensive formation and fight their way out of the main settlement.

The valuable gifts were all lost. Xiang Yu was furious: “Utterly unreasonable!”

The group ran headlong until they reached the border of their own territory, where Zhù Qingjun stood waiting with sword in hand: “Did you run into bandits?”

Xiang Yu finally found his savior. “The old Yigan man is outrageously bullying! Look at what they did to us! You must bear witness — please tell My Lord we demand justice and revenge!”

The two of them went straight back to the county seat. Zhù Qingjun said nothing. Xiang Yu was first to pour out his grievances: “My Lord, I’m not afraid to die, and I’m not aggrieved on my own account. But the attack wasn’t really against me — they are clearly determined to be at odds with you!”

Zhù Ying showed no sign of anger. “Understood. You’ve had a hard time of it — go and rest. Qingjun.”

“Here.”

“Send someone to pass word to the Yigan Cave Master again. Tell him that while I am still living in this villa and cannot hand it over to him, he is welcome to come back — that stretch of land has been left fallow and I have not enclosed it. He can move his settlement back to where it used to be. And if he doesn’t trust me, I’m prepared to swear an oath before the sky.”

“Yes.”

Zhù Qingjun found a passing Xi Ka clan merchant to carry the message.

Five days later, the merchant returned with word: “They nearly beat me too. It was only because I was Xi Ka that they let me go. They have no intention of trusting you.”

The Yigan Cave Master had been burned so badly before that, once bitten, he was no longer willing to trust anyone — not under any circumstances.

Zhù Qingjun quietly heightened her vigilance, sending out more scouts to watch for any surprise attack from the Yigan clan. Harvest season made it very easy for them to come and steal the cut grain or burn the crops.

In the midst of this anxious tension, Chen Mei returned to Jiyuan Prefecture.