The Luguo headman had been invited by Zhù Ying to attend the ceremony, and had been ambushed on the way. Zhù Ying felt this was her responsibility. She turned to Chen Mei and said, “Please wait a moment,” then called to Lu Danqing: “Let’s go and have a look.”

Chen Mei was inclined to follow, but without Zhù Ying at hand, there were precious few people nearby who spoke a dialect he could understand well. Most around him were speaking any number of strange languages. He reckoned that even if he went along, he probably wouldn’t understand what was being said, so it was better to stay and corner someone who could speak plainly, and find out what had happened.

Wu Ren became the one he pulled aside. “Lady Wu, what’s happened?”

Wu Ren had also been on her way to follow the others, and was unfortunately outpaced by everyone with more physical speed than herself, ending up last. She was then addressed by an “unfamiliar man,” which left her momentarily stunned and bewildered — she simply stood there, rooted to the spot. Chen Mei had no idea what he had done wrong, or why the woman before him wouldn’t speak.

Looking at her: Wu Ren’s manner of dress was not that of a mountain person, and her official tongue was relatively standard. She was a trusted person in the household, clearly the one responsible for accounting. By every measure she should be someone with a clear head and ready composure — so why had she simply frozen?

Wu Ren’s mind had gone blank. She looked left and right — no one to save her! How was she supposed to speak to an “unfamiliar man”?

Chen Mei repeated himself. He noticed her forehead was beginning to bead with sweat, and quickly softened his voice, asking once more, very gently. Wu Ren took a deep breath. “Ah — yes, yes, yes. It’s the Luguo headman — he’s been ambushed.”

Chen Mei, following her breath — the sharp inhale, the slow exhale — nearly choked on his own. He carefully asked further: “Is it bandits? Is this area unsafe? And my uncle — has she encountered any danger?”

Wu Ren shook her head quickly. “Not bandits — it’s the Yigan clan. It’s a long story, but My Lord has not been in any danger.”

“And why has the Yigan clan…?”

Wu Ren kept craning her neck to look down the road ahead, wishing she could go see for herself, but Chen Mei was still keeping her there. Preoccupied with worry and wanting nothing more than to get away, her words grew blunter and more hurried: “The Luguo clan provoked it themselves. Itchy hands — they were asking to be hit.”

“So County Magistrate Lu was the one who started the provocation?”

Wu Ren nodded. “He’s been spoiling for a fight with that clan for the past ten years.”

The Luguo and Xijin clans were both members of the Huapa people, and so was the Yigan clan — three families whose fists were roughly matched, and who had therefore gone at each other back and forth for years. The Luguo headman still held a grudge because the Yigan clan had refused to let their daughter marry his son, and was always looking for opportunities to pick fights with them. The Yigan clan couldn’t beat the others very well, but beating the Luguo headman they could manage.

The Xijin clan also picked fights, but not as aggressively as the Luguo. Among all the counties, it was the Yigan Cave Master who had suffered the most at Zhù Ying’s hands and trusted her the least — but the one he hated most was still the Luguo headman.

“Any Yigan person who meets anyone from the Luguo clan: a fight is guaranteed. Let alone running into him personally?” Wu Ren grew more and more agitated, and her manner grew short. “Would you mind stepping aside? I can almost catch up if I go now!”

Chen Mei discovered, to his surprise, that she had gone from shy and slightly tongue-tied at the start to something rather fierce — as if she might start an argument at any second.

He stepped to one side. He did not go inside either, but stood at the entrance of the residence gate and looked out at the main street. The road surface was flat and had no standing water. Many people were out spreading grain on it to dry. Wu Ren gathered up her skirts and started running forward, but her feet slowed within a few dozen steps — one foot twisted, she stepped onto some grain at the side, and down she went with a heavy thud.

Chen Mei opened his mouth halfway, not quite sure what he was seeing.

The people on the roadside, however, were completely unsurprised. A woman in a short working jacket leaned on her shovel and watched her with a grin. Another woman with a cloth wound around her head stepped forward, helped Wu Ren up, said a few laughing words, and pulled the cloth from her own neck to dust Wu Ren off.

Wu Ren set off again. Zhù Ying and the others had already turned around and were coming back.

Wu Ren went forward to meet them with a red face and quietly asked Lu Danqing: “How is he? Should I go to the medical clinic to fetch someone?”

Lu Danqing’s expression was not good. Her words were urgent but still clear: “Just now My Lord has already sent someone to fetch Madam. My father…”

The two women looked back together. The Luguo headman was being carried on a stretcher by several people. He was moaning and cursing the Yigan clan in the same breath, swearing he would kill their whole clan.

Wu Ren saw that besides the headman himself, several of the county’s uniformed local soldiers trailing behind him also appeared to have been injured. She was alarmed. “How did this happen — !”

Zhù Qingjun caught her eye and gave her a look. Wu Ren gave a small nod and held back her questions. It wasn’t until she had followed everyone inside that she pulled Zhù Qingjun aside: “How many were injured, and how much medicine will be needed? I can allocate from the stores.”

Zhù Qingjun went with her to a quieter spot. Before she had even finished the count, Wu Ren asked, “Why did our people get injured? Has the Yigan clan grown so strong? How are we going to fight them?”

Zhù Qingjun wore a face as expressionless as a corpse, and said in a flat, weary tone: “They’re not stronger. But we had to rescue people, cover the retreat, and escort everyone out safely.”

Wu Ren said directly: “Someone was dragging their feet.”

“Don’t let Little Lu hear — she’s already going to be mortified.”

“How much will we need?” Wu Ren said. “I’ll go take stock.” Our own soldiers had been injured, and beyond medicine there would be some additional provisions owed to cover their expenses during recovery — that was Wu Ren’s responsibility now.

Zhù Qingjun said, “I’ll report to My Lord first, then come find you. A total of eight were injured — one more seriously, the rest lightly.”

With that, she went to the main hall, where she arrived just in time to hear Lu Danqing say to the Luguo headman: “You’re in this state now, and you still couldn’t wait? You were the one who provoked them. Don’t worry, once everyone’s had a chance to breathe, we’ll take him down together properly — isn’t that better than all this petty back-and-forth?”

The Luguo headman’s face was a mask of wounded dignity. “You’re saying your father was wrong?”

Lu Danqing was left temporarily speechless. She hated that — when a person had no good argument, they dragged out rank and seniority to silence you!

Huajie had also hurried over, and had people carry the Luguo headman to a guest room to dress his wound. Zhù Qingjun reported the full account to Zhù Ying: “The Luguo headman had an old grudge with the Yigan Cave Master, and came off the worse for it in the encounter.”

Lu Danqing’s neck had gone red all the way to the base.

Zhù Ying said, “Understood. Our own people must be properly treated as well, and given their allowance. Send people out to receive the others who are still on their way.”

“Yes.”

“Danqing — stay with your father for a while, and talk with him properly. Tell him to keep his temper for now. Everyone’s grain isn’t fully in yet, and there’s no one free to spare. Once we’re past the busy season, I’ll have an arrangement.”

“Yes.”

Lu Danqing left in a barely contained fury.

Chen Mei said, “This Luguo headman — he doesn’t seem like a patient man.”

Zhù Ying said, “Patience or not — he waits!”

“Ah?”

Zhù Ying said, “Come with me. You came to ask me things, didn’t you?”

“Yes!”

Zhù Ying gave out assignments to the others: Zhao Su would see to preparations for the ceremony — Su Zhe hadn’t arrived yet, so for now he was the one here who knew the most about these things. Xiao Jiang and the others took Zhou Wei along to go and resolve some disputes in the settlement.

Chen Mei followed Zhù Ying to the study. The two sat down. Zhù Ying, though she wore a plain cotton robe with a wooden hairpin, still carried that air of “uncle” about her, while Chen Mei still looked like a fine young nephew in brocade. Zhù Ying said, “You asked about two matters. I can now tell you why Xian Jing is doing what he is. But that minister Yao — what about him?”

Zhù Ying said, “Yao Chenying is a person of extraordinary clarity of mind. Only… he lacks a certain courage. Let’s not speak of him for now — understanding him at this stage would not serve you well. As for Xian Jing — it’s quite simple: he’s gathering hearts to himself. When I was young and working at the Court of Judicial Review, there were rows of officials in green and blue robes with white hair who had nowhere to go. People like them had no prospects — all they could do was plod on and become old hands at the game. They had seniority but nothing that counted as real experience, and no family connections to leverage into promotions.

Xian Jing’s move is entirely different. You put in enough years, you advance. You might not make Chancellor just by outliving everyone, but you can, by outlasting everyone long enough, get a grade or two further up. And if fortune smiles on you, you might even manage a scarlet robe. Tell me — would people like that feel grateful to Xian Jing?

When you get back, warn your father to keep his eye on the Board of Personnel! It’s still in his hands for now!”

Chen Mei started: “Xian Jing, he—!” He let out a sound of outrage.

Zhù Ying said, “You keep pressing me about the ceremony. In a day or two we’ll have it. Since you have the energy to go looking for me everywhere, make use of it — go out and take a real look around. Help dry some grain, taste some unpolished rice. “

“Yes,” he said, but didn’t immediately leave. He still pressed: “And Minister Yao… when will you be willing to enlighten me? Even if I’m too young to fully understand, could I ask for a letter to take back to my father? He’s exactly the kind of person who can’t let something go once it’s on his mind — you know what he’s like. If I go back without an answer, he’ll bring it up every single day. Please — consider taking pity on me.”

Zhù Ying said, “I have a letter ready to be taken back to him anyway.”

Chen Mei broke into a relieved smile.

……

The Luguo headman, grudge notwithstanding, had to lie still and let his injury heal. It was his leg that was broken, so he couldn’t go anywhere. He kept getting into arguments with his daughter in the guest room. Lu Danqing told him to be patient — there would be a reckoning. He kept insisting: “I’m going to kill that old dog right now!”

“Your leg was broken by him. You think you can take him in this state? Wait and go with everyone together!” Lu Danqing used every ounce of persuasion she had. “Years of petty scrapping, all that bluster with nothing behind it — no plan, no strategy. Father, this sort of thing gets you nowhere. All these years — how many fights have you started? And how many times have my sisters and the others pulled you out of them?”

With facts staring him in the face, the Luguo headman couldn’t argue. He raised a hand and knocked a bowl to the floor.

After three bowls had been smashed, Wu Ren grew very annoyed and promptly sent over a set of wooden bowls and dishes.

On the third day after the switch to wooden bowls, the others had begun to arrive. Xijin came first — and predictably went straight in to visit the patient, and then laughed at him for good measure: “Ha! So it finally caught up with you! In a day or two when we go hit the Yigan clan — you can forget about being first into the fray.”

The Luguo headman, in his fury, upended a bowl of hot rice over Xijin’s chest.

The two old men nearly came to blows, and had to be pulled apart by Lu Danqing and Jin Yu.

Then came the Mountain Sparrow father-in-law. After him came Su Mingluan and Lang Kunwu, each bringing their own children. Lang Kunwu also brought his wife and mother, the latter so elderly she had to be carried in on a litter. Su Feihu didn’t come in person — he stayed home to keep his mother company — but he sent Su Sheng and also conveyed a message that Su Sheng was to be left at Zhù Ying’s disposal.

Zhao Su had prepared a ceremony that was simple yet not without dignity. The gates of the residence were thrown open. Nearly half the county gathered to watch. Even Zhù Da, who rarely came out, was carried out to sit in the courtyard. He and Zhang Xiangu also received new commendations — though their titles had been reduced a grade.

Zhù Da’s face was waxy yellow, and he wore an expression of deep displeasure. Zhang Xiangu said to Chen Mei, “Sick people are never happy.”

With all the principal figures of Wuzhou as witnesses, Zhù Ying accepted from Chen Mei the edict issued on behalf of the Emperor, stepped behind the screen, and emerged wearing scarlet robes. Both times she had worn scarlet had been on the soil of the south — a kind of fate, perhaps.

Once the edict was received, the ceremony was concluded. What followed was the banquet. The weather was fine — clear skies, a gentle warmth. People’s faces were flushed with the pleasantness of it.

Except for the Luguo headman and Zhù Da.

“There’ll be no one to carry on this family business in the future.” Zhù Da grumbled under his breath.

Zhang Xiangu said, “Even if you’re going to criticize her, don’t do it on a fine occasion like today.”

“If not now, when will I ever get to see her again? She’s a busy important person, and I’m just a useless old father!”

Zhang Xiangu said to Jiang Guafu, “He’s grown tired of sitting — he needs to go back inside and rest.” She waved people over to carry Zhù Da to the back rooms.

Hou Wu, who had been drinking, said, “Oh, I should go and look in on the old sir.” He too was very old now, and walked with a cane. How to speak of a master who had gone from male to female — he had no words for it. What he could do was sit with Zhù Da and ramble together about old times in the capital, and share a small cup of wine now and then. He even occasionally went to a nearby stream to fish.

Zhù Ying said, “Sit yourself down — there are people looking after him.”

Hou Wu settled back into his seat.

People kept pressing Zhù Ying with wine. Chen Mei, curious, kept wondering how Zhù Ying intended to deal with the Yigan clan. He had rested for several days, and all that rest had mostly been anxiety — his face still hadn’t filled out. He planned to wait another couple of days until the weather below the mountain was a little cooler before starting back.

And there was still the matter of Yao Chenying — what on earth was that all about?

Chen Mei sat with his worries.

As the banquet was nearing its end, Zhù Ying said to Su Mingluan and the others, “Everyone’s had their wine. I have a serious matter — let’s discuss it tomorrow, once the wine has worn off.”

Lang Kunwu asked, “Is it perhaps…?” He pointed toward the Luguo headman’s injured leg.

Zhù Ying gave a nod. The clan leaders were all fairly excited — this was the moment to divide the spoils! They all said, “Right!”

Chen Mei was also a little excited. He held his patience and watched the others file back to their guest rooms. He himself did not return to the guest house, but cornered Zhù Ying: “Uncle, you don’t need to keep me in the dark, do you? Give me a little guidance?”

Zhù Ying said, “You haven’t finished your official business, and yet you’re already sticking your nose into this?”

“What business? What do you mean?”

Zhù Ying said, “The Prefectural Governor’s office isn’t even built yet — shouldn’t you be putting in some effort on that? Also, have the gazettes been sent on time?”

“The Governor’s office can hardly be blamed on me — this is a tributary territory, after all, and the deputy positions are all by rotation lottery, with the administrative offices for civil affairs, revenue, and so on completely absent, because you never submitted a memorial. The gazette — I’d love to send it, but there’s no courier road through to you here, and without a Governor’s office to distribute it…”

The root of the problem was that Wuzhou had never functioned as a proper prefecture. It was a loose collection of counties with no one to oversee the whole. At most, the families came together once a year to work out some shared matter — how much cloth and grain to send as tribute to the Emperor, for instance. Beyond that, nothing. The deputy governor and similar posts existed only as titles; these officials didn’t even receive salaries.

The new Wuzhou was more a geographic region than an area of actual administered control.

Zhù Ying said, “Can’t you see I’m already starting? Roads — I’ll build them. The roster of officials — I’ll put together. The memorials — I’ll write them. You just need to carry the replies back.”

Chen Mei said magnanimously, “All right! But — don’t forget my father’s letter. You know what he’s like. One thing on his mind, and he can’t let it go. He’ll bring it up every single day. Please — just consider taking pity on me — take it as doing me a kindness.”

Zhù Ying was laughed out of her composure: “Understood. Are you leaving now?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then: since you’re here, come and help.”

“Help with what?”

“Overseeing the autumn grain collection. If you go back with the tribute in hand, you’ll carry more weight when you speak. And from now on, Wuzhou’s tribute — we’ll deliver it ourselves.”

Chen Mei liked the sound of that and said readily, “Fine!”

“Don’t be in such a rush — I’m not done. How much we deliver has to be a set amount. Fix it at last year’s total, and no matter how the harvest goes year to year, that’s what we give.”

“Ah?”

“What ‘ah’? You saw the rain a few days ago with your own eyes. If there’s a disaster like that in the future, I report it, and the court gives me famine relief?”

“Well…”

Zhù Ying said, “If the relief doesn’t come, I can’t contribute more than the fixed amount. No matter how large Wuzhou grows in the future, the number stays the same. Anything beyond that, I’ll manage on my own. Fair enough?”

“That’s not something I can decide!” Chen Mei began to bargain. “But I can bring the message back for you.”

“Good. Oh, and about trade — don’t think I don’t know what Jiyuan Prefecture has been up to. Taxes and duties, buying low and selling high. Ha.”

Chen Mei said, “Please don’t be too hard on Jiyuan Prefecture. There are people there you care about, after all.”

“Just tell the Grand Council what’s happening here.”

“All right.”

The two discussed several more terms. Chen Mei asked curiously, “What exactly are you planning to do?”

Zhù Ying sighed. “I was not good enough in my dealings with the Yigan clan some years ago, and now there’s a small price to pay for it. We can’t come to an agreement by talking, so it’ll have to be by fighting. The soldiers I have are a bit scattered — I need to take stock of what I’ve got first. You just watch.”

……

The following day, Zhù Ying convened all the county magistrates in the main hall. Chen Mei squeezed himself in as well. Huajie, Zhù Qingjun, Zhao Su, and the others were all present, and Zhù Ying even invited Hou Wu to join them.

The Luguo headman was the first to lose patience. “My Lord, are we starting?”

Zhù Ying said, “To go to war, there must be a plan: who fights where, how those who go to fight will be fed and get where they’re going, and how to divide what is won. Agreed?”

The Luguo headman said, “Agreed.”

Zhù Ying said, “Since we’re all acting together, and since I’m the Governor, I’ll take charge of this meeting. Are you in agreement or not?”

Su Zhe said happily, “Of course we are!”

The others echoed in assent.

Zhù Ying said, “Good. Let me first establish the Governor’s office.”

She had already prepared everything. The deputy governor and similar rotating positions remained unchanged for now. She would personally oversee the assessment of officials — the office of civil affairs administrator. Zhao Su would take the office of revenue administrator, Xiang An the granary administrator, Xiao Jiang the judicial administrator, with Zhou Wei as her prison warden. Zhù Qingjun remained as the prefectural military commandant in charge of all troops. Hou Wu was given the post of military supplies administrator.

Hou Wu had no idea how he had come to be given an official post. He kept waving his hands: “I’m not up to it.”

“You’re looking after the home front.”

That he could do. He agreed.

Zhù Ying also entrusted the prefectural school to Huajie. Huajie said, “For the whole prefecture… I… “

Zhù Ying said, “Look around and tell me who else could do it. It’s you.” Other vacancies, she said, would be filled based on performance in the coming military action. At the same time, she filled in the remaining positions in Zhù County itself. Xiang Yu was appointed as county vice magistrate; Jiang Teng took charge of the county’s judicial office; Wu Ren became Zhù County’s revenue administrator; Zhù Wen was appointed county marshal; and Zhù Yin became the county’s granary administrator. The remaining assistant managers from the old villa days were assigned to roles such as county recorder and similar posts.

Zhù Ying pointed toward the direction of the Yigan clan’s territory and said to Lu Danqing, Su Sheng, and Lin Feng, “Your substantive posts are over there.”

Both in Wuzhou as a whole and in Zhù County itself, there were still a number of vacancies among the administrative clerks and runners. Zhù Ying issued an order: “For Zhù County’s clerk and runner positions, residents of this county may sit for the selection examination, men and women alike. For Wuzhou’s clerk and runner positions, candidates from all counties may come to me to sit for the examination, also regardless of sex.”

She then assigned tasks for the campaign.

The military action would be led by Zhù Qingjun. The other families would provide supporting forces. Of all the assembled troops, only those under Zhù Qingjun’s command had been through anything resembling regular training. The others were more or less a mixed rabble. The Luguo and Xijin families could each reduce their combat soldiers by one hundred, but each must provide one hundred individuals with a clear way of speaking, to go to the Yigan clan and spread word of Zhù Ying’s policy: the liberation of slaves.

Each family would also contribute a share of provisions. Though each group was nominally carrying its own supplies, it would be most efficient to have them centrally coordinated — this fell under Zhao Su’s oversight.

For troop deployment: that was Zhù Qingjun’s to arrange.

Any matters requiring coordination: come to Zhù Ying.

Chen Mei looked at this rough-and-ready plan and was somewhat baffled — it simply didn’t seem like the kind of thing Zhù Ying would put her name to.

But Zhù Ying understood it clearly enough. Given what Wuzhou’s tributary arrangement was, this plan was exactly what was needed.

Especially given the opponent was the Yigan Cave Master, and the side going up against him was Zhù Qingjun. Zhù Ying knew Zhù Qingjun’s abilities well — and so she placed no constraints on her, letting her act freely.

Zhù Qingjun sketched out her thinking simply and directly for Zhù Ying: hit fast and hard, take out the head of the snake first, strike by surprise, the best outcome being to burst straight into the main settlement.

Zhù Ying then named Lin Feng and Su Sheng: “You two are to monitor discipline throughout. No burning, no killing, no looting.”

“Yes!”

Zhù Ying said to the county magistrates, “The Asu, Talang, Mountain Sparrow, and Yigan territories don’t share a border. I, Luguo, and Xijin do. Following the old arrangement: some will receive land, some will receive property. If anyone has objections, say so now.”

Su Mingluan said, “I have more than one older brother. I’d like to request an additional settlement.”

The others were thinking something along the same lines.

Zhù Ying said, “That can be arranged. At the time, credit will be measured and divided accordingly. But even settlements given to you must release their slaves — you cannot take everything and walk away. If you leave, someone else will move in, and what was yours will be theirs.”

That was fair enough. No one objected.

Only Zhao Su caught Zhù Ying’s eye, and thought inwardly: that’s odd. Even without my reminder, she should know the dangers of ‘enfeoffment.’

But seeing Zhù Ying’s expression remain entirely composed, something shifted in his mind: could it be that these people are also about to fall into a trap?

Zhao Su decided to watch and see.

……

Once the autumn grain was safely stored, after three days of rest, Zhù Qingjun and the others set out with their forces.

Zhù Qingjun knew Zhù Ying well. The objective was to seize the main settlement and the granary. Once the granary was taken, it could be used to win over the hearts of the people; once the main settlement was taken, the greater part of the Yigan clan’s territory would fall into their hands.

Inwardly, Zhù Qingjun was also thinking: there was clearly enough here for another county to be established. “Yigan County” had a decent ring to it too, and it would give quite a few officials a place to be posted to… wait…

She thought she understood.

She set out in high spirits and with careful steps.

She knew the terrain, and her forces were stronger than the others’. After leaving two small flanking units behind to cut off any escape routes, she led the main force directly into the Yigan clan’s settlement, capturing the high ground. She did not use the Luguo or Xijin fighters; from within Zhù County she brought along several people who could speak the Huapa dialect and called out the terms — slaves would be freed; only the Yigan clan’s own family would be pursued and captured. The rest would be spared.

Most of the slaves held back and watched. The Yigan Cave Master’s family and some of the ordinary clanspeople continued to fight — ten years of friction between them had built up a considerable amount of bad blood.

If it had been the Luguo headman coming instead of Zhù Qingjun, the resistance would have been far fiercer, and likely many of the slaves would have picked up cudgels and fought back too.

The battle lasted from daylight into evening before it was finally over.

The other contingents, however, were a different story entirely. The Luguo and Xijin branches had the most difficult time of it. Their opponents were roughly matched, and in recent times had both been taking people for sacrifice. The two sides were now fighting — one out of greed, one for survival — with entirely different states of mind, and so those two groups moved the most slowly. Lu Danqing had real ability, but she was constantly at odds with her father. The Luguo headman didn’t particularly care about killing and looting; Lu Danqing wanted strict military discipline. Father and daughter had yet another round of “communication.”

The Xijin side was similar — father and son were also butting heads.

In the end, both “uncles” only managed to take several settlements with the help of their respective niece and nephew.

The Mountain Sparrow father-in-law and his son, by contrast, were of one mind, and had no deep grudge against the Yigan clan. They went in calling for the liberation of slaves and displaying their martial prowess, and the process was quite smooth — although privately they had helped themselves to no small share of the personal property from each settlement they took.

Chen Mei waited with Zhù Ying back in the county seat. Half a month later, the various parties came back one by one.

Now came the moment to divide the spoils. Zhù Ying asked with a smile, “You all won, I take it?”

“Yes!”

“Was it worth it?”

“Worth it!”

“Good. Everyone takes what’s theirs, and then we drink!”

The Mountain Sparrow father-in-law said, “And — and what about official posts?” He was the one most wary of the court, and yet here he was raising the question — on behalf of his own son, Lin Feng. His firstborn would inherit the clan leadership, and Lin Feng had nothing to inherit. Now he had a settlement, but without an official position that could be passed down, he felt something was still missing.

Zhù Ying said, “He already holds an official rank.”

It just couldn’t be passed down by hereditary right. Even if a shadow appointment were granted, it would be reduced by several grades each generation — by the grandchildren, there would be nothing left.

Zhù Qingjun silently lowered her head. Here it comes, she thought.

The Yigan territory had been parceled out, which meant there was no “Yigan County.” And without a county, there were naturally no officials to govern it. Unless all the families pooled their respective shares back together into an “Yigan County,” worked out how it would be administered and how the gains would be split — in which case Zhù Ying would want a large share of that too.

County magistrate positions couldn’t be inherited by anyone outside her, either. The most they could hope to pass down was the position of county vice magistrate, and even that was just one post.

Every family’s brow furrowed. This was a situation unlike any they had faced before! Either they gave up on the official posts entirely, or they would have to find a new way to work it out.