When the jailer was delivering things or women to the cell across the way, he would come and chat with Zhù Ying for a while.

The two of them talked for three days and found themselves increasingly like-minded. The jailer developed a taste for these conversations and stopped staying in the outer duty area during his spare time. Whenever he had a free moment, he would come inside, lock the main lattice’s chain from within, and come to Zhù Ying’s private cell to talk.

Sometimes he complained about colleagues or neighbors; sometimes he relayed interesting gossip from the streets. More often than not, the topic was news from within the prefecture relating to his duties.

Things like: the deputy magistrate had dragged himself from his sickbed once more and handled another case and impeached someone or other. The prefecture currently had no presiding magistrate — because the former magistrate, the father of the young scion who had gotten Zhù Ying thrown into the prefectural jail, had been promoted!

Zhong Yi had managed the Justice Ministry, and after submitting his resignation and stepping down, the presiding magistrate of the prefecture had been transferred to take over the Justice Ministry in his place.

“Alas — of all the times to leave, he picks this one. Now the entire prefecture is being run at the deputy magistrate’s discretion alone, and the rest of us can’t get a day’s peace either.” The jailer’s voice was despondent as he spoke. He had opened the cell door and brought in a table and stool, plus a pot of tea and some small pastries — all pilfered from across the way — to chat with Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying poured his tea, the shackles clinking and clanking, her wrist nearly knocking over the plate as it came down. The jailer reached for the key at his belt: “Let me get those off you first. Use your head — if anyone from above comes to check, put them on yourself. Here, like this.” He demonstrated, then removed the shackles.

Zhù Ying rotated her wrists — the skin had been rubbed raw. Having the jailer come was good because of the news he brought; the trouble was she had to keep the shackles on, and they were heavy and rough, chafing her wrists and ankles. Now at last the jailer had removed them himself.

Free of the shackles, she felt genuinely light. Zhù Ying smiled: “Don’t worry, I won’t give you any trouble.”

The jailer said: “What trouble could you give me? The trouble comes from above.”

Zhù Ying said: “That just means those above don’t know how to manage things.”

The jailer felt a great sense of kindred spirit but couldn’t agree with this aloud, and said with a stern face: “Nonsense!”

Zhù Ying said: “All right, I won’t say any more — you say. You speak.”

“Say what?”

Zhù Ying said: “The presiding magistrate is gone — what about the others? Didn’t you say the Justice Ministry and the Court of Judicial Review were also changing? Have they changed?”

The jailer shook his head: “Haven’t heard about that. Honestly — when is a proper presiding magistrate going to show up?”

Zhù Ying said: “Is the deputy magistrate really that bad? I hear he’s quite principled.”

“He can be as principled as he likes — just don’t use us as his instruments! Though,” the jailer thought for a moment, “I’ll say this — the streets actually have improved considerably. Women are thinking about staying out to browse a little longer. Heh heh.”

Zhù Ying said: “Once the deputy magistrate deals with all this mess now, the good and the bad both fall on him — and afterward you can rest easier as well.”

“Pfft!” the jailer said. “You don’t understand. With fewer prisoners, where does my supplement come from?”

Zhù Ying said: “There will always be bad people in this world — that will never diminish.”

The jailer shook his head: “Aiyah, you don’t understand — I think it’s only going to get stricter from here on out. My good days are numbered.”

Zhù Ying said: “Live one day at a time. Here, there’s an opportunity right in front of you right now — worth taking or not?”

The jailer leaned over the table and looked at her: “How so? Trying to bribe me?”

Zhù Ying ate a pastry slowly and said: “You’ve heard a bit of my situation by now, haven’t you? I’m no highway bandit. Bribe you to do what? Break out?”

The jailer straightened up and nodded: “Fair enough. Go on, what is it?”

Zhù Ying said: “I’m too bored sitting alone in here. Move me out?”

“That won’t work! Orders from above: don’t let you get away or die, and don’t let you pass any messages for help!”

Zhù Ying said: “Strange — you said the prefecture is under the deputy magistrate’s authority now. How come the deputy magistrate hasn’t stood up for me?”

The jailer pursed his lips: “Just sit tight in here! The deputy magistrate has no time for you right now! See those people outside? They came in the same day you did — those are desperadoes, street brawlers who hacked people until the blood was everywhere! He’s pulled in a lot of them. Take old so-and-so like Old Hu — and the one across from you — under the previous presiding magistrate’s watch, those wouldn’t have counted for much. Surety release, buyouts, or working a connection — out in two days. But him? He’s determined to hold them and investigate thoroughly… and of course once you get serious, it takes time!”

The jailer grew more animated: “And this is the easy part! The other three shifts of runners are running their feet off!”

Zhù Ying thought: they still have too much free time — they had the leisure to act as a noble’s lapdog and drag me in here. And you — you can still run errands for the one across the way.

She went along with the jailer: “You already have it hard enough.”

“Exactly!”

Zhù Ying laughed again: “Look at it this way — the Justice Ministry and the Court of Judicial Review aren’t having an easy time either. Someone else is suffering alongside you.”

The jailer let out a laugh: “You’re right — they’ve got it worse! Especially the Justice Ministry — it started with them! Ha ha ha ha! And the presiding magistrate too — when he was here, he may have had some idea of what was going on, but he was also turning a blind eye. Now he’s going to have to work hard! Ha ha ha ha!”

Zhù Ying chatted with the jailer for a while longer, confirmed that Zheng Xi had not yet returned to the capital from outside, and that the deputy magistrate was currently embroiled in major cases and locked in confrontation with the capital’s aristocracy. Even a full presiding magistrate, with all the status and authority that entailed, still had to engage in occasional battles with powerful households and sometimes come out the worse for it. A deputy magistrate standing in as acting head of the prefecture had a lower rank, less authority, and typically less prestige than a proper presiding magistrate — making every task harder.

And on top of that, the twelfth month was arriving: he still had to maintain the capital’s order and prepare for the new year, among everything else.

Zhù Ying also didn’t know what kind of assignment Zheng Xi was on. If it was anything like the previous trip south, just the road time going and coming would eat up two months. She struck Zheng Xi from her list of available options for now.

She needed to find a way to draw the deputy magistrate’s attention without also drawing the attention of Zhou You and his circle.

From then on, Zhù Ying focused on learning about the deputy magistrate’s history — especially his stance toward the aristocracy. Without having met the man, she couldn’t say for certain whether he was genuinely incorruptible, but at least he didn’t seem the type who would hear her story and then beat her and report her back to Zhou You.

Good enough!

Zhù Ying continued chatting with the jailer, steering the conversation to the former presiding magistrate and that young scion. After listening for a while, she found the young scion to be a genuine through-and-through idle young master — even less than Zhou You in this respect.

Several more days of chatting with the jailer, and gradually the warden was drawn in too. The warden was far more seasoned and cunning than the young jailer; in the warden’s presence, Zhù Ying spoke less, only asking: “If you’d be so kind — what is the current state of my situation? When will there be any resolution?”

The warden cursed: “You little fox!” Then said: “Just sit tight! Consider yourself fortunate! There are people thrown in here just because someone didn’t like the look of them, for a couple of beatings — that’s it!”

Zhù Ying touched her face: “I can’t say I didn’t get beaten.”

The warden rapped her on the head twice: “You call that beaten?! You’ve just had too little of it! What are you talking back for? It’s that mouth of yours that got you in trouble with the noble!”

Zhù Ying muttered under her breath, but had the presence of mind to pour tea and fetch water for the warden, and also said: “You’d certainly be more comfortable sitting over in that cell across the way.”

The warden gave a dismissive sneer: “Nonsense! Just wait until he gets out — do you think he’ll have eyes for anyone?”

So in other words, it’s only while we’re here that he feels obligated to treat you with any courtesy, right?

The younger jailer seized the opportunity to lean in and murmur: “Being around him always makes me feel ill at ease. If it weren’t for the food and drink, I’d never want to dine with him!”

Zhù Ying asked: “Then who is this person exactly? So impressive!”

The warden said: “It’s only because of the deputy magistrate that he even ended up in here! Don’t think that making a name for yourself in a prison cell is impressive. The truly powerful never end up in prison.”

Something caught in Zhù Ying’s throat and she gave a cough. The jailer laughed: “Hit a nerve?”

Zhù Ying rolled her eyes at him. The jailer wasn’t offended. The warden said: “Speaking of that — your mouth is asking for trouble too!”

The warden wanted to lecture the jailer; the jailer’s expression of silent resentment was somewhat similar to Zhong Yi lecturing Zhou You.

Zhù Ying offered: “Listen to him. It’s not that he’s fond of you, it’s that he wouldn’t bother saying these things if he weren’t. Even if it’s not pleasant to hear, file it away — who knows when it might come in useful?”

The warden liked this line, and said: “Exactly! Whether it’s useful or not, keeping it in mind costs you nothing.”

Because the conversations with these two flowed well, Zhù Ying also deployed her fortune-telling skills and “divined” that the warden had no mother, no wife, no daughter, and no sisters. The warden was astonished: “You have that ability?”

Zhù Ying said: “No, I know nothing at all.” It was simply this: on the salary a warden earned — not lavish, but not nothing — a man’s clothing, shoes, socks, head covering, and cap still came unlaced and unpatched and unwashed. In all his conversation, he had never mentioned any female relative. At his age, there couldn’t be a daughter too young to sew. She asked the younger jailer a few things on the side, and the conclusion followed.

No matter how the warden pressed, Zhù Ying refused to say more. If pressed further, she said: “Who can see through Heaven’s workings? If I could see through them, would I still be here? But in your case — there’s no harm in being a little more careful lately.”

She had hit exactly what was on the warden’s mind: with the deputy magistrate so active, I do need to be careful.

His treatment of Zhù Ying improved somewhat.

Zhù Ying seized the opportunity to suggest: not letting her go, not moving her back to the common cells — but could she at least get some air? Like helping to distribute meals, or going to fetch water?

The warden said: “What? You actually want to do work?”

Zhù Ying said: “My bones are going rusty.”

The warden said: “All right — you can help with the water and food distribution.”

And so, while the person across the way paid in money for their privileges, Zhù Ying earned the right to move about with nothing but her mouth.

——

The cells had two meals a day, with one additional water distribution in between — all handled by assigned prisoners carrying and distributing them. The warden now appointed Zhù Ying specifically to manage the distribution.

She had been kept in solitary, then allowed back out. She got along well with the warden and jailers. Any prisoner with any sense at all whispered among themselves wondering what her story was, and none of them went looking for trouble with her.

Zhù Ying didn’t care about any of this — she was just glad to get out of the solitary cell.

Having studied her own chances of escape for some time, she had decided for now to stay in prison. Through conversations with the warden, she had come to understand the nature of this main prison: it was located within the capital itself! Setting aside the fact that it was right next to the prefectural yamen, and setting aside the thickness and height of its walls — once over those walls, the outside was the capital’s main streets, with no telling who might be passing by at any given time.

Difficult — though not impossible, technically.

The question that ultimately constrained Zhù Ying was: after escaping, what then?

She shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place, but now that she had been — if she escaped on her own, that would become her offense. Without a patron to shelter her, Zhou You or some other idle young master might think of her again at any moment, and then not just she but her parents might suffer for it.

Zhù Ying resolved her mind: stay in prison for now, wait for Zheng Xi to return. If Zheng Xi didn’t come back soon or something else came up, she would find a way to draw the deputy magistrate’s attention. If he truly was a principled official, releasing her should be no problem. If not, she would keep waiting for Zheng Xi. Once she got out, she would take her parents to stay at Jin Liang’s house for a few days and wait for Zheng Xi to return. If the imprisonment dragged on so long that the money left for her parents ran out, she would break out of jail and take her parents and run from the capital.

Decision made, Zhù Ying settled back into prison life calmly.

In how she distributed food, she was different from all the previous distributors. Before serving, she stirred the mixed vegetable-bean gruel thoroughly with the long-handled ladle, then distributed it one ladle at a time, giving each person an equal share. If any was left after the first round, she went through for a second. The only bias she allowed herself was giving a little extra to Old Ma and Old Mu when she passed their cell. As for Uncle Wen, still half-alive and hunched in a corner — she made no special effort to give him more, but also didn’t take the opportunity to grind him down further.

After the first meal distribution, she had a sense of how many bowls a full bucket could fill.

By the second meal distribution, she could give everyone almost exactly the same amount. She did the same with the water. The result of this alone: by the third day she was distributing, no one was making noise anymore. Prisoners had no need to rush — whether they came early or late, they got the same amount. Order improved noticeably; no more fighting during food distribution. She also had no patience for prisoners who deliberately stayed on their planks hoping she would wait on them: she’d say “food’s here” once, and if they didn’t come, she treated them as not hungry, and they’d see nothing from her for that whole meal.

Distributing food and water also had one benefit: the person doing it could eat a little first. After finishing the distribution, they were expected to wash the bucket and bowls. The washing was casual — splash some water in, slosh it around, done. This was done under a jailer’s supervision.

The younger jailer gave her a thumbs-up: “Not bad, young one.”

Zhù Ying said: “What’s ‘not bad’ about any of this? We all ended up in here.”

The jailer burst out laughing. After the distribution was done, he didn’t shut her back in her cell but instead called her to his duty room and gave her a flatbread and a small plate of pickled vegetables. Half a month into her imprisonment, Zhù Ying had become “friends” with the jailers.

The warden, watching Zhù Ying distribute food, stopped objecting to the jailer spending time with her. On one occasion he even gave Zhù Ying an egg. He then turned to the younger jailer and said: “When you have time, talk with this one more. That young person is more clever than you.”

The younger jailer was not happy to hear this: “How is she more clever than me?”

The warden said: “Fine then — spend more time talking with him. When he gets out of here, you two could be friends.”

“What?”

The warden said: “When he gets out, he’ll still be someone at roughly our level. One more friend, one more path. He’s not like the one across the way — once that person gets out, we can’t even get through their front gate. And he’s not like Old Ma and those types — those are in the underworld, not good to associate with outside.”

From Zhù Ying’s background as the warden understood it, she was someone who had some connection to young masters and their circle — maybe a household servant, or some ordinary person who had had limited contact with the upper classes.

They were at roughly the same social level; cultivating a good relationship had no downside.

The warden also had a private, somewhat superstitious feeling that Zhù Ying had something uncanny about her, and figured it didn’t hurt to be on good terms. So even though Zhù Ying had given him no money at all, he showed her no ill will. He even thought: someone this capable of reading situations wouldn’t end up badly in life; this kind of “acquaintance from humble beginnings” was the most worthwhile kind to cultivate.

Under the warden’s tacit permission, Zhù Ying moved freely throughout the jail. Because the food distribution was fair, prisoners gradually came to talk with her normally. Zhù Ying took stock of everyone in the prison: two were like Old Ma — in here for minor matters as a way of lying low from trouble in the underworld. Most were like Old Hu — people who had genuinely committed crimes. Some were fresh arrests from recent street brawls that had resulted in deaths.

Prisoners were periodically brought out: some sentenced to exile, some to banishment, others to penal servitude — to be transferred outside the city for road work, mines, or other forms of hard labor. And new prisoners kept being brought in. During this stretch of time, two categories were being arrested in large numbers.

One was gang warfare. The other was crimes related to powerful households oppressing common people.

This deputy magistrate genuinely seemed to be someone trying to get real things done.

Prisons never lack people crying injustice — Uncle Wen was still wailing his innocence! Their own words couldn’t be taken as reliable. But Zhù Ying had nothing but time, and went through all these “injustices” one by one. One person said he wasn’t a thief and had no accomplice stealing anything from any princely manor’s belongings. Another said he had not raped his father’s concubine, and the woman was framing him. Another said it had to be a neighbor’s false accusation.

And so on.

Zhù Ying didn’t dare have the jailers contact her parents; she still remembered clearly “don’t let any messages through.” Zhou You and his companions are genuinely ruthless, she thought.

She also thought: Zheng Xi still wasn’t known to be back — and approaching the new year, Zhù Ying saw the man in the cell across the way actually leave to go home. She asked the jailer: “His case has been resolved?”

The jailer said quietly: “No — but he paid, and he’s going home for the new year. Back after the first month.”

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll run?”

“Well, if he runs, there are people above to take responsibility.”

Zhù Ying was more astonished than ever: “The deputy magistrate actually agreed to this?”

The jailer said, dejectedly: “The deputy magistrate has been impeached.”

Zhù Ying was startled: “What happened?”

The jailer said: “What happened? He traced the Empress Dowager’s family’s illegal seizure of common land back to the source and insisted the Imperial Uncle disgorge it. The Empress Dowager went to weep in front of the Emperor.”

And then the deputy magistrate had been suspended and told to reflect on his conduct.

So the person across the way had paid off the right people and was now permitted to go home. Zhù Ying, on the other hand — because her case had been set in motion by someone else and she wasn’t a prisoner with an actual charge — was still stuck here.

Zhù Ying tentatively ventured: “The new year is nearly here — I have nothing with me in this cell. How am I to get through the new year? I should have my family send some money at least, if I’m to get through the holiday.”

The jailer said: “All right — they can send clothing too. But you may not leave, and no messages may be passed seeking help!”

Zhù Ying said: “Understood.” She asked the jailer to go to her home, find Zhù Shenhan and Zhang Xiangu, and if the family wasn’t there, leave word at the inn.

The jailer agreed.

When the jailer had his turn of days off, he went first to Zhù Ying’s home address — but no one was home. He went to the inn instead. Zhù Shenhan was there waiting. The jailer was mid-message when Zhù Shenhan leaped up: “I’m Zhù Shenhan — what news?”

The jailer asked: “What is your eldest child’s name?”

Zhù Shenhan said: “She has no name.”

The jailer said: “That’s the one. Bring your wife, pack some clothing and food, bring a few strings of cash, and come with me to see your child.”

——

At first, Zhù Shenhan and Zhang Xiangu had thought Zhù Ying would be home in a few days — but days stretched to more than ten, and not even a shadow of her had appeared. They had thought Zheng Xi would come back soon, and that they could wait at the inn for Gan Ze or Jin Liang to contact them and rescue Zhù Ying — but Zheng Xi still had not returned!

The couple were frantic with anxiety, with no connections of any kind in the capital, and could only take turns waiting at the inn while the other wandered around near the yamen buildings. Even gathering information they didn’t know where to start. The night of the arrest, they had tried the prefectural yamen gate, where the staff was quite civil and said: no one was arrested and brought back that night.

This alarmed them: but someone had clearly been taken! They feared some powerful household might have taken her into a private detention. But they didn’t even know where Zhou You lived, and could only search the capital asking around. Eventually they tracked down Zhou You’s residence — but didn’t dare barge in directly. They asked around outside and in the vicinity: no word of anyone being brought back there.

The couple had no further idea where to turn. Day after day passed. The new year was only a few days away; the streets were full of festive, cheerful people; every neighboring household was hung with lanterns and decorations. Zhang Xiangu ran around outdoors by day and cried for half the night.

And then — finally!

Hearing the news, the couple didn’t stop to worry about anything else. They went home and packed a bundle. The jailer brought them to his duty room, then called Zhù Ying in. After all this time, the family of three finally met.

Zhù Ying looked at Zhang Xiangu — her temples had grown much whiter, her whole person gaunt and sallow. Zhù Shenhan’s back was more bent than before. Both of their clothes were somewhat dirty and worn, clearly neglected in all the chaos of these recent days. Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Shenhan looked at their daughter: her hair was tangled and dirty, the prison tunic was soiled, the clothing underneath was dirty and wrinkled too. And she herself had lost another layer of weight.

Zhang Xiangu hugged her daughter and began to cry. Zhù Shenhan also couldn’t hold back tears. The jailer said: “Keep your voices down!”

Zhang Xiangu quickly wiped her tears and looked at her daughter’s bedraggled state — at home she had always kept her daughter clean and tidy. And now, this smell… she said: “Quickly, change into—”

Zhù Ying said: “No hurry. Listen to me first. Several things: first, Jin Liang’s home address — I was planning to take you there myself to be introduced, but then this happened. Remember the address; go to Jin Liang’s wife after this. Don’t force her — she’s a woman on her own — just getting a message through is all we need.”

“All right.”

“Second, watch yourselves. Don’t get anywhere near Zhou You; these are his home streets, his old acquaintances are everywhere. If something feels wrong, run to Jin Liang’s home to shelter. Don’t go to them otherwise.”

“Understood.”

“Third, go home and eat well and sleep well. Now you know I’m here, stop worrying so much. Take care of yourselves.”

“Yes.”

“Only come see me again when I send word. Don’t come otherwise — if someone sees you, we’ll both be in trouble.”

“Yes.”

“These days, the streets of the capital are unsettled. Don’t wander around, don’t go sightseeing. Go home and bolt the door.”

“Yes.”

The clothes Zhang Xiangu had brought Zhù Ying didn’t take — she kept a few strings of cash and some fragments of silver, and added one more warning: “Until you hear from me, don’t give any money to anyone.”

Zhang Xiangu agreed to this too.

Aside from money and a packet of food from Zhang Xiangu, Zhù Ying accepted nothing else and sent her parents home. Zhang Xiangu looked back three times with every step; Zhù Shenhan had to physically drag her away: “Hurry up and find that Jin Liang’s wife! The sooner we get word to someone, the better.”

The couple rushed home, set down the bundle, washed their faces and combed their hair, then went to Jin Liang’s wife’s door. Jin Liang had gone out with Zheng Xi; his wife Jin had not gone back to her parents’ house to stay, and was at home managing the new year preparations. When the gate staff said it was Zhù Ying’s parents, she was still smiling warmly: “Oh! The letter from his father mentioned Third as well! Quickly — tell them to start the pig’s-feet stew!”

Jin Liang’s wife’s smile faltered when she saw Zhù Shenhan’s dejected expression and Zhang Xiangu on the verge of tears: “This… You must be…? What’s happened?”

Zhang Xiangu sniffled and asked: “Are you Jin Liang’s wife?”

“Yes — yes! You’re here for me? You must be Third’s mother?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The two connected. Zhang Xiangu began weeping and talking at the same time, describing how the family had barely finished setting up their new home when their child said she wanted to bring them to meet Jin Liang’s wife — “Right in the middle of dinner she said this, and then the trouble came! They said it was a noble who took offense at our Third and had someone take her away. I’ve been looking for days — Third sent word out just now, she’s locked in the prefectural jail. It was that man surnamed Zhou, the general, who found our Third offensive and had someone lock her up… we haven’t done anything to anyone!”

“Zhou You?” Jin Liang’s wife understood immediately. Zhou You was a celebrated figure in their household — when Jin Liang first brought her home as his new wife, when there was nothing to say between them, they would tell stories about Zhou You. Jin Liang’s wife knew this person all too well.

“That’s him! If there’s any way… oh, Third said, don’t make trouble for you, but could you get a message to Lord Zheng? We came all this way counting on Lord Zheng, and now he’s gone off on assignment too, and we have no one to rely on.”

Jin Liang’s wife thought for a moment, then said: “Yes, I can arrange to have a message forwarded to my husband. Wait a moment — let me put together some things for you. Greasing things at the jail takes both money and goods.”

Zhang Xiangu said quickly: “We still have some money at home.”

Jin Liang’s wife said: “You don’t understand — those types are all eyes-on-money. Having money and not having money makes all the difference! You don’t have any relatives in the capital — let me ask around about the situation in the jail, find out who knows the warden there. That’s worth more to you than asking around on your own.”

Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Shenhan each let out half a breath of relief, nearly collapsing into the chairs, and thanked her over and over again as they took their leave.

On her end, Jin Liang’s wife was not boasting — she genuinely went to ask some acquaintances, and learned the full situation. Though it hadn’t been Zhou You’s own order, it had been Zhou You’s friend who had done it; that amounted to the same thing — the account could fairly be laid at Zhou You’s door. Once she had the details, she used the channel at Zheng Hou’s mansion for relaying letters, and passed the message to Jin Liang.

This channel hadn’t been opened solely for Jin Liang; it was a line used to communicate with Zheng Xi, which happened to carry Jin Liang’s messages along as well. So when Jin Liang knew, Zheng Xi naturally also knew. Jin Liang had already erupted in curses: “These wastrel young men! Not a thought for serving their sovereign or glorifying their families, just tormenting people every day of their lives! They should all be thrown into a proper jail — let them see what Heaven’s law and the king’s justice really mean, learn to fear it!”

Zheng Xi waved a hand. Jin Liang said: “What are we to do? It’s nearly the new year — by the time this letter goes and comes back, another half-month is gone. Infuriating that we still have some days before we can head back. Third has been resourceful all along, but can’t guard against deliberate scheming. Your lordship…”

Zheng Xi said: “If Zhou You had truly wanted her dead, she wouldn’t have survived to now. But she should certainly be more watchful after this. Consider it a lesson — it may not be a bad thing for her in the end. Don’t alarm anyone else. I’ll write a letter to Zhong Yi — that will do.” He wrote a brief, plain letter: he asked Zhong Yi to have a person released from the prefectural jail as a favor to himself.

Jin Liang relaxed: “That’s settled then.” He also thought Zhù Ying had been genuinely unlucky, and felt sorry for her, and said many good things on behalf of Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Shenhan. Zheng Xi waved a hand; Jin Liang fell silent, bowed, and withdrew. Stepping away, he also sent a letter back to his wife, telling her not to worry — Zheng Xi knew and had made arrangements.

Jin Liang’s letter and Zheng Xi’s letter were both carried back to the capital by a messenger, both routed through Zheng Hou’s mansion. By the time they arrived at the mansion it was already the new year. The masters of the mansion were required to enter the palace; by the time they returned and saw the letters and gave instructions for forwarding them, it was already the third day of the new year.

On this side, Jin Liang’s wife received Jin Liang’s reply and sent Lai Fu to the Zhù family’s home with the news. On that side, Zhong Yi’s message arrived later than Jin Liang’s wife’s: he had resigned his post; the new year was passing poorly for him — other families were lively and festive while his was cold and quiet. So he had gone to a manor in the outskirts of the capital to “live in seclusion” for the new year. When Zheng Hou’s mansion distributed the letters, the hour was already late, so the decision was made to send someone in the morning. The letter was sent to Zhong Yi’s city residence; the servants in the city residence treated it as an ordinary new year courtesy call letter and didn’t dispatch it immediately.

The city residence’s staff accumulated a whole stack of new year greetings, packaged them all together, dispatched one person to deliver them all, and by then it was already past the seventh day of the new year. They were in no hurry, either — Zhong Yi had prepared and sent out plenty of new year greetings before leaving the city; without him there, the servants still went around on new year’s day delivering his cards, and didn’t need to wait for other people’s returned cards before he could send replies.

This slight delay in timing caused another small complication: after the seventh day, the various yamen gradually resumed operations. The prefecture had a new presiding magistrate — none other than the deputy magistrate who had been endlessly discussed by the people in the jail: Wang Yunhe.

He had been suspended for less than half a month, and the Emperor had personally appointed him as the prefectural magistrate. He had been promoted!

The official gazette carrying Wang Yunhe’s promotion news and Zheng Xi’s personal letter arrived in Zhong Yi’s hands one after the other. Zhong Yi read Zheng Xi’s letter first — it said plainly: my person offended Zhou’s younger brother, and Zhou’s younger brother implicitly had the person thrown into the prefectural jail. I think this isn’t good for Zhou’s younger brother; please have the person collected and brought back to me.

Zhong Yi knew Zhou You’s temperament and concluded first that Zhou You was in the wrong. He decided to have the person out as quickly as possible, brought to Zheng Hou’s mansion, and then have a serious talk with Zhou You!

Then he looked at the gazette — and he no longer even had the energy to be angry. Wang Yunhe had been promoted!

When Wang Yunhe was deputy magistrate, there might have been things outside his reach. Now that he was full presiding magistrate, getting a person out of Wang Yunhe’s hands? Zhong Yi drew a sharp breath — how was this to be managed?

That Zheng Xi had written to him already showed considerable respect — the implicit meaning was that he didn’t want to make this a public affair. Otherwise, a single memorial impeaching Zhou You for abusing official instruments for private purposes — within that accusation alone, there was no telling how many people might fall with him. This was also a kind of leeway extended to Zhou You. Zhong Yi very much admired this way of handling things and was entirely happy to cooperate — to smooth the matter over and get Zheng Xi’s person out.

But now he couldn’t get the person out. Going to Wang Yunhe would immediately set off a major storm.

Not going to Wang Yunhe? He probably couldn’t answer to Zheng Xi for it. If things escalated on Zheng Xi’s end, the storm from that direction would be no smaller — and it would be a cold, dark wind at that.

Zhong Yi tried writing to old friends in the capital, asking after how Wang Yunhe had come to be promoted and whether there were any vulnerabilities to work with. The next day, replies came back: the Emperor had gotten into a quarrel with the Empress Dowager over Wang Yunhe.

Originally the Emperor had given the Empress Dowager face: he suspended Wang Yunhe, had the Imperial Uncle return the seized land, and let the matter close there. Once the new year passed, whether through the new-year amnesty or some other pretext, he would restore Wang Yunhe to his post, and then use the new year as cover to bestow more gifts on the Imperial Uncle’s household — smooth things over for both sides, and that would be that.

But the Empress Dowager’s side would not let it rest. The Empress Dowager put it very reasonably: “I am still alive, and yet they dare treat your uncle this way. When I die, what will become of your uncle?” The Imperial Uncle’s family refused to return the land; the Empress Dowager also demanded Wang Yunhe personally go to the Imperial Uncle’s home and apologize!

The Emperor counseled her three times. She was not persuaded. The Emperor’s own temper rose! He had been Emperor for more than twenty years — he was no infant ruler under a regent!

And so he simply promoted Wang Yunhe outright! On the very first days of the new year, he publicly showed Wang Yunhe favor, and dropped the blunt declaration: “Go ahead and do what must be done!”

Zhong Yi received this news, and everything went dark before his eyes.