Now that Xiang Le was back, it wouldn’t do to keep letting Zhù Ying and the others make do in the barracks next door. He began arranging to have a room cleared out for Zhù Ying to stay in. Zhù Ying said, “There’s no need. Moving back and forth is a bother. I can see you’ve only just gotten settled here yourself—don’t fuss over me.”

Xiang Le said, “Even if you don’t want to move, Prefect, it can’t be very convenient for Huajie and the others to stay in the barracks.”

Huajie had accompanied Zhù Ying to Gan County, along with several female students. These were not the students recently come up from beyond the mountains—they were students Huajie had been teaching for several years already, capable of examining and treating patients. Whenever Huajie traveled, it was always to provide medical care and distribute medicine. She and Zhù Ying had split up and were each busy with their own affairs during these past few days.

Based on Xiang Le’s past experience, when Zhù Ying came to inspect the border, Huajie would most likely remain in the main settlement; once she finished there, she would go to the nearby smaller settlements to see more patients. Zhù Ying and Huajie, though they traveled together, were not always side by side—so it would be better for Huajie to move to the yamen. Since a move was going to happen anyway, Zhù Ying might as well move to the county yamen together.

“You want to spare us extra labor, Prefect, and don’t want us to be tired—but if you and Huajie share a single quarters, there would be no need for me to arrange separate rooms for the two of you. Wouldn’t that also be convenient? There are many county matters I haven’t yet reported to you, and the registers and case files are all here in the yamen.”

Zhù Ying thought it over and said, “All right.” Her own luggage was far less than all the medicinal herbs Huajie had brought; a move wasn’t much trouble.

So Huajie and Xiang Le’s housekeeper arranged the relocation together, while Xiang Le reported county affairs to Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying said, “You’ve traveled far—go change your clothes and rest first. My matters aren’t urgent. Draw up the merits and punishments for the returning soldiers first. I’ll go and help them move.” With that, she rolled up her sleeves and went to help Huajie.

Back at the barracks, the soldiers who had accompanied Xiang Le to the border had also returned. Several had been wounded; Huajie and the others couldn’t spare attention for moving luggage—they tended to the injuries first. Zhù Qingjun was a woman, and when she led troops on inspection, the contingent was half men and half women. Xiang Le’s patrol force was all male soldiers, and being examined by a group of women left them simultaneously pleased and embarrassed.

Zhù Qingjun cleared her throat. “Behave yourselves and answer questions properly.” The soldiers straightened up.

Zhù Ying naturally asked about the Xika clan’s affairs. The soldiers glanced at Zhù Qingjun and offered an account that differed little from what Zhù Ying had been hearing all week while wandering about the settlement: “They’ve been at odds with us for a long time already. There was fighting in previous years too—it was never over any one particular thing. Who doesn’t fight?”

Indeed! Before Zhù Ying had come to Fulu County, the Asu clan and the Talang clan had been seizing and beheading each other’s people and spilling blood. Though the Huapa clan’s fighting strength was slightly inferior to those two, they had not forgotten their customs either. Luguo and Xijin, and by extension the Yigan clan to which they were connected, showed little inclination toward civilization either. And then there was the Suoning clan, which was no more—they had shown no mercy toward the Asu clan out of any sense of tribal solidarity, and of course the Asu clan had given the Suoning clan no pleasant experience in return.

The Xika and Jima clans were no different in this regard. Though the various clans and families sometimes formed marriage alliances with one another, they also periodically raided each other, taking heads, blood, and skin.

It was said that the Xika and Jima clans were rather more similar to each other in their customs, and that their ritual ceremonies were particularly fond of human skin and ceremonial vessels made from human bone.

Of course—like the Talang clan as well—when there were not enough outsiders to capture for sacrificial use, they would make do with their own slaves, or even persons of relatively distinguished standing within their own community.

That was precisely why, even though the entire Yigan territory held a uniformly poor impression of “outsiders” represented by Zhù Ying, once she sent Xiang Le and Zhù Qingjun to take charge of Gan County, abolished slavery, and put an end to human sacrifice, public opinion had begun to shift. Add the allocation of land for tenancy, and within a year, Gan County had gradually stabilized.

Zhù Ying asked, “What was the cause this time?” She had already received a report before arriving, but information passed through many hands could be inaccurate. The soldiers before her had just returned from the border and would give a more reliable account.

The soldier glanced at Zhù Qingjun again and said, “They crossed over and came into our smaller settlements—eating and drinking without asking, trampling our grain seedlings, and frightening people! It was insufferable!”

As he spoke, he forgot about Zhù Qingjun entirely and began genuinely working himself up. His family, too, had been allocated land; the harvest was no longer being skimmed off the top by a headman—the land felt like his own now, and the thought of someone wanting to trample his seedlings made him furious.

Zhù Qingjun’s expression went dark. She asked, “How much was trampled?”

The soldier shrank a little. “Not—not much, actually. They just—they stood there, deliberately waiting for us to pass by.”

Oh. Zhù Ying understood, and Zhù Qingjun was even angrier now, her face shuttered, barely keeping a string of curses from escaping.

Huajie walked over carrying a water vessel. “What’s going on? It’s so hot—come, have some water. I just made cool herbal tea.”

Everyone drank the herbal tea, and the atmosphere eased slightly. Zhù Ying and Zhù Qingjun continued chatting with the soldiers to learn more details. This Xika clan was making things quite difficult for Gan County. Gan County wanted stability; he was intent on causing trouble. Each time, the number of people he brought was neither too many nor too few—too spread out to justify deploying a full defense, too significant to simply ignore.

Zhù Ying asked, “Is it the same person every time?”

Zhù Qingjun said, “That’s the strange thing—it’s been various people before, but recently it’s only him. And some people who fled from the Yigan clan to the Xika clan have been mixing in with his group.”

Another soldier curled his lip. “Once they’re with the Xika clan, they’re Xika people. They have nothing to do with our Gan County.”

Zhù Ying asked further about any changes in their weaponry and fighting strength. The soldier said, “It’s about the same as before. They do have weapons, that’s certain.”

The Xika clan had coal and some iron; the Jima clan, deeper in, had large iron deposits and also produced raw gold. Their smelting was not sophisticated, but it was sufficient.

The few of them finished the herbal tea. The county yamen was now ready. Huajie said, “I’ll go and set up the room.” Zhù Qingjun saw Zhù Ying and Huajie out, and Xiang Le had by then also finished drawing up the merits and punishments. Zhù Ying commandeered the document room and held a small meeting with him and Zhù Qingjun. Xiang Le’s account of the Xika clan differed slightly from the soldiers’: “He made a show of damaging a little of the grain—but replacement seedlings were planted promptly and there was no real loss. I don’t think he genuinely wants to come to blows.”

There was more he couldn’t say in front of Zhù Qingjun.

Zhù Qingjun’s expression had already grown unfavorable. “Prefect, the reason I came back to report was precisely because that person is so very disagreeable. Gan County is newly annexed. The fields haven’t been farmed through a full cycle yet, and people’s hearts haven’t fully settled. As you said, it will take two or three years. Conscripting soldiers during this period would be ill-advised—it could easily lead to desertion and mutiny. And they’re not short of weapons. But if we’re harassed like this throughout those two or three years, we can’t focus on building anything. It’s truly insufferable.”

Xiang Le said, “The Xika clan—the territory is large, and they have iron and coal as resources. A military campaign against them wouldn’t be easy. If they could be brought to submission the way you brought the Asu and Talang counties under your sway, Prefect, it would be faster and more convenient.”

Zhù Qingjun gave a dismissive twist of her mouth. “And then what? Let their family go on governing? Any matter would still require polite negotiation with a bunch of hollow shells? They have iron and coal—those resources can’t stay in their hands!

You’ve been on campaigns with the Prefect before—when the Prefect leads a military expedition, military and civil authority is concentrated in a single command, orders come from her headquarters, and everything runs smoothly.

What isn’t won through genuine effort can’t be held securely. You’ll always be at someone else’s mercy!

Prefect—I find Gan County excellent, a hundred times better than under the Yigan clan. The young man from the Xika clan may look capable, but the Xika slaves are human beings too. Since you gave me a second chance at being human—and gave every slave in Wuzhou the hope of living as a person—please also have compassion for the slaves of the Xika clan!”

Xiang Le drew a soft breath. “That is… also… freeing slaves is a fine thing. But right now, Gan County is newly established—our strength is insufficient. We also fear that if we push too hard, they’ll fight to the death. Prefect, why not first approach them as you did the Yigan clan—courtesy before force? If they are willing to release their slaves and convert them to tenants and dependents, that would be achieving it without bloodshed. If they refuse, we can punish them then. This would also give us time to make more thorough preparations.”

Zhù Qingjun said, “Prefect! If we’re going to use military force against them, I’m willing to endure hardship and fatigue to patrol the border. But if we’re going to continue treating them with appeasement—”

“There are already enough areas in Wuzhou operating as loosely governed territories—they can refuse to follow the royal transforming influence of the court, but they cannot multiply the number of places that refuse to listen to me. I want my commands to be obeyed and my rewards and punishments to carry weight,” Zhù Ying said slowly. “The five counties—fine, I’ve tolerated that. The others no longer have that luck. The land, I want. The people, I want. The ancestral claims? Those, there’s no need to ask for anymore.”

Xiang Le grew tense. Zhù Ying slowly walked to stand in front of him, placed her hand on his shoulder, and asked quietly, “How many trusted men did you bring to Gan County? Are you planning to secure their futures? Have you thought about your son’s future? If we continue giving loose governance to everyone we encounter, where will you and yours find a place to stand?”

Zhù Ying’s words were spoken with scarcely even a questioning tone—yet as they fell on Xiang Le’s ears, they thundered through him like a chain of strikes from the sky.

His throat went dry with tension. He dropped to his knees. “Prefect! I—I was wrong.”

Zhù Ying gripped his shoulder and pulled him to his feet. “Get up. Work with your whole heart. Not a single word of what was said today is to be leaked.”

“Yes!”

“Qingjun, come with me.”

“Yes.”

———

The two of them went to the room Zhù Ying was sharing with Huajie. Zhù Qingjun was in excellent spirits—she and the Prefect had thought along the same lines! Did this mean she was seeing things more clearly now?

Zhù Ying remained as composed as ever. She asked Zhù Qingjun, “That young man from the Xika clan—what sort of person is he?”

Zhù Qingjun said calmly, “A man who is going to die one way or another. It wouldn’t be hard for the Prefect to deal with him. I think the elders behind him are deliberately sending him over to provoke a reaction and test us. He’s also taking the opportunity to make trouble. I only look at what he does. Right now he’s standing in our way, which makes him no ally.

“Oh?”

“I know that Xiang Le thinks well of him—but with him in that position, his fate is already decided. When I and my younger sister were in the capital, I was so stifled. I didn’t know the Prefect’s true identity. There was no one else to confide in. The two of us could only talk to each other—about life, about circumstance, about the future. With nothing to anchor ourselves to, we only worried that you might let go halfway.

“As long as your great work can be accomplished, what is there we can’t attain by following you? Love is the most trivial thing of all. My younger sister still has our mother, and her ancestral stockade passed down through the generations. I began with nothing at all—I should be the one who puts herself first. So many people—so many girls—have never had an opportunity like this. I’ve been given one. If I don’t treasure it, then let me go back to being a slave of the Suoning clan! If I don’t treasure it, then I truly deserve to live as a base and lowly person!

“I have flown through the sky. I will not go back into any cage!”

When Zhù Qingjun finished, she took a deep breath and knelt formally before Zhù Ying.

Zhù Ying rested her hand on Zhù Qingjun’s head. “Good. Rise. Seven days from now, you’ll accompany me on an inspection of Gan County.”

“Yes!”

———

Zhù Ying stayed in the main settlement for several more days. During this time, she first approved Xiang Le’s decisions on rewards and punishments for the soldiers, then reviewed the yamen’s registers and case files, all while continuing her wanderings about the settlement.

As the day set for her departure drew ever closer, the time came at last to set out. Since Zhù Ying was going to inspect the border, Huajie would travel with them to the nearby settlements but would stop there—she would not be taken to the frontier.

In the yamen, Huajie was helping Zhù Ying pack, while Zhù Ying herself carried a large bag of sweets and made one last circuit of the streets, handing out sweets to children and old people. She was trailed by a crowd for much of the way. Some children who had already received a sweet tucked it into a small pouch to keep, then pumped their little legs as fast as they would go to get ahead of the group, circle around, and come back from the front—feigning the appearance of newcomers who hadn’t had one yet.

Zhù Ying watched this with amusement and said, “You already had one—just now, by the stone drum at Third Granny’s doorstep over there.”

The little girl flushed crimson with embarrassment, her eyes brimming with tears. A nearby child spoke up loyally on her behalf: “Her granny is sick in bed. She wants to give it to her granny.”

Zhù Ying raised her brows and said, “Take me to her.” It was strange—she didn’t recall hearing that this child’s granny was ill. If someone was ill, that was Huajie’s business, and she hadn’t heard anything about it.

The children led the way, and sure enough, when they arrived, there was an old woman lying ill in bed. Zhù Ying opened the bag and held it out to the little girl. “You may take one handful.”

The little girl composed herself with visible effort, reached out her small hand, and scooped up a fistful, which she placed in the fold of the old woman’s apron. Zhù Ying said to the old woman, “This is what she earned for you. Enjoy them slowly. In a little while I’ll have the young physician come and have a look at you.”

The little girl and the crowd of children walked back out with her. Word had spread, and more people had come to watch; quite a few had gathered around by now, talking among themselves, some of them sighing with feeling.

Then, without warning, two people burst out of the crowd—a man and a woman—blades drawn, charging at Zhù Ying, running and slashing with the weapons in their hands. The bystanders screamed. The children scattered like chickens when a stray dog comes charging through, shrieking and bolting in every direction. One small boy ran the wrong way, directly into the path of the man, who kicked him aside. The boy crashed to the ground and struck his head on a stone step; blood immediately began pouring from his forehead.

Zhù Ying released the bag of sweets and drew her long blade. Hu Shijie’s projectiles flew out. Her escort broke into a cold sweat—they had been pushed apart by the crowd. Since Zhù Ying’s return to Wuzhou, she had sent away many of her veteran attendants for various assignments, and her close guard was now made up of many newer people with less experience. It was their first time in a situation like this, and maintaining a proper formation was difficult.

Hu Shijie’s projectiles were accurate, but when two were deflected and the third struck a bystander who yelped in pain, her hand faltered involuntarily. She reversed her grip and drew her short blade.

The attacker had reached them!

Zhù Ying said to Hu Shijie, “One each!”

She swung toward the man and charged. The man was not tall; Zhù Ying was among the taller of women, and in that moment she was actually marginally taller than he was—dealing with him was not difficult. The two exchanged blows. On the other side, Hu Shijie subdued the woman first; the escorts pinned her to the ground.

Over on Zhù Ying’s side, with Hu Shijie joining in, the battle quickly moved toward its conclusion. Zhù Ying’s blade was long and Hu Shijie’s was short; one long and one short, the two moved in practiced coordination, driving the man into a corner. The long blade carved wound after wound into his body; the man gradually faltered. Zhù Ying swept his legs out from under him. The escorts swarmed in, and another one was caught.

“Don’t you know who I am?!” the woman cried out in a loud wail.

The crowd buzzed with discussion. The woman then revealed her own identity—she was the daughter of a shaman who had once lived in this very stockade. When Zhù Qingjun and the others had led the attack, the shaman’s family had suffered as well. Only a brother and sister had escaped; the rest had either perished in the fighting or died during the flight. The shaman of this stockade had been a relatively mild-mannered figure, with a certain aura of mystery about him. And so the two siblings had recently slipped back quietly; those who knew had not reported them.

No one had expected them to do something like this—nor expected that they had laid all their grievances at Zhù Ying’s door.

To seek vengeance for the slaughter of one’s family was, it had to be said, a justified cause.

Zhù Qingjun and Xiang Le only received the news and came rushing over at this point. Zhù Qingjun drew her long blade. Xiang Le gave the order: “Take them back. Interrogate them carefully. Find out if there are any accomplices.”

Zhù Ying said, “Wait.”

She bent down and lifted the injured boy in her arms, pressed a handkerchief to the wound, and swept her gaze around the crowd. A few people dropped their eyes; most wore expressions of emotion and worry.

Zhù Ying said to the woman, “You and I are enemies—there’s no reason to deny you the right to seek vengeance. To avenge a family grievance is, in itself, worthy of respect. This time, I can spare you. The next time, we will settle it with our own hands.

“After you leave, you may tell everyone who hates me: you may still come and try to kill me in the future, but only with your own abilities, and only against me.

“Throughout all of Wuzhou, in every place under my authority, not a single other person is to be harmed—not a tenant, not a dependent, not a servant, not a slave, not a traveling merchant, not an official, not a student. No matter which clan or which stockade they came from before—they are my people now. Harm even one of them, and I will pursue you to the ends of the earth and kill you. Whoever shelters you will be punished.”

Her escorts hesitated, unsure whether to release them. Zhù Ying said, “Let them go. See them out of the town with courtesy.” Then she handed the child over to one of the bailiffs and said, “Go—take him to Dajie to have the wound looked at.”

The brother and sister stared at each other, then stared back at Zhù Ying, glared at her with fierce, dark eyes, and stumbled away, supporting each other.

Zhù Ying sheathed her blade, picked up the bag from the ground, brushed off the dirt, opened it, scooped out another handful of sweets, crouched down, and held them out to a small child who hadn’t yet received any. With a gentle smile she said, “Here—an extra one for you. Eat some sugar and you won’t be scared anymore.”

Hu Shijie called out, “Prefect—”

Zhù Ying turned away without looking back. “It’s nothing.”

Then she raised her voice to the crowd: “Those of you with things to do can disperse. Those who don’t—come play with us. As for anyone here today who knew and didn’t report—I won’t pursue it. It is never to be mentioned again, and don’t do it next time. This land, I took by strength and skill—and I distributed it with a clear conscience. Whatever anyone has promised you, I don’t care—they weren’t here, and I don’t see that they ever did anything good for you. You were still being sacrificed to the heavens, still having your hands and feet hacked off—not one blow was spared. Disperse. Farm your land. Eat your meals.”

She continued distributing sweets until the bag was empty, then strolled back at an unhurried pace to the county yamen.

Zhù Qingjun and Xiang Le had gone green in the face. Zhù Ying, as if nothing had happened at all, said, “What’s that expression for? It would be strange if there weren’t people like that. And I wasn’t even injured this time.”