Zhù Ying’s gaze swept briefly over the little girl, then turned to the doorway — Zhù Wen had followed close on the heels of uncle and nephew and was walking in as well.
The moment Zhù Wen stepped inside, he fell to his knees: “Elder Matriarch, I was unable to bring the person back.”
The little girl began to sob.
Zhù Ying asked Lin Feng: “Where is your wife?”
“She — she’s at home!”
Zhù Ying said to Senior Sister Hu: “Find someone, go to his house and let his wife know. Have the child stay with them for now. Whatever the house needs, come to me for it.”
Lin Feng hastily said: “My house has everything we need!”
“All right then, go.”
The little girl clutched Lin Feng’s hand tight. Lin Feng was at a loss, and said stiffly: “Auntie knows you — go to my house first. I’ll come back once I’ve said what I need to say.”
The little girl then fixed her gaze unblinking on Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying nodded to her: “Is there something you want to say to me? Something you want to ask?”
The little girl had had a terrible fright and was in something of a daze. Lin Feng urged her along a couple of times, but she only shook her head.
Zhù Ying walked toward her slowly. The little girl pressed herself a little closer to Lin Feng’s side, so Zhù Ying stopped approaching and said quietly: “We’ve met before.”
Lin Feng also said: “You can say anything to the Elder Matriarch.”
The little girl nodded, and opened her mouth to speak: “Father is dead. My little brother is dead too.”
Zhù Ying lifted her eyes and looked at Lin Feng. Lin Feng’s expression was grave: “Yes.” He glanced at the girl and said nothing more. Zhù Ying patted the girl on the head, straightened up, and asked him: “Where are the bodies? Were the funeral rites not performed? Has the child’s mother been informed?”
Lin Feng shook his head. “Things were too urgent — I only took her and came.”
The city was not large, and Lin Feng’s home was close by. Before many words had been exchanged, Lin Feng’s wife arrived at the prefectural office accompanied by a maidservant. She first looked Lin Feng over carefully, and seeing him unharmed, relaxed — then turned to ask about the niece. Not knowing the full story, she asked: “Just you alone?”
That sent the little girl into tears. Lin Feng lowered his voice and gave his wife a brief account. Lin Niang exclaimed in surprise: “What a coincidence it all is!”
Lin Feng said: “Don’t say anything rash. Take the child home first, wash her face, and find some clothes for her to change into.”
Lin Niang felt certain something was not right, but her husband had spoken, and she would give him face. She took the little girl’s hand and they went home first. Once outside the prefectural governor’s office, Lin Niang said to the girl: “You’ll just stay with us for now… Oh! What on earth has gotten into that man today, being so quiet?”
Lin Feng, even when his own father had died, hadn’t been able to stop him fighting with his brothers — Lin Niang’s greatest grievance had always been that he had no sense of proportion. Yet today, he was remarkably composed. Lin Niang’s heart filled with misgiving. She took the niece by the hand and hurried home, then set about carefully cleaning the girl up and changing her clothes.
Back inside the prefectural office, Zhù Ying asked Zhù Wen: “What happened?”
Zhù Wen, still not daring to rise, gave a thorough and faithful account: “We came down the mountain and completed the handover with Governor Jiang’s people, and returned smoothly to the settlement. Everything seemed to be in order — except that the second son had a displeased expression on his face; nothing else seemed wrong. After we returned to the settlement, the eldest son did scold him — that a husband and father who abandons wife and children is something no chief’s family should be capable of doing…”
For the elder brother to reprimand the younger like this was entirely within bounds. Everyone at the time assumed it was merely seizing on a pretext to make the second brother look bad, though the reproach fit so exactly that someone suggested, “The person is back now — let him settle in first and we can talk later.”
Back home, what was there to settle? Everything was as it should be, and that night the brothers even drank around the hearth fire together. Zhù Wen had only taken a couple of small sips, then pretended to be drunk and refused to drink more, all the while covertly watching these brothers.
The eldest brother was quite the commanding presence of a firstborn — he kept saying how the second brother should not have made family matters into a public spectacle, and that if he was going to make a fuss, why not come to the prefectural governor’s office to argue it, rather than going to outsiders down the mountain? He also said that in the future, everyone should conduct themselves better; as for the matter of the rotating title, they would discuss it carefully the next day.
But the younger brother had done wrong, and wrong required consequences. House confinement. The second brother was also to contribute some valuables to compensate everyone for all the trouble they’d gone through.
The elder brother also said he had prepared a gift for the second brother, and that the second brother should go before long and bring his wife back home — the children could not be without their mother. Running away was an error made by the second brother first; one could not blame the wife for it.
Up to this point, everything seemed perfectly reasonable. Lin Feng had also drunk rather more than he should have.
Everyone became quite drunk, and then were helped away to sleep. Zhù Wen, not being family, was put up further away. Lin Feng was housed in the elder brother’s main residence. The second son, who had moved out of the main house after the family division, stayed elsewhere — not with Zhù Wen either.
Zhù Wen had been asleep until the middle of the night when he suddenly heard shouts of “Fire!” and the whole settlement erupted. Zhù Wen was a stranger in the settlement and needed some time to find his bearings; only after inquiring did he learn that the fire was at the house of Lin Feng’s second brother, who had just been brought back that very day. The moment he learned that, Zhù Wen knew something was dreadfully wrong — he immediately went to find Lin Feng!
Lin Feng continued: “By the time I reached Second Brother’s house, the fire was already very large — it seemed impossible to extinguish…”
The girl’s room was far from her father’s. By the time Lin Feng reached the scene, he had barely managed to save his niece’s life; his brother and both of his other nephews had perished in the flames.
Zhù Ying said to Zhù Wen: “Get up. This matter is not your fault. Were you hurt?”
Zhù Wen climbed to his feet, shook his head, and stood honestly to one side.
Zhù Ying asked Lin Feng: “What are you thinking?”
Lin Feng lowered his head: “This child, I will raise.”
“What about the family?”
Lin Feng gave a rueful smile: “My wife can be fierce, but she would not make trouble for an orphaned girl. She will raise this child to adulthood.”
Zhù Ying looked at him without speaking. Lin Feng raised his head. “This place is my home.”
“All right,” Zhù Ying said. “You still need to go back once — your second brother still needs to be properly interred. I’ll have Xiao Jiang send two of his apprentices along with you.”
Lin Feng shook his head: “An inquest? Elder Brother would not agree to it, and the Second Brother is already burned and buried now. Even if the inquest turned up something, it was the Second Brother who erred first — if we pursue it further, the settlement will never have peace again. And our father just died; our mother…”
Zhù Ying said: “You’ve grown up.”
Lin Feng pulled out a smile that looked worse than weeping, and felt a deep sorrow in his heart. He asked: “Elder Matriarch, when will we set out west again?”
Zhù Ying said: “You are not in a fit state of mind right now — do not ask about other matters yet. Settle your family affairs first. I’ll have Zhao Su help you negotiate with your elder brother.”
“There’s no need. I can manage.”
“All right. Go.”
Lin Feng gave a rigid bow, turned on his heel, and walked stiffly away. Zhù Wen asked for forgiveness again.
Zhù Ying said: “It has been so many years since anything like this happened — I had almost forgotten about those days… I didn’t foresee it, and you are not to blame. Go — bring Qingtian to me.”
“Yes.”
——
Zhù Qingtian had been back for three months. A few days before, she had received a copper seal, though not a civil one — she held the rank of Colonel in the military. Her command, however, did not yet include any formal soldiers; she was a person of rather unusual position.
Zhù Ying had a different arrangement for her: “Your old trade from the capital — can you pick it up again?”
Zhù Qingtian said quickly: “Whatever you command!”
The work she had done in the capital could not be done freely within Mountain City without Zhù Ying’s sanction — wandering the streets gathering intelligence? In the capital, you were gathering information on others, which was one matter; in Mountain City, it was tantamount to probing Zhù Ying’s own depths, which was quite another.
Zhù Ying said: “Beyond the city walls, all of Wuzhou — especially the various chiefs’ families — is where you need to keep your attention.”
“Yes!”
“Jiang Zheng no longer enforces the border closure, but trade has still dropped considerably.” Zhù Ying produced another copper seal and a formal edict. “Report to Xiang An. You will hold a concurrent deputy position on the trading side of things. Outside intelligence you will also take charge of. Do you understand?”
“Yes! This will be easy to manage. We have our own guildhall, and we can also make use of the Fulu Guildhall and others.”
“Use your own judgment.”
“Yes. Then… what about scouts for the western campaign army?”
“What great army? Take care of the home front first.” Zhù Ying laughed despite herself. Even counting the Xika and Jima volunteers, the most she could deploy at one time was around ten thousand. More than that, and her supply lines would be severely strained.
“Yes.”
Zhù Ying then summoned several people in succession, arranging matters for the autumn harvest and in preparation for resuming the western campaign. The autumn harvest could not be done without Zhao Su, and Zhao Su had already heard of the incident with the Lin family and was on his way to find Zhù Ying as well.
He hurried over and saw Zhù Ying sitting quietly behind her desk, and wiped his perspiration: “Elder Matriarch! You sent for me?”
“Sit. The autumn harvest needs to be organized in advance.”
“The time has not yet come — the rains have just stopped — but I have already begun to take stock and gather draft animals.”
“The western campaign will also need pack horses — best not to let the two needs conflict.”
“Yes.”
The two of them discussed the matter for a while, and Zhao Su finally brought up the Lin family affair: “If you think about it, all five outer counties have vulnerabilities like this one.”
Zhù Ying looked at him and said: “Do not stir things up among them.”
Zhao Su smiled: “You are always kind-hearted, and I would not deliberately cause harm. With the western campaign underway, if the five outer counties become unsettled, Wuzhou itself will not be stable. And there is still Jiang Zheng watching from outside — I understand what matters.”
“Hmm.”
“But this cannot go on indefinitely — preparations should begin. How about this: select the bravest and most capable of the sons and grandsons of the chiefs and bring them into the army. We are about to face the Jima fighters, and beyond them the Western Tribes. The army is short of people right now; those men could even bring their own retinues along to supplement the numbers. If we win, it is you who gave everyone a path forward; if they fall on the battlefield, dying in battle is a far more dignified end than dying in internal strife.” Zhao Su put it tactfully.
Those who survive will be grateful to us; those who die abroad — the families staying home to inherit the estate will still have to thank us!
Seeing that Zhù Ying said nothing, Zhao Su continued: “Even if only a few are tempered through battle, it is your grace that made them. Then, in time, using their hands to break up their own families — strip the outer chiefs’ families of their power over the people while allowing them to keep their wealth. Only then will Wuzhou truly come back into your hands. And if we could levy rent and conscript labor from the five outer counties now, the grain and supply situation for the western campaign would be considerably easier.”
Zhù Ying said: “Everything requires mutual willingness — it is not appropriate for us to be the ones to propose it. Hold our ground for now and maintain the status quo. If we levy from them now, what do we offer in return later? Besides — how did Little Sister get her wound? If Qingjun or Little Sister were injured because of something like this, I would not accept it.”
Zhao Su sighed inwardly. Zhù Ying was decisive without being ruthless — which was both reassuring and, at times, frustrating. He let the matter drop and returned to discussing grain and supplies, while inwardly thinking: I will just prepare for it quietly on my own. He had hoped to use the western campaign to give some of the weaker members of the chiefs’ families a little more standing. Since Zhù Ying would not agree to the proposal directly, the most he could do later was offer some quiet, behind-the-scenes assistance when the time came.
Zhù Ying gave him a glance — she could see he was running calculations in his head again. This man Zhao Su was certainly clever, but carried just a touch too much of his mother’s side’s directness. Fortunately, he still conducted himself with restraint — otherwise, who could say what he might get up to.
As Zhao Su took his leave, Zhù Ying added one more word of admonishment: “In whatever we do, keeping faith is essential. Since we established these alliances, they must be honored.”
Zhao Su said: “I understand.”
He apparently truly did understand — after that, he was diligently, conscientiously occupied with routine affairs, and never again raised the matter of conscripting sons and grandsons from the chiefs’ families. Once the autumn harvest began, he became even busier. This year they still had to send a share of grain to the capital, which pained him greatly. For the business of shipping grain to the capital, Zhù Ying also wrote an official document to Jiang Zheng proposing that the two prefectures’ shipments be combined into one convoy — for safety.
It was a perfectly reasonable excuse. Order had only recently been restored after civil unrest; although ordinary bandits would not dare to rob imperial grain shipments, it was always safer.
Besides the grain and cloth, Zhù Ying also prepared gifts for Zheng Xi and the others — gold, lingzhi mushrooms, cinnabar, and similar goods. She prepared tribute for the Emperor as well — the same as always, two white-plumed pheasants and purple lingzhi.
The escort was not Zhao Su but Lin Feng. Previously, Lin Feng would have complained loudly and at length before grudgingly complying. This time, he said not a word, made no fuss about wanting to join the western campaign, accepted the order quietly and kept his head down as he inventoried the goods, personally watched the loading of the carts, and went off obediently with the convoy.
When Zhù Ying urged him to stay safe on the road and the like, he agreed to everything. Just before mounting his horse, he made a particular point of asking Zhao Su: “The Elder Matriarch is also heading west soon — my household, I ask Elder Brother to take good care of while I’m gone.”
Zhao Su’s opinion of him improved considerably at that moment. He said warmly: “Don’t worry.”
Huajie also said: “I’ve met the child. Once she’s a little more settled, I’ll bring her to the school. There are plenty of children her age there — she won’t be lonely. In a few years, once she can stand on her own two feet, you’ll all have peace of mind.”
Lin Feng made her a deep, respectful bow: “Thank you, Auntie.”
Huajie patted him on the head. Lin Feng dipped his head: “I need to go — I’ll miss my time if I wait any longer.”
——
Lin Feng’s departure also meant that Zhù Ying would soon set out again herself.
Zhang Xiangu thought in her heart, this year we probably won’t be home for New Year’s, but did not breathe a word of it aloud. Having nothing to say and finding the silence oppressive, she settled on mentioning the Lin family affair: “That little niece of his — she’s just too pitiful. His wife is alone at home with a nursing baby, and now there’s this child too — you can’t be too strict, you can’t be too lenient. And that elder brother of his — what a cruel heart!”
Zhù Ying said: “In these mountains, twenty years ago they were still slaughtering people for blood offerings and taking heads and flaying skin to offer to the sky. What is this next to that?”
Zhang Xiangu’s hands stilled. She murmured: “You’re right, you’re right…”
Huajie listened from the side, and her own heart felt unsettled: “We know all these things — it’s just that it’s been so long since we’ve seen any of it around us, and when it comes all at once, it hits hard.”
Zhang Xiangu said: “Still, the way we live is the good way! But they say further west, in the territories not yet taken, they kill their own people before the fighting even starts?”
And that brought us back to the western campaign again!
“Who told you that?”
Zhang Xiangu was unlike most old women — no one around her felt much need to be careful about frightening her. If someone let something slip and she had a moment of shock, she would take it in and that would be that; she would not, like some pampered old matriarchs, be frightened into illness. She was also not one to sit idle, and wandered about the city frequently. Zhù Ying therefore had no idea how many people had said what to her.
Zhang Xiangu said: “I’ve forgotten who said it. But looking at things this way — those people further west are truly to be pitied. And those chiefs are truly vile! We cannot let them go on abusing people this way!”
Zhù Ying promised earnestly: “We won’t — we won’t!”
“Saving others means keeping yourself safe first.” Zhang Xiangu finally reached out and touched her daughter’s cheek. “Whatever you do, don’t let yourself get hurt again.”
“I won’t.”
Zhù Ying made the promise to her mother, and she genuinely kept it. In this new western campaign, her field headquarters had pushed a little further west — even further west than Zhù Lian’s position — which sent Zhù Lian and Witch Ren into no small anxiety. Zhù Lian took to slipping little notes into his official dispatches for Zhù Qingye: Keep a close eye on Teacher!
Witch Ren also tucked notes into official documents for Witch Twin: I know you can’t actually control the Elder Matriarch, but if you see any hint of trouble brewing, tell Older Sister Hu right away!
These two people’s worries were entirely wasted. Zhù Ying sat steadily in the rear, always a hundred or so li from the front line. Zhù Qingjun and the others were the ones pressing forward, taking one position after another.
Until one day, Jiang Zhen came racing into the main tent, her face drained of color: “Elder Matriarch! Something has gone wrong! Su Zhe has been wounded — her unit has suffered heavy casualties!”
Zhù Qingye beside her was also startled, and began mentally calculating which physician to send, how to transport Su Zhe back for treatment. She also muttered a quiet imprecation: Men from the Asu family are absolutely useless!
Jiang Zhen’s next words came tumbling out: “Those cousins from the Asu family — eager to distinguish themselves, and Su Zhe couldn’t stop them in time — they ran headlong into Posheng Chief’s ‘iron cavalry’!”
Zhù Qingye let out a sound before she could stop herself: “What?”
Zhù Ying asked: “Dead or alive?”
“Five dead, three gravely wounded, another two with light wounds. Su Zhe is also lightly wounded.”
Zhù Qingye said: “Gravely wounded — Elder Matriarch, if they don’t receive prompt care, I fear they may also die.”
Zhù Ying said quietly: “So be it. Have Su Sheng go to meet them.”