Su Sheng set off at a brisk pace and went straight to his own lodgings. Almost everyone he knew was aware of why he had gone home this time; now he had returned alone, and he made no effort to hide what had happened from anyone. When someone called out to him he did not respond, just rushed back to his lodgings, ordered the door shut, and shut himself inside — waiting only for the three days to pass so he could go ask Zhù Ying for a new posting.
As for what the new posting might be, he didn’t particularly care — as long as he could temporarily get away from familiar faces, that would do. He made no effort to guess where Zhù Ying was planning to send him. Whatever it was, with no major battles being fought at the moment, being exiled to the ends of the earth would be fine.
Zhù Ying’s first thought was not of his posting but of the situation in Asu County. Su Sheng had already described Su Feihu’s situation, but she wanted a clearer picture. She sent Zhù Qingxue to call Su Zhe in.
Su Zhe was busy at the moment with preparations for the spring planting. An’nan and Xizhou had inherited from Zhù Ying’s time in Fulu County the old tradition of the yamen taking an active hand — the yamen would help with the livestock, farm tools, and seed grain for spring planting; Su Zhe bore part of the administrative burden within the headquarters, and this fell squarely within her duties. She thought, when she heard she was being called, that it must be about the field cultivation matters, and quickly ran through in her mind what she had on hand and began marshaling her thoughts.
By the time she entered the study and said hello, Zhù Ying immediately said: “Sit down. There’s something I want to ask you.”
Su Zhe accepted the tea Zhù Qingxue passed to her, said her thanks, then saw Zhù Ying give Zhù Qingxue a look — and Zhù Qingxue and Hu Shijie both withdrew. Su Zhe’s instincts immediately told her something was off. In ordinary matters, Zhù Ying generally did not send people away — she would sometimes even take the opportunity to teach younger people like Zhù Qingxue something along the way. The “maids” around Zhù Ying were more like “apprentices” — they did fetch tea and do small errands, but they learned something new every day.
Sending them away had to mean something serious.
Su Zhe’s nerves immediately drew taut, and she asked carefully: “What does Master wish to ask?”
“Su Sheng has come back,” Zhù Ying said, “on his own.”
“Oh? He’s back already? I didn’t know! Wasn’t he going home to get married? Did the girl not take to him? Or was it…”
Zhù Ying did not conceal it: “It seems the girl is going to become his sister-in-law instead.”
“What?! What on earth is going on?” Su Zhe was genuinely startled. This sort of “brothers vying for the same woman” scenario was not entirely unheard of in An’nan — everyone was human, and if two brothers had both taken a liking to the same girl, it came down to who the girl chose. Competition for inheritance between eldest and younger sons within a chieftain family certainly existed, but Su Sheng’s case didn’t fit that situation — the eldest brother was long married; among the rest who were still single, no one had grounds to laugh at anyone else.
Su Sheng’s situation was also somewhat different — he had been called home specifically by his father. That meant the thing should have been more or less certain, shouldn’t it?
“I’ll send someone home right away to ask my mother. Uncle shouldn’t have handled things this way.” Su Zhe said.
“Move quickly. A house divided against itself has no future. The Lin family affair is a lesson not yet forgotten.” Zhù Ying said. She had little interest in domestic squabbles, but years of governance had brought enough human tragedy before her eyes — she understood it no worse than anyone else.
Su Zhe’s expression also grew more serious: “I’ll see to it right away.”
Though the road from Xizhou to Asu County was now open, the round trip still took more than three days, and Su Mingluan’s reply had not yet arrived when Su Sheng came looking again. He had avoided the morning meeting, waited until the others had all received their tasks for the day and gone to work, and then came to the headquarters to request an audience.
Su Sheng’s face was utterly dead, all the energy gone from him. Zhù Ying said: “You’re in poor spirits — doing something is exactly right. How about this: Qingjun’s suppression campaign is nearly finished; I had intended to have her continue managing the land reclamation efforts. Are you willing to go and help her?”
“I’m willing!” Su Sheng said. As long as he wasn’t sitting in the headquarters, anywhere would do.
Zhù Ying said: “You’ve never overseen land reclamation before, and Qingjun and the others are busy — they won’t have time to guide you. Stay here with me for a while and learn the basics before you go.”
Su Sheng showed a reluctant expression: “Well… guarding a pass would work too. Master — spending more time in the city like this, I’ll die of embarrassment.”
Zhù Ying looked at him. Su Sheng’s eyes were full of hurt and pleading. Zhù Ying said: “You’re going to hide every time something awkward happens? What will you do when something even more embarrassing comes along?”
Su Sheng lowered his head and said nothing. Zhù Ying said: “Out west, Jin Yu has only just replaced Lin Feng…”
“I’ll serve as Jin Yu’s deputy — that’s fine!”
Zhù Ying let out a sigh and asked: “The matter at home — if your father changes his mind again, will you go back?”
Su Sheng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head slowly. Zhù Ying said: “Think it over carefully before you answer me. Either I send a letter to your father asking what exactly happened, or I send your father a congratulatory gift.”
Su Sheng drew a deep breath and said: “I…”
“No need to rush. Think it over.”
It was a matter of great consequence in one’s life, after all. Su Sheng withdrew again. His intention had been to keep away from people, but the headquarters was a busy place, and avoidance was possible at times. Just as he was nearly out of the headquarters, he happened to run straight into Lin Feng. Lin Feng said casually: “Something going on back home?”
Su Sheng tried to walk quickly away; Lin Feng grabbed him by the arm: “By the looks of it, there really is something. Come here!”
Lin Feng rarely had an opportunity to lecture others, and he had been bottling things up for a good while. One look at Su Sheng’s state and he could guess that something had gone wrong. He dragged Su Sheng into a side room, shut the door, and said: “All right — talk straight to your brother. Every family has its share of mess, doesn’t it? If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine too — but hear one word from my heart: don’t deceive yourself.”
Su Sheng said: “I went home, and the wife my father promised me ended up going to my brother. I can’t get over it.”
“When things went wrong in my family, I couldn’t get over it either. Then I thought about it — keeping yourself tangled up in a fight with the people back home, you’ll never make anything of yourself. You know that, don’t you? We’re both people who’ve seen something of the world. An’nan’s not like the outside, but it has a vitality to it — except for the outer five counties. The rest of An’nan is nothing like the outer five counties. Your aunt’s side is a little better; the Talang family depends on A’Fa and A’Pu; the others… different is different. Not being able to live in harmony with the people back home doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
Su Sheng said: “If I had to move back home just to marry that girl, I wouldn’t want to either — there’s no place for me there. Going back would mean serving at my eldest brother’s beck and call.”
As he said it, the words became clearer to himself: going back — what was the point? Home was the eldest brother’s domain; what would be left for him? He was better off like Lin Feng. Lin Feng had brought his wife and children with him; even his niece was being raised in Xizhou. Wasn’t that far better than sitting in the old home village following his eldest brother’s orders?
But “having one’s woman stolen by a brother” was a wound he could not yet heal; it still sat in his chest: “Brother, put in a good word for me with Master — I don’t want to stay in the city right now.”
Lin Feng said: “Fine. Go home and wait for my word.”
After Su Sheng had given his most fervent thanks and left, Lin Feng went to find Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying said: “Good timing — I was just looking for you.”
Lin Feng heard the official business first. Zhù Ying said: “In a couple of days, go make a trip to the riverbank — the spot agreed upon with Lord Chen — and bring along a few craftsmen to look into building the fortress and checkpoint.” Lin Feng had been stationed at the western pass and knew quite a bit about the arrangement of frontier defenses; with craftsmen added to the party, they could do some advance planning. Going and coming back, and then working out the labor, materials, and preparations would take some time, after which construction could begin.
Lin Feng agreed to the official business, and then raised Su Sheng’s situation. Zhù Ying said: “I heard about his situation, and I still need to hear what his family has to say. If it was a misunderstanding, I should reassure him. If Su Feihu truly handled it poorly and Su Sheng wants to keep his distance, I’ll arrange something. For now, let all of you pretend you don’t know about this.”
“Understood.”
Two more days passed, and Su Zhe received the express reply Su Mingluan had sent back with all urgency. The letter was thick, the writing slightly messy — one could see from it that Su Mingluan’s emotions had not been steady when she wrote it. Upon receiving her daughter’s letter, Su Mingluan had rushed in great haste to find her brother and demanded a full account. It matched what Su Sheng had said, with minor discrepancies. Su Feihu’s intention had indeed been to think of his son now that he had reached the age for marriage and call him home to arrange a match. Like all parents, Su Feihu had been reluctant to see his children marry far away — neighbors were best, and second best was someone of comparable standing. The girls of Xizhou included quite a few former slaves from the various peoples who had been freed; Su Feihu had no objection to releasing slaves, but he did mind a daughter-in-law’s background. Better, then, to go home and find a well-matched girl from a good family.
This was also the view of most chieftain families in the outer five counties — beyond the outer five counties, the chieftains had been wiped out in the western campaign. Where else were you supposed to find a girl of comparable rank? And the ethnic background would be different too!
What had actually happened after Su Sheng’s return was slightly different from what he had described. It was not that Su Feihu had deliberately set out to embarrass his son. His agreement with the girl’s family had been that whichever of his sons the girl took a liking to would be the one — after all, they were all his sons, and he didn’t mind; this way he seemed open-minded and reasonable to the in-law family too. What he hadn’t figured in was that Su Sheng planned to bring his wife to live in Xizhou. The girl’s family was opposed to that. The girl herself had not been firm enough in her feelings for Su Sheng — she was reluctant but not so determined as to refuse her father’s arrangement.
Su Mingluan was furious to the point of dizziness: this brother of hers had started negotiating a match without first agreeing on the terms, and then called his son home? It was rare enough for a child who had gone out into the world to be willing to come back home for a parental arrangement — and this was the outcome he managed?
Su Mingluan’s letter trembled at the end, her hand shaking as she wrote; she requested Zhù Ying to look after Su Sheng well and, in the name of the Asu family, entrusted Su Sheng to Zhù Ying’s care.
Zhù Ying also found it rather remarkable that Su Feihu possessed such a special talent — discussing a marriage match without first settling the most essential point — how had he left that unsaid?
When she finished reading the letter, Zhù Ying said to Su Zhe: “I understand. Tell your mother not to be angry — I’ll take care of it.”
“Yes.”
Zhù Ying’s arrangement was simple enough. She called Lin Feng in: “You spoke up for Su Sheng, so I’ll put him in your hands. Take him along when you go. He’s had experience leading troops in the field — it’s the management of land reclamation he lacks, so he’ll have to learn that later. For now, the two of you go together. Survey the terrain when you get there, and when you come back, stay — but if he doesn’t want to, hand him over to Qingjun and let him work on the land reclamation.”
“Understood.”
“Go call Su Sheng over.”
Su Sheng had heard from Lin Feng that Zhù Ying was agreeing to let him keep his distance for a while, and came flying to the headquarters, face still stiff, but his eyes already glinting with hope.
Zhù Ying first had him sit, then asked: “Lin Feng told you?”
“Yes! I’ll carry out my duties faithfully and never slack off.”
“And at home?”
“I have no desire to see anyone from my family right now,” Su Sheng said.
“Home you don’t have to return to. But the gift must be sent. Your family has a joyful occasion.”
Su Sheng’s face flushed a deep red. He sat still as a wooden figure, saying nothing.
Zhù Ying said: “This marriage was never about two people being in love. The affairs of the outer five counties — I once promised not to interfere much. But the Asu family — I made a promise to your grandfather. If you decide one day you want to go home and follow your father’s wishes, I won’t stop you then either. If you want to stay at the headquarters with peace of mind, I’ll give you a posting now — go out and strengthen your abilities. Out there, you might meet someone who suits you. When that time comes, I’ll stand up for you.”
Su Sheng felt the weight lift from his chest: “I’m willing! I’ll go out and work on my abilities.”
“All right. I can see you’re not in a state of mind to deal with family affairs — the gift, I’ll prepare on your behalf.”
“I’m not going back home to drink their wedding wine.”
“Of course not — you’re going out on official duty.”
Su Sheng dropped to one knee: “I’ll go get ready.”
……
Su Sheng set off without looking back, following Lin Feng, and did not return home when Su Feihu’s household held their celebration. Lin Feng completed his survey and came back; Su Sheng did not come back with him. When Zhù Qingjun returned to Xizhou in the autumn, Su Sheng still showed no sign of returning. He persisted in using “managing the land reclamation” as his excuse to stay on at the frontier.
It was not until the New Year that Zhù Ying finally summoned him back to the headquarters with an official order — she needed to make some adjustments to personnel.
By then, Zhù Qingjun’s bandit-suppression campaign had been essentially completed, and the one who had earned the foremost credit was Zhù Chonghua. It had been her idea from the start, and throughout the process she had contributed substantially; so Zhù Ying promoted her from Deputy Governor to Governor, and delegated to her one of the three governorships she had been concurrently holding herself.
Daizhou, at last, had a resident Governor.
Zhù Qingjun, with the unrest within her territory now pacified and a ceasefire agreed upon with the Western Tribes, turned to overseeing military land reclamation. Zhù Ying thus gave her an additional concurrent title. Zhù Ying, in her capacity as Military Governor, also concurrently held the title of Reclamation Commissioner; she now appointed Zhù Qingjun as Deputy Reclamation Commissioner. Within An’nan, no one looked too closely at these arrangements, nor would anyone insist that every official title had to be applied for from the court.
Zhù Ying issued Zhù Qingjun a round seal, and the appointment was considered done. Official correspondence within An’nan generally bore only the round seal.
Beyond witnessing these promotions, Su Sheng found his own assignment adjusted as well — after two years, the new post road was finally approaching the point where the two sides were to be connected. He was to lead his unit to a new defensive position: first, because the most essential building material for the iron suspension bridge — iron — was precious, and he was to guard the workshops and the raw materials; and second, to construct on-site the fortress and checkpoint that would defend An’nan’s northern gateway.
Su Sheng was thoroughly pleased with this arrangement — he had no desire whatsoever to go back. He became all the more diligent and conscientious, watching day by day as the fortress rose stone by stone, the iron cables were strung one by one, and the bridge planks were laid one by one.
Until the last bridge plank was laid. Su Sheng posted two men to test the crossing; from the opposite side, two men came walking to meet them. Both parties crossed safely to the other side and exchanged official documents with each other. The document from An’nan’s side was an invitation for Chen Fang to come for a talk; from the other side was Chen Fang’s salutation to Zhù Ying, with an invitation to meet at the border.
Then came the porters with their carrying poles, and small carts.
The trial crossing complete, Su Sheng did not go to meet the officials from the other side. He gave the order: “Remove the bridge planks! Report to the headquarters! Request Master’s command!”