Zhù Ying had no intention of jumping at shadows. The Council of State reported that the Western Tribes were stirring — that might be genuine movement aimed at the western frontier, but how much of that would affect Annan remained to be seen.
Furthermore, she knew the people of the capital far too well. Their schemes were many and their hearts were layered; the Council of State complained endlessly about how difficult the regional lords were to manage, yet they were running their own calculations and manipulations on those very same lords. Compared to the formally governed prefectures — the “regular prefectures” with registered households under direct imperial control — her domain was still classified as a loosely administered tribal territory. How much genuine concern they actually had for it was a matter for careful thought.
Zhù Ying sometimes felt not the least bit of shame about her own suspicious nature. She was entirely willing to entertain the thought that if the court were not presently too occupied and too weak to spare the attention, it would have already begun scheming against her.
Under these circumstances, the most correct course of action was to strengthen defenses while also ordering Zhù Qingtian and the commander of Western Pass to investigate the actual situation. For all she knew, embedded within the court’s order to “hold in check” was a calculation to let her and the Western Tribes wear each other down. If she were sitting in the Council of State, and it came to a real fight, she would certainly position official armies at the center while doing nothing to stop a loosely administered territory from bleeding — in fact she would rather welcome that outcome.
She issued her orders, then summoned Zhù Qingtian for a briefing on Western Tribe intelligence.
Zhù Qingtian said, “There’s little movement on the western side that you aren’t already aware of. Their leadership doesn’t always command full obedience — the Western Tribes’ territory is vast and sparsely populated, and news from there is sometimes unreliable. The small city across the border is still carrying on trade as usual; there’s been nothing unusual in the comings and goings of merchants recently. The border has seen friction off and on for years — that’s nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve had people keeping an eye on iron and grain trades, and nothing abnormal there either.”
“Look further.”
“Yes.”
Zhù Qingtian understood the gravity of the matter and convened her subordinates that very night, ordering a more thorough investigation of the Western Tribes. Her people worked in various guises, merchants among them. Upon hearing the news, one said, “The tribal people have their own writing, but their own registers are incomplete — think about it: scattered across the land herding animals, their population cannot be accurately counted. Their territory is also vast, and if you take the wrong road, we have no way of getting a clear picture.”
Zhù Qingtian said, “Use whatever abilities you have, and find out as much as you can!”
It was genuinely difficult. Even Kun Da Chi himself likely had only a rough estimate of how many subjects he had. Even the Son of Heaven could not fully account for undeclared fields, hidden households, and people living off the books. Zhù Qingtian wanted only an approximate figure, which made things less impossible. And at this very moment, some of her people were still doing business inside Western Tribe territory and had not yet come back.
Zhù Qingtian finished these arrangements, then sent people north and east to sound out conditions on the court’s side. A final group she set to watching the postal relay roads in Annan and the markets of Xizhou, keeping close watch over her own territory.
With that done, she finally had a moment to drink some water and catch her breath. A thread of unease wound through her — she feared that years of effort on her part might prove a laughingstock if it turned out the Western Tribes had already moved and her own people had been deaf and blind to it. She sat in her duty room staring at the candle flame.
Until a household helper came to call her for dinner.
At the dining hall, Zhù Qingtian made for a seat toward the back, but Zhao Ji and the others gestured her forward. In the end Lu Danqing pulled her down into the seat beside her. “Goodness, every time there’s this whole business of deferring and offering — just sit, won’t you? How does that sound?”
I have a guilty conscience, that’s how, Zhù Qingtian said to herself. What if it turns out I didn’t do my job well and let information slip through? Best not to push to the front.
She sat down. Two mouthfuls of hot soup, and her state of mind gradually settled. She looked up and saw that Su Sheng, Lin Feng, and the others had been summoned as well, and guessed it was connected to the Western Tribes. But since Zhù Ying had not raised the subject openly, Zhù Qingtian kept her mouth firmly shut and said not a word about the Western Tribes.
Across from her was Su Sheng, who was mildly bored. He had nearly been home for dinner, and here he’d been dragged over again. He dreaded being called in for a heart-to-heart at the command office. Zhù Ying was manageable enough, but he was most afraid of Huajie — gentle and soft-spoken, with a look in her eyes full of warmth and tenderness whenever she looked at him, always asking after his daily life and urging him to take a holiday back in Xizhou. Su Sheng was finding it increasingly hard to bear. He had just lost a father, had a wife taken from him, and had some family property seized — he could still handle it!
Above Su Sheng sat Lin Feng, also dragged over at the last moment. When Zhù Qingxue’s messenger came to the barracks to find him, the camp was nearly ready to serve the evening meal. Lin Feng had just ladled a spoonful of soup from a pot to check on the soldiers’ food. He heard the summons, said in surprise, “At this hour?” tossed the ladle aside, and followed the messenger without another word.
The messenger was a girl of eighteen or nineteen with a thick, glossy black braid down her back and a large red flower at her temple — altogether very spirited. “Little Lin has already settled in at the command office. The Elder says, please come for a simple dinner and see how your niece is getting on.”
Lin Feng was astonished. “She’s moved in?”
The girl with the braid was startled too. “You didn’t know? Isn’t it… wasn’t it your wife who asked the Elder?” From how Lin Niangzi had seemed — hardly like someone trying to pass off a burden; she’d been quite attentive in making arrangements for Lin Ge. The girl with the braid felt a twinge of uncertainty and wondered if she was too young and had entirely missed some undercurrent of scheming in the Lin household.
“I knew, I knew…” Lin Feng said. A living person disappearing from your house was hardly something one could miss. His wife had told him, and he had thought about it and agreed. His niece was genuinely difficult to manage. If it were a nephew who’d lost both parents, the uncle’s duty would be undeniable — any half-dead sulking behavior and a good cuff would wake the boy up. But a niece whose father was dead and whose mother had remarried required carefully chosen words even in reproach.
As it happened, the command office had plenty of young women; growing up near Zhù Ying and Huajie, the girl’s future prospects would be good. Even if she were eventually to marry, a girl raised in the command office would make a better match. That way Lin Feng could at least feel he had done right by his brother and his parents.
He had even planned to have his wife go to the command office first to test the waters; once Zhù Ying agreed, he would go in person to present Lin Ge formally with proper ceremony. Who could have guessed his wife would be so efficient — and that Zhù Ying would agree so readily — and that the girl would already be moved in?
“Oh, all right then — let’s hurry along!” The girl with the braid patted her chest in relief. So she wasn’t stupid after all.
They all arrived at the command office, where dinner was served a little later than usual that evening. Zhù Ying announced: “The family has two more people now. Don’t be surprised when you see them coming and going.”
More people recognized Lin Ge than Zhù Tong. Lu Danqing looked carefully and said, “Oh — Little Tong?”
Zhù Tong smiled at her and tried to sit a little straighter. Lu Danqing then introduced the connection between Zhù Tong and Zhù Qingjun — she had heard of it the same way. Hou Wu said, “Back then, Qingjun came to the household just like this.”
Everyone agreed it was quite a bond.
Across the table, Lin Ge and her uncle found themselves looking directly at each other. Neither knew what to say, and both maintained their silence. It was fortunate that Huajie was there; she slowly spoke with Lin Feng about Lin Ge — how she was settled, a few things about her daily routine.
Lin Feng felt a persistent awkwardness and even less of an idea about how to explain himself to his niece. The girl had been through so much trouble, living with her uncle’s family for years only to be sent somewhere new — it sounded like being passed around like a kicked ball. He coughed. “Well… thank you, Auntie, for all the trouble. Eh…”
He hadn’t been in the habit of talking heart-to-heart with Lin Ge at home, and speaking in front of everyone now was even more awkward. Lu Danqing said, “If you want to lecture the younger generation, do it after dinner when you’ve eaten and are free to say whatever you like. For now, only happy talk — no spoiling the mood.”
Lin Feng said, “Hey! Young lady, what kind of way is that to speak to me?” Lu Danqing had come to Zhù Ying’s side considerably after him, and was younger to boot.
Lu Danqing gave him a roll of her eyes!
The whole room was provoked into laughter.
Zhao Ji was the junior of the compound, familiar with everyone there, and found it easier to speak up. He asked, “Aren’t they the same as us? We went around to the departments today introducing ourselves, but I didn’t see them.”
Both Lin Ge and Zhù Tong pricked up their ears. Zhù Ying said, “Look at their age, then think about yours. How many years have you been studying? How many characters have they learned? Let them study a bit first, then go.”
Lin Feng said, “This is good, this is good.”
Su Sheng asked with curiosity, “And how would you know?”
He didn’t know a thing! Did this man not understand the meaning of going along with what someone said?
With a few such lively characters in the room, the meal passed well enough. Su Sheng had a nagging sense the whole thing had little to do with him — he suspected Zhù Ying or Huajie had pulled him in simply to cheer him up and loosen him a little.
He was quite wrong. When dinner was done, Zhù Ying asked Lin Feng, himself, Wu Ren, Lu Danqing, and the others to go to the study together. Su Sheng thought: Strange — what does this have to do with me again?
Once in the study, Zhù Qingxue personally closed and guarded the door. Only then did the assembled company feel that something of military weight was coming.
And so it was. Zhù Ying explained the matter of the Western Tribes. Lin Feng, Su Sheng, and Lu Danqing’s first reaction was: Qingjun isn’t being sent? We have a chance to distinguish ourselves?
Su Sheng was positively radiant. Earlier, Zhù Ying had kept him in Xizhou without saying what he would be doing. Now it was either back to North Pass or off to Western Pass — at worst, after fresh conscription, training new soldiers. He finally had something to do.
Lin Feng said, “These newly conscripted soldiers are trained well enough — about two thousand, ready at any time. But green troops in a real battle against tribal soldiers — how many would survive a single engagement is hard to say. They need more training. I know them well; if I lead them, more of them will live.”
Lu Danqing and Su Sheng also stepped forward to volunteer.
Zhù Ying said, “No rush — first confirm the military intelligence. Keep this in mind and start preparing. Wu Ren…”
“Every year I hold back a reserve for use in case of military action. Advance allocation of supplies for five thousand is manageable; drawing on additional funds is also feasible, but I’ll need to coordinate further with Third Lady Xiang.”
Zhù Ying nodded and said, “Even though the Western Tribes are active, Annan’s own territory and Western Pass cannot be left without defenses…”
Lu Danqing said, “I’ll go back and draw up a proposal. Mixing seasoned veterans with new recruits is probably still the better arrangement?”
Zhù Ying nodded again.
Lin Feng said, “Then I just keep drilling the troops?”
Another nod.
Su Sheng grinned and stepped forward: “Elder, let me go back to North Pass. Our current emperor, that court of his — they’ve got plenty of schemes of their own.”
“And you have fewer?”
“But I’m more familiar with how the court operates than those unschooled young ones who’ve never been beyond these mountains. If they want to use our road, do we let them? If they want to send scouts through, do we let them? What if some envoy from Inspector Chen suddenly appears at the bridge — someone else might genuinely not be able to handle that!”
Zhù Ying said, “All right, all right, you’ve talked my head into aching. Go.”
“Yes!”
The others filed out to begin their preparations. Zhù Ying stopped Lin Feng. The others slowed their steps slightly on the way out, hoping to catch a fragment of what was inside — if there was going to be a fight, was Lin Feng being assigned as vanguard?
Inside the room, Zhù Ying’s first words were: “You’ve never had a proper talk with Lin Ge, have you?”
The listeners outside deflated and dispersed; everyone went off to tend to their own affairs.
Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. “I want to — it just falls apart! I can’t get it going.” He was truly anxious about it, and poured out his troubles all at once. He ended with: “I’m worried she still holds a grudge. My elder brother was not a good man, you know!”
Zhù Ying said, “Can’t get it going? What’s hard about that? Speak to her the same way you’d speak to a son.”
Lin Feng said, “If I had a son, of course I’d want him to soar to great heights and be able to avenge me. But she’s a girl, and she has nothing to her name. With such an empty wish in her heart, I worry she’ll bottle herself into ruin. And then the name you gave her… not to mention…”
“What’s wrong with the name? It’s a fine name. And then what?” Zhù Ying said. “If you find yourself torn two ways, leave it to fate. Go and have a proper talk with the child. Before you speak, stop telling yourself ‘she is such-and-such, she cannot do this or that, she should live her life this way.’ Throw that stupid thought away. The person standing in front of you is simply a person who has had those experiences. You hope she’s safe. You want her life to be smooth and good. Talk about her dangers. Talk about your own worries. Speak plainly — she is capable of understanding. If you bottle everything up inside, she hasn’t gone wrong yet, but you will go wrong first. What are you worried about? So many people came to my side and were called tribal savages, non-Han peoples, not of our kind — I spoke to all of them plainly, and none of them went wrong.”
Lin Feng said, “All right. I’ll go and talk to her.”
He said it and did it. He went straight to Huajie’s door and knocked politely. Huajie saw him arrive and had Du Dajie bring him to Lin Ge’s room. Lin Ge’s room had been arranged with warmth and care, and Lin Ge’s expression seemed slightly less shadowed than before.
Lin Feng let out a long breath. “Are you all right?”
“Fine.”
“Is there enough money?”
“Auntie gave me plenty.”
Lin Feng steeled himself. “We’ve never had a proper conversation — you don’t like to talk, and I’m always busy. But some things need to be said. Once you’re settled here, work hard at learning real skills. Don’t keep brooding on the past; that kind of empty thinking leads nowhere. I don’t want you carrying a grudge — it’s not good for you.”
“Does doing things come down only to what’s good for you?” Lin Ge asked. “Can the grudge owed to family be dismissed? Must my great-uncle simply go on living in comfort? Where is heaven’s justice in that?”
“Well… you need to take care of yourself first before anything else can follow.”
Lin Ge asked, “When the Elder called you here today — does she think the same way?”
Lin Feng said, “Why bring the Elder into this? I’m talking about our family’s affairs. The Elder has a covenant with the headmen of the outer five counties — it’s carved on a stone tablet. She is not allowed to interfere. If she truly stepped in, she could certainly uncover the truth of how your father died, and your great-uncle would have to pay for it. But she promised not to interfere. Perhaps that is why she agreed to take you in as a ward. Listen to me: the most important thing right now is that you are well. Stop thinking about your great-uncle.”
“If she wasn’t going to interfere, why did she have my father brought back at all?”
Lin Feng frowned. “How did you come to think that way? Your father should not have gone outside the territory to seek help from outsiders. Once outside forces are drawn in, no one comes out well. Don’t entertain thoughts of mutual destruction — think about how to live well for yourself. I…”
He felt a sudden desolation. “My brothers killed each other, and I too lost my family. I just want you to grow up well. Once you’re grown, I’ll be old, and whatever you decide to do then, I won’t be able to stop you.”
Lin Ge hesitated before nodding, then asked, “As long as I live well here at the command office and the Elder and the teachers agree to it — then it’s all permitted, is that right?”
Lin Feng said, “Of course.”
“Good.”
At last they’d reached an understanding! Lin Feng felt the weight lift from him. “It’s getting late — I have to go. If you run into trouble here, just talk to the people at the command office. Don’t hold back out of awkwardness. If it’s something private, come home and say it. All right?”
“All right.”
Lin Feng ruffled his niece’s head, and strode out.
In the command office, Lin Ge gradually began taking on some duties alongside Zhù Tong. After classes she helped out: preparing teaching materials and other things for Huajie, copying out texts by hand when the quantity was too small to justify a woodblock print, and otherwise handling clerical tasks, helping to file documents. From time to time she was dispatched before Zhù Ying to receive assignments — sometimes running errands, sometimes making copies. Everything was small and miscellaneous.
Their lessons were still not thoroughly mastered, so it was a case of learning while working. They would cross paths with Zhao Ji and the others in the outer departments and gradually came to have some understanding of how the Six Departments operated. Next door, the dormitory that was reportedly being prepared for future companions kept up a steady clink and clatter of work. Once it was finished, they would have more companions.
About half a month passed in this way. Then Lin Ge finally made up her mind. She took her opportunity and stood at the door of the study.
The staff inside had all come to know her by now. Someone asked with a smile, “Little Lin — do you have something?”
“I… I want to see the Elder.”
From inside, Zhù Ying had heard: “Let her come in.”
Lin Ge entered and walked straight to Zhù Ying’s desk and knelt.
“Elder, may I learn martial arts and military strategy?” At the school, students started by reading, learning to write, and studying arithmetic — those were the fundamentals. Then came skills. Some studied medicine; some studied calculation; others learned various crafts. When Lin Feng enrolled Lin Ge, he had wanted her to grow up in peace and safety, so he had chosen medicine for her in advance.
Medicine was a popular subject in Annan: practical, and associated with Huajie. Whenever the one above you excelled at something and loved it, it was always easier to stand out in that field.
Zhù Ying looked at Lin Ge. Lin Ge raised her chin, hands clenched into fists, sweating in both palms. Zhù Ying said, “Very well.”
Lin Ge exhaled a long breath. She stepped back a few paces and knelt, and knocked her forehead to the ground three times with a solid thud.
Zhù Ying said, “Get up. For military training, your uncle knows plenty — but he’s busy right now. Go find Lu Danqing first and borrow a few books on military strategy to read. Before long I’ll be opening a military academy; you’ll attend the classes there. As for martial training — Elder Sister Hu is one option, though in the future she may not necessarily be passing on her skills to you.”
Lin Ge quickly turned to Elder Sister Hu. “I will study seriously.”
Elder Sister Hu gave a nod. “Good.”
Lin Ge knocked her head to the ground once more and got to her feet.
Zhù Ying reached out and tapped the desk with one finger. “Your uncle is a straightforward man. He genuinely looks out for you and wants you to be happy. But you — you carry a grievance in your heart and a debt of blood on your shoulders. His wish for you is not easily granted. Since you have come to me, I cannot help but take some care over you both. I am not asking you to forget your hatred — only not to be too impatient. Impatience breeds disorder, and disorder undoes everything. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Go.”
Lin Ge pressed her hands together in a salute, turned, and left the study to head back to her quarters. She needed proper clothes for martial training; she recalled having some fabric — she would take it out and ask someone to cut her two sets of appropriate garments. She’d also need to set aside a little money for the seamstress.
She was still working through the logistics in her mind when she passed Zhù Tong going in the opposite direction — Zhù Tong was also heading to the study.
Zhù Ying had just received two young visitors in a row and was mildly curious. “What brings you here?”
Zhù Tong said, “Elder, I want to learn martial arts and military strategy.”
Zhù Ying and Elder Sister Hu exchanged a glance. “Why?”
Zhù Tong’s family grievance had already been settled. The headmen of Annan had been swept away by Zhù Ying; the last of the Pusheng headmen had been captured, and Zhù Ying had handed him over to Zhù Xinle to behead.
Was it simply something she liked? That would be fine.
Zhù Tong said, “I’m suited for it, and in the future I want to help General Zhù!”
Zhù Ying burst out laughing. “Excellent!”
The answer had been so swift that Zhù Tong was actually taken aback. “That… I spoke with my teacher, and I can keep up with the teacher’s lessons at the same time — as long as I can manage both.”
“I know. Wait for the military academy to open.”
Zhù Tong could not quite make sense of any of it. She drifted out of the study in a daze, automatically stepped aside for Zhù Qingxue who was heading in, then floated all the way back to her room, feeling as if the world had become very strange — today had gone far too smoothly.
Zhù Qingxue had spared Zhù Tong barely a glance and did not slow her step. She walked in briskly. “Elder, word has come back from the west.”
In her hand was a sheet of paper with a summary written on it, beneath which lay seven or eight pieces of loose paper of varying lengths.
Zhù Ying took them and looked through them one by one.
The Council of State had not misled her this time. The Western Tribes had indeed moved against the court — but they had taken no action against Annan. Two reasons: first, Kun Da Chi’s royal court judged that throwing everything into an assault on Annan was not worth the cost, and preferred to use border commanders to pin Annan down. Second, the border commanders themselves did not want to make an enemy of Annan.
The more turbulent the times, the more goods were worth. The border commanders simply pretended not to notice that Annan was also part of the court’s territory — they recognized only the pact between the Western Tribes and Annan requiring peaceful coexistence. The thing to do now was to stockpile goods and profit from trading — that was the priority.
Burning through one’s own reserves for the sake of the tribal lord? Not worth it.
So the border commanders had not tightened inspections at the checkpoints, had not detained merchants or goods; on the contrary, they concealed the news from outside traders and actively encouraged commerce.
Zhù Ying flipped through the scraps of paper and laughed despite herself: “The great men eat meat and cannot see beyond it.”
The same the world over, it seemed, the noble-born were all alike!
“Send all of this to Qingjun. Have her write an essay on it — I want to read it. And ask Lu Danqing to come,” Zhù Ying said.
Zhù Qingxue went off quickly. Soon the dispatch was drafted. Zhù Ying signed it, and Zhù Qingxue took it out to send to Zhù Qingjun. Lu Danqing also arrived. “Elder, you wanted me?” She was guessing it was about troop training or the Western Tribes, and was already organizing her thoughts.
Zhù Ying said, “Come, let’s discuss setting up a military academy.”
“What?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? We can’t keep improvising when the moment comes — muddling through, and whoever survives a battle gets promoted to squad leader or general? We lose people that way. How much better to start by teaching what those who came before us already know? Start planning. And one more thing: the existing officers will also have to come back and go through it again.”
“I… I… I… I… I don’t know enough myself.”
“I know a little. Let’s figure it out together.”
Zhù Ying knew something because the court had its Military Temple and a collection of military manuals and treatises — there was genuinely material to teach from. She had served as Chancellor and had skimmed over it. Not in depth, but she had a general sense of the shape of things.
Lu Danqing steeled herself: “Yes.”