Dusk was nearly upon them, the palanquin of the Prince Consort’s household passing through the streets of Jiangning. After Kang Xian posed his question, Lu A’Gui thought it over for a good while.
“Ordinarily, this would be a difficult thing to judge. But having seen this booklet today, this humble one feels this Ning Liheng… may well be a talent capable of governing the realm…”
“I think so too…” Kang Xian sighed. “This one booklet alone touches on so many different areas — how to manage, guide, and subtly influence people, letting the refugees themselves bring out the efficiency needed, rather than relying on blind suppression. This is true statecraft of the highest order. As for what he says about hygiene, it’s hardly idle talk either. When he’s spoken of his ‘investigative learning’ in the past, he’s said that such learning requires first confirming that all facts follow patterns, using systematic methods to record similar occurrences, then comparing and analyzing to find their underlying causes — never simply assuming, never accepting supernatural explanations. What he said today about hygiene, citing so many examples, was likely also a conclusion he reached through this method of his…”
He thought for a moment more. “Tonight I’ll need to think carefully about how to hand this booklet onward — I’ll discuss it further with Lord Qin tomorrow… For now, with disaster relief so urgent, once things ease up a little, A’Gui, I want you to gather whatever physicians and medical officers can be assembled and conduct a thorough, systematic comparison — exactly as Liheng described — examining the surrounding conditions whenever illness breaks out, to understand how hygiene and other factors affect disease. Keep rigorous records; everything must be grounded in fact, nothing assumed.”
“Yes.”
“Once the flooding passes, disaster conditions will follow, and there are things we can already start doing now. Wherever our household’s business has people who can be spared, arrange for them to make and record observations. This year the disaster is widespread everywhere — Lord Qin will distribute that booklet, and I’ll submit it to the court as well. Some will make use of it, some won’t, and some will only go through the motions. Have them record how it’s implemented, the course of any epidemic outbreaks, the exact number of days, conditions after the outbreak — and work out that… what did Liheng call it… that ratio. If this method can truly be confirmed to hold back epidemics, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people… that would be accumulating merit before the Buddha himself…”
“Yes.”
“It’s a shame he won’t actually step forward to handle things himself.” Kang Xian shook his head. “I don’t put much stock in mere armchair theorizing. As for the idea that he brought this booklet out purely to get Lord Qin to adopt Nie Yunzhu as a goddaughter, so she’d have some backing — ha, there’s both scholarly refinement and a touch of foolish devotion in that. But tell me, A’Gui, do you believe it?”
“This humble one… does not believe it,” Lu A’Gui said after thinking it over. “What Master Ning said carries a grain of self-interest, true enough, but in reality, the significance of a set of provisions like this is something no mere merchant household could ever match. Given his current standing with Lord Qin and with my lord, even if there were some minor matter he needed help with, a single word asking my lord to look after it would be no trouble at all — an ordinary merchant’s concern, even just mentioning it to this humble one, could likely be resolved easily enough. Master Ning himself is no incapable man either. Given the weight of this booklet… this humble one suspects that while he may have thought of these two things, this is likely just an excuse to avoid stepping into office.”
Kang Xian laughed. “Ha, so you think he doesn’t take the little booklet itself all that seriously?”
“There are those with such broad-mindedness and modesty, certainly. Master Ning has always been humble in manner, but exceedingly sharp in judgment of affairs. If he really weighed these two matters as equal in importance, that would be genuinely puzzling — even granting that he owes Lord Qin a favor, he ought to still understand the true worth of this booklet. Otherwise, this humble one doesn’t believe he would have so gravely instructed us not to reveal his name.”
“That’s precisely the puzzling part. And yet regardless, he still only wishes to remain here in Jiangning as a matrilocal son-in-law. In the Analects, in the chapter on Weizi, Zilu once said: a gentleman takes office in order to carry out what is right… He has the heart of a recluse, and yet is constantly busy with all manner of affairs; his words may at times run to extremes, but they aren’t born of bitterness. Bringing out this booklet now also proves he carries the common people of the realm in his heart. This way of thinking is genuinely hard to fully make sense of.”
“Concerned for the common people, and yet unwilling to enter the court. My lord, could it be that he offended some superior in the past, was treated unjustly, and has since grown disillusioned with officialdom? From what this humble one has heard, though Master Ning is still young, when he speaks of scheming, flattery, and calculation, there does seem to be some genuine feeling behind it.”
Kang Xian nodded. “I haven’t looked into it closely before — this time, have someone look into it carefully. If he really did offend someone… well, we’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
“Yes.”
The setting sun had already turned magnificent in the distance. As the palanquin returned to the Prince Consort’s residence and made its way inside, a servant announced that Prince Kang’s son and daughter had come to visit, currently playing with the Princess out back. Kang Xian smiled and continued on inside.
The word “princess” always sounded rather youthful somehow, but as Kang Xian’s wife, Princess Chengguo, Zhou Xuan, was in fact already fifty-four years old this year.
This princess was the current emperor’s own aunt, quite talented in her youth, and her marriage to Kang Xian had turned out a happy one — the two of them respectful and considerate toward each other as befitting husband and wife. These days, though the princess kept a low profile, since she and Kang Xian jointly managed a great deal of business together, and though she stayed out of politics, her influence within the imperial family was in fact considerable.
This couple, being both politically neutral and wealthy, drew several other well-off, idle members of the imperial family who were glad to keep close ties with them — for instance, Zhou Yong’s two children, Zhou Pei and Zhou Junwu, who had come by again today, bringing along a whole crowd of their family’s grandchildren running about the garden. Kang Xian’s own dignified, elegant wife, Zhou Xuan, sat smiling in the pavilion watching them; seeing him approach, she said, “You’re back,” and reached over to pour him a cup of tea, at which point the children came noisily rushing over toward them too.
Honestly, among all these children, the one Kang Xian liked best was Zhou Pei, who carried herself like a little adult. The girl truly was clever — his own grandchildren couldn’t compare — while Zhou Junwu, often bullied by his elder sister, was rather more popular with his own grandchildren. Zhou Yong’s family really did have a fine pair of children. No sooner had he sat down than Zhou Pei came running over first.
“Uncle Consort, Uncle Consort.”
Her voice was sweetly pitched — a sure sign she wanted something, though of course Kang Xian already knew what it was. This girl was remarkably capable; a few days earlier she’d worked out a method for calculating grain and supply allocation for disaster relief, with quite a few thought-provoking points to it. Knowing that Kang Xian had some capable people under him, she’d brought it for him to look over, fully confident she’d present it to her “Imperial Uncle” the emperor.
“Uncle Consort, that thing… how did it turn out?”
The little girl smiled brilliantly. Kang Xian smiled there and offered his praise.
“…This method of allocation really is rather thought-provoking, and balances opening up resources with cutting waste quite effectively — several of the accountants in my household have been full of praise for how clever little Pei is. Only a few small revisions were needed — there are just a couple of small details Pei might not be quite aware of, regarding the distribution process between prefectures and counties…”
Kang Xian took out a booklet and went through it in detail — indeed, only a few minor points needed addressing. Once he’d finished explaining, he took out another booklet. “But today, Grandfather also got hold of another set of procedures for calculating and recording things — a different angle from yours, Pei. Since you’re so skilled at this sort of thing, take a look and see whether it would actually work, and give Grandfather your opinion on it.”
“Um…” The prettily dressed young princess looked puzzled for a moment, then tilted her head. “All right!”
She picked up the booklet and began flipping through it. “A bit further in,” Kang Xian pointed out, then turned to chat quietly with his wife and grandchildren. Zhou Pei sat at the edge of the pavilion, brow furrowing as she flipped through several pages, her frown deepening further, before she suddenly dashed off to the study nearby. Through the window, one could see the young girl inside searching for paper and brush, writing and sketching things out, utterly absorbed. Zhou Xuan noticed and turned to ask Kang Xian, “What did you show Pei?”
“Never mind — we’ll talk once she comes out,” Kang Xian said with a smile, and went back to chatting and playing with his grandchildren. Zhou Junwu, too, glanced curiously toward the study.
When the girl emerged from the study, booklet in hand, her expression looked somewhat dejected. She’d already gone through it from the beginning; after finishing once, she thought it over and went through it again, and only after a long while did she close the booklet and set it down beside Kang Xian. “Uncle Consort, who wrote this?”
Kang Xian looked at her, thought it over for a good while, then said, “I really shouldn’t say — but if Pei swears to keep this secret, I’ll tell you. This isn’t a joke; think it over carefully first, and only if you’re sure you can keep the secret can I tell you.”
Zhou Pei thought about it for a good while, and after a moment, raised her right hand with a rather solemn expression.
The setting sun slanted low against the city walls to the east, spilling warm golden light across the courtyard. Before long, a low exclamation suddenly rang out from the pavilion: “What?! That barbarian?”
Little Junwu, leaning in close nearby, hearing his sister say this, couldn’t help asking in confusion, “Barbarian? Sister, what’s that Ning Liheng done now?” Ever since the Duanwu festival, his sister hadn’t thought much of that so-called top talent of the realm, and had taken to calling him “the barbarian.”
Zhou Pei glared. “Go away!”
“I’m a little prince too, you know, you can’t just—” A gaggle of younger siblings and cousins nearby watched as little Junwu decided to push back, but before he could finish, seeing his sister’s glare, he slunk off in a hurry.
“Oh…”
…
As for Ning Yi, these two gifts he’d given old Qin and old Kang were, of course, not nearly as simple as they appeared. Compassion for the refugees, doing a good deed in passing — that was certainly part of the reason, and getting old Qin to adopt Nie Yunzhu as a goddaughter was the main point of it all. Though in Kang Xian and Lu A’Gui’s eyes the cost and benefit here might not have seemed balanced, from Ning Yi’s own perspective, there was, in fact, a good deal more calculation behind it.
Ever since the whole business with Gu Yanzhen, he’d been keeping an eye on how things developed along the way back. Finding Nie Yunzhu some backing wasn’t only meant to keep her safe from ever running into someone like Gu Yanzhen again, or to give her more convenience in her business dealings — those considerations were only part of it. The other part was that Ning Yi had discovered constables had already been going around questioning Li Pin and Nie Yunzhu about the Gu Yanzhen affair.
His connection with Nie Yunzhu amounted to nothing more than their brief meeting each morning before dawn, and beyond that they hadn’t seen much of each other at all — but criminal investigation methods shouldn’t be underestimated, and there was a real possibility the trail could lead from her back to him. Taking a step back, if Gu Yanzhen had been planning to kidnap Nie Yunzhu, he might well have prepared certain things in advance, and the constables might stumble onto some clue through that, focusing their attention squarely on her. Since he intended to take precautions anyway, he might as well go ahead and boost her standing directly, cutting off the constables’ line of investigation at that very level — a move that would benefit both Nie Yunzhu and himself.
His scheming ran deep, by now second nature to him — cut off any danger before it could take root, and even in the worst case, say Gu Yanzhen hadn’t told the truth before dying and someone else still knew that Gu Yanzhen had hired people to kidnap him — with the killing established as self-defense on his part, combined with the weight of this disaster relief booklet, that would already amount to more than enough insurance either way.
Adding insurance, satisfying old Qin and old Kang’s wish to serve the nation and its people, opening a path forward for Nie Yunzhu’s future, and still being able to go on living his own leisurely life — that was, naturally, the best possible outcome. He was, after all, a man of business at heart, believing in equal exchange in all things; in this one move, everyone came out ahead, no one owed anyone anything — quite satisfying. It also satisfied his own sense of compassion — perhaps a few less people would die of illness or starvation this year. Sacrificing a little to benefit the world at large — why not, when the opportunity presented itself.
He hadn’t yet mentioned to Nie Yunzhu the matter of finding her an adoptive father, and had no idea how she’d feel about it — he supposed he’d have to bring it up with her the next morning. All he knew of her past was that she’d been born into an official family with decent circumstances; given Qin Siyuan’s good nature, he wouldn’t treat her poorly. Of course, if she harbored some reservations about it, he’d have to help smooth things over and decline on her behalf with Qin Siyuan.
He was still turning this matter over in his mind. Returning home that evening, he happened to notice Xiao Chan in a small courtyard by the front gate, talking with a man, looking rather anxious. At dinner he noticed she seemed flustered, but didn’t think much of it at the time. Xiao Chan had various matters to handle around the household, and sometimes got anxious over such things, but always managed them well enough. It wasn’t until that evening, when the family sat together in the parlor chatting and playing chess, that he noticed something was off — the young maid sat in the corner, head down over her shoe-sole needlework, her voice occasionally sounding muffled. Ning Yi observed her for a while, then called out, “Xiao Chan, come here a moment.”
“Yes, does Young Master need something?” Xiao Chan put on a cheerful voice, lowering her head as she came over. Ning Yi reached out a finger and wiped at her cheek, only then discovering the area around her eyes was already damp. He exchanged a glance with Su Tan’er, who set down the ledger she was holding, walked over to take a closer look, and pulled her down to sit. “Chan’er, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Someone came from home this afternoon and said… Father passed away two days ago…” Xiao Chan bit her lip, and only then broke down crying. “I wanted… I wanted to ask Miss for leave to go back home for a bit, but Miss has been so busy lately…”
The room fell silent for a moment.
“And you were keeping this to yourself all this time? I’ll have… uh, Steward Chang go with you — why should a maid be worrying over household matters…” Su Tan’er wrapped her arms around her, then glared, her tone somewhat sharp.
“But Steward Chang is busy too, and if the city gates close, the two of us might not be able to get back…”
Steward Chang was, in fact, the highest-ranking steward in the main household, and having him accompany her would show how much regard the Su family held for Chan’er.
Of course, such formality wasn’t strictly necessary, but Su Tan’er and the maids had grown up together since childhood, close as sisters, and Chan’er had always managed household affairs quite competently. Su Tan’er shook her head at this.
“Stop worrying about all that. Chan’er, go home with an easy mind, bury your father properly, settle everything, and then come back. We’re like sisters — after all these years, if it weren’t for how busy things have been lately, I should have gone with you myself.”
“Miss…” Chan’er was already crying, and Juan’er and Xing’er, their eyes red now too, had gathered close around her.
Ning Yi thought for a moment. “Then… let me go with Xiao Chan.”
Xiao Chan turned back, wiping at her tears. “Young Master…”
“Xiao Chan’s looked after me for so long now. Steward Chang’s busy, and Tan’er, you can’t go either — but I’m a man of leisure, so going along at least shows the right regard. What do you say?”
There was a brief silence, Xiao Chan wiping at tears that wouldn’t stop, quite moved. “Young Master, Young Master shouldn’t go… your hand still hasn’t healed…”
Su Tan’er, holding Chan’er, exchanged a smile with Ning Yi for a moment, then nodded slightly, touching her cheek against Chan’er’s face. “That’s probably for the best, then — my husband will have to trouble himself with the trip. Take Guard Geng along as well. With refugees coming in steadily now, husband and Chan’er must be careful along the way…”