Back hall of the Jiangning County Government Office.
Xu Youde sat on an open wooden chest, which was filled with copper coins and pieces of broken silver.
Ma San, the advisor, stood next to him, ticking off names on a roster.
This was originally the job of the master of records and the storehouse keeper. After layers of extortion, at most thirty percent would fall into the hands of those at the bottom.
Now the Xu family had changed the rules and distributed the silver directly in the main hall.
"Next, Head Bailiff Zhao Er."
A burly man stepped forward and took the heavy silver bag with both hands, the flesh on his face trembling.
In the past, these yamen runners were the dogs of the Zhao and Wang families, only recognizing the notes of the aristocratic families. Now they had a new name: the subordinates of Upright Magistrate Xu.
Xu Youde wiped his sweat, watched the man walk away, and turned to look at Xu Qinghuan, who was sitting in the grand armchair.
"Daughter, throwing this money out has bought back people's hearts."
Xu Youde pointed to the things on the table, "But this matter is difficult to handle."
Those were a few account books, with the emblem of the Wang Family Weaving Bureau printed on the covers.
Xu Qinghuan reached out and opened one.
It was full of dense words. The accounting method was very tricky, using staggered accounting and special jargon.
This was not an account book meant for people to read; it was specially designed to guard against people.
"Wang Ruhai, that old fox."
Xu Youde cursed, "He gave the title deed and the dry shares, but he made these account books so that no one can understand them."
"If we can't understand the tricks in them, that ten percent dry share is just a decoration. How much the dividend is depends entirely on their mouths."
This was the technological blockade of this era. The aristocratic families controlled knowledge and talents. They anticipated that the Xu family, who came from a peasant background, would not be able to understand these clever tricks.
"No rush."
Xu Qinghuan closed the account book. "Since this account book is hard to understand, we'll find an expert."
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the alley on Zhuque Avenue.
Li Sheng jumped off the carriage shaft, carrying that iron-wrapped sentry stick in his hand.
From deep in the alley came the muffled sound of fists and feet hitting flesh.
Three fierce servants of the Zhao family were cornering a thin scholar against the wall.
The scholar was protecting a worn-out Duanxi inkstone in his arms. His forehead was smashed, and blood flowed down the bridge of his nose, dripping onto his faded Confucian robe. That was Xu Zijin.
The leader of the fierce servants was the godson of the chief steward of the Zhao family. He stepped on Xu Zijin's writing brush that had fallen on the ground, and the brush shaft broke into two with a crack.
"Scholar Xu, our Eldest Young Master Zhao thinks highly of you, which is why he asked you to ghostwrite poems."
The leader spat on the ground. "You, on the other hand, not only refused to give face, but also dared to say in public that the Eldest Young Master's old work was plagiarized from a relic of the previous dynasty. Now the Eldest Young Master has said that you are stealing the mansion's property."
Xu Zijin leaned against the wall, his body trembling, but his eyes were very bright.
"That is a relic of the previous dynasty, 'Ode to the Plum Blossom'. The Eldest Young Master only changed two words and claimed it was his own. This is deceiving the world and stealing a name!"
Xu Zijin's voice was hoarse. "I will go to the capital to beat the Dengwen Drum! I will sue your Zhao family for persecuting scholars!"
The leader turned his head and laughed out loud with his two subordinates.
"Beat the Dengwen Drum? Go ahead."
The leader bent down, reached out, and patted Xu Zijin's face. "But if you really dare to blow things up, to maintain the peace of Jiangnan, my master will kill you without hesitation, and then send your body to the imperial court, saying it's to appease the public's anger."
The Zhao family indeed did not take the emperor seriously.
Xu Zijin was stunned.
"You've read yourself stupid."
The leader picked up the inkstone and smashed it hard on Xu Zijin's shoulder. "In Jiangning, a scholar dying is not a big deal at all."
Xu Qinghuan sat in the carriage, taking all of this in.
The servants of Jiangning actually had a deeper understanding of politics than this scholar.
They knew the master's bottom line very well. As long as the matter didn't escalate to the point of rebellion, the master would protect them.
But once the servants caused trouble that gave the emperor an excuse to intervene, the master would be the first to kill the servants to silence them, and even kill the victim to silence them. Xu Zijin was that victim who had to die.
The leader raised his fist, ready to deal the final blow to this scholar.
"Stop."
The voice was not loud, but very cold.
The leader paused, turned his head, and saw the woman in red at the entrance of the alley. His expression changed.
Zhao Fu had ordered them not to provoke this County Princess Anguo recently, and especially not to give her any opportunity to falsely accuse them.
"So it's County Princess Xu."
The leader put away his fierce look and put on a businesslike expression. "This is an internal debt dispute of our Zhao family. This kid stole something. It is perfectly justified to pay back one's debts. Is the County Princess going to meddle in this kind of trivial matter?"
This servant reacted quickly, immediately characterizing the matter as a private affair to evade Xu Qinghuan's official intervention.
Xu Qinghuan jumped off the carriage, didn't look at the fierce servant, and walked straight to Xu Zijin.
Li Sheng followed behind, took out a few tattered account books from his chest—bad debts obtained from a previous raid on a Li family shop—and casually threw them at the fierce servant's feet.
"Since we are settling accounts, then let's go to the county yamen to settle them."
Xu Qinghuan's tone was flat. "Just in time, I also want to settle the tax silver that the Zhao family has underpaid over the years. Let's combine these two accounts and slowly try them in the public court."
The leader glanced at the account books on the ground, his eyelids twitching.
Go to the county yamen? That was the Xu family's territory, and once it went to the public court, this matter couldn't be kept a secret.
If the Eldest Young Master Zhao's plagiarism was exposed, the master would slice him alive.
"The County Princess is joking."
The leader gritted his teeth. "Since the County Princess has come forward, we must give you this face. This kid's debt is cleared."
Li Sheng threw over a five-tael silver ingot.
"Take it for tea."
The leader caught the silver, glanced at Xu Zijin, and led his men away.
The alley quieted down. Xu Zijin leaned against the wall and stood up, adjusted his tattered clothes, and bowed deeply to Xu Qinghuan.
"Student Xu Zijin thanks the County Princess for saving my life."
Xu Zijin raised his head, his eyes bright. "The County Princess is indeed the upright official who came to Jiangning to clean up the accumulated abuses of the aristocratic families, just as the rumors say. Although I am untalented, I am among the top in the Jiangning Academy. I am willing to serve the County Princess and write articles to expose the evil deeds of the Zhao family."
He thought he had met a kindred spirit, a pure official who also fought against the aristocratic families.
Upon hearing this name, Xu Qinghuan smiled.
So, you are here.
Xu Qinghuan looked him up and down.
"Good looks."
Xu Zijin was taken aback.
"It's just that your bones are too hard, easily broken."
Xu Qinghuan turned and walked towards the alley entrance. "My Hundred Flowers Pavilion, are you interested?"
Xu Zijin froze in place, the blood draining from his face instantly, turning deathly pale.
"Hundred Flowers Pavilion, that's a brothel?"
Xu Zijin's voice trembled. "What does the County Princess take me for? I read the books of sages and am a scholar with scholarly honors!"
"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. I would rather starve to death than enter the lowly merchant register, let alone work in such a place of ill repute!"
This was a true scholar, valuing his reputation more than his life.
Xu Qinghuan stopped and looked back at him.
"Young Master Xu, you don't seem to understand the situation."
Xu Qinghuan turned back and stood in front of Xu Zijin, the two very close.
Xu Zijin could smell the scent of agarwood on her and feel the oppressive aura.
"A scholar's bones in Daqian are only worth two taels of silver a catty."
Xu Qinghuan pointed towards the alley entrance.
"Why do you think those Zhao family servants left? Because they were afraid of me? No, it is because they felt it wasn't worth offending me just to kill you."
"But the moment I leave, you will die in some gutter in Jiangning tonight."
"The Zhao family is a prominent clan; they care most about pedigree and face. If a scholar who is about to take the imperial examinations and might become an official in the future goes against them, they must kill you to eliminate any future troubles."
Xu Zijin's lips trembled. He wanted to retort, but he couldn't find the words.
"But if you become a person of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, sign a lifelong servitude contract, and become a lowly slave..."
Xu Qinghuan's voice was very soft, but every word pierced his heart. "...in the eyes of the Zhao family, perhaps you will go from being a threat to a piece of trash they disdain to even touch."
"They will think you are dirty. They will feel that going through so much trouble to kill someone from a brothel would insult their family's honor. Only this way can you survive."
Xu Zijin's faith was collapsing. He looked at the woman in red before him. She was clearly his savior, yet at this moment, she was trampling on his dignity.
"I don't believe it..."
Xu Zijin muttered to himself, "There is still law in this world."
"The law is in the main hall of the county magistrate's office, not in the backyard of the Zhao family."
Xu Qinghuan took a contract out of her sleeve. It was an employment document for the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, and the words "Lifelong Servitude" on it were glaring.
"Sign it."
"I won't sign!"
Xu Zijin took a step back, his back hitting the wall. "I won't sign even if I die!"
"Li Sheng."
Xu Qinghuan called out.
Li Sheng walked over and pounded his wooden staff onto the ground.
"You can choose."
Xu Qinghuan looked at the sunset on the horizon. "Either hold onto your books of sages, become a floating corpse tonight, and let Eldest Young Master Zhao continue to fish for fame and compliments using your poems."
"Or smash your pride to pieces and sell it to me, keep this life, and in the future, personally smash the Zhao family's 'Philanthropic Family' plaque to smithereens."
Xu Zijin stared fixedly at the contract, trembling.
Humiliation and the instinct for survival battled in his mind.
Xu Qinghuan did not rush him. She simply took the inkpad box from Li Sheng, opened it, and held it out in front of him.
"I will count to three. After three, I am getting in the carriage and leaving."
"One."
Xu Zijin's breathing quickened.
"Two."
Xu Zijin's fingers dug into the cracks of the wall, his nails breaking.
"Three."
Xu Qinghuan closed the inkpad box and turned to leave.
"I'll sign!"
A hoarse roar came from behind her, laced with a sob.
Xu Zijin rushed over, snatched the contract, pressed his trembling finger fiercely into the inkpad, and then stamped it heavily on his name.
A red fingerprint.
With this press, he stamped away his innocence as a scholar and signed a contract selling his body.
Xu Qinghuan stopped, took the contract, and blew on the wet ink.
"Welcome to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion."
Xu Qinghuan put the contract away and turned to get into the carriage.
"Li Sheng, take him to wash up and change into some clean clothes."
The carriage slowly drove out of the alley.
Xu Zijin knelt in the filthy mud, clutching that broken Duanxi inkstone in his hand, and wailed loudly.
