Chapter 762: A Woman

"Wrong! Not rumor-investigation — it is investigation, with evidence, with facts confirmed, then proceeding to examine and handle. It is constant supervision, giving no one the chance to transgress, making them do real work, not empty formalities. What real work have those remonstrance officials of the Great Ming ever done? Every day they spout grand words and chase great fame — we absolutely must not become like that." Zhao Jin's tone had turned somewhat stern.

"Please set your mind at ease, Master. Your subordinate will work with Third Master as quickly as possible to draft a set of regulations and present them for your decision," Ruhui said with a smile, chiming in.

Zhao Jin nodded, then spoke again: "Within five days, send word to the four counties of Yutai, Shan County, Yi County, and Tancheng in Shandong. Have them self-report their population and acreage, with a deadline of the second month next year. When the time comes, we will go and check. Those who understand will become our own people; those who don't will serve perfectly for killing as a warning. Investigate the incense-burning cultists there as well. Send men from all factions in Xuzhou and Pizhou over."

The four counties of Yutai, Shan County, Yi County, and Tancheng were the four Shandong counties bordering Xuzhou and Pizhou. These four places effectively served as the Zhao Camp's buffer in Shandong and absolutely had to be taken.

"Big Brother, we've already experienced what Shandong is like. Why only take these four counties? Yanzhou Prefecture is so rich — wouldn't it be better to swallow it whole?" Hearing this, Ji Xiang could not help but interject.

"No rush. Even these four counties I didn't want to take. But if we went there with such a grand show of force and then did nothing upon returning, it would seem far too suspicious — that's why we made a move. If it were up to my original intent, I only wanted to take Yutai County." To Ji Xiang's words, Zhao Jin replied calmly and patiently. But after he finished, the room fell silent.

At that moment, Wang Zhaojing rose with a smile and said, "My father has sent another letter from the capital. The contents are quite interesting, but I'll read it to Big Brother another day. Big Brother has been away for so many days — Elder Sister-in-Law must be terribly worried. It would be better to go home and see her sooner."

Everyone nodded with a smile. Zhao Jin shook his head, smiling, and stood up, saying, "Your families must be worried too. All of you go home and report your safe return. We'll gather again the day after tomorrow. When we meet again, we must carefully reflect on the journey north and south. It's rare for our Zhao Camp to have the cavalry unit deploy alone — this experience is hard to come by."

They all agreed and took their leave one by one. After the last person had walked out the door, Niu Jinbao came in from outside and reported in a low voice: "Master, the Grand Lady sent someone to ask — she says she wishes to meet Miss Mu. The Madam also sent someone to ask what time Master will return for dinner tonight."

Zhao Jin reached up and rubbed his temples, then said, "We all live in one place — couldn't they just send one person to ask? It had to be two separate parties. Let's head back first!"

Niu Jinbao acknowledged the order. Zhao Jin passed through the rear hall and called for Mu Shulan. When he walked over, he saw the girl sitting there in a daze. He went up and greeted her; Mu Shulan nodded and stood, her expression deeply forlorn, and followed Zhao Jin to the rear courtyard to board the carriage. Halfway there, she suddenly asked, "Brother Jin, are you afraid to take me to meet your family?"

"Don't let your imagination run wild. Official business comes first," Zhao Jin said impatiently. Only after saying it did he realize his tone had been a bit harsh, but Mu Shulan smiled very happily.

The council hall was not far from the residence, but since there were few womenfolk in the encampment, taking a carriage was still more convenient. Zhao Jin arranged for Mu Shulan to board the carriage, then mounted his horse himself to follow. On horseback, it suddenly struck Zhao Jin that his rush to discuss official business first seemed to betray a certain uncertainty about how to handle things upon returning home.

As soon as he arrived home, a maid immediately escorted Mu Shulan to He Cuihua's quarters. As Zhao Jin's mother, no woman in Xuzhou held a more honored status than hers. Had He Cuihua not herself found it troublesome, the attendants around her and her daily comforts would have been no less than those of any titled noblewoman. Even so, she now had six maidservants attending her. These maids were all daughters of military households from Xuzhou Garrison and Pizhou Garrison, eagerly sent over by their parents and relatives. The desire of these young girls to curry favor with Zhao Jin was even stronger than their desire to curry favor with He Cuihua.

These military-household daughters did not know how to serve others. After arriving, Xu Zhenzhen had to assign people to train them. Only once they understood the rules and knew how to conduct themselves did anyone dare send them to He Cuihua's side. Even so, Zhao Jin's mother, He Cuihua, still felt thoroughly ill at ease and had only recently grown somewhat accustomed to it.

"The Old Madam said she wants to speak with Miss Mu about women's matters, and told the Young Master to go back to his own home first and see his wife and children," the maid said tremulously. Military-household children knew a bit of martial matters, and they felt the murderous aura on Zhao Jin with stark clarity. After so many years of accumulated killing, being able to speak tremulously already counted as having nerve.

Zhao Jin nodded. His mother and Xiaolan had not seen each other for many years; they surely had much to talk about. Back then, his mother had regarded Mu Shulan as a future daughter-in-law.

When he returned to his own residence, the inner-chamber head maid, Meixiang, came out with the nursemaid to greet him, but Xu Zhenzhen was nowhere to be seen. Zhao Feng, led by the hand by the nursemaid, spotted her father Zhao Jin the moment she saw him. She immediately broke free from the nursemaid and ran over laughing, wanting to be held. Meanwhile, Zhao Long, in the nursemaid's arms, had been sound asleep but was startled awake by the commotion. First he burst out wailing, then stared curiously in Zhao Jin's direction.

What was going on? Before Zhao Jin could ask, the head maid Meixiang first curtsied in greeting and said softly, "The Madam has gone to the Grand Lady's quarters. The meal is already prepared; please dine, Master."

After traveling abroad, his stubble was already very prickly. Zhao Feng grabbed at it wildly with her hands, giggling whenever she happened to catch hold of it. Seeing his daughter so lively and his son peering about so spiritedly, Zhao Jin could not help but smile. Yet hearing what Meixiang said, he felt a headache coming on again.

No matter how much he worried or how much his head ached, the exhaustion from the long journey was very real. The household had long known Zhao Jin's habits. After he finished dinner, hot water was already prepared. Zhao Jin soaked comfortably in the bathtub; as his fatigue surfaced, he fell asleep right there in the tub. When he awoke, the water had not yet cooled. Zhao Jin felt his eyelids fighting to close and just wanted to go have a good sleep.

By this time, Zhao Feng and Zhao Long were both already asleep. Zhao Jin crept lightly onto the bed. Just as he was drifting off in a haze, Xu Zhenzhen returned. Zhao Jin had no idea how late it was; he only knew it had been dark for a while. He said offhandedly, "Why are you back so late?"

"What, did my husband think I would be bringing Sister Mu back with me?" Xu Zhenzhen's voice was equally low.

Zhao Jin lay on the bed and helplessly opened his eyes. Xu Zhenzhen removed her makeup, changed clothes, and got into bed. After lowering the bed curtains, she lay down beside Zhao Jin and said, "I do not like her."

For Xu Zhenzhen, given her usual manner of dealing with people, to say something so direct was rare. Hearing this, Zhao Jin was taken aback. He turned over and asked, "Did Xiaolan upset you? She's so clever and sharp — she surely wouldn't do anything improper in front of you."

From the moment he rescued Mu Shulan at the Zeng Family Estate in Yuncheng County, Shandong, throughout the entire journey back, Mu Shulan had been very obedient and sensible. But Zhao Jin was no longer a youth who understood nothing. He could see that everything Mu Shulan did was aimed at making everyone think well of her — as attentive and considerate as possible, smooth and tactful in every way. The girl seemed to feel that from now on, Zhao Jin would be her support, so she had to perform as well as she possibly could. And she was capable of doing just that.

That said, Zhao Jin remembered Mu Shulan from their childhood days. Even then, though the girl was young and innocent, she had already been doing this, consciously or not. Thinking back now, it seemed like a kind of training within the Incense-Smelling Sect or the Mu family. It was not strange that Mu Shulan acted this way — she had spent several years as a Holy Maiden in Dongchang Prefecture and surely understood this performance even better now.

But the more smooth and tactful, the more perceptive and astute a person was, the less likely they would be to offend anyone at a time like this, especially Xu Zhenzhen, the principal wife. If she were a foolish girl, she might still harbor the illusion that after their reunion she would hold the position of legal wife, viewing Xu Zhenzhen as a thorn in her eye to be removed. Having such delusions would not be surprising. But someone like Mu Shulan, though young in years, had walked through life-and-death peril and treachery — how could she possibly entertain such unrealistic thoughts?

Zhao Jin had thought it through very clearly. He also knew what kind of person Xu Zhenzhen was. As for Mu Shulan's arrival, what Xu Zhenzhen felt in her heart was hard to say, but on the surface, she would certainly show no sign of jealousy.

"Sister Mu was very well-behaved and spoke little. After crying with Mother-in-Law for a while, she sat to one side, speaking only when spoken to. She was also very respectful and courteous to me. Several times when Mother-in-Law brought you up, Sister Mu would not pick up the thread. She was constantly mindful of me and would do nothing to make me uncomfortable. Sister Mu also coaxed Mother-in-Law into very high spirits," Xu Zhenzhen said softly.

Zhao Jin was puzzled. He asked, "Isn't that perfect, then? Why would you dislike her?"

Xu Zhenzhen was silent for a moment, then spoke again: "I had no preconceived notions about Sister Mu. But tonight, Sister Mu's words and manner made me very uncomfortable. There was not a single thing about her that made one uncomfortable, yet everything about her felt false. It was like… like…"

Here she paused, but in the end she said it anyway. Xu Zhenzhen lowered her voice: "Like those girls raised from childhood in houses of pleasure, whose every word and gesture is designed to please the patrons…"

"How do you know about such things?" Zhao Jin cut off Xu Zhenzhen's words bluntly.

Mu Shulan's speech and manner were indeed like that, but for Xu Zhenzhen to compare her to a courtesan trained like a Yangzhou pleasure-girl made Zhao Jin angry. Xu Zhenzhen was herself a sheltered young lady from a great house — how could she know anything about the world of pleasure and courtesans?

Xu Zhenzhen answered without any hesitation: "My father and several elders in the clan were most fond of keeping company with such women. I saw quite a few of them when I was young. I detested them utterly."

Xu Benrong fancied himself a man of romantic refinement — such affairs were certainly not few. The Xu family elders who led dissolute lives were indeed quite numerous; it was easy to imagine. For a moment, Zhao Jin was speechless. He stretched out his arm and drew Xu Zhenzhen into his embrace, sighed, and said, "You had it hard back then. Xiaolan is also a person who has suffered much."

At a moment like this, there was not much Zhao Jin could say. He preferred to simply hold her in silence.

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