Chapter 122: A Moment of Warmth

After leaving the pawnshop, Wu Wei glanced at the sky and decided to spend the night in Taizhou City. She would head straight to Clear River County the next day, stay there another night, and set off for home early the morning after that.

It wasn’t that Wu Wei couldn’t travel a thousand li in a day; it was just that Chou Chou was getting on in years and couldn’t handle such grueling rides.

Though Chou Chou’s stamina had fallen behind, Wu Wei had discovered many virtues in it during their time together—like its loyalty to its master, its sharp instincts, and its knack for remembering routes.

Wu Wei only had to say one word to Chou Chou: “Home.” And it would plod along the post road toward home all by itself.

…

Wu Wei found a restaurant and ordered two Taizhou specialties. She ate her fill, then checked into an inn. She handed five copper coins to the waiter and asked him to prepare some hay and grain for Chou Chou, along with a good drink of water.

Wu Wei, meanwhile, set out on foot from the inn. Compared to Qinglu County, Taizhou City better matched her modern ideas of an ancient city—truth be told, Qinglu County was just too rundown, lacking that ancient charm and grandeur.

She browsed a few shops and bought some things rarely seen in Qinglu County—like rouge, face powder, and hair pomade—to give to Embroider Maiden.

By the time the lanterns were lit at dusk, the streets were still bustling, but Wu Wei was worn out. She returned to the inn.

The next day, before dawn, Wu Wei dressed neatly, got a bowl of coarse grain porridge for two coppers from the waiter, and ate it with the steamed buns and pickled vegetables she’d brought. Then she mounted Chou Chou and set off.

With Qinglu County between Taizhou and Clear River County, the journey was longer. Wu Wei arrived in Clear River County as dusk fell and checked into an inn. She gave the waiter ten coppers to deliver her calling card to Zhang Cheng, arranging to meet after he finished work the next day.

The following morning, Wu Wei had just about finished extending her migration permit when it was time for Zhang Cheng to get off duty. She arrived at the appointed teahouse, where Zhang Cheng was already waiting inside.

Seeing Wu Wei, Zhang Cheng lit up with joy. Half a year in officialdom had steadied his demeanor but also deepened his loneliness.

Wu Wei entered the private room and cupped her hands in a salute. “Brother Zhang, I hope you’ve been well?”

Zhang Cheng stroked his newly grown but still sparse beard and smiled. “Thanks for your concern, Miss Wu. I’m doing fine. And you?”

“I’m all right, same as ever.” Wu Wei eyed him for a moment. “Your complexion doesn’t look great. Are you unwell?”

At that, Zhang Cheng let out a long sigh, his face clouding over.

“You wouldn’t know, Miss Wu, but though I’ve been in office less than half a year, I’ve already tasted the ups and downs of officialdom. It’s tough.”

Wu Wei couldn’t help laughing at that. Such world-weary words from Zhang Cheng’s mouth were rare enough, and his comical expression made it impossible not to chuckle.

Zhang Cheng gave a wry smile along with her before continuing. “Back then, I thought the hard part was crossing the dragon gate. Turns out that was the easy bit.”

“How so?” Wu Wei asked.

“Every year, officials from the prefecture come down to assess the county magistrates. I inherited a real mess from the previous one… I’ve toiled away for half a year without slacking a single day, but with scant results.”

“Why is that?”

Zhang Cheng saw no outsider in Wu Wei and poured out his woes without reserve. “The county magistrate may be the top official in the county, but carrying out policies often means kowtowing to the local gentry and elders. The elders control clan affairs, the gentry hold sway over merchant networks, and in villages with mixed surnames, the village heads and chiefs call the shots. I came in hot-blooded, single-minded on benefiting the people and making my mark, neglecting to mingle with them. They saw me as clueless. At first, my orders held weight, but once they dug into my background, they stopped taking me seriously. Decrees leave the yamen like waste paper. The clerks in the county office are all locals with tangled ties like tree roots—any news from me reaches their ears in half a day. If that weren’t bad enough, during the recent prefectural inspection, they tripped me up good. I got a plain ‘average’ in the annual review. At this rate, I’ll sink lower and farther, drifting who knows where.”

Wu Wei listened in stunned silence. Thankfully, she’d picked up some history on Blue Star and understood how imperial edicts never truly reached below the county level. Since ancient times, the real power in every county lay not with the magistrate but with the local gentry and clan elders.

Don’t underestimate them. Living there for generations, they’d built power through marriages, imperial exams, purchased offices, and more. Over time, they’d amass connections in the capital and local prestige.

Zhang Cheng came from a well-off farming family—no parents to pull strings, no brothers to help, no one at court.

Without backers, even stellar performance might not earn top marks in reviews, let alone with saboteurs in the mix.

If Zhang Cheng’s three-year term ended with all “average” or worse, he’d slide into obscurity. Clear River County was far from the capital but still blessed with decent weather and peace—plenty of worse backwaters out there.

Wu Wei fell silent. She didn’t know Zhang Cheng’s governing skills, but he was undeniably an honest official, incorruptible. His salary plus the Zhang family estate would keep him comfortable. Yet here he was, not even half a year in, already squeezed to the brink.

She couldn’t help murmuring, “No one from humble origins reaches the highest ranks; no aristocrat stoops to the lowest.”

Zhang Cheng started, gazing at Wu Wei in awe. “Miss Wu, you’re a true sage. That line… I might not grasp it until my dying days. You’ve pierced it in one sentence.”

He slammed the tea table. “Might as well go teach at a school.”

…

They talked for ages, forgetting even their tea. Wu Wei poured them each a cup, nibbled a tea pastry, sipped, and said, “Brother Zhang, take it easy. It’s too soon to say such things.”

“It’s death by a thousand cuts.”

“True enough. With no patrons above and constraints below, you’re boxed in. But if you could achieve unparalleled merit, you could soar straight up.”

“Where would such merit come from?”

Wu Wei cleared her throat and mentioned the potential poor harvest come autumn. She’d already collected soil samples along the way from Clear River County and would have Old Lady Liu examine them back home. Last year’s scant snow there—only one more fall than in Qinglu County—had left some fields unprotected and frozen, cracking the soil and badly hurting its moisture.

Before Zhang Cheng could respond, Wu Wei went on. “Brother Zhang, I’ve traveled back and forth between Clear River and Qinglu Counties several times this past year and a half. I’ve seen plenty of mines there. I have a secret formula to boost crop yields per mu—using niter and limestone as raw materials. There’s still time before harvest. If you act early, you could catch them off guard, claim that merit, and save the people of both counties from disaster.”

Zhang Cheng’s eyes filled with worry. “Have you told anyone else?”

Wu Wei thought for a moment and shook her head.

Only then did he relax. He explained the risks and stakes, warning her not to mention it to anyone else outside this room, lest it bring deadly trouble.

Wu Wei thanked him for the advice. Zhang Cheng took her words gravely. They agreed to wait for Old Lady Liu’s verdict on the Clear River soil, then discuss in detail.

It was a weighty matter; Zhang Cheng needed time to plan.

They set a date five days later, on his day off, for Wu Wei to return.

Leaving Zhang Cheng, Wu Wei felt much lighter. With his roots in Qinglu County, he’d surely share the fertilizer there once made. Backed by a county magistrate, she could stay safely behind the scenes, minimizing risks.

…

Wu Wei mounted Chou Chou. The heaviness and unease of the trip there had lifted. She galloped home, arriving at the little courtyard as the sun set.

Embroider Maiden was giving a lesson to the three servant girls just back from the fields. Eldest Sister Li and Old Lady Liu were cooking. The four dogs bounded over enthusiastically.

Seeing Wu Wei travel-worn and weary-faced, Embroider Maiden sent Eldest Sister Li’s family home after dinner. She prepared clean clothes for Wu Wei to change into and thoughtfully set a wooden stool in the bathhouse. “Go wash up.”

When Wu Wei emerged with damp hair, Embroider Maiden arrived with a clean towel. Wu Wei bowed her head, and Embroider Maiden tiptoed up to wrap it tenderly around her hair.

Not a word passed between them, yet it spoke of a deep, unspoken understanding forged from a thousand words.

Tacitly, their fingers intertwined. Hand in hand, they returned to the east room.

Wu Wei sat on the edge of the heated bed, while Embroider Maiden stood before her, gently drying her hair.

When her hair was only half-dry, Wu Wei suddenly wrapped her arms around Embroider Maiden’s slender waist and buried her head in the woman’s embrace. She let all her tension melt away, her body going limp and soft.

Embroider Maiden naturally drew her close, her palm stroking gently over the top of Wu Wei’s head, again and again. Tenderness filled her eyes.

“I brought you a gift. Did you see it?”

“Mm. There’ll be plenty of places to spend silver from now on. Instead of buying rouge and powder, we might as well stock up on a few more sacks of rice.”

Wu Wei nuzzled against Embroider Maiden’s chest like a spoiled child, offering no reply.

How could Embroider Maiden bear to chide her any longer? She spoke softly. “Are you tired? Lie down, and I’ll rub your waist for you.”

“Mm~ So tired.”

Once Embroider Maiden had thoroughly dried Wu Wei’s hair, Wu Wei sprawled facedown on the bed. Embroider Maiden knelt at her side, lifted the hem of her garment, and began massaging her waist.

Wu Wei’s waist was no longer as smooth and flawless as it once had been. As fingertips glided over the skin, they encountered uneven patches—the scars left by the rod’s punishment. No one knew how long it would take for them to fade completely. They might never disappear in her lifetime.

Every time she touched those scars, Embroider Maiden felt her heart clench in agony, even though Wu Wei insisted they no longer hurt.