The click-clack of stones being placed echoed through the air.
As Jinshi made his way toward his office, he noticed the military officials in the guardroom playing go.
"Is this the latest craze?"
"Seems like it."
Banshan
had asked, and Jinshi answered.
What had sparked the trend was no mystery — Jinshi himself had six copies.
Not the single copy he'd asked the court official to procure, but six — and as for why,
"A gift — please enjoy."
Maomao had sent them with that short note attached. The reason she'd sent them was probably to clear out inventory. She almost certainly didn't want to keep them around.
It wasn't as though the money he'd given the court official had gone to waste, but there was no point in having six copies. Banshan already had one, so
Gaoshun,
the Emperor, and
Ada —
he considered whether to give the rest to them.
It might have been for a reason as simple as that, or it might not have been. The apothecary's daughter was shrewd and thorough — it was worth considering that there might be more to it.
Even as he pondered, Jinshi found himself wondering how he might outwit Maomao. He would need to lay extensive groundwork to leave her no escape.
Along the way, the court ladies observed him from a distance, but Jinshi arrived at his office regardless.
A single official stood before the office door. Upon noticing Jinshi, he hurried over.
"What is it?"
Banshan stepped forward to handle it in Jinshi's place.
"Pardon the intrusion, but this..."
The official quietly handed over a document. Banshan opened it and raised an eyebrow.
Jinshi looked at the document, then entered his office without a change of expression.
"Report the damage situation in detail."
"Yes, sir."
The official returned. A messenger should come again if new information arrived.
Upon entering the office, Jinshi let out a deep sigh.
"So it's finally come."
The document stated it concisely.
"A locust plague has broken out."
Several reports of small-scale pest damage had already come in. Jinshi had looked through them, but since they weren't the kind of matter that required his direct involvement, he had left them to his subordinates.
Until now, the damage hadn't been that severe, but...
"The harvest is expected to fall below thirty percent?"
That was catastrophic damage. Upon hearing the location was the western granary region, Jinshi's ears perked up.
"Isn't that too late for a wheat harvest?"
The harvest season was supposed to be summer.
"It's not wheat — it's rice. About twenty years ago, large-scale irrigation was implemented and rice cultivation was introduced. Conversely, because there was nothing but rice in the surrounding area, the locusts could devastate the region locally."
Answering Jinshi's question was a civilian official who loved go. His name was
Tenyuu.
A capable man, if not for his somewhat timid nature.
"You're drawing water from the great river?"
Now that he thought about it, Jinshi had heard there was a major flood control project around the time he was born. It seemed the water diversion work had been done at the same time.
"Yes. It was carried out experimentally in certain regions. While the harvest is more stable than wheat, further expansion was halted due to concerns that extending the irrigation too far would affect the water supply downstream."
Tenyuu had drawn large circles on the map.
Twenty years ago was the era of the Empress. That remarkable woman had implemented all manner of unconventional policies and seen them through.
Jinzhi looked at the circled map. Not too close to the capital, but not too far either. Four or five days for a round trip should suffice.
Piles of documents sat on his desk like mountains. Jinshi alternated glances between Masen, who had been waiting patiently this whole time, and Tenyuu, who wore a worried expression.
He didn't want to let work pile up. But he couldn't ignore something that weighed on his mind.
Jinshi had to fight the urge to groan.
"...U-Um..."
Tenyuu hesitantly raised his hand.
"What is it?"
Jinshi looked at Tenyuu while trying his best to keep his expression neutral. With Masen right there, maintaining his composure was no easy task.
"I-I know this is terribly presumptuous of me, but I believe Lady Moon has taken on too much work."
"I'm well aware of that myself. But what would you have me do? I can't exactly hand it off to someone else."
At Jinshi's words, Tenyuu looked slightly sheepish.
"I-I know this is really hard to say, but..."
Tenyuu averted his gaze but continued anyway.
"Some of the others have been leaving their duties to subordinates..."
"They've been doing something so underhanded?!"
Masen slammed his fist on the desk. Tenyuu flinched with a yelp.
"Do you know who? Can you name them?"
As Masen pressed in aggressively, Jinshi gently held him back.
"Masen. You're scaring him. Just tell us who — that's all we need."
Jinshi spoke to Tenyuu in a voice that was gentle yet brooked no refusal.
"W-Well... it's the Taiwei, Han."
It certainly made sense if the Strategist was the one doing it, but there was something evasive in Tenyuu's expression.
"Are there others?"
When Jinshi leaned in close, Tenyuu's cheeks flushed crimson. He'd deliberately chosen someone who wouldn't be susceptible to that sort of thing, but apparently there was a limit to how close he could get. Jinshi stroked the scar on his face.
"H-His Majesty too..."
"......"
Jinshi and Masen could only fall silent.
"Wh-What do you think?"
Tenyu lowered his face as if to say, "Stay away from me." But Masen was not about to leave it at that.
"Who on earth is doing this in His Majesty's stead?"
He pressed forward, nostrils flaring —
"It is —
Gaoshun,
my lord!"
......
Once again, all they could do was fall silent.
"Of course, all the stamping was done by His Majesty himself. B-but, if we could have just one more person to handle the in-between documents, wouldn't Lord Moon's workload be reduced to a third?"
Hearing "a third," Jinshi's heart wavered. But he could not simply hand over such important sorting work to just any official.
Jinshi looked at Masen.
If it were Gaoshun doing the work, he wished his son Masen would take over — but unfortunately, Masen was not a man suited for desk work. His work was meticulous, but he was too earnest and inflexible; tasks would only pile up.
Was it too much to ask for a subordinate who came from a family worthy of being trusted with his work, possessed unwavering loyalty, and could handle tasks deftly?
"Lord Jinshi."
"What is it?"
"I happen to know someone who is skilled at paperwork."
At Masen's words, Jinshi's eyes widened.
"Truly? You don't have any acquaintances among the civil officials."
"Actually, I do know one. He passed the civil service examinations last year, but he currently holds no official post."
"...Could it be—"
Jinshi could think of only one person it might be.
"Yes.
Ma Liang —
would you know him if I said 'my elder brother'?"
Ma Liang — as the name suggested, he was a member of the Ma clan, Masen's elder brother.