001 Returning Home in Splendid Attire

Seventeenth year of the Chongzhen reign of the Great Ming Dynasty. Outside the city gates of Huaining County, Anqing Prefecture.

The ancient and dilapidated walls of Huaining County wore a different look today. The crumbling ramparts were draped in red and green, with long strings of red firecrackers hanging from the battlements, creating an atmosphere of festive celebration.

The once lifeless area outside the city gate was now teeming with people. Not only had the residents of Huaining flocked out in their entirety, but people from Anqing Prefecture, hundreds of miles away, had also traveled here to join the excitement. The crowd grew, stretching for several miles along both sides of the main road starting from the gate. Faces were filled with joy, everyone craning their necks in a display of pride and anticipation.

At the head of the procession, official sedans arrived one after another, carrying the local officials of Anqing Prefecture and Huaining County. As the men stepped out, they bowed and exchanged polite greetings.

"Oh, if it isn't Prefect Zhou? My respects to you, sir. What brings you here today?" Huaining Magistrate Kong Rusong, seeing his superior alight, hurried forward to offer his respects.

Under the Ming administrative system, the empire was divided into two capitals and thirteen provinces. Anqing Prefecture was one of the eighteen prefectures under the Southern Metropolitan Area, and Huaining was one of the counties under Anqing's jurisdiction.

Prefect Zhou Shining was a Jinshi degree holder who had been in the bureaucracy for over twenty years. He was well-versed in the ways of the official world—slippery, greedy, and cowardly. Years earlier, when the peasant rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong breached the central capital of Fengyang and burned the Ming imperial ancestral tombs, ten thousand rebel soldiers had approached the borders of Anqing. Fearing for his life, Prefect Zhou had colluded with the Anqing Regional Commander, Liu Zeqing, to pack up his household wealth overnight and flee to Nanjing, claiming it was to "defend the capital." As luck would have it, Zhang Xianzhong did not attack Anqing, opting instead to pillage Fengyang before heading to Sichuan. Prefect Zhou and Commander Liu then returned under the guise of "protecting the borders and the people." The uninformed Ming court had even issued a bulletin praising them for "suppressing the bandit rebellion" and "defending the central capital," allowing the pair to bask in undeserved glory.

Prefect Zhou struck a pretentious pose, offering a fake smile to the gathered officials. "Magistrate of Huaining, no need for such formalities. As Prefect of Anqing, it is my duty to be here. This figure produced by Huaining County is not only the glory of your county but the pride of our entire Anqing Prefecture! Ha! Carry on, everyone, carry on."

Full of bureaucratic bluster, the Prefect sat down with great ceremony once his subordinates brought him a chair.

Magistrate Kong bowed and stepped aside. Moments later, several horses kicked up dust as they galloped toward the front of the line. The rider looked toward the end of the road, frowned, dismounted, tossed the reins to a soldier, and strode toward Prefect Zhou with a hearty laugh.

The officials bowed as he approached, but he ignored them, his armor clanking, and grinned at Zhou Shining. This was none other than the Anqing Regional Commander, Liu Zeqing—the same man who had fled in terror from five hundred miles away years prior. Commanding thirty thousand troops, he held sway over the entire region, arrogant and dismissive of everyone.

"General Liu, you are a busy man. What brings you here?" Zhou asked.

"Just inspecting the military affairs of Jiangbei," Liu boomed. "Heard the top scholar is returning home today, and since we'll be working together in the future, I thought I'd stop by. Well? Is he here yet?"

This was the first martial arts top scholar since the Hongwu Emperor founded the dynasty, and he had been granted an important military post immediately upon passing. Even a fool could see his future was limitless. Unlike Liu Zeqing, who had climbed the ladder through various schemes, this man was a genuine, academically trained talent. Everyone in the Ming court knew the importance of military commanders; it was entirely possible this young man might one day enter the Grand Secretariat or become a provincial governor. Now was the perfect time to curry favor.

"He's here! He's here!" Just as Liu finished speaking, a beautiful young girl pushed through the crowd, pointing excitedly at the dust rising on the road ahead, jumping and shouting without a care for the onlookers.

The crowd surged, everyone craning their necks.

***

They all gazed ahead. Finally, they were arriving. Banners fluttered in the wind, accompanied by the sound of martial majesty. The momentum felt like an army returning in triumph.

Before Prefect Zhou could stand up, the girl from before waved and shouted, "Brother Lanping! Brother Lanping!"

The Prefect’s face darkened. "Audacious! Is the name of the top scholar something to be shouted so recklessly? Where is the decorum? Guards, remove her!"

The girl was Du Ningning, the eldest daughter of the Du household, where Wang Lanping had spent the last seven or eight years. Naturally lively and fond of martial arts, she spent her days sparring with the household guards and parading through Huaining with a retinue of servants. She feared no one, largely because her father, Du Ming, was a famous wealthy merchant in Anqing with vast landholdings and a near-monopoly on the local grain trade. Because of her pampered upbringing, her temper was even larger than her family’s fortune, and at twenty, she remained unmarried—a "spinster" that no one dared approach.

Nine years ago, when Wang Lanping entered the Du household, his handsome features and proficiency in both literature and martial arts had led to a close friendship with Miss Du. That was why she had been waiting outside the city since dawn.

"A thousand apologies, Prefect Zhou! My daughter is ignorant of the rules and has offended you," Du Ming hurried out of the crowd, bowing to plead for his daughter.

Zhou recognized him as an old acquaintance. "Ah, Master Du. I have heard much of the daughter of the Du household—a beauty with the heart of a man. Seeing her today, the rumors are true."

Du Ming, a veteran businessman with ties to every official in the prefecture, chuckled. "You flatter me. Ningning, step back! Stop causing trouble."

Du Ningning pouted and turned away, only to collide with someone coming from behind.

"Are you blind?" she snapped. Upon seeing who it was, her face twisted in annoyance. "It's you! What are you doing here?"

The girl she had bumped into was of similar age but dressed in rags compared to the heiress. Her name was Yunniang, a childhood sweetheart of Wang Lanping who lived next door to his family. She was no less beautiful than Miss Du, but without the finery, her true elegance remained hidden.

Supporting an elderly woman, Yunniang dared not speak. Terrified, she lowered her head, blushing. A commoner would never dream of arguing with the daughter of the Du family.

Du Ningning ignored her, focusing instead on the old woman beside her—Wang Lanping’s mother, Lady Zhao.

"Auntie, you're here! Brother Lanping is back, look!" Du Ningning pulled Yunniang away and grabbed the old woman’s arm, beaming.

Cowed by Du Ningning’s arrogance, Yunniang shrank back into the crowd, stealing glances at the approaching scholar, filled with a mix of joy and fear.

The old lady, however, was observant. Seeing Yunniang’s distress, she smiled and nodded to comfort her. She had once come from a wealthy family herself before their fortunes declined. Early that morning, officials had arrived at her home with gifts and fine clothes, and with Yunniang’s help, she now carried the air of a noble matron.

Magistrate Kong, seeing the scholar's mother, rushed over to introduce her to the Prefect and General Liu. The officials treated her as if she were their own mother, bowing and smiling. Prefect Zhou even offered his own chair, personally helping her sit.

"Your son has achieved great success," Zhou said. "With the court in need of talent, he will surely become a pillar of the nation. You have raised him well; you are a model of a virtuous mother for our Anqing Prefecture, and you deserve my respect." He bowed deeply.

The old lady, having seen the coldness and warmth of the world, understood the pretense. When she and her son were starving, none of these officials had ever asked after them. "Ten years of hard study in obscurity, and now, once famous, the whole world knows you."

"I cannot accept this, sir. I am but an old woman," she said with dignity.

"You deserve it, you deserve it! Magistrate Kong!" The Prefect turned to his subordinate.

"I am here, sir," Kong replied.

"Lady Wang has raised a son who is a model for Anqing," the Prefect declared. "I propose that Huaining County erect a 'Virtuous Mother' archway in her honor, to celebrate her virtue and inspire future generations. What say you?"

"An excellent idea, sir," Kong agreed. "I shall see to it immediately and call upon the merchants of the city to donate."

Master Du immediately stepped forward, holding up two fingers. "I wish to donate two thousand taels for the construction of the arch. When the top scholar lived in my home, I knew at a glance he was no ordinary man. I spent a fortune hiring the best teachers for him. Seeing him return home in glory today, I am truly gratified."

Du Ningning, watching her father, felt a wave of disgust. *You are far too fake, Father. You nearly worked Brother Lanping to death, making him patrol and do manual labor day and night. You even opposed his taking the military exams. Now you claim all the credit. How hypocritical.*

With the wealthy Du leading the way, the local gentry swarmed to contribute. In the blink of an eye, before a site was even chosen, over ten thousand taels had been raised. Huaining was indeed a wealthy place.

As the crowd continued to heap praise on the old woman, the scholar’s procession drew near. At a command from Magistrate Kong, the music swelled, firecrackers roared, and the crowd surged forward, all eager to catch a glimpse of the world’s top martial scholar.