Xing Honglang stood at the eastern city gate with a group of her subordinates, posture straight, expression composed, waiting for the arriving guests.
She hated this sort of thing.
Being an official of the imperial court came with endless, meaningless formalities—bowing, flattering, posturing, reciting hollow praises. She despised all of it. Unfortunately, for the task entrusted to her by Dao Xuan Tianzun, she had no choice but to endure.
Beside her stood Li Daoxuan, wearing a faint smile.
"Don't overthink it," he said lightly. "Just treat it as watching a troupe of clowns perform. If you adjust your mindset, it can even be entertaining."
Xing Honglang exhaled slowly. "Dao Xuan Tianzun speaks wisely. I'll consider it… playing along with officials."
As they spoke, a grand procession slowly approached the city gate.
A large carriage rolled forward, surrounded by attendants and guards. When it stopped, an elderly man stepped down, his bearing refined, his robe spotless, his entire demeanor radiating the air of a cultured scholar.
This was Dai Jun'en, the newly appointed Governor of Shanxi.
A poet. A writer. A man whose reputation for talent far exceeded his reputation for governance.
The moment Dai Jun'en saw Xing Honglang, his eyes lit up. He clasped his hands and exclaimed with genuine excitement,
"A female general! Truly a female general! How magnificent, how awe-inspiring! I've long heard that General Xing swept away bandit forces, stabilized Hedong Circuit, and not long ago even encircled Zijing Liang at Houjia Village. A heroine who rivals any man—no, surpasses most of them!"
Xing Honglang disliked such effusive praise. She merely clasped her fists in a brief salute, deliberately adopting the demeanor of a blunt, taciturn soldier, hoping to end the exchange quickly.
Dai Jun'en clapped his hands in delight.
"Wonderful! Seeing such a lady general, inspiration strikes me like lightning! Forgive me—I must write a poem at once!"
Two house guards immediately stepped forward, presenting brush, ink, paper, and inkstone with both hands.
Dai Jun'en bent over the paper and scribbled rapidly. But as soon as he finished, his brows furrowed. With a sigh, he crumpled the page into a ball and tossed it aside.
"Oh dear," he said sheepishly. "Old age, old age. When inspiration comes, I must write immediately, or it slips away. I often neglect my guests because of this… Now then, where were we?"
Xing Honglang forced a polite smile.
Li Daoxuan chuckled and interjected, "Elder, we haven't said a single word yet. You've been speaking the whole time."
Dai Jun'en turned to look at him—and froze.
"What a splendid young knight!" he exclaimed. "Handsome, refined, calm as still water. Just looking at you fills this old man with poetic impulse!"
The house guards moved again without waiting for orders.
Dai Jun'en seized the brush and wrote swiftly. Li Daoxuan leaned slightly to peek, but Dai Jun'en's body blocked most of the view. He could only make out the latter lines:
Green mountains and clear waters, tales of a thousand years;Green mountains and clear waters, tales of a thousand years;
Bright moon and ancient pines, a path carried by the wind.
Dai Jun'en frowned, dissatisfied once more, and crumpled the paper.
"Ah, no, no, still not right," he muttered, tossing it away. Then he looked up again. "Now then… where were we?"
Everyone present exchanged glances.
This man… is the Governor of Shanxi?
Li Daoxuan decided to save time. "Elder, let's be direct. What brings you to Hedong Circuit this time?"
"Oh! Right, right, the matter at hand." Dai Jun'en nodded repeatedly. "This old man is here to introduce someone."
He gestured behind him. "This gentleman is the eunuch dispatched by His Majesty to supervise the salt administration. His name is… ah… what was it again?"
A middle-aged eunuch stepped forward.
He was pale-faced, beardless, slightly plump, dressed in the official robes of palace eunuchs. He forced a thin, unpleasant smile.
"My surname is Lan," he said. "My given name is Xingyang. In the palace, I am simply called Eunuch Lan."
Only then did Dai Jun'en turn back to Xing Honglang.
"This is Eunuch Lan. From now on, he will remain in Hedong Circuit to oversee the salt administration."
No further explanation was needed.
Everyone understood.
Emperor Zhu Youjian did not trust Xing Honglang. So he sent a eunuch.
They had their schemes.
Gao Family Village had its preparations.
Whatever came, they would meet it.
Eunuch Lan stepped forward, his chin raised, eyes filled with disdain, as if all before him were ants beneath his feet.
"This humble servant has arrived by imperial decree to supervise the salt administration. There's no need for idle formalities. First—take me to see the situation at Xie Lake."
Xing Honglang glanced at Li Daoxuan.
He nodded calmly.
Let him see.
They had been ready for this for a long time.
"Very well," Xing Honglang said. "I will personally escort Your Eminence to Xie Lake."
"Lead the way," Eunuch Lan ordered.
Dai Jun'en added cheerfully, "This old man shall also accompany you. I would like to have a look."
The group departed Hedong City and headed for Xie Lake.
Xie Lake was vast—over forty li long and several li wide.
Gao Family Village's arrangements were already in place.
All the newly constructed, highly productive salt villages had been deliberately positioned in the southeastern corner of the lake. Meanwhile, the villages closest to Hedong City had been intentionally left to appear old, ruined, and miserable.
When the group arrived at the lakeside, the first thing they saw was a half-burnt, desolate village.
Xing Honglang gestured calmly.
"This was originally Donghu Village. During the last bandit uprising, when Hedong Circuit fell, this village was burned to the ground. Every salt maker here was slaughtered."
Eunuch Lan sucked in a sharp breath.
"Oh!"
He had come expecting an easy post—profits, bribes, leisure.
Instead, what he saw was death.
Only then did he remember: Shanxi was crawling with bandits. Here, danger was never far away.
Dai Jun'en could only shake his head and sigh. "Alas…"
They continued along the lakeshore, moving northeast.
One ruined village followed another. Burnt huts. Empty ground. Not a single living salt maker.
Finally, they reached a village where people still worked.
Salt makers were carefully sun-drying salt using the most ancient methods.
This, too, was deliberate.
Gao Family Village had entire teams dedicated to handling inspections.
Where later generations staged prosperity, Gao Family Village staged misery.
Eunuch Lan's scalp prickled.
"Are… are all the salt villages of Xie Lake in such a state?"
Xing Honglang shrugged.
"What can be done? This is Shanxi. If I hadn't been stationed here to suppress bandits, even these few salt makers wouldn't be alive. Eunuch Lan, visit other counties and you'll understand what 'nine out of ten houses empty' truly means."
Eunuch Lan paled.
"Then… then can enough salt really be delivered?"
"Of course," Xing Honglang said, her smile turning cold. "We'll simply force the remaining salt makers to work harder. Anyone who slacks off will be whipped. If they still refuse, I'll skin them, tear out their sinews, and render their fat for lamps. As long as one is ruthless enough, salt can always be produced."
Cold sweat streamed down Eunuch Lan's back.
Too fierce… far too fierce!
I only wanted silver. This woman is ready to take lives.
A former salt smuggler, a pacified bandit—truly terrifying.
He swallowed hard.
And from that moment on, he decided one thing:
Do not provoke Xing Honglang.