Chapter 29

Finding a convict laborer to do menial work is not difficult, though it does present some challenges.

Unlike the noble Imperial Guards, convict soldiers belong to the garrison troops, a standing army relegated to local duties, though they rarely perform actual combat. After all, most wars in the Northern Song Dynasty are fought by the Imperial Guards, who are well-equipped, well-trained, and—above all—physically imposing. The reason handsome men in the Northern Song were called "Human Models" is that the selection process for the Imperial Guards was strict; recruits were measured against a wooden mannequin, and only those who matched its height and build were accepted. Furthermore, since the Imperial Guards participated in large-scale naval exercises in Bianjing every year, the officials in charge of recruitment couldn't help but favor candidates with fair skin, regular features, and tall, slender builds.

In short, it is said that the Imperial Guards were generally good-looking, especially those in the capital, who were particularly known for their rosy lips, white teeth, and delicate, handsome features.

But I digress. In any case, the garrison troops are not used for war. They are stationed locally, primarily tasked with transportation, animal husbandry, cleaning, city defense construction, and occasionally, even domestic service. You could say that any menial labor is left to them.

Although the life of a garrison soldier is arduous, there is a food chain within their ranks. For instance, dirty and exhausting tasks like digging trenches, hauling dirt, or clearing sewers in the spring are all dumped onto the convict soldiers—especially those who have been branded and exiled, and even more so those who lack the physical strength or broad shoulders to handle anything else. They truly occupy the bottom of the garrison food chain.

The man she wanted to recruit, a former registrar of Quanshan County, belonged firmly to the bottom of this pyramid. It was said he was relegated to cleaning latrines. Even the garrison commander was surprised when he was summoned to Lingying Palace.

"A creature no better than a dog—wouldn't he dirty the floors of the Lingying Palace?"

Gao Dagu, who had come to fetch him, sneered, "What? Does the Lingying Palace need to trouble your Excellency the Pacification Commissioner himself to request a single person?"

"How can you say such things, young master!" The commander quickly put on a fawning smile, shouting orders for someone to take "Old Dog Li" to wash his face and hands and put on clean clothes before bringing him over. He then leaned in and whispered, "This man was someone the eunuchs specifically ordered us to keep an eye on..."

As a former county registrar, according to the usual standards for Song Dynasty civil officials, he should have been lean, fair-skinned, and scholarly. But the person Gao Dagu led into the Lingying Palace was someone whose features were unrecognizable. His face was covered in deep, old scars, and his skin was so dark that it was impossible to tell what he had originally looked like. His hands were not those of a scholar, either.

"This man did not deserve such degradation," Gao Dagu reported honestly. "When he was first exiled to Xingyuan Prefecture, some eunuchs gave specific instructions regarding him, which is why he ended up like this."

She frowned, and Ji Lan spoke on her behalf: "How did he offend those eunuchs?"

"When Yang Jian’s subordinates beat the commoners of Quanshan County to death," Gao Dagu said, "Li Su drew his sword and killed one of the eunuchs."

Li Su kept his head bowed, kneeling on the ground without a word.

"Raise your head," Ji Lan said. "The Imperial Princess is speaking to you."

Li Su remained silent.

"Li Su." Ji Lan’s voice deepened.

Suddenly, Li Su let his head drop, collapsing completely onto the floor.

It was no wonder he fainted inside the Lingying Palace; his physical strength had been utterly exhausted. His body had reached the point where it could no longer sustain itself. The bullying that began years ago had intensified in the last few months.

The eunuchs had returned. They should have forgotten him, but one of them was the brother of the man Li Su had killed—though they didn't share a surname, they shared the same "eunuch father." Indeed, eunuchs have brothers and fathers, and they are notoriously clannish.

These eunuchs were astonished that the man was still alive, and indignant that he was still breathing! Their brother had died serving the Great Song, a martyr for the state, yet this traitorous official—who had betrayed his Emperor and the Great Song, solely to protect those wretched commoners—was still alive!

Li Su’s days were not spent merely cleaning latrines; he had to sleep in those foul-smelling pits at night. As autumn deepened and the weather grew colder, he became less and less like a human being. His body seemed to hang on, but his soul had long since drifted away, rising from that stinking pit toward a pure and bright destination.

When he woke up, he found himself in such a house.

There were clean, warm quilts and bed curtains, a room arranged with simple elegance and light, birdsong outside the window, a desk below it, and a small incense burner on the table, curling with fragrant smoke.

He moved, catching a blurry glimpse of someone running out. A moment later, a tall, dark, and robust young man poked his head through the bed curtains, his face full of surprise. "You’re awake!"

Li Su stared silently at the two braided knots on the young man's head. "Do the immortals in Heaven all dress like human children with topknots?"

It is said that Gao Sangu ran out crying that day, and even after his older brothers comforted him for a long time, he couldn't stop.

Although the physician stated that the man was physically frail, with proper care he would be fine and able to work for the Imperial Princess. Whether he was healthy or not didn't stop him from speaking, yet Li Su remained silent.

He was only in his early thirties, but perhaps from rolling in latrines for too long, even after being scrubbed clean, he exuded a temperament as foul and stubborn as a rock from a cesspit.

The Imperial Princess tried to initiate conversation many times, but he never answered.

"He’s eating plenty of the Lingying Palace’s food," someone muttered behind her.

"He doesn't even talk while eating!"

"He isn't a mute; Liu San said that day..."

"That was Liu Seventeen!"

The Imperial Princess coughed in dissatisfaction, and the room fell silent again.

"Although I have dismissed the eunuchs from the Lingying Palace, if the management of the Taoist temple and the surrounding wasteland is found lacking, the court will simply send another batch of eunuchs."

Thinking that wasn't scary enough, she added, "I am but a child; I fear that nothing I promise now will hold, and even what I have granted the people today could be revoked by a single word from a eunuch."

Li Su finally had a reaction. He spat.

"With the capable staff the Imperial Princess has now," he said, "the tens of thousands of acres of 'wasteland' under the Lingying Palace are quite secure."

"How are they secure?" she asked.

"The Imperial Princess needs money, and they are able to collect it," he said. "Xingyuan Prefecture will not see rebels rising up."

She thought for a moment and refined his words: They can collect the land taxes, and they can ensure the people do not rebel.

But thinking about it, it was strange. Her taxes weren't high, so why would the people rebel?

Of course, she didn't need to ask Li Su; she could answer that herself. Did those local bullies who kept sending gifts to the Lingying Palace really want to contribute to the people for free, hence why they wanted to be managers at the palace?

Li Su said these minor officials and managers were far too cunning.

The taxes she set could be increased when they reached the people; the measuring tools used for collecting grain could be tampered with; the people's fields could be classified as high, middle, or low quality based on yield. If the people didn't pay extra, even "low-quality" fields could be assessed as "high-quality" and be forced to surrender more grain—these were standard methods of extortion.

Many of the lands confiscated by the Western City Office were "hidden fields"—land that didn't even exist in official government records. Even if the people wanted their land back, they had no proof to claim it.

"I know this," she said. "The county office will give me a land register, and I will make the final decision."

"How will the Imperial Princess decide?" Li Su asked.

She was stunned for a moment.

"If no one helps me," she said, "I will go to each place, look at it myself, and judge for myself."

"Where will you go to look? Where will you judge?"

"I will go to the fields to see. Don't they have neighbors and old acquaintances? They can tell me," she said. "I will be able to tell."

Li Su let out a cold laugh. "The Imperial Princess truly is an immortal child from Heaven."

"If it were not the will of Heaven," she smiled, "how would you have ended up here, sir?"

This stubborn-as-a-rock gentleman crashed. It was as if materialism and idealism began to fight in his brain. Seeing this, she added more fuel to the fire:

"I have heard of your name for a long time."

That was a complete lie. She was just a child who had spent years squatting in the Baolu Palace reciting scriptures; how would she have heard of some unlucky wretch from thousands of miles away who had been exiled for drawing his sword against a eunuch?

But the power of this lie was immense. Li Su was immediately crushed, tears streaming down his face, unable to speak through his sobs.

"The holy monarch still cares for the people, cares for the world!" he choked out. "To hear these words from the Imperial Princess, I would gladly die... Your Majesty! Oh, Your Majesty!"

Li Su wept on the floor. It was a moving scene.

She rubbed her nose awkwardly.

One shouldn't have too high expectations. For instance, a perfect registrar should be incorruptible, diligent, fair, shrewd, and loyal to her. But as Yuwen Shizhong had said, if a perfect registrar were so capable, why wouldn't he strive for success in the Song Dynasty's bureaucratic system instead of applying for a job with her?

As for this Li Su, who had been tricked into joining, his character was on par with a Puritan. At the same time, he was a young official who had served as a registrar for years; he could skillfully manage the fixed assets of the Lingying Palace, had a deep understanding of the people's livelihoods, and could communicate with them in a friendly manner. Finding him was already a massive gain.

As for whether he was loyal to his sovereign father or a thirteen-year-old girl, why bother getting worked up about it?

But when the registrar began to take over the daily affairs of the Lingying Palace, the young girl awkwardly raised a new request.

The registrar was a bit surprised.

"The Imperial Princess wants to recruit menial laborers?"

"Yes."

"Does the temple not have laborers?"

"There are some, but not many," she said. "And they are truly just laborers."

The registrar's weather-beaten face began to wrinkle. "What exactly does the Imperial Princess have in mind?"

"I just want to recruit some laborers to patrol and guard the Lingying Palace."

"The Imperial Princess wishes to protect the Lingying Palace?" The registrar’s face smoothed out. "The Lingying Palace is within the city of Nanzheng, and there is a detachment of Imperial Guards here."

"But they don't listen to me," she said.

She thought for a moment. "Do you understand what I mean? I want to select strong and honest men from among the commoners who farm for me..."

The registrar was completely bewildered. "The Imperial Princess wants to recruit soldiers?!"

"No! No!" She waved her hands quickly. "How could that be? But... well, it’s basically the same idea, isn't it? This, too, is for the sake of the sovereign father!"