Black Mines

Prefectural City · Wine Tavern

Dozens of people sat downstairs in groups of two and three or four and five. Screens divided the second and third floors, and the third-floor boards gleamed from a polish of tung oil. It was noon, and a woman was singing softly.

"So Prefect Qi came back from the provincial capital this morning with silver?" Seated at a table in a secluded corner, Su Ziji pushed a cup of wine across as he asked.

"Thank you for the wine, my lord!" The squad leader drained it in one gulp and continued, "That's right. Before dawn, he rode through the night to the provincial capital with several commandery soldiers to beg the governor-general for silver."

"We couldn't follow them into the governor-general's residence, so we don't know what happened inside. But when Prefect Qi came out the first time, he was crying as he walked. Then someone from the residence called him back. When he emerged again, he brought two chests of silver with him."

An image of Qi Hongxin, thin, dark, and ramrod straight, flashed through Su Ziji's mind. He could hardly imagine a man whom so many considered a foul, unyielding stone crying as he walked.

The mere thought sent a shiver through him. It was that far removed from his impression of the man. No wonder even Governor-General Zhao, who had little affection for Qi Hongxin, had been startled by his tears and granted him the silver in the end.

I thought Qi Hongxin was a man of ruthless resolve. I never expected him to know when to bend.

But he's spent more than a decade stuck at the prefect level. His background may be part of the reason, but perhaps his temperament has left him unable—or unwilling—to curry favor.

*What was he