The Suzhou Prefecture Office stood in the north of the city.
A broad thoroughfare ran before it, a small river nestled behind it, and its spacious, imposing buildings exuded a forbidding air.
Two stone lions crouched before the office, their jaws slightly parted, as though poised to devour someone-or coldly watching the common folk passing by.
The vermilion gates stood wide open. Above them hung a plaque reading "Suzhou Prefecture Office," its characters square and solemn, their strokes weighty and strong.
Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai alighted from their sedan chairs and entered the office.
Li Jin, representing the Imperial Silk Bureau, had only come to greet them, not accompany them. He Yanming naturally took the lead with due deference.
They passed through the front hall, crossed the main hall, and went straight into the rear hall.
Along the way, the offices were immaculate and the courtyards quiet and secluded.
Not a single idler lingered beneath the covered walkways. The clerks sat at their appointed stations, bent over their desks copying documents, never letting their eyes stray.
Orderly, solemn, beyond reproach.
He Yanming led them to the rear hall doorway, stepped aside, and raised a hand.
"Lord Wei, please."
Wei Nisheng stepped over the threshold.
The rear hall was spacious, with a long desk at its center.
Dozens of account books were stacked neatly upon it, arranged in separate piles by year and category.
Beside each stack lay a page listing its contents.
The tiny regular-script characters were meticulous, every stroke upright and exact.
Several camphorwood chests stood in a corner, their lids open. Their contents
were likewise account books, their covers pristine and their corners neatly aligned.
The windows gleamed, the furniture was spotless, and not a speck of dust remained.
The charcoal burned steadily, filling the room