When he first arrived in Suzhou, He's "daughter" welcomed Zhangzi with a smile.
Now, at the end of the road, He's "daughter" still accompanied Zhangzi with a smile!
The Archive Repository occupied a side room in the rear courtyard of the Prefectural Office.
Blue bricks, gray tiles, and heavy doors.
The clerk unlocked the door and pushed it open.
The smell of aged paper and ink rushed out to meet them.
Zhang Zai stepped over the threshold and surveyed the walls.
Case files stood neatly arranged on the shelves, each volume labeled, its year and subject plain at a glance.
He walked to the shelf marked "Jinghe Year Eleven."
He took down a volume at random, leafed through it, set it down, then took another and leafed through that.
Before long, he had found the old accounts.
"Lord He." Zhang Zai turned and held the registers out before He Yanming.
"Why aren't these volumes listed in the Archive Repository's catalog?"
He Yanming accepted them. One glance was enough to send cold sweat streaming down his skin.
Zhang Zai did not press him. He merely drew the registers gently from his hands, tucked them into his sleeve, and cupped his hands.
"Lord He, we're both fallen men at the ends of the earth...
Take a word of advice from your younger brother: some things are better loose than tight."
With that, he turned away.
At the door, he stopped again. Without looking back, he left one last remark.
"Please come to the Imperial Envoy's Headquarters tomorrow at Dragon Hour for a conversation, my lord. I trust you will be punctual."
His boots clacked away, the sound fading into silence.
He Yanming stood alone in the Archive Repository.
The files lining the walls loomed like gravestones, while dusk slanted through the