Chapter 706: The Worst Deal Under Heaven

According to the rules, during the emperor’s death, eunuchs and maids in the palace were required to observe three years of mourning. However, eunuchs serving as military supervisors or governors were exempt from this rule, as they often had to meet people, hold meetings, and handle affairs, making it inappropriate to wear mourning clothes. Yet this middle-aged eunuch was dressed in hemp clothes and a cloth cap, with black shoes visible beneath. His face, naturally showing sorrow, had eyes that seemed eerily sinister. After saying those words, he began to examine Zhang Yue.

His inspection didn’t matter much, but Ma Fang was shocked. She quickly stepped forward with a mournful expression and said, “Eunuch Qin, I only recognize your private seal as proof of identity. Since he actually produced it, how could I know he was impersonating you to deceive people?” As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Zhang Yue before shouting at the stunned postmen, “What are you standing around for? Arrest this despicable swindler and hand him over to the authorities! It’s outrageous—how could he trick people at our Huaiyuan Post Station?”

“Wait!”

The position of supervisor eunuch for the three major maritime administrations was one of the most lucrative. Qin Huaijin had paid Liu Yongcheng a large sum of money to secure this role at the Guangzhou Maritime Administration. Not long after Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, he passed away, allowing Qin Huaijin to continue in his position for another half year, during which he naturally took the opportunity to amass wealth. After Zhu Zhanji became emperor, he continued to work hard to maintain his position. The more he looked at Zhang Yue, the more familiar his face seemed, so he immediately put on a smiling face.

“I thought it was someone else. It turns out to be Lord Zhang, the new governor of Guangzhou. Those who don’t know are not guilty. You are so magnanimous—don’t take offense at an old man with weak eyes like me.”

“I didn’t expect Eunuch Qin to still remember me,” Zhang Yue said calmly, nodding slightly before taking out the private seal from his sleeve and tossing it over. “This was entrusted to me by Eunuch Wang from the Imperial Supervision Bureau before I came here. Since it was difficult to enter Huaiyuan Post Station today, I used it. Unexpectedly, this act of deception succeeded.”

As the two exchanged words, everyone around them was stunned. Ma Fang, who had thought her plan could fix things, was now frozen in shock. Realizing her mistake, she wished she could slap herself. According to Qin Huaijin, that was the newly appointed governor—how could some lowly postmaster like her even provoke him? Seeing Zhang Yue’s half-smile, she felt weak-kneed. The face that had seemed like an easy target now seemed to hide deadly intent, and she dared not speak.

Qin Huaijin held the private seal he had just received, filled with utter horror. Upon learning that Zhu Zhanji had ascended the throne, he immediately sent someone to rush to the capital with his private seal, offering half of his treasures and the seal to Wang Jin, the newly appointed eunuch supervisor, in an attempt to save his position at any cost. Yet there was still no response, and Zhang Yue had already taken office, leaving him even more frightened. But none of this compared to what Zhang Yue had just thrown at him.

What did Wang Jin mean? He had clearly accepted those things—how could he suddenly turn against him now?

At that moment, he was completely immersed in indescribable panic. All the tactics he used to deal with the maritime administration and local officials—cooperating, dividing, suppressing—escaped his mind. With great effort, he managed to force out a smile: “Ah… it’s all because of the underlings who spoke carelessly. Please forgive me, Lord Zhang…”

Before he could finish speaking, a loud uproar suddenly erupted outside. Instantly, both Qin Huaijin and Ma Fang, who were still struggling to form their words, as well as Zhang Yue, who was pondering the meaning of Ma Fang’s last remark, snapped back to reality. Just then, the door curtain moved, and a woman collapsed to the ground like a rolling gourd. Two men rushed in immediately, grabbing her and holding her tightly from both sides.

“Let me go! I want to see the post master! I was stolen by kidnappers and sold to those foreigners—I want to go home!”

“Stop!”

Hearing the shrill woman’s voice and seeing the two men in postman’s uniforms dragging her away, Zhang Yue remembered Ma Fang’s words and immediately ordered them to stop. Qin Huaijin, who hadn’t expected this sudden arrival to be a young woman, followed Zhang Yue’s lead and said, “Stop right now! This is outrageous! What kind of place is this where you can just barge in like this?”

As they spoke, the door curtain was lifted again, and a middle-aged woman with dark skin and proper attire entered. Used to barging in uninvited, she was surprised to find others there. Recognizing Qin Huaijin, she was startled and quickly bowed, apologizing, “This humble woman didn’t know Lord Qin was here. I truly offended you. I’ll take this unruly girl away now!”

Seeing the girl in blue clothes, with disheveled hair, struggling desperately, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but look at Ma Fang. Faced with his questioning gaze, Ma Fang felt a chill run down his spine and quickly explained, “My lord, this isn’t a trivial matter. This middlewoman goes by the nickname Xu Daya. She often does business with foreigners. Those foreign kings love women from the Central Plains. Whenever envoys come, they always buy several beautiful girls from her. This girl was sent here by Xu Daya specifically for the Champa envoys.”

Buying women from the Central Plains for foreigners? Zhang Yue, who already suspected it might involve human trafficking, immediately frowned deeply. He knew well that once sea restrictions were lifted, those who couldn’t survive in the Central Plains would try to find a way abroad, a tactic often used by colonial powers in later times. So he had already prepared to turn a blind eye. But fleeing abroad was one thing; selling one’s own people abroad was another. Not only did the laws of the Ming Dynasty impose many restrictions on people leaving the country, but even without them, he would never allow such a vile form of trade.

Seeing Zhang Yue’s dark expression, Qin Huaijin immediately realized he might get involved in this matter. Though he thought Zhang Yue was overreacting, he didn’t want to miss this opportunity to curry favor. He quickly ordered his attendants to bring the girl over and then asked kindly, “I ask you, since you claim it’s trafficking, who sold you? Where are you from? What’s your name?”

“Oh, Eunuch Qin, how can you believe this girl’s nonsense? I’m not new to being a middlewoman either…”

“Shut up! I haven’t asked you anything!”

Qin Huaijin snapped angrily before turning his attention back to the girl in blue. At that moment, she started crying loudly. Some people in the room grew impatient, some frowned, some shook their heads in exasperation, while Xu Daya was frantic. After a while, the girl wiped her eyes and said through sobs, “I’m from Chengmai County, Qiongzhou Prefecture. Due to my poor family conditions, I often worked outside. One day, at a temple fair, I got separated from others and was tricked into leaving by a woman. Later, I arrived in Guangzhou Prefecture, where this middlewoman bought me and brought me here, saying she wanted to sell me to foreigners. I would rather die than fall into those foreigners’ hands!”

Zhang Yue was well aware that Qiongzhou Prefecture was home to many Li people, among whom the tribal chiefs and local lords could be compared to landlords in the Central Plains. Yet the vast majority of Li people under their rule were extremely poor, so selling children was not uncommon. However, this girl spoke fluent Mandarin and appeared more like a Han Chinese. After hearing her story, he asked, “Since you say you’re from Chengmai County in Qiongzhou Prefecture, what’s your surname and name?”
“I live on Wufang Street, east of Chengmai County town. I’m the ninth child in my family, and everyone calls me Jiu Niang.” Seeing Qin Huaijin and Zhang Yue staring at her, she grew nervous and stammered, “Please forgive me, my lords. Chengmai County is a place where Han Chinese and Li people live together. Without my elders’ permission, I dare not reveal my surname or name, otherwise my uncles and aunts will surely beat me to death.”
Zhang Yue pondered for a moment before turning to Xu Daya, the grim-faced middleman, and asking, “Is what she said true?”
Xu Daya already found it strange that Qin Huaijin was meddling in such trivial matters. Hearing Ma Fang refer to Zhang Yue as an official, he became even more cautious. “My lords, I also bought her from someone else. It’s all clearly written in the contract, and we even filed a formal document at the yamen. How can we accuse her of trafficking just based on her words? I’ve been in this business for years, selling at least a hundred or eighty slaves each year, and they’ve always been legitimate…”
Realizing that this case confirmed human trafficking to foreign lands, Zhang Yue grew frustrated. He immediately caught Xu Daya’s mistake in his statement and snapped, “Stop talking! The imperial laws state that slaves are only given to meritorious officials, nobles, and gentry—never to kings or envoys from foreign lands!”
Seeing the middleman startle, he added coldly, “Moreover, if she’s a free citizen, then you’re selling a free person as a slave, which deserves a hundred lashes and exile for three thousand miles. As for selling her to foreigners, it’s equivalent to illegal export of people and is punishable by execution according to the law! Regardless of whether she was trafficked or not, just this act of selling her to foreigners is unforgivable!”
Zhang Yue, who had once served as a county magistrate, vice magistrate, and other local officials, knew the Ming laws by heart. Seeing Xu Daya’s knees weaken as he knelt in terror, he said slowly, “Anyone who traffics in free citizens or their children, whether sold or not, shall be sent to the border garrisons to serve as soldiers. If three or more people are sold or if it’s a repeat offense, they shall be shackled with a 100-jin weight for a month, with the rest receiving the same punishments as before. For repeat offenders, they shall be sent to the farthest border garrisons to serve forever. Since you say you’re experienced in this business, I suppose you’ve dealt with not just three people, but maybe thirty or even three hundred?”

Qin Huaijin had originally only intended to put on a show in front of Zhang Yue, threatening Xu Daya into backing down and leaving. But now, as Zhang Yue recited the laws of the Ming Dynasty one after another, his heart began to pound rapidly. Looking at the people around him, he saw that everyone had lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound. He immediately concluded that Zhang Yue was using this to establish his authority. Though he understood this, feeling that his own future was bleak, he simply gave up and focused on gritting his teeth, thinking about what to do next.

“Your Excellency, I’m just a humble middlewoman; I certainly never engaged in human trafficking! I don’t know all these laws—I just followed what others did. There are many such people in Guangzhou Prefecture, and besides…”

Seeing Zhang Yue’s icy expression, Xu Daya became extremely panicked. Gritting his teeth, he tried to implicate others, and if that didn’t work, he planned to bring up his backers to pressure this young official. But then he saw Zhang Yue already walking slowly toward him. Kneeling on the ground, she felt the condescending gaze was humiliating, and she swallowed the rest of what she wanted to say.

“I haven’t taken office yet, so I naturally can’t interfere with you. But since I’ve run into this, I have to deal with it! Someone, take her away to the Provincial Administration Office!” With that, Zhang Yue turned to Qin Huaijin and bowed, saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you today, Eunuch Qin. But I don’t have time for more talk now. I’ll visit you again another day to seek your advice!”

Seeing Zhang Yue lead the way out, a burly man stepped forward and grabbed the limp Xu Daya like a bird caught in a net. Another man politely gestured to the girl who called herself Jiu Niang. In moments, they all left, leaving Qin Huaijin feeling a chill sweep over him. He had heard of Zhang Yue’s ruthlessness before, but it was said that he usually started gentle before becoming harsh. He had never shown such an aggressive attitude from the start. Could it be that becoming a high-ranking official made him even more domineering?

“Never mind. What’s the point of worrying about others when my own future is uncertain? Right now, there’s only him as the Left Provincial Administrator in Guangdong. The Right Provincial Administrator, Xiang Shaoyuan, is too sick to handle affairs. Who else can stand against him? As for those foreigners… they’re even less of a threat! My own problems are the most important. But what should I do?”

He went to welcome his superior, only to find his family instead; the superior himself had gone to Huaiyuan Post Station. Naturally, the officials under the governor were all puzzled. What surprised them even more was that two hours later, although Zhang Yue arrived, he brought along two unexpected people as well. After hearing the reason, Xu Tao, the left vice governor, sighed in relief, though he disapproved deeply, yet showed none of it on his face. He immediately ordered the guards to lock Xu Daya up in prison and had a vacant room prepared for Jiu Niang at the interrogation office. When he heard Zhang Yue say that the case would be handled by the interrogation office after the handover was completed, he agreed without hesitation.

Since the previous left governor had been demoted for crimes and the right governor, Xiang Shaoyuan, was on sick leave, Xu Tao took care of all the handover procedures that day. The procedures were relatively simple. After finally receiving the silver seal of a second-rank governor, three inches wide and seven fen thick, Zhang Yue weighed its heavy presence before solemnly placing it on the right side of the desk.

“Your subordinate pays respects to your Excellency.”

After seeing the officials below complete their formal salutation, Zhang Yue, who had been sitting there, raised his hand to signal them to stand up. Once everyone sat down in order, he didn’t waste time on pleasantries and said directly, “Since I have taken on the role of governor of Guangdong, I must do my best to fulfill my duties. I hope everyone will cooperate fully. That’s all for today. Starting from tomorrow, we will attend work as usual—please don’t be late.”