Chapter 1: The Ruined Kiln Fires Again

The sun had barely risen when the threshold of the Old Brick Kiln in South City creaked underfoot.

Master Zhou arrived first. He crouched by the kiln mouth, reached inside to feel the walls, and pulled his hand back covered in black ash.

"It's dead." He wiped the ash on his trouser leg. "The inner walls are cracked and the flues are blocked. Any brick fired in here would crumble if you so much as pinched it."

Yu Wan unwound the cloth from her shoulder, spread it across the stone table in front of the kiln, and pulled several sheets of paper from her bodice.

The papers showed cross-sections of the kiln, rendered in precise, thin lines.

"The flues are blocked because no one has cleared the ash in three years," she said, pointing to the diagrams. "Three days of digging and they'll be clear."

"They won't," Master Zhou shook his head. "The bottom layer has collapsed."

"Then we dig one layer deeper."

Master Zhou looked up at her.

"Miss, do you have any idea how many hands it takes to dig a layer?"

"How many?"

"Twelve men. Seven days."

"Then twelve men for seven days."

Master Zhou gave a bitter little laugh. "Miss, are you paying?"

Yu Wan didn't answer. She folded the papers and tucked them back into her clothes.

"I'll provide the bricks."

"Where are the bricks coming from?"

"We'll fire them."

"Firing bricks takes wood and coal." Master Zhou pointed to the pile of rotting timber behind the kiln. "That lot isn't enough for a single batch."

Yu Wan walked over, crouched by the woodpile, and sifted through it before pulling out a piece to inspect.

"It's enough," she said. "Enough to fire a batch of small bricks to fill those three gaps."

"Those gaps need City Bricks. Small bricks won't fit."

"They'll fit." She tossed the wood back. "Fill the joints with Rice Paste. Layer by layer, brick and paste. It'll be denser than a solid brick."

Master Zhou remained silent.

He crouched there, staring at the pile of rotting wood for a long time.

"I fired bricks in this kiln back when your father was the overseer," he said suddenly. "He used to stand right there at the mouth and tell me, 'Master Zhou, fire them through. If they aren't fired through, I don't want them.'"

"He was right."

"He was." Master Zhou stood up and brushed the mud off his knees. "But he only talked the talk. When it actually came time to tear down the dyke and rebuild it, he didn't have the nerve to do it."

He glanced at Yu Wan.

"You've got more nerve than he did."

Outside the kiln, the sky had brightened. Someone carrying a shoulder pole walked past the alley entrance, shouting a greeting as they faded into the distance.

Yu Wan spread the final sheet of paper on the stone table.

"Twelve men. Have them ready by this afternoon."

"Finding men is easy," Master Zhou said. "But the money? Twelve men for seven days—wages, food, rice, lime. None of that's free."

"I'll get it."

"From whom?"

"The Marquis Manor."

Master Zhou didn't respond. He picked up a fragment of a broken brick, weighed it in his hand, and tossed it aside.

"The threshold of the Marquis Manor," he said, "is higher than the mouth of this kiln."

Yu Wan gathered her papers.

"High or not, I'm going in."

***

In the main hall of the Marquis Manor, the ledgers were spread across the desk.

Madam Liu sat behind the desk while the accountant stood to the side, reporting line by line.

"...Last month, the eldest miss withdrew eighty taels."

Madam Liu's hand paused.

"For what?"

"She said—" The accountant swallowed hard. "She said it was for repairing the dyke."

"Repairing the dyke." Madam Liu snapped the ledger shut, pressing it flat against the desk. "Since when did the Ministry of Works' business become the Marquis Manor's concern?"

No one in the hall answered.

Footsteps sounded outside the curtain. A maid lifted the fabric, and Yu Wan stepped inside.

She was still wearing the same clothes from the previous night; her cuffs were stained with mud, and her hair was held up by a single wooden pin.

Madam Liu swept a glance over her, her brow furrowing instantly.

"So you finally decided to come home."

"Mother." Yu Wan bowed. "I need to withdraw funds."

"How much?"

"Three hundred taels."

Madam Liu let out a short laugh. She pushed the teacup beside her slightly and spoke slowly. "Three hundred taels. Do you have any idea what the annual income of the Marquis Manor is?"

"I do."

"And you still have the gall to ask." Madam Liu pushed the ledger toward the edge of the desk. "Your mother's dowry was merged into the family coffers long ago. For years, this house has provided your food, your clothes, and your education. Now, with one sentence, you want three hundred taels to fill a river?"

"I am withdrawing my mother's dowry."

"Your mother's dowry was used to plug a hole three years ago." Madam Liu's voice was calm and measured. "When your father repaired the West City dyke, he ran a deficit of four hundred taels. Who covered it? I did." She raised a hand, pointing to herself. "I used my own private funds."

"Those four hundred taels went through the Ministry of Works' accounts."

"The Ministry's accounts, your father's deficit." Madam Liu looked at her. "Can you really tell the difference?"

The hall fell silent. The accountant lowered his head, wishing he could shrink behind one of the pillars.

Yu Wan stood still for a moment, then pulled a piece of paper from her bodice, unfolded it, and placed it on the desk.

It was a list.

"This is the inventory of my mother's dowry, filed with the government office," she said. "Twenty acres of land, two storefronts, and twelve hundred taels in cash. Every cent moved over the years is recorded in the manor's books."

Madam Liu's expression darkened.

"You've been auditing the books?"

"I'm not auditing." Yu Wan took the list back. "I'm asking one question—how much of my mother's dowry is left?"

Madam Liu didn't answer immediately. She took a sip of tea before speaking slowly. "How much is left requires a verification."

"How long will that take?"

"I'll tell you once it's verified."

"How long?"

Madam Liu slammed the teacup onto the desk, her voice sharpening. "Yu Wan. You are an unmarried girl. You run out of the house before dawn and come back to settle accounts with me. Do you have any idea how people look at you?"

"I don't care how people look at me."

"You might not, but the Marquis Manor does." Madam Liu stood up. "If you run off again, I'll lock your courtyard gate."

Yu Wan looked at her.

"If Mother locks the door, I'll climb the wall."

Madam Liu's face went pale.

"You—"

"Three hundred taels. I want them today," Yu Wan said. "If you don't give them to me, I'll file a petition with the government office and let the officials decide."

The hall was deathly quiet.

Madam Liu stared at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

"Fine," she said. "If you want an official ruling, we'll have one. Go back to your room. I'll give you my answer tomorrow."

Yu Wan bowed and turned to leave.

As the curtain fell, Madam Liu stood still for a moment before turning to the accountant. "Go. Find the brokers for the brick kilns in South City."

"Madam?"

"And go to the Ministry of Works. Give a message to Director Li." Madam Liu's voice was very soft. "Tell him the eldest miss of the Marquis Manor was at the dyke last night, privately altering the official construction methods."

The accountant froze.

"Madam, this..."

"Just go."

***

By afternoon, the dyke was crowded.

When Yu Wan arrived, twenty or thirty people had already gathered. They were all local residents who had been terrified by the water last night and had come to see what was happening.

Master Zhou and eleven other men were currently setting up scaffolding.

As Yu Wan approached, someone in the crowd spoke up.

"That's her."

"The one bossing people around on the dyke last night—that's the girl."

"The daughter of the Marquis Manor? What does she know about dykes?"

"I heard her mother died the year she was born. That kind of person..."

The speaker was cut off as someone tugged their sleeve, stopping them from finishing.

Yu Wan heard it. She didn't look back. Instead, she knelt and picked up an old brick used for padding the gaps the night before.

The brick had been soaking all night; the edges were already soft. A flick of her fingernail scraped off a layer of powder.

She held the brick up.

"This brick was part of the original dyke," she said. "One night in the water, and this is what happens."

The crowd quieted down.

"Bricks like this are built into the heart of the dyke." She let go, and the brick hit the ground, splitting in two. "Once the water soaks them, they crumble. Once they crumble, the dyke becomes hollow. Once it's hollow, it collapses."

"Then what do you suggest?" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Replace the bricks."

"With what?"

"New bricks. Fully fired new bricks that won't soften after three days of soaking."

"Easy for you to say!" a dark-faced man stepped forward. "How many bricks does it take to replace them? How much will it cost? Are you paying?"

"I am."

"How much are you paying?"

"I'll cover the first three gaps," Yu Wan said. "Once they're filled, you can see for yourselves. In three days, I'll put the old bricks we removed right here and the new bricks right next to them. One set in water, one set out. You'll see at a glance whose bricks crumble and whose don't."

The crowd began to mutter.

The dark-faced man started to speak again, but an old woman beat him to it. "I think it's a fair deal."

"Mother—"

"Shut up." The old woman leaned on her cane and stepped forward. "The water reached my doorstep last night. Who was the one who dragged you up onto the dyke?"

The man went silent.

"I asked you a question."

"...It was her," the man muttered. "She had people pull me up."

The old woman huffed and turned to Yu Wan.

"Miss," she said, "if you need bricks, I've got two hundred stacked in my backyard. My late husband fired them years ago, and they've never been used. If you want them, come take them."

The crowd paused.

Then someone else shouted, "I've got some too!"

"I have a few dozen!"

"I've got half a kiln of under-fired ones—can those be used?"

"Yes," Yu Wan stood up. "The under-fired ones, I'll re-fire."

She turned to the eleven men on the dyke.

"Get the scaffolding up. We fill the first gap today."

***

By the time the sun began to dip west, the first gap was filled.

The Rice Paste was poured in, new bricks were pressed in one by one, and the joints were smoothed over.

Master Zhou pressed his hand against the surface and looked back at Yu Wan.

"It's stable."

The crowd hadn't dispersed yet.

A young wife stepped forward, holding a bowl of water.

"Miss, have some water."

Yu Wan took it and drank. "Thank you."

"I... earlier..." The woman blushed. "I only heard things from others."

"From whom?"

"Just... the rumors in the alley." She lowered her voice. "They say the eldest miss of the Marquis Manor has a 'hard fate'—that she cursed her own mother to death. Now she's come here to mess with the dyke; they say she's trying to invite the floods into the Capital City."

Yu Wan's hand paused.

"Who in the alley said that?"

"I don't know," the woman shook her head. "It just started spreading this morning. Even the storytellers are talking about it."

***

When darkness fell, Yu Wan walked back from the dyke.

Master Zhou followed a few paces behind.

Seven or eight people were standing at the alley entrance.

In the center was a man in a blue cloth robe who looked like a clerk, holding a piece of paper.

The people behind him were carrying things—rotten vegetable leaves, clumps of mud, broken tiles.

Yu Wan stopped.

"Miss Yu." The clerk stepped forward and unfurled the paper. "By order of Director Li of the Ministry of Works: the unauthorized alteration of construction methods on the dyke must cease immediately. You are to await investigation."

"Unauthorized?"

"The dyke is an official dyke; the methods are official methods." The clerk rolled up the paper. "You tampered with the dyke last night, violating three hundred years of regulation. If something goes wrong, who takes the blame?"

"If I hadn't acted last night, there would be no dyke today."

"That's your problem." The clerk stepped back half a pace, raising his voice. "Everyone hear this! This lady of the Marquis Manor privately altered the official dyke! If it collapses, it's your homes that will be destroyed!"

The crowd grew agitated.

"She cursed her own mother to death!"

"A jinx like that dares to touch the dyke!"

A clump of mud flew through the air, smashing against the wall by Yu Wan's feet and shattering.

Master Zhou stepped forward, but Yu Wan raised a hand to stop him.

She stood there, motionless.

Along both sides of the alley, doors cracked open. People peeked out, then quickly retreated.

"She's actually smiling!" someone yelled. "The jinx is smiling!"

Yu Wan was indeed smiling.

She reached up, unwound the mud-stained cloth from her shoulder, shook it out, and draped it back.

Then she spoke. Her voice wasn't loud, but the alley was silent, and everyone heard her.

"Three days," she said. "In three days, come and look at the bricks. See whose crumble and whose don't."

She took a step forward.

The person holding the vegetable leaves took a step back.

"If my bricks crumble too—" Yu Wan said, "I'll kneel right here, and you can throw whatever you want at me."

No one spoke.

She continued walking.

The crowd parted on its own.

The clerk tried to say something else, but Yu Wan had already passed him.

As she left the alley, she looked back at the dyke.

The lamps were still lit. Master Zhou's men were staying behind to keep watch through the night.

"Uncle Zhou."

"Hmm?"

"Tomorrow morning, go to East City and find the lime seller," Yu Wan said. "Tell him the Marquis Manor wants three hundred pounds on credit."

"Credit?"

"Credit," she said. "In three days, I'll pay him back with interest."

Master Zhou looked at her.

"What if the bricks actually crumble in three days?"

Yu Wan readjusted the cloth on her shoulder.

"They won't."

She walked on.

The seven or eight people at the alley entrance remained where they were; no one followed.

Only a faint voice drifted from behind her, though she couldn't tell who said it—

"That thing about kneeling... was she serious?"

The wind blew in from the south, carrying the scent of wet earth.

Yu Wan didn't look back. She knew that if Madam Liu could summon one clerk, she could summon a second.

Three days.

Within three days, she had to get that kiln fired.

And deep in the alley, behind a half-open door, someone asked in a low whisper:

"Can the one from the Marquis Manor really pull strings at the Ministry of Works?"