Character Index
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Lord of the Liang clan, younger-brother of Liang Shen, and a member of Kayla's faction.
Liang Shen: Minister of Justice, former Lord of the Liang clan, a member of Xianchun's faction.
Young Lady Jun: Daughter of Minister Jun (Ministry of Personnel). Her family is aligned with Xianchun, and she was a member of Xianchun's harem in the original story. In the original timeline, Young Lady Jun became the Empress Dowager as the mother of the child Emperor after Xianchun's death.
Lady Yue: Wife of Yue Wuxuan, the governor of Anling County. She is related to the Liang clan and thus her and her daughter were spared from execution. The information she provided to Minister Liang helped to overthrow He Shirang, who was then a member of the Grand Duke's faction.
Liu Boyue: Zhou Xianchun's strategist and right-hand man. He reconciled with Xianchun after Kayla's arrest threw the Seventh Prince into confusion.
Ji Fangluo: A bold and sharp-minded woman who allied with Qu Boyong to help him take revenge after her father was forced into the plot, but has since chosen to step out of the picture due to the impending birth of her third child and her unwillingness to engage further with what she rightfully judged to be a more chaotic and tumultuous political situation. Unfortunately for her, neither Kayla nor Wei Guang are satisfied with her decision.
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer and Kayla's godfather, he is now allies with Kayla instead of a more paternalistic relationship.
Housekeeper Li: Formerly known as Matron Li, a servant faithful to Wenyuan.
Sir Yang: An elderly eunuch who serves the Empress Dowager, he was recalled from an early health-related retirement to deal with Kayla.
Princess Ashina: Princess of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and Kayla's wife-to-be.
Princess Chengxia: Daughter of the Archduke of Wei and the Emperor's niece. She was sent to marry into the Khaganate as part of a bilateral marriage alliance.
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince. He was involved in the Grand Duke's death, but has since come to realize that Kayla's interests are not aligned with his own.
Accountant Wu: The Zhao clan's accountant.
Sun Zhong'e: One of Kayla's employees, a middle-aged woman who is well-versed in a variety of skills. She was sent to assist Hu Qing with his reinstatement.
Housekeeper Wang: The Grand Duke's housekeeper. Kayla had him killed during her coup against the Grand Duke.
Zhao Chao: One of Kayla's employees. NOT a member of the Zhao clan.
Zhao Wei: Former Minister of War and one of Wenyuan's uncles, a pillar of the Grand Duke's faction who decided to switch sides to Kayla and step down from his position to leave the capital.
----------------------------------------
Hu Qing drummed his fingers on the sandalwood desk, waiting for Wenyuan to answer his communication device. He didn’t need to wait long before Wenyuan’s face appeared before him.
“Hu Qing, how are you doing? I heard the notarization went smoothly,” Wenyuan greeted him.
“Everything went well, thanks to your preparations. My brother agreed to place Lady Yue and her daughter under my care,” Hu Qing reported. “I went about it the way you told me to–he found my request much more agreeable after refusing my idea to marry Miss Jun first.”
“Good. He didn’t suspect anything?” Wenyuan asked.
“No. He didn’t realize what it means yet, but he’ll realize it soon,” Hu Qing said. “I think I’ve thrown him for so many loops in a row that he can’t get his bearings, so there’s a little delay in his judgment from usual.”
“Liu Boyue will realize the second he hears of it, but there won’t be much that Minister Liang can do by then,” Wenyuan said. “Technically, as the Lord of the clan, you could make it happen with or without him, but by using him to do it, you bind him to you. Lady Yue and her daughter are symbols and evidence of his allegiance to the Seventh Prince–having them under your control gives you control over him as well.”
“I doubt he’ll be happy about it,” Hu Qing said, feeling more weary than entertained at the thought. “How about you? What did the Seventh Prince want?”
“Not much, just accusing me of treason and conspiracy,” Wenyuan said drily. “I’m pretty sure he’s figured out that I played him by now.”
“And the hell does he want to do about it?” Hu Qing asked.
“He says he’ll be watching our every move. We’ll have to be much more careful,” Wenyuan said. “I need to hurry up and bind Ji Fangluo to me before he gets ahold of her.”
Hu Qing nodded.
“Another thing–I planned to continue working with Wei Guang for the time being, but we might need to seriously start considering getting rid of him,” Wenyuan said solemnly. “I believe he leaked information to the Seventh Prince.”
“What? To the Seventh Prince also? Is this guy a bamboo basket that he keeps leaking everywhere?” Hu Qing asked in disbelief. He caught sight of the glint in Wenyuan’s eyes, recognizing the near-feral fury. Wenyuan was growing more aggressive by the day ever since he returned to the capital, and Hu Qing was all for it.
Damn, Wei Guang. Good luck you old codger.
“What do you plan to do?” Hu Qing asked.
“Not sure yet, but I’m not going to just let go of this. That old codger thinks he’s the messiah of this nation when he’s just some guy!” Wenyuan snarled. “He’s made me bend over backwards to prove myself. I went to prison because of him! I’ve already treated him with enough courtesy. Either he gets in line or I’m going to tear his throat out and eat his corpse!”
“Hey now,” Hu Qing cut in, his voice laced with alarm. Wenyuan gave him a beleaguered look, reluctantly accepting the rebuke.
“You can’t eat his corpse, it could ruin your stomach,” Hu Qing said with emphasis. “But if you want to take him out of the game, then that’s your decision. I’ll just follow your lead. What about the others?”
Wenyuan heaved a sigh, his temper ironically cooling down now that Hu Qing was fanning the flames. “Forget it, I’ll just give him a warning and find some way to up the ante on him. But knowing Wei Guang, he probably has a bigger goal in mind. I just need to make it clear that I need to be in the know, or I’ll burn through them without hesitation.”
Hu Qing nodded. “Anything I can do?”
“I’ll think of a plan first,” Wenyuan replied. “Honestly, Wei Guang and I should have the perfect basis for an alliance, given our assurances of mutual destruction, but he keeps acting like he’s the only one who has cards in his hands. I reckon it’s time I gave him a proper reminder of what he has to lose.”
He quickly lowered her voice as he heard footsteps in the corridor. A knock sounded on the door.
“Please pardon the interruption, my lord. A messenger is here from the palace and wishes to speak with you,” Housekeeper Li’s voice rang out, muffled by her distance from the device.
Wenyuan exchanged a quick glance with Hu Qing.
“Of course, please show him in,” Wenyuan replied.
“I have to go now, watch out for yourself,” Wenyuan said to Hu Qing, who nodded and closed the communication device.
----------------------------------------
Kayla tucked away her communication device and stood up, making her way around the desk to greet the palace’s messenger. The door opened, and a familiar face appeared.
“Apologies for intruding upon you so late at night, Your Grace,” the elderly eunuch said with a bow of his head.
“Sir Yang,” Kayla greeted him with a little bit of surprise. She hadn’t seen the man since she’d last gone to the Imperial Princess’ villa. “It’s no trouble at all, I’m glad to see you in good health.”
Sir Yang gave her a polite smile. “Thank you, Your Grace.” He retrieved a scroll from his robes, handing it over to Kayla with both hands.
“Knowing that you must be busy, I won’t take up too much of your time. Her Highness the Empress Dowager has instructed me to deliver this to you,” Sir Yang said.
Kayla took the scroll. “Thank you. May I open it now?”
“Please do so.”
Sir Yang took a step back demurely. The movement set off an alarm bell in the back of Kayla’s mind. She carefully unrolled the document, her mind instantly blanking at the vertical rows of numbers.
Kayla stared at the scroll for a second.
This is a bill for the Treasury, Kayla realized, cold unease curling up in her stomach. She had expected someone from the Treasury to turn up sooner or later after the Empress Dowager’s warning, and though this was a little early, Kayla had a head start on the accounts.
This, however, didn’t feel like a notice of imminent seizure of the Grand Duke’s assets.
The numbers are huge, Kayla’s brows furrowed as she took them in. More concerning than the numbers, though, was that nowhere on the document was the Grand Duke’s name written.
Fuck, this isn’t good.
“Sir Yang, can you kindly educate me on the implications? I’m afraid that I’m rather lost,” Kayla said. She had a good idea of what was going on, but couldn’t bring herself to wrap her mind around it.
Sir Yang’s face remained in its polite mask.
“I would not dare to educate Your Grace. But to explain the situation, this means that the debts owed to the Treasury are under the Zhao clan’s name and not the Grand Duke’s,” Sir Yang replied. “The Treasury has run the books and found this to be the total amount of funds that were misdirected from the Department of State Affairs, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, and regional disaster relief packages. Given the vast amount of misdirected funds, even the minimal punishment would go beyond the forfeiture of the Grand Duke’s personal assets. Moreover, many of the funds were funneled through the Zhao clan rather than through his position as the Central Secretariat.”
“So this bill isn’t for him, but for us,” Kayla said cautiously, looking at Sir Yang for confirmation.
“The Zhao clan must pay the required sum or be subject to forfeiture of all assets up to the total amount of debt,” Sir Yang affirmed.
“And these are…” Kayla gestured at the numbers at the end.
“The fines for bribery and abuse of power,” Sir Yang explained.
Kayla looked at the numbers, watching them tally up to an astronomical sum in her mind's eye before nodding.
“I see,” she replied.
“Your Grace, I understand how busy you are with the investigation, but this must be dealt with quickly before it casts doubts upon your credibility,” Sir Yang said, his voice gentle. “Please note that if it cannot be paid in full, then the court may forcibly seize the entirety of the Zhao clan’s assets, including that of your personal property and inheritance. Should that fail to cover the balance, then members of the Zhao clan may be subject to corvée.”
There was no malice in his words, which somehow made things worse.
“I understand,” Kayla forced the words out in a natural tone. “May I ask what you recommend in terms of a time frame?”
“I would recommend finishing this matter within two weeks, Your Grace,” Sir Yang replied. “It would be best to deal with this before going to the border to welcome your bride.”
“Excuse me, what?” Kayla demanded. She quickly caught herself.
“I believe I haven’t heard the details of that yet, could you fill me in?” Kayla remedied.
“Her Highness, Princess Ashina of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, will be arriving in the capital three weeks prior to the wedding. As Her Highness Princess Chengxia has been received with great honors at the border by her future groom and father-in-law, we must also reciprocate to demonstrate our sincerity and goodwill,” Sir Yang said.
“But of course, that much is only to be expected. May I ask when this was decided?” Kayla asked.
“Three days ago, my lord.”
Sir Yang’s matter-of-fact tone told Kayla everything she needed to know.
The Empress Dowager did this on purpose. She didn’t even fucking tell me! This is such shit timing, I have way less time than I thought. How long does it even take? It’ll definitely be slower given it’s the princess and her entire entourage. Damn it! Fuck. What about Hu Qing? I only just made him a lord and shit, not to mention Xianchun being back on his bullshit–Kayla forcibly stopped that line of thought before it spiraled out of control and turned her attention back to the eunuch before her.
“How long will you expect it to take? I would like to make arrangements for the investigation in advance,” Kayla asked.
“Getting to the border will only take three days, but escorting the princess to the capital may take about a week, if not longer,” Sir Yang explained. “Local officials and military officers, as well as the chieftains of the steppe tribes will come to give their greetings and offer their congratulations as part of the border diplomacy initiative.”
“Of course,” Kayla said, running the mental calculations in her head.
Ten days, that’s not bad. No wait, that’s actually not even enough. This is my chance to establish my connections in the border region, face-to-face is far more reliable than going through a bunch of different intermediaries and patrons in hopes of gaining any support.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Two weeks wasn’t enough for her to get all the information she needed to navigate the border region properly, not without spending ridiculous amounts of money.
That I don’t fucking have if we need to pay this. Fuck.
“Then I will take my leave,” Sir Yang said, bowing his head slightly.
“Thank you for coming all this way,” Kayla replied automatically. “My housekeeper will escort you out.”
Sir Yang bowed his head and stepped out. The door closed behind him, and Kayla was left alone in the study again with an insane amount of debt. It was the second time she’d ended up in a position like this, but at least Kayla had gotten a degree out of the first one. This, though, was just the palace trying to screw her over. She suddenly had the urge to claw into the wood of the desk and dig out whatever shreds of the Grand Duke that remained to beat into a pulp.
There was a knock on the door again, Kayla recognizing it as Housekeeper Li from the rhythm alone.
“Come in,” Kayla called before Housekeeper Li could say anything. The older woman entered, a look of barely hidden concern on her face.
“My lord,” Housekeeper Li said.
“Where is Accountant Wu?” Kayla asked.
“I believe he has turned in for the night,” Housekeeper Li replied.
“I need to speak with him.”
Something must have shone through on Kayla’s face, and Housekeeper Li hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Of course, my lord. I will call for him right away. But I do believe that he was only hired a few years ago, after the previous accountant died of a sudden…illness. He may have limited expertise on matters that occurred prior to his arrival.”
Recognition hit Kayla with a painful jolt. Is she trying to protect him? From me? Seriously, what the fuck? She bit down on the immediate irritation that threatened to roll off her tongue and took a deep breath.
“I understand,” Kayla replied. “Kindly call for him nonetheless, I am in need of his expertise.”
Housekeeper Li seemed to relax minutely at the change in Kayla’s expression, bowing her head slightly before she left, returning momentarily with a befuddled Accountant Wu in tow.
“My lord,” Accountant Wu said, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Thank you for coming over so late at night, Accountant Wu. I had a few questions about the state of our books,” Kayla said. “It’s been a few days since you started, no? What is the situation?”
She had received a few reports here and there from Sun Zhong’e that suggested a reasonable amount of progress, but Kayla hadn’t paid that much thought to the matter, too occupied with stabilizing her political position after getting stabbed in the back.
Accountant Wu seemed to shake off his sleep immediately. “About that…My lord, I had hoped to finish combing through what records I could find before reporting it to you, given how busy you were with the investigation. There is much work still left undone, and I’ve been working slower without Miss Sun to help me.”
Kayla had chosen not to bring on additional accountants to preserve confidentiality, but she was starting to regret that now.
“So you’re not done with the books from previous years,” Kayla muttered.
“Indeed, Housekeeper Wang handled them for the most part and only had me run the final calculations when he was done,” Accountant Wu admitted. “And I would ask him about it, but…”
But I hung him in a supply closet. Right.
“That’s alright. I just need a basic picture of what we’re working with here,” Kayla said, trying to keep her voice as un-intimidating as possible. “I’ve gotten a few glimpses in chunks and pieces, but I need a clearer image. It’s fine if we don’t have everything precisely calculated just yet, but tell me, how much are the total assets and how much of it is the Grand Duke’s?”
Kayla knew that she had at least fifteen thousand silver in cash left from Wenyuan’s savings, along with twice that much in brocade and jewels. And that didn’t even include Wenyuan’s inheritance from the Imperial Princess. The Zhao clan’s assets should be worth tens of millions of silver, if not more than that, especially when counting the buildings they had across the country.
The problem is the Grand Duke’s fucked up way of managing all that. There’s almost eight million worth of debt to the National Treasury, and that doesn’t even include the fines. Trying to navigate that in two weeks? It’ll be rough as hell.
Much of the clan’s assets weren’t under the Grand Duke’s name alone. Wrestling it out of the various clan members would be a nightmare.
And in two weeks–right when I’m shorthanded on staff…I can force their hands, but the aftermath will be a mess. Cutting off someone’s path to fortune is like killing their parents, I’ll either have to butter them up real good or kill them. Fuck, this must be what the palace was hoping for.
Kayla took a deep breath and glanced expectantly at Accountant Wu.
“The total assets are worth four million, but if you include the properties in Jiangnan and in Chang’an that you inherited, then it’s worth about six million. Including our capital estate, it would be worth eight and a half million. And of it, the Grand Duke’s personal assets is two-hundred thousand silver, excluding real estate,” Accountant Wu reported.
“Wait, what?” Kayla asked sharply. “We only have four million in liquid assets?”
She never thought she would use the term “only” for millions, but it simply didn’t make sense.
They took an insane amount of bribes and cuts from every disaster relief package under the sun, how the hell is there only eight and a half million? That doesn’t even cover the total amount we owe, even if I sell the fucking estate!
Accountant Wu looked vaguely uncomfortable. “W-well, there is about ten million more in assets under the names of various in-laws, but that would be…well…it would be almost impossible to extricate without a lawsuit or evidence that it belonged to the Zhao clan, and even then, the evidence would be…damaging, to say the least. If the Grand Duke were still alive, then it could be extricated, but now…it’ll be much more difficult.”
“That can’t be all of it. Does he have it funneled through a shell company or something? Money laundering?” Kayla demanded.
“Pardon, my lord? I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Accountant Wu said in bewilderment.
“Right, right.” Kayla took a deep breath, meeting Housekeeper Li’s worried eyes.
“My lord, how much do we owe?” Housekeeper Li asked hesitantly.
“Eight million and seven hundred thousand eighty nine silver, to be paid to the Treasury within two weeks,” Kayla said grimly.
“You wouldn’t have enough even if we sold the capital estate, no one would buy it right now, not when there’s an active investigation into the Grand Duke’s crimes. There might be some buyers for the Jiangnan and Chang’an estates, but it would be sold for much lower than the actual worth. What about the in-laws? We can force them to relinquish the money,” Housekeeper Li said, urgency lacing her voice.
Kayla shook her head. “In such a short time? It’s more difficult than pulling out someone’s tooth to get them to relinquish even a small amount of what we need, especially when they know I’m investigating them. The only way I’d be able to succeed is if I agreed to let go of their crimes in exchange, and then I would just be following in my grandfather’s footsteps. Once I do that, they’ll never let go of it. They’ll use a one-time capitulation to get more and more out of me, and then what? Do I become the next Grand Duke, parasite of the nation, spat upon by the crowd? No, forget that, will the palace even let me keep my life if they think I’d headed that way?”
Accountant Wu looked extremely uncomfortable, the realization that he was way out of his depth and security clearance level written all over his face.
“Then what do we do, my lord? Your wedding is coming up soon,” Housekeeper Li asked.
“And I’m to head to the border in two weeks to welcome my bride, a decision made without my knowledge or consent three days ago,” Kayla said grimly. “I think I know what the palace is doing.”
“I’ll wait outside,” Accountant Wu said in a small voice.
“Stay,” Kayla ordered. She fixed him with a firm stare. “You’re part of this now, aren’t you?”
“But my lord, this is beyond my abilities as a mere accountant,” Accountant Wu said weakly.
“Is this your first day in the Zhao household? You knew what risks came with accepting your position. Do not think to bow out now,” Kayla said, her voice deceptively gentle. “I need you here, and I trust you to be here. If you wish to betray that trust, then you may leave.”
Accountant Wu gulped and stayed where he was.
Kayla turned her attention back to Housekeeper Li. “The first possibility is that the palace wants to force me to make a deal with the in-laws, and then the investigation will charge those guys regardless without implicating me. This way, they will once again have something to hold over me for the duration of my career. The second possibility is that they wish for me to use my mother’s dowry so as not to leave me with independent wealth that I could use. No matter which one it is, they would still give me a hefty wedding gift that allows me to maintain some degree of credibility before the Khaganate while also plunging me further into their debt so that they may bankrupt me at any moment. Either way, they’d tighten their hold. What do you think?”
“You could borrow money from the Imperial Edict Bearer,” Housekeeper Li suggested, avoiding a direct answer.
“He does not have the funds. He barely has fifty thousand silver to his name. The other option would be to borrow from a prince and thus de-platform myself as a neutral representative of the palace’s interests. The palace would not permit that to happen, and the princes are too smart to accept something so damning for them,” Kayla said.
“Then what should we do?” Accountant Wu asked after a moment of silence.
“The money must have been funneled through some other means–a person, or a business, perhaps. We must find where it went. Housekeeper Li, do you have any ideas?”
“I’m afraid not. The Grand Duke was very secretive, as you know. He would silence someone once every few years so that no one ever stayed long enough to act against him–Housekeeper Wang was the only exception,” Housekeeper Li said apologetically.
“Damn it. It’s fine, I’ll do some more digging,” Kayla sighed.
“Oh, but…” Housekeeper Li trailed off, her brows furrowed.
“What is it? Go on,” Kayla urged her.
“There was a man who would be brought to the residence in utmost secrecy once in a few years, he stopped about ten years ago, but before that, he showed up multiple times over the course of twenty years and still wasn’t silenced,” Housekeeper Li said thoughtfully. “I don’t know what his name is though, or if he’s even still alive.”
“Ten years ago? That was around when the Grand Duke established a satellite base in Anling County,” Kayla murmured. “We need to send someone over to check–if that guy’s still alive, then he’s probably important to all this. Is there anything else you can recall of him? Physical features, accent, anything will do.”
“He wasn’t very tall, but I never heard his voice or saw his face, he was always shrouded in a cloak.”
“What was the cloak like?” Kayla asked.
“I believe it was black brocade, there was embroidery on it, but it was also in a dark shade. He only ever came at night, so it was hard to tell, but I believe it was a bat pattern,” Housekeeper Li replied. “Most of the doormen and guards from that time have already left their posts, but I can try asking around.”
“Alright, please do that. That man must be discreet if he stayed alive for decades under the Grand Duke, but if he goes around in an embroidered brocade cloak, then he’s definitely not all that modest either. If he’s still living in Anling County, his residence will definitely be humble at first glance but quietly luxurious when you take a closer look. Let’s take this in two directions–We’ll try to get the funds together from the Zhao clan’s coffers and the in-laws on one hand, and try to figure out where the hell my grandfather funneled the rest of the money on the other,” Kayla said. “Accountant Wu, you and Housekeeper Li focus on the first one. I’ll take care of the latter. How much funds do I have from my mother’s inheritance?”
“Fifty thousand silver and about ten thousand silver worth of jewels, my lord,” Accountant Wu replied.
Kayla stilled. “What about her estates?”
“Those are listed under the Imperial Family,” Accountant Wu replied.
“Like hell they are,” Kayla snapped before taking a deep breath. “I mean, I’ve never heard of that before. Could you elaborate?”
Accountant Wu complied, looking increasingly uneasy. “It is indeed your inheritance, my lord, but the right to manage the estate belongs to the Imperial Family. In other words, it can’t be sold or made use of without their permission.”
“Of course,” Kayla breathed out slowly, thinking back to how difficult it was to access the Imperial Princess’ villa.
Sixty thousand silver is a lot, but I thought she was rich as hell. Even the poorest Archduke has more than that, and the Imperial Princess was the most favored sibling.
It didn’t help that the Imperial Princess’ dowry was under the management of a matron from the palace rather than an employee within the Zhao clan. Wenyuan was barely allowed access to the account books, and Kayla had only gotten access after becoming a Lord.
I need to do something about that sooner or later, even if it only pisses off the palace more. Fuck.
“Alright, you know what? Make them cough up as much as they can. Don’t make any concessions or deals on my behalf. Just make it very clear to them that it’s already set in stone that they’re going under, but how their family fares in the aftermath depends on their choices,” Kayla ordered.
“As you wish, my lord,” Housekeeper Li said with steel in her voice. Kayla was certain that the older woman would make the clan members and in-laws choke out the money if she had to go in with pliers, and was grateful the fervor was directed towards someone else.
“As you wish, my lord,” Accountant Wu meekly echoed.
Kayla nodded. “Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”
The two understood that they were dismissed, and quickly took their leave. Kayla grabbed her communication device off the corner of the desk.
“Zhao Chao, I need to speak with you right away,” Kayla said into the device before calling someone else. The man on the other end received the call quickly, answering with a befuddled look on his face.
“My lord,” Zhao Wei greeted her cautiously.
“Uncle,” Kayla said pleasantly. “I’m in need of your help.”
----------------------------------------
Cultural Notes
不义之财/Unvirtuous Fortune: An Ancient Chinese phrase that is often used as part of a saying, 不义之财如流水/Unvirtuous fortune is like flowing water. In other words, it may come to you easily, but leaves you easily as well.
竹篮/Bamboo basket: Hu Qing refers to Wei Guang as a bamboo basket in reference to the saying 竹篮打水一场空/Fetching water in a bamboo basket and getting nothing. This allows the term bamboo basket to take on multiple meanings, one that it can't be trusted to hold its contents, and two, that it will end up fruitless for the basket-bearer (i.e., Wei Guang). The usage of phrases or sayings that gain meaning in reference to famous sayings is quite common in China, especially among people who do not have a huge vocabulary of OG proverbs and quotes to draw from at the drop of a hat.
尚书省/Department of State Affairs: The most important of the Three Departments (which then control the Six Ministries). The head of the Department is the Central Secretariat, a position the Grand Duke filled. In actual history, the position of Central Secretariat was so powerful that it was often left unfilled or given to the recognized heir.
抄家/Seizure of clan assets: A punishment in Ancient China often involved for serious crimes, such as severe corruption, plotting against the throne, etc. etc. It was often also a bit of a spectacle as just how much officials had fattened themselves up on public money became clear to everyone. In Kayla's case, this would be a posthumous punishment of the Grand Duke that lands on the Zhao clan (Kayla included) that would severely damage their political and financial position even if it doesn't affect her post.
发配为奴/Subjected to corvee: Another punishment in Ancient China for serious crimes in which family members of the criminal were forced to become indentured servants of the state, which could mean they might be auctioned off on punishing contracts, or forced to become a foot-soldier in the army. In some cases, women and children might be forced to work as indentured servants in the palace, though that might end up giving them more opportunities in the long run. This often applied to family members who were often accomplices or thereby benefited from the crime, as in the case of many men of the Zhao clan, but often innocent people were unfairly punished as well.
The role of wealth in faction building: Money makes the world go round, especially in politics, and Ancient China was no exception, as should be pretty clear in the story by now. A lot of money is required just to get the information needed to establish connections, and that doesn't even cover the gifts and bribes in making those connections solid. Kayla has thus far been exchanging favors instead of bribes. Except for her own staff, she hasn't had to toss any expensive gifts at people to get stuff done, and no one has thrown money at her either. Her patron-client relationship with Sun Ruhui and Chen Caichun are also paid for in services, not in actual money, which is a relationship that's often seen among mentor-mentees or teacher-students. Actually building a power base with people who are on good footing of their own on a regional level (which often means they have more influence in that region than any official from the Central Government could have, even if ranked higher than them) will be a different story.
江南/Jiangnan: A geographic region in China that has historically been an agricultural, cultural, and economic hub, and was known in Ancient China for its abundant rice and fish, its fine embroidery and beautiful maidens (less is said about how the men looked but we're assuming they weren't too bad, since they would be, on average, relatively less malnourished than people from other parts of the country), as well as its seemingly never-ending supply of talented literati and artists.
长安/Chang'an: A city in China that was an important stop on the Silk Road as well as the capital of the Tang Dynasty (as opposed to Luoyang, where the capital is in this story).
比拔牙还难/Harder than pulling out a tooth: A Chinese colloquialism used to signify how difficult it is to get something done, especially when convincing someone else to do it.
断人财路如同杀人父母/Cutting off someone's path to fortune is like killing their parents: A Chinese saying that describes the intensity of hatred you garner by such an action.
国之蛀虫/Parasite of the nation: An Ancient Chinese proverb used to criticize corrupt officials or nobles.
众矢之/Disdained by the crowd: An Ancient Chinese phrase used to describe receiving the disdain and hatred of the populace.
蝙蝠纹/Bat pattern: A pattern used in Ancient China, it symbolizes good look since the phrase 蝙蝠/bat is pronounced *bian fu*, sounding somewhat similar to the words in the saying 遍地是福/***bian** di shi **fu*** (fortune everywhere around). One of the first things that come to mind might be a batman symbol, but the pattern actually looked something like this:
[https://i01piccdn.sogoucdn.com/76cc171f5ff3a523]