During the busy agricultural seasons, the local garrison soldiers, in addition to patrolling the county borders and suppressing bandits, occasionally had to assist with farm work on the state-managed public lands (yingtian). Only the winter brought them relative leisure. Furthermore, because of the freezing winter temperatures, the military would increase their training regimens to ward off the cold, thereby minimizing the consumption of valuable firewood and charcoal.
Winter was also the only season in which the imperial court permitted hunting. Under the pretext of training for mountainous warfare, Zhang Zhaoge led her soldiers into the hills to hunt.
She wanted to test whether her newly acquired system skill, “Trap Mastery” was actually useful.
“Is this system trying to train me to become a professional hunter?” Zhang Zhaoge muttered to herself.
Looking at the skills she had obtained so far martial arts, swordsmanship, archery, spearplay, and now this knack for making traps if she ever left the military in the future, she could easily transition into a career as a hunter.
After spending two days in the mountains, every garrison soldier bore a jubilant expression when they returned to camp.
Not every soldier had personally captured game, but many of the beasts had been caught through cooperative efforts, meaning everyone got a share.
It had been a long time since they last tasted meat, and this was finally their chance to feast to their hearts’ content.
However, the object of their deepest admiration and respect was Zhang Zhaoge. She had single-handedly bagged over a dozen prey. Had she not turned a blind eye to certain birds and beasts and let them slip away, her haul would have been even more astronomical.
Naturally, they could never guess her true reasons for letting those animals go. Most of them were species she recognized as state-protected wildlife in her previous life, such as sika deer, muntjacs, river deer, and owls.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t forget to abide by modern wildlife conservation laws even after transmigrating; it was simply that they were too cute, and she couldn’t bring herself to lay a hand on them.
Rabbits were equally cute, of course, but she would still clear out an entire nest in one go.
Rabbits are indeed adorable, but they are undeniably more delicious when seasoned with cumin!
She kept the wild rabbits and pheasants for herself and dragged the wild boars back to the camp to provide a feast for the entire garrison, lest Commander Zheng and the vice-generals of the other two battalions grow resentful.
There was also a leopard. When Zhang Zhaoge stumbled upon it, its body was already cold. Judging by its wounds, it had likely been bitten to death in a clash with a tiger.
This was a stroke of luck free prey dropped right into her lap. Zhang Zhaoge retrieved it and decided to present it to her sworn brother, Du Bingqian.
Although Du Bingqian was no longer her direct superior and could no longer shield her, if she stopped associating with him just because of that, wouldn’t she be a fair-weather, opportunistic snob?
Besides, she had gotten this leopard for nothing. She hadn’t spent any money or exerted any effort, yet she could use it to cultivate a valuable relationship. Why not do it?
When Du Bingqian, located far away in the prefectural seat, received the leopard, he was indeed deeply gratified. He had assumed that his former subordinates would look down on him once they went their separate ways. He never expected that Zhang Zhaoge would still remember to show him respect upon obtaining such a fine prize. Truly, she was a good brother!
Animal pelts especially tiger and leopard skins were extremely precious. A flawless leopard skin could easily be presented as a tribute to the Emperor. While this particular skin was slightly damaged, it was still of immense value.
Zhang Zhaoge had delivered it with great discretion, and Du Bingqian knew better than to make a scene, lest he draw the envy of others.
He quietly skinned the leopard, processed the hide, and hid it away in his private treasury. Then, he sent a messenger back to Zhang Zhaoge, conveying his deep gratitude for having such a loyal brother who kept him in mind, promising that he would find a way to transfer her back to his side eventually.
Zhang Zhaoge: “…”
Please, there is absolutely no need!!!
She was perfectly content with her current life.
Fortunately, Du Bingqian had not yet secured a firm foothold in Ruzhou, so he would not be able to pull any strings behind the scenes anytime soon.
Commander Zheng was also aware of the leopard’s existence, but since Zhang Zhaoge had already distributed three wild boars one of which had been delivered directly to his own home he was too embarrassed to demand a share of the leopard.
Having stuffed their mouths with wild boar, Zhang Zhaoge went ahead and processed the wild pheasants and rabbits with a clear conscience.
Aside from a few rabbits that she roasted and ate on the spot, she cured all the remaining meat.
Remembering that the New Year festival was fast approaching, she set aside two portions of cured game for Dou Ying.
While writing her letters, she also recalled that Cui Yun deserved much of the credit for the rapid progress in her brush calligraphy. She needed to prepare a token of appreciation, so she set aside two portions for Cui Yun as well.
Furthermore, there was Qi Shi, the village chief (Lizheng) of Zhaoping Township, who had intervened to resolve the dispute for Cui Yun on her behalf. She needed to repay that favor as well.
By the time she finished distributing everything, her haul of prey was nearly depleted.
A few days before the Winter Solstice, the cured game hanging outside Zhang Zhaoge’s military tent was finally wind-dried and ready.
As luck would have it, it was her day off. Seeing the snow falling outside, she was too lazy to make her subordinates suffer in the cold and decided to deliver the items herself. Carrying her completed calligraphy practice sheets in one hand and a cured rabbit and pheasant in the other, she set off for Zhaoping Villa.
She was already a familiar face at Zhaoping Villa. The servants and private retinue all recognized her, and seeing her arrive in the middle of a snowstorm, they took the initiative to usher her inside to escape the biting wind.
She did not have to wait long under the eaves before Qingxi escorted her into the front parlor, where a warm brazier was burning.
“The young mistress will be here shortly. Vice-General Zhang, please wait a moment.”
Brushing the snow off her futou cap and unfastening her heavy cloak to hand it to Qingxi, Zhang Zhaoge sat comfortably on a crescent-shaped stool to wait.
Outside the door, the servants were bustled about. After watching them for a while, Zhang Zhaoge noticed they seemed to be preparing for someone to depart on a long journey.
What kind of person would require such a massive entourage for a journey? It could only be their mistress, Cui Yun.
“Is Cui Qi-niang going on a long journey?”
Just as this thought crossed Zhang Zhaoge’s mind, Cui Yun’s figure emerged from behind the screen door of the corridor.
“What is Vice-General Zhang looking at?” Cui Yun asked.
As the two had grown quite familiar with each other, Cui Yun was no longer as polite and aloof as she had been during their initial meetings, and her words were far more direct.
Zhang Zhaoge turned around, a bright smile gracing her face. “Watching the snow.”
She lightly brushed past the topic and asked, “Where is Lady Cui preparing to go?”
Cui Yun took her seat, showing no surprise at how Zhang Zhaoge had deduced her plans, and replied calmly, “I must return to our ancestral home for the Winter Solstice sacrifices. We have been packing our bags these past two days.”
“Nanyang County?”
“Nanyang County is where my eldest uncle holds office. Our branch’s ancestral shrine is located in Dengzhou.”
Cui Yun’s great-grandfather, Cui Wenzhi, had served as the Prefectural Governor (Cishi) of Dengzhou during his lifetime, an official of the upper fourth rank. According to the regulations of the Book of Kaiyuan Rituals (Kaiyuan Li), officials of the fifth rank and above were permitted to erect ancestral shrines.
After Cui Wenzhi took office in Dengzhou, he relocated his entire household there and established their ancestral shrine.
Even though his descendants later dispersed to Dengzhou, Ruzhou, Xiangzhou, and other regions to take up official posts and build their lives, the ancestral temple of the Cui clan remained in Dengzhou. For the annual ancestral sacrifices, every single branch of the Cui family had to send representatives to participate.
The current patriarch of the Cui clan was Cui Yuanfeng. As the eldest son of the primary branch, he held both the legitimate lineage and seniority. After inheriting the ancestral estate, even though there was still an eighty-year-old grand-uncle in the clan, the duties of managing the ancestral shrine, clan fields, and hosting the sacrificial ceremonies fell entirely upon his shoulders.
Thus, Cui Yun’s life at the ancestral estate over the past few years had been no different from living under someone else’s roof.
Zhang Zhaoge thought to herself that these prominent clans certainly had an overwhelming number of rituals and rules.
She did not pry further. Retrieving her calligraphy practice sheets and the cured game, she handed them to Qingxi and said to Cui Yun, “Then I have arrived just in time. Here are the copybooks I am returning to you, along with this cured rabbit and pheasant. I hunted and cured them myself; please accept them as a token of my gratitude.”
“This is far too precious,” Cui Yun politely declined.
“How is this precious? I hunted them in the forest right near your estate, so consider it using the forest’s bounty to show my respect. Besides, my calligraphy has only improved because of the copybooks you lent me. If you truly feel bad about accepting them, then why don’t you lend me another two copybooks?”
With Zhang Zhaoge speaking in such a down-to-earth manner, Cui Yun stopped putting on airs. Accepting the cured game, she returned to the study in the rear hall to fetch two new calligraphy copybooks.