Chapter Eleven: The Legendary Auspice
On the morning of May 12th, the county of Chao was still shrouded in a thin mist. As the wooden door of Shen’s Trading House was just pushed open by a clerk, a woman dressed in a plain-colored gown slipped in quietly. She said nothing, only taking a letter from her sleeve and gently placing it on the counter.
The shopkeeper’s expression stiffened when he saw the vermilion seal of the Shen family head on the envelope. He dared not delay and promised to deliver the letter as swiftly as possible.
After leaving the trading house, Jin Chai hurried through the narrow streets of the county, heading toward the iron mine outside the city. Her heart burned with anxiety. It had already been four days, and not a single shovel of ore had been excavated; how could she not be worried?
By the time Jin Chai arrived, the sun had already climbed over the mountain, casting dust clouds across the mining site. From a distance, she saw a crowd gathered at the mine entrance, their voices rising in heated dispute.
“Princess, it’s not that we refuse to obey orders, but the ancestral rules cannot be broken!” a gruff voice rose above the clamoring.
Jin Chai quickened her pace, weaving through the crowd until she finally reached Shen Jifeng standing at the forefront.
She quietly stepped beside him and whispered, “The letter has been sent. They said it will be delivered at the earliest possible moment.”
Shen Jifeng barely nodded, his gaze still fixed on the weathered faces of the craftsmen before him.
Leading them was a man around fifty years old named Zhang Laohan, a master prospector renowned among these workers with the highest prestige. His skin was darkened by the sun, his hands rough as tree bark, and on his thumb he wore a strangely dark ring, neither gold nor jade, its material unidentifiable.
He craned his neck to stare at Xuanyi with stubborn defiance.
“There’s a rule in our trade: no women are allowed into the mines, much less to lead mining operations. Otherwise, it would anger the mountain spirit. At best, the veins vanish; at worst, the mine collapses and people die!”
Zhang Laohan’s words were echoed by all the craftsmen present, even the overseer of the Chao County iron mine nodded repeatedly.
“We knew the silver mine was under a woman’s command, so we wanted to leave of our own accord. But since you tracked us down here, if we don’t go back, we’ll stay put.”
“Exactly. We’re better off here at the iron mine than the silver mine. We’ll work here.”
Shen Jifeng had always thought the disappearance of workers was due to interference from the Ministry of Works, but now she realized the root cause was herself; the Ministry merely went along with the tide.
“So, by your reckoning, if I were to enter the mine today, the whole place would collapse?”
“Exactly!” the craftsmen answered in unison.
Such an absurd reason was as laughable as the sun rising from the west. Yet, seeing their earnest expressions, Shen Jifeng knew they were serious.
“I’ll show you today that a woman entering the mine is no big deal. It won’t sever the veins, nor cause a collapse.”
The iron mine overseer hurried to stop her, “Princess, you must not.”
“What? You believe it too?” Shen Jifeng was not so polite when facing the overseer.
Under her sharp gaze, he yielded and explained pale-faced, “The mine prohibits women’s entry. Many workers don’t even bother wearing clothes to work conveniently. You are of noble blood; it would be improper for you to enter.”
“That’s right. Our trade has lasted thousands of years. When have women ever entered the mines? Hens crowing and roosters laying eggs—such things are bad omens!”
“Exactly, very unlucky!” the surrounding miners echoed.
“What’s wrong with women? The princess carries the imperial edict. If you don’t obey, you defy the emperor’s orders.” Jin Chai stepped forward like a fiercely protective hen shielding her chicks.
The iron mine overseer did not want Shen Jifeng to enter the mine, nor did he wish to offend her, so he took the initiative to disperse the crowd. “Enough talk! The emperor has decreed that the princess take charge of the Xijing silver mine. You all belong to the silver mine. Follow the princess at once. Our temple is small and cannot hold so many people! If there’s more nonsense, you’ll be thrown out!”
Shen Jifeng smiled faintly, the overseer’s stern attitude scored him some goodwill in her book.
Zhang Laohan still refused to relent. “We’re not slaves sold to the silver mine. If things don’t work out, we’ll just quit. Don’t scare people with imperial edicts. I’m a free man who lives by his skills and comes and goes as he pleases.”
This was the headache for Shen Jifeng. At the founding of the Daning kingdom, Emperor Yuanchang had decreed that apart from fixed corvée and taxes, no forced enslavement of the common people was allowed. Offenders were punished by cane or exile. The entire court watched her every move; she could not afford to give anyone a handle to criticize her.
“Zhang Laohan, you say women mining angers the mountain spirit?”
Zhang Laohan still held his neck stiffly. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Fine, then come with me to Tianmeng Mountain and ask the mountain spirit if it agrees to a woman mining.”
Zhang Laohan was taken aback but scoffed, “Princess, don’t joke. How could the mountain spirit be seen by mortals?”
Shen Jifeng’s gaze was calm, but a faint smile curled at her lips. “I say this: if the mountain spirit consents, you shall no longer resist.”
The craftsmen exchanged glances, whispering among themselves. Zhang Laohan furrowed his brow, “If the princess has such power, we have nothing more to say. But if it’s mere trickery…”
Jin Chai listened anxiously beside her and gently tugged her sleeve. “Princess, this…”
Shen Jifeng comforted her with a reassuring pat. “Everyone, prepare to return to Xijing.”
In the carriage, Jin Chai asked anxiously, “Princess, will you really summon the mountain spirit? This is no trivial matter.”
Shen Jifeng sipped her tea and replied lightly, “The mountain spirit is but what people believe in. They have faith, so I’ll give them a reason to believe. Craftsmen are unlike others; from prospecting to mining, washing ore, and smelting, every step depends on them. I must make them willingly follow me so we can refine silver as quickly as possible.”
At dusk, before the altar, a Taoist priest dressed in ritual robes held a yellow talisman at his sword’s tip, which turned to ashes in the flames. Chanting clearly, his voice echoed across the mine.
Suddenly, a rumbling thundered deep within the mine, as if the earth trembled and mountains shook. Everyone was terrified and stepped back.
The priest pointed his sword skyward, loudly intoning, “Mountain spirit, do you consent to a woman mining here?”
“Bang, bang, bang.” Suddenly, seven colorful clouds appeared over the Tianmeng Mountain valley, identical to the auspicious clouds of legend.
“The mountain spirit has manifested!” someone exclaimed, falling to their knees in worship.
Zhang Laohan stared in disbelief, eyes wide, looking at Shen Jifeng in amazement.
On the way back, Jin Chai could no longer contain her curiosity and whispered, “Princess, the mountain spirit…”
Shen Jifeng smiled faintly. “During this year’s New Year, the Fireworks Bureau invented a firework called the Seven-Color Galaxy. But since it wasn’t loud enough, the emperor didn’t favor it. The remaining ones were taken to the manor by Apu, so few have seen them.”
“What about the noise in the mine just now?”
“That’s simple, too. Didn’t you notice Dongyang wasn’t around? That sound was him striking a bronze urn. The earth-shaking sensation was caused by people setting off explosives nearby.”
Jin Chai suddenly understood. “Princess, you’re truly clever!”
Wei Xiao stood in a tree, watching the princess’s carriage leave the mine, and couldn’t help but laugh. Such theatrics—Xijing was becoming more and more interesting.