Zhen Yi stared at the officials outside his gate, his face dark with anger.
"Zhang Xin wants to recruit my son?" he snapped. "First he takes my money, and now he wants my son too? Out! All of you, get out!"
The clerk forced a polite smile, clearly embarrassed.
Zhen Yi's chest rose and fell violently before he broke into a fit of coughing.
"My husband," Madam Zhen said softly as she stepped forward to support him, gently patting his back. "Zhang Xin has just become Prefect of Yuyang. If he's inviting Yu'er to serve, perhaps he feels some guilt over what happened before."
She glanced at the officials and added, "Besides, they've come all this way. It wouldn't be proper to turn them away without even hearing what they have to say."
Catching on quickly, the clerk bowed and said, "Sir, my lord intends to appoint your son as a senior accounting clerk."
Zhen Yi froze. "The chief clerk of accounts?"
The position might sound ordinary, but it was anything but. The accounting office handled population records, taxation, and logistics. More importantly, the senior clerk would accompany officials to the capital to present annual reports. That meant direct exposure to powerful ministers—and possibly a path into the central government.
Countless scholars dreamed of such an opportunity.
"And he's offering this… to my son?" Zhen Yi muttered, his anger wavering.
Madam Zhen quickly invited the officials inside. Though still frowning, Zhen Yi did not stop her.
After the clerk read out the official order, he presented a letter. "This is from my lord. Please take a look."
Zhen Yi unfolded it. As he read, his expression shifted from suspicion to shock.
"Zhang Xin… is this generous?"
The letter explained that after defeating the Wuhuan, Zhang Xin had acquired a vast number of horses and livestock. Lacking manpower to manage them, he wished to entrust the task to the Zhen family—splitting the profits thirty-seventy, with the Zhen family taking the smaller share.
In addition, he planned to open a frontier market for trade with the steppe tribes and hoped Zhen Yi could recommend someone to oversee it.
Madam Zhen's eyes widened. "Isn't this just handing us money?"
Even a single warhorse was worth a fortune. With trade added in, the profits would be enormous. And all the Zhen family had to do was send a few capable people.
"My lord," she urged, "this is a rare opportunity. Yu'er can enter official service, and our family gains a stable source of income."
Zhen Yi snorted. "All you think about is money."
"And you don't?" she shot back. "Who was it that couldn't sleep after losing that money?"
The officials quietly looked away.
Zhen Yi grumbled, but his resistance had clearly weakened. After a long pause, he waved his hand.
"Fine! Call Yu'er over!"
Far away in Mayi, Yanmen Commandery, a young man was loading his belongings onto a cart.
"Wenyuan," his mother said gently, "you've been chosen at such a young age. When you reach the prefecture, serve well and do not disappoint your lord."
"I understand, Mother," Zhang Liao replied, his voice steady though his eyes glistened.
Just as he finished packing, voices sounded from outside.
"Is Zhang Liao here?"
"I am," he answered, stepping out.
A group of officials stood at the gate. The lead clerk looked him up and down, slightly surprised by his youth.
"Your original surname was Nie?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Then we have the right person." The clerk smiled and unrolled a bamboo scroll. "We bring an order from the Protector of Wuhuan, inviting you to serve as his aide."
After reading the order aloud, he handed it over.
Zhang Liao's eyes lit up as he read.
"Youzhou… to fight the Hu…"
He tightened his grip on the scroll, excitement rising in his chest.
Turning back, he said firmly, "Mother, I want to go."
His mother looked at him for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
"Go," she said. "Make something of yourself."
Zhang Liao bowed deeply—then stepped forward, toward the path that would change his life.