Chapter 657: Saving the Rebels, Part Six

The "Imperial Peace Powder" from a family of traditional Chinese physicians was used by Xiao Guan on Tian San, who was running a fever.

After this, just like yesterday, Xiao Guan picked up the empty food box and left the Prefectural Prison.

Coming out through the West Side Gate, Xiao Guan boarded his carriage as usual and ambled off to the Cloud Guest Inn. And behind him, the idlers Hu Liuzhi and Ma Diao'er tailed him as usual.

After returning the empty food box at the counter, Xiao Guan went upstairs and entered the Jiazi Room Two as usual.

This time, the waiter had learned his lesson, so Hu Liuzhi couldn't go into the main hall to order tea and keep watch again. Fortunately, they had already grasped Xiao Guan's routine, so the two idlers went up to the second floor to confirm with a glance, then simply sat waiting right at the entrance.

Just as expected. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Xiao Guan came out of the inn and took his carriage home as usual. A short while later, the two big Shaanxi men also came downstairs, boarded a boat, and left.

After that, Bao Shinan, who was holding the fort at the prison awaiting news, received a report on the situation.

"These great lords from Shaanxi sure have nerves of steel!"

Having confirmed that Xiao Guan's routine was unchanged, Bao Shinan cheerfully offered this remark before his several subordinates. Next, he dismissed the others, picked up his copper tobacco pipe, and smoked some shredded tobacco.

He smoked a full two bowls' worth, mulling things over for a long while. Finally, Bao Shinan seemed to have made up his mind, rose, and went out the door.

Given Bao Shinan's status, aside from the rear yamen, he could pass freely through all other parts of the Prefectural Yamen. After stepping out of the prison's main gate, he headed straight for the nearby Arrest Room.

The Arrest Room had no business today. A dozen or so black-uniformed clerks were drinking tea and shooting the breeze in the office. Seeing Master Bao enter, the old and young hands alike hurriedly offered him a seat and poured some fine tea.

Bao Shinan's visit to the Arrest Room was an internal call within the Three Squads system, a routine thing, and no one thought much of it.

The veteran, well-connected Jailer-in-Chief Bao thus seamlessly blended into the grand enterprise of slacking off and gossiping.

Not until the clapper sounded to dismiss the yamen for the day did these seventeenth-century civil servants scatter in a rush, each heading home.

Bao Shinan, who likewise slapped his backside and got up, turned his head with a grin as he walked out and said to a dark-faced Yamen Runner walking with him, "Old Du, I've imposed on your tea for half the day, and I, Old Bao, feel bad about it. Well then, it's only right I foot the bill... how about I treat you to a cheap meal of pig head meat?"

The middle-aged Yamen Runner with the dark face and dark beard was none other than the Arrest Room Constable, Du Chong. This gentleman, like Bao Shinan, was a veteran civil servant within the Prefectural Yamen.

Hearing Bao Shinan say he would treat, Du Chong, who had been walking with measured, steady strides, first paused slightly, then gave a slight nod and agreed.

In fact, the words "pig head meat" were a code between the two Section Chiefs, Bao and Du.

Generally speaking, whenever their two "sections" needed to collude and coordinate in private, Bao and Du would make a point of going to Granny Du's Pig Head Meat on South Street to drink some yellow wine and have a private chat.

This situation occurred once every so often. The reason, for the most part, was still those usual operations... the industry chain... the sections teaming up to squeeze silver out of prisoners.

So when Bao Shinan spoke the code, Du Chong didn't hesitate much.

Before long, the two men first returned to their respective offices to change into ordinary casual clothes, then met up outside the Prefectural Yamen gate.

South Street was not far from the Prefectural Yamen. So it didn't take long for Bao and Du to be seated behind Granny Du's Pig Head Meat shop, beside a quiet square table along the river.

Granny Du was a distant relative of Constable Du. It was precisely thanks to Constable Du's patronage that Granny Du could peacefully run her little pig head meat shop on South Street.

Once seated, the old rule: first, they clinked cups of yellow wine.

Next, just as the two were about to discuss serious matters, unexpectedly, a petty thief selling stolen goods came along the riverbank.

This black-robed little thief had a sharp mouth, monkey-like cheeks, and a thievish look, with a medicinal plaster stuck on his face and a floral cloth bundle cradled in his arms. Coming all the way along the river, whenever he spotted anyone well-dressed, the thief would open a corner of his bundle and peddle his wares.

Ordinary passersby, seeing this sort of thing and fearing entanglement in a lawsuit, would avoid him like the plague, flicking their sleeves and walking away. And so, the thief peddled his way to the just-seated Bao Shinan and his companion: "My lord, take a look at this bronze Buddha of mine... hard goods from Rongbao Studio in Wuchang city..."

Originally, Bao Shinan was going to shout away this clueless thief. However, when he glimpsed a patch of pure purple from the corner of his eye, the words from his open mouth changed: "Show it clearly and let me have a look."

Seeing he finally had a customer, the thief, his eyebrows blooming with smiles, spread the wrapping cloth on the table and revealed the full appearance of the bronze Buddha.

Before Bao Shinan was a fist-sized Maitreya Bronze Buddha. This bronze statue had a thick, solid body, a sturdy and honest form, an elegant and generous posture, and smooth, flowing lines — without a doubt, a high-grade, exquisite work of art.

And what concerned Bao Shinan most was the pure purple luster emanating from the entire body of this bronze Buddha — red copper.

The various copper coins and utensils used daily by Ming People were all brass, a copper-zinc alloy. Red copper, however, was pure copper, extremely rare in the medieval era.

"Mmm, mmm... not bad... truly not bad."

While voicing his praise, Bao Shinan first reached out to weigh the bronze statue in his hand, then gently lifted the base and saw the engraved inscription beneath: the two characters "Buddha Workshop."

With this one glance, Bao Shinan understood the bronze Buddha's origin: a product of the Buddha Workshop, the division of the Imperial Supervision Directorate specializing in crafting Buddha statues — a proper piece of imperial palace ware.

"What crap about Rongbao Studio — who knows which imperial relative's mansion this little thief stole from."

The next moment, the inwardly delighted Jailer-in-Chief Bao looked at the thief with a faint, ambiguous smile: "Little brother, how much?"

The thief, his eyebrows blooming with smiles, extended five fingers: "My lord, goods from Rongbao Studio, just this amount."

Hearing this, Bao Shinan exchanged a knowing glance with Du Chong, then threw his head back with a hearty laugh and reached into his bosom, pulling out an object: "Whether it's five taels or fifty taels, this ingot of silver from me is more than enough."

The thief fixed his eyes on it — what Bao Shinan placed on the table was no silver at all, but a black lacquered waist token.

Immediately after, with a "clack," Du Chong, the proper municipal criminal police captain, also slapped his waist token down in front of the thief: "If that's not enough, here's more."

The next moment, the thief, catching on, trembled in both legs, broke out in a cold sweat, and stammered as he bent over and cupped his hands in salute: "I was blind to have offended you, my lords, please forgive me, please forgive me!"

"Scram! If you dare make another sound, I'll have you locked in the standing cage to be sun-scorched until your skin splits open!"

"Yes, yes, this lowly one is rolling away now, rolling away now!"

The next moment, the thief fled at top speed without another word.

Unlike the County Yamen Runners who dealt daily with petty thieves and local gangs, the Prefectural Yamen where Bao and Du worked usually handled cases that were mostly "major and important cases" like rebellion and high nobility, so local petty thieves did not recognize the two men — which was precisely why Jailer-in-Chief Bao could pick up a bargain today.

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Having driven off the petty thief, one hand stroking the fine outer surface of the red copper Buddha statue, the other raising his cup, the cheerful Bao Shinan first clinked cups with Du Chong.

Setting down his cup, the square-faced, dark-complexioned Du Chong unceremoniously picked up a piece of fatty, tender pig head meat and stuffed it into his mouth, then spoke indistinctly: "Out with it. What's the matter?"

It was time to get down to business.

Bao Shinan did not touch his chopsticks. He likewise came straight to the point and asked directly: "Half a year ago, the case of the rebel Tian Da purchasing grain for conspiracy — do you remember it?"

"Mm..."

Du Chong chewed vigorously while recalling. Since it hadn't been long, he soon remembered: "Could it be those three Shaan-Luo Bandits?"

"Those are the three!"

"Back then, it was I who led men to Xiaogan to escort those rebels here." After raising his cup for another sip of wine, Du Chong recalled more: "Haven't they already been jailed? What's the deal?"

"Heh heh, the day before yesterday, those three's downstream contact came looking."

"Downstream contact?" Du Chong didn't catch on for a moment: "What of the downstream contact?"

Bao Shinan smiled, drawing out his tone: "A rebel's downstream contact... what is that?"

"Oh......" Du Chong finally caught on. "So there are more rebels to arrest?"

"Arrest or not... no rush to arrest." At this, Bao Shinan picked up his chopsticks. "Hear me out."

What followed, as Bao Shinan ate and drank, was a thorough account — his dealings with Xiao Guan over the past few days, and the results of sending men to investigate and surveil — laid out clearly for Du Chong.

"Hah... you really put in the meticulous work."

After a long moment digesting the story, Du Chong stroked the black beard beneath his chin and let out a deep breath. "In that case, we need only register with His Excellency, obtain the Arrest Warrant, and we can dispatch men to make the arrest."

"Rest assured." Du Chong thought a moment, then quickly added, "We're on the same side — your lead credit in this won't be shortchanged."

"Lead credit my ass!"

Seeing Du Chong had gotten the wrong idea, Bao Shinan slammed his chopsticks on the table in anger. "I've just told you all this, and you still haven't seen through the Knot in it?"

"The Knot?" Du Chong rapidly ran through the matter in his mind, finding nothing amiss. "What sort of Knot?"

"Ah......" Bao Shinan could only shake his head helplessly and guide him step by step. "That bunch of roving bandits spend their days fleeing east and west, never knowing if they'll live to see tomorrow. Men with their heads hanging from their belts — when would they ever have the leisure to worry about two scouts who lost contact a thousand li away? And then send someone to visit them specially?"

"Hiss......"

At this point in Bao Shinan's account, Du Chong sucked in a breath of cold air... he too sensed something wrong. "The way you put it... there's a debt of sentiment involved here!?"

"Debt of sentiment? Hah!" Bao Shinan gave a few cold laughs at this. "Sentiment my ass — it's a huge pile of wealth!"

"Huge wealth?" At these words, Du Chong's dark face instantly lit up. His eyes darted back and forth, his expression shifting repeatedly, his mind racing as he carefully recalled everything about the original Rebel Case.

After all, he was an old Section Chief who'd long eaten the rice of the Public Gate. Once Du Chong put his brain to work, and with Bao Shinan's Remind, he gradually recalled the overlooked links of that day. "At the hearing that day... His Excellency ordered a severe beating... was about to question further... the rebels in court cursed the Emperor and His Excellency... in a fit of rage... Immediate Execution Review..."

"So then...... could it be...... presumably...."

Suddenly, Du Chong slapped his thigh as the truth dawned on him. "What you're talking about — could it be that sum of silver?"

"Precisely." Seeing that Du Chong had finally grasped the crux, Bao Shinan at last revealed the answer. "That day in court, one of the three rebels was beaten to death first. The other two then began spewing treasonous talk... His Excellency, upon hearing this, was overcome with urgent fury, and fearing the rebels' mouths would not stop spewing reckless words, hastily sentenced the two to Immediate Execution Review and closed the case."

"And so......" Bao Shinan stopped there.

"And so, the grain-purchasing silver that was supposed to be interrogated was simply dropped!" Du Chong now understood completely. His eyes glittered with the gleam of Copper coins. "Half a year later, the rebel remnants traveled a thousand li to make contact at the prison — they want to ask about the whereabouts of their comrades' silver."

"That's the only way it makes sense!"

In that One Moment, the eyes of Bao and Du shone with the light of wisdom, having analyzed the entire affair clearly, plainly, truly, and thoroughly.

"In that case......" Du Chong spoke slowly the next moment. "The urgent task is to relax the surveillance and give Xiao Guan and Tian Da a chance to speak privately."

"Already relaxed."

Bao Shinan picked up a bite of meat and said flatly.