Chapter 62

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?!" Diao Zi practically exploded upon hearing this, "The eighteenth of the first lunar month won't work! The fourteenth was the date we picked, how can you not even give a word of greeting and just say change it and it's changed?!"

"What are you yelling about, aren't I telling you right now?" Liu Er slammed his teacup heavily onto the table, "It's not like it can't be changed, just change it again!"

"Then why did you bring up money?"

Liu Er sneered: "For anyone else to alter a document, it wouldn't be less than one hundred twenty strings; seeing as it's your Boss Liao's face, I even waived twenty strings, yet you're acting ungrateful?!"

Diao Zi's anger flared straight up.

Just what kind of starved ghost reincarnated is this guy?

One hundred twenty strings isn't enough to feed him, he still wants another hundred strings? How does he not burst?!

He couldn't help but say: "It's clearly your own mistake, Lord Liu, why does it still need more money?"

"First time dealing with the yamen, eh? Don't you know about the Lantern Festival rest days?" Liu Er snorted coldly, "If you don't pay, then don't change it, it's not like I'm forcing you to change it."

"You think altering documents is simple? Application, registration, stamping — which step doesn't need connections greased? That one hundred twenty strings is barely enough for what? Every time I have to pay out of my own pocket!"

Diao Zi couldn't listen anymore, spat, and said: "Then let's not change it at all; either way, that surnamed Song seller on the eighteenth of the first month is already lying in a coffin, a dead man can still sign and seal? If it gets exposed, I'll have no good end, and you won't escape involvement either!"

Liu Er had been keeping a poker face, but hearing this, his expression involuntarily shifted slightly, then he sneered again: "What's it to me? Let's not change it then; if caught, I'll at most get charged with negligence, docked a month or two of salary — not much."

He added: "Your Boss Liao calls me brother when he sees me, yet you dare threaten Laozi!"

As he spoke, he grabbed the teacup on the table and smashed it at Diao Zi's face.

With a "clatter," the teacup hit Diao Zi as he dodged back, then slid to the ground, tea and porcelain shards everywhere.

Diao Zi took the hit, half his clothes soaked, momentarily trembling with rage, several times wanting to step forward and slap the other, but ultimately didn't dare move; instead, those few words pricked him, and his heart turned hollow.

Clerks hold power in their hands, connected to the yamen; a mere runner like him could follow accomplices to break into homes at night and bully a lone girl, so naturally someone could pinch him like an ant.

Liu Er threw the documents on the table to the ground, saying: "Only these few days to pick from; the fourteenth to sixteenth the Tower Affairs Office rests three days, the seventeenth isn't my duty day, the rest aren't days Brother Zhang reviews — if you want to go earlier, last year's archives are already sealed, don't think about it without coughing up a thousand or so strings to alter them."

As he spoke, he pointed at Zhang Ji nearby.

"Today there's a guest, Lord Liu I won't bicker with you; go back, find your Boss Liao, pick a suitable date, bring a hundred strings, come find me and kowtow begging mercy; keep yapping and don't blame me for turning hostile!"

Diao Zi could only swallow his anger, pick up the papers from the ground, and leave in a hurry.

The person left, the door closed; Zhang Ji, who had stayed out of it and not said a word, suddenly changed expression, asking: "Second Brother, what's going on? How did such a blunder happen?"

Liu Er was nothing like his earlier arrogance, hurriedly placating: "Old Brother don't panic; those documents are in the Archives Library, normally no one checks them, even if checked they might not spot that one; wait for the money, you and I find a chance to alter it."

Zhang Ji frowned: "Not afraid of ten thousand, just afraid of the one in ten thousand! Next time be more careful, otherwise I won't dare lend you a hand again!"

Liu Er hurriedly toasted him, served him dishes, apologized, flattered; fortunately the two were close and both veterans at this, after eating most of a table of food and wine they were amicable as before.

Wine good, meal full, the two each went home.

Liu Er had just turned into his own house's alley when he saw three people walking toward him.

"Liu Er!"

Liu Er was startled at first, then with drunken eyes recognized the two facing him as Archives Library clerks, the other one unfamiliar but very familiar-looking, like someone from the Left and Right Military Patrol Academy, so he greeted them: "Late at night, what wind blew you here?"

Then asked: "Come to my place for a sit?"

"Sit my ass! The Chief got word, tomorrow morning they're coming to inspect our archives, need us back at the yamen immediately, looked for you half a day, hurry up!"

As they spoke, one of the three led the way, two grabbed Liu Er by an arm each, practically carrying him off.

Out of the alley, a carriage was actually parked outside.

Liu Er had only drunk four or five parts drunk, but shoved into the carriage body, sobered up instantly from fright; by the time he was dragged into the Archives Library, seeing inside brightly lit, Supervisor You, Assistant Qin, and several bailiffs all present, his heart sank.

He stepped forward; Supervisor You didn't waste words, pointed at the desk behind, saying: "Liu Jin, this was handled by you, tell us the situation."

Liu Jin looked closely, very familiar — it was the Sanzao County Alley End Song Family Eatery settlement contract and property deed he had just filled out this morning.

How could he not know the game was up, but he truly didn't know what exactly happened or where the problem lay, so he could only play dumb: "It was handled by this lowly one, just don't know what the problem is?"

Supervisor You cursed: "Magistrate Qin is right here, you still want to keep deceiving? The seller was already dead solid on the seventeenth of the first month, you wrote the contract date as the eighteenth, did a dead man come find you to sign?!"

Liu Jin hurriedly knelt: "This lowly one truly didn't know, perhaps accidentally writing the wrong date is possible!"

After all, he was his own subordinate; if there was any way to protect him, Supervisor You naturally still wanted to.

He asked: "Were you bribed, instigated by someone, or coerced?"

Liu Jin was shocked, hurriedly saying: "This lowly one truly just made a momentary slip!"

He was also a veteran clerk, knew well that once he confessed, only heavy punishment awaited; but if he bit down on it being a mistake, perfunctorily got past it, after a year or so, he'd be a good man again.

The two performed their play here; Qin Jie watched with full patience, not anxious at all, but that Han Li was impatient long ago.

He stepped forward two paces, threw a blank document and the Song Family Eatery settlement contract at Liu Jin's feet, saying: "New documents only printed in the second month, serial number also only drawn today, Liu Jin, how did you slip up in the first month?"

Liu Jin saw a stranger appear, didn't know who it was, but once he understood the meaning in the other's words, his heart involuntarily turned cold.

Forgery is forgery; wanting it flawless, in such haste, how could it be easy?

It was just that he always relied on no one pursuing this matter, so he boldly profited from it.

Before he could figure out how to clear himself, Han Li already sternly questioned again: "Liu Jin, don't be obstinate; that residence has long been watched by the Left and Right Military Patrol Office, across from it is a gambling den, linked heavily to the Upper Yuan Festival missing women and children case."

"If you weren't bribed, then you're a participant — Magistrate Qin wants to take you back for interrogation, Supervisor You won't just not protect you, but will punish heavily as a warning, lest a scapegoat like you ruins the Archives Library's reputation."

With Han Li's words, Supervisor You also dared not delay further, immediately joining in shouting: "Liu Jin, still not confessing?! You want to die fine, but do you have to drag the whole library down with you? If not for yourself, think of your wife, children, parents!"

Liu Jin originally only had three parts fear; hearing this, especially knowing that behind that residence there was actually such a big affair, and not a single soul had informed him, he truly hated that he couldn't dig up that Diao Zi and Boss Liao's entire family ancestral graves to curse them.

He hurriedly knee-walked forward two steps, grabbed Supervisor You's robe, cried: "Supervisor! Supervisor! This lowly one never participated, just accepted a favor from that Zhuque Gate runner Boss Liao, saying the residence was bought early but hadn't been transferred yet, money paid, who knew the seller would throw herself in the river and die, momentarily no choice, unwilling to lose both money and property, so asked this lowly one to help!"

"Where's the money?"

"Aside from the twenty strings split off, the rest are all on this lowly one's person!"

"Where is the original document?"

"It's also on my desk, locked inside the wooden cabinet—I didn't dare touch it."

Speaking to this point, he was already streaming tears and nasal mucus, hurriedly unhooking the keys at his waist and offering them to Han Li opposite him, then bursting into loud sobs: "I truly was just taking money to do a job!"

Had I known this would happen, not even one hundred and twenty strings, but even one thousand two hundred strings, I would never have meddled!

Where there is one, there must be two.

The tampering of contracts in Sanzao County Alley naturally could not be an isolated case.

Having caught this example, that Liu Jin naturally had to be interrogated carefully; not only that, all documents he had handled had to be examined one by one, and many loose ends concerning Manager Liao also had to be asked about in detail.

Han Li had originally wanted to leave, but upon learning that Manager Liao had changed the contracts and sale documents of more than ten houses within a short year, he felt something was wrong, immediately stayed to conduct a joint trial, and had Qin Jie call over the experienced duty censor.

While the Capital Prefecture Office was working overnight duty here, in Sanzao County Alley, Song Miao woke from a nap and did not see Han Li return.

She had originally left a portion of ginger milk curd warming in the pot for him, but this food could not be left too long or it would melt; not knowing when the person would come, or if he would come at all, she had to enjoy it herself first, then began steaming glutinous rice, making shaomai, and boiling various soups and waters.

According to plan, today she was to set up her stall in the back alley of Zhuque Gate Patrol Station.

Once everything was ready, Song Miao opened the gate and had just pushed the cart out when she saw several people in the distance acting furtively, hiding in corners watching her.

She found it strange, turned to look, but before she could see clearly, she heard shouts rising one after another.

"Miss Song Xiaoniangzi!"

"Song Stall Owner!"

"Miss Song!"

The voices were not loud, but as they called, many heads popped out from corners everywhere like mice from underground.

And as shouts rose from all sides and heads popped up, countless more people ran out from behind walls, at wall bases, at wall corners, at alley ends, and so on.

When the people ran closer and saw they were all wearing Nanlu Academy standard cloth shirts, the bit of nervousness in Song Miao's heart instantly settled back into her belly.

She stopped the cart, stood in place waiting, and had to passively appreciate everyone's different running postures.

Some ran on all fours; some had not tied their shoes firmly, dropped one while running, hurried back to pick it up, only to have the person behind accidentally kick the stray shoe aside.

Some stretched their necks imitating a turtle's movements; others were first among horses, with small strides but extremely high frequency, almost showing double shadows of their legs.

That student with double-leg shadows was indeed the first to run up to Song Miao, panting, leaning against the wall beside him, asking urgently: "Miss... Miss Song Xiaoniangzi! Didn't you say you weren't setting up your stall today?!"

Song Miao said: "Because of some matters, these past two days it's not convenient to set up at Food Alley; I found another place to sell breakfast, and will return in a few days."

Upon hearing Song Miao's reply, he looked as if he had swallowed a reassuring pill, and said: "That's good! That's good! We thought..."

As for what they thought, he did not continue, but hurriedly said: "Miss Song Xiaoniangzi, sell me a few portions first before you go set up your stall!"

While speaking, he took out money from his pocket, named quantities, wanting glutinous rice, shaomai, bamboo tube drinks—everything at the maximum limit.

And with his action of taking out money, the people behind had already followed suit, without Song Miao needing to instruct, they were already maintaining discipline among themselves.

"Don't make noise, don't make noise! All line up!"

"Don't cause a commotion, who knows when the school instructor might pass by!"

"Keep it down, all line up in one queue, those at the back count your money first, don't waste time!"

"Who goes to tell the lookout to watch carefully? Just say we've caught Miss Song Xiaoniangzi!"

Hearing the words "caught," Song Miao for a moment even thought she really was a thief.

But her movements were not affected; while quickly wrapping glutinous rice and shaomai, she asked: "How did you all suddenly know to come here to find me?"

The people lining up behind almost scrambled to answer.

"Song Family Eatery—who doesn't know it!"

"We're not fools!"

"Such a big hole, born for us to dig out and buy Miss Song Xiaoniangzi's breakfast!"

"Song Stall Owner, don't go set up any stall anymore; from now on, open the door in the morning and we'll come buy!"

"Exactly!"

"Taixue people just spread rumors, saying Miss Song Xiaoniangzi because of that Lin..."

"Cough cough."

"Cough!"

The crowd quieted for a moment, then someone immediately took up: "Miss Song Xiaoniangzi, now that we're several dozen people, do we still need to limit purchases?"

Song Miao hesitated a moment, said: "Though there's no need to limit, can you carry it all?"

The people behind indeed began whispering to each other.

"Should be fine, right? Be careful, you can carry it back."

"Or be more careful; if we run into the school instructor, with too much in our hands, we might not even be able to run."

Indeed, after selling to about twenty or thirty people, someone at the back sent word out.

"The school instructor is coming from behind, watch the door, run fast!"

The whole alley's people dispersed cleanly in the blink of an eye, one after another crawling back through the dog hole.

Song Miao actually felt a sense of "so it could be like this" and "as expected."

She didn't wait any longer, pushing the cart out.

Just out of Sanzao County Alley, at the corner there was a familiar patrol soldier in ordinary clothes, following from afar.

Song Miao had received instructions from Censor Xin, knowing this was arranged to follow her, and was not surprised, simply acting as if the other didn't exist.

She sold for a while at the alley end, and left much later than usual.

Hanging the "Song Ji Green Bean Paste Glutinous Rice" signboard on the cart, without needing to hawk, Song Miao walked along and pedestrians and nearby residents came out to buy along the way.

Though buyers were scattered, stopping and going, selling and stopping, business was actually quite good.

Zhuque Gate Patrol Station was fully three streets from the Song family home; Song Miao had just turned the first corner when she heard someone ahead shout loudly: "You there ahead, that young lady, stop!"

The voice was fierce and urgent.