Chapter 297: Making Inquiries

"You're saying they want to make a move on the Four Seas Grain Shop? Hah, are these scoundrels not afraid of maggots crawling through their brains?"

In the second hall of the Yangzhou Chiliarch's office, Liang Qi lazily leaned back in his armchair, casting a sidelong glance at Li Fengchun as he asked. Li Fengchun then reported the day's events to Liang Qi in full.

The two captains Li Fengchun had sent to shadow them were sharp-eyed. Seeing the two men enter Xu Qiming's residence from afar, they did not leave immediately but split up and continued waiting in relatively concealed spots.

Sure enough, around the hour of Shen, the gaunt man under surveillance emerged from the Xu residence again in a change of plain clothes, followed by two servants. The two captains exchanged hand signals from a distance, whereupon one trailed the Xu household men all the way, while the other captain remained crouched in the vicinity of the Xu residence.

The gaunt man led his attendants swaggering through streets and alleys, and after about a quarter of an hour arrived at the mouth of a narrow lane, where the three turned into it one after another.

Captain Liu Jiang, who was shadowing them, pretended to be a passerby strolling slowly past the lane's mouth, then quickly cast a glance inside. The shallow lane no longer held sight of the three men; only two burly ruffians sat before a courtyard gate idly chatting, and no one else was in the lane.

Liu Jiang turned his head to look ahead and saw the signboard of a small tavern fluttering in the breeze a few paces away. The tavern's second-floor windows facing the street were thrown open wide, making it a perfect vantage point for watching the lane's mouth from above. He hurried forward to the tavern door and stepped inside.

"Waiter, is there a seat upstairs facing the street?"

After entering, Liu Jiang raised his eyes to look around and asked the shop waiter who came forward to greet him.

Since it was not yet supper time, the small tavern had no drinkers. Apart from the waiter, only an old man who looked like the proprietor was fiddling with an abacus behind the counter.

"Yes, yes! How many in your party, sir? What dishes would you like? Will you have Nu'er Hong or Zhuangyuan Hong? The shop also has Bailu Chun bought from the north—its liquor is quite potent. Would you care for a jug to try?"

The waiter stepped forward with an obsequious smile and struck up a conversation.

"Bring up a jug of Nu'er Hong and two of your signature dishes! The rest of the silver is yours as a tip!"

Liu Jiang gave his orders as he walked to the staircase, casually tossing a fragment of silver behind his head, then climbed the narrow, steep stairs to the second floor.

The quick-handed waiter caught the silver fragment with both hands, and his previously feigned smile instantly turned sincere: "Right away! A jug of fine wine and two signature dishes! Coming right up! Mind your head on the stairs, sir!"

After watching Liu Jiang go upstairs, the waiter turned back and stole a glance at the proprietor. Seeing that the old man was still absorbed in tallying the noon receipts, the waiter's mind raced as he calculated where he might exchange the silver for copper coins to bring back to the shop, then pay the proprietor for Liu Jiang's bill—the rest would be his.

"Thank goodness the boss is old and hard of hearing—otherwise, with someone tipping like that, what luck would be left for me!"

The waiter smugly approached the counter and shouted loudly at the abacus-tallying proprietor: "Boss! A customer upstairs wants a jug of Nu'er Hong and two signature dishes! I'll just run to the kitchen and let Huang San know!"

"Mm, go on, go on. Hand that bit of silver to me!"

The old proprietor said without raising his head.

Liu Jiang had barely sat in the seat by the window when footsteps sounded on the stairs and the waiter came up with a sullen face, carrying a tray bearing a coarse porcelain wine jug and two dishes that looked fresh and appetizing.

"Waiter, hold on a moment. I have a question for you. If what you say proves useful to me, I'll reward you!"

The waiter had just set the dishes and wine on the table and was about to turn and leave when Liu Jiang suddenly spoke.

"This elder sir, my family has been native to Yangzhou for generations! I've worked at this Fragrant Wine Tavern for a full three years now! Within several li of this tavern, whether it's people or matters, I can tell you the gist of it all! As for the reward, I don't really care—the tip you gave just now was all taken by the boss!"

On the last few words, the waiter lowered his voice, turned and ran to the stairwell to peer downstairs, then trotted back, his delighted expression tinged with a hint of regret and grievance.

"Hahaha! What's a bit of silver! Let me ask you—east of this tavern there's a narrow lane that seems rarely frequented. Inside there's a courtyard residence, guarded at the gate by two burly men, looking quite important. What sort of place is that? Who lives there? And who usually comes calling?"

As Liu Jiang asked, he fished a fragment of silver from his bosom and placed it on the table. This piece was somewhat larger than the previous one, weighing roughly two qian.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's Yangzhou Chiliarch's office had only recently been established, and its main efforts were focused on surveillance of government officials and wealthy gentry households. It had not paid much attention to the streets and underworld, so although Liu Jiang had noticed something amiss, he could only learn the full picture after making inquiries.

"This elder sir, by your accent you must be new to Yangzhou Prefecture, aren't you? I don't know why you're asking about this, but I imagine it's out of curiosity. Well, no matter—the neighbors all around that place know of it, so it's hardly a secret. I'll tell you today!"

The waiter spoke while eyeing the silver fragment on the table, estimating its weight before continuing: "That courtyard is the residence of Huang the Elder, a hero of Yangzhou's eastern district. It looks small from the outside, but inside it's actually quite spacious! I've never been in myself, but I've heard many customers chatting about it over their wine. Originally the residence had only one courtyard, but after Huang the Elder bought it from someone else, he sent dozens of his men to drive away all the neighboring residents and then expanded it. How big it is inside, I wouldn't know. Huang the Elder runs a gambling den in the residence, and I hear there are also some painted ladies receiving guests in the side courtyard. Those who come to play on ordinary days are mostly the city's street heroes—when they earn silver elsewhere, they come here to gamble. As for whether anyone else comes, I wouldn't know. This elder sir, if you feel my answer is of no use to you, I'll gladly forgo the silver!"

After speaking, the waiter gazed at the silver fragment with reluctant longing, as if looking upon a beloved.

"Heh heh, heroes! Let me ask you—how many street thugs does this Huang fellow have following him? When he expanded his residence, did he compensate anyone? And among those who associate with him, are there any government officials?"

Liu Jiang held nothing but contempt for the "hero" Huang the Elder the waiter spoke of.

Last year, Zhu Youjian had issued an edict for a strict crackdown on street ruffians and scoundrels in the capital. The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Troops and Horses Office of the Five Wards had deployed over a thousand men and, in just five days, swept up all the so-called street heroes who had been plaguing the capital. Several dozen were executed on the spot, and the remaining several hundred were all sent to the mines on the Western Hills to dig coal.

These "heroes" who swindled, cheated, and extorted on ordinary days could only bully common folk and out-of-town merchants. Before overwhelming force, they were like ants—the several dozen executed heroes had barely shown the slightest sign of resistance before they were knocked flat by arquebuses and crossbows, then finished off one by one with the blade.

"This elder sir, last summer I also caught sight of Huang the Elder the hero. He truly cut a heroic figure—bare-chested with his arms exposed, tattoos of an azure dragon and white tiger on his body, looking most imposing! If only I could be that imposing! There must have been twenty or thirty men following behind Huang the Elder! As for the rest, I wouldn't know!"

"You may go now. Don't tell anyone what was said here. The silver is yours—off you go!"

Seeing that Liu Jiang did not seem to be mocking him, the waiter reached out, snatched up the silver fragment, and tucked it into his bosom. He gave Liu Jiang a deep bow, then turned and went downstairs.

Liu Jiang sat in the seat with a view of the lane's mouth, sipping his wine and picking at his dishes while keeping watch on the lane's activity.

Before he had even finished his jug of wine, the three from the Xu residence emerged from the lane and turned back the way they had come. Liu Jiang did not follow them but continued watching the lane's mouth.

Before long, several ruffian-looking men came out of the lane and went their separate ways. Liu Jiang drained his cup in one gulp, rose, went downstairs, and left the tavern. After glancing left and right, he fell in far behind one of the ruffians who had gone off alone, trailing him at a leisurely pace.

"Did that Liu Jiang find out how many men these base thieves have gathered? What means do they intend to use against the grain shop?"

"Reporting to the Chiliarch! Liu Jiang only followed one man to a place in the northern part of the city. According to him, there should be around twenty bandits at that spot. The other locations should also have bandits gathering, but the exact numbers are not yet known! Liu Jiang said the bandits seem to have prepared straw, firewood, and cooking oil—they appear to intend burning down the shop and the storehouses! This subordinate believes we should muster our men and, once the bandits have fully assembled, cut them down and capture them in one stroke to keep the grain shop safe!"

"No! Let the bandits burn! Return to the grain shop at once and have the merchant house move out everyone from all its shops in the city! Let them burn a bit of grain and supplies! I only wish the bandits would blow this matter up bigger! When the time comes, they'll repay it a thousandfold! And we'll drag in some officials who didn't keep their eyes open as well!"

Liang Qi shed his lazy demeanor, rose to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back, and gave the order in a low voice.