Chapter 168: Making Inquiries

On the official road toward Suzhou, a group of several dozen riders galloped past on fast horses, kicking up a trail of dust behind them, and in the blink of an eye they were already out of sight.

This group was the Longxiang Night Scouts led by Yang Qili. They were heading to Suzhou to investigate evidence of local officials' corruption and collusion with wealthy merchants to hoard grain. Zhu Cilang always required two sources for intelligence—one from Li Tingbiao's Embroidered Uniform Guard, and one from the Longxiang Night Scouts.

At present, the Longxiang Night Scouts were mainly responsible for military intelligence gathering, and occasionally carried out other missions such as infiltration, assassination, and kidnapping.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was mainly responsible for intelligence reconnaissance, with an extremely broad scope. They handled not only military intelligence but also civilian conditions throughout the country, primarily targeting officials and great clans. The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Longxiang Night Scouts did not subordinate to or interfere with each other.

After resting one night outside the city, as the gates of Suzhou opened the next day, more and more people began streaming in and out. Yang Qili and his men mingled with the crowd and entered Suzhou, then split into groups of three to conduct dispersed reconnaissance throughout the city.

Suzhou had a long history. Legend held that humans had inhabited the area since the Neolithic Age, with the Xiaoshankou and Gutaisi archaeological sites. During the Zhou Dynasty, the settlement of Qi was first established here. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, after the Tongji Canal section of the Grand Canal was opened, Suzhou was established, and the name had been used ever since. It was an important birthplace of Chu-Han culture and Huaihe culture.

At noon, Yang Qili and two other Night Scouts found a small tavern, ordered a few simple dishes and a jug of wine, and the three ate while listening to the idle chatter of those around them.

For some reason, two local ruffians suddenly walked into the tavern. The tavern keeper was startled, but what surprised him was that these ruffians, who usually carried themselves with an air of self-importance, surprisingly caused no trouble today—they just sat off to one side and ordered a jug of wine.

One ruffian asked the other, "Sixth Brother, you know what? There really are all kinds of people in this Suzhou city. Someone's actually willing to spend money just to buy some fresh gossip. Wouldn't you say that fellow has more money than he knows what to do with?"

The other ruffian said, "It's definitely some young master from an official's household with nothing better to do than look for amusement. Maybe he wants to show off while drinking with people. Who cares? If someone's paying, we work. The job isn't tiring anyway—just moving our mouths. And who knows, we might even win a big bonus!"

They were also curious. Early in the morning, their boss had gathered them together for a lecture, saying someone was paying to learn about fresh happenings in Suzhou, and told them to go out and ask around. Whoever dug up the juiciest news would get the biggest reward—the top prize was three thousand taels of silver!

It wasn't just their turf—all the ruffians, hoodlums, and beggars throughout Suzhou were bustling about, each having received orders from their respective bosses.

The fat ruffian called Sixth Brother stood up and addressed the tavern patrons, "Everyone here, today's drinks are on me, brothers! Drink up and chat away—especially if you've come across anything interesting lately, share it with everyone!"

With someone treating them to drinks, everyone was delighted. As the saying goes, "A guest who eats is short of tongue"—they couldn't just eat without saying anything.

One bow-legged man spoke up first, saying, "There's a fellow named Wang who lives next door to me. His ox went missing, and instead of looking for it himself, he insisted I go find it. He even said he'd give me a mace of silver if I found it. Tell me, isn't that fellow an idiot?"

Someone asked, "So did you find it? Did you earn the silver?"

The bow-legged man replied, "It took me less than half an hour to find it in his field three li away. Of course I earned the silver—otherwise how could I say that Old Wang is such a fool!"

Yang Qili couldn't help but interject, "I'd wager you've got a wife, brother? And that Old Wang next door is a bachelor who, every now and then, acts foolish and pays you silver to help him find things."

The bow-legged man exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, can you tell fortunes? Where did you study under a master?"

Yang Qili was speechless and casually replied, "Just a random guess, just a random guess."

The bow-legged man continued, "Great master, could you do another reading for me?"

Yang Qili gave a dry laugh and said, "I'm hardly a great master, but I observe that your face bears an auspicious look. Within the next few months, your household will have a happy event—you might be about to become a father!"

"Really!" The bow-legged man was overjoyed and immediately bowed to Yang Qili several times. He even solemnly ordered a meat dish and sent it to Yang Qili's table.

Yang Qili couldn't withstand his enthusiasm, and fearing he might make a fuss, exchanged a few polite words before turning to speak with the other two Night Scouts, ignoring him from then on.

The fat ruffian who had started the topic looked at Yang Qili and said, "This brother here looks quite unfamiliar. From your accent, you don't sound like a local!"

Yang Qili turned and replied, "I'm from the north. The Tartars up north are causing too much trouble, so I brought two brothers south to make a living. First time in your fine land—please look after me, everyone. Today's drinks are on me!"

"Brother, you're a true friend! Many thanks!" The fat ruffian clasped his fists and smiled, inwardly pleased. This outsider who pretended to be a fortune-teller really knew how things worked—saved him a few maces of silver.

Spurred on by Old Wang's neighbor, everyone in the tavern began chatting one after another. From the Sun family losing a chicken, to the Li family matriarch disciplining her daughter-in-law, to the Qin family's wife exchanging flirtatious glances with some young man—it was all a pile of gossip.

Yang Qili and his two companions exchanged glances, smiled at each other, and lowered their heads to continue eating.

Suddenly, at a nearby table, three men spoke in low voices. One said, "Third Brother, have you heard? The day before yesterday, our Prefect took a thirteenth concubine. Word is she just turned sixteen this year—a real pretty young thing!"

That Third Brother said, "I heard she's the daughter of Old Man Feng from East Street. She was already betrothed and preparing to marry this year, but the Prefect snatched her up first."

The other man said, "Exactly! Old Man Feng's daughter's fiancé even went to the prefectural office to argue with the Prefect, but he never even got to see the man—the yamen runners broke his leg, and now he can't even piss properly. What a tragedy!"

Third Brother added, "That's still not the worst of it? Old Man Feng's wife hanged herself over this affair. Old Man Feng only had this one daughter. That family is finished now. Who knows when that official will get his retribution."

Someone sighed upon hearing this and said, "The man has connections up in Fengyang—his brother-in-law is the Guard Commander of Fengyang Wei, and his other brother-in-law is the Vice Guard Commander of Huaiyuan Wei. His family ties are solid. Where would retribution come from?"

Hearing this, Yang Qili silently noted this Prefect in his mind. The fat ruffian also raised an eyebrow and quietly took note of the Prefect taking a concubine.

After listening for a while longer, Yang Qili waved over the waiter and took out five taels of silver to settle the bill.

Seeing this, some people in the tavern's eyes lit up, thinking to themselves that this fortune-teller really had money! In this day and age, having a skill to fall back on was truly necessary!

The fat ruffian chuckled and said, "Thanks, brother!"

"Don't mention it. Farewell!" Yang Qili smiled slightly and left the small tavern, planning to secretly visit the Prefect's residence and interview that newly taken thirteenth concubine.