Chapter 818 - Closing the Case Without Closing It
"Yes, it wouldn't be good if she got broken..." Li Yan added, then caught the knowing look in Zhou Dongtian's eyes and hastily corrected himself. "I mean—so she blundered her way straight into captivity in Lingao—"
Zhou Dongtian chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. He handed over the file. "She's Intelligence's problem now. I expect she'll prove cooperative in your future work."
"Good." Li Yan nodded. The Intelligence Bureau had long wanted to conduct a special investigation into the Ming's internal security and intelligence apparatus. They had commissioned the Grand Library to search historical records and notes, and had gathered scraps of information by interrogating prisoners and interviewing Ming gentry. Staff captured during the Chengmai Campaign had provided considerable data—some firsthand experience, some hearsay. But all of it was external observation. Now they had someone who was essentially a family member and temporary employee; she would know the internal workings and operational habits of the Brocade Clad Guard far better than any outsider.
The External Intelligence Bureau immediately issued alerts to all field departments, flagging Huang Shunlong as "Dangerous" and designating his shop and residence as high-threat locations. Lin Ming had lost his sister-in-law in Macau; he would certainly focus his attention on the Huang family. A squad of Brocade Clad Guards might already be lying in wait outside their door.
"Cutting contact with the Huang family is a significant loss," Jiang Shan acknowledged, "but we must guard against desperate measures. Whether for personal reasons or duty, that Company Commander Lin will almost certainly attempt to kidnap an Elder directly—either to extract our secrets or to arrange a prisoner exchange."
Li Yongxun found herself facing the three-person team led by the woman again, their faces as expressionless as before.
She was hooded once more and loaded onto a carriage. After a bone-rattling journey, the black cloth was finally removed. Li Yongxun blinked against the light. She stood in a quiet compound enclosed by high walls, their surfaces covered with climbing plants that bloomed in cascades of pink flowers, large and small. The effect was oddly eerie.
Several multi-story buildings rose within the yard, constructed in a style similar to Frankish houses—though not as elegant. The windows were glazed but fitted with sturdy wooden bars. Nothing inside was visible from without.
A new dread crept into her heart. What was this place? A prison for these "Thieves"? It looked different from Ming facilities, yet the severe, cold atmosphere felt disturbingly familiar—she had grown up surrounded by such places since childhood.
This was the "Study Class" of the Political Security Bureau: the PSB's dedicated detention center. Within the Transmigration Regime's system...
"Move!" Ke Yun's command cut through her thoughts. Li Yongxun had no choice but to ascend the steps. The double iron doors swung open, and a man emerged—a wooden leg visible beneath one trouser cuff. Despite his disability, he wore the same front-button jacket and blue shoulder strips as the female officer.
"One person for processing. Name: Li Yongxun. Sex: female." Ke Yun handed him the documents. The two busied themselves at a table by the door, signing and stamping, before the crippled man produced a ring of keys.
"Where to?" he asked.
"Zone 1."
The man unlocked an iron gate in the vestibule. Beyond it stretched a long corridor with closed doors lining both sides. He led them through three or four turns, across a courtyard, through several more iron gates, finally stopping at a particular door.
"Here."
Li Yongxun found herself in a plain but tidy room. A single bed, a table, two chairs—nothing more. The walls were whitewashed, the floor made of wood. A high window, extravagantly glazed, let in bright sunlight. On the table lay the four treasures of the study alongside a notebook of crisp white paper.
"This is your room," the crippled guard informed her. "Toilets and showers are at the end of the hall. You may walk freely in the corridor—just don't go past that iron gate." He pointed to the barrier at the corridor's end. "If you need something, pull the bell rope. Someone will come." With that, he limped away. Only Ke Yun remained.
"You'll live here for now. Rest a bit. Someone will come to talk with you in a few days."
"Talk about what?" Li Yongxun couldn't fathom what these Aussies intended. This looked like house arrest—which allowed her to relax slightly.
Ke Yun ignored the question. "There's paper and pen. Write a self-statement first."
"A self-statement?"
"Yes. Start from the beginning. Where you were born, who your parents are, your family background, whether you can read, what books you've studied since childhood... Write it all down."
"Why should I write such things?" Li Yongxun demanded, baffled.
"This is a sample." Ke Yun tapped a booklet resting on the table. "Read through it once, and you'll understand the format."
"This lady is illiterate! I won't write anything!"
"You'd better be literate," Ke Yun said coolly. "Otherwise I'll have to invite someone to help you write..."
"I'll write, I'll write," Li Yongxun yielded immediately. She knew exactly what that meant. "No assistance necessary."
While Li Yongxun buried herself in writing confessional materials in the PSB Study Class, Lin Ming was hiding in an inn in Sanshui County, agonizing over how to report the investigation results regarding Gao Shunqin's disappearance.
Censor Gao's case had become a complete dead end in Guangzhou. After fruitless searches in Macau, Lin Ming had returned to Guangdong in dejection. To avoid drawing too much outside attention in Guangzhou proper, he had traveled to Sanshui County under the pretense of conducting local inquiries and established himself there.
By now he was utterly convinced that the Aussies were behind Gao Shunqin's disappearance, and that Li Yongxun's vanishing was almost certainly related. But the current attitude of Guangzhou officialdom toward the Australians was "peace at any cost." If he tactlessly announced that the Thieves were the culprits, he would be handing the Governor an impossible problem. An important official trapped in Lingao while Guangdong's officials did nothing? Going to war meant annihilation—Guangdong simply didn't have the strength to fight. Even arresting the soon-to-return Aussie merchant, Boss Guo, as a hostage for exchange—Governor Li would never dare. That would mean preparing for a second burning of the Wuyang relay station.
If he submitted his report that way, he would offend Li Fengjie and every official in Guangdong to the point of no return.
Lin Ming gritted his teeth and thought long and hard. Finally, he decided to hold his nose and align himself with Guangdong officialdom's wishes. Censor Gao would simply have to suffer for his country. Fortunately, all the evidence so far pointed to a route heading north after Guangzhou. Except for himself and the captured Li Yongxun, no one could offer concrete proof that the Aussies were responsible. His extensive search in Macau could be attributed to "following rumors"; the Australians were merely "suspects."
As for his sister-in-law, she had to be rescued—his wife would accept nothing less. Besides, he couldn't let outsiders profit at his expense. But the government couldn't handle this matter; he would have to deal with it personally. Fortunately, with his Brocade Clad Guard credentials and a certain reputation within the organization, mobilizing official resources wouldn't prove too difficult.
His plan settled, Lin Ming made a show of organizing searches everywhere, sending men northward toward Nanxiong Prefecture with great fanfare. In the end, Guangzhou's memorial to the court stated that Censor Gao had voluntarily abandoned his post and departed for parts unknown. According to reliable leads, he had most likely left Guangdong and entered Jiangxi. However, Guangdong authorities remained "engaged in vigorous investigation," and so on. A massive roll of case documents accompanied the memorial. Now, unless the court appointed a special investigator, the case would remain indefinitely suspended. Li Fengjie doubted the court would bother—or that any investigator would uncover anything if they did. With fires blazing and smoke rising across the empire these days, Beijing probably had far more pressing concerns.
Li Fengjie discreetly instructed his subordinates to present Lin Ming with three thousand taels as thanks, plus another thousand as rewards for his men. Except for Censor Gao's family, everyone came away satisfied.
But Censor Gao's family was profoundly dissatisfied with this outcome. The notion that the Censor had "abandoned his office and fled" was utterly unbelievable. His female relatives dispatched representatives to the Governor's Yamen repeatedly to lodge complaints, but they were dismissed with assurances that the investigation was "proceeding rigorously." Technically, the case wasn't formally closed—just reported—which gave Li Fengjie all the cover he needed to stall.
"The Gao family says they'll send someone to the capital to file an imperial petition." Li Xijue reported this to Li Fengjie in his private office. He was worried the situation might spiral out of control if it attracted too much attention—a concern valid throughout the ages. And the Gao family was no collection of powerless commoners; they wielded considerable influence.
Li Fengjie remained unperturbed. "An imperial petition? A woman's thinking! It isn't as though we kidnapped Lord Gao ourselves. Who would they sue? For what crime?"
"The East Lord is right, but Gao Shunqin has friends and classmates in the capital. If the Gao family lobbies them..."
"At worst, they'll request that we 'investigate again and submit a new report.' We haven't stopped investigating. Does the memorial say the case is closed?"
"It doesn't—" Li Fengjie hadn't drafted the memorial himself, but his key aides reviewed every document before dispatch.
"If not, then we are investigating. What can anyone say?" Li Fengjie smiled and picked up his book again.
Li Xijue understood his master's strategy: stall. Stall until he was transferred to a new posting.
"East Lord, even so—the Gao family should be given some token comfort." Li Xijue had been dealing directly with Gao's relatives and knew they weren't easily placated. This wasn't about money.
"Mm." Li Fengjie considered the matter. "Someone has to take responsibility. Prefect Yu mentioned to me that the Gao family requested certain favors from him—things he didn't dare agree to while Lord Gao retained his influence. Now that it appears Lord Gao won't be returning to Guangdong anytime soon, tell Prefect Yu to go ahead and grant those requests. It can count as part of the investigation."
(End of Chapter)