Chapter 1521 - The Corrections Office

The office was on the second floor. Standing on the open gallery, she had a clear view of the courtyard. The wall facing the street was made of wrought-iron railings, now swarming with spectators—mostly local folk; naturalized citizens had no such leisure.

In traditional society, with its dire scarcity of cultural entertainment, watching trials and executions were popular pastimes. Since the Australians arrived, trial-watching had lost its appeal—courtrooms featured only talk, no paddles or finger-presses—far less entertaining. Executions, too, had changed: the Australians did carry out public executions, but simply hung the condemned on a frame and pulled the trapdoor; the prisoner dropped and went limp before there was even time for kicking and struggling. Far less thrilling than a head rolling and blood spurting.

Fortunately, the Summary Court's daily public floggings filled the gap. Crowds gathered outside the Corrections Office yard every day.

Given her purpose, requesting a full list of today's defendants would not be unreasonable, but she decided not to risk it—she could see for herself. All public floggings were completed by noon; as long as she paid attention, she would easily spot whether Xin Nachun was among them.

Right now, spectators had already massed at the railings. Li Yongxun turned her gaze to the wooden platform at the center of the yard, where a restraining frame held prisoners' limbs and bodies. A prisoner had just been released—lower body naked, supported by two officers, staggering, gasping in agony, buttocks and thighs bloody, welts split open, flesh curling back, a gory mess.

Li Yongxun felt no surprise; to her, this was child's play. Bloody as it looked, the injuries were not serious. With a patch of Runshetang medicinal plaster and a few days' rest, recovery was assured.

Suddenly she heard a stir. The crowd outside seemed to grow excited, pointing and murmuring; those who had looked bored were suddenly alert, all eyes fixed on the platform.

Li Yongxun knew the next one to be punished had to be a female—hence the spectators' heightened interest. Just like at yamen trials, cases involving adultery always drew the biggest crowds.

Judging by the enthusiasm, the prisoner was probably a young woman. She feigned boredom and strolled along the gallery. Sure enough, two female officers emerged, leading a woman by a rope—a full-figured woman of about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, not bound except for the rope attached to her neck collar. Li Yongxun froze: the collar was the mandatory mark of non-citizen women working in the custom trade.

Xin Nachun was a non-citizen? Li Yongxun tensed.

Under Yuan Elder Court rule, there was no such thing as a base person. Migrants from the Ming, whether or not they became naturalized, were not classified by social status.

But the Yuan Elder Court did have a peculiar category: non-citizens.

Most of these were produced during the pacification campaigns in Qiongzhou; some came from anti-piracy operations along the coast. In short, they were bandit kin.

Though the Yuan Elder Court proclaimed it did not punish families or engage in collective punishment—mass executions, beheadings of men and prostitution of women were abolished—being placed on the blacklist was unavoidable.

Though no explicit discriminatory policies existed, internal controls imposed restrictions on non-citizens. The police and Political Security Bureau monitored and managed them strictly. As a result, most non-citizens occupied the lower rungs of society. Many young women ended up in the custom trade.

If Xin Nachun was a non-citizen, the chance she was Bureau bait was slim. Generally, the Political Security Bureau did not use people with problematic histories. Still, this was not certain—her status could be forged, or the Bureau might simply use a prostitute for a case. Neither would be extraordinary.

The female officers brought her onto the platform, untied the rope, and had her stand facing the square. Then one officer picked up a speaking trumpet and began reading the verdict.

Li Yongxun stood too far away to hear clearly, but she caught the words "Xin Nachun" and "self-employed custom trade." She held her breath—since she had been brought out for sentencing, the flogging would follow. If so, she was unlikely to be bait.

The officer opened the stock frame—a device with three holes for the prisoner's head and hands. Once locked, the prisoner could not move and was forced into a bent-over position for the lashing. Xin Nachun tried to struggle but was immediately shouted down. Then she was locked in.

A man in a police uniform but without a duty belt walked up the steps carrying a whip, heading straight for Xin Nachun's back. With a flick of his wrist, her clothes were torn away. A murmur rippled through the crowd; necks craned.

Li Yongxun's throat went dry. Flogging female prisoners was nothing new to her, and she had seen plenty of naked men. But those had been in private chambers. Here, in broad daylight, to be publicly stripped and have one's intimate parts exposed—even for a prostitute—was an extreme humiliation.

By Ming yamen rules, female prisoners undergoing the paddle were allowed to keep their undergarments to preserve some decency. But prostitutes and women involved in adultery cases were exceptions. Still, courtroom trials kept some distance from the spectator gallery, and the prisoner lay prone, not standing upright like this, as if on display.

The first lash landed hard. Xin Nachun's face spasmed; she let out a short, piercing scream. Li Yongxun shifted position to get a clear view of her buttocks—not out of any peculiar interest, but to observe whether the punishment was genuine. On her skin, a dark-purple welt had risen: definitely a real blow, not a paddle-to-the-ground sham. She could not be fooled. If this was real, the chance that Xin Nachun was bait dropped further.

Crucially, after fifty lashes like this, Xin Nachun's buttocks would be permanently scarred—so-called paddle flowers. Such scars proclaimed that a woman had committed crimes; even a reformed prostitute might find no man willing to marry her. If she was baiting for the Australians in a ruse, the price was too high.

Now Li Yongxun was confused. If she was not bait, why had she risked this punishment to illegally solicit on the embankment? Her brother-in-law, though a rake who frequented pleasure houses, never touched back-alley whores. Visiting Heyuan Street for an Australian special was plausible; hooking up with a streetwalker was out of the question.

Could she really have been so reckless as to proposition Lin Ming? Li Yongxun muttered to herself. Just then, a voice called from behind:

"Probationary Assistant, Comrade!"

Li Yongxun's thoughts were interrupted. She spun around: it was Zuo Yamei.

"What is it?"

"I have a question."

Li Yongxun returned to the office. The two continued discussing work until the Summary Court finished for the day. They processed all the documents together, then returned to the police station.

No overtime notice came that evening. Li Yongxun lingered in the office, finishing her work—really, she was waiting for the nightly security briefing. Everything was normal; nothing related to Lin Ming had occurred. She relaxed slightly: apparently the Political Security Bureau had not yet fixed on him.

Back at the dormitory, she found Zuo Yamei dressing and grooming. Her hairstyle was purely Australian—long hair flowing yet impeccably neat. How she achieved it, Li Yongxun had no idea; she only knew that every week Zuo Yamei disappeared for half a day and returned with refreshed hair. It gave her ever more of a mysterious feeling about Zuo Yamei.

As for the Women's College of Arts and Sciences—she herself had attended the police program at Fangtso Di for a year and had never heard of such a school in Lingao. These college graduates had suddenly appeared last year, filling positions in various departments; no one had known the school existed.

Not only were these students all above-average in looks, but their bearing and manners exuded an indescribable quality that sometimes made Li Yongxun feel small.

Moreover, their clothing and accessories often included items unavailable elsewhere. Rumors circulated that the college students were actually Senior Officials' daughters. But those who had encountered the Young Yuanlao in the academy said there was some resemblance yet also differences.

If anything truly resembled them, it was the Senior Officials' maidservants. But linking the two seemed inappropriate, and probing too deeply into the affairs of those close to the Senior Officials was risky. So no one pursued the matter.

Li Yongxun's family had served for generations; she knew well that servants must keep their mouths shut. She never joined such gossip. But that did not mean she had no curiosity about Zuo Yamei and her classmates. They would occasionally vanish for a few days, officially on business trips. But Li Yongxun knew they were not really traveling—every time Zuo Yamei returned from a trip, she looked radiant, with none of the road-weary air.

"Going out this late?" Li Yongxun was a bit surprised.

"Mm, short notice. Business trip tonight." Zuo Yamei tilted her head, quickly brushing her hair. "I'll be back the morning after tomorrow."

After speaking, Zuo Yamei changed into the Australian outfit hanging by her bed. Li Yongxun had thought it might look odd, but now she could not help feeling secretly envious: it was stunning.