Chapter 1833 - Making an Example

Zhao Gui nodded quickly, repeated the instructions several times to fix them in memory, then led his men away.

After Zhao Gui departed, Li Ziyu ordered the main gate tightly closed and guarded by soldiers. He then gathered all personnel remaining in the courtyard. Previous visits and investigations had given the police a general understanding of the establishment's layout, so Li Ziyu knew exactly what he was doing. He separated the crowd into groups: laoju—the prostitutes; doufenshui—the male servants and guards; miscellaneous workers; majie—the housemaids and servant girls; and pipazai—the young trainees. Each group was placed under separate guard.

He detained Sister Yao, Mu Yun, and Huang Xiang for individual questioning. There was no need to ask much about He Xiaoyue's case—that evidence was already irrefutable. The focus now was investigating whether there had been any "private purchasing of pipazai."

Questioned separately, the three naturally dared not conceal anything. Without much effort, they confessed that some days earlier, Sister Han Qiao had indeed purchased a girl from a human trafficker—about ten years old, a Guangzhou local, matching Mingnu's general description. Initially, Sister Han Qiao hadn't wanted her, but later, for some reason, she had suddenly agreed to buy.

"...Master Yu, your brilliance is clear," Huang Xiang said with a bow, his face oozing servility. "It wasn't that the Madam didn't know the Great Song's rules. She refused several times, but somehow later had the trafficker bring the child back."

"What is this child's name?" Li Ziyu asked casually, feigning indifference.

"I believe she's called Mingnu," Huang Xiang said. "I only saw her once when the trafficker brought her in."

Li Ziyu could barely suppress the surge of excitement in his chest. Gao Chongjiu's information was accurate! He immediately followed up: "Where is this girl now?"

"I truly don't know," Huang Xiang said. "After pipazai are purchased, they're all managed and taught by Miss Mu Yun. We doufenshui aren't allowed to ask questions. And they usually stay in the back courtyard; unless summoned, they don't come to the front..."

When questioned, Mu Yun confirmed that Mingnu had indeed been sent to her for training. The girl had been in the courtyard for those few days, but suddenly disappeared yesterday.

"...The Madam told Sister Yao to take her away. Where she was taken, this servant truly doesn't know. This servant dares not lie." Mu Yun was very tactful; as soon as she entered, she had knelt on the ground to reply, presenting a gentle, submissive, and pitiable appearance.

Li Ziyu then questioned the older girls among the pipazai. They all confirmed they had seen Mingnu, but she had vanished yesterday. They hadn't dared ask Mu Yun why.

Having gained a general understanding, Li Ziyu had Sister Yao brought in for questioning.

As expected, Sister Yao immediately denied everything, refusing to admit any Mingnu had ever been in the courtyard. Li Ziyu questioned her repeatedly, but she held firm. He had experience with such cases; kind words were mostly useless against "battle-hardened" market shrews. He ordered her handcuffed and hung from the beam, with only her toes touching the ground.

But Sister Yao proved unexpectedly resilient. In her days as a laoju, she had often been tortured by the madam for poor "business." Beaten with boards, forced to kneel on chains, made to balance lamps on her head, forced to drink sesame oil—when it came to enduring torture, she ranked among the top performers on Music Workshop Street. This method had no effect on her. After hanging for nearly two hours—by which time Lian Nishang had arrived—Sister Yao was drenched in sweat and twitching all over, yet still insisted she knew nothing about Mingnu. Li Ziyu felt both anxious and furious, but he lacked both the authority and the skill for more serious interrogation.

"This woman must know some secret," Lian Nishang deduced immediately after hearing his report. "Otherwise she wouldn't keep her mouth sealed like this over a mere little girl."

"Section Chief's brilliant insight—"

"Heh." Lian Nishang sneered. "That's saying too much. But Fangchun Court is bold indeed, continuing to commit crimes against the wind. It seems whipping the madams thirty strokes and fining them five hundred taels of silver—as we did with previous establishments—was too lenient. This time, we double down."

"Does the Section Chief mean..." Li Ziyu's spirits lifted. To find Mingnu while simultaneously dealing Zeng Juan's former brother-in-law and that adulterous couple a hard blow—the bigger this case grew, the better.

"On-site office work! We handle it right here," Lian Nishang declared. "Perfect opportunity to give all the brothels on this street a reminder."

She had once taken the fall for Zhuo Yifan, after which she was isolated and investigated for a period. Though eventually released and restored to work, the comment "lacking vigilance" had been entered into her file. She couldn't see her own file materials, but her subsequent "promotion" to Guangzhou seemed full proof that this amounted to a demotion. A ball of fire had been smoldering in her chest ever since.

But upon arriving in Guangzhou, she had been made deputy chief of the Household Registration Section—a position with no direct connection to various cases. Her later appointment as deputy leader of the Rectification of the Sex Industry Task Force finally gave her a chance to flex her muscles.

She had wanted to catch an "example" to make a thorough example of, but no one had walked into her gun sights. Now Fangchun Court had not only purchased civilian girls privately but was also forcing free people into prostitution. The perfect target.

"Yes, we must investigate and punish strictly!" Li Ziyu echoed eagerly. "No matter what dirty dealings are hidden in this Fangchun Court, we must dig them all out!"

Lian Nishang was unaware of the petty calculations in his heart. She simply felt that though he came from an old military officer family, he worked hard and showed a resolute attitude toward the old society. She couldn't help but view him more favorably.

The Executive Deputy Leader of the "Clean Up the Sex Industry Working Group" had spoken; the tone was set. The resources Lian Nishang could deploy were far greater than Li Ziyu's. With a few orders, she transferred several more National Army soldiers and police, not only surrounding Fangchun Court completely but also posting sentries at the intersection of Music Workshop Street. Passage wasn't prohibited, but seeing this spectacle, what gentleman seeking pleasure would have any elegant interest left? Even those already present for wine and tea hurriedly departed. The various brothels couldn't help but curse under their breath—the Australians were making trouble again!

This was precisely the effect Mu Min wanted. Not merely severe punishment, but also "collective responsibility." She had stated clearly at the work meeting: because the brothel industry itself was full of gray areas—strictly speaking, even under the Great Ming, many brothel practices had been illegal—but for years, brothels had run rampant, and illegality had become "the rules." To make the entire industry recognize the seriousness of "law," not only must violators be strictly punished, but the cost of breaking the law must also be amplified through collective responsibility.

Since they were making an example, the scene was spread out properly. The flower hall—once filled with orioles and swallows, singing fans and dancing skirts—was cleared into a temporary case-handling office. All decorations were stripped away, replaced by chairs and chart boards. Within the courtyard, all of Sister Han Qiao's cronies were arrested and detained in one wing, while the rest were sent back to their quarters, forbidden to enter or leave or wander about.

The detained cronies naturally had personnel from the Interrogation Section sent to question them. Others were interviewed one by one by police and temporarily assigned female cadres from among the naturalized citizens, requiring everyone to "expose and report" on each other. The focus was for the laoju to report on the madam and the various illegal activities within the establishment.

Li Ziyu could tell from the scale of operations that they intended to persecute Fangchun Court unto death, and he secretly rejoiced. Though Sister Yao could withstand torture within a brothel, she couldn't withstand the cruel expertise of the few retained yamen runners in the Interrogation Section. Before long, she was weeping with urine, sweat, and tears mingling, crying that she was willing to confess.

"Speak carefully: where exactly did Mingnu go?"

"Where Mingnu went, this servant truly doesn't know," Sister Yao said, trembling all over, prostrating on the ground. "Yesterday, the Madam gave me a slip of paper with a birth date and horoscope, asking me to select a pipazai in this courtyard with matching horoscope and compatible birth date, and take her to..."

At this point, terror seemed to seize her and she suddenly shut her mouth. Two interrogators moved to step forward, but Lian Nishang waved them back. She said: "Sister Yao, though you are Han Qiaojie's confidant, you too are of laoju origin. Haven't you suffered enough from madams and turtle-servants in the first half of your life? These whip marks and scars covering your body—do you still wish to thank the madam for bestowing them?"

Sister Yao lowered her head and panted, watching the former yamen runners eye her like predators. She knew these men were old hands from the soap squads of the former Ming yamens, each one cruel and black-hearted. A single glance from this Australian woman before her could make her life worse than death. But if she confessed, she would never eat this bowl of rice again. Just as she wrestled with helplessness, Lian Nishang lost patience. At her glance, several retained runners fiercely threw a set of finger crushers before Sister Yao, rubbing their fists as they prepared to advance. Sister Yao's resistance crumbled. She hastily declared herself willing to confess, stating that Mingnu had been taken to Yue Wan's courtyard.

"Yue Wan?!"

"Yes... she... she is the girl whose first night Master Liang purchased," Sister Yao whispered.

"Is she in the courtyard?"

Huang Xiang, who had been waiting to the side to assist with the hearing—his legs already soft with fear—hurried forward to report: "Ever since Miss Yue Wan was shoulong—bought out—by Master Liang, she has lived alone in a separate courtyard. Though nominally within our premises, it has its own separate gate for entry and exit. The servants are all sent by the Liang family. Whether she is present or not, we truly couldn't say."

Lian Nishang frowned. "Which Master Liang?"

"It is Liang Cunhou, Master Liang."

He emphasized those three words—"Master Liang"—deliberately. The Liang family was not merely first-class gentry in this city; they also enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Senate. The Cihui Hall that Purple Lightning had originally opened in Guangzhou had received strong support from the Liang family. Later, when Proprietor Guo conducted business in Guangzhou, he too had grown quite close to them. It was only after the Australians pressed against Guangzhou city and burned the Five Rams Station that this relationship had gradually cooled. But with such history, the Liang family still received courteous treatment from the Australians, considered important "United Front targets."

With identities like Lian Nishang's and Li Ziyu's—whether in the past or now—they ranked far beneath the Liang family. The moment Huang Xiang mentioned "Master Liang," Li Ziyu understood his meaning. Under the old rules, this would be where the matter ended; no one would mention the name Yue Wan again.

"Since she still counts as a girl in your courtyard, she naturally must undergo questioning," Lian Nishang said. "Send someone immediately to summon her!"

Li Ziyu, knowing the connections involved, stepped forward and whispered:

"Section Chief Lian, this Master Liang was a guest of honor of Chief Guo in the past, and the current Chiefs have also met him. You should be cautious..."

(End of Chapter)