Chapter 2710: The Capital (Part 66)

Little Bazi was stunned. "It's the words side." He hesitated, then changed his answer. "No, wait—it's the back."

Liao Sanniang said, "The front and back of a copper coin are like the two sides of life and death, separated by nothing more than a blade's edge. When the coin lands, only one side remains. If defeated: death, capture, maiming, or flight. Roving bandits are cruel—had we lost today, our fate would have been far worse than theirs. The martial arts of the Escort Bureau once emphasized moderation and knowing when to retreat. Now, only unbridled ferocity remains. This isn't about being cruel-hearted; it's about keeping the heart unmoved. In battle, one fights with the saber, but even more with spirit. The mind cannot waver; the will cannot be stolen. Only by forging the heart into iron and transforming oneself into a fierce spirit can one prevail. Kindness and benevolence are saved for before the blade is drawn and after it is sheathed."

Little Bazi glanced curiously toward the coin, seemingly wanting to confirm the result.

Liao Sanniang waved her hand. "Let's go. Why must everything have a confirmed result?"

She mounted her horse, surveyed the sky, and waved her hand again. "Move out. We reach the estate before dark."

Old Feng nodded and drove the mule cart forward. The wheel axles creaked as they rolled through the desolate wilderness, the road carpeted with fallen leaves. The evening sun sank westward. A blade of autumn wind cut to the bone, killing all things in its path.

When the cart and horses were less than two li from the estate, the estate manager and the advance guards came out to meet them, escorting the cart of silver into the compound.

This location lay more than a dozen li from the capital, where the reach of the capital's law had grown feeble. Given the current chaos, the estate had been built with formidable defenses: rammed earth walls faced with city bricks, and a deep ditch dug around the entire perimeter. Estate servants and guards kept watch day and night—a safe lodging indeed.

One hundred thousand taels of silver was no small sum. If word got out, who knew what trouble it might invite? Fortunately, this place wasn't far from the capital. Large bands of bandits didn't dare gather so close, and for smaller groups, this solid "iron walnut" was more than enough to deal with them.

However, a long night brings many dreams. Whether Liao Sanniang or Li Rufeng, both wished the kidnappers would hurry and send the second letter—pay the money, redeem the person. As long as Senator Leng was safely brought back, the matter would be peacefully concluded.

Yet the kidnappers inexplicably sent no word, maintaining complete silence. The entire Escort Bureau was at a loss, uncertain what to do next.

Upon arriving at the estate, Liao Sanniang ordered the silver stored in the cellar. Already, roughly sixty thousand taels had been transported here piecemeal—a genuine fortune in the 17th century.

After the silver was secured in the cellar, Liao Sanniang called Old Feng into the room and asked, "What did you find out?"

"There were eunuchs among them," Old Feng said with a disdainful expression. "And more than one."

"Palace eunuchs?" Liao Sanniang's face darkened. If the matter involved the palace, it would become far more complicated.

"When I first pulled off their pants, I thought the same—figured that eunuchs from the Imperial Stables had come out to scavenge. Could there be some connection to someone in the palace? But when I interrogated them, I discovered they were just eunuchs from Nanyuan—the Southern Garden."

"Really?"

Though Nanyuan wasn't far from the southern walls of the capital, no farmsteads or residences stood there. It had served as a royal hunting park for the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Because the old course of the Yongding River passed through it, large areas of lakes and marshes had formed, with lush vegetation and abundant wildlife—deer and other game congregated there. The scenery was beautiful. From the Liao and Jin dynasties down through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing, emperors had hunted there and built palace gardens.

After Emperor Chengzu—the Yongle Emperor—Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, he expanded the palaces and halls here, constructing a 120-li perimeter wall around the grounds and calling it "Nanhaizi," the Southern Sea Enclosure. He expanded the Yuan hunting grounds dozens of times over. Four gates were opened around the perimeter, and government offices were built inside for the emperor's hunting and pleasure. However, though the scenery was beautiful, the area was too vast, the buildings too few, and the "wild flavor" too strong. The emperor visited less and less frequently. By the Longqing era, the place had fallen into considerable disrepair. Aside from the eunuchs and haihu—the "sea households" who looked after it—no one else came; it was as good as abandoned.

In the late Ming, this once-desolate royal garden inexplicably gained a new function: housing castrated men.

Originally, to become a eunuch in the Ming dynasty, one had to register at the Ministry of Rites, and the ministry's designated officials would perform the castration. Over time, regulations lapsed, and private self-castration to enter the palace began. The famous "Nine Thousand Years" Wei Zhongxian was self-castrated. Liu Ruoyu, who left behind the Ming palace memoir Zhuo Zhong Zhi, also came from an official family yet self-castrated to enter the palace.

Starting from the late Wanli era, droughts and floods became constant. The common people's livelihoods grew unsustainable, and the number of poor folk hoping to survive by becoming eunuchs increased sharply. Hordes of castrated men gathered in the capital, but the palace only recruited around a hundred per year. Over the years, the accumulated eunuchs who couldn't enter the palace exceeded ten thousand. With more monks than porridge, the Ministry of Rites housed them in various gardens outside the capital, providing a small stipend of money and rice for their survival.

This group—without food or clothing and unable to return home due to their mutilated bodies—naturally became "unstable elements" in the capital. The Escort Bureau, having long worked guarding gates and running the black and white channels for information, knew their behavior well: unlike ordinary bandits, they acted more like hoodlums and ruffians. They avoided outright lawbreaking, mostly engaging in petty theft, aggressive begging, or extorting through false pretenses. Rarely did they commit open highway robbery. That was why Liao Sanniang was so surprised.

"I thought they were desperate people taking risks," Old Feng continued. "But when I questioned them just now, I discovered something strange."

"What?"

"They said they weren't originally part of the bandit gang. Someone paid them to follow along."

Liao Sanniang's pupils contracted. "Is that so? Who was it?"

She had assumed that Martial Yama's highway robbery was just another common occurrence in these chaotic times. She hadn't expected something hidden to lurk behind it.

"They couldn't name the specific person. They only said someone gave them silver and told them to bring news of the silver cart to Martial Yama's gang, join up with them, and follow along. They were also to leave secret marks along the way..."

Liao Sanniang's mind raced. So someone had been providing intelligence! She was puzzled. Clearly, whoever hired the eunuchs must be connected to the kidnappers holding Leng Ningyun—otherwise, how could they have possessed such accurate knowledge of their movements? But if they already held Manager Leng, they only needed to exchange him on schedule to get the money. Why resort to such methods to snatch this ten-thousand-odd taels of silver? From the fight just now, even if Martial Yama had succeeded, and even if these hidden players were the oriole waiting behind the mantis, they might not have been able to completely control Martial Yama's gang.

Calculating the possibilities: either they had been spotted by some Jianghu expert while transporting the silver, or someone had learned about Manager Leng's kidnapping and was looking to make a quick grab—just like those who came to extort money after the ransom letter arrived. Combining the analysis, the latter seemed most likely.

Liao Sanniang felt the situation was tangled like knotted hemp. They were deep in the trap. Despite deploying massive manpower and resources, they hadn't found a single significant clue. Her mood sank involuntarily.

Old Feng said, "Lady Sanniang, don't be anxious! We're anxious, but the kidnappers are even more so! Don't lose your composure."

"You're right, Old Feng." Liao Sanniang pressed her hand to her forehead and smiled. "Worrying ourselves sick like this won't squeeze out a drop of oil—it'll only shorten our lives!" She clapped Old Feng on the shoulder. "Tell the kitchen to prepare a feast tonight as a reward. Our people, the estate's people—everyone eats well. Just one rule: no alcohol."

"Yes!" Old Feng beamed. Just as he was about to leave, Liao Sanniang called him back. "I've already taken Little Bazi as my godson. I intend to teach him martial arts, but his temperament is still a bit impetuous, and his foundation is weak. This is a life-and-death career—there can be no margin for error. I have many matters to attend to. Give him some grinding."

"Grinding juniors—I love that." Old Feng laughed. "I guarantee he'll be crying for his mama!"

"Hehe, off you go." Liao Sanniang dismissed Old Feng. She immediately wrote a letter recounting everything that had happened on the journey, then sent it back to the Escort Bureau via a carrier pigeon she had brought along.

Li Rufeng put away Liao Sanniang's letter in a box, his brows tightly furrowed.

The long-awaited second letter still hadn't arrived. Lady Sanniang had also encountered highway robbers, and among them were several "eunuchs." The matter was becoming more and more bewildering.

"What on earth is in that gourd..." He rubbed his chin, utterly puzzled.

As dusk fell, the drums of Zhangjiawan Town's four gates sounded in unison. People still on the roads inside and outside the town heard the drums and unconsciously quickened their pace.

The 108 drumbeats varied in speed. When the final drumbeat fell, night officially began, and the four gates of Zhangjiawan Town would close.

Whether leaving or entering the town, everyone had to pass through the gates before the drumming ended.

On Tongyun Bridge outside the town's south gate, a group of travelers quickened their steps. This Tongyun Bridge was a stone bridge built by imperial decree of Shenzong in the 33rd year of Wanli, named "Tongyun"—Connecting Transport.

The bridge ran north-south over the Xiao Taihou River, thirteen zhang long and three zhang wide. Both sides featured balustrade panels with relief carvings of treasure vases on both the inside and outside, their lines simple and their carving smooth—each vase design unique. The stone lions atop the posts were exquisitely carved, each bearing a distinct expression.

But the passing travelers had no heart for admiring the stone bridge. Over a dozen attendants and servants clustered around two healthy mules and a mule cart, heading for an inn.

The attendants weren't exactly tall and burly, but each was sharp and capable. All wore identical blue cloth straight robes with plank belts at the waist. Waist sabers hung at their sides; they carried police clubs in their hands. Clearly, they were household guards of a wealthy family. With the current turmoil, the capital was no exception—there was danger of highway robbery just a few dozen li outside the city.

A young man wore a Fanyang hat adorned with a red tassel and a wool duoluoni cloak. A border-army-style Japanese saber hung at his waist. He rode a plump, well-built horse-mule, washed very clean and fitted with a fashionable "Australian leather saddle." Clearly, the rider was a wealthy young master.

At the town gate, as was customary, town guards conducted inspections. The closer it got to gate-closing time, the more thorough the inspections became. Officially, the reason was to prevent villains from slipping in or out at the last moment; in reality, it was an opportunity for extortion. However, seeing the imposing bearing of this party, the lead guard didn't dare say much. He stepped back several paces and directly let them through.

A string of copper coins flew from the mule, landing in the guard's hands. "For you."

The guard was about to express his thanks, but the party had already passed through the gate and swaggered into the town.

(End of Chapter)