Chapter Sixty-Seven: Before the Escape

“Use these goods to deal with the storefront,” Guo Yi instructed. “Take inventory of the gold and silver in the warehouse used for making jewelry. If anyone comes to withdraw their deposits, pay them with these first. I will also allocate more silver. You don’t have to worry.”

“Yes.” Hearing that Owner Guo had prepared silver to deal with the run on deposits, Shen Fan’s heart settled down a lot. Many of Zizhenzhai’s deposit customers were brought in by him. If it was sealed, the people in the government were always the kind who would eat the bones and not leave any scraps. There was no need to even think about getting it back, and his reputation of many years would be ruined.

“The craftsmen everywhere, should we let them go home?”

“You have to maintain the situation here first,” Guo Yi thought for a moment. If they started to dismiss a large number of people now, it would surely arouse the suspicion of the government, and they might even seal the place and arrest people in advance. They had to maintain the appearance of normal business.

These local craftsmen were just burying their heads in their work and receiving wages. Although they were grateful to a generous owner like Guo Yi, they were after all on the periphery of the periphery and knew very little about the secrets of the Guangzhou station. Even if it was sealed, the government would not do anything to them, so there was no need to dismiss them in a hurry.

In order to prevent people from seeing his intention to leave, Guo Yi still went to visit customers in the city in a grand sedan chair the next day, but very few people were willing to see him. Guo Yi just left a card at the door. He was just doing this to announce his existence.

After making a round, his luxurious sedan chair was carried to the Ziminglou. It was still brightly lit, but this once-gilded and debauched pleasure den of Guangzhou was now deserted, with only an empty hall left.

Zheng Shangjie and others who were not usually seen had already withdrawn one after another. Only Pei Lixiu was here every day, bored out of her mind. At this moment, she was leaning on the Xiangfei couch in the Minggezi on the second floor, drinking alone.

She was a person who loved excitement and luxury. In the past, she would sit in the pavilion in the middle of the second floor, looking down at the people coming and going in the hall through the fine bamboo curtain, with the sound of laughter and music in her ears—all this was so pleasing to the eye.

Now the hall was empty, and even the dripping sound of the fountain could be heard clearly.

Seeing Guo Yi’s arrival, Pei Lixiu greeted him with a big yawn.

“How is it? No customers?”

“Not a single one,” Pei Lixiu took a sip of kvass. “Only people coming to withdraw money.”

“Can you handle it?”

“No problem, the big households have already withdrawn their money,” she said. “The small households don’t cost much silver, and they don’t even want interest.” Saying this, she also poured a glass for Guo Yi. “You drink too. We can’t take the kvass with us. It’s a waste to leave it for others. Let’s just drink it all.”

“Although it’s like soda, it still has some alcohol. You should drink less,” Guo Yi took a sip and found that it was also mixed with rum. “We are ready to escape at any time. How can we walk if we are drunk?”

“Do you think we can come back?” she suddenly asked.

“In as little as three months, or as long as half a year, this will still be your territory.”

“This half a year is so hard to bear…” she looked at her red nails.

“Why don’t you go back to Lingao? I heard that they are also going to open a Lingao version of the Ziminglou…”

Pei Lixiu laughed: “Little Guo—” she seemed a little unfamiliar with this form of address, “can we still go back? My whole box of jewelry, dozens of boxes of clothes; your concubines, maids… we are already out of place with Lingao.”

Guo Yi’s heart tightened. This was what he had been worried about all along. He took a sip of kvass: “There’s no need to think about it this way: we are at most the first batch of people to get rich. The Executive Committee will not fail to understand what we have done in Guangzhou…”

“You’ve been in the government for too long. You’re talking like an official,” Pei Lixiu was a little drunk. “I don’t want to go back to Lingao at all…”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Guo Yi glanced around nervously. There was no one in the pavilion. “Without Lingao, there would be no Guangzhou. Don’t you understand this? Guangzhou is in crisis right now. Do you want to be arrested and put in prison to be beaten with a board, wear a cangue, and kneel on chains?”

Pei Lixiu flinched when she heard this. She hesitated for a moment and said, “No way… I think the officials of the Ming Dynasty are quite gentlemanly. They are all very good at cherishing women.”

“When you fall into the hands of the government, you’ll know how the jailers ‘cherish women’,” Guo Yi sneered in his heart. Not to mention that it was the 17th century, even in the 21st century, a trip to the dictatorship and a cup of tea would be enough for you to suffer. PEPI really had forgotten what era it was, spending all day in a world of romance.

Guo Yi knew that it was meaningless to talk to her any longer, but since she was still here, she could attract a lot of attention, and the goal was achieved. He gave PEPI a few more instructions and then got up and went to the safe house behind. In the safe house, Xia He was burning documents. He knew that this girl was actually a graduate of the Political Security General Bureau’s confidential class, had received professional training, and was very reliable. He immediately gave her a few more instructions.

At this time, one of his servants who specialized in secret matters came to report to him in a low voice: everything was ready. He then went to Pei Lixiu’s boudoir—several sets of servants’ clothes, shoes, and hats had been prepared for him to change into. He also smeared some grease on his face. Then he quietly opened the secret door in the room and went down a secret staircase to the back courtyard. Two security personnel sent by Zhang Xin were already waiting there.

The security personnel of the Guangzhou station were young people selected from the Qiwei Escort Agency. After investigation, they had secretly gone to Lingao for training. They had their own organizational system and had little to do with the Qiwei Escort Agency.

The three of them, mixed in with a group of cooks and servants, quietly left the Ziminglou, walked along the back alley to the main street, and then, after several turns, came to an deserted place. After confirming that no one was following, Guo Yi got into a sedan chair that was already waiting.

In this way, everyone knew that he had gone to the Ziminglou and was spending the night with his concubine. In the past, there was no need for such a big fuss, but now he had to be very cautious.

The sedan chair walked along the small street for a long time and was carried into a dark little courtyard. This was a courtyard he had bought in the past. When he had confidential matters to attend to, he would secretly meet people here.

Today he was going to meet Sun Kecheng—Sun Kecheng’s Qiwei Escort Agency was one of the pillars of the Guangzhou station. But the semi-independent status of Qiwei made Guo Yi very worried about their attitude. Although Qiwei’s entire finances were controlled by the Guangzhou station, most of the people inside had not been screened and politically vetted by Lingao. He had to be on guard against Sun Kecheng or his disciples suddenly defecting to the government—the escort agency had always claimed to be doing “legitimate business” and was obedient to the government.

He had to find out Sun Kecheng’s attitude today. This was related to future cooperation—on the national layout plan, the Qiwei Escort Agency was also an important part.

Sun Kecheng was already waiting for him in the room. Seeing him come in disguise, he was suddenly stunned.

“Owner Guo, has things become so urgent?” Sun Kecheng couldn’t even be bothered with pleasantries. The news that the government was going to take action against the Australians had already spread.

“It will be decided within ten days or half a month!” Guo Yi did not shy away from what might happen. “I will naturally have to avoid this storm, but the Qiwei Escort Agency has always had a lot of dealings with us, and I’m afraid it will implicate you…”

“That’s not a problem. I have my own way,” Sun Kecheng waved his hand. “What about you?”

Seeing his sincere appearance, Guo Yi deliberately said: “We plan to hide here for a while.”

“Owner, don’t say such things that make us seem like outsiders,” Sun Kecheng shook his head. “How many people can this small courtyard accommodate? And you have so many people. Why not stay at my place? I bought a few properties in the countryside earlier. You can have as many people as you want stay there.”

Guo Yi did not commit himself, only saying that there were still many things to take care of, and he might hide here for a while. He would make plans after things were settled.

“Let’s not talk about that for now. Once the government takes action against us, how will you respond?” he asked.

“It’s not a problem. We escort people and goods, so we deal with rich and powerful people. We still have some face, so it won’t be a stalemate. They still count on us to escort the money and women they’ve collected back home when their term is up,” Sun Kecheng said. “What good would it do them to investigate Qiwei? The silver and goods in the escort agency belong to others. Are the masters going to escort the goods and open inns themselves?”

“That’s right,” Guo Yi nodded. “But I’m afraid it won’t be so easy for Qiwei to get through this.”

“You can rest assured about Qiwei’s affairs, owner,” Sun Kecheng nodded. “Without you pulling us up at that time, Qiwei would just be a small agency living from hand to mouth. Now it has become a big name in Guangzhou. Hundreds of people depend on it for their livelihood. Everyone at Qiwei has always been grateful. Although Qiwei dares not to break the law, we are not muddle-headed people who only know how to kowtow—we all know what is right and wrong in the world…”

Although he had figured out Sun Kecheng’s attitude, and he was quite sure of Sun Kecheng’s character, Guo Yi still did not dare to entrust the most important part to him for safekeeping—he was reliable, but that did not mean that all his subordinates were reliable. After thinking it over and over again, he decided to let Sun Kecheng take care of the local shop assistants and craftsmen, and at the same time hide some of the staff and heavy goods transferred from Lingao.

He also instructed Sun Kecheng to prepare a secret escape route. The two sides agreed on a code word. In case they needed to escape, they would use the code word to make contact.

But when it really came to running away, he still did not dare to trust them completely. The Foreign Intelligence Bureau had already sent a telegram, preparing to send a joint team of special reconnaissance team members and intelligence personnel to Guangzhou to help them escape with force if necessary.

However, there was no sign of any action to seal the Guangzhou station. The officials in Guangzhou seemed to be deliberately giving Guo Yi and others enough time to consider their dedication options. They simply ignored the three businesses of the Zi brand. At the same time, people came in an endless stream to discuss dedication. Tian Da came to urge him almost every day. Guo Yi simply avoided him completely.

“Master Tian is here to pay a visit,” the doorman reported to him.

Lu Yizhong was just about to go out, but at this time he had to sit down again. He sighed and said, “Please hurry!”

He had been busy with the dispatch of the army these past few days, so busy that his feet barely touched the ground.

After the meeting decided on the strategy for sending troops, He Rubin’s intention was to be “cautious.” He had been in office in Guangdong for many years and knew a little about the climate and geography of Hainan. He knew that it was about to enter summer and face the rainy season, and there would be typhoons in early autumn, so he advocated that they should not set out until October. At that time, the autumn grain would have been harvested, and it would be convenient to raise grain and fodder along the way. The autumn weather was high and crisp, and the troops would not be prone to epidemics when marching and stationing.

But Wang Zunde’s intention was to “fight a quick battle.” At this time, the provisions and pay for the campaign were already prepared. He Rubin could no longer shirk, so he had to decide to set out with some of his troops in early June.

Outside Guangzhou, there were shouts and neighing of horses. The various armies were assembling. There were many military affairs to be handled. Lu Yizhong was already overwhelmed with work, and he also had to deal with Tian Da coming every three or five days to urge him to “quickly settle the matter of the Ziminglou.” He could not help but complain bitterly in his heart—he regretted that he should not have gotten involved in this business. Originally, he was more than 90% sure that as soon as Guo Yi heard the news that the court was going to send troops to Lingao, he would be scared out of his wits and obediently dedicate his property to Tian Da. Not only would he have pleased the father of the emperor’s consort, but he would also have made a profit from it—Tian Da had originally promised him a benefit of 3,000 taels of silver after the matter was settled.

Unexpectedly, this Guo Yi was actually soft and hard to eat, and he looked like he was going to fight to the end. Not only did the three businesses open as usual, but he also did not see Tian Da and others again after seeing them once.

Tian Da then came to him from time to time to make a scene, asking him to immediately arrest Guo Yi and others and force him to dedicate his property.

Idiot! Lu Yizhong cursed secretly in his heart when he heard his “brilliant idea.” But he was also very helpless—this “idiot” was pointing fingers at him, and he still had to smile.

It was easy to arrest people—he just had to give an order to Nanhai County. But once the person was arrested, the property would have to be confiscated and sold. What was the point of dedicating it? As for who would get it after the official sale, that was another matter. The father of the emperor’s consort was after all far away in the capital. Not everyone would buy his account.

No matter how Lu Yizhong explained, Tian Da always pressed him—he was after all just a servant, just relying on the power of the father of the emperor’s consort to be a fox borrowing the tiger’s might. He had no power in Guangzhou. It was difficult for him to get things done if the officials just shirked and prevaricated.

Lu Yizhong originally wanted to continue to prevaricate with him, but unexpectedly, this person actually made another request:

“I have long heard that Pei Lixiu of the Ziminglou is a stunning beauty from Australia. This time, besides asking Guo to dedicate his property, this woman must also be presented to the father of the emperor’s consort.”

Lu Yizhong was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. How could he have taken a fancy to someone’s concubine? He had seen this Pei Lixiu many times. She was already a woman of twenty-four or twenty-five. Although she was exquisitely beautiful, she was a bit stout. Her height was much taller than that of an ordinary man. How could the father of the emperor’s consort be interested in such a barbarian woman? Could it be that this Tian Da wanted her for himself?

Thinking that he was currently assisting in military affairs, but he still had to scheme for a servant to snatch a woman, Lu Yizhong felt a great sense of disgust in his heart.

This is utterly absurd!

He originally wanted to prevaricate for a while and then coax him back. Suddenly, he thought again: it was not feasible to arrest Guo Yi—once the person was arrested, the property would have to be confiscated. But it was okay to arrest his concubine. No matter what crime was charged, she would be arrested, and it would be a case of killing the chicken to warn the monkey, forcing Guo Yi to come and dedicate his property himself.

As for whether Pei Lixiu would be returned to her original owner in the end, that was not his business.

“This matter is easy. Leave it to me,” Lu Yizhong readily agreed.

“Really?” Tian Da had been coaxed by him many times recently and was not very confident in his credit.

“Really,” Lu Yizhong nodded. “In three days, I will naturally hand the person over to you. With this little beauty, are you still afraid that that Guo Yi won’t obediently offer up his property with both hands? This is the apple of his eye.”

“Good! I’ll believe you this time,” Tian Da slapped the table. “In three days, I’ll come here to pick her up.” He sneered, “Adviser Lu, don’t go back on your word.”

Lu Yizhong sent Tian Da away and immediately wrote a note in his study:

“Arrest Pei Lixiu of the Guo family of Ziminglou immediately. Nanhai County, take note!” Below, he signed his name with a flourish.

He waited for the ink to dry slightly, then called a servant and ordered him to send it to the Nanhai County yamen.

That night, Chunliu was watching the back door—now that the staff of the Ziminglou had been greatly reduced, she had to watch the back door herself, waiting for information from the courier. Yan Maoda, Zhang Xin, and others had all gone underground. But the contact between them had not been interrupted for a day. All the news was delivered by the courier.

The courier was disguised as a peddler selling snacks on a pole. He never entered the door. Chunliu knew that this peddler would pass by here every night, but whether there was a message to be transmitted depended on the windmill on his pole. If it was inserted on the left, there was no message. If it was inserted on the right, she would have to go and buy some food and bring back the secret letter to Pei Lixiu.

The peddler had just passed. Chunliu was about to close the door and go to bed when a black shadow suddenly covered the wall. Chunliu had been trained and immediately jumped back behind the door and shouted the code word.

“The weather is dry and things are flammable!”

The code word was both a signal to identify the visitor and a reminder to the security personnel guarding the back door and the backyard to be aware of someone approaching.

But the visitor did not respond to the code word and rushed straight to the door. He did not care that the door was about to close and directly stuck his foot in.

“Don’t close the door!” the visitor called out anxiously.

“Who is it?” Chunliu asked.

“I am—Wu—” the visitor quickly took off the eye patch on his face.

“It’s you?!” Chunliu almost cried out—wasn’t this Wu Zhixiang? She quickly signaled the security personnel not to move.

This Wu Zhixiang was a regular and frequent customer of the Ziminglou. He often came to Pei Lixiu’s place to show his attentiveness, and he had also deposited a large sum of silver at the Ziminglou’s counter to earn interest. However, since he suddenly brought people to withdraw his deposit half a month ago, he had not been here for more than a month.

“What’s wrong with you?” Chunliu was still in shock. What was this son of an official family, still a scholar, doing here in the middle of the night, dressed like this and sneaking around?

“Is Miss Pei here?” he asked without even catching his breath.