Chapter Seven: The Trail

A few days ago, Lin Ming had a thorough exchange with the heads of the yamen’s fast-response squads in the prefecture and counties, gaining a preliminary understanding of Gao Shunqin’s routine in Guangzhou. Like all high-ranking officials, Gao Shunqin’s movements in Guangzhou were limited. Besides going to his office, paying visits, and attending social functions with other officials and prominent households, he rarely went out. Due to his strong anti-foreigner stance, his political views clashed significantly with the Guangzhou officialdom, which benefited greatly from the gray income of foreign trade. Therefore, he had little contact with the Guangzhou officials. Most of his time was spent in his own residence.

Lin Ming had personally surveyed the entire Gao residence. It was not large, a medium-sized dwelling with three courtyards in a row, east and west side yards, and a garden. It was formerly the private residence of a foreign merchant in Guangzhou. Because it was the home of a wealthy merchant, the materials and workmanship used in its construction were very particular. The high walls of plain brick were at least twenty-four or twenty-five feet high, impossible to climb without tools.

All doors had locks, and the keys were uniformly managed by the head housekeeper, who returned them to the main house every night. After nightfall, all courtyards were closed and locked. The main doors were guarded by dedicated personnel, and along the entire perimeter wall, servants and watchmen patrolled all night. It should be said that this arrangement was quite rigorous.

Moreover, the inner study was located in the core of the residence. Lin Ming believed it was impossible for someone to scale the high walls on a dark night, evade the patrols, penetrate deep into the mansion, and finally take away a living person like Gao Shunqin without a sound. Although there were many legends of elusive thieves who came and went without a trace, Lin Ming’s family were hereditary Jinyiwei. He had been exposed to such stories since childhood, heard many cases from his elders, and was well-versed in such matters at a young age. He had also handled many cases himself and knew that most of these stories were greatly exaggerated. He believed that if someone had indeed abducted Gao Shunqin, there must have been an inside accomplice in the Gao residence.

When it came to interrogating suspects, he was not as hesitant and indecisive as Yu Baocun. Yu Baocun didn’t even dare to use torture on the prominent maids in the Gao residence, merely summoning them for a few questions as a formality. In Lin Ming’s eyes, this was simply “indulgence.”

Except for Su Ai, who was Censor Gao’s favorite concubine and was temporarily spared physical suffering until the situation became clear, only being required to “accompany the trial,” the Guangzhou prefecture issued orders to bring in the gatekeepers, watchmen, and servants who were on duty that night, as well as the head housekeeper who managed the keys, and even Su Ai’s personal maid, for severe interrogation overnight. The sound of whips and boards, the wails of the accused… it caused pedestrians to take long detours to avoid passing by the Guangzhou prefectural yamen.

Lin Ming once suspected the head housekeeper—she was a native of Guangdong province, which gave her a natural advantage in colluding with local bandits. She also managed the keys and was very familiar with the layout and routines of the mansion, making her a very useful inside accomplice. Therefore, he instructed Li Yongxun to focus on interrogating this person.

Li Yongxun had insisted on coming along to “handle the case together” with her cousin-in-law. To prove she was not a useless burden, she was very diligent in torturing the prisoners. Her family had ancestral skills in this area. She was even more ruthless when dealing with female prisoners. The servant women and maids were tortured by her to the point of near death. Su Ai, who was “accompanying the trial,” fainted from fright. When someone was called to help her away, Li Yongxun noticed that the stool was wet.

“Look at her, she pissed herself just from watching a few lashes,” Li Yongxun said with a look of contempt. “She’s more of a delicate lady than a real lady.”

The head housekeeper, unable to bear the torture, finally confessed: on the morning of Censor Gao’s disappearance, the watchman found the lock on the back gate open. At that time, it was reported to her. The head housekeeper, fearing she would be blamed for dereliction of duty if she reported it, and seeing no signs of theft, had the gate re-locked and told everyone to keep quiet. Later, when she heard that the master was missing, she became even more afraid to reveal the matter.

Lin Ming was overjoyed. He had the other people who were present at the time brought in for interrogation, and their testimonies indeed matched. Now, how Censor Gao had disappeared was largely clear: whether he was abducted or walked out on his own, it was obvious that he had left through the open back gate.

The problem was that there were still many unclear links. Even with further interrogation, they couldn’t find out who the inside accomplice was. But at this time, he received news from the Jinghai Gate. Lin Ming felt that this was a new breakthrough and immediately led his men to investigate along the route.

With the prestige of the Jinyiwei, as long as they showed their credentials, the gentry, commoners, merchants, and artisans along the way would answer every question with ten answers, not daring to hide anything. And a sedan chair leaving the city so early in the morning was indeed conspicuous, so they quickly got news that the group had immediately taken the official road to Foshan Town after leaving Guangzhou.

After arriving in Foshan Town, they learned that the group had stopped there for a rest. The leader of the group was a man of considerable dignity. Surrounded by several attendants, he had a meal in a private room of a local restaurant and was quite generous with his money. Although the restaurant owner and the “waiter” did not see him clearly, the description of his appearance was somewhat similar to Censor Gao’s.

Lin Ming was overjoyed. This was most likely Gao Shunqin! Whether he was coerced or went willingly was not important—what was important was that Censor Gao was still alive.

“This is truly great news!” Yu Baocun’s face lit up with joy as he listened to his account of the investigation. As long as Censor Gao was not dead, things would be much easier to handle. Yu Baocun was most afraid that Gao Shunqin would die within the boundaries of Guangzhou Prefecture—as the official responsible for the territory, it would be difficult for him to escape responsibility.

“Hehe,” Lin Ming sneered twice. He knew very well what the prefect was thinking. “Master Bao! You’re thinking too simply. Although Master Gao was safe and sound in Foshan, seven or eight days have passed. How do you know if he is safe now?”

“Yes, yes, you’ve worked hard, Master Xin.” Yu Baocun certainly understood Lin Ming’s meaning and quietly slipped him a Delong bank note. “The brothers have worked hard. This is for them to have some tea.”

Lin Ming glanced at it out of the corner of his eye: fifty taels. He was still satisfied with this amount—before the case was closed, he would have to bargain with him again to get a thousand taels or so to spend.

“No problem,” Lin Ming said, sitting in his chair. Foshan was his old haunt, and he knew the people there even better. His men went out for a spin and came back with important news: the group had stayed in Foshan for half a day, during which they bought a lot of dry rations and other things for the road. Then they chartered a passenger boat heading up to Sanshui County and left.

Yu Baocun was perplexed. “They went to Sanshui?”

Lin Ming and his men were very puzzled by this. They were very familiar with this waterway: the upstream passenger boats went up the river, not only to Sanshui County, but also continued north, passing through Qingyuan, Yingde, Shaozhou, and Shaoguan, finally reaching Nanxiong Prefecture. From Nanxiong Prefecture, they could cross the Dayu Mountains by land and leave Guangdong.

“Yes, I’m also very puzzled—does Master Gao have any old friends or relatives in Sanshui?”

“I’ve never heard of any,” Yu Baocun frowned. “Besides, even if he were visiting relatives or friends, why would he leave without saying goodbye?”

“Exactly.”

Lin Ming immediately sent a few of his capable men to investigate along the river, tracking Master Gao’s movements. He himself returned to Guangdong with the others—he felt that the root of the matter was still in Guangzhou. He thought it was necessary to find out what exactly had happened in Guangzhou.

Now he believed that the possibility of Censor Gao leaving on his own was very slim. Master Gao was doing well as an official in Guangdong. He had not received an imperial edict for a transfer, nor had he received a letter from home about the death of an elder, requiring him to return for mourning. It was impossible for him to leave Guangdong just like that. Therefore, the possibility of him abandoning his post and running away was the smallest.

“Master Gao was most likely taken away by villains under duress,” Lin Ming said. “I just don’t know who these villains are and why they would want to coerce Master Gao.”

“Could it be for money?”

“Unlikely,” Lin Ming shook his head. Kidnapping a high-ranking local official for money? There were no such bold bandits in the world. Wouldn’t it be faster and safer to kidnap a wealthy household for money?

“Could it be the work of the Australians or the Portuguese?” Yu Baocun said. Gao Shunqin’s political view was to expel foreigners. His sudden disappearance would be very beneficial to both the Australians and the Portuguese. Without such a strong supporter in the officialdom, the influence of the anti-foreigner faction in Guangzhou would be greatly diminished.

Lin Ming thought that this was very possible. However, if it were really their doing, the route should not have been from Foshan to Sanshui, but directly down the Pearl River from Huangpu. Both the Portuguese-occupied Macau and the Australian-occupied Xiangshan’ao were to the south of Guangzhou.

“I’m afraid it’s a feint to the east and an attack to the west,” Lin Ming said slowly. “I have already sent people to Sanshui to investigate Master Gao’s whereabouts. I will also send people to investigate in the south.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Master Xin. If you need any help from me, I will definitely do my best to assist you!”

Lin Ming and his men were staying in a courtyard of the Gao residence. After several days of running back and forth, he was very tired. He hastily washed and changed his clothes, but he couldn’t fall asleep when he lay down on the bed. There were too many details in Gao Shunqin’s disappearance case that he couldn’t figure out. All in all, it was highly likely that Master Gao had been forcibly abducted, but who the abductors were, what their motives were, and how they did it, were still a series of mysteries.

Overall, the Portuguese and the Australians were the most suspicious. But there was no evidence to prove that they did it, and the escape route did not match. Lin Ming thought: it is very necessary to immediately send a few more people to the mouth of the Pearl River to gather information. Try to find out Gao Shunqin’s whereabouts as clearly as possible.

Only when the situation is fully understood can we bargain.

Lin Ming had not been in his official position for long, but he was very clear about the ways of the officialdom. The truth of the matter was sometimes not the most important thing; how to minimize “trouble” was the most important. Gao Shunqin’s disappearance case seemed to make everyone in the officialdom nervous, but they were not nervous about Censor Gao’s safety, but about what negative impact this matter would ultimately have on their careers. The Guangdong officialdom could not afford another major storm—Wang’s death was considered to have taken the blame for the disastrous defeat in Qiongzhou. If another Gao Shunqin case were to arise, the Guangdong officialdom would no longer be able to muddle through.