Chapter 196: The Real Enemy

After seeing off the secretary of Liu Mengqian, who had come to discuss the aftermath, Zhao Yigong stretched and walked out of the flower hall. Several guards immediately followed him closely. These past few days, the security measures for the entire villa and himself had been raised to the highest level.

Although the undercurrent of this incident had been turbulent, it had not stirred up a big wave. Except for a few unlucky people who died at the gate of the villa, all parties were still getting by. The only slight trouble was Zhang Guang, this “stubborn old man,” who had repeatedly demanded that the authorities “thoroughly investigate the witchcraft of the Phoenix Villa.” Fortunately, the Christian gentry had long regarded him as a thorn in their side. This time, they seized the opportunity to act secretly and framed him with the crime of “gathering a crowd and causing a disturbance,” leading the Hangzhou prefecture to issue an order to “send him back to his native place and place him under strict supervision.” This was considered to have sent him away.

The only thing that gave Liu Mengqian a headache was the discovery of a considerable amount of gunpowder and weapons in a residence in the city. This was truly alarming, and several people had also died there under unclear circumstances. Just as he was worrying about how to deal with it, hints came from all sides, telling him to make a big issue small and a small issue into nothing. He was happy to avoid trouble and immediately closed the case as a fight between bandits, resulting in mutual killing.

Zhao Yigong returned to his inner study but did not enter. He said to the guards, “To the ‘Sticky Pole Department’.”

The “Sticky Pole Department” was located in a courtyard deep within the villa. Normally, besides Zhao Yigong himself and the department’s own personnel, no one else could enter without a written order from Zhao Yigong. It was a very mysterious place in the villa. In fact, few people knew that such an organization even existed there.

Opening the courtyard gate, he was greeted by high walls that blocked out the poisonous sun, creating a cool and gloomy atmosphere.

“Take me to see Xihua.”

The men from the “Sticky Pole Department” led him to the door of a room and opened the iron lock on the door, letting him in. The room was dark, and for a moment, he couldn’t see anything clearly. After a while, he realized that the room had windows, but they were high and narrow.

The room was empty, with only a table and two chairs. Xihua was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. Her hair was somewhat disheveled, and her face was haggard and dull, as if she hadn’t slept all night.

Zhao Yigong sighed inwardly and walked up to her.

“Master,” Xihua called out in a low voice.

“You should call me Chief,” Zhao Yigong said, sitting down on the chair opposite her.

“Master,” Xihua called out again in a low voice.

Zhao Yigong looked at the young girl before him. It had been over twenty-four hours since her return to the villa. The men from the “Sticky Pole Department” must have interrogated her all night. Although they had not used physical torture, this relentless fatigue tactic was enough to cause a mental breakdown.

He had already seen the interrogation report from the “Sticky Pole Department.” Xihua’s return was genuine, and the intelligence she provided had played a key role in foiling the conspiracy.

However, she had become an unreliable person.

Zhao Yigong knew that Xihua’s fate was no longer in his hands, but would be decided by the Political Security General Bureau in Lingao.

As for what her fate would be in Lingao, he could not predict, nor could he inquire.

“Is it time to deal with this servant?” Xihua asked in a low voice.

Zhao Yigong opened his mouth but was at a loss for words for a moment. After a long pause, he finally said:

“I believe you are innocent. This time, the Hangzhou station is safe and sound, and you have rendered a great service,” Zhao Yigong said. “However, you can no longer stay in Hangzhou.”

“Don’t torture me anymore. I can’t take it…” Xihua closed her eyes, a look of sorrow on her face. “Send me to see my parents.”

“You have rendered a great service to the Hangzhou station. Don’t let your imagination run wild.” Zhao Yigong felt a secret sense of pity. There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. She was already a broken person. “Tomorrow morning, you will be sent on a boat to Lingao. We will take care of you for the rest of your life.”

After Zhao Yigong left the room, Zhao Tong was already waiting in the courtyard.

“Let her take a bath, change her clothes, and have a good sleep,” Zhao Yigong instructed. “Have someone watch her. Don’t let her commit suicide!”

“Yes.”

Zhao Yigong returned to his office. A report on the Xihua incident was already on his desk.

The “disposition” column was blank. This was for the highest chief of the Hangzhou station to fill in.

He had once considered whether to cover up the Xihua incident. After all, Xihua herself was tasked with a counter-espionage mission. But her defection was no longer a secret in the “Sticky Pole Department.” After her defection, the “Sticky Pole Department” had mobilized all its forces to search for her.

Even if Qian Shuixie and the others didn’t know the inside story, the “Sticky Pole Department” would probably report directly to the Political Security General Bureau. The Political Security General Bureau had secret members with vertical leadership over the security departments of all local stations. Even if he could deceive the senators, he couldn’t deceive the Political Security General Bureau.

He read the report again. It was drafted by the “Sticky Pole Department” according to his request: to write the truth, without cover-ups or embellishments. Despite saying so, he subconsciously wanted to make the report look a little better, to lessen Xihua’s guilt. He personally revised a few words and phrases until he felt there was nothing more to change before he had it copied out neatly.

He picked up a quill pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote: “In the name of the Senate and the people, I approve her transfer to the Political Security General Bureau for disposition.” Then he signed his name.

The document was placed in a “top secret” file bag and, along with Xihua’s file and archives, would be packed into a special document box and sent with her across the sea to Lingao. The “Bear of Lingao” would decide her final fate.

However, his troubles were not over. Since this matter could not be hidden from the Political Security General Bureau, it naturally could not be hidden from the Executive Committee and the Senate. The crisis at the Hangzhou station would surely become a sharp topic at the Senate meetings. The thought of the verbal attacks his unfortunate colleagues in Guangzhou, Jeju, Shandong, and Taiwan had suffered in the Senate made him shudder.

Lighting a senator-exclusive cigar, he fell into deep thought.

His allies in the Senate, besides Si Kaide, who was himself constantly under fire, were few and far between. If a hearing were to be held, the situation he had painstakingly built in Hangzhou would collapse.

The thought of the businesses he had already started filled him with a strong sense of pride.

He had to stop those armchair critics in the Senate at all costs. The thought of their faces made Zhao Yigong so angry he almost bent the cigar in his hand.

Who were his potential allies? He thought nervously, screening through all the senators he knew and was familiar with.

As he was lost in thought, Zhao Tong came in.

“What is it?” he asked alertly. Zhao Tong was not a tactless person. He wouldn’t barge in when he was thinking. There must be something important.

“The men sent to search Nanxiawa have returned empty-handed!” Zhao Tong reported.

After the incident subsided, Zhao Yigong, combining information from all sources, knew that this Hao Yuan was no small character. In particular, the things he said to Xihua shocked him—they were too modern. Could Hao Yuan be a lone transmigrator?

If so, this was truly terrifying. Especially his expressed antagonism towards the Senate made Zhao Yigong quickly realize that this was a “big fish.” He therefore ordered the “Sticky Pole Department” to use all its resources to search for Hao Yuan’s whereabouts and to kill or capture him at all costs.

The “Sticky Pole Department” was secretly searching in and out of the city, even using the power of the yamen to search Nanxiawa, but they found nothing. The cunning enemy seemed to have sunk to the bottom of the water, leaving no trace. The people of Nanxiawa insisted that Hao Yuan’s whereabouts were unknown.

“Have Jia Le and her parents been captured?”

“This family’s whereabouts are also unknown. Our men ambushed them by the West Lake, but they couldn’t catch Xihua’s father. They seem to have smelled something and gone into hiding.”

“They move fast!” Zhao Yigong gritted his teeth, further confirming his suspicion that this Hao Yuan was an unusual person. He suddenly thought that if Hao Yuan was indeed a lone transmigrator, then his importance was of the highest order.

Zhao Yigong knew well the senators’ fear of other transmigrators. As long as he could stir up the senators’ attention to this, his little troubles in Hangzhou would be nothing.

“Is the composite sketch of Hao Yuan ready?”

“It’s ready. We’ve cross-verified it. It’s correct.”

Based on Xihua’s confession, the “Sticky Pole Department” had already drawn the first composite sketch. Because Hao Yuan had once come to the villa as Manager Niu of the Maoxing Company, several people had seen him. Therefore, Zhao Tong had specifically conducted a cross-identification of the portrait, and everyone recognized the person as “Manager Niu.”

“Send it to the Wanbi Bookstore to be made into a printing plate. Print a thousand copies first. Mobilize all our forces in Hangzhou and the surrounding prefectures and counties to find him! Anyone who provides useful information will be rewarded with ten taels! Anyone who kills or captures him will be rewarded with one hundred taels.”

“Yes, I’ll arrange it right away.”

“As for the authorities, I will contact them and frame Hao Yuan with the crime of being a highwayman. In a few days, the Hangzhou prefecture will probably issue a wanted poster. But the people in the yamen are unreliable; we still have to put in our own effort. But with a wanted poster, things will be easier.”

“Good. With a warrant, we can pretend to be officials and arrest and search people at will.”

“We have a photo of Jia Le. Instruct your men to try to capture Jia Le first. If not, capturing her family members will also do!” Zhao Yigong said coldly. “Hao Yuan is not far from Jia Le.”

“Understood.”

“How is the examination of the bodies?”

“News has come from the coroner in the yamen: people have been coming to claim the bodies one after another today. Their identities have all been confirmed. But there’s not much to be gained.” He handed over a report. Zhao Yigong glanced at it. The few unlucky people who were killed were either unemployed vagrants or shop clerks, apparently members of fighting societies or temporarily hired hands. There were also some sericulturists from the nearby suburbs. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. These people were all cannon fodder on the periphery and obviously couldn’t have had contact with any important figures.

“These are the more valuable ones,” Zhao Tong said, handing over another report.