Chapter 331: Bait?

“I was sitting here idly… this woman insisted on soliciting business. I ignored her, but she started shouting…”

“Is that so?!” the police officer turned to ask the “streetwalker”.

The “streetwalker” glared fiercely at Lin Ming: “No such thing! He’s the one who wanted my services but refused to pay.”

“This is a non-business area. What are you doing here?” The officer’s gaze fell on the collar around her neck, and he asked irritably, “Where’s your yellow ticket?”

The “streetwalker,” knowing she was in the wrong, had no choice but to hand over her yellow ticket.

The officer looked at the yellow ticket and read it aloud: “Xin Nachun. A ‘non-national,’ indeed.” He said the word “non-national” with a look of contempt. “Operating in a restricted area, illegal solicitation. For these two offenses, you’re looking at another fifty lashes on your ass and a few days’ rest. Wait for your appearance in the Public Security Court tomorrow.”

A look of fear instantly appeared on Xin Nachun’s face. One could imagine that those fifty lashes were not easy to endure.

The officer made a note, recorded his temporary ID number, and had him sign it.

“Sir, you are free to go. She has violated the ‘Customs Business Regulations.’ Nothing more needs to be said.” The officer put her yellow ticket into his canvas bag, took out a rope, tied it to the ring on Xin Nachun’s collar, and led her away. Lin Ming had a sudden realization: so that’s what the collar was for.

Lin Ming hurriedly left the embankment, his heart filled with anxiety. The police had arrived too quickly! How could he know it wasn’t a trap? Although the Jinyiwei’s secret code was an internal secret, he had heard that many agents had gone missing on missions over the years. Many had undoubtedly died for their country, but it wasn’t impossible that some were captured or had defected. Had this secret code been leaked?

However, he had heard that most of the Guard’s forces were sent to Liaodong. During the She-An Rebellion, some had gone to Yunnan and Guizhou, but he had never heard of anyone being sent to Hainan. In recent years, apart from the “pirates causing chaos in Guangzhou” which had alarmed the authorities, the rest of Guangdong had been “peaceful and uneventful.” No one would send people to Lingao for no reason. He believed that Li Yongxun would not hand over this “bottom-of-the-chest” secret to the short-hairs.

At this thought, his heart calmed a little. On his way back, he made a trip to Heyuan Street and found that the police station was indeed very close to his meeting point. If the police were patrolling the street, it was possible they could have heard the noise and rushed over, although it seemed a bit too proactive.

However, if the short-hairs really suspected him, they probably wouldn’t need to go to such lengths. Following Lin Ming’s Jinyiwei logic, if someone was a suspect, you just arrested them and tortured them severely. What confession couldn’t you get?

But by doing this, he had offended his colleagues. He wasn’t worried about the “operative.” From the situation just now, Xin Nachun must have been recruited locally by his colleagues. Since she was willing to do this life-threatening business under short-hair rule, she should know what’s at stake and wouldn’t falsely incriminate others.

As for the colleague who hadn’t shown up, he was a hidden danger. If he managed to get back alive and ran into him in Guangdong, it would be a huge mess to sort out.

It would be best if he disappeared silently in Lingao. Lin Ming thought, he absolutely could not let him ruin things for him and his sister-in-law.

Thinking of this, he took a detour, made sure no one was following him, and returned to Haixing Store.

The next day, he worked as usual. After getting off work in the evening, he pretended to go for a walk and went back to the place where his sister-in-law had responded to his secret sign. As expected, another line had been added next to the sign: The embankment is not safe.

Obviously, Li Yongxun had gone to the embankment last night. Knowing it wasn’t safe, she wouldn’t go again. Lin Ming nodded to himself: his sister-in-law was indeed very talented. She had remembered the key points he had taught her about using secret signs.

Now Lin Ming was a little worried. With colleagues in Lingao, his secret signs were transparent. If he sent out another sign to meet his sister-in-law, it would be fine if his colleagues were tactful. But if it was some reckless fool who insisted on contacting him to “serve the court,” it would become a troublesome matter.

However, he had to pause his efforts to contact Li Yongxun for a meeting. Fortunately, they had already made contact, so meeting again wouldn’t be difficult. Lin Ming decided to observe for a few days first. As long as he didn’t send out a new secret sign, Li Yongxun wouldn’t actively contact him.

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Li Yongxun had also gone to the embankment that night, but she arrived a little later. Noticing the police on the embankment, she left immediately. The next day at work, she immediately checked the previous night’s public security brief. As expected, she found that a public security incident had occurred on the embankment: the prostitute Xin Nachun was detained by the Heyuan Street police station for “operating outside the designated area” and “illegal solicitation,” and was transferred to the Public Security Court today.

Such minor cases were common in Lingao and the handling was relatively simple. The Public Security Court could sentence dozens a day. For someone like Xin Nachun, it would be nothing more than fifty lashes at the court’s punishment bureau, followed by being locked in the stocks on Heyuan Street for a few days as a public example.

Obviously, Lin Ming must have gotten into a dispute with this prostitute who was soliciting him last night.

But why was this Xin Nachun so bold? “Operating outside the designated area” and “illegal solicitation” were not unheard of, but they usually happened in areas with weaker police presence. To do such a thing on the Heyuan embankment, with the police station right there, was far too audacious. The few officers in the punishment bureau who specialized in carrying out sentences were old yamen runners from the former strong-arm squads. One lash from them could twist a person’s face in pain, unable to even scream. Three lashes could cause internal injuries, and ten could be fatal. They were extremely formidable. Moreover, for a yellow-ticket prostitute, once punished, regardless of whether it involved public display, she would be unable to receive clients for at least five or six days. For a “self-employed” prostitute, this loss of income was significant.

Li Yongxun had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Xin Nachun was probably not just an ordinary prostitute.

Could it be the State Security Bureau “fishing”? Li Yongxun’s mood instantly tensed. She had indeed not revealed the Jinyiwei’s secret code system. But that didn’t mean the short-hairs definitely didn’t know these codes. The Jinyiwei was a vast and bloated organization with many members. What if the Security Bureau had learned the codes from some other source?

Her heart clenched at the thought. If that were the case, not only would Lin Ming be in danger, but she herself would be in peril.

The thought of being captured by the State Security Bureau, sent to the basement for interrogation, stripped naked and tied to a torture rack just like the prisoners she had once interrogated…

Li Yongxun felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, and cold sweat broke out on her back. The thought of surrendering and reporting him flashed through her mind for a moment.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, she steadied herself. Right now, there was no evidence that Xin Nachun was the State Security Bureau’s “bait.” Her first task was to prove this.

How to prove it? Although her rank was not low, her position was just a clerk in the Household Registration Office. And she had no legitimate reason to check the file of a yellow-ticket prostitute.

Of course, she could check it. After all, prostitutes also had household registrations and identity cards. But the query would leave a record, which would become evidence if things went wrong!

After much consideration, Li Yongxun decided the only way was to go to the Public Security Court’s punishment bureau and see for herself. If Xin Nachun was really “bait,” either the punishment wouldn’t be carried out at all, or it would be done perfunctorily. The methods of those yamen runners couldn’t fool her.

Going to the Public Security Court was one of the duties of the Household Registration Office. After prisoners were sentenced each day, the office had to re-register them based on the verdict. Any prisoner sentenced to “labor camp for reform,” regardless of the duration, had their local household registration and identity card canceled, and transfer procedures were handled—a one-stop service.

This kind of routine work was usually assigned to the “newcomers” in rotation.

“Good, I happen to have a newcomer here,” she thought.

Li Yongxun went to the deputy director and proposed to take Zuo Yamei to the Public Security Court today.

“Can’t she go alone?” The deputy director was a bit hesitant. “You still have a lot of work…”

“She hasn’t done this task before. I’ll take her to familiarize her with it,” Li Yongxun said without changing her expression. “My work is not urgent, I can catch up by working overtime on my day off.”

After getting permission, she immediately called Zuo Yamei, took the relevant forms and registers, and headed to the Public Security Court.

Since it wasn’t urgent official business, they couldn’t get a police carriage, nor could they use a bicycle—Li Yongxun was very curious about this contraption and had spent a lot of effort learning to ride it. Unfortunately, she rarely had the opportunity to ride one on weekdays.

The two could only walk or take the public carriage.

The Lingao Public Security Court was originally located in the merchant guildhall in Dongmen Market. As the number of cases increased, the Arbitration Tribunal divided the courts. The trial court in the guildhall only handled economic and civil cases, while new trial courts were established for criminal and public security cases.

The Public Security Court was still located in Dongmen Market, where the most public security cases occurred, making it convenient for handling them locally and also serving as a “deterrent.”

The new Public Security Court was very large. Not only did it have multiple courtrooms to hear cases simultaneously, but it also had a punishment bureau for short-term detention of prisoners and corporal punishment. For minor offenses like spitting, littering, and graffiti, sending them to labor reform was too harsh. Besides, they didn’t need so many low-level laborers at the moment. Tying them to a punishment rack and giving them a few dozen lashes on the buttocks was more effective.

They arrived at a dedicated office where a pile of verdict documents from cases concluded that morning was already on the desk—the Public Security Court started work at seven in the morning. While teaching Zuo Yamei how to handle the procedures, Li Yongxun watched the situation in the courtyard through the glass window.

In the courtyard, prisoners were lined up waiting to go to trial. They all looked dejected, sitting under the eaves on both sides of the courtyard, watched by a few police officers smoking cigarettes.

Xin Nachun’s verdict document wouldn’t be here; her crime wasn’t serious enough for “labor reform.” Therefore, if her punishment hadn’t already been carried out, she must be in the waiting line.

Li Yongxun guided Zuo Yamei through a few files. Seeing no mistakes, she made an excuse and left the office alone.