Chapter 35: Inspecting the Lanterns and Candles

At the second watch of the night, two night watchmen knocked on the inn door under the pretext of "fire safety inspection." They brought word that the person being pursued had slipped back into the government office.

"It seems that man is indeed Huang Zhang."

Xu Qi still felt a sense of frustration. Just by being delayed by Lei Gengsheng for a few extra words, she had let a crucial lead slip away. The lingering agitation made it impossible for her to sleep, so she lit a lamp to discuss the matter with Tan Jiuding.

The latter was quite optimistic. "No matter. As long as we know where he is, we can just wait until daybreak to seize him. It will be like catching a turtle in a jar."

"However," Tan Jiuding changed his tone, "the fact that Lei Gengsheng suddenly appeared out of nowhere is truly suspicious."

Xu Qi understood his misgivings. "I also thought it was too coincidental at first. But finding Huang Zhang was ultimately thanks to him. If he hadn't wanted to help, he could have easily hidden in the gambling den, and we would certainly have been kicked out."

"Hmph. Being able to command night watchmen so easily—he is no mere boat captain."

Xu Qi nodded, resting her chin in her palm. She squinted against the flickering lamplight, her mind sharp. "Yes, I have always suspected he is part of the Boatmen's Guild, and a prominent one at that. I just don't know if he has any ties to Zhao Qing’s group."

"There are many boat guilds of all sizes along the Grand Canal. It is impossible for them to have no connections, but that does not mean they all share the same agenda. Still, you must be extremely cautious when you see him again; do not let yourself be led by the nose."

"I was not... fine, it was indeed my oversight." Xu Qi gave up on defending herself, pursed her lips, and let her thoughts wander. "Tell me, at that banquet for the young Master Chen, could Lei Gengsheng have been an honored guest? Is it possible he knows something about young Master Chen’s affairs?"

Tan Jiuding scoffed at her wild imagination. He glanced at her profile, illuminated by the dim, golden light. With her hands cupped around her face, she looked soft and delicate, reminding him of a steaming white bun in the depths of winter.

"You are overthinking it. Huai'an City is not that small. If it were truly that coincidental, the fact that Lei Gengsheng was still willing to help you tail Huang Zhang would be quite chilling. Even if he did know, we don't need him. Dealing with a spoiled dandy who lives for pleasure is far easier than catching a shadowy transport official."

Xu Qi felt discouraged, her "bun-like" face wrinkling. "I hope so. I just feel... as if I have missed something, something intangible."

The breeze leaking through the window was cold, but her heart burned with anxiety.

Having finally reached Huai'an, she still had not found any news regarding Zhiwei, and she could not help but panic. A series of dark thoughts sprouted in her mind like bamboo shoots after rain—what if Zhiwei had been moved elsewhere while she was unaware? What if, after catching Huang Zhang, they discovered he knew nothing at all? What if Wang Cheng’s destination was not Huai'an, and he intended to drop Zhiwei off the boat midway?

She suddenly turned to look at Tan Jiuding and asked, "This is not your first time in Huai'an as an imperial inspector of Nan Zhili, is it? Could it be that a previous case you investigated also involved this place?"

This woman’s occasional flashes of intuition were as sharp as a bloodhound's nose.

"There were a few such cases."

"Did women go missing in Huai'an as well?" Xu Qi pressed him. "We are in the same boat now, so don't hold anything back."

"Heh, when did we end up in the same boat?"

"Don't we have..." Xu Qi nearly let the words "engagement" slip out, but she immediately realized Tan Jiuding was teasing her. She flushed, glared at him, and corrected herself, "Haven't we agreed to cooperate? You were the one who invited me; you shouldn't be so insincere. I won't go around talking about it."

"That is not necessarily true," Tan Jiuding muttered. He replied truthfully, "It was much like the case involving Miss Zhou—all of it is shrouded in mystery. In Suzhou, during the incident with Zhao Qing, that was also my first time crossing paths with them."

Xu Qi scrutinized his expression. "But you went to Suzhou because there were leads pointing that way... From your words and actions, I have always felt that before you went to Ganhua Village with me, you already knew about that place, or had even been there. Is it possible you were aiming for it from the very beginning?"

Tan Jiuding darted a look at her, then quickly looked away.

"I once encountered a rescued woman in Huai'an."

"Oh?" Xu Qi widened her eyes, her fatigue vanishing. "Where is she?"

"No need to look for her; she did not know much. She was an embroiderer who served four months of forced labor every three years. She was abducted on her way home, stuffed into a wooden crate, and transported on a boat as if she were a corpse. She was lucky that the dose of the drug they gave her was not heavy; she woke up halfway and started screaming, which is how she was saved."

"In her delirium, she heard her captors mention the word 'Ganhua,' and I followed that lead to find the place called Ganhua Village. That is all."

"And the people who abducted her...!"

"They escaped," Tan Jiuding sighed. "She was merely treated as an object shoved onto a boat. The sailors and porters confessed that they had taken a bribe, thinking it was just an ordinary coffin used for smuggling contraband. The other party promised that someone would collect it upon arrival in Huai'an, so the crew didn't suspect anything."

"Do you believe them?"

"They were the ones who saved the woman; I have no reason not to believe them."

Xu Qi was struck by a thought. "Then have you considered waiting in ambush to see exactly who comes to collect that coffin?"

Tan Jiuding chuckled softly. "We thought of the same thing, but unfortunately, we gained nothing. I suspect we caused a stir and alerted them, which is why I chose to move in the shadows. Just after I pursued them to Ganhua Village, I heard about the daughter of the Zhou family in the city... the rest of the story does not need repeating."

"Sigh." Xu Qi felt a sense of melancholy. She rested her face in her hands as if a heavy weight were pressing down on her head, making it difficult to maintain her balance. The small fire she had just ignited was extinguished by a gust of cold wind. "Another woman skilled in needlework..."

Tan Jiuding looked at her and opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately swallowed his words.

Outside the window, a series of wooden clappers sounded from near to far—one slow beat, four fast. It was the fifth watch. Daybreak was only an hour away. They had sat and talked for the entire night.

However, just as the sound of the clappers faded, a series of rapid, urgent footsteps echoed outside the door. Before the person could knock, Tan Jiuding suddenly stood up and pulled the door open.

"Ah, honorable guest, they have come for a 'fire safety inspection' again," the innkeeper said, his face full of fear and embarrassment.

Tan Jiuding and Xu Qi were both startled. They exchanged a look and quickly hurried downstairs.

"Fire safety inspection"—this was the same excuse the night watchmen had used to deliver the message during the second watch.

They had only just come. Could it be...?

Sure enough, upon reaching the lobby, they saw the same two familiar faces. But the message they brought was something neither of them could have anticipated, striking Xu Qi and Tan Jiuding like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky:

Huang Zhang was dead. In the government office, he had been killed by a master thief who had scaled the high walls in the night.