Chapter 1516 - Reunion with the Sister-in-Law
Lin Ming lay sprawled on the bed, utterly content. The courtesan, wrapped in her gossamer gown with her body tantalizingly visible beneath, was somehow more alluring than outright nudity. Lin Ming felt like a fine stallion, and she the rider galloping across him—now rising and falling, now swiveling her hips in slow circles. Every fiber of his body relaxed, while below, a tingling pleasure built until he sensed he was about to "deliver" again.
Lin Ming considered himself a seasoned patron of pleasures, with a wife and four concubines at home; he fancied himself an iron warrior of a hundred battles. Never had he imagined that a Cropped-Hair brothel could be so wickedly sensual, with tricks unheard of and unseen. He had not even gotten to the main event before being driven to ecstasy—the "Fire and Ice Five-Fold Heaven" had undone him at the third fold, forcing an early finish.
Fortunately, after more than half a year of abstinence, he had ample reserves. With a bit of coaxing, the courtesan revived his ardor, and he was back in the saddle. After so long without, once he started, he could not stop. One "clock" ended; he added another.
Lin Ming was in the thick of battle when suddenly he heard the pounding of many feet inside the building, and voices shouting. He started with alarm: Could the Cropped-Hairs have learned my identity and come to arrest me? Instantly he pushed the courtesan off and scrambled into his clothes. She did not understand and asked, "Sir, why have you stopped? Have I failed to please you?"
Lin Ming had no time for her. Boots on, he cracked the window open and peered out. Cropped-Hair forces had surrounded the area; police were searching door to door. Lin Ming's heart pounded. This looked like a city-wide dragnet—such a mobilization could not be for petty thieves. The more he thought, the more uneasy he became. He wanted to flee immediately, but saw soldiers outside with muskets at the ready. Whether he jumped from the window or scaled the wall, he would be shot full of holes before he hit the ground.
Besides, even if he ran, it would do no good. When he had bought his "clock," he had registered his identity certificate. The police had only to check the guest book to know everything. Why bother fleeing?
Seeing his alarm, the courtesan was startled too. She rose, threw on a robe, and peered out the window. Seeing it was only police, she relaxed. "Sir, you must not be from around here. Don't worry—it's just a police inspection. This is a proper establishment. We pay taxes on time, have our checkups on schedule. Nothing to fear. Do you have your travel papers? Your identity certificate?"
Lin Ming said, "I have them, but I'm worried the constables will make trouble."
The courtesan laughed. "Qiongzhou Prefecture isn't like Ming territory. The police never harass the common folk. So long as you're law-abiding, they won't give you trouble. Have some tea to calm your nerves, sir. When the inspection's over, we can resume our pleasures." Lin Ming nodded. The courtesan poured him tea. The two sat on the bed, nibbling snacks and dried fruit.
Before long, police came knocking. The courtesan opened the door at once. In walked a man and a woman, both in police uniforms. Lin Ming heard the man bark, "Inspection! Papers out!"
With the courtesan's reassurance, Lin Ming produced his identity certificate. He saw the courtesan take a "yellow ticket" from her gown pocket. He was about to study how these Cropped-Hair officials conducted their business when the male officer shifted, and behind him emerged a young woman, also in police uniform. Lin Ming's eyes fell on her, and he froze:
Isn't this the very sister-in-law I came to Lingao to find, after so much hardship?
She had shed her girlish awkwardness entirely; she was now a grown woman—taller than before, her figure fuller and firmer. The black Cropped-Hair official dress traced her curves; beneath the skirt, white stockings—common among false Cropped-Hair women—sheathed her calves. On her head was a black round cap with a silver star on the band. The sensation was at once strange and familiar. Lin Ming stood rooted to the spot.
Li Yongxun's gaze swept over and landed on Lin Ming. She too froze for an instant. Both quickly looked away. Lin Ming was now certain: the policewoman was his sister-in-law.
He stood there dumbly, watching his sister-in-law examine the yellow ticket, ask the courtesan a few questions, and inspect the room—which was so small, just a bed, a chair, and a cabinet, that a single glance took it all in. Then she stepped out. At the doorway she turned and looked at him once more.
That look was complex with unspoken emotions. Lin Ming's thoughts churned. He was still in a daze when the courtesan called:
"Sir! Sir!"
Lin Ming snapped back and forced a smile.
"You really scared me," the courtesan said, patting her chest and pouting. "You just sat there frozen, not moving at all. I thought... I thought you were feeling unwell..."
"I'm fine," Lin Ming dissembled. "I'm just terrified of officials..."
The courtesan giggled. "From your bearing, sir, you don't seem the timid type."
Lin Ming gave a dry laugh, cursing his luck. His earlier behavior had been most unseemly. If the male officer had grown suspicious, there would have been trouble. Still, he was secretly astonished: the police really had not made the slightest fuss. In Ming territory, forget county runners—even when he himself led raids on brothels, the house had to produce "traveling money" and the customers had to offer "considerations," or they would find some pretext to haul everyone back for a "warm reception." Yet the Cropped-Hair officials were so incorruptible—did they all drink the northwest wind?
Moreover, his sister-in-law was from a military household with a hereditary officer's post. How could she stoop to such a "base occupation"? Lin Ming was aware of Li Yongxun's little dream—to be a real Brocade Guard. She had even once donned his official robes at home to preen. How had she come to submit to the Cropped-Hairs?
Doubts aside, Lin Ming saw that he was not the target of the dragnet. Li Yongxun had recognized him on the spot yet said nothing, evidently still bound by sentiment. For now, he was safe. His heart settled somewhat.
But his desire to continue had evaporated. He was about to wash and dress and leave when the courtesan, ever perceptive, saw his flagging interest. She knelt between his legs and bent forward. A tingling rush below revived him at once.
Suddenly a bell clanged on the wall. The courtesan rose and said, "Please wait a moment, sir. They're summoning us for questioning. I'll be right back to continue attending you. The house will certainly add time to compensate for the interruption. Rest easy, sir."
Lin Ming watched her leave, then cracked the door open. The police had withdrawn; only courtesans and pimps hurried up and down the corridor. Though Li Yongxun had not exposed him, years had passed since their last meeting, and she had submitted to the Cropped-Hairs. He did not know her true feelings... His anxiety flared again. He was a probationary Brocade Guard centurion—Li Yongxun knew that perfectly well. She would not assume he had come to Lingao looking for her; she would surely think he was there to spy on Cropped-Hair military secrets.
What if Li Yongxun had been so bewitched by the Cropped-Hairs that she reported him?
At the thought, his hair stood on end. He wanted to settle his bill and leave immediately. But then he reflected: since arriving in Lingao, every step had been recorded. Where he lodged, where he worked—the Cropped-Hairs' police could find out with a single inquiry. Lingao demanded documents for everything: lodging required an identity certificate, employment required a work permit, even visiting a brothel required registering one's ID. To vanish and hide under a false name was simply impossible.
Yet on second thought, though Li Yongxun's eyes had shown alarm, there had also been affection, concern, and worry. He and his wife had treated her well—and besides, Lin Ming knew she had once harbored a certain fondness for him; there had been a spark between them. With that affection in play, surely she would not be utterly heartless?
So long as she was willing to cover for him, he remained safe in Lingao. The next step was how to make contact with her again and persuade her to flee back to Guangdong.
With that, Lin Ming's mind settled. By now the courtesan had returned, grinning as she curtsied. "The interruption disturbed your mood, sir. The house says it will add half a clock for free. Your servant will attend you well."
Li Yongxun's team, sweeping the custom-trade district, found no suspicious persons. Before midnight they returned to headquarters. As a temporary loan for overtime, she had only to complete her action report and then could clock out—tomorrow she was entitled to a day's compensatory leave. Ordinarily, Li Yongxun would have rushed back to the dormitory to sleep. Tonight, however, she returned to the Household Registration Division.
The division was brightly lit; a few people were still busy with paperwork. The duty officer was surprised to see her back.
"I have some unfinished work; tomorrow I'll be off," Li Yongxun explained.
"You must clock out by one..."
"Yes, I know." She nodded repeatedly and hurried to her desk.
An attendant pushing a tea cart filled her cup with black tea. Li Yongxun covered her face with her hands and sat motionless for several minutes.
Just as Lin Ming had guessed, Li Yongxun had recognized him the instant she saw him. Despite his loose robe, disheveled clothes, and tousled hair, she knew her brother-in-law at a glance.
Lin Ming's appearance cast a stone into the calm depths of her heart, sending ripples spreading in all directions. She had once been quite fond of this dashing, handsome brother-in-law—especially with the added allure of his Brocade Guard status. Propriety forbade her from openly showing it, but she had never minded his occasional liberties; indeed, sometimes she had deliberately flirted, teasing him with girlish wiles.
But that was then. Now she served the Australians, while her brother-in-law remained a Ming official. Lin Ming's sudden appearance in Lingao could only mean he had come because of the Australians. He was the Brocade Guard of Foshan; she knew Brocade Guard procedures—scouting military intelligence meant selecting local Brocade Guard personnel. His presence here surely meant he was spying on Australian military affairs, and he was probably not alone.
Thinking of the recent mass arrests—she did not know the case details, but the scale of the mobilization and the urgent demand for interrogation transcripts told her the superiors took it very seriously—could her brother-in-law be connected to that case?