Chapter 1768 - Tradition
"The Political Security Bureau arrested Sister Ye..."
Han Yue glanced at Zheng Shangjie, saw her nod—her mistress already knew—and didn't elaborate on this "old news."
The arrested woman was not one of the recently retained Guangzhou Prefecture officials, but an old hand from the Guangzhou Station.
Zheng Shangjie had already been notified: the Political Security Bureau had raided her residence, uncovering two hundred taels of silver, a quantity of gold jewelry, and several thousand yuan in Circulation Vouchers. Someone had informed that she'd privately accepted bribes from several of Guangzhou's major merchants, leaking Senators' itineraries and internal activities.
Zheng Shangjie shook her head, feeling helpless.
Sister Ye had attended to the personal needs of Zheng Shangjie, Pei Lixiu, and others inside Ziming Tower—a body-servant to the Senators, in old parlance. Because she worked in such close proximity to Senators, she had been specially dispatched from the General Affairs Office in Lingao. She, too, was a native of Guangzhou Prefecture.
In her mid-thirties, not beautiful but with an amiable face—the kind that "pleased superior eyes." Quick-handed and diligent, skilled at managing fires and food: the late-night snacks, morning breakfasts, and afternoon refreshments for the female Senators had all been prepared by her own hands. She had worked at the Guangzhou Station for over three years and was much liked by the women.
And yet, less than a month after Guangzhou's liberation, she had become a "traitor."
She didn't betray us in the hard times, Zheng Shangjie mused, but when a bright future lay just ahead, she fell into the water! She sighed inwardly.
Perhaps, in their eyes, the liberation of Guangzhou was when they could finally "enjoy their reward."
"Did the Political Security Bureau say which tycoons were implicated?"
"They sent a document over just now..." Han Yue saw that her mistress didn't respond beyond a slight nod, and hurried to the study to fetch the memorandum from its internal-mail envelope.
"Ma'am—"
Zheng Shangjie took it and looked. It was a case memorandum: bribes collected, a small notebook recording Senators' movements and snatches of conversation, her confession...
She saw a long list of implicated Guangdong tycoons and let out a soft, scornful laugh. "These fools!"
According to the confession, they were intensely curious about what the Senatorial Council intended to do, and eager to find out why Guo Yi had suddenly been transferred. They were even more keenly interested in the Senators' personal lives and tastes.
These Ming-era tycoons simply couldn't fathom the structure of the Lingao regime. The concept of aristocratic republicanism was too remote for them—in both time and space.
When she had first arrived in Guangzhou, she had been mistaken for Guo Yi's principal wife—after all, "P-Ji" was publicly presented as his concubine. As soon as Zheng took over management of virtually all the Traverser Group's ventures in Guangzhou outside the Delong system, every connected merchant assumed she was the Guo family's mistress of the household. Even Gao Ju had once fawned to her face, praising her for "presiding over domestic affairs, assisting her husband, managing the home wisely, handling finances shrewdly." At first she hadn't grasped the stilted compliments; Guo Yi's face had gone white. It had taken no end of explanation to make these merchants understand that his relationship with Zheng was purely that of "relatives"—saying there was no blood relation only baffled the locals further: why would Master Guo entrust an unrelated woman's wife with his own business? Zheng Shangjie was married to another; she had come to Guangzhou as chief steward of all Australian commercial affairs... And that was hardly the end of it. As the fire at the Wuyang Inn escalated Australian influence in Guangzhou, new versions of her identity emerged: somehow the Ming-dynasty rumor mills determined that she was the wife of a commanding general of the Imperial Guard's Sun-Wielding Army, come to oversee the Guard's trade ventures in Guangzhou... Another version had her husband as the Western Gate Usher of the Song Australian Traveling Court, concurrently Grand Supervisor of the Imperial City Agency... which only confused Zheng Shangjie herself.
Now that Guangzhou had been "liberated," similar title-mapping had resumed: Mayor Liu was referred to as "Prefect of Guangzhou," while she had been dubbed "Commissioner of the Guangzhou Municipal Commercial Bureau." When Liu Xiang heard this bit of intelligence, he'd joked: "You're getting short-changed, Director Zheng—just an acting appointment, no substantive rank or titular office. Clearly still a sexist man's world..."
Sadly, all this turmoil had swept Sister Ye into its net. Looking at the confession, Zheng Shangjie could well imagine the torment she had endured: the Political Security Bureau would never readily believe a claim of "I've told everything." Nor would there be any future for her now.
The thought made her sigh with regret. A headache began to build.
Guangzhou's wines were all robust, with a delayed kick. The liquor was going to her head now; her thoughts drifted. Han Yue glanced up and saw her mistress's gaze wandering, lost in thought, yet constantly rubbing her temples—a sure sign the alcohol was hitting. Without pursuing her earlier question, Han Yue stepped quietly behind her and began massaging Zheng Shangjie's temples. After a long while, Zheng Shangjie finally said, "Better now. Go on."
"Yes, Ma'am!" Han Yue answered, shifting her hands to Zheng Shangjie's shoulders and kneading gently.
"Later, Chief Wang Sangou from the Municipal Office's General Affairs Section came. He said he had a report for you on the restructuring of the Guangzhou Station's logistics system. I told him you were out handling business, so he left a file for me to pass on. I put it in the incoming-documents tray on your desk." She looked at Zheng Shangjie. "Shall I bring it?"
"No need." Zheng Shangjie knew what it was about. A few days ago, Liu Xiang had personally discussed it with her and Pei Lixiu: now that Guangzhou had been liberated, the Guangzhou Station was to be formally dissolved. The elaborate setups used for cover and operational work would naturally have to be dismantled.
According to the plan, the Guangzhou Station would officially close; the three Ziji-branded trading houses, operating as state-owned enterprises, would continue independently, reporting directly to the State Assets Office under the Enterprise Institute. Other subsidiary units would be transferred to their respective departments according to function.
What remained was the sprawling Guangzhou Station headquarters itself. The headquarters employed a large service staff and possessed extensive facilities—all acquired as part of the "cover" necessary for operations.
With headquarters being dissolved, personnel would have to be reassigned. This was a significant shock for the Guangzhou Station Senators, who had grown accustomed to the amenities; for the assimilated personnel who served them—especially locally recruited staff who hadn't undergone much "modernization"—it was a thunderbolt.
"Wishing to be a slave but unable." For many, Zheng Shangjie reflected, that was genuinely the case.
"Then a lot of gift-bearers came." Han Yue reported. "First, around dusk, someone from Master Gao Ju's entourage; then twenty-odd families in quick succession—it almost seemed coordinated."
"The gift registers?"
"Following your instructions, I received and logged everything." Han Yue promptly handed over a small notebook.
Zheng Shangjie opened it and looked. Gao Ju sending gifts was no surprise; these past days he'd been dispatching gifts every few days—seasonal fruit and local specialties, so-called "water gifts." Clearly a tentative renewal of old ties. The rest were different: mostly ya brokers from around the city. They'd arrived together, and the gifts were considerably more valuable.
"...I said you'd gone to a banquet and weren't in tonight. Those boys with the calling-cards hung around, pestering me as 'Big Sister this, Big Sister that,' asking for guidance on how to proceed."
Zheng Shangjie listened without comment, but thought: I'll bet they slipped you a red envelope, too. Let's see how you handle this.
"You left in a hurry this afternoon, so you didn't give instructions. I didn't dare speak out of turn! I followed your usual orders: told them that under the Senatorial Council, each government office has its own responsibilities and conducts business fairly—take whatever matter to the appropriate department, and deal with the case as it stands."
"Was that all?" Hearing Han Yue pause, Zheng Shangjie pressed.
"I... I also said a bit more than I should have. I... I scolded them a little." Han Yue grew indignant as she spoke, though her eyes and hands never stopped monitoring Zheng Shangjie's reactions. "I said, even under the false Ming, spying on the palace and official quarters, prying into ministers' movements—that was a capital offense. For them to commit such a blunder, however they're punished, they deserve it!" Getting carried away, she added, "I also advised them that if they had information to offer as witnesses, they should come forward—don't count on getting off—the Senatorial Council knows everything!... Then... then I sent them on their way..." She finished, and her heart began pounding. Her hands unconsciously slowed.
None of these reactions escaped Zheng Shangjie's notice, yet inwardly she sighed: If this girl remains stuck in this environment, she'll never get ahead in the Lingao system. I'd better send her to Fangcaodi for schooling.
"'Didn't dare speak out of turn,' yet you said all that!" Zheng Shangjie adopted a stern tone, waving away the hand that had been rubbing her temples. "From now on, don't concern yourself with these welcoming-and-seeing-off matters. Starting tomorrow, let the new communications officer from Lingao—Shi Gang—handle it. Is the late-night snack ready?"
"Ready! Ready!" Han Yue stammered. "The chicken broth that's been simmering since fourth watch might be done—let me check."
Watching Han Yue's retreating figure, Zheng Shangjie relented inwardly. Did I scare the girl? But no—I can't coddle her. That would only harm her!
Replaying the scene, she felt she hardly recognized herself. Was this the same modern woman who'd clawed her way through America's cutthroat business world? After only a few years, she'd taken on airs like a feudal lord! If Qian Shuixie—that dead man, practically a stranger now—saw what she'd become, would he be too frightened to acknowledge her? And that dead man—she barely saw him once a year; he'd spend one night and bolt. What did he think this place was?
Zheng Shangjie irritatedly flipped over onto her stomach on the bed. The alcohol seemed to be hitting again.
Eventually, her soft, steady snores drifted up.
(End of Chapter)