Chapter 1782 - Information
In police work, "small and micro cases" often have negligible value, yet the manpower and resources required to solve them are anything but insignificant. This disparity often breeds a strategy of "catching the big and releasing the small": rigorous investigation of violent crimes like murder and robbery, while petty theft and pickpocketing cases receive scant attention, their files accumulating until a suspect is caught and everything gets "processed together."
While sometimes a necessary evil born of resource constraints, such chronic neglect inevitably erodes public trust in the police's ability to maintain order.
Once trust is lost, the "Mass Prevention and Mass Cure" system advocated by the Senatorial Council becomes water without a source, a tree without roots. From the very beginning of his administration, Ran Yao had specifically emphasized handling cases that touched the people's daily lives. This led to the introduction of various systems: the Magisterial Court, caning, "vagrant sweeps," and labor camps. Simultaneously, cooperation with the judicial department legally expanded police enforcement and on-site disposal powers. Combined with regular patrols, the incidence of petty crime had dropped significantly.
Although this system had been running in Guangzhou for less than a month, the rate of such crimes had already declined. With a renewed sense of security, common people naturally felt more willing to assist the police.
Li Ziyu smiled. "This is simply our duty—no thanks needed. Has anything been happening on the street these past few days?"
"You officers are really long-winded! It's just one street with a few dozen households—how could there be new situations every day?" Sister-in-law Liu sighed theatrically. "If you must know, yesterday the Liu couple fought again, howling in the middle of the night..."
She spoke of these trivial domestic matters with obvious relish, providing abundant details—one wondered how she knew them all.
Li Ziyu listened, nodding repeatedly while silently cursing himself a hundred times over. Here he was, bending his waist for five bushels of rice, listening to a middle-aged woman prattle on. Finally, Sister-in-law Liu mentioned that a man had been seen entering and leaving Widow Wang's house at night recently.
"I hear he's a handsome young man!" She swallowed unconsciously as she spoke. "It seems Widow Wang can't hold out anymore—no wonder, the torment... Tsk tsk..." She sighed with genuine empathy, then glanced at Li Ziyu, her eyes watering. "If your Uncle Liu had a physique like yours, it would be fine..." She threw him a flirtatious look.
Zhao Gui scratched his crotch. Li Ziyu broke out in goosebumps. Though only nineteen and unmarried, he had visited the "willow lanes and flower streets" often enough to understand the amorous ways of women. He deflected quickly: "Sister-in-law Liu, you joke." He immediately changed the subject: "Is there any new situation with the Dong Mingdang mother and daughter at No. 61?"
Sister-in-law Liu teased: "Just a young lad after all, always thinking about beautiful women..."
Li Ziyu laughed dryly. "Sister-in-law Liu, please. This is official business..."
After Dong Mingdang and her daughter had been received and screened at the Guangdong Examination Hall, they had rented a small courtyard here with two servants. They were on the "Watch List" issued by the Political Security Bureau. Regulations required monthly monitoring and reports. Whenever Li Ziyu encountered Tithing Heads or activists, he made routine inquiries.
"Just a mother and daughter—what new situation could there be? Unless they got themselves a 'wild man.'" Sister-in-law Liu shrugged. "They're quite well-behaved, from what I can see. Lady Dong rarely steps past the main gate. It's the Dong girl who has more spirit, often taking servants onto the street—sometimes to buy things, sometimes just to stroll. If the world hadn't changed, with her reckless manner, she would have been tricked away by vagrant bachelors long ago!"
"What? Someone has designs on them?"
"Ziyu, you really are a young master from a big family, ignorant of worldly ways!" Sister-in-law Liu smiled and tapped Li Ziyu's chest. "Gossip abounds before a widow's door. Lady Dong is a widow with a beautiful daughter. If not for their male servant Dong Xiang acting as the pillar of the household, they would have been endlessly harassed—bricks and tiles thrown over the walls, that sort of thing. Even so, plenty of people want to take advantage of them. Rumors are already flying: they say Lady Dong was the concubine of Prefect Dong and likely holds quite a bit of wealth. Beauty and money together—how could people not scheme?"
Li Ziyu recognized this as a genuine public order concern. Abduction cases involving women and children were "key strike targets" for the police bureau, so he pressed for more details.
"I heard Granny Duan, who sells tea soup in the next alley, say that someone asked her to act as matchmaker for Lady Dong." Sister-in-law Liu warmed to the topic. "They say it's the master of a big household who wants to take her as a concubine, promising many benefits. When the Dong girl eventually marries, he's willing to provide a good dowry..."
"Lady Dong is in her thirties—why would a wealthy household still want her as a concubine?" Li Ziyu shook his head. "Sister-in-law Liu, don't tease me."
"Oh, listen to you! Lady Dong is still fresh as dew, and she was a concubine from a high official's house. You're just a young lad; you don't know the pleasures of a woman in her prime..." She threw another flirtatious glance.
Li Ziyu hadn't seen Lady Dong and couldn't judge how "fresh" she might be. But if this was genuine matchmaking, it likely had nothing to do with abduction.
"Sigh, same people, different fates." Sister-in-law Liu's tone turned wistful. "Look at Lady Dong. She used to be a Prefect's concubine, enjoying such fortune! Now fallen on hard times, yet wealthy households still want to take her as a concubine to eat and drink well. Widow Wang worked hard with her husband for ten years and didn't save much. Now she can't hold out and has to be sneaky about it!"
Li Ziyu replied carelessly: "Being someone's concubine isn't exactly a good life—widows who can't endure can just remarry. Her family isn't some great scholarly house; what's the point of upholding chastity?" He moved to take his leave, then suddenly remembered something. "Is this 'wild man' from your street?"
"Probably not." Sister-in-law Liu shook her head, almost disappointed. "He always comes just before dark when the street gates are closing and leaves at dawn when they open. According to the watchman, he has the look of an accountant or advisor."
Li Ziyu noted this in his book. His mentor had warned him: abduction cases involving widows often begin with "adultery" between a bachelor and the widow. Worth keeping an eye on.
"Help me watch Widow Wang's house these next few days," Li Ziyu instructed, then said goodbye and walked on.
Zhao Gui, who had been silent throughout except for his constant crotch-scratching, suddenly mumbled: "Ah Yu, are older women... not... not... not good?"
Li Ziyu hadn't expected such a question from the dull and honest Zhao Gui. He was startled, then realized the man was in his thirties and couldn't possibly be a virgin. He laughed: "Nothing wrong with them. It's just that when wealthy households take concubines—whether for pleasure or heirs—they usually want young and beautiful ones. If it's for 'mining vitality' practices, they want teenage girls. Who looks for a ripe woman?" He grinned. "Though speaking of which, you must know the benefits of such women, right?"
Zhao Gui blushed and shook his head. "Me? I haven't tasted a woman yet. How would I know their benefits?"
It emerged that Zhao Gui had always harbored feelings for a woman. He had spent years doing short-term work around the city, often performing heavy labor for wealthy households. When there was work, the steward would send someone to summon him. He'd toil for a day or half a day, earning two meals and a few copper coins. Sometimes, with luck, he'd receive cast-off clothes or unwanted items from the household. Selling them brought a little extra money.
In one of these households—the residence of Master Zhong—there was a rough-work servant woman named Qiao Jie. In her youth, she had possessed some beauty and had been dallied with by the master. But fortune had not favored her. After seven or eight years, the master grew bored and cast her aside. Lacking any formal status, she was sent by the long-resentful First Madam to the backyard to do rough work.
Zhao Gui often came there to labor and interacted with Qiao Jie frequently. Inevitably, he developed one of the three great male illusions: "She's interested in me." Seeing Qiao Jie busy, he would rush to help and offer his services. Qiao Jie, happy for the assistance, naturally treated him pleasantly, casually calling him "Brother Gui" on occasion. This simple kindness made Ah Gui so happy he couldn't find north. At night, when lonely and empty and doing that thing, his mind was full of Qiao Jie.
But marrying her was a distant dream. Qiao Jie was a slave of the Zhong family—to marry her, one had to pay a redemption price. She was no longer young; three or four taels of silver would suffice. But for Zhao Gui, who had never even held a one-tael ingot in his life, where would such money come from?
As for saving up—that was pure fantasy. He and his old mother lived day to day. If there was no work for a day, they starved.
Days muddled by. His mother held no hope, wishing only that he might find a wife so she could hold a grandson before closing her eyes. To outsiders, this was a fool's dream. They often mocked: "What?! Ah Gui wants a wife? Then I can be the Emperor's son-in-law!"
Whenever this happened, Ah Gui would flush crimson and say: "Qiao Jie at Master Zhong's house treats me well! Every time I help out, she winks at me."
The crowd would roar with laughter: "Haha, Ah Gui, keep your bragging reasonable! Everyone knows Qiao Jie is the lover of Advisor Gou in Master Zhong's household!"
Zhao Gui always dismissed these words as slander. Clumsy of speech, he never refuted them, firmly believing Qiao Jie liked him and was waiting for him to scrape together the money to marry her.
Until one day, he went to work at the Zhong residence, chopping wood in the backyard. Urgently needing to relieve himself, he went to a secluded corner by the woodshed. Hearing Qiao Jie's painful moans emanating from inside—"En en, ah ah"—he thought she was ill and rushed in, pushing open the door. He found Qiao Jie pressed onto a broken table by Advisor Gou, her buttocks thrust high, her body shaking violently with his movement...
(End of Chapter)