Chapter 1819 - Step by Step

A buzz of discussion immediately arose among the teahouse customers.

Gao Chongjiu raised his hand to silence Zeng Juan, then continued his questioning: "Since she went missing, why didn't you go search for her? Why didn't you come to the police station to report it?"

"Officer... this humble one—how dare we trouble the authorities with such household trifles? The shop is so busy we simply didn't have time to pay attention."

Gao Chongjiu laughed and addressed those around them: "Listen to this—this is his own daughter! Missing for two days and he says he 'didn't have time to pay attention'?"

A wave of disdainful murmuring immediately rose from the assembled teahouse patrons. Cao Xueguang felt as if he'd been placed upon a roasting rack, deeply regretting that he'd heeded his wife and sold Mingnu off as a servant girl.

In this era, selling one's children and wives into servitude wasn't uncommon, but such transactions were mostly confined to the lowest classes of impoverished families, or those suddenly struck by disaster who had no alternative. The Cao family's teahouse business wasn't struggling, and they'd suffered no calamity. Selling their daughter for no good reason like this—once word spread, it certainly wouldn't reflect well.

So Proprietor Cao hastened to say: "Yes, yes. This humble one was confused. I'll go report it immediately."

Madam Cao née Huang panicked at the mention of reporting. In her understanding, involving the government was an extremely serious matter. Not only would it cost money, but if things went awry, there'd be physical suffering too—yamen had always operated on the principle of "forty blows for the righteous, forty blows for the wrongful." She blurted out: "She ran off to play. Not coming back for days is normal for her. This girl has grown wild. Who knows—maybe she was seduced by some good-for-nothing wastrel and ran off with him! How dare we trouble the authorities!"

Zeng Juan flew into a rage, pointing at her nose and cursing: "You shrew! My niece is only ten years old! How dare you smear her virtue and ruin her reputation!" He rolled up his sleeves to attack.

Li Ziyu hurried to restrain him. Madam Cao née Huang remained defiant: "She runs out constantly. Call her home and she won't listen. If that's not a man on the side, what else could it be?!"

Some tea patrons acquainted with the Cao family's situation shook their heads. One interjected: "Proprietress, you should speak with some conscience..."

Proprietor Cao was mortified. He understood that if this continued, not only would he face legal complications, but it would severely damage the teahouse's business as well. He quickly shushed his wife and said: "Mingnu is indeed missing. As for how she went missing, this humble one doesn't know either. Perhaps she was snatched by kidnappers. I'll go report it to the authorities straightaway."

"So you're confirming what you told Zeng Juan this morning—that she might have been taken by 'kidnappers'—is accurate?" Gao Chongjiu said.

"Yes, yes, it's accurate, it's accurate." Proprietor Cao nodded frantically.

"Then there's no need to report. Young Master Zeng has already filed a report today. Look at you two! The parents care less than the uncle!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Zeng Juan's brother-in-law could only nod and bow repeatedly. Madam Huang glared at Zeng Juan several times but unwillingly lowered her head.

Several idle busybody patrons cheered: "Well said, Ninth Master! Ah Juan is a fine uncle indeed!"

Gao Chongjiu judged the conversation had progressed far enough. He added a few instructions—"Hurry and search for her. Don't just focus on doing business all day" and "Keep a close watch on the other two children!"—before leading Li Ziyu and Zeng Juan outside.

Once they were on the street, Gao Chongjiu fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, extracted one, and Li Ziyu promptly struck a match to light it for him: "Ninth Master, what's your assessment..."

Gao Chongjiu took a drag: "No doubt whatsoever—the couple sold the child themselves. But they won't admit it now, and we lack evidence. We can only stop here for today."

Zeng Juan grew anxious: "What do we do?! That woman is a vicious shrew. Without making her suffer, she probably won't tell the truth. If we arrest them both and give them a thorough beating, we'll definitely extract the whereabouts!"

Li Ziyu shook his head quickly: "No, no. Absolutely not."

Gao Chongjiu exhaled smoke rings and said: "Back when I worked under the Ming, merely being connected to a case was sufficient grounds to chain her in the lockup and make her kneel on the chamber pot. She'd have no choice but to tell the truth. But now it's Great Song's realm. We can't do that."

Li Ziyu explained: "Extracting confessions through torture is not how Great Song handles cases. Doing so violates regulations."

"Then what do we do?" Zeng Juan had assumed that once the police visited the teahouse, discovering Mingnu's whereabouts would be a simple matter.

"Even without Ming methods, if we genuinely wanted to force him to produce the body-sale contract and reveal Mingnu's whereabouts today, it wouldn't be difficult," Gao Chongjiu said leisurely. "But Ah Juan, what if he didn't sell Mingnu as a servant girl?"

In Guangzhou city, besides wealthy families purchasing servant girls, two other types of buyers existed. One was the "contract mothers," similar to Yangzhou's practice of "raising thin horses."

This was essentially a business of cultivating concubines to marry off to wealthy men. Contract mothers were typically aging concubines whose beauty had faded, or concubines expelled by the principal wife after their master's death. Some had also transitioned from careers as brothel madams or procuresses. The process differed little from training high-class courtesans: finding girls from impoverished families while young, purchasing them cheaply, then serving as adoptive mother, agent, and trainer all in one, raising them according to standards for concubines in wealthy households. They were taught arts, etiquette, speech, and deportment—usually attended by servant girls. Compared to typical high-class courtesans, they were equally accomplished in beauty, voice, and skill, yet remained "of clean background"—satisfying the moral sensibilities of some scholarly families.

The other type was being purchased by a brothel for training under the procuress as a "pipa girl."

In Gao Chongjiu's assessment, if she'd been sold as a servant girl or purchased by a contract mother, that was manageable. What he feared most was that she'd been bought by a brothel.

Zeng Juan said in shock: "They... they couldn't have sold Mingnu to a brothel! Whatever else, my brother-in-law is still her biological father!"

"Difficult to say." Gao Chongjiu spoke slowly. "If she really was sold as a servant girl, why would your brother-in-law behave this way? I can tell he's not merely concealing something—he's concealing something significant."

"If she really was sold to a brothel, what do we do?!" Zeng Juan was suddenly at a loss. Though he'd never dealt with brothels personally, he'd heard such places were dens of filth. Madams and pimps were ruthless. Even young masters from wealthy families seeking to redeem a courtesan would be extorted for enormous sums.

"...Recovering the person won't be difficult. But if we force it out of him today before all those witnesses, your brother-in-law's teahouse probably won't survive. You and he will have torn all pretense of civility. Never mind anything else—are you prepared to take those three children home to raise?" Gao Chongjiu's cigarette glowed and dimmed. "Besides, if Mingnu spent time in a pleasure quarter, that wouldn't sound favorable either. I advise you to leave some room for maneuver—this is for the sake of all three children."

Zeng Juan recognized the wisdom in this, but not knowing Mingnu's whereabouts still left him dejected.

Li Ziyu observed his downcast expression and offered consolation: "Ninth Master is right. Whatever else, Proprietor Cao is still the biological father of your three nieces and nephews. If you truly ruin him completely, how would they manage?"

Gao Chongjiu said: "Just rest easy. Your niece was definitely sold—since it's not an abduction case, there's nothing urgent to worry about. Whether she was purchased by a wealthy household as a servant girl or by a contract mother, a broker must have served as middleman. One inquiry and we'll know. If the worst has occurred and she was bought by a brothel, the pleasure houses in Guangzhou city all have their connections. I already dispatched someone to make inquiries this morning. There'll be news soon."

"Then I'm deeply in your debt, Ninth Master and Brother Yu." Zeng Juan understood he'd already incurred enormous debts of gratitude to Gao Chongjiu and Li Ziyu today. With his status as a small candle shop proprietor's son, he naturally couldn't repay them. Perhaps only by passing the civil service exam could he return the favor later if circumstances arose. The pressure on his shoulders grew heavier still.

"Still, today wasn't entirely fruitless." Gao Chongjiu chuckled, then turned to ask Li Ziyu: "Ah Yu probably already understands."

Li Ziyu was momentarily bewildered, then immediately grasped the point: they had filed the case as an "abduction case" based solely on Zeng Juan's retelling of Madam Cao née Huang's words. Serious scrutiny wouldn't hold up—this was precisely what he'd been anxious about throughout. The Australians were extraordinarily strict about regulations. If he received discipline for this, or worse, lost his position, what then?

But today's exchange with the Cao couple at the teahouse had induced them to publicly admit that Mingnu's disappearance might be connected to "kidnappers"—coming from the "guardians'" own mouths, this was far more valuable than Zeng Juan's secondhand account. Li Ziyu's greatest concern about "fabricating testimony" no longer existed.

This Gao Chongjiu truly was methodical, establishing firm footing at every step. Li Ziyu thought, inwardly impressed.

"Since it's still early, let's ask around the shops on this street to see if anyone's spotted Mingnu." Li Ziyu said.

This investigation, in Gao Chongjiu's view, was genuinely unnecessary. But on reflection, he realized Li Ziyu had his reasons. Since the case was filed as "abduction," naturally they had to follow abduction case procedures. Whether useful or not, they had to go through the proper motions.

A sensible person, he thought.

The three distributed Mingnu's portrait along Six Banyan Street. Several shop workers said they recognized Mingnu but couldn't provide any additional useful leads—naturally there were no leads to discover. Gao Chongjiu and Li Ziyu alike were merely performing due diligence. Only Zeng Juan followed along, full of anxious hope.

Soon Li Ziyu entered the shop operated by Miss Dong.

"I know this little girl. She often stood in front of my shop staring at the food and drooling. But her parents were terribly stingy with her—they never bought her anything. I felt sorry for her and secretly gave her pastries several times." Dong Mingdang accepted the portrait and studied it before speaking.

"Oh? Have you seen her recently?"

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her for several days. Is Officer Li searching for her?"

"She's missing now. We suspect she was kidnapped. If you see her, please contact us immediately."

"My mother and I were once forcibly abducted from Shandong. The suffering of being helpless and stranded far from home—this servant understands all too well. Whatever I can do to assist, I shall certainly try my utmost."

After completing their rounds, Gao Chongjiu instructed Zeng Juan to return home and await news. He and Li Ziyu still needed to return to the bureau—there was paperwork to process.

(End of Chapter)