Chapter 2717: The Capital (Part 73)

An Australian oil lamp cast bright light across the main hall.

Li Rufeng stood in the heart of Heliansheng, his gaze sharp and restless.

Before him lay a stack of the latest intelligence gathered from various sources. On top rested the reports from Min Zhanlian's squad.

Besides Min Zhanlian's unit, two additional squads had arrived and been deployed—one toward Zhangjiakou in the north, the other toward Shanxi in the west.

Each squad operated independently. Their intelligence was compiled by hand and sent to Heliansheng, where Li Rufeng reviewed and filtered it. Copies were also dispatched to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau back in Lingao.

News arrived daily, but so far, the only truly valuable intelligence had come from Min Zhanlian's squad: a series of suspicious findings concerning Nanyuan.

Combined with the recent sudden death of Second Master Qin, their judgment now tilted heavily toward one conclusion—Leng Ningyun was most likely being held somewhere in Nanyuan.

But Nanyuan was simply too vast. Rushing in to conduct a search would not only fail to locate the hostage but might also alert the enemy.

The night had grown deep, yet Li Rufeng felt no hint of sleepiness. Restless energy coursed through his body with nowhere to go.

An escort master came to announce: "Huang Qi is here!"

Li Rufeng's brow relaxed. "Show him in!"

Since assigning Huang Qi to investigate Eunuch Yang's affairs, he hadn't received a single word from the man. But Huang Qi had built his reputation in the Eastern Depot on meticulousness and reliability—he wasn't the type to come running back with every stray rumor. His arrival now surely meant he had something definite.

Moments later, the escort master led in a middle-aged man. He had an imposing bearing and carried himself with proper decorum; his every gesture radiated an "official air." At a glance, he looked exactly like one of the countless clerks who "ate official rice" in the capital's various yamens.

Though Huang Qi cut an impressive figure, he was in truth a man without moral compass who cared only about who paid him. However, the Donglin Party's restoration had taught him a hard lesson: never pick the wrong side. When the "Nine Thousand Years" had been at the height of his power, who could have imagined that the new Emperor would take his life with a single decree? Huang Qi himself had been forced to hide in Guangdong for several years afterward.

Now that he was willing to work for Heliansheng, it was naturally because he considered the Australian ship a worthy vessel.

Huang Qi cupped his fists. "Greetings, Master Li!"

Li Rufeng immediately returned the courtesy. "Fifth Master Huang is too kind. Greetings!"

Huang Qi wasted no words. His eyes swept the room, and Li Rufeng understood his meaning at once. "No one usually comes in here. Our own people from the Escort Bureau guard the surroundings like an iron bucket. Please, sit and speak freely." He immediately ordered someone to bring a bowl of milk tea.

Mongolian milk tea was available in the capital during the late Ming, though not as common as it would become in the later Qing Dynasty. It warmed the stomach and could fill and energize—mostly favored by escort masters, soldiers, petty officials... those who worked through the night.

Huang Qi drank the milk tea. Once the serving attendant had withdrawn, he spoke in a low voice. "I've found out everything you asked me to investigate. There's nothing suspicious about Eunuch Yang himself. After Manager Leng was kidnapped, he was genuinely anxious. He sent his adopted son and his subordinate eunuchs out several times to gather news. He even dispatched someone specifically to Shuntian Prefecture, pressing them to solve the case quickly and unseal Delong so he could withdraw his silver. As for his people coming to Delong, you surely know those details better than I."

Li Rufeng nodded. "Yes, he did send people to Delong."

"But his adopted son, Little Eunuch Yang—now he's quite suspicious."

At these words, Li Rufeng's whole body tensed. In truth, his investigation of Eunuch Yang had mainly been to determine whether those enormous deposits had attracted the greed of petty thieves. But from Huang Qi's tone, it seemed the problem lay with Little Eunuch Yang instead.

According to Huang Qi's investigation, Yang Tianliang had been acting suspiciously ever since Manager Leng's kidnapping, frequently associating with the capital's urban foxes and social rats. Normally, eunuchs interacting with local ruffians wasn't unusual. But the people he associated with weren't ordinary ruffians—they were dangerous men who "carried blades."

The capital was the realm's first seat of virtue. No matter how powerful ruffians grew within the city, they never dared carry knives, swords, spears, or similar weapons. In daily brawls, they used sticks and clubs, never blades.

In the eyes of the yamen, "using blades means violence"—that made you a highway robber, a bandit. For ruffians who wanted to make a living in the capital, this was an inviolable iron law.

Dangerous men who dared use weapons mostly operated in the capital's suburbs: highway robbery, kidnapping, murder and theft. The two worlds were as distinct as the Jing and Wei rivers. Eunuchs generally would never associate with such people.

But this Little Eunuch Yang not only associated with these men—he did so frequently, often meeting them privately in desolate corners of the South City such as Cibei Temple and Hongluo Factory.

"Truly?!" Li Rufeng's pupils contracted.

"Truly." Huang Qi said. "The people he meets are all men of repute on the roads around the capital. Some of them you've actually encountered yourself."

"Who?"

"Didn't Delong have three brothers surnamed Wang come to claim ransom under false pretenses?"

"You know about that?"

"Of course I know." Huang Qi spoke leisurely. "Those three blockheads were tricked into coming by a certain big shot with a name. Otherwise, how could they possibly have known the details so clearly?"

"So that means..." Li Rufeng instinctively wanted to say, "Little Eunuch Yang is the kidnapper." But he immediately realized the person across from him wasn't "one of us" and swallowed the words.

Yet Huang Qi seemed to read his thoughts. He continued, "Little Eunuch Yang may not be the kidnapper himself, but he must be deeply connected to this matter."

Li Rufeng nodded. "Does Eunuch Yang know about this?"

"Naturally not. If he knew, he'd be so furious he'd hang himself." Huang Qi said. "Eunuch Yang has grown old these past few years. His mind isn't as sharp as before. He relies on this adopted son for everything. Deceiving him would be easy."

"This is no small matter," Li Rufeng said. "If it truly was his doing, not only would he be in trouble if things went wrong—his adoptive father would also be implicated."

"This Yang Tianliang has long harbored resentment toward Eunuch Yang," Huang Qi said. "When the current Emperor ascended the throne, Eunuch Yang pulled strings and worked connections, spending tens of thousands of taels to secure the position of Steward of the Bell and Drum Office. Though it's one of the Twenty-Four Offices, it's a backwater with limited income. The palace is run by eunuchs from Prince Xin's household now. Eunuch Yang himself isn't doing well, so Little Eunuch Yang naturally can't be said to be thriving either."

"I see." Li Rufeng thought this now made sense. Little Eunuch Yang's future in the palace was limited. Though called "Little," he was actually in his mid-thirties. Following his master, he had scraped together some money, but compared to his desires, it was merely a drop in the bucket. One hundred thousand taels of silver was no small sum; it was only natural that he'd be tempted.

Of course, this also explained why the kidnappers were so familiar with Delong and Leng Ningyun's situation—because Delong's biggest and most familiar customer was none other than Eunuch Yang.

"Indeed, you can guard day and night, but you can't guard against a thief in the family," Li Rufeng thought. He asked, "Is there any other news? Any leads on Manager Leng's whereabouts?"

"No leads, of course. The matter is sealed tight in the capital. But Little Eunuch Yang often meets people in the South City—in that general area. Even if not within the city proper, it would be the southern suburbs."

The outer city had been built recently and had few residents or merchants, leaving much empty land. So besides the altars and temples, various Ministry of Works facilities and material yards dotted the area: the Glazed Tile Factory, the Red Gauze Factory, the Wood Yard, the Reed Yard... All were located here. Some were managed by officials from the Ministry of Works; others by palace eunuchs. Any of them could serve to hide people. Looking at it this way, it wasn't necessarily the case that the hostage had to be hidden in Nanyuan.

Among the various contacts Huang Qi mentioned Little Eunuch Yang meeting in the outer city, Third Master Qin figured prominently. Besides this, Huang Qi mentioned one additional detail: Little Eunuch Yang had frequently traveled to and from Tianjin before Leng Ningyun was kidnapped. The problem was that Eunuch Yang had no property or business in Tianjin. He would never have sent his adopted son there on errands. So the trips to Tianjin could only have been Yang Tianliang's own affairs.

From a timeline perspective, his journeys to Tianjin were likely connected to the kidnapping case. After all, Min Zhanlian's people had already uncovered related leads in Tianjin.

"What was he doing in Tianjin? Who was he meeting? Any leads?"

"That I don't know. But I did purchase one piece of information—and it cost a considerable sum."

Li Rufeng smiled. "Old Huang, why the suspense? Why squeeze the 'Australian toothpaste'? We won't short you a single coin!"

Huang Qi chuckled and drew a slip of paper from inside his robe.

"I'm not playing hard to get—this slip was genuinely difficult to obtain."

Li Rufeng took it in hand. It was a water-stained slip of paper with blurred ink marks, but the general writing remained visible. It was a reservation slip from Qiwei Station.

As Heliansheng's chief escort, he was more familiar with his employer's system than anyone. This was a bearer ticket reservation slip for a first-class cabin on a Qiwei Shipping passenger vessel. These cabins were fully equipped and luxuriously decorated. Besides two main passengers, they could accommodate two servants—a first choice for many officials and nobles on long voyages.

The reservation slip bore no specific date or voyage number, only a notation marking it valid for the entire year of Chongzhen 10 / 1637. With this reservation slip, one could visit any Qiwei shipping office at any time, give the code word, and after verification, immediately purchase the nearest available cabin on the desired route.

"How did you obtain this?"

"Bought it from a little eunuch close to Yang Tianliang." Huang Qi looked rather proud. "This slip had been tucked in clothing and accidentally got water-damaged. Yang Tianliang sent the boy to Tianjin to get a replacement. Once the kid obtained the new one, he sold me this ruined one!"

"Impressive." Li Rufeng smiled. He studied the reservation slip, somewhat incredulous. What did Yang Tianliang want this for? Could he be preparing to flee?

Though Qiwei Shipping operated multiple river and coastal routes, in the north, the actual destinations were quite limited. From Tianjin, the coastal route went to Shandong, Nanzhili, Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan. The inland route ran only from Tongzhou along the Grand Canal to Hangzhou and the wharves along the way.

(End of Chapter)