Chapter 31: A Tap Here and a Tap There

"The first house to be hit was that of Qiu Jinsheng, the head of the silk merchants, and the very next night, it was the Chen family, owners of the Huai-Jiang Salt Agency."

After a few cups of potent spirits, the two bailiffs had become sworn brothers with the child, Xu Qi, and were now rambling, spilling the details of the recent string of high-profile thefts.

The stout bailiff snatched a rag from the waiter to wipe the swill off his uniform, cursing, "That son-of-a-bitch thief, it’s like he’s got wings! He’s been running us ragged without a moment’s rest. The Chen estate even keeps private guards on the payroll, and he still played them like fools." He tossed the rag back into the waiter's arms, demanding a clean one, and the waiter dared not refuse.

"Private guards?" Xu Qi refilled the stout bailiff’s cup, asking cautiously, "Is it really alright to talk about that openly?"

The thin bailiff, busy adjusting his bamboo chopsticks and rubbing his bruised jaw, brushed it off. "Bah, who in Huai'an doesn't know? Everyone just turns a blind eye. The Chen family controls the entire salt quota for the whole of Huai-bei; they handle two or three hundred thousand loads of official salt every year. Their beds are made of gold and jade—do you really think they could sleep soundly without a few men guarding the gates?"

"Then this thief has quite a lot of nerve."

"Who’s to say he doesn't?"

Receiving the clean cloths from the waiter, the two men poured a little wine over them and pressed them to their swollen faces, wincing in pain.

Xu Qi stifled a laugh and asked seriously, "But I heard that at Qiu’s estate, no gold or silver was stolen—only a few pieces of embroidery? What would a thief want with things that can’t feed or clothe him?"

"Oh, little brother, you’re behind the times. The head of the silk guild doesn't just collect any old embroidery. They say the pieces he keeps are one of a kind—the Emperor has one, and he has the other. No one else has them."

"Stop spouting nonsense and showing off," the stout bailiff interrupted, bits of meat spraying from his mouth as he gestured toward his companion. "Don't listen to him. Compared to the other houses, what the guild head lost was peanuts. Sure, there were a few embroideries, but they were just from some unknown, minor seamstress—hardly priceless treasures. What he’s really worried about is that he lost his ledger."

"A ledger? The business accounts? Why would a thief want that?"

"Not business accounts," the stout bailiff said, tearing into a duck leg with a loud crunch, his injury notwithstanding. "It was his personal collection log—a record of when and where he acquired every single item. That’s what’s gone."

"That’s even stranger."

The thin bailiff tried to chew on a duck leg, but the effort made him grimace, and he soon gave up, focusing on Xu Qi. "Exactly, it’s bizarre. If you ask me, the only reason that book is considered a treasure is because the guild head says so. To anyone else, you wouldn't even use it to wipe your backside in an outhouse."

"And the Chen family? Did they lose their ledgers too?"

"Not that I know of. They definitely lost some gold and jewelry, but..." The thin bailiff’s eyes darted around the room before he beckoned Xu Qi to lean in closer.

He lowered his voice to a mysterious whisper: "We all suspect it wasn't just treasure that went missing. There must have been something else, but the Chen family isn't willing to admit it."

Xu Qi’s eyes brightened with interest. "What do you think it was, officer?"

"Hard to say. The Chen family didn't get where they are today with clean hands—which salt merchant isn't well-connected from top to bottom? Besides, the eldest son of the Chen family married the illegitimate daughter of the Commander. Their houses are tied together, black and white. If it were just gold and silver, why would the Commander’s estate be hit immediately after? There’s definitely something fishy going on."

This time, the stout bailiff didn't correct him. He simply buried his head in his food and drink, only speaking up after wiping his mouth. "The Chen family controls the boatmen’s guilds in Huai-bei. Although it’s not spoken of, everyone suspects this is a private vendetta. Hitting the Qiu estate first? That might have just been a diversion or a warm-up."

"And what about that pawnshop that was hit yesterday? Does that have anything to do with the Chen family?"

"You’re well-informed, aren't you?"

Xu Qi put on a smile, clinking glasses with the two bailiffs. "I live on Post Street in Qingjiangpu. When things went sideways last night, the officers were searching the area all night long, and that’s where I heard about it."

The two men nodded, and the thin bailiff spoke first. "You might want to brace yourself for this."

Seeing his dramatic flair, Xu Qi leaned in, curious. "What happened?"

The thin bailiff cupped his hand to his mouth and whispered, "Actually, the pawnshop lost nothing at all."

"Oh?"

"Should we call it luck? They had a diligent night watchman who decided to check the premises one last time after locking up. He caught sight of a dark figure in the courtyard, screamed, and scared the intruder off, sparing them a disaster."

"So the thief didn't succeed?"

"That’s how the story goes."

"But if the alarm was raised in time, shouldn't it have been easy to block the exits? Why did the night patrol search for so long last night without finding anyone? And why were you two put through such trouble today?"

"Don't even get me started." The stout bailiff’s face darkened at the memory. "Damn it all to hell, it was cursed."

"Let me tell you," the thin bailiff said, unable to keep it in. "We all suspect that the thief—that slippery monkey—might actually be someone from the night patrol."

Xu Qi gasped, finding the situation amusing but feigning shock. "Officers, you shouldn't say such things!"

Her skepticism only made them more adamant. "We have proof! Several times, we felt like we had him cornered, but then a clapper signal would sound, sending us to another location. When we got there? Nothing! He led us around in circles. The signals were sounding from every direction, leaving us like headless flies running all over the city. In the end, we didn't even find a feather."

"Only the Military Commission uses those clappers. If you ask me, it’s an inside job! Otherwise, how could he still be at large?"

Tan Jiuding climbed the creaking stairs to the loft and encountered a door covered in mulberry paper, the surface stained with oil and reeking of the bitter, fishy scent of the herb shop’s steaming room below.

The storyteller brushed aside the dried herb pouches hanging from the rafters and pushed the door open. Inside, the cramped room was dominated by a large desk. The desk was piled with tattered scripts and worn-out wolf-hair brushes—a sign of his meager living.

"Hero, please." The storyteller pushed aside a copper foot warmer and offered Tan Jiuding a wooden stool, then turned to pour him tea.

"You are too kind, sir."

"Not at all. I’m afraid I don't have any good tea to offer; I’ve neglected my benefactor."

The tea was cold, but Tan Jiuding took a sip to moisten his throat before setting it down. "On the way here, you mentioned something. What was it?"

"Oh, one moment, hero!"

The storyteller turned and rummaged through a chest at the foot of his bed. After a moment, he produced a rough cloth bundle and handed it over. "Here it is."

Tan Jiuding opened it hesitantly. Inside lay a heavy, solid gold ingot, fifty taels in weight, engraved with the words: *'Fifty taels of gold bullion, collected by Renhe County, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, for the Beijing Treasury, 6th Year of Longqing.'* It was genuine government silver.

"Hiss. Sir, this is a grave crime—concealing government property. If caught, you’ll be branded and flogged."

Facing Tan Jiuding’s warning, the storyteller pulled a bitter face, his thin whiskers trembling. "I know, I know. That’s why I haven't dared to breathe a word of it, let alone touch it. But this isn't the most important thing."

He pointed to the iron clapper lying quietly beside the gold.