My spy diary

Chapter 668 Script vs. Eavesdropping (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Meanwhile, Zheng Huhe and Guo Xinya, now dressed in different clothes, had arrived near Wangjiatuo Huanyun Pavilion, a place Mao Zhongxin frequented.

Because it wasn't nighttime yet, the place seemed quite deserted.

Zheng Huhe asked, "Have you memorized the script?"

Guo Xinya nodded.

Zheng Huhe smiled and said, "Although it's acting, we have to do it properly and make it look natural. We need to do our best to find any flaws and make the scene look very real on the surface, so that even if someone has doubts, they won't be able to find a single clue."

Although Guo Xinya didn't smile, she was noticeably more relaxed than before.
"Don't worry, I'm awake!"

"Alright, I'll go in first. Come in five minutes later." With that, Zheng Huhe glanced at his watch, crossed the road, and headed towards Huanyun Pavilion.

Traditionally, business at the brothel was booming after sunset, but the moment Zheng Huhe stepped into the brothel street, the whole street became excited.

Not for any other reason than his outfit.

As the saying goes, "One should respect clothes before one's character," and "Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse." Zheng Huhe was dressed in a suit and tie, clearly a wealthy man. Usually, the customers who frequent brothels are shirtless, sweaty, and even lame, blind, or beggars. When have you ever seen someone dressed so respectably in broad daylight?

In the Wangjiatuo Huanyun Pavilion area, brothels were clustered together. The top-class ones were "Qingyin Xiaoban", "Shuyu" and "Changsantangzi". The girls there had to be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and were often addressed as "sir". They entertained military and political officials, wealthy merchants and celebrities, and their main business was accompanying people to drink, sing songs and socialize.

The next level up is the "teahouse" or "younger teahouse," which caters mainly to merchants and middle-class individuals. These establishments are equipped with entertainment facilities such as mahjong tables and are used for business discussions. The girls don't need to be skilled in any particular art form, but they must be adept at socializing and drinking.

The next level down are places like "lower-class brothels" or "brothels." Their clientele consists mostly of small vendors and ordinary people. The environment is extremely poor, smelly, and chaotic, and petty theft and extortion are common occurrences. As for the girls, they generally have no talent whatsoever.

But most of them were of the fourth class, directly called "brothels," "wild chicken parlors," or "salty water girls." The places were mostly dilapidated mud houses or simple sheds, and the customers were mostly low-level laborers such as boatmen and coolies.

Therefore, when a well-dressed guest like Zheng Huhe came out, it was as if he had "seen the North Star." Following the principle of fleecing a sheep to death, the women and servants who were soliciting customers in front of various teahouses, brothels, and other establishments immediately swarmed to greet him.

"Sir, please do me the honor of coming to my home."

"Sir, please come this way."

"Oh, distinguished guest, rare guest, come and take a look."

"Hi, honored guest! It's an honor to have you here. Our young ladies are all very friendly. Please come in, sir. Please wait a moment!"

Although Zheng Huhe was a well-trained and experienced senior agent who had seen all kinds of situations, he was still somewhat overwhelmed by the cacophony of flattery.

"No wonder people say that the land of gentle pleasures is the graveyard of heroes. No matter how strong-willed a person is, once they indulge in sensual pleasures and linger in such places, they will probably become thin and emaciated in a few days, and the consequences will be unimaginable!" He snorted coldly, recalling Zhang Yi's expression when he gave him the task. It was hard to tell whether it was serious, worried, or even a little mischievous. Now he finally understood.

This annoyed Zheng Huhe.

He muttered to himself, then put his hands behind his back, adopted a disdainful expression, and walked straight towards the innermost Huanyun Pavilion without looking to the side.

At this moment, the madam of Huanyun Pavilion also heard the commotion and came out. This middle-aged woman sized Zheng Huhe up and down, then immediately greeted him with a beaming smile:

"Sir, please stay!"

Zheng Huhe stopped, glanced at her sideways, and spoke with a distinct Jiangzhe-Shanghai accent:

"Are you the boss lady here?"

"I guess so. We call her 'Mom' here. My surname is Wang, so people on the street call me Wang Ma."

"Oh, Aunt Wang. You asked me to stay, do you have any good stuff?"

"Yes, honored guest, please come in, I'll show you around."

Wang Ma struck a pose, swaying her hips and extending her pinky finger, pointing confidently at the three characters "Huanyun Pavilion" on the gilded plaque above her head.
"Sir, is this your first time here? Don't you know that our Huanyun Pavilion is one of the top establishments in the mountain city?" As she spoke, she invited Zheng Huhe inside while calling out in a shrill voice, "Distinguished guests have arrived, why don't you entertain them?"

As soon as he finished speaking, two fair-skinned, beardless servants emerged from behind the door, each carrying a tray.

A dish with tea and snacks on top.

There was a smoking pipe on top of it.

Zheng Huhe snorted and said jokingly, "As the saying goes, 'Wang Po sells melons, praising her own wares.' Since you're called Wang Po, I can't believe your words even more. No need to look at her, just call out your top courtesan."

"You mean Miss Xue'er?" Granny Wang hesitated. "She's not feeling well, how about I get you a different one?"

"I knew I couldn't trust you. I'd better go check out other places." Zheng Huhe said with a disdainful look, and turned to leave.

"Oh dear, honored guest, please don't be in such a hurry!" Granny Wang said anxiously, grabbing Zheng Huhe's arm and smiling broadly at him. "If Xue'er is not available, there's always Mei'er or Chun'er."

"They're top courtesans too? I think you're just making fun of me." Zheng Huhe snorted coldly, his face tense, looking genuinely angry.

Wang Po deals with all sorts of people every day; what kind of people hasn't she seen? Therefore, she maintained her smiling face and mysteriously said:
Xue'er is not feeling well.

Zheng Huhe interrupted her: "You can at least drink and sing with me, right?"

Granny Wang looked him up and down carefully, then asked hesitantly, "You really only drink and listen to music?"

Zheng Huhe actually read pity and sympathy in Wang Po's eyes, and glared at her: "What else?"

"That's good." Granny Wang smiled awkwardly, inviting Zheng Huhe upstairs while boasting, "Xue'er is the most beautiful courtesan here, proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting." Then, she changed the subject, "However, she's too proud and doesn't look up to most customers."

"is it?"

"To get her to be happy, it will depend on your skills, sir," Granny Wang urged. "Either you need status and position, or you need to be compatible, or well, you'll have to throw money at her."

Zheng Huhe raised his chin, subtly took out a small yellow croaker from his pocket, rubbed it a couple of times, and then put it back.

Granny Wang was immediately overjoyed, thinking to herself, "He really is a big spender. My eyes have never been wrong about him." She immediately became even more enthusiastic and hurriedly led the way. Upstairs, in the corridor of the brothel, there was a bedroom every four or five steps. The rooms were all draped with beaded curtains and silk, and the faint sound of a pipa could be heard from them.

Granny Wang smiled and pushed open the door to one of the bedrooms: "Xue'er, we have a guest!"

Inside the room, under the dim light sat a woman in a silk cheongsam, exuding the fragrance of rouge. Her face was so delicate that it seemed as if soft tofu could be broken with a touch. She was none other than Mao Zhongxin's lover, Liu Ningxue.

She didn't even glance at Wang Po, continuing to arrange her pipa. Zheng Hu glanced at her, thinking to himself that she was indeed quite pretty; no wonder she had Mao Zhongxin so infatuated. He snorted inwardly and was about to step inside when Wang Po stopped him with a hand gesture:

"Sir, are you new here? Do you know the prices?"

"Oh, the price? You tell me?"

“Our old custom here is that it costs 500 yuan for a nail to be driven, and 100 yuan for a drink and a song.” Granny Wang paused, glanced at Zheng Huhe, and then said, “Your little yellow croaker can play five songs, and the drinks are free.”

Zheng Hu snorted and said coldly:
"Are you making fun of me again? Do you think I'm a fool? That's the official price! Haven't you heard that the Nationalist government's funds in Britain and the United States were frozen, causing the black market gold price to skyrocket? It's now up to 2400 yuan on the black market."

As he said this, he noticed that Liu Ningxue, who had been engrossed in tidying up her pipa, glanced at him almost imperceptibly.

Seeing that her little scheme had been exposed, Wang Po smiled sullenly, and was about to say something when Zheng Huhe glared at her:
"Alright, get on with your work, don't spoil the fun!"

After saying that, he went into the fireworks room and gently closed the door.

Wang Po was speechless for a moment, stamped her foot, and turned to leave.

"What is your surname, sir?" Inside the room, Liu Ningxue gracefully rose and gave a curtsy.

Zheng Huhe looked up at her and smiled, "She is quite a beauty."

Hearing this, Liu Ningxue felt comforted and her enthusiasm grew. Just as she was about to say something, Zheng Huhe spoke again:
"Unfortunately, it's not what I like."

After saying that, he took out a few banknotes from his pocket and put them on the table. "Alright, you can go out now. I don't need you to drink and sing with me. I'll just use your place for now."

Liu Ningxue looked surprised, feeling both annoyed and suspicious. Her face tightened, and she raised her eyebrows:

"Sir, what do you mean by this? Are you here specifically to humiliate me?"

"Miss, you've misunderstood!" Zheng Huhe's face turned serious. He stuffed the few banknotes into her hand and said in a low voice, "I just need to borrow your room to meet a friend. If anyone asks, just say I was with you. Don't worry, you'll get your money back after it's all over."

Liu Ningxue couldn't figure out what he was up to, so she secretly guessed and deliberately pretended to be panicked:
"You're not going to refuse to pay, are you?"

"Don't worry about this." Zheng Huhe took out the gold bar again and waved it around, then pushed Liu Ningxue out without saying a word.

"What's the rush? My pipa." Liu Ningxue feigned anger, glared at Zheng Huhe coquettishly, picked up her pipa first, then pretended to remember something, quickly walked to the corner of the wall, picked up the rouge box on the dressing table, where a record player was also placed.

She pretended to look for something, casually opened a drawer, pressed a switch without making a sound, took out a lipstick from the side, turned around and said to Zheng Huhe with a wary look, "Whatever you want to do, don't touch anything in the room."

"Don't worry, I'm not a thief." Zheng Huhe shrugged with a smile.

As Liu Ningxue stepped out of the brothel, she glanced back at Zheng Huhe through the door, immediately becoming more wary. Her intuition told her that this man was suspicious. Lost in thought, she cautiously scanned the area around the brothel, then heard footsteps on the stairs.

She immediately stiffened and hurriedly went into the adjacent fireworks room, leaving the door slightly ajar and peeking through the crack.

In my line of sight, a pale-faced man wearing a top hat and a gray long gown appeared. He walked lightly, glancing left and right as he went up to the second floor.

Liu Ningxue stared intently at the man's face, observing him closely. Suddenly, she noticed that the man didn't have an Adam's apple.

A woman disguised as a man?

This discovery made her puzzled eyes sparkle.

Just then, the door to the brothel where Zheng Huhe was located opened, and he could faintly hear the person saying in a low voice:
"This way."

Upon hearing this, the pale-faced man outside immediately glanced around warily, strode over, and slipped into the house.

Liu Ningxue was full of suspicion; she really couldn't figure out what these two were up to, acting so suspiciously.

An affair? Or an intelligence deal?
Thinking this, she immediately bolted the door to the fireworks room, strode inside, and then opened a wardrobe containing a complete set of listening equipment. Liu Ningxue first picked up a Browning pistol placed to the side, loaded it, then put on her headphones, grabbed a pen and paper, and began to take notes.

The one speaking was the woman dressed as a man, her tone angry:
Why choose a place like this to meet?

Before the man could answer, the woman continued in a stern tone:
“The organization has clear requirements that it is strictly forbidden to meet in public places or near areas with a high concentration of enemy military, police, and secret agents, or in places with complex personnel flow and no escape route. What you did was a blatant violation of discipline.”

The word "organization" reached Liu Ningxue's ears, and her eyes widened instantly.

These two are members of the Red Party!

The man coughed lightly and said in a serious tone:

"Times have changed. Now that your identity has been exposed and you are wanted by the Military Intelligence Bureau, the most dangerous place is actually the safest place. Although brothels are known to be dens of iniquity and a melting pot of all sorts of people, they are usually protected by someone and are not easily investigated, so they are very safe."

The woman let out a cold laugh:
"Safety? That's no excuse for breaking the rules."

The man said calmly, "Let's begin the handover of intelligence."

The woman was silent for a moment, then said, "I request that this situation be reported to my superiors."

The man's tone remained indifferent: "That's your right." He paused, then added, "However, until you receive a clear answer from your superiors, you must obey my orders."

"Your identity has been exposed, and you're wanted by the Military Intelligence Bureau." Upon hearing this, Liu Ningxue's expression hardened. At this moment, she was certain that the woman disguised as a man was a Communist Party spy infiltrating the Military Intelligence Bureau, and the man was her superior, probably a hidden underground Communist Party member. So, what was his true identity?

Inside the cramped and confined wardrobe, Liu Ningxue's eyes gleamed.

As a graduate of a school that specializes in training prostitutes as spies, "Aju"—mainland Aju (there are two main types: one is a spy targeting the Soviet Union, called Siberian Aju; the other is active in the interior of China, called Mainland Aju)—she traveled to Shenyang, Harbin, Shanghai, and Chongqing over the years, using prostitution, sex, and photography to gather a lot of important intelligence, but most of it was concentrated in the economic field. Therefore, she spared no effort to get close to Mao Zhongxin, hoping to obtain military intelligence.

That very night, after drugging Mao Zhongxin, he vaguely revealed that the Military Intelligence Bureau was carrying out a plan called "Operation Thunderclap" in order to uncover the Red Party mole within their ranks, and that the mole was likely Zhang Yi.

This intelligence shocked Liu Ningxue, but at the same time, she couldn't suppress her excitement. After all, Zhang Yi was also their archenemy in the Special Higher Police.

She had already reported the intelligence to her superiors, who instructed her to use Mao Zhongxin and his backers at all costs to sow discord among the Kuomintang agents, causing them to distrust and kill each other, and to eliminate Zhang Yi through a proxy. From her superiors' voices, Liu Ningxue detected an undisguised excitement. After being a spy for so long, this was the first time she felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

She secretly thought that if she could complete this mission, she might be able to bring her mother and sister from North Korea back to China, so they wouldn't have to worry about making a living or go hungry anymore. Now, if she could also obtain intelligence about the Red Party...
Liu Ningxue, no, Kawashima Yukina, codenamed Black Butterfly, was full of ambition.

(End of this chapter)