Aoyama

Chapter 436 Fishing
In Baoji Lane, the Meihua Ferrymen used sticks to drive all the residents out and guard the entrance and exit of the lane.

Chen Ji leaped down from the courtyard wall and squatted down in front of Wang Gui: "Who in the Military Intelligence Division asked you to buy information? Have I seen them?"

This matter has troubled Chen Ji for a long time. The other party has been watching his every move from behind the scenes, from Luocheng to the capital.

He had initially suspected the Secret Service, and later the Chen family's eldest branch, but he never expected it to be the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Wang Gui trembled like a leaf: "It was the coachman beside you, young master. He came to me to buy information. The first time was in Luocheng. I was buying charcoal for my family to get through the winter when he approached me and promised me one hundred taels of silver."

Chen Ji said thoughtfully, "It's always been him?"

Wang Gui quickly replied, "No, no, it was him at first, but then somehow it was someone else, a peddler carrying a load... After we arrived in the capital, it was him again."

Chen Ji thought to himself, Wang Gui probably wasn't lying.

Si Cao Gui was once forced to leave Ning Dynasty, and now someone else was buying information. When he arrived in the capital, it was Si Cao Gui again. The timing and his movements matched up.

Therefore, Wang Gui was indeed not a spy specially trained by the Military Intelligence Bureau, but a Ning Dynasty person who was coerced into defecting.

Moreover, if the other party is a spy, they shouldn't be able to expose their whereabouts so easily, and they shouldn't even have a decent hiding place.

So why did the Military Intelligence Bureau buy his information? Naturally, it was because of his uncle, Lu Jin, who held a high position of power in the Jing Dynasty. If it were only Si Cao Gui who wanted to gather information about him, then Si Cao Gui should have stopped during the period when he was away from the Ning Dynasty.

But why was this uncle so persistent in inquiring about him? Was it out of kindness or ulterior motives?

The location of the traces is uncertain.

He said calmly, "Why would he buy information about me, a mere illegitimate son?"

Wang Gui explained, “He not only bought information about you, but also about Chen Liqin, Chen Wenzong, and the Liang family. Back in the capital, he also tried to buy information about the first and second wives, but they were very wary there, and I couldn’t find out anything.”

Chen Ji secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Si Cao Gui was only trying to find out about him, Wang Gui probably already suspected that he was colluding with Jing Chao.

Seeing that he remained silent, Wang Gui, with snot and tears streaming down his face, said, "Young master, I have a box of gold, silver and valuables. If you spare my life, I will give you everything in that box."

Chen Ji said casually, "You only took a dozen breaths to retrieve the face mask and put it on that Du Niang, which means the box is right next door. If I kill you, the contents of the box will be mine."

He picked up the phoenix coronet and headdress from the ground: "You and the Liang family..."

Wang Gui raised three fingers and swore a solemn oath: "Young master, I have absolutely no connection with the Liang family. All the trouble I've caused you these past years was at the behest of the Liang family. She instructed me to bribe the gambling den to fabricate a story, saying that as long as the matter was framed against you, the Chen family would pay off their gambling debts. Sending you to the clinic was also her idea, and she even instructed me to find you a wicked woman for marriage... Bribing the officials to transfer the land deeds from your hands to her was also her doing. That woman deserves to die a horrible death! If I have told a single lie, may I be struck by lightning..."

Chen Ji interrupted, "Let me ask you, why does the second branch of the Chen family want to kill you to silence you?"

Wang Gui hurriedly replied, "This humble one does not know..."

Chen Ji then asked, "Then why did you run away?"

Wang Gui hurriedly explained, "I was just on a normal day off when I heard of my wife's death. I suspected something was amiss and dared not return to the Chen family. Later, I discovered that the second branch of the Chen family had sent people to kidnap my wife, so I hid here."

Chen Ji straightened up and said with a smile, "He's not being honest. Brother, interrogate him."

The gang leader beckoned to Erdao: "Pull out his fingernails."

Erdao scratched his head: "How many should I pull?"

The man replied helplessly, "Twenty."

Erdao pulled out a pair of blacksmith's tongs from his waist and pinned Wang Gui to the ground.

Wang Gui let out a pig-like scream: "Young master... ah!"

Two sharp, precise, and ruthless strokes to remove fingernails, one in a breath.

Wang Gui said through gritted teeth, “Young Master, I was also present when the Second Master and Madam conspired. The Second Master promised to kill you to avenge Young Master Wenxiao. If this succeeded, Madam would have to swallow poison and die, and would also have to hand over Chen Liqin’s account books… Ah!”

Erdao plucked another fingernail.

Wang Gui cried bitterly, "Don't pull it out! Don't pull it out! Everything I said is the truth... Ah!"

Wang Gui was in excruciating pain and blurted out everything he knew, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube: "Chen Liqin received bribes totaling about 30,000 taels of silver. Liang kept a record of all this and hid it in her house in Shibei Hutong. Over the years, Liang secretly sent 12,000 taels of silver to her family. When Liang's brother visited Luocheng, he lost 8,000 taels of silver at the gambling den. Chen Wenxiao kept two concubines in Luocheng, and he also got two maids pregnant with his children. Liang ordered me to send them abortion pills to abort them..."

The man scratched his head with his little finger: "What kind of nonsense is this?"

He knew that Wang Gui had nothing more to say after going this far.

But both he and Chen Ji were ruthless and cruel. They waited until Erdao had completely pulled out Wang Gui's fingernails and toenails before exchanging a glance and saying, "That should be all we know."

Chen Ji squatted down again, stared at Wang Gui, and frowned, saying, "You don't have any dirt on Chen Lizhi?"

Wang Gui was drenched in sweat: "You know the Second Master's character. If I really had something on him, how could he have let me live this long? He killed me simply because he's naturally suspicious. Young Master, please don't kill me. I'm still useful to you. I can give you all the wealth of the Third Branch..."

Chen Ji pondered silently.

Yes, Chen Lizhi killed Wang Gui, but he preferred to kill the wrong person rather than let the guilty go free.

However, this would prevent Wang Gui from being a key witness, and even if he were sent to the imperial prison, his testimony could be dismissed as "one-sided," thus failing to seriously harm Chen Lizhi.

The person we finally found turned out to be of no use whatsoever.

Should we keep Wang Gui or not?
The courtyard quieted down, and the members of the secret society didn't disturb Chen Ji's contemplation.

A moment later, Chen Ji looked up at the gangsters and said, "I'd like to trouble you to go to that alley next to Zhengyangmen Street and tell the person in charge that I want everyone to know that I've hidden someone. He'll know what to do."

The gangster turned and left, returning half an hour later, after all eight hundred evening drumbeats had been sounded.

As night fell, Zhang's assassins, masked and carrying sacks, entered with the gang members. They looked at Chen Ji and asked, "Who are you hiding?" Chen Ji pointed to Wang Gui on the ground and replied, "Him."

The Zhang family assassins then asked, "How long have you been hiding?"

Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "Ten days."

"Can I die?"

"It's okay to die."

"understood."

The Zhang family assassins swiftly unfolded the sack, stuffed Wang Gui inside, and then looked at Chen Ji: "Find five more people."

Chen Ji looked at the Gelaohui: "Pick five trustworthy men."

The gang called over five men, who were also stuffed into sacks by Zhang's assassins.

While the Zhang family's assassins were tying up the sack with hemp rope, Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Have you seen your master recently?"

The Zhang family assassins glanced at him and said, "We'll just do our jobs. Young master, don't ask us anything else."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Okay, thank you."

The Zhang family's assassins carried six sacks out of the house, loaded them onto six horse-drawn carriages, and drove out of Baoji Lane before going their separate ways. There were more than twenty assassins in total; six drove the carriages, and the rest followed alongside as guards.

After the Zhang family's assassins left, the member of the secret society sighed slightly, "If we wanted to raise assassins like these, it would probably take us ten years. That's the difference in our resources. But if you could get together with Miss Zhang..."

Chen Ji patted the gangster on the shoulder and interrupted, "Let's go too."

Seeing that he was unwilling to talk any further, the brother laughed and said, "Never mind, never mind."

As Du Niang walked out of Baoji Lane, she was still being held at the entrance of the lane by the sticks of the Plum Blossom Ferrymen. The gangster took out a silver ingot and threw it to Du Niang: "Thank you for this time. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to Plum Blossom Ferry to find me. I, the gangster, owe you a favor. Also, keep the gold hairpin that guy promised you."

Suddenly, Du Niang called out to him, "Brother, wait a moment."

The man turned around: "Hmm?"

Du Niang handed the silver back to the guild leader and gave a curtsy, saying, "Although Du Niang is greedy, I cannot accept the guild leader's silver."

The man raised an eyebrow in surprise: "What, is there any difference between my silver and others'?"

Du Niang smiled and said, "Brother, don't you remember me?"

The man scratched his head with his little finger: "Now that you mention it, I think I remember...you are...who are you again?"

Du Niang smiled and said, "Du Niang is just a commoner, so it's normal that you don't remember me. I used to be a courtesan in the Plum Blossom Ferry. After you took over Plum Blossom Ferry, you restored our status as slaves and even gave us some travel money. I had saved up some money, thinking that I could redeem myself when I got old and my beauty faded, but I didn't need to. After leaving Plum Blossom Ferry, I used the money I had saved to buy a small house here."

The man from the pamphlet suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

Du Niang performed another curtsy: "Today, the Three Mountains Society spread the word that you were looking for someone, and I remembered it from the start."

The gangster chuckled and tossed the silver to Du Niang, saying, "Keep it; consider it a gift of rouge from me."

Du Niang stroked the silver ingot and said with a coquettish smile, "Then I'll buy some rouge to put on my lips, and you can come and collect some every day, sir..."

Her words came to an abrupt halt. Erdao pinched her lips with two fingers and said in a muffled voice, "Stop talking. My brother can't withstand this kind of test."

The gangster slapped him on the back of the head: "You're so talkative."

Chen Ji boarded the Chen family carriage and gestured for the Pao Ge and Er Dao to join him.

Once the three were seated, Chen Ji said to the driver, "To Plum Blossom Ferry."

He looked at the gangsters, silently pointed at the driver through the carriage curtain, and said, "Whether this mission succeeds or not depends on this one time. Someone wants to kill me, and there's no reason to let them get away with it."

The clerk understood immediately, then spoke in a cryptic tone, "This person is extremely crucial; he's the one who must be nailed to the ground... Why not send him to the palace tonight?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "Meng Ji hasn't arrived in the capital yet, so even if he speaks, it's only one side of the story. Meng Ji is His Majesty's close attendant and is deeply trusted. We'll wait until he arrives in the capital in seven days and uses his dream-entering technique before the Emperor before he speaks. That will be more effective."

The man nodded: "Understood..."

At this point, the carriage suddenly swayed.

Chen Ji lifted the curtain, only to find that the driver, who had been steadily driving, was no longer in his seat. He looked towards Zhengyangmen Street and saw that the driver had abandoned the carriage and fled, heading straight for the inner city to deliver the message.

Erdao climbed out of the car, grabbed the reins, and turned back towards Meihua Ferry.

The gang leader looked at Chen Ji: "You don't have any solid evidence, so you want to use Wang Gui to lure out the second branch of the Chen family?"

Chen Ji leaned against the car wall and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air: "This is the only way. I have to gamble on whether he will believe me, and I have to gamble on how much Wang Gui actually knows."

The man seemed thoughtful: "Would he gamble?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "This matter is not about whether he can gamble or not, but whether the head of the Chen family is willing to gamble."

The man was taken aback, and for a moment he couldn't understand what those words meant.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work today, Brother Pao. I need to avoid this for the next few days. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he jumped out of the car and disappeared into the night.

(End of this chapter)