Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 414: Spectators of the Comedy
Sun Yuerong and two foreign servants, Li and Zhang, stopped their horses in front of a large house.

This mansion was once the private residence of Shen Caiyu, the deposed commander of the Tianjin Central Guards. Ever since the Shen family was arrested by the Imperial Uniform Guard, it had been left vacant as prison property awaiting disposal. Sun Chengzong had originally intended to sell the mansion to a local tycoon for cash, but after listing it among various brokerages for a while, no one dared to take it on. After Jin Zhong arrived, Sun Chengzong simply gave the mansion to him as a temporary residence, a good deal.

Sun Yuerong dismounted and handed the reins to the guard surnamed Li. He then walked forward and knocked on the door of the house.

The knocks on the door were not quiet, but after a while, no one came to answer. Just as Sun Yuerong was about to knock on the door again, the sound of the bolt being moved finally came from behind the door.

"Who are you?" The eunuch on duty at the gatehouse yawned violently.

Sun Yuerong was exhausted from the long ride. So, the eunuch's yawn caught his attention immediately. However, to maintain his dignity, Sun Yuerong forced himself to swallow the tiredness that was about to come to his mouth. His cheek muscles twitched slightly, and his entire face was covered with wrinkles from the effort. After this instinctive yawn subsided, Sun Yuerong asked, "Jin Zhong lives here, right?"

"Hey, hey!" Hearing the man calling his godfather by his name, the eunuch suddenly became excited and energetic. He looked Sun Yuerong up and down, and seeing that he was dressed very casually, he raised his head proudly. "Who the hell are you? How dare you call my godfather by his name like that? Do you know who he is?"

"Looks like this is it." Sun Yuerong didn't bother to waste time talking to him, and simply lifted up his robe to show his badge. "Open your eyes wide and take a good look, and you'll know who I am."

"Oh! You're quite arrogant." Having said that, the eunuch still lowered his head and looked over.

It would have been better if he hadn't seen it. The eunuch saw the eye-catching "Eastern Jishichang" characters and his entire body softened. He knelt down and kowtowed to Sun Yuerong. "Grandpa! It's my blindness! It's my blindness."

After he kowtowed several times, Sun Yuerong stopped him and said, "Alright. Let me teach you something on behalf of your godfather: judge a person by his inner qualities, not his outward appearance. Don't offend him for no reason."

"Yes, yes. My humble servant's brain is full of crap. Thank you for your guidance, Grandpa!" The eunuch stopped immediately. The feeling of his head constantly hitting the floor was really not pleasant. However, Sun Yuerong didn't let him get up, so he dared to continue kneeling on the ground.

"Is Jin Zhong in there now?" Sun Yuerong asked.

"Yes, yes." The eunuch responded quickly.

"Take me to see him." Sun Yuerong ordered.

"This..." The eunuch suddenly seemed a little hesitant.

"What? You still want to stop me?" Sun Yuerong's voice dropped a half degree, frightening the eunuch so much that he trembled.

"No, no, no, even if I had the guts to stop you, I wouldn't dare." The eunuch immediately moved to clear the way for you. "My godfather is meeting guests in the living room, so it might not be convenient for him to kneel to greet you."

"Who?" Sun Yuerong immediately thought of Sun Chengzong.

"To answer Grandpa's question," the eunuch replied, "it was Doctor Mi sent by the Ministry of Works."

"Doctor Mi is Mi Wanzhong?" Sun Yuerong's eyes lit up. Mi Wanzhong's reputation in the calligraphy and painting circles was as resounding as a superstar, and Sun Yuerong happened to be someone who enjoyed showing off his talent in this field. If she happened to see him in Beijing, Sun Yuerong would definitely go up to him and say a few words, and then find a way to get two of his masterpieces to hang in her home for a touch of elegance. But now was clearly not the time.

"What is he here for?" Sun Yuerong asked calmly.

The eunuch replied, "Mr. Mi is very knowledgeable in the construction business. That's why Godfather often invites him over to consult on the location of his property."

Although Jin Zhong had been managing artisans in the Internal Affairs Bureau and was also a carpenter himself, he had no experience in civil engineering and masonry. So after arriving in Tianjin, Jin Zhong repeatedly asked Mi Wanzhong for help. Mi Wanzhong, however, was not a typical "clean official"; he did not reject eunuchs who were not yet infamous, nor would he inexplicably offend them. Therefore, he almost always attended every invitation.

"Yeah," Sun Yuerong nodded. "In that case, please find a quiet place for us to sit for a while. And bring us a meal." Sun Yuerong's tone was as matter-of-fact as if this was her own home.

"Yes, yes." The eunuch hurriedly stood up and waved his hand to lead the three people into the house.

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After about three quarters of an hour, the meeting between Jin Zhong and Mi Wanzhong ended. As usual, Jin Zhong sent Mi Wanzhong to the door, but found that the eunuch on duty was already waiting at the door with a mule.

Mi Wanzhong rode this mule and after arriving at the place, he was deposited in the stable of the Shen family compound. The stable had only four stalls, one of which was used to keep a draft horse for Jin Zhong.

In order to make room for the horses brought by Sun Yuerong and the other two, the eunuch who was previously on duty at the gatehouse led out Mi Wanzhong's mule early in the morning and tied it next to the gatehouse.

Seeing the two men approaching hand in hand, the eunuch immediately handed the mule to Mi Wanzhong. "Doctor Mi, your mule."

"I'm sorry to trouble you." Mi Wanzhong had good eyesight. Before the mule walked in, he saw the pile of filth left near the gatehouse.

Jin Zhong was about to respond when the eunuch spoke first. "No, no. You're so polite. I'm just doing my job." The eunuch's attitude was respectful, but Mi Wanzhong could detect a hint of urgency in it.

Mi Wanzhong felt a little strange, but he still bowed to Jin Zhong and said goodbye. "Then I will take my leave."

"Goodbye, old man." The eunuch rushed ahead of Jin Zhong and half-passed the mule reins into Mi Wanzhong's hands as if he was rushing someone. Then he went to open the door.

Seeing this, Jin Zhong's face darkened completely.

Mi Wanzhong rode off on his mule, but before he had gone far, he heard the sound of a door closing and bolting behind him. He paid no attention and rode his mule back toward the governor's office. He still had to discuss the details of the project with Sun Chengzong.

"What are you going to do!?" Jin Zhong said unhappily.

Normally, seeing Jin Zhong's expression, the eunuch would have been frightened and begged for mercy. But this time, instead of kneeling, the eunuch pulled up Jin Zhong's sleeve, eager to pull him away from the courtyard gate.

Just as Jin Zhong was about to throw up his sleeves and explode, the eunuch spoke up, "Godfather, the East Depot has arrived and is waiting for you in the side courtyard." Upon hearing this, Jin Zhong's face paled and his body began to tremble. After that large-scale purge, the already notorious East Depot became synonymous with death and terror. In the minds of the eunuchs, being approached by the East Depot was like being summoned by the Black and White Impermanence in broad daylight to claim their lives.

"Why are you here for the Eastern Depot?" Jin Zhong searched his memory, but he couldn't recall where he had recently violated the palace's rules. The Imperial Household Department had previously posted a notice asking any eunuchs who had slipped through the cracks to self-report their illicit income, and Jin Zhong had honestly reported everything he was required to, not even hiding a single ounce of silver.

"I don't know. How dare I ask?" The eunuch turned around and saw Jin Zhong's face was as white as paper. He quickly added, "But no matter why he came, he patiently waited for you in the side courtyard for half an hour. I don't think it's a bad thing."

"Which officer is coming?" Jin Zhong's expression brightened slightly.

The eunuch was stunned, realizing he had been so shocked and begging for mercy that he hadn't carefully asked for the visitor's name. "I was so scared that I only glanced at his badge. I don't know his name."

"You..." Jin Zhong felt a surge of blood and was about to strike, but the slap never landed. "Oh! Why did I accept a coward like you?"

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When Jin Zhong arrived at the main room in the side courtyard, the table that the eunuch had arranged for Sun Yuerong had already been cleared away.

Sun Yuerong was lying on his back on a recliner in the room, half asleep, resting his energy in the spring breeze. Meanwhile, the two detectives, Li and Zhang, sat quietly at the large table in the main room, eyes closed, like two guardian statues, one hand on their leg, the other holding a knife.

Hearing the noise, the two men opened their eyes immediately. They saw the eunuch they had met earlier hurried over, leading a eunuch who looked to be in his forties or fifties. The two detectives did not stand up.

The two detectives' constant gazes put Jin Zhong under immense pressure. The further he walked, the more he worried he became. By the time Jin Zhong reached the door, he felt his heart nearly leaping into his throat, speaking for him.

"Excuse me, my superior." Jin Zhong had just opened his mouth when he saw Sun Yuerong on the recliner out of the corner of his eye. So Jin Zhong immediately stopped talking and stood respectfully by the door with his head lowered, waiting quietly.

After a while, Sun Yuerong woke up from his sweet dream. He blinked and slowly stood up. He immediately saw Jin Zhong and the eunuch standing by the door.

"Are you Jin Zhong?" Like Cui Yuan, Sun Yuerong had no impression of Jin Zhong.

"I am Jin Zhong." Jin Zhong was also a little embarrassed. He didn't know the other party's identity or purpose, so he didn't know whether he should go up and kneel down.

However, Sun Yuerong quickly solved this problem for him. "I am Sun Yuerong, the head of the East Factory's Banyi Bureau."

"It's Chief Sun." Jin Zhong knelt down smoothly. "Your servant greets Chief Sun."

Jin Zhong knelt down, and the eunuch quickly followed suit.

"Stand up and talk." Sun Yuerong slowly stood up, twisted his neck left and right to loosen up his muscles. Then, he found a chair with a backrest and sat down.

After sitting down, he beckoned to the eunuch. "Go get me a glass of water. Not tea, but warm water that's been boiled and then cooled." Sun Yuerong always felt thirsty when he woke up.

"Yes. I'll go right away." The eunuch ran out hurriedly.

"I wonder what brings you here?" Jin Zhong came up to Sun Yuerong and asked with lowered eyebrows.

"I just want to ask you something." Sun Yuerong pointed to a nearby chair. "Sit down and talk."

Jin Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly sat down and said, "Any questions you may have, I will tell you everything I know."

Sun Yuerong nodded slightly and asked, "You've been in Tianjin for so long. What do you think of Governor Sun?"

Jin Zhong was stunned, but a glint of understanding quickly flashed across his eyes. He pondered for a moment, then said tactfully, "Sun Zhongcheng is a very good official. He's hands-on, decisive, and very good at training troops. But he can be a bit slippery."

"Smooth." Sun Yuerong rubbed his Jingming acupoint to dispel the remaining fatigue. "How do you mean?"

"That is to say, they always like to leave a way out for everything." Jin Zhong explained: "Take what happened a few days ago, for example. At the end of last month, when it rained heavily, Sun Zhongcheng summoned officials from the left and right guards of Tianjin to the governor's office. At that time, the sky did not thunder but rained directly, but he did the opposite, thundering without raining. After a brief conversation, which was considered a warning for a while, he sent them back that same day. And I heard that this is not the first time this has happened. When Sun Zhongcheng first came, he also played a similar trick. Sun Zhongcheng and that Jinyiwei named Lu Wenzhao treated everyone to a meal and took in the governor surnamed Shen and several thousand households as dogs."

Seeing that Sun Yuerong didn't respond, Jin Zhong added, "I think that if we investigate those people carefully, we can find out some of their dirty secrets, which should be a great achievement."

At that moment, the eunuch from earlier returned with another eunuch. The first eunuch carried two kettles, one for warming and one for scalding, while the other held four empty teacups. They cautiously approached the large table beside Li and Zhang, the two detectives, and served the four people seated with tea and water as requested.

Soon, the eunuch from earlier came over to Sun Yuerong and Jin Zhong, holding two teacups. "Godfather, Headmaster Sun. Please enjoy your meal."

Sun Yuerong nodded, took the teacup, and after taking a sip of warm water, he continued to ask, "How did you know about this?"

Jin Zhong was stunned again. This time, he was a little confused about the situation. "I was at the scene at that time."

"Then why did Sun Zhongcheng ask you to come over at that time?" Sun Yuerong asked.

"I'm not quite sure about this." Jin Zhong said.

"Didn't you say anything?" Although Sun Yuerong was drinking plain water, the way he smacked his lips looked like he was savoring the flavor.

"No." Jin Zhong shook his head and said, "Prior to this, Sun Zhongcheng did not consult with me. Afterwards, Sun Zhongcheng did not ask for my opinion on this matter. At that time, I just sat beside Sun Zhongcheng, like a spectator, silently watching this farce."

(End of this chapter)