Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 782 The Scripture Weaving Hall (Part 2)
The shopkeeper accompanied Qi Biaojia downstairs. Just as they reached the corner of the stairs, a man dressed in coarse cloth lifted the curtain and entered. He had a worn blue cloth draped over his shoulder, and his trousers were rolled up to his knees, revealing mud-splattered calves. He looked like someone who did manual labor all year round, completely out of place with the elegant atmosphere of the study.

Qi Biaojia paused, his gaze lingering on the man for a couple more seconds. It wasn't that he disliked the man, but he felt that someone dressed like this was somewhat out of place in a bookstore—ordinary laborers were already exhausted from just trying to make a living, how could they have the leisure to browse a bookstore?
Just as he was wondering, Chen San'er, who was behind the counter, put down the feather duster in his hand and ran up to him: "Brother! What brings you here?"

“Of course the goods have arrived,” the man said, watching Qi Biaojia slowly descend the stairs. He then patted Chen San’er on the shoulder. “Where’s Manager Bai?”

"Follow me on the second floor." Chen San'er turned around, about to point, when he saw Manager Bai coming downstairs, so he changed his words: "There."

Qi Biaojia then realized that the two men were brothers, and must both be employees of the weaving workshop. He stopped paying attention and walked straight towards the door. When the man saw him coming, he quickly stepped aside and gave him a somewhat restrained bow.

Qi Biaojia nodded in return. He then brushed past the man and left the study. As the curtain fell behind him, Qi Biaojia vaguely heard the man's rough, hoarse voice: "Manager, the new books from the capital have arrived."

Shopkeeper Bai didn't respond to the man's words, but simply gestured with his chin towards the backyard. The man immediately understood and walked through the main hall towards the backyard. Shopkeeper Bai turned and followed, and as he passed the counter, he said to Chen San'er, "Keep an eye on the shop, don't let anyone rummage through the books in the storeroom."

"Understood, shopkeeper!" Chen San'er replied crisply, then picked up the feather duster and gently dusted off the dust on the spine of the book.

The backyard was much more spacious than the front yard. The ground, paved with blue bricks, was free of fallen leaves and broken branches, only showing signs of rain. It had clearly just been swept.

Although the backyard was large, there was hardly anyone in sight. Most of the brick and tile houses had their doors tightly closed, especially the westernmost house with the wooden sign that read "Dyeing Workshop." The door knocker was rusted, and empty shelves could be vaguely seen through the cracks in the door.

After turning several corners, the two finally stopped in front of a house without a sign. The shopkeeper pushed open the door, revealing a simply furnished room. The main room contained only a square table, a tea table, and two chairs.

The door creaked shut, completely isolating the noise from the front yard.

The two sat down side by side, and Manager Bai spoke first: "Chief Chen, what brings you here at this hour? Is there some situation at the docks?"

The man called "Commander Chen" sat up straighter: "The people you told me to keep an eye on have arrived."

"Previously," Manager Bai raised an eyebrow, "you mean Eunuch Gao and the others?"

General Chen nodded.

"When did you arrive?" Manager Bai asked.

"Just before I arrived," said General Chen. "To be precise, it was before the rain stopped around noon today."

"Is everything here?" Manager Bai asked again.

“They should all be here by now.” Commander Chen held up his fingers and counted them one by one: “A fifth-rank eunuch in his forties or fifties, a fifth-rank eunuch in his thirties or forties, and a seventh-rank eunuch in his fourteens or fifteens. According to the information you gave me before, these three people should be Gao Shiming, the director of the General Administration of Customs, Pang Tianshou, the deputy director of the Audit Bureau of the Imperial Household Department, and Fang Zhenghua, the inspector of the Western Depot’s External Inspection Division.”

"Have they settled in yet?"

"I don't know, but they were picked up by the people from the post station." Commander Chen asked, "What's going to happen next? Are there any new instructions from above?"

"There weren't any specific instructions from above. We were just told to keep an eye out for them when they cross the border and get a receipt." Manager Bai waved his hand. "You don't need to keep an eye on them. Continue investigating the canal smuggling. I'll talk to the post station and tell them to be more vigilant."

"Okay." Commander Chen breathed a small sigh of relief. He didn't want to keep chasing after the new imperial envoy for no reason.

"Let me offer a word of advice," Manager Bai suddenly added, "Investigating the case is one thing, but lately, we should tell the brothers to keep a low profile. After all, that Fang Zhenghua is from the Western Depot."

"Hehe. We're all working for the palace, there's no need to be so wary, is there?" Commander Chen chuckled dismissively.

"Even close brothers should keep clear accounts; we share the same pot of rice but not everyone's share." The shopkeeper sneered. "Besides, you know that the Western Depot rose to power by bringing down our Eastern Depot."

“The West Depot overthrew the old East Depot,” Chen Zongqi said dismissively. “We are now the new East Depot.”

"Who cares about the new or old factory? Isn't the supervisor still Eunuch Cui? Besides, in their eyes, there's no difference between the new and old factories." The manager's voice deepened. "Didn't you see the West Depot's responsibilities? It's clearly stated that they are responsible for supervising all departments within the inner court. If they start finding fault, can you handle it?"

“We’re dealing with an imperial envoy personally appointed by the Emperor, and we only have silver in our hands. What mistakes could he possibly find?” Commander Chen said, but his expression unconsciously became more serious.

"If they want to find someone, are they sure they're right? You've been out of the loop for a while, you haven't seen how those people from the West Depot behave. They're the kind of guys who'd give you a free meal and then find fault with you even if you eat a single extra feather." Manager Bai rolled his eyes. "Can you explain the purpose of every single penny of the funding the head office gives you?"

"It's hard to explain, I still have some savings," said General Chen.

"A surplus? Ha. They don't care whether you have a surplus or not." Manager Bai chuckled. "To gather information, your men occasionally have to treat the canal workers to meals, right?"

“That’s right,” Commander Chen said matter-of-factly. “How can you get information out of someone without treating them to a meal?”

"Then let me ask you, what information did you get from the last meal you treated us to?" Manager Bai pressed.

I, Chen Zongqi, was taken aback by this pedantic question.

"Can't answer that?" Manager Bai laughed.

General Chen frowned: "Isn't it a bit much to be so serious?"

"Absolutely! As far as I know, this inspector surnamed Fang was on duty at the transport warehouse at the beginning of the year. He was incredibly impartial and never smiled. He wouldn't even let it go if the warehouse clerk took an extra piece of paper to wrap silver." Manager Bai leaned back in his chair and sighed seriously, "Anyway, I'm putting my words here. If you believe me, tell your men to stay away from them. If you don't believe me, then there's nothing I can do."

"Since he's so amazing that he can even find out if a piece of paper is lost, do you still dare to have the post station keep an eye on them?" Commander Chen raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid that if they find out, they'll say we're neglecting our duties and are instead spying on the Western Depot?"

"I just wanted the post station to keep an eye on their movements, it's not about surveillance." Manager Bai blinked. "Besides, the post station is supposed to record the whereabouts of officials anyway, it's just a matter of being more careful, it won't expose us."

"Hmph, who knows?" Chief Chen snorted twice and stood up. "But I've remembered your suggestion, and I'll inform my subordinates. Do you have anything else to attend to? If not, I'll head back to the brokerage. There are some mundane matters waiting for me to handle there." "There's a small matter," Manager Bai also stood up, "I'd like to ask for your help."

“Please speak,” General Chen said, looking at him.

"When you came in, you should have seen the wrapped books by the counter, right?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Delivering goods?" Chief Chen was taken aback. "It's just a little bit of stuff, you can just have my brother deliver it. He's free anyway."

"It's not about the delivery." Manager Bai shook his head. "The person who bought those books claims to be Qi Biaojia, the son of Qi Cheng, an official in the Ministry of War. I'd like you to help me find out if this is true."

"What?" Commander Chen raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with his father?"

"No, not at all," said Manager Bai. "He said his father was just promoted and hasn't taken office yet."

"What's there to investigate? He's just the son of a minor official in the Ministry of War who hasn't even taken office yet," Commander Chen shrugged. "Or is he using this title to solicit favors from you?"

"It's not about asking for benefits, it's about giving benefits."

"What benefits? Why are we giving them to you?" Commander Chen asked, initially puzzled, then his eyes widened. "You've been exposed?"

"Hey. What are you thinking?" Manager Bai waved his hand. "He just wants to have other people's books printed here. I'm worried about trouble later, so I want to find out what he's up to."

"Printing books?" Commander Chen relaxed again. "Let them print. In the end, it'll just be sent to the printing factory for printing anyway. What's the point of investigating?"

"It's no trouble to check," Manager Bai said with a smile. "Although this Qi Cheng is only a junior official in the Ministry of War, he was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the thirty-second year of the Wanli reign."

"The thirty-second year of the Wanli reign?" Commander Chen frowned. "Is there any explanation for that?"

"There's no particular explanation, it's just that both Grand Chancellor Sun and Grand Minister Xu are on this list." Manager Bai took a step back. "If you're really too busy, then forget it."

"It's not a big deal whether he's busy or not. Since you've given the order, I'll have someone check on him while I'm at it." General Chen walked to the door, then turned back. "But shopkeeper, don't take this job at the bookstore too seriously. Your real job isn't selling books."

"How can we not take it seriously? This pretense must be made to look real so as not to arouse suspicion." The shopkeeper smiled and followed, pushing open the door and saying, "Besides, the business also values ​​performance. If this study makes money, I'll get a share of the profits. I'll treat you to drinks then."

“Performance? Ha!” Chief Chen laughed and teased, “You’ve misused public resources, haven’t you? No wonder you’re so afraid of the West Depot’s people investigating.”

“You can’t say that,” Manager Bai said, feigning anger. “Although this study doesn’t have a signboard, it’s still an imperial shop. What’s wrong with me making money for the Emperor? I’m not neglecting my official duties.”

"But you've delayed our important business," General Chen said with a sneer.

"How could that be? You just said it yourself, it's just a casual inquiry," Manager Bai said with a smile.

"Alright, you've read books, after all; I can't argue with you." Commander Chen smiled, stepped out of the door, and asked, "Where does the young master of the Qi family live again?"

"The Pillow Moon Pavilion in the south of the city can be seen as soon as you leave the city." Manager Bai followed beside him, walking towards the main hall.

"Okay. I'll arrange for someone to move in tonight." Commander Chen nodded and said no more.

------

Qi Biaojia, fanning himself with a folding fan, walked along the bluestone path towards the government office. Before long, he arrived at the joint office of the Tianjin Governor's Office and the Central Guard Commandery.

At this time, the plaque under the eaves of the joint office had been changed from "Tianjin Central Guard Commandery" to "Tianjin Governor's Censorate", and the original Commandery plaque had been replaced by a vertical plaque hanging on the wall by the door.

As soon as Qi Biaojia reached the door, two duty officers dressed in blue uniforms and with long knives at their waists came up to him and blocked his way.

The leading guard, a man in his thirties, saw that Qi Biaojia was dressed in a blue cloth robe and holding a folding fan, looking every bit the scholar. He readily adopted a gentle demeanor: "Young master, please wait a moment. May I ask your esteemed name? What brings you to the yamen?"

Qi Biaojia stopped, put away his folding fan, took out a neatly folded document from his sleeve, and handed it over: "I am Qi Biaojia, a Juren from Zhejiang. My father, Qi Cheng, was a Jinshi in the thirty-second year of the Wanli reign, and was a classmate of your esteemed Vice Minister Sun. I am currently staying in Tianjin, so I have come to pay my respects to Vice Minister Sun as a junior."

The soldier took the document with both hands, unfolded it, and immediately saw the vermilion seal of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commission. In addition to the seal, the document also stated Qi Biaojia's place of origin, academic achievements, and the reason for leaving his hometown—to go to the capital to take the imperial examination.

After reviewing the official document, the standard-bearer's attitude warmed up somewhat, but he still didn't move away: "Young Master Qi, I'm truly sorry. Vice Minister Sun has been busy dealing with canal transport and taxation matters lately, working until evening every day, so he probably won't have time to see you. However, I can go in and inform you." With that, he returned the official document to Qi Biaojia.

"Thank you for your trouble," Qi Biaojia said, putting away the official documents and taking out a written visiting card from his sleeve. He handed it over with both hands. "Whenever you are free, please send someone to the Pillow Moon Pavilion in the south of the city to let me know. If you really cannot spare the time, then I will be very sorry for my intrusion."

The model soldier accepted the invitation, held it in his hand, and turned to walk towards the yamen (government office).

Qi Biaojia stood there, watching the soldier's departing figure. Seeing him turn directly into the gatehouse, he also turned around, preparing to return to the inn first.

He had just stepped out of the screen wall when he caught a glimpse of two people and a donkey approaching the yamen in the distance. Qi Biaojia stopped and looked over. He saw a man who looked to be about twenty years old sitting on the donkey. The man was fair-skinned and beardless, wearing a blue sunflower-patterned round-necked shirt, a black gauze hat with curved legs, and a belt around his waist that looked like it was decorated with rhinoceros horn.

Beside the man was a man in his thirties, dressed in shorts, with a bundle slung over his shoulder and holding the donkey's rope in his hand. He walked steadily and was clearly the man's attendant.

Before long, the two men and the donkey arrived at the entrance of the government office. Just as the man leading the donkey was about to speak, the constable who had returned stepped forward and stopped them, saying, "Stop! Get down and talk!"

(End of this chapter)