Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 790 Missed
After leaving the Zhijingtang, Xu Fang did not go to Shuntong Pawnshop to talk to Chen Weiye as Bai Zhaoye had imagined. Instead, she went straight to the Tianjin branch of Riyue Bank.

The Tianjin branch was located near the government office, almost next to it. The shop was originally a money exchange called "Deshengju," registered under the name of Shen Caiyu, the former head of the Tianjin Central Guard.

At the beginning of the year, Shen Caiyu was arrested by the Imperial Guards, and the money shop, along with its silver and debts, was confiscated. Later, the head office of the bank sent Chu Xianzhang to Tianjin to prepare for the establishment of a branch, and Chu Xianzhang immediately took a liking to this place. He only had the simplest renovations done, replacing the original "Deshengju" signboard with an ebony gilded plaque that read "Riyue Bank," and then moved in with a large sum of silver and banknotes allocated by the palace.

Xu Fang walked to the bank entrance and glanced up at the sign above the door. The ebony background with gilded characters gleamed in the sunlight, looking quite impressive.

"Please come in, sir!" As soon as Xu Fang entered, a waiter wearing a small cap and a gray-blue short jacket quickly came to greet her. "What kind of business do you need, sir? Whether it's exchanging tickets, cashing out, depositing money, or borrowing money, we can handle it all here."

Xu Fang walked towards the clerk who came to greet her, but instead of responding to his "business" request, she asked him, "I'm looking for your bank manager, Mr. Chu. Is he here now?"

"Huh? Looking for Bank Manager Chu?" The clerk paused, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. He sized up Xu Fang as he asked, "May I ask who you are?"

The bank was an open and legitimate business, unlike the weaving workshop which needed to be kept secret. Xu Fang could have revealed his identity directly, but his long-standing habits made him subconsciously use a vague statement: "My surname is Xu, and I am an old friend of your bank manager, Mr. Chu. If you pass this message on to him, he will definitely come to see me."

"Oh!" The waiter immediately withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, and his attitude became more respectful. "So it's Young Master Xu. My apologies for not recognizing you!"

"Alright," Xu Fang waved her hand. "Go and report it quickly."

"Young Master Xu, I'm so sorry," the shop assistant said with an apologetic smile. "President Chu and Vice President Cao went out early this morning and haven't returned yet. If you're not in a hurry, why don't you go to the reception room and sit for a while? I'll have someone make you a pot of good tea right away."

"They went out?" Xu Fang frowned slightly. "Where did they go? When will they be back?"

The waiter shook his head sheepishly, rubbing his hands together in front of him. "Oh dear, I'm just a waiter, only responsible for greeting customers. How would I know where the bank manager is? They wouldn't specifically tell me this when they leave."

"Surely someone knows?" Xu Fang looked around, her tone becoming more serious. "Otherwise, if something goes wrong, who will make decisions?"

“Well, Manager Peng might know,” the clerk said, turning his head to glance at the counter behind Xu Fang, where not only were customers being processed, but people were also queuing up. “But right now…”

Xu Fang had no interest in arguing with the shop assistant, and ignoring the customers still doing business at the counter, she walked over to the counter, cut in line, and stood at the front. Leaning on the counter, she said to Manager Peng behind the fence, "Do you know where your President Chu or Vice President Cao went?"

Manager Peng was counting silver notes for a customer when he was suddenly interrupted and immediately took aback. He looked up, but before he could speak, the customer who had been pushed behind him by Xu Fang protested.

The customer was a middle-aged merchant dressed in colorful silk, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist and a jade thumb ring on his thumb. "Hey! Hey buddy, can't you be reasonable for once?" The middle-aged merchant slapped Xu Fang on the shoulder and pointed angrily, saying, "Don't you understand the first-come, first-served rule? How can you cut in line like that and ask questions like that?"

The other customers queuing behind the merchant also frowned, and two of them even whispered among themselves. Although they didn't openly criticize her, they all looked at Xu Fang with dissatisfaction, clearly disgusted by this act of cutting in line.

Manager Peng snapped out of his daze, put down the silver notes in his hand, and smiled politely at Xu Fang, "Sir, I'm really sorry, could you please wait a moment? Let me finish dealing with these guests before I explain in detail. It won't take up much of your time."

"I won't waste your time. Just tell me where your bank manager Chu or deputy bank manager Cao went." Xu Fang ignored the guests behind her and didn't even look at Manager Peng's expression. She just stared at him and said directly, "It's just a matter of one sentence. Tell me and I'll leave."

Upon seeing this, the waiter quickly ran over. He first bowed repeatedly to the customers in line, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I've caused you all trouble." Then he went to the counter and whispered to Manager Peng, "Mr. Peng, this customer said that he is an old friend of Director Chu."

Upon hearing this, Manager Peng was taken aback again, and his gaze returned to Xu Fang. A thought quickly formed in his mind, and he asked with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, "This esteemed guest, you're not from the palace, are you?"

The moment the words "from the palace" were uttered, the counter fell silent. Those who had been complaining immediately swallowed their words. Those who had remained silent until now, only expressing their dissatisfaction with their eyes, also silently averted their gaze, barely daring to breathe. One customer at the end of the line even turned around and quietly squeezed out of the bank.

The most apprehensive person was, of course, the businessman who had just reprimanded Xu Fang. He was now filled with fear and regret. He had impulsively said something he shouldn't have, and if this "woman from the palace" held a grudge, he could forget about establishing himself in Tianjin. He also wanted to take advantage of Xu Fang's inattention and run away, but his business was almost done, and all that was left was to settle the money. If he left now, it would probably be even more troublesome if he came back later. So he could only grit his teeth and stay where he was, preparing to apologize to Xu Fang.

Seeing that her identity had been exposed, Xu Fang decided to stop hiding it: "That's right, I'm from the palace. I have something to discuss with your Director Chu. Where did he go?"

Manager Peng's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped out from behind the counter. But before he could even bow, Xu Fang interrupted him with a raised hand: "Alright, stop bowing. Just tell me where your bank manager is. If you know, tell me; if you don't, tell me who knows."

Manager Peng swallowed the words of apology that were about to slip out, and instead asked, "Sir, you should be staying at the inn right now, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Xu Fang asked in return.

"Then you should have already met with President Chu," Manager Peng said with a forced smile.

“How could I have seen him?” Xu Fang frowned, but quickly relaxed. “…He went to the post station?”

“That’s right.” Manager Peng nodded, bowing slightly. “He heard last night that an imperial envoy had arrived in Tianjin, so he went to the post station early this morning.”

"Alright. Sorry to bother you." Xu Fang waved his hand, turned around, and walked towards the bank entrance. From beginning to end, he ignored the customers who were initially dissatisfied and now nervous, and didn't even glance at them.

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Xu Fang left the Sun and Moon Bank and headed straight for the post station. By then, the sun was high in the sky, the sunlight was increasingly intense, and the streets were bustling with people. Peddlers carrying loads, bodyguards leading horses, and porters in short clothes moved about in the marketplace, creating a lively scene.

After walking for about half a cup of tea's time, he saw the joint government office not far away. Xu Fang subconsciously looked up and saw that the vermilion gate was still tightly closed, with two rows of provincial governor's guards holding swords and shields lined up at the entrance. The guards had serious expressions, stood ramrod straight, and their sharp eyes scanned the passersby. Clearly, the meeting between Sun Chengzong and Gao Shiming and others was not yet over.

When the leading officer saw Xu Fang looking over, he met her gaze with a serious expression. Xu Fang smiled, then looked away and continued walking towards the post station.

The post station in Tianjin was located near the canal wharf. Although it was outside the city walls, it was not too far away. Xu Fang only walked for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before she saw the gate of the post station.

"Master Xu!" Before Xu Fang even reached the entrance of the post station, a young postman quickly came to greet him. "Master Xu, why are you alone? Where are the other eunuchs?"

"They're still at the yamen; I came back alone," Xu Fang replied casually, then asked, "Have President Chu and Vice President Cao from the Sun and Moon Bank come to the post station?"

The courier nodded hurriedly: "Reporting to Master Xu, President Chu and Vice President Cao arrived early this morning and are waiting in the reception room in the main hall right now."

"When did they arrive?" Xu Fang asked again.

"Probably," the courier counted on his fingers, "around Chen Shi (7-9 AM). That is, shortly after you gentlemen left the post station."

Xu Fang hummed in agreement and began walking into the post station. The postman quickly turned around to follow, intending to lead the way. Xu Fang noticed the footsteps behind him and waved his hand, saying, "I know the way, you don't need to follow."

The courier replied "Yes," but still followed for two more steps and asked, "Shall I have someone make you a pot of tea?"

Xu Fang nodded in agreement, then paused as if remembering something, and added, "Don't forget to get a fresh cup of tea for President Chu and Vice President Cao as well. They've been waiting for quite a while, and the tea must be getting cold."

"Yes, I understand." The courier quickly replied and turned to walk briskly toward the tea room.

Xu Fang did not immediately go to the main hall reception room to meet Chu and Cao, but instead went to the private courtyard where he and his other colleagues from the Western Depot were staying.

Xu Fang arrived at the courtyard gate and knocked on the door. A short while later, the gate was opened by a man wearing a gray crew-neck shirt and a small yellow shirt.

"Oh. Commander Xu is back. Please come in, please come in." The eunuch peeked out, and upon seeing that it was Xu Fang, immediately smiled and made way for her. "Why are you alone? Didn't Inspector Fang and the others come back with you?"

Xu Fang ignored him and walked straight into the courtyard, asking as she went, "Are Mr. Qin and the others in the courtyard right now?"

"Yes, yes." The eunuch looked around for a moment, and when he was sure that only Xu Fang had returned, he closed the courtyard gate, bolted it, and quickly followed her, saying, "Mr. Qin and the others have been staying in the courtyard the whole time and haven't gone out."

"Okay." Xu Fang waved her hand. "Go back to the gatehouse and wait."

The eunuch stopped in his tracks, looking on with displeasure, and watched Xu Fang walk toward the west wing.

Xu Fang walked to the door of the side room, didn't knock, and pushed the door open and went in. As soon as she entered, a rich scent of ink wafted towards her.

There were three desks by the window in the room, with writing implements and many copied manuscripts on them.

Three middle-aged men dressed in blue scholar's robes and wearing black gauze headscarves sat at the table, each holding a writing brush and copying.

These three middle-aged men were all seasoned scholars who had spent their entire lives trying to pass the imperial examinations but had never succeeded. They were recruited by the Western Depot with a monthly salary of two taels of silver to be responsible for copying documents and organizing investigation materials. Before starting their jobs, they all signed a seemingly legitimate confidentiality agreement with the Western Depot, promising never to disclose any information they heard or saw during their work to anyone, including their families, or they would be severely punished.

Even without this agreement, they dared not reveal anything. After all, if the Western Depot wanted to kill someone, they didn't need to go to court. They only needed to hand a note to the Directorate of Ceremonial, and then find a way to get the emperor to tick the box or nod his head, and they could take action.

The noise of the door opening startled the three of them. They looked up and saw Xu Fang. They quickly put down their brushes, stood up and went to greet her: "Commander Xu."

Xu Fang politely cupped her hands in return to the three men, then took out the book "Records of Gentry and Merchants" from her bosom and handed it to Mr. Qin, who was at the head of the group: "Mr. Qin, please take a look at this."

Mr. Qin took the booklet and looked at the five characters "Records of Gentry and Merchants" on the cover. A look of doubt immediately appeared on his face. Just as he was about to ask a question, Xu Fang explained, "This is not an ordinary list of gentry. It is a list of people involved in the case that I got from the East Depot's liaison station. It records all the people involved in the canal transport smuggling case."

Mr. Qin quickly flipped through a few pages, and looking at the densely packed names and information, he couldn't help but gasp, muttering in surprise, "So many people?"

“That’s not all,” Xu Fang sneered. “This book only lists the prominent figures.”

"Hmm," Mr. Qin licked his suddenly dry lips. "Does Commander Xu still want us to copy down everything in the register?"

“That’s right.” Xu Fang nodded. “The head of the liaison station said that the contents of this booklet have been reported to the Eastern Depot, but we’re here to verify whether the Eastern Depot deleted or modified the original contents when it further reported to the Directorate of Ceremonial. So, I need you gentlemen to make a complete copy of the contents. You may disassemble the booklet and copy it in three parts. But one thing is certain: the pages must not be lost or damaged, and it’s best not to change the order. After you’ve finished copying, I will return the booklet to the liaison station.”

Mr. Qin closed the booklet, his fingertips trembling slightly. This was no mere roster; it was a thread binding the lives of hundreds, and he felt that with the slightest pull, someone would be strangled. He took a deep breath and nodded solemnly to Xu Fang: "Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir." The other two clerks nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I’ll leave this to you gentlemen.” Xu Fang nodded in satisfaction when they agreed. “You go ahead with your work. I need to go to the reception room to see President Chu. If there’s anything else, we can talk about it when I get back. Goodbye.”

After saying that, Xu Fang did not linger any longer and walked towards the courtyard gate.

(End of this chapter)