Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 807 Confession
The post station was practically right next to the canal wharf. Guided by Peng Yi, the group quickly arrived at their destination and settled in.

Peng Yi finally caught his breath and was about to prepare lunch for the imperial envoys when another courier came running over, shouting, "Master Peng! Master Peng!"

Peng Yi was startled by the shout, and the breath he had just exhaled caught in his throat. He turned around unhappily and cursed, "What the hell are you yelling about? You scared the hell out of me!"

Before the courier could apologize or explain, he gasped, "Master, Eunuch Jin is here."

"Huh? So fast?" Peng Yi then noticed that the panting fellow in front of him was the courier he had sent to inform Jin Zhong earlier.

"Yes. Eunuch Jin, he arrived almost immediately in his sedan chair." The courier pointed towards the entrance of the post station, right at the four-bearer sedan chair that was swaying up and down.

Upon seeing the sedan chair, Peng Yi lost all interest in reprimanding the courier and turned to greet it.

Before the sedan chair even hit the ground, the four porters were already panting heavily. All along the way, Jin Zhong had been urging them to run faster, leaving them drenched in sweat and breathless. Jin Zhong himself wasn't much better off; the sedan chair's up-and-down jolting nearly shook his buttocks raw. Luckily, he was already out of testicles, otherwise he would definitely be clutching his crotch and groaning for a while now.

Once the sedan chair came to a stop, Jin Zhong, pale-faced and with disheveled hair, lifted the curtain and stepped down himself.

Peng Yi stepped forward, raised his hand and bowed: "This humble servant Peng Yi greets Eunuch Jin!"

Jin Zhong, supporting himself with one hand on the sedan chair and the other on his back, paused for a moment before getting straight to the point: "Where is the Imperial Envoy? Take me to see him quickly!"

"Over there. The imperial envoy is over there." Peng Yi pointed to several courtyards near the main hall.

Jin Zhong stepped over the downward-pressing sedan chair pole, then suddenly stopped: "What are you swaying for? Which one is it? Can you point it out more clearly?"

“Those three are all of them,” Peng Yi quickly explained.

"All three?" Jin Zhong was taken aback. "How many imperial envoys have come? What exactly happened?"

An embarrassed expression appeared on Peng Yi's face: "This humble servant...this humble servant doesn't know how many imperial envoys there are. Anyway, two boatloads of people have arrived, and they've requested three courtyards." The official document from Tianjin only informed them that imperial envoys were coming to Tanggu for inspection, without specifying who they were. If Peng Yi hadn't been prepared and had the entire post station cleaned and tidied up, it's not certain that everyone could be accommodated satisfactorily.

"Two boats of people?" Jin Zhong asked in surprise. "Then who's in charge?"

"The person in charge is Eunuch Gao Shiming," Peng Yi said.

"Which courtyard is Gao Shiming staying in?" Jin Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. In his mind, Gao Shiming was still the branch manager of Zhengyangmen Bank, and with him at the helm, the delegation wouldn't be targeting him.

“It’s the one on the west side.” Peng Yi pointed to the courtyard closest to the main hall.

"Who lives in the other two rooms?" Jin Zhong asked again.

"The South Courtyard is where Eunuch Fang Zhenghua and Eunuch Xu Fang from the West Depot live. The East Courtyard is where Eunuch Pang Tianshou and his associates from the Imperial Household Department live," Peng Yi explained.

Jin Zhong's previously relaxed expression turned grim again. The combined forces of the Imperial Censorate and the Western Depot were clearly targeting him, but why was Gao Shiming, a man from the banking department, the leader?
As he was pondering this, the door to the east courtyard was opened. Gao Shiming's godson, Gao Fengqiu, came out. Jin Zhong's pupils contracted, and he subconsciously took a step back.

Gao Fengqiu strode towards Peng Yi, but was drawn to Jin Zhong and his sedan chair along the way. "And who is this?"

“I am the Right Deputy Director of the Miscellaneous Works Bureau of the Imperial Household Department,” Jin Zhong swallowed a mouthful of sticky saliva and forced a smile. “Jin Zhong.”

Gao Fengqiu was taken aback: "You are Eunuch Jin?"

"It is indeed I," Jin Zhong bowed again, "May I ask your honorable name?"

"My surname is Gao, and my godfather gave me the name Fengqiu." Gao Fengqiu came to his senses and bowed. "Junior greets Deputy Director Jin."

"So it's Eunuch Gao." Jin Zhong asked with a smile, "I apologize for the intrusion. Does Eunuch Gao have some free time?"

"Uh," Gao Fengqiu smiled awkwardly, momentarily at a loss for words.

Although the imperial envoy delegation was headed by Gao Shiming, each member had their own duties. Gao Shiming had no need to get involved in the audits of the eunuchs appointed by the Inner Palace Audit Bureau and the Western Depot Inspection Department, and he should not have met with the auditees separately before the audits began.

But Jin Zhong came knocking on the door in such a hurry, eagerly requesting an audience, that it wasn't appropriate to treat him coldly. If Jin Zhong had something to do with, then it was fine; one shouldn't give face to an ingrate. But if Jin Zhong was innocent, and yet he still offered himself up to such a warm welcome, then he would be needlessly offending someone.

After a moment's thought, Gao Fengqiu decided to make an excuse: "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. My godfather is terribly seasick and hasn't recovered yet. I came out today to ask Peng Yicheng for some medicine to relieve his seasickness." As he spoke, Gao Fengqiu turned to Peng Yicheng: "Peng Yicheng, which room is Eunuch Pang's courtyard again?"

"Eunuch Pang?" Peng Yi was taken aback, then quickly pointed out, "Oh! Eunuch Pang lives in the east courtyard. I already pointed him out to Eunuch Jin earlier."

Gao Fengqiu looked in that direction and said to Jin Zhong, "Eunuch Jin, Eunuch Pang from the Directorate of Palace Attendants has also arrived. Why don't you go and pay him a visit first? Once my godfather has recovered, I'll come and invite him over. What do you think?"

Gao Fengqiu's attitude made Jin Zhong, who was already uneasy, even more nervous. He couldn't help but ask, "Young Eunuch Gao, may I ask what brings you esteemed envoys here?"

"Everyone has their own business to attend to," Gao Fengqiu said with a smile. "We came here mainly to check out the port and discuss business matters with the Western merchants. As for why Eunuch Pang and Eunuch Fang came, we are not entirely sure."

Jin Zhong wanted to ask more questions, but Gao Fengqiu looked at Peng Yi again and said in an urging tone, "Peng Yicheng, do you have any medicine to relieve dizziness? If not, I'll go out and buy some!"

Peng Yi could sense the subtle atmosphere and had the idea of ​​leaving the scene. Now that Gao Fengqiu had spoken to him, he immediately picked up the conversation and hurriedly waved his hand towards the backyard: "Yes, yes, yes! Xiao Yi always keeps medicine to relieve heatstroke and dizziness, both pills and decoctions. Please come with me!"

"Eunuch Jin," Gao Fengqiu said before Jin Zhong could speak, taking his leave. "My godfather is really feeling unwell. I'll take my leave now."

Jin Zhong had no way to persuade him to stay, so he could only force a smile and reply, "Okay."

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When Gao Fengqiu returned to the courtyard with the medicine to relieve dizziness and restore his vital energy, Gao Shiming was resting with his eyes closed on a recliner under the shade of a tree. He Xiaokui stood beside him, slowly fanning himself.

Gao Fengqiu gestured with his eyes to the gatekeeper, Xiao Huang, to close the door. Then he quickly walked to Gao Shiming's side and gently called out, "Godfather."

"Hmm." Gao Shiming didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Godfather," Gao Fengqiu called out again.

"What's the matter?" "Eunuch Jin Zhong has come to the post station."

"Jin Zhong?" Gao Shiming opened his eyes and turned his head. "Who is that?"

"That's the eunuch who was sent to Tianjin to oversee the construction of the imperial workshops," Gao Fengqiu said.

"Oh. Him?" Gao Shiming remembered. "Pang Tianshou was ordered to interrogate him, wasn't he?"

“That’s right.” Gao Fengqiu nodded.

"His information network is really impressive; we've only been here a short while and he's already here," Gao Shiming scoffed. "Did he go to see Pang Tianshou?"

"should be."

"Should?" Gao Shiming frowned.

“My son just went out and ran into him. He asked if you were free. I thought I needed to avoid suspicion, so I made up an excuse and asked him to go see Eunuch Pang,” Gao Fengqiu explained. “After that, my son went to get your medicine. When I came back, Eunuch Jin was gone, but his sedan chair was still there. I didn’t ask any questions and came back directly, so it was only right.”

"Get medicine? What medicine?" Gao Shiming propped himself up and sat up.

"It's just medicine to relieve seasickness and strengthen your body." Gao Fengqiu took out a small medicine bottle from his pocket and presented it to Gao Shiming. "The excuse my son used to appease Eunuch Jin was that you were seasick and needed medicine to strengthen your body, so naturally you had to go get the medicine."

"I won't take it, get out." Gao Shiming believed in the idea that "all medicines have some toxicity," and even though his mind was a little foggy, he still refused to take the medicine.

"Yes." Gao Fengqiu, holding the medicine bottle, turned around sheepishly. He had only taken two steps when Gao Shiming's voice came after him again: "Did you deliver the visiting card to the Ministry of Finance that I told you to deliver?"

Gao Fengqiu stopped and turned around, saying, "Not yet."

"Then why did you come back?" Gao Shiming frowned.

"I had to go all the way. I had to come back and get the medicine for you first so I wouldn't give myself away," Gao Fengqiu said with an embarrassed smile. "Otherwise, if people found out that my son was lying, wouldn't I have offended them for nothing?"

"You little rascal, you're so cunning." Gao Shi glanced at him knowingly, then lay back down. "I've already taken my medicine, hurry up and hand over the visiting card."

"Yes," Gao Fengqiu replied, then turned and went out to borrow a donkey from the post station manager.

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Pang Tianshou and Jin Zhong were both deputy bureau chiefs of the fifth rank, so they sat side by side in the main room of the front courtyard, facing the main entrance.

"Is everything you just said true? Can it withstand scrutiny?" Pang Tianshou leaned back in his armchair, a weary smile on his face. Although Pang Tianshou didn't get seasick like Gao Shiming, the long journey had still left him feeling tired.

"Absolutely true, how could it not stand up to scrutiny?" Jin Zhong hunched over, forcing a smile, only sitting on one side of the seat. "The manpower was requisitioned from Baodi and Xianghe counties, the building materials were supervised by the Ministry of Works, the port construction was managed by the governor's office, and the goods settled with the Westerners were escorted by the Ministry of Revenue. We were just making plans, supervising construction, and providing assistance. Even if someone wanted to mess things up, they wouldn't have a chance."

“Alright.” Pang Tianshou sat up a little straighter. “Then I’ll ask you one last question, please don’t mind, Brother Jin.”

“Brother Pang, just ask.” Jin Zhong dared not refuse.

"Brother Jin has been out of the palace for several months now. You must have made quite a bit of money from your social interactions, right?" Pang Tianshou asked calmly.

Jin Zhong gasped, a cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead. He opened his mouth, about to deny it, but Pang Tianshou raised his hand to stop him: "Don't be so quick to say no. Of course there is. You are someone from the palace, after all. Even if you don't get involved in anything, those civil and military officials, gentry and merchants will inevitably think of your status as an imperial envoy and send you some tribute."

"I...I..." Jin Zhong's face flushed red and then turned pale, and he stammered for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence.

Seeing that Jin Zhong remained silent, Pang Tianshou continued, "Shizhong, I'm only speaking frankly to you because we both belong to the Directorate of Palace Attendants. This is just a small matter; it's much better if you report it yourself than if it's discovered later. If the eunuchs from the Western Depot come to question you, I won't be acting this way now."

"Alright, thank you for the advice, Brother Pang." Jin Zhong turned his head and said with a half-sigh, "I did take some, but not much. In the past few months of welcoming and seeing off guests, I've saved up about two or three thousand taels of silver."

"Is it two thousand or three thousand?" Pang Tianshou remained calm.

“I haven’t calculated it in detail,” Jin Zhong shook his head. “But all things considered, it should still be around two thousand five or six hundred taels.”

"Is it all silver?"

"It's not all silver. If we're going to be specific, silver is a small part. Add in the cloth, silk, and precious items, and it should total about two thousand five or six hundred taels. If we're just talking about cash, it's only about a thousand taels." Jin Zhong suddenly felt thirsty and subconsciously reached for the coffee table, but found nothing.

Seeing this, Pang Tianshou immediately raised his voice and shouted towards the door, "What are you dawdling about! Isn't the tea ready yet?"

"Almost there, almost there!" A voice immediately responded from the nearby kitchen: "The water will be boiling soon!"

"Really," Pang Tianshou turned around and apologized to Jin Zhong, "I'm so sorry I haven't been able to get you a hot drink after sitting here for so long."

Jin Zhong was jolted awake by Pang Tianshou's earlier shout, but he could only manage a forced smile and wave his hand, saying, "Brother Pang, you flatter me. It's nothing, it's nothing."

Pang Tianshou smiled and steered the conversation back on track: "Who gave you gifts?"

“There are many, and we have dealings with people at all levels.” Jin Zhong raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and said, “The most expensive gifts are a hundred or so taels of silver or a dozen bolts of silk, while the less expensive ones are trinkets like jade and porcelain. Of course, I also return the gifts, which is why I said those things were accumulated through welcoming and sending off guests.”

“Up and down.” Pang Tianshou picked out a word and asked probingly, “Where does this ‘up’ go?”

"He was able to rise to the positions of Vice Minister Bi of the Ministry of Revenue, Vice Minister Sun of the Censorate, head of the Three Guards, and Li, the Coastal Defense Commander."

Pang Tianshou wasn't surprised: "What did they all send you?"

“They’re just regular holiday greetings and gifts,” Jin Zhong said. “Nothing particularly valuable.”

(End of this chapter)