On the way back, Gui Yuanshu explained to Yu Jiuling how a gambling den had come to operate inside the Daxing City magistrate’s dungeon.
Simply put: the foot soldiers never change, only the men at the top do, one after another, until eventually nobody could tell who served whom anymore.
There was also the matter of blind spots — everyone was focused on the big problems, on the rebel armies, with no eyes to spare for a city magistrate’s office that had long since been stripped of any real authority.
The dungeon itself had been used to hold serious criminals awaiting execution. But with everything in disarray, the officials inside the magistrate’s yamen were just coasting through their days. There were no serious criminals waiting for the axe.
Especially after the Emperor had slaughtered every noble family left in the city — and even before that purge, this place had already been a gambling den.
Who would have imagined an underground operation thriving there, and one of considerable size at that?
Yu Jiuling didn’t much care about the dungeon or the gambling den. He only cared about whether there was good food to be had.
He watched as Gui Yuanshu led him inside without a moment’s hesitation, collected what they wanted without a moment’s hesitation, and left through a different exit without a moment’s hesitation.
Yu Jiuling grew curious. “Did you used to come here to steal all the time?”
Gui Yuanshu said, “I used to come wearing my official robes.”
Yu Jiuling understood. That wasn’t stealing — that was walking in openly and taking whatever he wanted.
Gui Yuanshu said, “This gambling den runs a reasonably clean operation, so I turned a blind eye back then. Besides, I needed informants for my investigations. Gambling dens are places where information flows freely, as you well know.”
He kept walking as he talked. “The owner of this den goes by Maiqie. He laid down rules for the place — his exact words were…”
Gui Yuanshu paused to recall, then said, “A gambling den is a place for the dregs of society. No matter how fine your clothes, you’re still dregs.”
“So the dregs are always welcome here. But there’s one rule: don’t you dare drag decent, clean-living people down into this with you. That I won’t tolerate. Anywhere else is your business. But if anyone breaks that rule under my roof, I’ll tear them limb from limb and put them in a jar for everyone to see.”
“We’re all garbage here. Don’t act better than anyone else. I’m no good either — and I guarantee I’m more ruthless than any of you. So you’d all do well to listen to me.”
After hearing all that, Yu Jiuling found himself with a grudging respect for this Maiqie.
He hadn’t liked people who ran gambling dens — how many households had been ruined by one word: gambling.
Gui Yuanshu said, “Don’t be so quick to form a good impression of someone over a few fine-sounding words. A pretty speech doesn’t change the fact that he’s a creature of the underworld. You think he seems almost decent? That’s because you’ve never seen him carve a man apart.”
Yu Jiuling thought about it. That was a fair point.
A bad man who does bad things his whole life, then does one good thing at the end — people will praise him. People will even pass the story down.
A good man who does good things his whole life may have just one mistake thrown at him, and the gossip and tongues will grind him down until he can never lift his head again.
“You didn’t bring me along just to steal food, did you?” Yu Jiuling asked.
Gui Yuanshu smiled. “Partly I wanted to see if the den was still here, and still Maiqie’s. If it is, this man will be useful to me going forward.”
When they returned to Yibin Residence of the Ministry of Rites, the sky was nearly brightening. They entered through the rear courtyard and found Li Chi practicing his cultivation exercises in the yard.
Yu Jiuling was used to it — it was Li Chi’s daily discipline, rain or shine, without exception. Gui Yuanshu knew this too, but it still stirred something in him.
The one who seemed the most improper of them all had the most exacting discipline.
Gui Yuanshu gave a full account of what had happened. Everything had been arranged. Now they waited for word.
Each night at the hour of Zi (midnight), Gui Yuanshu would make his way to the abandoned Court of Justice to wait. The Military Intelligence operatives embedded in Daxing City would bring him news at that hour.
When Li Chi saw that Yu Jiuling had also brought back a fair amount of good food, he couldn’t help but look at him with new eyes.
Yu Jiuling said, “Chief, these expenses — could they be reimbursed?”
Li Chi said, “It’s the dead of night. You found a vendor open?”
Yu Jiuling said, “I really did pay for them.”
Li Chi said, “Paid who?”
Yu Jiuling raised a finger and pointed at Gui Yuanshu. “This man. He stole them, then sold them to me. And he cheated me out of a good sum.”
Gui Yuanshu said, “Everything I did, I did for everyone’s sake.”
Li Chi considered, then said, “Under the laws I’ve established, officials who commit offenses are subject to heightened penalties. One of you stole goods and fenced them; the other knowingly purchased stolen property…”
Gui Yuanshu muttered, “And here I thought our Chief had the blackest heart of all…”
Li Chi shot him a glance. “I’ll show leniency this time. The sentence for theft and trafficking of stolen goods is double the value of the items. Hand over the silver.”
Yu Jiuling said, “So I’ve paid three times over? Gui Yuanshu was the ringleader — why does he only pay double?”
Li Chi said, “I said both the theft and the trafficking are fined double. He committed both offenses, so combined, he pays four times.”
Gui Yuanshu looked to the heavens and sighed. “What possessed me to get tangled up in this…”
Li Chi said, “Furthermore: the stolen goods are confiscated.”
Both Gui Yuanshu and Yu Jiuling’s eyes went wide.
Three days later, in the middle of the night, Gui Yuanshu returned from the Court of Justice and came directly to find Li Chi.
In the previous nights, nothing of significance had come through, so he had waited until morning to report. But tonight he came immediately, late as it was.
Li Chi asked, “What did you learn?”
Gui Yuanshu said, “An operative uncovered something that seemed strange. Before our lord arrived, the Emperor paid a visit to the Wu Prince’s residence. But the Princess Consort pled illness and refused to see him.”
“Then, just before our lord entered the city, the Emperor went to the Wu Prince’s residence again. This time the Princess Consort received him — and after that meeting, the Emperor issued orders for our lord to be brought into the city.”
Li Chi considered. “The Wu Prince died in battle against us. The Emperor going to consult the Princess Consort on whether to allow us entry — that’s not unreasonable.”
Gui Yuanshu said, “The strange part is what happened on the Emperor’s second visit. A carriage also entered the Wu Prince’s residence.”
He looked at Li Chi. “One of our operatives made contact with a vendor near the residence. According to the vendor, the Emperor entered through the main gate, but the carriage entered through the side gate. On the Emperor’s first visit, there had also been a carriage waiting at the side gate — but the Emperor was turned away that time, and the carriage never made it inside.”
Li Chi slowly exhaled. “That may confirm my suspicion.”
Gui Yuanshu nodded. “Yang Jing has killing intentions toward our lord — that’s unusual. And from what we’ve gathered, Han Feibao’s people arrived in Daxing City only days after our lord did, and Yang Jing has already met with them.”
Li Chi said, “Han Feibao’s people will try to eliminate me and pressure the Emperor into allying with them. The Emperor also wants me dead. The only reasonable explanation is that he wants to deepen the hatred between Han Feibao and me.”
Gui Yuanshu said, “They believe our lord to be General Xiahou. They know how close our lord and General Xiahou are, like brothers. So if General Xiahou dies inside Daxing City, any possibility of reconciliation would be gone.”
He looked at Li Chi. “Your suspicion that Yang Jing never truly intended to surrender — nor to ally with Han Feibao — appears to be correct.”
Li Chi gave a quiet sound of agreement. “He intends… to take everyone down with him.”
Li Chi’s reasoning went like this: the Emperor had gone to see the Princess Consort — but surely not merely to offer comfort. Because the Emperor knew better than anyone that with the Wu Prince dead, the Princess Consort would not remain in Daxing City for long.
The Princess Consort had not followed her husband in death because she could not abandon the child she and the Wu Prince had — Yang Zhenting. So her departure from Daxing City was the least suspicious thing imaginable, which meant the Emperor could use it: entrust the Princess Consort with his own child and send him out of the city.
With his child safely away, the Emperor would have nothing left to lose.
And of all the people in Daxing City, the only one the Emperor could truly entrust his child to was the Princess Consort.
The Emperor also surely knew Yang Zhenting — he was a man with a kind heart and a gentle nature. Even if the Princess Consort ultimately chose to take her own life, Yang Zhenting, left with the Emperor’s son, would protect the child without fail.
Once the young prince was gone, the Emperor would make his desperate final move.
He would pretend to ally with Han Feibao, and pretend to ally with Li Chi, with the true aim of making Han Feibao and Li Chi destroy each other — while he threw his several hundred thousand soldiers into the fray and created a three-way war.
Gui Yuanshu said, “Barring the unexpected, Han Feibao’s people will have persuaded Yang Jing to feign surrender to our lord — and then have the Chu forces launch a surprise attack on us in the middle of battle.”
Li Chi said, “But he also fears that Han Feibao and I would join hands and take Daxing City first — that’s why he wants Xiahou Zhuo killed.”
Gui Yuanshu said, “So what seemed contradictory before suddenly makes perfect sense. Yang Jing has no will to live anymore. He just wants to drag our lord and Han Feibao down with him.”
Li Chi gave a quiet sound. “Go and rest. Tomorrow morning, after I’ve had a chance to meet with Yu Wenli and feel out where he stands, we’ll figure out our next move.”
Gui Yuanshu said, “My lord, get some sleep first. I still need to make a trip to the Daxing City jail tonight — to see that gambling den owner, Maiqie.”
Li Chi nodded. “Be careful.”
After saying so, Li Chi looked back toward the doorway. “Fang Xidao, go with Gui Yuanshu.”
The Chief Officer of the Judicial Guard, Fang Xidao, bowed. “Understood.”
Before long, Gui Yuanshu and Fang Xidao arrived at the entrance to the Daxing City jail.
This time they didn’t take the hidden passage — they walked straight in through the front entrance, and were immediately stopped by several of the gambling den’s men.
One of them thrust out a hand. “Stop. Don’t know your faces. Where are you from?”
Gui Yuanshu removed his hat and stepped forward. “Look again. Still don’t recognize me?”
The guard looked more carefully. His expression shifted. “Chief Officer Gui?”
A short while later, in a private room inside the gambling den, Gui Yuanshu and Fang Xidao met with Maiqie.
The room had once been a cell, but it had been decorated with extravagant furnishings — the kind that announced wealth at a glance.
Garish, showy wealth.
“Chief Officer Gui. It’s been a long time.”
Maiqie poured tea for Gui Yuanshu and Fang Xidao, sat down, and smiled. “When did you get back?”
Gui Yuanshu said, “Not long ago. Entered the city with General Xiahou.”
Maiqie nodded. “I know — the sworn brother of the King of Ning, the great hero of the northern frontier who held back the Dark Warrior invaders. Xiahou Zhuo.”
He asked, “You’ve found a worthy lord to serve, Chief Officer Gui. So what brings you here to me?”
Gui Yuanshu leaned forward slightly and held Maiqie’s gaze. “Are you willing to trade for your life? If not — are you willing to die?”
Maiqie’s eyes narrowed. “Chief Officer Gui, the King of Ning isn’t even in the city yet, and your reach is already extending this far. If I put the word out that you’re here, you might meet with some unfortunate accident before dawn.”
Gui Yuanshu smiled. “First: you won’t put any such word out. Second: once the King of Ning enters the city and you come to me then, will you still have a life to trade?”
—