The cold wind gusted in bursts as more than ten horses stood at attention. The men on horseback were wrapped in black cloaks, resembling dark clouds pressing down. The postal station servants didn’t dare approach them.
“Lord Deng, you’ve arrived so quickly?” Qi, the postal inspector, ran like the wind to those men and spoke enthusiastically to one of them, “I was just about to go report to you. We’ve already questioned everyone here—”
The station master knew exactly what kind of person Inspector Qi was—someone who strutted throughout the entire prefecture, someone even his brother-in-law, the prefect, didn’t dare to control much.
He hadn’t expected Qi would be so deferential to this Lord Deng. Was it because the other was an imperial official? Were imperial officials generally ill-tempered?
The station master’s gaze fell upon the Deputy Director of the Imperial Guard, Deng Yi. He appeared to be in his thirties with a slightly pale complexion. His features couldn’t be called exceptionally handsome, but they were certainly not disagreeable. There was no smile on his face, but neither was there arrogance, and he didn’t rebuke Inspector Qi.
“I’ve already checked the city, so I came myself,” he said, his voice gentle. “This also saves Inspector Qi another trip.”
Isn’t he quite polite? The station master thought.
Inspector Qi showed no sign of relaxation and nervously expressed his thanks, then pointed toward the station master’s direction: “Would Lord Deng like to question the people here as well?”
Deng Yi said: “If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to hear what they have to say.”
Inspector Qi hurriedly turned his head and called out, “Station Master Xu, Station Master Xu, come quickly and report!”
The station master, being summoned so abruptly, felt inexplicably flustered and hastily went over to salute Deng Yi: “This humble official is Xu Ze, station master of Bei Caozhen postal station, at Lord Deng’s service.”
Deng Yi nodded to him: “Station Master Xu, have you seen any armed escorts heading to Yunzhong Commandery recently?”
So he is asking the same questions again? Inspector Qi had clearly said they’d asked and found nothing. These officials from the capital certainly put on airs. Hmm, that A-Jiu fellow also behaved the same way—after questioning him, he went to question Madam Yang again.
Perhaps it had nothing to do with putting on airs; they were simply suspicious and didn’t trust others.
While the station master’s mind wandered, he hurriedly answered: “No.”
Deng Yi asked further: “Not necessarily to Yunzhong Commandery, but any armed escorts heading west? And not necessarily armed escorts, but any group with a considerable number of people, most importantly, a group with two girls.”
Two? The station master’s heart skipped a beat, and he had that inexplicable feeling again.
“Two,” Inspector Qi added from the side. “Miss Chu and her maid.”
A young lady and her maid, the station master thought to himself, shaking his head and saying slowly: “No.”
Inspector Qi said: “Yes, Lord Deng, those armed escorts all avoid passing through the postal stations. He truly knows nothing about it.” Then he enthusiastically invited, “Would you like to come in and rest, my lord? Though the postal station is modest, we have hot wine and food.”
Deng Yi ignored him and scrutinized the station master with his narrow eyes, asking slowly: “Then has Station Master Xu seen any suspicious people heading to Yunzhong Commandery recently?”
The station master felt his thoughts becoming even slower. He heard his voice dragging out: “No-o-o.”
With a sudden crack, a whip appeared before the station master’s eyes, cutting through the cold wind.
The station master cried out in fright, dodging backward. Fortunately, the whip didn’t strike his face but whistled past before his eyes.
“I ask again, have you or have you not?”
The soft-spoken Deputy Director shouted.
The atmosphere outside the postal station froze in an instant. Inspector Qi clutched his chest, his eyes wide, clearly also frightened by this scene.
So Lord Deng’s temper truly is terrifying, the station master thought to himself. His previously scattered thoughts suddenly focused, and he blurted out: “Yes!”
Huh?
Inspector Qi stared at the station master with wide eyes. Old fellow, what are you saying? Didn’t you say there was no one?
“It’s like this,” startled by the whip, the station master was no longer distracted. His gaze was no longer sluggish, and he spoke clearly with renewed energy: “Recently, there were three people, a mother and her daughters, also heading to Yunzhong Commandery. I just remembered them.”
A mother and two daughters? That’s different from this, Miss Chu. Inspector Qi glared at the station master again. This old fellow, why was he so distracted? Acting guilty, no doubt he had fleeced those three women too.
“Many people are heading toward Yunzhong Commandery,” he scolded. “Answer exactly what the lord asks you, don’t ramble about other matters.”
The station master repeatedly admitted his fault: “Yes, yes, it’s my error. I’ve wasted my lord’s time.”
Deng Yi nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face: “Station Master Xu is too polite. It’s good to think more broadly.”
Seeing the slight smile on Deng Yi’s face, the station master shuddered inside, finally understanding what Inspector Qi meant about this lord having a terrifying temperament. It wasn’t just about his temper! This man was a psychopath!
He could turn hostile in an instant, strike without warning, and then offer a smile afterward.
To have achieved the position of Deputy Director of the Imperial Guard at such a young age, and to be so fierce—what kind of background did he have?
The station master murmured his acknowledgment, not daring to say more, while Inspector Qi once again enthusiastically invited Deng Yi to rest at the postal station.
Deng Yi declined, stating that he needed to continue his investigation in the next town.
“That’s truly too arduous,” Inspector Qi sighed, then complained in a low voice, “That Chu family young master sits comfortably in the prefecture while Lord Deng has to rush about everywhere.”
Deng Yi smiled and said: “This is my official duty. The Chu family’s young master is a scholar, and still quite young.”
He sounded kind and gentle, though of course, the station master didn’t dare to truly believe that anymore. He stood quietly and obediently to the side, watching as Deng Yi grabbed his horse’s reins—
Suddenly, he stopped and looked past the chattering Inspector Qi toward the station master: “Did those three—the mother and daughters—go to Yunzhong Commandery together?”
The station master inexplicably shuddered, feeling his voice slowing down again.
“No,” he said. “Only the two girls went.”
Two girls? Inspector Qi’s eyes widened while Deng Yi narrowed his.
……
……
The main hall of the postal station was once again packed, but unlike earlier when Inspector Qi and his officials were present, the atmosphere was quiet and somber.
The sound of footsteps outside broke the suffocating silence as a postal servant timidly led a man inside.
“We found the cart driver.”
The cart driver hired by the woman was from a nearby village and frequently came to the postal station. The postal servants all knew him, so he was easily found.
“I have a question for you,” Deng Yi looked directly at the cart driver and said, “That Madam Yang who hired your cart, do you remember the road to her home?”
The cart driver’s expression was somewhat hesitant, seeming to both nod and shake his head.
Be careful or you’ll get whipped, the station master cursed in his heart, urging him: “Speak quickly! Don’t you even know whether you remember or not?”
The cart driver anxiously said, “No, it’s not about remembering. That madam didn’t have me take her home, only to the county town, and then she left.”
County town?
Madam Yang said she was from Yang Village. From the county town to Yang Village was still quite a distance.
The station master was dumbfounded.
Deng Yi looked at the cart driver: “How did she leave?”
The cart driver was somewhat bewildered by the question: “She just… walked away.”
He couldn’t help but imitate a walking posture.
The madam was wearing tattered clothes and walked with a swaying, twisting gait. He couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.
Deng Yi’s gaze turned toward the station master. The station master saw his half-smile, that smile that felt like the lash of a whip.
“Station Master Xu, a person who was nearly dying, was walking quite well, and even walking attractively.”
……
……
Although the county town wasn’t large, it was bustling and lively.
Despite the freezing weather, the restaurants and teahouses were packed with people. Even in the brothels, there were numerous customers in broad daylight.
In an exquisitely decorated, sweet-scented hall, customers surrounded the women, gathering around a brazier, drinking wine—truly a paradise on earth.
A woman carrying a zither was gracefully making her way through to a private room when regular customers in the hall spotted her and called out: “Linian, Linian.”
Linian turned her head, giving him a flirtatious smile and calling him “Old Master.”
“Linian,” the customer caught the hem of her skirt, “I haven’t seen you for several days. You’ve abandoned this passionate man of yours. Which client have you been entertaining?”
As if this were very amusing, Linian couldn’t help but giggle: “I haven’t been entertaining clients. I’ve been acting as someone’s mother.”
The customer was puzzled: “So you had a young client? Such tender novices are not easy to please.”
Linian pulled her skirt from his hand, avoiding the topic with coquettish complaint: “I’ll tell you all about it next time.”
Just as she was about to leave with the hem of her skirt in hand, there was a commotion at the main door. Many people rushed in, accompanied by the panicked voices of the pimps and attendants.
“Officials?”
“Constables?”
“What’s happening?”
The customers and women in the hall were also startled. They turned to look, but before they could see who had arrived, there was a clatter—Linian had dropped the zither she was holding.
Was she that frightened?
Linian’s face didn’t show fear but rather a strange expression as she watched the plump man approach step by step. She forced a smile: “This… master—”
The station master spoke through gritted teeth, one word at a time: “Madam Yang, I’m so delighted to see you’ve made a full recovery from your serious illness!”