Mingling County in Qingzhou.
A peaceful and tranquil place, with a towering mountain to the north that blocked out the sun, named Black Tiger Mountain.
Outside the county seat was a ferry crossing. Following the tributary of the Yan River within Qingzhou territory downstream for ten days, one could reach Tian Nan Prefecture, one of the three great prefectures of the Great Shi Dynasty.
Tian Nan Prefecture in Qingzhou was guarded and governed by Prince Kang Zhou Miao.
Mingling County had barren soil and scarce grain production. After two consecutive years of flooding in southern Qingzhou, the county seat’s population had plummeted sharply from five thousand households to one thousand households.
On this day, a group of refugees rushed over from the southeast direction of Mingling County. Among the refugees were men and women, old and young.
Among them were two men—one in a blue shirt in his thirties, and another in his early twenties wearing practical short clothing.
The two men seemed completely out of place with the fleeing refugees. At the city gate entrance, someone shouted loudly, “Hurry! The Ji Family’s Rice Shop in the city is distributing porridge. If you go late, you’ll miss it!”
“There’s porridge to eat. Let’s go, let’s go!” The refugees swarmed into the city gate, rolling like waves toward the Ji Family’s Rice Shop.
When the refugees arrived at the Ji Family’s Rice Shop, the front and back of the shop were already surrounded three layers deep. Hungry faces stared at the shop workers distributing porridge. The workers’ hands never stopped ladling and pouring porridge, and in the blink of an eye, three large iron cauldrons of rice porridge had already reached the bottom.
“Stop!” A young man wearing brocade robes and a jade pendant walked over from outside the rice shop.
“Young Master.” The rice shop workers hurriedly greeted him. This young man was precisely the Ji Family’s young master, the young proprietor of the Ji Family’s Rice Shop—Ji Liang.
Behind Ji Liang followed a woman with a graceful figure and pretty features—his wife, Ning Suqin.
“What are you all doing?” Ji Liang asked in a low voice, his face showing displeasure.
“In response to Young Master, we’re distributing porridge according to Old Madam’s orders,” the rice shop worker answered.
“Nonsense! Old Madam is getting on in years and her mind isn’t clear. Have all you people also had water seep into your brains!” Ji Liang held a folding fan, snapping it against his palm, and said, “These past two years Qingzhou territory has suffered famine. The most precious thing is grain. This is the same as countless silver taels. You want me to give silver away to these beggars? Don’t even think about it!”
“Pack up!” Ji Liang shouted.
The rice shop workers efficiently packed up the stall. More refugees who hadn’t received porridge were pleading and clamoring, hoping the Ji Family’s Rice Shop could distribute a bit more rice porridge, but Ji Liang had already urged the workers to seal the shop doors.
The street was left with countless dimming gazes and desperate sighs.
“These heartless merchants—let me teach them a lesson,” the short-clothed man hidden in the crowd said coldly.
“Don’t be angry.” The blue-shirted man blocked him. “The rice is theirs. Whether or not to distribute it is their freedom.”
“Besides, the ones who should be distributing grain are the county yamen officials. These corrupt officials would rather let grain rot in the granaries than release it,” the blue-shirted man said lightly.
The blue-shirted man was none other than Li Si, one of the Great Shi Dynasty’s God-Catchers known as the Ghost Catcher, and the short-clothed man was his subordinate, Wu Wen.
“Aiya! I’m furious!” Wu Wen’s eyes bulged. “Is there really no other way? Must we just watch these refugees starve to death?”
“Not necessarily.” The corners of Li Si’s mouth curved upward at an eerie angle.
“Big Brother Li, you have a method?” Wu Wen said.
Li Si’s eyes gazed at the crowded main street of Mingling County. “I see the Mingling County Yamen isn’t far from here. Let’s go.”
Wu Wen looked at Li Si’s back for a moment, then quickly followed.
Mingling County Yamen.
County Magistrate Situ Bo’s eyes remained narrowed for a long time before his gaze finally moved from the purple-gleaming token to look at Li Si and Wu Wen.
“This is indeed the God-Catcher Order bestowed by His Majesty.” Situ Bo was not a short-sighted person. He was also familiar with the origins of the purple God-Catcher Order.
The God-Catcher Order originated from the reign of Shi Hezong. During Shi Hezong’s governance, an imperial palace thief appeared who specialized in targeting palace treasures, committing several major cases in succession. Shi Hezong was enraged and issued an edict that anyone who could capture the imperial palace thief would be imperially appointed as a God-Catcher and granted a God-Catcher Order.
The following year, when this gang of imperial palace thieves prepared to commit another crime, two experienced Holy City constables detected it in advance, set up an inescapable net to capture the imperial palace thieves, and recovered the stolen palace treasures. Shi Hezong also honored his promise and bestowed two God-Catcher Orders to the two constables.
Then during the current reign of Shi Dezong, he successively bestowed God-Catcher Orders upon each of the four great God-Catchers of the Great Shi Dynasty—Eagle Catcher Yan Cheng, Iron Catcher Xuan Yuanshan, Green Blade Catcher Meng Rui, and Ghost Catcher Li Si.
The God-Catcher Order carried the Emperor’s authority. The holder of a God-Catcher Order could exercise the authority of a county magistrate in local county prefectures.
The God-Catcher Order in Situ Bo’s hands not only showed the Emperor’s imperial grace, but also bore the inscribed name of the God-Catcher—Li Si.
“Lord Situ, have you looked closely?” Li Si smiled and said.
“I’ve looked closely, very closely.” Situ Bo returned the God-Catcher Order to Li Si.
“About the matter I just mentioned, Lord Situ should also consider it,” Li Si said. “Qingzhou has suffered many disasters. After two years of great drought followed by great floods, many places already have refugees causing trouble, saying things like heaven doesn’t care whether they live or die, and the Great Shi Imperial Court doesn’t care whether they live or die either. In any case, starving to death is worse than rising in rebellion to seek a chance at survival.”
“Further south in Luan’an County, a popular uprising has already occurred, which greatly angered His Majesty. His Majesty received secret reports that many local officials in Qingzhou have been privately hoarding raw grain to sell for silver, lining their own pockets. This is why Qingzhou refugees are starving, and why there have been rebellious disasters. His Majesty has already dispatched multiple ministers on secret missions to travel incognito into Qingzhou, precisely to investigate and deal with these corrupt officials.” Li Si didn’t look at Situ Bo, yet could still clearly hear Situ Bo’s gradually roughening breathing.
“Lord Situ has been an official for many years and is a clever man. You should understand the principle here,” Li Si said with a slight smile.
“I understand.” Situ Bo immediately summoned the yamen official in charge of grain and arranged for grain distribution.
After making the arrangements, Situ Bo said to Li Si, “Lord Li, even if we release all the grain stored in the county yamen, it still won’t be enough. To alleviate the current refugee disaster, we need to find someone to help.”
“Find whom?” Li Si asked.
“The Ji Family’s Rice Shop in Mingling County—Ji Liang,” Situ Bo said.
Li Si raised his eyebrows and set down his tea cup. “Very well. Let’s meet this Young Master of the Ji Residence.”
“Good, we’ll go find him right now.” Situ Bo treated Li Si as the Emperor’s secret envoy and spoke with meticulous caution.
“Mm.” Li Si nodded.
Mingling County, Ji Family’s Rice Shop.
The Ji Residence sprawled across a large area of connected courtyards and grand houses, with high walls and deep mansions.
The Ji Residence steward recognized Situ Bo and led Situ Bo, Li Si, and Wu Wen all the way into the Ji Residence. The Ji Residence had overlapping courtyards, even more spacious and imposing than what could be observed from outside. When passing the flower hall, Li Si’s eyes swept across, and through the crack in the flower hall door, he glimpsed two people—a man and a woman.
The woman was delicate and dignified, the man refined and elegant. The two stood by a long table. The man seemed to be painting while the woman watched. The woman would look at the painting scroll for a moment, then look at the man.
Li Si had some impression of this woman—she was Ji Liang’s wife, the young mistress of the Ji Residence.
This young mistress seemed to harbor special feelings for the painting gentleman. Li Si thought this to himself. After a while, the steward brought Li Si to the main hall of the Ji Residence.
“Lord Situ, I’ll go invite the young master right away. Please wait a moment.” After the steward instructed the maidservants to quickly serve tea and refreshments, he turned and left the main hall, departing with quick steps.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Ji Residence steward returned drenched in sweat, saying with an embarrassed expression, “Lord Situ, I’m terribly sorry. It turns out the young master went to Black Tiger Mountain to hunt wolves. I, I only just found out.”
“Hunt wolves?” Li Si murmured.
Situ Bo’s face showed displeasure. “When will he return?”
“The young mistress said that after the young master finishes hunting wolves, he’ll go directly to the South Market Dog Pit around the hour of You,” the steward reported.
“Dog Pit.” Li Si chuckled lightly. “The Ji Family’s young master has quite a few hobbies.”
The Dog Pit was a place in the red-light district specifically used for dog fighting, where pits half a zhang deep were dug into the ground, called “pits.”
Dog fighting took place inside these pits where the animals would fight to the death.
The Ji Family’s young master Ji Liang operated a Dog Pit in the South Market. Besides the rice shop, the Dog Pit could likewise bring him large sums of wealth.
“Lord Li, what do you think…” Situ Bo looked toward Li Si.
“Go to the Dog Pit.” Li Si dropped these three words.