“This… this… Miss Lin, is this appropriate?”

Shi Peng scratched his head, his already suffering expression looking even more haggard as he asked hesitantly.

“How is it not appropriate?” Lin Yuchan said decisively, “At worst, it’ll just be a false alarm, which is still better than regretting it later.”

The conflict between the Chinese and foreign shipping industries was becoming increasingly acute. She remembered hearing Su Minguan mention that recently, more than once, he had received letters from foreign trading house ship merchants—either threats or attempts at bribery, which he had ignored.

Looking at the guilty expressions on those retired ship bosses’ faces, when the foreigners “invited” him today, it certainly wouldn’t be to drink red wine and eat steak.

There were several teahouses, opium dens, bowling alleys, billiard halls nearby that catered to foreigners, and even foreign-related pleasure houses and brothels. Yixing’s people had searched them all, but found no trace of Su Minguan.

They had also inquired along the way whether any carriages or rickshaws had been seen carrying foreigners and Chinese together. The responses were all looks of shock and surprise: “Chinese and foreigners riding in the same carriage? What a joke, how is that possible?”

Then it must be by boat… Shanghai’s waterways crisscrossed everywhere, making it impossible to trace.

Some people thought perhaps Boss Su had been delayed by urgent business, or had run into acquaintances and chatted longer, or had encountered a business opportunity and was negotiating a contract on the spot… Men staying out all night wasn’t exactly a disaster that would bring down the sky, so they should just wait patiently.

But Lin Yuchan felt an instinctive worry in her heart. Her intuition told her that on this final day of the countdown, this “ancient man” who had been conflicted for a year could not possibly have a sudden great awakening at the last moment and abandon the final few hours of this “fleeting romance” to stay out making money.

When he left her side, how reluctant he had been, wishing he could leave his shadow on the boat.

This fool who made trouble for himself!

Thinking of this made her teeth itch with irritation. She calmed herself and said, “I’ll pay personally, I won’t cause trouble for you!”

These reasons couldn’t be explained plainly to the Yixing brothers, so she could only use money to demonstrate her sincerity.

She had a stubborn idea in her chest. No matter what trouble Su Minguan encountered this time, no matter where he was trapped, she would no longer wait in confusion for him to define this relationship. She had to find this awkward little young master and, in front of his face, personally and unilaterally tear up that foolish one-year agreement and throw it in his face.

After urgent consultation with the Yixing gang bosses, Lin Yuchan decided to find several opera troupes that had just finished work, hire them with money, and have them go directly to various foreign residences and institutions to knock on doors.

On the day of the Spring Festival, many entertainment activities were permitted. Opera troupes parading through the streets, asking passersby for money, was not uncommon.

But going to foreigners’ doors… There was no precedent for this.

The cultural differences were too great. Foreigners couldn’t appreciate those costumes and singing styles, let alone give money.

However, under generous rewards, there would surely be brave men. Lin Yuchan indeed managed to hire a Peking opera troupe within the “Hometown Association’s” jurisdiction. The troupe leader patted his chest and laughed, “Madam, rest assured! Usually, we’re the ones being scolded and cursed by foreigners. Today we’ll bring Guan Yu’s sword and see if we don’t scare them to death, haha! You can count on us!”

So that spring evening, in front of the respectable Western-style buildings in the foreign settlement, they were all greeted by a troupe of strangely shaped characters with big swords and painted faces, clanging gongs and beating drums. The lead actor had flags on his back, his face painted with thick ink and bright colors, singing in a high voice: “The Kitchen God bestows blessings, the five grains are abundant, masters and mistresses please give what you can—”

This caused chaos on the previously quiet settlement streets. Western ladies and misses poked their heads out of doors, covering their eyes while being both frightened and amused: “Oh God, does China have Halloween too?”

Of course, the sound of gongs and drums had a rhythm, mixed with three long and one short beats—the secret knocking code commonly used by the Heaven and Earth Society.

A hundred years ago, this rhythm could have summoned countless righteous men from the streets and alleys, directly brewing a small impromptu uprising. Now, it could only be used to search for a missing, unreliable helmsman.

Lin Yuchan said, “Brother Peng, you go back to Yixing headquarters to take charge, and also arrange to send my employees back after we disperse. Brother Jiang, Brother Hong, I’ll search outside with you.”

Shi Peng was a multi-talented figure in the underworld, with first-class connections and methods, but his combat ability wasn’t particularly developed. When Su Minguan had previously seized Yixing at gunpoint, he was the first to crouch down holding his head.

Originally, he felt that in front of the young lady, he could still bluff and play the big brother. Today, she had arranged everything clearly for him, leaving Shi Peng somewhat embarrassed with nothing to say.

“…Alright. As you command.”

Anyway, the Heaven and Earth Society had long ceased to have any strict hierarchical organizational discipline. Miss Lin had helped Yixing weather so many storms and was Minguan’s appointed little strategist. Everyone followed her commands without question.

Jiang Gaosheng also nodded, casually taking off the scarf around his neck and handing it to Lin Yuchan.

Lin Yuchan: “??”

Then she laughed, “Big Brother, I’m not disguising myself as a man today, I don’t need it.”

Jiang Gaosheng: “Oh.”

…

The opera troupe circled the foreign settlement and returned. Guan Yu and Bao Zheng walked arm in arm, Sun Wukong pulled Ximen Qing along in a trot, blue-faced Cheng Yaojin walked backwards, bowing and scraping, continuously bowing to the patrol police: “We won’t dare again, won’t dare next time, we small people deserve death, hehe.”

The patrol police had never seen such a scene either, both laughing and scolding: “Who told you to perform opera at foreigners’ doors? Today’s a holiday, so we won’t pursue it. If you do it again, we’ll make you perform for three days in the patrol station jail!”

“Yes, yes, we won’t dare, we understand.”

Shi Wengong pulled out a silver dollar from his quiver, struck a pose holding the money at eye level, and respectfully presented it as tribute.

…

The opera troupe squatted by the roadside to rest. Xiang Yu took off his outer cloak, smoked a cigarette, and pulled out several Western hard candies from his pocket.

Puzzled: “Why give me candy…”

Lin Yuchan hurried over. Before she could speak, the troupe leader bowed first.

“Madam, sorry, we ran through both the British-American Settlement and French Concession, didn’t go to the small alleys, specifically went to those respectable Western buildings, and also ran to several big churches, but… no response. Not a sound.”

Lin Yuchan was anxious and distressed.

The places not yet searched were nothing more than government offices—customs, the Municipal Council, various national consulates and legations, patrol station jails…

The first few places didn’t allow unrelated Chinese to enter randomly. The last place…

Lin Yuchan suddenly remembered something, took a few steps to catch up with the troupe leader, and asked: “The prisoners outside the jail…”

The pampered young master had been everywhere, wasn’t picky about places—coolie houses, county jails, ship prison cells, he’d visited them all. If he had stumbled this time and gotten himself into some undignified place again, it wasn’t impossible.

The patrol station jail didn’t keep idle people; the beds inside were very tight. Most Chinese who were arrested on trumped-up charges were either put in wooden stocks for public display or sentenced to hard labor—in any case, they wouldn’t be fed and housed while sitting idle in cells.

The troupe leader immediately understood Lin Yuchan’s meaning and quickly said, “No, no, there’s no delicate young master like the one you described.”

Lin Yuchan was exasperated: “I never said he was delicate!”

The troupe leader, wearing Guan Yu’s face, muttered aggrievedly, “If he’s not delicate, then he must be a rough man? The streets are full of rough men. How would we find him?”

Lin Yuchan was speechless, paid the labor fee, and thanked the troupe leader.

Could he have gone outside the settlement, or even left Shanghai…

Hong Chunkui came over, using his battlefield-experienced brain to give her advice: “No response doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not there. Maybe he’s being controlled by someone… Miss Lin, didn’t those bastard ship merchants say earlier that Minguan was invited away by foreigners? Let’s kidnap a few foreign merchants and torture them severely—we’ll get to the bottom of it…”

“No, no, no, forget it,” Lin Yuchan hurriedly waved her hands, “don’t make a big fuss.”

“Severe torture” of foreigners—that would be asking for even more unequal treaties for the Qing Dynasty.

However, the number of foreigners in the settlement was limited. Despite the numerous foreign trading houses, the total number of large and small foreign merchants was only a few hundred. Those huge foreign trade businesses coming and going mainly relied on…

Lin Yuchan’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Compradors!”

She jumped in front of Jiang Gaosheng: “Big Brother, lend me your scarf!”

Jiang Gaosheng hadn’t reacted yet when the scarf around his neck was pulled off again.

He was extremely dissatisfied: “Hey, Miss Lin, I offered it to you earlier and you didn’t want it, now I’ve just tied it properly. Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want…”

Half an hour later, outside Jardine Matheson comprador Tang Tingshu’s residence, a refined “young man” respectfully requested an audience. He wore a well-fitted light gray long robe, covered with a maroon-trimmed jacket, and a pair of black quick boots. Feeling cold, he wore a thick scarf around his neck.

The young man stood properly, though his face couldn’t hide three parts anxiety.

After a long while, the gatekeeper came out, looked him over, and said lazily: “My master has returned. Go in.”

Su Minguan searched the small office thoroughly and, as expected, found nothing.

The office was connected to the outer living room and wasn’t used regularly. Against one wall was a large cabinet haphazardly stuffed with wine glasses, ink bottles, various rackets, and several pairs of rain boots. Scattered on the floor were Chinese lanterns, paper fans, and bamboo craft trinkets—apparently things foreigners had casually bought on the street for amusement.

High up was only one small ventilation window, more than a person’s height from the ground, about a foot wide—big enough for a monkey to squeeze through.

Su Minguan took out his pocket watch. Three minutes before ten o’clock.

He didn’t know how much truth there was in Jin Nengheng’s threat that “patrol police would break down the door at midnight.” He was certain they wouldn’t find any evidence of smuggling refugees at Yixing Shipping.

But other evidence, such as traces of secret society activities, was hard to interpret.

Not to mention anything else, he was currently sheltering several old brothers in his guest rooms, each with arrest warrants on them.

The patrol station usually turned a blind eye to Chinese forces in the settlement. The Qing Dynasty had many rebels, and rebel fugitives hiding in the settlement were almost an open secret. Even knowing that Yixing Shipping was a secret society stronghold, as long as they received enough tribute, they wouldn’t bother asking questions.

But if you added that hunchbacked traitor, plus the officer’s letter, plus Jin Nengheng’s determination as the new Municipal Council director to use his authority to crush Yixing Shipping…

With all these factors combined, he didn’t dare predict how much damage they could cause him.

The office door was wide open. Whenever he wanted to close it, the bodyguards outside would shout, waving fists and gun barrels at him.

The small Western house was sparsely populated. The foreigners had all gone to the music concert on the “Bacchus” sailing ship. Several Chinese servants swept and cleaned, turning the chairs outside the bar onto the tables one by one, then left.

They didn’t care what happened in the building, as long as they completed their assigned work and got their wages, everything was fine.

Further outside at the entrance to the stairwell, two bodyguard thugs who had brought him here sat alertly on stools, smoking.

Su Minguan returned to the desk and carefully reviewed the contract the foreign merchants had prepared for him—Flagstaff Trading House planned to join with Jardine Matheson and Baoshun to acquire all of Yixing’s assets through installment payments. Of course, all the talk about franchising and cooperation mentioned earlier wasn’t written on paper now. All clauses were compressed into two naked words: acquisition.

As for the acquisition price, in good conscience, it wasn’t harsh. The foreign merchants had directly offered one hundred thousand taels, close to Yixing’s market value—precisely because of this, one trading house’s ready silver wasn’t enough, requiring joint acquisition and division.

After all, this acquisition case would serve as an example for the broader Chinese merchant community in the future: learning that Boss Su had sold Yixing for a good price would give others confidence to follow suit and hand their assets over to foreigners.

Su Minguan smiled coldly, using his fingertip to stroke the space at the bottom right of the document.

He had no room for bargaining; he only needed to sign his name here and press his fingerprint.

Just ten feet away, two bodyguard thugs were watching him. Throughout the Western building, inside and out, who knew how many more there were.

His thoughts suddenly wandered for a moment, fantasizing about a refined young lady descending from heaven, disregarding past grievances to bring him his gun…

That wouldn’t happen this time. The thugs who had kidnapped him were professionally skilled. Taking advantage of the crowd watching the opera, making it impossible to raise an alarm, they had immediately robbed him and confiscated his gun.

This gun was Jin Lanhe’s token. To have it lost in others’ hands would be laughable if word got out.

Besides, even if he had the gun, he couldn’t make a big commotion here. This was foreign property. As long as he harmed a single hair of the foreigners here, the guards and patrol police could shoot him dead on the spot without even a trial.

Somewhat troublesome.

Ten-fifteen. Su Minguan gently rolled up his sleeves, tucked his trouser legs neatly into his oil boots, removed the pendant from his neck, and carefully folded it into his inner clothing pocket.

Then he picked up the steel pen, the nib hovering over the blank signature space, pondering for a moment.

Suddenly, someone knocked lightly on the door.

“Excuse me,” Su Minguan didn’t look up, saying coldly, “Chinese people stop here.”

Then a fragrant breeze swept past his nose. He looked up in surprise.

It wasn’t one of the thug subordinates guarding him. Instead, it was…

“Miss Louise?”

The socialite with pearl hair clips swayed gracefully, her jade-white arms at her waist, leaning sideways against the doorframe, smiling at him.

“At the music concert, two boring men were fighting over me out of jealousy, really uninteresting.” Miss Louise slowly waved her folding fan, her expression innocent yet alluring, “Besides, they said there would be Chinese guests at the music concert, but I didn’t see any.”

Chinese folding fans sold for high prices in Europe and were show-off accessories among the nobility. London ladies took pride in owning a Chinese folding fan. Miss Louise, being in China, had arrived at a treasure trove—fans costing eighty copper coins were changed three times daily. Now she was waving one with peonies and butterflies in love with flowers, charming and seductive.

Her Western dress had a very low neckline. Su Minguan politely averted his gaze, looking at the pearl hair clip on her head.

“Music concert? Where? When?”

He asked seemingly casually.

Miss Louise was a bit anxious: “Right now, in the cabin of the sailing ship outside, the newly established Municipal Council patrol station band—they’re all amateurs, but the level is acceptable…”

Su Minguan nodded, producing a somewhat half-hearted smile.

As long as he signed the contract and handed it to the thugs outside the door for them to present to the foreigners for review. If the foreigners were satisfied, they would invite him to the music concert, using this honor to accept him as a member of foreign capital.

What if he didn’t sign?

Midnight at twelve o’clock, everything would return to zero.

Suddenly, a sweet fragrance approached. Miss Louise’s fragrant shoulders were slightly exposed as she suddenly drew near.

“Although I don’t understand business,” her voice was sweet yet husky, “I know this is money, lots and lots of money… I don’t understand why, lovely Chinese gentleman, you seem very reluctant… With money, you can do many things… like taking me to dinner. I would agree.”

Su Minguan: “…”

Whether this Miss Louise was sent by the foreigners or was just wandering around out of boredom, she could indeed help muddy the waters.

Su Minguan slowly rolled down his sleeves, picked up the steel pen again, and put on a very troubled expression.

“To tell the truth, these terms don’t suit me.” He said, “Could you possibly help me ask…”

“Again with these boring men’s affairs.” Miss Louise frowned beautifully, acting coquettishly, “You’re as vulgar as they are. I’m leaving.”

Su Minguan quickly called: “Hey, wait. We can discuss this.”

Miss Louise smiled sweetly as she turned back.

Playing hard to get—excellent results. Indeed, all men fell for this trick.

“If you want my help, that’s fine.” She pointed at her face with her kohl-painted finger, “Kiss me.”

Su Minguan, experiencing Western socialite passion head-on for the first time, found his face—cultivated over many years—somewhat unable to handle it. For a moment, he felt his face heat up and turned away.

…He somewhat understood why foreigners were “women-oriented.” Western ladies were so bold and unrestrained, they had to be valued.

He quickly brushed away that tiny bit of embarrassment, stayed in place, and looked at Miss Louise’s face with a smile.

“Miss,” he kindly reminded, “making such a request to a Chinese person might produce some consequences you can’t imagine.”

“Oh thank you, I’m an adult now, I don’t have a guardian, I can be responsible for myself.” The Western lady asked very openly, drawing closer with special meaning, “What about you? Are you 21 years old?”

“Someone’s watching.”

Su Minguan smiled bashfully, slightly turning his head, using his peripheral vision to indicate the bodyguard thugs at the door.

Miss Louise smiled contemptuously.

“Don’t mind them.”

After speaking, she drew even closer, deliberately throwing a little flirtatious glance under the dumbfounded, envious, and infatuated gazes of several bodyguards.

She indeed rarely encountered Chinese men with such outstanding temperament and conversation. She didn’t plan any extra business today, just wanted to flirt with him away from prying eyes—after all, no one would know.

However, no matter how handsome Chinese men were, they were still conservative at heart. Under her advancing offensive, he was embarrassed as he retreated two steps, particularly steadfastly refusing: “No…”

Su Minguan wasn’t that petty. It wasn’t like he was some inexperienced little boy who had never seen the world or kissed a girl—he wouldn’t be stunned by a Western lady’s powder offensive.

But he still cooperated by being coy for a moment, making Miss Louise cover her mouth and laugh directly.

Too amusing. She had never seen such a handsome yet so shy young gentleman—just thinking about it was delicious.

He wasn’t married. She wouldn’t be the first, would she…

She cheerfully turned to close the door.

The door didn’t close. A bodyguard thug with a black cloth around his waist silently blocked the doorframe.

Miss Louise gestured for him to move aside.

The thug either didn’t understand or was unwilling to comply, not moving an inch, watching Su Minguan while occasionally letting his eyes wander to Miss Louise’s slender waist.

Miss Louise immediately became angry, shouting in the few Chinese words she knew: “Get lost, go away!”

The bodyguard continued stealing glances at the large expanse of chest Miss Louise had exposed, saying obsequiously: “The foreign master ordered that this Mr. Su can’t leave our sight. Miss, please bear with us. We don’t want to offend you, but we’re also following orders.”

Too complicated. Miss Louise didn’t understand a single word.

Su Minguan’s mouth curved up as he translated softly: “They say, in China, please follow Chinese rules—women shouldn’t talk much with men.”

Miss Louise: “…”

She was also a high-class socialite in the settlement. Though not someone with money and power, occupying the lower end of the food chain among foreign residents, at the very least, none of the Chinese people she encountered dared disobey her orders.

She boldly took action, pushing against the bodyguard’s chest, step by step, pushing him outside the door.

The bodyguard’s face turned red as a pig’s liver, his eyes staring wide, his eyeballs desperately rolling downward, looking at the snow-white soft hand in lace gloves on his chest, as if under a soul-stealing spell, following her out in infatuation.

Bang! The office door slammed shut.

The two bodyguard thugs looked at each other, then, understanding each other’s thoughts, tiptoed to the door and carefully pressed their ears against it.

Although the foreign master had ordered that their eyes couldn’t leave Mr. Su, the foreign woman’s orders also couldn’t be ignored…

Weighing the two options, switching to “monitoring” with their ears for a few minutes shouldn’t count as slacking off, right?

That room’s window was ridiculously small—even a child would have trouble getting out. Could he fly away?

Besides, weren’t people guarding the courtyard too?

The bodyguards felt at ease “monitoring,” imagining the fragrant and romantic scene inside, involuntarily showing lewd smiles on their faces.

They were all thinking the same thing: why wasn’t this “honey trap” used on me?

Unfair. All Chinese men, too unfair.

They vaguely heard the foreign woman laugh flirtatiously and say something, then gradually there was no sound.

Complete silence. Only the wall clock is ticking.

Ten forty-five.

Finally one bodyguard sensed something was wrong, nudging his companion with his mouth, looking toward the inside of the door.

No matter how they fooled around, there should be some sound!

Finally, between “angering the foreign woman” and “obeying the foreign master,” the two made their choice. One reached out and gently knocked on the door.

Still no sound.

“Hey,” the bodyguard clumsily searched his mind for English vocabulary, “Hello?”

The charming foreign woman hadn’t made a sound for several minutes.

The bodyguard immediately broke out in a cold sweat, remembering the rumors in the gang about that rather capable new Yixing boss, his mental spring palace turning into Strange Tales illustrations.

Fortunately, the office door couldn’t be barred from the inside. Extremely slowly, one person pushed the door open a crack.

No one in sight.

The bodyguard was terrified. Rushing in, he saw that under that one-foot-wide small window, two chairs were stacked, at just the right height for someone to climb out!

The window was wide open, with a woman’s folding fan on the windowsill.

The bitter spring wind blew in continuously, scattering the miscellaneous papers on the desk.

“Lao Jiu, Lao Jiu, come quick…”

The first bodyguard was so anxious he couldn’t speak clearly, trembling as he called his companion: “They… they climbed out the window and ran! Eloped!”

Lao Jiu outside laughed heartily, repeatedly saying it was impossible: “That tiny broken window, how could they escape? Cut themselves into eight pieces and throw them out? Lao Ba, you’re crazy from wanting to elope with women…”

When Lao Jiu came in and saw, he also felt like he’d fallen into an ice pit.

It was true! There were even footprints on the chairs!

Both bodyguards were drenched in sweat. Lao Ba climbed onto the chairs in disbelief, sticking his head out the window to look.

Really could only stick out a head. Even the shoulders got stuck.

What the hell! That foreign woman had a wasp-thin waist, so she might have squeezed out by force. But Su Minguan wasn’t Sun Wukong—could he transform into a monkey?

Just then, he saw two night patrol bodyguards walking in the garden outside. Lao Ba immediately shouted down.

“Hey hey! Stop wandering around! Someone escaped! Jumped down from here! Quick, find them—”

The people below naturally didn’t believe it, repeatedly saying they hadn’t seen any suspicious figures. Lao Ba was so angry that he cursed at them from above.

“Open your dog’s eyes and search carefully! If this person gets away, we won’t get a single copper coin! Quick, quick, go block the exits! Lao Jiu, help me steady the chair, I’m going down to chase too—”

Lao Ba looked down and nearly fainted from shock.

Lao Jiu, who had been steadying the chair for him, was now lying flat on his back on the ground, blood flowing from under his crooked nose.

Beside him, Su Minguan was crouching and standing up, stripping a gun from Lao Jiu’s waist and smoothly tucking it into his waist.