Yuzhou lay close to the capital. The Weihe River wound through its heart, and it had been a land of prosperity across many dynasties. The docks at its prefectural seat, Jinyang, were a constant press of people and voices — a ceaseless chorus of shouts and calls.
As a large passenger vessel pulled into port, the laborers — carrying shoulder poles and ropes, dressed in short working clothes — crowded forward to wait for work. But they knew their place, and they left a clear path for passengers to walk through, not daring to press too close to those of evident wealth and station.
Hua Zhi came off the ship wearing a hooded cloak, steadied by Nian Qiu on one side and with Xiao Liu keeping watch on the other. Behind them came Jia Yang and Yu Mu, who had the look of men not to be trifled with. The other passengers all stepped aside, unwilling to risk offending anyone they ought not to.
Nian Qiu glanced around and said softly, “Miss, this servant will go to a carriage yard and hire a vehicle. We’ll be needing one these next few days.”
Hua Zhi sent their errand-runner Chen Si off to handle things. Her mind was already too full — the matters in Yuzhou could not afford any carelessness — and that was why she had brought Nian Qiu along. Of all the maids, she was not the boldest, not the most capable, not the most strategically minded, but she was the most meticulous. And it was precisely her meticulousness that Hua Zhi valued.
The group went directly to Jinyang’s largest inn, where they rented an entire secluded courtyard at considerable expense. Nian Qiu briskly set the kitchen in order, directed Chen Si in purchasing a long list of supplies, and by mid-afternoon the courtyard was already filled with the warm drift of fragrant cooking smells.
Xiao Liu wandered in sniffing the air and exclaimed, “Nian Qiu is truly capable.”
“Put your heart into training someone, and anyone can become capable.” Hua Zhi was still thinking about where to begin, and replied absently. Xiao Liu, however, tucked those words into his heart. Sister Hua’s maids were not only capable — what he envied most was their loyalty. Such people were rare. He didn’t need many; four would be enough.
“Yu Mu, tonight I want you and the others to go to Jinyang’s gambling houses and get a sense of the situation.”
Yu Mu agreed. Xiao Liu, puzzled, asked, “Why the gambling houses? Didn’t Sister Hua come to Yuzhou to do business?”
Hua Zhi lowered her eyes and sipped her tea. She considered for a moment and decided not to conceal it from him. “Some time ago, Yanxi found official silver here bearing the Chaoli Clan’s markings. We’ve confirmed they have no silver mines under their control, which means there’s only one explanation — they have an extremely lucrative business operation in Daqing. Jinyang is quite possibly one of their most important strongholds.”
Xiao Liu still didn’t understand. “Why isn’t this something Daqing’s own officials are investigating?”
“Because as far as those officials are concerned, even if Daqing were on the verge of collapse, they’d probably first weigh up whether surrendering might be more personally advantageous.” She paused, then smiled. “That said, not everyone is like that. Yanxi and I had a theory, and we had already agreed to come to Yuzhou and look into it. Then I got drafted into the Emperor’s service and it kept getting postponed. Now he’s heading north because of me, so I’m coming here to scout things out for him first. I also need to come and see what kind of business might be viable here.”
Thinking of the entire court still squabbling over their respective interests, then thinking of Yanxi-gege always rushing about on all fronts, and then of herself — merely a young woman, yet here in Yuzhou all the same — Xiao Liu found it all rather absurd. The court these days looked more like an institution that existed to divide up spoils.
That evening, Jia Yang and Xiao Liu’s guards held watch at the inn while Yu Mu led his men to rendezvous with Qisu Department operatives, each assuming different identities and infiltrating various gambling houses. By early the next morning, Hua Zhi had their report.
“Jinyang has six large gambling houses, four mid-tier ones, and countless small operations. Five of the six large houses belong to the same owner, backed by Jinyang Prefecture’s Deputy Magistrate Zhu Ling.”
Hua Zhi gave a small nod. Ever since Yuan Shifang’s identity as a Chaoli Clan operative had been exposed and he’d been arrested, the position of Yuzhou’s Regional Governor had sat vacant. The Acting Governor in the interim was Assistant Administrator Lv Xinming. The court had spent considerable time wrangling over this vacancy, but the Emperor had yet to give his approval — and it was unclear whether His Majesty was actually inclined toward letting Lv Xinming take the post.
“No sign of the Assistant Administrator’s involvement?”
Jia Yang shook his head. “Correct. The Qisu Department sent several people here previously to investigate this matter. The information I have comes from them. Lv Xinming is extremely cautious, and has long been at odds with Zhu Ling. Since he took over the Governor’s duties, the two have been like fire and water — there is no way they could both be backing the gambling houses. Lv Xinming has even caused trouble for the gambling houses before.”
“What’s the situation inside the houses?”
“I personally visited all six large gambling houses. Business is excellent. They also appear willing to tolerate the existence of one other large gambling house — no cutthroat competition between them. That remaining house is backed by a prominent local clan. It looks to me as if the two sides have joined forces to suppress the other four from growing.”
“Those four — same owner?”
“No, each has a different backer, and they have dealings with one another.”
Hua Zhi saw the picture now. The big houses had united, so the four mid-tier ones had rallied together in opposition.
She rather wanted to go and see the gambling houses for herself, but she stopped at the thought. Those places stirred up too much trouble. Her own exposure would be a minor matter — but she feared that if there was truly some connection to the Chaoli Clan, she might startle the snake before they could catch it.
“Any of you know how to play the games they use in those houses?”
Yu Mu and Jia Yang exchanged a glance. “We know a few.”
“Show me.”
They weren’t sure what Miss had in mind, but they knew she didn’t do things without reason. They went out to find the tools and started playing.
The games here were nothing compared to the endless variety from later ages. The most common were dice and pai gow, with dice offering the most variations — Yu Mu was not especially skilled, yet he still knew over a dozen ways to play. But elaborate as the dice games might be, they were still only dice.
Hua Zhi felt that taking a slice of the gambling house business would be trivially easy. She only needed to produce a deck of playing cards to give them quite a few new games, and then introduce mahjong — that alone would be more than enough. The more sophisticated and complex options weren’t worth bringing out.
What she needed to decide was whether to partner with the existing gambling houses or set up her own.
“Is there anything suspicious about any of those houses?”
“The Qisu Department colleagues believe all of them are suspect.” Yu Mu paused, then shared the Qisu Department’s conclusion: “The gambling houses in Jinyang get along with each other a little too peacefully — as if they’re all just here to get rich together.”
A thought stirred in Hua Zhi’s mind. “Gambling houses are the most likely places to see deaths and violent disputes. What is the situation here? What rules do they follow?”
Yu Mu half-grasped at something — but the feeling slipped away as quickly as it came. He cupped his hands. “This subordinate will go and verify immediately.”
Hua Zhi picked up a few of the dice and turned them over in her palm. The dark side of things ought to be dark — even if the surface didn’t look dark enough, the foundation would still be dark. But Jinyang was too peaceful. And furthermore — why were the backers of those five gambling houses a mere Deputy Magistrate, and not Yuan Shifang, who had been the Regional Governor at the time?
Yuan Shifang was a confirmed Chaoli Clan operative — the one with the most reason to funnel money for the clan. Yet he had passed over the gambling houses, one of the fastest ways to accumulate wealth. That made no sense at all.
Could it be that he was deliberately avoiding the appearance of conflict of interest?
Or perhaps the Deputy Magistrate Zhu Ling was the suspicious one? No — probably not. The Qisu Department had long since investigated every official in Yuzhou thoroughly. If he were truly compromised, he would have been arrested long ago and not let run this long.