Commander Hu interrogated Longzhu in the middle of the night, repeatedly asking if he was familiar with Wen Qiyi, how long they had known each other, and if they had any private interactions. Longzhu refused to admit anything, insisting he had never socialized with Wen Qiyi and didn't even know if Wen Qiyi was fat or thin, tall or short. Commander Hu, Longzhu's superior, was furious that Wen Qiyi had cut his boss's boots and that Longzhu had no regard for the past, secretly involved with someone else. "Even in terms of official position, I am a Prefect, and he is just a county magistrate; he’ll never get ahead of me! It's infuriating that this kid doesn't know his place and only knows how to flatter those who look good!" The more Commander Hu thought about it, the angrier he became, seething with hatred. He thought to himself, "This matter must be handled properly tomorrow; let them know that we officials are not to be trifled with, and they can't just walk all over me!" So he sent Longzhu packing that night, slept alone, and tossed and turned.
Longzhu saw that Commander Hu was angry and didn't want him to serve. He was afraid the ship's madame would scold him if she found out, so he cried in the cabin. He didn't dare to go to Commander Hu's room, nor did he dare to sleep in the rear cabin. The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt, muttering to himself, "This life is unbearable! It would be better to become a nun or jump into the river to end it all rather than continue like this!" At five a.m., the boatmen got up early to start the boat. Longzhu heard Commander Hu get up, quickly poured himself some tea, and hurried in to serve him. Commander Hu didn't let him do anything; he just drank half a cup of tea and lay back down. Longzhu sat on a small stool by the bed, and Commander Hu ignored him, so he didn't dare to sleep. He waited until after nine, when the boat docked in town to buy groceries, and the gentlemen on both boats were up. Although Mr. Wen was plastered last night, he struggled to get up and greet him when the steward woke him. Thinking about last night's events, he felt ashamed of himself. When he walked into Commander Hu's cabin, he was relieved to find Commander Hu still asleep, only hearing him cough, indicating that he would be getting up soon. After a while, the steward came in to prepare Commander Hu's washing things. Longzhu helped, but Commander Hu didn't say a word.
Hu has a habit of using the toilet as soon as he gets up in the morning. He shouted loudly, "Come!" and three or four stewards rushed in. Then he yelled, "Bring the potty!" The usual guy for this job ran to the back cabin, carrying the potty into Hu's cabin. The other stewards all went out, and Longzhu also followed. Everyone knew this steward who carried the potty. Every time Hu went out, he would wear a coat and swagger behind the sedan chair. When he returned to the mansion, he would shed his formal clothes and put his feet up in the gatehouse. Some young swells who came to see him had to call him "Second Master," but he barely acknowledged them. Now he is here carrying the potty for Hu—go figure!
Long Zhu entered the cabin, no one noticed except for Old Man Wen, who was the first to see him. When Old Man Wen saw Long Zhu's eyes swollen from crying, he felt a jolt in his heart, unable to understand what had happened. He thought, "It was my bad last night; he shouldn't hold a grudge. But why the tears? Maybe he ratted me out to Commander Hu, explaining his sour mood. But Long Zhu's sharp as a tack – what gives? Why's he blubbering like this?" Old Man Wen wanted to go forward and ask him, but hesitated, "Zhou and Huang would be fine, but if Commander Hu heard, it'd only make things worse. It's strange; that kid's been mum since leaving Commander Hu's – something's up." Just as he was thinking this, he heard Commander Hu call out, "Come!" and saw the guy with the chamber pot go in. After a while, he came out holding the chamber pot in his right hand and covering his nose with his left hand, which cracked everyone up. Then Commander Hu scolded a young servant for being lazy and not coming in to help him pack the dry tobacco. The young servant said, "Didn't the master order not to enter the cabin after boarding? How dare I come in?" Commander Hu said, "You must be kidding! If I didn't call you, you wouldn't take the initiative to come in and serve me? You cheeky sod! Who do you think you're talking to? I know you lot are a bunch of ungrateful bastards. I bring you out, and you're off whoring and carousing behind my back! What can you hide from me? Don't think I'm a fool! I haven't slept a wink, I know what's going on, and you think you can pull the wool over my eyes? I'm here to fight bandits for the Emperor, not to have a jolly! Get your act together!" While others didn't pay attention to Commander Hu's scolding, Old Man Wen felt a bit uncomfortable, thinking, "Who is the commander scolding? It seems like he's referring to me. Did last night get found out?" He felt uneasy, his face turning red. After waiting for a while, he heard the sound of the dry tobacco pouch inside. The young servant packed the tobacco, pouted, and walked out to the outer cabin. Seeing the gentlemen, he grumbled, "The Emperor sent you to fight bandits, but you're just causing trouble for the people in his name!" With that, he walked to the rear cabin. Everyone found it amusing.
Longzhu helped the official change his clothes. Once the official was ready, he coughed and emerged. Everyone quickly stepped forward to bow and greet. Commander Hu made some small talk – "Nice weather," "She's a fast boat," that sort of thing – nothing of substance. Lord Zhou, ever the concerned patriot, asked, "Any news from Yanzhou, sir?" Hu jumped. "No, old friend. You heard something?" Lord Zhou replied, "Not really, just heard from the boatmen." Hu muttered, "Amitabha Buddha, hoping for the best." Lord Zhou continued, "Although there are bandits, they are not that powerful, and guns are useless. As long as the soldiers arrive, they can quickly pacify the situation." Hu immediately said proudly, "Those punks are nothing; can't even beat bandits! What are they, anyway? But I am a little worried. When I was in the province, I often heard the deputy minister say, 'The governance in Zhejiang East is worse than in Zhejiang West.' What's going on? Because of the 'Jiangshan Ship' in Zhejiang East, most officials are enchanted by the women on the ship, so they are particularly confused in their work. Qing law says dismissal for that sort of thing – whoring and drinking. But I can't report so many people all at once. Keep an eye on them, will you? Give 'em a nudge if they need it. If anything goes wrong, we'll all be in the soup, and the laughingstock of the whole province!" Hu finished, then kept shooting glances at Wenqi. Wenqi sat there, his face a mixture of red and white, mortified. Huang and Zhou knew Hu wasn't talking about them directly, but they'd been there yesterday and felt guilty enough to stay mum. Hu paused, seeing that no one was speaking, so he had to take his leave. The three waited at the bow until Hu emerged, then he gave a bow and left.
Three people returned to their respective boats. The others were fine, but Old Man Wen was angry at the words of Boss Hu, not to mention that Boss Hu had not spoken to him since coming out. He couldn't vent his frustration on his own boat. His ever-present attendant, Xiao Er, had gone ashore with the boatmen while he'd been with Boss Hu. When Old Man Wen returned and didn't see him, he bawled out the boatman. Luckily, Yuxian calmed him down. When Xiao Er returned, Old Man Wen couldn't help but reprimand him. Xiao Er grumbled under his breath in the cabin, and Old Man Wen heard him. Old Man Wen had already calmed down, but now he was angry again and said, "I've only been in the province for a few years and have held several important positions. Even if I'm not allowed to be an official, I won't starve. Now I gotta watch my back with the boss *and* the help! I'm too easygoing!" With that, he sent Xiao Er packing back to the province. The other lads quickly told him, "Look, the boss treats you different. Don't go! Let's get you to apologize, and he'll get over it." Xiao Er said, "If he wants me, he'll come looking. I ain't going!" After speaking, he hid behind the cabin. Old Man Wen fumed for ages, but Yuxian finally talked him round.
So they sailed by day and anchored by night, for several days. One evening, as the boat just anchored, they heard that they were only a few dozen miles away from Yanzhou. Those disembarking said, "We haven't heard of any bandits. But in the middle of the night, bandits came from somewhere, brandishing torches and weapons, and robbed two pawn shops and a bank. So the city gates were closed, and they searched house by house." In fact, after closing the city for a day and a night, not a single thief was caught, but countless rumors spread. The officials' fear fueled the rumors. They even said, "The rumour was that these weren't ordinary bandits, but a mountain lord borrowing grain; they only robbed, they didn't hurt anyone." Local officials, swallowing this hook, line, and sinker, sent urgent reports to the provincial government. So the high officials in the province specially sent Commander Hu to lead troops to suppress the bandits.
From Hangzhou to Yanzhou, it should only take two days, but because of those "Jiangshan boats" and "Jiaobai boats," it took five or six days to arrive. Even allowing for shallows and sandbanks – and there *were* tides – five or six days was excessive! The real reason? Simple. Those boat owners had their eyes on the fat wallets, milking every extra day and drink for extra profit. If they arrived a day earlier and spent one less night on the boat, they would have earned fewer coins.
Let's start with Commander Hu—everyone knows he and Longzhu are old pals. Although he can't openly drink alcohol, he has already told Wang Shiyie and the others: "When we make it back, we will take this ship to the provincial capital. At that time, we'll keep things low-key, forget the fancy stuff, and have a good drink!" These days, Longzhu hasn't spent much money on the surface, but he's secretly slipped away a couple hundred. Now let's talk about Old Man Wen, who is even more generous than Commander Hu. This time he went out paying out of his own pocket, not skimming from military pay. The gift he gave to Yuxian was a pair of gold bracelets, and when he opened the box, there were four bolts of fine silk. Even Zhao Buliao's new love Lanxian hasn't received anything from him yet, but Old Man Wen, for the sake of Lanxian's face, tossed her a couple of gifts. With such generosity, who wouldn't try to butter him up? As for Lanxian and Zhao Buliao, although Zhao Buliao doesn't have much money, he still has to think about the two of them. A girl's gotta eat, right? And then there's Master Zhou (with Wang Shiyie and Huang Laoye on the ship, both of whom haven't been close to women for many years, leaving only Master Zhou). As long as he drinks, he brings his young mistress, never changing. Although she's young, it's still a business. The top two guys, along with the camp officers, when the ship stops at night, they all go to the stern together, smoke some opium, and get handsy. The boss's boys got it for free, and the camp officers sometimes spend a few bucks. With all these side hustles, they weren't in any hurry, even with good water conditions. Often walking seventy miles during the day, they had to retreat thirty miles at night. What should have been a two-day trip took six.
Zhao Bu Liao became good friends with Lan Xian after she sent him bird's nest soup to eat when he boarded the ship. To impress him, Zhao Bu Liao set up another table of wine and even took off a family heirloom jade pendant to give to Lan Xian. Lan Xian thought it was just a plain old rock and refused it. Zhao Bu Liao had to take it back and re-tie it to his belt. Feeling embarrassed, he said, "There is nothing good to give you on the road now. When we return to the provincial capital, I will definitely give you a gold bracelet; a few hundred dollars is nothing." The women on the Jiangshan boat were all very image-conscious, and when they heard this, they felt he was a big spender. Whatever Lan Xian was doing, it worked; he was totally devoted to her, even more than to his own wife and children. Lan Xian asked him for fifty foreign dollars, but he didn't have that much. These days, watching Wen Qiyi spend money like water, he knew he had plenty, and he wanted to borrow from him but was afraid of being laughed at. Eventually, Lan Xian urged him to the point where he had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask Wen Qiyi for a loan. To his surprise, Wen Qiyi agreed immediately, opened the pillow box, took out one hundred foreign dollars, and gave him half. Zhao Bu Liao's eyes burned with envy, and he instantly regretted not borrowing more, saying, "If I had known this, I should have borrowed one hundred from him. Now I only have fifty, all taken by Lan Xian; I still have no money." Just as he was thinking this, Wen Qiyi had already wrapped up the remaining fifty dollars and locked it back in the pillow box. Zhao Bu Liao couldn't say anything more, thanked him, and held the money in both hands. Before he knew it, the money was in Lan Xian's hands.
After lunch that day, the sun was still high, and the boat had already docked. When I asked, it was only ten miles away from Yanzhou. When asked why they didn't go, the boatman replied, "The leader on the big ship ordered: 'Tomorrow is the start of winter, today is an unlucky day. This trip is for battle; we must seek good luck.' So the order was to stop the boat today. After lunch tomorrow, wait until the second quarter of the hour, and set off after the winter solstice, directly to the dock." Others just listened, but Zhao Bule was thrilled. He and Lan Xian were having a great time on the boat and didn't want to be apart for a moment. Worried that they'd have one less day together, he hurriedly went to the cabin to tell Wen Qi. Wen Qi knew he had fifty pieces in his waist pouch, so he asked him to drink. Zhao Bule was stunned for a moment, and Lan Xian had already agreed for him. She also said, "When we go ashore tomorrow, the officials will all be promoted, and a farewell drink is absolutely necessary." Since that day when Wen Qi heard the leader's words, he never went to the leader's ship to pay his respects again. He figured, "What the heck, I'm not gonna kiss up to him anymore. I'll have some fun." He casually ordered Yu Xian, "After Zhao finishes his drink tonight, prepare another table of food for me." Yu Xian agreed. He also invited the three people on the boat, Wang, Huang, and Zhou, and brought along the leader on the gunboat, Mr. Zhao and Mr. Lu, plus two others. Including himself and Zhao Bule, that made a total of seven people, perfect for a table. Wang and Huang agreed. Only Mr. Zhou suddenly became timid and said, "I'm worried the boss will find out and yell at us." Zhao and Lu repeatedly declined. Wen Qi said, "Don't you understand what's going on here? The boss was mad, not because of the drinking, but because I stuck my neck out for Longzhu. Today, I won't support Longzhu, so there will be no problem. Besides, the boss also said that after driving away the bandits in Yanzhou, he will host a drinking session for everyone. You heard it yourself. If he, as an official, can drink, how can he stop us? Besides, there are no bandits in Yanzhou at all; maybe this trip is in vain? We don't seek promotion, and he can't say anything. When the banquet is set up, tell the boatman to get us further out, so the boss can't hear a thing."
" "
In recent days, Wang and Huang on the ship have been busy with opium smoking and didn't have time to come over. Mr. Wen, after being given the cold shoulder last time, didn't want to go again. Zhao, although brought by the boss, usually just writes letters and runs errands. The boss doesn't take him seriously, and he is afraid to face the boss. Recently, he has been infatuated with Lan Xian and has some secret plans, so the boss doesn't call him, and he is happy to have some leisure time and doesn't dare to approach. During this period, only Mr. Zhou pops over to the ship three or four times a day. He is favored by the boss, so the boss is polite to him. Moreover, he received news that there are no bandits in Yanzhou, which made the boss happy, and Mr. Zhou was happy too. Before leaving, Dai Dali reminded him: "The boss is tough, not soft." After meeting the boss a few times, he found that Dai Dali's words were not quite accurate, and he had to adapt accordingly, luckily not being reckless. During these days, the boss warmly entertained him and served congee. Mr. Zhou took the opportunity to constantly flatter the boss, saying: "Yanzhou's nothing but mountains, a bandit's paradise, crawling with thieves all year round. But your reputation's so fearsome, they're all too scared to show their faces. Once we're in Yanzhou, we'll make an example of a few, a warning to the rest. Then, we'll do a thorough search and report a complete clean-up. That way, the brass will see how hard you've worked, and it'll help with your promotion." Commander Hu said, "Brother, you are right. I also want to report the news of no bandits in Yanzhou overnight, to reassure the brass!" Mr. Zhou said, "No! No! If you do that, the brass will look down on this matter, and it will be difficult to get approval for future expenses. Report it now, and make it sound as bad as possible!" Commander Hu suddenly realized and repeatedly said, "Brother, you are absolutely right, I will do as you say..." He immediately instructed Longzhu to prepare more dishes and invited Mr. Zhou to have dinner on the ship. Mr. Zhou benefited from this, but when Mr. Wen invited him, he refused to give face. Since Mr. Wen couldn't persuade him, he had to give up. After dark, the boatmen ferried them across to the other side. By then, Mr. Zhou had already made his way onto the commander's larger ship.
Zhao had trouble arranging the banquet, counted the number of people, and found that Old Man Zhou was not there, so he quickly sent someone to look for him. Old Man Wen said, "He's the boss's right-hand man now; the boss can't be without him. When's he got time for us? Let's not bother him." Zhao said, "If we don't invite him, he might badmouth us to the host." Mr. Wang said, "Old Man Zhou never had it out for you guys, why would he screw you over? Don't sweat it." Zhao had no choice but to give up, but he still felt a little uneasy in his heart, always feeling uncomfortable. The banquet was a bust; nobody really ate or drank much. Fortunately, Old Man Wen was in high spirits, and after eating, he immediately ordered his own banquet to be set up. He invited Mr. Zhao and Mr. Lu, and they both came by boat. Mr. Zhao brought his girl, Aizhu. Old Man Wen was tickled pink, saying, "Mr. Zhao, you're a real pal!" He then hurried to arrange for Mr. Lu. Since Mr. Lu didn't have a date, Old Man Wen fixed him up with Cui Lin, Old Man Zhou's niece. Soon, the six of them sat together. Because Zhao's table didn't get a good meal, Old Man Wen asked for big bowls. Wang and Huang were lightweights, and Zhao couldn't hold his liquor. Fortunately, the military commander brought Mr. Zhao, who had an amazing alcohol tolerance. Back in the day, he could put away three huge jars of Shaoxing rice wine every night – puke, drink, repeat – never backing down. Now he's older, he can't drink as much, but he can still put away six or seven catties. Old Man Wen's no match for him. But Old Man Wen also has a good alcohol tolerance. He'd match anyone drink for drink. He'd drink 'til he coughed up blood, gave himself asthma, but still kept drinking. He'd guzzle anything with alcohol, and even more when there were women around. At first, it was three fistfuls per bowl, but that wasn't enough, so he went to one fistful per bowl. Mr. Zhao got so excited, he stripped down to his undershirt. Old Man Wen was in a tight little red shirt, which looked great against his pale skin. Wang and Huang bailed to smoke in the back. Zhao snuck off with Lan Xian. Only Mr. Lu was left. Mr. Lu was a surrendered salt smuggler from Xuzhou in Jiangnan. His eyes darted around; he'd sit, then stand, never still, like he had something on his mind. Luckily, nobody noticed. Later, when everyone was eating porridge, he refused, saying, "I'm too drunk; I gotta go to bed." Old Man Wen said, "How much did you drink?" Mr. Lu said, "I can only handle three cups; the fourth one makes me woozy." So they let him go, told the guys on the boat to get the handrails ready, and watched him get on his boat. Old Man Wen and Mr. Zhao kept drinking.
Zhao pointed at Zhao Buliao and said to Lao Zongtai, "You're so busy chatting with your girlfriend that you're ignoring us; you should be punished with three huge bowls!" Zhao Buliao begged for mercy repeatedly and only drank one cup. Lan Xian grabbed it and drank most of it, leaving a little at the bottom before passing it to Zhao Shiye to drink. Wenqi and Zhao drank several more bowls. Wenqi was feeling the effects of the alcohol and couldn't hold it anymore, so he stopped. Zhao was also tipsy, and everyone helped him onto the small boat, stumbling back to their boats to crash. Huang and Wang each returned to their own boats. Old Zhou fell asleep on the big boat.
Wenqi was getting drunk, couldn't sit still, and Yu Xian came over to talk to him, unbuttoned his jacket, and poured tea to moisten his throat, but he was completely out of it. They helped him onto the bed, and as soon as his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep. Yu Xian went to rest in the back. Zhao Buliao had Lan Xian looking after him. Yu Xian got up from time to time to listen for any noise, afraid that Wenqi would wake up thirsty and want water or soup, with no one to serve him. Unexpectedly, he slept through the night and half of the day. Around two o'clock, the ship's commander shouted that it was time to set sail, and he slowly woke up. Yu Xian first brought him a bowl of bird's nest soup, which he took a sip of. Then he got dressed, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and had breakfast. While he was eating, the ship set sail.
Wen Qiye felt his pocket and exclaimed, "Holy crap, my gold watch is gone! What the heck?" He thought it wasn't in his pocket and must be on the bed, so he shouted to Yuxian, "Grab my watch from the bed!" However, even after searching the bed for a long time, Yuxian came up empty. They even searched under the pillow and the mattress, but turned up nothing. Wen Qiye yelled from outside, "What's the hold up?" Yuxian said she couldn't find it, so Wen Qiye personally searched the cabin, but still had no luck. He wondered if he'd locked it in the pillowcase while drunk. He quickly took out the key to open the pillowcase, but it wasn't locked! Wen Qiye was shocked! Upon closer inspection, he found that the copper lock had been broken, definitely pried open by someone! When he opened it, he found that a hundred bucks, fifty he owed Zhao, were missing, along with a gold vine bracelet (only about eight taels of gold), his favorite jade thumb ring, two snuff bottles, and the gold watch and chain from his pocket—all gone! Wen Qiye, with a fiery temper, immediately shouted, "There's a thief on this boat! I'll be damned!" Yuxian turned pale with fright. People from the aft cabin rushed to the fore cabin, and the ship's owner said, "This boat makes dozens of trips a year, and we never lose anything. Not even a needle." Wen Qiye said, "We've searched every cabin, where could it be?"
The boat owner didn't believe it and personally went to check it out in the cabin. He ripped up the floorboards looking for it but found nothing, which he found strange. Mr. Wenqi suspected that the crew on the boat were not honest. The boat owner said, "I know them all well; they've never done anything sneaky." Mr. Wenqi got angry, "So you're saying I'm wrong? If something is lost on your boat, you have to compensate!" The boat owner dared not speak. A crew member at the bow said, "Yesterday, it was a crowded, noisy affair; who knows who is a thief and who is not?" Mr. Wenqi was even angrier when he heard this. He jumped up and scolded, "Those guys were all my friends! Do you want to accuse my friends of being thieves? Besides, last night, aside from the guests, there was also a game, and there are always a couple of rough characters hanging around, all standing at the bow of the boat. They might have stolen by reaching into the cabin. Now you're blaming my guests! That's ridiculous! When we get to Yanzhou, we'll all be hauled in for questioning!" Seeing that Mr. Wenqi was really angry, the boat owner hurried to the bow to tell the crew members to keep quiet, then returned to the cabin and had Yuxian pour tea for Mr. Wenqi. Wenqi didn't even look at him.
The boat chugged along the river, and no one from the other boats could board; only those aboard were baffled. Zhao Bulei helped search for ages, but no luck. Everyone figured it was an inside job. Mr. Wenqi calculated the losses: a jade ring, worth a king's ransom – nine hundred taels; two snuff bottles, four hundred taels apiece; a gold watch and chain, worth over two hundred taels; a gold-inlaid vine bracelet, worth only forty taels; the rest of the foreign coins were easily tallied. He had Zhao Bulei make a list as he tallied the losses. Soon enough, they docked, and city officials were there to meet them. Mr. Wenqi, a junior official, quickly spruced up and went to report to his superior, eager to avoid any trouble. There he saw Magistrate Zhuang, an old colleague, and quickly filled him in on the theft, handing over the list. The magistrate immediately ordered the arrest of the boat owner and crew, sending them off to the yamen for questioning. He also ordered all other boats to hold their crews until they could be brought to the city for questioning. With a snap of the magistrate's fingers, several yamen officers swarmed the boat, shackling the owner and crew before hauling them ashore.
On board the ship, the captain called several local officials to inquire about the situation of the bandits. The officials from the prefecture and army had already discussed this beforehand. When they met the captain, they all said that the bandits were initially rampant, causing fear among the people. "But later, we rounded them up and scared them off. Now we've cleared them out." They wanted to take credit for this, but they did not expect that Hu, having heard Zhou's plan, was on the same page. When the ship arrived at the pier, Hu was still sweating, worried the information was wrong. He feared being ambushed by bandits on the way to Yanzhou. After listening to the reports from the prefecture and the army, his courage immediately strengthened, saying, "These bandits have been a plague for ages. They scattered when they heard we were coming, but they'll be back as soon as we leave. Although you two say they've been cleared out, I see a whole lot more trouble ahead. We must not let our guard down. I will go ashore tomorrow to assess the situation before making a decision." Then he chatted for a while, offered them tea, and the officials all left.
The boss and staff on Wen's boat were arrested by the county office, and the women on the boat were wailing and begging Wen for help, down on their knees. But Wen ignored them. They then begged Zhao, but he was also powerless. Later, Yuxian begged Wen, and he had no choice but to agree to help after the county office questioned him. Before it got dark, the county office notified Wen that they had arranged another boat for him and Zhao to move to today. "It was a stolen boat," they said, "and they were going to give it a thorough going-over." Wen said, "Okay." When the women on the boat heard they were going to change boats, they became even more panicked, were on their knees, sobbing. Yuxian clung to Wen, Lanxian to Zhao, both women bawling their eyes out. Wen had no choice but to comfort Yuxian, saying, "I won't harm you." Yuxian had no choice but to agree to change boats.
Halfway through moving the luggage, the officers sent by the county yamen arrived. They boarded the ship and asked what was lost—150 silver dollars and any books. Mr. Wenqi said, "The silver dollars were all from Ding Ji, each stamped with our village's seal." He still had one on him, so he took it out to show the officers and asked them to find others like it. The officers said, "We checked every pawnshop in town, no luck. We gotta figure out what happened to the silver dollars first. How many gentlemen were drinking yesterday? We can't accuse the gentlemen, but we're worried their stewards might be up to no good. We can't openly investigate them, but we'll keep tabs on them. Even if we catch 'em, we won't name names, but we'll get to the bottom of it. And we'll search every crew member on these boats after we tell the magistrate." Seeing how reliable they were, Mr. Wenqi told them everything and gave them props.
Wen Qiyè and Zhao Shiyè had just finished moving the boat when the constable entered the cabin and sat down, instructing the crew of another boat to tie up at the dock, next to a teahouse. The constable waved towards the teahouse, and a few more people came up, his buddies, and they all entered the cabin together. They asked the women on the boat to help lift the hatch and searched through, but found nothing. They then went to the aft cabin. The Yuxian sisters kept crying non-stop, no longer looking like beauties. Unbeknownst to them, Lanxian saw them going to the aft cabin and followed them. A constable stopped her: "Little girl, don't run around!" Lanxian said, "Some things are private; I need to tidy up." The constable said, "Hold on, even ugly stuff needs to be checked." As he spoke, the crew had already ransacked the aft cabin. Somehow, they found a wad of cash on Lanxian's bed. When they opened it, the seal was correct. The constable said, "Here's the loot!" Everyone was shocked. Lanxian hurriedly said, "This is the money Zhao Shiyè asked me to help him buy things with." The constable said, "Would Zhao Shiyè trust you to do things for him, instead of someone else? That's a load of rubbish!" Lanxian said, "If you don't believe me, go ask Zhao Shiyè." The constable said, "Busted! Still trying to deny it?" With that, he slapped Lanxian. The other women on board believed Lanxian had stolen the money and froze in fear.
Originally, Zhao Shiyi borrowed fifty silver dollars from Wen Qiyi and gave them to Lan Xian without her mother knowing. After the money was discovered, Lan Xian's mother was unable to figure out the situation. Lan Xian was not her biological daughter, but a bought bride. Her mother, without thinking twice, harshly beat Lan Xian and cursed, "Shameless hussy! Stealing other people's money and dragging others down with you! Before the master punishes you, I will beat you to death!" The officer said, "With money, other things will be easier to find." They searched for a while and found nothing. They then questioned Lan Xian, who by then had been beaten badly by her mother. The officer quickly intervened, saying, "She has committed a crime; let the master handle it, you don't need to. Your family's been thieving, so you're in trouble too! And you're beating her?!" The landlady was scolded by the officer and dared not speak. The officer urged Lan Xian to spill the beans, but she only cried and did not speak. Everyone became more suspicious, and her mother urged her, "Confess quickly, do not implicate others!" Lan Xian continued to cry and did not speak. The officer said, "If you don't speak, then forget it; we will take you to the city." So Lan Xian was taken away. The officer also took the landlady away. The landlady was so scared that she trembled and had no choice but to follow along. As they walked, she cursed Lan Xian. Lan Xian was dragged away by the crowd.
They arrived at the shore, rested briefly at a teahouse, and then were taken into the city together. Lan Xian's small feet could not walk fast; she took three steps and then stopped. The officer urged her on, and her mother beat her all the way. Finally, they arrived at the yamen and sat on the steps outside the second gate for a while. The officer went in to report and came out with a message: "The master is going to the mansion now, and the magistrate will question them tonight. Those two will be handed over to the matchmaker for safekeeping, and they will be interrogated tomorrow." Upon hearing this, they informed the matchmaker, who took them away.
The gold hairpins and silver earrings on their heads were all taken by the officials as stolen goods, to be handed over to the magistrate. They dared not say a word. By the time they arrived at the magistrate's office, there was not a single piece of jewelry left on their heads. Still, she wasn't done; she searched carefully again and found a silver bracelet with gold plating on Lan Xian's hand, which was also taken away, saying it would be presented as evidence in court tomorrow. It was early winter at that time, and the mother and daughter were wearing thick cotton coats, but the official declared the coats stolen goods and ripped them off their backs. They dared not resist, each left with only two thin clothes, shivering from the cold.
Anyone brought to the magistrate's office had to endure her rules. First, they would starve you for two days, then beat you hard a few times, and not allow you to sleep at night. Consider yourself lucky if you weren't hung. Days were spent tied to a bedpost, forced to stare at the latrine and breathe its stink; at night, they were tied to a door panel, unable to move, thrown into an empty room, and released the next day. Poor Lan Xian; she'd lived a life of luxury as a ship singer, but she had never experienced such suffering. She was strong-willed and loyal—when Zhao Shiyi gave her money, he instructed her, "Don't tell your mother it was from me, afraid it would reach the leader's ears." So she remembered. Panicked during the search, she blurted out, "Zhao Shiyi asked me to buy something for him!" Later, when she was taken ashore, she knew there was no way out; rather than suffer slowly, she decided to end it all. Even if she didn't die, she wouldn't eat well on the ship. So when she heard she was going to be taken ashore, she made up her mind and snatched a cigarette tin. The official searched her, so she crammed it in her mouth, swallowed it down, and then tossed the tin.
After the go-between left, she said to her mother, "Mom, don't blame me, and don't worry about me. I can't bear this suffering. I might as well die. It's better to die a quick, clean death. After I die, you go to the yamen and insist on confronting Clerk Zhao. My grievances will be redressed, and you may not suffer anymore." Her mother, already cold, hungry, and confused from anger and fear, didn't hear a word. Once the lamp was lit, the matchmaker, accusing them of being thieves, brought in the door panel and locked them in the empty room again. The next morning, they opened the door to a horrifying sight! To be continued...
