Chapter 175 Lin Chen's Secret Investigation of the Charity Hall Uncovers the Mole

Lin Chen stepped out of the interrogation room. The soles of his boots ground against the stone bricks of the corridor, and he came to a halt.

He did not head toward the Archives Room, nor did he go toward the Main Courtyard. He simply stood in the shadows of a corridor pillar, his right hand resting on the hilt of his black abyss blade, his thumb pressed motionless against the copper edge.

He Jian arrived first, coming around the corner of the passageway. A short blade hung at his lower back, and his footsteps were light.

Pei Yan walked over from the direction of the side hall. His back maintained that posture of never leaning against anything, and his grey-green robe was filled with wind, causing his sleeves to flutter.

The two men approached Lin Chen from different directions and stopped three paces away.

He Jian spoke: "Jishan Hall is at the end of Chong'an Street in the west of the city. I know that place."

His voice was kept low, his arms crossed over his chest, his right hand resting on the inside of his left arm.

"On the surface, they do good deeds by taking in orphans and helping the weak. They have a decent reputation in Nanyang Prefecture, and on festivals, local gentry even send rice and flour there."

When Pei Yan took up the conversation, he moved half a step forward, closing the distance between him and Lin Chen to within two paces.

"The former Assistant Prefect was surnamed Chu, called Chu Huaiyuan. He retired and returned to his hometown two years ago."

His fingers turned half a circle inside his sleeve, a very subtle movement.

"But his wife is still in Nanyang Prefecture. The sign for Jishan Hall hasn't been taken down, and they still receive a government subsidy from the ward official every month."

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze from the brothers moving items in the Main Courtyard outside the corridor and let it fall upon Pei Yan's face.

"When the Censorate was investigating the Sheng Family, did you come across the name Chu Huaiyuan?"

Pei Yan's fingers stopped inside his sleeve. The pause lasted only a single breath, but it seemed exceptionally distinct in the quiet of the afternoon.

"Not directly." His voice dropped half a notch.

"But among the Sheng Family's three transfer points in Jiangnan, one was a property for which Chu Huaiyuan had approved the land deed when he served as the local Assistant Prefect."

He Jian's brows furrowed. "The land deed?"

Pei Yan did not look at him, his gaze remaining on Lin Chen. "Residential foundation plus a wharf, transferred for one thousand two hundred taels. The buyer was a shell company. It took three layers of investigation to trace the investor behind the company to the periphery of the Sheng Family's fourth branch."

Lin Chen's thumb moved away from the copper edge and tapped against the scabbard, making a dull sound.

"That is to say, Chu Huaiyuan may not necessarily have been aware, but his name was used by the Sheng Family."

Pei Yan's mouth twitched slightly. "A tool that has been used once is usually not used only once."

Lin Chen turned and walked toward the Archives Room. After three steps, he turned back. "He Jian, go and call Shen Yue."

He Jian acknowledged the order, uncrossed his arms from his chest, and turned to walk toward the East Courtyard.

Pei Yan followed Lin Chen toward the Archives Room. The two men's footsteps fell on the stone bricks, one after the other, with a steady distance between them.

When they reached the door of the Archives Room, Pei Yan suddenly spoke. "You don't intend to charge in directly?"

Lin Chen did not stop, pushing open the door and walking in. "Shopkeeper Liang's words have not yet been verified. If the people in Jishan Hall get wind of it beforehand, the children are moved, and the evidence is burned, then everything will be ruined."

Pei Yan followed him in and stood by the table. "A covert investigation?"

"A covert investigation." Lin Chen pulled a map of the city's western ward from beneath the stack of case files on the table, his finger pointing to the location at the end of Chong'an Street.

"Shen Yue will go."

Pei Yan looked at the spot he was pointing to, tapping his finger on the edge of the table. "Under what identity?"

Two sets of footsteps came from the doorway. Shen Yue walked in, her blade hanging at her waist. Her hair had been re-tied, a few stray strands clinging to her temples, and her cheeks still carried a slight warmth from running back from outside.

Her gaze swept over Pei Yan first, then landed on Lin Chen. "Did the Inspector call for me?"

Lin Chen picked up a key from the table and tossed it to her. Shen Yue caught it; the key touched her skin in her palm, feeling cold.

"The key to the back storeroom of Shopkeeper Liang's shop."

Lin Chen withdrew his fingers from the map and placed them on the edge of the table. "Go to his shop and take a crate of common herbs, then enter Jishan Hall under the pretext of delivering medicine."

Shen Yue turned her fingers around the edges of the key. "What should I investigate?"

"The number of people." Lin Chen looked at her, his voice lowered to the volume for a two-person conversation. "How many children are in the hall, how many have left recently, what the layout of the backyard is, whether the door locks are new, and whether there are wheel tracks on the ground."

Shen Yue tucked the key into the cloth pouch at her waist and looked up into Lin Chen's eyes. "How long do you need me to stay?"

"The time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Once you've figured it out, leave. Do not get entangled in a fight."

Lin Chen's hand lifted from the table edge and brushed against Shen Yue's sleeve. The duration of that action was so short it could be ignored.

"Put an extra layer of oil paper in the medicine chest, and tuck a piece of white paper and a thin charcoal stick underneath to use for taking notes."

Shen Yue pulled her arm back slightly, and the fabric of her sleeve where his fingertips had brushed smoothed back out. She nodded. "Understood."

She turned and walked two steps, then looked back. "Going alone?"

"Take Li Hu and Old Chen, and have them crouch at the street corner to provide backup. They are not to enter the courtyard."

Shen Yue acknowledged this and stepped over the threshold. Pei Yan stood by the table, his gaze withdrawing from Shen Yue's retreating figure and falling onto Lin Chen's hand.

Lin Chen's hand had already returned to the scabbard, his five fingers naturally relaxed. Pei Yan did not speak, the line of his mouth tightening for an instant before relaxing again.

It was just past the Shen hour in the afternoon. Shen Yue had changed into a short coat of coarse cloth, her hair tied behind her head with a wooden hairpin, and she came out of Renhe Hall in the east of the city carrying an old medicine chest.

The medicine chest was the kind kept in stock year-round at Shopkeeper Liang's shop. The wood was yellowed, and the handle was wrapped in cloth strips. When opened, it had three tiers of compartments, each stacked with different herb packets.

Underneath the oil paper on the bottom tier was a piece of white paper, folded into a square, with a thin charcoal stick tucked into the fold of the paper.

Jishan Hall at the end of Chong'an Street had a facade that was more respectable than Shen Yue had expected.

The two wooden doors, painted dark red, were half-open. Hanging on the lintel was a wooden plaque with the characters "Accumulate Goodness" painted in gold, the paint not yet peeling.

In the courtyard, seven or eight children were crouching on the ground playing with mud. Two old women sat under the corridor doing needlework, occasionally looking up to glance at the children's activities.

Shen Yue hitched the medicine chest up on her shoulder and walked to the entrance. On the inside of the left door panel sat a young man, in his early twenties, holding a bowl of cold tea. Seeing Shen Yue approach, he set the bowl down and stood up.

"Who are you looking for?"

"From Renhe Hall. Delivering the regular herbs, the goods ordered by the Matron."

The young man looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on the medicine chest for two breaths. "Wait." He turned and walked toward the backyard, his footsteps unhurried.

Shen Yue stood at the entrance, her gaze sweeping over the front courtyard. The courtyard was not large, with three wing rooms on both the east and west sides. The windows were open, and inside, one could see bunk beds and neatly folded bedding.

The clothes the children wore were old but clean, and the patches were neatly sewn.

The young man returned from the backyard with a woman in her fifties. The woman was not tall, with two deep lines at the corners of her mouth. Her hair was wrapped in a black cloth, and her steps were short and quick.

"The one delivering medicine from Renhe Hall?" Her voice carried the accent of the west side of the city, drawing out the final syllables.

Shen Yue took the medicine chest off her shoulder, set it on the stone steps by the threshold, and opened the lid.

"Matron, this is the regular monthly medicine: two taels of astragalus, one and a half taels of angelica, three taels of honeysuckle, one tael of saposhnikovia, and two taels of isatis root."

The Matron leaned over to take a look, her fingers poking at the herb packets. "Fine, leave it here." She turned back and waved a hand at the young man. "Go to the stove and pour a cup of water."

Shen Yue followed the Matron into the small hall in the backyard. The hall was not large, with an eight-immortal table and four long benches. On the wall was pasted a red paper filled with names, the characters written with a calligraphy brush, with the year and month marked in the upper right corner.

The Matron picked up a coarse pottery pot from the table and poured a cup of tea for Shen Yue. The tea was lukewarm and yellowish in color.

Shen Yue took it, touched her lips to the rim of the cup, but did not actually drink. "Matron, has everything been alright in the hall these days? With the weather getting hot, the children are prone to heat rash, so I brought some extra honeysuckle."

The Matron sat on the bench, rubbing her hands on her knees. "Fine, fine. With thirty-two kids, keeping up with their eating, drinking, and bathroom needs is busy enough."

"Thirty-two? Last time Shopkeeper Liang mentioned to me that there were many children in the hall, and he was worried the medicine wouldn't be enough." Shen Yue placed the teacup on the tabletop, her fingers slowly circling the rim of the cup. "Have there been any new arrivals recently?"

The Matron shook her head, slapping her hand against her leg. "No new ones. Actually, three left last month; they were adopted by a family in the south of the city. They said they were in business, and they looked respectable."

Shen Yue memorized this statement. She took a sip of tea, stood up, and held her lower abdomen. "Matron, where is the outhouse? My stomach is not feeling well."

The Matron pointed to the path on the left side of the backyard. "Go to the end of that path, then turn left."

Shen Yue followed the path toward the depths of the backyard. The outhouse was indeed at the position where the path turned left at the end, but she did not rush to go in.

Her footsteps stopped in the open space of the backyard for three breaths. The courtyard wall was high, a full section taller than the low wall of the front courtyard, with broken porcelain shards embedded in the top, points facing upward.

The back door was a wooden door wrapped in sheet metal. The bolt was locked from the inside, and a copper lock hung on the bolt. The verdigris on the lock surface had not yet fully oxidized, and the edges were shiny. It was new.

Shen Yue's gaze moved downward.

There was a firewood room in the corner, the door left slightly ajar, with half the room stacked with firewood.

The ground at the threshold of the firewood room was packed earth, and on the surface of the soil were two parallel indentations, wider than the wheel track of a handcart.

They were made by the wide wheels of a carriage.

The indentations extended from the firewood room door all the way to the back door, without any breaks in between.

Shen Yue crouched down, pressing her fingers against the edge of the indentations.

The soil had compacted after being pressed; the edges were neat, not old marks.

She pulled the thin charcoal stick and white paper from her waist, quickly sketched a few strokes on the paper, marking the orientation of the backyard, the height of the wall, the position of the lock, and the direction and width of the wheel tracks.

She tucked the paper back under the oil paper at the bottom of her medicine chest.

She stood up, went to the outhouse, came back out, and walked back to the front hall along the small path.

The matron was still sitting there, talking to the young man. Seeing Shen Yue return, she stopped talking.

Shen Yue picked up her medicine chest and nodded at the matron.

"Matron, the medicine is fully stocked. We will deliver as usual next month."

"Good, please thank Shopkeeper Liang for me."

Shen Yue stepped out of the main gate of Jishan Hall, her pace measured, and walked to the corner of the second alley on Chong'an Street, where He Jian stepped up from behind the wall.

"Any findings?"

Shen Yue didn't stop, her voice pressed low in her throat.

"Let's go, we'll talk when we get back."

Archives Room.

Shen Yue spread the white paper on the desk, pressing the four corners with her fingertips; the charcoal lines on the paper were rough but clear.

Lin Chen stood at the desk, finished looking at the markings, and tapped twice on the position indicating the direction of the wheel tracks.

"A new lock on the back door, wide carriage wheels, a straight line from the firewood room to the back door."

Shen Yue stood half a step to his right, her shoulder height just below Lin Chen's shoulder.

"The state of the children in the front courtyard is normal; they are well-fed, their clothes are neat, and there are no signs of abuse."

She paused for a beat, her voice sinking.

"But that wall in the backyard isn't there to keep people from climbing in from the outside."

Lin Chen glanced at her.

Shen Yue met his gaze, her own eyes cold and clear.

"It's to keep the people inside from climbing out."

Lin Chen picked up the white paper from the table, folded it, and handed it to Liu Buyu nearby.

"Go to the Prefecture and pull the registry for Jishan Hall, the last three years."

Liu Buyu took the paper, nodded, and left immediately.

Pei Yan walked in from the doorway, carrying a bowl of noodles in his hand, the soup still steaming.

He set the noodles on the corner of the table, not eating them himself, and stood opposite Lin Chen.

"Shen Yue is back?"

"She's back."

Lin Chen's gaze swept over the bowl of noodles in Pei Yan's hand, then moved away.

"The matron said there are thirty-two children in the hall."

Pei Yan tapped his finger on the edge of the table.

"How many will be on the Prefecture registry?"

Lin Chen didn't answer, picked up the bowl of noodles from the corner of the table. When his fingers touched the rim of the bowl, he was scalded, so he shifted his grip and took a sip of the soup.

The noodles were salty, with the pungent taste of green onions.

Half an hour later, Liu Buyu ran back, clutching a thin, blue-covered booklet.

When he entered the room, sweat was beading on his forehead, and the sound of his boots hitting the stone floor was fast and heavy.

"Found it."

The booklet was slapped onto the desk; the blue cover read "Registry of Personnel at Jishan Hall, West City Ward, Nanyang Prefecture."

Liu Buyu opened the booklet, his finger sliding down the name column line by line.

He stopped at the last page, his finger pausing.

He looked up at Lin Chen, his face pale.

"The number of registered orphans in the book is forty-one."

The Archives Room was silent for two breaths.

Shen Yue's voice came from the side.

"The matron told me there were thirty-two."

Liu Buyu turned the booklet to face Lin Chen, his finger pressing on the number.

"There's a discrepancy of nine."

His throat felt dry, his voice pushing out from the very bottom of his throat.

"And the last recorded adoption in the book was half a year ago. The matron said three left last month, but on the book, the columns for the destinations of those three people are blank."

Lin Chen set the noodle bowl aside and pressed his fingers onto the name column of the registry.

Nine names, listed vertically on the paper.

Ages ranging from six to twelve.

His fingernail drew a horizontal line across the paper, separating these nine names from the ones above.

"These nine children are official orphans on the registry, with names and surnames, and records of entering the hall. If these people disappear, the Prefecture has grounds to investigate."

His voice paused for a beat.

"The Sheng Family wouldn't dare touch people on the official record unless someone tampered with the destinations of these nine children from within the official channels."

Pei Yan leaned over from across the table, his finger pressing on the last page of the booklet.

"Whose hands pass through the reporting process?"

Liu Buyu flipped to the back cover of the registry; three seals were lined up at the verification section.

The first was the private seal of the Jishan Hall matron; the handwriting was crooked, the carving rough.

The second was the cross-page seal of the West City Ward Official; crimson red, regular and square.

The third seal was stamped in the verification column, the text clear.

Liu Buyu's finger stopped there and didn't move, the pad of his finger pressing on the seal face before releasing.

Lin Chen looked at that line of text.

Three characters were written in the verification signature column.

Zhou Pingan.

The air in the Archives Room grew colder.

Pei Yan's breathing slowed by a half-beat beside Lin Chen's ear; their shoulders were less than a fist's distance apart.

"Zhou Pingan."

Pei Yan's voice squeezed out from between his teeth, each word grinding over his tongue.

"The Clerk from the Prefecture Criminal Justice Department that you rescued from the Wang Family."

Lin Chen closed the booklet.

With the cover against his palm, the hard corners of the paper pressed into his bones.

Pei Yan straightened up, stepped back half a pace, and rested his hand on the edge of the table.

"Within the scope of his duties at the Criminal Chamber, he has the ability to modify the registry of orphan destinations."

Shen Yue stood to the side, both hands gripping the handles of her medicine chest, her knuckles straining until the fabric straps sank into the gaps between her fingers.

Pei Yan's voice lowered further.

"After you rescued him, did you interrogate him?"

Lin Chen tucked the booklet under his arm and turned to walk toward the door.

"We interrogated him partially; what he confessed was the Wang Family's trail."

Pei Yan followed, his pace matching Lin Chen's, a half-step distance.

"What about the Sheng Family's trail?"

Lin Chen did not answer this question.

He stepped over the threshold of the Archives Room, his boot soles hitting the stone floor of the corridor, his pace quickening by two beats.

"He Jian is waiting outside, don't follow."

He Jian walked out from behind a pillar, his hand resting on the hilt of the short blade behind his waist.

"Where to?"

"The dungeon."

Lin Chen turned into the passageway and walked toward the direction of the dungeon.

Liu Buyu trotted to catch up, still clutching the old accounts of Tongbao Firm in his arms.

The iron door at the entrance of the dungeon was wide open, and the dampness mixed with the smell of medicine seeped out.

Lin Chen crossed the iron door and walked east.

Third Manager Sheng Xuanbai's cell was on the west side, and Director Yan Tie's was in the middle.

Zhou Pingan was locked in the cell at the far east, separated by three iron gates.

He walked to the iron bars of Zhou Pingan's cell and stopped.

Liu Buyu stood behind him, the old accounts pressed against his chest, his breath not yet steady.

Inside the iron bars, Zhou Pingan was curled up in the pile of straw in the corner.

His clothes were still the ones he wore the day he was rescued; the cuffs were worn through in one spot, and the ligature marks on his wrists had scabbed over in a dark color.

Hearing the footsteps, he lifted his head.

When he saw Lin Chen, his body shrank back into the corner first, his spine arching, his shoulder blades protruding from beneath his thin clothes like two sharp points.

Then his gaze fell on the blue-covered booklet tucked under Lin Chen's arm.

His face turned pale, starting from his cheeks inward.

That was not terror.

That was the despair of someone whose bottom line had been stripped bare.

His lips moved.

The voice came from the shallowest part of his throat, so soft that it could only be heard when pressed against the iron bars.

"You found Jishan Hall?"

Lin Chen pulled the registry from under his arm and flipped to the last page.

The verification seal stamped over Zhou Pingan's name glowed dark red in the lamplight.

He held the booklet up in front of the iron bars, the seal facing Zhou Pingan's face.

"Nine children."

Lin Chen's voice came from the bottom of his throat, echoing once against the stone walls of the dungeon.

"Where did they go?"

Zhou Pingan's body began to tremble.

Starting from his shoulders, moving down, to his arms, to his fingertips.

His ten fingers gripped the straw beneath him, gripping so hard that the grass stems poked out from between his fingers, but that tremor could not be suppressed no matter what.

The dungeon fell silent.

Only the sound of iron chains hitting iron rings drifted intermittently from the nearby cells.

Lin Chen stood outside the iron bars, the booklet held in his hand, not lowering it.

The light of the oil lamp shone on his face, on that seal, and on Zhou Pingan's pale face.

Three people, two iron bars, one registry.

The nine names on the booklet were still on the paper.

But the children corresponding to those names had no idea how far they had drifted in the dark depths of some waterway.