"Weâre here, weâre here, Kid Song, hurry and knock on the door!" Grand Old Master Liu shouted to Squad Leader Song as soon as he saw the outline of the Tong Residence.
Squad Leader Song is from Prefecture City. When he was a child, he often went to the Liu familyâs wine shop to get wine for his father, so he has known Grand Old Master Liu since he was young. However, as the years passed, the Liu familyâs wine shop was squeezed out and is now a powder shop owned by the Tong family.
"Alright, Iâll knock right away, donât rush, sir." Squad Leader Song responded, instructing Constable Liu, "Da Liu, take five brothers to the back gate of the Tong Residence. If you see the Tong family sneaking people out through the back, immediately hit the gong to notify us."
The Tong family is a wealthy household in Prefecture City, with over a hundred guards in their employ. Even government officials are no match for them, so if they do encounter them, hitting the copper gong to signal is the best strategy.
"Got it, Iâll take the men there." Constable Liu immediately called on five officials and headed towards the back gate of the Tong Residence.
Squad Leader Song jogged for a while and finally arrived at the Tong Residence, raising his hand to form a fist and knocking on the main gate: "Open the door, open up quickly!"
He shouted repeatedly five or six times, yet no one responded.
Squad Leader Song frowned. He had shouted so loudly that anyone who wasnât deaf would have heard. Why wasnât the Tong Familyâs gatekeeper responding?
Squad Leader Song wasnât a fool; he clearly understood the gatekeeper of the Tong family was pretending not to hear, so he shouted, "Open up quickly. Iâm with the Shi family. Young Master Shi left something at your place. Itâs a small golden lock left by Mrs. Shi for Young Master Shi while she was alive, and heâs worn it for many years. But tonight, he realized it was missing after returning to the mansion. Magistrate Shi is very concerned and sent me to ask about it tonight at the Tongâs."
He added, "Hurry and open the door, whatâs going on with your family? Daring to obstruct someone from the Lord Magistrateâs household?"
Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper of the Tong family responded, asking, "Are you really a servant from the Magistrate Shiâs residence? Do you have any proof? Donât lie, or the Tong family wonât be polite to you!"
Housekeeper Tong had already instructed the gatekeeper: tonight, with many matters at hand, if they heard someone calling at the gate, they shouldnât respond rashly. If necessary, they should first clarify the personâs identity.
"Bah! Who do you think you are, daring to question us from the Shi Mansion? Just because your Third Young Master achieved second place in the college examination, do you think your future is endless, and you start to show off, even disregarding the Shi Mansion?" Squad Leader Song shouted, "Hurry and open the door! Iâll just take the little golden lock from the guest room where the Young Master slept and leave. I wonât stay a moment longer at your Tongâs!"
The gatekeeper, upon hearing this, started to wonderâthis person even knew that Young Master Shi slept in their guest room tonight, could he really be from the Shi family?
Afraid to offend the Shi family, the gatekeeper hesitated for a moment and opened the door for them.
As soon as the door opened, Squad Leader Song and a group of officials rushed in.
With a swift motion, Squad Leader Song drew his knife and placed it directly against the gatekeeperâs throat, demanding, "Where is Liu Wenqing? Grand Old Master Liu and his grandson accuse the Tong family of murder. Hand over Liu Wenqing immediately!"
The gatekeeper realized heâd been deceived, but with the knife threatening his throat, he dared not make a sound.
The Tong familyâs gatekeeping is a two-person job, and the other gatekeeper, hearing this, quietly slipped away, intending to inform Elder Tong. However, he was spotted by an official, who tackled him to the ground.
Frightened, the gatekeeper exclaimed, "What are you doing? This is the Tong family, you canât just barge in and arrest peopleâmmm mmm mmm!"
Afraid he would yell, the official covered his mouth and sneered, "Trying to tip someone off? Dream on. Listen, itâs best to cooperate and take us to see Liu Wenqing. If anything happens to him, your Tong family will be ransacked!"
Bah, as if the gatekeeper was scared. It was just a small Liu Wenqing; how could he oppose the Tong family?
But the gatekeeper neither resisted nor cooperated. Squad Leader Song laughed in anger: "Alright, alright, the Tong family is truly audacious, not even putting the governmentâs officers in their eyes."
Liu Wenqing spoke, "Squad Leader Song, I heard from Tong San that the Tong family has a Punishment Room in the right wing where they punish their own wrongdoers. Letâs check there directly."
"Alright, lead the way, letâs go straight in." Squad Leader Song realized the Tong family wouldnât surrender easily. If they delayed any longer, Liu Wenqing and Old Master Liu Er might be whisked away by the Tong family. If they couldnât find anyone later, the Tong family could claim innocence and counter-accuse the officials of harassment.
"Got it!" Liu Wenqing replied, taking the lead and heading with Squad Leader Song towards the Punishment Room courtyard. But they had barely covered ten meters when Housekeeper Tong, leading a group of guards, blocked them.
"Stop, what are you doing barging into the Tong family in the dead of night?" Housekeeper Tong was quite angry, his old face flushed with rage, pointing at Squad Leader Song, "Squad Leader Song, what do you intend to do? What crime has the Tong family committed for you to come cause a scene? Arenât you afraid weâll report you to the government office?!"
Squad Leader Song produced a handheld letter from Magistrate Shi, "Look closely, this is a search warrant written by Magistrate Shi himself, stamped with the government office seal. Liu Wenqing disappeared while at your Tong Residence. Now that thereâs been a formal complaint, we are naturally here to search the premises. Get out of the way!"
Backing off was impossible; Housekeeper Tong led the guards to form a human wall, blocking Squad Leader Song: "Even with a search warrant, the Tong family canât just be searched. How about this, you all wait in the guest hall, and this old servant will tell the master. Let him come to see you and discuss this matter personally, how about it?"
Old Master Liu Er has already left his fingerprint on a confession; as long as Elder Tong Er deals with Liu Wenqing quickly, and Old Master Liu Er claims Liu Wenqing took his own life out of guilt, then the government office would be powerless against the Tong family.
"You dog slave, get out of the way, youâre just trying to stall us!" Grand Old Master Liu couldnât hold back anymore, cursing Housekeeper Tong and dragging Liu Wenqing forward.
But the human wall formed by the Tong familyâs guards was impenetrable for the grandfather and grandson.
Squad Leader Song was furious, yelling, "Is your Tong family trying to defy the government office?!"
Housekeeper Tong replied respectfully, "Squad Leader Song is joking. Our Tong family is an honest, law-abiding family, weâd never dare defy the government. However, the Tong family is not a rural household; there are women here too. How can we just let officials storm in? What if the women are startled? Letâs sit down first and wait for the master to come out and discuss things."
But if Liu Wenqing doesnât die, Elder Tong wonât show up.
Squad Leader Song hadnât expected the Tong family to be so bold, blocking them from entering despite the search warrant.
Fortunately, luck was on their side. As they were at a loss, a sudden blaze of fire erupted from the back courtyard of the Tong family. The location was...
"Housekeeper, itâs not good! The storage room in the back courtyard is on fire!" cried the guards. Judging by the direction of the fire, it seemed to be the room storing antique calligraphies and paintings. If the expensive antiques burned, the Tong family would suffer significant losses.
Seeing the raging fire, Housekeeper Tong inwardly cursedâthose storerooms were two-tiered: the upper level contained precious antiques, but the lower level held things that should never see the light of day. If Squad Leader Song and the officials were still here when they discovered it, the Tong family would be finished!