Chapter One Hundred: Black Hand

“I happened to be out collecting debts and was not in the shop, which was how I escaped the disaster. When I asked around, I learned that the customer who had been shouting about stomach pains was later found dead at his own doorstep. The man who found him reported it to the authorities, and that was what brought trouble down on our shop. As soon as I saw something was wrong, I rushed back to warn you. But I truly cannot understand how there could possibly have been poison in our food. We ourselves have eaten the pickled dishes made with that brine, and we are all still alive and well.”

Daqing hung his head. “But what good is it if we do not believe it? The whole North District is already talking. By tomorrow, I’m afraid everyone in Wu City will know, and after that, no one will dare come to our shop for drinks again.”

“Also, Steward Cheng and the others.” Only then did Daqing remember the most urgent matter he had almost forgotten. “Miss, please hurry and beg the master to intervene. Only he can get Steward Cheng and the others released.”

At the thought that his mother, younger brother, and younger sister had all been taken away, Daqing’s anxiety showed plainly on his face.

Liu Qin, who had already forced herself to calm down completely, exchanged a look with Jiang Li. At the same moment, the same thought rose in both their minds. “When that customer was eating and drinking, was anyone else nearby?”

Daqing thought for a moment. When he left, the customer was still in the shop. He remembered that although there were not many people in the main hall, there were still two or three tables of guests. After the man came in, he ate and drank silently for quite a while before suddenly claiming to have stomach pain and shouting that the food was unclean. At that point, a guest at the neighboring table even stepped forward to mediate, saying he was a regular patron and that the food here was very clean.

If someone had been eating and drinking alongside him and nothing had happened, then this poisoning was suspicious indeed.

Another question came to mind. “Was it Head Constable Zhao who came to make the arrests?”

“No.”

Daqing answered at once, because when he returned, he had arrived just as the officers were seizing people and sealing the shop. He had even wanted to say a few good words. Head Constable Zhao, who was in charge of the North District, usually looked after them very well, and both Daqing and Steward Cheng knew him.

But when Daqing pushed to the front, he realized that he did not recognize a single one of those officers and constables. At the time, desperate and half-mad with worry, he had forced out a smile and tried to ingratiate himself with a strange constable. “Sir, may I ask whether Head Constable Zhao is here?”

“Get back, get back. What are you asking about Zhao or Liu for? Our superior is over there and very busy. He has no time to deal with you.” The constable, clearly impatient, shoved him aside and shouted toward the crowd behind him, “Back up, all of you, back up. What is there to look at? I might as well tell you now: this shop’s food was poisoned, and someone died from it.”

Daqing searched everywhere but could not find Head Constable Zhao. Terrified that he might be recognized and taken away too, he dared not linger and had no choice but to race all the way back to the Liu residence.

Not Head Constable Zhao? That was strange. The North District had always been Zhao’s responsibility, and her elder brother had said that Zhao was one of their own.

Then this matter deserved careful scrutiny. First someone caused trouble in the shop, then went home and died. Then the officers who did not oversee the North District arrived, and they arrived with such speed, such timeliness. Then, at last, poison was “discovered” in the shop’s brine.

Layer upon layer, it looked seamless, as though every link fit perfectly with the next, leaving no flaw at all. Yet it was precisely because every link was clamped together too tightly that it became the biggest flaw of all.

Thinking it through to this point, what was there left for Liu Qin not to understand? Someone was targeting Jade Nectar, striking from the shadows.

Jiang Li and Xiao Wu both lifted their heads at once. Their hearts tightened in unison. These were all exceedingly clever people, and naturally they had instantly grasped the key.

“Daqing, go and call Anuo and the others here.”

Daqing had barely left the courtyard before returning. It turned out that Fang Nuo and the others were already standing outside.

When Daqing had run into the residence, Chang Sheng had seen him and called out. But at that moment Daqing had matters on his mind and had not heard a thing. Chang Sheng noticed something was off, hurried back to tell Jiang Li, and that was how Jiang Li and Xiao Wu arrived in time.

Looking at the group of boys and youths of all ages in the room, the ones she relied on most and trusted most, Liu Qin felt warmth rise in her heart. In times of trouble, true fellowship was revealed most clearly. From the concern in those many pairs of eyes, she felt her confidence and courage slowly return.

Come then. Let the storm rage more fiercely.

Like a seagull opening its wings against the wind, Liu Qin’s heart kindled with a fierce resolve to face hardship head-on.

After Daqing recounted everything once more, Liu Qin blinked. In a calm voice that seemed strangely mature for her age, she began assigning tasks. “Daqing, Chang Sheng, Chang An, Chang Kang. From this moment on, the four of you will gather information in the North District. Find out everything you can about our shop and about that customer. Do your best to keep hidden and not be discovered.”

“Yes.”

“Anuo, how much silver do we have on hand?”

“Forty-one hundred and eighty taels. Luckily I went to the shop yesterday to check the accounts and collect the money, or today’s losses would have been even greater.”

“Take out three thousand taels.”

Ignoring everyone’s astonishment, Liu Qin continued, “Rent a house in a quiet part of the North District. Before Steward Cheng and the others are released, you and Chang Xing will stay there temporarily. I will have Lei Hu protect you. Starting tomorrow, you and Chang Xing should make frequent trips to the yamen. A little over two thousand taels should be enough for greasing the right palms. Remember this: under no circumstances must anyone link Jade Nectar to the Liu family. This matter must not implicate my father or elder brother. Do you understand?”

Liu Qin knew very well that the other side was only targeting Jade Nectar for now. At worst, they could shut the shop, move elsewhere, change the name, and rise again from the ashes. But if her father or elder brother were dragged into this, especially if the Fang family bit down on them and brought a memorial against them before the emperor, then even if her father were not stripped of office, his reputation as an official would be ruined.

An official was not supposed to take part in commerce. Yet among court ministers, it had long been an unwritten custom that every family had a few shops to supplement household expenses. If one relied only on an official salary, then unless one was willing to embezzle, how could one maintain the proper social obligations, the exchange of courtesies, and the dignity expected of a family in their position? But all of that was kept beneath the surface. No one would ever bring it into the open.

But now there had been a death. If someone with an agenda stirred the matter up, rumors could spread everywhere. It might even be twisted into a charge that the magistrate of Wu City was harming the people and treating human life as worthless.

Liu Qin could not take that risk. Even if saving Steward Cheng and the others still depended on her father’s power, the outward show of due process had to be done in full. They had to give no one any reason for suspicion.

“Anuo, if Steward Cheng cannot be rescued immediately, do not panic. At worst, we spend a little more silver. The lower jailers and prison wardens must be taken care of too. Once they take the money, they naturally will not make things difficult for Steward Cheng and the others. Also, you can go find Head Constable Zhao first.”

Jiang Li understood what Liu Qin meant, but he was not entirely reassured about Fang Nuo, so he repeated his instructions again and again.

“Brother, I understand.”

“Master, rest assured. I will take good care of the Third Young Master.”

Only after hearing Fang Nuo and Chang Xing’s assurances did Jiang Li finally breathe a little easier. It was not that he did not trust them. It was only that Fang Nuo was not even ten yet and had never experienced anything like this before. Asking him to deal with officers and constables now carried the same uneasy feeling as sending a lamb into the jaws of a tiger.

While Liu Qin was considering all possible responses, her father, Master Liu, was also discussing the matter with Liu Cheng.

“Father, do you think this was the Fang family’s doing?”

Master Liu shook his head. “It is still hard to say. The Fang family certainly does not know about Qin’er’s matter, or they would already have come after me. If this were only a small tavern, it should not have drawn their attention. Still, I heard that the men sent to make the arrests were under Governor Guo. It seems the Fang family may not be entirely uninvolved.”

“Then should we...?”

Liu Cheng made a motion with his hand as though to strike.

“No. Do not act rashly. Let Head Constable Zhao take over the case and come forward to investigate it. However you look at it, this is Zhao’s responsibility.”

“Understood. I will make the arrangements at once.”