Chapter Sixty-Eight: Man Gui, Who Wanted Money More Than Office

After the two men at the neighboring table finished eating, they went downstairs. Wu Mengming hurriedly said to Xu Xianchun, “My lord, allow this humble one to follow them.”

Xu Xianchun looked at him in surprise. “Wu Mengming, what is so strange about these two?”

Wu Mengming said, “This humble one thinks there is something wrong with them. Perhaps they can help my lord find a clue.”

Xu Xianchun was overjoyed and waved a hand. “Forget eating. Pay the bill and go. We’ll go together.”

Wu Mengming said, “My lord, too many people would be bad. It would be enough to send one more brother with me.”

Xu Xianchun smiled. “Very well, then the two of us will go. You others finish your meal first. Come find us after you are full.”

The others said, “How could that be? My lord and Thousand Households Wu should go first. We can follow far behind.”

Wu Mengming was afraid the two men would disappear from sight, so he stepped out of the tavern at once. Luckily, the two were not walking fast. Xu Xianchun slapped his shoulder and said, “Not bad, Wu Mengming. Tell me, why do you think they are suspicious?”

Wu Mengming glanced ahead at the two men, then lowered his voice. “Fine yellow rosewood is very expensive. From what this humble one can see, those two do not seem very wealthy, yet they want to buy yellow rosewood, and at such a low price. That is not reasonable.”

Xu Xianchun said, “How do you know they are not wealthy? Maybe they simply do not wish to show it off. And perhaps yellow rosewood is cheap here.”

Wu Mengming patiently explained, “If they were rich, both of them would not have come out without their families. Besides, yellow rosewood is rare and has always been costly. This frontier market is for trade beyond the passes, so how could cheap yellow rosewood appear here?”

Xu Xianchun did not really understand, but he still patted Wu Mengming on the shoulder. “Good. If you truly uncover a clue this time, you will have the chief merit.”

Wu Mengming was delighted. He knew Xu Xianchun had won imperial military examinations and was indeed not very sharp, but he was generous and never seized credit from his subordinates. So he replied, “This humble one thanks my lord first. But the chief merit naturally belongs to my lord. If I can merely bask in a little of your light, I will be more than satisfied.”

The two men ahead went straight into a furniture shop with a signboard reading “The House of Harmony and Delight.” Xu Xianchun and his companion followed them in, and heard the shopkeeper already bargaining with the men who had arrived first.

“Sir Wang, not only is this price the lowest in the defense prefecture, it is the lowest in the whole country. You can always trust the goods in our shop.”

Wu Mengming stepped forward and looked at the item they were buying: a set of table and chairs. Judging from the grain, it was indeed genuine yellow rosewood without any falsehood. As for the style, it had a solemn and dignified air.

Wu Mengming praised it. “Fine wood, fine chairs, and what splendid bearing. If placed in a front hall, it would look just like something from an official yamen.”

The shopkeeper’s expression changed slightly. “Please this way, honored customer. This table and chairs have already been ordered by Sir Wang.”

But Wu Mengming ignored him and carefully examined the set, looking at the tabletop, then the underside, even turning the chair over and lightly stroking the grain with his hand, tsking in admiration. This put great pressure on Sir Wang, who directly told the shopkeeper, “I’ll take it.”

The shopkeeper stepped over and said to Wu Mengming, “Honored customer, this table and chairs now belong to Sir Wang. Please step this way.”

Wu Mengming put down the chair, brushed off the nonexistent dust from his hands, and said, “Since the thing I liked has been bought by someone else, then farewell, shopkeeper.” With that, he actually walked straight out.

Xu Xianchun hurried after him and asked in a low voice, “What do we do now?”

Wu Mengming replied softly, “My lord, do not be anxious. This humble one has already found the clue. Send another brother to follow that Sir Wang. Tonight we will visit his home and confirm the evidence.”

Seeing how confident he was, Xu Xianchun patted his shoulder again. “You little rascal, still speaking in riddles to me. But I do not care. So long as the case can be solved, everything is easy to say.”

Wu Mengming said, “My lord, this humble one does not yet have complete certainty. Once the evidence is solid, I will explain it carefully to my lord.”

That night, Xu Xianchun and several others arrived outside Sir Wang’s residence. Wu Mengming first vaulted over the wall. Then a birdcall sounded from inside. Everyone came to the front gate, which opened soundlessly, and they filed in one after another.

One man went to the front, took out a thin bamboo tube, and gently inserted it through the paper window of the bedroom. He carefully blew a long breath, waited several minutes, then turned back and nodded twice.

Only then did everyone let out a breath. The man came before Xu Xianchun and said, “My lord, the maidservants are not at home today, so only the husband and wife are in residence. We can begin.”

Xu Xianchun waved his hand, and they all entered the main hall and lit the lamps. Wu Mengming picked up the yellow rosewood chair, turned it over, and signaled for his companion to bring the light closer. Pointing to a spot on the inside of one chair leg, he said, “My lord, please look. When I touched this area in the daytime, I felt it was somewhat uneven. Now under the lamp, it really has characters carved into it: the Regional Military Commission of Liaodong. My lord, this is something from Liaoyang. There is indeed something wrong.”

Xu Xianchun was still uneasy. He leaned in and inspected it carefully once more, then felt it with his hand before speaking. “Now he cannot escape. Let us see how he explains that something from Liaoyang came to be sold here.”

Wu Mengming said softly, “My lord, this is only one piece of evidence. We need more before we can nail this down. We should call in more men. We are too few.”

Xu Xianchun thought for a moment and said, “Going back to call people would be too troublesome. Let us go to the Right Guard of Wanquan and borrow some soldiers. They need only make a show of force. That should be no problem for them. First keep watch over this household, then look for clues from other angles to see whether there are any more leads. Once the men from Wanquan arrive, we will begin arresting and interrogating. We must make sure everything is foolproof.”

Everyone agreed in unison, then carefully restored the table and chairs to their original positions. After leaving the gate, one man remained behind to shut it, and the others vaulted the wall and slipped out.

Xu Xianchun had Wu Mengming stay there to search for clues, while he went alone to the Right Guard of Wanquan, twenty li away. After showing his brocade guard waist token, the local thousand-household officer immediately welcomed him inside. Xu Xianchun did not waste words with him and directly requested a hundred soldiers to assist the brocade guards in handling the case.

The thousand-household officer was very straightforward. He called over a centurion from outside and said, “Man Gui, there is a chance to earn merit. Do you want to go?”

Man Gui looked to be in his thirties, with a thick beard and a fierce air, though the impression was spoiled by the small, darting eyes in his face. He blinked those eyes and asked, “Are we to take Northern barbarian heads, fifty taels of silver for each one?”

The thousand-household officer said helplessly, “Why do you always have to talk about rewards? Wouldn’t promotion be better?”

Man Gui answered crisply, “No. I do not want promotion. I only want silver.”