(3) The Magistrate's Headache

"Tianyin Pavilion?" Cao Jibin's brow furrowed. For a minor official who had spent so many years far from the imperial capital, the name meant nothing to him at all. Tianyin Pavilion was, true to its name, a genuinely obscure, shadowy presence. It had played a decisive, pivotal role in the political struggle between Emperor Xuanzong and Princess Taiping—back when Xuanzong had still been crown prince, it was precisely because he held both an information network stretching across the entire empire, in the form of Tianyin Pavilion, and control over the imperial guard besides, that he had managed to seize the initiative and launch his coup, ultimately emerging victorious and ascending to the supreme throne.

According to legend, Tianyin Pavilion had been an entirely shadowy organization, cultivated personally by Emperor Xuanzong himself, answering directly and exclusively to him alone. Once Xuanzong took the throne, he relied on it as well to secretly monitor his officials and gain deep insight into the hardships of ordinary people across the land, receiving timely reports on both. Within it, a single Pavilion Master held the Golden Owl Token, empowered to act with the full authority of the Emperor himself; a single Chief Envoy held the Silver Owl Token, responsible for compiling and reporting intelligence; both of these figures could report directly to the Emperor's own ears, presenting matters to him in person. Beyond them stood the Four Directional Envoys, each holding a Wooden Owl Token, each overseeing all of Tianyin Pavilion's personnel and affairs within one quadrant of the vast Tang empire. But times had changed since then; with the outbreak of the An Lushan Rebellion, when Xuanzong abandoned his court officials and fled the capital west in a panic, Tianyin Pavilion had likewise withdrawn from the capital at the very same time—only for Emperor Suzong to ascend the throne at Lingwu, and later welcome Xuanzong back to the capital as Retired Emperor, with no further word of Tianyin Pavilion ever surfacing again. They had never accompanied the imperial procession westward at all, but had simply vanished without a trace, their whereabouts unknown ever since. Some thirty years had now passed, and fewer and fewer people at court still remembered them at all—if this really was Tianyin Pavilion's doing, then what motive could they possibly have? That, too, left everyone thoroughly perplexed.

Even so, weary and dispirited as he was, Cao Jibin still didn't forget to summon Madam Wu for further questioning. He laid the sketch out flat before her, telling her plainly that she had already lied to him once—clearly something was amiss—so wouldn't she be better off simply confessing the truth now?

The moment Madam Wu saw the sketch, a flash of genuine terror crossed her face. She never could have imagined that, of everyone at Yun Xiang Garden, it was precisely that one stable boy she'd overlooked who had let the authorities trace the matter, step by step, straight to real evidence. On that particular day, Young Master Yu had booked out the entirety of Yun Xiang Garden, with nearly every star courtesan in the establishment devoted entirely to attending him—none of them had any idea that Madam Wu had privately taken on additional business on the side. All she'd needed to do was instruct those closest to her to keep their mouths shut about it entirely. Determined not to complicate matters further, she had simply arranged for the mysterious stranger and his party to slip quietly, unnoticed, straight from the stables into Lanqui Court, all without disturbing Young Master Yu in the slightest.

Trembling all over, Madam Wu dropped immediately to her knees, begging for mercy, insisting that Yun Xiang Garden was, after all, a business open to paying customers—what proprietress in her position would ever turn away a customer bringing wealth straight to her own door? She claimed she had no idea at all who the man actually was, only that she'd been told to feed and entertain the two young men well, and to ask no further questions about anything else. Privately, she had reasoned that all she was doing was providing good hospitality—hardly murder or arson—and so as long as Young Master Yu never found out, she stood to pocket handsome payments from both sides without any trouble at all. But now that the whole affair had come to light, what she feared most was provoking Young Master Yu's wrath, worried he might blacklist Yun Xiang Garden from his patronage forever—wouldn't that leave her having lost on both fronts entirely? That was precisely why she hadn't confessed the whole truth from the very start.

Madam Wu's explanation, on its face, seemed to hold together well enough—after all, who opened a house of pleasure for any reason other than money? And yet Cao Jibin still harbored real doubts about whether she truly had no idea who this mysterious stranger actually was, and so he had her taken back and locked up in the county jail to think things over, hoping she might yet recall some other useful clue. Madam Wu found herself utterly without recourse now, crying out for help from heaven and earth alike, with no one paying her the slightest attention, as a burly, imposing archer escorted her back to the county jail alongside Cao Jibin. Along the way, Cao Jibin made sure to instruct his men to make several additional copies of the mysterious stranger's portrait, along with the sketch of the mysterious token from the archives, and requested the cooperation of the Chang'an County office as well, posting both images throughout every corner of the capital, hoping that anyone with useful information or a familiar face might come forward with a lead to help crack the case.

Today's renewed search of Yun Xiang Garden had, despite yielding some genuine results, left everything feeling as hazy and indistinct as viewing flowers through fog—nothing quite clear at all. Cao Jibin's head began aching once more, and this time it was a genuine, splitting pain. Back home, he barely touched his dinner before collapsing onto his bed, still fully dressed, drifting into a daze, his heart racing, his chest heaving violently, his whole body wracked with discomfort. Lady Liu, sensing something was seriously wrong with her husband, set down her own chopsticks and hurried into the room to check on him; seeing the state he was in, she pressed a hand to his forehead and felt it burning with fever, then pressed her other hand to her own forehead for comparison, and became genuinely convinced her husband had come down with a fever. She hurried to summon the household servants, intending to send for a physician at once. When she asked which physician in Chang'an was most highly skilled, the answer, naturally, was Mochou Hall.

Among Chang'an's official households, Physician Zhang Benyi of Mochou Hall enjoyed a universally praised reputation for his medical skill, and the servants swiftly brought him to the house. Zhang Benyi carefully took his pulse, asked him a number of questions, and ultimately concluded that his condition stemmed from an unresolved knot of anxiety in the heart, compounded by exhaustion from overwork. He wrote out a prescription on the spot, instructing that three bowls of water be boiled down to one, to be taken morning and night; then, reaching into his robes, he produced a neatly folded square of paper and handed it to Cao Jibin, telling him that inside might well be found the very remedy for what truly ailed Magistrate Cao's heart, and urging him to read it carefully. Lady Liu thanked him profusely again and again before finally seeing him out, sending the household servants along with him to collect the medicine from Mochou Hall as well.

Zhang Benyi had scarcely left the Cao household when Lu He came hurrying in with fresh news, reporting that someone had come forward to identify the man in the sketch, saying that this very mysterious stranger had, a few days earlier, driven a carriage out through Mingde Gate along Vermilion Bird Avenue—his full beard and Hu-style dress had made him particularly conspicuous. As for who might have been inside the carriage, the witness had no idea at all. Lu He was just about to ask Cao Jibin whether they should move to apprehend the mysterious stranger, when Cao Jibin, despite feeling utterly wretched, slowly unfolded the paper Zhang Benyi had given him and read, with considerable effort: "All appearances are illusory; what the eyes see and the ears hear cannot be trusted as truth. A hidden passage lies within Lanqui Court—part the clouds, and the light of dawn shall appear."

Cao Jibin startled violently, and sat stunned for a good long moment. Lu He, beside him, leaned in to look as well upon seeing this. Physician Zhang had pointed them toward the clear path forward all along—every witness, every testimony, had all been deliberately misleading, nothing more than a smokescreen meant to throw them off the scent. If what Physician Zhang had written proved true, then the three young men must still be somewhere within Lanqui Court at Yun Xiang Garden after all.

Lu He received his orders and, taking advantage of Madam Wu's continued detention in jail, leaving Yun Xiang Garden temporarily without anyone truly in charge, led his men in a second surprise raid on Lanqui Court. The county office's forces descended on Lanqui Court in full force, throwing every madam and courtesan across Yun Xiang Garden into a state of utter panic, every face etched with visible anxiety. With Madam Wu locked away in jail, Ah Da, who normally stayed close by her side, tried again and again to step forward and stop the officers from tearing through Lanqui Court so relentlessly, but lacked the nerve to actually do so; his face flushed pale and then red by turns, and several times he swallowed back the words rising to his lips, forced simply to watch, helpless, as the officers overturned chests, ransacked drawers, and pounded on walls and pillars in their search.

After searching thoroughly for a good while without success, Lu He, directing the operation from the side, suddenly had a flash of insight—he had the bedding, pillows, and other items stripped entirely from a bed, leaving only the bare wooden bed frame, and signaled for his men to try lifting the boards. Sure enough, once the boards were forced up with some effort, a hidden passage revealed itself beneath, a dozen or so steps leading down into darkness so deep and impenetrable that no one could say where it might lead.

"Bring torches!" Lu He bellowed.

Chief Constable Cai Neng, receiving the order at once, gave Ah Da a shove and barked, "Well? Get moving!"

Seeing that the game was up, and that resistance or excuses would serve him no purpose now, Ah Da had no choice but to send for torches and, trembling with fear, lead the officers down into the hidden passage.

The deeper they went, the wider the passage grew, until at last, at its end, they found a wall blocking their way. Ah Da produced a key, unlocked it, and pushed hard against the wall from the inside, which slowly swung open, revealing a blinding shaft of light beyond—a small courtyard opened up before everyone's eyes, complete with trees, flowers, a main hall, and side chambers, several burly men standing guard around its perimeter, evidently posted there as sentries. Ah Da led the archers toward the western side chamber; from some distance off, they could already make out several servants standing outside it, and hear voices carrying from within.

"Just how many more days are they planning to keep us here? We haven't wanted for food or drink, that's true enough, but we still have no idea what they actually want from us—this is truly maddening. Are they even going to let us go home at all?"

"We can't get out either, and we've got no way to reach anyone outside—our families must be worried sick by now."

"This whole lot of them, really..."

Before the words had even finished, and before Ah Da had a chance to open the door himself, an archer kicked it open outright, revealing three young men, each dressed in bright, elegant finery, every one of their faces clouded with gloom and resentment. Startled by the sudden kick, all three young men scrambled instinctively into a corner of the room, huddled together like startled birds, peering out with wide, uncertain, fearful eyes at whoever had burst through the door.

"We've come from the Wannian County office to rescue you. There's no need to be afraid, young masters—please come with us back to the county office first to answer some questions and clear up what actually happened, and we'll then notify your families to come collect you." Seeing this, the chief constable called out clearly.

Hearing that it was the authorities come to rescue them, all three young men were overjoyed at once. Having been mysteriously "invited" here without any real explanation, and though they had been fed and treated as honored guests the whole time, they had never once learned who their captor was or what he actually wanted from them, leaving them understandably anxious and thoroughly unsettled the entire time. Now, realizing they had truly been saved, they let out a collective sigh of relief, unwilling to linger there even a moment longer than necessary.

Looking around the small courtyard, the chief constable noted that it appeared to be the rear courtyard of Yun Xiang Garden itself, only accessible through the hidden passage, and thus kept entirely secret, never open to the public. Hidden so deeply, few people would ever have known of its existence—had Physician Liu not pointed the way, how could they possibly have recovered the young men so smoothly and successfully? What struck him as curious, though, was this: how had Physician Liu come to know Yun Xiang Garden so intimately in the first place? Perhaps, having practiced medicine and made house calls across the city for so many years, traveling every street and alley, he had simply come to know even places ordinary people knew nothing about, just as thoroughly as anywhere else. Since the physician himself hadn't brought it up, there was no need to press the matter further—after all, who in this day and age didn't have a secret or two they'd rather keep to themselves? Having helped the county office recover all three young men and resolve Magistrate Cao's most pressing crisis already counted as an enormous act of merit; Magistrate Cao could hardly find enough words of gratitude, let alone dream of treating his own benefactor as some kind of suspect to be interrogated.

Just before leaving, the chief constable took one more look around the small courtyard, and noticed that just beyond a single dividing wall stood what seemed to be the "Zhuya Residence." His heart gave a sudden start, and he looked up toward the building of Zhuya Residence closest to the small courtyard—through a second-floor window, he could just make out the faint silhouette of a figure that looked very much like Yu Shurong, apparently gazing directly down at the small courtyard below. But the distance was too great to make out his face or expression clearly, leaving it impossible to tell whether he seemed pleased or displeased; the chief constable could only be certain of his identity from the wide-sleeved pale blue robe alone. A shiver ran down the chief constable's spine—Zhuya Residence was, in fact, a property registered under Yu Shurong's own name; unlike an ordinary house of pleasure, it stood nestled right in among them, a strange, singular presence within Pingkang Ward all its own. The authorities never went looking for trouble with Zhuya Residence without good reason—avoiding it whenever possible had always been standard practice for the county office. How could they have known that Yun Xiang Garden's secret courtyard would turn out to sit right beside Zhuya Residence, placing them, quite unwittingly, this close to it? The chief constable cursed under his breath several times over—crossing paths with Yu Shurong was never a good sign. Could it be that the disappearance of these three distinguished young men was somehow connected to Yu Shurong after all? His heart pounding with unease, he didn't dare linger for even a moment, hurrying to bring the whole group back to the county office at once, and faithfully reported everything he'd seen at the small courtyard to Lu He.