Chapter Forty-Seven: An Unexpected Gain

At that moment, someone knocked on the door from outside and called out, “Owner of the house, answer! We are city patrol officers. Why is it so noisy this late at night? Have there been thieves?” In the distance, a faint glow of fire could be seen, and voices were shouting, “The magistrate’s residence is on fire! Somebody come quickly, there’s a fire!”

Hearing that it was the magistrate’s residence ablaze, the officers outside didn’t wait for a response from within. Led by their commander, they rushed straight toward the fire. Li Wenyuan listened as the sound of footsteps faded away, then quietly opened the door a crack to look out onto the street. Seeing no one around, he gave a low whistle, and several water carts emerged from the street corner toward his door.

After using Zong Luohou’s sleeping incense to knock everyone unconscious, Li Wenyuan loaded them all into the water carts. When they reached the west gate intending to leave the city, they were stopped by the gate guards, who demanded, “Who goes there? What business do you have leaving the city at such an hour?”

Li Wenyuan stepped forward and said, “The magistrate’s house is on fire! Open the gate and let us fetch water from the river. It’s urgent!”

The guard hesitated, but Li Wenyuan feigned anger and struck him, barking, “How dare you! If you delay the firefighting, will you pay for the magistrate’s losses? Can you bear the blame when the magistrate holds you responsible?”

Another guard came over, pushed the first aside, and smiled ingratiatingly, “Please don’t be angry, sir. We’re just doing our duty. If you need to fetch water, I’ll let you out right away. Please don’t mention us to the magistrate lest we get in trouble.” He waved to the wall, shouting, “Open the gate quickly!”

The city gate slowly opened. Li Wenyuan snorted, “You have a good eye, at least. Another day I’ll treat you to a meal and we’ll get to know each other better. But I have urgent matters now, so I won’t linger.” With that, he spurred his horse and left the city without looking back.

The party left Yongdeng County and headed west toward the Zhuanglang River. Upon reaching the riverbank, they turned north, returning to Qinglong Mountain. There, they imprisoned Hulü and his companions in the mountain stronghold’s dungeon, guarded by Li Wenyuan’s loyal men, with orders not to let anyone approach.

Zong Luohou asked Li Wenyuan, “General Li, now that we’ve caught these people, what shall we do next?”

Li Wenyuan replied, “What Li Mao is doing is a shady affair that can’t see the light of day. He came all the way to Yongdeng County to meet Hulü—there’s no way the magistrate is unaware. I suspect he’s one of Li Mao’s men. Next, we’ll visit the magistrate and see if there’s anything else connected to Li Mao.”

The following day, Li Mao went to find Hulü. After knocking on the door for a long time with no answer, he considered pushing his way inside, but didn’t dare risk offending Hulü. He shook his head and left.

Unable to see Hulü, Li Mao wandered the main street and arrived at the magistrate’s residence, which bore traces of fire. Only then did he remember the fire from the night before. He went inside directly. The gatekeeper, recognizing Li Mao, hurried over and asked, “Sir, what brings you here?”

Li Mao motioned for him to stand and answer, “Where is your master?”

The gatekeeper replied truthfully, “Master was so frightened last night, he’s still resting.”

Li Mao nodded and continued, “Tell me, how did the fire start last night?”

The gatekeeper said, “I don’t know, sir. People say the fire broke out all of a sudden and couldn’t be stopped. Even water wouldn’t put it out. It finally burned through the wood shed and the adjacent storehouse before it died down.”

“What did you keep in the storehouse?” Li Mao asked, frowning.

“Just some firewood for cooking and a bit of lamp oil,” the gatekeeper replied.

“How could that catch fire?” Li Mao pressed.

“One of the servants got up in the night and sleepily saw a flicker of fire in the sheds, but the fellow was half asleep and didn’t know if it was real or a dream,” the gatekeeper recalled after some thought.

Li Mao frowned deeply, sensing something was amiss but unable to pinpoint what. He told the gatekeeper, “That will do for today. Tell your master to find me when he’s feeling better.”

The gatekeeper bowed, “Very well, sir. Please take care.”

He watched Li Mao depart, then closed the gate and went into the inner residence, where he knocked on a door and said, “Master, Li Mao has left.”

“He didn’t check the woodshed, did he?” the magistrate asked as he opened the door.

“No, sir. I sent him away straightaway,” the gatekeeper replied with a smile.

“Good. You may return to your duties. Next month, I’ll have you replaced at the gate and you’ll help in the accounting room,” the magistrate said.

“Thank you, sir, for your kindness,” the gatekeeper replied gratefully.

Once the door was closed, the magistrate, face drawn with anxiety, quietly addressed the others in the room, “General Li, is this sufficient?”

Li Wenyuan nodded, then had Zong Luohou keep restraining the magistrate while he continued the interrogation. Though he had long suspected the magistrate was in league with Li Mao, one of the arsonists had mentioned a cellar in the woodshed filled with untold gold and jewels. Li Wenyuan and Zong Luohou had stealthily investigated and found the cellar, which indeed glittered with treasure. Searching further, they discovered the magistrate still hiding there, and so had bound him for questioning. Only after they received word that Li Mao was nearby did they have the gatekeeper send Li Mao away.

Sitting in the room with his legs crossed, Li Wenyuan asked the magistrate, “I know well what salaries the Sui court provides. How could a mere magistrate amass a cellar full of gold and jewels?”

Pressed to his knees by Zong Luohou, the magistrate replied, “Those were gifts from my subordinates, not something I extorted.”

“Then what about the silver you collected for Li Mao?” Li Wenyuan pressed.

“That was all shipped to Wuwei by Li Mao yesterday,” the magistrate confessed.

Li Wenyuan was startled—his bluff had unexpectedly elicited a real answer. He pursued further, “Be specific. You’re an official; you know that, depending on who tells the truth, the consequences are very different.”

The magistrate nodded. “General Li, let me explain. Here’s how it happened.” After collecting his thoughts, the magistrate recounted everything:

Three months ago, Li Gui sent his cousin Li Mao to Yongdeng County. Under the guise of official business, Li Mao made contact with the magistrate and gave him a sum of money to enter into a partnership. The deal was that the magistrate would extract as much gold and silver as possible from his jurisdiction and send it regularly to the Li residence in Wuwei Commandery. What the money was used for, he did not know. As for the treasury’s funds, those were kickbacks the magistrate kept for himself while collecting for Li Gui. As he put it, since he would be blamed anyway, why not make a little profit for himself?