Shopkeeper Lu had already turned his feet halfway, shrinking his body back, wanting to take advantage of the chaos on the dock to slip into the shadows.
Pang Yu had sharp eyes and kicked a broken wooden bucket by his feet flying.
The bucket rolled clattering over and smashed right into Shopkeeper Lu's calf.
Shopkeeper Lu cried out, nearly falling flat on his face.
Pang Yu, leading several burly porters, completely blocked the exit of the dock.
Shopkeeper Lu, where are you rushing to? Pang Yu grinned, weighing a water-and-fire staff in his hand. Ah Gui just died. Instead of collecting his corpse as his boss, you are diving into a dark alley. What, in a hurry to be reincarnated?
Shopkeeper Lu steadied himself, his face deathly pale, and pointed at Pang Yu, cursing loudly.
Get lost! I am the shopkeeper of the Guangyi Firm. What the hell is the Waterway Hall to dare detain me?
Xu Wuyou stood before the table, tapping his fingers twice on the military rations loss manifest.
The Waterway Hall is indeed nothing.
Xu Wuyou turned his head to look at Lao Zhou.
Lao Zhou, read it.
Lao Zhou pushed his abacus aside, opened the Waterway Hall's rulebook, and raised his voice high.
Guangyi Firm used the water tally to take the express cargo lane, secretly changed cargo names to evade the river protection fee, and is suspected of framing the military supply ships.
According to the rules of the Waterway Hall, effective immediately, all shipping schedules for Guangyi Firm are postponed indefinitely!
The South Dock warehouses are sealed, and all water tallies are confiscated, pending an audit by the Ministry of Revenue!
Hearing this, Shopkeeper Lu trembled all over.
Shipping schedules postponed, warehouses sealed, water tallies confiscated.
These three combined were equivalent to directly snapping Guangyi Firm's neck.
Cargo could not be shipped out, and outside ships could not come in. In less than half a month, Guangyi Firm would go bankrupt.
Xu Wuyou! You dare! Shopkeeper Lu howled at the top of his lungs. This is a lynching! You are cutting off my livelihood!
Xu Wuyou ignored him, merely turning his gaze to Tao Boyong.
Tao Boyong's face was blacker than the bottom of a pot.
He knew very well that if Guangyi Firm fell, his source of illicit profit on this route would be cut off too.
Hall Master Xu, you have gone too far.
Tao Boyong took a step forward, putting on his official airs.
The Waterway Hall manages the shipping schedules, and I will not stop that. But sealing a firm's warehouses and confiscating water tallies are the authorities of the government. You, a mere martial underworld gang, overstepping your bounds, do you really think the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty are just for show?
Xu Wuyou smiled.
He picked up the writing brush on the table, dipped it fully in ink, pulled out a blank sign-off sheet, and slapped it in front of Tao Boyong.
Since Inspector Tao speaks of the law, then let us do things according to the law.
Xu Wuyou handed the brush over.
Guangyi Firm used the water tally for the express cargo lane, so the Waterway Hall has the right to suspend their tally.
As for sealing the warehouses...
Xu Wuyou pointed to the military rations loss manifest.
It is written clearly on this manifest that Guangyi Firm cannot absolve itself of involvement in the loss of military rations on the northern route.
If Inspector Tao feels the Waterway Hall has no right to seal the warehouses, fine.
You sign this.
Tao Boyong stared at the brush but did not take it.
Sign what?
Xu Wuyou said.
Write clearly that Tao Boyong, Inspector of the Water Transport Bureau, guarantees the innocence of Guangyi Firm in the name of the government.
Guarantee that Guangyi Firm has never participated in the loss of military rations and has never secretly changed cargo names.
As long as you sign it, I, Xu Wuyou, will release him immediately, and the Waterway Hall will absolutely not lay a finger on Guangyi Firm's warehouses.
The dock was dead silent.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Tao Boyong.
The boatmen held their breath, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Shopkeeper Lu looked at Tao Boyong with a face full of hope, his lips trembling.
Lord Tao... please say something!
The muscles in Tao Boyong's cheeks twitched a few times.
Sign a guarantee?
This manifest was laid out here in black and white, and Ah Gui had died under mysterious circumstances.
Once this case was escalated to the capital, it would be a massive case reaching the heavens.
How could he, a mere lowly inspector, bet his head to guarantee Guangyi Firm?
Tao Boyong fiercely flicked his sleeves and placed his hands behind his back.
I am only responsible for patrolling the river. As for the firm's case, the Jingzhao Prefecture will naturally investigate it.
I... I will not provide this guarantee!
As soon as these words came out, Shopkeeper Lu's legs gave way, and he slumped directly into the mud.
It was over.
Tao Boyong was abandoning him.
Xu Wuyou tossed the brush back into the brush washer, splashing a few drops of ink out.
Since Inspector Tao will not provide the guarantee, then the Waterway Hall will do things according to the rules.
Xu Wuyou turned around, facing Pang Yu and Lao Zhou.
Pang Yu, take men to the South Dock and put the Waterway Hall's seals on Guangyi Firm's warehouses. If anyone dares to tear them off, break their legs.
Lao Zhou, collect all of Guangyi Firm's water tallies, leaving not a single one.
Pang Yu loudly assented, leading his men to pounce on Shopkeeper Lu like wolves and tigers. They searched out several bronze water tallies from his robes, and then split off a group of men to head straight for the South Dock.
Tao Boyong stood in place, unable to leave and unable to stay, his face flushing the color of pig liver.
Xu Wuyou did not look at him again. Instead, he carefully gathered the military rations loss manifest on the table and placed it into a kraft paper envelope.
He waved over three of the most clever gang members.
This case cannot be suppressed, nor should it be.
Xu Wuyou handed the envelope to the first gang member.
Take the original copy of this manifest, ride a fast horse into the city overnight, and deliver it to the Chengyi Earl's Mansion.
Hand it to Xu Youde, Vice Minister of Revenue. I hear people often say he has a scale in his heart, so ask him to use this to cross-check Feng Shaotang's old accounts.
The gang member took the envelope with both hands, tucked it into his robes, and turned to run.
Xu Wuyou then took out a copied duplicate, along with the evidence catalog of the gunpowder ship, put it into a second envelope, and handed it to the second gang member.
Take the covert route. Deliver this to the Imperial City Bureau and hand it personally to Lord Shen Lian.
Tell him that someone on the capital's waterways is feeding military rations to the dogs, and ask if he is going to do something about it.
The second gang member nodded and swiftly disappeared into the night.
Xu Wuyou took out the final duplicate, placed it into a waterproof bamboo tube, and sealed it dead with sealing wax.
He handed the bamboo tube to the third gang member.
Pick the fastest boat in the Hall and take the northern route. Travel day and night, deliver this to the Northern Imperial Envoy's headquarters, and hand it personally to the Imperial Envoy.
The third gang member hid the bamboo tube close to his body and sprinted toward a light skiff at the dock.
Three groups of men, three routes.
Watching this scene, layers of cold sweat broke out on Tao Boyong's back.
The Chengyi Earl's Mansion, the Imperial City Bureau, the Northern Imperial Envoy's headquarters.
Xu Wuyou was trying to pierce the heavens!
Once these three factions got involved, let alone a mere inspector like him, even the Governor-General of Water Transport would be skinned alive.
Tao Boyong could not stay any longer. Not daring to leave even a single polite parting word, he slunk away dejectedly with his patrolmen.
Seeing the officials retreat, the boatmen on the Dongwan Dock erupted into irrepressible cheers.
Hall Master Xu is mighty!
The Waterway Hall is unyielding!
Xu Wuyou raised his hand to press down, and the dock quieted down again.
Everyone has seen what happened tonight.
The Waterway Hall speaks of rules. Whoever sails according to the rules, the Waterway Hall guarantees their safety.
But if anyone dares to play dirty tricks under the Waterway Hall's nose, Guangyi Firm is your fate!
After speaking, Xu Wuyou turned and walked toward the Waterway Hall.
Returning to the courtyard of the Waterway Hall, the main doors slammed shut with a bang.
The courtyard was brightly lit.
Ma Liu was held down by two gang members, kneeling on the bluestone slabs.
His name had originally been crossed off, but he had tried to run away during the chaos just now and was caught again.
Ma Liu trembled all over, looking up at Xu Wuyou.
"Hall Master... I was wrong... I just had a momentary lapse of judgment and got greedy for the bounty..."
Xu Wuyou walked up to him, looking down at him imperiously.
"The rules of the Waterway Hall dictate that anyone who leaks our shipping routes will be expelled. And anyone who colludes with the Transport Bureau to sabotage our hall will have their token sunk."
Xu Wuyou turned to look at Lao Zhou.
"Bring a basin of water."
Lao Zhou brought over a basin of clear water and placed it in front of Ma Liu.
Xu Wuyou pulled Ma Liu's bronze waterway token from his robes, weighing it in his hand.
"Ma Liu, you have worked in the Waterway Hall for three years. This token is your livelihood."
"Today, in front of all the brothers in the hall, I am sinking your token."
Xu Wuyou released his grip.
Plop.
The bronze token fell into the basin, sinking to the bottom and releasing a few bubbles.
"From this day forward, across the thirty-six docks of the capital's waterways, there will no longer be a place for you. Get out."
Ma Liu slumped to the ground, his face ashen.
He knew that his life, for all intents and purposes, was over.
Without a waterway token, he would never earn another meal from the Transport Gang.
A few gang members stepped forward, dragged Ma Liu out the gate like a dead dog, and tossed him out onto the street.
The courtyard was dead silent.
Looking at the basin of water, all the gang members silently understood one thing.
Their new Hall Master Xu was not just a man of reason; his methods were more ruthless than anyone else's.
Xu Wuyou waved his hand, dismissing the crowd.
He walked into the duty room alone and shut the door behind him.
Only a single oil lamp was lit in the room, casting a dim, sallow glow.
Xu Wuyou walked behind the desk, sat down, and let out a long, heavy exhale.
Everything that happened tonight was a delicate chain of events; a single misstep would have meant eternal ruin.
"Qinghuan, your brother managed to secure his position today, but this bite was truly hard to swallow."
He reached over and picked up the draft of the military rations deficit ledger.
Earlier at the docks, the torchlight had been too dim, and he had only read the first few lines.
Now, by the light of the oil lamp, Xu Wuyou's gaze swept down the ledger.
One line, two lines, three lines.
His eyes stopped at the very bottom of the page.
There was a line of incredibly small text, circled in red cinnabar ink.
Xu Wuyou leaned in closer to read it.
The moment he made out those four characters, the hairs on his body stood on end.
The flame of the oil lamp flickered, illuminating the four words.
"Chief Inspector, Shang Estate."
The Shang Estate.
In the entire capital, there was only one family that could be called the Shang Estate and have any connection to a deficit in military rations.
The Minister of Revenue, Shang Qitai.
