Chapter 89: Report Of Merit
Xie Er immediately panicked, and before he could react, a tremendous force grabbed the collar at the back of his neck, dragging him toward the cabin door like a dead dog.
Xie Er turned pale with fright, struggling nonstop with hands and feet, finally hooking the corner of the Ottoman sofa with his right foot and straining his tiptoes.
Bai Langzai added force with his hand, dragging the Ottoman sofa along as it moved, wrinkling a patch of the handmade carpet and knocking over the small tea table on the carpet. Xie Er’s neck was choked by the collar, his face turning purple-red.
He squeezed a sound from his throat: “Where is the mistake? I’ll change it!”
Lin Qian flipped through the parchment book, ignoring him.
“It’s the back alleys! Back alleys! I’ll add the back alleys!”
Lin Qian still did not reply, focused on reading the book.
“There’s also the river wharf! There’s a river wharf behind the manor, connected to the Yongning River. The Yongning River flows into the Ling River and then into the East Sea. Can send ships… cough cough… can send ships in!”
That parchment book recorded the Spaniards’ experiences on the American continent, basically half realistic and half mythical, often veering into lengthy theological digressions after just a few descriptive sentences.
If not for the interspersed accounts of secrets about the Inca People and Maya People, Lin Qian would have lost interest long ago.
Bai Langzai glanced at Lin Qian and saw he still did not tell him to stop, so he needed to scare Xie Er even more.
He drew his dagger, making as if to sever Xie Er’s foot tendons.
Xie Er wailed like a ghost crying and a wolf howling: “I really don’t know anything else. I’ve only been to the inner hall. I truly haven’t seen the rear residences! The silver transported on the ship is handed to the accounts room right after unloading at the dock. Where the accounts room is, I really don’t know!”
Lin Qian waved his hand, and Bai Langzai released Xie Er.
Xie Er, as if granted a great pardon, clung to the Ottoman sofa with hands and feet, refusing to let go.
Lin Qian took a sheet of paper from the navigation table.
“Draw it again.”
Xie Er carefully took the paper, and on his way back, he also cleaned up the mess from his struggling.
One hour later, the new map was finished and handed to Lin Qian.
This version of the map was much more detailed, with narrow passageways added on both sides of the residences—these were the back alleys.
Back alleys are generally extremely hidden, with entrances often concealed behind rockeries or firewood stacks, overall tucked between buildings, without sunlight, and pitch-dark.
These are paths for the manor’s servants, used for carrying water, delivering vegetables, patrolling, and the like.
Servants can shuttle through them without disturbing the master family’s daily life.
Likewise, because they are for servants, back alleys run straight without any Chinese aesthetic of winding paths to secluded spots.
In such a large manor, to quickly reach a certain residence, the back alleys offer the most concealed and fastest route.
At the same time, Xie Er had also added the river wharf.
Jiangnan thrives by water, and the river wharf is a private dock, connecting externally to river waterways and internally to the manor’s back gate.
When the manor purchases bulk goods like grain, oil, rice and flour, and firewood, it generally uses this route.
When the manor’s miss goes out, she generally also takes a boat from here.
Xie Er quietly waited for Lin Qian to examine the map while pondering nonstop in his mind.
Back alleys within the manor are extremely secret; ordinary folk who have never entered such grand manors in their lifetime absolutely could not know of them.
It seemed this Helmsman Lord was definitely no commoner—at worst, a ship manager from some manor, just like him.
Across all of Zhejiang, there were famous clans such as the Shanyin Zhu Clan, Yuyao Sun Clan, Yinxian Tu Clan, and others, among which the Shanyin Zhu Clan wielded the greatest power and also engaged in private ship trade.
However, the Zhu Clan and Lin Clan were both in Zhejiang, too distant to reach Fujian-Guangdong, so they likely lacked the ability to build a fortress of such scale on Nan’ao Island.
Speaking of Fujian-Guangdong, the most powerful was undoubtedly… the Fuqing Ye Clan.
Among the Ye Clan, the most renowned was the former Chief Grand Secretary, also the sole Grand Secretary—Ye Xiangao.
Only he had the ability to build a fortified residence of such scale on Nan’ao Island.
The Grand Chancellor had a longstanding reputation for integrity, yet unexpectedly he had done quite a few bad things behind the scenes—truly, all crows under heaven are the same shade of black.
While lost in wild thoughts, Lin Qian set down the map and softly said, “Draw it more detailed.”
“Ah?”
Xie Er gaped in surprise. Seeing Lin Qian’s demeanor, it seemed he had no intention of returning the map, so Xie Er had no choice but to return to the table and continue drawing.
One hour later, the new map was finished.
Lin Qian took it, pointed out differences in several places between this and the previous maps, and told Xie Er to draw another one.
……
By the time the morning sun filtered through the glass into the captain’s cabin, Xie Er was utterly exhausted from drawing.
He could no longer remember the fabrications he had painstakingly added to the first map.
The fifth map showed clear differences from the previous four: the paths of several back alleys had changed, and the labels on several residences had been altered.
Bai Langzai handed the map to Lin Qian.
Xie Er secretly thought to himself nonstop.
This King of Hell had gone all night without sleep and should be mentally fatigued by now. Those changes were extremely subtle; surely they would go unnoticed.
Unexpectedly, Lin Qian took the map, glanced at it once, set it down with a cold snort, and said, “You’re quite loyal.”
“I didn’t… ah—” Xie Er’s words cut off halfway as excruciating pain shot through his finger; he swallowed the rest and could only scream.
Lin Qian glanced at Bai Langzai.
Bai Langzai explained, “Broke his left thumb—won’t affect drawing.”
Lin Qian then said to Xie Er, “When going to the manor, you must come along. If anything doesn’t match what you drew, it’s one knife immediately.”
Xie Er clutched his left hand, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and endured the pain to say, “This little one understands…”
“Draw.” Bai Langzai fetched another sheet of paper and placed it before Xie Er.
At that moment, a crew member knocked and entered: “Helmsman, breakfast has arrived, along with a letter.”
The crew member glanced at Xie Er, unsure where to set the breakfast.
Lin Qian said to Bai Langzai, “Take him to the cargo hold, light a candle. Finish one sheet and give it to me.”
Bai Langzai assented and took Xie Er away.
The crew member set the breakfast on the round table, then handed the letter to Lin Qian: “Helmsman, this came early this morning from the Shen’ao side.”
Lin Qian knew before even opening it that this was the Report of Merit written by Huang Hetai.
After opening and reading it through, it was indeed so. Huang Hetai, as a Fifth Rank Garrison Commander, showed some competence; the Report of Merit was watertight.
Time, place, people, battle details, captives’ confessions, soldiers’ testimonies—all were vivid and convincing.
Physical evidence included not only Li Kuiqi’s head but also the heads of those one hundred pirates.
Lin Qian took up his pen and changed the battle time on Huang Hetai’s Report of Merit to the previous night, thus covering the ship robbery disguised as Li Kuiqi.
Salted heads couldn’t stay fresh forever; reusing Li Kuiqi’s identity would reveal flaws on the heads.
But after handing over Li Kuiqi, there were still Zhang Kuiqi and Wang Kuiqi at sea. Sea bandits abounded on the Fujian-Guangdong waters—no shortage of scapegoats.
Inside the envelope, besides the Report of Merit, there was also a private letter from Huang Hetai to the Vice General.
Li Kuiqi had sent protection money to the Vice General every month, after all; with his inexplicable death, Huang Hetai needed to explain separately.
The letter used the tired excuse of sea bandit infighting, with no flaws.
Lin Qian repacked the Report of Merit and private letter into the envelope and had it sent back to Huang Hetai.
“Hold on.”
The crew member was about to open the door and leave when Lin Qian called him back: “Tell the boatswain to also send that ogre-head saber to Shen’ao Port.”
