"What are you doing here?" the proprietress of Drunken Red Pavilion asked as she opened the door upon hearing the knocking, only to see a large group of bailiffs from the Prefect's yamen surrounding the entrance.
Tian You stepped out from behind the bailiffs and looked at the proprietress. "Matriarch, someone reported that you are harboring someone. We need to search."
"Someone reported?" The proprietress scoffed upon hearing this. She seemed accustomed to such matters, placing her hands on her hips in a defiant manner. "Magistrate Tian, you are the father and mother official of Lin Prefecture. Lin Prefecture has improved slightly these past few years, and we common folk are naturally grateful and respectful of you.
But..."
As she spoke, her eyes darted around, and she said sarcastically, "You've searched my establishment no less than three times in the past three years, and each time you've come up empty-handed. Are you sure you still want to search now?"
"Yes!" Tian You nodded.
The proprietress rolled her eyes. "Magistrate Tian, isn't this a bit of intentional bullying? While we prostitutes are considered low-class, it doesn't mean we can be bullied like this.
Every time someone reports to the authorities, you come here to make a fuss. Those who know understand that my establishment is clean, but those who don't might think this is a shady inn!"
"Isn't it a shady inn?" As soon as the proprietress finished speaking, a clear voice rang out from behind Tian You.
At the same time, the bailiffs surrounding Drunken Red Pavilion simultaneously moved aside, creating a path.
The proprietress looked at a woman standing in the center of the crowd, dressed in plain, close-fitting attire. Her sallow eyes narrowed.
She felt like she had seen this woman somewhere before, yet she was certain this was the first time she had seen her face.
"What, Matriarch, you don't recognize me?" Zhong Li smiled and walked up to the proprietress.
She pulled out a mask from her bosom and dangled it in the air.
The proprietress's eyes widened in disbelief. "It's... it's you..."
"Yes, it's the 'easy mark' you thought you knew." Zhong Li's lips curved into a smile.
The proprietress, merely a shopkeeper, was utterly bewildered by Zhong Li's actions, like a monk trying to understand a riddle.
"You're here to..."
"Of course, I'm here to find the person!" Zhong Li's reply was casual, her true emotions unreadable to others.
Upon hearing this, the proprietress rolled her eyes at Zhong Li. "Oh, little girl, I can see you've gotten quite capable to bring government officials to search my Drunken Red Pavilion! But I'm not afraid to tell you, even if the King of Heaven himself came, my answer would be the same... the person you're looking for isn't here.
The person is missing, and that's just your word. Who do you think you are... huh?"
Before the proprietress could even finish her sentence, Zhong Li had already pulled out her waist token and held it up to her face.
"Do you recognize this?" Zhong Li asked.
The proprietress's eyes darted around, and she obediently nodded.
"Matriarch," Zhong Li said, moving closer to the proprietress, "I'm not afraid to tell you, the person who disappeared with me from this establishment earlier is the heir of Prince Xian's manor, and also a Judicial Inspector of the Judicial Inspection Office. We were ordered to investigate certain matters. It is confirmed that he disappeared from your establishment, so do you think your sophistry will work on me?"
The proprietress thought her ears were playing tricks on her and asked with wide, astonished eyes, "What did you say? That man..."
"As expected, you admit the heir was here," Zhong Li cut off the proprietress.
The proprietress knew she had misspoke and, scared, sat down on the ground with a thud.
"Search!" Seeing this, Tian You waved his hand at the bailiffs behind him.
Concurrently, over a dozen bailiffs swarmed into Drunken Red Pavilion like bees.
"Matriarch, get up quickly!" The maidservant, who had been following the proprietress, helped her up from the ground.
The proprietress was old, and after falling, she had suffered a slight fracture in her buttocks. She moved with difficulty, her face a mask of complex emotions.
"Matriarch, what should we do? Should we just confess, then maybe..." The maidservant, following the proprietress, watched nervously as the bailiffs shuttled back and forth within Drunken Red Pavilion and couldn't help but ask worriedly.
The proprietress waved her hand. "No, we can't! How many times has Magistrate Tian come here? Has he ever found anyone? You can't be this scared just because a high-ranking official has arrived in Jincheng."
"But..."
"Hmph!" After all, experience was the best teacher. The proprietress put on a calm expression. "Such a hidden place, if I hadn't told you, even you, who has been with me at Drunken Red Pavilion for years, wouldn't know. I don't believe a young girl like her can see through the intricacies of this place.
Don't worry, as long as there's no concrete evidence, we'll stick to our story and I won't admit to anything I just said. It's just a Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. She won't do anything to us."
Zhong Li stood in the center of Drunken Red Pavilion, watching the bailiffs pass by her. Her gaze swept over a table not far away, the one she had sat at earlier. It was now empty, indicating that the proprietress knew how to destroy evidence.
"My lady!"
A bailiff, having finished his search of his designated area, hurried over to Zhong Li.
"What did you find?"
"The second floor, north side, nothing!"
Zhong Li nodded and then shifted her gaze to another bailiff following him.
"My lady, the first floor, north side, nothing."
"The kitchen, nothing!"
"The backyard, nothing!"
"The second floor, west side, nothing!"
...
In less than the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep, everyone returned. The results they brought back indicated that apart from the proprietress's subordinates, Lu Wuxie was nowhere to be found in the entire Drunken Red Pavilion.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li calmly glanced at the proprietress behind her.
Seeing her composed and self-assured demeanor,
She smiled and asked, "Where is the swill bucket?"
As soon as Zhong Li finished speaking, the proprietress's face paled slightly.
"Not talking?" She raised an eyebrow and walked towards a small wooden bucket in the corner.
Zhong Li lifted the lid of the bucket, and a pungent smell of swill immediately assailed her.
Sometimes she found it strange that food, while appetizing in appearance, smell, and taste on a table, would emit such a nauseating odor when mixed together.
She casually picked up a pair of chopsticks from a nearby table and stirred the contents. Confirming it was the same food she had eaten earlier that day, she then looked at the proprietress and said, "Matriarch, what do you think is in here?"
The proprietress swallowed.
Zhong Li scooped some swill into a small bowl from the table and walked over to the proprietress. "Will you tell me the truth, or will you drink this? I'll diagnose what happens after you drink it."
As she spoke, she brought the bowl of swill close to the proprietress's face.
"Ugh!" The proprietress glanced at some scattered melon seeds floating in the bowl, and another pungent odor wafted into her nostrils. Her stomach churned involuntarily.
Zhong Li raised her eyebrows and stared at her.
"This old servant will not..."
"Magistrate Tian, please give this to her..."
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Upon hearing this, the proprietress quickly changed her tune. "A little bit of sleeping potion was added!"
As she spoke, she gestured with her hands.
Hearing the proprietress's words, Zhong Li's lips curved. "So you admit your establishment has issues?"
The proprietress swallowed and remained silent, knowing that the more she spoke, the more mistakes she would make.
Zhong Li, not annoyed, placed the bowl of swill on the table. She glanced at the room where Lu Wuxie had disappeared and then turned back to the proprietress. "Do you still want to be stubborn? Fine! Matriarch, if I find evidence of the heir's disappearance, you should know that your head might not be safe!"
With that, she strode quickly towards the room.