Chapter Nineteenth: Investigating the Zhou Residence

  The next day, the whole city was plastered with search warrants for counter-revolutionaries. People gathered around the notices, discussing them in hushed tones. Wang Xiancheng led his constables to search house by house, turning the entire county upside down... The officials and soldiers were busy for half a day but found nothing.

  County Magistrate Wang arrived at the gate of the Zhou residence with his men, demanding to enter and search. However, they were blocked by the household guards. The guards rushed back to report to Master Zhou Shi-ming. Upon hearing this, Zhou Shi-ming was shocked. Could it be that the government had discovered what happened that night? Were they going to raid the Zhou residence and arrest people? What should he do now? Zhou Shi-ming felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Whether good fortune or bad, trouble could not be avoided. He decided to go to the front gate to take a look.

  Only the house servants and the county magistrate's attendants stood facing each other, as if they were about to fight. Zhou Shiming hastily stepped forward, bowed his hands and said: "I didn't know that County Magistrate had arrived, I apologize for not welcoming you from afar! Today, County Magistrate has brought so many people to our humble abode, what instructions do you have?"

  Seeing Master Zhou appear, Wang Xianchen stepped forward and clasped his fists: "Master Zhou, today I have official business to attend to and need to search the mansion, which may cause some disturbance. Please forgive me!"

  "Oh? I don't know what official business you have, sir. Would you please tell an old man?" Zhou Shiming asked calmly, trying his best to conceal the unease in his heart.

  "Didn't Master Zhou see the wanted posters all over town?" Magistrate Wang countered.

  "Wanted notice? I've been staying at home and keeping a low profile these past few days, so I really didn't know about this. Can you tell me, Lord Wang?" Zhou Shiming still had a smile on his face.

  "It's like this, a few days ago several rebels snuck into the county town and hid, coming out at night to cause trouble. Now the whole city is on high alert, notices have been posted everywhere, and we need to search every household. We've been searching all along the way and arrived here, hoping that Master Zhou won't make things difficult for me and my men."

  They are searching for rebels, not to raid the Zhou residence? That means they haven't discovered what happened that night yet. As long as it's not because of that night's events, thank goodness! Thinking this, Zhou Shiming felt a lot more at ease. "Since that's the case, Lord Wang please proceed. Although my Zhou family isn't some wealthy and influential clan, we're also not just any ordinary small household, with many family members; I hope you won't disrupt their normal lives."

  "This official has done his best." After finishing speaking, he waved his hand and the officers and soldiers rushed in...

  At this time, Leng Jiangbo happened to be walking by the door with a few people, and he greeted County Cheng and Zhou Shiming from afar, "What are you two gentlemen doing?"

  Leng Jiangbo arrived, and Wang Xiancheng hurriedly said: "You've come at just the right time, we have official business to attend to and need to disturb the Zhou residence. How about this, you accompany me inside and help supervise my subordinates, lest they be too rough and disturb the household." He turned to Zhou Shiming, "What do you think?"

  "As long as he is willing, I have no opinion," said Zhou Shiming.

  "It's not good, you see... " Leng Jiangbo put on a difficult expression.

  "What's wrong with that? You're Brother Zhou's brother, you go, and Master Zhou will be at ease!" said County Magistrate Wang.

  "It's better to obey than to show respect." Leng Jiangbo said as he followed others into the Zhou Mansion.

  As they entered the main courtyard, dozens of servants and attendants were standing in the middle of the yard. County Magistrate Wang first ordered them to take off their hats and then inspected each one individually, but didn't find anyone suspicious. Of course, he wouldn't have found anyone suspicious because he hadn't come to the mansion to look for people in the first place. He then assigned ten yamen runners to pretend to keep watch over them, not allowing them to move around. The search of the various rooms began, and no matter whether it was the attic, cellar, or wardrobe, everything was thoroughly searched, but no one was found! On either side of the passageway leading to the second courtyard, four yamen runners were left behind, while the rest continued their search. Zhou Shiming's study, guest hall, and main hall were all located here. In the study, Zhou Shiming sat with his steward and two attendants standing beside him, and eight more attendants stood guard outside the door. The study was not very large, and from the doorway, one could see everything clearly - there were no outsiders; the guest hall, main hall, and side rooms also had none. County Magistrate Wang left ten people behind and prepared to proceed to the third courtyard. Zhou Shiming emerged from his study, cleared his throat, and said, "Wait a minute."

  Wang Xiancheng and Leng Jiangbo stopped in their tracks and said: "What instructions do you have?"

  "The three and four courtyards are where the women of our household live, and there are still many things inside. If you bring these yamen runners here and they behave improperly or with dirty hands, I'll have no way to explain it to them!"

  "Master Zhou, don't worry, nothing unexpected will happen. If it does, I'll take responsibility for them. Besides, your junior fellow is supervising, so it's all right." County Magistrate Wang turned his head and told the bailiffs, "Be careful when you go inside, or you might lose your heads." The bailiffs nodded in unison and said, "Yes!"

  They then entered the third courtyard. Upon arriving, they saw that apart from a few male servants, everyone else was female! Although the Zhou residence wasn't an official government office, the compound was still very large! Their search for people was fake, but their search for things was real. County Magistrate Wang led his men in searching all forty or so rooms in the third courtyard, but didn't find any suspicious places, and then let these women return to their rooms, leaving ten older soldiers to guard the courtyard while the rest continued their search further back. They searched through over a dozen courtyards without finding even a shadow of the "thieves". They arrived at the rear garden. The flower pavilion, the pond, the artificial hill, the flower house... nothing was spared. The yamen runners combed through this garden like a fine-toothed comb, searching three times, but still didn't find what they were looking for!

  At this time, Leng Jiangbo walked over and whispered a few words in Wang Xiancheng's ear. Wang Xiancheng nodded and turned to instruct the bailiffs: "Go, search the Ransom Garden on the west side of the mansion."

  As they arrived at the edge of Ransom Garden, County Magistrate Wang looked up and saw that Ransom Garden was like a large castle. The surrounding wall was over 20 feet high and seemed to stretch on forever. The main gate faced east, with a pair of stone lions guarding the tightly closed gate beneath the dark glazed tiles. Above the gate, a bronze plaque bore the two golden characters "Ransom Garden". On either side of the main gate, there were small gates every 15 feet or so, all of which were also tightly closed.

  "Open the garden gate!" ordered Wang Xiancheng.

  The family members were in a difficult situation and said: "The key is in the master's hand."

  "Hurry up and invite Master Zhouzhuang!" ordered County Magistrate Wang.

  "No need to be polite." Just then, Zhou Zhuang and his steward, Liang Xingchu, approached them. "This mansion is our family's ancestral temple, a place where we worship our ancestors. It's a quiet and solemn place, and outsiders are not allowed in."

  "Landlord, the more secluded a place is, the easier it is to hide bad people. Let's go in and search around, and that will also put your mind at ease. That way, both of us can be at peace." County Magistrate Wang was being clever.

  "Master Wang, look at this high wall. How could a bad person get in?" said Zhou Zhuang's master, pointing to the high wall.

  "The landlords have their ways, don't forget that a desperate dog will jump over the wall. It's better to go in and take a look."

  "Alright, I'll be a disobedient descendant then. Seeing Wang Xiancheng insisting on entering, Zhou Shiming had no choice either. 'However, at most ten people can enter. What do you think?'"

  Wang Xiancheng thought for a moment, and then said, "Alright!" He personally selected ten people, including Leng Jiangbo.

  Zhou Shiming opened the garden gate, and everyone followed him into the garden. What caught the attention of Wang Xiancheng and Leng Jiangbo was a courtyard about three or four mu in size. Behind the courtyard stood rows upon rows of identical buildings, each with the same structure. It was puzzling to find that such a large mansion did not have a bright and spacious living room, nor a study, a boudoir, or a garden with small bridges and flowing water. Inside the numerous identical buildings were countless identical rooms, giving people the feeling of being in a large dormitory. What was even more astonishing was that each small room, only thirty square meters in size, had four to six doors, all of which were interconnected. For those familiar with the garden's layout, it was possible to enter the house from any corner and exit through a side door on the outer wall. However, for outsiders, it was like entering a maze. In addition to the numerous interconnected rooms, the walls inside the courtyard were covered in mysterious plum blossom patterns and various ghostly and monstrous designs. They had their mouths open or their teeth bared, with ferocious expressions. The dense patterns connected with each other, covering the entire wall.

  Wang Xiancheng and Leng Jiangbo were like headless flies, running around everywhere, poking here and flipping there... without any gain.

  The north side of the courtyard is a magnificent ancestral hall. The ancestral hall covers an area of more than ten mu. When arriving at the front of the ancestral hall, what you see first are a pair of stone lions squatting in front of the gate, as if guarding the temple. Between the lions are three layers of white marble steps, each layer is over one zhang wide and three zhang long. Climbing up the steps to the main entrance of the ancestral hall, there are four golden characters "Zhou's Ancestral Hall" on top of the gate. In front of the gate stand two giant cypress trees with thick trunks, sturdy and straight. Passing through the gate, you can enter the ancestral hall.

  Upon entering the ancestral hall, the most eye-catching are the three stone tablets on the right wall. In the middle is a courtyard that allows for ventilation and lighting, making it brighter. On both sides are corridors leading to the main hall, each with poetic and picturesque murals, including "Three Stars Drinking Wine", "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Two Dragons Playing with Pearls"... Each piece is full of life and vividly depicted. After passing through the corridor and stone gate, you arrive at the main hall, where there are many ancient-colored murals, two majestic stone pillars standing tall, over 6 meters high, intricately carved from top to bottom, surrounded by auspicious clouds. The left wall also features a plaque with the inscription "Glory to the Ancestors". The entire hall exudes an air of grandeur and majesty. Further ahead lies the rear hall, which also has a courtyard. Inside are many ancestral tablets honoring past generations, while the walls of the hall are adorned with numerous ancient paintings...

  The two of them searched carefully, but didn't find what they needed, and naturally wouldn't be able to find the person he was looking for either. County Magistrate Wang felt that the Garden of Redemption wasn't as mysterious as he had imagined, and since they couldn't find what they wanted, he took the initiative to ask to leave.

  But when they were about to leave, they found that three of the yamen runners were missing. He shouted loudly several times, but no one responded, and he felt puzzled... Master Zhou saw this and asked the steward, Liang Xingchu, to go and take a look. Before long, the steward led the three men out.

  County Magistrate Wang stood up in anger and asked: "Where did you all run off to just now?"

  Three yamen runners were muttering to themselves, all claiming they had lost their way. Wang Xiancheng and Leng Jiangbo felt a sense of incredulity.

  Wang Xiancheng and Leng Jiangbo finished searching Zhou's mansion but didn't find what they needed, so they left...