Mojing, the city that never sleeps
It was late autumn, and the nights were much colder than usual.
Zhang Shutang was afraid of the cold, so charcoal fire was already burning in the room, and he went to bed very early that day.
The servants serving in the room had all left at this moment. She was usually a light sleeper and could be woken up by the slightest sound.
So when Yang Pucai opened the window and stepped into the bedroom, she was already awake.
The lights in the house had been extinguished long ago, and it was pitch black. Only vague human figures could be seen. Therefore, even if Zhang Shutang opened his eyes slightly, he would not be noticed by the visitor.
Looking at the figure, it was a man, and he had already noticed that there was someone on the bed and was looking over here.
She maintained a long and even breathing so that the other person would not notice that she had woken up.
But I was shocked and confused in my heart, wondering why someone would break into my house at night.
At first, Zhang Shutang suspected that the man came for him, but the man did not go into the bedroom again. After thinking that he was not awake, he turned around and just leaned on the window, continuing to look out, trying to avoid the patrolling guards.
Maybe he didn't even know who lived in this room.
The footsteps of the security guards patrolling the yard at night slowly approached and then gradually faded away.
When Zhang Shutang saw the man's back relax a little, she inexplicably felt relieved as well.
This movement made my throat feel a little itchy, and the more I tried to endure it, the more I wanted to cough.
She had already seen someone open the window a crack again and wanted to leave, so she thought she had to endure it for a while.
But her body's reaction was hard to control, and she still coughed.
The man was startled and turned around quickly, walked over, grabbed her shoulders and lifted her up, then put a sharp blade with a cold glow against his neck.
Zhang Shutang didn't have time to say anything because he coughed even more violently out of fear, and even his upper body began to shake.
When her neck was almost touched by the dagger, the person holding her hostage quickly moved the dagger back to prevent her from getting hurt.
"You, who are you?" Zhang Shutang finally calmed down and covered his chest. Only then did he realize that the man was wearing a face mask and only his sharp eyes could be seen.
"Just stay still, I won't do anything to you."
Zhang Shutang knew that if he pretended to be weak at this time, he would be safer, and judging from his appearance just now, he had no intention of hurting anyone.
She said calmly, "I'm sick and can't pose any threat to you. The guards have gone far away now, so please leave."
"Are you Zhang Gusheng's daughter?" The man only realized her difference at this time. This small building was built in a special way. Anyone who could live here must not be an ordinary person.
Zhang Shutang swallowed nervously. He had guessed it, and he certainly couldn't deny it anymore. "Yes, but don't worry, since I haven't seen your face, there's no way I'll give you away."
"You live a life of luxury here, but have you ever thought about how Zhang Gusheng provides you with fine clothes and delicious food?"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Shutang actually realized something.
The man snorted coldly: "Your father, relying on the control of the Furong tablets in the entire city of Mojing, secretly amassed countless wealth and caused countless families to be broken up. Don't tell me that you are completely unaware of this."
Zhang Shutang was speechless for a moment. She really had no way to deny it. Although she had only known about this matter not long ago, she did know about it.
The room fell silent, and her expression grew even more grim.
"How did you know that?"
My father must have been very good at hiding his true identity, which is why no gossip about him has ever spread among the people.
"He killed several homeless children..."
The reason why the large-scale transactions of hibiscus slices in Mojing were not discovered by the government was because Zhang Gusheng often used different methods to transport hibiscus slices.
Although the transactions in Lingxi Ghost Market are not under the jurisdiction of the government, it is full of dangers and not everyone is willing to enter.
Therefore, there are many hidden sales channels in the city, so there needs to be appropriate transportation channels.
Zhang Gusheng tried to use the post station where letters were stored to trade, and asked people to disguise themselves as merchants selling goods, etc.
After a few days of smooth progress, they would change their methods. Even if someone noticed and wanted to investigate again, they would no longer be the same group of people.
As for some time ago, they even thought of using orphans for transportation.
Mojing is a huge city with a large floating population, among whom there are naturally children whose parents have both died and who are left homeless.
They have no fixed place to live, some live in abandoned houses, some beg on the streets, and their lives are miserable.
No one looked after them, and they lived miserably in the city, relying on the mercy of others to survive.
Zhang Gusheng set his sights on them. As long as he provided them with enough food and clothing and asked them to secretly deliver some things, it would not be a problem at all.
He thought that the children didn't know what hibiscus slices were and couldn't recognize them, so he didn't care at all. As long as he could eat his fill and have a good day, that was enough.
Even when walking in the city, no one would pay attention to them.
This was carried out secretly for a few days. Unexpectedly, one boy accidentally dropped the item wrapped in oil paper on the ground during transportation. The paper broke, revealing a little bit of the object inside.
Small pieces of crystalline powder fell to the ground, much like finely crushed sugar.
The boy thought it was candy, and those that fell on the ground were dirty. After he rewrapped the oil paper, he felt it was a waste to leave them scattered on the ground, so he picked them up and put them in his pocket.
It must be a very good thing, otherwise it would be impossible to give it to the steamed buns and ask the friends to transport it together.
When I get back, I can share it with everyone.
The boy thought so and went to deliver the things faster.
The person who was handing over the goods was hiding and didn't find anything wrong with the goods. The boy quickly returned to the shabby house where he lived and shared the goods with another child who lived with him. They divided them equally and everyone had a bite.
It just tastes bitter in the mouth, not sweet at all.
But since we heard it was very expensive, no one wanted to waste it and just ate it with water.
The dosage they consumed was originally more than that of ordinary people, and because they were children, their weight was really mismatched. Soon, they began to foam at the mouth, unable to endure the effects of the medicine, and began to foam at the mouth.
It was at this time that Yang Pu came to the dilapidated house. He lived nearby and knew that there were some homeless children here, so he would occasionally come to help them.
The white cakes in the bag suddenly fell to the ground. He picked up the one closest to him, who was the child who came back with the hibiscus slices.
"We ate dirty food, that's all."
There was some white powder at the corner of the boy's mouth. Yang Pu had seen people smoking Furong tablets before, so he recognized him.
"Where did you get it from?"
"I, we carry food for people in exchange for food. Today, I accidentally spilled some on the ground. I didn't want it to be wasted, so I brought it back for everyone to eat."
Just now, the boy wanted others to eat more, so he secretly reduced his own portion. Now he can still answer Yang Pu's questions normally.
Yang Pu never thought someone would let a child do such a heartless thing. "Who gave it to you?"
"I don't know him. He always told us to go to the stable in the west of the city." The boy was already crying with fear, partly because of the pain in his body and partly because of the miserable condition of his friend, which made him at a loss.
Yang Pu patted his back and said, "Don't be afraid."
He didn't know how long these children had been eating, so he thought of inducing vomiting first. He lifted the boy up and tightened his abdomen from behind. After a few pressures, the child really vomited some watery substance.
He thought it worked, but it was too late.
The boy soon stopped struggling. Yang Pu used his fingers to touch him, but he was no longer breathing.
As for the other children, they also died.
The body in his arms was still warm. He never thought that when they last met, he was still a lively child, how could he have encountered such a thing.
The stables west of the city...
I have to go and see what kind of people have no bottom line and let their children do such a thing.
Yang Pu stayed in the stable for half a day, paying attention to the movements of some ragged children, and he really found a clue.
In a hidden place, one child after another left with something in their arms.
It must be a secret transaction of Hibiscus slices. He didn't know who the person distributing them was, so he planned to follow them secretly.
Without wasting any time, he borrowed paper and pen from the calligraphy and painting shop next door, wrote an anonymous letter of complaint, sealed it, and hired someone to deliver it to the government.
I followed the man again, crossing the street until I stopped somewhere.
It was an alley next to a teahouse. From Yangpu's angle, he could only see half of the silhouette. The man seemed to be explaining something to the person he was meeting with. His tone was respectful and his posture was very humble.
Who could it be?
Yang Pu studied the contact carefully until they separated. After seeing the contact's face clearly, he frowned. He did look familiar. Where had he seen him before?
In a trance, he remembered, isn't this Zhang Li, the housekeeper of Zhang Yuan's maternal family?
I once went to a restaurant and saw him accompanying Zhang Gusheng to discuss business with foreign merchants.
Since Zhang Li was Zhang Gusheng's subordinate, he must have been involved in using children to transport the hibiscus slices.
Yang Pu stood in the shadow by the wall, his profile tense and his fists gradually clenched.
From then on, he decided to avenge those children.
Originally, I went to the dilapidated house today to bring them good news.
He had just returned from out of the city because he had some business to discuss in Lincheng. Although Yang Pu's family was not well off and he could not help so many orphans, he always wanted to help them.
This time, I heard that there was an institution in Lincheng that specialized in helping orphans, so I went there to negotiate with the person in charge. The result was very good. The person in charge agreed and said that I could bring some children over.
Just one step away, and the children will be able to live a normal life like other ordinary children.
Yang Pu made up his mind that no matter what the truth behind it was or what difficulties he would face, he would not let the children die in vain.
The report letter received a response, and officers and soldiers went to search around the stables that day. Unfortunately, they failed to catch the criminal in the act. After alerting the criminal, this channel was abandoned.
He could only start with Zhang Li, and after following him for more than half a month, he was able to confirm that Zhang Li, or Zhang Gusheng behind him, was the one who controlled the lifeblood of the entire Mojing Furong film.
But what he heard was not evidence, and he didn't know where the stocks of Hibiscus slices were in the city, so he set his sights on the Yuanwai Mansion.
If we sneak into Zhang's house, we might find more useful clues.
Yang Pu stayed in the area for a few days, climbed over the wall from the back door, and wanted to cross Fangfei Garden and go to Zhang Gusheng's room to look for clues.
But as soon as he came in, he encountered the night guards. He had no choice but to find a place to hide nearby. Then he happened to enter Zhang Shutang's room.
*
Zhang Shutang felt heartbroken after hearing what he said: "Those children will soon be able to live a good life, right?"
They could have lived in this world for many, many years.
Seeing that she was just a weak woman, Yang Pu was angry, but he couldn't say anything harsh: "You don't have to be so hypocritical."
He felt a chill on his fingertips, and when he looked over, he found that Zhang Shutang's eyes had become moist.
It was quiet, no sobbing sounds were heard, just tears flowing very sadly.
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