While Qian Long went hungry, the official
administration in Hangzhou was turned upside down.
News of the Emperor's disappearance had not yet leaked
out but the whole city had been searched. All exits
from Hangzhou by both land and water were heavily
guarded, and several thousand "suspected bandits" had
been arrested until every prison was full. The local
officials were very worried, but they also took
advantage of the situation to seize rich businessmen
and merchants and extort large sums of money from
them.
Fu Kangan, Commander Li and Bai Zhen jumped about like
ants on a hot plate, completely at a loss for what to
do.
Early on the morning of the third day, Fu Kangan
called a meeting in the provincial governor's
residence. Glum-faced and powerless, they argued about
whether or not the Empress should be informed. But
none of them dared consider the consequences once such
a report had been sent.
As they sat gripped by indecision, one of the Imperial
Bodyguards, named Rui, ran in, his face deathly pale,
and whispered into Bai Zhen's ear.
Bai Zhen went white and stood up. "How could this
happen?" he demanded. Fu Kangan hurriedly asked what
was wrong.
"The six bodyguards standing guard outside the
Emperor's bed chamber have been killed," Rui said. Far
from being alarmed, Fu was pleased by this news.
"Let us go and see," he said. "This event must be
connected with His Majesty's disappearance. We may
even find some clues."
They hurried to the bed chamber that had been set
aside in the Governor's residence for Qian Long. Six
corpses lay at all angles around the room. Some had
had their eyes gouged out, some had gaping holes in
their chests: All had died horribly.
"These six brothers were good fighters," said Bai
Zhen. "How could they have been finished off without
being able to even utter a sound?"
They stared in open-mouthed horror, incapabale of
deciphering the scene. Bai Zhen examined the corpse.
The assassins had moved so fast, some of the six had
not even had time to draw their swords.
He frowned. "This room is not big enough for a large
number of people to fight in, so at the very most
there cannot have been more than two or three of
them," he said. "Their kung fu must be extraordinary."
"Since they already have the Emperor, why should they
come and kill these bodyguards?" asked Commander Li.
"From the look of it, last night's assassins and the
people who kidnapped the Emperor are not the same
bunch."
"That's right!" exclaimed Fu Kangan. "The assassins
came, planning to kill the Emperor, but found he
wasn't there."
"I would guess that you are correct," said Bai Zhen.
"If the men who killed the bodyguards were from the
Red Flower Society, then the Emperor has fallen into
someone else's hands. But apart from the Red Flower
Society, who else is there whose kung fu is so good?"
The Red Flower Society's fighters were already
difficult enough to handle: the sudden appearance of
yet another group of powerful enemies froze his heart.
Bending over to look at the corpses again, Bai Zhen
noticed that some of the wounds appeared to have been
made by the claws and teeth of a dog, and he hurriedly
asked Commander Li to send someone to find some
hunting hounds.
About two hours later, a soldier appeared with three
hunters and six hounds. Bai Zhen ordered the hunters
to let their charges sniff around the corpses, and
after a second the dogs charged out of the chamber on
the trail of a scent. They ran straight to the lake
and barked madly across the water. After a moment,
they raced off again along the lake shore to where
Qian Long had stepped ashore following the courtesan
contest, then turned towards the city. The streets
were crowded and the scent confused, and the dogs were
forced to slow down, but they continued to head
towards Beautiful Jade's establishment.
There should have been troops on guard outside the
entrance, but none were to be seen, and as they
entered the courtyard they found a dozen corpses lying
on the ground. The ruthless assassins had not left one
bodyguard alive. Some had had their throats ripped out
by dogs, which Bai Zhen thought appeared from the
wounds to be very large animals, possibly a cross
between dogs and wolves such as were bred in the
northwest. Could the assassins have come from there?
The dogs sniffed their way around Beautiful Jade's
chamber several times, then began scratching and
pawing at a certain point on the floor. Bai Zhen
ordered the soldiers to prise up the floor boards with
their swords and underneath they found a stone slab.
"Lift it up!" Bai Zhen ordered urgently. The soldiers
heaved the slab up, revealing a deep hole into which
the dogs immediately leapt. Commander Li and Bai Zhen
looked down at the tunnel glumly. The kidnappers had
avoided the heavy guard by coming and going via the
tunnel. Full of shame, they led their troops down into
the darkness. |
