Suspicious Peddler

"Battalion Commander Xiao, have you remembered something else?"

Seeing Xiao Qiuyue return to his residence with another Imperial Guard officer, Magistrate Lu clasped his hands in surprise and asked.

Xiao Qiuyue said, "We want to ask whether any strangers have visited your residence recently."

Magistrate Lu pondered. "Over the past month, no strangers have come to my humble home. Only a few relatives and friends have occasionally stopped by. Might what Battalion Commander Xiao is asking be related to the Flower Thief?"

Xiao Qiuyue nodded slightly. "We suspect the Flower Thief may have surveyed your residence beforehand, or perhaps seen your daughter. Lord Lu, have your daughter and her maidservants come out. This officer wishes to question them."

Magistrate Lu sighed, his face troubled. "My daughter was violated by that Lecherous Thief. She is in such anguish that she wishes she were dead, weeping all day long. I fear she will not be willing to meet anyone. I hope you will forgive her, my lady."

With that, he clasped his hands toward Xiao Qiuyue.

As a woman herself, Xiao Qiuyue naturally understood Miss Lu's feelings at this moment.

So she nodded slightly. "Then have her personal maidservants come over."

Magistrate Lu instructed a servant to summon his daughter's two personal maidservants.

Before long, two maidservants of sixteen or seventeen arrived in the main hall with sorrowful faces. Clearly, they too grieved over their young mistress's tragic ordeal.

Magistrate Lu said to the two maidservants, "This is Battalion Commander Xiao of the Imperial Guard. Whatever she asks, answer truthfully."

"Greetings, Battalion Commander Xiao!"

The two maidservants hurriedly curtsied to Xiao Qiuyue.

Xiao Qiuyue asked, "Has your young mistress met any unfamiliar men these past few days?"

The two maidservants looked at each other, then both shook their heads.

One maidservant said, "Our young mistress rarely leaves the residence. These past few days, she has stayed inside doing needlework and has not gone anywhere."

Huang Shaojie interjected from the side, "Think carefully. Have any strangers come to the residence these past few days? Or have any peddlers been hawking goods outside?"

Upon hearing Huang Shaojie's question, the two maidservants thought for a moment, then both nodded at once.

"A peddler really did come the day before yesterday. One end of his load carried rouge, powder, and such things, while the other carried pineapples and other fruit."

"That's right. That peddler was shaking his rattle drum and calling out with great vigor. When our young mistress heard him, she took the two of us out to buy some rouge and two jin of pineapples."

Hearing the two maidservants' words, Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue could not help exchanging glances. Joy rose in both their hearts.

Xiao Qiuyue asked, "Do you still remember what that peddler looked like?"

The two maidservants thought for a while before speaking in turn.

"Mm, he was dark and thin, probably around thirty or forty."

"He was very short, not even as tall as me. His face was covered in pockmarks, and he looked quite ugly. But he spoke pleasantly enough, constantly praising our young mistress for being beautiful."

Xiao Qiuyue looked at that maidservant and estimated her to be around six chi seven or eight cun tall. Today, Huang Shaojie had deduced from the footprints that the Lecherous Thief was likely under seven chi tall. This fit Huang Shaojie's inference quite well.

It seemed highly likely that this peddler was the Flower Thief.

Xiao Qiuyue then asked for other information about the peddler, but the two maidservants could not provide any.

Xiao Qiuyue then left Lu Residence with Huang Shaojie.

The two visited the residences of several other victims.

After questioning them, they found the clues to be consistent. One or two days before each incident, a dark, short peddler had appeared. These young ladies had also gone outside with their maidservants to buy things from him.

They returned to the Imperial Guard office.

"Huang Shaojie, your guess was indeed correct. That peddler must have been the Flower Thief in disguise, coming to scout the place."

Xiao Qiuyue praised Huang Shaojie with delight written all over her face.

"You flatter me, Battalion Commander Xiao." Huang Shaojie clasped his hands and asked, "My lady, how do you plan to catch this peddler now?"

Xiao Qiuyue stood with her hands behind her back and pondered for a moment. "Immediately gather all the brothers and have them ask every daughter of wealthy and official families in Suzhou City whether they have encountered that dark, short peddler hawking goods outside their residences these past two days."

"If any beautiful young lady has encountered that peddler within these three days, she will be our key protection target tonight!"

After more than fifty Imperial Guards spent an afternoon investigating, they confirmed that sixteen young ladies had seen that dark, short peddler within the past three days.

After Xiao Qiuyue and Huang Shaojie screened them, three young ladies of exceptional beauty were listed as key protection targets.

At the end of duty in the late afternoon, Xiao Qiuyue gathered everyone and issued her orders.

"Starting tonight, we will lie in wait for the Flower Picking Thief. No one is permitted to go home."

"Company Commander Li, take your squad of officers to Steward Zhao's residence at the rice shop in the west of the city. You will be responsible for protecting Miss Zhao. The moment Flower Urging Gentleman appears, arrest him."

"As ordered."

"Company Commander Lu, take your squad of officers to County Lieutenant Zhang's residence and lie in wait. If the Flower Thief appears, you must capture him."

"Yes, my lady."

"Company Commander Zhu, take your squad of officers to Shopkeeper He's residence at Splendid Garments Cloth Shop. You will be responsible for protecting Miss He. If the Flower Thief appears, make certain to take him down."

"Yes, my lady."

A Company Commander had around seventeen or eighteen officers under him, whose martial cultivation generally ranged from the third to sixth level of the Acquired Realm.

Most Company Commanders had cultivation at the peak of the Acquired Realm, or at the first or second level of the Innate Realm.

With so many people lying in wait to capture the Flower Thief, there should be no great difficulty unless the Flower Thief's martial arts were exceptionally high.

Huang Shaojie was under Zhu Shi's command and had assumed that he would follow Zhu Shi to He Residence tonight to lie in wait. But Xiao Qiuyue glanced at him and said again,

"Huang Shaojie."

"This subordinate is here." Huang Shaojie stepped forward with clasped hands.

Xiao Qiuyue said, "Tonight, you will patrol these three locations with this Battalion Commander. Whichever place raises the alarm, we will immediately go there to provide support."

"As ordered!" Huang Shaojie clasped his hands.

The nearest of the three residences were one or two li apart, while the farthest were four or five li apart. If someone beat a gong and shouted at night, they could certainly be heard.

With Huang Shaojie's Lightness Skill, he needed only a minute to cover four or five li. If he remained in the middle, he could reach any of the residences even faster.

A night passed, yet the Flower Picking Thief did not appear.

Xiao Qiuyue told everyone to go home and sleep during the day, then continue lying in wait at night.

They kept watch for three more days in a row, but the Flower Thief still did not appear.

On the night of the fifth day, after the third watch.

A black shadow silently leaped into He Residence.

The shadow avoided several night-patrolling servants and reached the window of the west wing in the rear courtyard of He Residence. Just as he was about to take out a bamboo tube and blow sleeping smoke into the room, the shadow suddenly sensed that something was wrong and sprang up to flee.

"Bold Lecherous Thief, where do you think you're running!"

Zhu Shi shouted and sprang out from behind an ornamental rock, raising his blade to slash at the black-clad, masked man.

More than a dozen other officers rushed out from the darkness with blades and spears, surrounding and attacking the black-clad, masked man.

One officer carrying a bronze gong struck it hard and shouted:

"The Flower Thief has appeared! Hurry to He Residence and capture the Flower Thief!"