Discovery of a Spy

"Candied Hawthorn Skewers! Three wen a skewer—tart, sweet, and delicious!"

"Osmanthus Cake! Osmanthus Cake for sale! Ten wen a jin!"

"Nut Cake! Nut Cake for sale! One cut, only three wen!"

"Parrots! Talking parrots! Only three taels of silver for one!"

"Inflatable dolls for sale! Pretty inflatable dolls! Just one hundred wen to chase away your loneliness! What are you still hesitating for?"

On a street somewhere in Suzhou City, traffic streamed past and crowds flowed like a woven tapestry. The scene was bustling with prosperity, and the cries of all kinds of hawkers rang out without end.

Huang Shaojie and Zhang Biao, dressed in Imperial Guard Captain uniforms, strolled along the bluestone-paved street, leisurely patrolling the area.

As they passed the inflatable doll stall, Huang Shaojie could not help casting it a few extra curious glances.

To his surprise, they looked even more lifelike and attractive than the inflatable dolls sold on Taobao in his previous life.

"Sir Officer, would you like an inflatable doll? If you like one, I can give you thirty percent off."

The owner gave Huang Shaojie a lewd, snickering grin as he spoke.

Huang Shaojie rolled his eyes speechlessly, kicked the lowly owner to the ground, and strode off with Zhang Biao.

"Even if you weren't buying, you didn't have to hit me, did you? I was already giving you thirty percent off. Did you want me to give it to you for free?"

Clutching his chest, the owner groaned as he climbed off the ground, muttering under his breath at Huang Shaojie's departing back.

"Parrots! Talking parrots! Take one home, and it'll surely cheer you up!"

"Hey, can your parrot really talk?"

As they passed the parrot stall, Zhang Biao stopped and asked.

The owner cupped his hands respectfully and said with a smile, "Rest assured, Sir Officer. This is a budgerigar. Not only can it talk, it can even cheer people up."

"Oh?"

Zhang Biao was immediately interested. He whistled at the green-feathered parrot in the cage. "Come on, say a couple of words for me."

"Pah! You corrupt officials do nothing but oppress the people and squeeze them dry! Sooner or later, retribution will strike—you'll be blasted by heaven's thunder and die without a good end!"

The green-feathered parrot lifted its head and screeched at Zhang Biao, its tone filled with indignation. It had learned the words with perfect resemblance, vivid down to the smallest detail.

Zhang Biao's nose nearly twisted with rage. With a swish, he drew the saber at his waist and pressed it against the owner's neck, roaring:

"You old bastard, you taught it those words, didn't you?"

The owner's face turned white with fright. He dropped to his knees with a thud and repeatedly kowtowed. "Spare me, Sir Officer! That parrot heard someone else say it—it has nothing to do with this lowly one! I truly never taught that beast to say such things!"

Zhang Biao was about to fly into a rage, but Huang Shaojie stopped him with a smile. "Forget it, forget it. Don't lower yourself to the level of a foul-mouthed bird."

Only then did Zhang Biao let it go and sheathed his saber.

"Thank you for your magnanimity, honorable officers! It is all this lowly one's fault for failing to discipline that beast properly. When I get home, I'll slaughter it."

The owner rose from the ground, wiped away his sweat, and bowed deeply to the two Imperial Guards in apology.

"Help! Help! Someone wants to kill a bird... Hurry and buy this bird!"

The green-feathered parrot shrieked in terror, flapping and thrashing wildly inside the cage. It truly looked frightened out of its wits.

The bird amused Huang Shaojie. He said to the owner, "I'll buy this bird. How much?"

Buying such a clever and amusing bird to tease when he had nothing to do would not be bad.

Besides, he felt this bird was probably no ordinary parrot.

The owner repeatedly waved his hands. "If Sir Officer wants it, I'll give it to you. How could I possibly take your silver?"

Huang Shaojie smiled. "If I take your bird for free, won't it curse me every day from now on as a corrupt official who oppresses the people?"

With that, he took out a five-tael ingot of silver and tossed it to the owner. "Take it. Keep the change."

The owner accepted the silver with endless thanks, then handed the birdcage to Huang Shaojie.

"Thank goodness someone bought me. This bird was scared to death."

The parrot finally stopped thrashing. It patted its belly with its right wing and, imitating a human voice, let out a long sigh of relief.

Huang Shaojie flicked the parrot on the head with a finger. "If that bird mouth of yours spouts nonsense again, believe it or not, I'll braise you in red sauce?"

The parrot immediately toppled over inside the cage and played dead.

Huang Shaojie and Zhang Biao both burst into laughter.

Carrying the birdcage, they continued wandering down the street.

"Owner, give me one cut of Nut Cake."

At a street corner in the distance, a beautiful married woman with black hair coiled atop her head, dressed in a ruqun and carrying a basket, walked up to the Nut Cake stall.

"Right away!"

The owner brought his knife down in a single cut, then weighed it. "Three taels of silver in total."

"What? You want three taels of silver for one piece of Nut Cake? Why don't you just rob me?"

The beautiful woman's mouth fell open in shock. Furious, she pointed at the Nut Cake owner and shouted.

The owner was not tall, but he was built solidly. His face was ugly and fierce.

Holding a gleaming Nut Cake knife in his hand, he snarled at the woman in stiff Chu Language, "I'm an honest businessman. I'm not butchering customers, so don't make it sound so ugly! Hurry up and hand over the silver."

The woman said angrily, "You just said one cut was only three wen. Why are you charging me three taels of silver now, yet claiming you aren't cheating me?"

The Nut Cake owner sneered. "You slut, are your ears failing you? I said one cut was three taels of patterned silver. Who told you it was a few copper wen?"

The beautiful woman was both furious and enraged. She turned to leave, but the Nut Cake owner grabbed her arm.

"You bought my Nut Cake and want to leave without paying? Dream on!"

As he spoke, he directly picked up the piece of Nut Cake and tossed it into the woman's bamboo basket.

"You... if you don't let go, I'll call for help." The woman trembled all over, frightened and furious, as she shouted, "Help! This man is extorting me..."

"Don't listen to this little woman's nonsense, everyone! We clearly agreed on the price. She bought my Nut Cake and wants to leave without paying. You all judge what's right!"

Passersby turned to look, but when they saw the Nut Cake owner gripping a gleaming knife and his vicious expression, who dared meddle in someone else's business?

"Brother Zhang, what's happening over there?"

From afar, Huang Shaojie saw the Nut Cake owner gripping a young woman's hand while she screamed in terror.

"Come on, let's take a look."

The two quickly made their way to the Nut Cake stall.

By then, the Nut Cake owner was reaching into the young woman's clothes for silver. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he also gave her full breasts and round buttocks several hard gropes.

"What are you doing?"

Zhang Biao stepped forward and demanded coldly.

Seeing the two officers arrive, the Nut Cake owner finally withdrew his hand from the young woman's body. Cupping his hands, he forced a smile and said:

"You two honorable officers may not know this, but this woman bought my Nut Cake and tried to leave without paying. This lowly one only held her back to recover the money for the cake."

"That's not what happened." The woman pointed angrily at the Nut Cake owner and rebuked him. "Honorable officers, this black-hearted owner agreed that a piece of Nut Cake would cost only a few wen, but then he demanded three taels of silver from me. When I refused, he forcibly grabbed me and searched several taels of loose silver from my person. He even groped me several times and pinched me so hard it hurt terribly!"

As she spoke, the woman raised her sleeve to cover her face and sobbed in humiliation and anger.