Chapter 1188 Insider
The man and woman in the courtyard outside the window probably didn't expect that there was actually someone in this unlit room, and they were leaning against the window, eavesdropping on their conversation with only a wall separating them. Pan Yan held his breath and stood quietly against the wall, preventing people outside the room from noticing his presence. Although he is not directly under the Haihan Army, since he is working for Haihan now, he must figure it out when encountering such a thing. What's more, he was also involved in this operation, and he knew a little bit about the inside story of the Tongsheng Pier fire case. When he heard it, he knew that the conversation between the two people outside was probably not fabricated at will. If someone hadn't deliberately set up a trap to provoke... If you take the bait yourself, then someone really discovered something strange in the fire case.
While listening to the conversation outside, Pan Yan made secret calculations in his mind. He felt that the possibility of his identity being exposed was very slim. He had only arrived in Hangzhou yesterday. The number of people in the city who knew his true identity could be counted on one hand, and these People's loyalty to Haihan must be much higher than that of him, and there is no reason to betray him.
As for the other possibility, Pan Yan thinks it is more likely to occur. Although he was not at Tongsheng Wharf that day, he could still imagine how many people would be walking around this famous trading wharf outside Hangzhou throughout the day. Some of them had contact with Haihan or noticed Haihan. It’s not surprising that the fleet has some minor vulnerabilities. Although the action plan planned by the military was considered thorough, it was not seamless. If it were not for the good rhythm of public opinion, coupled with the huge pressure exerted by the Haihan army on the city, the government might have been able to see through Haihan if they continued to investigate slowly. Han's game on this one.
Although the two parties to the conflict have reached a tacit agreement and announced reconciliation, the Zhejiang government has suffered such a big loss, and this tone will definitely not be relieved for a while. If they find out the truth about the fire case, the situation may be new. repeatedly. Although Pan Yan was a non-staff member of the Haihan Army, he also knew that his superiors would definitely not allow such an "unexpected situation" to happen. Since the woman claimed to have another source of information, Pan Yan was secretly thinking about how to confirm her identity, and then follow the clues to find the witness she said.
However, the man outside the window seemed to be thinking faster than Pan Yan. After hearing him sneer several times, he said: "You think I can't find that person if you don't tell me? Just ask your boss to tell you List the patrons in the past two months and see who works at the dock. I’m sure you’ll find the right one!”
The woman did not accept the deception, but persisted: "Do you think that everyone here has their real names and report their net worth to the boss? Then just go and give it a try!"
The man continued to threaten: "Even if your boss doesn't know the person's name, there will eventually be clues. It's just a matter of spending more time. When I find the person, you won't even get a penny!"
The woman was silent for a long time before saying: "Then I will lose another twenty taels."
"One hundred and fifty taels, I don't want to hear the news from you even for a penny more." The man immediately counterattacked: "But if you give me false news, you will definitely spend the rest of your life in prison!"
"Okay, you bring me the money, and I'll tell you the name of the person. If it's false news, you can go find the person and ask him." The woman finally chose to compromise and accept the other party's offer.
The man responded: "I don't have that much cash around me. I'll come back to you tomorrow."
The two were just discussing the price when a voice called from a distance: "Cui'e, Cui'e, where is he? Come out to pick up the guests soon!"
The woman said anxiously: "Come and call me, that's settled. Let's talk about it when we meet tomorrow!"
After Pan Yan heard the two people walking away, he slowly opened the window and looked outside. He saw that there was no one outside the window, but he was sure that the conversation he just heard was not an auditory hallucination, but an auditory hallucination. It's true. A gust of cold wind poured in from the gap in the window, making Pan Yan, who was only wearing a close-fitting singlet, shiver. Suddenly the lights in the room came on. It turned out that the little girl Xiuzhu had woken up, got out of bed, took tools and lit the candles.
Pan Yan closed the window and returned to the table to sit down. Xiuzhu had already taken his cotton robe and put it on his shoulders from behind: "Master, wear more clothes. It's cold and cold, so don't be greedy for the cold."
Pan Yan said with a smile: "I'm from the north. It's much colder than Hangzhou, so it doesn't matter if you wear less clothes."
Xiuzhu said again: "These dishes are already cold. Do you need to ask someone to take them to the kitchen to heat them up?"
Pan Yanxin said that the service at this Jiangnan brothel is more considerate. In the past, when visiting brothels in Dengzhou, there would be no one to care about your food, drink, and warmth. Even if you just charge money for a show, this service can make you more comfortable. However, all he cared about was the conversation he just heard, and he was not in the mood to enjoy this gentle countryside anymore. He immediately took her hand and said, "No, please sit down. I have something to ask you."
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After Xiuzhu sat down, Pan Yan asked: "Did you know that there is a girl named Cui'e in Bichun Garden?"
Xiuzhu's face changed slightly and said: "It turns out that the master is here to find Cui'e. Could it be that she had a patron just now, so she ordered the little girl to serve her?"
Pan Yan quickly denied: "There is no such thing. It's just that the friend who introduced me here recognized her and asked me to ask her how she is doing recently."
Xiuzhu's face softened slightly and she said: "This Miss Cui'e usually has a bad temper... I heard that she has been making noises recently about wanting to redeem herself from the garden and leave. I don't know if she is with a big customer. Could it be that she is a friend of Mr. Pan? ”
Pan Yan thought to himself, I also really want to know who the friend who wanted to pay her to redeem her life was, but unfortunately I could only eavesdrop through the window and could not see the true face of Lushan. Pan Yan shook his head and said: "It is not my friend who wants to redeem his life, but my friend asked me to find out if this girl Cui'e has any big benefactors?"
"Well... the little girl doesn't know very well." Xiuzhu paused for a moment and then said: "After all, it's not good to talk about other people's gossip behind their backs."
Pan Yan is also an old man in the world. Hearing the other party's tone, he naturally knew that she had something to repay. He immediately took out an ingot of five taels of silver and put it on the table in front of her: "With some kindness, Miss Xiuzhu will take it to buy some rouge." Gouache.”
Xiuzhu flicked her little hand on the table and put away the ingot of silver. Then she continued: "Many of Cui'e's patrons are people from the yamen, so the boss is more polite to her. If someone else dares to If he openly said that he wanted to redeem himself and leave, he would have had his legs broken and thrown into a mass grave outside the city.”
"People from the Yamen?" Pan Yan asked subconsciously, secretly matching this news with the identity of the man who just talked to Cui'e outside.
"She's not a big shot. How could a real big shot show up here?" Xiuzhu's tone was obviously sour: "She only relies on her acquaintance with a few small officials such as catchers and lieutenants to be so unscrupulous." Pan Yan asked a few more questions, but Xiuzhu couldn't give any specific information. Maybe she didn't want to take risks because of this small amount of money. After all, she was naming names here, and maybe one day the real owner would hear the news and come to her door. Here, how can she, a brothel girl with no basic background, be able to fight against someone from the government.
After accidentally getting such important information, Pan Yan had no intention of staying here anymore, so he packed up and left. Xiuzhu was obviously a little disappointed. Originally, the guest had agreed to stay here for the night, but she didn't expect that he changed his mind and left just after nightfall. However, out of professionalism, he didn't show it too obviously and still followed the rules and sent Pan Yan out of the door.
Pan Yan came out and saw that there were many soft sedans waiting for business at the door. As soon as he waved, a sedan bearer came over to solicit business. He got on the soft sedan chair and without delay, ordered the bearers to rush back to Fengsheng Mihang.
Lin Si was obviously a little surprised when he saw him coming back: "Why did Mr. Pan come back so early? Didn't you say you wanted to spend the night outside?"
Pan Yan pulled Lin Si towards the backyard: "Something happened, let's talk about it after we get inside!"
Although Lin Si didn't know what he meant, seeing Pan Yan's serious face and not looking like he was joking, he immediately entered the study room in the backyard with him. Pan Yan pushed Lin Si into the study, looked outside and saw that no one was around, then closed the study door with his backhand, and said anxiously: "Fortunately, I went to the brothel today, otherwise something big might have happened!"
Lin Siqi asked: "Why does it sound like something is wrong with Mr. Pan's words?"
Pan Yan waved his hand and said: "Don't find fault with my words first. Listen to what I have to say. Something strange happened to the Bichun Garden you introduced me to today!"
Pan Yan immediately recounted what he saw and heard in Bichun Garden. The more Lin Si listened, the more surprised he became. His mission during the operation was to spread all kinds of unfavorable remarks about the government in Hangzhou. Regarding the matter Of course we know the truth. Unexpectedly, after the conflict was declared over, there were still people in the government investigating the truth of the case. If someone really gets the real evidence of the fire case, it may indeed cause Haihan a lot of trouble.
"Boss Lin, you are familiar with the ground in Hangzhou. You have to come up with an idea on how to deal with this matter!" Pan Yan said eagerly: "If the time drags on for too long, I'm afraid things will go wrong. Changed.”
Lin Si hurriedly responded: "Master Pan, don't panic. Even big things have their own solutions. You and I can't handle this matter. I'll notify the Security Department immediately and ask them to send someone over."
Lin Si is actually currently a non-staff member under the command of the Ministry of Security. However, because his background is a bit special, the inspection period is relatively long, and he has not yet been officially included in the establishment of the Ministry of Security. But Lin Si is very clear about the daily operation methods and responsibilities of the Security Department. The situation Pan Yan just mentioned has obviously threatened Haihan's safety and needs someone with higher authority to deal with it.
Gong Shiqi, the former head of the field department of the Ministry of Security in Zhejiang, had already gone north to Shandong with Hao Wanqing. His replacement was Lin Nan, who was transferred from Hainan. This dear friend is also a veteran of the Ministry of Security. In the early years, he participated in the detection of major cases such as the Danzhou Rebellion Case and the Sanya Anti-Espionage Case. He also has many successful experiences in commanding field team operations. He is deeply trusted by the Executive Committee. One of the naturalized intelligence officers. After Gong Shiqi left Zhejiang, Lin Nan was stationed in Hangzhou, commanding the collection and compilation of various local military and political intelligence. He had also participated in the planning of Haihan's self-directed and self-acted plan.
The Lin brothers are also distantly related to Lin Nan through their surnames, so they have been highly regarded by the Ministry of Security recently. For example, the Fengsheng Rice Store that Lin Si is responsible for is Haihan's office on the bright side of Hangzhou City. Lin Nan, on the other hand, was lurking in the dark, maintaining and directing another invisible intelligence system to keep it running.
What Pan Yan just said can no longer be handled by Lin Si based on his authority. He must first report it to Lin Nan, his direct boss in the local area. Lin Si immediately went to invite Lin Nan to come over and discuss how to handle the matter face to face.
Lin Nan came very quickly and rushed over. After entering the study, he asked directly: "What makes you so anxious that you actually sent me a red alert?"
"Director Lin, the thing is like this. When Mr. Pan was having fun outside today, he accidentally heard a piece of news related to us..." Lin Si hurriedly pulled Pan Yan and relayed what he saw to Lin Nan. Again.
Lin Nan frowned after hearing this. He seemed to be very troubled by the news: "Is there such a thing? It needs to be dealt with quickly."
Lin Si came up with an idea: "I believe that the top priority is to cut off the channels for news dissemination as soon as possible to avoid further spread. Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, if this news spreads, it may not be detrimental to me, Haihan."
Pan Yan also responded: "I am not talented, but I am willing to work for Director Lin on this matter."
"Everyone is working for the executive committee, so there is no need to make such a clear distinction." Lin Nan said lightly, and would not respond to Pan Yan's words without knowing what he was saying.
Pan Yan also realized that he had made a mistake and quickly claimed that he was right.
"Pan Yan, as you just said, this girl named Cui'e is the one who holds key information. You can find clues from her both online and offline. Then our countermeasures will start from her. !" Lin Nan quickly made up his mind and announced his decision to the other two.
Pan Yan said: "Sure enough, I have a good idea, but I don't know how Director Lin plans to do it?"
Lin Nan said: "If we wait until tomorrow, this girl will probably take the money and run away. I can't wait any longer, so let's do it tonight!"
"So fast?" Pan Yan couldn't help but exclaimed. He originally thought that when Lin Nan came, he would first try to verify whether what he said was true, and then slowly plan his actions. During this period, he might have to apply to Zhoushan Island and get permission before taking the next step. But I didn't expect that Lin Nan was a down-to-earth activist. He felt that the situation was critical and had no time to follow the rules step by step. He immediately decided to take action.
(End of chapter)