Chapter 57: A Horde of Rats

Leaving Huifang Alley, Guan Wei hailed a horse-drawn carriage and took Jiang Xiaodao first to Jiang Chenghai’s residence to drop off the meal for Gong Baonan. After that, they picked up Hu Xiaoyan and headed toward Old Cui’s house.

Jiang Chenghai’s dwelling was not particularly large—a standard, unpretentious single-compound courtyard. People frequently advised him to move to a grander estate since he was hardly short of money, but he always maintained that the larger the house, the more numerous and unruly the people inside, making security difficult to manage. A small courtyard, by contrast, felt solid and secure.

Initially, all the sworn brothers lived under the same roof, but as time passed, inevitable inconveniences arose. Gradually, they moved out one by one, leaving only Fourth Brother and Seventh Brother to accompany Jiang Chenghai, while the rest of the brotherhood established their own quarters.

Guan Wei lived on Great West Pass Avenue, which happened to be closest to Old Cui’s place, so it was only natural for him to escort the newlywed couple.

There is a well-known saying about the capital: "Nine within, seven without, and four in the imperial city." Though Fengtian served merely as the secondary capital of the fallen Qing dynasty, its layout was similarly intriguing.

The inner city and outer fortification of Fengtian Prefecture were shaped like a round outer wall enclosing a square inner city, resembling an ancient copper coin. The outer city featured four watchtowers positioned at the southeast, northwest, and west; the inner city boasted eight gates facing the eight pass avenues.

These "eight gates, eight passes, and four towers" intersected horizontally and vertically to form the "well"-patterned street grid of Fengtian Prefecture.

Traveling from Huifang Alley to Great West Pass Avenue required passing through the Imperial City and exiting the inner city. In the past, venturing out in the dead of night was strictly forbidden, but given the current chaotic times, such rules had long since dissolved, allowing them to pass unhindered.

Relieved from the agony of riding in a jolting donkey cart, Guan Wei was in high spirits. Having consumed a bit of alcohol earlier as well, he grew increasingly talkative. Pulling back the carriage door curtain, he gestured and said to Jiang and Hu, "Look, that's the Imperial City!"

"Did the Emperor used to live in there?" Jiang Xiaodao frowned. "Doesn't look like much!"

Guan Wei sneered and replied, "Right now, it's occupied by the Russians garrisoning troops there. They've thoroughly ransacked the place; anything of value was carted off long ago!"

"Sixth Uncle, didn't you manage to pocket a couple of things?"

Guan Wei shook his head. "Back then, I had only just arrived in Fengtian. All I saw were the Russians using horse-drawn carriages to haul away treasures cartload after cartload—far too many to count. Our esteemed general didn't take a single thing when he fled, except for a few paintings."

"What's the use of taking paintings?" Jiang Xiaodao muttered in confusion. "Gold is what you should take!"

"Xiaodao, that's where you're clueless. Were those ordinary paintings the man took? Those were the sacred portraits of the former emperors! No wonder he managed to climb to such a high official position—he certainly knew how to be a fine slave!"

"Why does that sound a bit like the trade of a flatterer?" Jiang Xiaodao turned his head and asked, "Am I right?"

Hu Xiaoyan nodded with a look of half-understanding.

…………

The carriage rolled out of the inner city and traveled for about the time it takes to smoke a pipe of tobacco before finally coming to a halt.

Guan Wei carried the food brought from Huifang Alley, paid the driver, and called out, "Let's go. Take your wife to see her new home."

Jiang Xiaodao leaped down from the carriage, hoisted Hu Xiaoyan onto his back, and followed the direction of Sixth Uncle's pointing finger, only to feel a profound sense of disappointment.

The house was small, opening directly onto the street with neighboring dwellings pressed closely against it. Even if it possessed a backyard, one could easily guess it would be microscopic.

"Just a single bare room? I thought it was going to be an actual courtyard estate!"

"Be content with what you get!" Guan Wei strode forward on his own. "You got a room for free and you're still being picky!"

"I'm not being picky, I'm not even the one living here!" Jiang Xiaodao trotted a couple of steps to catch up, turning his head to ask, "Wife, will staying here do?"

Honestly, no matter how poor it was, could it possibly be worse than Old Lady Feng's human livestock pen?

Without the slightest hesitation, Hu Xiaoyan nodded cheerfully. "Yes!"

To their surprise, the moment the uncle and nephew approached the house, they discovered a long, dusty gray heap stretched out horizontally beneath the eaves right along the doors and windows. At first glance, it looked as though two quilts had been piled up there. Upon closer inspection, however, they realized it was actually a pack of ragged little beggars fast asleep!

Occupying the magpie's nest?

Seeing Old Cui’s house "usurped," Jiang Xiaodao felt a surge of irritation. He immediately stepped forward and, aiming a boot at their rear ends, kicked the sleeping figures awake one by one.

"Get up, get up! Who gave you permission to come here? Go sleep somewhere else!"

"Quit making a fuss, let us sleep a bit longer..."

"Who's messing with you? Get up right now!"

The little beggars groaned and grunted, squirming into a sitting position. As they rubbed their eyes and gradually shook off sleep, they caught sight of Xiaodao and looked somewhat perplexed. Like a colony of mice, they clustered together and began chattering noisily among themselves.

Eventually, a young beggar of about ten years old was elected as their spokesperson to ask, "Who are you guys?"

"I should be asking who *you* are! Is this any way to behave? There's neither wind nor rain, yet a whole bunch of you come along and block up the doorway!"

"We're not sleeping in your house. The owner told us we could sleep here and keep watch for him."

"Old Cui?" Jiang Xiaodao couldn't help asking. "Are you Old Cui's apprentices?"

The little beggar shook his head. "No, we just always play together. Before the New Year, he said he was going to Liaoyang and asked us to look after the place for him."

"Old Cui went to Siberia to dig for gold."

"Went to the Western Heaven to fetch Buddhist scriptures?"

"What kind of ears do you have?" Jiang Xiaodao corrected him. "Siberia, not the Western Heaven! Digging for gold, not fetching scriptures! There's no point explaining it to you lot anyway. In short, he's not coming back anytime soon, and this house temporarily belongs to me."

The little beggar rolled his eyes and said, "Wait here."

With that, he turned around and, like a rat again, chattered rapidly with the other children for a moment.

After discussing for a good while, he turned back and asked, "Do you have proof?"

"Proof? I've got it!" Jiang Xiaodao bounced his wife slightly higher on his back and smoothly fished several large copper coins from his tunic. "Are these proof enough? Do you want them?"

The little beggars' eyes instantly lit out with greed, and they nodded frantically.

"Then why aren't you scramming?" Jiang Xiaodao barked sternly.

The little youngsters whispered and conferred among themselves once more, finally arriving at a unanimous conclusion—no.

"Old Cui is our friend, and we promised to watch the house for him. We can't let you in. Are you going to give us money or not?"

"You're having daydreaming fantasies! If you don't get lost right now, don't blame me for getting rough!" Jiang Xiaodao made a threatening gesture as if to strike.

Guan Wei, however, reached out and grabbed his arm. Then, crouching down with an air of absolute confidence, he chuckled softly.

"Hey, do you kids recognize me? I live right across the street. I'm a friend of Old Cui's, and I can vouch for him. If you don't believe me, come over to my place and see for yourselves."

Whether these children genuinely didn't recognize Guan Wei or were deliberately refusing to give him face, their response remained the same—no way!

Growing thoroughly annoyed by the standoff, Jiang Xiaodao crouched down to let Hu Xiaoyan slide off his back, rolled up his sleeves, and cursed, "Sixth Uncle, stop wasting your breath on them. Let's just use brute force. I refuse to believe we can't beat some sense into them!"

Frightened as they were, the little beggars still refused to budge an inch.

Guan Wei felt utterly helpless. There was simply no reasoning with this bunch of stubborn urchins; without a lesson, they would likely be bickering with them all night long.

Just at that moment, however, Hu Xiaoyan propped herself up on her arms and inched her way over to the little beggars with small, shuffling movements. She whispered a few words to them in hushed tones, then shuffled her way back and seated herself before the doorway.

Immediately afterward, the little beggars glanced at Hu Xiaoyan, then looked back at Jiang and Guan. After freezing in place for a brief second, they almost simultaneously sprang to their feet and scattered in all directions like a flock of startled sparrows, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye!

Faced with such a baffling sight, Jiang Xiaodao and Guan Wei stood dumbfounded, turning to each other to ask in unison:

"What on earth did you say to them?"