Chapter 56: The Gift of Perfect Recall

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What if the secret ledger can’t be found?

Li Zhao neither panicked nor sank into despair; instead, he focused his attention, carefully re-examining the secret chamber to see if he had missed anything… and, indeed, he noticed a problem.

The chamber was piled high with gold, silver, and jewels, some spots stacked several layers deep. Yet, the northeast corner was utterly empty, not a single thing placed there—surely that was unreasonable.

Leaving that corner bare must have a special purpose.

Li Zhao scrutinized it further and discovered a particular blue brick, clearly cleaner and smoother than the rest—proof that it was often touched.

He rapped on it with his knuckles.

A hollow sound answered back. There was a hidden compartment.

“White Day Rat, open it!”

“Right away!”

With a quick inspection, White Day Rat pried the blue brick loose, revealing a concealed space about a foot square. Sure enough, the secret ledger was inside.

A hidden chamber within the study, a secret compartment within the chamber—what an old fox the county assistant of Zheng was, reigning over his domain for decades. Unfortunately for him, this time he met a wolf king even craftier and fiercer than any fox.

“Wait, what’s this?”

Li Zhao pulled out the secret ledger, lit it with his fire striker, and was immediately dumbfounded. The entries read: “August 6, received from the West Gate Li family: one measure of millet, one peck of white rice. August 16, received two pecks of white rice from the Hu family. August 22, advance from the Wang family: ten heads of cabbage, one live dog’s life…”

What kind of messy account was this? Could this book, so painstakingly hidden, really just be a record of groceries and grains?

No, there was something amiss.

August 22—that was today. The county assistant collected ten fine pearls from the Wang family and promised to release their son, who stood accused of murder.

But in the ledger, it said: “Advance from the Wang family: ten heads of cabbage, one live dog’s life.”

It became clear: this was a ledger kept in code. Ten cabbages meant ten fine pearls; a dog’s life was the life of the Wang family’s son.

By extension, one measure of millet meant a hundred taels of gold; three pecks of white rice, three thousand taels of silver… This old fox, what a sly mind—his security measures were nearly flawless.

“Master, we’ve found the secret ledger. Let’s take it and go!”

“No, we can’t take it.”

“Why not?”

“We’d be alerting the snake.”

The same reason they couldn’t take the gold and jewels—if the ledger were missing, the old fox would grow suspicious, quickly transferring his treasure, destroying evidence, even silencing witnesses, covering up all his past crimes.

In that case, even with the ledger in hand, they’d be powerless against him.

So, what now?

The simplest solution was to copy the ledger and put the original back; that way, the county assistant would never suspect a thing.

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The problem was, the secret ledger was so thick that copying it all would take most of a day. Yet midnight had already passed, and they had to leave the Zheng household before dawn—there just wasn’t enough time.

Worse, neither of them had brought pen, ink, or paper, and using any from the study would reveal their presence. What now?

At this point, most people would have no way forward… but Li Zhao was the exception.

“White Day Rat, bring the fire striker closer.”

“Master, what are you planning?”

“I’m going to memorize the entire ledger!”

“What? That thick book, memorize it all in an hour?”

“No, half an hour is enough!”

The young Li Zhao had always been a soft, unimpressive boy—except for his extraordinary memory. He could recall everything at a glance.

And this skill was fully inherited by Li Zhao.

By the weak glow of the fire striker, he scanned the ledger, ten lines at a glance… In less than half an hour, he had memorized the entire thick ledger, not missing a single word.

Then, he placed the ledger back into the compartment. The two of them quietly slipped out of the secret chamber, restored the hidden door, leaving no trace… At last, they exited the study and closed the main door.

As they passed the side gate, White Day Rat eyed the two guards, still snoring away. Would they report what happened when they woke?

Li Zhao shook his head—no need to worry. So long as the guards weren’t fools, they wouldn’t breathe a word about tonight, let alone report it to the county assistant.

The reason was simple: the county assistant was harsh and severe. If he learned that his guards had inexplicably slept through their watch over such an important place, he’d punish them severely—at best, a whipping and a few months’ pay docked; at worst, broken limbs and thrown out the door.

Faced with such consequences, the guards would protect themselves and remain silent.

That’s human nature—self-preservation above all.

…

Next, Li Zhao and White Day Rat slipped out of the Zheng estate, scaled the city wall, and met up with White Bun in the woods outside. The three raced their horses back to Hidden Dragon Ridge…

Before dawn, they arrived safely. Li Zhao immediately took out pen, ink, and paper, and from memory wrote out the entire secret ledger, including explanations for all the codes—millet, rice, cabbage…

He also added everything he knew about the county assistant’s crimes—corruption, murder for profit, embezzlement of tribute—in great detail.

While copying, Li Zhao always wrote with his left hand, deliberately changing his handwriting several times—to prevent anyone from recognizing it.

After all, the fewer people who knew of such secrets, the better.

“White Day Rat, take this ledger, seal it in a box, and deliver it to the county office. Say it’s a special product sent from Magistrate Cao’s hometown, and it must be opened by him in person. Once you’ve delivered it, leave immediately and make sure no one recognizes you. Understand?”

“I understand. But, Master, Magistrate Cao and the county assistant both serve in the same office. I hear they’re on good terms. What if he covers for the county assistant and hands the ledger over to him? All our efforts would be wasted.”

“Don’t worry. Magistrate Cao won’t cover for the old fox. In fact, he’ll strike hard. That fox’s end is near.”

Li Zhao had dealt with Magistrate Cao—he knew him to be a decent and upright official, not one to cover for a colleague.

More importantly, the county assistant had held power in Wu’an for over twenty years, with loyal followers everywhere, wielding near-absolute control.

But Magistrate Cao had only been in office for less than a year. His foundation was shallow, his influence weak. Though he held the top post, in all affairs he was constantly checked by the county assistant, the second-in-command, and surely harbored much resentment.

The two appeared cordial, but were secretly at odds, each striving against the other.

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Therefore, when Magistrate Cao received the secret ledger, he would surely use it as evidence to accuse the county assistant, bringing him down and seizing true control over Wu’an County.

In the struggle for power, there would be no holding back.

…

White Day Rat left to deliver the package, while Li Zhao yawned repeatedly and returned to his quarters to rest.

The festival, time in jail, the trial, sneaking into the Zheng house, copying the secret ledger… After all that, he hadn’t closed his eyes in two days and nights. Now, he needed sleep more than anything.

Come, Duke of Zhou, let’s play a game of chess… and he was out like a light.

…

He slept straight through to dusk. When Li Zhao finally climbed out of bed, he was ravenous, his stomach rebelling.

Aunt Qing had long since prepared a pot of rice porridge. Li Zhao drank four large bowls, ate four wheat cakes, and two eggs before finally placating his rebellious stomach.

Having eaten his fill, he was about to stretch his limbs when Steward Sun hurried in, flustered.

“Master, there’s trouble!”

“What is it?”

“This afternoon, Li De’s chief steward, Hou Si, secretly approached me. He threatened and bribed me, trying to force me to steal the recipe for Erguotou and hand it over. If I refused, they said they’d deal with me harshly.”

“Oh? And how did you respond?”

“I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Master. How could I betray you for profit? I played along with Hou Si for a bit, then came straight here to report. Please be cautious, sir!”

Li De and the Zhengs had always coveted the distillery. Since they couldn’t seize it openly, now they resorted to theft.

But that was just as well—Li Zhao could use their scheme against them and give that pair of scoundrels a taste of their own medicine… A sly smile crept across his face.

“Steward Sun, tomorrow tell Hou Si you have a way to bribe someone close to me and steal the Erguotou recipe, but you’ll need five thousand strings of cash—no less.”

“Master, you mean…?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan. Just do as I say.”

“Yes, sir!”

…

Two days later, Steward Sun returned to Hidden Dragon Ridge, carrying a small wooden box. Inside, neatly stacked, were gold ingots—five hundred taels, worth five thousand strings of cash.

“Master?”

“Excellent. All this gold is yours. Now, take this and give it to Li De—five days from now, no sooner.”

Li Zhao handed him another small box containing a ‘modified’ Erguotou recipe and three little packets of white powder. Leaning in, he whispered instructions.

“Li De and the Zhengs are both cunning. After they get the recipe, they’ll test it at least three times before trusting it. When they try to brew the new liquor, secretly add one packet of powder each time… then do this… and then this… until they’re utterly ruined. Do you understand?”

“I understand, sir. I’ll make sure it’s done flawlessly!” Steward Sun’s eyes brightened with realization. He took the items and left.