Chapter 9 — Hoa Ky in the middle of Hoe Hoa Alley

The second night after the news was released, there was movement on the wall behind the store. I cook wontons alone in the kitchen. The soup is boiling, the steam covering the window paper white. Cung Nhi entered from the back door. “Your courage is greater than your life.” “Want a bowl?” “I'm afraid you poisoned me.” “You are not worth that much.” He sat down, two henchmen blocked the door. The Bui family's secret guard is hiding next door. As long as I break the bowl, they will rush in. Cung Nhi placed the small silver lock on the table. The lock had been removed, the inside was empty. “Where is the paper?” “What paper?” He pressed my hand down, pressing it toward the boiling pot of soup. “Don't play dumb.” I was in so much pain that sweat flowed down my forehead but I still stared at him. "You ordered Mrs. Luc from the human market in advance, just to find the lock. If this story spreads out, everyone knows you two brothers have demons in your hearts." “The dead will not spread the word.” “But every day I meet many customers and have already passed the word on to others.” His grip loosened. I grabbed the bowl and threw it on the ground. The bowl is not broken. I forgot that this batch of bowls was the thick porcelain that Mr. Chiang brought from the north, so strong that it could be used to make bricks. The room was silent for half a breath. Cung Nhi laughed. "The person helping you can't hear." I picked up a thick ceramic bowl and hit him hard on the forehead. This time it broke. Two henchmen rushed forward, but there was no movement outside. Later, the secret guard said, Cung Nhi used a fake fire alarm order from the Binh Ma company to send two people to the end of the street, and ordered soldiers to hold the remaining person. The person who set the trap was trapped in his own trap. I grabbed the pot of soup and threw it towards the door. Hot water pushed a person back and at the same time extinguished the stove. The thick smoke stopped. The kid holding the signal in the back alley immediately ran and knocked on the door. The other person's sword slashed through my shoulder. Cung Nhi grabbed my hair. “Where is the book?” My eyes darkened in pain but my mouth still said: "In your mother's grave." He raised his hand to strike. The back window suddenly burst. A rolling pin flew across and hit him on the bridge of his nose. Duong Am climbed in from the window, holding the second stick in his hand. “Let her go!” Co Y Nuong stood in front of the door, behind all the people in Hoe Hoa alley who had received the smoke signal. She did not listen to the arrangement and fled to Bui palace. She gave me the saying I often say: "If you want to live together, if you want to live together." 21 Many people may not be good at fighting, but many people can shout together. The gong sound of the whole street rang out, even if the city patrols were deaf, they had to come. The two henchmen Cung Nhi brought with him were blocked in the kitchen. Cung Nhi himself had blood on his face and even tried to climb the backyard wall. Uncle Dang used a shoulder pole to knock him down. “I have put up with you for a long time.” The captain of the city patrol saw Cung Nhi and first decided to reconcile and get things over with. "It's all a misunderstanding. Perhaps Second Master Cung only came to eat late at night." I pointed to the wound on my shoulder. “He used a knife to help me cut onions?” Neighbors laughed. The lieutenant lost face and shouted orders to bring everyone back. When he arrived at Binh Ma Company, he only detained his hands and feet, not Cung Nhi. Bui Nghien Thu ran over and publicly announced his identity, but the principal still said the evidence was not enough. Cung Nhi covered his nose and smiled at me. “Even a tattered shop wants to fight with the Cung family?” Old Lady Pei had calculated that King Qi would enter the capital within these two days. We waited in the Binh Ma Company until the lamp oil was almost exhausted before we heard the sound of horse hooves outside. A tired cavalryman dismounted from his horse in front of the door, in his hand holding the decree of the Court and the arrest order of the Penal Department. "The King of Qi has entered the capital tonight, and the Phung Commander is supervising the military provisions case of the third year of Guangping." The lieutenant's face turned white. The cavalry opened the decree. "The military salary case in the third year of Quang Binh was retried. All those involved, regardless of rank, must be arrested." Cung Nhi didn't laugh anymore. Before being taken away, he stared at me. “Do you think half a sheet of paper can turn the case over?” I said: "Half a sheet of paper is not enough." La boatman walked in from outside the door. The manager followed behind. Half a sheet of paper is not enough to turn the case over. But Cung Nhi half

barged into the store at night, forced to ask about the secret book, and also brought with him a silver lock bought from a human trafficker. Those things were enough for the government to detain him. After dawn, the Hinh Bo, Dai Ly Tu and Kinh Trieu palace jointly sealed the palace. The people of Bui Palace only guarded the back door, and the mandarins came in with dispatches. They found a private notebook in the double wall of Cung Nhi's bedroom. Bribing the human trafficker, searching for the silver keys, giving the silver to the city patrol chief, every item was recorded. It is said that when the notebook was found, Cung Nhi was speechless for a long time. The border army's salary receipt book brought back by the King of Qi proves that out of twelve batches of military salary, only three batches arrived. La boatman testified that the food boat's seal was changed midway. Good luck, the manager handed over the card number, the number matched the half page of the shipping copy book. Cung Gia's private book connects all the directions of money into one line.