Not long after, the distinct roar of her Beetle's engine could be heard from downstairs, but it sounded like it was idling, not starting to leave.
I guessed she was in the car, calling someone.
I was wrong.
A few seconds later, I received a WeChat message from Shen Xingyue, with only four characters: "Manwen Laodang."
However, as soon as I finished reading these four characters, she recalled the message.
Then, the Beetle started, its sound fading into the distance until it disappeared.
What is "Manwen Laodang"?
When in doubt, ask Baidu. I reached for my phone from the bedside table and typed in these four characters.
What exists on Baidu is no longer a secret. There are quite a few entries related to "Manwen Laodang." Baidu's explanation is: official historical records written in Manchu during the reign of Emperor Huang Taiji of the Qing Dynasty. It is not a comprehensive history, but rather a segmented historical record. The first section records history from the ninth year of the Tianming era to the eleventh year of Tianming, which is from 1607 to 1626 AD. The second section covers the history from the first to the sixth year of the Tiancong era (1627-1632). The third section is a separate record of the history of the first year of Chongde (1636). These three sections cover a total of 27 years of historical events.
Looking at these time periods, I quickly understood Shen Xingyue's meaning.
It is now clear that the imprisonment of Mu Jige occurred in 1622, precisely within the timeframe of this "Manwen Laodang." Shen Xingyue was hinting that I should find the answer in the historical records myself.
However, when I searched for an electronic version of "Manwen Laodang" online, I found that the content was fragmented and difficult to read.
There was a physical copy for sale on Dangdang, but delivery would take three days.
An idea struck me. I looked up the Xinhua Bookstore in Fucheng and called to ask if they had the book. The manager said they didn't, but suggested I try the library. Fucheng is located in the homeland of the Manchus, so the library should have many books on Manchu history, and they might have this book.
I was currently inconvenient to move, so I couldn't waste a trip. I then found the phone number for the Fucheng Library and inquired if they had the book. They replied that it was indeed in their computer database, but because the book was published a long time ago, it was nearly falling apart. It had been processed and put into storage the year before last, and they weren't sure if they could find it.
"Could you please help me find it?" I pleaded. "If you find it, beautiful lady, I'll treat you to a meal!"
Although I'm single, I've always had good relations with women. The gentle female librarian happily agreed and told me to wait for news.
About ten minutes later, the female librarian called back. She had indeed found it and asked when I would come to the library.
"I'm coming now! Save it for me, don't lend it to anyone else!"
After hanging up, I endured the discomfort in a certain area, got dressed, and left the hotel. I took a taxi to the library. On the way, I asked the driver to stop at a shopping mall. I went in and bought a bottle of Dior perfume, costing over eight hundred yuan. I didn't know if it was high-end, but it was the thought that counted. I tried some on my wrist; the scent was unique and pleasant.
When I arrived at the library, I was a bit surprised to see the female librarian. I hadn't expected such a beautiful woman in a small place like Fucheng. She wasn't the seductive and charming type like Shen Xingyue, but rather had the cute charm of a girl next door. She resembled a recently popular host who had messed up her good fortune, the one named Bingbing.
And her name was also Bingbing—it was on her name tag.
Zheng Bingbing.
I presented her with the perfume as a gift. Zheng Bingbing was quite pleased and handed me the book directly, saying it was outdated and she had the authority to delete it from the system database, so she would give it to me for free.
I kept a mental note and asked to see the book's borrowing records.
The library management system started recording in 2008. This "Manwen Laodang" had only two borrowing records.
The previous one was Shen Xingyue, who borrowed it in 2020.
The record before that was in 2017, borrowed by: Song Lei.
This made perfect sense.
Zheng Bingbing and I exchanged WeChat contacts. After thanking her again, I took the book and a taxi back to the hotel.
After the afternoon's ordeal at the hospital, it was almost evening. I ate the leftover meal from Milan Patisserie while carefully flipping through "Manwen Laodang"—I had to be careful. The book was published in the 1970s, with a price tag of only 2.33 yuan. The paper had already yellowed and would crumble into fragments with the slightest pressure.
Following the chronological order, I soon found the section of records for 1622...