Golden Peacock - The Fifth Collection of Short Stories

Money that moves the planets

( 1)

People who are backward in worldly knowledge are satisfied and their knowledge increases by looking at magazines, newspapers, and films published in Western countries. This practice is not only beneficial, but also sometimes, as the saying goes, imitation, which can bring bad results by imitating bad behavior. Some bad people, who are not capable of doing evil by their own intelligence, are able to commit crimes that the police officers cannot arrest by imitating the behavior of bad people shown in English films. The behavior of the big bad person named U-O, who was the president of the Three-Fourth Association last year, is a sufficient proof of the truth of the above statement. The actions of the hawk included threatening to expose a former love affair with another man to a bride who was about to be married to a respected gentleman, and threatening to report the bribery incident to a superior officer. The reason for the shameful incident was not revealed because the reporters themselves did not know, and because Ma Khin Myaing's parents and relatives kept it a secret.

About 6 months after the death of Ma Khin Myaing, Maung Nyunt Phu, the son of the landowner U Tun Kyaw, fell in love with Ma Sein Yi, the daughter of U Tai Soe, the secretary to the Minister of the Interior, and they planned to get married when the waxing moon fell. When we write this, it is the beginning of the new moon of Thiding Yut, and Maung Nyunt Phu and Ma Sein Yi are about to get married. In the meantime, Maung Nyunt Phu received a letter from U O. The letter said:

If I marry Miss Sein Yi, I will lose everything.

Autumn

Maung Nyunt Phu lived with his sister Tin May on 52nd Street in Yangon after the death of his landowner, U Htun Kyaw, and his mother, Daw Aye May. Since he was not interested in managing the inherited farmland himself, he sold most of it and deposited more than 100,000 baht in the Imperial Bank. The phrase "I will lose everything as the siren threatened" seems to refer to the few acres of unsold farmland and the more than 100,000 baht deposited in the bank.

Maung Nyunt Phu and Tin May are particularly affectionate siblings. Even though their parents are dead, Maung Nyunt Phu has not divided their property, but Maung Nyunt Phu has been managing and maintaining it. Both siblings are pure and have particularly good character, and they are 25 years old and 18 years old. Because of this age difference, Tin May trusted Maung Nyunt Phu as much as a father, and she did not divide the inheritance and deposited it in a bank in her own name.

After receiving U-O's letter, Maung Nyunt Phu consulted with his sister Tin May and his girlfriend Sein Yi and decided to report the incident to Detective Inspector Maung Tun On, who had been his school friend. Therefore, at about 9:30 p.m. on the 8th day of the new lunar month, Maung Nyunt Phu, Sein Yi, and Tin May arrived in a car at Detective Inspector Maung Tun On's house on "Luis Street" after returning from the cinema.

( 2 )

Detective Inspector Maung Htun Ong, who had been a police officer since his days in the English school, had studied police skills at the Mandalay Police Academy before moving on to detective work. He was considered by his superiors to be more capable than ordinary detectives, and had been promoted to the rank of Inspector for many years. Whenever a difficult case arose, the superiors would ask him to hand it over to Maung Htun Ong.

Maung Htun On and Maung Nyunt Phu were not only school friends, but also lovers. During the school holidays, Maung Htun On would stay at Maung Nyunt Phu's house for meals and sleep overnight, and they had known each other since they were young.

That night, Maung Htun Ong returned from playing billiards at the Royal Hotel and was preparing his diary for the next 7 days when three guests came up to the terrace. The two friends lived in the same city, but their jobs and friends were different, so they had not seen each other for a long time, so they greeted each other happily. Then Maung Nyunt Phu introduced his girlfriend, Ma Sein Yi, and showed her his sister Tin May to Maung Htun Ong, who was surprised. The last time he had seen Tin May, she had been a small girl with a disproportionate figure, but now she had grown into a beautiful young woman with a plump, cheerful face. Ma Sein Yi’s appearance was beyond praise. Maung Htun On had once seen Ma Khin Myaing, the teacher who was about to marry Maung Nyunt Phu, and had praised her friend, saying, “She is a very lucky person.” Now, he praised her again, saying, “She is a very lucky person.”

They laughed and talked about various things, and when Maung Htun On and the two girls became quite friendly, Maung Nyunt Phu finished one of the words and told them about the letter he had received from U O. At that time, Maung Htun On said that he had heard of U O, the leader of the Three-Ping Shop Association, but had never had the opportunity to investigate his case. The police had also heard that U O was not an ordinary criminal, but a person who knew English well and had learned the secrets of Western criminal organizations by reading English books. Since he was particularly fond of investigating difficult cases, he was very happy to have the opportunity to track down U O while working on a friend's case. He told me that if he was worthy of praise, as his superiors had praised him for his brilliant intellect, he would investigate to find out who U-O was. He also told me that he would marry Ma Sein-ri without any hesitation and that they should always do so.

Maung Nyunt Phu promised to be responsible for all expenses related to this matter, and Maung Htun Ong warned him to report to him immediately about any future events regarding the siren. Then, since the time was running out, the three guests said goodbye to Maung Htun Ong and came down from the building, and Maung Htun Ong accompanied them to the basement.

After Maung Nyunt Phu's car left, Maung Htun On stopped in front of the building and looked up at the car, then suddenly turned to the opposite side and bumped into a traveler. Maung Htun On was about to apologize, as was the custom among polite people, because he had bumped into him. The traveler did not hesitate for a moment, but walked away quickly, as if he had something very important to do.

Then, Maung Tun Ong went upstairs and took off his shirt to go to bed. When he took off his shirt, he felt something in his shirt pocket. When Maung Tun Ong took it out of his shirt and looked at it, he was surprised to see that it was a small buffalo figurine sold in a Japanese shop. Then, looking at the piece of paper tied around the figurine's waist, he saw the following message.

" Don't let anyone else interfere."

When Maung Htun On saw the letter, he realized that it was from U O, even though it was not signed, but he was surprised because he could not think of how it had suddenly ended up in his pocket. Then he remembered the incident when he had run into a person in front of the building, and he praised U O as a person who was as brave as he was famous, and who would work hard without hesitation or hesitation.

( 3 )

The 5th day of the waning moon of Thadingyut was the wedding day of Maung Nyunt Phu and Ma Sein Yi, the daughter of U Thaik Soe, the secretary of the secretariat. At around 11 am, there was a huge traffic jam on Kari Road, where U Thaik Soe lived. At 12 pm, as was the custom among upper-class Burmese, the Brahmins were invited to the wedding ceremony.

The male guests were received in the pavilion in front of the house, and the female guests were received in the basement. At about 11:30, the groom went up to the house. At 12:00, the Brahmins were about to hold the wedding ceremony, but the groom was not there. The guests were also in a panic, and they searched everywhere, both upstairs and downstairs, but they could not see any trace of the groom. One of the guests said that he had noticed the groom going up to the house at about 11:30, and it became known to everyone. The Inspek Maung Htun On was also present at the wedding, so he thought that this was the hand of the U-O, and he was very worried about his friend. After waiting for about half an hour, they thought that the groom had changed his mind at the last moment and had run away, and they each returned home. The only ones who thought it was the hand of the hawk were Maung Htun On, Tin May, and Ma Sein Yi. The other guests had gone, but Maung Htun On remained alone, telling the two girls his opinion, and promising to work day and night to find out as long as his friend Maung Nyunt Phu did not return.

The next day, Maung Htun On told the superior officer the full story of Maung Nyunt Phu's disappearance, including the Three-Pwintsang Association's handiwork, and asked for permission to hand over the case to him. The superior officer granted his request.

( 4 )

The next night, Ma Sein Yi visited the house of Inspek Taw Maung Htun On and showed him a diamond earring that she had found in her leather bag. The diamond earring weighed about 20 carats on each side and was made of first-class diamonds, so a rich man would have bought it.