🦊: I nearly forgot to post this chapter. 😅 The inn's main hall used to be full of tables for guests to eat at. Now, all the tabl...
🦊: I nearly forgot to post this chapter. 😅
The inn's main hall used to be full of tables for guests to eat at. Now, all the tables had been moved away, leaving just one table and one chair at the head of the room. The judge's wooden gavel rested on the table, and guards stood in a line on both sides. Yuxi was not in the back room, but upstairs. If people downstairs spoke loudly, she could hear them just as well from above.
Xu Wu struck the gavel once and bellowed, "Bring the people in!" His shout was not only imposing but also very loud.
Yuxi heard the commotion upstairs and laughed, saying to Momo Quan, "I didn't expect Xu Wu to be so interested in handling this case." It was just a minor case, yet it had made the usually stoic Xu Wu so excited, which truly took Yuxi by surprise.
After a moment's thought, Momo Quan commented, "Maybe Xu Daren1 feels he's punishing evil, promoting good, and upholding justice!"
Hearing that, Yuxi laughed even harder. "That seems unlikely!" If it were true, wouldn't Xu Wu then possess a chivalrous spirit?
Downstairs, the guards brought Zhou Wei into the main hall. As previous enquiries had reported, he was under seven chi2. He was so thin that he was almost all bone. His hair was neatly combed, and he wore a clean prisoner's robe.
Zhou Wei had originally been filthy and reeked, but all the officers of Yu City knew that Yuxi loved cleanliness. Fearing that Zhou Wei's appearance would alarm Yuxi, the guards washed him clean.
When the guards let him go, Zhou Wei immediately fell to his knees and cried out, "Daren1, I am innocent! Daren1, I did not accidentally kill anyone — Dong San was pushed down and killed by Dong Er. Daren1, I am innocent…" Fortunately, Zhou Wei had eaten his fill before coming to court; otherwise, he wouldn't have had the strength to shout like this.
Xu Wu said sternly, "Describe the sequence of events again. If you are truly innocent, I will, of course, ensure that you are treated fairly."
Yuxi smiled as she listened attentively from upstairs. "Who would have thought that Xu Wu would conduct a trial so properly?" There really was a gathering of talent beside Yun Qing!
Zhou Wei had thought he was a dead man, but unexpectedly, there was a turn in the road3 when an influential person took an interest in the case. Even ants will try to steal a living — all the more so humans4! Naturally, he had to seize this chance. Zhou Wei then recounted the events clearly and coherently.
Zhou Wei had heard that his elder sister, Zhou Shi, had suddenly passed away and suspected that her husband, Dong Er, had killed her. As soon as Zhou Wei got the news, he brought a physician to the Dong household and demanded an autopsy. Dong Er not only refused but also beat him up. "Daren1, Dong San and I were classmates and very good friends. When he heard I was being beaten and chased by Dong Er, he rushed over to break it up, but Dong Er pushed Dong San to the ground as if he were mad. Dong San's head hit the steps, and he died."
Sensing something was amiss, Xu Wu asked, "What is the physician's surname and given name? Where is he now?" He heard that the physician's name was Luo — Luo Hongde — and this Luo Hongde was indeed one of the witnesses. Xu Wu struck the gavel and ordered, "Bring Luo Hongde in!"
Seeing Luo Hongde standing up straight, Xu Wu said, "Luo Hongde, Zhou Wei says that it was Dong Er who shoved the man to his death, and that you were there. Now tell me what really happened. If you utter a single lie, I will take your life." Those last words were a threat.
Luo Hongde had been frightened when he came in, and now he did not dare to lie. "Daren1, this old man was forced into it. Dong Er had his men seize my grandson. If I had not given false testimony, then my grandson would have lost his life." He did not want to hurt anyone, but he could only bow his head for the sake of his only grandson.
Under Xu Wu's threats and intimidation, all the witnesses admitted giving false testimony. The truth was that Dong San had been pushed to his death by Dong Er.
After questioning the witnesses, Xu Wu struck the gavel block and ordered, "Bring Dong Er in!" In order to frame Zhou Wei, Dong Er had used all kinds of despicable methods, such as bribery and intimidation.
Looking at the over eight chi2 tall, as tall as an ox and as big as a horse5 Dong Er, and then at the frail Zhou Wei standing beside him, one glance at the two was enough to tell there was something fishy about this case. From appearances alone, Dong Er could easily have overpowered Zhou Wei — how could there have been any 'struggle' between them?
Dong Er also shouted out his grievance loudly: "Daren1, you mustn't listen to that Zhou's one-sided story! It was he who pushed my brother, causing his tragic death. My parents have been bedridden ever since he died."
Xu Wu had already decided that Dong Er was the murderer and refused to accept his excuses. When Dong Er still refused to confess, Xu Wu ordered the guards to take him away for torture. This wasn't an ordinary paddle, but a military staff. The military staff caused far more pain than the paddle.
Zhou Wei knelt on the ground and accused Dong Er of killing his sister. He hoped Xu Wu would uncover the truth and give his sister justice.
Xu Wu hesitated. They were only staying in Linzhou City for two days and would be leaving tomorrow. Reopening another case would be troublesome.
At that moment, Zhuzi came downstairs and whispered something into Xu Wu's ear. Only then did Xu Wu respond, "I'll send someone to investigate this matter."
Unable to withstand the torture, Dong Er finally confessed that he had accidentally pushed Dong San to his death. Once he had signed and stamped his confession, the case was considered closed.
Since Yuxi had said she wanted to see Zhou Wei, Xu Wu brought him to her once the case was over. When Zhou Wei entered the room, he didn't even lift his head. He knelt and said, "Madam, your great kindness and virtue are beyond my power to repay." He had thought he would be on a single road to death6; yet, unexpectedly, the peaks turned and the road twisted7, giving him the chance to escape with his life.
Yuxi said calmly, "From confiscating the Zhou family's assets, we found thirty thousand taels of gold and eight hundred and ninety thousand taels of silver. The Zhou family has been in business for three generations—there's no way their fortune amounts to just a little over a million taels." The richer the people were, the more they would keep something hidden. This was especially true of a family like the Zhous, who had offended countless others. As long as the old master was still of sound mind, he would undoubtedly have set some wealth aside for his descendants.
Xu Wu had initially thought that Yuxi wanted to see Zhou Wei because of the case involving Zhou Wei's sister, but unexpectedly, Yuxi's true purpose was actually to obtain the Zhou family's money.
Zhou Wei froze, then smiled bitterly. "Madam, what you speak of is only the Zhou family's readily available funds. There are also vast goods, shops and fertile lands—altogether worth another million."
Yuxi did not waste words with Zhou Wei. "If you hand over the money, I can send you somewhere where no one knows you, and you can live quietly. You know very well that you are alive today by more than just luck."
Zhou Wei still shook his head. "Madam, the Zhou family truly has no more money. If we did, I would certainly hand it over to you." Life was, of course, more precious than money.
Yuxi fell silent for a moment, then said, "Money or life—you choose for yourselves." Afterwards, she turned to Xu Wu and said, "Take him down. Let the other Zhou children come and see him. If none of them speak up, let Zhou Wei go home." Seven of the Zhou family's children were still alive: five boys and two girls. Zhou Wei was the eldest, and the youngest was only three.
Xu Wu ordered his men to take Zhou Wei away, then asked Yuxi, "Madam, did the Zhou family really hide any silver?" Judging by Zhou Wei's expression, he didn't seem to be lying.
Yuxi shook her head and said, "I suppose there should be!" She was only reasoning according to common sense — she wasn't actually sure whether there was any money hidden away or not.
Xu Wu felt a black line appear above his head🖼️— he had thought Yuxi knew for sure that the Zhou family had hidden money somewhere! He hadn't expected that Madam was only trying to bluff Zhou Wei.
Yuxi wrote an official document and stamped it with the seals of both Yun Qing and herself. After finishing, she handed the document to Xu Wu and said, "Give this to Prefect Yao."
Xu Wu took the document and glanced over it. When he had finished reading it, he was stunned. "Madam, why are we dismissing only Tongpan Guo but not Yao Guangzhang? Both of them should be removed."
Yuxi replied, "At most, Yao Guangzhang can be blamed for negligence — that alone isn't enough to remove him. Xu Wu, as I've said before, whatever we do must follow the rules. Acting on personal whims brings endless trouble."
Besides not wanting to break the established rules, Yuxi hadn't yet found a suitable replacement for Yao Guangzhang. Moreover, he had performed his official duties quite well — if she hastily replaced him now, the new person might not do as good a job.
Xu Wu looked displeased, but he didn't argue. "As you wish, Madam." He was sure she had her reasons for handling it this way.
Yuxi stood up and said, "We've rested for two days — tomorrow we must set out. It's over five hundred li8 from here to Wucheng, so it'll take us about ten days to get there."
Yuxi hoped to reach Haocheng as soon as possible. Her stop in Linzhou was merely to let the two children rest. The matter with Zhou Wei wasn't serious enough to delay her any further.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Wu asked, "Madam, if the Zhou family did hide a large sum of money, wouldn't it be too much of a pity not to pursue it?"
Yuxi replied, "Leave this matter to Xu Zhen. Tell him to keep an eye on the Zhou children. If he manages to get the money, that will be great. If not, never mind."
Not long after nightfall, Xu Wu informed Yuxi, "Madam, Zhou Wei requests to see you." Since Zhou Wei was the one asking for an audience, it was likely to be about the hidden money.
As it turned out, Yuxi was in luck — Zhou Wei had indeed come to confess. Old Master Zhou had really hidden a sum of silver in their ancestral home. "Madam, the silver was hidden in the old family house. I'm not sure how much there is."
Noticing Xu Wu's unfriendly expression, Zhou Wei quickly added, "I really didn't know about it before — my nephew Zhou Xin told me." The nephew he mentioned was the eldest di9 son of Zhou Wei's elder brother.
Yuxi knew who Zhou Xin was, so she wasn't surprised. "If what you say is true, I'll make proper arrangements for your family." She had only meant to bluff Zhou Wei, and hadn't expected such good luck — Yuxi felt that her fortune had truly turned.
Hearing this, Zhou Wei felt a weight lift from his heart, and he requested, "Madam, please grant justice for my sister." He wanted Dong Er to pay with his life for his sister's death.
Yuxi paused for a moment, then asked, "You claim that Dong Er poisoned your sister. Do you have any evidence?"
Zhou Wei shook his head. "No, but my sister had always been in good health — she couldn't have died after just two days of illness. It must have been Dong Er who killed her."
Yuxi frowned. "Without proof, how can a case be judged on mere suspicion?" Seeing the grief and anger on Zhou Wei's face, she sighed. "Though Dong Er won't die, he will certainly have a hard time in the future."
Yuxi had no intention of executing Dong Er — it was the busy season in the northwest, and he was a valuable labourer. Killing him would be too much of a waste.
As soon as Xu Wu received the news, he wasted no time instructing Xu Daniu to deliver it to Xu Zhen. Xu Zhen then personally led a group of men to the Zhou family's old residence in the countryside overnight.
After dawn, Xu Wu came to inform Yuxi. "Madam, if they hadn't confessed themselves, no one would ever have found this money." Old Master Zhou had melted the gold into bricks and used them to build a well. If the Zhou family hadn't come forward, who could ever have discovered it?
Seeing Yuxi's calm expression, Xu Wu hurriedly added, "Madam, we found a total of 120,000 taels of gold." That was worth more than a million taels of silver!
Yuxi frowned and wondered, "At Ji Xuan's residence, they only found a few hundred thousand taels of silver. Do you think he might have also melted his gold into bricks or something and used them to build walls?"
Xu Wu was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "That's really possible." He thought to himself, Madam's mind truly works differently from anyone else's — she sees further than anyone else.
Footnotes Full List
- 大人 dàren: title of respect toward superiors
- 尺 (chi) is a traditional Chinese unit of length, roughly equal to one-third of a metre, or about 33 centimetres/13 inches
- 峰回路转 (fēnghuílùzhuǎn) — idiom meaning "a turn in the road; the situation takes an unexpected turn" (here: fortunes change).
- 蝼蚁尚且偷生,更何况人呢 (lóuyǐ shàng qiě tōu shēng, gèng huó kuàng rén ne)! — a metaphorical proverb meaning 'if even tiny ants strive to survive, how much more humans?' It is used to justify doing whatever it takes to survive or seize an opportunity.
- 牛高马大 (niú gāo mǎ dà): A four-character idiom that literally means "ox-tall, horse-big." It means 'tall and sturdy', 'big and powerful', or 'large and muscular'.
- 死路一条 (sǐlùyītiáo) literally "a single road to death," means no way out; doomed fate.
- 峰回路转 (fēnghuílùzhuǎn) is an idiom describing a sudden, positive turn of events after difficulties — similar to a sudden reversal of fortune.
- "里" (lǐ) is a traditional Chinese unit of length (about 500 metres or one-third of a mile).
- 嫡dí: born from a formal wife
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