Chapter 1: The Failed Scholar
The small inn was crowded with people, voices buzzing loudly. Despite the depth of winter, business remained extremely prosperous.
A customer at a neighboring table shouted loudly: “Hey there, waiter! Move faster! I’ve been waiting this long and still haven’t gotten a single dish.” A man who appeared to be the innkeeper hurriedly bent over, bowing and apologizing everywhere.
A young man dressed as a waiter came rushing out from the back kitchen, carrying two hot bowls. “Sir, please make way!” the waiter called out, preparing to deliver the hot food to the table. Just then, he was tripped by something and immediately fell flat on his face like a dog eating dirt. The waiter quickly saved the two bowls from breaking, but the hot soup splashed all over his body and hands.
Despite the bitter cold winter day, the waiter’s hands were still scalded red and swollen. The customers all laughed heartily at his embarrassment. Some kind-hearted ones asked: “Be careful, are you burned?”
The waiter looked back and saw a familiar ruffian brazenly stretching his foot out beside the table—it was definitely this man who had tripped him.
The waiter stood up and said to the ruffian: “Sir, could you please pull back your foot? Having it stretched out in the path like this is quite dangerous for passing customers!”
The ruffian was loudly talking and laughing with others, acting as if no one else existed. The waiter had no choice but to gently shake the ruffian’s arm and repeat his words. The ruffian’s expression showed complete disbelief as he cursed: “Damn your ancestors! I, Niu’er, am eating here, and you dare to nag me?” He stretched his foot even further into the path and sneered: “So what? Your grandfather does whatever makes him happy. What do you think you can do about it?”
Seeing his unreasonable behavior, the waiter also became angry and said loudly: “You’re really strange! Just asking you to pull back your foot isn’t such a big deal. Why are you acting so fierce and menacing?”
Niu’er was greatly surprised that a mere inn waiter dared to lecture him. He stood up, rolled up both sleeves, and shouted: “You lowly thing, how dare you lecture your grandfather? Come, come, come! Grandfather will teach you some principles of being human!”
The waiter snorted and was about to respond when the innkeeper hurriedly rushed over, slapped the waiter across the face, and scolded: “Bastard! You dropped the food and still dare to blame the customers! If we weren’t short-handed these days, I would have thrown you out long ago, you useless thing!” He then quickly bowed and apologized to Niu’er.
Niu’er snorted and sat back down to drink.
The customers at nearby tables, seeing that their food was still delayed, all began shouting loudly. The innkeeper saw the waiter still standing there motionless with an indignant expression and shouted: “What are you standing there for! Get back to work!”
The waiter shook his head helplessly and went back to the kitchen to bring out hot dishes. Seeing Niu’er sneering from afar, clearly intending to cause trouble, the waiter learned his lesson and took a detour around Niu’er’s table.
Just as he was about to serve the food, a sudden force came from behind—someone pushed the waiter. Unable to keep his footing, he fell forward, spilling all the food in his hands onto someone, covering that person with soup and grease. The waiter panicked and quickly looked up to see the person before him wearing a sinister smile—it was Niu’er who had come over.
The waiter was startled, not knowing what scheme he had in mind. Just as he was about to retreat, several men approached from behind and held him firmly. Niu’er grinned wickedly, reached out to pinch the waiter’s cheeks, and said: “Boy, you’ve dirtied my clothes. Quick, compensate me!”
The waiter knew this gang was setting him up, so how could he submit? He struggled desperately and shouted: “You clearly bumped into me, yet you want me to compensate you! What kind of reason is this under heaven?”
Niu’er said “Oh!” in surprise: “Good boy, even in my hands you still dare to talk back!”
His subordinates laughed: “Boss, why waste so many words with him? Give him a few slaps first to teach him a lesson.”
Niu’er laughed heartily: “Well said!” He immediately reached out and heavily slapped him twice across the face.
The waiter’s cheeks swelled up, but he continued cursing without stopping, shouting loudly: “You gang of scoundrels are utterly shameless! If you really had courage, why not serve the country? With behavior like this, you’ll only bully the weak and remain petty local thugs for life!”
The customers in the inn, hearing him lecture Niu’er like this, all secretly worried for him, fearing he would be beaten to death on the spot.
Indeed, Niu’er flew into a rage. He dominated the local area as a local tyrant, yet now he was being lectured and humiliated by a mere servant—how could he swallow this insult? He shouted loudly: “Your mouth is quite sharp! Watch me smash it!” With a great roar, he punched the waiter in the stomach. The waiter cried out in pain, bent over, and immediately began vomiting.
A group of men jumped over and held the waiter firmly, delivering punch after punch to his body. The waiter wailed continuously and could no longer speak.
After beating him for a while, Niu’er was still furious and grabbed the innkeeper: “My new clothes cost at least fifty taels of silver—you must compensate me!”
The innkeeper dared not provoke Niu’er and quickly smiled apologetically: “Master Niu, this boy’s background is unclear—he’s only worked here for about a month! You can deal with this boy however you like to vent your anger. I’ll give you all of his monthly wages—three coins of silver—to make do with!”
Niu’er was furious: “Three coins of silver? Do you think I, Niu’er, am a beggar?” He kicked over the dining table with one foot. The customers in the inn, seeing trouble, all rushed toward the door.
Several waiters called out: “Hey! Pay your bills! Don’t just run away!” But those customers had already rushed out the door, getting the bargain of a free meal.
Seeing Niu’er’s fierce demeanor, the innkeeper knew this gang of ruffians stopped at nothing evil, and moreover, Niu’er was the brother-in-law of a constable who worked at the county office—how could he afford to offend him? He had no choice but to take twenty taels of silver and stuff it into Niu’er’s hands, saying with a bitter face: “Please be magnanimous and spare our small inn!”
Niu’er weighed the silver in his hand and sneered: “Fine, we’ll let this little bastard off today! Let’s go!” Everyone laughed loudly and left with swagger, not forgetting to kick the waiter a few times before departing.
The waiter had been beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, unable to get up for a long time. The innkeeper looked coldly at him crawling on the ground and said to the other workers: “Throw this fellow out!”
The workers lifted up the waiter and were about to throw him out when the waiter suddenly broke free from everyone and rushed toward the innkeeper, shouting loudly: “Wages! Calculate my wages for these days!”
The innkeeper had lost twenty taels of silver for no reason and was deeply pained—how could he be willing to pay wages? Hearing the waiter’s fierce shouting, he angrily said: “What nonsense are you spouting? I haven’t made you compensate for those twenty taels of silver—you should be thanking heaven and earth! How dare you ask me for wages?”
The waiter grabbed the innkeeper and shouted: “I’ve worked for you for two months without getting a single penny! Now you’re driving me away—what am I supposed to eat?”
The other workers quickly pulled him back. Everyone was tugging at each other, but the waiter absolutely refused to leave. The innkeeper raised his voice: “Old Zhang! Quickly go report to the authorities and have this fellow taken away!”
The worker Old Zhang knew the yamen was extremely corrupt and quickly advised: “Master innkeeper, please show mercy. This boy is a failed examination candidate who only came here to earn a meal because he was down and out. If you report him to the authorities, this boy will lose his reputation!”
The innkeeper had no grudge against this waiter and didn’t want to go so far. He pondered for a moment, thinking of the principle that harmony brings wealth, and said to the waiter: “Boy, if you just get out obediently, I won’t report you to the authorities. What do you say?”
Who would have thought the waiter showed no gratitude and shouted at the top of his lungs: “Stop trying to threaten me! Since you owe me wages, you should pay up! We might as well let the honorable magistrate judge and see who’s right and who’s wrong!”
The innkeeper, seeing his fearless attitude and righteous appearance, couldn’t help feeling angry and thought: “This boy’s life and death has nothing to do with me. Today I lost twenty taels of silver because of this poor scholar, and now he still wants wages from me—how can I swallow this insult!” The waiter’s monthly wage was only three coins of silver, so twenty taels could hire over a hundred workers—it was truly a losing business.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He raised his voice and shouted: “Old Zhang! Why aren’t you going to report to the authorities?” The worker sighed softly, shook his head, and left.
The innkeeper saw the waiter still shouting loudly and secretly sneered, thinking: “You boy don’t know what’s coming. Once you enter this place’s yamen, you’ll find calling to heaven brings no response and calling to earth brings no aid—then see what clever words you’ll have!”
Before long, two armed constables arrived. The waiter rushed up to them and called: “Constable sirs! This innkeeper owes me wages—please be reasonable and seek justice for me!”
One constable kicked him away and shouted: “Get lost, you damn thing! Poor scholar!”
The waiter rolled to one side and couldn’t help showing shock, calling out: “You… you are the local parent officials! How can you be like this?”
One constable raised the steel blade in his hands and sneered: “If you keep babbling, I’ll kill you with one stroke!” The other constable walked toward the innkeeper and said impatiently: “What’s all this about? On such a cold day, calling us brothers out just to take this boy?”
The waiter stared blankly at the two constables, too shocked to speak.
The innkeeper smiled apologetically: “Please trouble yourselves to take this boy away. This boy is staying here and won’t leave—our inn can’t do business!”
One constable winked and said: “Did he steal something? Just for staying in your inn, we brothers can’t really arrest him!”
Upon hearing this, how could the innkeeper not understand? He glanced at the waiter and secretly smiled: “Dead thing, stinking poor scholar! I’d rather give your wages to these constables than let you get your way.” He immediately took out the waiter’s wages and stuffed them all into the constable’s hands, grinning obsequiously.
The constable, seeing the three coins of silver, nodded: “Alright! This boy both ate for free and stole things—arrest him!”
The waiter, hearing the innkeeper and constables conspiring to frame him, quickly called out: “Injustice! I didn’t steal anything! I didn’t eat for free! He owes me wages!”
The constable was very impatient and immediately tried to drag the waiter away. The waiter struggled on the ground, only crying out his innocence loudly. The two constables pulled hard and finally dragged the waiter away. Though the waiter was being dragged off, his eyes still stared viciously at the innkeeper as he shouted: “You’ve harmed me like this—I… I will definitely get revenge!”
The innkeeper laughed heartily, rushed forward, and kicked wildly, shouting: “Damn nonsense! Get out of here!” One kick landed squarely on his chin. The waiter cried out “Ah!” in agony and immediately fainted.
“Wake up! Stop pretending to be dead there!”
When the waiter regained consciousness, he found himself already in a prison cell, his body and face still aching unbearably, his head dizzy and nauseous.
“Pretending to be dead? Pour another basin of water on him!”
A jailer brought a bucket of water and poured it directly on him. In this extremely harsh winter, how could the waiter endure such treatment? His whole body immediately shivered, his teeth chattering audibly.
“What’s your surname and name? Where are you from? Confess truthfully and quickly!”
The waiter slightly raised his head and saw a man who looked like a clerk regarding him with complete disdain. The waiter quickly said: “Master clerk, please see clearly—this humble person has been wrongly accused and unfortunately imprisoned. Please examine carefully and return justice to this humble person!”
The clerk, seeing his dignified appearance and elegant speech, couldn’t help saying “Eh!” and asked: “What grievance do you have? You might as well speak plainly.”
Though the waiter’s head was splitting with pain and he felt nauseous and irritated, he still endured it and gasped: “This humble person’s surname is Lu, with the single name Yun, ancestrally from Weichang County in Shandong. This year I went to the provincial capital to take the imperial examination but unfortunately failed. My travel money was also exhausted, so I could only stay at the Kelaixuan inn doing menial serving work to earn a meal.”
The clerk’s eyes brightened and he breathed a sigh of relief: “So you’re a poor scholar—that’s acceptable! Then how did you come to steal customers’ money and end up imprisoned?”
Lu Yun slowly said: “Master clerk, please see clearly—this humble person has at least read the books of Confucius and Mencius, and at worst wouldn’t stoop to thievery. The accusation of theft is truly a false charge.” He paused and continued: “Since ancient times, theft charges require both the person and stolen goods to be caught together before conviction. To convict me based solely on the Kelaixuan inn’s one-sided testimony is truly unconvincing.”
The clerk said coldly: “That also makes sense. With the New Year approaching, we don’t want to create more trouble either. However, for your case, we’ve had to go back and forth, mobilizing many people. If you don’t have fifty taels of silver, you probably can’t get out—this is called administrative fees!”
Seeing Lu Yun’s shocked expression, he continued: “Originally, the rule was thirty taels, but with this bitter cold weather, we need to add twenty more taels to satisfy these brothers!”
The clerk figured this scholarly type probably had no money to squeeze from him even in prison, so he might as well demand fifty taels and send him away. Thinking that since he could go to the provincial capital for the imperial examination, fifty taels of small money should still be manageable.
Who would have thought Lu Yun said urgently: “Fifty taels? I don’t have even one penny!”
Upon hearing this, the clerk’s face became even more frosty. He snorted and immediately walked out, too lazy to say another word. Lu Yun cried out his innocence, but the guards on both sides had already thrown him into the cell and left completely.
Lu Yun was heavily thrown into the prison cell and felt as if all the bones in his body had split apart. He could only moan and groan, unable to get up. After about half an hour, he slowly crawled up from the ground.
This prison was filthy beyond description, with excrement and urine covering the floor. Those guards were extremely lazy and didn’t even provide a chamber pot or urinal. Fortunately, in the severe winter, though the stench was unbearable, it wasn’t made worse.
Lu Yun shivered all over from cold and found a relatively clean corner to crouch in. He looked at the small patch of sky outside the tiny window—gray and gloomy without a trace of sunlight, only snowflakes falling down.
Lu Yun lowered his head and thought: “Sigh! Isn’t today the day to send off the Kitchen God? ‘If the Jade Emperor asks about human affairs, literary works are worthless in troubled times.’ After over ten years of studying in poverty, who would have thought I’d end up like this today.”
Cold winds attacked in waves, and his injured areas felt like countless needle pricks. Lu Yun pulled his clothes tight, but how could those thin garments resist this bitter winter wind? Moreover, the coldness in his heart was a thousand times worse than what his body endured. Lu Yun gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with anger, yet tears fell drop by drop.
For several days in a row, no food was even delivered to the prison, and no one came to interrogate him. Presumably, with the New Year approaching, everyone was busy celebrating—who would bother with him? They had naturally forgotten about Lu Yun, who was cold and hungry, suffering in that excrement-covered place. By New Year’s Eve, he could only hear firecrackers thundering throughout the city, a scene of joy and celebration. Lu Yun thought of his deceased relatives and, overcome with grief, cried aloud.
He barely endured until New Year’s Day when a jailer came carrying a food basket. Besides vegetables and tofu, there was actually a fish. This jailer was an old man Lu Yun was seeing for the first time.
The old jailer said: “This is New Year’s Eve dinner from my home. I saved a fish for you—it’s New Year’s Day after all, so getting some good luck is always good.”
Lu Yun was terribly hungry and ate the rice in big gulps.
The old jailer said: “Eat slowly, don’t choke! Looking at your refined features, how did you end up here?”
Lu Yun put down his rice bowl, sighed, and seeing this old man’s gentle expression, unlike the wolf-like appearance of others, he told the whole story in detail.
After hearing this, the old jailer felt sympathy and said in a low voice: “Our county magistrate is both greedy and lustful. I’ve seen countless unjust cases like yours. In this place, a thousand taels of gold can save a condemned prisoner, a hundred taels of silver can save a living person. For a case like yours, you’d need at least fifty taels to save your life.”
Lu Yun was both sad and angry, shouting loudly: “These shameless people take bribes and pervert justice—is there any justice left in this world?”
The old jailer quickly signaled for silence, thinking: “You’re still locked up in prison yourself—what heavenly justice and royal law are you talking about?” Seeing Lu Yun had finished eating, the old jailer lowered his head to collect the bowls and chopsticks and hurriedly left.
A few days later, guards brought in a young master. He had refined features and wore luxurious brocaded silk—it was unclear what crime he had committed. He was also put in prison, just in the adjacent cell.
Lu Yun thought: “This person appears to be a scholar. I wonder what crime he committed—could he also be wrongly accused?”
The next morning, guards came to escort both Lu Yun and the young master out—apparently they were to be tried in court. Lu Yun remembered what the old jailer had said and secretly worried, not knowing how the county magistrate would deal with him.
Arriving at the court hall, he saw a person with a dignified appearance holding a gavel, wearing a seventh-rank black gauze cap that inspired awe—this must be the local county magistrate. Guards on both sides held Lu Yun and the young master as they knelt together, quietly waiting for the trial.
Lu Yun saw the young master was dignified in appearance, kneeling beside him with a very composed expression, seemingly completely unafraid. Lu Yun couldn’t help but secretly admire him, thinking: “Look how calm he is—he must also be wrongly accused.”
Seeing the other person so composed, he also didn’t want to show fear and simply collected himself, kneeling quietly on the ground.
After the court opening ceremony, the county magistrate struck the gavel hard and shouted: “Summon Jia Shi!”
Lu Yun heard his stern tone and though he tried to remain calm, was still startled. Soon, guards brought in an old woman who walked unsteadily, about fifty or sixty years old. She knelt and said: “Citizen Jia Shi kowtows to the honorable magistrate,” appearing quite frightened.
When the young master saw this old woman, his body trembled slightly as if he recognized her. Lu Yun observed this and thought: “What does this old woman do? Could it be that she’s filed a complaint against this young master?”
The county magistrate picked up a document and said: “On the third of last month, you personally witnessed a man molesting your household’s madam and even raping her—is this true?”
Jia Shi kowtowed: “In response to your honor, this citizen dare not speak falsely—this indeed happened.”
The county magistrate hummed in acknowledgment and continued: “This official has read your testimony. Since you personally witnessed this rapist’s evil deed, you certainly recognize the criminal. This official now wants you to help by identifying this criminal—can you do this?”
Jia Shi wailed loudly: “Even if that thief turned to ash, this citizen could still identify him!”
Lu Yun saw her extreme grief, and the refined-looking man beside him was terrified. He already knew the old woman was here to identify the suspect and figured he was just brought here as a decoy, so he relaxed.
The county magistrate, seeing the old woman’s ready agreement, was quite pleased: “Don’t be angry. As long as you identify the thief, this official can uphold justice for your household’s madam and bring him to justice to uphold heavenly justice.” He pointed toward Lu Yun and the refined man: “There are two people kneeling here. Look carefully and point him out to me.”
The old woman shrieked and immediately rushed toward the two men, then stared with her wrinkled eyes, carefully examining both men from top to bottom.
Lu Yun was initially unconcerned, but saw the old woman’s strange eyes rolling white as she looked at him, constantly turning up and down. Lu Yun was frightened by her stare and secretly worried: “This old woman is quite aged—she shouldn’t mistake me with poor eyesight.” For a moment he shivered, afraid of being wrongly identified.
Just as he was worrying, he suddenly saw the old woman point at him and say: “Him! It’s him! This person brutally raped our household’s madam that day with shameless and cruel behavior. Please punish him severely and execute him publicly!”
Lu Yun was scared out of his wits and cried: “You… what are you saying? Don’t falsely accuse good people!”
The county magistrate struck the gavel hard and shouted: “How dare you speak without permission in the court! Someone give him a beating!”
A guard came over and heavily slapped Lu Yun across the face. Lu Yun cried out in pain, his cheeks swelling high, unable to speak another word.
The county magistrate pointed at Lu Yun: “Jia Shi, have you looked clearly? Is it really this person and not someone else?”
The old woman shrieked: “It’s exactly this person, definitely no mistake! A month ago this person broke into the residence with a sharp knife, threatened our madam, and forced her to submit. This person appears refined but is actually worse than a beast! Once I’ve seen someone like this, I’ll never forget!”
Lu Yun was both shocked and afraid. A month ago he was still working at the Kelaixuan inn—when had he done such an absurd thing? He immediately called out: “Injustice!” Before he could finish saying “injustice,” he was heavily slapped more than ten times and collapsed in the court.
The county magistrate shouted loudly: “What a bold criminal! You committed crimes in this county, raping civilian women—your crime is truly enormous. This official asks you one question: do you admit your guilt or not?”
Lu Yun panicked and called out: “Your honor, please don’t listen to that old woman’s lies—this humble person is innocent!”
The county magistrate paid no attention and continued: “This person is stubborn and unrepentant. Even in court, he still doesn’t know to confess. Someone torture him until he confesses and signs!”
A guard grabbed Lu Yun and sneered: “Boy, you’d better confess quickly and sign early to save yourself physical suffering.”
Seeing the guards all like wolves and tigers, how could Lu Yun, a poor scholar, not be afraid? He said tremblingly: “I… I never did anything evil—how… how can you make me confess?”
The guard snorted: “Still being stubborn?” He then dragged Lu Yun to a corner, picked up a whip and lashed fiercely. The whip had barbed tips that caused unbearable pain when they struck. After several snapping sounds, Lu Yun’s body was covered with bloody marks and he nearly fainted from pain.
Amid the sounds of whip lashing, the county magistrate personally came down from his seat, personally helped up the refined-looking person, and smiled apologetically: “Our guards were blind and arrested the wrong person. Please forgive us, Young Master Hong.”
The young master smiled coldly: “Forget it, I won’t hold this matter against you. Can I leave now?”
The county magistrate bowed and said: “Of course you can. Disturbing Young Master Hong this time was really unavoidable—please don’t take offense.” He then shouted: “Why don’t you come escort Young Master Hong back to his residence!”
A group of guards quickly approached to escort Young Master Hong away. Young Master Hong waved his hand and sneered: “No need to trouble yourselves. My sedan chair is outside—I can go by myself.”
He laughed heartily and turned to leave when suddenly a figure flashed at the door. A big man charged in, holding a sharp knife, his face full of rage, roaring angrily: “Hong Gui! The corrupt official let you go, but I’ll never spare you—come and die!”
Young Master Hong was greatly alarmed and quickly retreated several steps, turning to look at the county magistrate, saying tremblingly: “What… what is this person doing?”
The county magistrate was also shocked and shouted: “Bold criminal! How dare you break into the court hall with a weapon? Someone! Quickly arrest this villain!”
Guards on both sides rushed forward and, with punches and kicks, knocked the strong man to the ground.
The strong man shouted loudly: “Surnamed Hong! You raped my wife and think you can just walk away like this? I tell you, don’t think you can do whatever you want just because your family has money and power—I’ll definitely bring you down!”
Hearing this, Young Master Hong immediately said “Oh!” and recognized him. He chuckled and stepped forward, bent down, and whispered to the strong man: “You really don’t know what’s good for you. Your wife frowns all day, so I came to comfort her on your behalf. Not only do you not know gratitude, but you actually reported to the authorities—truly tactless.”
The strong man roared like a tiger, his eyes seeming to shoot fire.
The county magistrate, fearing Young Master Hong might say too much, quickly gave him a look: “Young Master Hong, leave quickly and don’t bother with this person.” Young Master Hong understood, laughed loudly, and left directly.
Lu Yun witnessed this scene, and while his back was being beaten, his heart felt even more like being cut by knives: “What a corrupt official! Looking at his behavior, he must have received benefits—otherwise how could his judgment be so hasty? I… I absolutely cannot confess. Even if they beat me to death, I won’t sign!”
Not willing to be a scapegoat, he simply endured the pain silently. After more than ten lashes, he had already fainted from pain.
Seeing Young Master Hong leave calmly, the county magistrate ordered the strong man to be dragged up and shouted: “You bold fellow! This official has already captured the real criminal and will soon give you justice. Why do you falsely accuse innocent people?” He pointed at Lu Yun, already treating him as the real criminal.
The strong man glanced sideways at Lu Yun and immediately roared, cursing: “Bullshit! You corrupt official are just lapdogs of wealthy families and never worked half a bit for the people. Do you think randomly finding someone as a substitute will make me let that surnamed Hong go?”
The county magistrate heard this and flew into a rage, forcefully striking the gavel and shouting: “In court you dare speak such nonsense! If not for the fact that you’re the victim, this official would sentence you to death today!” He waved his hand and shouted: “Someone! Drag him down and give him a hundred heavy beatings!”
Guards approached and held the strong man, about to drag him out for a severe beating. The strong man shouted: “You dog official, don’t be so smug! I’m not without connections either! Let me tell you plainly—my uncle works in the Metropolitan Censorate in the capital and is familiar with several censors. If you have the guts, just beat me to death and see how he seeks justice for me!”
Hearing the words “censor,” the county magistrate’s face had already turned pale. A clerk quickly approached and whispered in his ear: “What this person says is definitely not false. Your honor must not beat him, or it will be difficult to end well.”
Hearing these words, the county magistrate quickly reached out to stop the guards, saying hoarsely: “Don’t beat him yet—first throw this person out!”
The guards responded and threw the strong man out of the yamen. The strong man still wouldn’t give up and continued cursing at the door. Guards nearby rushed up and drove him away with random clubs.
The county magistrate called the clerk over and asked: “Now we’re in trouble—this victim is also not easy to provoke. How should we handle this?”
The clerk glanced at Lu Yun and said in a low voice: “Your honor need not worry. As long as we force that surnamed Lu boy to confess, even if the Metropolitan Censorate sends people to investigate later, we’ll have testimony.”
The county magistrate was pleased: “Exactly! As long as we have a confession, what is there to fear?” He immediately called guards and instructed: “This boy is extremely vicious and refuses to confess to death. Beat him seriously until he confesses and signs!”
The guards quickly rushed forward and gave him more than ten lashes, beating Lu Yun until his skin split and flesh opened, barely alive with only half a life remaining.
A guard approached and said: “Report to your honor—no matter how we torture him, that surnamed Lu boy still refuses to confess to death and has fainted.”
The county magistrate was furious: “If this dead boy doesn’t sign, and the victim files a complaint to the capital, how will I handle it when superiors investigate? Beat him harder!”
The guards beat him for another while. Lu Yun remained motionless as if dead. The clerk quickly advised: “This boy is very stubborn. If we continue beating, we might kill him. We can try him again tomorrow.”
The county magistrate snorted and shouted: “Lock him up first and torture him again tomorrow.”
The guards lifted Lu Yun and threw him back into prison.
Soon after, Lu Yun slowly regained consciousness, feeling his entire body burning with pain, making it impossible to lie down or sit up. He could only support himself against the iron bars and slowly climb up.
Lu Yun looked at the empty prison cell and thought of being wrongly accused. His heart was filled with fear and hatred as he pondered: “This yamen is extremely corrupt. If I resist to death and don’t confess, they’ll definitely kill me. But if I confess, that’s also a dead end. Heaven! Will I, Lu Yun, die so unjustly and with such grievance? I don’t want to! I don’t want to!”
His mind agitated, he grabbed the prison door and roared: “I don’t want to die! Let me out! Let me out!” He shouted for a while, but no one paid attention. Later, even his voice became hoarse from shouting.