“Your Honor! The handwriting matches Ji’s exactly—it must have been written by her hand!”
The steward was about to argue further when the Prefecture Governor threw the submitted letter in front of him and said sternly, “Even if this letter was written by Lady Ji, do you have any evidence of her colluding with river bandits? According to the case files from Huzhou Prefecture, the salvaged boat sank from hitting a reef, not from being deliberately breached. Are you suggesting that the Yangtze River bandits wielded thousand-jin boulders underwater to smash holes in the boat? Utter nonsense! Do you know the punishment for falsely accusing an innocent person?”
The boat wasn’t sunk by river bandits? Only then did the steward learn the truth from the investigation files. He secretly cursed that damned servant girl several times. He was known for his eloquence—otherwise, Lord Yichuan wouldn’t have sent him.
The steward’s eyes darted as he called out, “Your Honor! The servant girl who attended my master’s wife is a witness! Since Your Honor has opened court twice today, why not have her testify? Perhaps bandits boarded to plunder, and in the crew’s panic, they lost control and struck the reef. My master is a member of the Li clan with a noble title. Your Honor must think this through carefully. You cannot just accept Lady Ji-Xu’s one-sided account!”
“What sort of creature are you to dare lecture this official? Strike his mouth ten times!” The Governor, recalling the former Lady Ji-Xu now kneeling before his court listening to his judgment, felt satisfaction that no five hundred guans from Lord Yichuan could buy. Having someone dictate terms in his territory and even brandish the name of Yichuan from Chang’an as a threat—the Governor was instantly furious and threw down a punishment token.
As soon as the token fell, the court bailiffs stepped forward with bamboo paddles and, without further discussion, delivered ten strikes from both sides.
After all, he had received five hundred guan. After two strikes, the Governor gave a subtle eye signal. The bailiffs understood and lightened their blows. But after ten paddle strikes, the steward’s cheeks were swollen like steamed buns fresh from the basket, puffed up high.
Only then did the Governor rub his temples and sigh, “This official also wished to bring that servant girl to court for questioning. Unfortunately, she hanged herself with her belt in prison last night. This official and the coroner worked through the night and determined she chose suicide out of fear after her false accusations. Very well, the truth of this case is now clear. Lady Yichuan’s boat encountered storms, struck a reef, and sank with loss of life. That servant girl, who could swim, abandoned her mistress and fled. When her false accusations failed, she feared punishment and took her own life. The physical evidence is inadmissible, and the witness is dead. This official finds Lady Ji innocent. The case is closed.”
The most crucial witness had committed suicide last night? All four parties in the courtroom were stunned.
Last night… Ji Yingying inexplicably thought of Lord Sheng. Hadn’t he planned to use this case to pressure the Ji family? No, it couldn’t be him. But he had clearly said the servant girl was under his control. If he had done this, why would he turn around and help the Ji family? Could it have been Madam Yang’s brother, Colonel Shi? As the Governor’s right-hand man, he had the easiest access to the prison. Would the Yang family kill someone for her sake? No, they wouldn’t take such a risk either. To needlessly burden themselves with a life. Had the servant girl truly taken her own life knowing her false accusations had failed? The various theories in Ji Yingying’s mind became a tangled mess she couldn’t unravel.
Never mind—at least her family was cleared. Ji Yingying called out, “Your Honor’s wisdom shines like a bright mirror! Thank you for distinguishing right from wrong!”
The stunned Lady Ji and Ji Yaoting also praised heaven’s justice and bowed to the Governor.
The Governor stroked his beard with satisfaction. General Niu had wanted him to condemn Lady Ji. The Commander’s office had sent some arrogant steward. Colonel Shi had directly delivered a hundred taels of gold last night. The Governor thought to himself: I’m a civil official—if I must bow and scrape, it would be before the Military Commissioner. I couldn’t care less about you penny-pinching military men.
He stood up, about to dismiss court. The Baron’s steward, ignoring the pain in his swollen cheeks, called out again, “Your Honor, please order Ji to return our mansion and shop deeds…”
The Governor said slowly, “If your household can produce evidence proving these were not collateral for debts Lady Yichuan owed to the Ji family, this official will order Lady Ji to return them to the Baron!”
The steward was dumbfounded.
His earlier testimony in court had been half-truth, half-fiction.
Third Lady Xu had only one daughter, Yan’er, and was rushing to prepare her dowry. She had several sons by concubines, but Third Lady Xu was thinking only of herself and her daughter. She wanted to officially designate the most valuable shop in the East Market as part of her daughter’s dowry while secretly keeping control of herself. When she grew old, if her sons by the concubines were unfilial, having a shop meant she could still live out her days in comfort. She had taken out the shop deed, but Lord Yichuan discovered it. They had a huge fight, and Lord Yichuan was so angry he wanted to divorce her.
It was then that Lord Sheng’s people had found Third Lady Xu. Tempted by the promise of great profit, she went all in—taking only her maid, she stole the mansion and shop deeds and was escorted to Yizhou Prefecture by Lord Sheng’s arranged protection.
She had only told her daughter Yan’er about this, vaguely saying she was going to find Lady Ji to dye silk fabric to sell in Chang’an for profit.
After the incident, Lord Yichuan hadn’t figured it out either. By coincidence, that servant girl had been found and sent back to the manor. Lord Yichuan had been married to Third Lady Xu for half his life and hated Lady Ji’s cruelty. Most importantly, he wanted to recover the deeds in Lady Ji’s possession. He had a sudden idea and found a craftsman skilled at imitating handwriting. He had kept some poems written in Lady Ji’s hand and used them to forge a letter.
The steward called out through his swollen face, “Your Honor if my master’s wife pledged these to Lady Ji-Xu, let her produce the signed agreement for examination.”
This wasn’t an unreasonable request. Third Lady Xu’s body hadn’t even been found, and both copies of the agreement had dissolved to pulp in the water. The Governor sat back down and looked at Lady Ji.
“Your Honor, when I saw my sister’s pitiful state, I advanced her two thousand bolts of plain silk to be dyed. She had no money, so she left the house and shop deeds with me as security. We didn’t write up an agreement. I have no intention of keeping the Baron’s mansion and shops. I’ve brought them here—please return them.” Lady Ji didn’t want to take advantage of this at all. Nor did she want any further connection with Lord Yichuan’s household. She simply returned the deeds.
The Governor couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you want Lord Yichuan’s household to repay you for those two thousand bolts of silk and the dyeing costs?”
Lady Ji shook her head: “My sister traveled hundreds of li to make money and ultimately lost her life over these two thousand bolts of silk. But Lord Yichuan seems unaware of the nature of this transaction. I am in poor health and truly lack the strength to go to Chang’an to sue him.”
The case ended there. Each party had gained something, so both sides were satisfied.
After seeing Lady Ji off, the Governor returned to his private quarters, sighing repeatedly.
His advisor was quite puzzled: “Why does Your Honor sigh so?”
The Governor pointed at his empty quarters and said, “I’ve been in Yizhou for over a year, with no one to manage the inner household.”
The advisor caught his meaning and smiled, “Your Honor should indeed take another wife.”
“It won’t do!” The Governor still shook his head.
The advisor thought, could I have guessed wrong? Your Honor’s gaze at the Widow Ji was different!
The Governor wrung his hands and gnashed his teeth: “The Baron’s mansion isn’t large, but the location is excellent! And that shop in the East Market! Gold flows in by the bushel! If I had just nodded, it would all have been hers, and in the future, all mine! Yet she doesn’t want it! What use is such a wasteful woman as a wife?! Alas!”
The advisor: “…”