“Gentlemen, these poems were all found on the desk in his bedroom. The evidence is conclusive. This matter must be reported to the Emperor. I request that you gentlemen refrain from interfering; otherwise, you will all be treated as accomplices.”
“Of course, of course. The magistrate certainly has his reasons for this case, and we naturally would not question your judgment. Please proceed, Your Honor,” the scholars hastily replied.
Only then did the Assistant Magistrate order the bailiffs to collect the poems and escort Song Yifeng to the yamen. Tired of hearing Song Yifeng’s protests of innocence, one of the bailiffs produced a cloth from somewhere and stuffed it into Song Yifeng’s mouth.
Madam Yu had followed the Assistant Magistrate and his men. Seeing her son arrested and bound to the yamen, she wailed inconsolably, crying out to heaven and earth.
Knowing the Emperor disliked involving innocent bystanders, and since this case required no investigation, it was obvious Madam Yu had nothing to do with it, as she lacked the education to write such texts—the Assistant Magistrate had originally planned to leave her alone.
But seeing her behavior, he simply ordered the bailiffs to arrest her as well and bring her to the yamen, saying he would interrogate her alongside her son.
With his mouth gagged, Song Yifeng could only make muffled sounds and shake his head desperately at his mother.
Madam Yu had regained her senses by then. She realized that by remaining free, she could still seek help from her son’s teachers or even appeal to the Ye family. At the very least, she could bring food to her son in prison.
But if she too were thrown in jail, all would be lost.
So when they arrived at the court, she no longer dared to make a scene. When Song Yifeng stated that his mother had nothing to do with the matter, she merely lowered her head and silently wept, not daring to utter a single word.
Magistrate Qi Zhipei had no intention of implicating the innocent, so he released Madam Yu. With conclusive evidence against Song Yifeng, he was sent directly to prison. Guizi, for failing to report what he knew, was also detained.
As for the final judgment—whether to strip Song Yifeng of his scholarly rank, or sentence him to labor or exile—the magistrate still needed to send the case files to the capital. After all, Song Yifeng was a Provincial Graduate, and since he was charged with a literary crime, only the Emperor could determine whether he was guilty of treason.
Madam Yu left the yamen in a daze and returned home, hoping to discuss with Cui Zijin what they should do next. To her surprise, she found the courtyard gate tightly closed, with no one to answer.
There’s never a shortage of onlookers during such events. When the officials and bailiffs came to search the Song residence, some neighbors had followed them to the Prefectural School and then to the yamen, and now they followed Madam Yu back.
Seeing no one at Madam Yu’s home, but noticing the landlady standing among the crowd enthusiastically chatting with neighbors who hadn’t gone, these people didn’t return to their homes but gathered around the Song residence instead.
Those who hadn’t gone quickly came over to inquire; those who had been there explained the situation to everyone.
The landlady, having heard the general circumstances—that Song Yifeng had been arrested and imprisoned on charges of writing treasonous poetry—quickly stopped Madam Yu as she was about to open the door and enter. “I can’t rent to you anymore. You need to move out immediately. Don’t implicate me in this.”
“We paid rent for a full month. We’ve been here less than half a month. You can’t drive us out,” Madam Yu said, mustering her strength as she pushed the door open and entered.
“I’ll refund you the full month’s rent. Just move out immediately,” the landlady insisted.
Ignoring the landlady, Madam Yu walked in like a wandering spirit, only to see Cui Zijin’s door wide open. From a distance, the room appeared empty.
Madam Yu hurried over to look and saw that aside from a wooden bed frame left by the landlady, everything else—bedding, trunks, and all of Cui Zijin’s daily necessities—was gone.
The adjacent room of Mother Cui was in the same condition.
Both rooms had been cleaned thoroughly, as if no one had ever lived there.
Madam Yu’s heart sank. She quickly returned to her room and, seeing that everything was still intact and untouched, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. But the tears she had held back throughout her journey finally streamed down as she cursed under her breath, “Little harlot.”
How could she not understand? Cui Zijin, upon seeing her son arrested, had simply taken her belongings and left.
Madam Yu slumped down on the edge of the bed, her mind blank with bewilderment, not knowing what to do or who to turn to for advice.
After breaking off the engagement, when money ran short but the household gained Cui Zijin and her maid, Madam Yu had sold the cook and Xiaoxiang—though in truth, Xiaoxiang had been purchased by people sent by Zhou Xiang. After buying her, they had gone to the yamen to cancel her slave status and restore her freedom.
Now Guizi had also been imprisoned.
Only she remained in the residence, utterly alone.
Back when the Song family had mistreated and bullied her and her son, she had fled with him to Linan City, cutting all ties with the Song family. Even later, when her son’s registration for the examination revealed their whereabouts to the Song family, she quickly purchased that residence (the one later compensated to the Ye family) and moved, fearing that Song Yifeng’s grandparents, uncles, and cousins might come to the city and cause trouble, damaging Song Yifeng’s reputation.
When Song Yifeng passed the Prefectural and Provincial examinations, the Song family had received no benefits; now that Song Yifeng was in trouble, expecting them to lend a hand was completely out of the question.
As for the Ye family, that was even more hopeless. Because of the broken engagement, the Ye family probably despised them and might even celebrate hearing that Song Yifeng had been imprisoned. How could they possibly offer money or help?
Thinking of this, Madam Yu covered her face and began to sob.
“Stop crying and pack your things to leave,” the landlady said, taking out three hundred coins and waving them in front of Madam Yu. “Pack your things and go, and I’ll return these three hundred coins to you.”
Someone, feeling sorry for Madam Yu, spoke up: “Madam Qian, why not give her two more days? Let her leave after that. Since the yamen released her, she must be innocent. Surely there’s no problem letting her stay here.”
Madam Qian turned to look at the person with piercing eyes: “If she becomes desperate and hangs herself here, will you take responsibility?”
The person immediately shrank back and fell silent.
After Madam Qian’s explanation, everyone understood.
If Madam Yu were to hang herself in this otherwise fine residence, Madam Qian wouldn’t be able to rent it out again, resulting in a significant loss.
“If you leave now, I’ll return these three hundred coins to you, considering it as half a month of free lodging. If you don’t leave, I won’t refund the rent. When the month is up, I won’t rent to you again, and you’ll have to leave anyway. Think about it carefully.”
Madam Yu continued to shake her head.
She knew that moving out would be better than continuing to stay here.
But when they had moved in, they had brought all their furniture and household items. There were also her and her son’s clothes and bedding, as well as her son’s writing brushes, ink, paper, and books. These were worth at least a hundred taels of silver.
She couldn’t just pack a bundle and leave.
Moreover, what if her son was cleared and released from prison? If she left, where would he find her?
With a hoarse voice, she said, “I’ll stay for another half month.”
Madam Qian glared at her but had no choice. If she pushed too hard and Madam Yu took her own life in desperation, then she would be blamed for driving her to death.
“Fine, I’ll give you another half month. But remember, your son is still in jail waiting for you to bring him food. If you die, your son won’t survive either.”
Madam Yu nodded woodenly.
Only then did Madam Qian lead the crowd away.