Prince Zheng was not a person who could be easily ignored. His entering the palace would quickly become known to others. Zheng Xi said to Prince Zheng, “Father, let’s go to the Court of Judicial Review.”
Prince Zheng said, “As we should.”
Father and son hurried from the Eastern Palace to the Court of Judicial Review, which at that hour was in the middle of its regular business. Zheng Xi was familiar to everyone there, and immediately someone flew off to inform Pei Qing and Leng Yun.
Leng Yun said, “What day is today that he’s back? What major matter has come up?”
Pei Qing said, “We’ll know once we’ve met with him.”
The two of them descended the steps to receive the guests. Before the greeting was even complete, Zheng Xi said, “Something has come up. Come — let’s speak inside.” Leng Yun moved to Prince Zheng’s side. “Uncle, what is it?” Prince Zheng said, “You’ll know in a moment.”
The four of them went inside and were seated. Zheng Xi said to Pei Qing and Leng Yun, “This is a somewhat tricky matter. Sanlang sent a letter.”
Pei Qing said, “A case?”
Zheng Xi said, “Hard to say. Read it first.”
Leng Yun leaned in as well. The two read the letter. In it, Zhù Ying wrote that she had previously shared a meal with Tian Pi and could confirm that the person she saw was not Tian Pi — the man looked somewhat younger than Tian Pi. She asked Zheng Xi to notify the Court of Judicial Review to investigate quietly, and emphasized twice: “Privately — do not alert anyone, do not let word leak.” She felt there was a story behind this.
Pei Qing said, “We all trust Sanlang’s eye for these things. So the person she saw claiming to be Tian Pi must be an impostor. Her caution is appropriate. She is a person passing through, and the false Tian Pi has taken on Tian Pi’s identity, with the local people recognizing only the false Tian Pi as the principal official. If word leaks and he strikes back with an accusation, she’d have a hard time of it. Without clarifying the full circumstances and without bringing enough people to make an arrest, it would also be easy for the false Tian Pi to ensnare her.”
Zheng Xi, who had once overseen the Court of Judicial Review, said, “We must also be careful when verifying with Tian Pi’s family! If there are problems at home as well — if they quietly send word out — that would cause trouble. Then, has Tian Pi sent any official documents here in the last two years? Pull those, look at them, and compare the handwriting.”
Prince Zheng had been listening for a while and then said, “Why are you all hemming and hawing! The way I see it — muster a troop and head straight there, whoever it is, pin them down, and question them slowly!”
Zheng Xi said, “That probably won’t work. Without reason, without evidence, on the basis of one letter, to pin down a local chief official would require — how many people would be enough? The higher-ups won’t agree. Even if we request imperial sanction, the matter must first have some shape to it before we can convince the Council of State and the Emperor. We must be fast — a passing official, how many days can she remain there? Without her to guide the way, outsiders going there to conduct an investigation could alert the criminal.”
He calculated the dates: Zhù Ying’s previous letter, the casual chatty one, had arrived only two days ahead of this one, but its date of composition was four days earlier — meaning this letter had been dispatched as an emergency.
Pei Qing said, “Indeed. This case is frightening beyond words — we cannot let the suspect flee! I will first pull the files and check the handwriting.”
Pei Qing pulled the files. There were also some larger cases from that area requiring the Court of Judicial Review’s review — the seals were genuine, and the handwriting had been consistent year after year.
Pei Qing said, “Either it has been false from the very beginning, or the person was never replaced at all. Could it have happened on the road? My lord — perhaps it would be better to try rattling the bushes. I am thinking of personally paying a visit to the Tian household.”
Zheng Xi said, “Then you must have people properly placed, keeping close watch on the Tian family.”
“First have Su Kuang make ready. The moment it is confirmed, I’ll request imperial sanction to dispatch him out of the capital to handle the case.”
“Good.”
Zheng Xi waited at the Court of Judicial Review while Pei Qing deployed people to watch every entrance of the Tian household and told them: “From the moment I go in, watch anyone who comes out of this residence. Keep close watch.”
Things, however, were neither as simple as they had imagined, nor more complex.
Pei Qing brought people to the Tian household and presented a calling card. The Tian household was not small, yet felt somewhat empty inside, and the servants were not many.
Tian Pi’s wife was taken aback. “What business does our family have with the Court of Judicial Review?” Her husband was away, and their son — because of his father’s official position — was currently studying under Zheng Xi’s brother-in-law Yue Huan, and was not at home.
She had no choice but to meet Pei Qing in person.
Looking at Tian Pi’s wife, Pei Qing noted that she had very much the bearing of a principal wife, and did not look like a wicked person. She was no longer young, with traces of silver at her temples.
The two met, and Pei Qing first explained his visit: “The Court of Judicial Review is reviewing old cases. There is a matter under Tian Pi’s jurisdiction that I’d like to ask you about.”
“Oh? But he never speaks of such things with us — how would we know?”
Pei Qing asked, “Has Tian Pi been sending letters home?”
Tian Pi’s wife said, “That he has.”
“May I borrow them briefly? I’ll write out a receipt. The Court will return them once it is done.”
“This…” Tian Pi’s wife hesitated greatly. “I am only a woman and don’t understand affairs. The letters have all been received by my son, and he’s not home right now.”
Pei Qing smiled. “I have no problem with the Court of Judicial Review going to the National Academy to summon someone — but I fear it will set tongues wagging about your son. I am not particularly inclined to wait.”
After a brief hesitation, Tian Pi’s wife said, “Please — please wait. I’ll go look for them.”
She went back to her room herself to fetch the letters, and as she did so, she quietly told a maidservant, “Quickly! Have your brother go find the young master and bring him back! Say that the Court of Judicial Review has come to our house on some matter — have him ask around for information.”
She took the letters herself to give to Pei Qing. Pei Qing accepted them with a polite word of thanks, and then, as if in passing, asked, “Tian Pi first served at the Board of Personnel, then sought a good post outside the capital — has the household been doing well financially?”
“Has he committed a crime? He shouldn’t have taken bribes! Though it’s true that these past two years money and grain have been sent home, it’s all been from his official salary — he wouldn’t dare violate the law.”
“Don’t be frightened. I only asked on a whim. I noticed the household seemed rather modest.”
Tian Pi’s wife gave a rueful smile. “Sons and daughters are all debts. Daughters especially. Seven daughters — all need dowries.”
Pei Qing commiserated for a moment, then took the letters back to the Court of Judicial Review. He compared them with the case files and found that the handwriting also matched. Still unsatisfied, he examined the dates more carefully and found they were all written after the arrival at the post. The letters were all quite short — nothing more than a few characters. Either “all well” or “study hard.” Not a single letter exceeded ten characters.
Something was off.
On the other side, the servant sent to find the son had also been stopped, and Pei Qing had Tian Pi’s son brought to the Court of Judicial Review. This young man, not yet twenty, was completely bewildered upon entering the Court, and knew nothing when questioned.
Zheng Xi and Pei Qing put their heads together and sent an official communication to the Board of Personnel to retrieve case files handled by Tian Pi for handwriting comparison. He had worked at the Board of Personnel — surely he must have written official documents himself?
The Board of Personnel still had to argue with the Court of Judicial Review. Tian Pi had been gone for years — who still remembered what documents he had signed? Looking back through years of files to find something he had written — really! Pei Qing said, “Very well, I’ll put it in writing. If something goes wrong, it’s on you.” The Board of Personnel then reluctantly agreed to search.
The search required considerable effort. At last, a few documents were found. Pei Qing opened them right there, and compared them with the letters and case files he had brought. The handwriting was somewhat similar, but it was not the same person’s. And yet the seals were genuine!
Things had gotten complicated.
Zheng Xi and Pei Qing jointly invited the head of the Board of Personnel to the Council of State. Only when the Board’s head was brought there by the two of them did he realize something had gone wrong.
These several people — together with Prince Zheng — were a strange grouping. Chen Luan, Shi Kun, and Wang Yunhe all kept their composure, first receiving Prince Zheng, then waiting to see what the others had in mind.
Zheng Xi laid the letter on the Council of State’s table, and Pei Qing laid several of the official documents alongside it. Zheng Xi then stepped back and let Pei Qing do the explaining. The head of the Board of Personnel exclaimed in shock: “Tian Pi? Is this certain? Can it be confirmed?”
Wang Yunhe lowered his head and studied the several samples of handwriting, then said, “Eight or nine chances in ten. The phrasing and writing habits are both different too. Look — the earlier ones are still constrained, but later on, there’s no more pretending.”
The other two also bent their heads to examine the samples. The three of them were all men with ink in their blood — not calligraphy masters, perhaps, but all had put in serious effort.
Chen Luan said, “Never mind the handwriting — just the tone alone is wrong! Hundreds of li from home, to write your son who is studying only four characters? The suspicion is well-founded.”
Shi Kun said, “Send sharp and capable people south to confirm! Quickly!”
Pei Qing said, “I have already chosen someone.”
Wang Yunhe said, “Bring enough people. Catch the ringleader first. And there’s the matter of escorting prisoners back — does the Court of Judicial Review have sufficient manpower? The Board of Personnel should also send two people who recognize Tian Pi to go along and identify him.”
Pei Qing pressed a cold sweat into the palm of his hand, thinking to himself: Zhù Ying, please don’t have made a mistake!
Zhù Ying was pressing a cold sweat into her own palm.
Comfortable at home for a thousand days; a single step outside is hard.
She had been on the road for some time now. Food and lodging were not as convenient as in the capital, but the compensation was that her spirits were light. No more fear of exposure, no more need to manage all manner of superiors. Though along the way she inevitably had to pay calls on various officials, compared to the constant juggling act of the capital, this was genuinely restful.
Others in her party had a different experience. The same inconveniences, but different spirits. Especially Zhù Da — for the first few days on the road, he put on quite the air of the head of an old household, attended by the merchant caravan as well as his own servants.
What he should never have done was allow Hou Wu’s words to reach his ears when Hou Wu was chatting with Cao Chang: “The old man can’t read? Ha! Reading characters by their partial shapes…”
That alone might have passed. But a couple of days later, he heard Hou Wu again: “Not washing feet — the old gentleman doesn’t wash his feet either! I thought noblemen were all very particular about these things…”
What worried Zhù Da even more was that Hou Wu truly had no filter at all. He also said, “Isn’t our Sanlang a bit of a fool? Running all this way to be a county magistrate — what’s in it for her?”
Hou Wu had suffered countless times because of that mouth of his. Before departing, Jin Liang had urged him ten thousand times to be careful. When he met Zhù Ying, he had simply kept his mouth shut. I don’t speak, so you can’t hear me say anything bad. But the mouth — sometimes just couldn’t be controlled.
When Hou Wu realized Zhù Da was unhappy, Hou Wu himself felt awkward. Zhù Da had not heard Hou Wu praising the Zhù family: “For all their rough edges, they never do harm to others. Generous and big-hearted, they don’t bully the servants, don’t waste food…”
Zhù Da complained quietly to Zhang Xiangu, who said, “You want to send the household people away! But that person was also recommended by Jin Liang. He said going in — bad mouth, good heart.”
Zhù Da was still grumbling. The old couple had another argument. As their hometown drew nearer and nearer, Zhù Da also wanted to “make offerings at the ancestral graves” — which threw even Huajie into a panic. “Foster father — all those people in the old village know you. If someone talks about little Zhù’s origins…”
“What’s wrong with her origins?”
Huajie said, “Were your ancestors free people for three generations before you? Everyone knows you’ve been in trouble with the law before. If it comes out, she won’t be able to keep her official post.”
Zhang Xiangu was ready to fight him. All three of them had to keep this argument hidden, conducted in lowered voices.
In truth, as long as they weren’t deliberately shouting, others didn’t have much inclination to eavesdrop. Du Dajie grew more despondent the farther from the capital they traveled. Qi Tai was carsick. Qi’s daughter was in a fight with her father.
The Qi household also had no real assets to speak of. Hou Wu opened his mouth again: “Huh? Isn’t he the one who does accounts? How come his own family is this poor?”
Qi’s daughter was furious. Her father knew how to keep accounts — that was not the same as knowing how to make money! On top of not knowing how to make money, he also didn’t know how to bargain. She had gone through the family’s possessions carefully, bringing everything that could be brought, and was also thinking of borrowing a pot from someone to cook their own food — her father had forgotten to include her food in the arrangement.
At the first post station, she went to borrow a pot, and Du Dajie noticed her fussing around the stove and told Huajie. Huajie, who was eating, saw her busy there and called her over to eat with them. Zhang Xiangu was warm-hearted and said, “The post station provides meals for us here — there’s no shortage. Is it not to your taste?”
The employer was generous, which only made Qi’s daughter feel worse about her father’s incompetence. She put it plainly, since she might as well be upfront about taking advantage: “My father forgot to mention my meals in the agreement.” Zhang Xiangu said, “Oh! It’s just adding a bowl of rice.”
Qi’s daughter went to find her father, and found that Qi Tai was already seated — and the post station had even sent over meals for him and her together.
Could this father really get along with the employer? Qi’s daughter was deeply anxious.
Only Cao Chang and Little Wu were relatively fine, though Cao Chang still missed his parents.
Zhù Ying was worrying about one thing — money.
Taking money from the local people on arrival would not be seemly. She needed a sum of cash on hand for expenses. Daily living costs aside, she was going as county magistrate and still had superiors — which would represent a significant outlay.
She had called on Tian Pi partly because she knew him, and partly to cadge some travel money.
Old friends always send a little something as travel money along. That was the convention in officialdom — when someone passed through and called on you, you generally gave a little.
Now things had gone sideways — she’d come to cadge money and ended up finding a case!
When Zhù Ying went to call on Tian Pi, she had braced herself for a cold reception. The two of them weren’t particularly close, and the age gap was considerable. She had never sent Tian Pi any gifts before. If Tian Pi refused to see her, she wouldn’t have been surprised — though she could still have cadged a little money.
At first, things were as she’d expected. Tian Pi had not come in person, and sent someone with a small sum of money. Zhù Ying decided to go and express her thanks in person. Outside the government offices, she saw an official with an unfamiliar face walking out — one whose garments indicated that locally, only one person of Tian Pi’s rank should be wearing them. So she asked, “Who is that?”
Someone nearby said it was Tian Pi.
Zhù Ying showed no reaction at the time and said, “Ah, is that so.” She had quite a bold streak in her, and simply brought Cao Chang and Little Wu with her and went up to thank “Tian Pi” in person.
“Tian Pi” frowned slightly and said, “Oh, it’s you? Such a trivial gift — no need to say anything of it. You have a long way ahead of you. Why bother with this extra stop? You should set out earlier — that’s the sensible thing.”
Zhù Ying heard that his accent was perfectly polished capital-standard, and looked at the man — he appeared to be around forty, with a beard, and was fair-skinned. He didn’t look like someone who had done heavy physical labor. Bluntly put: he didn’t look like a bandit.
Zhù Ying said, “Some merchants are traveling with me, so I’ve stopped for a little while. Besides, this official suffered a relapse of an old injury the other day and has been somewhat indisposed. I may need to stay a couple of extra days. Since I was going to linger a few days anyway, I naturally had to come and express my gratitude.”
“Tian Pi” said, “Then you should rest up and take care of yourself — so you can get to your post in good health.”
“You are right.” Zhù Ying politely bid him farewell, returned to the post station, and wrote a letter, which she sent off with Hou Wu posthaste to the capital.
Then came the anxious wait.
She had reported the case — she at least had to meet up with whoever came. She didn’t know how the court would respond. A swift, decisive response was one possibility, but with too many fools involved it could also alert the criminal — that wasn’t impossible either. There were no fools in the Council of State, and Zheng Xi and Pei Qing were not foolish either, but the specific people handling things could still make mistakes. She considered having Zhù Da, Zhang Xiangu, and Huajie travel ahead on their own, or go back a leg, but worried that without someone to look after them on the road, something could go wrong. Staying at the same place and waiting alongside her — she worried even more about something going wrong.
She walked around the streets a little, wanting to gauge “Tian Pi’s” reputation among the local people. She heard people say he accepted bribes; others said his “wife” was jealous and greedy. Zhù Ying also made a few circuits around the government offices, counting how many people were there.
The merchant caravan already had some questions. Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da also asked: “Why aren’t we moving on? Why do you look like you’re settling in here? Aren’t we required to arrive within a certain time limit?”
Zhù Ying had a stomach full of things she couldn’t say to anyone, and could only say she was feeling unwell and needed to “stabilize.” Zhang Xiangu said, “Huajie, take her pulse.”
Huajie took her pulse, then looked at Zhù Ying in puzzlement. Zhù Ying gave her a meaningful glance. Huajie said, “It’s the old injury — nothing serious, just needs rest.” Zhang Xiangu immediately began fussing about getting Zhù Ying nourishing food. Huajie waited until there was no one around to ask Zhù Ying, “Is something the matter?”
Zhù Ying shook her head. “You’ll know in a little while.”
The “recuperation” lasted a full seven days. Then Hou Wu arrived back at the post station accompanied by Su Kuang and Vice Official Yin.
Zhù Ying and Vice Official Yin were old acquaintances. The two had no time for pleasantries. Yin asked first, “What is the situation?”
Zhù Ying looked first at their accompanying party — the men from the Court of Judicial Review were all strong and fit, numbering around twenty. Su Kuang asked, “Is this many people enough?”
Zhù Ying said, “Come inside and talk.”
The three conferred privately.
Su Kuang’s previous experience with arrests was to arrive on scene, announce, arrest, interrogate, and close the case.
Vice Official Yin said, “We haven’t yet confirmed the identity. We don’t know for certain whether it actually is Tian Pi or not.”
Zhù Ying said, “Tian Pi is the chief official of this place — barging into the offices to arrest someone won’t work. If he’s the real Tian Pi, you don’t need twenty men, Brother Su — a couple of guards would do. Storming in and manhandling him would be an affront to a court official. If he’s the impostor, he could turn around and claim we’re bandits impersonating officials who came to murder him — then call up his guards and have us all taken down, which is not impossible.”
Vice Official Yin said, “He’s not going to resist arrest and stage a rebellion, is he?”
Zhù Ying said, “At the very least he can fool the local officials and guards into scuffling with us long enough for him to slip away at his leisure.”
Su Kuang said, “The Council of State’s instructions: be fast. Make the arrest and minimize casualties. Obtain evidence. Once it’s confirmed, we can request military assistance from the garrison.”
Zhù Ying said, “Then — let’s lure him to the post station. Invite him here, get him inside. Brother Yin looks at the man, and if he’s the real one, you two catch up on old times and I go beg forgiveness from the Emperor. If he’s the impostor, take him on the spot. Catch the ringleader before the rest — how does that sound?”
Su Kuang said, “Brilliant! Only what pretext to use?” Yin’s identity couldn’t be revealed — if they said it was someone from the Board of Personnel, “Tian Pi,” if he’s a fake, would surely refuse to come. Su Kuang — did “Tian Pi” even know who he was? Zhù Ying — that had been tried. “Tian Pi” had no regard for her.
Zhù Ying said, “We say I suddenly died. An official dying within his jurisdiction means he has to come and look at least. Oh — can’t be natural causes, he might not come for that. Let’s make it a homicide. A homicide at the post station, an official dead — he ought to come and have a look. I’ll play the corpse, just lying here in the room. We’ll have my mother and older sister play the people who discovered the murder scene. Have Little Wu go buy a few live chickens, slaughter them, and splash plenty of blood around the room. Brother Su, you announce your identity and send someone to invite him over. He’s the impostor — he’d never dare stand his ground against you. Brother Yin, hold off on speaking for now. The most important thing you have to do is confirm his identity. Don’t station the men we brought here outside — don’t spook him.
Once the main suspect is captured, if the others cooperate they are to be immediately taken into custody as well. If they don’t cooperate, be prepared for the accomplices to resist.”
They divided tasks immediately. Little Wu ran off to buy a cageful of chickens. Zhù Ying called in her parents and Huajie, and explained the plan. Zhang Xiangu said, “What?”
“Keep your voice down! If you can’t cry, don’t cry — someone might hear and notice something wrong. Just pretend to faint. Don’t tell Qi Tai. Don’t tell even Cao Chang and Du Dajie. If we don’t tell them, they’ll look genuinely convincing.” If it weren’t for her worry that Zhang Xiangu and Zhù Da, in their shock, might accidentally blurt out something that would expose her sex, Zhù Ying would have wanted to hide it even from them.
After the three had been briefed, Su Kuang and Vice Official Yin made a show of leaving, then Yin slipped back in quietly to Zhù Ying’s room.
Little Wu set out a large bowl of chicken blood and splashed it against the window. Zhù Ying picked up the bowl and poured it over her front and on the floor in front of the bed as well. Then Zhù Ying lay down on the bed and put a handkerchief over her face.
Zhang Xiangu let out a piercing shriek. “Ahh…” She did not faint as agreed, but kept crying out. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became — her perfectly fine daughter had to lie there playing a corpse, wasn’t that just terrible, what kind of accursed luck was this?!
Huajie grabbed her and pulled her aside, also crying out loudly: “Come quickly, someone help!”
Su Kuang was the first to rush in from outside. “No one come in! Where are the maids? Come and support the Madam to one side! Someone — send word to the local government offices. Tell them there’s been an accident at the post station — an official has met with misfortune!”
The entire post station erupted into chaos.
The post station was some distance from the government offices. When word reached them, the hour was already late into the evening. “Tian Pi” was in the middle of a quarrel with his “wife”! She was berating him: “You shameless thing! You’ll dirty yourself with anything! Aren’t you afraid?!”
“Tian Pi” said, “I keep telling you — she’s a guard from the women’s ward! A guard from the women’s ward! I was asking her about official business!”
“Do I not know what you’re about?! I’ve given you a son and you still eat from the bowl while eyeing the pot!”
Mid-quarrel, word of a homicide at the post station came in. “Tian Pi” said, “See! Arguing again! Arguing until we’ve brought trouble on ourselves!”
The “wife” stopped arguing too, and said worriedly, “Nothing bad will happen to us, will it?”
“Anything that happens is someone else’s problem! I’ll go deal with this, and I won’t be back tonight!”
“Tian Pi” had already worked out his response in his head as he set out. A homicide? Just find a culprit. Randomly pick someone, pin it on their head, say it was robbery. A quick, clean case, and send everyone packing. Wrap it up fast to avoid scrutiny from above — that was his method.
He brought about a dozen men and entered the post station in a convincing manner, ordering the guards to maintain order, and asking: “Where is the body?”
The post station master was ashen-faced. “Over there. That old gentleman — he’s not easy to deal with. He won’t let anyone go in to look, and keeps shouting that we’re all bandits.”
“Tian Pi’s” expression hardened. He strode in and stood before the bed, covering his nose. “Uncover it.”
Suddenly a voice called out: “Yao Chun?!”
Yao Chun froze, then looked at the speaker. “Yin — Yin…”
Vice Official Yin stepped out of the shadows, his face set and stern. “So it was you? Murdering your master to take his place!”
He was furious. This man had been Tian Pi’s personal servant — the kind bound by a bond contract — who had been at Tian Pi’s side for nearly twenty years. And it was precisely this man who had assumed his master’s identity and made himself an official!
Yao Chun made to run, shouting as he went: “They’re criminals! Take them down — aagh—”
Zhù Ying ripped the white handkerchief off her face, reached up and knocked off Yao Chun’s hat, grabbed him by the topknot with her left hand, and pressed the short blade to his throat with her right. “Call out again and I’ll let you.”
Yao Chun truly did call out: “Here! A villain is impersonating a court official, I’ve exposed him, and now he wants to kill me! Seize them all, quickly!”
Vice Official Yin wanted to hit him but was afraid of accidentally hitting Zhù Ying’s knife hand and injuring himself. He could only spit at him: “Wretched criminal!”
Outside, the post station attendants and guards rushed to charge in; Su Kuang’s men tried to hold them back; the merchants trembled in terror. Su Kuang announced loudly: “This villain’s name is Yao Chun! He is the true servant of the real Tian Pi! He murdered his master and took his master’s identity — a capital offense! You were only deceived by him. As long as you abandon your allegiance to the dark and come to the light, the court will not hold you accountable. Do not throw your lives away following him!”
Yao Chun also shouted, “Don’t fall for the villain’s tricks! He’s making this up so he can escape! They’re the criminals!”
Zhù Ying slammed Yao Chun’s head against the small side table beside the bed. Silence.
Vice Official Yin was startled: “This…”
Zhù Ying said, “Measured — he won’t die. Little Wu, do you know how to tie someone up?”
Little Wu came in with a coil of rope: “I’ve been practicing for a long time!”
Su Kuang also walked in and said quietly, “It’s a good thing we captured this wretch — otherwise…”
Zhù Ying said, “I’ll leave this end to you. Give me a few people — I’m going to the government offices. Get the evidence from there.”
“People, we’re short on…”
“Never mind. As long as you keep hold of this wretch, they won’t dare make any rash moves. Get word to the capital, request them to urgently dispatch reinforcements.”
Vice Official Yin said, “At a time like this your judgment has slipped? There are garrison troops stationed here.”
“I mean for trying the case. This person has been operating here for a while — corruption, perversion of the law, embezzlement — he’s done it all. People need to be sent to investigate it all. I need to get hold of the government offices’ evidence before they can destroy it. Since it’s a servant’s plot, not a bandit raid, there’s no need to worry about the offices harboring hardened criminals. Let’s go!”
Could garrison troops be deployed at will? The Council of State had issued no such order, and even a Chancellor couldn’t easily mobilize troops.
Zhù Ying took ten men and, while the standoff continued out front, slipped out through the post station’s back window and sneaked away from the back gate. She ran all the way to the government offices and knocked on the back gate: “Hurry! The master has a message for the madam. I need to see the madam — don’t alert anyone at the front.”
The “madam” inside heard them calling at the back gate and was alarmed. She said, “A back gate summons? Quick, bring them in.”
The “madam” and Zhù Ying came face to face, and the woman asked one question: “Who are you?” Already Zhù Ying had darted to stand in front of her and pressed the knife to her throat: “Not a sound.” One rope: the “madam” was also bound up. The maids tried to scream, but the men from the Court of Judicial Review were not gentle: “Whoever calls out loses her tongue!” The maids suddenly seemed not so frightened after all, and stopped shouting.
Zhù Ying led her people from the back to the front, and first retrieved an infant. The “madam” moved to cry out; Zhù Ying picked up the child without a change of expression, and the “madam” instantly fell silent.
Then Zhù Ying searched the “madam’s” bedchamber, turning up a great deal of gold, silver, and jewels, and also finding on the “madam’s” person a personal seal belonging to Tian Pi. She also found several hidden account ledgers and a bundle of correspondence in the back garden’s small study. Using the cover of night, she brought the people out through the back gate.
The post station was still in a standoff, all eyes fixed on the “murder scene.” Zhù Ying calmly returned, bringing in the “madam” and the baby through the back gate.
Vice Official Yin looked at the infant. “What is this?”
“His son.”
“Hmph! A criminal’s offspring too!” Yin spat in fury. Counting the dates, and going by the handwriting, this child was not Tian Pi’s.
Su Kuang said, “We’ve dispatched someone to send word to the capital. Let’s first interrogate these two. Tomorrow morning this affair will certainly be all over the city, and there will be all manner of assistant officials and registrars wanting to deal with us. These people didn’t notice anything even when their chief official was swapped — they can’t be trusted.”
Right then and there, in Zhù Ying’s room, they began the interrogation.
Vice Official Yin said, “What is there left to interrogate? It must be this servant who murdered his master! He deserves ten thousand deaths!”
Zhù Ying said, “The two forms of execution are beheading and strangulation.”
Vice Official Yin glared at her in anger. Zhù Ying, cleaning her knife, said to the two suspects: “I’m already quite tired today, and don’t have the energy to chase down clues. Why don’t you just confess everything? If you don’t confess, I’ll have to use the unthinking method.”
Little Wu helpfully explained: “The thinking method — carefully investigating clues and building a watertight case. The unthinking method — just beating, beating until a confession comes.”
Yao Chun still refused to speak.
Zhù Ying trimmed the lamp wick and slowly paged through the account ledger. “Mm, you’ve nearly emptied the treasury. Transferring government grain stores to be sold by merchants…”
“Added taxes…”
“Bribery…”
“Releasing prisoners for payment…”
“Well now — and you even shared some of the spoils with them, did you? Keeping them in line, making sure the story held together? Oh? You also sent money to the Tian household? Right — without keeping the family settled, any visitor coming to ask for money would be a problem.”
Vice Official Yin spat again.
Zhù Ying said, “Alright. Everyone work through the night once more — take turns keeping watch. Tomorrow morning we’ll deal with the government officials. They should accept our identities. Once the officials believe it, the guards outside will also behave.”
As Zhù Ying had predicted, the next morning, all available government officials came to the post station. The three of them made their identities clear, and those assembled were convinced.
From the deputy downward, one by one they wept and bitterly cursed Yao Chun: “How dare this wretch!”
Some were genuinely furious, cursing him for tyrannizing the people. Others had other calculations and cursed even louder: “I could see all along you were no good! How much of the treasury did you empty?! I’ll kill you!”
Zhù Ying drew her knife and held it before him. “The law of the land will deal with him.”
They then requested: “Please move to the government offices, and have the criminals transferred to the cells.”
Zhù Ying said, “That won’t be necessary. I can see they’ve been fed well and kept comfortable — starving them three to five days won’t kill them. Let them starve right here while we wait for the capital to send people to bring them back.”
Su Kuang agreed. “Indeed. They’ve gorged themselves on the people’s toil and sweat — they ought to go hungry for a while.”
Both of them at this point had the same unspoken concern: Yao Chun might be silenced. If the man were dead, all the wrongdoing could be heaped on his head, and everything connected to the local officials and gentry would remain unsullied — they would all go on being honest, upright, good people.
Vice Official Yin was perceptive enough, but everyone has their specialty. Watching Zhù Ying and Su Kuang handle the case with such efficiency, he added: “There might still be Yao Chun’s accomplices at the government offices.”
Zhù Ying said, “Brother Yin, you’re overthinking it. If there are accomplices, so much the better — that’s your chance, gentlemen. Go conduct a self-inspection. Go make your arrests.” She sent the local officials on their way.
That was the unavoidable difficulty of coming down to handle a case: not enough people.
Fortunately the court reacted very quickly. Two days later, a report of a servant impersonating his master reached the capital. The Council of State reported it upward, and the Emperor was furious. He first sent a special envoy to see Zhù Ying and the others. The Emperor dashed off a note authorizing Zhù Ying to temporarily oversee the case. The Emperor remembered her talent for solving cases. Sending a large contingent would take more time; a single envoy traveling at eight hundred li a day could arrive quickly, allowing Zhù Ying to start working.
The envoy not only brought the note but also a military tally — authorizing the deployment of three hundred soldiers nearby to assist with the case.
No sooner had the envoy departed than the Emperor issued a further order: Princess Yongping’s consort Luo Sheng would lead the effort together with the Court of Judicial Review to jointly try the case.
No one raised any objection. Luo Sheng was a grounded person — not overbearing, not troublesome, and willing to listen to others’ advice. Being both the son of a princess and the consort of another, his status could command many matters.
Wang Yunhe also memorialized: “The common people have suffered under Yao the criminal’s tyranny. An able official must be selected to pacify the populace.”
The Emperor said, “You all select.”
The Council of State already had candidates in mind, but still required the Emperor’s approval.
The Emperor was even more furious that such a thing could have happened at all, and urged his son-in-law to set out promptly. “Investigate and clarify the case.”
Luo Sheng did not dare delay, and hurried to the scene. Yin, Zhù Ying, and Su Kuang went out to the post station to receive him. Luo Sheng was a handsome man, completely unlike his imperious mother who had once raced through the Jingzhao streets on horseback.
He was in no hurry to press about the case details, first having the three of them sit down. His opening words were: “You have all worked hard.” The second were: “I am young and ignorant — I hope you will teach me a great deal.”
Then he asked about the case: “What is the current situation? Is there anything you need me to do?”
The three exchanged glances. Luo Sheng asked, “What? Is something wrong? All three of you may speak freely.”
“Well…” Zhù Ying said, “Consort, the suspects are all already in custody. We were only waiting for you to arrive for the interrogation.” In fact, the case had already been tried. But seeing Luo Sheng, Zhù Ying knew they needed to show this consort some respect.
Luo Sheng said modestly, “I know nothing of these matters — I’ll just be watching. The three of you proceed as you see fit.”
Vice Official Yin and Su Kuang and Zhù Ying all thought: oh, sure, we believe that! They all invited him to preside over the questioning.
Luo Sheng couldn’t refuse, so he took the main seat, with Zhù Ying on his left, Vice Official Yin on his right, and Su Kuang seated below Zhù Ying. They had the suspects brought up again to appear before the bench.
Luo Sheng simply followed along and asked: “Who kneels before this court? State your name!”
Yao Chun gave his name.
“How did you go about murdering your master?”
Yao Chun said, “This person served the master on the journey to take up the post, but the master unexpectedly died on the road. For a moment this person lost all sense and wanted to have a taste of it for himself. Regrettably, this person fell into such great error and deserves to die.”
Luo Sheng frowned. “A moment of madness? How were you able to serve as an official for these years without anyone detecting anything?”
“The master’s concubine…”
Yao Chun’s own aim was to claim he had been trying to earn more money for his master’s household during these two years of official service, to supplement the wages, and then turn himself in. Unfortunately, Zhù Ying had also seized his account ledgers — which showed he had been misappropriating public funds for his own enrichment. He was no “faithful servant earning money for his master.”
Zhù Ying was tired of explaining it. Su Kuang rolled up his sleeves, and then it was just beating — beating the man, and then beating the woman. Fortunately no one beat the child.
After quite a while of beating, both of them began to confess.
That “wife” was a young concubine Tian Pi had brought along to look after his domestic needs when he took up the post. Tian Pi’s household had originally had a few servants, but seven daughters’ worth of dowry had been sent away with them, and by the time a son finally arrived, the fields and servants were nearly all exhausted too. He went to take up the post hoping to earn enough for his son. He had set out with three servants: Yao Chun as his trusted man, a cart driver, and an old manservant.
On the road, with a concubine needed to look after domestic needs, he had taken in a younger concubine. A young woman who could hardly be expected to give her willing loyalty to a half-old man with nothing to recommend him.
On the road, Tian Pi fell ill. Yao Chun had a wicked idea and murdered both the cart driver and the old manservant. The concubine then colluded with Yao Chun, agreeing to help him conceal matters. On the road they recruited new people, and under the “identity of Mr. and Mrs. Tian Pi” they proceeded to take up the post.
Yao Chun had been Tian Pi’s trusted man and had long handled many of Tian Pi’s affairs. He was familiar with official documents and correspondence. The concubine had also held on to Tian Pi’s private seal — the two of them each held one piece of leverage over the other. The concubine then bore Yao Chun a son, binding the two together irrevocably. Their plan was that if all went smoothly, when the term of office ended and it was time to return to the capital, Yao Chun would fake his own death; the concubine would carry the child home, have her own son raised as Tian Pi’s heir, and the child would eventually have hereditary privilege in the official class.
Since Tian Pi was the chief official, even events like the annual trip to the capital to report on a year’s governance could be handled by the deputy in his place. They had also been sending a little money home to the Tian household — not too much, not too little — just enough to keep Tian Pi’s family pacified, creating the illusion that Tian Pi was still alive in his post. The family, receiving money regularly, suspected nothing and assumed Tian Pi was still going about his duties.
Yao Chun had meanwhile enriched himself handsomely — transferring government assets, intending eventually to assume a new identity, and live out his days as a comfortable man of property.
All of the above, Zhù Ying and the others had already tried and confirmed before Luo Sheng arrived. They were now simply running through it again for the consort’s benefit.