The Mystery of Zhang Gong

That Brush Pot Just Gratuitously Turned into a Pile of Ashes.

*T/N: Hello everyone! I just wanted to say that I’ve been watching a lot of historical Chinese dramas during the past month (I promise that isn’t why I haven’t been updating), and have decided to change some of my wordings. ‘Minister’ will be changed to ‘Lord’ unless their minister title has been explicitly written (in the raws, everyone called each other ‘大人’ – this could be translated into a range of different ways, so to avoid trouble I decided to just stick with ‘Minister’ but after watching a lot of historical dramas the English subs liked to translate this as ‘Lord’). ‘Literary works’ will be translated to ‘essays’. ‘Dali Temple’ will be changed to ‘Court of Judicial Reviews’. Thank you for reading! 

Wang Yan sat on the sedan chair and arrived at Feng Ruoqi’s residence.

Feng Ruoqi had a residence in the Capital located in the west at Cairong Lane. The lane was narrow; Wang Yan’s sedan chair twisted and turned for a very long time before stopping at the furthest entrance in the lane. 

Wang Yan’s attendant knocked on the old-fashioned door. A moment later, a man wearing a light azure changshan and square scarf opened the door, appearing around thirty years of age. Wang Yan’s attendant stepped forward and said, “May I ask if Lord Feng-” Before he could finish speaking, Wang Yan interrupted. “Wait here.” He directly pushed open the door and entered the courtyard. 

The man locked the courtyard doors. Wang Yan cupped his hands and smiled. “Lord Feng lives quite simply. Living in this small courtyard, you don’t even have a servant.” 

The man bowed in salute. “Thank Assistant Minister Wang for your praise. This is my old residence. Although I won’t be staying in the Capital for long, it’s more convenient to stay at my own home than elsewhere. I knew Lord Wang would come today, so I sent away all miscellaneous individuals to make it more convenient for your questioning.” 

Wang Yan turned the screen wall and followed Feng Ruoqi’s fragmented and coloured stone pavement path. Feng Ruoqi led Wang Yan into the front hall and invited him to sit on the seat of honour.

“I know Assistant Minister Wang is here today because the examinee Ma Lian has been murdered. There were some grievances between Ma Lian and me before, but they are all trivial matters from the past. Besides, the night Ma Lian was killed I was at my teacher Lord Gong’s home and conversing with him for an entire night.”

Wang Yan accepted the teacup Feng Ruoqi offered and took a sip; the tea had already been prepared and was neither hot nor cold – it was perfect. 

Wang Yan praised the good tea before he put down the teacup and said, “Lord Gong fell ill a few days ago – I also visited him on behalf of my father. Fortunately, it’s a minor illness, but he still needs a good recuperation and not tire himself out.”

Feng Ruoqi gently sighed, “Teacher is at an old age. Many times he’d devise a plan to retire on account of old age and return to his hometown, but because the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Prince Huai all urge him to stay, he’s unable to do so. His heart is too used to worries, unable to let them go, so I thought I’d visit him; I repeatedly advised him to sleep, but in the end, I still conversed with him all night.” 

Wang Yan responded, “The younger generation and I should all learn to repay the Court’s kindness by rendering our services like Lord Gong. Lord Feng, I received a report saying you had some grievances with Ma Lian. It was a verbal statement with no proof. I’ll repeat it for Lord Feng; if you find any fabricated information, do not hesitate to tell me.”

Feng Ruoqi replied, “Assistant Minister Wang is too courteous. It’d be reasonable even if you suspect me and bring me back to the Ministry of Justice. I also want to clarify myself as soon as possible and cleanse any suspicions, so please continue.” 

»»————-¤————-««

The scholars in the prison had either lamented or outcried an entire night, so they were all tired; they waited and waited, yet none of them was brought before the court. Gong Qinchuan sighed. “I hope a vengeful ghost won’t appear while I wait. Chief Minister Tao is a good person, but Assistant Minister Wang is obstinate and self-opinionated, unable to differentiate right from wrong. He brought us here, yet we’re not tried in court nor investigated. Who knows what’s going to happen.”

Chen Chou spoke up. “Brother Gong, I’m going to be meddlesome and ask – in front of Assistant Minister Wang, why do you say that Feng-something is suspicious? Brother Zhang and I have first-hand experience with how he handles cases – the more someone is pointed out, the more sceptical he finds that person.”

Gong Qinchuan replied, “Feng Ruoqi is a minister appointed by the Imperial Court. If it wasn’t for the fact he indeed had deep hatred and desire for revenge against Ma Lian, I wouldn’t mention him. Feng Ruoqi’s other name – all of you perhaps have heard of it – is Mu Yesheng.”

Chen Chou’s expression changed. “He’s Mu Yesheng – the one who wrote the sagas? This person’s reputation is not that good.” 

Zhang Ping turned over on the pallet; all the scholars had their ears pricked up.

Gong Qinchuan sneered. “The work that raised Ma Lian to fame was copied from Mu Yesheng’s sagas and Mu Yesheng’s reputation was ruined in the hands of Ma Lian; he couldn’t even write essays anymore. Tell me, do you think he hates Ma Lian?”

Feng Ruoqi had loved to read sagas since childhood; he especially admired Red Leaves in Western Hills, Top Drinker, etc., so he picked up his pen and also began writing sagas; he even gave himself a name – (1) Mu Yesheng.  

Feng Ruoqi wrote a number of sagas. The writing was stiff and the plots artificial; in addition to his fast writing and the sheer number of sagas written, he earned himself a bad name. 

When Ma Lian first began writing scripts, he used Feng Ruoqi’s sagas’ plots and verses. The Baixia Troupe’s Leader Bai fancied the script and used it for a play. Troupe Leader Bai even recommended it to the owner of Sixian Bookstore for them to publish and sell it. 

Troupe Leader Bai invited some scholars to help list the play as a recommendation, including Feng Ruoqi. 

Ma Lian claimed to have admired Feng Ruoqi, which was why he used his essay. Troupe Leader Cui felt if Feng Ruoqi was to recommend him, there’d be a gimmick that’d improve both parties’ reputations. 

But Feng Ruoqi was a narrow-minded person and didn’t know how to appreciate favours. The play was arranged for an audition. Some people said Ma Lian had turned Feng Ruoqi’s plain text into beautiful jade; in addition, Ma Lian had written a romance play. The protagonist was a maiden trapped in Jianghu; many men were foolishly and madly in love with her. Ma Lian used some expressions and verses Feng Ruoqi wrote for his swordsmen characters to describe the maiden who turned all living things crazy. 

Feng Ruoqi was furiously agitated and condemned it. “How dare a flirtatious, unrestrained woman who could only stroke her hair coquettishly be crowned with the title ‘hero’ and act ostentatiously? What is this?! It’s dirtying my work!”

Ma Lian invited public contempt from those jealous of him for having his script fancied by a big troupe and allowed them to take advantage of Feng Ruoqi’s words to criticise him. Troupe Leader Cui was extremely irritated, so he and Ma Lian scolded Feng Ruoqi at the feast. 

“Mu Yesheng was poor and pedantic; (2) was given face but didn’t want it; wrote sagas, hence would (3) never be fit for the elegant hall of artworks in this lifetime. When this play was sung, it became known to all realms; at that time, he still wasn’t the piece of mud ‘East Lake Lay Buddhist’. He used his essay only because he thought highly of him. Did he consider himself (4) Li Bai or Du Fu? Li Bai and Du Fu’s poems are quoted daily, yet we don’t see them crawling out of their coffins to bite people.” 

After the play came out, Ma Lian won a lot of reputation, but many people would continuously mention how he copied Feng Ruoqi’s essay. 

Ma Lian was very annoyed by this. When he didn’t have a reputation, Mu Yesheng was a very useful stepping stone; now that he had fame and fortune, Mu Yesheng had become a thorn in his flesh that needed removing. He stepped on the leading Mu Yesheng, but he himself couldn’t be stepped on. For the sake of his future prospects, he had to deal with Mu Yesheng. If Mu Yesheng stopped writing and his essays were quietly destroyed, his writing would become Ma Lian’s. Even if he couldn’t stop Mu Yesheng from writing, he had to ruin his reputation – the best result would be everyone yelling and beating him – so even if he used his writing, it’d be considered an act of enforcing justice on behalf of heaven. These verses were meant for Ma Lian’s use; he’d never let Mu Yesheng waste them in vain.

Thus, Troupe Leader Cui took out his money whilst Ma Lian hired some people to take all of Feng Ruoqi’s essays. He carefully studied each of them; (5) even if it was an egg, he wanted to pick out a fishbone from it. But Feng Ruoqi was very cautious; even if there were quotes in his essays, they were from thousand-year-old classics. No flaws were found. 

At this time, the Heavens threw an amazing opportunity at Ma Lian. Feng Ruoqi actually came from a poverty-stricken family. The fee he was paid as an author to write the sagas were low, so he would help collate entire manuscripts at Songshi Bookstore, who published his sagas, to earn some subsidies. Songshi Bookstore’s owner had a nephew who also wrote a saga, so he let Feng Ruoqi collate and recommend it. 

So, Feng Ruoqi helped his nephew polish his essay and wrote a recommendation letter. He didn’t know this saga was actually copied from another person. 

After the nephew’s saga was listed, not many copies were sold and nobody found out it was copied; however, it was this issue that flared up. More than a year later, because Ma Lian couldn’t find any evidence against Feng Ruoqi, he found the essays he’d recommended before and happened to find this one. 

Ma Lian rejoiced. He immediately found the victim who got copied and informed him of this matter – this saga was collated and recommended by Feng Ruoqi, how could he not see it was copied? Maybe it was Feng Ruoqi who taught the nephew this, so there wasn’t a need to find the nephew or the bookstore; he just needed to bite into Feng Ruoqi and demand an explanation. 

The victim wanted to rely on Ma Lian and the ‘zealous people who shared the same ideals’ to help him appeal for justice. He did as he was told and bit into Feng Ruoqi, causing a large ruckus. Feng Ruoqi had hardships but couldn’t reveal them; he felt wronged, yet couldn’t sacrifice the nephew. He could only grit his teeth and take the blame. 

Ma Lian found a few experts adept at imitating calligraphy and had them copy Feng Ruoqi’s handwriting to write a statement intimidating the victim. They wrote how he didn’t know what was good for himself – how dare he have the impertinence to challenge Feng Ruoqi. There were many of Feng Ruoqi’s people at the Yamen prepared to sue this matter and find a hundred barristers and lawyers to form a group. They’ll mess with the victim so much he’d never rise up again. 

The statement circulated widely. Sixian Bookstore had many scribes, so they concocted several denunciations against the enemy. After releasing them, many people responded in succession. Troupe Leader Bai also arranged a few plays with his troupe, dancing as they ridiculed how Mu Yesheng had hundred of his people to make complaints in the Yamen. For some time, everyone cursed the name ‘Mu Yesheng’ and everyone mocked him. Even a three-year-old child on the streets would sing – ‘Mu Yesheng is abnormal, his waist rod-hard and his tongue so long. He loves teaching people how to copy works; those who challenge him will get sued to death. His Yamen has connections and a hundred people to make big complaints…’ 

Gong Qinchuan said, “To be honest with you, one of the essays crusading against Mu Yesheng was written by me. The book store owner was entrusted by Troupe Leader Cui; he even ordered us to curse Mu Yesheng until he had no face to live in this world, saying it’d be best to let him seek his own death. At that time I cursed Mu Yesheng. A few years later, the person impacted by Ma Lian’s malice is me. This can be considered my retribution.” 

Since then, Mu Yesheng vanished without a trace, never appearing again. 

»»————-¤————-««

Wang Yan asked Feng Ruoqi, “This is all I know – Lord Feng, were there any discrepancies?”

Feng Ruoqi replied, “There was a slight discrepancy. For the matter with the bookstore owner’s nephew, Ma Lian wasn’t the mastermind. On that day, I was at the bookstore doing some proofreading. There was someone there who wrote historical essays; because of his usual ineptness, he offended someone from the bookstore. He also just happened to cause problems when proofreading, giving others the opportunity to act against him; since then, he could no longer have his essays published by the bookstore. Because there were some conflicts of interest between us, several people at odds with me said I was jealous of him and intentionally extruded him. This strategy killed two birds with one stone. The truth is, I only proofread sagas and couldn’t even touch historical essays. But this person believed it. He was the one who noticed the fault with the bookstore owner’s nephew’s essay; Ma Lian just profited from my misfortune after knowing of this matter. However, this person wasn’t as influential as Ma Lian; in the end, it was Ma Lian who contributed the most. Hehe, looking back now, the world was only the size of smoked bean curd, yet as powerful as the bureaucracy.” 

Wang Yan took another sip of tea. “Lord Feng suffered such great grievances. How did you let it go?”

Feng Ruoqi responded, “At that time, there was both hate and grievance in my heart; I couldn’t wait to rent a cart to the Yellow River and jump in. One day, I was walking on the outskirts of the city and heard the bells of a mountain temple. I suddenly thought that a mortal’s time on earth was but a few decades. What isn’t like a floating cloud – over in the twinkling of an eye? Suddenly, I let go. I participated in the Imperial Examination and actually succeeded. I guess I won some and lost some.” 

Wang Yan pushed aside the floating leaves. “Lord Feng had come to appreciate magnanimity. However, before Lord Feng let go of everything did you do anything else? Did you truly let go?” 

Feng Ruoqi was taken aback before he smiled. “After my awareness, I naturally let go. Thinking back to it now, the issue was merely as big as a sesame seed. It wasn’t worth my distress.” 

Wang Yan also smiled and took out an old book with an ink-indigo cover from his sleeve. 

“I accidentally acquired this《Swordsman of the Nine Pine Mountains》. In the story, the swordsman killed his foe with his own hands. It was indeed an enjoyable read! Why do I feel like the way the swordsman received his injustice is slightly similar to Lord Feng’s past experiences…? En, the person who wrote this saga is called Sir Pickled Vegetables. This name is very interesting…” 

Feng Ruoqi’s expression changed; he coughed. “The Ministry of Justice is truly powerful. Within such a short period of time, you could even find this book. I really can’t hide anything from Assistant Minister. Sir Pickled Vegetables… Is my other pseudonym… I was the one who wrote this book…” 

Wang Yan smiled. “Oh? Hadn’t Lord Feng already let go? How did this book come to be? Was Lord Feng writing this book to appeal for justice? To whitewash? Or…” 

Feng Ruoqi said, “When I wrote this book, I still hadn’t let go. It wasn’t to appeal for justice nor could it be to whitewash. Ma Lian was such a sinister individual – I would never dirty my hands to retaliate against him. So, in the story, I wrote him as a corpse as a way to vent my anger.”

Wang Yan lowered his eyes and patted the book. “En, so, Lord Feng let go after venting your anger?” 

Feng Ruoqi replied, “Actually, one more thing happened after. One day, after writing this book to vent my anger, I visited a teahouse and encountered a young man and another youth. When discussing this book, the young man said it was a pity; this could’ve been a good book, but the person who wrote this book held resentment. Written wasn’t a chivalrous swordsman as he didn’t have a chivalrous demeanour. The other youth said if one worried excessively over every minor matter, how could they truly see the land under Heaven? After hearing those words, my mind suddenly opened – I travelled to the outskirts after this. Later I learnt the people I encountered in the teahouse were actually our current Emperor and Prince Huai. I unexpectedly received the teaching of the Emperor and Prince Huai! Since then, I’ve made a determined effort to study and participate in the Imperial Examinations, committing myself to render my services to our nation!” 

Wang Yan let out a sigh. “I truly envy Lord Feng. It’s all thanks to my father that I’m now sitting in my current position. I still haven’t received the Emperor and Prince Huai’s personal teaching; I’m truly despised by good fortune. Someday, I’ll also write a saga; my pseudonym would be Sir Steamed Cornbread. Lord Feng, what do you think?” 

Feng Ruoqi hurriedly stood up and bowed. “Assistant Minister Wang is teasing me.” 

»»————-¤————-««

“Anyway, the person with the most suspicions is Feng Ruoqi,” Gong Qinchuan sat beside the pallet, “the《Swordsman of the Nine Pine Mountains》coincides with what happened that time. It had to be written by his pseudonym. The sinister villain, Lu Tou, was wounded with cuts and bruises all over by the demon cult’s hidden weapon and begged the swordsman to rescue him. After the swordsman pulled him up the cliff, he even wanted to push the swordsman off the cliff. In the end, with the swordsman’s palm of wind, he fell off the cliff – isn’t this similar to the way Ma Lian died? Brother Zhang, you have a good brain that can solve cases; don’t you think this is too coincidental?” 

Zhang Ping pondered for a moment before cautiously saying, “Not enough evidence.”

Gao Yang Gui said in a low voice, “I think it isn’t Feng Ruoqi. Ma Lian – ai – died strangely. As far as I know, he used some crooked methods to succeed in this Imperial Examination. Have you guys ever heard of Daoist talismans?” 

»»————-¤————-««

When Wang Yan returned to the Ministry of Justice, the secretariat greeted him and asked if this trip yielded any results. 

Wang Yan replied, “Yes.”

He was a little troubled; so far, Feng Ruoqi was the biggest suspect in this case. At first, Wang Yan had wanted to find evidence he was innocent, but when listening to his defence, the longer he listened the more suspicious he felt. Feng Ruoqi’s words were vague; he raised the matter with his teacher Gong Songming, expressing he had no chance of killing Ma Lian. He even used the Emperor and Prince Huai as proof he wouldn’t envy Ma Lian for seeking connections with Grand Tutor Yun and possibly overwhelming him career-wise. To desperately remove suspicions like this caused him to appear less innocent. 

In addition, his teacher was Gong Songming; he had peers in the Ministry of Rites that had opportunities to stuff that note on the Ministry of Rite’s door. 

The secretariat said, “Another case had just been reported; the Chief Minister personally received it. A strange matter occurred within Lord Liu Yuan’s family.”

Wang Yan’s mind was filled with his big case, so he casually responded with an ‘oh’.

The secretariat looked around before lowering his voice. “This case is truly haunted. Lord Liu obtained a brush pot a few days ago, said to have been bought at the ghost market. After he brought it home, a series of odd things happened. This morning, that brush pot just gratuitously turned into a pile of ashes…” 

(1) Mu Yesheng – 慕叶生; the first character of this pseudonym means ‘admire’, the last two characters of this pseudonym can be found in ‘西山红叶生’ (‘Red Leaves in Western Hills’). Feng Ruoqi’s pseudonym expresses his admiration for Red Leaves in Western Hills. 

(2) Given face – means ‘shown respect’.

(3) Not fit for the elegant halls of artworks – an idiom meaning ‘unpresentable’ or ‘unrefined’.

(4) Li Bai and Du Fu – both extremely well-known poets from the Tang Dynasty who were also friends with each other. Li Bai was known for his romantic poems whilst Du Fu for his realist poems. 

(5) Pick fishbone from an egg – an idiom meaning ‘to deliberately find fault with something or someone faultless’.