The Mystery of Zhang Gong

Wang Xuan Clutched Wang Yan’s Sleeve. “Brother, I Was Wrong, I Was Possessed and Thought Ma Lian’s Stratagem was Good, So I Arranged Spies in the Liu Residence.” 

Wang Yan rode his sedan chair all the way to the Grand Preceptor’s Residence, smoke trailing behind him; the moment he got off, he grabbed someone. “Where’s Wang Xuan?”

The young boy servant he grabbed trembled. “R~ Reporting back to Eldest Young Master, the Second Young Master, he’s~ He’s at Wenxue Garden-” 

He hadn’t even finished talking before Wang Yan threw him aside and strode towards Wenxue Garden. 

Wang Xuan was with a few friends in the garden watching foreign maidens dancing. When he caught a glimpse of Wang Yan, he immediately stood up. “Eh? Brother, you solved the case already? Good timing-”

Wang Yan stared at him with an ashen expression. He spat out one word, “Come.” 

Wang Xuan’s expression was completely blank. He put down his wine cup and followed Wang Yan outside the garden and into a soundproof room. Wang Yan latched the door. Suddenly, he raised his hand and fiercely punched Wang Xuan in the face.

Wang Xuan was caught off guard. He staggered, almost landing on the floor. Covering his face, he asked with shock, “Brother, what are you doing?”

Wang Yan sneered, his face green. “You still dare to ask me? Yesterday, were you the one who killed the two maids in the Ministry of Justice’s prison? Were you the one playing ghost in the Liu Residence? The evidence has already been placed on the Ministry of Justice’s desk – you’re going to be sleeping in the cells tonight!” 

Wang Xuan stood there, dazed, for a moment. Then he cried out aggrievedly, “Brother, it wasn’t me!”

Wang Yan narrowed his eyes. “It wasn’t you? The procuress accepted money and sold a singer from the brothel into the Liu Family as a woman from a respectable family – were you not the one who made the household registration?! Were you not the one who paid money to hire fake parents?! Were you not the one who gave money to (1) Madame Tang from Yanyan Brothel?! Are you not the master of the ghost market outside the Capital?!”

»»————-¤————-««

Lan Jue’s sedan chair stopped outside the Liu Residence’s back door. The young boy servant reported to the guards. The guards were taken aback for a moment before they rushed into the residence. After a while, Liu Yuan came out. Lan Jue stepped off his sedan chair and raised his sleeves. “Lord Liu.”

Liu Yuan said, “Why is brother-in-law acting so distant? We’re one family. It’s been many years since Father has passed away and brother-in-law never visits; I’ve always felt guilty. Since you finally came today, come in for some tea. When Hui’er is picked up, let’s have a meal as a family.” 

Lan Jue responded, “No need. Madam Liu once made a pledge that I shall never take a single step into the Liu Residence. Since the Grand Tutor has departed this mortal coil, we must further respect the wishes of the deceased. I came today to send a congratulatory gift in advance. Hui’er has always adored his Tongyi biao-ge. After the (2) palace examination, it’s possible the top scorer is from the Liu Family again. Just take this as Hui’er’s gift; I hope you won’t decline it.” 

A servant who accompanied him held up the gift box with both hands. Liu Yuan said, “Since it’s for Tongyi, then as his uncle I won’t decline it.” He had someone accept the gift box before speaking again, “If your kind words are right, then we’ll set up a banquet as we wait for the list to be posted. Recently, our residence has been very restless, so it’s inconvenient for Hui’er to come over and play. His aunt has been terribly concerned.” 

Lan Jue said, “Hui’er experienced a fright and would often have nightmares. Every time I see him I’ll be reminded of his mother. Since young, he had no mother. I’m always busy with official businesses, so there are many times I’ve been negligent towards him. I always feel I’ve let them down. He’s more intimate with his maternal grandmother’s family, so I thank Lord Liu for considering your sister’s feelings and taking care of him. But now he’s getting older and needs to study hard, it may be inconvenient for him to come again in the future. 

Liu Yuan’s expression changed. “How could brother-in-law say that? Since Hui’er like his Tongyi biao-ge, then just let Tongyi help him with his studies-”

Lan Jue sighed with a smile and stopped him. “Although Hui’er resembles his mother, he’s still a child of the Lan Family; it’s unreasonable for him to continue disturbing his maternal grandmother’s family. I’m also here to deliver these gifts as a way of thanking Lord Liu for your love and care towards Hui’er these few years. I’m untalented and my reputation in the Imperial Court isn’t the best either, so I’m extremely grateful for eldest brother-in-law’s unwavering affection towards Hui’er. I have to express my thanks.” 

Lan Jue always believed that one should never hold on to two things in life – ‘earnestness’ and ‘anger’. But this time, he was truly angry. 

He’d always been doubtful. Lan Hui kept on insisting a ghost was haunting him, meaning he didn’t just hear about a ghost; rather, he must’ve truly seen something horrifying. 

Liu Yuan received Liu Xian’s teachings – how could he possibly believe in rumours about the supernatural? 

After Zhang Ping went to Lingjue Temple and came back reporting Liu Yuan requested a set of《Diamond Sutras》, Lan Jue was completely certain Liu Yuan already knew who the ‘ghost’ in this so-called ‘haunted’ Liu Residence was; moreover, it was most likely someone from the Wang Family, which was why Liu Yuan reported this case to the Ministry of Justice and deliberately had Wang Yan investigate it. 

Lan Hui being haunted by a ghost and Lan Jue coincidentally encountering Liu Yuan were all just part of a scheme to confuse people. 

Lan Jue didn’t mind being used as a mouthpiece for Liu Yuan to spread false information to Wang Yan; however, using Lan Hui as a chess piece? Deliberately making a child think they’re being haunted and forcing them to see a terrible, sanguinary situation? Lan Jue couldn’t stand it. 

The so-called ‘nobility’; the so-called ‘Liu Residence’; the so-called ‘mainstay’ – all of these were part of a staged scheme, presenting how one cannot be swayed even by personal considerations. They were nothing. 

Lan Jue smiled and bowed towards Liu Yuan before leaving in his sedan chair. 

»»————-¤————-««

Wang Xuan clutched Wang Yan’s sleeve cuff and tried to defend himself. “Everything else was my doing, but I definitely didn’t kill anyone! I went to see brother last night – I can’t possibly be so stupid as to silence someone at that time. That fake Confucius Liu is always trying to plot against Father. Someone set up that market and just had me register my name on it, yet he bit into it, unwilling to let go and even wanted to use this against Father. He didn’t even think about his own wrongdoings. At first, I wanted to help dad by arranging two spies in the Liu Residence, then have them scare him a little. It must be Liu Yuan who found out about these two maids’ backgrounds and killed them, framing me along the way – it really wasn’t me! If I really did it, I wouldn’t dare not confess!” 

Veins twitched on Wang Yan’s forehead. “Yes, what don’t you dare? You have the guts but no brain! Who needs you to do these kinds of things? You gave Liu Yuan the opportunity to checkmate you – he only needed to wait and watch the show! Go pack your clothes and prepare to sit in prison!” 

Wang Xuan stared at Wang Yan. “Brother, it can’t be that you want to learn from Liu and be an upright official by placing righteousness before family or something, right? You can’t be serious about arresting your own younger brother, right? I truly didn’t kill them, you arresting me is a miscarriage of justice!” 

Wang Yan sneered. “How about you find evidence to prove it wasn’t you? With just a verbal statement and no proof, other than me, who’s going to believe you? Do you know the term ‘suspect’? Don’t you know that as long as you’re a suspect, you have to stay in prison?”

Wang Xuan clutched Wang Yan’s sleeve. “Brother, don’t try to scare me, Father won’t just watch me get arrested. I admit I was wrong, I was possessed and thought Ma Lian’s stratagem was good, so I arranged spies in the Liu Residence. I used his stratagem again to pretend to be a ghost, but then he unexpectedly died and those two women insisted it was a ghost’s doing, that he was killed by a ghost, and they didn’t want to do it anymore. My servants were ignorant; then, Grandma Tang began pestering me, otherwise, nobody would be able to find any evidence I was involved in this at all…” 

As he listened, Wang Yan’s brows gradually began knitting together. “…Ma Lian?”

»»————-¤————-««

Zhang Ping came out from Ma Lian’s kitchen and went into the study again. Xu Deng just happened to be carefully knocking against the study room’s walls and floor tiles. 

Suddenly, his hand paused; he lifted a floor tile, exposing a secret compartment. 

Qi Zhu, who was standing aside with his hands behind his back, also revealed an expression of surprise. He walked to the secret compartment. Xu Deng took out a stack of paper from within; they were all (3) silver banknotes and, altogether, worth not little. 

Xu Deng said, “Scholars who write plays aren’t able to receive such high remunerations. If we investigate the money farm, we should be able to find the background behind these silver banknotes.”

Qi Zhu nodded. “That’s right.” He glanced at Zhang Ping, yet Zhang Ping was staring at something in deep contemplation; it was an ordinary-looking incense burner placed on a side table leaning against a white wall. 

Zhang Ping rubbed the incense ash between his fingers and sniffed it. 

This wasn’t an incense burner for fragrance incense, but an incense burner for joss-sticks when one’s paying their respects. 

On the white wall, directly facing the incense burner, hung a scroll of four large, regular-scripted words – ‘study diligently, train hard’. They were square-shaped, so it’s unclear who wrote them. 

Who was Ma Lian paying respects to and why didn’t he dare let others know?

»»————-¤————-««

Wang Yan returned to the Ministry of Justice and sat behind his table, feeling extremely irritable. 

It was unclear whether the two maids were silenced by Wang Xuan or Liu Yuan’s underlings, but it appeared the Wang Family wasn’t able to get away from trouble this time. 

Since Tao Zhoufeng was unable to sit in his position for long and the next ascension to Chief Minister was just around the corner, it was possible Ma Lian’s murder – this entire case – was directed against him, Wang Yan. 

Wang Yan fiercely flipped open the dossiers. 

Investigate! He had to continue checking! The more violent the undercurrents surge, the more determined he was to investigate! He had to see the ending to this play!

The sound of hasty footsteps outside gradually neared from afar. When Physician Kong stepped over the threshold, his tone changed and his face seemed to glow red with agitation. “Assistant Minister, the Ministry of Revenue just sent us an urgent letter – this case is becoming far too plightful!”

Wang Yan opened the document handed to him and was taken aback once again.

Just when he thought if the culprit wasn’t A-xuan’s underlings it had to be Liu Yuan’s underlings, that everything from before was just a trick, the thing before him confirmed his very first speculation about the case.

Ma Lian and Ma Hong were brothers while Chen Chou shared the same father but a different mother from Chen Zishang. 

(1) Madame Tang – in Ancient China, brothels were usually managed by rich merchant women known as ‘Madames’. (2) Palace Examination – Ahh, I’m so sorry! I swear this is the last time I’m making changes to a translated term :,DD In previous chapters, if you saw the term ‘court examination’, it actually means palace examination! (3) Silver banknotes – banknotes that had the same value as silver.