The Mystery of Zhang Gong

Zhang Ping Fell to his Knees. “Your Majesty, This Common One Wants to Overstep and Investigate Some Dossiers.” 

Wang Yan was unable to take it anymore. In the courtyard, he stopped Tao Zhoufeng, who was just about to go back home and eat dinner. 

“My Lord, I’d like to appeal for a trial on Ma Lian’s murder case.” 

Tao Zhoufeng sympathetically looked at Wang Yan and muttered to himself irresolutely. He was pondering whether to tell Wang Yan his brother, Wang Xuan, may have gotten involved in this case and had been reported to the emperor, and the Court of Judicial Reviews may be investigating this issue. 

Tao Zhoufeng had always liked Wang Yan. Nobody can choose their parents; although Wang Yan doesn’t quite respect him, he was truly a capable subordinate. Tao Zhoufeng liked capable and hardworking young people the most – which young person didn’t have some minor issues? Being a bit grumpy and haughty was not a big deal. 

Tao Zhoufeng thought for a while and decided to not speak about it. Instead, he feigned ignorance and said, “Then prepare the dossiers first. After I read through them, we’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

Wang Yan firmly stood in his way. “My Lord, I’ve obtained a piece of significant evidence. Please immediately permit for a trial.”

Tao Zhoufeng was put in a difficult position. “This…”

There was suddenly a disturbance by the entrance. Secretariat Qiao and several yamen runners hurriedly rushed over. “My Lord, My Lord, the Grand- Grand-” 

A group of guards escorting a person gallantly walked over from behind them. A purple robe decorated with a qilin and green hills; an auspicious cloud-ruyi belt; hidden dominance behind a mighty lion’s beard; prowess within a pair of round, lion’s eyes. Chief Minister Tao immediately cupped his hands in greeting. “Greetings to the Grand Preceptor-”

Before he could finish speaking, Grand Preceptor Wang seized up Wang Yan, raised his cattail leaf fan-like right hand, and struck him. “Unfilial bastard!”

Wang Yan staggered back from the strike. Grand Preceptor Wang struck him again. “You undisciplined creature! Who gave you the guts to bend the law for your own profit and protect your brother?!” 

Tao Zhoufeng was too late by the time he shielded Wang Yan; streams of blood were already dripping from Wang Yan’s nose. 

Grand Preceptor Wang raised his hand and shouted, “Bring him up!”

Several guards pulled over a trussed-up person and forcibly knelt them to the ground – it was Wang Xuan. 

Only then did Grand Preceptor Wang slowly and deliberately straighten his cuffs and said to Tao Zhoufeng, “Chief Minister Tao, please forgive my rudeness and for boldly breaking into the Ministry of Justice. I learnt through hearsay that my unfilial son, Wang Xuan, was involved in a case and my unfilial son, Wang Yan, came back home today to keep his brother informed, deliberately indulging him. So, I brought Wang Xuan over. Lord Tao, please handle him however you wish.” 

Wang Yan wiped his nosebleed while Wang Xuan cried out with a trembling voice, “Father, I was framed! It has nothing to do with brother!”

Grand Preceptor was about to kick over but was quickly stopped by Tao Zhoufeng. “Grand Preceptor… This issue… I had no idea…” 

Grand Preceptor Wang looked angrily at Wang Yan. “You even dared to conceal it from Chief Minister Tao?”

Tao Zhoufeng immediately said, “No, no, it was… It was me… With obvious evidence, this case needs a careful trial.”

Grand Preceptor Wang responded, “No matter. Chief Minister Tao, go ahead and trial, or better yet, trial this evil creature, Wang Xuan, right now! Before then, take down Wang Yan and beat him with sixty strikes! I’ll watch from the side!” 

Tao Zhoufeng said, “I respect that the Grand Preceptor places righteousness before family… But…” He looked at Wang Yan. “Assistant Minister Wang can’t be beaten. He’s presiding over a major case and has found undeniable evidence. This matter should not be delayed – I must hold a trial immediately. Grand Preceptor, please understand.”

Grand Preceptor Wang narrowed his eyes. “Oh? There’s such a thing? Alright. Chief Minister, please keep Wang Xuan locked up in the cell. Wang Yan’s sins cannot be forgiven either; after the trial, I’ll beg for forgiveness before the Emperor. This treacherous creature – you’re better off beheaded!” 

Tao Zhoufeng hurriedly said, “He can’t be beheaded. Ma Lian’s murder case is a serious matter and is impossible to unravel. If there’s no Assistant Minister Wang, this case may become an eternal mystery…” 

Grand Preceptor Wang flicked his sleeves. “Alright, for the sake of Chief Minister Tao, I’ll remember his sins for the time being until the case is over. Afterwards, I’ll ask the Emperor to behead you little bastards! First, lock Wang Xuan in prison!” 

Tao Zhoufeng nodded. “Yes, yes, then we’ll first put Young Master Wang in prison…” 

»»————-¤————-««

Zhang Ping, Qi Zhu, and Xu Deng walked to Ma Lian’s courtyard together. Zhang Ping didn’t speak a single word. Qi Zhu asked, “Has Brother Zhang reached a verdict?”

Zhang Ping lowered his head. “Ma Lian may not have been from Shu County. The murderer knew Ma Lian.”

Qi Zhu revealed an expression of disappointment. 

“You determined he wasn’t from Shu County just from not finding any chilli among the seasonings in Ma Lian’s kitchen? There’s actually a lot of people from Shu County who don’t like to eat spicy.” 

Xu Deng followed up by saying, “If you determined Ma Lian was familiar with the murderer because of the door, then it’s quite illogical. On such a hot day, Ma Lian might’ve been bathing with the door open.” 

Zhang Ping responded, “Ma Lian wasn’t taking a bath at all. He was put in the bathtub after the murderer killed him. In reality, he’d always bathed in the courtyard. The murderer didn’t know this, so they put the bathtub in the bedroom.” 

He pointed to the well. On a small stool was a soap dish. Beside it was a rope hung low for placing towels and clothes during a bath. 

Qi Zhu’s gaze became interested again when he looked at Zhang Ping. “Why did the murderer put Ma Lian in the bathtub?”

Zhang Ping replied, “I only use evidence. According to the current evidence, I still can’t make a judgement.” 

Qi Zhu gently tapped his fan against his chin. “Then what evidence did you use to reach your two verdicts?”

Zhang Ping lowered his eyelids. “I know Ma Lian and had eaten with him before. When eating out, he only consumed rice. If he ate anything spicy, his face would flush and his lips would blister.”

There weren’t any chillis nor rice in Ma Lian’s kitchen, only noodles. He also used flaxseed oil. 

“He was clearly by the well, yet he wasn’t taking a shower; he was using a bathtub. Looking at the courtyard’s ground, it must’ve been washed frequently with water, but the flooring within the house tended to be lightly swept.”

This meant after Ma Lian took his bath, he would use the bath water to wash the ground. 

“He didn’t change clothes every day.”

Ma Lian’s clothes were washed every few days by the old woman living in the lane. He was a clean person, yet, on such hot days, he still didn’t change clothes every day. 

Xu Deng laughed. “This is a Northwesterner’s style. Only, the way you’re saying this is making it contradictory again. Since the murderer knew Ma Lian, how did they make the mistake of putting his bathtub in his bedroom?”

Zhang Ping replied, “If they didn’t know Ma Lian, why would they bother doing so?” 

Xu Deng shook his head. “That’s implausible.” 

Zhang Ping went silent again. Qi Zhu said, “Ai, just this isn’t enough to find the murderer’s identity. We don’t know where his stack of silver banknotes came from either.” 

Xu Deng said, “This is easy to investigate. If I hand this over to the Ministry of Justice’s constable, I’ll be giving him the opportunity to earn credit. There are many doubtful points about Ma Lian. I heard he managed to pass the Imperial Examination due to a recommendation from Grand Tutor Yun’s disciple, Liu Bing ‘Lord Liu’. Ah, I shouldn’t be talking nonsense about this.” 

Zhang Ping lowered his head again. “This student still wants to investigate the exam venue.” 

Qi Zhu glanced at Xu Deng. Xu Deng responded, “Young Master, it’s not early anymore. It’s time to go back.” 

Qi Zhu smiled. “No matter. It was fate who let us encounter Brother Zhang. Farewell.”

And so, they left Zhang Ping. 

»»————-¤————-««

After Lan Jue returned to his residence, he suddenly received a summoning ordering him to immediately meet the Emperor. 

Lan Jue wasn’t sure of the intentions behind this, but he changed into his court attire and hurried to the palace. 

»»————-¤————-««

Zhang Ping returned to his residence at Xiao Haozi Lane. Although he’d already moved to the Lan Residence, he hadn’t discontinued the rent here. He took a tiered lunch box and bought a few baked, sesame-coated pastries and half a bucket of soft bean curd for Chen Chou. 

When he arrived at the Ministry of Justice’s prison, the guards didn’t let him enter to visit. Zhang Ping took out some coins and stuffed them into their hands. One of them said, “Forget about it. Just this little bit of money isn’t even enough to buy us a bowl of porridge. It’s not that we want to swindle you, it’s just the Chief Minister had finished trying him. He’s the younger brother of the wronged scholar who drowned himself in the lake a few years ago; he already confessed during the trial. The brother of the person who got murdered for this case killed his brother – you think there’s anything else they missed for this case? He’s currently locked in the cell and isn’t someone you can see whenever you want.” 

Zhang Ping slowly turned around holding the box of food and walked back to the Lan Residence. 

»»————-¤————-««

When he returned to the Lan Residence, the sky had already turned dark and the main room’s candles were brightly lit; it seemed Lan Jue had just returned from the palace. Zhang Ping ran into Wu Shixin, who asked where he went. He also said Lan Hui repeatedly asked about Zhang Ping because he didn’t see him today. 

Zhang Ping answered with a few casual words. When he returned outside his wing room, he saw a dark figure pacing around nearby; when they saw Zhang Ping, they walked over. It was Steward Sun. 

Steward Sun coughed a little and looked around before whispering, “Little Zhang, I told my nephew about your issue. He can get you into the examination hall early tomorrow morning, but not for long.”

Zhang Ping bowed repeatedly with cupped hands. “Many thanks, Uncle Sun.” 

The next day, when dawn had just begun, Steward Sun’s nephew brought Zhang Ping into the examination hall. 

The spacious examination hall was completely empty. Official Sun said they were beginning to empty the rooms today, so the exam room doors were unlocked. He told Zhang Ping to hurry; he’ll stay out here and be on the lookout. 

Zhang Ping nodded and quickly walked towards the exam rooms. He first went to the empty room where the weeping noises came from. 

There was nothing in the room – it was completely empty. Because it wasn’t used as an exam room, there wasn’t a table nor chair. Zhang Ping carefully looked around before leaving for exam room 356, where the examinee who suffered from epilepsy stayed.

This examinee took the virtue exam. Zhang Ping inspected the room. In the end, he squatted down and looked under the bed. 

Afterwards, he went to the exam room he stayed at and also looked under the bed. Then, he went next door. At last, he went to exam room 14, where Ma Lian stayed. 

Zhang Ping had a doubt in his mind that needed verification from this exam room. Ma Lian was Ma Hong’s younger brother; Grand Tutor Yun reversed a verdict for Chen Zishang and personally convicted Ma Hong to death. 

Ma Lian changed his household registration and arrived in the Capital; why did he seek connections with Grand Tutor Yun and receive a strong recommendation from his disciple, Liu Bing? 

A scholar was claimed to have died in Ma Lian’s exam room, but it didn’t seem any different from the other exam rooms. Zhang Ping took another look; indeed, as he expected, the bamboo strips on the bamboo bed were the same as those in the other rooms – they could be removed. Only, the back of the bamboo strips had already been peeled flat; there was nothing there. Exam room 356 was the same. Yet, the ghost talisman carved under Zhang Ping’s bed was still there. 

»»————-¤————-««

By the time Zhang Ping returned to the Lan Residence, it was already noon. He sat in his room before someone suddenly knocked on his door. 

Zhang Ping looked out the door before quickly standing up and bowing. “Lord Lan.”

Lan Jue smiled as he looked at him. “There’s no need to be so formal. Because you requested a break these two days, I wasn’t sure whether it was because your body is unwell, hence, I came to visit. Have you eaten lunch?”

Zhang Ping replied, “I ate out.”

Lan Jue said, “It seems you’re still running around for Chen Chou’s case. Have you found out anything?”

Zhang Ping shook his head. “There’s something I still can’t figure out. I don’t know why.”

Lan Jue rarely saw such a distressed expression on Zhang Ping’s face and couldn’t help but feel interested. His line of view turned to the sheets of paper on the table. “What’s this?”

They were the inscriptions Zhang Ping brought back from Chen Zishang’s memorial hall. 

Lan Jue hadn’t been to Chen Zishang’s memorial hall before, so he picked up the sheets of paper and looked through them. Although Yuntang was the Grand Tutor, his calligraphy couldn’t be considered top-notch. It was inconvenient for Lan Jue to comment on it, so he looked through Chen Zishang’s sheets and exclaimed with amazement, “Chen Zishang’s calligraphy is quite unordinary. Strange – how could he write like this?” 

Zhang Ping abruptly raised his head and grabbed Lan Jue’s sleeve. “How is it unordinary?”

»»————-¤————-««

Zhang Ping returned outside Zhuyin Lane again. Under the tea stall, he paced back and forth repeatedly. 

The sun was setting to the west. When the tea stall owner was just about to drive him away with a stick, a cough sounded behind Zhang Ping. 

The youth, Qi Zhu, smiled at him. “Zhang Ping.” Xu Deng was still by his side. 

Zhang Ping bowed. “This student has an urgent matter.”

Xu Deng requested a private room in a teahouse nearby. When they entered, he closed the door. Qi Zhu said with a smile, “Whatever Brother Zhang needs to say, you can do so now.”

Zhang Ping fell to his knees and hung his head. “Your Majesty, this common one wants to overstep and investigate some dossiers.”

‘Qi Zhu’ stood up against the backlight and narrowed his eyes slightly. “You really are smart. No wonder you could receive Tao Zhoufeng’s recommendation; even Lan Jue would speak up for you. How did you recognise zhen? Conduct? Manner of speech? Or was it zhen’s pseudonym?” 

Zhang Ping lowered his head. “It was none of those. This common one recognised Lord Deng, so I guessed Your Majesty’s identity.” He raised his eyes and looked at Xu Deng. 

“This common one had the honour to read about the major cases Lord Deng had solved and the book《Following the Traces》. I greatly admire Lord Deng. I’ve secretly seen you before from the Court of Judicial Review’s entrance and Lord Deng’s residence.” 

Emperor Yongxuan laughed. “Deng-qing, turns out zhen was the one who benefited from your association. No matter. Zhang Ping, you are a mere scholar with no scholarly honour. On what basis do you request this?” 

Zhang Ping replied, “This common one knows who the murderer is.”

Emperor Yongxuan raised his eyebrows. “Who is it?”

Zhang Ping answered with a deep voice, “This common one wants to read through the dossiers for this year’s Imperial Examination and two other people.” 

T/N: Hello my dear readers! Remember Physician Kong? When he was first introduced, the raws called him ‘孔郎中’ (‘kong langzhong’). ‘Langzhong’, if you guys watch a lot of Chinese dramas, tends to mean ‘Physician’. At first, I was also really confused, because why would there suddenly be a Physician in the Ministry of Justice?? But I decided to use it anyway. However, I recently found out some new information, and I’ve decided to call Physician Kong ‘Minister Kong’ instead. I’d like to apologise and thank everyone for continuing to read and support this novel even with the many mistakes (I have to admit, this novel is more difficult to translate compared to Of Mountains and Rivers due to the frequent use of ancient terms). In addition to this, I was also wondering if you guys would rather I use ‘this commoner’, ‘this student’, ‘this subordinate’, etc. or just a simple ‘I’ when the characters are referring to themselves? If any of you are confused by the plot or my translations, please ping me on Discord because I don’t regularly check the comments here TT thank you for reading! <33