The Mystery of Zhang Gong

“When I was investigating Sixian Bookstore, I Discovered Something Strange. Six Years Ago, Sixian Bookstore Was One of The Hosting Businesses For The Literary Meeting Where Chen Zishang Committed His Crime.”

Deng Xu’s expression was already that of impatience. “Zhang Ping, you don’t have to speak more about anything else. You can just tell us who the true culprit is.”

Under the yamen runner’s palms, Lu Zhonghe hopelessly struggled. 

Zhang Ping bowed. “My Lord, the true culprit I just mentioned was the former Ministry of Justice’s Chief Minister, Dou Fang.”

After he finished speaking, the entire courtroom was left in silence. 

Even Lan Jue was left unable to think for a moment. He could only listen as Zhang Ping continued, “When I heard about Chen Zishang’s case, there was one thing I couldn’t understand. Chen Zishang’s article quoted his mother’s verse, so he didn’t steal anyone else’s article. Instead of mentioning such evidence, he waited for his doom. This matter was only discovered after his verdict was being reversed. This is illogical.”

When wronged, anyone would do their utmost best to bring out evidence of their innocence. Why didn’t Chen Zishang?

Could it be that he did, but it was disregarded?

“Lord Dou was an honest and upright official who once solved many major cases – I’ve long admired him. When investigating Chen Zishang’s case, he lifted the lid on everything about the Chen Family but overlooked this one clue. I found it strange. The other thing is the death of Chen Zishang’s mother.”

Lady Chen was run over in front of the Ministry of Justice; furthermore, she deliberately jumped when Liu Yuan’s sedan chair arrived. This move seemed like her final struggle against powerlessness; against her inability to do a particular thing; against her inability to speak a particular truth. 

She used her life to cry out her grievance. What did she know but couldn’t say? 

“Only when I found out the truth did I discover Lady Chen used her death to reveal the reality of this case.”

Deng Xu finally spoke again. He stared at Zhang Ping and word-by-word said, “What you’re saying right now is defamation against a court official. If you can’t bring out any evidence, you should be very clear about the consequences.”

Zhang Ping didn’t reply – he just continued from where he left off.

“When I was investigating Sixian Bookstore, I discovered something strange. Six years ago, Sixian Bookstore was one of the hosting businesses for the literary meeting where Chen Zishang committed his crime.”

Chen Zishang was wronged. Then, who was the one who could obtain his article and immediately give it to Ma Hong? Obviously, the person who hosted the literary meeting.

Why did Ma Hong refuse to explain why he framed Chen Zishang, even up to his death? And, who exactly was the person who gave him Chen Zishang’s article?

Ma Hong and Ma Lian came from humble backgrounds, so how did Ma Lian obtain the power to change his household registration and arrive at the Capital as someone from Shu County? 

“When piecing these together, it appears as if Chen Zishang was deliberately framed. However, I still can’t understand the motive behind it.”

There lacked a reason behind Chen Zishang’s deliberate framing. Such a refined arrangement definitely wasn’t set up by an ordinary person – why did they do this?

Six years later, why would Sixian Bookstore’s second shopkeeper fabricate another identity to kill Ma Hong’s younger brother, Ma Lian?

“It wasn’t until Lord Lan unintentionally saw me make a rubbing of Chen Zishang’s handwriting and told me an allusion did the truth behind this case come to light.” 

Zhang Ping took out a piece of paper from his sleeve – it was the inscription he’d rubbed from Chen Zishang’s memorial hall that day. 

Deng Xu massaged his forehead. “Assistant Minister Lan, you’re here too. Could you please give us a detailed explanation about how Chen Zishang’s handwriting could reveal the truth behind his wrongful conviction six years ago?” 

Lan Jue replied, “I actually don’t know what the truth is. I just felt Chen Zishang’s characters were one of a kind – I didn’t expect someone from this dynasty to compose such strokes.”

The rubbing was brought up from left to right; even Tao Zhoufeng moved closer to take a look. 

Bo Yifan said, “This is General Wang of the Right Army’s1 cursive calligraphy style. Many people practice this style, so it isn’t uncommon.” 

However, Tao Zhoufeng frowned. “It’s a bit strange – how did he write such characters?” He suddenly raised his head. “Could it be…?”

Lan Jue sighed softly. “Lord Tan has realised. This scholar’s calligraphy was imitated from General Wang’s ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’. What’s strange is it wasn’t imitated from Scholar Ouyang2, Yu Yongxing3, Chu Henan4, nor Feng Chengsu’s5 imitations6. 

It was rumoured that, in olden Tang, Emperor Taizong instructed Prime Minister Xiao Yi to cheat away ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’7. Loving it to the point he couldn’t part from it, he ordered all court calligraphers to imitate the work. He even carved it into stones and bestowed them to members of the royal family, ministers of importance, and imperial colleges. 

Chu Suiliang, Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Feng Chengsu, and Zhuge Zhen8 created the most prominent imitations known. 

The original copy of ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’ was buried with the Tang Emperor Taizong, and many imitations and stone carvings were gradually lost in the chaos of war. The only copies handed down until now were imitations from Chu, Yu, Feng, and Ouyang. 

Zhang Ping said, “Lord Lan’s comment reminded me of an event everyone should be familiar with that occurred in this dynasty many years ago.”

Tao Zhoufeng’s jaws dropped. “Could it- Could it be…?” He sat back in his chair in shock.

Zhang Ping slowly nodded.

Around twenty years ago, a strange tragedy occurred in this dynasty.

In a small neighbouring county east of Qingzhou, a small stone box was dug out from the ground while a temple was being constructed. The people thought it was an antique, hence they handed it to the county bureau. 

The then-Magistrate of Qingzhou was Chen Zishang’s grandfather, Chen Wending. 

When the county bureau received the stone box, Chen Wending’s good friend, the Hanlin Academy graduate Duke Zhou, unexpectedly decided to return to his hometown and visit his parents. Having to pass Qingzhou on his way, he stayed at the Chen Residence as their guest. He was proficient in antiques; after appreciating the stone box, he concluded it may have been an item from the Tang Dynasty. 

Chen Wending asked a craftsman to open the stone box. They discovered there were no gold, silver, or precious jewels within; instead, wrapped in yellow satin lining laid a volume of silk manuscript. Impressively, written inside was the ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’, but the calligraphy style and signature didn’t match with Chu, Yu, Feng, or Ouyang’s imitation. 

After much thought and analysis, Duke Zhou speculated this silk manuscript to be Zhuge Zhen’s lost imitation. 

The temple’s construction site was once an imperial college. To avoid the disasters of war during the late Tang, the people within probably sealed the imitation within the stone box and hid it underground.

It finally saw the light again after many years. 

Chen Wending and Duke Zhou immediately wrote a letter informing the imperial court. 

The former Emperor was overjoyed when hearing of such matter; he ordered Duke Zhou to immediately bring the silk manuscript to the Capital.

Duke Zhou left Qingzhou and returned to the Capital by boat. That night, he encountered a group of bandits on the river. Nearly thirty people, almost an entire family of elderly and young plus servants and boatmen died. 

The boat itself was burnt to nothing by a big fire. 

This case shocked both the imperial court and the nation’s people. Under imperial orders, the Ministry of Justice conducted a thorough investigation and, after more than a month, solved the case. The perpetrators were from a rebel band by the river and their leader’s name was Niu Ba. According to his confession, he saw Duke Zhou as an ‘old man imperial envoy’. There were many chests and baskets on the boat that aroused his evil intent, hence he killed everyone and, after obtaining the treasures, set fire to the boat. 

Sure enough, after searching and confiscating the bandits’ den, they only found gold, silver, and such things – there wasn’t a single trance of Zhuge Zhen’s ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’ imitation. 

The imitation was lost since then, perhaps destroyed in the fire. 

Niu Ba and the entire gang of bandits were sentenced to capital punishment. Chen Wending also accepted responsibility and resigned. 

Dou Fang was Duke Zhou’s disciple. Zhang Ping received Emperor Yongxuang’s permission to read through past case files and discovered Lord Dou once presented a petition to the imperial court, strongly stating there were still many doubts in this case. He suspected Niu Ba hadn’t simply robbed for riches – rather, he was acting under another’s instructions. However, at that time, he’d just passed the Imperial Examination and was just a small official. The words of those in humble positions don’t carry much weight; in addition, there was no evidence. The case was still closed after Niu Ba and his gang was beheaded. 

Lu Zhonghe’s complexion was like ash. He’d already stopped struggling. His hair was scattered from his efforts just then, revealing the half-baldness underneath. 

Scars dappled the scalp, appearing very much like burn marks.

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Translator's Notes

 

Wang Xizhi – one of the Four Talented Calligraphers in Chinese calligraphy. From the Jin Dynasty, he was a calligrapher, politician, general, and writer. He was also known for his love for geese.Ouyang Xun – a calligrapher, politician, and writer from the early Tang Dynasty, he was one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the early Tang. He’s also historically known for his monkey-like ugliness and unbelievable intellect.Yu Shinan – posthumously titled ‘Duke Wenyi of Yongxing’, he was a calligrapher and politician from the early Tang. Also one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the early Tang.Chu Suiliang – once known as the ‘Duke of Henan’, he was a calligrapher, historian, and politician from the Tang Dynasty. Also one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang, Ouyang Xun was his father’s friend.Feng Chengsu – calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. Although he never reached the same ranks as the other three, his calligraphy wasn’t any lesser, evident by how his version of ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’ is still regarded as the closest resemblance to the original.The original copy of ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’ is said to have been buried with Emperor Taizong in his mausoleum, as he was a great admirer of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy. Hence, to imitate the calligraphy style in ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’, one must imitate an imitation.Under Emperor Taizong’s orders, Xiao Yi acquired the original ‘Orchard Pavilion Preface’ by gaining trust from Bian Cai, a monk who’d inherited it, and bringing it back to the palace with him.Also from the Tang Dynasty; known for his imitations from rubbed stone inscriptions.