The Mystery of Zhang Gong

Chen Chuo Suddenly Became Anxious. “Master, Everything Needs Evidence – What Evidence Can Prove This Student or Zhang Ping Has Ecstasy?” 

Unexpectedly, it hadn’t even been a month before Zhang Ping actually committed a homicide; Lan Jue was slightly surprised, so he casually asked how they conspired the murder.

Official Liu Dan wasn’t quite clear on this matter either, so he only ambiguously said a few words about a murder weapon and how the class teacher was still hanging onto life with a single breath. Nobody knew whether he’d survive or not, but if he couldn’t, then this would truly become a homicide case. 

With that said, he walked to the entrance of Wuzheng Hall. Wang Yan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, greeted Lan Jue there with a cup of his hands. “Minister Lan, what an unexpected visitor. What important business do you have here for you to unexpectedly come over?” 

Lan Jue returned the courtesy before responding. “What else can it be but the matter of rewarding Liu Zhi-Hui? The Ministry of Appointments said after the Ministry of Revenue returned the files, they handed over the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility of consultation to us Ministry of Rites. Although this is a perfunctory matter, if I sent a mere legalist official to handle it I would appear to be neglecting Minister Liu; hence, I came here in person. I must trouble Brother Mo Wen to open up the files for me.”

Under the legal precedent of the Yong Dynasty, if a minister was to receive promotion rewards, their background and history all had to be checked. Recently, a member of the Imperial Secretariat called Liu Zhi-Hui was promoted to the deputy-chief Imperial Censorate and was gifted several rewards. The documents outlining the proposed promotion and rewards were first handed to the Ministry of Appointments and Ministry of Rites. They were responsible for making sure Minister Liu was innocent of all crimes and wasn’t a criminal’s descendant who deceivingly entered the court; only then could he be formally promoted. 

Lan Jue felt this rule was a bit unnecessary; these things could be checked when a minister first acquire their ranks or major promotions – why did they have to check them every time someone received a promotion? In the end, it only became a formality. The Minister of Appointments and Ministry of Rites could practically backwards-recite the resumes of all fast-promoted ministers, adding reason to how unnecessary it was. 

But Lan Jue wasn’t the type of person who liked making suggestions; those who worked in the Ministry of Rites paid the most attention to the value of harmony. Suggestions should be left for those in the Imperial Censorate to propose. Anything he believed unreasonable should only be thought in his heart. 

Wang Yan smilingly said, “I expected this to be the case but to be a minister of the same rank wanting to investigate records from the Ministry of Justice you require a written endorsement from the Chief Minister; I cannot open the files unauthorised. How coincidental our Minister Tao finally ran into a homicide case, so I’m afraid you’d have to wait until he finishes the trial.”

Just as he finished talking, dong-dong drumming began sounding outside. Wang Yan winked. “Look, our Chief Minister’s going to be promoted soon. This trial’s going to be big. I have freshly brewed tea here, worthy for you to temporarily sit here and drink; I have to leave for a moment. Since Minister Tao’s trying the case, we have to listen and learn from the sidelines.”

Lan Jue smiled in his heart. The Chief Minister of the Ministry of Justice was his own father-in-law Liu Xian’s disciple; an honest and upright minister – an honest person – with a lukewarm and slightly pedantic personality. If he was placed in the Ministry of Revenue or Hanlin Academy, with his mild personality and preference for smoothing things over, he definitely would’ve been an excellent minister; unfortunately, he just happened to be the Chief Minister of the Ministry of Justice. 

It was said Minister Tao became the Chief Minister of the Ministry of Justice because it was Liu Xian’s final wish before his death; Lan Jue suspected his father-in-law wasn’t able to spit out his words with enough clarity before dying, causing his disciples to mistake “Tao Zhoufeng must only enter an idle ministry” with (1) “Ministry of Justice”. At the time, the former Emperor was also ill beyond cure, so with a trembling hand, he approved and assigned Tao Zhoufeng as the Chief Minister of the Ministry of Justice. 

During these few years, tragic cases dripping with blood lessened in the Ministry of Justice; they either went cold or were left for (2) Dali Temple to deal with. Once, in his memorial to the throne, Minister Tao had cheerfully written: There’s recently been another case covering a birthright dispute. (3) Chen used the Emperor’s words and, due to the kindness and persuasion of the former and current Emperor, the perpetrator shed tears of regret. It can be seen in this flourishing dynasty that even individuals with bloodthirst can be taught to do good…

At that time, the Emperor wasn’t in power yet. After Prince Huai and Yuntang waited for a few auxiliary ministers to read this memorial, they forwarded it to the Emperor and, with the Head of the Secretariat, officially replied on behalf of the Emperor. Who is the perpetrator, and what is their sentence? 

Minister Tao replied: The perpetrator pleaded guilty before the trial started. He’s the youngest son of the deceased and was born from an affair between the deceased’s concubine and another. His life history is unclear and his mind was swayed by demons, forcing him to commit evil deeds – a truly pitiful man. When chen made the final decision, tears couldn’t help but fill my eyes. If he had the Emperor’s enlightenment in his heart, how could he commit such evil? But alas… 

Soon, the memorial was replied to with flamboyant vermillion. Alas, he committed the heinous and unforgivable crime of murdering his father. If you don’t kill him, the Emperor will also shed his tears. Behead him! 

Minister Tao tearfully sentenced the father-killer to death. Not long after, he wrote a letter requesting the Emperor’s approval for him to plant a weeping willow and chrysanthemums outside the prison so the heinous criminal could listen to the sound of falling rain and the birds’ singing – to let him feel the love of the world. He also wanted to engrave and distribute small booklets advising benevolence among the criminals in the prison to enlighten these living beings. 

Prince Huai and Prince Yuntang, along with several auxiliary ministers, diligently endured Tao Zhoufeng for a very long time, but none of them wanted to violate the former Emperor and Grand Tutor Liu’s last wishes; they all gritted their teeth, waiting for the Emperor to finally take power and deal with him. Minister Tao might’ve vaguely felt the signs, so during the following days after the Emperor came into power, he’d been pulling himself together to desperately handle cases; for every case, he’d personally sit in the trials, letting the smaller officials listen in from the sidelines to observe the details and make the final decisions for him. 

The smaller officials from the Ministry of Justice would call Minister Tao ‘Charitable Tao’ behind his back; Wang Yan had to endlessly listen to his father Wang Qin’s complaints about Tao Zhoufeng, so it was inevitable for him to also hold little respect towards him. 

“When I first came in, I saw a constable had arrested two scholars; they appeared to be examinees for the preliminary exam. Are they the suspects going to be tried for the case? It’s unfortunate I’m not able to listen in on how the Ministry of Justice handles its cases,” Lan Jue said.

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows. “If you want to listen, I can take you with me. This case doesn’t have anything to do with the court, so it’ll be fine. Minister Tao won’t be bothered. And, since these two really do appear to be for the preliminary exams, it’ll be good for you to listen in anyway.” 

Lan Jue smiled. “Then I’ll go with you. I’ve been a minister for so many years, yet I haven’t seen many trials.” 

Wang Yan led him through a small side door to the Ministry of Justice’s large hall; the trial had already begun. Lan Jue stood behind a screen, only able to see Minister Tao sitting upright, asking with an expression of heartache, “you two are examinees for the preliminary exams and have read the Emperor’s literature. How could you still commit such crimes?”

Chen Chuo was trembling and crying. “Master, we’ve been wronged! Last night, us two were sleeping at home; we didn’t go anywhere, especially not to murder Mr Jin!” 

Minister Tao sighed. “If you weren’t the ones who did it, then why is Wife Jin certain it was?” 

Chen Chuo responded loudly. “Just because she said it’s us doesn’t mean we actually did it. Master, please investigate this matter; it truly wasn’t us!” 

“The suspect who is speaking – are you called Chen Chuo? Wife Jin said it indeed wasn’t you who did it. According to her, the one beside you, Zhang Ping, was the true mastermind. You were probably just an accomplice…” 

Chen Chou trembled. “This student isn’t an accomplice! Nor is Zhang Ping the mastermind! We were both asleep at home last night, how could we possibly go to the Capital’s west to kill Lord Jin?” 

Minister Tao sighed again. “You say you were both asleep at home. Then, do you sleep in one room or two rooms? If it’s one room, then do you sleep in one bed or two beds? If it’s one bed, then who sleeps on the inner side and who sleeps on the outer side? Are you two shallow or deep sleepers? Can you prove that if you went out, he’d wake up, and if he went out, you’d wake up?” 

“Reporting back to master – one of us sleeps in the West Chamber and the other sleeps in the East Chamber, but the family outside owns a dog; it’ll bark as long as it hears the sound of footsteps. It didn’t bark last night. If master doesn’t believe me, you can bring the neighbour here and ask them!”

Minister Tao pondered for a moment. “Whether the dog barked or not, I’ll naturally go inquire…” 

An official standing aside secretly whispered a few words to the scribe, who whispered a few words to Minister Tao. This was followed by Minister Tao saying, “even if the dog didn’t bark, it wouldn’t mean anything. I know that there’s a type of drug in this world known as Ecstasy or the (4) Senseless Sweat Powder. If you put it in a meat bun’s stuffing and dog food, the dog would fall asleep and not bark…”

Once again, the scribe whispered a few words into Minister Tao’s ears, and he said, “this drug could’ve been used on a person first before the dog. In other words, you could be asleep whilst he could be awake and vice versa.” 

Chen Chuo suddenly became anxious. “Master, everything needs evidence – what evidence can prove this student or Zhang Ping has ecstasy?” 

Minister Tao was silent for a moment before replying with, “there’s no evidence to prove that you don’t have it.”

Lan Jue almost laughed aloud behind the screen. The scribe coughed and chipped in. “Master, it’ll be best to call in Wife Jin now.”

Minister Tao slowly slammed the gavel. “Calling Wife Jin.”

From behind the screen, Lan Jue peeked through a gap to look at that Zhang Ping and saw him standing there, motionless and unspeaking, his eyelids dropped with a poker face, appearing very suitable with the Ministry of Justice’s large hall; Lan Jue couldn’t help but think in his heart…

Did he do it or not?

(1) ‘Ministry of Justice’ – an ‘idle ministry’ (闲部) is pronounced as ‘xian bu’, whilst the ‘Ministry of Justice’ (刑部) is pronounced as ‘xing bu’

(2) Dali Temple – equivalent to the modern ‘Supreme Court’. With the Ministry of Justice and Censorate, they were known as the ‘Three Law Departments’. 

(3) Chen – meaning ‘servant’. Used to refer to themselves when someone is talking to the Emperor or someone of a higher rank. 

(4) Senseless Sweat Powder – (蒙汗散) A type of drug that comes up in one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels ‘Water Margin’, and has a powerful anaesthetic effect that relaxes the user’s muscles and suppresses the secretion from their sweat glands. It’s made from Datura flowers (also known as the Devil’s Trumpets), a poisonous plant that can cause hallucinogenic and euphoric effects.