The Mystery of Zhang Gong

Zhang Ping Stepped Forward and Bowed. “Master, This is the Person Who, More Than A Decade Ago, Raped and Killed Li Niang and is the Perpetrator Who Harmed Jin Lifa.” 

Minister Tao couldn’t sleep well for the entire night. 

He dreamt he’d closed the case and sentenced Zhang Ping to immediate execution; Zhang Ping became a ghost, his entire body covered in blood as he stared at him. He quietly said, “I was wronged…”

Minister Tao sat up with a quiver, sweaty; outside his window, his wife was raising a young rooster, training her voice. It wasn’t yet dawn – almost time to attend court. 

Wife Tao turned her body and said, “My Lord, you should just go tell the Emperor to dismiss you from the Ministry of Justice Chief Minister position. You don’t even dare listen to ghost stories – how could you possibly be suitable for this career? You don’t earn a single extra wen and you have nightmares every night; you’ve been scared to the point your beard has turned white. Hanlin Academy is quite good. Wife Qin tells me that her husband is extremely idle every day.” 

Minister Tao got out of bed without a single word. He walked to the door and opened it; it was completely black. 

Even when he arrived at his ministry yamen, Minister Tao still felt restless. He thought about it over and over, thinking this Zhang Ping may have indeed been wronged; as an examinee who was about to participate in the preliminary exam, to give up on great future prospects and kill a troupe leader was not the way of scholars. 

He opened the files and looked through all the evidence that blatantly pointed to Zhang Ping. 

Minister Tao sighed worriedly and paced back and forth. 

At noon, Minister Tao personally went to the prison to visit Zhang Ping. Zhang Ping was currently sitting in the corner, eating; he carefully put the remaining half of his bun back into the bowl and stood up to greet Minister Tao. In his heart, Minister Tao thought he truly was a good young man. 

Minister Tao friendly said, “You’ve suffered a bit in this prison. Staying here, do you not feel panicked or resent my ministry?”

Zhang Ping replied, “This student is not the perpetrator. I believe I will obtain justice.”

Minister Tao spoke with even more amiability. “Assistant Minister Wang told me he doesn’t think you’re the perpetrator who harmed Jin Lifa, but when Assistant Minister Wang came over to question you about the other doubtful aspects of this case, why did you contradict him? If you helped Assistant Minister Wang find any other suspects, wouldn’t you have more hope absolving yourself from the crime?”

Zhang Ping lowered his eyelids. “There’s nothing suspicious about the things Assistant Minister Wang has doubts about. This student can’t say that they’re suspicious.” 

Minister Tao twirled his beard. “How can you determine that they’re not suspicious?”

It was dark in the prison, so a guard was holding up a torch to illuminate the area; Zhang Ping stood in the swaying glow of the flames, his appearance and bearing exactly the same as the wronged ghost in Minister Tao’s dream. “If Master believes in me, this student can find evidence and witnesses.”

»»————-¤————-««

Wife Jin also had a nightmare; she dreamt of her cousin Li Niang standing in front of her bed, calling out to her, “Sister… Sister Xiang Wan…” 

Wife Jin was restless, unable to stay still. 

The Ministry of Justice had sent someone to tell her that there was either poison on the perpetrator’s blade or when Jin Lifa fell into the manure pit the foul air entered his body too deeply, hence his injury was very unstable; however, the words Jin Lifa spoke was the key to his case. The Ministry of Justice would put in all their efforts into saving him and had already transferred several well-known doctors. They’d put up a notice offering a reward to any doctor who could cure Jin Lifa. 

Wife Jin begged to see her husband but was rejected. 

The entire day, she felt like she’d been fried in oil. Her little apprentices were in the courtyard training their voices; listening to it made her feel distraught with anxiety. She felt her thread and needle and sat by the window. In a flash, it was as if she returned to a memory from many years ago, pregnant with her eldest child, sitting under the window as she embroidered a belly-band. Li Niang had opened the door and smiled at her. “Sister.” 

During those days, Li Niang had been acting unusual; others didn’t pay attention, but she could tell. 

Her complexion had turned more delicate and ruddy as if she’d put on rogue; she usually appeared washed-out and sickly, but at that time she liked to bite her lips and laugh, curving the corners of her eyes. Her gaze would sometimes drift, nobody knowing what she was thinking. 

She wrung Li Niang’s hands and said, “You darn girl, don’t tell me you went behind your parents’ back and found someone to become intimate with.”

Li Niang’s eyes rippled; she asked, “Sister Xiang Wan, do you believe in immortals?”

She answered, “I believe. I believe there is a white-beared elderly immortal who’d long tied a thread around your hand and tied the other end to a noble brother who looks like (1) Pan An.”

Li Niang hung her head and smiled. “Sister, do you remember the weasel we rescued together when we were younger?” 

She thought about it and vaguely remembered such a thing. When they were younger, there was a weasel that’d steal chickens from their backyard; one day, one of its hind legs was clipped by a clamp and it joltingly ran past her and Li Niang. 

They’d heard the adults talk about how smelly a weasel’s fart could be, so they took three steps back as they watched it dig into the dog hole and run away. 

She froze for a moment and asked, “Did that weasel become a spirit to come and pester you?”

Li Niang wrung her handkerchief without a word, so she grabbed onto Li Niang’s hands. “My good sister, don’t scare me. Weasels are filthy things; things like ghosts and monsters shouldn’t be touched. A girl like you can’t be fooled.”

Li Niang chuckled. “Sister, I know. But he won’t harm me – he is an immortal; I can’t even see his face. The fragrance on his body only exists in heaven. Only us mortals are smelly and filthy in his eyes.”

Someone pounded on the door; Wife Jin’s hands trembled, causing the needle to prick her finger. She tore a piece of fabric and wrapped it around her finger as two or three officials from the Ministry of Justice entered the room. 

“Wife Jin, the Chief Minister is going to re-try the case in the court-hall. Come with us.”

»»————-¤————-««

The second trial was almost the same as the first, except the person standing next to Chief Minister Tao was replaced by a minister wearing a red assistant-minister uniform. 

Wife Jin recognised this person; he was the current Imperial Tutor Wang’s eldest son, Wang Yan. She’d heard from Xiao Wu that when the troupe was performing at Assistant Minister Lan’s residence, Assistant Minister Wang was also there and had summoned Li Qi, Qing Shu and Xianghe over for questioning. 

Wife Jin had a bad premonition in her heart; she was the only one kneeling in the court-hall, neither Zhang Ping nor Chen Chuo there. Chief Minister Tao cleared his throat and said, “This case is being retried today because several key clues relating to the case had been found. Wife Jin, I ask you, you said you heard your husband Jin Lifa’s shout and he’d just been to the latrine. Do you have a witness?”

Wife Jin was dazed for a moment before she replied with a trembling voice, “Master ~~ Are you suspecting me of harming my husband? I’ve been wronged, master ~~ My husband and I have been a married couple for twenty harmonious years – why would I harm him? Master, please investigate this matter! The perpetrator is clearly that Zhang Ping!”

“Right now, the murder weapon hasn’t been found yet, and although Zhang Ping is suspicious there is no concrete evidence against him. I’ve handled several cases and oftentimes, the first person on-scene is the perpetrator. You don’t have any witnesses, so you can’t be ruled out as a suspect,” Minister Tao said.

Still on her knees, Wife Jin moved forward two steps, crying. “Master, my husband and I have been in love for many years – everyone in the troupe can testify for it – so how could I harm my husband? Zhang Ping must be slandering me!”

Minister Tao sighed and waved his hand; several bailiffs led someone forward, over the threshold, and knelt him down beside Wife Jin. Unexpectedly, it was Li Qi.

Li Qi said, “My Lady, more than a decade ago, after Lady Li Niang passed away, it was you who came forward to testify and said Lady Li Niang once told you that she became familiar with a weasel spirit; only then did Grandfather and Grandmother Li believe that Lady Li Niang died from her soul getting sucked out by the weasel spirit. Is this correct?” 

“Wife Jin, according to the results of the investigation, your cousin Li Niang was clearly seduced to death, not from being spirited away or anything of the sort. Do you really not know this?” Minister Tao asked.

Wife Jin’s entire body trembled. “Master, my cousin indeed died from getting her soul sucked away by a weasel spirit; besides, she died almost twenty years ago – what does this have to do with my husband’s case?”

Minister Tao slowly said, “According to investigations, your cousin Li Niang was raised in her bed-chambers and had no way of interacting with men. Is this true?” 

Wife Jin nodded, crying intermittently as she said, “Master… This is why Li Niang’s death was caused by a spirit. Back then, she told me that a weasel turned into an immortal and went to find her…” 

“Then why didn’t you tell her parents?” Minister Tao asked.

Wife Jin continued crying. “Then she told me it was just a joke… As sisters, we’d often joke around… I didn’t take it seriously… It was only until she died… Did I understand… Did I understand it was true…” 

Beside Chief Minister Tao, Assistant Minister Wang coldly said, “A young and unmarried maiden living in a bed-chamber indeed makes it harder for her to interact with men. But for some men, it’d be very easy to see her. For example, father and brothers, or brothers-in-law…”

Wife Jin’s crying stopped, and Minister Tao sighed. “Wife Jin, I’ve heard that the person your husband, Jin Lifa, wanted to marry was your cousin Li Niang; in the end, he married you. Is this correct?”

There was absolute silence in the court-hall. After a while, several officers slowly escorted Zhang Ping into the hall; Chief Minister Tao directed a nod to Wang Yan, and Wang Yan looked down below the platform. “Wife Jin, can you tell the Chief Minister and I why you wanted Zhang Ping to write《Fox Husband》?”

Wife Jin’s teeth clattered against each other. “I- I’d occasionally have a dream, so I’d occasionally devise a plan…” 

Wang Yan said coldly, “You asked Zhang Ping to write this play for your husband Jin Lifa!”

»»————-¤————-««

Jin Lifa struggled in the dark before feeling a familiar odour. 

It’s him – he came…

Jin Lifa’s hands twitched and his throat gurgled; he wheezed hurriedly. 

The Great Yellow Immortal… He…

»»————-¤————-««

“Wife Jin, you knew that Li Niang’s death was a subject best avoided. You vaguely guess who the murderer was, but you endured it for nearly twenty years, never letting it slip out. You deliberately asked Zhang Ping to write about this case, but while writing it he accidentally revealed the truth. The charming fragrance and deliberately-covered face indicate that the murderer was someone Li Niang knew; Jin Lifa’s reaction to the script confirmed your guess. You used this as an opportunity to strike the killer at midnight and frame Zhang Ping!” 

Wife Jin desperately kowtowed, her forehead already revealing faint bloodstains. “My Great Chief Minister, Great Assistant Minister, I didn’t kill my husband, nor do I know anything about a secret behind my cousin’s murder. If I’m lying, then I’ll get struck by lightning!” 

Zhang Ping lifted his eyelids and glanced at Wang Yan; Wang Yan narrowed his eyes. “Zhang Ping, judging by your expression it seems you’re dissatisfied with my inference?”

Zhang Ping glanced at him again, not saying a single word. 

Wang Yan sneered and turned away his eyes. “Li Qi, you tell me – is my inference correct?”

Li Qi prostrated. “Both the Chief Minister and Assistant Minister are wise – this commoner is just an actor and doesn’t dare comment on this case.” 

Wang Yan tucked his hands into his sleeves. “Why don’t you dare comment? In your heart, you must be thinking ‘this Assistant Minister Wang really is a fool. Whatever I say he believes, completely following (2) lao-zi’s manipulation’, right?” 

Li Qi looked up, extremely startled. Wang Yan turned around and bowed to Chief Minister Tao. “Chief Minister.”

Chief Minister Tao coughed, straightened his robe, and slammed the gavel. “Li Qi, why did you frame Wife Jin for Jin Lifa’s case? What exactly is the truth behind the two cases? Hurry up and speak the truth!”

Li Qi was limp on the floor, shivering. 

Wang Yan looked down at him and sneered. “If Jin Lifa and Wife Jin were connected to Li Niang’s death, they’d never use this matter to let someone write into a script. You’re just a servant, yet you know so many secrets; surely you were able to enter the inner residence. More than a decade ago, you seduced Li Niang and most likely unintentionally bumped into Jin Lifa; he probably didn’t think that what he saw was related to the murder. Unexpectedly, after the script was written it actually mentioned a crucial point of the murder. You were afraid Jin Lifa would recall that day and find some clues; in order to silence him, you simply created an illusion that Zhang Ping was the one who intended to murder him, wanting Jin Lifa, Wife Jin and Zhang Ping, who unintentionally revealed the truth in his nonsensical writing, to be eradicated together. After that, it was quickly verified that when the script was written, Jin Lifa and Wife Jin were clearly away from the Capital; however, you deliberately changed that by inducing us to think Jin Lifa had ulterior motives with your words. You were using us as chess pieces – how extremely cunning. Unfortunately, your cleverness was defeated by itself; your deeds, contrary to expectations, became evidence that you were the perpetrator!” 

Li Qi prostrated, tears and snot running down his face as he cried injustice; Wang Yan folded his arms and walked to Zhang Ping. “Zhang Ping, back then you said I was wrong. Do you still want to say that to me now?” 

Zhang Ping still didn’t speak. Wang Yan walked around him; suddenly, a constable rushed in and knelt down in the court-hall. “Chief Minister, we got them!”

Chief Minister Tao beckoned, “Hurry, bring them in!”

The constable hurriedly left; after a while, four or five constables pushed a person into the hall. 

The person looked approximately in his forties, his body tall and slender, complexion slightly yellow, and his beard sparse. He wore a square scarf around his head and a not-quite-old Changshan; carrying a medicine box, he appeared to be a physician. 

Zhang Ping stepped forwards and bowed. “Master, this is the person who, more than a decade ago, raped and killed Li Niang and is the perpetrator who harmed Jin Lifa.” 

(1) Pan-an – a Chinese poet from the Western Jin Dynasty who was known for his good looks

(2) Lao-zi – an arrogant way of saying ‘I’