A mad woman gave birth to a deformed child and Taichang killed her entire family
The scenery of early spring was more gorgeous than usual. Gu Yanzhou opened his eyes and saw Pei Linyan staring at him. "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" he asked while wiping it.
"No, it's just that when I woke up this time, I found that you were still there, so I wanted to keep staring at you, afraid that you would disappear, afraid that you would not see me anymore." Pei Linyan said
"So our great Master Pei is afraid." Gu Yanzhou joked
"Of course. In this world, I am only worried about you." Pei Linyan said
"I think you are possessed by Feng Liunian, and you are starting to be smooth-talking." Gu Yanzhou said
"I am me, he is him, naturally we cannot be compared. He is a friend to you, and I am a family member to you." Pei Linyan said
"Okay, okay, my dear Dalang, we need to get up quickly. We have to go back to the government office to attend class today." Gu Yanzhou coaxed
The two chatted and laughed, and had already returned to the county government office. Before they could rest for a moment, they heard the drum beating. Ban Jin hurried over and said, "Sir, there is a woman beating the drum to complain about her grievances."
Gu Yanzhou looked down into the hall and saw a haggard woman. Upon closer inspection, she had yellow skin, dark blue eyes, chapped lips, and a body as frail as a willow that could not stand in the wind, with her feet as if they were wandering souls with no touch of the ground.
The woman said, "Sir, I am Chen Yin, the eldest daughter of the Minister of Rites. I gave birth to a child the day before yesterday. I heard the baby crying and wanted to see him, but I was told that he had died prematurely and took him away. I begged him but was never allowed to see him. Now I am suing the Minister of Rites, Chen Wen, for murdering the child and separating us from our child. I hope you will enforce the law impartially and preserve our relationship."
"Master Tingyuan, this is the Minister of Rites, one of the Nine Ministers. According to procedure, they should have gone to the Prime Minister or the Minister of Justice, or at the very least, the Grand Administrator or the Commandant. How could it be our county magistrate's turn? I think everyone else has already refused. She has no other recourse but to beat the drum to report her case. We absolutely cannot accept it."
"Justice is for all people in the world. The county government is not yours or mine. We should take it as our responsibility to clear the world, redress the unjust, speak out for the unfair, punish the evildoers, and judge the unlawful. Be at peace, Chen Yin, I accept your complaint." Gu Yanzhou said
Gu Yanzhou and his companions headed for the Imperial Household. Expecting a continuous drizzle in March, they looked up and saw clouds rolling up, layer upon layer, thick with darkness. The air grew heavy and oppressive. The wind whistled the sound of falling pear blossoms, scattered across the Imperial Household. The crimson walls towered, and the gilded plaque gleamed. Banjin went to knock on the door, and a servant half-opened it and asked, "Who is this?"
Ban Jin replied, "I am a constable from the Chang'an County Court, and I have come to inquire about the missing child of your young lady."
"The Chang'an County Office, that sesame-sized office, dares to interfere in the affairs of the Taichang Palace. Look up and see where you are. Don't go to the underworld to seek death. If you offend the Taichang Palace, you will suffer the consequences. I think you should think twice and ask your county magistrate to come over and give you a reply." The male servant said arrogantly
Ban Jin ran over and replied to Gu Yanzhou with the original words. Before he could reply, Pei Linyan kicked the door open. The servant fell down with difficulty and cursed, "Who the hell is so blind that he dared to kick the door of the Taichang Mansion? I, your grandfather, will lend you a few lives and see how much skin you can leave today."
"Oh, I want to see what means the Taichang Mansion has to spare my life." Pei Linyan said arrogantly
The male servant looked up and saw a sneering face. This face was more familiar than his parents'. Which noble family in Chang'an did not know Pei Linyan, the son of Pei Taiwei of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion? He immediately said flatteringly, "Oh, isn't this Mr. Pei? What wind invites you here? Please come in, please come in." As he said this, he stood up and bowed.
"Why, if you don't peel my skin now, you'll kill me." Pei Linyan said
"Even if I had a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare to touch you. I just lost my mind and started talking nonsense. I hope you can be magnanimous and ignore me." The servant said with a smile
"It's easy to let you go. Take me to the lobby and ask Chen Taichang to come see me. My master has a case to ask him." Pei Linyan said
"Sir? How high is his rank to be this gentleman's lord?" the servant thought to himself, glancing out.
"Why don't you want to live? Hurry up." Pei Linyan urged
"Sorry for the long wait. Please, please, please." He led Pei Linyan and his group to the lobby.
From the inner room, Chen Wu saw a male servant leading a group of people towards the lobby. They saw Pei Linyan at the head, followed by the young lady, the constable, and others. With a plan in mind, he said to the maid, "Go find the master quickly." As soon as he arrived in the lobby, he knelt in front of Chen Yin and cried, "Young lady, you're finally back. The master was so worried about you, and the mistress was so tired that she was bedridden. Fortunately, the Bodhisattva blessed you and you arrived home safely." Then, he changed the subject and said, "It's Master Pei. I kowtow to you for escorting our young lady home." He then kowtowed, stood up, glanced at the people from the county government office, and said, "Excuse me, Master Pei, who are these people?"
"I am Gu Yanzhou, a clerk at the Chang'an County Court. I have come to inquire about Chen Yin's complaint against Chen Wen, the Minister of Rites, for murdering a baby." Gu Yanzhou said.
"It turned out to be Gu Yanzhou, the court official of Chang'an County. Sir Gu, my daughter was too shocked after giving birth the other day and became mentally confused. She injured the maid and ran away. We have been unable to find her. Thank you Sir Gu for sending my daughter back. We are very grateful." Chen Wen said, motioning the servants to come forward.
"From my observation, Miss Chen has clear logic and clear rules. She doesn't seem to be in a trance. If that's the case, please ask the Grand Tutor to show us the baby so I can close the case." Gu Yanzhou said
"It's just that the baby died as soon as it was born due to premature birth. I don't want to disturb you all, so please go back." Chen Wen said
"Since the fetus has passed away, why not set up a mourning hall for him?" Gu Yanzhou said
"However, our dynasty advocates frugality, so we naturally keep everything simple and don't dare to hold a grand ceremony. We just need to send the child to a Taoist temple and ask Taoist priests to chant scriptures." Chen Wendao
"Then please tell me which Taoist temple it is, Master Chen. I need to go there to investigate and close the case." Gu Yanzhou said
"Master Gu, please handle the case carefully. I still need to ask my servants about this. Can I let you know tomorrow?" Chen Wen said.
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of assassins in black appeared and slashed at Chen Wen with knives. In a flash, Chen Wen dodged backwards to avoid the blades. Seeing that their attacks missed, the assassins became more furious.
"Lin Yan, save him quickly." Gu Yanzhou said.
Pei Linyan stood in front of Chen Wen and wrestled with the assassin. The servants who came over fought back and forth with the other assassins. Seeing that he could not gain any advantage, the leader turned his gun and slashed at Gu Yanzhou. Pei Linyan became anxious and turned over to hug Gu Yanzhou, turning his back to the assassin. Unexpectedly, the assassin made a feint and injured Chen Wen. When he was about to strike again, he met Chen Yin's eyes. Pei Linyan took the opportunity to turn around and stabbed the assassin's left hand. A moment later, the Jinwu Guards came to support. Seeing that the situation was not right, the leading assassin said, "Retreat." The assassins all climbed over the wall and escaped.
"Quick, take your master down to get bandaged. You two and the Jinwu Guards will search the house inside and out. Butler Chen Wu, please stay. I will assassinate you and talk to you."
Only Gu Yanzhou, Pei Linyan and Chen Wu were left in the hall.
"Butler Chen, if the assassin came back and hacked you to death, no one would doubt it, right?" Gu Yanzhou sneered.
"Master Gu, you're joking. The people coming and going are the Jinwu Guards and Master Pei. I don't think the thieves are so bold." Chen Wu said with a smile
"The Jinwu Guard is far away in the inner courtyard and can't come over for a while. Lin Yan has to protect me and has no time to take care of you. I think you'd better fend for yourself." Gu Yanzhou said
"Master Gu, Master Pei, I am a fool, why should I speak frankly?" Chen Wu said with a smile.
"Butler Chen Wu has been the head of the Taichang Palace for quite some time. He is in charge of everything, big or small. What I'm asking about is a piece of cake for you." Gu Yanzhou said.
"Tell me what happened to Chen Yin's child." Pei Linyan drew his sword.
Chen Wu was beaten by Gu Yanzhou and his mind was blank. He was frightened by Pei Linyan and blurted out, "The child is not dead, but the child was born deformed. The master asked to throw him to Baiyun Temple in Beimang Mountain and let him fend for himself." Chen Wu replied.
"So that's how it is. Now the whole thing makes sense. Chen Yin gave birth to a deformed baby. Mrs. Chen was afraid that her daughter would be sad and embarrassed, so she lied and said the baby had died. In fact, she kept the child in the Taoist temple. Chen Yin didn't know about it and secretly ran away to sue Chen Wen." Pei Linyan said
"Is it really that simple?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"Master Gu, Master Pei, I am telling the truth, not a single lie. I hope you can show mercy and spare my life." Chen Wudao
"Sir, we and the Jinwu Guards have searched the entire Taichang Palace carefully and have not found any trace of the thieves."
"Master Pei, Master Gu, since there is nothing to do in the Taichang Palace, we will take our leave." The leader of the Jinwu Guard said
Both parties nodded, and the Jinwu Guards withdrew from the Taichang Mansion. Gu Yanzhou and others were also preparing to leave. They met a man at the door. "Son-in-law, you are finally back. Go visit the young lady and the master quickly." Chen Wu said. The man walked into the house in a flash. Gu Yanzhou took a glance and felt familiar.
A few days later, the drum for reporting was struck again, and two men knelt below. One of the men said, "I am the food manager of the Taichang Palace. Yesterday, after this vegetable vendor delivered vegetables to the palace, a set of Western cooking utensils worth thousands of gold pieces disappeared from the kitchen. I think the vegetable vendor must have been greedy and stole it and sold it. I hope that Your Excellency will make the decision and demand that the thief return it."
"Since you are sure he is a thief, do you have any evidence?" Gu Yanzhou said
"He was the only outsider who entered and left the mansion yesterday. I guess he was the only one who had time to take the cooking utensils out." Manager Chen said
"Oh, do you have any excuse?" Gu Yanzhou said to the other man.
"I am Wang Wang, a vegetable vendor who delivers vegetables to the Taichang Palace every day. I always leave after delivering the vegetables. How could I dare to stay? I don't even know about Western cooking utensils. I am innocent. I beg you to look into my grievances." Wang Wang said
Before Gu Yanzhou pronounced the verdict, a forty-year-old woman ran up to the hall and knelt down, saying, "Sir, I can prove that it was not my son who stole. Yesterday, I saw my son had not returned home for a long time, so I went to the Taichang Mansion to look for him. Unexpectedly, I saw him handing a bundle to the clerk of the Treasure Pavilion at the back door. It must be Manager Chen who stole the Western Region cooking utensils and resold them to frame my son. Please go to the Treasure Pavilion to verify and clear my son's name." The Queen Mother said,
"Half a catty, please ask the treasure shop owner and the staff to come and verify it. Go quickly and come back soon." Gu Yanzhou said
"After all, this matter concerns the Taichang Palace, so we should notify them. Ba Liang, go to the Taichang Palace and ask the Taichang to come over." Pei Linyan said
After hearing this, Manager Chen's legs began to tremble and sweat could not stop flowing down his forehead. Everyone understood what was going on and waited for the Treasure Pavilion staff to confront him.
From time to time, a man came in and said, "I am Wang Pan, the son-in-law of the Taichang Palace. My father-in-law is ill and cannot be here, so I volunteered to come."
"No problem. Today we are dealing with a theft case at the Taichang Mansion. The food steward of the Taichang Mansion accused Wang Wang of stealing property. The Queen Mother confirmed that she saw Steward Chen selling the property to the Treasure Pavilion at the back door. Please come as a witness." Gu Yanzhou said
Wang Pan lowered his eyes to look at Wang's mother and son. Wang's mother looked up, and their eyes met. Wang's mother's heart trembled, and she stared at Wang Pan with disbelief in her eyes. She stood up in a trance, walked towards Wang Pan and said, "Young Master, don't you remember me? I am your wet nurse Shuangxi."
Wang Pan opened his folding fan to shield his face and said in a low voice, "Auntie, you've got the wrong person."
"No, I will remember until I die that you are the young master. You are still alive. Thank God, it must be the young lady's spirit in heaven that blesses you." The Queen Mother said excitedly
At this time, two or three figures passed by the gate, and Chen Taichang and Chen Yin appeared in front of the hall for some reason. "Are you okay? Someone just sent a message to the mansion saying that you offended Lord Gu and were severely punished. I hurriedly urged my father to come with you. Fortunately, you are safe and sound." Chen Yin said with concern.
"Nothing, I just came here to bear witness. Your body has not recovered yet, so remember not to get angry." Wang Pan said
"Mr. Pei, Mr. Gu, if there is nothing else, we will take our leave." Chen Wen said
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother's eyes were filled with shock. She turned and stared at Chen Wen, her teeth clenched, her body trembling uncontrollably. Her face was pale as she spoke, "Chen Wen, you short-lived, despicable villain! I've been searching for you for so many years, and fortunately, God has finally let me find you." The Queen Mother suddenly knelt and said, "Master Gu, I want to sue Chen Wen for killing his wife and children twenty years ago, and wiping out thirty-two members of my Wang family. I beg you to intervene."
Everyone looked sideways, Gu Yanzhou and Pei Linyan looked at each other, and Pei Linyan nodded.
"Wang Shuangxi, if you want to file a lawsuit, please tell us the whole story in detail." Gu Yanzhou said
"Okay, that was in the autumn of the twenty-third year. The young lady and I went up the mountain to burn incense, and we found a wounded scholar in the purple bamboo forest on the mountainside. The young lady kindly rescued him and took him home to recuperate. He recuperated for two years. During this period, the master saw that he was a talented writer and had a secret crush on the young lady, so he betrothed her to him. Soon the scholar went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and the young lady gave birth to the little master. Everyone was looking forward to the family reunion, but unfortunately, what awaited them was the massacre of the entire family. I escaped that day due to diarrhea, and hid in the dark room with the little master. I heard the killer say that you did not hesitate to kill the young lady in order to marry the daughter of the marquis, and even did not let go of the newborn little master. I lost the little master on the way to escape, and I spent twenty years in a daze. Fortunately, God has eyes and finally let me meet you, Chen Wen, you are a jackal." After saying this, he was about to rush forward to fight, but fortunately he was hugged by Wang Wang.
"Impossible, you are talking nonsense. How could my father do such an unjust thing? I don't believe it." Chen Yin said
"I don't believe it. Back then, Chen Wen was pierced through the chest by a sharp bamboo, leaving a circular scar. If you don't believe it, you can ask him to take off his clothes and see for yourself." Wang Shuangxi said
"This scar was left by my father when I was ten years old when he saved me. It could be a coincidence, but it must be a coincidence." Chen Yin shook her head doubtfully.
"Then I have evidence. Chen Wen had a systemic allergic reaction due to accidentally eating red dates. Without verifying their authenticity, just tell Chen Wen to swallow the red dates." Wang Shuangxi said
"No need. I never thought that the evil I did more than 20 years ago would be punished today. I often couldn't sleep at night and had nightmares. Now it has finally come to an end." Chen Wen sighed tiredly.
"How is this possible? How could this happen? Husband, you should think of a solution quickly." Chen Yin said to Wang Pan.
Wang Pan's eyes were dull, his right hand tightly grasping his left hand, as if he hoped to remain calm through the pain, but his whole body was as motionless as a wooden stake.
"What did you call him? You are half-siblings. Oh my God, why do you treat me like this? Why...why..." Wang Shuangxi wailed.
"You are talking nonsense. You say he is my brother without any evidence. Do you have any proof?" Chen Yin said frantically.
"Pan'er, there is a burn scar on your left forearm. It was left by the charcoal fire when you were fleeing. You can verify it yourself." Wang Shuangxi said
Wang Pan's left hand, which was tightly clenched by his right hand, was bleeding and he was still in extreme shock. Pei Linyan walked up and pierced the cuff of his left hand with a sword, revealing a new sword mark with a square burn scar on top.
"This...is not true, it can't be true, hahahahaha." Chen Yin laughed wildly with tears in her eyes.
"So, the child's deformity is... God, if you want to punish someone, punish me." Chen Wen slumped to the ground, his upright body hunched over, little by little like the setting sun, and he aged a dozen years in an instant.
"Child, my child, where is my child? What deformed child? My child can't be deformed, it's impossible." Chen Yin's last string broke. She pulled out the constable's knife and touched the neck. Bright red spurted out from the neck, and every drop dyed through the silk clothes.
Wang Pan hugged her and finally burst into tears, "Yin'er, it's okay, everything will be fine, don't be afraid, we said we'll sleep together in life and death, I'm here to accompany you now." After that, he picked up the knife and wiped it, and the two of them pillowed together, red superimposed on red, like maple leaves in autumn, particularly eye-catching.
"Yin'er, Pan'er, you..." Before Chen Wen could finish his words, he fainted.
"In the case of theft, Steward Chen committed embezzlement and was sentenced to fifteen strokes of the cane and imprisonment. Wang Wang was acquitted and released; in the case of the massacre of a family, Minister of Rites Chen Wen, who turned a vengeance on his benefactor by hiring a killer, was imprisoned and will be executed in the autumn; Wang Shuangxi, for his meritorious service in protecting his master, was rewarded with fifteen taels; in the case of the missing infant, you are to go to the White Cloud Temple on Mount Beimang and retrieve the child, handing him over to the Chen family for care; and Chen Yin and Wang Pan are to be properly buried. Court is dismissed."
At home, Gu Yanzhou lay in Pei Linyan's arms and said sadly, "Before, I only felt that being separated from you was extremely painful. Every moment was like being cut by a knife or cut by an axe. I didn't expect that Chen Ying and Wang Pan would be even more sad. A pair of lovers ended up like this. I don't know if it was fate or bad luck. It's sad and lamentable."
"Why, my Zhou'er has also started to feel sad about the passing of time. I think he has become more humane, not as cold and heartless as before." Pei Linyan joked
"How could I? You still say, believe it or not, you go to sleep on the couch today." Gu Yanzhou pretended to be angry and said
"Good Yanzhou, good darling, please let me go. I sleep alone and I am afraid of being cold at night and my feet are not warm. Please, please, I will never dare to do it again." Pei Linyan said coquettishly
Before Gu Yanzhou returned, Gu Nanfeng said from outside, "Master, Banjin replied that the baby did not arrive at Baiyun Temple, and the people who were escorting him have all disappeared."
Gu Yanzhou said, "Okay." Lin Yan, do you feel like there's an invisible hand controlling the course of events? First, why did Wang Pan want to assassinate Chen Wen? Where did those assassins come from? Then, you clearly asked Ba Liang to notify the Grand Master of Ceremonies, so why was it Wang Pan who came? Since Wang Pan was already here, who notified Chen Wen? And finally, who abducted the baby? It's all puzzling."
"Okay, stop thinking about it. Sing and drink during the day, and be at peace in the silence of the night." Pei Linyan comforted
Spring nights warm my heart, the fragrance of pear blossoms fills the air, a gust of wind sweeps them across the courtyard...
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