Chapter 55 Magistrate of Haining County
One year ago, on the coast of the East China Sea, in Haining County.
Jiang Yingxue boarded the official ship, eager to realize her lofty ambitions.
She was a second-class Jinshi in that imperial examination, ranking high enough to stay in the capital, but she requested to be transferred to a post outside the capital, wanting to do something practical for the people.
The person who came to pick her up was her senior from the same department, Lin Wan, who was then the Tongpan (assistant magistrate) of the prefecture to which Haining belonged.
Lin Wan was five years older than her, and she was capable and took good care of her.
After the welcome banquet, Lin Wan kept her alone. Slightly tipsy, she patted her shoulder and spoke earnestly:
“Yingxue, you are talented and ambitious, and your senior sister is pleased. But in Haining, some things are best left in the past and not taken too seriously. Especially… that old case from two years ago.”
Jiang Yingxue was puzzled at the time: "What does Senior Sister mean?"
Lin Wan's smile faded, and she dipped her finger in the wine, writing four characters on the table: "Case of the Crown Princess".
Jiang Yingxue's heart skipped a beat.
Two years ago, Crown Princess Linghua was ordered to inspect the southeast and supervise the new policy of "converting salt fields into rice paddies" and passed through Haining.
That day was supposed to be a routine inspection of the seawall, but the weather suddenly changed, with strong winds, high waves, and surging tides far exceeding those of usual.
Even more alarming, a section of the seawall collapsed in a small area under the impact of the tide, and was caught off guard and swept into the water by the backflowing waves.
Although he was rescued by his bodyguards at great personal risk, he inhaled a large amount of seawater, which caused a serious lung disease.
His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he died during his eastern tour before he could return to the capital.
The nation mourned the passing of the late Empress Dowager.
Enraged by the imperial court, all the officials from the Ministry of Works who had overseen the construction of that section of the seawall, the local magistrate and assistant magistrate of Haining, and even the minor officials who had handled the project, were arrested and interrogated. Those in charge were executed on the spot, while those who followed them were exiled. Blood stained the docks of Haining County.
“That was a natural disaster,” Lin Wan said in a low voice, her voice carrying a complex mix of emotions that Jiang Yingxue couldn’t decipher. “No one could have predicted that the tide would be so high that day, and no one could have predicted that the seawall would collapse at that exact moment. All those involved have been brought to justice, and His Majesty’s fury has subsided.”
Yingxue, some files have been sealed away, and some things... well, let them remain unsaid. Just focus on being a good magistrate and governing the people well; that's the best way to repay the court and the people.
Jiang Yingxue took it as a kind reminder from her senior sister, fearing that she might be too impetuous and offend someone, so she solemnly agreed.
At the beginning of her term, she did indeed devote herself to county affairs: clearing up backlog cases, comforting salt farmers who lost their livelihoods due to the conversion of salt fields to rice paddies, rectifying officialdom, and repairing the county school... Under her governance, Haining gradually improved.
Three months later, while reviewing an old case, she discovered something amiss.
That was a case of "salt workers fighting to the death".
The case file records that salt worker Liu San had a dispute with a fellow worker over a trivial matter. During the scuffle, he lost his footing and fell into a boiling salt pot, where he died on the spot.
The case was quickly closed; the evidence was conclusive, and the coworker confessed and signed the confession. However, upon closer inspection of the attached body compartment, Jiang Yingxue discovered some suspicious points:
Firstly, there was an irregular laceration on the index finger bone of Liu San's right hand. The coroner noted that it appeared to be caused by excessive force when using some kind of tool.
What tools would an ordinary salt worker use that would cause his finger bone to crack?
Secondly, several bluish-black particles were found under Liu San's fingernails, but their nature was not identified and was not investigated further.
Thirdly, three days after Liu San's death, his widowed mother and his ten-year-old younger sister voluntarily signed documents and moved away from Haining, disappearing without a trace.
Jiang Yingxue had a gut feeling that there was something hidden in this case, so she began to use her authority as the county magistrate to conduct a private investigation.
She first found Liu San's former roommate. At first, the man denied it and avoided eye contact. Jiang Yingxue frowned and threatened him with the crime of "smuggling salt." Only then did the man nervously reveal that Liu San had been behaving strangely in the period before his death. He often sneaked off to the abandoned seawall quarry after work and secretly picked up some broken stones.
Once, after drinking too much, he said with red eyes, "Those corrupt officials swapped good stones for rotten ones...this is going to cause a huge disaster..."
Replacing rotten stones with good ones? A seawall?
Jiang Yingxue's heart skipped a beat. She gave the coworker some money to shut him up, and then began searching for Liu San's family.
After much difficulty, she finally found Liu San's widowed mother, who was living in anonymity, in a remote village in a neighboring county.
The old woman was frail and struggling to make ends meet, raising her granddaughter alone.
When Jiang Yingxue showed her official credentials, the old woman was so frightened that she almost fainted. It wasn't until Jiang Yingxue repeatedly assured her that she would never reveal their whereabouts that the old woman burst into tears.
She recounted the story in fits and starts: Two days after her son's death, a group of strangers came to their door, threw down one hundred taels of silver, and forced them to leave Haining immediately, never to return, and never to mention Liu San again.
They refused, and the other person stared at their little granddaughter menacingly, saying, "It's common for children to accidentally fall into the water." They became frightened and fled that very night.
The old woman also pulled out an old short shirt that Liu San had worn before his death from the bottom of a tattered trunk and handed it to her: "This shirt... San'er specially changed into before he died. He said that if something happened to him, he wanted me to keep this shirt and not let anyone see it."
Jiang Yingxue took the shirt and carefully felt around it. In a very hidden patch on the lining, she found a small, hard object.
She unpacked the patch and found a small, angular piece of gravel and half a water-soaked, illegible invoice with only a few words like "Qinggang Stone" and "Three Hundred Cubic Meters" legible.
She put the rubble together with the "bluish-black particles" mentioned on the corpse tablet in her memory, and then, carrying the items, quietly visited an old stonemason in the county who had long since retired.
The old stonemason held the gravel and granules up to the sunlight for a long time, then tasted the granules with the tip of his tongue, his expression suddenly becoming serious.
"Sir, these pebbles are severely weathered mixed stones, loose in texture, not even sturdy enough to build a pigsty! These bluish-black particles... are the filth and saltpeter that leach out from inferior rammed earth after it has been soaked in seawater for a long time!"
Jiang Yingxue felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
Replace the rotten stones with good ones... The seawall collapses... The late Empress Dowager falls into the water...
All the clues, when pieced together, point to a chilling truth: the "natural disaster" that caused the death of the late Crown Princess Ling Hua two years ago was very likely a "man-made disaster."
Some people used inferior materials, constructing sections of the embankment with weathered stones and substandard rammed earth.
They probably didn't expect the Crown Princess to come and inspect in person, nor did they expect the tide to be unusually fierce that day, but the breach of the seawall was by no means accidental.
Liu San was probably silenced because he discovered this secret.
Jiang Yingxue felt a chill creep up her spine.
She remembered her senior sister Lin Wan's warning—"Some things, once they're over, are best left in the past."
So this is what my senior sister was talking about.
But she didn't stop.
Now that we know, we can't pretend we don't.
She continued to secretly gather clues, trying to find more evidence to find out who orchestrated the stone swap and who was involved.
The actions of a minor county magistrate could not be kept secret from those who were interested.
A few days later, at dusk, Lin Wan arrived at the Haining County Government Office again.
This time, she came without any attendants, and her expression was more solemn than ever before.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com