Mo Sang – CH 322

Chapter 322. Difficulty

Just as Gu Xi had predicted, the geomancers, after examining the second estate, insisted that all the imperial estates must be inspected before they could determine which was the best and most suitable.

The experts digging the ice cellars readily agreed, also believing that a comprehensive inspection was necessary to select the best.

The logic was sound.

However, Gu Xi was clearly too busy. From the next day onward, Gu Xi and Li Sangrou stopped accompanying them to inspect the estates. Gu Xi was busy with Gu Jin’s wedding preparations, and even if Li Sangrou was not busy, she was unwilling to inspect each estate individually; she understood neither feng shui nor digging pits.

Even though Master Qiao was anxious, she knew she could not rush things. She channeled her anxiety into urging the geomancers and ice cellar experts to work long hours, setting off before dawn each day to inspect the imperial estates until nearly dark.

The mid-seventh month brought another sweltering heat.

As dawn broke, Li Sangrou entered the backyard of the Shunfeng headquarters.

The reed shed overlooking the river in the backyard had been rebuilt; it was taller and wider, covered with a thick layer of straw that prevented even the strongest sunlight from penetrating, making the area under the shed very cool.

The shed faced the corner tower, right at the bend in the moat. No matter which way the wind came from, it would blow through the shed, making it an excellent place to escape the summer heat.

Li Sangrou rarely used ice. Only during the hottest two weeks of the summer, when the heat was so unbearable that she could not sleep, would she put two strips of ice in the room before going to bed.

She needed to adapt to her surroundings constantly. She could not be constantly surrounded by ice; the sudden transition from cool to scorching heat could be fatal.

Da Chang drew water from the newly dug well, filled a flat leather bag, and placed it under the reed shed. Pang’er barked happily and immediately pounced on it, spreading its four paws and lying down on it.

This leather bag was a summer waterbed specially made for Pang’er by Hei Ma.

Hei Ma squatted beside the waterbed, scratched Pang’er, got up, broke off two strips of ice, put them in a wooden ice chest, and added the mung bean and lily soup and other treats brought from Chaomi Alley.

Li Sangrou filled a copper kettle with spring water, placed it on the red clay stove, washed the teapot, put in tea bags, brewed a large pot of tea, sat in the breezy spot, and read the day’s Morning News and Gossip Evening Posts with her legs crossed.

Da Chang dragged the two strips of ice to the storeroom to pack things up, while Hei Ma grabbed a pinch of tea leaves and went to Xiwazi to listen to storytelling.

A new storyteller had arrived at Xiwazi, telling stories about the Investiture of the Gods, which Hei Ma loved to listen to, and since he had some free time lately…

Li Sangrou had just finished reading half of the court report when she heard the sound of a bamboo cane banging wildly. She put down the report and looked towards the courtyard gate.

Sure enough, Blind Mi was there, waving his cane and banging it haphazardly from the blue bricks to the doorframe, charging towards Li Sangrou.

Lady Fu followed behind Blind Mi.

Li Sangrou ignored Blind Mi and carefully examined Lady Fu first.

Lady Fu was dark-skinned and thin but seemed to be in good spirits.

“When did you get back?” Li Sangrou stood up, pulled up a chair, and gestured for Lady Fu to sit.

“Last night, what happened to Pang’er’s fur? Did Hei Ma cut it? Pang’er’s really ugly without fur; they are all the same ugly thing!” Blind Mi looked at Pang’er, who was lying on the waterbed. Pang’er occasionally barked at him, looking too hot to bark much.

“It’s too hot; getting its hair cut will keep it cool,” Li Sangrou replied casually, then looked at Lady Fu and asked with a smile, “Have you had breakfast?”

“Yes, it is so cool here, Boss.” Lady Fu sat down and picked up a palm-leaf fan from the table.

Li Sangrou pulled a watermelon from the well, held it in one hand, and quickly peeled off the rind. She then cut the watermelon into appropriately sized pieces in a large bowl, placed two silver forks on it, and put the watermelon pieces, which had been chilling in the well overnight, on the table.

Blind Mi, ignoring Pang’er’s ugliness, pulled over a chair, plopped down, picked up a silver fork, and started eating pieces one after another.

Lady Fu also ate a few pieces, put down her fork, and smiled at Li Sangrou. “I cannot eat too much cold watermelon.”

Li Sangrou hummed in agreement, stood up, took a bowl, took seven or eight crispy snails from the wooden ice chest, put them in the bowl, then scooped some mung beans and lily bulbs onto the snails with a spoon, and handed it to Lady Fu.

“Give me a bowl too!” Blind Mi pointed at the bowl in Li Sangrou’s hand and hurriedly called out.

“There are bowls over there, help yourself and take as much as you want.” Li Sangrou handed the bowl to Lady Fu and sat down next to her.

Blind Mi snorted, quickly ate three or four slices of watermelon, stood up, took a bowl, filled it to the brim with fried snails, then scooped two spoonfuls of mung bean and lily bulb soup on top, tasted it, picked up the honey next to him, and poured a thick layer over it.

“Master Mi and I…” Lady Fu took a couple of bites of fried snails, just about to speak, when Li Sangrou smiled and gestured to her. “No rush; finish eating first.”

Lady Fu hummed in agreement, finished the fried snail, mung bean, and lily bulb soup, let out a long sigh, and smiled. “The Boss really knows how to manage a household. This way of eating fried snails is not too sweet or greasy; it is really delicious.”

“She lives only to eat!” Blind Mi added.

Li Sangrou ignored him, focusing only on Lady Fu.

“The case of the mute girl went through seventeen court hearings, from the laws of this dynasty to the previous dynasty, and then to the classics of the ancient sages.

I am not good at the classics, so Master Lu took me to see Lady Wei and another Young Madam Wei. Thanks to them, especially that Lady Wei, she’s truly remarkable.”

Lady Fu spoke slowly, each word extremely clear.

This was probably the result of countless court hearings, practiced over and over. Only by speaking like this could she ensure that those in and out of the court would not misunderstand or miss her words.

“At the beginning of last month, the capital government received replies from the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate: testimony is used to verify facts, but reasoning should also be considered to ascertain the truth.

At this point, the clause regarding testimony has been loosened.” Lady Fu smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

“It just happened naturally.” Blind Mi slurped down a large bowl of snail soup, letting out a long burp. “The Gossip Evening Post was full of debates, and by the end of the month, they’d already reached a conclusion,” Blind Mi gestured towards the corner tower. “Those higher-ups are cunning; they must have seen the one-sided arguments in the Gossip Evening Post before making their judgment.”

“That’s how it should be,” Lady Fu said, looking at Blind Mi.

Li Sangrou smiled, glancing sideways at Blind Mi.

“The case becomes even more difficult with the patricide charge,” Lady Fu sighed. “Coincidentally, there’s a case in Zheng County that Sister Lin told me about after returning from Zheng County.

It’s also a patricide case.

In Daye Town, Zheng County, there’s a family surnamed Chen. The head of the Chen family, Chen Dang, is a broker, and his wife, Lady Ma, is a matchmaker. They are quite wealthy.

Chen Dang has two sons, both married.

The day before the Dragon Boat Festival, Chen Dang’s second daughter-in-law, Sun, was taking a bath at home. Chen Dang, having drunk some wine, returned home and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. He caught Sun bathing and tried to force himself on her.

Sun cried for help, and just then, her husband, Second Master Chen, returned home. He claimed it was dark and he had not seen who it was. Second Master Chen grabbed a water-carrying pole and struck Chen Dang on the head, killing him.

Afterwards, the matchmaker, Lady Ma, tricked Sun, saying that if she claimed Second Master Chen had killed Chen Dang, it would be an unforgivable crime. However, if Sun confessed, given Chen Dang’s attempt to rape her, her killing of Chen Dang would be excusable and would not be considered an unforgivable crime.

The matchmaker also said that now that the world was unified and the Emperor was getting married, two joyous occasions, a general amnesty was certain. Sun would be pardoned along with the Emperor’s amnesty. If she confessed, she would only spend some time in jail, and with some money to bribe officials, Sun would not suffer much.

Sun agreed.

But Matchmaker Ma was too impatient. Before Sun could be executed in the autumn, she heard that a wealthy, childless widow was looking for a husband, and immediately went to propose marriage on Second Master Chen’s behalf.

Second Master Chen and Sun only had one daughter, who is seven years old this year. Eldest Master Chen had two sons. Eldest Master Chen’s wife, Wang, secretly told Sun about Second Master Chen’s engagement to the widow.

Sun then asked Wang to call her brothers and tell them the truth: it was not she who killed Chen Dang, but Second Master Chen.

Sun’s brothers then filed a petition on her behalf, pleading her innocence.

On the day the petition was filed, Sister Lin happened to be passing through Zheng County. She ate at a restaurant opposite the county yamen, inquired about the situation, and told me what had happened.

Master Mi said that my work could not just focus on the case of the mute; the more cases like this, the better. Master Mi and I set off for Zheng County that very day.”

Lady Fu sighed. Li Sangrou poured her a cup of tea, pushing it towards her, waiting for her to continue.

“Matchmaker Ma is quite shrewd. Hearing that the Sun brothers had filed a lawsuit, she rushed to the county town that very day and told them that if they withdrew their lawsuit, she would return Sun’s dowry to the Sun family.”

Lady Fu paused, then let out a long sigh.

“When Master Mi and I arrived, the Sun brothers had already withdrawn their lawsuit.

I pretended to be Sun’s cousin, took some money to bribe the jailers, met with Sun, and told her everything, including that if she killed Chen Dang, just like her husband killed Chen Dang—both were considered patricide, unforgivable crimes, and she would surely be executed in the autumn.

I told Lady Sun that I was willing to fight the lawsuit for her and seek justice for her. Lady Sun agreed, and the next day, I submitted the petition on her behalf.”

Lady Fu paused, picked up her tea, and sipped it with her head down.

Li Sangrou looked at her and sighed inwardly.

Judging from Lady Fu’s expression, things were definitely not as she had expected.

“The day the petition was submitted, Matchmaker Ma and her second son, Second Master Chen, rushed to the county jail.

Later, Lady Sun told me that Matchmaker Ma said that as long as Lady Sun did not appeal the case, she would arrange a marriage for Lady Sun’s daughter with the family that Lady Sun had already chosen, and all the inheritance Second Master Chen was entitled to after her death would be given to Lady Sun’s daughter as dowry. If Lady Sun agreed, she would immediately go back and prepare detailed dowry lists on the slips of paper.

Lady Sun agreed.”

Lady Fu sighed heavily.

“I advised her, saying your daughter is still young. What if something happens after you are executed in the autumn?

Lady Sun said that if she keeps insisting on this and even ends up with Second Master Chen dying, what kind of life will she and her daughter lead in the Chen family? If she takes her daughter back to her parents’ home, how will her brothers be any different from the Chen family?

It was better for her to die. Her daughter, no matter what, would still bear the Chen surname and still be Second Master Chen’s daughter, the matchmaker Ma’s granddaughter.”

Lady Fu was silent for a moment before continuing, “I did not try to persuade her any further. According to the law, even if the case is overturned and Second Master Chen is executed, she will still be exiled. Indeed, it is best if she’s dead.”

“I told her to keep an eye on the Chen family and make sure they do not see Lady Sun, but she refused, saying all sorts of things!” Blind Mi waved his hand with a troubled expression.

“Master Mi said that the fact that Matchmaker Ma could use the tactic of returning the dowry to the Sun brothers shows she’s not simple. Before I went, he told me, and I had not agreed.”

Lady Fu looked at Li Sangrou. “You know what I am going to do. I feel this matter must be handled openly and honestly, not through underhanded means. It should not be done through underhanded methods.

Besides, Lady Sun is truly desperate. If I used underhanded methods to drag her and her daughter into a desperate situation, all for what I wanted, to achieve my own desires, and disregarding others’ wishes, I do not think that’s right.”

“Yes, do what you want. He’s helping you, not making decisions for you.” Li Sangrou nodded.

“Yes.” Lady Fu gave a soft ‘hmm,’ looking somewhat dejected. She sipped half a cup of tea, her eyes lowered, and looked up at Li Sangrou, saying, “I heard that after unifying the world and the Emperor’s wedding, a general amnesty would be granted to anyone except those guilty of heinous crimes. I wonder if the mute would be included in the amnesty.”

“I would have Da Chang inquire,” Li Sangrou said after a moment of silence, calling out to Da Chang.

Da Chang came over, and Li Sangrou instructed him, “Go find the Seventh Master and ask him who was in charge of the general amnesty. Then had him take you to the person in charge and ask if the mute’s case in the capital’s yamen was included in the amnesty.”

Da Chang nodded in agreement and strode out.

“Nine times out of ten, she will be pardoned. There are plenty of people pleading for her in the Evening Post and in Jianle City. That Holy Emperor is most adept at responding to public opinion,” Blind Mi sighed repeatedly. “If this case is pardoned, it will be very difficult to find another case like this.”

Lady Fu looked at Li Sangrou. “In the mute’s case, the testimony alone is already extremely difficult. As for the latter, I have no confidence, not even a ten percent chance. It would be best if she could be pardoned, but if I put the mute in a deadly situation because of my own wishes, I would feel uneasy. I should not do that.”

“I think that mute is a ruthless person. You’d better ask her.” Blind Mi crossed his legs.

Lady Fu did not speak.

Da Chang returned quickly, bringing a simple and clear message: Although the mute’s case was legally classified as one of the ten heinous crimes, morally, it should be pardoned, but it was optional.

Li Sangrou looked at Lady Fu.

“Go ask the mute. This is her matter.” Blind Mi swung his leg, looking at Lady Fu, and said, “I will go with you and try to persuade her!”

“No need for you to go!” Lady Fu immediately refused, then looked at Li Sangrou and said, “If the Boss has time…”

“Hmm, I will go with you. Now?” Li Sangrou stood up.

“Yes.” Lady Fu also stood up, and she and Li Sangrou left the Shunfeng headquarters one after the other, heading towards the government jail.