Chapter 68: The Maniac Who Acts Within the Law
“Ah… ah… Be gentle… Uncle, I beg you, be gentle… It hurts! Ah…!”
“Ouch! Ouch! Oy! It hurts! It hurts!”
Two young men lay in the room, writhing under the vigorous rubbing of two older men.
They emitted screams akin to those of slaughtered pigs.
The cries echoed one after another.
Outside, Xu Zhiqian couldn’t stop laughing.
After a while, the room was filled only with heavy panting.
With a creak, the door opened, and the two old men, rubbing their hands, walked out of the room, looking as if nothing had happened.
Xu Zhiqian immediately stepped forward and asked, “How are their injuries?”
One of the older men bowed and said, “Lady Xu, please don’t worry. They only suffered superficial wounds. I’ve applied medicine to them, and they just need to take a little care in the future.” Xu Zhiqian breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and said, “Thank you both.”
She then instructed Qingmei to take the two gentlemen down to rest.
After the gentlemen left, Xu Zhiqian lightly tapped on the door.
The door opened directly, revealing Li Si with a swollen face standing inside.
“How are you?” asked Xu Zhiqian.
“Thank you, Lady Xu, for your concern. I’m much better now.”
“That’s good!”
Xu Zhiqian nodded and then turned to look at Zhang Fei, who was half-lying on the bed. “And how about you?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t die. Ah…!”
Zhang Fei struggled to sit up and glanced at Xu Zhiqian. “As for you, take it easy. Don’t strain your voice from laughing too much.”
Xu Zhiqian pursed her lips. “You are a grown man yet so afraid of pain. How are you not embarrassed.”
“I’ll let you off for being condescending for now.” Zhang Fei said, “Wait until I’m healed, then we can argue. Right now, I need to conserve energy to deal with that Director Wang.”
Xu Zhiqian frowned. “Are you being impulsive? Although our dynasty allows commoners to sue officials, if you can’t provide evidence, it will be very detrimental to you!”
She didn’t oppose Zhang Fei’s retaliatory actions; it had already come to a point where she believed retaliation was necessary. However, she worried that Zhang Fei might be too impulsive and fall into the opponent’s trap.
Zhang Fei narrowed his eyes. “Rest assured, I have thought it through. Just wait and see. This time, I will make that Director Wang feel the fear of the pen-in-cap and deter everyone else from messing with me. It’ll be like killing a chicken to warn the monkeys. “
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei in shock.
Killing a chicken to warn the monkeys?
You, a mere pen-in-cap, using an official to warn others?
Could it be that you’ve used the idiom incorrectly?
…
The Wang residence.
“This is outrageous! Unbelievable! How dare that Zhang San slander me!”
Wang Wenshan paced back and forth in the hall, cursing angrily.
Li Kai, who came to inquire, explained, “Director Wang, please don’t be angry. I… I’m just going through standard procedure.”
Wang Wenshan stopped and turned to Li Kai. “Vice-Prefect Li, going through standard procedures implies that the Kaifeng Prefectural Office suspects me. Do you know how much damage this will do to my reputation?”
Li Kai smiled apologetically, “It’s mainly because Zhang San said that you visited him during the investigation of the Li Si case, and even threatened him. We can’t just turn a blind eye to it! We hope you understand, Director Wang.”
Without evidence proving an offence, his words were very polite.
Wang Wenshan said, “That’s right. I did meet him once during the investigation, but I didn’t threaten him. I just wanted to apologize to Li Si through him. When I found out what my nephew had done, I was so ashamed that I wished to disown him.
But I never expected that he would use this as an opportunity to extort me, demanding exorbitant compensation. Alas… it’s also my fault for being soft-hearted. I thought this was all because of my lax discipline at home, so I felt responsible and let my nephew agree to his unreasonable demands.
But unexpectedly, he became even more aggressive, wanting to extort me again. It’s truly outrageous.”
Li Kai frowned. “Are you telling the truth?”
“Absolutely.” Wang Wenshan shook his fingers. “Five hundred strings as compensation. Do you think this is reasonable?”
Li Kai remained silent with a furrowed brow.
At that time, the compensation was indeed a record high, and at that time, Li Kai and the others had also thought that this was what Zhang Fei was ultimately after.
Based on the results of the case, Wang Wenshan’s words seemed even more credible!
Wang Wenshan continued, “My nephew didn’t want to comply with his demands. It was me who forced him to agree, thinking it would teach him a lesson. But instead, it only encouraged Zhang San to push further and become more unreasonable.”
As he spoke, he grew angrier, shaking his head vigorously. “No, this matter cannot be left unresolved. I must sue him for wrongful prosecution to prove my innocence.”
Li Kai replied, “You may certainly do so. If it’s proven that Zhang Fei falsely accused you, then we will also handle it impartially.”
His attitude was very clear; no matter what, they would handle it impartially. So if you want to sue, go ahead, but the standard procedures must be followed.
Wang Wenshan also gave him a statement and sent him away.
As Li Kai left, Chen Yu, an official from the Ministry of Punishments, emerged from the back hall.
“I never expected that Zhang San would directly go to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office to make accusations against you.”
Chen Yu shook his head.
This had indeed caught them off guard. They had initially thought that Zhang Fei would surely seek justice through Xu Zun and Wang Anshi. Since he did not have evidence, once Wang Anshi and Xu Zun got involved, it would become a political struggle.
They could then concentrate the opposition forces in the court against Wang Anshi and Xu Zun by using this case to oppose the City Tax Bureau. It was killing two birds with one stone.
But unexpectedly, those two fools went directly to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office to file a complaint.
“He’s digging his own grave!”
Wang Wenshan smirked, “I’m going to sue him for wrongful prosecution and extortion. Will it work?”
Chen Yu replied, “It will definitely work because he can’t possibly produce evidence. And judging from the outcome of the Li Si case, most people would believe that Zhang San is repeating his extortion tactics and attempting to extort you again. But you should act immediately to express your anger and grievances at being falsely accused.”
Wang Wenshan nodded, “Write up a complaint immediately and send it over today.”
…．
Kaifeng Prefectural Office.
“How did it go?”
Lu Gongzhu asked Li Kai, who had just returned.
Li Kai smiled bitterly, “Director Wang said he did meet Zhang San, but he only wanted to apologize to Li Si through Zhang San and didn’t threaten him. Moreover, Director Wang said that Zhang San had extorted him with highly unreasonable demands during the Li Si case investigation, but he still agreed. So now, he believes Zhang San intends to extort him again, and Director Wang also said he will sue Zhang Fei for wrongful prosecution.”
Lu Gongzhu frowned, “The truth of this matter is known only to the two of them, and it’s difficult to judge who is telling the truth.”
Li Kai nodded and said, “Unless Zhang Fei produces evidence to prove that Director Wang indeed hired someone to harm him, otherwise, he’ll have a hard time winning the case.”
While they were still discussing, Wang Wenshan’s complaint arrived at the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.
“I didn’t expect it to come so soon. It seems Director Wang is not going to let it go easily this time,” Li Kai said with concern.
Lu Gongzhu replied, “We’ll handle it impartially.”
Since they were going to handle it impartially, they would need to summon Zhang Fei immediately for questioning. He had now become the defendant.
Soon, Zhang Fei was called to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.
“Did I falsely accuse Director Wang? Do you believe that?” Zhang Fei couldn’t help but laugh when he heard this.
Lu Gongzhu couldn’t help but find it amusing, but he frowned and said, “This isn’t about whether we believe you or not. We need to see evidence. You said Director Wang threatened you and hired someone to harm you. Can you provide evidence to prove it?”
Zhang Fei confidently replied, “Of course, I have evidence!”
Li Kai, growing impatient, exclaimed, “Then show it!”
“I won’t.” Zhang Fei shook his head.
“……!”
Lu Gongzhu, who was stunned for a moment, almost fainted from anger. He couldn’t help but be furious. “Insolent! Do you think I have no way to deal with you? Men! Give him twenty beatings!”
Zhang Fei showed no fear. Instead, he angrily retorted, “You officials always protect each other!”
Lu Gongzhu was furious. Throughout his life, he had been honest and upright. How could he tolerate such slander? “You, you insolent brat! You’re utterly lawless. I asked you to present evidence, but you refused. Aren’t you deliberately playing with me?” he exclaimed, feeling aggrieved as he spoke.
He was indeed feeling bullied.
Zhang Fei countered, “May I ask, Prefect, when Director Wang claimed he didn’t threaten me, did you demand evidence from him?”
Lu Gongzhu, frustrated, retorted, “But now you accuse him of hiring someone to harm you, and he has accused you of wrongful accusations. You must prove that you didn’t falsely accuse him.”
Zhang Fei continued, “Yet he also claimed that I extorted money from him. Has he presented evidence? Can I then sue him for false accusations?”
“…?”
It was a vicious cycle.
Lu Gongzhu exclaimed, “This is simply absurd!”
Zhang Fei said, “I’m not causing trouble. I won’t provide evidence because I’m afraid you officials will protect each other. Remember, during the trial of Ayun, Academician Sima allowed me not to reveal evidence in advance for the sake of fairness. Unless you let me and Director Wang confront each other in court, I won’t produce my evidence even if you beat me to death. Heaven knows if the evidence will mysteriously disappear once it’s revealed.”
It was this trick again?
Lu Gongzhu was itching with anger. He vaguely remembered that Zhang Fei had used the same trick against Sima Guang before, but back then, he had invoked the Emperor. Now, he was using Sima Guang.
This was truly a tangled web of deceit. Would he be the next target next time?
This slick talker! Li Kai raised his hand to stop the approaching bailiffs and said to Zhang Fei, “Are you demanding a trial with Director Wang?”
Zhang Fei replied, “A public trial. Will he dare?”
Li Kai asked, “How do you know that he won’t dare?”
Zhang Fei said confidently, “If he dares, it’s even better. I want to present my evidence in front of everyone and expose his hypocrisy.”
Lu Gongzhu nodded weakly, “Alright! I’ll agree to that, but if you fail to produce evidence, I won’t go easy on you.”
He also understood what Li Kai was suggesting. Both sides had their stories, and since neither could produce evidence, they might as well let them fight it out themselves.
Zhang Fei confidently declared, “If I produce evidence, I hope that you will handle it impartially.”