Chapter 70: Don’t Stop the Game
The long-awaited decisive showdown at the Kaifeng Prefecture didn’t materialize as anticipated.
What was supposed to be a movie turned into a many-episode-long soap opera in the blink of an eye.
Many onlookers were disappointed. While an unfinished story was bad enough, cliff hangers were even worse!
However, every cloud has a silver lining. This hiatus provided ample fodder for discussions over meals.
But what would be the outcome?
After the dispersal of the onlookers, numerous officials hastily departed from the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.
Sima Guang watched their hurried departures with a pensive expression.
“Academician Wang, Academician Sima.”
Sima Guang turned to see the Chief Clerk of Kaifeng Prefecture, Huang Gui.
Huang Gui said, “The prefect requests the presence of the two of you in the inner hall.” Sima Guang and Wang Anshi exchanged glances and followed Huang Gui to the inner hall.
…
“You dare to plot against me, just wait and see!”
With these harsh words, Wang Wenshan and Chen Yu climbed into their carriage.
Once inside, Wang Wenshan asked, “Will the Kaifeng Prefectural Office find any evidence?”
Chen Yu replied, “Teacher, rest assured. If this matter is truly investigated, it will implicate many. Those notaries would not dare open their mouths, and moreover, the complaint documents from that time contain no falsehoods.”
Wang Wenshan nodded, breathing heavily. “That’s good. This time, I must ensure that brat has no chance of survival.”
…
In the inner hall.
“What are your thoughts?”
Lu Gongzhu looked at Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.
Everyone knew the situation at hand, even the Emperor.
An issue that was supposed to be over had unexpectedly turned into an attack on Wang Wenshan by Zhang Fei.
This was very dangerous.
To investigate or not to investigate?
Wang Anshi chuckled, “Brother Gongzhu, do you really need to consult us on matters of investigation? If we told you to abuse your powers and cover up for others, would you agree?”
Lu Gongzhu gave Wang Anshi an annoyed look, as if to say, Are we still friends? Don’t you know why I need to consult you?
He then turned to Sima Guang.
Sima Guang nodded, “Investigate. Although I doubt you’ll find much.”
Why else would those officials hastily leave if not to destroy evidence?
In his view, there wouldn’t be much evidence.
And crucially, no one would dare to admit guilt.
Lu Gongzhu frowned, “In that case, that boy might have another trick up his sleeve.”
Wang Anshi smirked, “Why doesn’t Director Wang learn his lesson? Must he insist on arguing with Zhang San in court? Truly foolish!”
Sima Guang felt uneasy hearing this. “Wang Anshi, please clarify your words. What lesson should he learn?”
“Ah, ah, ah!” Lu Gongzhu hurriedly interjected, “Don’t quarrel, don’t quarrel. My head still aches.”
Sima Guang glanced at Lu Gongzhu and sighed, “Blame Director Wang for his own folly. It’s nobody’s fault but his own.”
Wang Anshi quickly added, “I wholeheartedly agree with what Sima Guang just said.”
Lu Gongzhu was taken aback, “Do you both think Director Wang has lost?”
Sima Guang shook his head, “That’s not necessarily the case, but at the moment, things are looking very unfavorable for him.”
…
“Brother Zhang San! Brother Zhang San!”
“Little Ma?”
Still pretending to be injured, Zhang Fei suddenly heard someone calling his name. Turning around, he saw Ma Xiaoyi hurrying towards him, smiling, “You’re here too.”
Ma Xiaoyi nodded, a bit dissatisfied, “I thought you would call me to testify in court, Brother San.”
Zhang Fei was surprised, “Do you really want to testify in court?”
When he was recording his statement, he did mention Ma Xiaoyi, but the Kaifeng Prefectural Office only sent a bailiff to inquire about Ma Xiaoyi. After all, since things had come to this, was there a need for further inquiry? It was just going through the motions.
Ma Xiaoyi nodded, “Of course I do. I like watching trials, especially when villains get punished severely. It’s so satisfying. But unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance to testify. Look at me, I even changed into new clothes today.”
There was a palpable sense of disappointment in his tone.
Zhang Fei couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Ma Xiaoyi dressed in a brand-new red robe. This kid was truly unique. Suddenly remembering something, he said, “You won’t be involved in this case, but for the Young Master’s case, I’ll have to rely on you.”
Ma Xiaoyi smiled, “What do you need, Brother San? Just say the word.”
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Fei said, “I need detailed information about relevant individuals, including the wine steward who delivered food and wine that night.”
Ma Xiaoyi was curious, “Brother San, what’s the use of asking about these?”
Zhang Fei replied, “In a lawsuit, details determine success or failure.”
“Details determine success or failure,” Ma Xiaoyi repeated, his eyes rolling. “I’ll remember that. Anything else?”
“For now, that’s all. We’ll make further decisions once we understand everything.”
“Alright, I’ll go find big brother now.”
“Now?!”
“Yes! We’ve arranged to go to Floating Fragrance Inn tonight to listen to music.”
“Listen to music?”
Zhang Fei asked, “Do you mean the touchy singing type?”
“What’s touchy singing?”
“That’s the kind accompanied by singing girls?”
“Wherever Big Brother Cao goes for dinner, there are always singing girls accompanying him!”
What a guy, he really knows how to enjoy life. Zhang Fei swallowed a gulp of saliva, whispering, “Is it safe? Won’t you be caught?”
Ma Xiaoyi looked puzzled, “It’s not illegal, why would we be caught?”
Oh yeah! This was legal in the Song dynasty. Zhang Fei slapped his forehead, “This lawsuit has me confused.”
“Do you want to go, Brother San?”
Zhang Fei glanced at him, “I… I’d better not. Maybe next time. Right now, three of my eight abdominal muscles still hurt a bit, and it’s not convenient for me to engage in intense physical activity.”
“Alright, then let’s make it next time. How about this, once my big brother wins the lawsuit, we’ll let him treat us and go to White Crystal Inn.”
“The White Crystal Inn is a legitimate restaurant, right?”
“Yes!”
“Do they have singing girls there too?”
“Why wouldn’t they? Legitimate restaurants have singing girls, while the illegitimate ones have… prostitutes.”
“I see. Okay, it’s settled.”
“I’ll be off then.”
“Go ahead!”
As Ma Xiaoyi left, Xu Zhiqian approached from behind, looking at Ma Xiaoyi’s departing figure before asking Zhang Fei, “What’s touchy singing?”
Zhang Fei asked, “Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?”
Xu Zhiqian replied, “Who was eavesdropping? I just walked over and happened to hear what you were saying about touchy singing.”
Zhang Fei remained composed, “That’s a code.”
“A code?”
“Yes! It means secretly observing.”
“But why did you exchange a code with Ma Xiaoyi?”
Zhang Fei glanced at Xu Zhiqian, thinking to himself, “Oh right, I need to focus on dealing with Director Wang now. I don’t know how long this lawsuit will last. I really don’t have time to deal with Cao Dongdong affairs.” With a thought, he said, “I was just about to discuss this with you. Let’s talk about it later.”
Xu Zhiqian nodded skeptically.
Back at the Xu manor, Zhang Fei informed Xu Zhiqian about the case involving Cao Dongdong and Lin Fei.
Xu Zhiqian said, “You don’t believe Cao Dongdong’s nonsense, do you? With his background, how could he be threatened by a tutor?”
Zhang Fei replied, “According to you, with his background, he wouldn’t need my help even more. The truth of the matter still needs to be investigated. But, alas, I’m dealing with Director Wang now, so I feel like I have no time and energy to handle this matter!”
Xu Zhiqian hesitated for a moment and said, “Do you trust me?”
Zhang Fei quickly said, “If you’re willing to help, then nothing could be better.”
Xu Zhiqian was taken aback, “Did you plan to ask me for help from the beginning?”
Zhang Fei chuckled awkwardly, “If I didn’t tell you, you’d say I was sneaky and keeping secrets from you. If I investigate on my own, you’d definitely worry and maybe even sabotage it. It’s better for you to do it yourself.”
Xu Zhiqian didn’t argue and asked, “What if it turns out Cao Dongdong was lying?”
Zhang Fei said, “It’s up to you to decide.”
After pondering for a moment, Xu Zhiqian nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll help you.”
Zhang Fei said, “I’ll tell Little Ma about it. You’ll be responsible for contacting him.”
Xu Zhiqian nodded and added, “But you haven’t finished dealing with your own affairs yet. It’s admirable that you still have the energy to help them.”
She truly admired Zhang Fei’s audacity. The lawsuit was getting more and more serious, and in the eyes of most people, it was extremely dangerous.
Before Zhang Fei could respond, she continued, “But I don’t think Fan Li would be willing to come out and testify. Although he agreed to cooperate with you, he wouldn’t want to offend the powerful officials in the imperial court for your sake.”
Zhang Fei was puzzled, “Who said I wanted Fan Li to testify?”
Xu Zhiqian said, “Without Fan Li’s testimony, it may be difficult to find evidence to prove that Director Wang was interfering behind the scenes.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Zhang Fei shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter?”
Xu Zhiqian looked at Zhang Fei puzzledly.
Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, “Even if Fan Li is willing to testify, I won’t agree. I’m out for revenge against Wang Wenshan, not to ensure he gets a fair trial. That would be too kind to him. Injuring someone isn’t a serious crime.”
The more Xu Zhiqian listened, the more confused she became.
Zhang Fei didn’t explain further. Instead, he asked, “How long do you think it will take for the Kaifeng Prefectural Office to question the people involved in the case?”
After a moment of contemplation, Xu Zhiqian said, “This matter involves dozens of people. Even if the Kaifeng Prefectural Office works at full capacity, it will take at least half a month. If they can’t find people immediately, it may take even longer.”
Zhang Fei nodded slightly, “Alright, let’s go back in seven days and check again.”
Xu Zhiqian looked surprised, “What are you going to do?”
Zhang Fei said, “Provide new clues.”
…
The Kaifeng Prefectural Office was indeed working at full capacity, with all five courts under its jurisdiction cooperating. However, due to the large and diverse number of people involved, it took seven days just to question the notaries who submitted the complaints.
By this time, the weather had turned cold, which also hindered the investigation.
Li Kai, wrapped in a thick cloak, entered the room and squatted by the brazier, warming his hands.
Lu Gongzhu asked, “How did it go?”
Li Kai said, “It’s about what we expected. Those notaries all said that they saw Zhang San using litigation to obtain a compensation award of five hundred strings, so they intended to follow Zhang San’s example. It just so happened that at the time, many people were also seeking to follow Li Si’s example, so they agreed to submit complaint documents”
Lu Gongzhu nodded slightly.
Li Kai continued, “Next, we need to go find those who filed complaints and verify the authenticity of the complaint documents. This is really going to be a nightmare!”
Lu Gongzhu sighed, “But what choice do we have? If we don’t investigate, Zhang San will definitely accuse us of collusion.”
Li Kai cursed, “This brat…!”
Knock knock knock!
“Reporting to the Prefect, Zhang Fei requests an audience.”
Speak of the devil
Li Kai’s hair stood on end in anger.
Lu Gongzhu’s face remained calm, apparently prepared. “Bring him in.”
After a while, Zhang Fei entered the room.
“The humble Zhang Fei pays his respects to Prefect Lu and Vice-Prefect Li.”
“What do you want?” Lu Gongzhu asked in a calm tone.
Zhang Fei said, “This humble one suddenly remembered a clue and rushed here to inform you of it.”
“What clue?” Lu Gongzhu asked.
Zhang Fei said, “I remembered that I had previously informed Prefect Lu that Director Wang had coerced and bribed me, but I only mentioned the coercion last time and forgot about the bribery, which was really inappropriate.”
Li Kai couldn’t help but laugh in anger, “You are really something. For a single turn of phrase, you need to split the explanation into two separate occasions. It’s a good thing you’re helping yourself with the lawsuit. If you were helping someone else, wouldn’t you charge twice the fee?”
Zhang Fei said with a sigh, “Vice-Prefect Li, you have to believe me. I really forgot about it. This was the first time I was facing a trial, I was really nervous.”
Li Kai didn’t believe a word of it.
Lu Gongzhu frowned, “Enough idle talk, what’s the matter?”
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, “At the time, Director Wang also said that his nephew Chen Yuteng had a very close relationship with the magistrate of Xiangfu County. If I refused to help Li Si, he would have Chen Yuteng help me secure a position as Chief Clerk in Xiangfu County.”
“This is preposterous!” Li Kai slammed the table in anger. “Are you complaining against Director Wang or complaining against the entire Kaifeng Prefecture?”
The case hasn’t been cleared yet, and now the whole Xiangfu County is involved. How can we celebrate the New Year like this?
Zhang Fei looked innocent, “I’m just providing a clue. Why is Vice-Prefect Li so angry?”
Li Kai immediately said, “If Director Wang really wanted to help you secure a position, why would you need to go to Xiangfu County?”
Zhang Fei said, “I don’t know. Perhaps Director Wang thought it would be more discreet this way. But I didn’t agree to it. I would never participate in such illegal activities as buying and selling official positions.”
He spoke with great righteousness.
Buying and selling official positions? You really dare to say that! Li Kai clenched his teeth and said, “Do you have any evidence?”
Zhang Fei said, “Although I don’t have solid evidence at the moment, when Li Si went to Xiangfu County to file a complaint, the county settled the case in less than half a day. Not only did they beat Li Si, but they didn’t even obtain the testimony of the key witness, Lady Zeng. Don’t you find this strange?”
“What does this have to do with…” Li Kai’s words were interrupted by Lu Gongzhu raising his hand, and he continued, “It seems you’re really committed to this.”
Li Kai suddenly realized that there was something fishy going on here. If Lady Zeng had come forward as a witness, her testimony would be crucial. Looking back on the results, this was definitely a mistake on the part of Xiangfu County.
But it was Li Kai who discovered the lapse first, and at the time, both sides had almost reached a settlement, so the matter was not pursued further.
Zhang Fei looked innocent, “I don’t know why Vice-Prefect LI so angry.”
Lu Gongzhu nodded, “I understand now. Do you have anything else?”
Zhang Fei said, “Not for now. If I think of any other clues, I will rush to inform Prefect Lu.”
For now… Li Kai almost fainted.
Lu Gongzhu said, “You may leave.”
“This humble one takes his leave.”
After Zhang Fei left, Li Kai couldn’t help but sigh, “This kid is really a devil!”
Lu Gongzhu said, “That’s why we have to act quickly and not let him drag us down any further.”
At this point, he understood Zhang Fei’s intentions.
Zhang Fei was a political nobody, with nothing to be attacked, but Director Wang was different. He was an old player of the game of politics, even randomly throwing a punch at him may hit an actual weak point.
Director Wang’s wrongdoings would be discovered sooner or later.
With that, Lu Gongzhu looked at Li Kai again.
Li Kai shook his head and said, “I won’t go. Let Huang Gui go.”