Chapter 81: Trial (2)
After questioning Officer Wu, Huang Gui promptly informed Prefect Lu Gongzhu that he had finished.
Actually, there was still one crucial witness left: Lady Lin.
In this matter, the Northern Song Dynasty was quite humane. In cases like this, women were not obliged to testify in open court unless there were special circumstances or they had critical testimony.
However, after this round of questioning, even Prefect Lu Gongzhu was sweating buckets for Cao Dongdong!
This lad was just too honest!
Never had he seen such honesty before.
Every answer was against his own interest, truly remarkable.
But he couldn’t let his guard down because he had been observing Zhang Fei, who didn’t seem like Cao Dongdong’s defense attorney at all. He even chuckled from time to time.
It left him quite puzzled.
After a moment, Prefect Lu Gongzhu instructed Zhang Fei to begin questioning. Zhang Fei spoke up: “Prefect Lu, this humble one has a request.”
Prefect Lu didn’t understand what he was asking at first.
Zhang Fei explained further: “I request that Officer Wu be taken away first. After questioning Instructor Lin, Officer Wu can be brought back. This is to prevent them from coordinating their testimonies.”
Upon hearing this, Officer Wu frowned and glanced at Lin Fei, who immediately gave him a reassuring look.
Prefect Lu found Zhang Fei’s suggestion reasonable, especially since Officer Wu was brought in by Huang Gui. So, he ordered Officer Wu to be taken away first.
Once Officer Wu left, Zhang Fei approached Lin Fei and bowed respectfully, “I am Zhang Fei, the defense attorney for Cao Dongdong.”
Lin Fei merely glanced at him and remained silent.
Undeterred, Zhang Fei continued with a friendly expression, “Instructor Lin, how old are you this year?”
Lin Fei, who had clearly heard of Zhang Fei’s reputation, first looked wary, then replied, “Thirty-two.”
“This is the prime age of a military officer,” Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, then asked, “As far as I know, sixteen years ago, you distinguished yourself in the war against the rebel Nong Zhigao while under the command of General Di. Is that correct?”
When Lin Fei heard “General Di,” his eyes blinked involuntarily. He nodded, “Yes.”
“By all rights, you should have been promoted for your merits. Why were you only an instructor when you came back?” Zhang Fei inquired.
Lin Fei creased his brows and answered, “They said I was too young and needed more experience.”
Zhang Fei continued, “According to my knowledge, three years later, you accompanied Chancellor Han to fight the Khitan.[1] Although the scale of the war was not large, you repelled the enemy several times, reclaiming territory for the empire. Is that true?”
Chancellor Han referred to Han Qi.
“Yes,” Lin Fei nodded.
“Why then, are you still just an instructor? Surely you should have been promoted by now?” Zhang Fei inquired.
Lin Fei angrily retorted, “How should I know? Why do you keep asking irrelevant questions?”
He wasn’t prepared for this line of questioning at all, and it was making him increasingly frustrated. If you were going to ask questions, they should be related to the case.
Prefect Lu also understood Lin Fei’s anger and interjected, “Zhang San, why are you asking these questions? They have nothing to do with this case.”
Zhang Fei replied, “They are absolutely relevant. I hope Your Honor will allow me to continue. I will explain everything later.”
“Very well! But if you fail to explain it later, I won’t go easy on you,” Prefect Lu warned.
“Yes.”
Zhang Fei bowed again, “I hope Your Honor won’t interrupt me, just like how Huang Gui’s questioning went interrupted earlier.”
Hey… you little… Prefect Lu Gongzhu’s eyes flashed with anger, but it was his first time working with such a procedure, so he was a bit unfamiliar. Nonetheless, he had to maintain impartiality. After all, Huang Gui was the Chief Clerk. So he just nodded.
As they exchanged questions and answers, Lin Fei wore a strange expression.
When Zhang Fei turned back and saw Lin Fei’s strange expression, he just smiled faintly, paying no mind. He continued, “May I ask, Instructor Lin, do you know Li Yong?”
Li Yong?
Not to mention Sima Guang and the others, even Lu Gongzhu and Huang Gui were puzzled. Li Yong’s name hadn’t appeared in any of the investigations!
Who was this?
An expression of resentment flashed in Lin Fei’s eyes, and he nodded.
Zhang Fei asked, “How do you know him?”
“He accompanied me on the expedition against Nong Zhigao” Lin Fei replied.
“How did he perform in that battle?” Zhang Fei inquired further.
“Not very well.”
“In what way?”
“He was cowardly and didn’t dare to confront the enemy, almost facing military punishment from General Di.”
“Why wasn’t he punished?”
“Because I interceded for him.”
“Where is he now?”
“He was promoted to become an officer two years ago.”
“Is that so?”
Curiously, Zhang Fei asked, “Could it be that after that incident, he learned his lesson and became braver, and then distinguished himself in battle?”
“Ha!” Lin Fei exclaimed emotionally. “That coward only knows how to flatter and please superiors. After that incident, he transported a batch of grain and got promoted just for that.”
“Do you know Liu Ji, Li Jian, and Wang Chun?” Zhang Fei continued.
“I do,” Lin Fei grunted.
“Can you explain how you know them?”
“They were all instructors in the Imperial Army.”
“And where are they now?”
“They’ve all been promoted.”
Lin Fei even learned to cut in.
“What contributions have they made?” Zhang Fei pressed on.
Lin Fei snorted, “Hmph… most of them have never even left the capital. Liu Ji was even a bandit before being appointed by the court. How could they have made any contributions?”
“This is strange,” Zhang Fei remarked, intentionally raising his voice towards the courtyard, and glancing around.
The officials in the courtyard remained silent.
But outside the door, the people were all furious and especially sympathetic towards Lin Fei.
However, Cao Ping, who was standing by, looked anxious. Oh no, oh no, this kid is a traitor.
If this questioning continues, Lin Fei will soon become a hero of the people.
Seeing that stupid son Cao Dongdong standing there as if nothing happened, staring blankly at Lin Fei, like a child listening to a story, almost made him spit blood.
What an idiot!
“Do you want to know why?” Lin Fei suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei nodded. “I am genuinely curious.”
“Because I have no family background, no connections, I don’t give bribes, I don’t flatter superiors, because I am General Di’s…!” Lin Fei’s voice abruptly stopped, his sharp eagle eyes gradually filled with tears, and his voice choked up as he muttered to himself, “I’m sorry, General Di, I’m sorry!”
He furrowed his brow, trying to hold back the tears.
It turned out that during the war against Nong Zhigao, Lin Fei had distinguished himself multiple times. Although he was just a foot soldier, Di Qing valued him greatly. After returning to the capital, Di Qing personally arranged for him to join the Pengri Army, an elite unit of the Imperial Army, intending to let him gain experience before promoting him.
But unfortunately, when it was Lin Fei’s turn for promotion, Di Qing was suddenly demoted. Since Lin Fei was brought up by Di Qing, he naturally didn’t get promoted. Not only did he not get promoted, but he was also marginalized from the Pengri Army and became a lowly instructor.
Many people outside couldn’t help but shed tears, some even covering their faces and crying.
In fact, such incidents were not uncommon, so many people were holding in their grievances, which burst out now along with Lin Fei’s outburst.
Prefect Lu Gongzhu sighed inwardly, but all of this had nothing to do with the case. Seeing Lin Fei’s unstable emotions, he turned to Zhang Fei, “Now can you explain why you’re asking these questions?”
“Of course!” Zhang Fei nodded. “I am defending a just and brave woman and also answering the question Your Honor asked me to explain.
The woman is the one mentioned earlier, Xu Zhiqian.
Why did Xu Zhiqian go to find Instructor Lin? It’s because Xu Zhiqian knew everything. She believed that Instructor Lin’s actions are foolish. He shouldn’t risk everything in his life out of anger. She didn’t want such a hero to perish like this. Although Instructor Lin has suffered extremely unfair treatment, he’s only thirty-two years old, and he still has a chance. Both Xu Zhiqian and I were willing to help him.
Unfortunately, he didn’t accept it. But I can understand because I’ve also been treated unfairly. He should have the opportunity to express his grievances.”
At this point, he suddenly turned back and shouted into the courtyard where the government officials were, “Some people should also listen to this. This is the real injustice, the real culprit of this case. A group of perpetrators, hiding their true nature and pretending to be speaking up for the victim. How dare you speak with such righteousness? What a joke, this is a huge joke!”
[1] The Khitan are the people who have formed the Liao dynasty at this point, a rival empire that is located to the north of the Northern Song dynasty and which was generally militarily superior to the Northern Song.