Chapter 165: Who are the Winners?
After the verdict was announced, Han Qi and Fu Bi stood up and left without another word.
It was well known that in their youth, both men had been among the most eloquent scholars in all of Song. They offered no closing remarks because Zhang Fei and Fan Chunren had already spoken so thoroughly that anything more would have been superfluous.
The reform faction was naturally delighted with the verdict. Many of them had believed, just as Zhang Fei stated, that this was an entirely unnecessary lawsuit – merely the opposition’s attempt to create trouble.
Su Shi and other moderates were also very satisfied, as the trial had at least established the bounds of the Reform Planning Commission’s authority and methods of supervision. This was crucial.
The concept of checks and balances originated from ancestral law, and this political philosophy was deeply rooted in Song dynasty scholarly thinking.
The conservative faction appeared thoroughly dejected. It wasn’t that they hadn’t achieved any of their aims – the outcome was actually acceptable to them since they had gained something. What they couldn’t accept was that they had been decisively defeated by Zhang Fei in open court. They had even been humiliated.
This was especially true for officials from the Censorate and Remonstrance Bureau, who were used to leaving others speechless but had now been defeated by a mere pen-in-cap. What an utter disgrace!
As for Zhang Fei, he stood behind his table singing while organizing his documents: “Money is real, love is fake, nothing matters – before a thousand strings, you’re not you and I’m not me.”
Xu Zhiqian watched him with an odd expression, feeling the Zhang Fei in court was completely different from the one in daily life. She said disdainfully, “What awful lyrics are you singing? There are important civil and military officials here – if they hear you, they’ll surely reprimand you.” Her eyes darted around as if angry glares were coming from all directions.
For many imperial relatives and officials, while they found the result very unsatisfying, it wasn’t because it was unjust but rather because it was too just, even infringing on their own power. This worried them greatly.
“Reprimand me?” Zhang Fei laughed.
Xu Zhiqian said, “Don’t forget, the trial is over now.”
“Ah, you want something more refined? I have that,” Zhang Fei began singing again: “When will the bright moon appear? I ask the blue sky over wine.”
“Zhang San.”
An imperious voice made Zhang Fei’s singing stop abruptly. He turned to see Su Shi approaching and his heart skipped a beat – the master poet himself had arrived, he couldn’t just sing carelessly now.
Su Shi came over smiling, “What a fine line – ‘When will the bright moon appear? I ask the blue sky over wine.’ Did you compose that?”
How shameless! Zhang Fei cursed internally, unsure whether to nod or shake his head.
Xu Zhiqian teased, “He probably copied it from somewhere.”
“What do you mean copied?”
Zhang Fei’s eyes darted as he said, “I was just feeling inspired earlier, but…” He turned his head toward Su Shi. “But you interrupted me, Mister Su. You owe me a poem now.”
Su Shi asked in surprise, “I owe you a poem?”
Zhang Fei nodded, “Of course, using those two lines as the opening, compose one for me.”
Su Shi teased, “If I don’t, you won’t sue me, will you?”
“Maybe I will,” Zhang Fei chuckled.
“Then I better compose one!” Su Shi nodded with a smile. A single poem was no challenge for him. He then asked, “But your litigation technique is truly remarkable, absolutely astounding. Who was your teacher?”
Zhang Fei smiled and asked, “What? Is Mister Su interested in learning the art of litigation?”
Su Shi nodded and smiled, “I am quite interested indeed.”
This legal dispute had truly piqued his interest, as he too was known for his sharp tongue.
Zhang Fei laughed, “I wouldn’t dare take Mister Su as my student.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to be one.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Su Shi paused and asked, “Don’t tell me you created this technique yourself?”
Xu Zhiqian also tilted her head curiously to look at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei nodded, “Indeed I did.”
Su Shi found it incredible and asked, “How did you…”
Zhang Fei answered simply, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
“What?”
Su Shi was stunned for a moment before breaking into laughter, “Well said – necessity is the mother of invention!”
As they spoke, a sudden gust of wind blew past them, carrying a peculiar scent.
The three turned to look and saw Wang Anshi striding out with his sleeves fluttering.
Wen Yanbo, who had just stood up, happened to see this and frowned, “What? Is Wang Anshi still unsatisfied with the verdict?”
Sima Guang looked up and stroked his beard, chuckling.
Wen Yanbo asked curiously, “What makes you laugh?”
Sima Guang chuckled, “He’s not dissatisfied with the verdict; he’s frustrated. Ever since his imperial examination days, Wang Anshi has been outstanding among his peers, rarely meeting his match in debates. Today he had to sit here quietly and be questioned by Fan Chunren and Zhang Fei for nearly an hour – how could he feel comfortable?”
“I see!”
Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and laughed heartily, then suddenly said to Sima Guang, “Actually, you are the biggest winner in this case!”
Sima Guang asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Wen Yanbo explained, “It was made very clear earlier that the judicial system offers the best supervision of the Reform Planning Commission. After this case, many officials will surely pay more attention to the law. Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”
Sima Guang sighed, “But this path won’t be easy to walk!”
Wen Yanbo asked curiously, “Weren’t you so confident before?”
Sima Guang sighed, “Even a simple village woman almost caused everything to fall apart.”
“Village woman?”
Wen Yanbo was confused for a moment before saying, “You mean that Ayun from Dengzhou?”
Sima Guang nodded, “If not for Zhang San’s cleverness, this case would have been irredeemable.”
Meanwhile, after Su Shi was called away briefly by his brother Su Zhe, Zhang Fei and Xu Zhiqian had finished gathering their things.
Just as they left their seats, they encountered Fan Chunren and Qian Yi.
Zhang Fei bowed and smiled, “Remonstrator Fan truly lives up to being Lord Fan’s son. For your first time in court, you performed excellently and learned well. Well fought, well fought.”
Fan Chunren, though middle-aged, felt like a junior among the court’s many veteran officials. Hearing such words from a younger person who even mentioned his father made him both embarrassed and angry. “I accept this defeat wholeheartedly, but I won’t lose to you next time. The law is just – you can’t keep winning forever.”
Zhang Fei smiled, “Though I can’t win forever, I won’t lose next time either. Despite your excellent performance, you only forced me to use one-tenth of my ability – I didn’t even break a sweat.”
“Don’t be so arrogant, you pen-in-cap!” Qian Yi scolded from the side.
Zhang Fei showed no fear and smiled, “Trying to prevent the people from speaking is more dangerous than damming a river to prevent a flood. Surely Censor Qian won’t forbid a commoner like me from speaking the truth?”
“You…”
This retort left Qian Yi speechless.
If a censor forbade others from speaking, wouldn’t that be slapping his own face?
Xu Zhiqian tugged at his sleeve and whispered, “Say less and let’s go back quickly!”
Zhang Fei glanced at her, thinking he shouldn’t attract more hatred toward his benefactor. He cupped his hands toward Fan Chunren and Qian Yi, saying, “This humble one takes leave.”
Then he left together with Xu Zhiqian.
“You’ve already won the case, why do you need to show off your sharp tongue? Must you offend everyone?” Xu Zhiqian frowned.
Zhang Fei smiled, “You don’t understand. I’m encouraging them to improve.”
A mere pen-in-cap trying to encourage court officials to improve? Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes slightly, when suddenly someone called out, “Qian’er.”
Xu Zhiqian turned to look and saw Xu Zun and Liu Zhao standing in the corridor. They both walked over immediately.
“This humble one greets Secretary Liu and Benefactor,” Zhang Fei bowed.
Liu Zhao smiled, “Zhang San, your court appearances have truly escalated, from the Court of Penal Review all the way to the Chamber of State Affairs.”
Zhang Fei replied helplessly, “I didn’t want this either, but Academician Wang gave me too much.”
“Gave too much?” Liu Zhao was stunned at first, then realized that Zhang Fei was a pen-in-cap who fought cases for money – a fact almost everyone had overlooked. He burst into laughter.
Xu Zun said with mixed amusement and annoyance, “You little rascal, don’t get carried away!”
Zhang Fei quickly said, “I haven’t! I was just joking.”
Liu Zhao waved his hand, “It’s fine, it’s fine. He was like this the first time I met him too.”
Xu Zun added, “Zhang San, you head back first. Qian’er will be visiting Secretary Liu’s home with me.”
“Oh, alright!”
Zhang Fei nodded and took the documents from Xu Zhiqian’s hands, grinning, “Miss Xu, you should be careful.”
Xu Zhiqian asked in confusion, “Careful of what?”
“Your foot! Didn’t you sprain it?” Zhang Fei pointed at her foot.
Xu Zhiqian suddenly remembered her earlier embarrassment, stomped her foot angrily with raised eyebrows, and scolded, “What nonsense are you talking about? Leave quickly!”
“Seems it’s healed already.”
Zhang Fei smirked, nodded to Xu Zun and Liu Zhao, then left with the documents.
Xu Zun glanced at Liu Zhao with a hint of worry in his eyes.
…
Fan Chunren and Qian Yi hadn’t left, as the Chamber of State Affairs was their territory. After such an outcome, they had to hold an immediate meeting for review.
“This is outrageous, truly outrageous!”
Wen Yanbo paced back and forth in the hall, thundering, “The Censorate and Remonstrance Bureau combined couldn’t defeat a mere pen-in-cap! How can we face His Majesty in the future? This is an utter humiliation!”
Zhao Bian, who headed the Remonstrance Bureau, shook his head in frustration.
Fan Chunren was thoroughly embarrassed and bowed to everyone, “I am useless and have let everyone down. I sincerely apologize.”
The entire litigation plan had been his idea, and he had been very confident before the trial.
But from the start, Zhang Fei had thrown him off balance. He had only managed to save some face later by learning from Zhang Fei’s approach.
Liu Shu, Fan Chunren’s friend, quickly said, “Remonstrator Fan needn’t apologize. This case was difficult from the start. Getting it to court was already quite an achievement. It’s just that as court officials, losing to a pen-in-cap doesn’t look good.”
“But truthfully, this isn’t the first time we’ve lost.”
Qi Hui said anxiously, “How can a mere pen-in-cap influence court policies? What are we to do if this continues?”
At these words, many sighed in silence.
In the previous case about ancestral laws, they had been judges in name but actually Zhang Fei’s opponents, and they had ended up in complete defeat, fleeing in disarray.
Today the nightmare had returned.
The key was that these cases were becoming more terrifying. Although this case resulted from both sides’ struggle, it seemed to have damaged the existing system.
Zhao Bian sighed, his expression grave, “Losing the case isn’t the main concern. But earlier in court, they made it clear that only the judicial system can effectively supervise the Reform Planning Commission. It seems they plan to rely on Zhang San in the future.”
Fan Chunren said excitedly, “Next time I absolutely won’t lose to Zhang San!”
“That’s not certain!”
Sima Guang, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, “I remember when I first faced Zhang San, he mocked me for being unprofessional. Thinking about it now, he was right.
Litigation belongs to the study of law, which is vastly different from the court debates we’re familiar with. In a court of law, citing classics and poetry has little use – law is the only thing to rely on. If we don’t want history to repeat itself, we must study litigation seriously. There’s much to learn in this field.”
Wen Yanbo asked, “Sima Guang, what do you suggest?”
Sima Guang pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, “I’m actually preparing judicial reforms and need some legal talents. I plan to petition His Majesty to expand the law curriculum at the College of National Scions to train specialized legal talents.”
Zhao Bian nodded and said, “I agree with this. Now that we’ve set this precedent, we’ll likely encounter similar situations in the future.”
…
“Husband, did you lose the lawsuit?”
Madam Wang asked with concern when she saw Wang Anshi return home in a rage.
“I won!” Wang Anshi said angrily.
Madam Wang was bewildered. “If you won, why are you so angry?”
Wang Anshi waved his sleeve in frustration. “I’m angry at that fellow Zhang San!”
Madam Wang grew even more curious. “Wasn’t he helping you? Since you won, shouldn’t he deserve credit?”
“He does deserve credit, but I’ve completely lost face. When has Wang Anshi ever been treated like this before? To just take hits without being able to fight back – it’s preposterous!”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Madam Wang shook her head. To her, winning was all that mattered. She added, “I’ll go heat some water for you.”
Wang Anshi suddenly froze, as if remembering something. “Heat water? I want to take a bath today.”
Madam Wang was shocked and stared at him in disbelief. “Husband, what did you just say?”
Wang Anshi said, “I said I want to take a bath!”
He actually volunteered to take a bath? Madam Wang instinctively looked up at the sky – the sun hadn’t risen from the west, had it? Unless…
Madam Wang’s face turned slightly red.
…
“Hey, this doesn’t seem like the right way!”
Although the Song Dynasty palace wasn’t very large, it was easy to get lost if one wasn’t familiar with it. The key issue was that Zhang Fei was just a pen-in-cap, not an official. His movements required an escort – he couldn’t wander around freely.
As he walked, Zhang Fei suddenly found his surroundings becoming increasingly unfamiliar. Without Xu Zhiqian by his side, he became more alert.
The eunuch guide said, “This isn’t your first time here. Surely you know there’s more than one way in and out of the palace.”
“Is-is that so? Sorry, I don’t quite remember.”
Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly, trying hard to recall, but couldn’t remember clearly.
Lost in thought, he suddenly realized he had unknowingly entered a small courtyard. Looking around, he saw only one small pavilion. “Where is this?”
Bang!
The courtyard gate suddenly closed.
“Hey, what are you trying to do?”
Having been ambushed several times before, Zhang Fei panicked and ran toward the gate.
Suddenly, a voice came from upstairs: “Don’t be afraid. It was I who had them bring you here.”
Zhang Fei immediately relaxed and patted his chest in relief. Good grief, if you wanted to see me, you could have just said so directly. Was there any need for all this mystery? What is this, a TV drama? You really scared me to death.