"It's merely an ordinary case. This lowly official has just concluded the hearing. How could it trouble Your Excellency to grace us with your presence?" Qian Wuzhang felt uneasy, his heart in his throat. "Who was so imprudent as to disturb Your Excellency's rest?"
"An ordinary case? Concluded?" Ji Congyong stared directly at Qian Wuzhang. "Right now, the whole city is in an uproar. I suspect word will reach the Prefect's ears in a couple of days, and you call it an ordinary case? Magistrate Qian, you have quite the nerve! At present, no perpetrator has been dealt with, no countermeasures have been provided, and it is not yet the hour for adjournment. How exactly has Magistrate Qian 'concluded' the case?"
Being publicly rebuked by a superior, even if humiliated, Qian Wuzhang dared not say much.
"With such a vile incident occurring in the city now, the source must be investigated and dealt with swiftly, not by hastily arresting people to assign blame. Magistrate Qian, this official just heard the method proposed by the defendant's litigation master has considerable merit. Why are you not adopting it?"
Qian Wuzhang quickly forced a smile: "Such an excellent method, this lowly official also intended to adopt it. Time is pressing, so I was thinking to adjourn quickly and immediately post the notices afterward."
Ji Congyong ignored Qian Wuzhang's assurances and declared clearly, "The realm is now governed by law. Those who adjudicate should not show favoritism based on personal feelings; they must handle cases according to evidence. If one views a case with a narrow perspective, sympathizing with the seemingly weaker party and credulously believing one side's account, then what is the use of evidence!"
"Assistant Prefect speaks rightly! Your words are absolutely correct. Seeing the common people suffering now, this lowly official, as their parent-official, feels as if pierced by knives, which is why I lost my bearings and acted in panic."
As he spoke, Qian Wuzhang hung his head, his eyebrows drooping, putting on a convincingly tearful appearance.
"Whether you are truly incompetent and cowardly, or pretending, is beside the point. This official now asks you, what is to be done with the detained Qiao Xinnian?"
"The witnesses and evidence all indicate Qiao Xinnian is currently not guilty. Shall he be released in court?" Qian Wuzhang bowed respectfully, looking at Ji Congyong. "If we were to arrest all the merchants now, it would likely cause too great a commotion, leading to even greater turmoil in the city."
Ji Congyong did not reply. Crestfallen, Qian Wuzhang announced: "The witnesses and evidence all point to insufficient grounds for the charge of poisoning against Qiao Xinnian. He is hereby acquitted and released today. If future developments in the case involve Qiao Xinnian, this official will arrest him again."
Hearing the acquittal and immediate release, Fang Yu sighed in relief. In the spectators area, the Qiao mother and son also happily gripped each other's hands. Mother Qiao wiped her slightly reddened eyes. Having been on tenterhooks for the past two days, she had held herself together strongly except for when she cried while beseeching Fang Yu for help. Now, having escaped disaster, she could no longer maintain her composure.
"Good, good. It's fine now."
After the court adjourned, Fang Yu asked Qiao Hezhi and Mother Qiao to go receive Qiao Xinnian, while he himself waited outside the yamen for Ji Congyong to emerge. Perhaps the Assistant Prefect had reprimanded Magistrate Qian sternly in private. By the time he emerged, half a shichen had passed, and his expression remained icy.
"Fang Yu, why haven't you taken your father-in-law back yet?"
Seeing the person waiting outside, Ji Congyong was somewhat surprised. Fang Yu respectfully performed a deep bow: "Your Excellency kindly made a special trip out of ardent helpfulness. This student is immensely grateful and must express my thanks to you at the first opportunity."
"Now, now, you must not speak like that." Ji Congyong raised a hand to stop Fang Yu's words of thanks. "This matter is not a minor issue of personal favor. Even if you hadn't written asking this old official to attend the hearing, with such a major incident occurring in the city, I would certainly have come to check on it."
Speaking of this, Ji Congyong's expression turned rather unpleasant. This year, Yuncheng encountered a rainy season that ruined grain. Wealthy merchants in the city being willing to open their granaries to aid the afflicted commoners was originally a good thing, stabilizing refugees on one hand and alleviating some difficulties for the yamen on the other.
But then the moldy grain incident occurred. That fool Qian Wuzhang, instead of conducting a thorough investigation, simply arrested someone upon hearing rumors, trying to hush things up. When Ji Congyong received news of the arrest, he had even secretly breathed a sigh of relief, praising Qian Wuzhang in his residence, saying that while he was incompetent in small matters, he showed good judgment in major ones. Little did he expect that before he could relax, he received a message delivered by Fang Yu's fulang, its wording earnest and moving, requesting his presence to observe the hearing. He vaguely sensed something was amiss.
The matter was of great importance; Qian Wuzhang wanted to settle things quickly. As a fellow official, Ji Congyong naturally understood his mindset. But to arrest a merchant as a scapegoat without proper investigation, simply because merchants were considered lowly and insignificant, had now made all the merchants in the city jittery. They had all closed their charity distributions and stopped offering price reductions for the people's benefit. If the afflicted commoners then gathered in the city begging for food, it would reflect poorly on administrative performance, and he himself probably wouldn't escape a reprimand from the Prefect.
Recently, after the provincial examinations, the Prefect had praised Yuncheng for being a land of outstanding people, producing many fine scholars. Fang Yu had just brought some honor to Yuncheng, and here Qian Wuzhang showed his prowess by immediately slapping the face Yuncheng had just gained. If Qiao Xinnian had truly committed evil, there would be something to say. But the man was completely innocent. This affair had been handled disastrously.
Thinking back, this Qian Wuzhang had once taken the imperial examinations in the same session as him; distantly speaking, they were fellow examinees. In those days, Qian Wuzhang had also been among those who passed the metropolitan examination. Floating and sinking in the officialdom, circling around, the two old men could still serve as officials together in Yuncheng. Speaking of it, there was some camaraderie between them. He hadn't wanted to make things awkward.
Over the years, he had some idea of how Qian Wuzhang conducted himself as an official locally. But as long as it didn't hinder administrative performance, he had turned a blind eye to trivial, petty matters. Little did he expect this indulgence would make Qian Wuzhang increasingly unwise. His continuous demotion from the imperial court to a minor local official now seemed to have some logic to it.
"This old official has discussed in detail with Magistrate Qian. Finding the source of the illness will still proceed according to the method you proposed on a large scale. Moreover, I will need your assistance in handling this matter."
Fang Yu promptly said, "This student is willing to share Your Excellency's concerns."
No comments:
Post a Comment