In the courtroom, everyone was present. Sun Baihu's family remained kneeling in the corner. Lord Yao was merely trying to curb the arrogance of Young Master Min, so after he knelt and paid his respects, he was allowed to rise.
As for Censor Chu, although he had been detained for several days, Lord Yao had not subjected him to torture. Apart from being confined, he had not suffered any hardship, only appearing dispirited. His gaze towards Zhan Feiyu was particularly dark and menacing.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, my actions that day were not thorough enough, which nearly led to a grave disaster. I beg Your Lordship to punish me," Censor Chu began, employing a strategy of preemptive surrender.
Arresting Zhan Feiyu without evidence was indeed an initial error on Censor Chu's part. However, as a Censor of the Metropolitan Commandery, a fourth-rank official of the court, and one of the officials in the current tri-judicial review, he was fully qualified to order the arrest of Zhan Feiyu, a mere scholar.
Regarding the aftermath of the arrest, if it were a wrongful conviction and it was proven that Censor Chu had wronged Zhan Feiyu, the court, Lord Yao, and Commander Xie would hold him accountable for dereliction of duty.
However, Zhan Feiyu's altercation with the constables who arrested her in the courtroom was her transgression.
The situation between Censor Chu and Zhan Feiyu was a matter of who would prevail. If Censor Chu's offense was minor, then Zhan Feiyu's culpability would be greater.
Especially with Sun Baihu lying on a plank, close to death, if one were to truly consider the crime of murder, and the victim being a military officer of the Wei Suo, then pinning this charge on Zhan Feiyu, even with Scholar Gu present, would make it difficult to absolve her.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, I also wish to accuse Zhan Feiyu of instigating her servant to commit violence," Young Master Min interjected, adding fuel to the fire.
Perhaps due to the initial show of dominance with the kneeling, Young Master Min, while still imperious and arrogant, at least dared not treat theSuzhou Prefecture courtroom as a place for wanton behavior.
Casting a fierce and venomous glance at Zhan Feiyu, Young Master Min continued, "Sun Baihu lies severely injured in the medical hall. The physician attending to him requires a century-old ginseng to sustain his life, which is why I dispatched two guards to find Zhan Feiyu."
He paused, and a sinister, cold smile appeared on his pale face. "Who knew that Zhan Feiyu, relying on Scholar Gu's name, not only injured my Min family's guards but also twisted the facts and sent them to the authorities. Such a person who bullies others with influence and disregards human life, I implore Your Lordship to punish severely!"
Commander Xie displayed his first smile since entering the Suzhou Prefecture yamen, his resonant voice ringing out, "It is said that the Min family has a reputation for upright conduct. Today's observation confirms it. On behalf of Sun Baihu, I thank the Young Master for his righteous deed."
"Commander Xie is too kind. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda; it was merely a small effort," Young Master Min bowed to Commander Xie. Then, turning to Lord Yao, who sat beneath the plaque of "The Mirror of Justice," he continued, "To make Zhan Feiyu believe, I had the guards carry Sun Baihu's waist token."
This explanation from Young Master Min completely cleared the charge of stealing the waist token.
The officials of the Suzhou Prefecture yamen, including Vice Prefect Zhao, who were present as observers, wore solemn expressions. They had narrowly escaped death by the blades of Sun Baihu and his men that day. Later, they were protected by Zhan Feiyu's attendants and retreated to the yamen, nearly being burned alive.
However, upon hearing Censor Chu's eloquent but deceptive words, Vice Prefect Zhao and the others, though angered to the point of turning pale, were unable to refute him. They couldn't help but worry about Zhan Feiyu, who was in a predicament.
Compared to the smug Censor Chu and Young Master Min, or the worried and anxious Vice Prefect Zhao and his colleagues, Lord Yao's expression was solemn and calm. He spoke in a deep voice, "Zhan Feiyu, do you wish to defend yourself?"
Zhan Feiyu stepped forward. Her delicate, fair face showed no trace of worry. "Reporting to Your Lordship, this student wishes to accuse Censor Chu of attempting to murder this student and Vice Prefect Zhao and other officials of the Suzhou Prefecture yamen."
"Utter nonsense!" a sharp reprimand suddenly sounded. Censor Chu's face darkened. "Zhan Feiyu, do you know the crime of slandering an imperial official? I did not intend to pursue this matter, considering your youth and momentary confusion. But since you are ungrateful and continue to err, do not blame me for being impartial!"
"Retire!" a resonant voice sounded again. Commander Xie angrily said to Censor Chu, "If you break the law while enforcing it, I, this commander, will surely punish you without mercy! Miss Zhan, do you have any evidence? The Commandery will not tolerate any scoundrels!"
Ignoring the feigning Commander Xie, Zhan Feiyu looked at Lord Yao and said, "I request Your Lordship to summon witnesses to the court."
"Granted," Lord Yao replied. He felt a hint of doubt; it seemed the outcome was still uncertain.
As everyone waited with surprise and confusion, three people were brought to the court by constables. The leading middle-aged man was dressed opulently. "Your humble subject Tong Mingyuan pays his respects to Your Lordship."
"Rise and answer. Tong Mingyuan, who are you?" Lord Yao asked. His attire suggested he was a merchant.
Lord Yao's guess was not wrong. Tong Mingyuan was indeed a merchant, a dealer in tung oil. He had a batch of tung oil that he originally intended to sell to pharmacies. Tung oil had efficacy for sore throat, carbuncles, scabies, leg sores, burns, and chapped skin.
However, due to improper storage, it could only be sold cheaply as lamp oil. But the people of Longyou Prefecture were not wealthy, and few could afford lamp oil. They went to bed as soon as it got dark, and even for nighttime excursions, they used candles.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, this humble subject originally thought of transporting this tung oil back to the Southwest Prefecture. This round trip would not only yield no profit but would incur a loss. Therefore, this humble subject thought it best to sell it even at a loss. Fortunately, Shopkeeper Hong of the general store was willing to purchase this tung oil."
As Tong Mingyuan spoke, everyone in the courtroom understood. The tung oil that Censor Chu had intended to use to set fire to the yamen that day was purchased from the general store.
"This is merely a coincidence," Young Master Min scoffed. If Lord Yao had not shown disrespect to the Second Prince and the Min family, with Young Master Min's overbearing and arrogant nature, he would have directly ordered the constables to imprison Zhan Feiyu.
Lord Zheng, who had been silent, finally spoke, "Tong Mingyuan, how many jin of tung oil did you sell to the general store this time?"
"Reporting to Your Lordship, there were a total of one thousand jin of tung oil, sold at fifty wen per jin, for a total of fifty taels of silver," Tong Mingyuan replied without any concealment, presenting the account book he had brought.
Fifty taels of silver was not a large sum, but it was not insignificant either. After all, this tung oil was a flawed product, only to be sold at a low price. The constables in the courtroom earned only two taels of silver per month. This transaction by Tong Mingyuan was equivalent to a constable's annual salary.
Lord Yao handed the account book he held to a clerk, instructing him to pass it to Lord Zheng and the others for perusal. "Constable Hu, you are familiar with Suzhou Prefecture. Tell me, how is the business of Xinglong General Store?"
Constable Hu quickly estimated in his mind, "Xinglong General Store is located at the end of Sifang Street. Shopkeeper Hong is also skilled in management, and the store's business is good. By my humble estimation, it can earn at least a hundred taels annually."
Officials in the Great Qing Dynasty had high salaries. Vice Prefect Zhao, being a fifth-rank official, earned two hundred taels a year.
A small general store purchasing flawed tung oil for fifty taels of silver was indeed suspicious. The thousand jin of tung oil would take five to six years to sell.
If it couldn't be sold, why would Shopkeeper Hong of the general store buy this tung oil? And it just so happened that Censor Chu wanted to set fire to the yamen, and the thousand jin of tung oil would be useful. The coincidence was hard to ignore.
"Someone, bring the shopkeeper and the employees of Xinglong General Store to the court!" Lord Yao commanded, and Constable Hu immediately complied.
While waiting, Censor Chu's expression turned somewhat grim, but there was no sign of anxiety or nervousness in his demeanor, suggesting he was well-prepared.
Zhan Feiyu remained calmly standing aside. She glanced again at Sun Baihu, who lay on the plank. As long as it could be proven that Censor Chu had premeditated murder, Sun Baihu would be an accomplice. Even if he died, it would not cause any significant repercussions.
Xinglong General Store was very close to the yamen. Otherwise, Censor Chu would not have sent people to buy tung oil from the general store that day. In less than fifteen minutes, Shopkeeper Hong and a young assistant, with fearful expressions, entered the yamen.
"Your humble subject pays his respects to Your Lordship..." His voice trembled slightly. Shopkeeper Hong knelt on the ground, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Previously, Shopkeeper Hong had also provided a statement at the yamen, confirming that the tung oil that nearly burned down the yamen was purchased from his store. However, he was merely a merchant. When the officials paid with silver to buy tung oil, Shopkeeper Hong dared not refuse.
He thought the matter was over, but now he was summoned to the court again to testify.
"Shopkeeper Hong, I ask you, if that thousand jin of tung oil had not been purchased, how would you have dealt with it?" Lord Yao's face was stern, and his sharp gaze was fixed on Shopkeeper Hong kneeling below.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, previously Xiangwu County was besieged by barbarians, and many households' homes also caught fire. This humble subject heard from a carpenter in Xiangwu County that they needed to make a lot of furniture there. Seeing that this tung oil was cheap, this humble subject thought of buying it at a low price and then transporting it to Xiangwu County to sell at a high price."
This tung oil was flawed and could not be used for medicinal purposes, but it could be used for painting furniture. If sold as lamp oil, it would likely take ten years to sell.
Shopkeeper Hong's explanation made Zhan Feiyu understand. During the defense of the city, hot oil was initially poured down, but even during the New Year, households did not store much oil. Later, boiling water was poured down from the city walls.
Boiling water consumed the most firewood. The situation that night was critical, so firewood had to be sourced from nearby. Thus, the firewood stored in households near the city gate was insufficient, and furniture from various households had to be split and used as firewood.
"Your Lordship, next year is a widow's year, so girls who are to be married will all set their dates for this year. Many pieces of furniture will need to be made, and this humble subject's tung oil can also be sold at a high price," Shopkeeper Hong indeed had business acumen. His two explanations were reasonable.
Censor Chu turned his head and looked mockingly at the composed Zhan Feiyu. "As the saying goes, coincidences make a story. Miss Zhan, do you have any other evidence to present?"
"Shopkeeper Hong, Xinglong General Store usually closes at the end of the hour of You (5-7 PM). However, on that day, Shopkeeper Hong went to the bank at two quarters past the hour of You and withdrew fifty taels of silver."
"A quarter of an hour later, Shopkeeper Tong happened to come to the general store to sell tung oil. You two hit it off immediately. After Shopkeeper Hong paid fifty taels of silver, Shopkeeper Tong had his assistant bring the carriage parked at the inn. The thousand jin of tung oil was moved to the general store by the hour of You's end. You closed the shop, and it wasn't until the next morning that the people sent by Censor Chu came to the store to buy tung oil."
Zhan Feiyu spoke slowly, word by word, her clear eyes fixed on the shocked Shopkeeper Hong. He probably never expected Zhan Feiyu to know such intricate details, even knowing when he went to the bank and when he closed the shop.
Selling tung oil could be considered a coincidence, but withdrawing money a quarter of an hour before selling the oil, and precisely fifty taels, was a far-fetched coincidence.
Despite the cold weather, beads of sweat broke out on Shopkeeper Hong's forehead. He unconsciously rubbed his fingers. "Reporting to Your Lordship, the reason this humble subject withdrew fifty taels of silver from the bank that day was also because I knew Shopkeeper Tong intended to sell the tung oil at a low price."
"This humble subject has always been cautious in business. I did not want Shopkeeper Tong to suddenly increase the price, so I had previously inquired about the price of this tung oil and thus withdrew the money in advance. I had intended to go to the inn the next day to discuss the business with Shopkeeper Tong, but I did not expect Shopkeeper Tong to come to my door, hence this coincidence."
Upon hearing this, Zhan Feiyu smiled. "As Shopkeeper Hong said, you are cautious in business because five years ago, your nephew stole a hundred taels of silver from you. Since then, Shopkeeper Hong has never kept silver in his shop and takes the money home every day. If you were to purchase goods or if business was good that day, and the silver exceeded ten taels, Shopkeeper Hong would deposit the silver in the bank."
Shopkeeper Hong suddenly looked up. In his extreme shock, his eyes widened. No one knew about this matter except himself, not even his parents or his wife and children.
A hundred taels of silver were stolen from his shop by his nephew, and Shopkeeper Hong was so angry he almost vomited blood. But the person had already fled, and Shopkeeper Hong did not want outsiders to mock him, so he kept the matter secret.
However, from then on, Shopkeeper Hong became exceptionally cautious, not keeping much silver in his shop. He didn't even trust his wife and children to keep the silver, always depositing it in the bank.
Whenever he needed to purchase goods, Shopkeeper Hong would withdraw the money from the bank that day, and he would go a quarter of an hour in advance, fearing that if he took out the silver too early and kept it in the shop, it would be stolen again. This habit had been maintained for five years.