Liu Shan couldn’t recall the old man’s name, so Magistrate Song ordered someone to check the guest registers at inns based on approximate dates. He also instructed Clerk Zhang and Ma Bing to conduct a joint autopsy, roughly determining the deceased’s age and physical characteristics.
After cross-referencing the records of missing persons in the Kaifeng area over the years, notices were issued for possible family members to come identify the body—an event that occurred later and need not be detailed now.
Concerned that Liu Shan might have other murders to confess, Magistrate Song interrogated him harshly for several days, uncovering two suspects who specialized in selling diseased or dead livestock, whom he promptly ordered arrested.
Meat from diseased or dead animals is harmful, and the imperial court had repeatedly forbidden its sale, mandating immediate deep burial or incineration. Yet, some people still risked breaking the law for profit.
This time, it was necessary to make an example of a few offenders to deter others!
Xie Yu also came to verify that Liu Shan had no further secrets to hide, and thus the case was closed.
This concluded a chain of cases triggered by Wang Xiuxiang’s denunciation of her old friend for murder. Everyone finally felt relieved.
Kaifeng had a large and complex population, and while there were occasional murders every year, few were as shocking as this one.
After the case details were made public, the citizens were horrified and discussed the matter for a long time.
On the day the case records were submitted to the palace, the emperor decisively sentenced Liu Shan to immediate execution by beheading. The next day, various government offices confirmed the sentence, and on the third day, Liu was taken out for execution.
It was said that before the execution, Liu Shan remained very calm, prompting many to secretly curse him for his cold-heartedness, clearly a killer by nature.
However, on the day of execution, when the jailer brought his last meal, Liu clutched the bowl silently for a while, suddenly began trembling, and burst into tears.
“I don’t want to die! I admit my guilt, I admit my guilt!”
No one paid him any attention.
When dragged onto the execution platform, Liu Shan’s voice was already hoarse from crying, his body limp like mud.
The executioner swung the blade, and blood splattered high.
Liu Shan’s head, covered in blood, rolled a few times before stopping.
At the moment of decapitation, he seemed to retain some awareness, his wide-open eyes gazing at the blue sky, tears welling up at the corners.
Many brave onlookers gathered, gasping in unison at the sight, then cheering loudly as waves of applause spread outward:
“The villain has been punished! The villain has been punished!”
Liu Shan’s wife, who had always been preoccupied with spending money and genuinely unaware of his crimes, was spared any consequences.
However, since the inn had long engaged in shady dealings, the authorities roughly calculated its illegal profits, confiscated most of its assets, returned part of them to the families of the two deceased, and sealed the inn.
The innkeeper’s wife was both frightened and ashamed, avoiding the execution grounds entirely. Instead, she paid several professional corpse collectors to handle the remains and hastily buried them, then tearfully packed a small bundle and returned to her parents’ home.
Several employees who had concealed knowledge of the crimes were arrested or punished accordingly.
The remaining staff had mentally prepared themselves for this outcome. Although they regretted losing their jobs, they weren’t surprised and quietly packed their belongings to leave—some returning home for a rest, others heading straight to Kaifeng to seek new employment.
Magistrate Song summoned Liu Chunlan and Erxi, the couple, and returned a package of silver to them.
“Strictly speaking, since Liu Shan previously extorted you, and he has now been executed, this money should rightfully be returned to you. However, you yourselves admitted to having kicked and injured Gao Fa, which is point one. Yet, Gao Fa had attempted misconduct first, and your self-defense was justified, so no compensation is needed, which is point two. Nevertheless, it was an unfortunate coincidence that the injured Gao Fa encountered Liu Shan, and through several twists of fate, Gao ended up buried alive and died…”
The case was indeed complex and convoluted. While explaining this, Magistrate Song himself became hoarse and paused for a break.
Liu Chunlan and Erxi hadn’t expected anything else. Now that the authorities had proven their innocence and spared them from imprisonment, they were already overjoyed.
Thus, upon hearing the magistrate’s words, they both knelt and kowtowed, saying, “Your Honor, we humble folk dare not expect anything else. We can do without the silver—it’s enough just to have peace and safety.”
The silver could be earned again; now that their reputations were restored, they could live peacefully.
Magistrate Song drank a cup of tea and waved his hand, saying, “That’s not the right way to think. If you feel that way, won’t people say I’m incompetent in my rulings?”
Liu Chunlan and Erxi were confused and somewhat bewildered.
Magistrate Song moistened his throat before continuing, “Therefore, after much consideration, I must say that although Gao Fa was not directly killed by you two, his death was indeed somewhat connected to you. Moreover, your failure to report the matter earlier was also wrong…”
If this couple had reported the matter immediately, none of the subsequent events would have occurred.
However, had they done so, Liu Shan’s true nature might never have been exposed, and the elderly man who had been wronged years ago might never have received justice.
It was truly a chain of events, and any missing link would have disrupted the whole.
It could only be said that fate willed it so.
Yet even though fate was involved, human effort still mattered. Magistrate Song wanted to teach this couple a lesson—to have more faith in the authorities in the future instead of recklessly concealing matters.
This time, the outcome was relatively good, but what if next time it wasn’t?
What if Wang Xiuxiang’s family had quarreled with them, leading to a tragic new murder case in a moment of anger? Wouldn’t that have been a greater loss?
Listening attentively, Liu Chunlan and Erxi felt deeply ashamed and obediently agreed.
Magistrate Song nodded in satisfaction, used his finger to push aside the silver package, selected a small silver ingot weighing about one tael, and rewrapped the rest.
“Concealing knowledge of a crime deserves punishment. This one tael of silver is meant to teach you a lesson. You may go now!”
Liu Chunlan and his wife were deeply absorbed in the scolding when they suddenly heard this last sentence, both lifting their heads in shock.
This was it? They were being let go?
The couple exchanged glances, helped each other up, and cautiously turned to leave, saying hesitantly, “Then, we’ll take our leave…”
“Stop!” At Magistrate Song’s shout, they froze again, only to see him push the remaining 14 taels of silver toward them, “Don’t forget your belongings.”
The couple felt immense gratitude, wiped their tears, took the silver, kowtowed again, and then left hand in hand.
After Liu Chunlan and his wife returned home, both surprised and delighted, neighbors gradually came to visit and subtly inquired about what had happened at the magistrate’s office.
In recent days, as the couple had been successively summoned for questioning, rumors had already spread.
Some said Liu Chunlan had been unfaithful, others claimed Erxi had committed crimes outside—rumors varied wildly.
Their reasoning was solid: “If they hadn’t done anything wrong, why would the authorities have summoned them specifically?”
Then came more rumors, saying that someone from Liu Chunlan’s hometown had claimed she had an affair with a traveling merchant, causing a series of misfortunes.
Such gossip made life unbearable for Liu Chunlan and Erxi’s family.
However, after the couple visited the magistrate’s office and returned, neighbors began to doubt again.
Perhaps there had been a mistake—otherwise, why would the authorities have released them?
Since the case had not yet been solved, the couple couldn’t explain themselves publicly, feeling extremely wronged.
Now that the truth had finally come to light, the whole family eagerly invited people to ask questions, hoping to clear their names.
After the neighbors asked and sighed in satisfaction, Liu Chunlan’s family also felt relieved.
After a long day, with the sunset painting the sky and tired birds returning to their nests, they were about to close the door for the night when they saw someone standing by the wall—it was Wang Xiuxiang.
At the sight of her, Erxi’s eyes flared with anger, and he instinctively grabbed a pole from behind the door, scaring Wang Xiuxiang into screaming.
“This wicked woman dares to come here again!”
The authorities wouldn’t explicitly say who had reported them, but Liu Chunlan had only told Wang Xiuxiang about Gao Fa’s matter before, and she had once threatened to expose them, making it easy for anyone to guess.
Fearing further trouble from her husband, Liu Chunlan hurried forward to stop him.
Erxi, though a decent man, flushed with anger but ultimately refrained from striking her with the pole.
He angrily threw the pole back into the yard and spat at Wang Xiuxiang, “I don’t hit women. Get lost!”
Seeing that he indeed had no intention of hitting her, Wang Xiuxiang steadied herself and took a couple of steps forward, trying to hold Liu Chunlan’s hand as she used to.
Liu Chunlan immediately took a step back, sneering, “Madam Wang, are you here to return the money?”
The magistrate had clearly stated that Wang Xiuxiang’s actions amounted to extortion and had ordered her to return the money immediately.
Wang Xiuxiang stiffened, forcing a smile, “Chunlan, we were once so close. This money…”
A few days earlier, government officials had visited her home, drawing many neighbors to watch. Now everyone knew she had not only betrayed her friend but also attempted extortion, earning widespread contempt.
A person without integrity cannot stand in society—wasn’t reputation the most important thing when living away from home?
If you can betray your closest friends, who would dare to associate with you in the future?
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuxiang’s in-laws felt deeply ashamed. They refused to mention that the silver had been spent by their son and even wanted to divorce her on the spot.
Wang Xiuxiang was no pushover. Upon hearing this, she immediately exposed their secret dealings.
“What a great man, what a noble father-in-law and mother-in-law! You didn’t spend a penny yourselves but forced your daughter-in-law to go out and extort people, doing such shameful things. Now you want to disown me!”
In recent days, everyone had heard about her husband’s repeated business failures, privately wondering where the money had come from and why the two elders in the family had suddenly become so generous. Upon hearing this, they all understood.
So that’s how it was!
Since it wasn’t their own money, of course, they could waste it without hesitation.
When her in-laws wanted to divorce her, Wang Xiuxiang naturally refused.
Now that her reputation was ruined, and it was for their sake, even if she wanted to return to her parents’ home, they wouldn’t accept her. She was determined to stay here no matter what.
The bailiffs who came to notify them thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle and enthusiastically reported the matter.
The next day, the official in charge rejected the divorce request.
The reason was clear.
Wang Xiuxiang had indeed extorted the silver for her in-laws, especially for her husband, and the money she brought back had indeed been squandered by him.
Given all these facts, her in-laws were also implicated and couldn’t simply discard her after using her, so the divorce request was denied.
Now, Wang Xiuxiang and her mother-in-law’s family had completely fallen out, cursing at each other daily, even coming to blows several times, causing chaos and unrest.
“Even brothers should settle accounts clearly. Madam Wang, please don’t say anything else, or you might end up being summoned by the authorities again.”
By now, Liu Chunlan had completely lost any affection for her old friend.
She had heard that the authorities were very effective at debt collection. Previously, some people had refused to repay debts, and Magistrate Song had directly ordered bailiffs to seize and sell their belongings. Therefore, Liu Chunlan wasn’t worried about getting the money back.
It didn’t matter if Wang Xiuxiang was poor—wasn’t her in-laws’ house still standing? They even had livestock, which could be sold to repay the debt.
“I don’t know what wind brought Madam Wang here today, gracing our humble home. We can’t possibly entertain you, so please leave,” Liu Chunlan issued her dismissal.
“Chunlan!” Wang Xiuxiang disregarded everything, rushed forward in one swift step, tightly hugged Liu Chunlan’s legs, and knelt down.
“I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Please forgive me this once. I was blinded by greed, doing such heartless things. You can hit me or scold me, but please, for the sake of our many years of friendship, don’t be so distant…”
Liu Chunlan looked down at her, recalling her own desperate pleas from a month or two ago, feeling deeply ironic.
Erxi couldn’t bear to see his wife suffer and rushed out again, forcibly pulling Wang Xiuxiang off and throwing her to the ground, pointing at her nose and cursing, “Don’t push your luck, or I’ll really hit you!”
Liu Chunlan, however, sighed and looked at Wang Xiuxiang, who was sobbing on the ground, saying, “You say you know you’re wrong, but listening to your words, I feel like you’re just pretending. You only came to beg because you can’t survive on your own now. Have you shown any genuine remorse?”
“You reported me, and I’m not angry. It was our due punishment, and we deserved to suffer. But you shouldn’t have repeatedly trampled on me like this.”
Wang Xiuxiang had never felt so panicked, even when she had clashed with her in-laws.
Looking up at her former friend, she felt an emptiness inside, as if she had permanently lost something precious.
“Chunlan…” she murmured.
“In any case, you’d better prepare to repay the money soon. Otherwise, we’ll go to the authorities and have the officers help us collect it.”
Liu Chunlan pulled Erxi into the house and shut the door without looking back.
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