“Did you find the bundle?!”
“Forget the chicken, let’s go now!”
Ma Bing, Xie Yu, and Yuanpei all rushed to the well to wash their hands. Qiu An followed with a bucket of water and began recounting what had happened.
“Brothers, we first searched every pawnshop in the city but found nothing. Then, following the instructions from the officials, we went to various tailors and fabric shops. We finally got a lead at a small shop on the outskirts of town…”
The shop was tiny and had no sign outside. If not for an officer drinking tea by the roadside and asking locals, we might have missed it.
Upon entering the shop, it was dimly lit, with only a few narrow beams of light filtering through cracks in the doors and windows. The air was dusty and carried a stale, musty odor from years without sunlight, causing everyone to cover their noses.
Several tall shelves were tightly packed with bottles and jars, and there were also many handmade needlework items brought in by women for sale, making the shop look like a general store.
The shop assistant wasn’t as enthusiastic as those in other shops; he was indifferent and lazy. The officers immediately suspected he was not a good sort.
It wasn’t just judging by appearances. Officers who had spent years working in the public office often developed a subtle intuition, which might not provide solid evidence but was usually accurate.
An officer described the bundle and mentioned the two satin robes inside, asking, “Has anyone come to pawn these items recently?”
The assistant’s expression immediately changed. As the officers stepped forward, he suddenly turned and ran!
As Xie Yu and the others rubbed their hands with the fine, soapy lather, Qiu An scooped up a ladle of clean water and poured it over their hands. “The brothers caught him on the spot, then went to the back and dragged out the shop owner. We forced him to bring out the account books and registers. Eventually, we found the robes that had been cut into several pieces from the back. The cloth wrapping the bundle was still intact, so we recognized it immediately.”
The soap lather was stained with chicken oil, refracting a rainbow of colors under the sunlight, flowing into the cracks of the stone slabs beneath their feet.
“Excellent!” Xie Yu stood up to fetch a towel, first handing one to Ma Bing, then to himself and Yuanpei. “Let’s go now.”
The soapy water gradually seeped into the ground, and the foam on the surface quickly dried up, eventually leaving a soft gray mark that popped with a “plop.”
When the four of them rushed to the main hall, two people were already kneeling there: a shop assistant around twenty years old and a middle-aged shop owner in his forties.
The assistant aside, the shop owner had a fat, sly look about him, clearly not an honest man.
Beside them were several trunks filled with various items, one of which had the missing bundle and satin robe pieces belonging to the deceased, Wang Zheng.
When they entered, Chen Wei and Wang Shaoqing stood up to greet them, and Xie Yu and the others returned the gesture before taking their seats.
Ma Bing still sat at the seat Xie Yu had previously arranged for her alone. No one objected, so no one removed it, and she was happy to relax.
Yuanpei stood behind Xie Yu, glancing at Ma Bing with a slight twinge of jealousy.
Hey, I want a table of food too!
Xie Yu then asked the two men in court, “Have you seen the notices posted in the city these past few days about the missing bundle?”
The two men had already been roughed up by the officers before being bound and dragged here, their wrists still aching, so they dared not act out and simply nodded obediently, “We saw them.”
Xie Yu slammed the table with the gavel, “Then why didn’t you bring it in?!”
The two men were startled, the assistant trembling like a sieve, while the shop owner barely managed to hold his composure, forcing a weak smile as he replied, “Your Honor, please hear me out. It was truly an oversight on my part.”
“Nonsense!” Xie Yu pointed at the assistant and shouted, “You may have forgotten, but your assistant ran at the mere mention of it, clearly remembering well enough!”
Their arms weakened, and they nearly collapsed to the ground, only continuing to kowtow repeatedly.
“I’m telling you, if you confess the truth, you may receive a lighter punishment. Otherwise, you will face an even harsher penalty!” Xie Yu said clearly, word by word, “Now, I will ask questions, and you will answer. If there is even one false word, you will face severe punishment!”
To try to argue at this point showed their vile character, which could not be tolerated.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
“We wouldn’t dare!”
They nodded like chickens pecking at rice.
Xie Yu first took the shop’s ledger and flipped through it, then asked, “On which day did this bundle and satin robes get pawned, and who brought them?”
The shop owner kicked the assistant, who quickly replied, “Your Honor, it was on the eleventh of May at noon when Wuer brought them in.”
“Who is this Wuer?” Xie Yu interrupted.
The assistant replied, “Wuer is a little rascal from outside the city. He has no proper job and spends his days doing petty theft with others. Many people know him.”
Xie Yu seized on the detail, “Petty theft? So you already knew the bundle’s origins were suspicious, right?!”
The onlookers all frowned; it was clearly helping to conceal stolen goods!
No one expected this unexpected revelation.
The shop owner inwardly cursed, while the assistant was already on the verge of tears, “Your Honor, please have mercy! I’m just a shop assistant. This…”
The shop owner: “…”
Damn it!
It was already hot, and his excitement caused sweat to pour down like rain, soaking his back in no time.
“Knowing the law and breaking it,” Xie Yu sneered, “This matter will be settled with you in due course. Now, continue with Wuer’s story.”
“Yes,” the assistant wiped his sweat, stuttering, “When I saw the unusual items he pawned, I casually asked where he got them. He just laughed smugly and urged me to hurry without answering…”
Chen Wei lamented, “Knowing it was suspicious, why didn’t you report it to the authorities?!”
Why, despite his best efforts, were there still so many incorrigible troublemakers!
The assistant mumbled incoherently.
Wang Shaoqing beside him kindly fanned him, “Don’t get too worked up, don’t get too worked up…”
This time it was Donghe County’s misfortune to be exposed, but who knows who might be next.
Sigh, he could empathize.
Wait… Wang Shaoqing thought of something, the sigh he was about to let out stuck halfway in his throat.
It’s often said, “Minor illnesses are common, but major ones are rare.” Perhaps Donghe County’s ordeal was a case of “a blessing in disguise.” Meanwhile, in his own jurisdiction, there were also these petty issues. If left unchecked for a few more years, who knows what might blow up!
Not good, not good. He realized he needed to go back and thoroughly review everything from top to bottom to prevent problems before they arise.
No one knew that Wang Shaoqing had made this decision at that moment.
At that time, the assistant saw that the bundle’s cloth was in good condition. Judging by its size, it could easily be made into a small vest for a woman to wear, and could fetch at least three to five taels of silver when resold.
As for the satin robes inside the bundle, although slightly dusty and showing signs of wear, they weren’t too damaged and were quite large in size, so he accepted them.
After the scribe recorded everything, Xie Yu asked again, “Besides these, anything else?”
The assistant bit his lip, feeling that since he had already come this far, there was no point in hiding anything anymore, so he said, “There was also a gourd-shaped purse made of satin with coarse embroidery. The three items together were pawned for two taels and eight mace of silver.”
Immediately, an officer rummaged through the boxes and indeed found the purse.
Xie Yu examined it and then passed it to Chen Wei and others for verification.
Just then, You Xiaotian was still resting in the back, so Ma Bing took the purse, the bundle, and the pieces of clothing to have her identify them.
Before long, Ma Bing returned, “These were indeed the items Wang Zheng was wearing that day.”
Xie Yu then asked the officers, “What else is in those boxes?”
Why did they bring everything back?
Qiu An replied, “Your Honor, my subordinates noticed that many items in these boxes are quite similar to those lost in previous theft cases, so we brought them back for careful inspection.”
Although it wasn’t confirmed yet, how many coincidences could there be in the world? It was probably about right.
Xie Yu nodded, “Well enough, but I only deal with Wang Zheng’s case. The other cases will be handled by the magistrates of the two counties.”
Reporting murder cases is routine, but theft cases do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Kaifeng Prefecture. If he got involved, it would be overstepping his authority.
Chen Wei and Wang Shaoqing both stood up in agreement.
It now seemed that this small shop was a den for fencing stolen goods. If properly interrogated, they might follow the trail and uncover other dens.
“Was it only Wuer who came that day?” Xie Yu asked.
The assistant thought for a moment and said uncertainly, “Only Wuer came into the shop, but I saw a boy of similar age peeking around on the street. They might have been accomplices.”
“A boy?”
This did fit with Xie Yu’s third hypothesis.
No matter how frail Wang Zheng was, he was still an adult man. If he encountered a young person trying to extort him, he might have been provoked into anger, getting off his horse to confront the youth.
But things didn’t go as planned.
The assistant nodded repeatedly, “Yes, Wuer is fifteen this year. He lost his parents at an early age and was raised by his grandparents. He was never under proper control. A few years ago, his elderly guardians also passed away, and he became even more unrestrained, running wild with other young rascals. Everyone in the area knows him.”
Ma Bing and the others were beside him, silently thinking: you shouldn’t insult wild horses like that.
Fifteen years old, although still a minor, was old enough to do many things.
Xie Yu asked, “Do you know where Wuer lives?”
It seemed now that Wuer might be the real culprit!
The assistant shook his head but quickly added, “But I know where they often hang out! I’m willing to lead the officers to find them! Please, I beg you, show mercy!”
Although he had always known his boss wasn’t running a legitimate business, he had been lucky for years without getting caught, so he had grown complacent.
(Note: The term “侥幸” is translated as “lucky” in this context to convey the sense of undeserved good fortune. The parenthetical explanation in the original text is omitted in the translation for fluency.)
But when he was actually dragged into the courtroom, he realized how scared he was and regretted it bitterly.
Xie Yu looked at Chen Wei, who then said, “Better late than never! Don’t talk about other things, just catch the person first!”
After that, Chen Wei immediately gathered people, ordered the assistant to lead the way, and had Qiu An take the lead to capture them. Meanwhile, he and Wang Shaoqing each assigned someone to retrieve past case files related to theft and robbery, cross-referencing the stolen goods in the boxes below.
It turned out that the assistant, eager to atone for his sins, walked quickly under the scorching sun. About half an hour later, everyone arrived in front of a courtyard.
He pointed inside and said, “Officer, there’s cockfighting inside. Wuer often comes here to play whenever he has some extra money.”
Qiu An raised his hand, and everyone went in to question the people inside.
However, those inside said Wuer hadn’t come today.
Qiu An asked, “When did you last see him?”
The person recognized Qiu An and immediately replied without hesitation, “He came yesterday evening.”
“Has there been anything unusual lately?” Qiu An asked further.
Seeing their serious expressions, the person dared not be negligent and thought for a moment before saying, “If there was anything unusual, there was indeed something. Wuer used to be a poor rascal, but these days he seemed to suddenly strike it rich. He would come in demanding wine and meat, and bet on cockfights, spending extravagantly.”
Just as he was speaking, the curtain was lifted, and a tall, thin half-grown boy came in.
The person was first startled, then pointed at him and shouted, “Wuer!”
Wuer was shocked. Seeing several officers in official uniforms beside him, he turned and ran.
“Chase him!” Qiu An immediately led the pursuit.
“Wuer!”
“Stop!”
“Don’t run!”
The group chased relentlessly behind, while Wuer ran desperately ahead, deliberately knocking over many stalls along the way to disrupt the officers’ line of sight and footsteps.
It turned out there was another boy who came with Wuer. He was a step behind Wuer and hadn’t entered the cockfighting arena yet. When Wuer turned back, he knocked the boy to the ground.
Wuer didn’t stop, actually stepping over him and running off, causing the boy to roll in pain before being grabbed and pinned down by the officers.
The pawnshop assistant who had come along to guide them took a look and immediately confirmed, “That’s the one who followed Wuer that day! When Wuer came in, he was keeping watch on the street! There’s no mistake!”
Meanwhile, Wuer, taking advantage of his slim build, ran wherever was narrowest, not caring about the people he injured. The officers, however, were cautious not to harm bystanders and were left behind as he ran five streets away.
Fortunately, everyone kept chasing him into the city center. As the roads gradually became more complex, Qiu An decisively ordered his men to flank both sides of the road and eventually cornered Wuer in a dead-end alley.
Even so, Wuer still refused to surrender, struggling to climb the wall. An officer hit him with a bamboo pole, knocking him down, and they all rushed forward to pin him down.
When Qiu An and others escorted Wuer and the other boy back to the yamen, even though Xie Yu and the others were prepared, they couldn’t help but be startled.
It turned out that both Wuer and the boy had a youthful look, clearly still children!
The boy wasn’t very brave; as soon as he entered the courtroom, his legs started to feel weak. But Wuer remained calm, standing straight there, curiously looking around.
Everyone frowned; his behavior didn’t seem like that of a murderer at all.
Had they made a mistake?
Xie Yu asked, “Wuer, do you know why you were arrested?”
Wuer scratched his face, looking at him curiously, “Are you an official too? You’re pretty young.”
“Dare!”
Yuanpei and others shouted in unison.
Wuer shrugged his shoulders, unconcerned, “Hmph, just a young master, I could do it too if I wanted!”
Everyone instinctively looked at Xie Yu, only to see him smiling instead of being angry, “You seem very confident in yourself.”
“Of course!” Wuer proudly tossed his head, “I was just born at the wrong time! If it were a time of chaos, I’d already be the king of a mountain stronghold, living freely and happily!”
“Heh,” Xie Yu scoffed, “The freedom and happiness you speak of is through murder and robbery?”
He threw the gourd purse in front of Wuer, “Do you recognize this purse?”
Wuer glanced at it, “Ah, I remember. It was that drunk’s.”
Xie Yu asked again, “Did you kill him?”
“Yeah!” Wuer readily admitted, showing neither nervousness nor remorse.
In theory, the officers had long seen many vicious criminals, but seeing Wuer speak so casually about killing someone still caused them to change expressions.
Xie Yu looked at Wuer’s face, who met his gaze without flinching, his eyes filled with calmness.
Too calm, no, too cold-blooded.
Xie Yu saw no trace of fear of death or the law in him. He spoke so casually about killing someone, as if he were talking about eating two buns for breakfast.
“Why did you kill him?”
Wuer actually smiled, as if the question was very ridiculous.
He scratched his face lazily, “I needed money.”
Xie Yu frowned, “You have hands and feet, why don’t you find work?”
Wuer chuckled, “Do you think only those with power and status can enjoy life? I’m just lazy and don’t want to work! Life is short, so one should enjoy life while they can!”
Why work hard for a living and be looked down upon when you can get money without effort?
Are you crazy?!
“But you clearly succeeded, why did you still kill him?”
“He dared to yell at me,” Wuer looked at them with the expression of someone looking at a fool, as if it was the officials who were abnormal, “Besides, killing is just killing.”
“How did you kill him?”
“Just,” Wuer was a bit impatient, thought for a while, and then gestured, “That day we saw he was drunk, and dressed so well, so we wanted to get some money. We originally planned to take the money and leave, but that guy was so rude, he even cursed me. Damn it, could I take that kind of abuse? So I just killed him and got it over with!”
He laughed as he pointed at his companion, “Hmph, he wasn’t useful at all, got hit a couple of times, so I had to do it myself… It’s easy, just hold him underwater for a while and he suffocates.”
He shrugged his shoulders, hunched over, and said with a crooked smile, “I thought the body would float away with the river and I could enjoy myself for a few more days, hey!”
He scratched his head, showing his white teeth in a grin, like an ordinary child lamenting not grabbing a delicious candy, “I forgot it hadn’t rained for a while, the water wasn’t strong enough, I was careless!”
Suddenly, the courtroom fell into a deathly silence.
Only now did everyone realize that what they had caught wasn’t just a pure fifteen-year-old boy, but a naturally born, cold-blooded beast who treated human life as grass.
This was the most fundamental evil of human nature, pure evil.
He had no sense of justice or morality in his heart, not even the most basic human decency or ethical boundaries, pursuing only instant gratification.
According to the laws of the Great Lu, if a minor commits murder and there are reasons or they atone for their crimes, they may receive a reduced sentence.
But Xie Yu almost immediately decided that no matter what, he must ensure that Wuer was sentenced to death.
He didn’t believe in the inherent goodness of human nature. Some people are born bad seeds; the kindness and compassion from the outside world would only be seen by them as something they deserve, leading them to become even worse.
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