TGCFNM -Chapter 217 Fu, Here to Report a Case

Wan Sanjin sat to the side, counting carefully on his fingers.

“Even if his monthly salary was twenty or thirty taels, Master Qi had a son and a daughter. There was the dowry for his daughter, the money for his son’s marriage and purchasing a residence, plus his own living expenses… No matter how you calculate it, the finances would’ve been extremely tight,” Wan Sanjin said.

Fu Qingyu let out a soft exclamation and looked toward Master Wang. “When Master Qi married off his daughter, my grandfather had someone send a gift. But I heard that it was rather… well…”

He trailed off awkwardly.

Master Wang had no choice but to pick up the thread. “It was indeed somewhat shabby. Later on, it’s said that he privately made it up to his daughter.”

“Later?” Chu Ling asked.

Master Wang nodded. “It’s said that Master Qi once saved someone’s life. That person was deeply grateful and repaid the money he had borrowed from Master Qi—at double the amount.”

Chu Ling’s eyes flickered. Curious, she asked, “Where does Master Qi’s son live now?”

“Linhe Street,” Master Wang replied.

Wan Sanjin couldn’t help but interject, “Aren’t most of the aristocratic families’ residences there? The land prices must be high. What does Master Qi’s son do for a living?”

“He opened a restaurant and also owns several qing of fertile farmland. He lives quite comfortably,” Master Wang said.

Chu Ling raised her brows with a faint smile. “Where did Master Qi’s son get the money to open a restaurant? And where did he get the money to buy all that farmland? It clearly came from his old father. But for a mere schoolteacher to have that much wealth… isn’t that rather excessive? That house halfway up the mountain certainly couldn’t have been purchased for just a few tens of thousands of taels.”

Master Wang faltered. He glanced sideways at Fu Qingyu before turning back to Chu Ling. “It is indeed somewhat strange. But in daily life, I never saw him engage in any business.”

Chu Ling asked, “Do you know the person who supposedly borrowed money from him and later repaid it at double?”

Master Wang simply shook his head. He had only heard about it in passing and did not know the person at all.

“In this study hall, is there anyone who was particularly close to Master Qi?” Chu Ling continued.

Master Wang shook his head again and gave a wry smile. “Master Qi wasn’t especially close to anyone. Aside from teaching, he only liked to go home and drink. He had also argued with a few people before, saying that if he were ten or twenty years younger, he wouldn’t let those people ride roughshod over him. He would call them nothing but poor, sour scholars.”

“Then it seems Master Qi himself wasn’t such a poor, sour scholar after all—he was quite wealthy,” Chu Ling said lightly. She slowly rose to her feet. “Thank you, Master Wang, for clearing up our doubts today. We’ll take our leave now.”

Master Wang immediately stood up to see them out.

The group walked all the way to the entrance of Danbo Academy Hall when a student hurried over. He looked nervous and flustered, his eyes fixed intently on Chu Ling, as if wanting to speak but hesitating.

Chu Ling smiled. “How rare—there’s actually a student who isn’t afraid of me… Come here. Stand in front of me.”

The student swallowed hard, his face slightly pale, and trotted forward. He bowed repeatedly. “Greetings, my lord. Greetings, Master. Greetings, Young Master Fu. Greetings, Master Wan.”

Master Wang looked him over. “Aren’t you Liu Shu from Class B?”

Liu Shu nodded nervously. “Yes, Master. It’s me.”

Master Wang asked, “You’ve come to see Magistrate Chu? Is there something troubling you?”

Liu Shu clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling. Then, abruptly, he knelt down and knocked his head loudly against the ground. “My lord, this student—this student is guilty. I confess my guilt.”

“Confess? What crime are you confessing to?” Chu Ling asked with a slight frown.

Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, Liu Shu blurted out, “I—I originally… originally wanted to default on Master Qi’s debt. But—but since my lord personally came, you must—you must be here to check the accounts.”

Chu Ling clasped her hands behind her back and deliberately said, “You’re right. I am here to check the accounts. Why did you fail to report this earlier? Why did you intend to deliberately default on the debt?”

Liu Shu’s face crumpled miserably. “My lord, this student… this student did not mean to do it on purpose.”

Chu Ling let out a cold laugh. At this point, the student was suddenly “not doing it on purpose,” was he?

Wan Sanjin crouched halfway down, meeting his eyes, and deliberately threatened, “Do you realize that if this matter blows up, you won’t be able to participate in next year’s Spring Examination?”

“I—I wasn’t planning to attend next year’s Spring Examination anyway,” Liu Shu replied timidly.

Wan Sanjin coughed awkwardly. “Y-you may never be able to take the imperial examinations again! This is extremely serious. Do you understand?”

“I—I know. That’s why… that’s why I came to confess,” Liu Shu said, crying as he collapsed to the floor.

Wan Sanjin helped him up and continued, “How much money did you default on?”

“One hundred and twenty-three taels,” Liu Shu sobbed.

Wan Sanjin’s eyes widened. “How did you end up owing that much? You’re just a student—did you gamble?”

Liu Shu waved his hands frantically. “No, no! I went to attend lectures and buy books, but I had no money. So I borrowed twelve taels from Master Qi, agreeing to repay it in a month. But… but my elderly father fell ill, and I couldn’t pay it back.”

He wept bitterly, wiping his face with his sleeve in a miserable state.

Chu Ling also crouched down, staring straight at him. “You borrowed twelve taels, and because you couldn’t repay it, it turned into one hundred and twenty-three taels?”

Liu Shu nodded through tears.

Chu Ling’s expression darkened. “Who was the guarantor for your loan?”

“Zhang Sanma.”

“Who is he? What does he do?” Chu Ling pressed.

“He’s a manager at Wantong Money House,” Liu Shu answered.

Chu Ling grabbed Liu Shu by the arm and pulled him to his feet, frowning as she asked carefully, “How exactly did you borrow the money? Explain it clearly.”

Liu Shu looked frightened.

Wan Sanjin quickly added, “If you explain everything clearly, you’ll be fine. Otherwise, you could be facing prison.”

Liu Shu hurriedly nodded and finally laid out the entire story.

It turned out that Master Qi had recommended several books, saying that reading them would make one’s essays smoother and more elegant, help with promotion to a higher class, and even qualify one for his private tutoring.

Master Qi already enjoyed considerable fame and was also the enlightenment teacher of Fu Qingyu, the so-called number one young gentleman under heaven. Because of that, everyone trusted his words and rushed to buy the books.

Liu Shu had no money and had originally planned to give up. But Master Qi generously offered to lend him the money—provided he found someone to act as guarantor. So the two of them went to Wantong Money House, found Zhang Sanma to act as guarantor, and borrowed twelve taels to purchase the books.

“I didn’t repay the money directly to Master Qi,” Liu Shu added. “I repaid it to Wantong Money House.”

“How much have you repaid so far?” Chu Ling asked.

“Twenty-three taels already,” Liu Shu said pitifully. “My mother even melted down her dowry silver hairpin and bracelets, but we still couldn’t finish paying it off. I only owed twelve taels to begin with, but the more I repaid, the more I owed. I… I didn’t want to repay it anymore. And since Master Qi is dead, I… I thought I’d just default on it.”

“Then default,” Chu Ling said.

“Huh?” Liu Shu froze.

Chu Ling took a deep breath and looked at Fu Qingyu. “Someone is using your name to amass wealth and issuing high-interest loans. You should report this case.”

Fu Qingyu understood her meaning at once and immediately nodded.

“Fu hereby reports a case.”